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Listen "239. Why your founder's culture dies at 50 employees (And what to do about it), with Work Futurist, Josh Levine"
Episode Synopsis
Welcome back to Truth, Lies & Work, the award-winning podcast where behavioral science meets workplace culture.
Hosted by Chartered Occupational Psychologist Leanne Elliott and business owner Al Elliott, this episode features Josh Levine, work futurist, author of "Great Mondays," and culture consultant who's helped companies like Credit Karma navigate the treacherous waters of hypergrowth.
Episode Summary
Picture this: You've built something special. Your team of 15 feels like family. Everyone knows everyone. The culture just works. But now you're staring down growth - maybe to 50, maybe to 100 employees. And there's this gnawing fear: what if scaling breaks everything we've built?
What We Cover
The 50-Employee Breaking Point
Why founder's culture has an expiration date and the physics behind cultural breakdown
From Implicit to Explicit
How to transform unspoken behaviours into values that actually scale beyond personal influence
The Three-Step Framework
Identify, codify, and communicate the most important decisions that move the needle
Why Most Values Fail
The difference between values as wall decorations versus business tools that drive decisions
Recognition Done Right
How Wells Fargo's outcome-focused rewards destroyed trust and what to do instead
Trust as Infrastructure
Why relational infrastructure matters more than physical infrastructure in distributed work
The WD-40 Case Study
How Gary Ridge reframed failure as learning and invested in humans, not just outputs
Measuring Culture at Scale
Why Employee Net Promoter Score captures what matters as you grow
Resources
Connect with Josh Levine on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/akajoshlevine
Follow Josh on Instagram: @greatmondays_culturedesign
Great Mondays website: https://greatmondays.com
Great Mondays Radio: https://radio.greatmondays.com
Great Mondays YouTube: https://youtube.com/@GreatMondays
Get the book "Great Mondays" at greatmondays.com
Mental Health Support
This episode discusses workplace stress, burnout, and the challenges of scaling culture. If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health:
UK:
Samaritans: 116 123 (24/7 helpline) - https://www.samaritans.org/
Mind: 0300 123 3393 or text 86463 - https://www.mind.org.uk/
US:
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Call or text 988 (24/7) - https://988lifeline.org/
NAMI Helpline: 1-800-950-NAMI (6264) - https://www.nami.org/
International:
Befrienders Worldwide: https://www.befrienders.org/ (directory of crisis helplines worldwide)
International Association for Suicide Prevention: https://www.iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/ (global crisis center directory)
Connect with Your Hosts
Connect with Al on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thisisalelliott/
Connect with Leanne on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meetleanne
Join the discussion about this episode on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/truthlieswork/
Email: [email protected]
Follow us on Instagram: @truthlieswork
Chat with us on X: @truthlieswork
YouTube channel: @TruthLiesWork
Check us out on TikTok: @truthlieswork
Want a chat about your workplace culture? [email protected]
Got feedback/questions/guest suggestions? Email [email protected]
Hosted by Chartered Occupational Psychologist Leanne Elliott and business owner Al Elliott, this episode features Josh Levine, work futurist, author of "Great Mondays," and culture consultant who's helped companies like Credit Karma navigate the treacherous waters of hypergrowth.
Episode Summary
Picture this: You've built something special. Your team of 15 feels like family. Everyone knows everyone. The culture just works. But now you're staring down growth - maybe to 50, maybe to 100 employees. And there's this gnawing fear: what if scaling breaks everything we've built?
What We Cover
The 50-Employee Breaking Point
Why founder's culture has an expiration date and the physics behind cultural breakdown
From Implicit to Explicit
How to transform unspoken behaviours into values that actually scale beyond personal influence
The Three-Step Framework
Identify, codify, and communicate the most important decisions that move the needle
Why Most Values Fail
The difference between values as wall decorations versus business tools that drive decisions
Recognition Done Right
How Wells Fargo's outcome-focused rewards destroyed trust and what to do instead
Trust as Infrastructure
Why relational infrastructure matters more than physical infrastructure in distributed work
The WD-40 Case Study
How Gary Ridge reframed failure as learning and invested in humans, not just outputs
Measuring Culture at Scale
Why Employee Net Promoter Score captures what matters as you grow
Resources
Connect with Josh Levine on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/akajoshlevine
Follow Josh on Instagram: @greatmondays_culturedesign
Great Mondays website: https://greatmondays.com
Great Mondays Radio: https://radio.greatmondays.com
Great Mondays YouTube: https://youtube.com/@GreatMondays
Get the book "Great Mondays" at greatmondays.com
Mental Health Support
This episode discusses workplace stress, burnout, and the challenges of scaling culture. If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health:
UK:
Samaritans: 116 123 (24/7 helpline) - https://www.samaritans.org/
Mind: 0300 123 3393 or text 86463 - https://www.mind.org.uk/
US:
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Call or text 988 (24/7) - https://988lifeline.org/
NAMI Helpline: 1-800-950-NAMI (6264) - https://www.nami.org/
International:
Befrienders Worldwide: https://www.befrienders.org/ (directory of crisis helplines worldwide)
International Association for Suicide Prevention: https://www.iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/ (global crisis center directory)
Connect with Your Hosts
Connect with Al on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thisisalelliott/
Connect with Leanne on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meetleanne
Join the discussion about this episode on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/truthlieswork/
Email: [email protected]
Follow us on Instagram: @truthlieswork
Chat with us on X: @truthlieswork
YouTube channel: @TruthLiesWork
Check us out on TikTok: @truthlieswork
Want a chat about your workplace culture? [email protected]
Got feedback/questions/guest suggestions? Email [email protected]
In God we trust