Kim-Minh
HubErwalD
PRESENTS
PatTeRn
ThE
BreAk
A CULTURE CAPER MANIFESTO
the
SEtUp
Culture doesn’t happen to us.
It happens through us.
Close your eyes and picture “success.” I’ll wait here.
Did you picture products that sell? Places that attract huge crowds? People who achieve something great?
What happens when our shared idea of “success” doesn’t equal fulfillment for ourselves or value for others?
A product that sells explosively is not inherently useful or even good. A popular place doesn’t necessarily function well or foster connection/community. People can achieve all manner of money, influence or heroic feats and still find themselves miserable and empty, wandering these digital streets looking for someone to abuse for a quick hit of dopamine.
Culture shapes what we think success looks like, and our pursuit of success shapes our culture right back. It’s a cyclical pattern. We build culture as it builds us.
If our pattern is broken, how do we break out?
We've created a culture where being right trumps being curious, where winning means someone’s gotta lose, where exploitation calls itself opportunity.
We fight for jobs that make us sick and buy things we don't need to impress people we don’t know. We numb ourselves to cope. We tear people down to feel superior.
Media profits from conflict, healthcare treats symptoms over causes, and governments protect wealth over wellbeing. Independence is venerated and anyone who needs help is made to feel like they’re just not working hard enough.
We're told to blame our struggling neighbors instead of broken systems while business keeps finding new ways to devalue people and planet in the name of growth and progress.
These norms were not handed down from the heavens. We built these systems, which means they can be rebuilt. But first we have to shift the mindsets and the culture that got us here in the first place. This isn’t about everyone having the same things. This isn’t even about being kind or fair. This is about taking aim at our most dangerous pattern—accepting broken systems and harmful norms as "just how things work."
the
MaRk
Betting big on games we can't win.
ClieNt
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Nobody wins until we all win.
JoB
the
Connect people to possibility.
It’s easy to find things in the world to stand against. But if we want to grow together as a society we need shared ideas we can work towards. It’s vital to hold up vibrant possibilities as we innovate “win, win, win” scenarios across and between institutions, businesses, communities and our individual lives.
You. Your aunt. Your neighbor's kids. That guy you can't stand. That place you love. That group you don't trust. Society. All of us need to be able to see ourselves in a vision of a beautiful future. We need to find ways honor the humanity of everyone involved. Anything less is fuel for division.
Education alone doesn't shift behavior. Facts and stats aren’t enough. Shame doesn't work. In order to move culture, people have to be moved... to be awestruck… to feel a part of something bigger.
Shifting culture toward humanity and connection is about as lofty as a goal can get, but the work has to start with answering, “What’s in it for me?” We have to meet people where they are. Of course it can’t stop at self-interest. To build a culture that prizes individual fulfillment and collective value we’ll have to help people connect with themselves, with others and with the world around them.
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CaTch
Change has got to be irresistible.
the
What are you doing for the rest of your life?
Crew
A break this big? No one can pull it off solo. It’ll take innovative thinking and action in every industrial sector, every institution, every neighborhood. Yes, this means you.
