HBS founders define culture as "what people do when you're not around." It's not about posters or perks, but the ingrained behaviors that guide decisions in your absence. This makes hiring for cultural fit more critical than raw skills, because values can't be taught.
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Prioritizing a candidate's skills ('capacity') over their fit with the team ('chemistry') is a mistake. To scale culture successfully, focus on hiring people who will get along with their colleagues. The ability to collaborate and integrate is more critical for long-term success than a perfect resume.
Chipotle CBO Chris Brandt filters candidates based on a simple, visceral question: 'Would you be willing to walk into a conference room with them at 5 PM on a Friday?' This test prioritizes collaborative spirit and cultural fit over pure skill, ensuring new hires won't disrupt team dynamics, even if they look good on paper.
Values are not just words on a wall; they are an active management system. They should be a filter in the hiring process, a reason for public celebration when embodied, and a non-negotiable standard for performance. A company's true values are defined by the behavior it is willing to tolerate.
Culture isn't about values on a wall; it's about daily habits enforced by memorable rules. Ben Horowitz argues that rules need "shock value," like A16z's policy of fining partners $10 per minute for being late to a founder meeting. This makes the underlying principle—respect—unforgettable and non-negotiable.
Instead of imposing top-down values, Gamma's CEO created a "notebook" of behaviors that team members organically praised in each other. These observed, authentic actions became the foundation of their culture deck, ensuring the values reflected reality.
Culture isn't created by top-down declarations. It emerges from the informal stories employees share with each other before meetings or at lunch. These narratives establish community norms and create "shared wisdom" that dictates behavior far more effectively than any official communication from leadership.
Instead of asking "what culture do we want?", BBDO asked "what are the characteristics of people who do best here?". This approach reverse-engineers a culture based on proven success, creating a practical and authentic behavioral language for the entire organization.
Instead of vague values, define culture as a concrete set of "if-then" statements that govern reinforcement (e.g., "IF you are on time, THEN you are respected"). This turns an abstract concept into an operational system that can be explicitly taught, managed, and improved across the organization.
Culture isn't about values listed on a wall; it's the sum of daily, observable behaviors. To build a strong culture, leaders must define and enforce specific actions that embody the desired virtues, especially under stress. Abstract ideals are useless without concrete, enforced behaviors.
A powerful way to gauge cultural fit is to identify who is succeeding within the organization. Then, honestly assess if you respect them and their methods. If the path to "thriving" is paved by behaviors you don't admire, it signals a fundamental misalignment and may not be a game you want to win.
