The Culture Code

Key Concepts

High performance groups have different interactions

“When I visited these groups, I noticed a distinct pattern of interaction.

• Close physical proximity, often in circles

• Profuse amounts of eye contact

• Physical touch (handshakes, fist bumps, hugs) 

• Lots of short, energetic exchanges (no long speeches)

• High levels of mixing; everyone talks to everyone 

• Few interruptions

• Lots of questions

• Intensive, active listening

• Humor, laughter 

• Small, attentive courtesies (thank-yous, opening doors, etc.)” (pp. 7-8)

Building a sense of belonging is critical for creating high performance 

“Belonging cues possess three basic qualities: 

1. Energy: They invest in the exchange that is occurring

2. Individualization: They treat the person as unique and valued

3. Future orientation: They signal the relationship will continue” (p. 11)

“Here, then, is a model for understanding how belonging works: as a flame that needs to be continually fed by signals of safe connection.” (p. 26)

Physical closeness is important for facilitating interactions

“‘Something as simple as visual contact is very, very important, more important than you might think,’ Allen says. ‘If you can see the other person or even the area where they work, you’re reminded of them, and that brings a whole bunch of effects.’” (p. 70)

“When Allen plotted the frequency of interaction against distance, he ended up with a line that resembled a steep hill. It was nearly vertical at the top and flat at the bottom. It became known as the Allen Curve.” (p. 70)

“The key characteristic of the Allen Curve is the sudden steepness that happens at the eight-meter mark. At distances of less than eight meters, communication frequency rises off the charts.” (p. 71)

Vulnerability loops

“The interaction he describes can be called a vulnerability loop. A shared exchange of openness, it’s the most basic building block of cooperation and trust. Vulnerability loops seem swift and spontaneous from a distance, but when you look closely, they all follow the same discrete steps: 

1. Person A sends a signal of vulnerability.

2. Person B detects this signal. 

3. Person B responds by signaling their own vulnerability. 

4. Person A detects this signal.

5. A norm is established; closeness and trust increase.” (pp. 104-5)

“The mechanism of cooperation can be summed up as follows: Exchanges of vulnerability, which we naturally tend to avoid, are the pathway through which trusting cooperation is built.” (p. 112)

High performance organizations embed expectations into visual cues and language

“High-purpose environments are filled with small, vivid signals designed to create a link between the present moment and a future ideal. They provide the two simple locators that every navigation process requires: Here is where we are and Here is where we want to go.” (p. 180)

“Beekman and the slime molds give us a new way to think about why Danny Meyer’s catchphrases work so well. They are not merely catchphrases; they are heuristics that provide guidance by creating if/then scenarios in a vivid, memorable way. Structurally, there is no difference between If someone is rude, make a charitable assumption and If there’s no food, connect with one another. Both function as a conceptual beacon, creating situational awareness and providing clarity in times of potential confusion.” (p. 212)

 Ideas for Action

Build Safety

• Overcommunicate Your Listening

• Spotlight Your Fallibility Early On—Especially If You’re a Leader

• Embrace the Messenger

• Preview Future Connection

• Overdo Thank-Yous

• Be Painstaking in the Hiring Process

• Eliminate Bad Apples

• Create Safe, Collision-Rich Spaces

• Make Sure Everyone Has a Voice

• Pick Up Trash

• Capitalize on Threshold Moments

• Avoid Giving Sandwich Feedback

• Embrace Fun

Share Vulnerability

• Make Sure the Leader Is Vulnerable First and Often

• Overcommunicate Expectations

• Deliver the Negative Stuff in Person

• When Forming New Groups, Focus on Two Critical Moments

• Listen Like a Trampoline

• In Conversation, Resist the Temptation to Reflexively Add Value

• Use Candor-Generating Practices like AARs, BrainTrusts, and Red Teaming

• Aim for Candor; Avoid Brutal Honesty

• Embrace the Discomfort

• Align Language with Action

• Build a Wall Between Performance Review and Professional Development

• Use Flash Mentoring

• Make the Leader Occasionally Disappear

Establish Purpose

• Name and Rank Your Priorities

• Be Ten Times as Clear About Your Priorities as You Think You Should Be

• Figure Out Where Your Group Aims for Proficiency and Where It Aims for Creativity

• Embrace the Use of Catchphrases

• Measure What Really Matters

• Use Artifacts

• Focus on Bar-Setting Behaviors

Quotables

“Culture is a set of living relationships working toward a shared goal. It’s not something you are. It’s something you do.” (p. XIX)

“When you ask people inside highly successful groups to describe their relationship with one another, they all tend to choose the same word. This word is not friends or team or tribe or any other equally plausible term. The word they use is family.” (p. 6)

“The feedback was not complicated. In fact, it consisted of one simple phrase. I’m giving you these comments because I have very high expectations and I know that you can reach them.” (pp. 55-6)

“When we enter a new group, our brains decide quickly whether to connect. So successful cultures treat these threshold moments as more important than any other.” (p. 86)

“In the cultures I visited, I didn’t see many feedback sandwiches. Instead, I saw them separate the two into different processes. They handled negatives through dialogue, first by asking if a person wants feedback, then having a learning-focused two-way conversation about the needed growth. They handled positives through ultraclear bursts of recognition and praise.” (p. 87)

“This obvious one is still worth mentioning, because laughter is not just laughter; it’s the most fundamental sign of safety and connection.” (p. 88)

“Thanks to Draper Kauffman, this exchange of vulnerability and interconnection is woven into every aspect of SEAL training and enshrined in a set of iron values. Everything is done as a group.” (p. 122)

“The best way to find the Nyquist is usually to ask people: If I could get a sense of the way your culture works by meeting just one person, who would that person be?” (p. 148)

“When I visited the successful groups, I noticed that whenever they communicated anything about their purpose or their values, they were as subtle as a punch in the nose.” (p. 178)