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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The U shape of employee engagement
Engagement over time is not static.
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The leader’s stump speech when change is necessary
Change, in any organization, requires a stump speech. In political campaigns, candidates will typically create a stump speech that they deliver at every campaign stop. It's the exact same speech, but it's for a different audience each time. They talk about problems,...
Back in the office or remote? Who cares. Let’s stop solving the wrong problem
Apple wants you back in the office. JPMorganChase wants you back in the office. Amazon wants you back in the office. The key reasons companies like these are calling you back to the office: Innovation. Collaboration. Creativity. Innovation happens best in the...
“What’s your culture like?” The 3-point response plan for A/E/C hiring managers
"What's your culture like?" A 3-point response cheat sheet A/E/C professionals can use with prospective employees. 1. MISSION. Start with talking about the mission, not the mission statement. The difference? The mission is shorter, cleaner, and has emotion. Examples....
The real reason we don’t want to go back to the office
Why are so many of us so reluctant to go back to the office? Ever wondered about that? If you have been working from home, do you want to keep it that way? Why? I've seen a number of reasons. Good reasons. No commute is a good one. Ability to focus is a good one....
Technology alone won’t solve your staffing problems. This will
All the technology in the world won't help you find better candidates for your open positions. It just won't. Technology will help you find people for sure. But finding people isn't the hard part of filling positions. The hard part is finding the right person for each...
Changing your culture? Focus on this first
If you want to change your culture, focus first on defining what you want. Culture is revealed by outcomes. It's revealed by looking at the results. Not necessarily financial results, although strong cultures have been empirically linked to better financial results....
Consensus culture eats disagreement. The downfall of the best ideas
How fast does your consensus culture eat disagreement? Most workplaces have an informal time limit for people who don't get on board with whatever idea is being presented. In these workplaces that time limit varies depending on where the idea sprouts. The CEO's ideas...
How spilling coffee creates micro-cultures
He dumped the whole cup of nitro cold brew all over the bar area. It was an accident that happened right under the coffee spigot. I was in the lobby waiting for my drink (not that one). Since I am a complete nerd about teams, I waited for the response. Here are the...
The key element that separates boring mission statements from inspiring missions
"What is it you think we do here?" Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) asks coworker Natalie Keener (Anna Kendrick) this simple yet elusive question in the brilliant movie Up in the Air. Anna responds quickly by reciting the mission statement. "We prepare the newly...
Being able to clearly articulate these three things is key to hiring superstars
Are you switching jobs looking for that greener grass during the Grand Reshuffle? Finding the right position is only part of the effort. Finding the right firm/team/leader to join is a much bigger part. Fortunately, everything you need to know about a firm/team/leader...
The one skill humans have honed over the past 250,000 years
Humans have honed one skill over all others in the past 250,000 years since cohabitation became a life saving necessity. That skill? The ability to instantly sniff out other people's BS. The instant we pick up on the faint signal that someone feels disingenuous about...
The Grand Reshuffling will require A/E/C firms to pivot like never before
The "Great Resignation" is afoot. I have been calling it the "Grand Reshuffling." Whatever. The term is unimportant. What is important is the fallout. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the "quits" rate has reached a 20+ year high in April. A "series high."...