This idea is drawn from Ed Schein’s work on corporate culture, and it made it into Chapter 4 of Humanize (p. 68):
First, cultures are inherently stable. Because they are built upon thoughts and assumptions that are taken for granted, cultures are hard to change. In fact, not only are they difficult to change, we also want them to be difficult to change because in a complex and shifting world, we value having something we can count on. The fact that I don’t have to figure out how things are done on an ongoing basis is actually comforting to me. Good or bad, the culture being the way it is allows me to direct my attention elsewhere so I can get work done.