Treat company culture as a product you build for employees. Iterate on it using feedback loops (NPS), identify bugs, and evolve it—don't try to preserve a static version.
"Every company builds two products: one is the product they build for their customers, and the other is a product they build for their team. That's what culture is." — Dharmesh Shah
Treat company culture as the "product" you build for employees (your customers). Just as you wouldn't freeze code on a product, you shouldn't freeze culture.
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ CULTURE-AS-PRODUCT OS │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ INPUT: Employee Feedback (NPS surveys) │
│ ↓ │
│ TRIAGE: Identify "bugs" in the culture │
│ ↓ │
│ DECISION: Fix or mark "Works as Designed" │
│ ↓ │
│ OUTPUT: Updated cultural practices │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ FEDERAL LAWS: Non-negotiable core values │
│ STATE LAWS: Team-specific adaptations │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Measure satisfaction quantitatively (0-10) and qualitatively (Why?).
Treat cultural complaints as "bugs" in the product. Acknowledge them publicly.
Commit to fixing valid bugs, OR explicitly state "It works as designed" (e.g., "Yes, transparency is uncomfortable, but it's a feature, not a bug").
STEP 1: Measure Regularly
└── Quarterly eNPS surveys
└── Anonymous feedback channels
STEP 2: Triage at All-Hands
└── "Here are the bugs you reported..."
└── Public acknowledgment builds trust
STEP 3: Categorize Each Bug
└── Will Fix: Prioritize and timeline
└── Won't Fix: Explain why it's intentional
└── Feature Request: Add to backlog
STEP 4: Ship Updates
└── Announce culture changes like product releases
└── Measure impact in next survey
❌ Thinking the job is to preserve culture (it's to evolve it)
❌ Ignoring feedback because "culture can't be changed"
❌ Making everything a "Federal Law" (no team autonomy)
HubSpot's transparency policy (making everyone an "insider") was a Federal Law, but seating arrangements evolved from lottery-based to team-based as the company scaled.
Source: Dharmesh Shah, Lenny's Podcast