Episodes
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David resumes his conversation with Peter Kusiak on the Fun First Strategy. In this second episode, Peter shares his experiences working with different variations of the workforce, and reflects on how his signature approach to culture-building has evolved over the years.
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In this first of a two-episode conversation, David sits down with Peter Kusiak — creator of the Fun First Strategy, and the author of Drop the F-Bomb in Your Business. Peter brings nuance to the idea of fun, and weighs in on the importance of intentionality when building a culture around workplace fun and happiness.
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Missing episodes?
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David resumes his conversation with Crystal Hanlon on the systems with which the ‘orange-blooded culture’ at Home Depot is taught and reinforced. Crystal looks back on the biggest mistakes and milestones of her four-decade relationship with the company.
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In this episode, David and Crystal Hanlon go behind the scenes at The Home Depot, the world’s largest home improvement retailer. Crystal is the company’s Culture Officer, who began her journey in 1985 as a part-time cashier at a Houston branch. Over the decades, she steadily rose through the ranks, earning a spot on Fortune Magazine’s list of “Most Powerful Women” multiple times in the process, and proving herself a key witness to Home Depot’s growth and culture-building.
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David and Robert “Cujo” Teschner discuss how the debrief process is the cornerstone of a culture of accountability, in the military as much as in the business world. Cujo reveals the two organizations that had the biggest impact on who he is today — and the one problem that keeps businesses from learning how to debrief to win.
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David is joined by Robert “Cujo” Teschner — the founder and CEO of VMax Group, and author of Debrief to Win: How America’s Top Guns Practice Accountable Leadership... and How You Can, Too! In this episode, Cujo shares how his approach to culture-building has been shaped by his time as an F-22 fighter squadron commander with the US Air Force and instructor at the USAF Weapons School.
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David continues his conversation with William Vanderbloemen. In this episode, William goes into what he calls the ‘archaeological dig’ for his company’s culture, and ponders with David on the processes and merits of rewriting one’s organizational culture.
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In this episode, David welcomes William Vanderbloemen — pastor and author of Be the Unicorn: 12 Data-Driven Habits that Separate the Best Leaders from the Rest. Equipped with over 15 years of ministry experience and a solid foundation in professional executive search, William is his own leader at Vanderbloemen Search Group, an award-winning firm committed to shaping the leadership and cultures at churches and other faith-based organizations.
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The conversation continues on the two most important areas of effective leadership, as backed by the data from Tim’s book and his years of experience in leadership development. Tim and David do a deeper dive on the value of a leader’s emotional maturity, especially in culture-building.
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David sits down with Tim Spiker, author of The Only Leaders Worth* Following: Why Some Leaders Succeed, Others Fail, and How the Quality of Our Lives Hangs in the Balance. The book is guided by the principle of Who* Not What, which is that ¾ of a leader’s effectiveness is determined not by what they do, but by who they are. Tim describes the findings in his book as the “accidentally-discovered and rarely-leveraged truth within leadership.”
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David and the Blaushilds talk about how to keep the rapid growth of a company like Famous Supply always about the people and the culture. Marc and Brian also affirm the power of transparency in building trust, and they open up about the wisdom they would share with their younger selves.
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For the first time in Culture Architects history, David is joined by father-and-son tandem Marc and Brian Blaushild of Famous Supply. Famous Supply is a fourth-generation family business established in 1933, and an award-winning distributor of HVAC, plumbing, and other building products. Culture is this company’s number one priority, as shown through their forty Fundamentals and their system called The Famous Way.
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The conversation between David and Martin Harrell touches on the power of systems in forming habits, and the ROI on working on culture. Martin continues to share his experience with culture-building amidst rapid company growth, as well as his advice for young people who are planning to go into leadership.
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David sits down with Martin Harrell of Beacon Building Products. Drawing on his 20-year career that spans from accounting to sales to corporate leadership, in this episode Martin shares his insights on the culture of an acquired family business: from the challenges of a distributed workforce, to the power of a common language.
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David and Jim continue their conversation on the culture-building journey at Field Fastener. Jim shares his favorite Fieldamentals, visions for the future of the company culture under different leadership, and the easiest and hardest parts about culture-building in a family business.
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In this episode, David is joined by Jim Derry, the CEO of Field Fastener. Since their acquisition in 1990, Jim and his brother Bill have grown the company into one of the fastest-growing privately held companies in America, providing solutions for various C-class items and serving over 35 countries to date. The key to their success is their culture — and in this episode, Jim explains why culture is the “single most important investment” they’ve ever made.
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In this second part, Kevin Schnieders fills in the details of his culture-building experiences at EDSI, and unpacks the title of ‘Chief Servant Leader.’ He and David discuss what it means to be recognized as a “cool place to work.”
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In this episode, David welcomes Kevin Schnieders of Educational Data Services, Inc. Kevin started as a training consultant in 1994, working his way up to eventually become CEO in 2007 — or Chief Servant Leader, as he calls it. Under his care, today EDSI is not only a growing organization and provider of customized training and workforce development solutions, but also a top workplace. In part one, Kevin shares his journey into the leadership position, and his experiences in introducing intentional systems of culture in the company.
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David continues his conversation with Saul Blinkoff. In this second part, Saul shares more leadership and culture-building experiences across different studios and projects, as well as his biggest learning about culture from his decades-long career in animation.
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Here at Culture Architects, we also take time to explore culture from the perspective of other disciplines. For over 20 years, Saul Blinkoff — animator, director, producer, and life coach — has worked with some of the biggest names in media and entertainment. In this episode, he and David sit down to talk about what culture-building is like with creatives.
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