Michal Hornák (Forbes Top CEO 2023): Corporate culture decides performance more than any strategy

In this episode of the no-holds-barred CEO podcast, we talk with Michal Hornák about what really determines the performance of manufacturing companies. Michal took over Witte Automotive during a crisis and managed to stabilize the company, then lead it to growth at a time when most of the automotive industry was stagnating. About corporate culture, he says it's like the Yeti — everyone talks about it, but hardly anyone has actually seen it in practice.

In his view, though, culture isn't an abstract concept or an HR initiative. It's how people behave under pressure, how they handle conflict, and what gets tolerated at the company. And real change doesn't start with strategy or reorganization — it starts with a leader's personal transformation. The biggest limit on performance can be the CEO's own management style.

From crisis manager to transformation leader

Manufacturing companies long ran on a management model built on force, pressure, and permanent urgency. That's effective in a crisis. But the moment a company needs to grow, that same style starts holding back both people and performance. Michal describes his own transformation from crisis manager into a transformation leader: stopping the creation of pressure, and starting to create an environment instead. He realized the only person he could truly influence was himself — and that his leadership style would, sooner or later, imprint itself onto the whole organization.

Accountability for the outcome, not the task

Accountability is a key theme. Not accountability for completing a task, but accountability for the outcome and its meaning. If leadership just puts up a strategy and values without starting to act on them, the change will never trickle through the company. That's why Michal focused on middle management and the “base” of the organization, where quality and performance actually get made. In his view, transformation doesn't start at the top, in management presentations — it starts at the bottom, in everyday behavior.

Beliefs and behavior

People's beliefs play a strong role too. The line “that's how we've done it here for ten years” isn't an argument — it's an entrenched way of thinking. If a leader fights it head-on, it triggers resistance. If they understand it, they can start changing behavior. And without a change in behavior, no new culture can emerge.

For Michal, corporate culture isn't some ungraspable concept. It's a set of concrete interactions between people. And a simple rule holds: the best corporate culture is only as good as the worst behavior it tolerates. If you tolerate a toxic, “irreplaceable” expert, you'll pay for it with the whole team's performance.

What else will you find answered in the podcast?

• Why the difference between power and influence is essential for a company's growth after a crisis
• How to tell you're no longer transforming the company, but holding it back with your own management style
• Why accountability doesn't come from control, but from meaning and involvement
• How to work with beliefs like “that's how it's always worked here”
• What hidden turnover is, and how it arises from one-sided pressure for performance
• Why everything a CEO does is a service — to employees, customers, and owners alike

If you genuinely want to move a company forward, don't start with another strategy. Start with yourself. Leadership style is the strongest lever of change, and it's exactly what decides whether culture becomes a competitive advantage — or a drag on performance.