Responsible Microservices

Chapter 8. The Importance of Culture

What’s culture got to do with anything? Well, you ignore the impact of the transition to microservices on your organization’s culture at your own peril. While it is tempting to dismiss the “softer” aspects of a new technique, to truly succeed requires more than just writing a strategy statement and adding a three-day class to your educational offerings. You must consider the larger universe that your technology choice lives within.

Culture Impacts Everything

A company’s culture is formed very early in its existence. People often join, and remain, at an organization because of its culture. How often have you discussed a potential candidate for a position in terms of “culture fit”? While you may not consciously think of it, your corporate culture affects nearly everything, large and small, from what attire is considered appropriate to what kind of snacks are offered in the break room. Because culture is so ingrained, changing it is challenging. People who have risen to power or excelled within the organization have typically learned to “game” the culture and are often resistant to any change that may jeopardize their position.

It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.¹

Upton Sinclair

In “The Curse of Culture,” Ben Thompson writes that “culture is one of a company’s most powerful assets right until it isn’t,” using Microsoft’s initial dismissal of the iPhone as a poignant example. ...