Thread by @swardley

X : The key to culture is performance.
Me : Hmmm, that's pretty vague. I presume you mean you hope to improve performance through nudging culture?
X : No, I mean if you have people that aren't performing you need to get rid of them.
Me : Ah ... where to begin?

X : You don't agree with removing people?
Me : Quite the opposite. I do agree but for arseholes who endanger the culture whether they're performing or not performing arseholes. This is a group activity you're talking about?
X : Yes
Me : Ok ...

Me : Your focus needs to be on performance of the team as a whole, not an individual. Now, there are many factors that come into play but one of these is safety ... think of it like creating a "family" not a team ...

... so, let's say your sister isn't doing well at something, how do you respond? Kick her out of the family or help?
X : Help.
Me : Ok, let's say your Uncle is being a complete and utter arsehole to everyone, what happens eventually, even in a family?
X : Ok, I get the point.

Me : For a team to really perform, you need to create that sense of family and safety. You need it for communication, challenge, learning, trust - for so many reasons. Kicking your sister/ brother out of the family for "not performing" means you won't have a family for long.

Me : But it's worse than that, because the memory of you doing this gets embedded in the organisation.
X : So how do you solve this?
Me : How would I solve it? Well, I'd first start by getting rid of the "Uncle".
X : Who's the Uncle?
Me : In this case, I'm afraid it was you.

X : How do I fix that?
Me : You learn and then you start again somewhere else but this time you don't play the "Uncle".
X : Can't I fix it with this team?
Me : Not easily. Once these things are broken, and you broke it, it's hard for you to put it back together.

X : I don't see why?
Me : Imagine the arsehole "Uncle" who has kicked out several sisters & brothers for "not performing" and suddenly goes - "I was wrong, trust me from now on" - would you?
X : Trust them? Yes.
Me : You're only saying that because you know you're the "Uncle".

Me : You need to get a better handle on this and that starts with being honest with yourself. If you don't do that, you'll never learn.
X : But my team are happy with me.
Me : Did the arsehole "Uncle" with the power to remove people from the family ask "Are you happy with me?"

X : They wouldn't lie to me.
Me : I would.
X : Well, I'd get rid of you.
Me : That's why I wouldn't tell you that I lied or that I was sending out my CV to other companies etc etc. You broke it, you can't fix. The best you can do is learn.

X : Where can I learn to do this?
Me : Learn to build a family? Safely?
X : Yes.
Me : Ok, that's encouraging. You won't like the answer though.
X : Tell me.
Me : Have you ever played an MMORPG?
X : What's that?

Me : Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game. About 13 years ago, I used to practice these skills on World of Warcraft (an MMORPG). You do so by building guilds. The first dozen or so will be a disaster but eventually you will learn.
X : What specifically?

Me : How to take a bunch of strangers and turn them into a highly motivated team culture with diverse individuals that are capable of working together quickly with purpose whilst supporting each other. Do that for a guild of 500 and you're ready to run a team.

X : I'm not going to waste my time playing games.
Me : Thing of it like training, it's just a simulation exercise. What you've been doing is your training / simulation in a live environment. Not a good idea.

Oh, btw ... this talk on "Build skills through hobbies! Bring them to work! " by @lizthegrey is excellent -

X : I'm going to disagree with you.
Me : Ok. On any particular bit?
X : The getting rid of arseholes.
Me : Fine. What's the objection?
X : Sweat and acquire!
Me : Ah, using my own words against me. That's a rather desperate strategic play though ...

... so, sure ... in some cases, the strategic play of the executive has been so bad that you have no choice but to [sweat] and cut costs, use divs / share buybacks to maintain the price and then [acquire] equivalent replacement revenue often through debt ... it's a time play ...

... and yes, you'll take out more than the arseholes and yes, it's going to be doing untold long term damage to your culture but then it's pure survival & value extraction. You're not planning for a long term future. What you're hoping for is a magic breakthough (i.e. luck) ...

... more often than not it's the spiral of doom. If you role the dice and it comes up Yahtzee or whatever then at that point you can worry about rebuilding what shred of positive culture you have left.

Anyway, these sorts of discussions - the lousy strategic play, the desperate game of sweat & acquire, even the manner in which you create positive cultures are all context specific and the problems are usually caused by a total lack of any form of situational awareness ...

... which by the way is another area that you learn all about in MMORPGs.
X : How?
Me : Just try playing them. You'll soon discover the importance of situational awareness, maps, communication, motivation, culture and pretty much everything you need to lead a space effectively.