Culture Design
How to Build a High-Performing, Resilient Organization with Purpose
Published on 11. November 2025
Book
Hardback
208 pages
979-8-89279-077-2 (ISBN)
Description
Strong cultures don't emerge by accident. They're built-with clarity, consistency, and design. This is your guide.
Today's leaders are navigating a storm of competing demands: rising economic and social pressures, rapid technological disruption, and a workforce that expects greater purpose and accountability than ever before. In this unpredictable climate, a weak culture erodes trust, loyalty, and performance. A strong one, by contrast, makes the difference between clarity and confusion, resilience and fragility.
It's time to get intentional about your company's culture.
In this practical and inspiring book, you'll find a clear, actionable framework-rooted in design thinking and inclusive leadership-to help you shape a culture that's resilient, empowering, and built to last.
Culture Design brings together James D. White's expert perspective, informed by more than thirty years of operating experience across sectors and in the boardroom, with his daughter Krista White's millennial perspective of modern workers' expectations from their company and its culture. This powerful combination produces a masterful joint outlook on what makes leaders best suited to build cultures that work for all.
Together they've written an essential book with one central message: culture design is an indispensable pillar of strategy for organizations to thrive in the coming decades and beyond.
Today's leaders are navigating a storm of competing demands: rising economic and social pressures, rapid technological disruption, and a workforce that expects greater purpose and accountability than ever before. In this unpredictable climate, a weak culture erodes trust, loyalty, and performance. A strong one, by contrast, makes the difference between clarity and confusion, resilience and fragility.
It's time to get intentional about your company's culture.
In this practical and inspiring book, you'll find a clear, actionable framework-rooted in design thinking and inclusive leadership-to help you shape a culture that's resilient, empowering, and built to last.
Culture Design brings together James D. White's expert perspective, informed by more than thirty years of operating experience across sectors and in the boardroom, with his daughter Krista White's millennial perspective of modern workers' expectations from their company and its culture. This powerful combination produces a masterful joint outlook on what makes leaders best suited to build cultures that work for all.
Together they've written an essential book with one central message: culture design is an indispensable pillar of strategy for organizations to thrive in the coming decades and beyond.
Reviews / Votes
Advance Praise for Culture Design:"Krista and James White have created the blueprint for how to use the best design-thinking principles in the area where they should have been used in the first place: our people. Get your digital device or Moleskine notebook, buckle your seatbelt, open the book, and get to work." - Michael C. Bush, Global CEO, Great Place to Work; author, A Great Place to Work for All
"Together, Krista and James White take the conversation to a new level, offering innovative ideas and insights. Their perspectives are completely different yet perfectly aligned around a shared purpose. I have seen firsthand how their steady guidance has supported multiple CEOs-they are, without question, exceptional leaders. Culture Design is a reflection of that wisdom." - Jessica Alba, founder and Board Director, Honest Company
"In a world full of cliches and uninspired leadership advice, Culture Design stands out with concrete, practical, and truly inspiring ways to build a durable culture. This book is essential reading, offering intentional strategies from both the vantage point of an iconic business leader and the fresh perspective of a next-generation entrepreneur." - Merline Saintil, Lead Director, Rocket Lab; Board Director, Symbotic, TD Synnex, and GitLab
"Culture has never been more critical to business results, yet it remains an abstract topic for many CEOs. James and Krista White make culture pragmatic. More important, they help CEOs ensure they're creating the culture that their specific strategy and customer base requires. Highly recommended." - David Reimer, CEO, ExCo Group
"Culture Design is not only a fantastic guide for anyone in leadership but a valuable manual for investing in the culture of your team and organization. The coauthoring duo of James and Krista proves to be another valuable resource filled with multigenerational insight." - Kecia Steelman, President and CEO, Ulta Beauty
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Product notice
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
Illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 241 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 23 mm
Weight
422 gr
ISBN-13
979-8-89279-077-2 (9798892790772)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
James D. White | Krista White
Culture Design
How to Build a High-Performing, Resilient Organization with Purpose
E-Book
11/2025
Harvard Business Review Press
€30.99
Available for download
Persons
James D. White is a transformational leader with more than thirty years' experience in the consumer products, retail, and restaurant industries. As CEO of Jamba Juice from 2008 to 2016, he led the successful turnaround and transformation of the company. He is a corporate director and adviser with twenty years of experience serving on more than fifteen public and private boards. White currently chairs the board of the Honest Company. He is the cofounder, Chair, and CEO of Culture Design Lab.
Krista White is a multigenre nonfiction and fiction writer. As a cofounder of Culture Design Lab, her work focuses on research, in-depth interviews, and harnessing her writing and storytelling skills to craft powerful narratives. In addition to her work at Culture Design Lab, Krista has consulted with individuals and companies on their strategies for intentional culture design, inclusion, and racial justice. She is also the founder and CEO of Kiki For the Future, a platform for LGBTQIA+ sex education.
Krista White is a multigenre nonfiction and fiction writer. As a cofounder of Culture Design Lab, her work focuses on research, in-depth interviews, and harnessing her writing and storytelling skills to craft powerful narratives. In addition to her work at Culture Design Lab, Krista has consulted with individuals and companies on their strategies for intentional culture design, inclusion, and racial justice. She is also the founder and CEO of Kiki For the Future, a platform for LGBTQIA+ sex education.