A friend once described working at Amazon as “building a rocket ship while being pushed off a cliff.” That same intensity once felt like innovation. Today, it feels like confusion. CEO Andy Jassy is pushing for five-day office mandates, slashing middle management, and declaring a new meritocracy. But what looks like bold leadership is revealing something else: an attempt to restructure culture through force instead of alignment.
You can’t transform culture by decree. You have to build belief. Jassy says Amazon rewards outcomes, not charisma—but without transparency, systems, and trust, meritocracy can easily become politics by another name. Cutting managers without a clear support plan breeds chaos. Mandating office time without addressing why disengages employees. And calling for “ownership” without actually empowering people undermines the very mindset you’re trying to create. Real culture change isn’t scrappy. It’s strategic. And strategy without culture alignment is just noise.
Meanwhile, other companies are showing what clarity in culture looks like. Disney shareholders voted 99% against a proposal to cut ties with the Human Rights Campaign, reinforcing that inclusion isn’t just an initiative—it’s embedded. Even as DEI campaigns scale back, the vote proves that strong cultures outlast policy changes.
Target learned the opposite. After pulling back on DEI goals, it saw a steep drop in web traffic during the Economic Blackout. Costco, which reaffirmed its values, saw an increase. Customers are watching. Culture doesn’t stop at the walls of the company—it shapes reputation, retention, and revenue.
And on this week’s Culture Leaders, I spoke with KKR’s Peter Stavros about employee ownership. His team is proving that empathy isn’t just a soft skill—it’s a performance driver. Their employee ownership model is changing lives and delivering results. Because when you actually treat people like owners, they show up like owners. That’s culture in action—and it works.
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