Organizational Culture Design

Design Your Culture: What’s Your Company’s Vibe?

Culture happens whether you design it or not. Design it intentionally for success.

1. Define Your Desired Culture:

• What are the 3-5 core values that should drive every decision and behavior? (e.g., Innovation, Customer-Centricity, Collaboration).
• What kind of company do you want to be known for?

2. Leaders Must Model the Way:

• Are your leaders consistently demonstrating the desired values and behaviors?
• Pitfall: Saying “we value innovation” but punishing failure. (Culture is what leaders do, not what they say).

3. Hire for Culture Fit:

• Do you screen candidates for alignment with your core values, not just skills?
• Does your onboarding process instill cultural norms from day one?

4. Reinforce Through Systems:

• Rituals & Symbols: Does your office space, meeting structure, celebration ceremonies, and internal stories reflect your desired culture?
• Performance Management: Do you reward and promote behaviors that align with your values?
• Organizational Structure: Does your structure (e.g., cross-functional teams vs. silos) support your desired culture (e.g., collaboration vs. individualism)?

5. Listen & Adapt:

• Are you regularly surveying employees or conducting focus groups to understand your actual culture?
• What are the “unspoken rules” that truly govern behavior?

Golden Rule: Culture eats strategy for breakfast. If your culture doesn’t support your strategy, your strategy will fail.