michael henderson

What michael henderson does

Cultures at Work is a New Zealand-based organisational culture consulting practice founded in 1995 by Michael Henderson, a credentialed Corporate Anthropologist, alongside his wife Shar and the late Dougal Thompson. Operating as a solo-led professional services firm headquartered in Auckland, the company serves People & Culture leaders, C-suite executives, and cross-functional teams across more than 20 named enterprise clients spanning sports, energy, FMCG, banking, healthcare, and retail. Its core product portfolio comprises four service lines: Culture Transformation Projects (long-term consulting engagements), Culture Capability Builds (structured workshops covering D&I, leadership development, corporate values, team building, and change management), Culture Audits (diagnostic assessments), and Keynotes (executive speaking engagements).

The firm's underlying intellectual property is its "Corporate Anthropology" methodology, anchored by the proprietary Arrow Framework for aligning culture with business strategy (endorsed by MIT's Professor Edgar Schein), the coined concept of "Culturing" (2001) reframing culture as an ongoing verb rather than a static noun, and the more recent B.A.N.I. framework (2020) for navigating VUCA environments. An online learning platform launched between 2018 and 2020 extends delivery into a digital/PLG format.

Commercially, Cultures at Work operates on a quote-based, consultative sales model accessed exclusively via a "Book A Discovery Call" CTA, with no publicly disclosed pricing tiers or fee schedules. The go-to-market is direct, founder-led content marketing (blogs, free resources, LinkedIn, TEDx video, webinars) feeding into discovery calls and long-tenure enterprise consulting. Geographic footprint is concentrated in New Zealand and Australia with opportunistic global keynote delivery. The business is privately held by the founder with no external funding, parent company, or institutional investment disclosed.

Name

michael henderson

Legal name

Cultures at Work

Website

https://culturesatwork.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Cultures at Work is a New Zealand-based, founder-led organisational culture consultancy run by corporate anthropologist Michael Henderson, offering culture transformation projects, capability-building workshops, diagnostic audits, and keynotes to People & Culture and C-suite leaders across enterprise clients in NZ, Australia, and globally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Organizational Culture Consulting

NAICS

Human Resources Consulting Services (541612), Management Consulting Services (54161), Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services (541611), Other Management Consulting Services (541618)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Culture, Engagement & Employee Experience (EX) Consulting (BPAHAGAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Leadership Development & Executive Coaching (BPAHAGAD), Human Capital & Workforce Transformation Consulting (BPAHACAE), Talent Management & Leadership Advisory (Succession, Performance, Culture) (BPACAJAH), Employee Experience, Engagement & Culture Advisory (BPACAJAI), Organizational Culture & Values-Based Leadership (EDABAAAE)

Keywords

• Organizational culture consulting
• Culture transformation services
• Leadership development programs
• Culture audit and assessment
• Executive keynote speaking

Headquarters

HQ city

Auckland

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Consulting & Culture Transformation Projects: Long-term consulting engagements for comprehensive culture transformation projects, working directly with leadership teams to align culture with business strategy.
2. Culture Workshops & Capability Builds: Structured workshop interventions delivered to teams, targeting specific cultural barriers including diversity and inclusion, leadership development, corporate values alignment, team building, and change management.
3. Culture Audits: Diagnostic assessment services providing organisations with a comprehensive understanding of their culture's performance dynamics.
4. Keynote Speaking: Speaking engagements for conferences, leadership events, and organisational gatherings to deliver culture transformation messages to large audiences.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Cultures at Work provides organizational culture consulting services delivered through four primary offerings: Culture Transformation Projects (long-term consulting engagements aligning culture with business strategy), Culture Capability Builds (workshops on leadership, diversity and inclusion, corporate values, team building, and change management), Culture Audits (diagnostic assessments of cultural strengths and weaknesses), and Keynotes (executive speaking engagements). All services are anchored in Michael Henderson's proprietary Arrow Framework and Corporate Anthropology approach.

Product overview

Cultures at Work is a consulting firm led by corporate anthropologist Michael Henderson offering a portfolio of services centered on organizational culture transformation. The core offerings include Culture Transformation Projects (comprehensive change initiatives), Culture Capability Builds (structured workshops including diversity and inclusion training, leadership development, corporate values training, team building, and change management), Culture Audits (diagnostic assessments), and Keynotes (speaking engagements). These are supported by proprietary methodologies including the Arrow Framework for culture-strategy alignment, and programs such as the High-Performance Culture Program and Leaders Worth Following Program. The company also operates an online learning platform launched in 2018-2020 for digital delivery of culture education, and publishes educational resources including e-books on culture topics.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Culture Transformation Projects Comprehensive culture transformation programs that fundamentally shift organizational culture to achieve high-performance levels, leveraging 40 years of experience in culture alignment. Targets CEOs and People & Culture leaders at enterprises.
• Culture Capability Builds (Workshops) Workshop-based interventions that build organizational capability to understand and optimize culture, including diversity and inclusion training, leadership culture workshops, corporate values training, team building, and change management programs. Delivered to client teams.
• Culture Audits Diagnostic assessments that evaluate the current state of organizational culture, identifying strengths, weaknesses, and underlying needs to inform culture optimization strategies.
• Keynotes Speaking engagements delivered by Michael Henderson to executive teams and large audiences on organizational culture, high-performance culture strategies, and cultural transformation. Includes engagements such as TEDx Auckland opening and Super 15 / All Blacks rugby coaching audiences.
• High-Performance Culture Program Advanced program offering deep knowledge and awareness required to master culture and its performance at the highest levels, covering recruitment, promotion, rewards, recognition, personal development, team building, customer service, and accountability.
• Leaders Worth Following Program Leadership development program focused on developing the skills and behaviors required for leaders to align their actions with organizational values and effectively lead culture as a core mandate of their role.
• Online Learning Platform Digital platform delivering culture education content and webinars online, enabling organizations and individuals to access culture training materials and programs digitally.
• The Ten Most Common Mistakes E-book E-book examining the most common mistakes organizations make with culture, originally co-authored with Dougal Thompson after Enron's collapse and updated over ten years later.

Quantifiable outcome

• Record financial results following culture transformation work (Z Energy case)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers20 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Dougal Thompson (Co-founder)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founded Cultures at Work alongside Michael Henderson and his wife Shar. Dougal and Michael co-authored the original 'Ten Most Common Mistakes' e-book and worked together for approximately 19 years (1995-2015) on culture transformation. Dougal passed away in 2015, after which Shar and Michael continued the work in his memory.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Senn Delaney (now part of Heidrick & Struggles): Senn Delaney is a specialized culture transformation consultancy acquired by Heidrick & Struggles, focused exclusively on shaping organizational culture for large enterprises. Most directly comparable peer: both Henderson and Senn Delaney sell proprietary culture frameworks and multi-year transformation engagements to C-suite buyers, with comparable methodology-led, advisory-only delivery models.
• Kotter International: Kotter International is a culture and change advisory firm built around John Kotter's proprietary frameworks (including the 8-Step Process for Leading Change). Comparable to Cultures at Work as a thought-leadership-driven, framework-anchored boutique focused on culture and change with C-suite audiences, distinguished by deeper academic branding.
• Barrett Values Centre: Barrett Values Centre offers culture assessments, values-based leadership tools, and a proprietary culture transformation model used globally by consultants. A direct peer in the values-and-culture framework space — both organizations monetize a founder-developed IP for culture diagnostics and leadership development.
• Cameron & Quinn (Competing Values Framework): Cameron & Quinn commercialize the Competing Values Framework, a widely used culture diagnostic and leadership development tool sold via assessments, workshops, and certification programs. Direct peer in the culture assessment and framework-licensing space — both monetize proprietary academic-rooted culture IP through diagnostic instruments.
• Human Synergistics: Human Synergistics provides culture assessments, leadership development tools, and organizational diagnostics used by consultants worldwide. Direct peer offering proprietary culture diagnostic IP and culture change methodology to enterprise and consultant channels, comparable to Cultures at Work's Arrow Framework and Culture Audits offerings.

Broad incumbents

• Deloitte (Human Capital practice): Deloitte's Human Capital practice offers culture, leadership, and organization transformation services as part of a global consulting portfolio. Broad incumbent peer — competing for the same enterprise culture transformation budgets, but at scale with thousands of consultants and integrated change management offerings.
• McKinsey (Organization Practice): McKinsey's Organization Practice advises on organizational culture, change, and leadership for the largest global enterprises. Broad incumbent peer with overlapping service offerings; competes for C-suite culture mandates but typically as part of broader strategy engagements.
• Korn Ferry: Korn Ferry is a global organizational consulting firm with deep culture, leadership, and talent practices following its acquisition of Senn Delaney and other culture specialists. Broad incumbent peer with comparable methodology-led culture transformation offerings at greater scale.
• FranklinCovey: FranklinCovey delivers leadership, culture, and execution content through training programs, workshops, and a digital platform (including the '7 Habits' framework). Comparable in blending thought leadership IP with workshop-based delivery and digital learning; operates at much larger scale with a global partner network.
• Accenture (Organization & Talent practice): Accenture's Organization & Talent practice delivers culture transformation, change management, and HR transformation services for global enterprises, often integrated with technology implementation. Broad incumbent peer competing for the same enterprise culture transformation mandates with significantly greater delivery capacity.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/culturesatwork

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

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