Thank you for writing this Robert!
I couldn't agree with you more! Building your culture is foundational. Before doing the work, it's important to talk about how to do the work. And the how is all about culture. Are we collaborative? Transparent? Focused on solutions? Okay with failure? Willing to take risks? What's the most important thing to us? How do we want to give and take feedback? What should we do when we disagree about something important? and on and on...