Disrupting Corporate Culture: A Deep Dive with David White

05/22/25 • 25 min

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David White, a cognitive anthropologist with 25 years of corporate experience, shares powerful insights about why organizational transformations fail and how understanding brain science can revolutionize our approach to culture change. His research reveals the complex relationship between our habitual work practices and the neural pathways that form our cultural thinking patterns.
• Culture consists of millions of schemas or tacit knowledge structures that reside in our brains
• Approximately 75% of business transformations fail to achieve their stated objectives
• What we do all day long indelibly shapes how we think - we are what we do
• Industrial companies develop risk-averse mindsets that extend beyond their core products
• The nature of our daily tasks creates "dominant logics" that influence all organizational thinking
• The paradox of culture: although culture lives in the brain, you change it through practices, not people
• Most organizations attempt culture change through training, values, or hiring but keep business practices the same
• Effective transformation requires rethinking fundamental business practices like planning and budgeting
• Leaders should develop pattern recognition skills to identify habitual thinking in their organizations
• Boomerang employees often have unique ability to recognize entrenched patterns and cultural models
For more insights, check out David's book "Disrupting Corporate Culture" which explores how cognitive science can transform organizational change efforts.

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Hope at Work: Finding Hope in the 9-5 with Marcus Mossberger

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Marcus Mossberger shares his passion for cultivating hope in the workplace based on research showing that hope is critical for employee motivation and satisfaction. He defines workplace hope as "the active belief in a better future," differentiating it from passive optimism by emphasizing personal agency and responsibility for positive change.
• Hope in the workplace requires active belief and responsibility, not just passive optimism
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• Traditional retirement may be outdated as we move toward longer lifespans
• Gradual reduction in work hours rather than abrupt retirement supports better mental health
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Take the workplace hope assessment at workplacehope.com to understand what makes you hopeful at work and embrace the exciting changes coming to the world of work in the next decade.

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Leaning Into Yes: Creating Vibrant Workplaces

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Andrea Kehoe, Director of Operations Administration at Kettering University, shares how she's led efforts to transform the university's workplace culture following what their president called a "cultural meh" after the pandemic. Through cross-collaborative working groups, employee surveys, and responsive action, Kettering has revitalized their campus community by implementing simple yet effective strategies that prioritize employee satisfaction.
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• Small, consistent improvements lead to significant cultural transformation over time
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