Small Games, Big Signals
When you think about evaluating a company’s culture, you probably don't think about ping pong. Maybe you should.
A client of mine recently shared a story that stuck with me: During the interview process at a financial services firm, he heard about their company-wide ping pong tournaments. He assumed it was a fun team-building exercise — a break from the usual pressure. But when he joined, he realized something very different.
These tournaments weren’t casual. They were intense. The firm brought in an Olympian to coach employees in technique, strategy, and mental toughness. Winning wasn’t optional; it was expected. The ping pong table wasn’t a break from the culture. It was the culture.
Compete relentlessly. Find the edge. Push yourself to win no matter what the arena.
Ping pong became a mirror reflecting something far more important: The mindset, the expectations, and the atmosphere people lived in every single day.
Many people make decisions — jobs, partnerships, investments — based on surface-level data: the offer, the title, the perks, the mission statement. But culture rarely announces itself with flashing lights. It reveals itself in smaller, quieter ways — if you're paying attention.
It’s how people compete in a "friendly" game. It's who gets celebrated — and why. It's how small losses are handled — whether with curiosity or with blame. It's whether striving for excellence feels energizing… or exhausting.
Ping pong was just the surface. The real story was underneath: a relentless culture where winning mattered everywhere — whether you were closing a deal or hitting a backhand.
Great Leaders Read the Small Signals
This ties directly into one of the core themes of my upcoming book, Inspired by LIFE: Redefining the Future of Leadership: Resilient, adaptable leaders don’t just react faster — they read better. They develop the ability to see small patterns early — the ones that predict what kind of environment they’re stepping into. Not every culture fits every person.
Some cultures energize you. Some cultures quietly erode you. If you miss the signals, you’re left trying to adapt to a place that was never going to support your growth in the first place. The most successful people aren’t just evaluating companies. They’re evaluating environments with the full understanding that small moments matter.
Whether you're considering a new opportunity, joining a new team, or leading a culture yourself, it’s worth asking:
What “ping pong tournaments” exist here — the activities that seem small but actually show everything?
What do they reveal about how people are expected to compete, collaborate, or cope with pressure?
Is the environment shaping people for resilience and sustainable performance, or just burning them out faster?
And just as importantly: what are the small games in your own life or leadership that might be sending signals you’re not even aware of?
Culture isn’t what’s written on the walls. Culture is what’s played out when people think no one’s watching.
The true leadership advantage? Learning to see it and shape it…before the game even begins.
