Culture is a funny thing to talk about.
You can’t see it. You can’t feel it. But when it’s not right, you can both see it and feel it. Culture is not one big thing. It’s lots of small things. And lots of small things add up to a big thing. It is not a mission statement stuck on a wall. It is not a cool coffee machine. It is the things you do, and always do, that add up the whole thing. It is action and not words.
At Patagonia people regularly hold meetings on the beach during work time. Moving beyond physical wellbeing, their employees even have the option to take a two-month sabbatical to work at a non-profit of their choice.
“It really does take a village to raise a child, and we don’t live in villages anymore. So companies need to be more like villages. I think the kids who come out of here are Patagonia’s best products.”
Who’s already figured this out?
Yvon Chouinard.
Rock climber, environmentalist, founder of Patagonia.
Shaped the ‘Let My People Go Surfing’ philosophy that prompts employees to surf and train for marathons during work time.
Belief: Keep your staff by letting them go.
Bill Moggridge, Mike Nuttall & David M. Kelley.
Founders of IDEO.
Foster social well-being through fluid working arrangements, rotating workspaces, and the opportunity to do project-based work in different offices, in different countries.
Belief: Play is the avenue to creativity.
Matt Miller & John Sinclair.
Co-Founders of Ustwo.
Create a space that blurs the boundaries between work and home life. Where
the like-minded come each day and be creative in their own way. And try to do the best work of their lives.
Belief: A culture that allows constant experiments makes it stand out.
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