by Jace Neuenschwander
“I learned the hard way. Sometimes the best way to change a culture is to stop trying to change it.” A former Battalion Commander said these words to me, and his advice has stuck with me for years.
This former Commander led the 5th Ranger Training Battalion (RTB), which administers the second phase of Army Ranger School, called Mountain Phase. When I met him, more than a decade after his retirement, he still exuded the kind of charisma and leadership skills most of us only dream of acquiring. Yet even he grappled with the complexities of culture change. During this chance encounter, his description of transforming 5th RTB’s culture dramatically shaped the way I view organizational development.
“There Be No GOs”
Now retired, the former 5th RTB Commander spent time mentoring company commanders at the National Training Center. During our conversation I learned that nearly 15 years earlier, I passed through Mountain Phase just weeks before he took command. When I remarked on the coincidence, he blinked and asked, “Do you remember which company you were in?”
I replied, “Oh yeah! I remember. I was in Bravo Company where there would ‘B NO SLEEP! B NO CHOW! and B NO GOs!’”
In Ranger School, students must pass at least one patrol in each phase to move onto the next. Passing meant getting a “Go,” while failing meant the Instructor said, “You are a No-Go.” If a student failed to get a Go by the end of the phase, they would have to recycle that phase and try again. At the time, Bravo Company (B CO) was proud of their “B NO” moniker. This “B NO” culture encouraged Instructors to act as gatekeepers to a student’s progression through the course. As a result, Bravo Company’s Mountain Phase pass rates were significantly lower than those of Alpha and Charlie Companies.
Shortly after assuming Command and recognizing that change was necessary in Bravo Company, the 5th RTB Commander made several attempts to address the “B NO” culture. He led discussions with B Co’s leaders, pointing out the difference in pass rates between Bravo Company and the other companies. But there was resistance. He could tell the Ranger Instructors enjoyed their “B NO” culture and were hard-pressed to change.
When his initial attempt didn’t work, he formally counseled his Officers and Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs), laying out his expectations and informing them how he wanted the culture to change. But the pass rate wouldn’t budge.
He tried reassigning leaders, changing out NCOs. Still, the pass rate disparity remained unaffected.
In a final moment of exasperation, he moved the Bravo Company First Sergeant to Alpha Company and the Bravo Company Commander to Charlie Company. Nothing seemed to make a dent. The pass rate remained almost identical across every cycle.
Here was a leader who possessed charisma, wisdom, strength, and intelligence, who was doing everything he could think of to address the problem. Why was this change so hard?
The answer was buy-in. He did not have Bravo Company’s buy-in.
What You Say vs. What They Hear: The Truth Campaign
Before adopting the “Truth” Campaign in the late ’90s, anti-smoking slogans, like “Think! Don’t smoke” and “Tobacco is Whacko,” usually backfired–they sounded like directives from irritated parents. In the midst of developing their own identities, adolescents tend to push back against authority figures and generally hate being told what to do. Previous slogans had backfired because they ordered teenagers to change their behavior without accounting for a teen’s need to demonstrate autonomy.
In contrast, the Truth Campaign was successful because it harnessed this natural inclination toward rebellion. Instead of ordering teens how to act, the Truth Campaign portrayed the tobacco industry as deceptive and encouraged youth to reject its influence. The Truth Campaign harnessed the teenage desire for autonomy and their rejection of external control by targeting the nicotine company executives and the industry itself. It resonated with the teen identity in a way that made them want to choose not to smoke.
At the core of the teen identity is a desire for autonomy and independence. In the same way, the core of Bravo Company’s culture was one of “B NO”—where hardship, lack of rest, and failure were part of the group’s shared identity. Every time the Battalion Commander spoke about Bravo Company’s low pass rates, the Ranger Instructors heard, “Make things easier,” while his intended message was, “Train them better.” Further, when he adjusted personnel assignments, his subordinates heard, “I don’t trust you,” instead of, “let’s try something new.” The 5th RTB Commander was fighting Bravo Company’s core identity and losing. Instead of solving the problem, these tactics were costing him buy-in.
“Like a switch“
The Ranger Instructors in Bravo Company took pride in the identity of “B NO.” The group had internalized the idea that they were different from the other companies. Reorganizing leaders would not address the deeper issues unless the mindsets of individual instructors changed also.
Using the approach demonstrated by the “Truth” campaign, the Battalion Commander decided to embrace the power of the group’s identity as hard-nosed trainers and reinforce the notion that it is possible to have high standards and excellent training outcomes. The instructors could still be who they were; but now, they connected the pursuit of excellence to their students’ success rather than their failure. They were no longer hard for the sake of being hard and no longer proud of their failure rate. Rather, they were hard for the sake of providing quality training and producing better students.
“Once I found the right lever, it was like a switch,” the Commander told me. “Instead of trying to change their identity, I used it to shape better outcomes. I told them to own their identities as disciplined instructors—where every rep, every drill, and every moment of focus is an opportunity to sharpen not just our students’ tangible skills but their mindset as well. This isn’t just about having physical strength and building mental toughness; it’s about learning to teach and train in a way that gets results. We push each other, challenge our limits, and refuse to settle for anything less than our students’ best. When we train with this intensity, we don’t just achieve goals—we redefine what’s possible. In this way, we turn discipline into results.”
Over the next few cycles, Bravo Company’s Instructors bought into the idea that the best leaders were demanding standard-enforcers. But instead of being tough for the sake of being tough, the Ranger Instructors now tied their identity to how well their students performed and the quality of leaders their company produced.
Reshaping Culture
Culture change is hard—very hard. It’s not enough to simply announce the changes you would like to make. To transform an organization’s culture requires a deep understanding of the existing culture and the motivations behind it. Unless you communicate in a way that resonates with the very identity of your organization, your message will fall on deaf ears. An existing culture has deeply ingrained norms and assumptions which will act as invisible barriers to change and progress. Consequently, your organization’s performance will remain limited, not because of a lack of talent or effort, but because the underlying currents are pulling in a different direction.
Culture, though difficult to define, is the very essence of any organization. It shapes behavior, influences decisions, and ultimately determines whether an organization thrives or falters. However, within this challenge lies an opportunity. By recognizing that culture is not an immovable object, but rather a dynamic force, good leaders can harness its power. By leveraging the positive aspects of a group’s identity—its shared values, aspirations, and sense of purpose—leaders can reshape culture, aligning it with new goals and unleashing its full potential.
LTC Jace Neuenschwander is an Army Armor Officer with over two decades of experience, serving combat deployments in heavy, light, and Styker units. LTC Neuenschwander is currently serving as an Inspector General. He is a graduate of the Army’s Ranger and Airborne Schools and, in his later years, enjoys running increasingly long distances at increasingly slow paces.
