Why Great Brands Must Design Great Culture with Josh Levine

On Brand with Nick Westergaard

“It’s imperative. You must design your culture. It plays such a big role.” Educator, author, and designer Josh Miles has made his mission helping organizations understand the need for culture design in our rapidly changing digital world. His new book Great Mondays charges organizations with developing a company culture that employees will love. We talked about how to think and act differently when it comes to culture this week on the On Brand podcast.

About Josh Levine

Josh Levine is an educator, designer, and author, but above all, he is on a mission to help organizations design a culture advantage. Even though his day job is Principal of Great Mondays, a 10-year-old culture design company, Josh is best known as Executive Director and Co-Founder of the international non-profit Culture LabX. His new book Great Mondays: How to Design a Company Culture Employees Love is available on Amazon. You can find him around the web @akajoshlevine

Episode Highlights

The problem with culture problems. Josh began the episode by sharing that most culture engagements don't present as culture problems. “No one asks for help with their culture. They talk about their values. They need help refreshing their values.”

How do you address culture? Josh has a six-step system: (1) purpose, (2) values, (3) behaviors, (4) rituals, (5) recognition, (6) and cues.

What brand has a great culture? Specifically, I asked Josh for a brand with a great culture who we might not normally think of. He told the story of a friend who was interviewing someone at Airbnb. The company was holding on-site job interviews at the same time and he observed them working to prepare the space with signs welcoming the potential new hires. This is a cue that says a lot about how they value team members. “There’s a real culture-brand alignment."

What brand has made Josh smile recently? “I have two companies. First, Slack, who just launched a new logo. They also align with my personality.” Josh also shared another example – his friend that just started a new bike shop Full Metal Cycles.

To learn more, go to greatmondays.com.

What brand has made Steve smile recently? Steve shared how his adopted hometown of Nashville makes him smile every time he sees the skyline as he descends in a plane returning from a trip. That's a good community brand!

To learn more about Steve, check out the book at claritywins.org, connect with The King of Clarity on Facebook, and visit his company website clarityfuel.com.

As We Wrap …

Did you hear something you liked on this episode or another? Do you have a question you’d like our guests to answer? Let me know on Twitter using the hashtag #OnBrandPodcast and you may just hear your thoughts here on the show.

On Brand is sponsored by my new book Brand Now. Discover the seven dynamics to help your brand stand out in our crowded, distracted world. Order now and get special digital extras. Learn more.

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Until next week, I’ll see you on the Internet!

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