Culture Decks, Symbols and the Risk of Empty Values

When Netflix published its now-iconic Culture Deck in 2009, it didn’t just go viral, it sparked a movement. It demonstrated that culture can be made explicit, transparent, and strategic. That values could be more than framed words on a hallway wall. And that clarity, even when confronting, can be a powerful lever for alignment and performance.

Since then, a wave of organisations have followed suit, creating culture books, decks, handbooks and digital artefacts that make their values visible and tangible. These materials are designed not just for HR or marketing, but to shape the lived experience of new hires, current employees, and future talent.

Culture isn’t what you say it is. It’s what your people feel, see and experience every day – especially when no one’s watching.

Symbols and Artefacts: More Than Window Dressing

Organisational culture is often described as “the way we do things around here.” But how that way is modelled, remembered and reinforced matters.

Research from MIT Sloan (2023) confirms that symbols and artefacts are central to shaping shared meaning. They make the invisible visible, turning values into stories, routines, and rituals people can see, feel, and follow.

Culture artefacts include:

• The language leaders use

• The rituals and routines teams repeat

• The stories told in meetings and onboarding

• Visuals, videos, handbooks or digital decks that articulate “how we do things”

These aren’t decorative touches. They’re signals. When they’re consistent with lived experience, they build trust and coherence. When they’re absent – or misaligned – they erode credibility.

Mind the Gap: Espoused vs. Enacted Values

The most dangerous culture isn’t a toxic one – it’s one with a credibility gap:

• “We value inclusion” – but leadership decisions consistently exclude

• “We promote balance” – but overwork is rewarded

• “We put people first” – but burnout is the norm

This gap, between what leaders say and what people actually experience, is where disengagement and cynicism take root. It’s also where retention risk quietly grows.

Leaders, especially in executive and HR roles, are the bridge. Your actions, language, priorities, and how you respond under pressure all shape what your people believe is genuinely valued. You set the tone. Not occasionally, but every day.

SO, Who’s doing it well?

Several companies have reimagined how they communicate and reinforce culture:

• Netflix created the original Culture Deck, famous for its principles of freedom and responsibility. It has been viewed over 20 million times and inspired countless leaders to rethink their own approach.

• Canva created its culture handbook as part of onboarding and internal communications. Their focus on “empowered teams” and lived values is embedded in their rituals, language, and hiring practices.

• HubSpot publishes a public-facing Culture Code, a dynamic slide deck that articulates their values, commitment to transparency, and their belief in humility, autonomy, and results.

• GitLab, a fully remote company, maintains a comprehensive public handbook that details not only processes but also culture, norms, and communication expectations. It’s a masterclass in scaling trust through documentation.

Each of these organisations treats culture as a strategic asset, not a compliance exercise. And each uses symbols, artefacts and transparency to close the gap between espoused values and lived experience.