At some point, culture stopped meaning something real.
It became a buzzword.
A slide in a deck.
A sentence in a values document no one could actually explain.
But that wasn’t always the case.
I know , because I built the #1 office for revenue and profit in the country on culture.
Not accidentally.
Not romantically.
Deliberately.
And I built it as a coach.
Culture Was Never a Vibe. It Was a Strategy.
Today, when people talk about culture, they often mean perks.
That’s not culture.
Culture was:
- Massive Halloween parties where people truly belonged
- Renting buses so agents traveled together to company sessions
- Internal coaching before coaching was trendy or monetized
- Building floats for community parades because pride mattered
- Dialing-for-dollars nights where top producers helped new agents willingly
- A cafeteria WITH A CHEF because community needs a place to gather
None of this was accidental.
Those moments created:
- Trust
- Identity
- Pride
- Standards
- Loyalty
And here’s the part the industry conveniently forgets:
That culture produced massive profit.
We didn’t succeed despite culture.
We succeeded because of it.
So What Happened?
Somewhere along the way, this industry hardened.
Leadership changed, not quietly, but fundamentally.
Culture was replaced by:
- Competition over collaboration
- Personal brands over shared success
- Cost-cutting over capability-building
- Control instead of coaching
- “Every agent for themselves,” disguised as independence
And the irony?
The business became more cutthroat , without becoming more profitable.
That’s the part no one wants to talk about.
If culture was “soft,”
why were margins stronger then than they are now?
The Leadership Shift No One Wants to Name
Here’s the uncomfortable truth:
We didn’t lose culture because agents changed.
We lost culture because leadership did.
Leadership became:
- Risk-averse
- Short-term focused
- Afraid of strong personalities
- More operator than builder
- More accountant than coach
And when leaders stop believing in people, they stop investing in them.
Culture dies the moment leadership says:
- “That’s too expensive.”
- “That’s too much work.”
- “They should just be grateful to be here.”
You cannot scale fear.
You cannot profit from isolation.
And you cannot build loyalty in a transactional environment.
Is Culture Actually Gone?
No.
But it’s been misunderstood.
Culture isn’t parties.
It isn’t perks.
It isn’t slogans.
Culture is the behavior you tolerate.
Culture is the standard you protect.
Culture is whether people feel built …. or used.
The most profitable environments I’ve ever seen had three things in common:
- Coaching at the center
- Shared wins, not silent competition
- Leadership that showed up
Not managed.
Not audited.
Showed up.
The Question Leaders Should Be Asking Now
Not:
“How do we bring culture back?”
But:
“Are we willing to lead the way culture actually requires?”
Because culture costs something:
- Time
- Energy
- Presence
- Courage
- And yes …. money
But the absence of culture costs far more:
- Turnover
- Margin compression
- Burnout
- Distrust
- Businesses that look full …….but feel empty
Final Thought
I didn’t build the most profitable office by accident.
I built it by believing DEEPLY, that when people feel connected, coached, and proud of where they work, they don’t just produce more.
They stay.
They care.
They protect the brand.
They win together.
Culture didn’t disappear.
It was abandoned.
And the leaders brave enough to reclaim it , not as a trend, but as a discipline , will be the ones who rebuild profitability in this industry.
Not louder.
Not flashier.
Just better.
SOURCE, RED APPLE COACHING
To learn more, visit RED APPLE COACHING
