It doesn’t matter how perfect your strategy is if your culture doesn’t work.

Cultures that work accelerate your strategy—and then take you further. But what happens when culture works against strategy? When the plans are solid, but the results aren’t there?

If your strategy is going nowhere, it mi...

I’ve always loved culture.

Growing up, my siblings and I were raised with wanderlust. My father’s work took him around the globe, and he’d return home with treasures from faraway places. Some were consumable (Swiss and Belgian chocolate, anyone?), others were gadgets and toys from Japan and Korea—n...

Yes, culture is complex and intangible, but it’s also simple and actionable.

While culture itself can feel hard to pin down, its impact on performance is clear and measurable. When you understand culture and the actions you can take to shape and shift it, you’ll see real results.

Culture: Both O...

More than ever, leaders are expected to:

• Be worth following.
• Lead cultures worth belonging to.
• Create work worth doing.
• Invest in technology while managing its distracting side effects.
• Navigate shifting societal and regulatory demands.
• Delight customers, keep teams safe, sustain growth, and...

GRASS is my shorthand for what matters most when it comes to culture: Gatherings, Rituals, Actions, Symbols, and Stories.

It’s a practical, memorable way to focus on the everyday moments that shape culture. But GRASS is also a rich metaphor for culture itself.

What Grass Teaches Us About Culture...

If you do nothing else to improve your culture, start with this: fix your meetings.

Gatherings are more than just meetings—they’re any time you bring your people together. Social events, learning sessions, hackathons, site visits, all-hands meetings, Thursday drinks—the list goes on. These moments ...

Rituals are one of the most powerful yet underestimated tools in shaping workplace culture.

Often, the norms and unwritten rules of a culture are reflected in its rituals—those shared, repeated, collective behaviours that bring meaning and connection to a team. From how you welcome new members and ...

Actions shape culture.

When leaders are deliberate and lead culture on purpose, they can shift their culture in meaningful ways. Your actions—what you do, how you do it, and what you don’t do—send powerful signals that shape the environment around you.

Your team is always watching. They notice the...

I’m in the middle of two culture assessments, and one question always sparks fascinating insights: What are the symbols of your culture?

At first, people often need a little help to get started. But once they do, the examples come pouring out—providing golden insights that often don’t surface elsew...