The document outlines various interactive games and worksheets designed to help organizations explore and understand their workplace culture. Activities include creating cultural narratives, identifying organizational values, and recognizing 'culture stars' within the company. It encourages employees to engage with their organization creatively to better articulate and shape their desired culture.

1. @XPLANE
WWW.XPLANE.COM
JULY 10, 2018

2. I’M GREG

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28. MORE TOOLS: ASSESSING A CULTURE

29. ©2016 XPLANE | www.xplane.com
ANTHROPOLOGIST’S GAME WORKSHEET
Heroes & Legends
Sayings & Language
Artifacts
Values & Beliefs
Customs
What clues can you gather by your organization as an outsider?
Imagine you are an anthropologist, encountering your organization in the wild for the first time.
Coming to it with naïve, fresh eyes, what seems to be important to these peculiar people?
Name:
Date:

30. ©2016 XPLANE | www.xplane.com
CULTURE MadLibs GAME
Find a partner or small team and fill out this story to capture
nuances that make your culture unique.
Name:
Date:
I’m ______________________ and I’m so______________________
to join _______________________ . This morning I walked into the
________________________________ and the first thing I saw was
___________________________________ . Everyone says it’s classic
___________________ because _____________________________ .
My manager has been showing me the ropes. She says the people
who get ahead here are __________________, _________________,
and _________________ , but watch out for the_________________
people – they’re career trouble. She said you can tell a real
______________________________ by the way they run a meeting.
Those meetings are run like a _______________________________,
__________________________________. Yesterday I got lost trying
to find the bathroom. Embarrassing! The CEO walked by and
_________________________________________________________.
When ________________________________ happened, I thought
it was a little strange, but people tell me it’s very typical here.
At ____________we all got together to ________________________.
You know you’re at a _________________________ gathering when
_________________________________________________________.
I think if I stay here it will be because of the___________________ ,
but if I would go it’s because __________________________. I hope
it works out! It’s like the guy I sit next to said: the first rule is
___________________________________ , but if you really want to
succeed here, remember ___________________________________.
[most common first name at company] [emotion experienced by new employees]
[company name]
[company name]
[what you call an office]
[something you might only see at your company]
[why]
[adjective]
[adjective] [adjective]
[adjective]
[what you call someone who works at your company]
[metaphor for what your meetings are like]
[explanation of metaphor]
[what your CEO would do if they saw someone wandering in the hall]
[something your company is known for doing differently]
[time when you might
gather for a social activity]
[social activity people might
do at your company]
[company name]
[story of a legendary thing that really happened]
[best thing about
working for company]
[most common reason people leave company]
[thing everyone talks about being important]
[unspoken rule that everyone seems to live by]

31. ©2016 XPLANE | www.xplane.com
TIGHTROPE GAME
Culture values are rarely absolute—they are usually balanced by an opposite value. Understanding culture means knowing the
values in tension and the relative balance. In every organization, the thing that makes people successful is their ability to walk
the tightrope between extremes. What are natural tensions in your organization that your best people are great at balancing?
Name:
Date:

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34. ©2016 XPLANE | www.xplane.com
STAR EMPLOYEE WORKSHEET
Who are the “culture stars” of your organization? Ask around—if you could
nominate one person to represent the culture, who would it be? Diagram the
behaviors they exhibit.
Name:
Date:
Outside Experiences – What do they bring from past jobs or outside
experiences that shapes how they show up?
Name:
Role:
One big achievement that
makes them our Culture Star
One small detail that makes
them our Culture Star
Culture Star
Behaviors that fit in – What do they do that helps them fit right
into the organizational groove?
Behaviors that stand out – What they do that is different and exceptional?
Outcome – How does their influence show up in the organization?

35. ©2016 XPLANE | www.xplane.com
CULTURE CRUSH GAME
What organizations does your company have a culture crush on? Who would you like to emulate and why?
What organizations are the antithesis of the culture you want? Why?
Name:
Date:
Company
Name:
Why?
Company
Name:
Why?
Company
Name:
Why?
Company
Name:
Why?
Company
Name:
Why?
Company
Name:
Why?
Company Name:
Why?
Company Name:
Why?
Company Name:
Why?
Company Name:
Why?
Company Name:
Why?
Company Name:
Why?

36. ©2016 XPLANE | www.xplane.com
MASCOT GAME
What celebrity or notable person would be your organization’s “culture mascot”?
What celebrity would be a good spokesperson? Why?
Draw this character and diagram what makes them emblematic of your culture.
Name:
Date:

38. VISUAL
THINKING:
WHAT?

44. THANK YOU!
@XPLANE
WWW.XPLANE.COM
READ MORE ABOUT THE CULTURE GAMES
AND DOWNLOAD WORKSHEETS HERE:
HTTP://XBLOG.XPLANE.COM/SIX-GAMES-TO-ENVISION-THE-CULTURE-YOU-WANT