Culture Design: How to Build  a High-Performing, Resilient Organization with Purpose
James D. White and Krista White
Harvard Business Review Press (November 2025)

The Pronouns of High-Impact Transformation: WHAT, WHY, WHO, and by WHEN

James White and Krista White provide definitions of two key terms:

Organization culture is “a set of actions, habits, rituals, and beliefs that determine how work gets done, how decisions get made, and how people experience their workplaces.”

Cultural design is “a fundamental process by which design thinking principles are integrated with inclusive leadership best practices to build human, empathic, and high-performing cultures suited tothe needs of each orgabnization.”

Next, I enlist Simon Sinek, one of my most valuable mentors, to add another definition: A WHY statement is “is a single sentence describing a person’s or organization’s compelling purpose, cause, or belief that inspires them and acts as the source of all they do. It’s an evergreen, actionable statement of purpose that guides decisions, aligns actions, and contributes to a greater good, focusing on the impact one can make on others rather than on products or services.

Combine and coordinate the three and you have the blueprint (i.e. “secret sauce”) for building or strengthening “a high performing, resilient organization with purpose.”

It is no coincidence that most of the companies annually ranked among those most highly admired and best to work for are also annually ranked among those most profitable, with the greatest cap value in their industry segment. However different these companies may be in most respects, all have a workplace culture within which personal growth and professional development are most likely to thrive.

When employees are asked to rank what is of greatest importance to them,  feeling that they and their efforts are appreciated is at or near the top of the list.

Whatever their size and nature may be, all organizations need high-impact leadership at all levels and in all areas throughout the given workplace culture.

According to James White and Krista White, the greatest leaders they have observed and worked wth have commonalities within seven areas:

1. They have vision.
2. They have a “for all” mindset and bring humility into even the most demanding job.
3. They are driven by empathy.
4. They see culture as an indispensable pillar of strategy.
5. They are lifelong learners.
6. They are great communicators and storytellers.
7. They are servant leaders.

Of course, even the greatest leaders throughout history are not fully developed in all of these areas but at least they do all they can to embrace their potential importance.

Whatever their size and nature may be, all organizations need effective leadership at all levels and in all areas of the given enterprise. And that leadership must be in collaboration. driven by mutual trust and respect.

Here are two questions that all executives — especially at the C-level — must ask and then answer every day:

o “Is our workplace culture one within which personal growth and professional development are most likely to thrive?”

o “What must be done to improve it?”

What are your answers?

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Here are two suggestions while you are reading Culture Design: First, highlight key passages. Also,  perhaps in a lined notebook kept near-at-hand,  record your comments and responses to questions such as the two just posed as well as action steps (preferably with deadlines). Pay special attention to the remarks that introduce and conclude each chapter.

These two simple tactics — highlighting and documenting — will facilitate, indeed expedite, frequent reviews of key material later.