What Culture Actually Is
Culture is not the values on your wall. It's the behavior you reward, the behavior you tolerate, and the behavior you punish. Everything else is decoration.
#culture
If your stated values say 'transparency' but the team learns about layoffs from a news article, your real value is 'don't tell people things.' That is your culture , not the poster.
Where culture is actually set
- Who gets promoted (and who doesn't).
- Who gets fired and how publicly.
- What the founder talks about in every all-hands.
- What gets celebrated in Slack , and what gets ignored.
- How disagreements with the founder end.
Why early-stage culture compounds
By 30 people, the culture is set. By 100, it is nearly impossible to change without removing leadership. Founders who think they'll 'fix culture later' are wrong almost without exception.
Your culture is the worst behavior you tolerate from your best performer.