Culture eats strategy for breakfast — but who’s cooking?

Organizational culture shapes how people behave, collaborate, and innovate. It’s the emotional infrastructure of a business, and yet, it's surprisingly slippery: everyone talks about it, but few know who truly owns it. Over the last 50 years, ownership of culture has evolved — and sometimes devolved — across leadership, HR, and most recently, marketing.

In this post, we’ll unpack:

• The evolution of organizational culture ownership
• Success and horror stories for each "ownership model"
• The paradox of culture — why strong cultures can become liabilities
• How to spot signs of imbalance before things unravel

Let's dive in:

🧭 The Evolution of Culture Ownership: 1975–Present

The shift reflects a broader awareness: culture is not only internal. It shapes your brand, customer trust, and ability to attract top talent.

💼 Leadership-Led Culture

✅ Success: Apple under Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs embedded his obsession with simplicity, design, and innovation deep into Apple’s cultural DNA. That singular vision enabled a company turnaround in 1997 and created an ecosystem of believers—internally and externally.

Strength: Coherent, visionary culture
Risk: Fragile if tied too tightly to one person

❌ Failure: Uber under Travis Kalanick

Uber’s early culture, driven from the top, glorified hypergrowth and rule-breaking. Aggression and internal chaos were normalized—until a wave of harassment claims and ethical scandals brought it all crashing down in 2017 (NYT, 2017).

Red flag: When speed > ethics and the founder becomes unchallengeable

👥 HR-Led Culture

✅ Success: Salesforce’s “Ohana” Culture

Salesforce operationalized values like trust, innovation, and inclusivity through strong HR programs and consistent leadership support. Their “Ohana” culture (Hawaiian for family) became more than a slogan—it was embedded in hiring, DEI efforts, and philanthropy (Salesforce.com).

Strength: Institutionalized empathy and psychological safety
Risk: Slow to respond if leadership doesn't reinforce it

❌ Failure: Wells Fargo’s Cross-Selling Scandal

Wells Fargo’s HR reinforced aggressive sales targets that drove toxic behavior. Employees created fake accounts to meet quotas, highlighting how performance systems, if unchecked, can override values (NPR, 2016).

Red flag: When "culture" exists on paper, but incentives say otherwise

📢 Marketing-Led Culture

✅ Success: Gen Digital (NortonLifeLock + Avast)

After merging in 2022, Gen Digital needed to unify two legacy cultures. CMO Krista Todd led efforts to shape a unified identity aligned with external messaging and internal values. Instead of siloed messaging, her team co-created a new purpose around protecting “the digital generation” (Deloitte CIO Journal, 2023).

Strength: Brand consistency across internal and external channels
Risk: Marketing alone can’t fix deep internal cultural rifts

❌ Failure: Abercrombie & Fitch’s Culture Collapse

Abercrombie marketed an exclusive, “cool” lifestyle to the world—but internally, it perpetuated a toxic, discriminatory culture. Employees were selected for appearance, not competence. Diversity was avoided, and lawsuits mounted. The brand’s public identity eventually collapsed under the weight of its own contradictions (Netflix: White Hot, 2022; Bloomberg, 2022).

Red flag: When the brand becomes an illusion the company can’t live up to

⚖️ Culture Is a Paradox

The stronger your culture, the more fragile it may become.

Culture works until it doesn't. A values-driven company may stifle dissent. An innovation culture may rush into chaos. A performance-first model might sacrifice ethics.

🛑 How to Spot Cultural Imbalance

Even healthy cultures can tip over. Watch for:

Over-branding: When the culture sounds better in videos than in reality.

Siloed ownership: Culture is “everyone’s job”—so no one owns it.

Silent exits: Good people leave quietly. Listen to what isn’t said.

Culture as a campaign: Launches, hashtags, and merchandise don’t make culture.

Mismatch between incentives and values: What gets rewarded shapes what gets repeated.

🤝 So, Who Should Own Culture?

Everyone plays a role. But ownership should be structured:

Leadership: Model values and prioritize cultural alignment in strategy

HR: Embed culture into hiring, onboarding, and performance

Marketing: Align internal culture with external brand storytelling

Employees: Live and evolve the culture daily

🧠 Final Thought: Own It, Or It Will Own You

Culture isn’t just a vibe. It’s a system. A mirror. A strategy.

Whether led by visionaries, institutional guardians, or brand architects, great cultures share one trait: they tell the truth—about who you are, how you treat people, and what you stand for.

In the end, if you don’t intentionally shape your culture, inertia—and your loudest voices—will do it for you.

So next time someone asks, "Who owns culture?"—don't point to a department. Point to a mirror.