New Research Reveals โ”Last 8%” Culture Drives Dramatic โPerformance Gains, Now published in Harvard Business Review
NEW YORK – September 3, 2025 – Groundbreaking research into high-performance workplace cultures, spearheaded โฃby the Institute for Health & Human โPotential โ(IHHP), is now featured in โ Harvard Business Review. Theโค findings detail a distinct culture type – termed the “Last 8% culture” – characterized by a unique balance of courage and connection, and demonstrate its notable impact on organizational success.
This research arrives as companiesโฃ increasingly grapple wiht issuesโข ofโค employee retention, stalled innovation, and a needโ for greater accountability. IHHP’s work identifiesโ a critical gap between โขcultures that prioritize safety and those that demand results, revealing that true high performance emerges when leaders and teams are equipped to navigate difficult conversationsโฃ and take interpersonal risks. the “Last 8% โขCulture Map” framework categorizes workplace cultures into four types: Family, Transactional, Fear-Based, and Last 8%.Organizations achieving the Last 8%โ Culture experience measurable improvements, including a 35-50% reduction in โฃdelayed decisions andโ avoided conversations, millions saved in retention and conflict resolution costs, and faster execution with increased accountability. To further support leaders in cultivating this environment,IHHPโ has launched the Last 8% leader Assessment,a tool designed to measure a leader’s and โขteam’s ability โto take interpersonalโ risk and provideโฃ a roadmap for building courage and accountability.
“This is notโ theory,” โexplains โJP โขPawliw, IHHP co-founder and New โYork Times bestselling author. “It’s neuroscience and organizational psychology applied toโค the real world. When leadersโ and teams embrace their Last 8% moments, they unlock the courage and clarity to drive innovation, trust, and results.”
IHHP has spent over two decades working with organizations โฃlike NASA, Johnson & โขJohnson, Goldman Sachs, and โขthe U.S. Navy SEALs to build courageous leaders and high-performance cultures based on behavioral science and emotional intelligence.
About IHHP: The Institute for Health & Human Potential is a global research andโค consulting company.
About JP Pawliw: JP Pawliw is a New Yorkโ Times bestselling author, leadership expert, and co-founder of IHHP. His insights have appeared in harvardโค business review,Forbes, and The Newโข York Times.
Media Contact: โคNanda Grandison, Head of Marketing, email: [email protected]