Every year, we survey the PD Team on our culture. Teammates share what they love about our culture, what makes PD different from anywhere else they’ve worked, and where we have room to grow.
We review the insights and report key insights at our yearly Summer Summit. These insights shape how we lead, how we hire, and how we continue to cultivate our culture as a team.
This year, we focused on our response to key threats, analysis of Health and I+A scores, and top themes from our 2026 Culture Survey.
Read on for what the team shared.
Culture as a Living Organism
Culture is a living organism, made up of cells. Each cell plays a role.
A dead cell contributes nothing.
A white blood cell protects, heals, and strengthens the organism.
As you review this report, consider this: what kind of cell do you aspire to be? A cancer cell, a dead cell, or a white blood cell? And what kind of organism, do we aspire to be?
Anyone who’s been to one of our parties, workshops, or events will tell you the same — we have a culture worth cherishing. We have something special at PD, and we must protect it.
Which brings us to our first topic: What are a few top threats we need to protect ourselves from?
Responding to Threats
Threat
Losing our culture of accountability.
Response
We are committed to accountability.
The truth is, we don’t hold each other accountable 100% of the time, anyways. This is a human challenge. It’s not unique to us, or to this business — every team, everywhere, has this challenge to some degree.
Our response to the threat of losing accountability is that we are committed to holding each other accountable.
We have systems to support a culture of accountability:
- Onboarding books like 5 Dysfunctions, Ideal Team Player, Extreme Ownership.
- Advisors and coaches, sharing perspectives from the outside world
- Journey Docs, to track key conversations and learnings
Why invest this much effort, this much time and money? Because we believe in debating toward the truth, and holding each other accountable to success and growth. Our culture of accountability is, and will stay, alive and well.
Threat
Hiring the wrong people.
Response
We are vigilant of our culture.
First, let’s clarify. “Wrong” hires are those not aligned with our culture, our core values, and purpose.
Another truth here is that we will hire the wrong people. It’s impossible to have a 100% hit rate.
Everyone says they want a culture of accountability, excellence, and teamwork. We see this in the interview process, in candidate questionnaires. People join us because they see PD’s culture, and they want to join.
Hiring the wrong people isn’t the threat. It’s hiring the wrong people, and keeping them.
Our response is that we are vigilant of our culture. We all have a responsibility to protect our team. That’s what our systems protect, from our screening process, to the Questionnaire, Journey Docs, to our culture of open communication.
We all have a responsibility to be vigilant and to cultivate the culture we signed up for.
To be like white blood cells when, not if, we mishire.
Threat
Growing too fast.
Response
We will grow fast.
Growing fast is not a threat. The real threat is if we lose our soul in the process. Growing fast is what we want. It cannot be a threat as well. Let’s dive into why we want to grow, and grow greatly.
Everyone has goals and dreams, and to achieve them, it takes growing resources.
To get there, we need to grow. For 10x growth, fast isn’t optional, it’s a requirement.
The threat is growing slow, or growing fast and losing our soul. Why? Ambitious dreamers will leave a slow-growing company for more growth opportunities elsewhere. We have a duty to grow, and grow greatly, to take care of the team, the ambitious, and the next generation.
We don’t intend to grow slow. And in the process, we will safeguard what matters most.
Two things that matter at PD are our core values and our purpose.
Supporting Health and I+A
Assessing Realities
Below are the averages of how the team scores PD’s support.
Health and Wellness goals?
PD Support
Personal and Professional Development goals?
PD Support
However, an average doesn’t capture the full picture. We take a closer look at how the data is dispersed.
When responding to, “How much has PD supported you?”
For Health: 68.1% score PD as 8-10 level of support, and 14.9% score PD as 6 or lower.
For I+A: 89.4% score PD as 8-10, and 4.3% score PD as 6 or lower.
We must ask the important questions:
What are some interesting patterns worth digging into?
What resources do we already have that aren’t reaching some PDTers — and why?
Same company, same stated values, yet very different lived experiences. We want PD’s support for both to reach everyone on our team. A 100% team average is our goal, not 80%. Since reviewing the survey responses, XT has reached out to better understand our teammates’ realities.
Taking Ownership
Regarding PD’s support for our team’s Health and I+A, there are a handful of questions we can ask.
2. Second, we give time off when people need it – never have we reduced pay when people exceed. What is your experience in this domain?
3. Third are health benefits, like dental and massage. Have you tapped into any of these?
4. We throw events, fund outings, and encourage time to play. Have you taken part?
5. We fund coaching, advisory, courses like Sandler Sales, and more. What has been your experience?
6. We purchase books and audiobooks for our libraries, gift books, and invest in online learning platforms like Masterclass. Are you dialed in?
7. We invest in career journeys through 1 on 1s with leaders and advisors, Journey Docs, and day-to-day coaching. Has your leader invested in you?
Whether you’re in a leadership position, you’re a teammate, you’re a PD veteran, or newer to the team, what are you doing to cultivate the culture you signed up for? Each of us has a responsibility to raise our hand and continue to strengthen our culture.
In the Team’s Words
Highlighting top themes, in the team’s words.
Camaraderie
10× Teamwork, Fun
8× Supportive
6× Love, Collaborative
5× Family, Caring
3× Together, Thoughtful, Inviting
2× Wholesome, Warm, People, Optimistic, Engaging, Energizing
1× Trust, Supportive, Rich, Respectful, Relaxed, LOLz, Kind, Insular, Human-Centered, Hugs, Hospitality, Friendly, Expressive, Empathy, Culture, Family
Camaraderie is our #1 theme. Team members describe care, support, and community, whether it’s our hugs, our accountability groups, or rallying toward milestones together. We have the opposite of Sunday Scaries. Team members look forward to returning to the office after the weekend.
Grit
9× Gritty
3× Discipline
2× Spicy, Fearless, Bold
1× Rigid, Passionate, Overwhelming, Nonstop, Nimble, Intense, High-Paced, Heat, Hardworking, Grounded, Fierce, Dedication, Competitive, Brazen, Boundary-Pushing
“Gritty” was our second most frequent word. We speak of feedback and challenges constructively. Phrases like “Anything is possible” “We will make it work” and “Embracing the discomfort of growth” reflect our attitude of rolling up our sleeves to get it done.
Growth
5× Growth
4× Health, Ambitious
3× Evolving
2× Innovative, Growth, Curious, Adaptable
1× Wisdom, Sustainable, Striving, Keen, Inventive, Intelligent, Inspiring, Incubating, Improving, Frantic, Flexible, Enriching, Edifying, Cautious, Aspirational, Adventurous
Team members report how much support they feel as they learn and grow, both at the individual and team levels. This is backed by our culture of support and leadership throughout a team member’s PD journey.
Authenticity
8× Creative
5× Quirky, Honest
4× Wacky, Unconventional, Authentic
3× Diverse
2× Vibrant, Unique, Intentional, Humble, Fresh
1× Unexpected, Genuine, Dreamy, Cool, Contradictory, Badass, Atypical, Aspirational, Ambiguous
Our team evolves and invests in the long game, while keeping what makes PD uniquely PD. Camaraderie, grit, low-ego, and extreme ownership all cultivate a culture of authenticity.
Excellence
2× Systematic, Professional, Extraordinary, Excellence
1× Winning, Vigilant, Talented, Studious, Standards, Responsible, Greatness, Fail, Details, Craftsmanship, Clear, Better
We choose to show up as professionals, hold each other accountable, and strive for excellence, day in and day out.
All Together
10× Teamwork, Fun
9× Gritty
8× Supportive, Creative
6× Love, Collaborative
5× Quirky, Honest, Growth
Combined, our top 5 words are teamwork, fun, gritty, supportive, and creative.
Conclusion
We have something special here. We know it from our clients, our partners, our guests, and our advisors. We know and experience it for ourselves.
Every single person is part of the team because they chose to be. It’s our duty to remember what we signed up for, protect it, and cultivate it.
Thank you, PD Team.
