What is culture?

I’ve done a terrible job reading during quarantine as most of my time and energy has been devoted to work and I plan on changing that starting in June. I’m currently reading What You Do is Who You Are by Ben Horowitz and it’s a fantastic read.

The big takeaway from the book is that talk is cheap. Culture is what you do. You can measure your company’s culture by watching what a new hire does to stay afloat at your company. That’s your company’s culture — not what you put on the wall or say.

I took this to heart and really took a hard look at Secfi’s SF office culture right now. What I realized was pretty astonishing but should be no surprise to people like Ben Horowitz who are “culture experts”.

I had always wanted to create a culture that prioritized development and learning. What I found was that we were creating a culture that prioritized closing deals and moving fast at all cost. Here are some things I noticed (purposely vague to protect details):

• Prioritizing getting a deliverable out the door rather than getting it done at a high level.

• Sending materials to clients without asking for a second pair of eyes to review.

• Winging conversations with partners and clients.

This was mostly perpetrated by me. Sure I implemented feedback sessions and debrief meetings. Yes, I tried to make myself and others available to teach. But at the end of the day, what always stood out most is driving deals and growing revenue. That’s what I celebrated. I didn’t celebrate a successful feedback succession or someone learning something new to help close a deal. I celebrated the actual deal closure.

This of course is an important revelation that I’m fortunate to have realized thanks to my reading. Luckily, we’re small and nimble and this is as great as a time ever to start changing our culture. There’ll be more changes, but this change starts today.

When things get tough, your culture will define your actions. It’s my job to make sure we have a strong culture and that starts with me.