Culture is Overrated. Build a Community Instead.
If you View Hiring as Building a Strong Community, Culture will Take Care of Itself
Today’s post is a deeper dive of the LinkedIn post I put out this morning — have a look 👀 — With your help maybe I’ll go viral 📈
Let’s talk about the most overhyped buzzword in business: culture.
Everyone loves to throw around phrases like, “Our culture is everything” or “Culture eats strategy for breakfast” (or whatever that Peter Drucker quote is that’s been beaten to death). And don’t get me wrong, culture is important. But here’s the thing:
Culture alone won’t cut it. Culture also can’t just be manufactured. It’s a product of the people in your team.
What you actually want to build is a community.
I’m stealing—uh, borrowing—this idea from Leila Hormozi, who absolutely crushed it in a recent episode of her podcast, Build with Leila. Here’s the gist: Your employees can be more than just a team. They can be a community. And that’s your business’s secret weapon.
So, what’s the difference?
Let me paint you a picture.
In a typical "culture-focused" company, you’ve got some ping-pong tables, free snacks, and maybe a couple of forced happy hours where Jenny from accounting overshares about her cat’s latest dental surgery. That’s culture.
In a community-focused company? People don’t just work together—they actually like each other. They connect on a deeper level.
Leila gave a great example: at her company, employees don’t just sit at desks staring at Slack messages all day. They work out together in the company gym. They hang out at lunch, not to talk about Q3 deliverables, but as actual friends. Actual friends because they have shared interests, personally and professionally.
And that’s where the magic happens. When you build a community, you’re not just managing a team anymore. You’re creating an environment where people genuinely want to be—and they’ll attract more like-minded, motivated people.
The Virtuous Cycle of A-Players
Here’s why this is so powerful: A-players want to work with other A-players.
It’s like gravity. When you’ve got a group of driven, talented, mission-aligned people, more people like that will discover you, and will be pulled into your orbit.
In a word, you stop chasing talent — talent starts chasing you.
But… there’s a catch (because there’s always a catch, right?). Just a few mediocre hires can totally wreck the vibe. You’ve gotta protect your community like it’s your grandma’s secret cookie recipe. Yes, that means learning to let people go if they are not a fit.
How Do You Build It?
First, let go of the idea that you need focus groups or “fun” activities that everyone secretly hates. Community isn’t about forcing people to bond; it’s about creating the right conditions for relationships to flourish. Here’s how:
Hire people who actually align with your values. This is non-negotiable. The wrong hire can tank everything faster than you can say “synergy.”
Encourage organic connections. Whether it’s a shared space like a gym or just a lunchroom where people actually eat lunch together, create opportunities for natural interactions.
Stop micromanaging. People will figure it out. When you put solid people together, they’ll feed off each other’s energy and build something amazing without you breathing down their necks.
The Payoff
When you get this right, your community becomes your business’s superpower. Not only will your team be more motivated and engaged, but your entire organization will start to grow exponentially. It’s the kind of compounding effect that no amount of kombucha-on-tap can replicate.
So here’s my challenge to you: take a good, hard look at your team. Are you building a community, or are you just keeping up appearances with surface-level “culture” efforts?
Once you get clear on what kind of people you want in your business, lean into that. Because when you nail this, it’s not just your company that thrives. It’s the people in it—and that’s what it’s all about.
Let me know what you think. Have you seen this work in your own company? Or is this whole idea just HR fluff? Hit reply or drop a comment. I’m all ears.
Here’s to building something to be proud of.
—Silas
Looking to hire top talent in climate? Reach out to learn about our low-cost headhunting service tailor-made for climate startups. silas@erthtechtalent.com
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Love this, Silas! Great content as always!