A client said to me the other day:
“Our culture is broken. We need to make big changes to be able to execute our plan”
It’s not the first time I’ve heard that. And I get it — culture can feel like this vague, sticky, emotional thing that no one quite knows how to shift.
If you listen to culture expert Jon Katzenbach, you might think it’s almost impossible. He’s famous for saying :
“You can’t change culture directly. Culture changes when people start to change their behaviours and those behaviours are reinforced by others around them.”
And he’s right — mostly. But here’s the thing:
Most of Katzenbach’s work is based on huge, complex organisations — Fortune 500s, multi-layered corporations with thousands of employees.
What about small and mid-sized businesses?
In my experience, yes — you absolutely can change culture.
And if you’re running on EOS, you’ve got the tools to do it.
Start with what’s already great about your culture
The first step isn’t to imagine a brand-new culture out of thin air.
It’s to uncover what’s already working.
Katzenbach calls this identifying “the critical few” — the small number of behaviours already creating positive energy in your team.
In EOS, we do this through the Core Values exercise.
Here’s how it works:
- List your best people.
Think of the top 3–5 people in your company — the ones you’d clone if you could. - Write down what makes them great.
What qualities do they possess as to why you chose them? - Group those characteristics into themes.
You’ll start to see patterns — maybe all your best people are calm under pressure, or obsessed with customer outcomes. - Refine those themes into 3–7 Core Values.
These should reflect who you already are at your best — not who you wish you were.
Important: don’t invent values aspirationally.
I once saw a company struggling with a serious lack of accountability… and what did they do?
They made “Accountability” one of their core values.
It backfired.
Everyone knew it was BS. Posters, coffee mugs — none of it worked.
Because it wasn’t true.
If your culture lacks a value today, don’t fake it. You can build toward it, but it has to be modelled and earned — not declared on a mug.
Now breathe life into your Core Values — through voice
Once you’ve defined your real Core Values, the next step is communicating them.
And not just once.
In EOS, we say:
“People need to hear something seven times before they’ve heard it for the first time.”
You need to repeat the message until it echoes back to you.
The Core Values Speech
The best way to kick this off is with a Core Values Speech.
This is where you, as the CEO or Visionary, stand up in front of the company and tell the story of your culture.
Here’s how to do it:
- One value at a time – use real stories about people on your team who embody it.
- Use “anti-examples” too – tell a story about when that value wasn’t present, and what happened.
- Make it personal – talk about why you care. Share a moment where that value mattered in your own journey.
- No scripts – speak from the heart. Use a one-pager as your guide, but don’t read it word-for-word.
And please — don’t email this.
Don’t roll out values via Slack or PowerPoint.
People need to hear your voice. They need to see your face.
Where to give the speech
Do it live. All-hands. Gather everyone.
If you’re a distributed team, get on Zoom and make it a proper event.
No multitasking, no distractions.
This is a culture-defining moment, and it deserves your full presence.
Culture doesn’t shift overnight
Will giving the speech magically fix everything? Of course not.
But it’s the beginning of a new conversation.
People need to hear what their leaders value, and then they need to see it celebrated.
In one of my businesses, we started doing monthly Core Values Awards.
Every month, the whole team could nominate anyone in the company for living a specific Core Value. At the end of the month, one of my execs would give a short speech about what that value meant to them, how they’d seen it come alive in the business — and then we’d announce the winner.
Pizza. Beers. Music. Sometimes dancing. It was fun — and it worked.
Why?
Because humans are tribal. We want to belong.
And when the tribe clearly signals what it values, people start adjusting to match.
What if Someone doesn’t fit?
Very quickly, you will notice something:
Not everyone fits.
And that’s okay.
Sometimes, someone’s a high performer — but they just don’t share your values.
They bring tension. Or undermine others. Or just don’t feel right.
In EOS, we call this “Wrong Person, Right Seat”
That’s where the People Analyzer tool comes in.
It’s simple:
- List your Core Values along the top.
- List each team member down the side.
- Score each one:
+ = they consistently live the value
+/- = sometimes
– = rarely or never
If someone gets two or more -’s — they’re not a core values fit.
Then we follow the 3-strike rule:
Give feedback, coach them, give them time — but if after three conversations there’s no change, it’s time to let them go.
(More on this in my article here — 3-strike rule.)
Letting go of someone can be hard.
I remember one team member — he hit every number, every target. But he just didn’t care about the customer the way we all did.
In his final week we had a quick conversation… he admitted it:
“I just don’t care about customers as deeply as you guys want me to.”
And that’s okay. We wished him well.
And the team got better immediately.
Real culture change takes time — but it works
So yes — you can change culture.
But it starts with who you are at your best.
Not with slogans, not with mugs.
Celebrate what’s already great. Speak it out loud. Reward it.
And be willing to part ways with those who don’t fit.
Do that consistently, and you’ll start to see the shift:
A company full of people who value what you do – the RIGHT PEOPLE – all energy flowing with ease
You’ll be unstoppable!