Why ‘win at any cost’ isn’t working for Putin

Putin secured his power by stealing from his people to surround himself with a retinue of nodding donkeys with superyachts. He lied to the world about having no intention to invade. And now he’s killing his next-door neighbours in their beds because they might definitely possibly become a threat. For Putin there are no rules – not even the rules of war.

His M.O. is ‘win at any cost’. It is the antithesis of the ‘values’ driven culture that most progressive organisations rely on to guide their behaviour and decision-making. However, whilst he may have chosen now to strike because he judged that the EU and NATO were fragmented and weak, he has inadvertently done more to bring these member countries together than any western leader has in recent years. How? By reminding them all that their cultural values – such as freedom of speech - unite them far more than their economic squabbles divide them.

As a result, Germany has surprised everyone (and itself) by doing a sharp U-turn on its post WWII policy on war. Global economic sanctions have far exceeded anything ever put in place. And Ukraine itself has fought to maintain its independence and put up the kind of resistance that no-one (outside Ukraine) had thought possible.

Paradoxically, it is the rock solid stability of their values that has given Ukraine’s allies the strength and motivation to bend and flex and shock absorb in responding to this unthinkable war.

Putin has a clear purpose – to stay in power. And he has a vision – regime change in Ukraine. But without the kinds of values that the Ukrainians themselves have so brilliantly demonstrated on the frontlines – such as adaptability, resilience and collaboration – Putin has had to retreat and regroup.

This is a war of values – where having them has united and motivated citizens and world leaders alike to succeed against all odds; and where not having them has left Putin isolated by a world he has galvanized against him.

Rich Alderton from High Performance Change is an Adaptability Intelligence specialist, so why not contact Rich for an initial discussion?