Culture Is the Job: Why Organizational Culture Still Wins, and Always Will
Strategy matters. Systems matter. Talent matters. But organizational culture? Culture is the multiplier.
Culture is the invisible operating system of an organization. It shapes how decisions are made when no one is watching, how people treat one another under pressure, and how consistently an organization delivers on its mission. You can have the best strategy in the world, but if your culture is weak, misaligned, or undefined, execution will always fall short.
When I think about how to define and build a strong organizational culture, I come back to a simple, powerful framework articulated by Capt. Mark VonAppen: The Big Four.
I first encountered this framework during my time in the fire service. Capt. VonAppen is a respected fire service leader known for his clarity around expectations, accountability, and team performance in high‑stakes environments where culture is not a buzzword,it’s a matter of trust, safety, and mission success. His principles resonated with me then, and they have stayed with me because they translate seamlessly from emergency services to healthcare, business, and leadership at every level.
These principles are not slogans. They are expectations. And when they are clearly defined, consistently reinforced, and modeled by leadership, they form the backbone of a healthy, high-performing culture.
The Big Four: A Practical Definition of Culture
1. Do Your Job
At its core, culture starts with accountability.
“Do Your Job” means every person understands their role, their responsibilities, and the standards associated with them,and takes ownership of delivering on them consistently. It’s not about perfection; it’s about reliability.
In strong cultures:
Roles are clear
Expectations are explicit
Accountability is fair and consistent
When people do their jobs well, trust grows. And trust is the currency of effective teams.
2. Treat People Right
How people are treated inside an organization matters just as much as results.
“Treat People Right” means respect is non-negotiable,up, down, and across the organization. It shows up in how leaders communicate, how conflict is handled, how feedback is delivered, and how success is shared.
This principle does not mean avoiding hard conversations. In fact, treating people right often means having honest, direct conversations grounded in dignity and care.
Healthy cultures understand this truth: You can demand high standards without demeaning people.
3. Have an All-In Attitude
Culture is shaped not only by what people do, but by how they show up.
An “All-In Attitude” reflects commitment,to the mission, to the team, and to the work. It’s the mindset that says, “I’m not just here to collect a paycheck; I’m here to contribute.”
All-in teams:
Take ownership instead of making excuses
Lean into challenges instead of avoiding them
Support one another when things get hard
This kind of attitude is contagious,and leadership sets the tone.
4. Give an All-Out Effort
Finally, strong cultures expect effort to match intention.
“Give an All-Out Effort” means bringing your best,consistently. Not occasionally. Not only when it’s convenient.
This doesn’t mean burnout or unsustainable pace. It means professionalism. Preparation. Pride in one’s work.
When people give an all-out effort:
Quality improves
Performance stabilizes
Mediocrity loses its grip
Effort is one of the few things fully within our control,and cultures that value it outperform those that tolerate indifference.
Culture Is What You Tolerate
Perhaps the most important truth about organizational culture is this: culture is not what you say,it’s what you allow.
If leaders tolerate poor performance, disrespectful behavior, half-hearted effort, or disengagement, those behaviors become the culture.
Conversely, when leaders consistently reinforce expectations aligned with the Big Four,through decisions, feedback, recognition, and accountability,culture becomes a competitive advantage.
Leadership’s Role in the Big Four
Leaders do not create culture through posters, speeches, or values statements alone. They create it through:
What they model
What they reward
What they correct
What they ignore
The Big Four work because they are simple, observable, and actionable. They give leaders and teams a shared language for what “right” looks like.
Final Thought
In a world obsessed with quick fixes and flashy initiatives, organizational culture remains stubbornly fundamental. It is built slowly, reinforced daily, and revealed under pressure.
If you want a culture that performs, endures, and attracts the right people, start with clear expectations.
Do your job. Treat people right. Be all in. Give an all-out effort.
That’s not just culture,that’s leadership in action.
