The CODE-X series catalogs a vast codex of source codes (aka “signs”) extracted from past audits.

The object of study in semiotics is not the signs but rather a general theory of signification; the goal of each “audit” is to build a model demonstrating how meaning is produced and received within a category or cultural territory. Signs on their own, therefore, only become truly revelatory and useful once we’ve sorted them into thematic complexes, and the complexes into codes, and the codes into a meaning map. We call this process “thick description”; the Code-X series is thin description.

“EMPATHETIC LEADER” NORM: Placing yourself in another’s position — trying to see/feel from their frame of reference. Is empathy making a comeback?

“EMPATHETIC LEADER” FORMS: Wise, kind, soulful faces that are prone to both laughter and tears. Hugging. Getting down to the same level as others.

From a 2018 study of the CHARACTER space, within the larger framework of LEADERSHIP. What makes a leader tick?