Organizational Culture is important for the success of any organization. A company’s culture outlines it’s core values and impacts the overall performance of the team members. We have curated a list of insightful company culture quotes to help business leaders build a healthy workplace culture.
We’ve included 45 best company culture quotes from a range of CEOs, corporate speakers, writers, best-selling authors, and consultants to inspire your team. We’ve added a link to track down the original publication behind each quote.
Let’s get started;
“A great organizational culture is highlighted by cohesion, collaboration, and compassion.”
– Eileen McDargh, CEO, The Resiliency Group
“Culture, more than products or services, is what differentiates an organization from competitors, both in the minds of customers and of employees.”
– Joe Tye, CEO and Head Coach, Values Coach Inc.
“Organizational Culture is the “water” in the fishbowl. If the water is clean, nourishing, energizing the fish will thrive and if the water is toxic the fish will die leaving the infrastructure value-less.”
– Ranjan De Silva, Partner, Senior Management Consultant, Sensei International
“Culture is made up of the conversations people say inside of an organization. The conversations can be external (conversations with others) or internal (conversations with oneself).”
– Stephen Shapiro, Innovation Keynote Speaker
“Organizational culture is the shared values that have a strong influence on the people in the organization and dictate how they dress, act, and perform their jobs.”
– Tony Brigmon, Ambassador of FUN, The FUNOMENAL Workplace
“Organizational culture is a combination of behaviors and attitudes exhibited by leaders and employees across an organization that create the underlying vibe of that company.”
– Cara Silletto, President and Chief Retention Officer, Crescendo Strategies
“Culture is the collection of unwritten rules, norms, and values that influence people’s behavior.”
– Soren Kaplan, Managing Principal, InnovationPoint LLC
“Organizational culture is a combination of “what’s truly important to us?” and “how do we behave with each other, our customers, our business partners, and the community at large?”
– Joe Calloway, Leadership Keynote Speaker
“Organizational culture is the Five Ps of an organization: its Purpose, Philosophy, Priorities, Practices, and Projections.”
– Sheila Margolis, President, Workplace Culture Institute
“Culture is a shared understanding of how we do things in an organization.”
– Todd Dewett, Author | Speaker | Educator
“By constantly reinforcing the values of the culture, companies can attract and retain individuals who value and thrive in that culture.”
– Robert Spector, Author | Speaker | Co-Founder at RSi
“Leaders at all levels then must apply proven, pragmatic tools, principles, and methodologies to create shifts in the way that employees think, act and behave in order to support and ultimately realize the defined optimal culture.”
– Mike Evans, Author | Speaker | Managing Partner at QuestMark
“Organizational Culture is the inner fabric of shared values, objectives, and relationship processes of a company group.”
– Gabor George Burt, Founder of Slingshot Framework | Author
“A high performing culture is to build an environment where customers resonate with employees whenever they interact with a targeted experience.”
– Norm Smallwood, Co-founder, The RBL Group
“Organizational culture is about how you feel, and how you personally succeed (or don’t) in an environment.”
– Arthur F.Carmazzi, Founder of Directive Communication Psychology
“The best way to create a positive culture at work is for the leader to bring positive energy to work. People follow people. People follow the leader.”
– David Cottrell, President at CornerStone Leadership Institute
“Culture affects every member of the organization and should be owned by all members. It truly is co-created through dialogue.”
– Deri Latimer, CEO of DERILATIMER.com
“When organizational culture is the sole responsibility of a few people it is unlikely to produce consistent results.”
– Daren Martin, Ph.D., The Culture Architect | Keynote Speaker | Author
“High recognition cultures are linked to statistically higher rates of innovation and continuous improvement.”
– Sarah McVanel, President & Founder at Greatness Magnified
“Organizations need to have crystal clear values that function as the “north star” of what the culture should embody.”
– Randy Conley, V.P. of Client Services & Trust Practice Leader at The Ken Blanchard Companies
“Culture is ubiquitous and exists not only in the measurable transactions but also in the ether that binds those transactions together. Culture defines the greatness of an organization the way a person’s soul defines his or her greatness.”
– Bob Whipple, “The Trust Ambassador”
“Your people and the culture you surround them with can and will set you apart and position you to lead your industry.”
– Sam Silverstein, Leadership & Accountability Keynote Speaker | Author
“The organization needs employees to help model the desired culture and teach new people what it means to be part of a high-performing organization.”
– Randy Pennington, Owner, Pennington Performance Group
“Culture is influenced significantly by the values of the organization’s leadership. These are not the written values, but the “lived” values.”
– David McNally, Founder, TransForm Corporation
“Culture starts at the top with setting the vision and mission of the company, but it has to be carried out at all levels.”
– Matt Heller, Founder at Performance Optimist Consulting
“The biggest problem at all with managing culture is everybody thinks of someone else’s issue when it truly belongs to everybody in the organization.”
– Kevin Eikenberry, Chief Potential Officer at The Kevin Eikenberry Group
“Culture is similar to the personality of a human. It is learned and created but not innate or permanent. It can be evolved.”
– Carol Sanford, Author | Speaker | Consultant
“When communication is open and effective, then the over-arching organization culture can be shared and leaders at all levels embrace the responsibility of protecting and reinforcing that culture.”
– Jim Bouchard, Speaker | Author
“Trying to change a culture without a platform enabling debates and discussions is a bit like entering the Olympic marathon wearing an evening gown and high-heel shoes. Don’t expect success.”
– Jonas Ridderstråle, Speaker & Author, Knightray
“Companies with positive cultures that promote trust, respect, collaboration, and professional development for their employees are often able to recruit and retain the top talent.”
– Libby Gill, CEO at Libby Gill & Company
“A culture happens whenever people share the same living conditions and so band together to share beliefs about the rules of survival and emotional prosperity.”
– Stan Slap, CEO at SLAP Company
“Though the culture is largely originated and guided by the leadership team, organizational culture is expressed and only able to take shape through the employees.”
– Rob Catalano, Chief Engagement Officer, WorkTango
“Organizational Culture is determined by the weighted average of the decision-making approach of everyone in your organization.”
– Dave McKeown, CEO, Outfield Leadership
“Organizational Culture is everyone’s role and must be seen as the responsibility of everyone in the organization.”
– Ron Kaufman, Keynote Speaker
“Your culture is sometimes the only thing your competition can’t copy.”
– Steve Donahue, Motivational Speaker | Bestselling Author
“Company Culture is driven from the top-down. While not often designed and constructed deliberately, company culture is truly a game of following the leader.”
– James M. Kerr, Global Chair of the Consulting Practices at N2Growth
“Employees in a thriving culture should be authors of the culture as well as collaborators, contributors, owners, practitioners, and inventors.”
– Paul N Larsen, Certified Executive Coach, Speaker & Author
“The best cultures are places where we know each other as people, not just co-workers.”
– Chester Elton, Partner, and Founder, The Culture Works
“Culture trumps leadership, vision, and policy. Intentionally cultivating it makes all the difference!”
– Greg Hawks, Corporate Culture Specialist at Hawks Agency
“Employees either enhance or detract from a company’s culture. It’s based on their behavior and what is allowed within the culture of an organization.”
– Steve Browne, Vice President of HR at LaRosa’s, Inc.
“Culture is to an organization what oxygen is to living beings. Culture is what makes the organizations’ heart beat.”
– Dr.Deep Bali, CEO & Managing Partner at Recalibrate
“The collective norms that form an organizational culture include every aspect and function of the people within it.”
– Lynita Mitchell-Blackwell, Motivational Speaker | #1 Bestselling Author | Businesswoman
“If we can build a culture within our organizations that support consistent transparency, and change the mindset that pointing out something that isn’t working is a good thing and beneficial to the business instead of a personal attack on one individual, our employees will have mutual trust, enhanced engagements, and our businesses will thrive.”
– Jennifer Currence, President, OnCore Management Solutions LLC
“A culture fostering trust, openness, and transparency along with the simplicity of executing the desired practices holds the key.”
– Rajesh Padmanabhan, Director, and Group CHRO at Welspun Group
“Organizational Culture is creating an environment where people “want” to go to work, not “have” to go to work.”
– Jack Daly, Professional Sales Coach
If you’ve got a favorite quote that you think we’ve missed, jump into the comments below. I’d love to hear your suggestions.