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Blogs & insights
You can now find our library of culture tools & session playbacks inside the
Explore our latest blogs and articles using the categories below:
Simplifying Culture
Move culture from fuzzy to focused with tools to simplify.
Hear how people feel (HABIT step 1)
Learn how to evaluate your culture & win stakeholder support.
Integrate it daily (HABIT step 4)
Pinpoint moments & skills to ensure leaders & managers bring culture to life.
Culture Stories
Insights & inspiration from workplaces around the world.
Align on the future (HABIT step 2)
Pick the best direction to fuel sustainable growth for your culture & business.
Trust & evolve
(HABIT step 5)
Culture is never done! Tools to help measure & improve your culture.
Culture Habits
Small practices with BIG impact. Pick-up & use habits to nudge towards growth.
Build the behaviours (HABIT step 3)
Clearly define and turn desired behaviours into everyday reality.
Culture Skills
Resources and practices to keep your culture skills sharp!
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What Happens When Five Organisations Become One? Lessons in Building Culture Through Change
Image by Alan Aprilio via Unsplash Mergers and acquisitions are usually measured through financial performance, operational integration and the delivery of commercial targets. Yet, long after systems have been combined and structures redesigned, one question often determines whether integration succeeds: Do people trust the organisation they're now part of? That question sat at the centre of our recent Coffee & Culture conversation with Jonny Friedman, SVP People & Talent
Make It Human
Jul 144 min read
Culture Stories: Why connection doesn't happen by accident – shaping a Growth Culture at MoveUp Media
Working remotely, image by Wix When Fleur Vialatte joined MoveUp Media as Head of People, she wasn't just helping to shape a growing organisation, she was helping to answer a question that many organisations are still grappling with today. How do you create a genuine sense of connection when your people may never share the same office? MoveUp Media had grown rapidly in just a few years to a team of around 160 people spread across multiple countries. It was fast-moving, ambiti
Make It Human
Jul 105 min read
From Fuzzy to Fuel: Launching the HABIT System for shaping culture
Culture has become one of the most talked-about topics in business. And yet, for many leaders, managers and HR teams, it still feels frustratingly hard to actually shape. They know culture matters. They care deeply about creating better workplaces. But when it comes to turning good intentions into everyday reality, many get stuck. That’s exactly why we created the HABIT System. Through conversations with leaders — and analysis of 4,000+ employee experiences across som
Make It Human
May 24 min read
When Success Becomes the Ceiling: Understanding the Optimised Culture
Image of a team working by Yan Krukau from Pexels Some cultures don’t struggle. They succeed. Performance is steady. Teams collaborate smoothly. There’s capability, pride and a clear identity. People can articulate what the organisation stands for and success stories are regularly shared. If you walked in or joined a call, you’d instantly get a sense of, “we know what we’re doing here.” And yet, there’s something missing… The confidence in how we work and sharing of
Sarah McLellan
Mar 235 min read
Why the Best Workplaces Don’t Treat People as Resources
Image by Lukas Blazek on Unsplash One of the clearest messages from the Growth Cultures Insight Report is this: The best workplaces don’t treat people as resources to be optimised. They intentionally design and nurture the conditions for human growth. As the world we work in and how work gets done continues to increase in complexity and ambiguity, many organisations are reaching for familiar, more ‘certain’ levers for growth. We measure what’s easy to count — utilisation
Sarah McLellan
Jan 294 min read
Hopes and fears for workplace culture in 2026
Image created using AI The start of a new year sparks reflection. A blend of anxieties, doubts and hopeful thoughts — often lacking any grounding to turn them into reality. Perhaps that’s the point of reflections… But this year, I do feel more hope than doubt. And I want to help as many leaders as possible make workplace cultures that sustain growth for people and businesses, an everyday reality. Three things give me hope: 1. There are leaders out there choosin
Sarah McLellan
Jan 14 min read
Culture Stories: From “Know-It-All” to “Learn-It-All”: How Microsoft Rewired Its Culture for Growth
Sources: Microsoft website. Correct as of Nov 2025. If you ask people to name a culture transformation that actually worked, Microsoft is almost always on the list. And for good reason. What Satya Nadella and his leadership team did after 2014 wasn’t a rebrand, a reset or a series of workshops — it was a full rewiring of how 200,000 people listened, learned, collaborated and led. Before the shift, Microsoft was a giant with undeniable technical strength, but internally it w
Make It Human
Nov 20, 20253 min read
How Leaders Shape Growth Cultures (One Small Habit at a Time)
Image from Make It Human Webinar Nov 2025: From Fuzzy to Fuel: A Practical Formula for Culture-Driven Growth If you ask most leaders what they want, the answer is simple: better culture, clearer alignment, stronger performance. But ask what they’re doing to get there… and the answers get vague. It was a pleasure to host our recent “From Fuzzy to Fuel” webinar, where participants shared the same sentiment, no matter their role or industry: Culture matters deeply — yet it
Sarah McLellan
Nov 13, 20253 min read
Culture Stories: How Japan Airlines Rebuilt Performance through Trust, Purpose, and Service
Sources: Japan Airlines website. Correct as of Nov 2025. From Collapse to Comeback and it all Started with Culture In 2010, Japan Airlines filed for bankruptcy — a national symbol brought to its knees. Tens of thousands of jobs were at risk. Trust was broken. Morale was gone. And yet, within just three years, the company didn’t just recover — it became a model for cultural transformation. At the centre of this turnaround was an unlikely leader: Kazuo Inamori, a 77-year-
Make It Human
Nov 6, 20254 min read
Culture Stories: How Menlo Innovations Build a Joyful & Accountable Culture
Sources: Menlo Innovations website. Correct as of Oct 2025. Intentionally designing an environment where fear is pushed out In Ann Arbor, Michigan, sits a small software firm with a big idea: What if work could be joyful — not stressful, hierarchical, or fear-driven, but truly human? That’s the philosophy behind Menlo Innovations, a 50-person tech company that has spent two decades intentionally designing a culture around joy, teamwork, and learning. Founded by Richard
Make It Human
Oct 23, 20254 min read
Culture Stories: The Inside Story of Zapier's Growth Culture (without meetings!)
Sources: Zapier website and YouTube channel. Correct as of Oct 2025. Meet Less. Align More. How Zapier Built a Thriving Remote Culture How do you keep 800 people, scattered across 40+ countries, aligned and energised — without defaulting to endless meetings? That’s the question Zapier has been answering since the very beginning. Unlike many organisations forced into remote work during the pandemic, Zapier has been fully distributed since day one. And that has shaped every
Make It Human
Oct 9, 20254 min read
Culture Stories: The Octopus Energy Way — Autonomy in Service of Customers
Source: Octopus Energy website , September 2025. At Make It Human, our Culture Stories series takes a closer look at organisations that have cracked the code on culture. This time, we zoomed in on Octopus Energy—a company that has not only shaken up the energy industry but also built a culture that fuels both people and performance. Founded in 2015 by Greg Jackson, Octopus now has 11,000 employees worldwide and revenues of $12bn. They’re profitable, fast-growing, and well
Make It Human
Sep 25, 20253 min read
Culture Stories: The Inside Story of Airbnb’s Growth Culture
Sources: AirBnB website, information correct as of September 2025. When you think of Airbnb, you probably think of unique places to stay. But behind the listings and the app is something that’s fuelled its journey from two airbeds in a San Francisco apartment to a $11bn+ global travel company: culture. Airbnb’s story shows us that culture isn’t just a “nice to have.” It’s the foundation for resilience, growth, and belonging — even through the toughest times. This blog kic
Make It Human
Sep 11, 20254 min read
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