Why Great Turnarounds Start with Culture, Not Strategy

August 4, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

When Dan Schulman took the CEO job at Verizon in late 2024, he walked into a company that had been losing market share for five years, had the lowest price-to-earnings multiple in its industry, and saw customer satisfaction falling while churn rose. The company had long relied on its engineering prowess and network quality, but Schulman believed that was no longer enough. His diagnosis: Verizon had become risk-averse, hierarchical, and inward-looking. Its culture was holding it back. His argument, drawn from turnarounds at PayPal and elsewhere, is that you cannot fix a struggling company with strategy alone. You have to start with culture — and that means telling the truth, making painful cuts, and giving people permission to win.

The Diagnosis: A Company Playing Not to Lose

Continue reading the full summary in the app — free to try.

Read Full Summary →

Free • No credit card required

Listen to Audio Summary Open in App

Never miss an episode of HBR IdeaCast

Get every new episode summarized in your inbox — free, ~5 minutes to read.

No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.

What you'll learn

1 (01:46) **Dan Schulman's Insider-Outsider Arrival at Verizon** - Schulman, former PayPal CEO, explains why he took the job after turning it down twice while on the board.
2 (03:25) **Diagnosing the Root Cause: A Risk-Averse, Inward Culture** - Schulman identifies the cultural problems that led to Verizon's decline.
3 (06:04) **"Every Customer Has a Name": Redefining Customer Obsession** - Schulman explains his specific initiative to shift the company's focus from utility to personal service.
4 (10:24) **The Three-Part Leadership Playbook for Cultural Change** - Schulman outlines the simultaneous actions a leader must take to overcome resistance to change.
5 (14:45) **Early Successes as a Catalyst for Momentum** - Schulman describes how a quick win validated the cultural shift.
6 (18:40) **The Truth About AI and Verizon's Future** - Schulman discusses how AI will fundamentally transform the company's value proposition.
7 (22:56) **Leading Through the Dark Side of AI** - Schulman addresses the potential disruption and his responsibility as a leader.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

In an era of constant disruption, successful turnarounds require more than a new strategy—they demand a new culture. Dan Schulman, former CEO of PayPal, came out of retirement to tackle the challenge of taking over the helm of Verizon as it entered the AI age. He explains how they needed to put customers—not engineering—at the center of the business, how he reshaped company culture, and what it really took to prepare employees for an AI-native future. He explains why leaders need to embrace change, invest in reskilling, and balance optimism about AI with honesty about the disruption it will bring.