You don’t shift culture - you swap it in
Why 30% of your top team needs to change before anything else can
Most companies talk about culture like it’s ambiance.
They run workshops.
Draft values.
Hire a charismatic “tone-setter” and hope their energy trickles down.
Then they wait.
And watch their good intentions fade into inertia.
But here’s the truth:
Culture doesn’t drift. It defends itself.
It’s not a mood. It’s an immune system.
And the moment you try to change it, it fights back—absorbing, isolating, and neutralising your new direction.
If you want pace, candour, ownership, or customer obsession - you need more than symbols.
You need carriers. New ones.
Not one. Not two.
At least 30 to 40% of the people in the rooms where real decisions are made.
Why 30%?
Because systems don’t shift with a whisper.
They shift with a chorus.
One person acting differently is an outlier.
Two are interesting.
Three is a pattern.
And a pattern is permission.
It’s the same principle we’ve seen in boardrooms.
One woman is token. Two can be dismissed.
But three? Three changes the room—not because of identity, but because of mass.
Not just presence. Reinforcement.
Enough to challenge groupthink. Enough to survive the eye-rolls.
Enough to hold the line.
So don’t hire one fast-mover and expect acceleration.
Don’t bring in a single “customer voice” and expect obsession.
You need critical mass. You need 30%.
Not Just the Top Room
This isn’t just about the C-suite.
Culture lives wherever power lives.
That means business units, investment committees, capital councils, talent reviews -
All the quiet parliaments where judgment is formed, defended, and transmitted.
That’s where the transplant must take.
Because if the old antibodies still dominate - your culture will smile, nod, and quietly kill the future.
The rest Is plumbing. But don’t skip the pipes.
Once you’ve refreshed the room, you need structure that holds:
Clarify decision rights. Culture isn’t what you write down. It’s who decides - and what gets challenged when they do.
Anchor leaders to the whole, not the silo. End feudalism. Build system sense.
Rewire the rhythm. Talent, capital, and strategy must move together - not in monologues, but in tempo.
Link your leadership model to real choices. Not just coaching. Consequences. Culture is who you promote, who you forgive, and who you let stay.
The Brutal, Beautiful Truth
Culture isn’t soft. It’s structural.
And structure doesn’t respond to good vibes - it responds to pressure, power, and the cold arithmetic of who’s in the room.
Until you refresh that room - until 30% of your decision-makers already live the future you say you want -
your culture endures.
You don’t shift culture.
You swap it in.