Decoding culture secrets

I asked my adult son to explain the cultural difference between working at Meta (formerly Facebook) and his military experience.

He hates it when I fish for company secrets so all I got was, "I don't know what you mean by culture. You spent too much time in Spain."

So, I explain based on my experience in talent management... 

• "Corporate culture is like a salad. From the outside, it's just lettuce. But, once you're working there, you find nuts and surprises hidden at the bottom!"

That merited a laugh, but still no top-secret recipes on company culture.

Then I showed him a clip from comedian David Letterman's Best Hits.  

After GE acquired The Late Night Show, Letterman filmed the legendary GE handshake.  (Wait for it in slow motion).

Just as GE had its unique handshake, every family, team, and company has an acquired pattern and personality - a culture. 

Cultures can be fun, stiff, innovative, even weird. 

Want to decipher the culture of your team?

Here are two targeted questions to ask. (I learned from the late culture expert Edgar Schein). 

Ask them to finish this sentence...

• Around here, it's okay to...

• Around here, it's not okay to...

Culture is Indirect Work. Culture is power and as Peter Drucker said...

• Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast