Genghis created a remarkably stable culture by founding it on three principles:

Meritocracy: Genghis abolished inherited aristocratic titles and eliminated the steppe tribes caste hierarchy. All men were equal. 

Loyalty: Genghis viewed loyalty as a b...

The Samurai code rested on these eight virtues: rectitude (or justice), courage, honour, loyalty, benevolence, politeness, self-control, and veracity (or sincerity).

Each virtue was carefully defined and then reinforced through a set of principles, practices, and stories. T...

Culture is a system of behaviours that you hope most people will follow, most of the time. No large organization ever gets anywhere near 100 percent compliance on every value, but some do much better than others. It’s actually a minor miracle if a culture isn’t dysfunctional. Our aim here is to b...

Culture is not like a mission statement; you can’t just set it up and have it last forever.

There’s a saying in the military that if you see something below standard and do nothing, then you’ve set a new standard. This is also true of culture. If you see something off-culture and ignore it,...

Culture clearly has a powerful effect. So how do you shape it, how do you set it deep in people’s minds, and how do you fix it when it goes wrong?

The right answer for your company depends on what your company is, what it does, and what it wants to be. Your culture is how your company makes...

Your view or your executive team’s view of your culture is rarely what your employees experience. The relevant question is, what must employees do to survive and succeed in your organization? 

If you’re a leader, how do you know what your culture is? The best way to understand your culture ...

Culture begins with deciding what you value most. Then you must help everyone in your organization practice behaviours that reflect those virtues.

If the virtues prove ambitious or just plain counterproductive, you have to change them.

When your culture turns out to lack crucial ele...

All cultures are aspirational. No company ever achieved total cultural compliance or harmony.

While you can draw inspiration from other cultures, don’t try to adopt another organization’s ways. For your culture to be vibrant and sustainable, it must come from the blood, from the soul. You c...

1. Keep what works.
2. Create shocking rules
3. Dress for success.
4. Incorporate outside leadership.
5. Make decisions that demonstrate cultural priorities
6. Walk the talk.
7. Make ethics explicit.

Culture is a consequence of actions rather than b...

The Bushido code enabled the Samurai to rule Japan from 1186 until 1868—nearly seven hundred years—and their beliefs endured long after their reign. 

Bushido looks like a set of principles, but it’s really a set of practices. It is a code of action, a system not of values but of virtues. A...

Here are the rules for writing a rule so powerful it sets the culture for many years:

• It must be memorable. If people forget the rule, they forget the culture.
• It must raise the question “Why?” Your rule should be so bizarre and shocking that everybody who hears it is compell...