What changes when an organization puts people first and builds its business model around that belief?

On this episode of Doing Good by Doing Better, Andrew Zahn, Development and Community Relations at Servant Stage, shares how a people-first approach can shape not only an organization’s culture, but the way it operates, grows, and measures success.

For more than a decade, Servant Stage has challenged conventional assumptions about what a sustainable theater company should look like. Through its pay-what-you-will model, the organization has removed financial barriers to professional theater while growing to serve more than 60,000 audience members annually and operating in the black every year since its inception. Rather than prioritizing growth at all costs, Servant Stage has built its model around accessibility, community trust, financial discipline, and a belief that people come before product.

The conversation explores what that philosophy looks like in practice. From waiting until funding is in place before making strategic hires to measuring success by how people were treated, not simply how an event performed. Andrew also shares what leaders outside the arts can learn from Servant Stage’s willingness to question traditional business assumptions and ask a different question: What if part of what your organization has to offer could simply be a gift?

Key discussion points include:

• Building a Sustainable Pay-What-You-Will Model: How Servant Stage combines accessibility with financial discipline, growing organically rather than pursuing scale for scale’s sake.
• Putting People Before Product: Why Servant Stage evaluates success by how people are treated and how that philosophy shapes decisions across the organization.
• Building Trust Through Community: How a model supported by individual donors and 95% volunteer hours transforms audiences and supporters into active participants in the organization’s mission.
• Challenging Traditional Business Assumptions: How the “magic if” can help leaders question conventional thinking and experiment with giving their time, talent, or resources without making every interaction transactional.
• Redefining Growth and Success: Why Servant Stage has chosen not to make growth its primary measure of success and how financial patience can create a more sustainable organization.

Whether you lead a business, nonprofit, or team, this conversation offers a different framework for thinking about growth, community, and the relationship between purpose and financial sustainability.

If this conversation challenges you to rethink what it means to put people first and what becomes possible when trust is built into the way an organization operates, hit the ‘Follow’ or ‘Subscribe’ button in your app right now so you never miss an episode of Doing Good by Doing Better.

What does it take to build a sustainable business model when nearly half of your workforce faces daily financial instability?

On this episode of Doing Good by Doing Better, host Margaret Rogers is joined by Dr. Matt Burchett, PhD, SVP of Strategy & Social Impact at Thrive Restaurant Group, to explore how investing in the well-being and stability of frontline employees can create meaningful impact for people while strengthening the business.

Drawing from his transition from higher education to executive leadership in the restaurant industry, Matt shares how Thrive is embedding real, relationship-based support directly into the frontline employee experience. Through its Success Coach model, Thrive is testing how proximity, trust, and access to support can help employees build greater stability — while also strengthening retention and creating measurable value for the business.

From learning from transformational nonprofits to tackling systemic challenges that may take decades to address, Matt offers a candid look at what it means to build a company where purpose and performance reinforce one another — and why caring for your people can be both a human imperative and a viable business strategy.

Margaret and Matt discuss:

• Understanding the ALICE Workforce: Defining Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed workers and why an estimated 40% to 50% of the hospitality workforce may face economic instability despite being employed.
• Proximity Over Programs: How Thrive partnered with Goodwill to embed Success Coaches inside restaurant operations — and why building trust and relationships proved just as important as connecting employees with resources.
• The Business Case for Impact: How improving retention can help offset the cost of employee support, demonstrating that investing in people and strengthening business performance don’t have to be competing priorities.
• Tackling 20-Year Problems: Why leaders need to look beyond quick wins and consider how businesses can help address long-term challenges in the communities where their employees live and work.
• Leading with Dignity: Why Matt believes leadership begins with recognizing the inherent worth of people — and grounding identity in who we are rather than titles, credentials, or achievement.

If this conversation challenges you to rethink what your organization owes the people who make it run — and how investing in their ability to flourish can strengthen the business itself — hit the ‘Follow’ or ‘Subscribe’ button in your app right now so you never miss an episode of Doing Good by Doing Better.

What does it actually take to lead an organization through constant uncertainty without losing the human element?

On this episode of Doing Good by Doing Better, host Margaret Rogers is joined by Nima Farshchi, Executive Director of the Office of Experiential Learning and Director of the Center for Social Value Creation at the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business. Nima makes the case that long-term corporate survival depends on treating purpose and profit as partners, not competitors, drawing clear lines between human behavior, organizational resilience, and business strategy. From co-founding a charter school to advising the next generation of C-suite leaders, Nima offers a candid look at how leading with people first cuts through short-term pressure and keeps organizations focused on what actually drives results — their people.

Margaret and Nima discuss:

• Strategic Transformation as a Mindset: Why treating change management as a temporary project falls short, and how human-centric leadership equips companies to navigate shifts in AI, ESG, and market demands.
• Cultivating Trust Across Generations: How executive leadership can manage the "piggy bank of trust," adapt to evolving workforce expectations from Gen Z to Boomers, and lead with empathy without sacrificing accountability.
• Critical Thinking in the Age of AI: Why prompt engineering will soon be second nature, making critical thinking, authentic communication, and real-time human connection the true differentiators for leaders and organizations alike.

If this conversation challenges you to rethink how you build trust and lead the next generation of talent, hit the ‘Follow’ or ‘Subscribe’ button in your app right now so you never miss an episode of Doing Good by Doing Better.

How can we prepare the next generation for a future that's changing faster than ever before?

On this episode of Doing Good by Doing Better, host Margaret Rogers sits down with Chip Linehan, co-founder and co-CEO of Building 21, to unpack why preparing the next generation for the future of work requires moving past rigid academic checkboxes to focus on student agency and durable skills. Chip shares a masterclass in purpose-driven leadership, recounting how his team completely pivoted their technical training program, Launchpad, following the market release of ChatGPT. He highlights why successful innovation demands human centric leadership—shifting mindsets from what could go wrong when technology disrupts standard jobs to actively searching for what could go right. Margaret and Chip cover:

• Building Opportunity Through Innovation: How AI can help educators spend less time on administrative work and more time building meaningful relationships with students.
• The Power of Durable Skills: Why true career readiness depends on non-academic competencies like cross-functional communication, dependability, and "wayfinding" rather than temporary technical checklists.
• Evolving the Leadership Mindset: How shifting your executive style from a high-velocity "bull in a china shop" operator to an empowering team coach creates an organizational culture capable of navigating rapid external change.

This conversation offers a refreshing perspective on the future of work—one where disruptive technology forces us to double down on human potential and build a more equitable framework for tomorrow's workforce. It's a vital reminder that navigating change isn't just about adopting new tools; it's about anchoring your entire business strategy in human capability every step of the way.

If this conversation helped you rethink your talent strategy for the future of work, hit the ‘Follow’ or ‘Subscribe’ button in your app right now so you never miss an episode of Doing Good by Doing Better.

How can organizations embrace artificial intelligence while building workplaces where people and technology thrive together? 

On this episode of Doing Good by Doing Better, host Margaret Rogers sits down with Alan Henson, Pariveda’s Vice President of AI, to unpack why executing responsible AI in business requires looking past individual productivity to focus on the broader human systems.

Alan shares how generative AI operates fundamentally on math and probability rather than actual human thought, explaining that successful AI transformation starts with people, culture, and leadership—not because the technology isn't important, but because those foundations allow AI to create a truly meaningful impact. From navigating the "frozen middle" tier of management to building digital literacy that tackles workplace fear, he makes a powerful case for keeping human collaboration at the center of innovation. Margaret and Alan cover: 

• Building AI-Ready Organizations: How leaders can prepare their workforce to confidently embrace AI while staying grounded in purpose.
• People-Powered Innovation: Why many AI challenges are really opportunities to strengthen leadership, collaboration, and organizational design.
• Responsible AI Leadership: How human judgment and thoughtful governance help organizations unlock AI's full potential.

This conversation offers a refreshing perspective on AI — one where technology amplifies human creativity, strengthens organizations, and empowers people to solve bigger problems together. It's a reminder that the future of AI isn't just about adopting new technology; it's about leading with purpose every step of the way.

If this conversation helped you rethink your AI strategy, hit the ‘Follow’ or ‘Subscribe’ button in your app right now so you never miss an episode of Doing Good by Doing Better.

What if we've been measuring leadership success all wrong?

On this episode of Doing Good by Doing Better, Margaret Rogers sits down with Rachel Currie Triska, CEO of VolunteerNow—one of North Texas' largest volunteer organizations—to explore why the future of leadership depends less on productivity and more on building organizations where people can truly thrive. Drawing from her experience leading organizational transformation, Rachel shares how human centric leadership, intentional innovation, and healthier organizational systems create lasting impact, not just for employees, but for the communities they serve.

Together, Margaret and Rachel discuss:

• Why great leaders should measure team energy, not just productivity.
• How human-centered design helps organizations innovate by listening to the people closest to the problem.
• Why burnout is often a systems issue—not an individual one—and how leaders can build healthier, more sustainable teams.
• Why human connection remains a leader's greatest advantage in an increasingly digital world.

Whether you lead a nonprofit, a business, or a growing team, this conversation offers practical insights on building resilient cultures, fostering innovation, and creating organizations where both people and ideas can flourish. If you're looking to lead with purpose while building an organization that thrives, this episode will leave you with a fresh perspective on what great leadership looks like.

From Purpose-Driven Benefits to Better Business Outcomes with Wendy Sherry

What if doing right by your people and doing right by your bottom line weren’t actually in tension? On this episode of Doing Good by Doing Better, host Margaret Rogers talks with Wendy Sherry, CEO, Global Health Benefits, International Health, Cigna Healthcare, about building an inclusive employee benefits strategy — and why purpose driven employee benefits are good business, not just good intentions.

Drawing from her decades in Cigna Healthcare leadership, Wendy views health coverage not as a cost center, but as a crucial lever for employee retention through benefits. In this episode, Margaret and Wendy dig into:

• Winning C-suite buy in for vital health investments
• Embedding human centric leadership in HR at a global scale
• Balancing purpose and profit in HR to sustain a healthy, engaged workforce

It’s a candid look at what purpose-driven growth actually requires from leaders day to day.

Learn more about Cigna Healthcare's approach to women’s health: https://www.cignaglobal.com/employers/clinical/womens-health

What happens when leaders stop treating purpose as a “nice-to-have” and start treating it as a business imperative? At Pariveda, we believe doing good only endures when we keep learning how to do better.

In this special Season 1 wrap-up of Doing Good by Doing Better, Margaret Rogers revisits the moments that defined the inaugural season, reflecting on the founders and innovators who have built their companies around purpose.

Featuring conversations with Susan Kennedy, Dr. Rebecca Parsons, and Doug Conant, this episode explores what it really takes to lead with purpose in today’s environment. Across these highlights, a clear thread emerges at the intersection of profit, empathy, and scale:

Purposeful Profit: Susan Kennedy (CEO of Cadiz) on building authentic partnerships with Native American tribes to address water infrastructure challenges.

Responsible Tech: Dr. Rebecca Parsons (CTO Emerita at Thoughtworks) on why empathy is a technical requirement for durable, ethical code.

The Leadership Flywheel: Doug Conant (Former CEO of Campbell Soup Company) on why leaders must be anchored in their own stories to navigate uncertainty.

Whether you’re leading a team, scaling a business, or rethinking how your organization creates value, this episode brings together the lessons that matter most and what it looks like to solve forward.

Margaret also shares a first look at Season 2 and how Pariveda is continuing to help organizations make potential possible by anchoring on what makes leadership human.

Can a company be both purpose-driven and performance-focused?

In this episode, Margaret Rogers sits down with Tiffany Lentz, Head of Purposeful Profit at Pariveda, to explore what it actually takes to build a business where purpose and profit work together.

From leading B Corp certification efforts to navigating the realities of modern leadership, Tiffany shares what it looks like to operate in the tension between short-term results and long-term impact. They discuss how profit can act as an enabler of mission, how organizations can build real accountability around impact, and why today’s workforce is increasingly drawn to companies with a clear point of view.

The conversation also explores how leaders can embed purpose into culture, develop talent intentionally, and approach AI adoption in a way that keeps people at the center.

Gen AI, Entry-Level Jobs, and How Students Can Prepare for the Workforce

Pariveda CEO Margaret Rogers sits down with Bruce Ballengee, Founder of Pariveda, to explore what’s really happening in the job market, and what it means for students and early-career professionals navigating an AI-driven world.

With headlines fueling anxiety around layoffs and job loss, Bruce offers a grounded perspective: many workforce shifts today are less about AI replacing jobs and more about companies reallocating resources to invest in it. Together, they unpack how AI is actually showing up in the workplace—augmenting work, not eliminating it—and why that distinction matters.

They also break down how large language models work, why they can sound confident but still be wrong, and what that means for how we use them responsibly. From there, the conversation turns to what leaders are really looking for in new hires—and why critical thinking, adaptability, and real understanding still matter more than ever.

For those entering the workforce, this episode offers a clear, practical perspective on how to prepare for what’s ahead. Learn more at ParivedaSolutions.com.