Poke Shows The Power Of Facebook’s Culture

Poke by Facebook has hit the No. 1 free app spot on Apple’s App Store, just a day after being released.
Apparently, Zuck wrote some of the code and it took them 12 days to get it out.  I can't think of a better example of how their cultural mantra around, "move fast and break things." 

Having a strong corporate culture is so important for any size business – businesses with strong cultures tend to perform better and last longer.   Ben Horowitz of Andreessen Horowitz recently did a post on TechCrunch on the topic.  I highly recommend that any CEO or executive reads his post.

What I like about his post is that Ben speaks to the differences between authentic versus superficial cultures.  Specifically, he cites things like yoga classes and flexible policies around taking your dog to work are not cultural elements.  Culture isn't a tactic.  Its a way of life – it determine how your company behaves, hires, and acts. For example, I got a nice Christmas present from Facebook that integrated their
cultural values into the gift:  $50 to go to the charity of my choice as well as a cool metal tin that included some cards with their cultural values.