How to reset a broken culture

Culture rarely implodes, it erodes.

Standards slip, accountability softens, and busywork replaces real work.

When this happens, skip the new mission statements. The only fix is a hard reset: deep cuts, done fast.

The first warning sign isn't in your metrics. It's in who you hire and what behavior you accept.

If you say you want to build a team of “world-class” talent but keep people who ship mediocre work or dodge accountability, the team learns the real rule: mediocrity is OK. "Your worst performer becomes everyone's benchmark.

Culture drift always starts at the top.

When the CEO stops holding a high bar on timelines and quality, the team loses the plot.

Early on, too many founders worry about being too demanding on their teams - especially when finding talent isn’t easy.

But avoiding tough conversations compounds into disaster.

Eventually, you hit the point of no return.

The only way to fix a truly broken culture is a true reset with deep cuts.

Once you know you need one, do it now and do it right.

Review everyone. No one is off limits. Expect the cut to be much deeper than feels comfortable. Multiple rounds destroy morale.

Every founder who's done a reset before wishes they'd cut deeper and sooner.

Do all the cuts in one day.

Handle the legal details, deliver packages, and then address the team that stays: what happened, why it happened, what it means, and what it doesn’t.

Ambiguity is poison, clarity is key.

Then give people space that day - no meetings - then back to work the next morning.

Post reset, re-baseline incentives and standards.

Within 48 hours, meet one-on-one with everyone who remains.

When culture drifts, people stop acting like owners.

Your job is to reaffirm values while clearly communicating changing expectations back to an ownership mindset.

Tell them exactly why they're still here. Raise the stakes: more ownership, more responsibility, usually more equity.

Culture doesn't change overnight.

It takes time and constant reinforcement - you have to embody the new expectations: Show them daily what the new quality bar is, what urgency actually means, and be deeply involved in the things that matter (aka founder mode).

Deliver everything with radical candor. Direct, respectful feedback is the purest form of respect.

When doing a reset, expect the emotional cost during and the payoff after

Reset days are brutal.

Letting go of people who helped build your company will hurt.

However, done right, everything accelerates: velocity increases, thinking sharpens, and you start shipping products again that make customers say 'holy shit.’

The more decisive the cut, the more painful - but the bigger the impact.

Every founder I know who's gone through a reset has the same regret in hindsight: not cutting deep enough the first time.

Your culture is your company. When it breaks, fix it completely or watch everything fail slowly.

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Enjoyed reading this?

Then check out my conversation on the focal podcast with Cat Noone, Co-Founder and CEO of Stark (>$10M raised from Uncork and us at focal).

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