The last few years, I have become increasingly fascinated by the concept of culture. What is it, how does it develop, how does it evolve? What is the relationship between the culture of the organization and its values that it writes on websites, job postings, placards, signs and in the employee handbook? Why do some organizations and teams develop incredibly strong bonds and an intense sense of loyalty within corporations that don't foster the culture that the team has, and other teams within larger organizations with great culture fail to bond? What makes a culture sustainable, what makes it vulnerable, and what happens when the REAL culture of the organization doesn't match what the company claims its culture is?

Maybe its just me, but I have noticed that lately it seems it is more difficult to really get to know the people we work with the way we used to. When I first started working, I had a lot of "work friends". We socialized, we hung out - we knew each other's significant others, friends and families. As our careers progressed, we watched each other move up, move on, get married, buy homes, start families, go back to school. It seems that many of the connections I forged early in my career were some of the strongest I have had, and still maintain...