The Best Articles in Company Culture
The most useful articles and videos in Company Culture from around the web—beginners to advanced—curated by thought leaders and our community. We focus on timeless pieces and update the list whenever we discover new, must-read articles or videos—make sure to bookmark and revisit this page.
Top 5 Company Culture Articles
At a glance: these are the articles that have been most read, shared, and saved in Company Culture by Refind users in 2023.
Videos
Watch a video to get a quick overview.
The best way to apologize (according to science)
Explore what to do— and not to do— in order to deliver an authentic apology and make amends in a variety of situations.--Over the years, people have come up ...
Zoom Calls vs. Phone Calls
Which do you prefer: Zoom calls or phone calls? + + +Simon is an unshakable optimist. He believes in a bright future and our ability to build it together. De...
How do you deal with Pessimism?
Simon is an unshakable optimist. He believes in a bright future and our ability to build it together. Described as “a visionary thinker with a rare intellect...
Be the Idiot | Simon Sinek
When we're brave enough to admit we don't understand something, it gives others the courage to speak up, too. + + +Simon is an unshakable optimist. He believ...
How to ...?
How to Be a Mentor: 4 Ways to Change Someone’s Life
Discover what a mentor does, why different types of mentors exist, why mentoring is important, and four ways to be a transformative mentor yourself.
«mentors have three things in common. They motivate, inspire, and support.»
How to Become a Better Listener
Sharpen these seven skills.
«REPEAT PEOPLE’S LAST FEW WORDS BACK TO THEM. If you remember nothing else, remember this simple practice that does so much. It makes the other person feel listened to, keeps you on track during the conversation, and provides a pause for both of you to gather thoughts or recover from an emotional reaction»
How To Create A Business Rhythm For Better Collaboration
Companies certainly hold lots of meetings. However, having more meetings does not necessarily equal more collaboration and better teamwork. Also, more meetings does not automatically ensure better…
«Finally, most teams at P4Q hold quick daily meetings to see how they are performing against set goals (similar to stand-up meetings in Agile, for example).»
How to Stay Motivated When You’re (Still) Stuck at Home
You’re tired, mad, and lonely. So, what can you do about it?
How to Evaluate a Company’s Culture During a Remote Hiring Process
There’s plenty you can learn without ever stepping foot in an office.
Trending
These links are currently making the rounds in Company Culture on Refind.
How to Build Trust
What are the major management behaviors that can help build trust? Management books often cover the importance of trust, but abstractly. There’s precious little writing about the nuts and bolts, the…
Team Building
Oct 17, 2023 SHARE ↓ Winning is done by teams and I’m quite excited by the team at Collaborative Fund right now. We got together in New York two weeks back. It was a jam. We welcomed several new hires…
Your Small Imprecise Ask Is a Big Waste of Their Time
When managers and leaders don't specify the expected time investment of an ask, the time that is invested is almost never what was intended.
The Luxury Office Development That Became a Horrific Migrant Shelter
In Brooklyn, hundreds of men have languished in a city-run facility, taking cold showers, eating bad food, and sleeping inches from one another.
Short Articles
Short on time? Check out these useful short articles in Company Culture—all under 10 minutes.
How to Communicate When Trust Is Low (Without Digging Yourself Into A Deeper Hole)
This is based on an internal quip doc I wrote up about careful communication in the context of rebuilding trust. I got a couple requests to turn it into a blog post for sharing purposes; here you g…
Briefly: The Value of Meetings, and Some Alternatives
Shopify continues to attract attention for it’s ridiculously reductionist takes productivity, from meeting armageddon to more recently a meeting cost calculator.
«Getting and clarifying information Building shared understanding Recognition and celebration Reinforcing values Building social bonds and trust»
To Build a Top Performing Team, Ask for 85% Effort
An outdated way of thinking about peak performance is: “maximum effort = maximum results.” But research shows that it doesn’t actually work that way in reality. Here’s what actually works: The 85%…
«The 85% rule counterintuitively suggests that to reach maximum output, you need to refrain from giving maximum effort. Operating at 100% effort all of the time will result in burnout and ultimately less-optimal results.»
The Importance of Play at Work
A Q&A with IDEO's Michelle Lee about about the importance of play at work, how to build design thinking into the employee experience, and how to optimize team-bonding efforts for maximum engagement.
On Wielding Influence
Last month I got to attend GOTO Chicago and give a talk about continuous deployment and high-performing teams. I did a terrible job, and I’m not being modest. I had just rolled off a delayed …
«By giving people the chance to process their reactions in private, you give them space to learn, ask questions, and even change their mind without losing face»
Long Articles
These are some of the most-read long-form articles in Company Culture.
12 Ways to Rethink Your Next Performance Review Conversation
Stop dreading performance reviews. We assembled a list of 12 tips from expert leaders like Lenny Rachitsky, Molly Graham, Russ Laraway, Brie Wolfson, Julie Zhuo and more to make these conversations…
Creating a Culture of Listening
The first step is to listen more and talk less
9 Team Health Check Methods To Unlock Team Potential
Discover 9 different ways to run a team health check, so you can decide which is best for you, and get started improving your team.
Organize Your Change Initiative Around Purpose and Benefits
If there’s one thing that’s certain about the future, it’s that change is here to stay. The ability to constantly transform has become a top priority for organizations. Therefore, change management is…
Thought Leaders
We monitor hundreds of thought leaders, influencers, and newsletters in Company Culture, including:
Eric Ries
Trying to change how startups are built.
Jason Fried
Founder & CEO at 37signals (makers of Basecamp and HEY). Non-serial entrepreneur, serial author. No DMs, email me at jason@hey.com.

DHH
Creator of Ruby on Rails, Co-owner & CTO of 37signals (Basecamp & HEY), NYT best-selling author, and Le Mans 24h class-winner. No DMs, email: dhh@hey.com
Boston Consulting Group
Official global account of Boston Consulting Group. Highlights of our work, initiatives, people, partnerships, and more. Also @BCGhenderson & @bcgx_
MIT Sloan Management Review
Transforming how people lead and innovate.
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