HR – Human Resources issues – The Mentors Radio

In today’s episode of THE MENTORS RADIO, Host Tom Loarie talks with Ron Friedman, PhD, award-winning social psychologist, keynote speaker, human motivation expert, and best-selling author, about what the Top 8% of elite teams do that others don’t, from ER rooms, to NFL teams to Wall Street firms. Every executive board in the country talks about culture, collaboration, and high performance. Yet the average knowledge worker spends nearly thirty (30) hours a week drowning in meetings and messages, leaving barely one day to do actual work. We’ve been told the answer is more connectivity, trendy perks, and constant togetherness. But what if almost everything corporate America preaches about teamwork is statistically dead wrong? Dr. Ron Friedman analyzed more than 100,000 data points across elite organizations—from emergency rooms and NFL locker rooms to Wall Street firms—to uncover what the top 8% of teams do that the other 92% miss. Ron Friedman earned a PhD and MA in Social and Personality Psychology from the University of Rochester. His academic and leadership roles including serving on the faculties of the University of Rochester, Nazareth College, and Hobart andWilliam Smith Colleges. He is the founder of Superteams, Inc. and ignite80, and a frequent contributor to Harvard Business Review and has been featured in The New York Times, Fast Company and Forbes. Dr. Ron Friedman is also the best-selling author of The Best Place to Work, and his landmark new book is Super Teams: The Science and Secrets of High-Performing Teams. Listen to THE MENTORS RADIO broadcast on Salem Radio in San Francisco, via live-streaming on iHeart Radio worldwide or anytime, on ANY podcast platform, including Apple Podcast, Spotify, iTunes, TuneIN, Stitcher, Google Play and all the others. Sign up for the podcast here.

RON FRIEDMAN, PhD:

Superteams: The Science and Secrets of High-Performing Teams

In this episode of The Mentors Radio, host Dan Hesse talks with General Stanley McChrystal, U.S. Army General (Ret.), Commander of U.S. and International Forces in Afghanistan, Leader of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), co-founder and CEO of McChrystal Group, and noted, best-selling author of several books. A one-of-a-kind leader with a new perspective on collaboration and teamwork, General Stan McChrystal is known for helping organizations tap into the potential of their people to better compete in a complex and interconnected world. Following thirty-four years of service in the U.S. Army—including as commander of U.S. and International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF) Afghanistan and commander of the nation’s premier counter-terrorism force— General McChrystal delivers his unique blend of on-the- ground experience with decades of leadership to provide practical insight and wisdom to help organizations transform and succeed in challenging, dynamic environments. General McChrystal now leads the McChrystal Group as its founder and CEO, which helps organizations of all types transform how their people, processes, and technology work together to unlock greater speed and adaptability. As the author of several best-selling books, General McChrystal latest examines the character of leaders and what makes someone who they are and, importantly, how they will be remembered. Listen to THE MENTORS RADIO broadcast on Salem Radio in San Francisco, via live-streaming on iHeart Radio worldwide or anytime, on ANY podcast platform, including Apple Podcast, Spotify, iTunes, TuneIN, Stitcher, Google Play and all the others. Sign up for the podcast here.

GENERAL STANLEY “STAN” McCHRYSTAL, General Ret., U.S. Army:

In this episode of The Mentors Radio, Host Tom Loarie talks with Craig Bergman, a legendary Hall of Fame coach and athletic director who spent more than 30 years mentoring thousands of young men and women at Monte Vista High School in Northern California.  Craig had a front-row seat to the cultural shift that reshaped an entire generation. In this candid, unvarnished conversation, they look directly at what is happening to our kids, our parenting culture, and our future workforce:  

Whether you are leading an organization, managing a team, or raising the next generation, this episode is an urgent wake-up call on stewardship, authentic authority, and the lost value of constructive struggle.   Listen to episode below, or on ANY PODCAST PLATFORM here. BE SURE TO LEAVE US A GREAT REVIEW on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and share with friends and colleagues!

CRAIG BERGMAN:

In this episode of THE MENTORS RADIO, Host Dan Hesse talks with Peter Banko, CEO of Baystate Health and author of “The Necessary Goodbye: How Great Leaders Fire with Clarity, Confidence and Compassion“. In this conversation, Peter joins Dan to explain why firing the right people is not only ethical, but often necessary for the well-being of the company and especially for its employees. Peter is the CEO of Baystate Health, which is a connected ecosystem of 13,000 caregivers who individually and together are on a mission to redefine health and health care.  Baystate Health is a not-for-profit, integrated health system serving more than 800,000 individuals in western Massachusetts with a service area stretching from Connecticut to Vermont. Baystate’s mission is to deliver compassionate, quality and accessible care. Listen to episode below, or on ANY PODCAST PLATFORM here. BE SURE TO LEAVE US A GREAT REVIEW on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and share with friends and colleagues!

PETER BANKO:

In this episode of THE MENTORS RADIO, HOST DAN HESSE talks with CECILIA KANG, award-winning journalist and co-author of An Ugly Truth: Inside Facebook’s Battle for Domination. In this book, Kang takes us inside Meta (Facebook’s parent company), explains the company’s decisions over the years and the impact Meta has had—and still has—on our privacy, on the news users receive, and on the mental health of young people. The conversation in this episode took place before the $17 billion settlement between Meta and many State Attorney Generals.  Cecilia is an award-winning National Correspondent at The New York Times where she reports on the intersection of technology and public policy. She was part of a team that won the Gerald Loeb and George Polk awards for their coverage of Facebook and were finalists for the Pulitzer Prize. Cecilia frequently appears on national television and radio as a commentator on technology and entertainment, and she is passionate about exposing the impacts and implications of technology on society, politics and culture. Listen to episode below, or on ANY PODCAST PLATFORM here. BE SURE TO LEAVE US A GREAT REVIEW on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and share with friends and colleagues!

CECILIA KANG:

In this episode of THE MENTORS RADIO, Host Dan Hesse talks with Jim Tracy, founder and Chairman of the Legacy Companies and former CEO of Legacy Telecommunications, to discuss the importance of purpose and culture in business. Jim Tracy has been called the “Curator of Culture” and is also known as “The Grampion,” the title of his podcast, for his stories reflecting real life leadership experience. Legacy Telecommunications, where he served as CEO, is an infrastructure and technology services firm is a company he co-founded to make his son’s work safer. Prior to this, Jim spent 16 years leading firms in the manufacturing, sales and distribution of engineered construction products internationally. He was inducted into the Wireless Hall of Fame in 2021, honored with the Bill Carlson Lifetime Service Award from NATE in 2022, and received the Business ICON of Idaho Award in 2024. He has also been recognized for his volunteerism including Habitat for Humanity, Ducks Unlimited and SIPA. His best-selling book, “Building Men – Character Lessons From Influencers” has garnered widespread praise from critics and won multiple prestigious awards leading to a three-book deal with Morgan James Publishing. His next work, Management by Cliché publishes soon. LISTEN TO this radio broadcast live on iHeart Radio, or go to “THE MENTORS RADIO” podcast any time, anywhere, on any podcast platform – subscribe here and don’t miss an episode!

JIM TRACY

In this episode of THE MENTORS RADIO, Host Tom Loarie talks with Tom Hardin, dubbed the FBI’s “Tipper X.” An undergraduate of the University of Pennsylvania’s prestigious Wharton School of Business, Hardin’s promising career as a young financial analyst and junior partner at a small hedge fund in Manhattan, segued into Hardin becoming the youngest trader to be caught in a massive insider training FBI sting. Hardin agreed to cooperate with the FBI—agreeing to wear a hidden wire on more than 40 occasions—and ultimately becoming one of the most prolific informants in securities fraud history. His cooperation helped to build more than 20 of the 80+ individual criminal cases in “Operation Perfect Hedge,” the largest insider trading investigation of a generation. This episode delivers a riveting, raw, unvarnished conversation with Hardin on self-deception, the high price of “fitting in”, and how to survive life’s absolute worst moments. He wasn’t publicly dubbed “Tipper x” until early 2010. At the time, he had less than 12 hours to prepare his relatives before his name was made public. As you’ll hear, Tom Hardin doesn’t hide behind the word “mistake.” He openly admits: “I did this intentionally.” That radical accountability is what allowed him to rebuild his life, find his faith, and serve as a warning sign to keep other leaders from sliding down the same slippery slope. Of course he cannot work in the financial field with a felony conviction, but in 2016 the FBI invited him to speak to agents about his side of the story, which proved to be quite eye-opening for some of the younger agents. A few of the agents told Harding they felt others in the financial, hedge fund industry would benefit from his story. He has now shared his first-hand cautionary tale to more than 150 audiences, including 90 hedge fund firms.

In broader context, we tend to think that massive personal and professional failures happen overnight. But they don’t. In reality, these failures happen through quiet, everyday compromises in two critical areas: (1) The Trap of “Fitting In” — There is a dangerous difference between finding a place where you belong and twisting yourself to “fit in.” Fitting in is an active sacrifice. To fit in with an elite crowd, we silence our voice, compromise our values, and erase our true self. When young Wharton graduate Tom Hardin entered the high-stakes world of Wall Street, his desperate desire to fit in clouded his moral judgment. Because Hardin lacked grounded mentors early in his career to model real ethics, he slipped into self-deception. Once you deceive yourself, you can deceive anyone – and lose your soul in the process. (2) The Danger of “Turning Against” Your Spouse — Statistics show that only 15% of marriages survive a federal felony conviction. Yet, Tom’s wife, Sue, stood fiercely by his side. When asked how she survived the trauma of his arrest, her answer was simple: “He never turned on me.” He made terrible, illegal choices, but he never demeaned her, hid from her, or directed his failures at her. Ultimately, too many relationships dissolve – sometimes invisibly – because one partner slowly begins to turn against the other, chip away at their dignity, or demean them. In a crisis, if you turn on each other, destruction is guaranteed.

LISTEN TO this radio broadcast live on iHeart Radio, or go to “THE MENTORS RADIO” podcast any time, anywhere, on any podcast platform – subscribe here and don’t miss an episode!

In this episode of THE MENTORS RADIO, Host Dan Hesse talks with Ed Hawkins, former All-American soccer player and Founder and CEO of SixBeacons Partners. As we watch the World Cup, it’s fitting that Ed Hawkins, a former All-American soccer player and the first US born African-American to wear the USA jersey, joins Dan Hesse on The Mentors Radio to describe the business lessons that the game of soccer can teach us. Ed explores how leadership, culture and human development intersect in organizational life. He’s the CEO of SixBeacon Partners where his work focuses on helping organizations design environments that allow people and systems to grow with purpose in the age of artificial intelligence. They discuss Ed’s fourth book, Beacon of Hope—Cultivating Excellence Across Generations, which also serves as a tribute to a special mentor.  LISTEN TO this radio broadcast live on iHeart Radio, or go to “THE MENTORS RADIO” podcast any time, anywhere, on any podcast platform – subscribe here and don’t miss an episode!

In this episode of The Mentors Radio, Host Dan Hesse talks with General (Ret.) Stanley McChrystal about his career, leadership, building teams, risk management and more. A one-of-a-kind commander with a new perspective on organizational dynamics, Ret. General Stan McChrystal is known for helping elite teams tap into the potential of their people to better compete in a complex and interconnected world. Few can speak about leadership, teamwork, technology and international affairs with as much insight can he. Ret. General McChrystal is the former Commander of U.S. and International Forces in Afghanistan, former leader of Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) and co-founder of The McChrystal Group. His exceptional and innovative understanding of organizational dynamics has led to remarkable achievements in both military and business applications. McChrystal is the author of several best-selling books on leadership, building teams, engagement and risk management. After retiring from the U.S. Army as a four-star general, General McChrystal turned his expertise to the business world. He is the Founder and CEO of the McChrystal Group, which helps Fortune 500 Companies strike the right balance between hierarchical and decentralized team mindsets and structures. He and his firm focus on the power of network analysis and machine learning to strengthen how companies connect, internally and externally. As the author of several best-selling management books, General McChrystal offers a battle-tested system for detecting and responding to risk.

LISTEN TO the radio broadcast live on iHeart Radio, or to “THE MENTORS RADIO” podcast any time, anywhere, on any podcast platform – subscribe here and don’t miss an episode!

GENERAL (RET.) STANLEY A. McCHRYSTAL:

In this episode of The Mentors Radio, Host Tom Loarie talks with Raj Sisodia, PhD, co-founder of the global Conscious Capitalism movement, respected global business scholar, and author of 11 influential books. Today’s broadcast was originally intended to be a conversation with visionary business leader Bob Chapman, the founder of Barry-Wehmiller. Tragically, Bob recently passed away after a courageous battle with cancer. So we decided to anchor this show as a tribute to Bob Chapman’s remarkable life and monumental legacy by talking with his close friend and co-author, Raj Sisodia, and the results far exceeded all expectations! Earning his PhD from Columbia University, Dr. Sisodia’s distinguished 42-year academic career includes teaching at institutions such as Boston University, George Mason, and serving as the FW Olin Distinguished Professor of Global Business and Scholar at Babson College. Over the past five years, he has served as a distinguished professor at Tecnológico de Monterrey—the MIT of Mexico—where he helped establish a Conscious Enterprise Center that has scaled these leadership principles to hundreds of professors and thousands of students across Latin America. Driven by a profound life purpose to open hearts and elevate human consciousness, he partnered with Bob to write the groundbreaking, national bestseller Everybody Matters: The Extraordinary Power of Caring for Your People Like Family. LISTEN TO the radio broadcast live on iHeart Radio, or to “THE MENTORS RADIO” podcast any time, anywhere, on any podcast platform – subscribe here and don’t miss an episode!