11 Culture by decree

 

This chapter covers

  • Understanding the components of any culture
  • Exploring how culture influences behaviors
  • Creating new cultural behaviors to drive change
  • Hiring talent that matches your culture
  • Structuring interviews

The culture by decree antipattern happens when an organization’s culture is defined by a verbose statement or plaque that hangs in the main lobby but doesn’t exist, in any tangible sort of way, within the organization itself. A culture must be fostered, grown, and be demonstrable in action, not just in rhetoric.

There’s a single question that gets asked in almost every interview: “What’s the company culture like?” The prominence of this question hints at the importance and the weight that company culture carries. But the answer that you get back from the interviewer isn’t always true or demonstrable. It’s a string of sentences and catchphrases that have been ingrained in workers so deeply that they may not even question what they mean or if they’re even true.

If you’re looking at the title of this chapter and thinking to yourself, “My company already has a Ping Pong table and beer taps; we’ve got culture nailed!”, then you should probably read this chapter twice. Culture goes beyond the fun activities at office parties and the wide variety of gluten-free snacks provided in the break room.

11.1 What is culture?

11.1.1 Cultural values

11.1.2 Cultural rituals

11.1.3 Underlying assumptions

11.2 How does culture influence behavior?

11.3 How do you change a culture?

11.3.1 Sharing a culture

11.3.2 An individual can change a culture

11.3.3 Examining your company’s values

11.3.4 Creating rituals

11.3.5 Using rituals and language to change cultural norms

11.4 Talent that matches your culture

11.4.1 Old roles, new mindset

11.4.2 The obsession with senior engineers

11.4.3 Interviewing candidates

11.4.4 Evaluating candidates

11.4.5 How many candidates to interview?