The culture code
by Daniel Coyle · first published 2018
72% recommend28% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Examines what separates successful teams from toxic ones, with case studies, including restaurants, and guidance on psychological safety and leadership. Suits managers and engineers building team culture.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
"From the New York Times bestselling author of The Talent Code comes a book that unlocks the secrets of highly successful groups and provides tomorrow's leaders with the tools to build a cohesive, motivated culture. 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 Pixar, the San Antonio Spurs, and U.S. Navy'sSEAL Team Six--and reveals what makes them tick. He demystifies the culture-building process by ident
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
Related books
2008–2025The culture code
Clotaire Rapaille
Recommended by 2 · mentioned by 62 recommend · 6 mention2 recommend · 62 recommend
2020–2022Leadership Strategy and Tactics
Jocko Willink
Recommended by 3 · mentioned by 33 recommend · 3 mention3 recommend · 33 recommend
2010–2023Switch
Chip Heath, Chip; Heath, Dan Heath
Recommended by 14 · mentioned by 1514 recommend · 15 mention14 recommend · 1514 recommend
2007–2022Software project survival guide
Steve McConnell
Recommended by 12 · mentioned by 1512 recommend · 15 mention12 recommend · 1512 recommend
2019–2025The Making of a Manager
Julie Zhuo
Recommended by 14 · mentioned by 1514 recommend · 15 mention14 recommend · 1514 recommend
2008–2025Becoming a technical leader
Gerald M. Weinberg
Recommended by 28 · mentioned by 3028 recommend · 30 mention28 recommend · 3028 recommend
2015–2024Work Rules!
Laszlo Bock
Recommended by 9 · mentioned by 199 recommend · 19 mention9 recommend · 199 recommend
2012–2025The First 90 Days
Michael D. Watkins
Recommended by 20 · mentioned by 2120 recommend · 21 mention20 recommend · 2120 recommend
…wanted to attain the zen enlightenment state of flow and toxicity is the enemy as far as I'm concerned. Now this is a very nuanced conversation and there are many opinions but recently I've read The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle and more than any authority on the subject it puts things into clear perspective. Essentially there are characteristics of good culture and it generally revolves around belonging and…
on “Culture! What is it good for (absolutely nothing?)” ↗…objectives and measuring their progress. 5. "The Checklist Manifesto" by Atul Gawande on thinking through replicable processes. 6. "Who" by Geoff Smart on hiring. 7. "Start with Why" by Simon Sinek and "The Culture Code" by Daniel Coyle on creating culture and reasons for why people do the work. It's an important part of any management process, double import because of how often it is lost in technical management.
on “Ask HN: What makes a good technical leader – any recommended books?” ↗Just to call out one of the management books that very explicitly gives guidance not to do this along with case studies "The Culture Code" by Daniel Coyle is a rather excellent book that looks at successful vs unsuccessful teams and businesses. Around page 200 the book deals with this exact situation for restaurants. In particular where…
on “VRBO refusing to offer direct refunds to people in Tahoe Basin” ↗…some kind of conversation figuring out where you are technically. "I'm a SWE" doesn't begin to cover it.) Without any thought at all: - One Minute Manager - Debugging the development process - The Culture Code - The Five Dysfunctions of a Team - Difficult Conversations Take some negotiation and interviewing hands-on courses.
on “Ask HN: Books to read when you transform from SWE into SWE Management?” ↗…Matthew Walker https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34466963 Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture by David Kushner https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/222146 The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups by Daniel Coyle https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25870385 How to Turn Down a Billion Dollars: The Snapchat Story by Billy Gallagher https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34964879…
on “Ask HN: Favorite nonfiction books of 2018?” ↗Three of my favorites were: 1. The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle An excellent analysis of what makes some cultures great and others toxic. 2. Measure What Matters by John Doerr John Doerr describes a simple yet effective management system that has…
on “Ask HN: Favorite nonfiction books of 2018?” ↗…it's psychological safety. We have learned in the past 20 years how important this to a teams success. https://old.reddit.com/r/agile/comments/jd29lf/the_elephant_... Just today, I started reading The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle. The first two chapters are great and it addresses exactly this question.
on “Foundations of Software Engineering” ↗The Culture Code - Daniel Coyle
on “Ask HN: What nonfiction books do you keep rereading?” ↗…even a small win - out of the door _first_ will get you a lot more "street cred" than trying to mandate things out of the gate. If you're looking for some literature, "Five Disfunctions of a Team" and "Culture Code" are good starting points on how to tackle cultural aspects (and how to be accepted as a newcomer "playing the boss", which will also be your case). Other than that - leading teams is difficult, leading…
on “Ask HN: Going to lead a struggling dev team in a different culture, now what?” ↗…measurable reality. Unlike a self-help book that promises "Be a happier you in 3 weeks!", your job is something that either gets better or doesn't. For what it's worth, my best choice so far is "The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups" I read this book and thought "That son of a bitch! He's stolen all of my research material!" There is a bunch of anecdotes, stories, and research in there. I…
on “The first non-bullshit book about culture I've read” ↗…question is a lot more work than getting excited with the first answer that came your way, but it's that much more likely to yield applicable result on top of a bout of enthusiasm. Also, thanks for [The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups] suggestion.
on “The first non-bullshit book about culture I've read” ↗…leadership resources, I would recommend to start with the following (in this order): Moneyball (movie), books: The Goal, The Phoenix Project, The Mythical Man-Month, The Hard Thing About Hard Things, The Culture Code and in-between those - various Simon Sinek videos. If you read this far, you should be able to continue finding materials on your own from here ;) Best of luck!
on “Ask HN: I lost my job” ↗Clotaire Rapaille's (he is mentioned in the article) book "The Culture Code" is a pretty insightful read. It is hard to come up with a gist of what is in there, but if I were to attempt summarizing it, I would say that the thesis is that cultural has a surprisingly sizable impact…
on “Big and bad” ↗…motivated to experiment with their lifestyle. Outliers. This one probably stands out to me since I read it so recently. Gladwell gets a lot of hype as well, but I think he deserves at least some of it. The Culture Code drastically changed the way I think about marketing. And, a few random notes on the others I've read: I found Predictably Irrational, Brain Rules and The 48 Laws of Power to be mostly garbage. The…
on “Reading list for those who love to learn” ↗…question. My feeling is that distance creates emotional separation and vice versa. Maybe because remote communication is abstract and misunderstood quickly. BTW: The best I’ve read about this so far is: “The Culture Code”
on “Why aren’t more companies remote-first?” ↗