Culture Hacking

The act of smiling releases endorphins-- tiny molecules called neuropeptides that help fight off stress and relieve mild pain.  And the best part is that your smile doesn’t have to be genuine. Our brains-- thank goodness-- are too dumb to distinguish between genuine smiles and the kind we do when Bob tries to be funny at work.

That’s point 1.

When seniors talk about their company culture, they’re signaling their ambition, not describing their actual culture.  Everyone-- hopefully-- understands that culture is what we do.  Every day.  And talking about culture is the clearest sign that there’s a gap between theory and practice, between that ambition and daily work.

That’s point 2.

Large enterprise transformations-- like the wholesale move from waterfall to Agile-- are driven by well-meaning professionals who care less about the daily practices and more about the business outcomes.  What’s the point, they ask, of following the daily rituals of standups and story points if the practice is hollow-- if the business outcomes aren’t visible in the distance?

That’s point 3.

I had a religious upbringing so I appreciate the value of ritual more than most.  I was taught early on that the point of daily prayers was never to pray perfectly.  What does that even mean?  

[The secular version of that... for my Satan-loving friends:  the point of meditation was never to meditate perfectly.  Anyone who claims to... is selling cashmere prayer shawls.]

Which is why my team constantly hears me say: 

If something’s worth doing, it’s worth doing poorly.

That’s point 4… even if it does bleed into the conclusion.

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So... let’s bring it all together.

Repetitive, hollow practice is-- culturally-- a fake, forced smile. But before you dismiss it as anachronistic-- as a cynical corporate tactic to get more oomph out of employees-- think about endorphins. 

If culture is what we do (and keep doing until we get better), then there’s tremendous value to following the daily rituals of Agile, even mindlessly at first.  Because our cultural brains-- thank goodness-- are too dumb to distinguish between the genuine smile of mature practice-- our collective ambition-- and Bob.