Most strategies fail not because they're wrong, but because culture doesn't support them. Built to Endure or Built to Exit reveals why culture is the hidden root system of every organization, and how leaders can finally make it visible, measurable, and manageable.
Built to Endure or Built to Exit, written by The Culture Factor Group's Group CEO Egbert Schram, argues that culture is not the soft layer sitting on top of a strategy. It is the root system underneath it, invisible until the tree falls. Drawing on ecology, psychology and anthropology alongside two decades of global consulting experience, the book sets out to do something most culture books avoid: make culture visible, measurable and manageable, rather than a feeling leaders are told to trust.
The book is built around ten essential practices, each one a chapter combining a vivid metaphor, a real-world case and a practical application sheet. The readers are meant to work through the material, not just read it: diagnosing where their own culture is strong, where it is quietly blocking progress, and what conditions would let people and performance grow together instead of trading off against each other.
In this book, C.E.O. doesn't just mean Chief Executive Officer, it means Cultural Executive Ownership. Culture is not HR's job alone. It's every leader's responsibility, and this guide shows you how to take it on with confidence.
For anyone leading through a strategy that should be working better than it is, this is less a book about culture as a concept and more a working diagnostic for the thing that decides, quietly, whether the strategy survives contact with the organisation.
Information
Publisher: Professional Publishing Finland
ISBN: 978-952-7401-42-2
Format: Hardcover
Publication year: 2026
Pages: 148
About the author
Egbert Schram is Group CEO of The Culture Factor Group.
A trusted advisor to organizations from the UNDP and Unilever to Airbus and Coca-Cola, he specializes in building emotionally sustainable workplaces that drive long-term success.
Trained as a forester at Wageningen University in the Netherlands, Egbert combines lessons from forest ecosystems with two decades of consulting experience in cultural transformation. His work blends data, storytelling, and strategy, making culture both measurable and practical for leaders worldwide.
