The quote, “culture eats strategy for breakfast” is often attributed to Peter Drucker. The whole premise of this quote is that culture is fundamental to a business, and it matters way more than the strategy itself. 

Let me explain it with examples. 

Say, you have an amazing culture: move fast, be transparent, communicate clearly, work like a startup, be accountable, etc. Your manager comes up with a great master plan, a strategy to ship a new product in three weeks. You never thought about it before, you’re unsure whether it’d work, and somehow you kinda think it’s too bold. But since your team (and company!) has a great culture, kind of, “move fast and break things” there’s a high probability that your team will pull off the project in three weeks or less, assuming your manager is not a bozo. 

That’s how culture eats strategy for breakfast. 

Contrary to that, say your boss tells the team to ship a new product in five weeks. It looks great on paper. Your team kinda likes it. But everyone knows that the culture at your company sucks. Teams don’t move fast. There’s no clear communication. There’s no transparency. There’s no accountability. So it’s nearly impossible to ship something like that in five weeks. And guess what, you’re right. The project is still “ongoing,” people on your team are “trying” because they love their paycheck, and actually, your boss is a bozo. 

The culture is still eating strategy for breakfast.