061: What’s the Best Way to Change Your Culture (Without Faking It)?

In this episode, Erik tackles one of the most frequently asked leadership questions he gets in coaching: “How do I change my company’s culture?” Drawing from real stories, industry frameworks, and his own systems-thinking approach, he breaks down the four-part process every leader needs to architect intentional culture—without fluff or jargon.

This is a direct, no-BS solo masterclass on what culture actually is, how it's built (even when you're not trying), and the real reason most cultural initiatives fail. If you've ever said "our culture needs to change," this one’s for you.

❓ The Big Question

How do I change my company culture—intentionally and sustainably—without relying on hype, luck, or another failed memo?

💡 Key Takeaways

• Culture is always happening. If you’re not driving it, someone else is.
• It’s not about slogans. Culture is the gap between what gets said and what gets done.
• You must create the storm. Culture forms in the extremes—adversity and celebration.
• There’s a 4-step system for this. Decide → Tell → Demonstrate → Reinforce.
• Reinforcement is the real game. Without a mechanism, nothing sticks.

🧠 Concepts, Curves, and Frameworks

• The 4-Step Culture Playbook:
  1. Decide what kind of culture you want
  2. Tell your people clearly and directly
  3. Demonstrate it yourself—no exceptions
  4. Reinforce it with recurring mechanisms (post-mortems, AARs, wins/losses)
• Culture Forms in the Extremes:
  • Celebration → Recognition and morale
  • Adversity → Ownership and norms
  • The mundane flows from how you show up in those moments
• Mechanism ≠ Motivation:
  • Great cultures don’t rely on hype. They have structures that pull culture through consistently.

🔁 Real-Life Reflections

• A PM who pulled a client team off a job to defend his people—and then rebuilt trust.
• Medical “M&M” reviews: a high-stakes, high-honesty tool for collective learning.
• Construction post-mortems that actually work (vs. blaming the vendor).
• Why soldiers, sales teams, and sailors don’t trust each other until they’ve struggled together.

🧰 Put This Into Practice

• Run a team-wide post-mortem this month. Celebrate wins, own losses—out loud.
• Write your culture down in 5 bullets. Then ask: where am I not demonstrating this?
• Implement one reinforcing mechanism—weekly wins call, fail-forward Fridays, etc.
• Tell your team what you expect and how you’ll know it’s working.
• When something goes wrong, name it and own it—in public.

🗣️ Favorite Quotes

“Culture is not what you write on the wall—it's what happens when things go sideways.”

“If you’re not intentionally building culture, it’s still being built—just probably not the way you want.”

“You can’t outsource culture. It flows from the top, or it falls to the bottom.”

“Culture is built at the extremes. The mundane just mirrors how you handled the storm.”

“Decide what you want, tell your team, demonstrate it, and then create a damn mechanism.”