What is the key to building a successful corporate culture?

Ritz-Carlton has become a leading brand in luxury lodging by rigorously adhering to its own standards. Its unique culture starts with a motto: "We are ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen." One of its remarkable policies is to permit every employee to spend up to $2,000 making any single guest satisfied.

Here is what Simon Cooper, who has led Ritz-Carlton for the past eight years, says about building corporate culture:

'A culture is built on trust. And if leadership doesn't live the values that it requires of the organisation, that is the swiftest way to undermine the culture. No culture sticks if it's not lived at the highest levels of the organisation. It takes an extraordinarily long time to build a culture.'

For more, see - http://www.forbes.com/2009/10/30/simon-cooper-ritz-leadership-ceonetwork-hotels.html