Culture is easy to sense but hard to measure. The workhorses of culture research—employee surveys and questionnaires—are often unreliable. Studying the language that employees use in electronic communication has opened a new window into organizational culture. New research analyzing email, Slack messages, and Glassdoor postings are challenging prevailing wisdom about culture. Some of the findings: • Cultural fit is important, but what predicts success most is the rate at which employees adapt as organizational culture changes over time. • Cognitive diversity helps teams during ideation but hinders execution. • The best cultures encourage diversity to drive innovation but are anchored by shared core beliefs.
