Most organizations don’t explain their cultural rules to newcomers—but understanding them is the key to success.
Completely agree - I call it the “unofficial induction” and it is an essential part of setting new team members up for success.
So true! If you miss the dynamics of decision-making or communication style, you’ve already missed a head start.
Culture is the hidden architecture every analysis project rests on. This article is a powerful reminder that before you analyse workflows or user needs, you need to decode how the organisation thinks, speaks, and decides. As Business Analysts, we’re not just translating requirements, we’re translating cultures. And as Agilists, we know: sustainable change doesn’t happen in sprints alone. It happens when you understand the unwritten rules that govern trust, decision-making, and collaboration. These five aspects? They’re not soft factors. They’re structure, core.
What is written in the handbook and what actually happens on the ground can be two very different things Even those tasked with conveying the company’s values often sense this gap themselves