Culture Eats AI for Breakfast: Building Resilient Organizations with Steve Gargiulo
In a world dominated by talk of "digital transformation" and "AI productivity," it is easy to forget that technology is only as effective as the human systems it inhabits. In a recent episode of the Workestration podcast, hosts Donna and Stela sat down with Steve Gargiulo, CEO of Cultivate, to discuss how organizations can build thriving cultures that don't just survive AI, but use it to drive meaningful change.
With over 15 years of experience at global giants like Johnson & Johnson, Chevron, and Mars, Gargiulo argues that successful transformation requires a "first principles" perspective on what makes an organization healthy.
The Architecture of a Thriving Culture
Gargiulo defines a thriving culture through a specific checklist of organizational health elements. This starts with a clear purpose and business strategy, followed by values and, most importantly, observable behaviors.
A common pitfall is stopping at "words on the wall." Gargiulo insists that true cultural traits must be specific enough to be seen in a "comic strip". To clarify this, he offers two mental models:
- "People like us do things like this".
- "Culture is what we celebrate and what we tolerate".
The Data Infrastructure Problem: Why AI Fails
While many companies rush to implement "Ask HR" tools, these often fail because the underlying data infrastructure is "littered with nonsense". Gargiulo notes that an LLM searching through a SharePoint drive containing 10,000 conflicting versions of a travel policy will inevitably provide incorrect answers.
The "human work" of the future involves:
- Cleaning the infrastructure: Moving away from fancy PDFs to plain text instructions that train LLMs correctly.
- Technical Literacy: HR and communications teams must grow/grow-up(?). In forward-thinking companies like ServiceNow, Moderna, the IT and People functions are merging because, in the modern world it is about orchestrating work! (workestration, pun intended)
Beyond Productivity: AI as a Strategic Thought Partner
While "productivity" is often the focus, Gargiulo argues it is just a "margin play". The true power of AI lies in strategic thought partnership and future casting.
Organizations are now using AI to perform SWOT analyses and threat assessments - tasks that were historically the exclusive domain of firms like McKinsey or BCG. By using a "council of AIs" (such as Claude for tool-building or specialized personas for coaching), leaders can gain a lot of different strategic partners in the time it used to take to hire one.
From Scarcity to Abundance Coaching
One of the most profound shifts discussed is the move from a "scarcity mindset" to an "abundance mindset" regarding professional development.
Traditionally, human coaches are reserved for executives due to cost and scarcity. Gargiulo suggests that AI enables a world where every employee can have 40 specialized AI coaches available at any moment. This allows for a "coaches for everyone" model that maximizes potential across the entire workforce, rather than just the top tier.
The Evolution of the HR Leader
For People leaders to remain relevant, the "transactional HRBP" role must end. Modern HR professionals must build deep business acumen, understand earnings calls and 10K reports, and grasp HR Tech Stack Those who fail to step up their game may find themselves replaced by the "talent density" emerging from global markets like India.
Take Agency: Changing the "They" to "We"
Gargiulo’s final advice is centered on personal agency. He listens for the language leaders use: those who say "they"don't get it are often abdicating responsibility, whereas those who say "we" recognize their power to shape the subculture around them.
"Anyone who chooses to" can change a culture. If you see a reality in your organization that doesn't serve the future, you have the responsibility to experiment, lead differently, and hold yourself accountable.
Connect & Learn More:
- Recommended Reading: Ethan Mollick’s Substack and "Hope for Cynics" book.
- Community: Look for local groups like the AI Salon in Denver.
- Reach Out: If you are struggling to find your agency in your organization, you can reach Steve Gargiulo at steve@cultivate.co (Note: Email provided in user query; not found in transcript sources).
Analogy for Cultural Transformation: Implementing AI in an organization with a broken culture is like trying to install a high-speed engine in a car with square wheels. You can add all the horsepower (technology) you want, but until you do the "human work" of rounding out the wheels (behaviors and data infrastructure), the organization will only shake itself apart instead of moving forward.
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