Why Real Culture Change Means Equity, Challenging Systemic Barriers, and Diversifying Thought

For the last decade, particularly post-pandemic, business leaders have been touting culture change as a core principle for adapting to company-wide changes that come with digital transformation, navigating and managing a hybrid workforce, and enforcing diversity, equity and inclusion. When viewing culture change as a way to build values-aligned organizations that believe in equality, true culture change means equity. 

Through my network, I came in contact with culture master Marissa Andrada, who believes putting people first should be prioritized in workplace culture, along with making it clear that people can show up as themselves. While working with global brands to create an equitable and rewarding workplace, she saw firsthand that healthy company culture emanates from leaders who create environments where people can thrive. Well, there’s no better way to help people thrive than by giving them a piece of the pie. 

Culture & Wealth Generation 

As well-known forces in the venture capital world, Ben Horowitz, co-founder of the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), and Chris Lyons, General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz and President of Web3 Media at a16z, saw that Black content creators were driving adoption across tech platforms like TikTok through viral dance and fashion videos. At the time, there was no formal investment vehicle for these influencers to gain equity and ownership of their creations. 

That’s why a16z’s Culture Leadership Fund (CLF) — the only VC fund comprised of 100 percent Black African American cultural leaders — was born. I learned about the fund from CLF partner Judene
Small, whom I met at Davos. She focuses on strategic partnerships and community engagement.

Led by Megan Holston-Alexander, whom I also met at Davos, CLF connects Black cultural leaders like entertainers, athletes, and C-suite executives with technology companies to give these creators of culture an opportunity to invest in emerging tech companies at the earliest stages. CLF has raised more than $60 million of Black capital and invested in more than 300 a16z portfolio companies across industries. 

For brands wanting to spark culture change, one question they can ask themselves is, “What are the goals and aspirations of my team, and how are we as a company investing in them?” 

Culture as an Asset, Ambition as a Lifestyle

I’ve always believed that ambition is more than a personality trait; it’s a lifestyle. And it plays an integral role in shaping culture. Pharell Williams is tapping into this through his non-profit, Black Ambition, which works to close the opportunity and wealth gap through entrepreneurship,and investing capital and resources into high-growth startups founded by Black and Hispanic entrepreneurs. 

The Black Ambition team defines culture as an asset — a collective of values, beliefs, and practices that shape the identity and experiences of Black and Hispanic communities. Along with the bold ideas and founders Black Ambition invests in, the group believes culture change springs from transformative and innovative concepts that challenge systemic barriers, promote diversity, inclusion and equity, and empower Black and Hispanic voices and talents to excel — uninterrupted. For Black Ambition, culture change is about defining the new normal. 

There are a number of ways brands can promote diversity and inclusion within their fields or organizations. In addition to creating employee surveys, they can take the initiative steps further by holding an open dialogue about how to create more inclusive workplace policies. And of course, they can promote pay equity and learn about their colleagues’ and peers’ ambitions. 

The Rolling Stone Culture Council is an invitation-only community for Influencers, Innovators and Creatives. Do I qualify?

Diversity of Thought

Diversity, equity and inclusion also call for diversity of thought. Black artist, technologist and CEO of iPullRank, Mike King, sees the history of business culture as focused on determining if someone is or is not a culture fit. He believes that what’s not culture change is abandoning an action as soon as things get hard or it goes out of the news cycle.

Now there are more spaces for the status quo to be challenged and new ways of thinking can be truly examined for how companies operate. King has seen that when thoughtful action takes place after getting all types of people in the room to solve a problem, that’s when culture change begins. What’s not culture change is abandoning an action as soon as things get hard or it goes out of the news cycle. 

Brands & Culture Change

As part of the Endeavor network, the creative agency 160over90 works with brands to identify the cultural currents most relevant to them. One of the organization’s primary goals is to ensure these brands play a role in culture change, contribute to culture in meaningful ways, and live their purpose across various operational aspects. 

Samantha Stark, who I met through my network and is Executive Vice President at 160over90, suggests that brands are inexplicably intertwined with culture and that their creation is fueled in part by an organization’s need to shift perceptions of themselves. Perception is driven by opinion and opinions are influenced by culture. 

Lately, 160over90 sees the impact of culture on brands has taken on a new form—one that goes beyond reacting to opinions and beliefs and into shifting the very behaviors and ways in which people communicate. Where once there were only a few ways for brands to tell their story, now there are countless. That’s why Stark believes that brands must consistently change their behaviors and styles of communication to stay relevant. She says that when people are so moved that they feel something real, then they typically tend to do something with that emotion and that is what ignites culture change.

Emotion is the key word here. To inspire change, brands and leaders of any kind need to evoke emotion. The most tried and true way to do that is to put people at the center. Across all the industries and movements I’ve worked in, including media, tech, finance, Web3, social impact, gender equality and climate, executives are constantly trying to master their storytelling in a manner that enables them to stand out from the crowd. This requires humanizing a company and sector. Underneath all the metrics, stakeholder demands and bottom lines, brands are people. And people create culture. Only through understanding and addressing the needs and passions of your people — meaning your staff, your customers and your general audience — can you understand how to change culture for the better.