Building Culture 2.0: Organizational Culture for 2025 and Beyond
📈 The Power of Culture in Business Success
When Peter Drucker famously said, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast,” he was emphasizing the paramount importance of a company’s culture in driving success. While strategy is important, the culture of an organization ultimately determines whether that strategy will succeed or fail. Drucker, who was a management guru, understood that strategy alone isn’t enough to drive success. No matter how brilliant the strategy is, without the right culture to support it, execution will falter.
Drucker wasn’t downplaying the importance of strategy—he was emphasizing that culture shapes how people in an organization act, make decisions, and work together to achieve the goals laid out by the strategy. If the culture doesn’t align with the goals or if it undermines the strategy, all the planning and tactics in the world won’t make much of a difference. (Strategy is of course still essential, but “Strategy is about making choices and trade-offs. It’s about deliberately choosing to be different”, as Michael Porter said.)
In this post, I’ll discuss the importance of building a positive culture, explore the pros and cons of Culture 2.0: An Organizational Culture for 2025 and Beyond, and offer guidance on what to watch out for if you implement it, or parts of it.
👨💻 What Is a Good Culture?
Before starting Synauta, Kristy and I discussed what we liked and disliked about past companies. We still have the notes from that conversation. From Day 1, we implemented our own culture (Culture 1.0). Over time, it grew stronger as new team members joined, with each one being personally briefed on our culture. Most employees thrived, loving the culture we built, but occasionally, someone didn’t fit, and they moved on. When someone didn’t align culturally, it drained the team’s energy, leading me to realize acting quickly to protect our culture was essential.
Over time Kristy and I realized we had made a few mistakes. There were definitely areas that we needed to improve to create the best win-win for the company and for the team members collectively. So after taking copious notes over the years on improvements, here’s what Culture 2.0 would look like…
🎉 Culture 2.0: The Framework
The “Culture 2.0” model detailed here offers a comprehensive approach to cultivating a solution-oriented, collaborative, and proactive work environment. It touches on several themes such as problem-solving, communication, performance metrics, and leadership.
This new model enhances Culture 1.0 (Culture 1.0) and incorporates insights from my 12 Core Skills post (12 Core Skills) which are shown in the “Theme Alignment” sections below.
1. 🧠 Problem-Solving Mindset
Complainers aren’t welcome. We need to hear about problems, but they need to come with at least partial solutions or ideas for discussion. We want to hear thoughts around why we might be in the current situation. Puzzles are cool, complaints are not.
✅ Pro: Encourages a solution-focused culture.
❌ Con: Might prioritize quick fixes over deeper solutions.
📚 Theme Alignment: Proactivity & Responsibility.
💡 Watch Out: Balance speed with thorough root cause analysis.
2. 💬 Communication Emphasis
Provide training on how best to communicate. Many graduates don’t have a framework for good communication, so lets not make them guess about how to do things well.
✅ Pro: Enhances team collaboration and understanding.
❌ Con: Requires ongoing investment in training.
📚 Theme Alignment: Effective Communication.
💡 Watch Out: Prioritize real-time, open dialogue in emotionally charged situations.
3. 📊 Performance Metrics
We will provide a better scorecard on how team members are performing with respect to our culture.
✅ Pro: Provides measurable data on cultural progress.
❌ Con: Metrics risk overshadowing qualitative growth.
📚 Theme Alignment: Continuous Improvement.
💡 Watch Out: Include engagement & well-being indicators.
4. 🔄 Behavioral Clarity
Define behaviours very clearly. For example, what do we mean when we refer to someone as a “jerk” in our “No Jerks” culture. Define terms clearly like “value creation”. What do we mean exactly? Provide clear examples.
✅ Pro: Reduces misunderstandings.
❌ Con: Over-definition may stifle creativity.
📚 Theme Alignment: Cultural Alignment.
💡 Watch Out: Balance clarity with adaptability.
5. 👨👧 Team Dynamics
We are the sum of the 6 people we spend time with. So we want the best people on the team.
✅ Pro: Encourages collaboration & excellence.
❌ Con: Risk of groupthink or exclusion.
📚 Theme Alignment: Building Relationships & Emotional Intelligence.
💡 Watch Out: Promote diversity of thought & background.
6. ⏳ Commitment & Expectations
If you want to start at 9 and finish as 5, you’re in the wrong place.
✅ Pro: Clarity on performance expectations.
❌ Con: Can create a rigid work environment.
📚 Theme Alignment: Goal Orientation.
💡 Watch Out: Adapt expectations as people’s lives change.
7. 🔄 Handling Issues Promptly
Deal with little issues immediately and continuously rather than let them become big issues. This is especially important when when the going gets tough.
✅ Pro: Prevents issues from snowballing.
❌ Con: May lead to burnout if employees feel constant pressure.
📚 Theme Alignment: Proactivity & Responsibility.
💡 Watch Out: Create a supportive environment for addressing concerns.
8. 📖 Cultural Education
There needs to be two levels of culture education. Individual contributors and managers. Its important to teach team members not only how to behave in our culture, but also how to effectively manage and encourage the right behaviours.
✅ Pro: Ensures cultural consistency.
❌ Con: Requires time & resources.
📚 Theme Alignment: Continuous Improvement.
💡 Watch Out: Make training engaging & ongoing.
10. Feedback and Growth 🗣️
Feedback is just someone’s opinion, making it skewed. What does the team member want to work on to improve? Where do they see their weaknesses? Express to them “manager’s opinion” rather than “this is a hard fact.”
✅Pro: Regular feedback supports personal and professional growth.
❌Con: If feedback isn’t constructive, it can become demotivating or superficial.
📚Theme Alignment: Feedback and Transparency, Continuous Improvement
💡Watch Out: Frame feedback as a tool for improvement, not criticism, and encourage self-reflection.
11. Culture Moments 🎭
Maintain moments of gratitude (like during Retro Meeting). Make sure that team members show how each Culture Moment directly relates to our culture deck with a reference.
✅Pro: Reinforcing culture in everyday moments helps it become ingrained.
❌Con: If overdone, it may become performative rather than genuine.
📚Theme Alignment: Cultural Alignment
💡Watch Out: Keep cultural moments authentic and aligned with core values.
12. Onboarding Practices 🚀
Start onboarding by laying the ground rules – commitment to our cause, value contribution, and contribution to our culture.
✅Pro: Lays the foundation for new hires to understand expectations early.
❌Con: An overly rigid onboarding process may feel too restrictive.
📚Theme Alignment: Simplicity and Clarity, Goal Orientation
💡Watch Out: Ensure the onboarding process is welcoming and not overwhelming.
13. Balance in All Things ⚖️
Burnout watch – review the symptoms and assess people periodically. Look for uncharacteristic cynicism and mistakes. Reward hard work with breaks when the cadence is right.
✅Pro: Promotes awareness of burnout and encourages restorative breaks, helping employees stay refreshed and maintain high productivity.
❌Con: Overemphasis on breaks might be seen as reducing work output or might lead to a lack of consistency in performance if not managed properly.
📚Theme Alignment: Cognitive Management, Continuous Improvement
💡Watch Out: Monitor burnout symptoms such as cynicism and mistakes, and encourage regular breaks. If employees aren’t taking breaks, evaluate if they’re truly contributing at the right level.
14. Decision-Making ⚡
Make fast decisions and empower people to make fast decisions. Agree/Disagree quickly and execute. Leadership needs to support decision-makers lower down the ladder.
✅Pro: Encourages quick decision-making, empowering team members to act decisively and own their decisions.
❌Con: Rapid decision-making can lead to errors if not carefully considered or if not everyone is empowered to contribute their insights.
📚Theme Alignment: Proactivity and Responsibility, Leadership Principles
💡Watch Out: Foster an environment where people can quickly agree or disagree, make decisions, and execute. Leaders must support this decisiveness by providing guidance, authority to followers, and ensuring a balance between speed and accuracy.
15. Hiring Practices 🏆
Hire people with a calling for what we are doing.
✅Pro: Ensures the recruitment of individuals who share the organization’s mission and values, promoting cultural cohesion.
❌Con: Over-focus on cultural fit can lead to homogeneity and miss out on diverse perspectives.
📚Theme Alignment: Cultural Alignment
💡Watch Out: Hire people who are passionate about the company’s mission and purpose, but also make sure that diversity in background and thought is part of the hiring process.
16. Leader’s Role 👑
As a leader, show kindness, as it’s a key to success but don’t get walked over.
✅Pro: Balancing kindness with accountability helps create an environment where people feel supported yet are held to high standards.
❌Con: Leaders may struggle to find the right balance, risking being perceived as too lenient or too harsh.
📚Theme Alignment: Leadership Principles
💡Watch Out: Show kindness and support to your team, but don’t let accountability slip. Leadership should model how to balance compassion with high expectations to maintain team effectiveness.
17. Training for Leaders 📚
Spend on training for leaders. Teach them how we do things in great detail. Culture training and decision-making training. Build trust for leaders to make their own decisions.
✅Pro: Investing in leadership development ensures that executives understand and promote the company culture, driving alignment and success.
❌Con: Leadership training can be time-consuming and expensive, and without proper follow-through, it can be ineffective.
📚Theme Alignment: Continuous Improvement, Cultural Alignment
💡Watch Out: Focus on in-depth training for executives, not just in culture but also in decision-making. Encourage autonomy in leadership by building trust in their ability to make decisions that align with cultural values.
18. Employee Well-being ❤️
Look after conscientious and high achiever personality types. They will work longer and harder, but are not necessarily more resilient to burnout. Make sure they take breaks after goal delivery.
✅Pro: Supporting mental health and well-being prevents burnout and helps employees maintain resilience and adaptability.
❌Con: Overlooking the mental health needs of high achievers, who may push themselves too hard, can lead to burnout despite good intentions.
📚Theme Alignment: Cognitive Management, Continuous Improvement
💡Watch Out: Pay attention to signs of burnout, particularly in conscientious employees. Ensure regular breaks and time off to avoid exhaustion, and make employee well-being a priority to maintain a healthy, productive team.
🎭 Conclusion: Balancing the Pros and Cons
A positive, values-driven culture is essential for any organization’s long-term success. But, as the Culture 2.0 model highlights, even the most well-intentioned culture framework can have drawbacks if it’s not executed with care. It’s important to keep in mind that culture isn’t just about creating the “right” values and behaviors; it’s also about constantly evaluating and improving those aspects in response to the challenges that arise.
Peter Drucker’s statement that “Culture eats strategy for breakfast” holds true—no matter how well-crafted a company’s strategy is, it will not succeed without a healthy, cohesive culture. By focusing on developing a culture of trust, accountability, communication, and continuous improvement, businesses can navigate challenges and achieve their long-term goals.
✨ Key Takeaway: If you decide to adopt a culture like this one, remember to maintain a balance between structure and flexibility, ensuring that the core values are upheld without stifling innovation or individual creativity. Ultimately, a strong culture will enable your organization to not only survive but thrive in an ever-changing business landscape.