• The Culture Code

  • The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups
  • By: Daniel Coyle
  • Narrated by: Will Damron
  • Length: 7 hrs and 13 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (10,871 ratings)

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The Culture Code  By  cover art

The Culture Code

By: Daniel Coyle
Narrated by: Will Damron
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Publisher's summary

New York Times best seller

The author of The Talent Code unlocks the secrets of highly successful groups and provides tomorrow’s leaders with the tools to build a cohesive, motivated culture.

Named one of the best books of the year by Bloomberg and Library Journal

Where does great culture come from? How do you build and sustain it in your group, or strengthen a culture that needs fixing? In The Culture Code, Daniel Coyle goes inside some of the world’s most successful organizations - including the US Navy’s SEAL Team Six, IDEO, and the San Antonio Spurs - and reveals what makes them tick. He demystifies the culture-building process by identifying three key skills that generate cohesion and cooperation, and explains how diverse groups learn to function with a single mind. Drawing on examples that range from Internet retailer Zappos to the comedy troupe Upright Citizens Brigade to a daring gang of jewel thieves, Coyle offers specific strategies that trigger learning, spark collaboration, build trust, and drive positive change. Coyle unearths helpful stories of failure that illustrate what not to do, troubleshoots common pitfalls, and shares advice about reforming a toxic culture.

Combining leading-edge science, on-the-ground insights from world-class leaders, and practical ideas for action, The Culture Code offers a roadmap for creating an environment where innovation flourishes, problems get solved, and expectations are exceeded. Culture is not something you are - it’s something you do. The Culture Code puts the power in your hands. No matter the size of your group or your goal, this book can teach you the principles of cultural chemistry that transform individuals into teams that can accomplish amazing things together.

©2018 Daniel Coyle (P)2018 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"If you want to understand how successful groups work - the signals they transmit, the language they speak, the cues that foster creativity - you won't find a more essential guide than The Culture Code. This is a marvel of insight and practicality." (Charles Duhigg, New York Times best-selling author of The Power of Habit and Smarter Faster Better)
"I've been waiting years for someone to write this book - I've built it up in my mind into something extraordinary. But it is even better than I imagined. Daniel Coyle has produced a truly brilliant, mesmerizing read that demystifies the magic of great groups. It blows all other books on culture right out of the water. Read it immediately." (Adam Grant, New York Times best-selling author of Option B, Originals, and Give and Take)

What listeners say about The Culture Code

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Anyone in a leadership position should read this

What did you love best about The Culture Code?

Yes, much of it seems like common sense but the books gives some good real life examples of what to do and how it works. It’s not about being the smartest or most intelligent. I worked for a company for 16 years that talked a lot about belonging and teaming (and tried hard) but the hierarchy at times prevented this culture to really be embraced at all levels. After reading this book I will take away a few things to actively push myself in business and personal interactions: 1) being vulnerable to breakdown insecurities in groups thus creating a vulnerability loop, 2) being mentally and physically present remembering the Allen Curve communication theory giving way to the belief the farther apart you are physically the more distance you create in effective communication, 3) using constant individualized belonging cues/signals 4) practice more active listening. Reading this book gave me some food for thought and things to practice (...and practice again) as to how I want to connect/interconnect as a leader, team member and not immediately want to take an authoritative approach. I will probably revisit this book in the future.

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42 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Good book but not a breakthrough

What I particularly like about this book, are the rich stories and that many case studies, describing how highly successful Groups managed to become successful.

However, the principles, so called “the secrets” are highly influenced by Patrick Lencioni’s books, namely the five dysfunctions of a team, rendering its contents far from groundbreaking!

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23 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Most important book I have listened to.

This book is changing the way I see the world and how I am interacting with my team. Profound insights on how to build a high performance team. Listen to it and you will see.

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21 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Amazing Book, Great Read, but... [SPOILER ALERT]

For team and culture building, this is a MUST HAVE text.

Absolutely loved this book for the stories upon stories used to teach the importance of culture. The content moves right along and is easy to digest. And there are so many amazing "ahaha", 'wow", and "that is interesting" moments. I truly loved every minute of this book, except for the fact that it ended too fast!

It ended, with nothing more than supporting evidence of how culture matters and is built by:
1- Belonging Cues
2- "Am I safe?" (Are we safe?)
3- "Do we have a future?"

So I get that belonging cues will help foster a positive culture, but what next? In a business sense, what are the real world implications of balancing security with a position and termination because the future with your current attitude looks bleak?

Get it. Learn about Belonging Cues. Pass it along. And understand to diagnosis and build company culture you will need a few other textbooks.

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19 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Best book you’ll read as leader and follower

Incredible book that will open your eyes to the millions of potential collisions that ignite innovation, belonging, and a culture of safety we all long to lead and be a member of. Pairs well with Simon Sinek’s Leaders Eat Last and Warren Bennis’ Organizing Genius.

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19 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent book

I loved how the author weaves together stories from many different teams and leaders. This was an adventure that never got boring. This is on my list to re-read again.

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7 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Best Book Read in 5 Years

This book is absolutely incredible. It's easily the best book I've read in 5 years.

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4 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Top notch!

This book is the missing link between the extreme ownership and above the line thinking. Loved it!

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Great Concepts, but hard to listen to.

the book provides great info but is a bit hard to follow due it the way the lessons and stories are structured. In couple of chapters the book jumps from one concept and story to the next, midway through the chapter.

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Shockingly simple; Coyle delivers excellence

What did you love best about The Culture Code?

Like Joseph Campbell defined the mono-myth, Daniel Coyle delivers with a cyclorama of examples outlining the same concepts in different costumes. The examples are diverse, the stories are compelling and the emotional pitch is spot on. Will Damron also nailed the delivery and the performance was great.

Who was your favorite character and why?

N/A; a toss-up between the Navy Seal interviewee and Coach Popovich.

What about Will Damron’s performance did you like?

His diverse delivery of various interviewees and the hesitant, the brash and downright bullhorn delivery of some of the examples. "Futty's backcheck".

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The Spurs crusher and the J&J crisis.

Any additional comments?

You must listen if you want to understand what a great culture is and what you can do to make a great culture. The challenge will be convincing people that the simple changes are enough.

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2 people found this helpful