proofs of culture

type Culture interface {
    Say() []Value
    Do() []Action
    // if Say() != Do() { return false }
}

• culture isn’t real
• it’s not your values poster
• it’s not your mission statement
• it’s not your company handbook
• those are just pretty lies we tell ourselves
• only proofs of culture exist

transparency theater

• your company claims transparency?
• cool, but you hide mistakes
• that’s your real culture
• real transparency means open-everything|open everything - even the ugly parts

kindness facade

• you preach kindness?
• nice, but you ghost candidates
• that’s your actual culture

the reality vs marketing

what companies say:     values ------> policies -----> culture
(spoiler: it's just marketing)

what actually happens:  actions -----> habits -------> reality
(this is the truth)

culture is action

• culture isn’t what you write in docs
• it’s what you do when everything breaks
• it’s how you treat people when you’re stressed
• it’s what you optimize when nobody’s watching
• it’s how you handle vital-truth|vital truth when it’s inconvenient

the real indicators

• want to know your real culture? look at your actions:
  • how you handle failures
  • where money flows
  • who gets promoted
  • what gets ignored
  • which rules bend
  • what gets sacrificed
  • why people leave
  • what’s celebrated
  • who takes blame

the bottom line

• everything else is just noise
• your values aren’t your words
• your values are your choices
• your choices are your proofs

there is no culture. only proofs of culture.

values are verbs, not nouns.

See also

• ml/blog/open-everything.md
• ml/blog/vital-truth.md