Crushin' Company Culture

15 - What is Culture?

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A really fun, stimulating conversation about culture, and whether culture or vision is primary.


Recorded 12/6/23, includes:


  • “That’s a scary thought…”
  • “If I don’t notice I get in trouble”
  • The world of Marx
  • Where does your heart go?  Aaron did not pass out!
  • Pauses feel interminable
  • Cross-fertilization feels like part of your niche
  • “There’s another word for fertilizer”
  • The time between Thanksgiving and Christmas
  • You’re keeping the spotlight on me
  • A month is made up of 4 weeks and the weeks go very fast
  • I don’t get away that easy?
  • What are you most excited about for 2024?
  • Planting all different kinds of seeds
  • The weeds got taller than the corn!
  • So, culture…was that a question?!
  • Some provocative thoughts about culture
  • “If I was going to boil culture down to one word…”
  • Is the culture the goal, or is the culture a means to a bigger goal, or both/and?
  • “Designing” cultures?  Why does that word feel wrong to you?
  • Maxwell: Leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less.
  • It’s about relationships, feeling, and personality
    • Outcomes come down to…why does it feel that way?
    • Motivational mismatch
    • Outcomes show you how to improve the culture
    • The 9 elements of Speak Your Peace
    • Posters on the wall - they’re just there…
    • “I would speculate it doesn’t just stay on the wall”
    • Culture is generative - an ongoing act of (co)creation
    • How do you TRULY change a culture?
    • Culture is a living document
    • “Culture eats vision”
    • Culture is neither top-down, nor bottom-up
    • “The third bricklayer says I’m creating a place for people to worship the Lord”
    • Boom!  There’s that culture/vision thing - do you make 4 by adding 2 and 2 or 3 and 1?
    • A chicken-and-egg thing
    • If you have a good vision but a bad culture, and vice versa…
    • Part of a good culture is understanding the proper role of fun
    • The problem with “fun”
      • “That’s really just a bunch of friends!”
      • Why Kwik Trip and Culver’s feels better than McDonald’s - can culture be systemized?
      • “The customer doesn’t come first, the employee does.”
      • Final thoughts about culture
      • Culture is just caring about people
      • I think culture is actually everything - it’s what we’re all looking for
      • How some companies try to “design” culture, and cueing up a sequel!

        • Learn more about Todd at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://toddkuckkahn.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

        Learn more about Aaron at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://aaronjmarx.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠

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        Crushin' Company CultureBy Aaron Marx & Todd Kuckkahn