Does culture really matter? This question comes up constantly in my work. Prospective clients point to companies with notoriously harsh cultures that are dominating their markets, and they ask me directly: if those organizations are winning without investing in culture, why should we? What I have learned through two decades of working inside Fortune 500 companies and with leaders who have navigated these high-pressure environments is that the answer is more nuanced than the q

Our compulsive need to please others and maintain universal acceptance emerges from the same psychological foundation: we have constructed our self-concept around the fluctuating reactions and judgments of those around us.