What if rising healthcare costs, burnout, and disengagement weren’t people problems—but system problems? In this episode, Ashish Kothari speaks with actuary and health strategist Jaqueline Oliveira-Cella to explore flourishing as a business strategy, anti-inflammatory workplaces, and how culture, leadership, and benefits design directly impact health, performance, and cost.

1. Why flourishing is a strategic lever for CEOs and CFOs
2. Culture as a hidden driver of health risk and performance
3. Anti-inflammatory vs. inflammatory workplaces
4. The limits of traditional employee benefits and cost-shifting
5. Designing equitable, accessible, and preventive health benefits
6. Manager trust, psychological safety, and engagement decline
7. Emotional intelligence as a performance differentiator
8. The SAFE framework for individual clarity, reflection, and better decisions

Connect with Jaqueline Oliveira-Cella:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaquelineoc/

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Happiness Squad Website: https://happinesssquad.com/

Ashish Kothari: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashishkothari1/

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@MyHappinessSquad

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/happiness-squad

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/myhappinesssquad/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/myhappinesssquad

What if leadership, performance, and fulfillment all began with inner growth? In this deep and expansive conversation, Ashish Kothari sits down with former Coca-Cola executive Ahmet to explore Soulgery —a powerful, practical framework for lifelong growth, meaning, impact, and resilience. This episode bridges leadership, psychology, spirituality, and performance into a lived, actionable model for flourishing.

1. Why every business is ultimately a people business
2. Soulgery: a holistic model for personal growth and self-leadership
3. The inner vs. outer self and the role of awareness
4. The four acts of growth: direction, impact, excellence, and resilience
5. How meaning, love, and wisdom shape leadership and fulfillment
6. Performing with excellence through rhythm, not perfection
7. Responding vs. reacting to life’s challenges
8. Growth as a lifelong, interconnected journey

Connect with Ahmet Bozer:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ahmetbozer/

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Happiness Squad Website: https://happinesssquad.com/

Ashish Kothari: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashishkothari1/

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@MyHappinessSquad

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/happiness-squad

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/myhappinesssquad/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/myhappinesssquad

What if building a great business mattered more than building a big one? In this episode, Jean Moncrieff shares hard-won lessons from entrepreneurship, Small Giants, and purpose-driven leadership—revealing how values, people, and intentional growth create long-term success without burnout.

1. Why chasing revenue alone leads to burnout and stalled growth
2. Purpose-driven leadership vs. survival-mode entrepreneurship
3. Small Giants principles: values, people-first culture, intentional growth
4. How leadership growth must match business growth
5. Early warning signs founders are stuck in fear, firefighting, or plateau
6. Redefining success beyond profit, scale, and vanity metrics

If you’re a founder, executive, or leader feeling stuck, exhausted, or disconnected from your original mission—this conversation offers a powerful reframe: profit is the outcome, not the purpose. Flourishing starts with people, values, and leadership from the inside out.

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Happiness Squad Website: https://happinesssquad.com/

Ashish Kothari: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashishkothari1/

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@MyHappinessSquad

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/happiness-squad

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/myhappinesssquad/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/myhappinesssquad

What if guilt—not ambition—is the real burnout driver for working mothers? In this powerful conversation, Ashish Kothari sits down with Mary Sheehan to unpack why high-performing women feel stuck in a no-win game—and how leaders and individuals can redesign work to truly flourish.

This episode blends lived experience, leadership insight, and science-backed practices to help working parents move from exhaustion and self-blame to clarity, boundaries, and sustainable performance.

Key Topics Covered

Why guilt is the #1 struggle for working mothers—and how societal expectations amplify it

Values-based decision making as a practical antidote to burnout

The hidden cost of broken corporate systems: RTO mandates, inflexibility, childcare, and unpaid parental leave

Leadership’s role in inclusion: why flexibility and outcomes-based work benefit everyone

Mary’s powerful concept of the “Minimum Viable Person (MVP)”—small daily practices that restore energy and identity

Micro-practices for self-compassion, nervous system regulation, and resilience

How leaders at every level can redesign teams to support parents without sacrificing performance

Only ~20% of people are thriving at work—and working mothers are disproportionately paying the price. This conversation reframes flourishing not as a perk, but as a strategic leadership responsibility and a deeply human necessity.

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Happiness Squad Website: https://happinesssquad.com/

Ashish Kothari: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashishkothari1/

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@MyHappinessSquad

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/happiness-squad

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/myhappinesssquad/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/myhappinesssquad

What if putting people first wasn’t just the right thing to do—but the smartest business strategy? In this episode of the Flourishing Edge Podcast, Ashish Kothari sits down with David Hughes of BCR Engineering to explore how trust, relationships, and human-centered leadership create thriving teams, resilient cultures, and long-term performance.

1. Why people-first leadership drives sustainable profit and performance
2. How true and honest relationships build trust with employees and clients
3. Moving from annual performance reviews to developmental check-ins
4. Creating psychological safety and distributed leadership
5. Supporting employee growth, well-being, and individual “genius”
6. Navigating crises with strong culture and deep relationships
7. Practical examples of human-centered workplace practices that work

David Hughes is a leader at BCR Engineering, a company known for prioritizing employee well-being, trust, and long-term relationships as the foundation of success.

🔗 Connect with David Hughes & BCR Engineering

1. Website: https://www.bcreng.com
2. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bcr-engineering

🎧 Subscribe to Flourishing Edge Podcast for weekly conversations on leadership, culture, and unlocking human potential through flourishing.

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Happiness Squad Website: https://happinesssquad.com/

Ashish Kothari: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashishkothari1/

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@MyHappinessSquad

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/happiness-squad

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/myhappinesssquad/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/myhappinesssquad

In this deeply human and science-backed conversation, Ashish Kothari sits down with Crystal Fernando to explore why today’s burnout, overwhelm, and underperformance signal a human capacity crisis—not a performance problem. Together, they unpack how leaders can reclaim stability, agency, and humanity to thrive in a fast-changing, AI-driven world.

Key Topics Covered:

The human capacity crisis vs. traditional performance challenges

Why stability must come before agility in leadership and organizations

The neuroscience of safety, mindset, and intentional focus

Crystal’s SIMPLE framework for sustainable leadership and flourishing

Moving from busyness to intention and from reaction to clarity

How empathy fuels innovation, trust, and long-term performance

Letting go of control to unlock flow, creativity, and resilience

Practical micro-practices to restore agency and calm in daily work

This episode is a powerful invitation to slow down, reconnect with what makes us human, and redesign work so people—and performance—can truly flourish.

Connect with Crystal:

Founding Partner and CEO, Whatbox Innovation Partners

https://www.linkedin.com/in/crys-fernando/

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Happiness Squad Website: https://happinesssquad.com/

Ashish Kothari: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashishkothari1/

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@MyHappinessSquad

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/happiness-squad

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/myhappinesssquad/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/myhappinesssquad

What if your company’s greatest competitive edge wasn’t technology or strategy — but culture?

In this inspiring episode of The Flourishing Edge Podcast, Ashish Kothari sits down with Jeffrey Schmitz, CEO of Zebra Technologies, to explore how the global tech leader is redefining success through its brand philosophy: Better Every Day.

From engineering to marketing to becoming Chief People Officer and now CEO, Jeff’s career journey embodies a human-centered approach to leadership — one that proves people and purpose are at the heart of innovation and performance. Together, they dive deep into how flourishing cultures, inclusive leadership, and continuous learning create long-term business success in a rapidly changing, AI-driven world.

1. 🧭 The heart of leadership: Why people, not products or profits, define the true strength of a company.
2. 🌱 The power of purpose: How Zebra Technologies built its “Better Every Day” brand around continuous improvement and collective growth.
3. 🤝 Culture as a competitive edge:
4. How Zebra successfully merged two massive companies (Zebra + Motorola Enterprise) through shared experiences, not slogans.
5. Why culture must be defined, invested in, and lived — not left to chance.
6. 💬 Belonging as survival: How inclusion and belonging fuel creativity, innovation, and retention across 54 countries and 9,900+ employees.\
7. 🚀 Ownership and growth: Why the key to flourishing careers is never outsourcing your development — and how Zebra empowers employees to own their Individual Development Plans (IDPs).
8. 🧠 Happiness & resilience: Jeff’s personal “5-3-2” practice — five gratitudes, three acts of kindness, and two minutes to reset before reentering family life — and why positivity, hard work, and curiosity are his “three foundations for success.”

1. 🤖 Leading in the age of AI:
2. How Zebra is creating safe AI sandboxes for experimentation and play.
3. Why curiosity is now a hiring requirement and the key to thriving in a fast-changing tech landscape.

1. 🌍 The future of flourishing leadership: Practical advice for executives who want to build purpose-driven, adaptive, and joyful organizations — even under shareholder pressure

CEO, Zebra Technologies

🔗 Connect with Jeffrey on LinkedIn

Jeffrey Schmitz is a visionary leader who believes culture is the ultimate driver of business success. His career spans engineering, marketing, and HR — culminating in his leadership of Zebra Technologies, a global powerhouse known for its people-first, innovation-driven approach.

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Happiness Squad Website: https://happinesssquad.com/

Ashish Kothari: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashishkothari1/

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@MyHappinessSquad

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/happiness-squad

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/myhappinesssquad/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/myhappinesssquad

What if mastering your emotions was the key to unlocking your peak performance and inner peace?

In this fascinating conversation, Ashish Kothari sits down with Dr. Ethan Kross, acclaimed psychologist and author of Chatter and Shift, to explore the science of emotional mastery — and how simple, research-backed tools can help you transform anxiety, anger, and stress into clarity, focus, and resilience.

Dr. Kross unpacks the six core “emotional shifters” — from sensory awareness to perspective-taking — that anyone can use to quiet mental chatter, navigate life’s chaos, and thrive in both work and life.

💡 What You’ll Learn:

🧠 What emotions really are — and why they’re not the enemy.

⚡ The purpose of “negative” emotions like anger and anxiety (and how they can fuel growth and innovation).

🎧 The six emotional shifters you can use to regulate your emotions:

1. Sensory Shifters: Use music, touch, or nature to calm the nervous system.

2. Attention Shifters: Learn when to focus and when to take mental breaks.

3. Perspective Shifters: Reframe your challenges by changing the lens you view them through.

4. Relationship Shifters: Choose the right “emotional advisors” — people who listen and help you move forward.

5. Environmental Shifters: Design physical spaces that restore focus, calm, and creativity.

6. Cultural Shifters: Build and participate in cultures that support emotional well-being.

🌬️ How to manage anxiety in real time using a “1-2-3” combination of tools.

💬 The science behind why venting alone doesn’t help — and what actually does.

🌱 How leaders can create emotionally intelligent, high-performing cultures at work.

Guest Spotlight: Dr. Ethan Kross

📚 Author of Chatter and Shift

🎓 Professor of Psychology and Management, University of Michigan

🔗 Connect on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/ekross/

Ethan Kross is one of the world’s leading experts on controlling the conscious mind. His work bridges neuroscience and practical tools, helping people regulate their inner voice, harness emotions, and turn stress into strength.

🪞 Key Insight:

Mastering your emotions isn’t about eliminating them — it’s about learning to work with them.

#FlourishingEdgePodcast #HappinessSquad #EthanKross #AshishKothari #EmotionalIntelligence #FlourishingAtWork #MentalFitness #NeuroscienceOfEmotions #MindfulLeadership #PositivePsychology #ChatterBook #ShiftBook #StressManagement #LeadershipDevelopment #shorts

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Happiness Squad Website: https://happinesssquad.com/

Ashish Kothari: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashishkothari1/

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@MyHappinessSquad

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/happiness-squad

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/myhappinesssquad/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/myhappinesssquad

What if you could make every job deeply meaningful — no matter the industry, title, or task?

In this episode of The Flourishing Edge Podcast, host Ashish Kothari sits down with Tamara Myles, author, researcher, and founder of Keynote Speaker, to explore the science of meaningful work. Together, they reveal how leaders can turn workplaces into thriving communities where employees feel valued, challenged, and connected.

From her groundbreaking research, Tamara shares the Three C’s of Meaning — Community, Contribution, and Challenge — and how these elements can unlock performance, loyalty, and fulfillment across organizations.

1. 🌱 What makes work meaningful: Why it’s not what you do but how you experience what you do.
2. 🧩 The 3 C’s Framework:
3. Community — Creating belonging through care and authentic connection.
4. Contribution — Recognizing impact and helping people see how their work matters.
5. Challenge — Stretching potential with support to inspire growth and pride.
6. 💬 Leadership’s impact on meaning: Research shows leaders shape 48% of how meaningful work feels.
7. 🪞 The power of positive feedback: How one simple “thank you” per week can halve burnout and disengagement.
8. 🔁 Gratitude as culture: A story of how one leader’s “five Friday thank-you emails” transformed an entire team.
9. 🧠 The ROI of meaning: How fostering meaningful work drives productivity, retention, engagement — and even financial performance.
10. 🤖 Meaning in the age of AI: Why human connection, purpose, and mattering are more vital than ever in a technology-driven world.

Founder, Keynote Speaker & Researcher on Meaningful Work

🔗 Connect with Tamara on LinkedIn

Tamara Myles is a leading expert in organizational psychology and meaningful work. Her research, consulting, and talks help companies cultivate workplaces where people don’t just perform — they flourish.

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Happiness Squad Website: https://happinesssquad.com/

Ashish Kothari: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashishkothari1/

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@MyHappinessSquad

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/happiness-squad

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/myhappinesssquad/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/myhappinesssquad

What if the secret to flourishing wasn’t about doing more—but about realizing you already are enough?

In this inspiring episode of the Flourishing Edge Podcast, host Ashish Kothari is joined by Jennifer Cohen, Founder and Director of Seven Stones Leadership Group, to explore how shifting from scarcity to sustainable abundance can transform your leadership, your relationships, and your life.

Together, they uncover the seven timeless laws that help us move beyond fear, scarcity, and separation—toward joy, connection, and sufficiency.

1. 🌎 The root of scarcity: Why our modern systems of economics and culture condition us to feel “not enough.”
2. 💫 The 7 Laws of Enough:
3. Stories Matter – Recognize that the context you live in shapes your reality.
4. I Am Enough – Shift from striving to sufficiency.
5. I Belong – Remember your inherent connection to everything.
6. No One Is Exempt – Accept both life’s joys and sorrows as part of being human.
7. Resting Is Required – True peace begins when we stop resisting what is.
8. Joy Is Available – Learn to access the inner joy that isn’t dependent on outcomes.
9. Love Is the Answer – The universal truth that heals and unites us all.
10. 🌱 The origin of the Seven Stones philosophy: How Jennifer’s own healing from trauma and systems thinking shaped her life’s work.
11. 💬 From scarcity to sufficiency: How to live and lead from the truth that there is enough for all, for all time.
12. 🔁 Daily practices for flourishing: Create intentional connections, reflect on “What is happening now?” and “How is that enough?”, and anchor your day in gratitude.
13. ❤️ Love as leadership: Why authentic care and connection are the most powerful forces in business and beyond.

Jennifer Cohen

Founder & Director, Seven Stones Leadership Group

Co-author of The Seven Laws of Enough

Jennifer helps individuals, teams, and organizations redefine success through sufficiency, sustainable abundance, and conscious leadership.

1. LinkedIn

Ashish Kothari

Founder of Happiness Squad

Host of Flourishing Edge Podcast

Helping leaders unlock breakthrough performance through science-based practices of flourishing.

“Enough isn’t an amount — it’s a place to come from. It’s a stand.”

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Happiness Squad Website: https://happinesssquad.com/

Ashish Kothari: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashishkothari1/

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@MyHappinessSquad

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/happiness-squad

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/myhappinesssquad/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/myhappinesssquad