The org culture mantra is usually considered a silicon valley mumbo jumbo. Although many companies and teams rant about culture, very few in my opinion take it seriously. In this talk I would like to discuss the importance of Org culture and how it makes or breaks businesses and teams. I will lay out some key pointers that will help the influencers in the audience make decisions about their org or team culture. The talk will be in the context of culture in tech companies.

1. About Me
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2. About You
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3. Dr. Culture Shock
Or How I stopped Worrying about Org Culture
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4. ThoughtWorks

5. Organizational Culture
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6. ThoughtWorks

7. ThoughtWorks

8. Why?
• To attract and retain amazing talent.
• To make the employees feel like comrades on a mission.
• To ship better and faster products/services.
• To be an awesome place!
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10. Burnout
Constant Stress
More Sick Days
Demotivation
Attrition
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11. ThoughtWorks

12. ThoughtWorks

13. Feedback
• Growth Mindset
• Opening up just enough
• Structured feedback (?)
• Keep Doing
• Stop Doing
• Start Doing
• Actionable items on feedback – With your buddy’s help
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15. Transparency
• Underrated
• Openness/Ethics
• Actions:
• Weekly/Monthly All-Hands
• Anonymous feedback mechanism
• A way for employees to stay connected
• Share financials with employees
• No non-Competes
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17. People Engagement
• Bureaucracy
• Collaboration
• Impossible Deadlines
• Ambiguity and Meaning
• Celebrate Achievement
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18. ThoughtWorks

19. Appraisals
• Stack Ranking
• Doesn’t work.
• Alternatives:
• Team’s feedback
• Example:
• Raj, Simran, Rahu, Neha, Steve
• It’s about a culture of respecting a person’s individuality
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21. QUESTIONS
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22. Thank You!
Siddharth Kulkarni
@sid_thinketh
GEEK NIGHT JULY 2017