Culture Building

When This Skill Activates

Claude uses this skill when:

• Building or leading teams
• Defining team values
• Creating rituals and practices
• Setting standards of excellence

Core Frameworks

1. Stripe's Operating Principles (Source: David Singleton)

Key Principles:

• Move fast, think long-term
• Bias for action
• Default to transparency
• Own problems end-to-end

2. Culture as Competitive Advantage

The Approach:

1. Define what excellence means
2. Hire for culture add (not fit)
3. Create reinforcing rituals
4. Make values visible

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Action Templates

Template: Team Culture Design

# Team Culture: [Team Name]

## Core Values (3-5)
1. **[Value]:** [what it means in practice]
2. **[Value]:** [what it means in practice]
3. **[Value]:** [what it means in practice]

## Excellence Definition
In our team, excellence means:
- [Specific behavior 1]
- [Specific behavior 2]
- [Specific behavior 3]

## Rituals That Reinforce
- **Weekly:** [ritual that reinforces value]
- **Monthly:** [ritual that reinforces value]
- **Quarterly:** [ritual that reinforces value]

## Hiring for Culture
- Look for: [specific traits]
- Interview for: [specific examples]
- Red flags: [what to avoid]

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Quick Reference

🏛️ Culture Checklist

Define:

• [ ] Core values (3-5 max)
• [ ] What excellence means
• [ ] Behaviors to encourage
• [ ] Behaviors to discourage

Reinforce:

• [ ] Rituals created
• [ ] Values visible
• [ ] Hiring aligned
• [ ] Feedback loops

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Key Quotes

David Singleton:

"Culture is what happens when no one is watching."

Dharmesh Shah:

"Culture is to recruiting as product is to marketing."