DNA of an organization

This week someone said something to me that struck me as odd. This person said that she needed to inform people in her organization that a particular practice is part of the organization's DNA.

It seems to me that if you have to inform people of that, then it is really not in the DNA.

So how do you put something into the DNA of an existing organization? I think it takes a lot of hard work, strategic thinking, and also prayer.

We can't just tell people they should participate in a certain practice of the organization (in my case a church). I think we must draw them in and inspire them by doing things like:

-- Vision Casting
-- Teaching
-- Modeling
-- Storytelling
-- Logistical tweaks to give that practice a better chance of taking off
-- Changes in programming to lead people by the hand into the practice or value that you are trying to instill


How successful have you been at embedding new things (or strengthening the presence of old things) in the DNA of your organization? How have you done it? What are some tactics to add to my list above?