Inside The Culture Institute.
St. Gallen, Switzerland
Who we are
A consultancy, a think tank, a trusted advisor and partner.
Culture is the heart, mind, and soul of an organization.
We enable change by helping organizations shape their cultural patterns effectively.
We don’t work for our clients, but with them – because cultural change only works if it comes from within.
With the organization’s strategy and business success in sight – not isolated in an ivory tower.
With leadership playing a central role – but without simply cascading culture downwards.
With people who take responsibility – not against them.
And with appreciation for existing cultural patterns – but with a determined focus on the future.
The Core
Our six Core Memes are more than just principles:
They drive us, shape how we collaborate, and define our relationships with clients and partners.
The Customer Wow
The Customer Wow
Customer in Focus • Insane Quality • Aiming for Impact
What would our organization be without our customers? It would be meaningless, and also not viable. We work passionately for them every day. We do not see ourselves as traditional service providers. We enjoy working collaboratively with our customers to ensure their success.
Nothing motivates us as much as people who are enthusiastic about TCI and our performance. We know we will never achieve perfection, but that doesn't stop us from trying anyway! Where others see sufficient quality, we strive for the extraordinary. We love to inspire our customers and ourselves with “wow” experiences: through creativity, energy, hard work and that certain something.
Not only our customers, but also new team members are often surprised by the high quality we strive for—and even more so by the fact that we constantly question good standards. “Isn’t the presentation already good …?”, “Do we really need these elaborate posters for the workshop?”, “Do we even need to work out individual patterns in the Culture Report?” We don't need to. But we want to excite!
Visualizations are particularly important to us: The Culture Map does not simply describe culture, it visualizes culture. Like Steve Jobs, we are convinced: “Form is part of the function.” The Business Culture Design book follows this belief. We put a lot of heart, soul and passion into the design of our content to convey narratives, create impact and “wow” our customers.
Culture at Heart
Culture at Heart
Thought Leadership • Hexagon Goggles • Theories for practice
We are The Culture Institute. We have hexagons in our blood! For us, culture is the heart, mind and soul of an organization. It is responsible for how people perceive, think, feel and act. It eats strategies for breakfast and can also be the key to success. It is crucial for the health and happiness of people in organizations. And fortunately, culture is no coincidence: it can be consciously and purposefully shaped.
A good methodology is extremely practical—and this is what we have with Business Culture Design. With the Culture Map, we make the nebulous phenomenon of culture tangible so it can be discussed and managed. In typical St. Gallen fashion, we build on a systemic understanding of organization and see companies as living organisms. And because we interact intensively with the culture of our clients, we are able to find specific solutions for their unique development.
For us, culture is more than our business, it is our passion. We are always looking for new insights and solutions and take part in discussions at conferences and forums. We network with other experts, such as our friends from Science House in New York, and regularly indulge in internal sparking sessions where we explore specific cultural topics. We are curious about everything to do with corporate culture—everything that promises practical benefits for our customers.
Ambition for Growth
Ambition for Growth
Aiming Higher • Fearless Learning • Empowering Development
We aim to grow — not just in numbers, but as people.
With a strong growth mindset, we embrace challenge and strive for excellence.
We support one another: strengths are encouraged, weaknesses are met with radical candor and team support.
Learning is part of our culture — through reflection, dialogue, and tools like the Navigation Chart.
Be the pilot of your development is more than a motto — it’s how we move forward, together.
We aim to grow — not just in numbers, but as people.
With a strong growth mindset, we embrace challenge and strive for excellence.
We support one another: strengths are encouraged, weaknesses are met with radical candor and team support.
Learning is part of our culture — through reflection, dialogue, and tools like the Navigation Chart.
Be the pilot of your development is more than a motto — it’s how we move forward, together.
We aim to grow — not just in numbers, but as people.
With a strong growth mindset, we embrace challenge and strive for excellence.
We support one another: strengths are encouraged, weaknesses are met with radical candor and team support.
Learning is part of our culture — through reflection, dialogue, and tools like the Navigation Chart.
Be the pilot of your development is more than a motto — it’s how we move forward, together.
We aim to grow — not just in numbers, but as people.
With a strong growth mindset, we embrace challenge and strive for excellence.
We support one another: strengths are encouraged, weaknesses are met with radical candor and team support.
Learning is part of our culture — through reflection, dialogue, and tools like the Navigation Chart.
Be the pilot of your development is more than a motto — it’s how we move forward, together.
We aim to grow — not just in numbers, but as people.
With a strong growth mindset, we embrace challenge and strive for excellence.
We support one another: strengths are encouraged, weaknesses are met with radical candor and team support.
Learning is part of our culture — through reflection, dialogue, and tools like the Navigation Chart.
Be the pilot of your development is more than a motto — it’s how we move forward, together.
Freedom and Responsibility
Freedom and Responsibility
Room to Navigate • Autonomy in Action • Accountability for Results
We value freedom and are happy to take responsibility—basic principles that characterize our culture. Knowledge workers often know more about their work than their bosses. That's why we allow every team member to take control, make decisions and achieve results.
To enable this freedom, we try to get by with as few rules as possible. We are convinced that many questions, such as “When does the working day start?”, “When do you take vacation?”, “How much can a hotel cost?”, “Do you travel first or second class?”, can be answered individually and situation-specifically with the help of the overarching maxim: “What’s in the best interest of TCI?” And yes, it is in the best interests of the TCI that everyone has enough vacation and maintains a good work-life balance.
For us, however, freedom doesn't just mean independence, but also responsibility for our own actions—a balance that shapes our culture and drives us to achieve success. For us, taking RESPONSibility means “owing answers”. Those who take responsibility—and this is what our employees do from day one—know their strengths and weaknesses, seek support when needed and bring things to a good end.
The I in TCI
The I in TCI
Winning Together • Team Spirit • Shared Experiences
Everyone in our team, every “I”, is not just an individual, but part of TCI. At the end of the day, we want to be successful together. Success then also benefits everyone. That's why we support each other. We base our contributions on what is in the best interest of TCI.
We are a team, we win and lose together. “It's not my job” is an attitude that doesn’t exist. Nobody is on their own here. Anyone who sees an opportunity to help lends a hand. Whether it's laminating hexagons, proofreading a report or filling in at a workshop. Only together can we create the impact that we promise our customers. This leaves little room for egotism.
Collective experiences enrich our team: we learn, live and laugh together. We like to meet in our office in St. Gallen, which we have designed just the way we like it. A fixture in our “Office Monday” is the joint TCI lunch, where we exchange ideas and stories. At our annual TCI trip, we celebrate our successes and strengthen our team spirit.
Kindness on Eye Level
Kindness on Eye Level
Respectful Relationships • Friendly Tone • Genuine Humbleness
We are all adults, and that's how we treat each other. We undoubtedly have different responsibilities and challenges, but that doesn't create a class society. Everyone at TCI treats each other with respect and as equals. Depending on the project and topic, the hierarchy is sometimes turned on its head.
We maintain a respectful and friendly tone with each other and mean it. This is essential because we sometimes spend a lot of time together, occasionally over several days from early in the morning until late at night. We maintain this friendliness even during hectic project phases.
Our respectful, trusting relationships with each other strengthen the psychological safety that is crucial for our collective and individual growth. We can openly and honestly address issues that are currently on our minds, that are bothering us or that are important to us individually.
We also cultivate this cooperation at eye level in our dealings with our customers and cooperation partners. We are ambitious culture experts who want to make a difference—but we always bring humility to our clients' requirements and work collaboratively to find suitable solutions.
Unser Team
Core Team
Friends & Partners
