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Culture is Priority One (2010)
- ftio 6y agoTony's a genius, but it's important not to cargo cult this. "Culture-first" worked at Zappos because of the specific culture they chose to pursue, namely an intensely customer-centric one. At that point, their culture is not merely culture but also strategy: we will win in this market by rejecting short-term optimization (charging for returns, spending less on customer support agents) in favor of long-term thinking that will produce customer loyalty and thus long-term success. I know, I know. Culture eats strategy for breakfast. But the reality is that if you want to build a successful business that isn't a daily soul-sucking grind (strategy only) or a fluffy wannabe 'startup' flapping in the wind (culture only), you need both.
- jacobr1 6y agoOr put another way, culture isn't separate from strategy, but rather the type of culture you have must be part of your strategy, or it will undermine it. If your strategy is to spit out tons of different ideas and productize the best, maybe a culture of "move fast and break things" makes sense. If you have a strategy of "ensure both regulators and customers trust we manage money effectively" maybe a culture of risk-aversion makes more sense. The "Culture eats strategy for breakfast" is really a shortcut for that fact that rapid business-change is a reality for all businesses now, not just startups, so a culture that supports innovation and creativity will trump others given time. But that needs to be integrated into other cultural values as part of the strategy and environment that will allow it flourish.
- ftio 6y agoI don't know you, but I know I'd like working with you. Spot on framing, and thanks for the clarification on breakfast — I didn't realize that was the original context for it.
- SomeoneFromCA 6y agoNot everyone liked culture at Zappos.
- whatshisface 6y agoThat's probably true, but "it's okay to have a corporate culture that a few people like intensely at the expense of other people disliking it, so long as the few people are enough people for the business to operate," is a lesson in itself. That is one reason why it's good for there to be more than one business in the economy. :)
- SomeoneFromCA 6y agoIt is a slippery slope: "it is ok to have borsderline abusive culture, if the majority of employees likes it."
- noitpmeder 6y agoYou can't always make everyone happy.
- ju_sh 6y agoIs that even a thing?
- jacobr1 6y agoIt is a higher-order concern. Ethics trumps culture and strategy. It certainly seems plausible the "good ole boys club" style of corporate management can be be effective. Diverse voices have benefits, especially in not being blinded to many aspects of the market, but nevertheless homogeneity has some efficiencies. Yet, it is just plain wrong in most cases, independent of relevant benefits.
- rdli 6y agoExactly. Great cultures are different and not everyone is a great fit for every culture. That’s OK! There are people who are very happy at a well-run BigCo, with a well-defined cadence for making decisions. Others chafe at that level of process, and instead thrive at an entrepreneurial startup. (This of course is a gross generalization.) A culture that has generic values is in some ways meaningless.
- motohagiography 6y agoGreat talk by an inspiring man.
- draw_down 6y agoMost of the time "culture" refers to the set of excuses that you use to reject candidates for being "not a good fit", after they've demonstrated they can do the job. Culture should be an emergent property of the people you hire.