The following is one example of a yearlong program with participants meeting for half a day every other month:
 

Kickoff: What is culture, broadly speaking? What is corporate culture? (Foosball tables in the break room, or something more?)
 

Sessions 1-4: Exploration with pre-reads into a handful of organizations, selected in collaboration with the cohort, that have been especially deliberate about their cultures. ​The objective is not to study other organizations per se, but to use these selections to provoke discussion about the real business problems in your organization where part of the solution could lie in improving your culture.

 

Session 1: Reed Hastings, No Rules Rules
Session 2: Ray Dalio, Principles
Session 3: Charles Koch, Good Profit
Session 4: John Rossman, Amazon Way

 

Initial discussion questions for each session:​​

• What are your personal reactions?

• Which elements of this culture are similar to the values, beliefs, and practices of your organization? Which are opposed?

• Of all the things this book led you to think about, which one do you think could be most impactful for you to explore individually as a leader? Which one could be most impactful broadly for your organization?

 

Session 5: Using corporate culture as a tool

Jumping-off points:

• Consider the biggest commercial, operational, and/or investment decisions you need to make over the next two or three years. How could culture lead to better decision-making?

• How could culture help you more evenly and confidently navigate “tricky topics” (return to office, diversity and inclusion, talent development)? 

• Could your culture become a competitive advantage?
   

Session 6: Pulling it all together

Jumping-off points:

• What is your organization’s culture?

• How should you be communicating your culture? What messages, what artefacts, which forums?

• What leadership behaviors will reinforce what you have communicated?

• What are some indications of progress? I.e., if you are successful in deliberately defining, communicating, and reinforcing your culture, what differences should you expect to see in your results over the next 18 months? 36 months?