Gapingvoid Culture Design Group

An accident in 1970’s London led to Brian Eno’s discovery of ambient music. Bedridden, he heard low playing harp music blend with rain outside, inspiring a new genre. Compare this Ambient Music to listening to a live Beethoven symphony. There, Beethoven is the thing, there is no other thing but Beethoven. The difference between Eno and Beethoven is a great metaphor for culture. High-performing cultures are more like Eno's work - subtly shaping the environment rather than demanding attention. It's not about telling people loudly what the culture should be, but the daily practices, team structures, and work environments we create. Like ambient music, great culture influences everything, even when we're not consciously aware of it. What's playing in the background of your organization? #culture #beethoven #leadership #gapingvoid #music

The road to Hell is paved with good intentions. So is the road to rapture... Intentions are neutral. They're just the starting point. The trouble is thinking they're enough. 17th Century Jesuit, Baltasar Gracián, advised people not to talk about their big-deal plans until AFTER they were fulfilled. Because talking about them almost feels like doing them. Effective change-makers practice pragmatism. Frederick Douglass. MLK Jr. Emmeline Pankhurst. Florence Nightingale. They didn't just intend, they executed. They combined vision with relentless action. Real leadership is the ability to create a culture where dreaming and doing coexist. As Edison said: "Vision without execution is hallucination."

Digital transformation isn't about tech. It's about people. We designed this course to change how DAF leaders think, not just what they know. It's a culture movement, disguised as a masterclass. Thank you for the collaboration DAF Digital Transformation Office. For those DAF civilian and military leaders committed to change, join us: https://lnkd.in/gHauRWqm #DigitalLeadership #CultureDesign #DAF #Gapingvoid

Symbols are funny things. What is it about, the Pride Flag, a piece of cloth with brightly colored stripes on it, that evokes such strong feelings? Do candy stripes have magic powers? Of course not. Symbols work because they are containers of meaning we fill ourselves. The Pride Flag's journey from 1976 to today shows how powerful these "empty vessels" can be. From Gilbert Baker's original rainbow to recent iterations including QTBIPOC and trans representation, it's an example of how symbols evolve with us that we see in full force every June. It’s Capital-C Culture in action. And for leaders who are in the business of “creating meaning and purpose,” it’s a great reminder that culture isn’t dictated, it’s created. Happy Pride Month! #Culture #Gapingvoid #flag #symbol #Pride

Apple CEO, Tim Cook, recently made a tweet announcing Apple Intelligence – Apple’s new suite of AI tools. Elon Musk wasted no time sending a barrage of displeased tweets back. "Don't want it," Musk wrote. "Either stop this creepy spyware or all Apple devices will be banned from the premises of my companies." All-too-often, these tweets lead to a rebuttal and string of vehement exchanges. But this time, Cook said… nothing. And it was the most powerful thing he could have said. As the old saying goes, “no response is still a response.” Everything a leader does sends a signal to their organization and shapes their culture. People often think that being a leader is about being a boss. It isn’t. Leaders have managers to do that. It’s about setting an example about what to do. And often, what not to do. #culture #gapingvoid #leadership #elon #apple #timcook

“Overemployment” (aka working two full time remote jobs simultaneously) is sweeping the internet. Do a quick search and you’ll find websites springing up like dandelions, coaching people on how to get away with it. While we think It's shoddy at best and at worst, a form of theft, it signals a greater problem at a macro-cultural level. Would people be double dipping if they found their job meaningful to begin with? Our guess is that if we were to start work every day proud of the products and services we’re creating and ready to engage meaningfully with our colleagues, we’d want MORE of that, not less. It’s on all of us to create. Not simply leaders. While tempting to collect 2 paychecks, it undermines trust and erodes our work relationships (the main thing holding companies and society together) and perhaps worst of all - sells ourselves short. As Cicero said, “Whatever you do, do it with all your might.” Or better yet, as the fictional Ron Swanson said from the show, Parks and Recreation, “Never half-ass two things. Whole-ass one thing.” Let us know what you think in the comments. #culture #overemployment #gapingvoid #jobs #meaning #trust

The Co-founder of PayPal, Peter Thiel, made headlines recently highlighting how AI will disrupt entire industries, making verbal skills more valuable than math skills. “It’s going to be much worse for math people than word people… People have told me that in the next 3-5 years, AI will be able to solve all the US Maths Olympiad problems. That would shift things quite a bit.” Who would’ve guessed a decade ago that the “Learn To Code” meme could actually end up being terrible advice? Logically this should come as no surprise. Code doesn’t care who wrote it. Apple didn’t become the world’s biggest company because it had the best coders, it did so because it could touch the human heart better than any of them. Machines solve problems. Humans solve THE problem. THE PROBLEM of being alive and being conscious in the universe. That is what art is for. That is what connection is for. That is what leadership is for. The future belongs to the people who can actually tell the difference. #culture #gapingvoid #meaning #love #ai #algorithm #machines #problems

The Amish are known for their barn raisings, where the whole community comes together to build a barn using traditional methods. The whole community pitches in - building, cooking, supporting. It’s called a "frolic," because it’s not perceived as work but a moment for social connection. This practice is rooted in deep trust and reciprocity. You help today because you know your community will help you tomorrow. As Charlie Munger said, “The highest and best culture is a seamless web of deserved trust.” In a company, in a culture, in a country, trust is everything. The Japanese word for “thank you”, sumimasen, literally translates to “this will not end.” i.e., the favor you’ve done for me is not the end of this relationship – in the future, you can expect the same in return. The leaders who recognize this build high-trust cultures - the cultures that actually win. #gapingvoid #trust #culture #reciprocity #community

In the 2023 movie "Barbie," Gloria (America Ferrera) delivers a powerful speech about the paradoxes women face: "You have to be thin, but not too thin. You can never say you want to be thin, only healthy, but still thin. You have to have money, but you can’t ask for money because that’s crass…” This scene hits a nerve. Paradoxes and contradictions are a part of life and business. We're expected to offer great value, the highest quality, and first-class service all in one. The solution? Compromise. Whether we’re designing a product, a brand, or a company culture, success lies in navigating trade-offs and uniting people around the thing that matters most. #culture #compromise #gapingvoid #design #meaning #paradox

On the "Everything Is BS" blog, David Pinsof explores the Fermi Paradox (if the galaxy teems with intelligent life, where are they?) Common answers include nonexistence or catastrophic extinction, but he suggests a less dramatic possibility: perhaps alien civilizations succumbed to mediocrity, just as we might. He calls it "Mediocrity as an existential threat." Anyone running a business or organization understands this. It happens when people stop finding meaning and faith.When meaning dies, culture dies. #culture #gapingvoid #meaning #faith #leadership #mediocre