Culture Is the Founder's Personality
Inspired by on Lenny's Podcast
After working at Google, Facebook, and multiple startups, an operator discovered that 80% of company culture comes from one surprising place.
Molly Graham has experienced wildly different company cultures up close. What determines them?
'Google, when I was there, felt like two PhD students' paradise. Facebook felt like 19-year-old hacker's dorm room. 80% of the culture of a company is literally defined by the personality of the founder.'
Google was curious, academic, exploratory - because Larry and Sergei were. Facebook was move-fast, break-things, intense - because Mark was.
'Our job as operators or as leaders is to help articulate the culture that they're creating.'
The same is true for families. Your family culture isn't something you design from scratch. It's an expression of who you are.
If you're curious, your kids will be curious. If you're anxious, they'll feel that. If you're playful, that becomes the culture.
You can't create a family culture that's different from your personality. The best you can do is articulate and amplify your best parts.
PM Theme: Organizational culture
Parenting Theme: Modeling behavior
“Google, when I was there, felt like two PhD students paradise. Facebook felt like 19-year-old hacker's dorm room. 80% of the culture of a company is literally defined by the personality of the founder. Our job as operators or as leaders is to help articulate the culture that they're creating.”Molly Graham · 00:00:07
