Cameron HeroldFounder of the COO Alliance & Invest In Your Leaders Training

Why Your Company Culture Needs to Be A Little Culty

30 Mar 2026 · 1 min

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0:40

In this segment of his YouTube video, Cameron Herold reflects on a past podcast interview where he discussed the concept of "culty" company cultures. He argues that deliberately building a strong, almost cult‑like culture can be a powerful competitive advantage, provided it doesn’t go too far. Herold claims that such cultures are often unfairly damaged by mass‑media criticism—citing WeWork as an example of a vibrant culture that was torn apart because it appeared too culty. He contrasts these high‑engagement environments with the bland, average workplaces found in government, schools, or conventional architectural firms, labeling the latter as uninspiring. The overall message is that culture itself isn’t bad; it’s merely unfamiliar and undervalued by the broader public.

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I was actually interviewed on a podcast 3 years ago that's called A Little Bit Culty, and I was interviewed as a business expert who understands cults and understands how to take the best principles and build that company culture without going too far. Sometimes cultures are torn apart by the mass media because it just seems so weird. But the problem is it's because average really sucks. If you're going to compare like WeWork, was an incredible company culture torn apart by the media because it was so culty. But you're going to compare it to working for the government or working for a school system or working for a boring architectural firm. That's just shit. Culture is not bad. It's just that people aren't used to it.