Ben Horowitz said, “Culture is not a set of beliefs. It’s a set of actions.” That’s true. But incomplete. Culture is how values behave under stress. It’s not what’s printed on the wall. It’s what’s sacrificed to stay consistent when it costs you. At 19C, we call this the Institutional Value Core (IVC) — the architecture that ensures integrity isn’t situational. Because without structural integrity, even good intentions collapse under pressure.

New York (Oct. 15, 2025) Most organizations celebrate their “culture” when conditions are smooth—when revenue is up, morale is high, and the road ahead is clear. That’s easy. The real definition of culture shows itself when the pressure mounts: when targets are missed, markets turn volatile, and hard tradeoffs can’t be postponed. A company’s values aren’t the posters on the wall or the slide in the all-hands. They’re the decisions leaders and teams make when those values cost something—whether that’s walking away from short-term revenue, backing a team member during failure, or holding a line that isn’t popular. Ben Horowitz’s point cuts to the core: culture is not a quarterly slogan—it’s the daily pattern of actions, especially under duress. When stress hits, the gap between declared values and lived behavior either disappears or becomes glaring. That’s the real scoreboard. Culture isn’t what you say. It’s what you choose when it’s hard. Ulysses Thomas Ware ICCF AI Technology & Engineering Labs ICCF Global Capital Markets #culture #innovation #technology #venturecapital #money #investing #startups Bloomberg News CNN Business The Wall Street Journal

Ever walked into a company and felt something… good or bad? That's culture, the invisible force shaping everything. I've seen organizations with inspiring mission statements plastered on every wall… but where ideas go to die in meetings. And others, no fancy slogans, but a tangible sense of trust, ownership, and clarity humming beneath the surface. Culture isn’t a decoration. It’s the rhythm that either fuels performance or silently drains it. But how do you know if your team's culture is helping or hurting? It starts with honest reflection. Here are 5 questions I use to pulse-check culture with teams and clients. Be honest, because the answers are the first step to real change: 👇"

The Next Frontier of Culture Isn’t on Your Wall — It’s in What You Tolerate Every Day. I used to think culture was about the right words — purpose, values, vision. I’ve written them. Printed them. Even hung them on the wall. But I learned the hard way: nothing changes because of a poster. Culture shifts only when the everyday stuff shifts — how we speak, decide, and show up under pressure. Stop treating people like “resources” and start treating them like adults. That’s what human dignity really means. No fake feedback, no micromanagement — just clarity and respect. Then came "social cohesion". I realized strong teams aren’t built by offsites or slogans. They’re built when people have each other’s backs on a bad week, not just when goals are met. And finally, "strategic alignment." I’ve seen the difference when everyone understands why their work matters. When even the quietest person in the room can link their task to the mission — that’s when momentum happens. These three — dignity, cohesion, alignment — became my compass. Not theories. Daily practice.

I have sat through endless meetings about culture, values, and mission statements. But here’s the reality: culture isn’t what you write on a poster. It is what happens when no one is watching. It is how leaders respond when mistakes happen, how peers react when someone asks for help, and how teams treat each other under pressure. Culture is built in the everyday moments of practice, not policy. If you want better culture, start by modeling the behavior you wish you had experienced yourself.

Everyone agrees: “Culture beats strategy—so much that culture is strategy.” Yet culture remains neglected. Why? Because the people who design strategy often don’t know how to build culture. And asking for help from those who actually do feels like losing control. So they cling to strategy and ignore the very force that makes or breaks it.

Culture isn’t what you say. It’s what you tolerate. Every behavior you reinforce, or ignore, writes the real rulebook of your organization. If you say yes to convenience, you say no to standards. If you say yes to exceptions, you say no to accountability. If you say yes to talent that doesn’t model your values, you say no to culture itself. Every “yes” and every “no” is a vote for the kind of organization you’re building, whether you realize it or not. Culture isn’t built in meetings or memos. It’s built in the moments you choose what to let slide.

“Culture clarity over culture hype.” I’ve sat in a lot of meetings where leaders say things like, “Our culture is our biggest strength.” Then you ask, “How would your team describe it?” And you get 20 different answers. Culture isn’t what you put on the wall. It’s what people feel every day, and most companies never actually measure it. When teams take time to define what drives them, you see communication improve, friction drop, and trust build almost overnight. It’s simple, but it changes everything.

Values statement = Desired culture Developing your statement of values is the same as trying to define your desired culture. They're not separate activities. Want to know what your culture is? Describe honestly how the CEO and the other top executives treat each other. You can do whatever other "values work" and "culture work" you want, the truth is visible on executive row.

Just saw this and had to say something. NOTHING kills culture (at least not in the corporate sense). Things can change it. They can negatively influence it. But those just lead to a different culture. What the actual message is (I think) - is what can kill the culture we want the org to have? Well, my shorthand for culture is that its reflected in the daily, lived experiences of the people in it. So if you say things like "people are out biggest asset" (I'll stay off my soapbox about how that's never true) - but you do things like stack rank people during perf reviews, or allow bad managers to persist, or whatever...then you are influencing that daily, lived experience at a level that no "Teamwork" poster will ever fix. So start there. Make sure those values from your mission statement are actually reflected in how you do business and run your company.