What Culture Is Not
Walk into the office of any startup that values culture and you'll find the same inventory: standing desks, exposed brick, a phrase on the wall about moving fast, and a kitchen full of snacks. These are props. They are not culture.
Culture is what happens when the manager is not in the room.
The Residue of Decisions
Culture is the accumulated residue of decisions made under pressure.
When a deadline arrives and you have to choose between shipping a known bug and delaying — what you choose, consistently, over time, is your culture.
Three Levers That Actually Work
1. What You Celebrate
What gets recognised in public signals what the team values.
2. What You Tolerate
Leaders define the floor of acceptable behaviour, not the ceiling.
3. Who You Hire and Promote
Deliberately hiring people who challenge existing mental models — then promoting those who demonstrate the values you want to grow — is the highest-leverage tool available.
A Note Specific to ML Teams
The team that builds a norm of honest uncertainty outperforms the team that builds a norm of bravado. Psychological safety isn't a soft goal — it's directly upstream of research quality. [1]
A Practical Starting Point
Start with one small ritual: a weekly five-minute slot where someone shares something they tried that didn't work and what they learned.
References
[1]: Duhigg, C. (2016). What Google learned from its quest to build the perfect team. The New York Times Magazine.
[2]: Catmull, E. (2014). Creativity, Inc. Random House.
References
- Duhigg, C. (2016). *What Google learned from its quest to build the perfect team.* The New York Times Magazine.
- Catmull, E. (2014). *Creativity, Inc.* Random House.