Don't ask "what should our values be?" Instead, identify the 5-10 things that are the reason you are succeeding. Codify those real, existing behaviors—like "speed above everything"—into your company's operating principles. This makes them authentic and effective.

Most corporate values statements (e.g., "integrity") are unactionable and don't change internal culture. Effective leaders codify specific, observable behaviors—the "how" of working together. This makes unspoken expectations explicit and creates a clear standard for accountability that a vague value never could.

As a company grows, new hires lack the context of early struggles. To preserve the original culture, formally document and share stories of early failures, pivots, and near-death experiences during onboarding. This reminds everyone of the core principles that led to success.

Great companies survive not because of a founder's continued presence, but because the founder codified a culture and operational DNA that outlives them. Companies like Home Depot and Amazon continue to thrive because their core principles are deeply embedded and replicable.

Unlike startups, institutions like CPPIB that must endure for 75+ years need to be the "exact opposite of a founder culture." The focus is on institutionalizing processes so the organization operates independently of any single individual, ensuring stability and succession over many generations of leadership.

Roughly 80% of a company's culture is a direct extension of its founder's personality. Facebook reflects Mark Zuckerberg's hacker mindset; Google reflects its founders' academic roots. As a leader, your role isn't to change the culture but to articulate it and build systems that scale the founder's natural way of operating.

David Cohen of Techstars highlights how SendGrid's culture scaled beyond its founder. The company's '4-H' values were so deeply embedded that two subsequent CEOs had to adopt and live by them. This deliberate continuation of core values was key to maintaining a cohesive team through an IPO.

Sequoia frames leadership changes not as takeovers but as "intergenerational transfers" of stewardship. This cultural focus on leaving the firm better than they found it is key to its longevity and successful transitions, a model for any long-term partnership.

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.