A great example form Basecamp:

Culture is not a ping pong table

When most people think of culture, they think of artifacts. They interpret signs of culture as the culture itself. For example, they assume a ping pong table in the office means a fun startup culture. Or that an open office means a transparent culture.

As Yoda might’ve said, “Ping pong tables do not a culture make.”

Create specific values to guide your team

Value statements (along with mission statements) are one type of explicit rules. The problem is, a lot of statements wind up being useless sentences. Worse, they conflict with the more powerful, implicit rules that founders set by example.

The best way to combat this? Be painfully specific, and make sure your value statements reflect what you actually believe.

Be careful about who you hire, and what that says

At some point, you’re going to feel enormous pressure to fill a position. You’ll be tempted to plug in the first fit you find, so you can relieve the pain.