The Culture+ Blog
Insights to help you create a compelling and connected culture
High-performance teams come from high-performance cultures
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With your teams, don’t get out of the way, do this instead
"Get out of the way!" I often hear some version of this sentiment when talking about building a culture to incentivize high performance teams. "You have to find the right people, equip them, and then get out of the way." People who talk about getting out of the way romanticize the notions of autonomy and trust and what those notions will lead to. And yet, it's often the most romantic who end up continuing to be in the way. Requiring meetings. Requiring sign offs. Instituting limits on...
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A “no” simply means not today
Is a "no" forever? Listening to an interview featuring Jeff Deveratt who works in show business - producing, directing, writing, etc. In recent years he has sold a few shows to Netflix. The interviewer asked about how he even got in the door at Netflix. "Because at...
Culture is unmatched at leveling performance
No individual or team can consistently outperform their organization's culture. No individual or team can consistently underperform their organization's culture. Culture's ability to level out any team's performance is both unmatched and underappreciated. This...
The power of simple questions
He hijacked a school bus. Five months ago a young man boarded a school bus in South Carolina and, at gunpoint, demanded the driver take him to a neighboring city. In the back of the bus, 18 elementary kids. As a parent of kids who ride school buses, this is...
There are no staffing shortages
There are no staffing shortages. There are tons of superstars out there. Millions of us are willing to invest our emotional energy, our physical energy, and our mental energy into things that matter. We want to be a part of something special. We want to impact...
Crack old chestnuts. Do things differently
"It is retail," the Store Manager said. Her words, tone, and look conveyed a distinct message. The Store Manager was interviewing "Lady," a 30-something looking for work. I sat very still at a neighboring table in the coffee shop attached to the store. I wanted to...
Going past lip service on how to thrive tomorrow
"Live in a way today so that you can thrive tomorrow." I stopped my walk after hearing this from author Carey Nieuwhof (New Hoff) on a podcast I subscribe to. I spent the rest of the 5,500 step walk trying to break it down. On the surface, the sentiment is behind why...
Pet cows and make simple bucket lists
My 11-year-old son just created a bucket list. One of the items on that list? Pet a cow. I thought it was funny and then I thought about it some more. I realized I don't have a bucket list. In fact, I typed up my few but relatively elaborate grown-up goals only...
Did you know your culture has a job to do?
What is culture's job in your firm? It's easy to think of culture like your brother-in-law who needs to crash in the basement for a few months. Something that is there, something that we live with, something that isn't that big of a deal. Culture is not your...
How to persuade superstars to join your firm when they have 4 other solid offers
This is how to make your firm and your position the default choice for someone with 4 other solid job offers. First, a little context. In April we saw the highest "quits" since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began recording that data - about 20 years. Guess what? The...
The Delta variant is not fouling up our plans. This is
If the Delta variant is throwing a wrench into your reopening plans, then the true lesson of the pandemic is being missed. Getting people back into the office only feels like the solution to all of the problems. If we could just get going again, then we could solve: -...
A culture’s influence is a function of its proximity
The most influential culture is the culture closest to you. (Reminder: Culture is not bean bag chairs and free lunch. Culture is a group's collective behaviors, attitudes, expectations, and artifacts that create pressures to influence an individual's decision-making...
Don’t let your goals turn into this (please!)
Most goals are orphaned aspirations. Think about it. There is something you want to accomplish. It gels into a "goal" somewhere. Maybe it's in your head, or maybe it gets written down(!) After that, things get a bit mushy. "Run a marathon in 2021." That's a good goal....