I read a lot of business books focused on culture, growth, teams and coaching to ensure I'm continually learning and expanding my tools and techniques for my coaching and consulting practice. This books explores many concepts I was familiar with but takes a much deeper dive; a dive that held my interest and enhanced my work. After a while you tend to see the same studies and stories referenced in each book so one thing I enjoyed about The Culture Code is there were numerous stories I hadn't read or heard before. Daniel Coyle is a strong writer and the book was very educational and enjoyable to read. It provided examples from a wide array of industries and shared actionable tips.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an early release of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I was lucky enough to get a copy of this as an ARC from NetGalley - and devoured it!

I'm fascinated by the subjects of leadership and teams these days, mostly because I have experienced great team leadership in the past but too infrequently. After enjoying "Turn This Ship Around" -- this seemed like a great follow-on.

In the first chapter, the author describes an experiment in teamwork and collaboration -- conducted between two different groups: kindergarteners and college students. The goal was to build the highest tower with straws and marshmallows. The kindergarteners WON because they were entirely focused on the outcome, made changes and took feedback without being distracted by status management. That's something we all learn as we unlearn trust and vulnerability.

The book presents compelling case studies to support three sets of skills for building strong teams. First, you have to "Build Safety" -- create environments where it is ok to provide feedback regardless of status or role. Second, "Share Vulnerability" - describes how "habits of mutual risk drive trusting cooparation." Third, "Establish Purpose" -- by creating a shared culture that clearly defines the group's purpose, goals and how they do things.

Much like the mythical "work" of a romantic relationship or marriage, the author maintains that "Culture is a set of living relationships working toward a shared goal."

In building safety, there are some real physical patterns of interaction that help create a bond in a group, these include:
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<UL>
<LI>Close physical proximity
<LI>Profuse amounts of eye contact
<LI>Physical touch (handshakes, fist bumps, hugs)
<LI>Lots of short, energetic exhanges (no long speeches)
<LI>High levels of mixing
<LI>Few interruptions
<LI>Lots of questions
<LI>Intensive, active listening
<LI>Humor, laughter
<LI>Small, attentive courtesies
</ul>
</blockquote>
When is the last time that you were part of a group where you had that kind of experience? Would you ever want to leave that environment? He then describes "belonging cues" which are "behaviors that create safe connection in groups." This is basic NLP stuff combined with basic etiquette: taking turns, body language, vocal pitch, eye contact. These help signal energy, individualization and future orientation. These are all translated as "You are safe here" by the brain.

Just a few of these, once in a while, is not enough -- "We are built to require lots of signaling, over and over. This is why a sense of belonging is easy to destroy and hard to build."

Coyne also dives into the neuroscience that has been on my radar for much of 2018 -- and emphasizes that the amygdala is not just about perceiving threats but also plays "a vital role in building social connections." Those "belonging cues" are all transformed in your brain to help "set the stage for meaningful engagement."

The WWI "Christmas Truce" is one of the cases in this section -- and it's come up in popular media in my life several times this year alone. Basically - you throw a bunch of guys into very adverse conditions, and you find that creating environments that are rich in social belonging cues is critical to their survival and cooperation. However, as the battle dragged on -- this spilled over to "the enemy" -- and soldiers established "micro-truces" around meal times, bed time, using the latrine or picking up the dead, cumulating in a series of Christmas day truces across a pretty widespread geographic area. Respect the power of the amygdala!

By way of contract, another type of culture that is the opposite of belonging is described -- it was designed to break up cohesion and resulted in very poor work performance from otherwise very smart people in charge of massively destructive and dangerous weapons. You'd think people would pay attention to something as important as culture, right?

Coyne also addresses a popular conception that highly successful cultures are happy places: "They are energized and engaged, but at their core their members are oriented less around achieving happiness than around solving hard problems together."

This goes back to "this is a safe place (to give effort" -- creating connection, giving feedback, and communicating the big picture are important. But with the negative (say, giving feedback on poor performance) there is reward (belonging).

During the Cold War era, an MIT professor named Thomas Allen conducted research into what attributes were shared by successful projects. In addition to the projects being driven by “clusters of high communicators,” Allen found that the most successful teams sat close to each other and could establish eye contact with each other regularly.

Plotted on a graph, the increase in interaction against proximity is known as the “Allen Curve.” Physical “[c]loseness helps create efficiencies of connection” even with digital communication, studies show “we’re far more likely to text, email, and interact virtually with people who are physically close.”

Many studies since have demonstrated the importance of physical proximity – the informal interactions among colleagues are critical to building relationships that foster trust. In the past several years, it seems like this has resulted in a lot of companies tearing up their office environments to turn them into "open plan" work spaces without figuring out what works best for their teams. Not all teams are alike, and one size does not fit all when it comes to building strong teams.

To create safety, Coyne offers a few tips, including:

<BLOCKQUOTE><OL>
<LI>Overcommunicate your Listening (and avoid interruptions)
<LI>Spotlight your Fallibility Early On - Especially if you are a leader
<LI>Embrace the Messenger
<LI>Preview future connection -- connecting the dots between where we are now and where we plan to be
<LI>Overdo Thank-Yous - that includes "thanks for letting me coach you" - as a way of affirming the relationship and "igniting cooperative behavior."
<LI>Be Painstaking in the Hiring Process
<LI>Eliminate Bad Apples
<LI>Create Safe, Collision-Rich Spaces
<LI>Make Sure Everyone Has a Voice
<LI>Pick up the trash - make sure leaders are helping with tasks that are "menial" - rolling up their sleeves goes a long way to creating that safety
<LI>Capitalize on Threshold Moments
<LI>Avoid Giving Sandwich Feedback - handle negative and positive feedback as two different processes
<LI>Embrace Fun - "it's the most fundamental sign of safety and connection."
</OL></BLOCKQUOTE>
In sharing vulnerability -- teams can demonstrate their willingness to accept the help and support of others in a way that makes the entire team stronger. The case study of two pilots and a passenger who happened to be a flight instructor crash landing a plane together -- resulting in the survival of 185 of 285 on board. Simulations run after the event failed to do nearly well as those three people -- resulting in crashes 28 times. Coyne analyzes the content of their communication and finds that they shared information in a way that was humble and allowed them to perform in the face of catastrophic systems failure (it's a fantastic story!).

Coyne then goes on to analyze the importance of social exchanges in the team environment -- the kind that open up shared vulnerability in a way that creates a "shared exchange of openness" that forms "the most basic building block of cooperation and trust."

The DARPA Red Balloon Challenge is another fantastic case study about how people can cooperate when vulnerability is shared and support invited in a way that is reciprocal and offers mutual benefit. That is, he points out - the whole point of groups: "combine our strengths and skills in a complementary way."

The Navy SEALs examples are fantastic -- and you have to buy the book so you can read and understand them. I especially like the description of how the SEALs were established -- and the type of training they undergo to reinforce team behavior. They learn how to move together, trust each other and figure things out as they go because they trust each other and they understand how things have to be done. He also goes into the rules around a complicated improv exercise with a successful comedy troupe where "Every rule directs you either to tamp down selfish instincts that might make you the center of attention, or to serve your fellow actors (support, save, trust, listen)."

Coyne also talks about the importance of overcoming authority bias to create successful groups -- "having one person tell others how to do things is not a reliable way to make good decisions." This is fascinating because it goes back to the premise of "Turn This Ship Around" where the goal was to make everyone in the team a leader -- creating a team of leaders who understand the problems that need to be solved and work together without regard for role or hierarchy is important for these successful groups.

The chapter on "The Nyquist Method" is fascinating -- it's named after a particularly nurturing engineer who created a safe space for his coworkers to share ideas and sparked ideas with them that resulted in greater achievements than if they had worked on their own. He then reviews other folks who perform similar catalyst roles in other environments - people who mostly just are good active listeners, encouraging others to dig deep and shape the solutions to their challenges. Again, NLP plays a role here - or "concordances" - body language that helps increase perceived empathy and in turn creates a safe environment for stronger teams and success.

Coyne is good about reiterating and building on the tips for creating these safe environments and strong relationships throughout his book. Primarily - listening, being willing to be open and vulnerable, using objective techniques for sharing information (like "Before-Action Review" or "After Action Review").

Taking us back to the previous point about successful cultures aren't always sunshine and rainbows -- "one of the most difficult things about creating habits of vulnerability is that it requires a group to endure two discomforts: emotional pain and a sense of inefficiency."

Finally, the section on "Establish Purpose" is really fun to read -- as he goes to lengths to repeat, a lot of the slogans and catch phrases seem hokey or corny or obvious but the fact is that teams who create compelling, clear goals and articulate them like that are described as "high purpose environments" because they know what they are doing as a team. These catchphrases establish a link between a goal or behavior and "consistently create engagement around it."

He also talks about how positive feedback can create a "virtuous spiral" of success (and no need to mention how the opposite happens as well!).

These kind of heuristics "provide guidance by creating if/then scenarios in a vivid, meorable way" and function "as a conceptual beacon." These kinds of clearly articulated catch phrases make it easier to make decisions in support of specific team goals, such as "You can't prevent mistakes but you can solve problems graciously" or "If someone is rude make a charitable assumption."

The final tips include: Name and rank your priorities; Be 10x as clear about these priorities as you think you ought, determine where your team aims for proficiency (and for creativity), embrace the use of catchphrases, measure what really matters, use artifacts, focus on bar-setting behaviors -- and go buy this book if you want to learn more about what all those things mean!

For those who want to build a successful team (and culture) this is one best guide. This book is for anyone who would like to learn from successful teams, organizations. I can't tell you how remarkably this book has been written. The book is well structured and articulated.

The book clearly conveys the message, and I am pretty sure that even the most successful teams will learn something new from this book.

The stories, researches, each and every example covered in this book are brilliant, and they perfectly align with the content and finally convey the message precisely.

Absolutely enjoyed this book. It dwells into groups and how they play a part in our lives. A must read for anyone working/interacting with large amounts of people. The pitfalls of having a toxic group the upside of having a wonderful upbeat group.

THE CULTURE CODE

While “culture” is arguably the secret sauce of any successful organization, developing the right culture is a tough nut to crack. This should be obvious: the very notion of culture is itself somewhat amorphous, as it involves norms and practices that evolve from a shared sense of history and experience.

How, then, can organizations aspire to build successful cultures?

Daniel Coyle addresses precisely this question in his book, The Culture Code. While he has a lot to share about the subject, the core of his message is that a successful culture has at least three elements:

1) It “builds safety;” that is, allows people to connect and thereby establish bonds and shared identity;
2) It “shares vulnerability” in the sense that everyone feels they have a stake in the risks that the organization faces and in the need for each to overcome their individual weaknesses; and
3) It “establishes purpose” through narratives that develop shared goals and values.

The Culture Code is an exposition of this framework, often with Coyle going into storytelling mode to make his point. In that regard, he presents an interesting array of interview subjects, relating insightful interviews with the likes of Union Square Hospitality’s Danny Meyer on the one hand and the San Antonio Spurs’ head coach Gregg Popovich on the other, to name a couple. The result is an examination of organizational culture in a manner that’s very down to earth and relatable, thereby making his book hard to put down. “While a successful culture can look and feel like magic, the truth is that it’s not,” Coyle writes early on in the book. “Culture is a set of living relationships working toward a shared goal. It’s not something you are. It’s something you do.” Indeed, the reason why The Culture Code is worth reading is because it successfully breathes life into that aspect of culture.

I got interested in this book as I am big on culture. I majored in Geography with focus on culture and I travel to at least one new country each year. But this book is not for those who are into ‘traditional culture’. This is for those who are into ‘business culture.’

The premise starts somehow interesting: “Culture is a set of living relationships working toward a shared goal. It’s not something you are. It’s something you do.” But very quickly it becomes a very dry read. As I said this book is intended for those who are business focused.

<i>The Culture Code</i> is one of the best business/group dynamics-type books I've read. Daniel Coyle gets to the heart of why human groups function well, or not, and what to do about it.

The answer is in our humanity. The way humans are wired, socially, has everything to do with successful cooperation within offices, sports teams, and other groups. Meet people's needs for safety, shared vulnerability and purpose, according to Coyle, and you can transform a mediocre, or even failing group, into a powerhouse.

This short book covers a wide range of examples and includes actionable advice. It's a must-read for leaders of any kind of group.


Disclosure: I received this book as a digital ARC in exchange for honest feedback.

I received a free Kindle copy of The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle courtesy of Net Galley and Random House, the publisher. It was with the understanding that I would post a review to Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes and Noble and my nonfiction book review blog. I also posted it to my Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Google Plus pages.

I requested this book as I have read a great deal about corporate culture and the development of teams. This is the first book by Daniel Coyle that I have read.

The subtitle of this book, "The Secrets of Highly Successful Teams", is an appropriate description of what the content is all about. Coyle presents his material using several different groups across a wide spectrum of business, professional sports and other groups. His writing style makes it an enjoyable and easy to follow and understand read. He also presents concrete evidence that the approach that he outlines works, but not without a lot of work and mistakes along the way.

I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in improving their business through culture development or even those who want to incorporate the principles in improving their relationships.

It took a while to get into the book, but once I did, I found it to be a mostly enjoyable read. Breaking things up into groups was a great idea, but multiple companies started popping up in multiple groups and at times made it a little difficult to keep up with. Otherwise, the idea behind the book did come through in the author's words. Company or group culture is always an interesting topic. All of the mentions of Pixar made me think that it's time to finally read Creativity, Inc.

This is a brilliant book for any manager trying to fathom out what makes their team or organisational culture tick?

Daniel provides sound analysis, examples, ideas and tips in an easily understood manner. You should be able to draw from his writing and perspectives a very helpful checklist to ensure you manage your culture well.

I highly recommend this book.

My review will appear in the May-June issue of Global Business and Organizational Excellence. If you send me an email, I will send a copy when the issue is released. I posted a note on goodreads and my regular blog.

I loved the examples and stories referenced in this book, and I have already put a lot of the principles into place at work--recommend to newer managers in the workplace.

The Cultural Code looks at what makes effective teams so powerful. From NAVY SEALs to Pixar, we discover the culture needed to make magic happen.

I like that it’s not just business teams referenced. There’s also a decent mix of academic research conducted in live environments. However, there’s nothing that should be new to anyone. Trust people, be human, set objective, communicate well. The first two chapters are bases on behavioral economics and nudge theories. The same ideas that won this year’s Nobel prize for economics.

My original intention was to review this on TapDancingSpiders.com, but it’s more leadership than marketing, so it’s staying here. But that’s not a reflection on the book, just my website focus.

Some business books are published and meant for reading. This book is one to read and keep close by for reference time and time again as a reminder of what good looks like in a modern world. The content is easy to read, highly absorbing and offers so much practical advice for anyone leading or working in teams. Not only do I recommend this book to you now, but also make sure your colleagues have a copy too.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was one of the best business / behavioral psychology books I've read in a long time! The examples were incredibly engaging, and drew from a variety of industries to make their points. As I read, I kept getting new ideas for things I could change on my own team to improve results. Highly recommend this book to anyone who leads a team!

I was pleasantly surprised by this title - I'm not usually one for business titles, but this is a really well done book that explores social psychology.

Why do some teams and organizations excel while others simply aren't as creative/effective/lasting? It isn't skills or intelligence, but the environment in which they work. Coyle conveys the research and shining examples of how creating a sense of true belonging, allowing for vulnerability, conveying a clear purpose, and more, creates the right space. Yes in a sense these things are old news, but Coyle gets into the specifics of what each means, with concrete actions leaders can take to recreate the conditions in their own environments. Further, the rationale is given in motivating ways. I only wish that more of the examples were fresh, rather than familiar ones like Johnson and Johnson and Navy SEALs.

Thanks, NetGalley, for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

The best business book i've read in a decade or more. Every vc, partner, ceo, founder - anyone driven by making better decisions and performing as a team - needs to read this book. Sure to be bought by the dozen.

Really smart book for those interested in social psychology and how people interact in groups. Would be tremendously helpful for those interested in building productive, happy teams at work.

What an insightful book! I found it well written, and enjoyed it. I was given a virtual advance readers copy via NetGalley. I loved the theme of sharing vulnerability, in making a group of people successful. Great book!