Culture Trumps Everything

 Culture trumps everything.Arguably the most important thing you do as a leader is set culture. What you say and don't say, what you do and don't do, the systems you implement and don't implement, what you delegate or don't delegate, etc.—all your actions are constantly shaping the culture of the organization, business, or ministry you lead.As a church planter in Silicon Valley I get to see a lot of different cultures, cultures that are the direct result of different styles of leadership. Today I had a coffee meeting at Facebook, yesterday I had lunch at Apple, and last week I had lunch at Google. During these meetings with guys from my church at three of the most important companies in Silicon Valley/the world, I noticed how different Facebook culture, Apple culture, and Google culture are from one another. Instead of commenting on what's unique about each culture, I simply want to say this: the culture isn't accidental. These three successful companies have diverse cultures that have been carefully set.As you lead, you are setting culture. The question you need to constantly be asking is, "what kind of culture am I/are we setting?"Great leaders set culture intentionally. Average leaders set culture accidentally.Your statements, policies, rules, and and all that aren't the main thing. The overarching culture of your organization is what will shape things more than anything else.What kind of culture do you want your organization to have? Go and set that culture.