Institutionalization: Systematizing Trust
Institutionalization is not a procedures manual; it is an infrastructure in which mutual promises and commitments are fulfilled. A culture of kept promises brings the handing-over and taking-over sides onto the same ground in the generational transition.
Transcript
Description (Instagram Reels)
Institutionalization is not a pile of procedures; it is the systematized form of mutual commitments, of promises given, and of an unshakable sense of trust.
Real institutionalization begins where the word is kept. The most powerful way to pass a company to the next generation is to build a solid infrastructure of trust at its foundation.
Tags: #OrhanErkut #Institutionalization #Trust #FamilyBusiness
Transcript
Another area where I produce significant work is senior executive recruitment. So, for more than twenty years, I have naturally been conducting job interviews. Here, when candidates express themselves about a position, they frequently use the phrase "a corporate company." It is one of my areas of interest: in almost every interview I ask, "What do you mean by a corporate company?" and try to understand the answer. The definitions they give actually point to companies with an established order; that is, they mostly lean toward a framework where the rules are clear, the duties are clear, and what will be done is clear. But when you question more deeply, you see that the concept of institutionalization is a search for an agreement that leads you to commitment, to one's word, and to a sense of mutual trust. So the professional is looking for a corporate company; well, doesn't the company called corporate, the one that keeps its word, also look for an employee who looks at things corporately? It does, in fact, look for an employee who keeps his word. When you look at the definition from here, you understand more clearly the part about mutual commitments and promises being made. I call this a culture of kept promises, and I want to underline that it is mutual. Institutionalization is not actually writing a procedures manual or producing a job description; it means both sides fulfilling the promises they make to each other. If the grocer does not water down the milk, and his customer can pay off the tab on time — or does not offer credit to someone who would not extend it; if in large-scale companies the general manager keeps the promises he made to the board, if the company pays its supplier on time, and the supplier in turn ships the raw material on time, then we can speak of institutionalization, that is, an infrastructure in which these mutual promises and commitments are fulfilled. For this reason I try to describe this concept as a culture of kept promises. My wish to define institutionalization in such detail comes from this: a block of mutual promises and commitments strengthens your perception of the future and can let you do this work better.
SuccessionThe transfer of management and ownership in a family business to the next generation — approached not as a moment of 'handover' but as a long development journey that begins with growing the next generation. See in glossary → is also work oriented toward the future, and here there are two sides: the one who hands over and the one who takes over. Therefore, bringing this logic of institutionalization to life within them too, turning them into parties who accept the same subject, will, I believe, also rightly ensure that this process becomes institutionalized.
Source: Instagram Reels · Posted: April 8, 2026. The media link is in the "Medya URL" field.