Ashley Shaw
EADM 826
September 16th, 2019
Executive Book Summary
The Culture Code
Book Summary
Using examples from the real functioning group. The book is skill sets mentioned in the
Points of Interest:
world situations and groups, organized by three different book. Not only is it a chance to
Tips to create a safe Daniel Coyle writes a guide to skills; building safety, sharing reflect but an opportunity to
place understand how groups become vulnerability and establishing develop leadership skills using
Questions for leaders successful and effective. The purpose as components to practical examples to build
Real world situations examples serve as a guide to highly successful groups. competencies within the
Examples of highly the creation of highly The book shares the skills and various leadership skills.
efficient groups successful groups. Daniel mindset needed for team The Culture Code is an
Reasons why groups fail brings together examples from building. It is an excellent informative and helpful guide
Inspiring quotes profitable companies, winning resource for various types of for leaders within various
Leadership qualities
professional sports teams and a groups. This book would be different disciplines. It will
productive Navy SEAL team. valuable to a school staff, a challenge the way you lead
Advice for creating
cooperation He analyses their tactic's, and cohort of students or anyone your groups and give insight
relationships within the groups. who is in a leadership role. It into some of the most highly
The Culture Code provides a allows the reader to reflect on successful groups.
how-to-guide to developing a their own values and
cooperative and high perspectives within the three
Inside this issue: About the Author
Build Safety 2
The author, Daniel Coyle, is a well-known, Outside magazine, an adventure and travel
Belonging 3 award winning author of various titles related to magazine.
harnessing talent, winning and examining
Share Vulnerability 4
efficient groups. His book titled “The Secret Daniel Coyle has also worked as a talent
Cooperation 5 Race: Inside the Hidden World of the Tour de development advisor for the Cleveland Indians.
France: Doping, Cover-ups, and Winning at All His work as an advisor and writer has expanded
Establish Purpose 6
Costs” was New York Times bestseller. to different fields from outdoor adventure
Inspiration for Action 7 articles to team development within companies.
Besides being an author to 6 titles, Daniel Coyle Sept.5th,[Link] from
Reflection and Conclusion 8 has also worked as a contributing editor for [Link]
The Culture Code
Skill #1— Build Safety
A defining characteristic of a highly efficient group is their sense of safety. A safe space allows for
the team to bond and creates a sense of belonging among the group. It is in our human nature to always be
assessing our environment for dangers, so creating a safe space allows people to relax their worries and
feel supported.
Coyle examines the concept of safety in the first section of the book. He uses examples of how we can
recognize safety such as the Christmas Truce of World War 1, and a defining day for Google. The real
world situations allow the reader to connect and have a better understanding of the concept of safety.
The Christmas Truce
During World War 1, Allies and began to emerge from the trenches “eating, drinking, cooking,
the Germans spent weeks on the and interacted with each other in singing, playing soccer matches,
battle field killing each other day an unforeseen way. This truce that exchanging photos, bartering and
after day. As the Christmas was building among them was a burying the dead”.
holiday was approaching the nature and raw occurrence. It was
troops on both sides of the bat- Even though the two sides
not initiated by the commanding
tlefield along the front lines did opposed each other and had
officers.
the unthinkable. It began with spent weeks killing each other,
Christmas carols that were heard During the Christmas truce, “tens they shared a connection and
Sept. 5, 2019, [Link]/news/christmas-truce-unveiling/
back and forth. Then as the of thousands of men” along the shared experience which brought
soldiers became more front lines put down their weapons them together during the
comfortable and felt safe, they and celebrated the holiday Christmas truce.
together. The celebrations included
The Good Apples
Will Frelps is a behavior specialist and “a downer”. The study found able to defect Nick’s behavior
from the university of South Wales that in almost all groups, Nick’s and sends the message that the
who studies group dynamics. His behavior reduced the teams team is solid. He’s tactics were
“You are safe here” social experiment involved placing production and quality of work. examined by Will Frelps who
an individual within the teams to There was an exception to one describes him as “a good apple”.
- Daniel Coyle, p.11 see how the group production was particular group who had an One of the qualities of highly
affected by the members involved individual that was able to react to effective groups is having a
and their personalities. The Nick’s antics with “warmth” and “good apple’ to help keep the
experiment subject, Nick, played didn't let Nick get into the heads of team focused, energized and
the role of “a jerk”, “a slacker”, the other team members. He was create a safe place.
(Coyle, p.3-74, 2018)
Page 2
Belonging, Relationships, and Connection
The group chemistry affects their
sense of belonging and connection to
each other. MIT professor, Thomas
Allen, studied group chemistry and
its affects on productivity. Through
his research he discovered that the
proximity of the team had a great
impact of their performance. If you
remove the distance and barriers
between office space, people are able
to communicate more which trans- was to their progression. Allen Curve [online image] Retrieved
Sept.5th, 2019 from [Link]/blog/
mitted into a stronger connection and The increased proximity and
why-we-created-the-eyo-employeeapp/
relationship building. The study communication data is displayed on a
showed evidence of the team being chart known as the Allen Curve.
separated by a different floor in the (Coyle, p. 69-71, 2018)
same building and how damaging it
Over communicate your listening
Spotlight your fallibility early on
Embrace the messenger
Preview future connection
Overdo thank-yous
Be painstaking in the hiring process
Eliminate bad apples
Create safe and collision-rich spaces
Make sure everyone has a voice
Pick up trash
Capitalize on threshold moments
Avoid giving sandwich feedback
Embrace fun (Coyle, p.74-88, 2018)
Page 3
The Culture Code
Skill #2— Share Vulnerability
Sharing your vulnerabilities is knowing when to ask
for support and yet remain persistent. Highly efficient
groups rely on each other for their expertise and
advice. Vulnerability creates a trusting culture within
teams. Being vulnerable is owning your mistakes and
not trying to hide behind a perfect persona. Leaders
who show their vulnerability remove the barrier for
their team to do the same.
Being vulnerable also includes having the ability to
deal with difficult situations up front and face-to-face.
Brene Brown [online photo] Sept.5th, 2019, Retrieved from
[Link]/article/leading-change-requires-
(Coyle, P. 171-188, 2018) vulnerability/
Examples of vulnerability
United Airlines Flight 232
Pixar, BrainTrust
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, The Red Balloon Challenge
“Tell me what you want, and I’ll help you”
- Daniel Coyle, p.97
Page 4
Ideas for Action
Make sure the leader is vulnerable first and often; Build a wall between performance review and
when the leader asks for feedback it allows others professional development; do not link these under one
to feel comfortable to do the same. category.
Overcommunicate expectations; don’t presume Use flash mentoring; condensed form of mentoring that
things will happen, communicate those is quick and simple.
expectations.
Deliver the negative stuff in person; deal with the Make the leader occasionally disappear; leave the team
discomfort through face-to-face interactions. during important situations to see how they handle it
without your leadership.
When forming new groups, focus on two critical Align language with action; the common language can
moments; “the first vulnerability and the first have a small impact on the team.
disagreement”.
Listen like a trampoline; be an active responder Embrace the discomfort; understand that the discomfort
and not just a passive listener. will lead to team gain.
In conversation, resist the temptation to Aim candor; avoid brutal honesty; “less judgemental”
reflexively add value; “not what you say but what and more focused feedback.
you do”.
Use candor-generating practices like AARs,
BrainTrusts, and Red Teaming; these tools help
to facilitate habits.
(Coyle, p.158-168, 2018)
“They were the structure, and if
any of them failed, the group would
fail.”
- Daniel Coyle, p.133
Microsoft Publisher, Clip Art
Page 5
The Culture Code
Skill #3— Establish Purpose
Establishing a purpose guides the
work of the team and what they
stand for. A purpose is most
commonly viewed as a mission
statement and a set of values that
are reinforced.
The example that Coyle using for
establishing purpose comes from
the company Johnson & Johnson.
The president of the company,
James Burke, asked for the team to Plan, Action & Success [online photo] Retrieved Sept.5th, 2019 from
[Link]/how-to-write-a-mission-statement-2948001
help adapt the credo and make
sure it was reflective of the values stakeholders and the community.
they hold. The credo not only The credo changed the way the
describes their values but also team operated and reinforced their
details the relationship with philosophy (Coyle, p.171, 2018).
Johnson & Johnson Crisis, 1982
On September 30,1982, the successful company, Johnson and Johnson, were
facing a public relations nightmare when tainted Tylenol capsules were replaced
with cyanide, killing 5 people in Chicago and creating panic. It generated enough
fear and pandemic to be the end of the company. The medical company had lost
the trust of the public and was seen as doomed.
The president, James Burket, was quickly collaborating with his staff to examine
a direction for the company to deal with the situation.
After thinking about a solution through the lens of their company philosophy and
values, they decided on a national recall of all Tylenol, “31 million pills in all” at
a substantial cost of “$100 million”.
Burke responded with his reason for choosing a national recall by stating, “we
believe our first responsibility is to doctors, nurses, and patients; to mothers and
Tylenol News [online photo] Sept. 5th, 2019
fathers and all others who use our products and services” (Coyle, p.176, 2018). retrieved from [Link]/article/clear-
reflection/johnson-johnson-and-tylenol-crisis-
management-case-study
Page 6
How to Lead...
Lead for Creativity Lead for Proficiency
Allow the team to fail and Priorities should be clearly
learn from their mistakes. defined and affirmed
Ask questions is facilitate Behavioral expectations are
inquiry among the group. communicated to the team
Step back from the creative The work environment has
decision making and examples displayed for the
process. Try not to interfere. team to be immersed.
As recommended by Laszlo Bock, former leader at
Google, these are three essential questions for a leader
to ask:
1. What is one thing that I currently do that you’d
like me to continuing doing?
2. What is one thing that I currently do frequently
enough that you think I should do more often?
3. What can I do to make you more effective?
(Coyle, p.159, 2018)
Google Head Office [online photo] Sept.5th, 2019,Retrieved from
[Link]/2013/06/20/google_hiring_procedures
Page 7
The Culture Code
IDEAS FOR ACTION
Name and rank your priorities Groups need to be able to compose a small list of priorities and recognise
how these tasks are going to affect their relationship with each other to
make sure the expectations are clear.
Be ten times as clear about your Although a large percentage of leaders were able to identify the groups
priorities as you think you should top 3 priorities, when the group was asked, a very low percentage of
groups were able to name the priorities. The group’s mandate and values
be needed to be reinforced.
Figure out where your group aims Being proficient is having a consistent and uniform approach to tasks.
for proficiency and where it aims Being creative is providing “support, fuel, and tools” to inspire and ener-
gize the team (Coyle, p.230, 2018).
for creativity
Embrace the use of catchphrases Often viewed as “corny”, catchphrases are a concise reminder of the
groups objectives. They act as a quick and simple reminder to support
and encourage the team (Coyle, p.231, 2018).
Measure what really matters The behavior of the team needs to be reflected by the mission statement.
If costumer service is valued, is the team supporting this value.
Use artifacts Artifacts are a visual symbol of what the team stands for and what matters
most.
Focus on bar-setting behaviors The small efforts have a defining factor to the team. Often, little reward,
the commitment to small efforts impact the “attention and excellence” of
the team (Coyle, p.233, 2018).
Coyle, p.225-235, 2018
Conclusion
Daniel Coyle’s book The Culture Code is an excellent read for organizations to learn how to build their
team culture and increase their success. The book is essentially a how-to-guide for creating highly
efficient teams. The three skills offer insight into ways to implement them into practice which is a
practical feature. The real world narratives are helpful to connect to the concepts, but also provide
proof that the skills are productive.
“...these small efforts are powerful because they transmit,
amplify, and celebrate the purpose of the whole group.”
(Coyle, p.235, 2018)
Reference
Coyle, D. (2018). The culture code: the secrets of highly successful groups. First edition. New York:
Bantam Books.