Culture as an operating system

I believe culture is the operating system of any team or organisation. It defines how decisions are made, how conflict is handled, and how people support each other.

My favourite definition of culture comes from Seth Godin:

“People like us do things like this.”

The tricky thing about culture is that it’s emergent. You can’t create culture directly, but you can create the conditions for a productive, high-trust culture to emerge. That means:

• Prioritising psychological safety

• Being clear and consistent about how decisions are made

• Creating space for real conversations, not just rituals

In my experience, good culture is the ultimate multiplier. Without it, even the best strategy struggles. With it, even the most complex problems become solvable.