This post is the third in a series devoted to my reading notes (and thoughts) on the essays contained in The Culture Book, Volume 1. This essay is by Patty McCord, former Chief Talent Officer at Netflix.
Trying to build a culture by relying on values is a waste of time. Start with behaviors and demonstrate what you are looking for. Setting clear, concise priorities is one behavior critical to culture success. When words don’t match the actions (behaviors), you know you have a problem,
Hire for learning skills. Hire smart people who know how to learn. (Learning objectives do more for performance than performance objectives.) Companies that learn well have deliberate practices and rhythms around reflection. Leaders must insist that teams pause and reflect in order to maximize learning. Learning needs to be a prized behavior.
Companies need the ability to talk about hard things productively. It’s not enough to ask employees to speak up; managers need to know how to listen up.
90% of culture is paying attention to it. What you do every day and how you do it reflects your culture as it is.
The Ethical Leader 