- company culture
Every strong company has heroes
By: Sascha MengerinkSascha Mengerink
Sascha is the founder of Great Humans and a culture coach for organizations that want to grow from a strong foundation. He helps founders and their teams make culture concrete and manageable, so that behavior, values, and ambitions align and growth is not a coincidence but the result of sharp choices.
More posts →- Written on November 6, 2025
In short
- Culture lives in choices, not in core values.
Apple chose not to change anything about Jobs' office. - Heroes keep your culture sharp.
Whether it's your founder or someone on your team, you need people who show what your company truly stands for. - What you keep says who you are.
What do you consciously leave standing? Which stories do you pass on? What must never fade away?
When we at Great Humans start visualizing an organization's culture, we always ask one question: who is/are your hero(es).
Sometimes it is the founder. But remarkably often, it is someone from the team. Someone without an official title, but with maximum impact. The one who shows what the company truly stands for.
And good companies understand that.
Look at Apple*.
The office that remained untouched
When Steve Jobs died in 2011, he left behind a small office on the fourth floor of the old Apple headquarters in Cupertino. No executive suite. No theater. Just a quiet place with a view of the courtyard.
That office is still there. Everything is exactly as it was. His desk. His belongings. His name on the door. Even his children's drawings on the whiteboard were never removed.
Tim Cook could have renewed everything. But he didn't. Deliberately not.
Because this is no ordinary workplace. This is history. Identity. Direction.
Video: Wired
Why is that powerful?
Apple hasn't put up a statue for Steve Jobs. No memorial wall and no annual show. They have done something much more beautiful: preserved his place.
The decision to leave his office untouched says it all. It says: this is where we come from. This is who we are. And we never want to forget this.
Such a space acts as a moral compass. When things rub. When things move fast. When doubt strikes. Then there is always that question hanging in the air: would we do this if Steve were still sitting here?
And what about your organization?
Growing is beautiful. But it comes with risks. The biggest one: losing yourself.
New people. More processes. Pressure for speed. Culture erodes rapidly if you are not careful. That is precisely when you need anchor points. Symbols. Stories. Heroes.
Culture is not what you put on a poster. Culture is how you do things.
At Great Humans we make culture visible , tangible, and strategic. So that your company can grow without losing itself. Start with your heroes. The rest follows.
Schedule a free consultationAnother example from Apple, you might be thinking. I agree; Apple is perhaps used as an 'easy' example too often. But in this case, I found the video with Tim Cook so striking that I couldn't resist writing about it.
Incidentally, I recently came across a similar situation in Hengelo. Just at a rock-solid company. The original founder, now retired, still has an office. And no one else is allowed to use it. Out of respect. Period.
Regards, Sascha