The value and impact of company culture are all too often misunderstood because many first-time founders and CEOs have not experienced a strong or a weak culture. Just as with an individual’s character culture happens outside of our awareness, below the surface. We recognize certain behaviors from that individual but can’t see the forces at work below the surface. Just as our character drives our behavior as individuals, so too does culture drive the behavior of a company’s employees. It’s not a simple matter to develop a strong company culture, like building a strong character, it takes awareness, practice and commitment. The aim of this presentation is to demonstrate how you can transform your culture into a tangible, conscious and visible asset for your company. During this presentation I break the culture development process down into 3 phases: Define, Embed and Reinforce. I talk about the foundational importance of vision and mission statements, and core values. I go into detail about why core values on their own are not enough and what you need to do to realize them. I discuss why some companies get culture development right and a lot of companies get it wrong. I delve into values-based hiring and why hiring for culture-fit is impossible. I explore the six tools for embedding culture and give examples of how companies reinforce their culture over time. Company culture is the only sustainable competitive advantage a company’s leadership has total control over and I also explore examples of where CEOs have lost control of their culture.