Culture does not change because we de-sire to change it. Culture changes whenthe organization is transformed; the cul-ture reflects the realities of people workingtogether every day.Frances Hesselbein (1999, p. 6)As a strategic business partner, HR can havea powerful impact on a company’s opera-tional and financial outcomes by leading acultural transformation. This role, whichhas been well documented (Beatty &Schneier, 1997; Beer, 1997), will be evenmore critical for HR in the future. In this article, I discuss our experienceas a strategic partner in a recent effort tostrengthen American Express’s culture andrenew its corporate values. I will focus onwhy this initiative was important, how we re-viewed company culture and implementedculture change strategy, and what early re-sults showed.The Importance of Corporate CultureA corporate culture is the combination of thevalues and characteristics that define an or-ganization. It influences the way employeesrelate to each other, to customers, to share-holders, and to business partners. It drivesbehaviors and unites employees around ashared set of values. It can lift our perform-ance and improve our work environment.HR AS A STRATEGIC PARTNER: CULTURE CHANGE AS AN AMERICANEXPRESS CASE STUDYHuman Resource Management, Spring 2005, Vol. 44, No. 1, Pp. 79–84© 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com).DOI: 10.1002/hrm.20043Ursula FairbairnA corporate culture is the combination of the values and characteristics that define an organi-zation. It influences the way employees relate to each other, to customers, to shareholders, andto business partners. It drives behaviors and unites employees around a shared set of values.Companies with strong, formally articulated values that are focused on the needs of their con-stituencies have an important advantage over those without such values. American Express re-cently worked to strengthen its culture and renew its corporate values. I will focus on why thisinitiative was important, how we reviewed company culture and implemented culture changestrategy, and what early results showed. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, In