Culture Stories: How Menlo Innovations Build a Joyful & Accountable Culture
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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 Sheridan, Menlo was built on a deceptively simple idea:
“When we pump fear out of the room, amazing things start to happen.”
It’s a statement that sits at the heart of how Menlo work, lead and learn.
A culture built by design, not default
Unlike most organisations that talk about culture as a byproduct of success, Menlo treats it as a deliberate design challenge.
Their mission — to end human suffering in the world as it relates to technology — guides every decision they make.
And they’ve built the conditions for this culture through four powerful enablers:
1. Teamwork that’s real, not performative
At Menlo, collaboration isn’t encouraged — it’s engineered.
Every single person works in pairs. Desks are side-by-side, projects are co-owned, and pairs rotate frequently to spread knowledge and build trust.
This pairing practice ensures that ideas aren’t siloed, feedback flows continuously, and learning is constant.
It’s noisy, dynamic, and deeply human. Mistakes are seen by everyone — but so is the learning that follows.
💡Try this: Rotate pairing or buddy systems every few weeks. Use them for onboarding, problem-solving or innovation sprints to build trust and shared ownership.
2. Radical transparency and accountability
Menlo has no private offices or opaque status meetings.
Work is visible on story cards pinned across the walls. Anyone — CEO or intern — can see what’s being worked on, what’s blocked, and what’s next.
There are no annual reviews, either.
As Sheridan puts it:
“We have no supervisors or annual performance reviews. We hire each other, fire each other, and promote each other.”
Decisions about people are made collectively — because everyone sees each other’s work, every day.
This radical transparency breeds shared accountability and mutual trust — not control or fear.
💡Try this: Make progress visible. Use boards, shared dashboards or wall visuals so everyone can see what’s happening, what’s stuck, and where help is needed.
3. Psychological safety — continuously nurtured
Menlo treats psychological safety as an essential system, not a nice-to-have.
Their physical space, pairing model, and storytelling rituals are all designed to remove fear.
Leaders model vulnerability by sharing their mistakes openly.
Learning reviews replace post-mortems.
And instead of blame, the default question becomes: “What did we learn?”
In a world where fear quietly kills innovation, Menlo’s deliberate effort to remove it unlocks something far more powerful — creativity and energy.
💡Try this: End team reviews with “what we learned” reflections. Celebrate experiments that didn’t work but revealed insight.
4. Experimentation as a way of life
Menlo runs on continuous experimentation.
If something feels broken — they don’t debate it endlessly; they prototype a new way.
Whether it’s tweaking how they hire (by pairing candidates to observe collaboration), testing new meeting rhythms, or refining products through real-time customer storytelling, their mantra is the same: run the experiment.
Leaders see their role not as directing outcomes, but as creating conditions for people to experiment safely and learn fast.
💡Try this: Start small. Pick one frustration on your team and reframe it as an experiment. Ask, “What’s one small thing we could test this week?”
The joy of deliberate culture
Menlo Innovations shows that culture isn’t about values posters, engagement surveys or leadership slogans.
It’s about intentional design — removing fear, creating connection, and giving people the freedom and structure to do great work together.
Joy, in their world, isn’t fluffy. It’s measurable. It’s strategic.
And it’s the result of every system, ritual, and behaviour working in harmony.
Or as Sheridan might say:
“Joy is what happens when fear leaves the room.”
For more insights and take-aways to apply in your own workplace, join the Make It Human Club and download our 1-pager.
Sources:
Menlo Innovations website
Bringing Culture Stories to Life
This blog is part of our new Culture Stories series in Coffee & Culture, our weekly 30-minute sessions where leaders, HR pros, and managers explore real-world examples of culture in action. Together, we break down what’s working, what isn’t, and what we can apply in our own workplaces.
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And if you want to go deeper, the Growth Culture Canvas we used to map Airbnb’s culture is the same tool participants use in the Growth Culture Skills Accelerator — a practical, cohort-based programme where you’ll build your own growth culture plan.
🚀 Our next Accelerator cohort starts in January 2026. Find out more and secure your space here.
