Gapingvoid Culture Design Group

Culture is something your competition can’t steal or copy. But so is what happens in your mind. Just look at Ford Motor Company in the late 1950s. When Enzo Ferrari called them “Worthless sons-of-*expletive”, and referred to the then CEO, Henry Ford II (Henry Ford’s son) as a “pig-headed boss” who managed a “big ugly factory who made big ugly cars.” Henry Ford II could have walked away from his plan to turn around the company through racing. He had a choice. His response? "We'll beat his ass." A simple mindshift on what was possible led Ford to dominate Le Mans racing within a decade and solidify the Ford Legacy in the process. As Brian Solis writes in his new book "Mindshift," that's all transformation really is - seeing things differently. Our ability "to learn and unlearn; to react creatively in times of change.” It's fascinating The most valuable thing you can do for your business is a skill you can learn, and it costs absolutely nothing. #mindset #culture #gapingvoid #newbook

From a small corner in Milan’s Fiorucci store to a vibrant presence in 68 countries, Kiko Milano embodies a story of transformation and growth. Our journey celebrates not just numbers but the people behind them. We’re dedicated to crafting a culture that empowers everyone, wherever they are in the world. © Image Copyright – Licensed by Gapingvoid Culture Design Group.

We hear a lot about Gen Z's growing list of demands these days. The older generations may scoff, but it's nothing new. They want meaning, growth, and belonging. Just like the rest of us us. Just like always. The real challenge isn't generational, it's cultural. Our old friend, Tony Hsieh, at Zappos cracked it. He knew culture isn't just how you do things. It's THE thing. Get that right, and everything else follows. #culture #leadership #gapingvoid #genz #belonging #meaning

Former US President, Richard Nixon, said it well: “To me, the unhappiest people of the world are those in the watering places… going to parties every night, playing golf every afternoon, then bridge, drinking too much, talking too much, thinking too little, retired, no purpose… They don’t know life. Because what makes life mean something is purpose. A goal. The battle. The struggle. Even if you don’t win it.” Humans are not born for comfort. We’re not born to be idle. We’re born to step into the arena. Winning or losing is secondary – the experience of “significance” is what counts. And that is only experienced in relation to chasing or reaching a worthwhile goal. As Marcus Aurelius wrote ~1,800+ years ago: “At dawn, when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself: “I have to go to work — as a human being. What do I have to complain of, if I’m going to do what I was born for — the things I was brought into the world to do? Or is this what I was created for? To huddle under the blankets and stay warm?” The secret to human flourishing is that we never really arrive. Instead, we must do what Winston Churchill always recommended, even in the darkest days of World War II- “K.B.O.”- Keep Buggering On.

Corruption outed is so juicy. It triggers shadenfreude, disgust and anger, etc. At its core we want to believe that those who are in power are worthy of our trust. Too often they are not, and the one thing humans hate is the sense that we’ve been played. This article addresses how these dark places of shame are created through complicity and culture.

What do New York Mayor, Eric Adams, and Sean Combs aka Puff Diddy have in common? They didn't operate alone or all at once. Like the Enron scandal twenty years earlier, the alleged culprits had a network of help. Enablers. Partners in crime. People at all social strata who were complicit. This network didn’t materialize overnight. It grew gradually, person by person, choice by choice. That’s the thing about corruption. It’s hard to do it alone because it’s cultural. It’s a perverse form of “Culture Design,” with the same rules applying. Values, mores, behaviors get normalized from the top, cascading through the ranks like a virus. Nobody expects leaders to be perfect, they’re damaged goods, just like the rest of us, but to underestimate their larger effect on the culture can be a potentially fatal error. The fish rots from the head, and behavior is contagious. Whether it’s trust, kindness, or being a tool. #corruption #culture #NYC #leadership #politics

The big news in remote working this month was the memo Amazon CEO, Andy Jassy, sent out last week mandating that all employees return to the office five days a week. It mentioned "culture" repeatedly (11 times to be exact) and cited “strengthening the culture” as the driving force behind the decision. It seems Jassy wants to go back to the "Day 1" mentality Bezos was known for, aiming to "operate like the world's largest startup." The problem? Culture doesn't magically change because you get people into a building. Culture isn’t about the walls you’re in, it’s about what happens with the people between them. Don’t get us wrong, we love in person collaboration as much as the next person. But the point for Amazon is that culture isn't built solely around place. It’s built on purpose. The hard part is designing an environment - virtual or physical - where contribution is guaranteed but not obligatory. Where idea flow is the natural byproduct of passionate people loyal to a shared vision. Jassy’s memo got one thing right: "Keeping your culture strong is not a birthright. You have to work at it all the time." Amen. But it’s not about where we are when we work, but why we do it. Are we building a culture of begrudging badge-ins or one of unlimited possibility? The choice is ours. And there’s no commute required. 

Today we’re kicking off another round of our Culture First Digital Leadership Masterclass with our partners from Gapingvoid Culture Design Group! Two cohorts are kicking off this week with two more in the Spring. This a key part of Instilling a Digital First culture we need to realize Digital Materiel Management. Everyone of these leader will start a chain reaction in thier organization to drive a culture of digital adoption. Special shout out to our partners from the UK Ministry of Defense and US Space Force for being a part of this! #DigitalAF #DigitalSF #DigitalMOD #CultureFirst #DMM

Ludwig Wittgenstein, the great Austrian philosopher said it well: “The limits of my language are the limits of my world”, i.e. If you can’t say it, it doesn’t exist. In 1989 in his inaugural address, when President George H. Bush reframed America as a “kinder, gentler nation,” he wasn’t describing, he was creating. And when Elon Musk took over Twitter, and called for “extremely hardcore” and “high intensity,” he reshaped the company’s culture through his narrative. The organizations that win don’t just communicate, they deliberately design language to influence behavior. Did you get a venti pumpkin spice latte this morning? Starbucks isn’t just selling coffee, they’re selling membership into a community where tall means small and Pumpkin spice is a time of year people get excited about. Words don’t just describe the world around us, they build it. Choose them wisely.

In 1971, Coca-Cola launched the most famous commercial in advertising history. In doing so, they accidentally gave us a lesson in leadership. There was no “Here’s why you should buy our product,” or “Here’s why we’re better than Pepsi.” Even their new tagline, “It’s The Real Thing,” went left open-ended… Real? What do you mean by “Real”? Compared to what? But that’s all it had to be. Because coke wasn’t selling carbonated sugar water. They were selling a feeling. It was deliberately designed so the viewer would project their own context onto it, not the other way around. Leading people isn’t about telling people what to do. It’s about creating “context.” Asking the right questions, painting a picture of the possible, and then getting out of the way. Coca-Cola didn't tell us why their product was better. They showed us a world we wanted to be part of and left us to connect the dots.