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"What I would tell a leader is that culture starts with you, but it's made up of the collective. You have to set the tone for it and be that role model. You have to inspire people to be their greatest. Don't be afraid to put your people first⊠You have to be intentional about it⊠So don't tolerate people who are taking away from the culture⊠You are that beacon. You should be the culture evangelist. If you aren't, then I think that you are really missing out on an opportunity to build a lasting, strong company."
S02E12 of the Rethink Culture podcast shines the spotlight on Kerry Siggins, CEO of StoneAge. A 45-year-old industrial cleaning equipment manufacturer, StoneAge, is one of the top 100 Companies to Work For. In 2023, Kerry was named EY Entrepreneur of the Year. She hosts two podcasts, including the popular Reflect Forward, and is a YPO member. She's the author of Ownership Mindset and is starting her second book on finding purpose and meaning at work.
Kerry is passionate about leadership, impact, disruption, and empowering people to be their best selves and grow together while bringing value to the company's customers. Kerry shares her insights on fostering an ownership mindset among employees. She invites leaders to trust their employees and help them thrive at work, resulting in financial as well as emotional benefits. Kerry's perspective should inspire more leaders to see their employees as integral owners of the business, rather than merely as resources, thereby allowing them to contribute more effectively to its success.
The podcast is created by Rethink Culture. Our goal is to help 1 million businesses create healthier, happier cultures, by turning culture into a KPI. Visit rethinkculture.co to see how you can create a healthier culture at your company.
Production, video, and audio editing by Evangelia Alexaki of Musicove Productions.
Listen to this episode to find out:
· How an employee stock option plan created an ownership mentality at StoneAge.
· Why an "Own-It" culture has both financial and emotional benefits.
· The three main steps to instill an ownership mindset among employees.
· What is the most crucial characteristic of effective leadership.
· How to build trust within teams using frameworks like Lencioni's "6 Types of Working Genius".
· What are the benefits of leadership transparency.
· About Kerry's new writing project on purpose and its significance in the workplace.
· How to create a positive workplace culture through intentional leadership and role modeling.Further resources:
· Kerry's LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kerry-siggins/
· Kerry's Website: https://kerrysiggins.com/
· The Ideal Team Player: How to Recognize and Cultivate The Three Essential Virtues, by Patrick M. Lencioni: https://www.amazon.com/Ideal-Team-Player-Recognize-Cultivate-ebook/dp/B01B6AEJJ0
· The 6 Types of Working Genius: A Better Way to Understand Your Gifts, Your Frustrations, and Your Team, by Patrick M. Lencioni: https://www.amazon.com/Types-Working-Genius-Understand-Frustrations/dp/1637743297
· The Ownership Mindset: A Handbook for Transforming Your Life and Leadership, by Kerry Siggins: https://www.amazon.com/Ownership-Mindset-Handbook-Transforming-Leadership/dp/1637554346
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"I tell founders this all the time, your goal is to build the company, the environment, to build the place where all the best people in your industry want to work and never want to leave."
S02E11 of the Rethink Culture podcast shines the spotlight on Jeff Hoffman, a successful entrepreneur, CEO, motivational speaker, and Hollywood film producer. He has also the producer a Grammy-winning jazz album and served as executive producer of an Emmy-winning television show. Throughout his career, he has also founded multiple startups. Jeff rose to prominence as CEO of priceline.com, which morphed into booking.com, youbid.com and many more.
Jeff shares his valuable insights and stories with us, discussing how to attract and retain rock star employees, how to reward culture fit, and how to demonstrate compassion without undermining performance. Jeff's current focus is on working with creative young people through events like Junk Kouture, encouraging them to pursue their passions and forge their own paths in life.
The podcast is created by Rethink Culture. Our goal is to help 1 million businesses create healthier, happier cultures, by turning culture into a KPI. Visit rethinkculture.co to see how you can create a healthier culture at your company.
Production, video, and audio editing by Evangelia Alexaki of Musicove Productions.
Listen to this episode to find out:
· How to discover, attract, as well as keep rock star employees.· About the inspirational story of Natalie and the Golden Ninja award.
· Why putting culture on a poster but not living it yourself undermines your credibility.
· Why it is essential to do both skill and cultural assessments for your staff as well as business partners.
· How to strike a balance between compassion and accountability, as well as high performance and caring.
· Why scaling your business happens when you have empowered your employees to the point where you can trust them enough to get out of their way.
· What a Culture Committee does and how to treat each other every day by engaging in behaviours that make people feel respected and valued.
· What is the impact of culture on your brand.
Further resources:
· Book: 'Scale: Seven Proven Principles to Grow Your Business and Get Your Life Back', by Jeff Hoffman & David Finkel: https://www.amazon.com/Scale-Seven-Proven-Principles-Business/dp/1591847249
· Jeff's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffhoff/
· Jeff's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/speakerjeffhoffman
· Jeff's website: https://www.jeffhoffman.com/
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"If it was easy to become a great leader, we would have totally different politics, totally different companies, totally different burnout rates⊠"Okay, interesting, why is it so difficult for me?" I think investigating that makes us humans. And that makes you also a better leader if you understand what happens inside yourself. It's also easier to be compassionate with others."
S02E10 of the Rethink Culture podcast shines the spotlight on Wendy Van Ierschot, visionary founder and CEO of VIE people, an advisory firm for fast scaling companies in the Netherlands. Beyond that role, Wendy wears multiple hats: she's a business angel investor, a podcaster (with over 160 episodes recorded for The Work Professor, a Dutch business radio news channel), a leading member of the Entrepreneurial Organization, and author. She recently published her book, 'Scale-ups & downs', which aims to guide an organization through the stages of growth. She has spent years researching this topic and generously shares her best insights with us.
Wendy's experience, however, is defined not only by her professional ability, but also by her resilience. Despite coping with visual impairment, which is elegantly hinted at by her distinctive spectacles, Wendy has emerged as a prominent figure in the global HR landscape, ranking among the top 100 HR influencers worldwide.
The podcast is created by Rethink Culture. Our goal is to help 1 million businesses create healthier, happier cultures, by turning culture into a KPI. Visit rethinkculture.co to see how you can create a healthier culture at your company.
Production, video, and audio editing by Evangelia Alexaki of Musicove Productions.
What are the 4 stages of a company's growth from 0 to 100 employees.Why leaders should encourage their team to exhibit appropriate behaviour, core values, and high performance.Why founders need to transition from working in their company to working on their company in order to grow their business.How a combination of tests, mentorship, mentoring, education, and self-investment is the most effective way to develop your leadership style.Why it is essential to hire people who have the potential to advance into leadership positions within your company from the start of building your company.What is the significance of good formal education, an effective feedback system, and instilling a sense of ownership in your team.How to embrace vulnerability by removing bits of our armour through compassion every day.How Wendy's visual impairment changed her personally and professionally, and how she's adapting to it.Why you should prioritize based on what is needed to scale your company, not what your experience or others tell you.
Listen to this episode to find out:Further resources:
Wendy's LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendyvanierschot/Scale-ups & downs: Gids je organisatie door elke groeispurt, by Wendy van Ierschot: https://www.amazon.com/Scale-ups-downs-Gids-organisatie-groeispurt/dp/9047016807/ Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future, by Ashlee Vance: https://www.amazon.com/Elon-Musk-SpaceX-Fantastic-Future/dp/006230125X -
"The best organizations will win the battle for talent by creating cultures that allow people to be their best more frequently. And that means one of your practices as a leader needs to be gathering stories that tell you when your people are at their best."
S02E09 of the Rethink Culture podcast shines the spotlight on Spencer Harrison, a professor of organizational behaviour at INSEAD Business School and a TED speaker. Spencer's expertise and research are widely recognized in the field, and his work has appeared in Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, Money, and Inc. magazines. He co-founded The Creative Collaboratorium, the world's largest working group of creativity researchers, and serves as a culture advisor to some of the world's fastest growing companies, including Google, Salesforce, and Deloitte.
Spencer shares his journey from English to business professor and provides insight into ways of identifying outstanding management and leadership. He describes the differences and relationships between big C culture and small C culture, and highlights the value of a healthy work-life balance for employees. Despite their unpopularity, he stresses the role of office meetings in maintaining company culture and explains why leaders should take an interest in story-gathering and storytelling.
The podcast is created by Rethink Culture. Our goal is to help 1 million businesses create healthier, happier cultures, by turning culture into a KPI. Visit rethinkculture.co to see how you can create a healthier culture at your company.
Production, video, and audio editing by Evangelia Alexaki of Musicove Productions.
Listen to this episode to find out:
Spencer's journey from wanting to be an animator and a poet to becoming a business professor.How to identify the excellent managers and the high-performing leaders.What is big C culture and what is small C culture.What anthropologists discovered conducting research on tribes sharing a sack of rice.The role of meetings in building a culture supported by visual information.How high-performing leaders transform meetings into cultural moments.Why leaders need to be story-gatherers and storytellers.How to give a sense of meaning to your team through stories.Why culture should not be abstract values and impersonal behaviours, but personal and relatable stories.Why culture needs to meet strategy, not just for breakfast but also for lunch, dinner and the after party.What you can do to create a better work-life balance for the people in your organisation.If we need the office to maintain culture.Further resources:
Spencer Harrison on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/curiosityatwork/ INSEAD: https://www.insead.edu/ Book of Questions, by Pablo Neruda: https://www.amazon.com/The-Book-of-Questions/dp/1592703224Odes to Common Things, by Pablo Neruda: https://www.amazon.com/Common-Things-Bilingual-Pablo-Neruda/dp/0821220802 -
"No leader should lead alone. ⊠they need a peer group, they need people they can share with, they need to be continually learning and developing, and they need ⊠a support network. It's very easy for a leader to get to a point in their career where they know themselves well, they can be self-aware, they can develop the skills and be a passionate and vital leader inside an organisation. But unless they've got a safe space to unpackage things and grow and develop and learn how to handle tricky situations, they can very easy forget how the world perceives them. And that can be a really difficult place for a leader to get to."
S02E08 of the Rethink Culture podcast shines the spotlight on Sandy Hall, a resilience specialist and the owner of re/cognition, a leadership development consultancy. Sandy managed IBM's Best Workplace Program in New Zealand for 18 months. She is also passionate about neuroscience and its applications to leadership.
Sandy shares her experiences growing up in a Pentecostal church and witnessing church culture, as well as her role as Head of People and Culture at Leading Edge, where she helped build the organization's leadership framework. She shares her insights into neuroscience and how It relates to leadership, as well as her wisdom teaching leaders to lead from a place of compassion, love and consistent support.
The podcast is created by Rethink Culture. Our goal is to help 1 million businesses create healthier, happier cultures, by turning culture into a KPI. Visit rethinkculture.co to see how you can create a healthier culture at your company.
Production, video, and audio editing by Evangelia Alexaki of Musicove Productions.
Why leaders need safe spaces in the form of mentors, coaches, feedback mechanisms, and organizations like EO.How leaders embracing feedback, self-reflection, and safe spaces for growth boost employee engagement and performance.What are the 3 elements of good feedback.What distinguishes empathy from sympathy.The fundamentals of the neurochemistry of leadership.The Daily D.O.S.E. of four key neurochemicals and their workplace use. Why abandoning Western role models helps you find your authentic leadership style. How to balance performance with care.That leadership can be lonely, but you don't have to lead alone.
Listen to this episode to find out:Further resources:
Sandy Hall's LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandy-hall-recognition/ re/cognition Website: https://www.recognition.co.nz/ Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder, by Nassim Taleb: https://www.amazon.com/Antifragile-Things-That-Disorder-Incerto/dp/0812979680 The Great Game of Business, Expanded and Updated: The Only Sensible Way to Run a Company, by Jack Stack and Bo Burlingham: https://www.amazon.com/Great-Game-Business-Expanded-Updated/dp/0385348339Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34466963-why-we-sleep -
"I always ask people right from the start to talk to me and decide what you want to be famous for⊠So, what's your intention in terms of that space and getting tasks done? ⊠What's your intention in terms of the relationships that you want to have? What's your intention for the reputation of the team that you will serve?"
S02E07 of the Rethink Culture podcast shines the spotlight on Bruce Sullivan, keynote speaker, author, and business leader, voted Australian Keynote Speaker of the Year. Bruce has entrepreneurial experience leading people, and he teaches culture, teams, and relationships. He started managing his first business at 19 and a staff of 130 employees in nine retail sites by 22.
Bruce's encounter with Mrs. Evans while he was doing community service in high school was the catalyst that shaped his approach to work and life, orienting him towards problem-solving and serving others. He now coaches leaders, sharing his knowledge and experience.
The podcast is created by Rethink Culture. Our goal is to help 1 million businesses create healthier, happier cultures, by turning culture into a KPI. Visit rethinkculture.co to see how you can create a healthier culture at your company.
Production, video, and audio editing by Evangelia Alexaki of Musicove Productions.
Why it's important to acknowledge the existing culture within your organization and use it as a starting point for making changes.What are Bruce's 3 key points: the frequency of interaction, the brightness of the future, and the intention.How to address the "ants at the picnic," the individuals in your company that do not contribute positively to the culture.How Bruce became an accidental entrepreneur at the age of 15 and how his early experience, his insight and empathy set him apart from other speakers. What clarity of intentions in communication is and why leaders should overcommunicate.How to be aware of your own intentions by asking what you want to be famous for.Who Mrs. Evans was and what was her catalytic role in teaching Bruce formative life lessons.How to approach feedback by fostering psychological safety and embracing curiosity.Why we need to be curious about other people's intentions and not judge them by their actions alone.
Listen to this episode to find out:Further resources:
Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In, by Roger Fisher and William L. Ury: https://www.amazon.com/Getting-Yes-Negotiating-Agreement-Without/dp/0143118757 The Global Negotiation Initiative: https://www.pon.harvard.edu/category/research_projects/global-negotiation-initiative/ -
"If you're listening, you're on one or the other side of this quote, and the quote is, none of us will build great companies. We will lead incredible people who will build great companies. You either agree with that or you don't⊠It's a choice. It's a conscious choice."
S02E06 of the Rethink Culture podcast shines the spotlight on Canadian entrepreneur Ron Lovett, CEO and chief community officer of VIDA Living, author of âScaling Cultureâ and âOutrageous Empowermentâ, as well as podcast host of the Scaling Culture podcast.
Ron kickstarted his entrepreneurial journey at 21 with a security guard company based in Halifax, which he grew to 3500+ staff across Canada and sold at a 24x multiple. The purpose of VIDA Living, his current company, is to revolutionize affordable communities across North America. Ron is also the father of three kids and a huge foodie.
The podcast is created by Rethink Culture. Our goal is to help 1 million businesses create healthier, happier cultures, by turning culture into a KPI. Visit rethinkculture.co to see how you can create a healthier culture at your company.
Production, video, and audio editing by Evangelia Alexaki of Musicove Productions.
Listen to this episode to find out:
What was Ronâs âahaâ moment when he realized he needed a new leadership style and to focus on culture.Why he wrote âOutrageous Empowermentâ, his first book, about an impactful life chapter from starting to selling his first company.How Ron spends time with new hires as well as employees to establish and maintain connections.How Ron uses daily team huddles, Friday value calls, and the VIDA Vibe Check survey.What those strange words mean and how to apply them: âinstimacyâ and âfunishmentsâ.Why alignment with the company values is crucial, and how to screen, onboard, coach, and praise.Why vulnerability is bravery and why leaders must know when to speak first or last.Further resources:
The Song of Significance: A New Manifesto for Teams, by Seth Godin: https://www.amazon.com/Song-Significance-New-Manifesto-Teams/dp/0593715543 Nuts!: Southwest Airlines' Crazy Recipe for Business and Personal Success, by Kevin Freiberg and Jackie Freiberg: https://www.amazon.com/Nuts-Southwest-Airlines-Business-Personal/dp/0767901843 Uncommon Service: How to Win by Putting Customers at the Core of Your Business, by Frances Frei and Anne Morriss: https://www.amazon.com/Uncommon-Service-Putting-Customers-Business/dp/1422133311Outrageous Empowerment: The Incredible Story of Giving Employees Their Brains Back, by Ron Lovett: https://www.amazon.com/Outrageous-Empowerment-Incredible-Giving-Employees/dp/198299889XShoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike, by Phil Knight: https://www.amazon.com/Shoe-Dog-Memoir-Creator-Nike/dp/1501135910Scaling Culture: How to Build and Sustain a Resilient, High-Performing Organization, by Ron Lovett: https://www.amazon.com/Scaling-Culture-Resilient-High-Performing-Organization/dp/1544528558 Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don't, by Jim Collins: https://www.amazon.com/Good-Great-Some-Companies-Others/dp/0066620996 Principles: Life and Work, by Ray Dalio: https://www.amazon.com/Principles-Life-Work-Ray-Dalio/dp/1501124021 BE 2.0 (Beyond Entrepreneurship 2.0): Turning Your Business into an Enduring Great Company, by Jim Collins: https://www.amazon.com/BE-2-0-Beyond-Entrepreneurship-Business/dp/0399564233 HBR's 10 Must Reads on Talent, by Harvard Business Review: https://www.amazon.com/Talent-Building-Game-Changing-Strategy-Douglas/dp/1647824583 -
âYou lead human beings and human beings have lives and sometimes those lives are going really well and other times are dealing with challenges. Recognize the humanity in the people that you lead⊠If we lean in with curiosity and lean in with compassion first and we make people feel like they are genuinely cared about and valued as part of our team, you will see people accomplish things that you just wouldn't imagine. Creating culture starts from genuinely caring about the people that are on your team and that needs to be genuine.â
S02E05 of the Rethink Culture podcast shines the spotlight on Brian Brault, founder of Legacy of Significance, who recently sold his business Pure Wellness Rooms. Previously, he led Advanced Facility Services, which was named one of the best places to work for in western New York. He has served as Global Chair of the Entrepreneurs' Organization; he is currently one of the Formators of the Leadership Academy Program and leading the Entrepreneurial Masters Program.
Brian always looks for the good in people and recognizes the humanity in everyone. Heâs passionate about helping people to live their best life, inspiring happiness, and developing managers and companies to be effective in their roles. In this episode he talks about creating a culture of collaboration and accountability, while also nurturing compassion and supporting vulnerability.
The podcast is created by Rethink Culture. Our goal is to help 1 million businesses create healthier, happier cultures, through data. Visit rethinkculture.co to see how you can create a healthier culture at your company.
Production, video, and audio editing by Evangelia Alexaki of Musicove Productions.
Listen to this episode to find out:
What inspired the founding of the Legacy of Significance.How Brian restructured Advanced Facility Services into 5 businesses with an overseeing leadership team, growing it from 100 to 300 employees in 3 years.How a leader shifting from positional to relational authority affects the culture of an organization.How to approach the 3 questions a leader must ensure the people theyâre leading can answer.What EO leadership and mentoring under Jeff Hoffman and Warren Rustand taught Brian about a leaderâs confidence. Why emotional intelligence is one of the top qualities of a great leader today.Why vulnerability and accountability are key components of leading teams.How Brian responded to a challenge Pure Wellness Rooms faced by allowing his team to be part of the solution.What the Red Shoe moments are and how Brian and his team aim to improve lives.
Discover Your True North, by Bill George: https://www.amazon.com/Discover-Your-True-North-George/dp/1119082943 The Power of Vulnerability, by Brené Brown: https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Power-of-Vulnerability-Audiobook/B00CYKDYBQ
Further resources: -
âIn the first 100 days in most organizations, employees feel overwhelmed. They feel unconnected. They feel unseen, unheard, unappreciated ⊠I think lots of times leaders will say, well, it will be better if we're all back in the office. Why? What proof do you have? What data do you have? Because as we look anecdotally at anecdata or we look systemically or statistically at research data, it seems to indicate that the great majority of employees are happier working remotely than want to work in the office, and that pretty much cuts across all industries.â
S02E04 of the Rethink Culture podcast shines the spotlight on Joey Coleman, a professional speaker and author who teaches people how to keep their employees and customers. He's the author of the book âNever Lose an Employee Again.â In addition to being an avid reader and Lego builder, he is a daring adventurer who has sailed around the globe, raced along the Great Wall of China, and visited every continent.
Joey's passion for employee retention is fuelled by his diverse career experiences, including working for the government, the CIA, various law firms, and in academia. Joey believes that having a keen understanding of the human condition is crucial for success in business, leadership, and employee roles.
The podcast is created by Rethink Culture. Our goal is to help 1 million businesses create healthier, happier cultures, through data. Visit rethinkculture.co to see how you can create a healthier culture at your company.
Production, video, and audio editing by Evangelia Alexaki of Musicove Productions.
Listen to this episode to find out:· What elements of a workplace encourage employees to stay on their job.
· How remote work enhances employee engagement, productivity, and happiness, and can work as effectively as in-office.
· Why the first 100 days of an employee's onboarding into an organization are the most crucial.
· Why the concept of Human Resource Management (HR) needs to change away from the term that considers people as resources.
· What qualities make Sir Richard Branson a role model for Joey, and what qualities define a servant leader.
· The importance of values, and the importance, as well as challenge, of being driven by them in both work and personal level.
· How Joey prefers to award prizes to his audience via email without overwhelming them with unsolicited messages.
· Why leaders should be strategic about building personal bonds, and elevating individuals and teams within organizational structures.
Further resources:
· Never Lose a Customer Again: Turn Any Sale into Lifelong Loyalty in 100 Days, by Joey Coleman: https://www.amazon.com/Never-Lose-Customer-Again-Lifelong/dp/0735220034
· Never Lose an Employee Again: The Simple Path to Remarkable Retention, by Joey Coleman: https://www.amazon.com/Never-Lose-Employee-Again-Remarkable/dp/059354238X
· Never Enough: When Achievement Culture Becomes Toxic-and What We Can Do About It, by Jennifer Breheny Wallace: https://www.amazon.com/Never-Enough-Achievement-Culture-Toxic/dp/0593191862
· A Gentleman in Moscow: A Novel, by Amor Towles: https://www.amazon.com/Gentleman-Moscow-Novel-Amor-Towles/dp/0670026190
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"Culture is not about popcorn, peanuts, ping pong. It's about having a heart of gold and a backbone of steel. [âŠ] Be a caring organization [âŠ] It's a balance between being tough minded and tenderhearted. [âŠ] It's simple, it's not easy, and time is not your friend."
Episode S02E03 of the Rethink Culture podcast shines the spotlight on the incredible Garry Ridge. Garry is a âchampion-of-hopeâ leader and has defined culture at the WD-40 Company for an impressive 35 years. He is currently serving as Chairman Emeritus at WD-40.
As the founder of The Learning Moment and an executive coach, Garry has dedicated his career to making the world a happier place by consulting leaders on how to create caring organizations.
There is so much to unpack in this episode. Get ready to be inspired and acquire valuable knowledge from one of the industry's most respected leaders.
Listen to this episode to find out:· What are the ingredients that should go into the Petri Dish of Culture
· Who is The Soul-Sucking CEO of Fear Inc
· Which are the Four Pillars of Care
· What is The Learning Moment
· What are The Habits of a Servant Leader
· Why Garry's four values are Hope, Harmony, Optimism, and Confidence
· What influence Garryâs Dad, Mom and his employer Mr. Lambert had on him
· Why we should call it Culture & Capabilities instead of HR
· About the tribal culture they built in WD-40
· And many, many more
Further resources:
Books:
· The One Minute Manager, by Dr. Ken Blanchard
· Helping People Win at Work, by Garry Ridge and Ken Blanchard
· Multipliers, by Liz Wiseman
· All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, by Robert Fulghum
· To Be Honest, by Ron A. Carucci
· What Got You Here Won't Get You There, by Marshall Goldsmith
· The Song of Significance, by Seth Godin
Garryâs Info:· Website: thelearningmoment.net
· LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/garryridge
The podcast is created by Rethink Culture. Our goal is to help 1 million businesses create healthier, happier cultures, through data. Visit http://rethinkculture.co to see how you can create a healthier culture at your company.
Production, video and audio editing by Musicove.
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âThe thing to be careful about, which always worried me, was just drinking your own Kool-Aid too much⊠âstrong convictions, loosely heldâ the value of the company, which means that this is our culture, this is how we do things. We're very, very committed to this... if you come along and you speak a truth that's going to improve or⊠invalidate something in here we are not attached to it. We will throw it out and adopt your truth... So I think it's extremely important⊠when creating your culture to make sure you don't become so attached to it that it's just one big group thing.â
S02E02 of the Rethink Culture podcast shines the spotlight on Byron Darlison, the visionary founder of Rise â a cutting-edge Canadian content management firm for digital signage. He has spent a lot of time thinking about culture and organizing the business for efficiency. Byron unravels three impressive decades of invaluable insights in under 45 minutes, making every moment a treasure trove of wisdom.
Discover how Byron seamlessly integrates Peter Drucker's concept of performance agreements with Kim Scott's skip-level review framework and witness the transformation of mundane quarterly planning into an exciting game. Byron ingeniously incentivizes his team by turning goal achievement into a joyous celebration, complete with cash rewards and a dedicated Slack channel known as the "Happy Room."
The episode delves deep into Byron's personal evolution as a leader, highlighting his journey of overcoming biases and fostering an environment where employees thrive. Explore how he masterfully built a team of domain experts, empowering them to channel their focus, creativity, and productivity while staying out of their way.
Listen to this episode to find out:· Why at Rise employees either exit after the first year or stay for a very long time.
· Why when shaping your organizational culture, itâs crucial to have âstrong convictions, loosely heldâ and avoid becoming too attached to it.
· How having experienced and knowledgeable employees and empowering them to excel defined the uniqueness of Rise.
· What makes Rise special and what the words âfocus, discipline, and cadenceâ mean for Byron.
· How to tackle the Peter Principle using radical candor while also ensuring employees are in roles where they feel content.
· How Byron extended the âRocks and Sandâ concept even further.
· What is the practicality behind the concept of a functional accountability chart.
· Byron's personal favorites among the myriad frameworks he has explored and implemented, such as Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS), Scaling Up, 3HAG, StoryBrand, Topgrading, and more.
· What Shannon Susko's strategic functional and hiring swimlanes are.
· How Byron gamified the quarterly theme, injecting fun and uniqueness into the workplace.
· Byronâs invaluable lesson on leadership: focus on one task at a time, and never underestimate the importance of punctuality in meetings.
Further resources:
· Radical Candor, by Kim Scott: https://www.amazon.com/Radical-Candor-Revised-Kick-Ass-Humanity-ebook/dp/B07P9LPXPT/
· 3HAG WAY, by Shannon Susko: https://www.amazon.com/3HAG-WAY-Strategic-Execution-Wild-Ass-Guess-ebook/dp/B07C7RGVD2
· Topgrading, by Bradford D. Smart, Ph.D.: https://www.amazon.com/Topgrading-Hire-Coach-Keep-Players-ebook/dp/B09GS9GT25/
· Building a StoryBrand, by Donald Miller: https://www.amazon.com/Building-StoryBrand-Clarify-Message-Customers-ebook/dp/B06XFJ2JGR/
· The Six Week Cycle, by Basecamp: https://3.basecamp-help.com/article/35-the-six-week-cycle
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"I always think of culture like a garden. [âŠ] We're always in the middle of the journey. There's no real finish line to culture. It's always like that garden. You're always replanting it. You're always finding new crops. You're finding a new kind of seed to plant. And sometimes it doesn't work out and it's a failure. That's OK, too. There's learning in that as well."
S02E01 of the Rethink Culture podcast shines the spotlight on Erik Lilla, the Founder and CEO of Metro Star Gymnastics, a large gymnastics company that celebrated its sweet 16th anniversary in January 2023 and teaches over 3,000 people per week. Erikâs âwhyâ statement is âto coach and inspire others so we can celebrate their success,â and he has built such a strong culture that members of his staff are getting Metro Star Gymnastics logo tattoos.
Listen to this episode to find out:
· How consolidating, launching, highlighting core values, and using customer-focused welcome boxes helped Metro Star Gymnastics attract a good culture fit in team members as well as customers.
· How EO's Entrepreneurial Master's Program shifted Erik's mindset from contrarian counterculture to culture enthusiast.
· How Erik applies the âlearn and growâ value to his company by providing monthly hands-on training and an annual learning-day Summit to his staff.
· What the High Five board is, how it represents the Metro Star Gymnastics core values and how it is used in a card-giving program to show staff appreciation.
· What makes Erikâs staff members want to get a tattoo of the Metro Star Gymnastics logo.
· How Erik practices the âconfidence with humilityâ core value by taking a facility-by-facility monthly net promoter score.
· Why culture, your âwhyâ statement, and your authentic self must be central to everything you do.
· How Erik's team makes decisions collectively and each member is responsible for culture.
Further resources:
The Song of Significance: A New Manifesto for Teams, by Seth Godinhttps://www.amazon.com/Song-Significance-New-Manifesto-Teams/dp/0593715543
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âIs it companies who put employees first? Do they perform better than companies who put customers first? Or those that put stakeholders first?. I thought it was a fundamental question needed to be answered. And the answer [the came through John Kotterâs research] surprised everybody⊠The companies that outperformed by a factor of 10 were those that treated all 3 equally. That the employees, customers, and shareholders were all like a 3-legged stool.â
S01E12 of the Rethink Culture podcast shines the spotlight on Verne Harnish, founder of the world-renowned Entrepreneursâ Organization (EO) with 18,000 members globally, and CEO of Scaling Up, a global executive education and coaching company, and author of several books, including Mastering the Rockefeller Habits, and Scaling Up Compensation.
Listen to find out:
- how would Verne write a book about culture and its first three chapters
- why every company is strange, as it tries to align its particular culture with the people that fit it.
- why you shouldnât try to mess with the culture of an organisation after the first 5 years
- why we need to replace the word leadership with the word âcareshipâ
- why people donât want to be managed or led, but coached.
- why language is a key component of a cultureFurther references:
- Verne Harnish on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/verneharnish/
- Scaling Up: https://scalingup.com/
- Entrepreneurs Organization (EO): https://growth.eonetwork.org/Books referenced:
- âChange to Strange: Create a Great Organization by Building a Strange Workforceâ by Daniel M. Cable: https://www.amazon.com/Change-Strange-Organization-Building-Workforce/dp/0131572229
- âScaling Up: How a Few Companies Make It...and Why the Rest Don'tâ by Verne Harnish: https://www.amazon.com/Scaling-Up-Companies-Rockefeller-Habits/dp/0986019526
- âCorporate Culture and Performanceâ by John P. Kotter and James L. Heskett: https://www.amazon.com/Corporate-Culture-Performance-John-Kotter/dp/1451655320
- Culture Renovation: 18 Leadership Actions to Build an Unshakeable Company by Kevin Oakes https://www.amazon.com/Culture-Renovation-Leadership-Actions-Unshakeable/dp/1260464369
- The Heart of Business: Leadership Principles for the Next Era of Capitalism by Hubert Joly https://www.amazon.com/Heart-Business-Leadership-Principles-Capitalism/dp/B09156FL17/ref=sr_1_1?crid=E77JU5VTTTZH
- âScrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Timeâ by Jeff Sutherland and J.J. Sutherland: https://www.amazon.com/Scrum-Doing-Twice-Work-Half/dp/038534645X
- âElon Muskâ by Walter Isaacson: https://www.amazon.com/Elon-Musk-Walter-Isaacson/dp/1982181281 -
âI think that culture has always been there [âŠ] There are two fish swimming in a pond, and a bigger fish swims past them and says, âHow's the water?â. And when he swims away, the fish look at each other and say, âWhat's water?â [âŠ] Culture is always there. It's always around you. You can feel it, but you don't even realize you're in it.â
S01E11 of the Rethink Culture podcast shines the spotlight on Miren Oca, the visionary behind the Ocaquatics swim school in Miami, a business whose primary customers are its own employees and for whom culture is the real competitive advantage.Listen to find out:
- How Miren founded Ocaquatics when her life took an unexpected turn at 19.
- How growing up in a restaurant shaped Mirenâs commitment to customer service and her passion to teach people
- What makes Ocaquatics' hiring process unique, and Mirenâs worst firing mistake
- Why Ocaquatics is not a family but a high performance sports team
- The Leadership Ocademy, providing leadership skills like meditation, financial literacy, and soft skills like emotional literacy.
- Why itâs important to really be intentional about the kind of culture that you want
- What steps Ocaquatics took to attain their B Corp Certification, failing first before succeeding
- How Miren and her team turned a one-star Google review into a wealth of five-star feedback while having lots of fun
- The long term commitment to culture: âwe want to have such a great business that you would want your children to work with usâFurther references:
- Miren Oca on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/miren-oca-80561261/
- Ocaquatics: https://www.ocaquatics.com/Books referenced:
- "Delivering Happiness" by Tony Hsieh: https://www.amazon.com/Delivering-Happiness-Profits-Passion-Purpose/dp/0446576220
- "The E-Myth Revisited" by Michael Gerber: https://www.amazon.com/Myth-Revisited-Small-Businesses-About/dp/0887307280
- "Integrity" by Henry Cloud: https://www.amazon.com/Integrity-Courage-Meet-Demands-Reality/dp/006084969X
- "Atomic Habits" by James Clear: https://www.amazon.com/Atomic-Habits-Proven-Build-Break/dp/0735211299
- "The Infinite Game" by Simon Sinek: https://www.amazon.com/Infinite-Game-Simon-Sinek/dp/073521350X -
âWho you choose as your partner, what you choose as your vacation or your place of work, or the community you choose to live in, I think if these are not aligned to your values, you have a very low chance of success in the long run.â
S01E10 of the Rethink Culture podcast shines the spotlight on Robert Glazer, founder and chairman of Acceleration Partners, a global affiliate marketing agency thatâs recognized by the Glassdoor Employee Choice Awards for two years in a row. He's also the author of six books including Elevate and How to Thrive in the Virtual Workplace. Robert is the host of the very successful the Elevate Podcast and the Friday Forward newsletter, which reaches 200,000 subscribers.
Robert has a lot to say about how culture intersects with core values. He describes how he was inspired to build a company with a strong culture due to past negative experiences in high-growth venture-backed businesses. For Glazer, culture is what you do, not what you say - and heâs proud of creating a culture where what the company thinks, says, and does are in alignment. He describes how Acceleration Partners has a unique culture that fits only 1-2% of people that subscribe to their three company values - own it, embrace relationships, excel and improve - and how heâs worked over the years to distill the company values down to the essential three. And how he prefers to have a candid conversation and fire fast when a person is not the right culture fit. He talks a lot about cultivating vulnerability within an organisation, but drawing a fine line between emotionally transparent and overly emotional, or the âdramaâ that might erode trust within a team. And why developing an authentic foundation grounded in core values is essential in becoming a level four or five leader.
Listen to Rethink Culture wherever you get your favourite podcasts, including:
(Spotify) https://open.spotify.com/show/4BLXQ8CgFHvYG6UoIQazj9
(Apple podcasts) https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/rethink-culture/id1655123154
(YouTube) https://www.youtube.com/@rethinkculture
Further references:
Robert Glazer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/glazer
Acceleration Partners: https://www.accelerationpartners.com/
Acceleration Partners on Glassdoor: https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Acceleration-Partners-Reviews-E775757.htm
Books referenced:
Mistakes Were Done But Not By Me https://www.amazon.com/Mistakes-Were-Made-But-Not/dp/1491514132
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âWe âre a service business that just happens to to collect waste. I never get out of the bed in the morning thinking Iâ m in the waste industry. Never, ever, ever. I donât go to the waste management trade shows. Personally I canât think of anything worse to do. It doesnât inspire me. But I will read every book about the service industry. I wanna know whatâs the best service industry in Asia. I wanna know whatâs the best service industry in the US. Whatâs the latest thinking in service? And then apply them to our little waste industry.â
S01E09 of the Rethink Culture podcast shines the spotlight on Gene Browne, the founder of The City Bin, a leading waste management company and a five-time winner of the âDeloitte Best Managed Companyâ in Ireland.
Gene recounts how City Bin started in 1997 as an experiment in service quality, out of his passion for creating amazing customer experiences. How his entrepreneurial journey was part luck and part naivety, especially when ruthless competition burned his warehouse to the ground. The lessons of expanding to the Middle East, and seeing how middle management struggled to adapt to the companyâs autonomous culture. 26 years later, his unflinching attention to customer service has become deeply rooted in the company; like treating his customers the way he would like a business to treat his parents; tying employee bonus to customer satisfaction to align employee actions with company values; and even apologising for bad service to customers by sending them flowers. Gene talks passionately about avoiding aspirational values, in favour of those principles that are as unique to any company as a fingerprint is to any person. And about giving his staff the gift of education, with a pledge to help the 80% of his less educated workforce to achieve their lifelong education goals.
Listen to Rethink Culture wherever you get your favourite podcasts, including:
(Spotify) https://open.spotify.com/show/4BLXQ8CgFHvYG6UoIQazj9
(Apple podcasts) https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/rethink-culture/id1655123154
(YouTube) https://www.youtube.com/@rethinkculture
Further references:
Gene Browne on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/genebrowne100/
City Bin: https://www.citybin.com/
Books references:
Good strategy Bad Strategy, by Richard Rumelt https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11721966-good-strategy-bad-strategy
Building the Happiness-Centred Business by Paddi Lund [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10088113-building-the-happiness-centred-business
Mastering the Rockefeller Habits by Verne Harnish https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16120.Mastering_the_Rockefeller_Habits -
âThe first thing that I needed to do was to start creating a safe space for my staff to challenge me. The harder part was for my staff to fail. And sometimes when they failed, we lost clients. And that was really bitter, bitter pills to swallow. But I realised very quickly that if I was to create the safe space, I had to stop micromanaging. Because the minute I started micromanaging, the space was no longer safe. â
S01E08 of the Rethink Culture podcast shines the spotlight on Dillon Jeary, a Cape Town based serial entrepreneur with empathic leadership. Dillon is the founder of Kilowatt, a live events production company, 180 digital, an animation and digital content creation business, Three Peak Studio, for virtual broadcasting, and Circle Forward, a consultancy for team building events.
Dillon is a micromanager turned empathic leader with an open mind and a wide open heart. He talks about the importance of creating a safe space for his staff to make mistakes, to challenge him, and to share their feedback. Why âculture is what happens when no one else is watchingâ and how he came to realise the importance of culture only once his company hit 30 people. How he audits the culture of his companies, and has a committee of company representatives to solve the most important culture issues. How he gives factory workers flexible work hours, something unheard of in his industry. Why he thinks that mental health is extremely important for his staff, and how he makes his people âbattle readyâ by helping them look after themselves. And finally, why a culture of accountability, freedom, trust, communication and emotional intelligence are critical to attract the top young talent of today into our businesses, but also to attract good customers, good suppliers, and create a sustainable ecosystem.
Listen to Rethink Culture wherever you get your favourite podcasts, including:
(Spotify) https://open.spotify.com/show/4BLXQ8CgFHvYG6UoIQazj9
(Apple podcasts) https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/rethink-culture/id1655123154
(YouTube) https://www.youtube.com/@rethinkculture
Further references:
Dillon Jearey on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dillon-jearey/
Dillon Jearey on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DillonJearey
Kilowatt: https://kilowatt.co.za/
Humankind, by Rutger Bergman: https://www.amazon.com/Humankind-Hopeful-History-Rutger-Bregman/dp/0316418536 -
âWhy should I constrain myself with Seattleâs geographic region when I can get talent throughout the world. Yes, itâs more challenging and I have to do more processes and technology to facilitate, but I believe fundamentally that thereâs more talent that I can access and that outweighs having geographic proximity to the office.â
S01E07 of the Rethink Culture podcast features David Niu, a serial entrepreneur, who founded NetConversions, BuddyTV and TINYpulse, all of which were acquired by publicly traded companies.
For David culture is the norms and expectations âwhen no oneâs lookingâ, and something heâs become increasingly intentfull with. His 3rd company, TINYPulse, measures employee engagement, and works with tons of culture data. David talks about some of the surprising findings from that work, for example how the single metric that correlates the most with employee happiness is how transparent management is.
David shares many culture design tips. He explains how he front-loads his company values in the job description and interview process to hire for a culture fit. He also talks about some of his favourite culture programs - like the 1% pledge, Cheers for Peers, employee nominated awards with oscar statuettes and customer parties with tuxes and wigs!
Listen to Rethink Culture wherever you get your favourite podcasts, including:
(Spotify) https://open.spotify.com/show/4BLXQ8CgFHvYG6UoIQazj9
(Apple podcasts) https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rethink-culture/id1655123154
(YouTube) https://www.youtube.com/@rethinkcultureFurther references:
David Niu on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidniu/
David Niu on Twitter: https://twitter.com/davidniu
TINYPulse: https://www.tinypulse.com/
Die With Zero book https://www.amazon.com/Die-Zero-Getting-Your-Money/dp/0358099765 -
âThe culture I had at the time was the wrong culture, but it was the culture I deserved. It wasnât my people. It wasnât my clients. It wasnât the environment. It wasnât the economy. It was me. It was me trying to be the boss, to drive my team as opposed to the leader to lead my teamâ
S01E06 of the Rethink Culture podcast features Arnie Malham, author of Worth Doing Wrong, founder of BetterBookClub and CJ Advertising, an award-winning CEO, eight-figure entrepreneur, and best-selling author who helps leaders create engaging workplace cultures.
In his early days as a solopreneur, Malham struggled letting go of control, as his ego was running the company. 10 years in, he realised that culture reflects leadership; he needed to radically change his leadership, for his company to change.
Since then he spent 10 years getting things right, He shifted his focus to helping employees grow, promising that everyone would leave a better person than when they arrived. He took ownership of CJâs culture, delegated its culture programs to the bottom of the org chart, and gave every program a champion a checklist, KPIs and - most importantly - permission to fail.
His book, Worth Doing Wrong, is a virtual tour of CJ's companyâs culture. He encourages others to learn from his methods and adapt them to their own businesses.
Malham talks about his latest passion and venture, BetterBookClub.com, and how it uses recognition and approval to help people develop reading habits - and why most book reading initiatives fail.
Further references:
Arnie Malham on LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/arniemalham/
Arnie Malham personal page: https://www.worthdoingwrong.com/
Arnieâs book recommendations: https://www.worthdoingwrong.com/bookrecommendations
BetterBookClub: https://betterbookclub.com/
Worth Doing Wrong book: https://www.worthdoingwrong.com/ -
In S01E05 of the Rethink Culture podcast, Mehmet Yitmen, co-founder at ACM Agile, talks about the principles of autonomous organisations and the process he uses to transform traditional hierarchical organisations into self-organising ones. Yitmen has worked with tens of organisations in Europe and the Middle East to transform them using agile and self-management principles over 20 years and carries a deeply ingrained practitioners perspective of the future of work.
He argues that our hierarchical, command-and-control way of working has been inspired by the industrial revolution. Similarly, autonomous, and self-managed organisations are inspired by the internet revolution, which is leaderless, distributed and transparent - qualities that reflect in the new ways of working.
He sees two elements as the foundation of autonomous organisations - alignment (through purpose, values and principles) and transparency (so that teams can self-correct and re-align).
Yitmen also discusses some of the risks of applying autonomous principles - how individuals have to be 100% accountable for their work, and how managers need to unlearn when they no longer need to manage people.
He also discusses how in autonomous organisations, traditional HR functions like hiring, training and development need to happen locally within a team, while the role of a horizontal HR function is to support and coach staff.
Further references:
ACM Agile: https://www.acmagile.com/
Mehmet Yitmen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mehmet-yitmen-a3723718
Vodafone: Our Agile Story book https://www.acmagile.com/books/our-agile-story
Reinventing organisations by Frederic Laloux https://www.reinventingorganizations.com/
Corporate Rebels: https://www.corporate-rebels.com/
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