And what to do about it…

If you haven’t reflected much on your company’s culture, you’re not alone. It’s easy for it to become an afterthought amidst the daily whirlwind of tasks and urgent challenges.

Culture is simply the way people feel, interact, and work together within your organisation. It exists whether you’ve intentionally shaped it or not. The good news? With a little thought and focus, you can begin to steer it in a direction that genuinely reflects your values and supports your team.

Below, you will find inspiration from Netflix’s Reed Hastings on what ‘walking the talk’ of a strong company culture looks like and ideas to kickstart your culture evolution.

CADENCE CURATION

Watch: Netflix’s Reed Hastings: Why culture matters | Podcast (35 mins.)

Before founding Netflix, Reed Hastings learned the hard way that vague cultural practices kill productivity. In this interview, he shares how he built the high-performing culture Netflix is known for — and why it’s intentionally not for everyone. Highlights:

• Why ‘What’s best for the company?’ is the foundation for every Netflix decision, from content to travel budgets [14:38]
• The power of publishing your culture [21:00]
• How the Netflix ‘keeper test’ builds culture [22:30]
• The difference between being a sports team and a family, and why it matters for high performance [26:18]
• Why culture is always a work in progress [34:10]

You can see the Netflix culture deck here.

CADENCE TOOLKIT

Cadence Tool: The Intentional Culture Framework

Our Intentional Culture Framework outlines six key steps to get from where your culture is today to where you want it to be. It’s designed to help you spot gaps, create meaningful change and build a culture that will help your organisation thrive.

TRY IT

If you wish to be more intentional about your company or team culture, start small. Ask yourself:

• What do I want my employees to feel when they come to work?
• What behaviours, values, and attitudes do I want to see in practice?

Culture isn’t built overnight, but these reflections can help you pinpoint the first steps.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS

“The culture of a workplace – an organisation’s values, norms and practices – has a huge impact on our happiness and success.” – Adam Grant

I don’t think our friends in the Dilbert cartoon got the memo, Adam…