What Does Culture Even Mean?

Subscribe – Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube

The Real Definition of Culture

Culture isn’t bean bags, foosball tables, or employee satisfaction surveys. In this episode, co-hosts Jackson Lynch and Scott Morris cut through the corporate buzzword confusion to define culture as “an ingrained understanding of how you are expected to behave.” Using Scott’s driving analogy about left-turn intersections—where California drivers pull into intersections but Colorado drivers don’t—they illustrate how unmet expectations create frustration and demonstrate why clear behavioral norms matter. They argue that effective culture aligns teams, accelerates decisions, attracts A-players, and ensures people bring their best selves to work. They stress that culture must connect to clear business drivers—not just feel-good initiatives—and requires CEO ownership with CHRO stewardship to create the talent philosophy that guides organizational behavior.

Three Key Takeaways

• Culture is behavioral expectations, not perks or satisfaction – True culture is “an ingrained understanding of how you are expected to behave” when no one is watching. It’s not about foosball tables or employee happiness surveys, but about creating confidence in decision-making that drives productivity and engagement.
• Audit your last 100 decisions to discover your real culture – Don’t look at wall posters or laminated cards from onboarding. Examine who you promoted, who you picked for key projects, and how you made those decisions. Your actual culture is revealed through your leadership team’s patterns of decision-making, not your stated values.
• CEO owns culture definition, CHRO builds the systems – While CHROs are stewards of culture, the CEO and executive team must define the talent philosophy that drives behavioral expectations. This includes clarity on who develops people, how performance is recognized, and what outcomes matter most for business success.

Practical Advice

The Culture Definition Framework:

1. Start with CEO Vision – Help the CEO articulate 3-5 behavioral expectations for how people should act in the company. Be specific about what you want because you’ll build systems around these expectations.
2. Define Your Talent Philosophy – Clarify fundamental questions: Who develops people (managers vs. HR)? How do you balance “what” and “how” in performance? What’s the difference between a 3 and 5 performer in rewards and timing?
3. Conduct a Decision Audit – Review your last 100 decisions around promotions, project assignments, and resource allocation. These reveal your actual culture versus your stated values.
4. Run a Premortem Exercise – Have senior leaders put on their “general counsel hat” and identify why the cultural vision won’t work. This reveals implementation challenges and creates alignment by letting people voice concerns about change.

Remember: Focus on one thing at a time. Get everyone aligned on the definition of culture, who’s responsible, and what decisions you’ll make to reinforce it before trying to change everything else.

Want More?

1. Culture by Design by David Friedman – A comprehensive guide to intentionally building organizational culture that drives performance and business results through systematic approaches
2. How to Build a Purposeful Company Culture – Research-backed strategies for creating cultures that drive both employee engagement and business results through clear purpose and behavioral expectations (Harvard Business Review, September 2023)
3. The Culture-Performance Connection: Why Starting with Purpose Isn’t Enough – McKinsey analysis of how high-performing organizations translate purpose into specific behaviors and decision-making frameworks that drive measurable business outcomes (McKinsey & Company, March 2024)

Skip to Footer

Founder & CEO

Copy link