Conscious Culture Cafe

Why do we hear so many fancy words about company values while corporate scandals rage? According to ethics expert and corporate consultant, Bettina Palazzo, leaders love to talk about values because the exercise creates a nice fuzzy feeling. Yet lists of corporate values will not move the needle on company decisions nor affect day-to-day behaviors. Why? Because anyone can come up with fancy feel-good words. But you can't merely throw a beautiful values "cherry" on top of a questionable culture. Leaders have to work from the ground up.  Their role is to engage the organization in clarifying a values vision and  inventing the plan for making it real throughout the organization.  In this episode, Bettina lays out the problems and solutions to the corporate ethics dilemma so prevalent in our world today. 

During the months of the pandemic, women left the workforce in droves.  Why? Because women still bear the lion’s share of family and home care responsibilities. And they can't find the work/life balance they need through the companies employing them. They make less money and receive fewer promotions. We need women's voices in the workplace. Maureen Higgins talks about why the problems persist - especially with STEM women - and what to do about it. 

Do Black people matter? This is the question Nikki Lanier, posed last year on this podcast. Nikki is a senior Vice President of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Louisville Branch.  And she returns to reflect and advise one year after the murder of George Floyd. Nikki lauds corporations for condemning racism while she offers direction for what must come next. Her view of corporate DEI is that it is infantile. And she outlines the first steps companies must take to remedy the problem. Her experience working within corporate Human Resources, as well as her law degree, her experience working for the Fed, and her tireless activism towards social justice give her a unique perspective on where we stand and what we can do to fight racism. 

In 2012, the skeptical executives of iconic fashion brand EILEEN FISHER spent three days at a Buddhist retreat center to form a new vision for company sustainability. Most had never worked closely together previously. And they weren't prepared to go out into the woods to contemplate! Yet the meeting organizers insisted they leave their electronics behind, give up their tinkering and siloed approach to change, and analyze the entire product-related system from concept to manufacturing to closet and back again. And guess what happened? They not only created a clear vision complete with audacious goals, they crafted a plan for making it real.  Fast forward to year 2021.  They succeeded in reaching their goals and are helping transform the entire  industry.  Amy Hall, former VP and current advisor to  the Social Consciousness group in EILEEN FISHER, and Sara Schley, the Co-founder of Seed Systems and Amy's outside partner in guiding the journey, share stories, lessons learned and the secrets to the company's success in their sustainability work. Their advice is both revolutionary and practical, unusual and intriguing, and it works. Leaders of companies in any industry and of any size can succeed by adopting their systems approach to change.  

“Hey we gave this unconscious bias training and hired a Chief Diversity Officer. Isn’t that enough?” My guest this week, Kelley Bright, says she has heard these words countless times from clients in her 25 plus years with global professional consulting firms. She claims companies aren’t getting into the nitty gritty of race because they don't want to say the hard, scary things that make people really understand. In this episode, she offers critiques of how companies handle DEI today and what they should do instead. 

“Aren’t we human beings hilarious? The ways we can find to discount and disqualify others, especially in competitive environments, is sometimes stunning.” DEI expert, Judy Ellis, knows what she is talking about.  She has been working with corporations on culture, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI)  for 20 plus years in all kinds of companies. She offers advice on how companies can carry out DEI efforts that not only value all employees, but also have a positive impact on the company bottom line. The key is to focus on inclusion - not just diversity. 

"Do Black people matter as we look at the future of our country and our companies?" Nikki Lanier, senior vice president, and regional executive of the Louisville Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, discusses this pivotal question as she focuses on the E (equity) in DEI. In this episode, Nikki takes on the racism we see in front of us and offers her opinions on how our companies can move beyond diversity and address the equity part of the equation.

DEI (Diversity, equity, and inclusion) isn't new for many of our organizations. So why don't our commitments make a real difference? Priya says she is an immigrant and a brown girl born to be a rebel. And she is full of passion and genuine curiosity. Growing up as a young girl in India she questioned why “different rules for different people.” Now she helps companies address this challenge through her change management consulting practice. In this episode, she shares tips for how organizations can position their diversity, equity, and inclusion commitments for true impact. And she offers each of us steps we can take to become part of the fight against racism within organizations.

While we were sheltering in place, our communities across the country erupted due to racism run amuck! Police brutality, protests, fires, murders, and the list goes on and on.  We looked on with horror. We are seeking change.  We want answers. We ask ourselves what we can do to join the fight against racism in our workplaces and communities. Tawana Bain, exceedingly successful entrepreneur and founder of the famous Derby Diversity Summit, offers concrete steps each of us can take now to change how we address race in our lives and our country.