Stop Building Culture
Most culture initiatives add programs, events, values statements. But the best cultures aren't built through addition. They emerge when you subtract the friction that prevents good behavior.
The default culture playbook: identify desired behaviors, then build programs to encourage them. Recognition platforms. Team offsites. Values workshops. Add, add, add.
Here's the contrarian take: most culture problems aren't caused by missing programs. They're caused by friction that makes good behavior harder than it needs to be.
People want to collaborate. Then you make them request a meeting room three days in advance. People want to recognize peers. Then you bury the recognition tool four clicks deep. People want to share feedback. Then you route it through a quarterly review cycle.
Michelangelo claimed he didn't create David. He removed everything that wasn't David.
The reframe: Before launching another culture initiative, audit for friction. What makes the desired behavior hard? What forms, approvals, steps, or clicks stand between intention and action? Often, subtracting those obstacles does more than any program you could add.
Culture isn't built. It's revealed when you stop blocking it.
