The one sentence summary:

Successful company cultures need honesty and meaning, allowing people to be themselves and do work that makes sense.

WHAT THE BOOK SAYS

• In the past, businesses made people conform to the organization’s needs. That doesn’t work any more.
• Leaders need to attract the right people, keep them and inspire them to do their best work.
• The best leaders are almost invisible:
• “A leader whose existence is unknown to his subordinates is really the most brilliant one.” Zhang Ruimin, CEO of Chinese company Haier

ELEMENTS OF THE BOOK I PARTICULARLY LIKE

• There are a set of diagnostic tools and questions to work out whether the culture is healthy (like the Creating the Best Workplace on Earth staff survey).
• It cautions on not making promises that you can’t keep.
• It cautions on not trying too much.
• The authors propose six attributes of a healthy company culture (see Creating a Great Company Culture tool):

1. Difference: Let people be themselves
2. Radical honesty: Let people know what’s really going on
3. Extra value: Magnify people’s strengths
4. Authenticity: Stand for something more than just shareholder value
5. Meaning: Make the work make sense
6. Simple rules: Make the rules clear and apply equally to everyone