Over the years, I’ve come to believe one of the biggest myths in business is that culture lives in a handbook. Our great recruiting practices solve for culture. It doesn’t. You can print your values on a poster, laminate them, hang them in the break room, and still watch people behave in ways that contradict every word on that wall.
Why? Because culture is not taught. It is caught.
People don’t learn how to behave by reading a policy. They learn by watching what gets noticed, what gets rewarded, and what gets ignored. Culture spreads the way a cold spreads. Through contact, through example, through the small moments leaders either seize or let slip by. It also comes from great leadership and management. A spirit of excellence, true excellence. Think Navy Seals and Eleven Madison Park.
This is what Spencer Johnson, and I were getting at when we wrote The One-Minute Manager. One of the simplest, most powerful ideas in that book is the practice of “catching people doing something right.” Most managers are experts at catching people doing something wrong and quick to say so. You also have your finger pointers, management at its worst.
But great leaders go looking for the opposite. They catch someone following through, treating a customer well, or helping a teammate without being asked and they say something about it, right then, specifically, and sincerely. That one-minute praise doesn’t just make someone feel good. It teaches, publicly and repeatedly, what “good” looks like around here.
That’s culture being caught.
The reverse is just as true, and just as important. When a leader witnesses’ behavior that misses the mark, the One-minute Reprimand isn’t about punishment. It’s about redirecting quickly, clearly, and respectfully, then reaffirming the person’s worth. Left unaddressed, poor behavior gets caught too.
People, strategy, execution, cash. The four pillars of Scaling Up. Get the people’s piece right and you can dominate. Or not.
Silence is not neutral. Silence teaches that the standard is negotiable.
That’s the part leaders often miss. Every time you walk past something good or bad without acknowledging it, you’re still teaching. You’re just teaching the wrong lesson or teaching that it doesn’t matter.
If you want a culture of excellence, don’t just write it down. Go look for it. Catch people doing things right, and tell them, specifically, why it mattered. Catch drift early and redirect it with respect. Do this consistently, and you won’t need a poster. Your people will feel the culture, because they have caught it from watching you.
Culture isn’t a memo. It’s a mirror.
Make sure what you’re modeling is what you want reflected.
Situations, behaviors, people, it can take as little as one minute. It’s worth it.