Culture Building

When This Skill Activates

• Building or leading teams
• Defining team values
• Creating rituals and practices
• Setting standards of excellence

Core Frameworks

1. Stripe's Operating Principles (Source: David Singleton)

• Move fast, think long-term
• Bias for action
• Default to transparency
• Own problems end-to-end

2. Culture as Competitive Advantage

1. Define what excellence means
2. Hire for culture add (not fit)
3. Create reinforcing rituals
4. Make values visible

Action Templates

Template: Team Culture Design

# Team Culture: [Team Name]

## Core Values (3-5)
1. **[Value]:** [what it means in practice]
2. **[Value]:** [what it means in practice]
3. **[Value]:** [what it means in practice]

## Excellence Definition
In our team, excellence means:
- [Specific behavior 1]
- [Specific behavior 2]
- [Specific behavior 3]

## Rituals That Reinforce
- **Weekly:** [ritual that reinforces value]
- **Monthly:** [ritual that reinforces value]
- **Quarterly:** [ritual that reinforces value]

## Hiring for Culture
- Look for: [specific traits]
- Interview for: [specific examples]
- Red flags: [what to avoid]

Quick Reference

🏛️ Culture Checklist

• Core values (3-5 max)
• What excellence means
• Behaviors to encourage
• Behaviors to discourage

• Rituals created
• Values visible
• Hiring aligned
• Feedback loops

Key Quotes

"Culture is what happens when no one is watching."

"Culture is to recruiting as product is to marketing."