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

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]

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

Key Quotes

David Singleton:

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

Dharmesh Shah:

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