How Culture Actually Works with Ben Ortlip

Episode Guest Details: Ben Ortlip is the author of Culture Is the New Leadership and the creator of The Culture MRI®—a framework used by organizations like UPS, Chick-fil-A, Salesforce, and Delta to measure and repair the cultural cracks that leaders often miss. With three decades of insight, Ben brings both precision and heart to one of the most misunderstood dynamics in business: how culture actually works. 

We get into:Let’s get into it.

• How great leaders actually use culture as a performance tool
• Why “values” often create more confusion than clarity
• What you should be measuring (and what to ignore)
• Why culture is a daily decision, not a department

 

Key Takeaways

• Culture can be measured. Using tools like The Culture MRI®, leaders can identify specific misalignments that impact performance—long before they become visible problems.
• Values don’t work if they aren’t interpreted. Posting values isn’t enough. You need shared definitions and behaviors tied to those values—or they’ll create more confusion than clarity.
• Alignment doesn’t require agreement. Culture gets stronger when people are clear on the goal—even if their methods or perspectives differ.
• Culture drives outcomes. Every leadership decision either strengthens or weakens the behavioral norms that drive performance.
• There’s no finish line. Culture is built or broken in daily interactions, not quarterly offsites.

 

Episode Description: What actually makes a company culture work?It’s not your values poster. It’s not a ping pong table. And it’s definitely not a one-time training.In this episode of Frog Talk, I sit down with Ben Ortlip—creator of The Culture MRI®—to unpack what most leaders miss when trying to “fix” their culture. We talk about measurable behaviors, unseen narratives, and why alignment isn’t about sameness, it’s about clarity.Ben’s experience spans three decades and includes working with culture-defining companies like Chick-fil-A, UPS, Delta, and Salesforce. But what stands out most is his commitment to compassionate, actionable frameworks that actually help people show up differently.If you lead a team, run a company, or care about the environment your people walk into every day, this episode is for you.

Chapter Markers:

00:00 – Intro

02:10 – What The Culture MRI® really measures

06:45 – Culture is not vibe

11:12 – Why most values fail in practice

14:55 – The difference between culture and community

19:30 – How culture drives performance

24:08 – What “alignment” actually looks like

28:22 – The three invisible forces shaping every team

35:15 – Helping leaders recognize their own impact

40:01 – Can culture scale with growth?

44:10 – Where most companies go wrong

48:20 – The simple question that changes everything

53:05 – Final thoughts from Ben

Keywords culture measurement, company culture, workplace culture, organizational behavior, Culture MRI, Ben Ortlip, Nader Safinya, Frog Talk podcast, how to build company culture, leadership strategy, leadership and culture, measuring culture, employee alignment, culture in business, workplace values, company values, organizational culture strategy, culture vs community, performance-driven culture, Chick-fil-A culture, Salesforce leadership, UPS values, Delta Airlines culture, Blackribbit, culture podcast, leadership podcast, how to create a healthy workplace