The hottest Organizational Culture Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Top Technology Topics

Human mRNA

The Uncertainty Mindset (soon to become tbd) • 39 implied HN points • 12 Jul 23
💼 Business Innovation Management Organizational Culture Networking Strategy
  1. Human mRNA refers to people who connect different groups or teams within an organization. They help share important information that would otherwise stay hidden.
  2. These connectors are valuable because they can translate information between different teams, making it more useful for everyone. This translation helps ideas flow across contexts that may not usually interact.
  3. Encouraging this type of work is important for innovation. Companies should recognize and support these human connectors to help bridge gaps and foster creative solutions.

What guarantees are you making?

Sunday Letters • 79 implied HN points • 11 Sep 22
🕹 Technology Software Systems Documentation Organizational Culture APIs
  1. Always clarify what guarantees you are making in your work or software. This helps everyone understand what to expect.
  2. Dependencies can be tricky, so be careful of relying on assumptions that might change. What works now could break later.
  3. Document processes and rotate responsibilities to avoid putting too much reliance on one person. This keeps the team healthy and resilient.

"Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast"

The Radar • 19 implied HN points • 10 Oct 23
💼 Business Organizational Culture Leadership Innovation Strategy Values
  1. Organizational culture is more than just values or behaviors; it's the prevailing attitudes, routine behaviors, and shared norms of an organization.
  2. To change a culture, leaders need to champion stated values persistently until they become ingrained in behaviors and routines.
  3. Creating a culture shift takes time and commitment; leaders can't simply dictate a new culture, it requires sustained effort to embed new values and behaviors.

A Tentative Manifesto for the Future of Organizations—2

Pluriversal Planet • 19 implied HN points • 13 Jun 23
💼 Business Organizational Culture Sustainability Leadership Innovation Social Impact
  1. The manifesto calls for organizations to slow down, pause, and reflect on their actions and impact.
  2. Wayfinders are organizations striving to move beyond human-centered designs towards life-affirming organization designs.
  3. Organizations should shift focus from processes and technology to relationships and communities, embracing pluriversality and interconnectedness.

Collective Fallacy

Fish Food for Thought • 16 implied HN points • 07 Feb 24
💼 Business Innovation Decision-making Group dynamics Leadership Organizational Culture
  1. Collective fallacies like groupthink can stifle innovation by leading to unanimous decisions driven by desire for group harmony.
  2. Social loafing in group settings reduces individual effort, hindering creativity and underutilizing diverse skills.
  3. Herd mentality can suppress creative ideas by promoting conformity to majority opinions, inhibiting risk-taking and diverse perspectives.
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Who before what

Tech Ramblings • 19 implied HN points • 30 Apr 23
💼 Business Management Leadership Organizational Culture Team Building Strategic Planning
  1. Choosing the right people is crucial for success. Having a strong team matters more than knowing exactly what to do first.
  2. Wells Fargo thrived because they recruited talented leaders who embraced change, while Bank of America struggled with weak leadership.
  3. This 'who before what' principle also applies to personal relationships. Make sure the people you bring into your life add value and support your growth.

Building CAUSL - Episode 7: Onboarding at Lightspeed

CAUSL Effect • 19 implied HN points • 02 Apr 23
💼 Business Onboarding Management Human Resources Organizational Culture Training
  1. Onboarding at a new company can be really tough. It often takes new employees months to fully understand the business and their role.
  2. It's common for new hires to feel overwhelmed, especially when they have to learn everything quickly. Having a structured process can really help ease this transition.
  3. By creating an efficient onboarding system, employees can get settled in just weeks instead of months. This makes the experience much smoother for everyone involved.

The life and nature of a process

Building Rome(s) • 7 implied HN points • 18 Mar 23
🕹 Technology Processes Systems Organizational Culture
  1. Processes and systems are not necessarily opposites; in reality, systems are formed by combining effective processes over time.
  2. In the journey from processes to culture, there's a struggle between different perspectives like hedgehogs and foxes which influence how processes evolve.
  3. Balancing attention to detail (hedgehog) and simplicity (fox) is key in progressing processes and becoming a successful Technical Program Manager.

Revisiting Apollo 1 in a Post-ZIRP World

New Frontier • 1 HN point • 09 Feb 24
💼 Business Entrepreneurship Finance Tech Organizational Culture Startups
  1. The Apollo program teaches us the importance of overcoming failure and learning from mistakes to prevent future disasters.
  2. In a Post-ZIRP world, tech companies need to shift focus to profitability and hard work, moving away from the easy funding rounds of the past.
  3. Embracing a 'Tough and Competent' mentality, focusing on efficiency by reducing unnecessary meetings, avoiding overengineering, and returning to mission-driven cultures can help companies thrive in the changing landscape.

Good feedback, bad feedback, and coaching

Logos • 0 implied HN points • 14 Oct 22
💼 Business Management Coaching Feedback Employee Development Organizational Culture
  1. Good feedback should be relevant and helpful, while bad feedback often lacks understanding and is not constructive. It's important for the person giving feedback to engage fully with the work being done.
  2. Coaching is more effective than just giving feedback. It involves guiding someone on how to approach problems better, which leads to long-term improvement.
  3. Companies need to change their structure to promote good feedback and coaching practices. This includes recognizing those who are good at coaching and ensuring managers are familiar with their team's work.

✅ Unlocking the strategic value of internal communications

Wadds Inc. newsletter • 0 implied HN points • 25 Mar 24
💼 Business Corporate Communications Public Relations Employee engagement Organizational Culture
  1. Internal communications can really help businesses succeed when they align with company goals. It's important for management to see how this work connects to the bigger picture.
  2. Practitioners in internal communication should focus on improving their skills and knowledge. This helps them gain respect and be able to make a bigger impact in their organizations.
  3. A recent study shows that most companies aren't using internal communications effectively. There’s a lot of room for improvement to make it work better for everyone involved.

How Leader Humor Drives Employee Innovation

Voohy Leadership Insights • 0 implied HN points • 24 Aug 24
💼 Business Leadership Innovation Employee engagement Organizational Culture
  1. Leaders who use humor can boost their team's creativity. When bosses make jokes, it helps employees feel more engaged at work.
  2. A supervisor's reputation matters a lot. If employees think their boss represents the company's values well, they are more likely to be inspired by the leader's humor.
  3. Leaders should be careful with their humor. Making fun of the company or its people can hurt morale, but finding joy in mistakes can encourage a positive atmosphere and lead to more innovation.

Boosting Gender Diversity: What Really Works?

Voohy Leadership Insights • 0 implied HN points • 06 Jun 24
💼 Business Diversity Leadership Organizational Culture Equity
  1. Organizations really need to check if their diversity practices are effective. Just doing lots of activities isn't enough; they need to lead to real change in gender representation.
  2. Flexible work options alone don’t guarantee more women in leadership roles. It's important to tackle underlying cultural biases that can affect women's career advancement.
  3. Sometimes, the most impactful diversity practices are less visible, like using diverse interview panels. Focusing on hidden processes can make a big difference in promoting gender equality.

How to Foster a Knowledge-Sharing Culture within Engineering Teams

The Healthy Engineering Leader • 0 implied HN points • 17 Jul 23
💼 Business Management Leadership Teamwork Organizational Culture Human Resources
  1. Fostering a knowledge-sharing culture helps engineers stay updated with new skills and technologies. Regularly sharing insights can keep the team learning and growing.
  2. Knowledge sharing involves team members exchanging expertise and information with each other. This collaboration can lead to better problem-solving and innovation.
  3. Creating opportunities for sharing, like workshops or regular meetings, encourages more open communication. It helps build trust and strengthens relationships within the team.

Engineering Teams: More Than Just a Family or a Sports Team

The Healthy Engineering Leader • 0 implied HN points • 15 May 23
💼 Business Team Dynamics Leadership Organizational Culture Collaboration Performance Management
  1. Engineering teams should focus on a mix of teamwork and a sense of belonging, similar to families and sports teams. This helps create a strong culture where everyone feels valued.
  2. It's important to understand that engineering teams have specific goals and a clear hierarchy, unlike families. This helps keep everyone focused and accountable.
  3. Diversity in engineering teams brings unique perspectives, which can enhance problem-solving and creativity. This is different from how families and sports teams are typically formed.

The Spotify Model

It Depends / Nimble Autonomy • 0 implied HN points • 11 Feb 24
💼 Business Management Leadership Organizational Culture Team Dynamics Innovation
  1. The Spotify model allows teams to be created, dissolved, and mixed to stay flexible and innovative. This helps companies quickly respond to new opportunities without major disruptions.
  2. Chapter Leads manage individuals across different teams instead of managing teams directly. This allows for better skill matching and helps team members grow by working on various projects.
  3. Failing is part of learning. In the Spotify model, teams celebrate when they realize their mission isn't needed, as it teaches valuable lessons and encourages experimentation.

Surface Geography of Leadership Land (1/2)

Adventures in Leadership Land • 0 implied HN points • 18 Aug 23
💼 Business Leadership Management Decision-making Organizational Culture
  1. Leadership Land has diverse terrains like Boss Forest, Career Swamp, Desert of Good Intentions.
  2. Institute of Conventional Wisdom is a prestigious place for leadership best practices but may hinder innovation by turning secrets into common knowledge.
  3. Leaders in Leadership Land face challenges due to the Fog of Uncertainty and must navigate through conflicting interests and build trust.

How to Drive Meaningful Change - Crafting your proposal

Joseph Gefroh • 0 implied HN points • 03 Mar 24
💼 Business Leadership Strategy Change Management Organizational Culture Communication
  1. When driving meaningful change, it's crucial to formulate your idea and gain approval from various stakeholders within an organization.
  2. Thorough research is essential before proposing any idea to ensure credibility and avoid unknown unknowns that might lead to rejection.
  3. Crafting a compelling narrative is just as important as presenting facts; having a structured story helps decision-makers understand the problem, solution, and value of the proposal.

The World's Worst Organizational Culture 😱

PeopleStorming • 0 implied HN points • 30 Mar 21
🎭️ Culture Organizational Culture Team Building Workshops
  1. Organizational Improv workshops sometimes play a game called World's Worst to envision the worst possible versions of things. This game can help teams understand what 'best' should look like in various aspects of their work.
  2. Participants in the game can creatively come up with vivid examples of utterly horrendous cultures or practices in organizations, which can be both entertaining and insightful.
  3. Teams can apply this game to different scenarios within their organization, such as identifying the world's worst brand for marketing, product launch for the product team, or customer service representative for the support team. It can lead to fun and enlightening discussions.

Leadership Domino Effects

The Radar • 0 implied HN points • 04 Aug 23
💼 Business Leadership Organizational Culture Management Team Dynamics
  1. Leadership impact goes beyond actions of an individual leader; it's influenced by organizational structure and resources.
  2. Even in a strong organization, bad leadership can cause significant damage, impacting talent retention and overall performance.
  3. Developing a kind and caring culture in organizations is challenging, often hindered by traditional management paradigms valuing toughness over empathy.

Why Are Most Organizations so Slow?

Logos • 0 implied HN points • 18 Dec 22
💼 Business Organizational Culture Management Practices Processes Leadership Productivity
  1. A company's culture can really slow things down. If leaders just talk about high standards but don't practice them, things won't improve. It's important for everyone to be held accountable and for a fast pace to be a real priority.
  2. The way an organization is set up can affect its speed. Having a clear structure with established processes helps decisions get made faster and reduces unnecessary politics, allowing teams to be more responsive.
  3. People can also be their own bottlenecks. Perfectionism, lack of confidence, and inexperience can all make tasks take longer than they should. Encouraging quick, effective work over chasing perfection can help increase productivity.