I believe that the best companies are the ones that have a strong sense of who they are -- and who they aren’t. They use their values to inform all decision-making, from who they hire to how they build product to what money they say no to. They believe that cultural education is as important as teaching the tech stack or administering payroll, and that building an intentional transparency around how and why the company does things is key to a cohesive culture.

One of the biggest mistakes young companies make is under-resourcing PeopleOps until it’s too late. It’s critical to set a strong foundation early and build from a place of intention rather than reaction. Truly successful PeopleOps needs space to breathe, to understand, to strategize, to re-evaluate, to innovate. The emotional toll of trying to fix a broken culture or dig your way out of piles of process debt is exhausting -- not to mention the effects of trying to rewire the company’s brain and actions that are now de facto intrinsic to your culture. You don't have to do it all at once, but you do have to be thoughtful and strategic as you build.

Patterns are hard to break. Establish good ones, and an environment that accepts failure and change, early on, so that your culture can evolve as the company grows. Invest in the things that matter.