MIT Sloan Management Review Article on How to Walk the Talk on Culture: Former HubSpot CPO Katie Burke

HubSpot’s former chief people officer explains how leaders can rally their teams to excel at demonstrating the organization’s top cultural values. Consider her practical advice.

The truth about core values isn’t pretty at many organizations. In a study involving over 400 large companies, we found virtually no correlation between the elements of the official corporate culture and how employees rated their company on those supposed “core” values. “The most important thing about values,” according to Katie Burke, HubSpot’s former chief people officer (CPO), “is that they feel authentic, compelling, and beneficial to your employees.” According to our data, most companies fall short.

HubSpot is a notable exception. Since its founding in 2006, the company has grown to 8,000 employees and reached a market capitalization of nearly $30 billion. Within the software industry, which has the highest average Glassdoor culture and values rating out of 50 industries we studied, HubSpot ranks No. 1.

About the Author

Donald Sull (@culturexinsight) is a professor of the practice at the MIT Sloan School of Management and a cofounder of CultureX. Charles Sull is a cofounder of CultureX.

Learn more about MIT SMR.