Chaos To Culture in 4️⃣ Weeks

November 11, 2025

Hi Reader

Part 3: From Values to an Operating System

TL/DR: Culture isn't built by writing better values but by documenting actual decisions. Here's the simple process: Identify your three recurring dilemmas, capture how your best leaders resolve them, and turn those patterns into protocols everyone can follow. Start with one. Build from there.

(3-minute read)

An email arrived at 5pm….

"We need a culture decision. Two candidates. One has better credentials. One fits our values better. Board meeting tomorrow. What do we do?"

Or perhaps it was a text that arrived at 9pm?

"Contract decision needed. Player wants more money. Young academy product is ready to step up. Both could work. Board wants an answer by morning. What's the call?"

This is what happens when values live on walls instead of in operating systems.

Your people face moments like this daily. And they're making it up as they go.

So, what can you do about it. Today or Tomorrow?

What We've Learned So Far

Part 1 of this series showed why abstract values fail: They can't solve dilemmas where multiple "right" answers exist.

Part 2 revealed the three types of dilemmas every team or company faces: Standards vs. People, Speed vs. Quality, Transparency vs. Protection.

Today let’s look at how you can turn chaos into clarity; but not through consultants writing manifestos. Instead I want to look at an approach through leaders capturing what actually works.

The Problem With Most Culture Work

Organisations hire expensive firms to craft culture documents.

You know the drill…they run workshops, tell you what ‘world champions’ are doing, create frameworks, design posters.

Six months later, and I know you’ve seen this, nothing changes.

Why? Because they built the operating system in a conference room, not from real decisions.

Adam Grant studies this in "Hidden Potential." He found that cultures strong enough to guide behaviour share one trait: They document actual decisions, not aspirational values.

They don't ask "What should we value?" but "What did we do when these things conflicted?"

Building an O.S.

When I examine teams and organisations with a functioning operating system here are the common steps as to how they began to turn the wheel on the work involved….

Step 1: Capture Your Recurring Dilemmas (Week 1)

Ask your leadership team: "What's the hardest decision you faced this month?"

You'll quickly hear patterns….

"Do we move fast or get it perfect?"

"Do we hold the line on standards or give someone another chance?"

"Do we tell people the truth or protect them from worry?"

Write down the three dilemmas that come up most often.

That's your starting point.

Step 2: Document How Your Best Leaders Resolve Them (Week 2)

For each dilemma, ask your strongest leaders:

"Walk me through the last time you faced this. What did you decide? Why?"

Listen for the decision thought process, not the outcome.

Example: A sporting director facing a Standards vs. People dilemma said this:

"I ask three questions: Is this a competence issue or a commitment issue? Is the person coachable? Would keeping them compromise team dynamics? If it's competence and they're coachable and the team still trusts them, we invest. Otherwise, we exit with respect."

See the difference? His answer is not a value statement. It’s a protocol.

Step 3: Turn Patterns Into Simple Decision Frameworks (Week 3)

Now write down what you heard as a simple "if/then" framework.

Standards vs. People Protocol Example:

WHEN performance falls short:

IF it's a competence gap + person is coachable + team trust intact → THEN Invest in development
IF it's a commitment issue OR person isn't coachable OR team trust is damaged → THEN Exit with respect
IF it's a safety, ethics, or integrity issue → THEN Immediate removal

That's it. 49 words that replace "We value excellence and care." No space for ambiguity or assumptions.

Step 4: Test It With Your Team (Week 4)

Share the protocol with your wider team. Ask:

"Does this match how we actually decide? Would this help you when you're stuck?"

Then takes steps to refine based on feedback. Then deploy.

Real-World Example

Google faced a classic Speed vs. Quality dilemma: When should teams launch products versus keep refining?

They didn't write "We value both speed and excellence" on a wall.

They created the "70% Rule": Launch when something is 70% complete. Learn from real users. Iterate based on feedback.

Not perfect. However you’ll agree that it’s clear, specific and actionable, right?

Now every team in Google is clear: Don't wait for 100%. Don't ship at 30%. Aim for 70% and let it sail.

That is, in short, culture as an operating system.

What will it look like in practice?

Let's be very honest about what you're building here.

This is a short newsletter and so this isn't a comprehensive culture manual. It's three decision protocols that solve your most frequent dilemmas.

You're not addressing every situation. You're addressing the situations that create the most confusion right now. You making a start.

So, start there. Build one protocol. See if it works. Refine it. Add the next one.

Remember, culture isn't built in workshops or chin scratching sessions where everyone is vying to sound smart. It's built decision by decision, protocol by protocol. Simple but not easy. Quite boring actually….and that’s why so few actually achieve it and why so many books continue to be sold on the subject.

So why not begin this week? Enough reading, listening and comparing. Enough thinking that Culture is a mystical thing. Here's a four-step start; not perfect but enough to get you off the launchpad.

Monday: Send your leadership team one question: "What's the hardest decision you faced this month?"

Tuesday: Look for patterns in the responses. Which dilemma comes up most?

Wednesday: Talk to your two strongest leaders. Ask them to walk you through their last version of that dilemma.

Thursday: Write down the decision logic you heard as a simple if/then protocol.

One week. One dilemma. One draft protocol.

Sure, you're not solving everything, but you're beginning to solve things that matter.

Once you have one working protocol, something will shift.

Your people stop guessing. They stop looking over their shoulders. They start making decisions that match the culture you actually want.

The first protocol is, naturally, the hardest. The second one comes faster. By the third, your team understands the pattern.

We’re not on a heroes journey to build culture through inspiration…..we’re building it through process.

⚠️ A Warning ⚠️

This work is simple but not easy.

Simple: The process is four steps over four weeks.

Not easy: You have to make choices. You have to say "When these values conflict, this one leads."

Most leaders avoid this because it feels too definitive. Too limiting. Too much of a decision.

But then again, in a team or company setting vagueness isn't freedom, it's confusion. And conversely clarity isn't constraint. It's empowerment.

Your people want to know what you want them to do when things get hard.

Tell them.

🧭 Where We're At

Three weeks ago, we showed you why values fail.

Two weeks ago, we showed you the three types of dilemmas that reveal culture.

Today, we showed you how to build protocols that actually guide behaviours.

Of course, this series won't solve culture completely.

But it does show you the difference between decoration and decision and between aspiration and operation.

You know, if you start this week with one protocol, you're ahead of 95% of teams and companies still staring at words on walls, buying books, watching videos and having luminaries in for canned ‘pep talks’.

You’re ready…nothing to lose and lots to gain.

Last Word: If you've recognised through this series that your team, club or company needs behavioural operating systems but aren't sure where to start, you're at the exact moment where many leaders realise they need support. Building decision protocols requires facilitating honest conversations about what you truly value when values collide. Sometimes the smartest thing a leader can do is bring in someone who's guided other organisations through this transition and can help you navigate the politics, the resistance, and the hard choices that make culture real.

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by Simo Schiassi

I help senior leaders influence without relying on authority. One free email per day. Each email will help you build your Executive Influence to become the leader that people choose to follow, even when they don't have to, in less than 2 minutes.