The Five Day Culture Experiment

Why five days

Every team has a waterline.

In my first leadership role, my manager came to me and said, “Shane, you're responsible for the culture.” I said, “Of course.” Then I walked away and thought, what the hell is culture?

Here's what I've learned since. Above the waterline sit the things everyone can see: the values on the wall, the org chart, the strategy. Below it are the things that actually run the place. The rules nobody says out loud. The words people read differently. The phrases that get repeated, the things that get tolerated, and the things that get celebrated.

For five days, you'll look below it. Ten minutes a morning, one thing to notice, and nothing to change unless you want to.

The five days

One conversation a day.

Each one comes from my book, Let's Talk Culture, and each morning the waterline drops a little further.

Day 1 · ExpectationSpot an unspoken rule.
The rules every team runs on, and almost nobody wrote down.
Day 2 · ClarificationSame word, different pictures.
When one word means something different to everyone in the room.
Day 3 · CommunicationThe phrases your team repeats.
Every team already has a language. Let's listen for yours.
Day 4 · ConfrontationWhat gets tolerated.
Silence teaches too: what happens to the things nobody mentions?
Day 5 · CelebrationWhat gets noticed.
What gets recognised around here, and a message to write if you've got ten minutes.

How a day works

Small on purpose.

Each weekday morning, at a time you pick, your day lands by email or as a notification on your phone.

There's a short video from me, one idea, and one small thing to look for at work. Pick a moment in your day and you'll get a nudge then. That night, take a minute to note what you saw.

Miss a day and it waits for you, and the rest of your week moves along with it. If your week crosses a weekend, there are two short optional activities to keep the thread.

At the end you get your week in review: your culture as it actually is, in your own words.

“Culture isn't good or bad. It's by design or by default.”

Shane Hatton, Let's Talk Culture

Get the app

Put it on your home screen first.

It's free, and there's no app store. It lives on your home screen like any other app, so each day opens in one tap. On an iPhone it's also the only way your phone can send you a notification. Add it first, then open it and sign up there.

In Safari, tap next to the address bar.On an older iPhone, tap the Share button in the bottom bar instead.
Tap Share, then Add to Home Screen.You may need to scroll down to find it.
Leave Open as Web App on, and tap Add.
Open Experiment from your home screen, and sign up there.Look for the iceberg.

Rather not? Start in your browser, and you can add it later.

Questions

Before you start.

Who is it for?

Anyone who leads a team, from a first-time manager to a head of department. You don't need to know anything about culture to start.

What does it cost?

Nothing. It's free.

Do I need to download an app?

Not from an app store. You add it to your home screen from this page (the steps are above), and it opens like any other app. You can also use it in your phone's browser.

What if I miss a day?

It waits for you, and the rest of your week moves along with it. If you're behind, you can do two in a day, but never more.

Who sees what I write?

Only you. I see totals, like how many people finished Day 3, never what anyone wrote. You can download or delete your notes, or your whole account, at any time.

Will I end up on a mailing list?

Only if you tick the box to stay in touch. The experiment's own reminders stop when your five days do.

Who's behind it

Shane Hatton.

I help organisations build culture by design, one conversation at a time. I wrote Let's Talk Culture, I speak to teams around the world, and after a decade in Australia I moved to London to take the work global.

This experiment is the smallest version of that work I could make: five conversations from the book, one a day, and one thing to notice. My hope is that by Day 5 you'll see your team a little more clearly.