{"id":11418,"date":"2018-04-23T18:57:27","date_gmt":"2018-04-23T23:57:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/?p=11418"},"modified":"2018-04-23T18:57:27","modified_gmt":"2018-04-23T23:57:27","slug":"book-review-the-culture-code","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/?p=11418","title":{"rendered":"Book Review: The Culture Code"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Culture-Code-Secrets-Highly-Successful\/dp\/0804176981\/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1524527247&amp;sr=8-2&amp;keywords=the+culture+code\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11419\" alt=\"the-culture-code\" src=\"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/the-culture-code-197x300.png\" width=\"197\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/the-culture-code-197x300.png 197w, https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/the-culture-code.png 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 197px) 100vw, 197px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Culture-Code-Secrets-Highly-Successful\/dp\/0804176981\/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1524527247&amp;sr=8-2&amp;keywords=the+culture+code\" target=\"_blank\"><em>The Culture Code<\/em><\/a> by Daniel Coyle has lately been the topic of several blogs, tweets, and conversations between people I respect.\u00a0 I knew I had to check it out!\u00a0 In my leadership role, the main thing I do is help set the temperature for the culture and climate of the group that I lead.\u00a0 I take that very seriously.\u00a0 My heart for serving my team is that their time on my team would bring them great joy as well as be a source of great joy for their family.\u00a0 As our teachers live out their calling, I want them to be fulfilled in the way that they pursue each day investing in both their students and their teammates.\u00a0 There are tons of takeaways from this book.\u00a0 Reading this book now is good timing as we prepare to wrap up the school year while planning to kick off a new one in a few months!\u00a0 This is an area I want to grow in!<\/p>\n<p>I highlighted several things while reading and have posted those notes below&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><!--?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"UTF-8\"?--><\/p>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><span><span style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';\">Why do certain groups add up to be greater than the sum of their parts, while others add up to be less? p. xv<\/span><br \/>\n<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';\">We focus on what we can see\u2014individual skills. \u00a0But individual\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';\">skills are not what matters. \u00a0What matters is the interaction. p. xvii<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';\">Group culture is one of the most powerful forces on the planet. \u00a0We sense its presence inside successful businesses, championship teams, and thriving families,\u00a0and we sense when its absent or toxic. \u00a0We can measure its\u00a0impact on the bottom line. p. xviii<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';\">Skill 1-Build Safety: explores how signals of connection generate bonds of\u00a0belonging and identity.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';\">Skill 2-Share Vulnerability: explains how habits of mutual risk drive trusting cooperation.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';\">Skills 3-Establish Purpose: tells how narratives create\u00a0shared goals and values. \u00a0These three skills work\u00a0together from the bottom up,\u00a0first building group connection and then\u00a0channeling it into action. p. xix<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';\">Culture is a set of living relationships working toward a shared goal. \u00a0It\u2019s not something\u00a0that you are. \u00a0It\u2019s something you do. p. xx<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';\">Safety is not mere emotional weather but rather the foundation on which strong culture is built. The deeper questions are, Where does it come from? \u00a0And how do you go about building it? p. 6<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';\">Belonging cues are behaviors that create safe connection in groups. \u00a0They include, among others, proximity, eye contact, energy, mimicry, turn taking, attention, body language, vocal pitch, consistency of emphasis, and whether everyone talks to everyone else in the group. p. 11<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';\">Group performance depends on behavior\u00a0that communicates one powerful overarching idea: We are safe and connected. p. 15<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';\">Cohesion happens not when members of a group are smarter but when they are lit up by clear, steady signals of safe connection. p. 26<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';\">I\u2019m giving you these comments\u00a0because I have very high expectations and I know\u00a0that you can reach them. p. 56<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';\">1. \u00a0You are part of this group. \u00a02. \u00a0This group is special; we have high standards here. \u00a03. \u00a0I\u00a0believe you can reach those standards. p. 56<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';\">My job is to architect the greenhouse. p. 67<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';\">Closeness helps create efficiencies of connection. p. 72<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';\">One of the most vital moments for creating safety is when a group shares bad news or gives\u00a0tough feedback. \u00a0In these moments, it\u2019s important not simply to tolerate the difficult news but to embrace it. p. 77<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';\">When you enter highly successful cultures, the number of\u00a0thank-yous you hear seems slightly over the top. p. 78<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';\">Here is the unheralded person who makes our success possible. p. 81<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';\">Create spaces that maximize collisions. p. 82<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';\">This is what I would call a muscular humility\u2014a mindset of seeking simply ways to serve the group. \u00a0Picking up the trash is one example, but the same kinds of behaviors exist around\u00a0allocating parking spots (egalitarian, with no spots reserved for leaders), picking up checks at meals (the leaders do it every time), and providing for equity in salaries, particularly for start-ups. \u00a0These actions are powerful not just because they are moral or generous but also because they send a larger signal: We are all in this together. p. 86<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';\">Of course, threshold moments don\u2019t only happen on day one; they happen every day. \u00a0But the successful groups I visited paid\u00a0attention to moments of arrival. p. 87<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';\">This obvious one is still worth mentioning, because laughter is not just laughter; it\u2019s the most fundamental sign of safety and connection. p. 88<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';\">The crew of <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/United_Airlines_Flight_232\">United Flight 232<\/a> succeeded not because of their individual skills but because they were able to combine those skills\u00a0into a greater intelligence. They demonstrated that a series of small, humble exchanges\u2014Anybody have ideas? \u00a0Tell me what you want, and I\u2019ll help you\u2014can unlock a group\u2019s ability to\u00a0perform. \u00a0The key\u00a0involves the willingness to perform a certain behavior that goes against our every instinct; sharing\u00a0vulnerability. \u00a0p. 97<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';\">The BrainTrust is Pixar\u2019s method of assessing and improving its movies during their development. (Each film is BrainTrusted about half a dozen times, at regular intervals). p. 98<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';\">At the Navy SEALs, such uncomfortable, candor-filled moments happen in the After Action Review, or AAR. \u00a0The AAR is a gathering that takes place immediately after each mission or\u00a0training session: Team members put down their weapons, grab a snack and water, and start talking. p. 99<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';\">Exchanges of vulnerability, which we naturally tend to\u00a0avoid, are the pathway through which trusting cooperation is built. \u00a0p. 112<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';\">Cooperation, as we\u2019ll see, does not simply\u00a0descend out of the blue. \u00a0It is a group muscle that is built according to a specific pattern of\u00a0repeated interaction, and that pattern is always\u00a0the same: a circle of people engaged in the risky,\u00a0occasionally painful, ultimately rewarding process of being vulnerable together. p. 113<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';\">When we talk about courage, we think it\u2019s going against an enemy with a machine gun. \u00a0The real courage is seeing the truth\u00a0and speaking the truth to each other. \u00a0People never want to be the person who says,\u00a0\u201cWait a second, what\u2019s really going on here?\u201d \u00a0But inside the squadron, that is the culture, and that\u2019s why we\u2019re successful. p. 145<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';\">Three great questions: The one thing that excites me about this particular opportunity is _________________. \u00a0I confess, the one thing I\u2019m not so excited about with this particular opportunity is __________________. \u00a0On this project, I\u2019d really like to get better at _________________. \u00a0p. 153<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';\">Building habits of group vulnerability is like building a muscle. \u00a0It takes time,\u00a0repetition, and the\u00a0willingness to feel pain in order to achieve gains. \u00a0And as with building muscle, the first key is to approach \u00a0the process with a plan. p. 158<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';\">Leaders should ask their people these three questions: What is one thing that I currently do that you\u2019d like me to continue to do? \u00a0What is one thing that I don\u2019t currently do frequently\u00a0enough that you think I\u00a0should do more often? What can I do to make you more effective? p. 159<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';\">Are we about appearing strong or about\u00a0exploring the landscape together? \u00a0Are we about winning interactions or about learning together? p. 162<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';\">The most effective listeners behave like trampolines. \u00a0They aren\u2019t passive sponges. \u00a0They are active responders, absorbing what the other person gives, supporting them, and adding energy to help the conversation gain velocity and altitude. p. 162<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';\">Giving honest feedback is tricky, because it can easily result in people feeling hurt or demoralized. \u00a0One useful distinction, made most clearly at Pixar, is to aim for\u00a0candor and avoid brutal honesty. \u00a0By aiming for candor\u2014feedback that is smaller, more targeted, less personal, less\u00a0judgmental, and\u00a0equally impactful\u2014it\u2019s easier to\u00a0maintain a sense of safety and belonging in\u00a0the group. \u00a0p. 166<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';\">One of the best techniques I\u2019e seen for creating cooperation in a group is flash\u00a0mentoring. \u00a0It is exactly like traditional mentoring\u2014you pick someone you want to learn from\u00a0and\u00a0shadow them\u2014expect\u00a0that instead of months or years, it lasts a few hours. p. 167<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';\">We tend to use the word story casually, as if stories and narratives were ephemeral decorations for some unchanging underlying reality. \u00a0The\u00a0deeper neurological truth is that stories do not cloak reality but create it, triggering\u00a0cascades of perception and motivation. \u00a0The proof is in brain scans: When we hear a fact, a few isolated areas of our brain light up, translating words and\u00a0meanings. \u00a0When we hear a story, however, our brain lights up like Las Vegas, tracing the chains of cause, effect, and meaning. \u00a0Stories are not just stories; they are the best invention ever created for delivering mental models that drive behavior. \u00a0p. 182<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';\">One of the best measures of any group\u2019s culture is its learning velocity\u2014how quickly it improves its performance of a new skill. p. 193<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';\">Japanese concept of <i>kaizen\u00a0<\/i>\u201ccontinual improvement\u201d p. 221<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';\">First you are clumsy; then after a while, you get better. p. 237<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle has lately been the topic of several blogs, tweets, and conversations between people I respect.\u00a0 I knew I had to check it out!\u00a0 In my leadership role, the main thing I do is help set the temperature for the culture and climate of the group that I lead.\u00a0 I [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,35,25,23,28,17,18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11418","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-review","category-creative","category-education","category-generosity","category-integrity","category-leadership","category-north-cobb-christian"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11418","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11418"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11418\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11418"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11418"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11418"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}