The Culture You Build Is the Company You Build

Howdy! In today’s blog, I want to talk about something that might not show up in your metrics, but it runs the whole machine: your company is your culture.

Not your branding. Not your funding. Not even your product.

What you build inside the company walls will eventually show up on the outside, whether you like it or not.

Culture Isn’t What’s Written. It’s What’s Lived.

You can have a slick mission statement, all the right values on your website, and a weekly happy hour, but if your team’s stuck walking on eggshells, burning out, or second-guessing every decision, they won’t be building anything worth sticking around for.

Culture isn’t the “fun stuff.” Culture is what you do repeatedly. Culture is what you allow, what you reward, and what you model.

• If you let poor communication slide, that’s your culture.
• If you celebrate learning and ownership, that’s your culture.
• If you make space for people to speak up, and then actually listen, you’re building a culture of trust.

The culture you build becomes the company your team builds, and if you’re not building it intentionally, you’re still building it, just probably not the one you want.

Founders Set the Bar 

Your team will mirror you. I believe this to my core. 

You want accountability? Show it.
You want ownership? Take it.
You want resilience? Embody it.

Your team will never rise above the example you set.

Here’s one thing I do that’s helped more than any team-building retreat:

I push my team to have hobbies outside of work, and I do the same. I’ve learned to fly planes, I do ballroom dancing, I play guitar, and I carve out time to do it on purpose.

Why? Because when you live fully, you lead better.

Culture Is a Compounding Asset

Great culture:

• Retains great people
• Survives hard seasons
• Fuels long-term innovation

Toxic culture: Kills all of the above—and fast.

Culture is one of the few things in business that compounds quickly, for better or worse.

Whatever you allow today becomes tomorrow’s standard. So take it seriously.

If you’re serious about building a great company, start with what you’re modeling, encouraging, and rewarding right now.

Important Question to Ask Yourself This Week:

What habits in your company are worth scaling, and which ones need to stop today?