Joe distinguishes two forms of cultural change: direct interventions (hiring, firing, coaching, bonuses) and structural changes (how meetings work, how decisions are made, how communication happens). Structural changes are far more powerful.
His example: noticing “faffing” in company emails — vague messages like “we could kind of do this or this, I don’t know.” Instead of coaching individuals, he made one structural change: every correspondence must end with “Action needed: [what], [who], [by when].” This eliminated 90% of the faffing instantly.
The key principle behind structural changes: when frustrated by something in the company, don’t ask “how do I change this?” — ask “how do I change this so it never happens again in the company?” This shifts from fixing a person to fixing a system.
Structural changes work because they set the default behavior. People don’t have to remember to be better — the structure nudges them automatically. It’s the difference between telling someone to eat healthier versus only stocking healthy food in the kitchen.