How to cultivate strong culture at scale

2 hours ago7 min read2 comments

Culture doesn't scale like revenue or headcount—it demands intentionality, especially when growth accelerates. When I first joined DPR Construction back in the early 1990s, we were a small startup united by a shared vision, a tight-knit group where everyone knew each other's names and stories.Today, with over 13,000 employees scattered across the globe, that intimate dynamic has inevitably shifted. The journey from a handful of passionate builders to a vast international organization taught us that sustaining a vibrant culture isn't automatic; it requires clarity, intention, and relentless reinforcement.The central challenge we faced, and one I've heard echoed in countless conversations with leaders from other scaling companies, was poignant: How do you preserve the soul of a small company—the trust, the shared purpose, the familial warmth—when you're morphing into a massive entity of thousands? Culture is often dismissed as intangible, something fluffy and hard to pin down, but in reality, it's forged in the daily grind. It's in how we collaborate on a challenging project, how we show up for each other during a crisis, and the unspoken rules that govern our hallways and virtual meetings.Our first major lesson was to start with strategy. A common, agreed-upon purpose isn't just a poster on the wall; it's the compass that guides every hire, every project, every difficult decision.As we moved through the 2000s, we consciously shifted from growing for growth's sake to implementing strategies that created predictability and focus. We sought alignment in specific core markets, which wasn't just a business decision—it was a cultural one.By concentrating on clients who genuinely valued what we brought to the table, we reinforced our identity. We deepened our understanding of our customers' businesses and their highly technical projects, and this focus on relationships and mastery, rather than mere expansion, became the fuel that kept our cultural engine running.It was about leaning into our strengths and fiercely protecting the spirit of innovation that had defined us from the very beginning. But strategy alone is a hollow shell without genuine connection.To scale culture is to remember that it cannot be a top-down directive. It lives and breathes in the conversations employees have when leadership isn't in the room.In 2022, after years of strategic focus, we felt a palpable disconnect. It was a collective moment of reckoning, a sense that the cultural thread was fraying.So, our leadership team did something simple yet transformative: we packed our bags, rolled up our sleeves, and embarked on a road trip we called Culture Con. This wasn't a series of lectures where we had all the answers.It was a listening tour. We met face-to-face with every team, in every office, including our craft workforce out in the field.We hired simultaneous translators to ensure everyone could participate fully. We created open, unscripted spaces for dialogue.What unfolded was a profoundly human journey. We laughed together, we cried together, and we were asked brutally honest questions.We listened, truly listened, to thousands of employees. That experience gave us a crystal-clear lens into what our people needed and what our company truly stood for.From those raw, unfiltered conversations, five distinct themes emerged: a hunger for a deeper understanding of our vision and values; a need for clearer paths for career growth; a call for stronger strategic alignment across all roles; the importance of leading compensation and benefits; and a powerful plea to prioritize building inclusive, integrated teams. This listening had to be followed by action, or it would have been just another corporate exercise.Culture risks becoming mere words on a wall when companies scale; the distance between leadership and the front lines expands with complexity. We got to work.We designed and implemented a new, tailored benefits package for our skilled craftspeople. We launched internal development programs to support career growth and help individuals see a long-term future with us.To strengthen strategic alignment, we rolled out new communication tools that explicitly linked everyday work to company-wide objectives. And to make our values feel alive, we expanded our efforts to share stories and celebrate work that embodied our purpose in action.Each step was a deliberate reinforcement, a way to make culture tangible for people in every role and every region. We lead by example, understanding that it's not about having all the answers immediately, but about bringing employees along on the journey, showing them through our actions that their voices matter.This active, daily commitment to culture is more critical now than ever. A strong culture isn't static; it must evolve and grow through continuous listening, responding, and building anew, all without losing the core that grounds you.It demands more from leaders—more empathy, more agility, more aligned action. But the payoff is immense.Companies rooted in strong cultures and authentic values don't just attract top talent; they build a resilience that allows them to weather any storm, any market shift, any adversity. When your culture becomes your genuine competitive edge, you build an organization that doesn't just survive, but thrives, no matter what the future holds.

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#company culture

#leadership

#employee engagement

#strategic alignment

#organizational growth

#corporate values

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