“Don't fuck up the culture” – A letter to the Airbnb team
After a handful of times of getting burned, I've come to interpret any official executive statement on values or culture as a sign that things are seriously screwed or about to become that way, and that it's time to bail out.To me, culture is something that happens organically and not via directive. Leaders can shape company culture but only through their own personal demonstration of it and not by decree. Once I hear someone saying "this is how it shall be henceforth," I'm gone. They're either hopelessly naive or trying to construct a happy edifice while behaving badly.