Method
From report to action: what to do with a hierarchy
16 February 2026 · 6 min read
Short answer
A culture report should end in one decision: which value should win the next time it collides with another — and what the organisation therefore accepts giving up. Action plans with more than three items are in practice a decision not to decide.
A two-hour agenda
01
1. Guess before numbers (20 min)
Each manager writes down their own expected hierarchy if not already done. The dispersion in the group is read out before the result is shown.
02
2. Result without explanation (15 min)
Show the hierarchy, the gap and the breaking points. No discussion yet. The point is to let the number stand alone for a moment.
03
3. Concrete examples (30 min)
Find two decisions from last quarter that confirm the result and one that contradicts it. Without examples the conversation turns abstract and therefore harmless.
04
4. The choice (30 min)
Decide whether the measured hierarchy should be confirmed or changed. Write down the cost. A change without a cost has not been decided.
05
5. First visible decision (25 min)
Pick one upcoming concrete case where the new priority will apply, even if it costs. Communicate the result through that case, not through a presentation.
What not to do
- Circulate the report as a PDF with no decision. It confirms that surveys lead nowhere.
- Ask every unit to write its own action plan on a hierarchy it cannot change.
- Use the result in a manager appraisal. Then the next measurement is useless.
- Communicate a new hierarchy without naming what is deprioritised.
Read on
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