We can have results or excuses, not both. "We get what we demand, we encourage what we tolerate." - Tom Landry ** Workbook Exercise: What are you tolerating that you should not? Culture is not eloquent, inspirational words on the wall, a t-shirt, or an email signature. Culture is the sum of the actions, behaviors, and choices that we tolerate, reward, reinforce, promote, and celebrate. Want to create a high-performance culture? Start by auditing the above. But that’s only the tip of the iceberg. We (society) tend to only look at issues from a single vantage point, yet many things in life are dichotomies. Culture is one such dichotomy. “Culture”, as we commonly think of it, can align team members for focused efforts that lead to desired results. Yet, to impose a culture - or belief system - by definition is inherently oppressive. So the “how do we create better culture?” question becomes a series of questions: “What is the culture you wish to create? Who does it serve? and How does it serve the individual and the system as a whole?”. How can we help individuals align to work toward the same goal (sing the same song) without losing what makes each unique? Like any great band, each musician must perform his/her role individually, yet harmoniously.