Rethink Culture

"I always ask people right from the start to talk to me and decide what you want to be famous for… So, what's your intention in terms of that space and getting tasks done? … What's your intention in terms of the relationships that you want to have? What's your intention for the reputation of the team that you will serve?" 

S02E07 of the Rethink Culture podcast shines the spotlight on Bruce Sullivan, keynote speaker, author, and business leader, voted Australian Keynote Speaker of the Year. Bruce has entrepreneurial experience leading people, and he teaches culture, teams, and relationships. He started managing his first business at 19 and a staff of 130 employees in nine retail sites by 22.

Bruce's encounter with Mrs. Evans while he was doing community service in high school was the catalyst that shaped his approach to work and life, orienting him towards problem-solving and serving others. He now coaches leaders, sharing his knowledge and experience.

The podcast is created by Rethink Culture. Our goal is to help 1 million businesses create healthier, happier cultures, by turning culture into a KPI. Visit rethinkculture.co to see how you can create a healthier culture at your company.

Production, video, and audio editing by Evangelia Alexaki of Musicove Productions.

Listen to this episode to find out:

• Why it's important to acknowledge the existing culture within your organization and use it as a starting point for making changes.
• What are Bruce's 3 key points: the frequency of interaction, the brightness of the future, and the intention.
• How to address the "ants at the picnic," the individuals in your company that do not contribute positively to the culture.
• How Bruce became an accidental entrepreneur at the age of 15 and how his early experience, his insight and empathy set him apart from other speakers. 
• What clarity of intentions in communication is and why leaders should overcommunicate.
• How to be aware of your own intentions by asking what you want to be famous for.
• Who Mrs. Evans was and what was her catalytic role in teaching Bruce formative life lessons.
• How to approach feedback by fostering psychological safety and embracing curiosity.
• Why we need to be curious about other people's intentions and not judge them by their actions alone.

Further resources:

• Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In, by Roger Fisher and William L. Ury: https://www.amazon.com/Getting-Yes-Negotiating-Agreement-Without/dp/0143118757 
• The Global Negotiation Initiative: https://www.pon.harvard.edu/category/research_projects/global-negotiation-initiative/ 

"If you're listening, you're on one or the other side of this quote, and the quote is, none of us will build great companies. We will lead incredible people who will build great companies. You either agree with that or you don't… It's a choice. It's a conscious choice."

S02E06 of the Rethink Culture podcast shines the spotlight on Canadian entrepreneur Ron Lovett, CEO and chief community officer of VIDA Living, author of ‘Scaling Culture’ and ‘Outrageous Empowerment’, as well as podcast host of the Scaling Culture podcast.

Ron kickstarted his entrepreneurial journey at 21 with a security guard company based in Halifax, which he grew to 3500+ staff across Canada and sold at a 24x multiple. The purpose of VIDA Living, his current company, is to revolutionize affordable communities across North America. Ron is also the father of three kids and a huge foodie.

The podcast is created by Rethink Culture. Our goal is to help 1 million businesses create healthier, happier cultures, by turning culture into a KPI. Visit rethinkculture.co to see how you can create a healthier culture at your company.

Production, video, and audio editing by Evangelia Alexaki of Musicove Productions.

Listen to this episode to find out:

• What was Ron’s “aha” moment when he realized he needed a new leadership style and to focus on culture.
• Why he wrote ‘Outrageous Empowerment’, his first book, about an impactful life chapter from starting to selling his first company.
• How Ron spends time with new hires as well as employees to establish and maintain connections.
• How Ron uses daily team huddles, Friday value calls, and the VIDA Vibe Check survey.
• What those strange words mean and how to apply them: “instimacy” and “funishments”.
• Why alignment with the company values is crucial, and how to screen, onboard, coach, and praise.
• Why vulnerability is bravery and why leaders must know when to speak first or last.

Further resources:

• The Song of Significance: A New Manifesto for Teams, by Seth Godin: https://www.amazon.com/Song-Significance-New-Manifesto-Teams/dp/0593715543 
• Nuts!: Southwest Airlines' Crazy Recipe for Business and Personal Success, by Kevin Freiberg and Jackie Freiberg: https://www.amazon.com/Nuts-Southwest-Airlines-Business-Personal/dp/0767901843 
• Uncommon Service: How to Win by Putting Customers at the Core of Your Business, by Frances Frei and Anne Morriss: https://www.amazon.com/Uncommon-Service-Putting-Customers-Business/dp/1422133311
• Outrageous Empowerment: The Incredible Story of Giving Employees Their Brains Back, by Ron Lovett: https://www.amazon.com/Outrageous-Empowerment-Incredible-Giving-Employees/dp/198299889X
• Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike, by Phil Knight: https://www.amazon.com/Shoe-Dog-Memoir-Creator-Nike/dp/1501135910
• Scaling Culture: How to Build and Sustain a Resilient, High-Performing Organization, by Ron Lovett: https://www.amazon.com/Scaling-Culture-Resilient-High-Performing-Organization/dp/1544528558  
• Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don't, by Jim Collins: https://www.amazon.com/Good-Great-Some-Companies-Others/dp/0066620996 
• Principles: Life and Work, by Ray Dalio: https://www.amazon.com/Principles-Life-Work-Ray-Dalio/dp/1501124021 
• BE 2.0 (Beyond Entrepreneurship 2.0): Turning Your Business into an Enduring Great Company, by Jim Collins: https://www.amazon.com/BE-2-0-Beyond-Entrepreneurship-Business/dp/0399564233 
• HBR's 10 Must Reads on Talent, by Harvard Business Review: https://www.amazon.com/Talent-Building-Game-Changing-Strategy-Douglas/dp/1647824583

“You lead human beings and human beings have lives and sometimes those lives are going really well and other times are dealing with challenges. Recognize the humanity in the people that you lead… If we lean in with curiosity and lean in with compassion first and we make people feel like they are genuinely cared about and valued as part of our team, you will see people accomplish things that you just wouldn't imagine. Creating culture starts from genuinely caring about the people that are on your team and that needs to be genuine.”

S02E05 of the Rethink Culture podcast shines the spotlight on Brian Brault, founder of Legacy of Significance, who recently sold his business Pure Wellness Rooms. Previously, he led Advanced Facility Services, which was named one of the best places to work for in western New York. He has served as Global Chair of the Entrepreneurs' Organization; he is currently one of the Formators of the Leadership Academy Program and leading the Entrepreneurial Masters Program.

Brian always looks for the good in people and recognizes the humanity in everyone. He’s passionate about helping people to live their best life, inspiring happiness, and developing managers and companies to be effective in their roles. In this episode he talks about creating a culture of collaboration and accountability, while also nurturing compassion and supporting vulnerability. 

The podcast is created by Rethink Culture. Our goal is to help 1 million businesses create healthier, happier cultures, through data. Visit rethinkculture.co to see how you can create a healthier culture at your company.

Production, video, and audio editing by Evangelia Alexaki of Musicove Productions.

Listen to this episode to find out:

• What inspired the founding of the Legacy of Significance.
• How Brian restructured Advanced Facility Services into 5 businesses with an overseeing leadership team, growing it from 100 to 300 employees in 3 years.
• How a leader shifting from positional to relational authority affects the culture of an organization.
• How to approach the 3 questions a leader must ensure the people they’re leading can answer.
• What EO leadership and mentoring under Jeff Hoffman and Warren Rustand taught Brian about a leader’s confidence. 
• Why emotional intelligence is one of the top qualities of a great leader today.
• Why vulnerability and accountability are key components of leading teams.
• How Brian responded to a challenge Pure Wellness Rooms faced by allowing his team to be part of the solution.
• What the Red Shoe moments are and how Brian and his team aim to improve lives.

Further resources:

• Discover Your True North, by Bill George: https://www.amazon.com/Discover-Your-True-North-George/dp/1119082943 
• The Power of Vulnerability, by Brené Brown: https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Power-of-Vulnerability-Audiobook/B00CYKDYBQ 

“In the first 100 days in most organizations, employees feel overwhelmed. They feel unconnected. They feel unseen, unheard, unappreciated … I think lots of times leaders will say, well, it will be better if we're all back in the office. Why? What proof do you have? What data do you have? Because as we look anecdotally at anecdata or we look systemically or statistically at research data, it seems to indicate that the great majority of employees are happier working remotely than want to work in the office, and that pretty much cuts across all industries.”

S02E04 of the Rethink Culture podcast shines the spotlight on Joey Coleman, a professional speaker and author who teaches people how to keep their employees and customers. He's the author of the book “Never Lose an Employee Again.” In addition to being an avid reader and Lego builder, he is a daring adventurer who has sailed around the globe, raced along the Great Wall of China, and visited every continent.

Joey's passion for employee retention is fuelled by his diverse career experiences, including working for the government, the CIA, various law firms, and in academia. Joey believes that having a keen understanding of the human condition is crucial for success in business, leadership, and employee roles.

The podcast is created by Rethink Culture. Our goal is to help 1 million businesses create healthier, happier cultures, through data. Visit rethinkculture.co to see how you can create a healthier culture at your company.

Production, video, and audio editing by Evangelia Alexaki of Musicove Productions.

Listen to this episode to find out:

·       What elements of a workplace encourage employees to stay on their job.

·       How remote work enhances employee engagement, productivity, and happiness, and can work as effectively as in-office. 

·       Why the first 100 days of an employee's onboarding into an organization are the most crucial.

·       Why the concept of Human Resource Management (HR) needs to change away from the term that considers people as resources.

·       What qualities make Sir Richard Branson a role model for Joey, and what qualities define a servant leader.

·       The importance of values, and the importance, as well as challenge, of being driven by them in both work and personal level.

·       How Joey prefers to award prizes to his audience via email without overwhelming them with unsolicited messages.

·       Why leaders should be strategic about building personal bonds, and elevating individuals and teams within organizational structures.

Further resources:

·       Never Lose a Customer Again: Turn Any Sale into Lifelong Loyalty in 100 Days, by Joey Coleman: https://www.amazon.com/Never-Lose-Customer-Again-Lifelong/dp/0735220034 

·       Never Lose an Employee Again: The Simple Path to Remarkable Retention, by Joey Coleman: https://www.amazon.com/Never-Lose-Employee-Again-Remarkable/dp/059354238X 

·       Never Enough: When Achievement Culture Becomes Toxic-and What We Can Do About It, by Jennifer Breheny Wallace: https://www.amazon.com/Never-Enough-Achievement-Culture-Toxic/dp/0593191862

·       A Gentleman in Moscow: A Novel, by Amor Towles: https://www.amazon.com/Gentleman-Moscow-Novel-Amor-Towles/dp/0670026190 

"Culture is not about popcorn, peanuts, ping pong. It's about having a heart of gold and a backbone of steel. […] Be a caring organization […] It's a balance between being tough minded and tenderhearted. […] It's simple, it's not easy, and time is not your friend."

Episode S02E03 of the Rethink Culture podcast shines the spotlight on the incredible Garry Ridge. Garry is a “champion-of-hope” leader and has defined culture at the WD-40 Company for an impressive 35 years. He is currently serving as Chairman Emeritus at WD-40.

As the founder of The Learning Moment and an executive coach, Garry has dedicated his career to making the world a happier place by consulting leaders on how to create caring organizations. 

There is so much to unpack in this episode. Get ready to be inspired and acquire valuable knowledge from one of the industry's most respected leaders.

Listen to this episode to find out:

·       What are the ingredients that should go into the Petri Dish of Culture

·       Who is The Soul-Sucking CEO of Fear Inc

·       Which are the Four Pillars of Care

·       What is The Learning Moment

·       What are The Habits of a Servant Leader

·       Why Garry's four values are Hope, Harmony, Optimism, and Confidence

·       What influence Garry’s Dad, Mom and his employer Mr. Lambert had on him

·       Why we should call it Culture & Capabilities instead of HR

·       About the tribal culture they built in WD-40

·       And many, many more

Further resources:

Books:

·       The One Minute Manager, by Dr. Ken Blanchard

·       Helping People Win at Work, by Garry Ridge and Ken Blanchard

·       Multipliers, by Liz Wiseman

·       All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, by Robert Fulghum

·       To Be Honest, by Ron A. Carucci

·       What Got You Here Won't Get You There, by Marshall Goldsmith

·       The Song of Significance, by Seth Godin

Garry’s Info:

·       Website: thelearningmoment.net 

·       LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/garryridge

The podcast is created by Rethink Culture. Our goal is to help 1 million businesses create healthier, happier cultures, through data. Visit http://rethinkculture.co to see how you can create a healthier culture at your company.

Production, video and audio editing by Musicove.

“The thing to be careful about, which always worried me, was just drinking your own Kool-Aid too much… “strong convictions, loosely held” the value of the company, which means that this is our culture, this is how we do things. We're very, very committed to this... if you come along and you speak a truth that's going to improve or… invalidate something in here we are not attached to it. We will throw it out and adopt your truth... So I think it's extremely important… when creating your culture to make sure you don't become so attached to it that it's just one big group thing.”

S02E02 of the Rethink Culture podcast shines the spotlight on Byron Darlison, the visionary founder of Rise – a cutting-edge Canadian content management firm for digital signage. He has spent a lot of time thinking about culture and organizing the business for efficiency. Byron unravels three impressive decades of invaluable insights in under 45 minutes, making every moment a treasure trove of wisdom.

Discover how Byron seamlessly integrates Peter Drucker's concept of performance agreements with Kim Scott's skip-level review framework and witness the transformation of mundane quarterly planning into an exciting game. Byron ingeniously incentivizes his team by turning goal achievement into a joyous celebration, complete with cash rewards and a dedicated Slack channel known as the "Happy Room."

The episode delves deep into Byron's personal evolution as a leader, highlighting his journey of overcoming biases and fostering an environment where employees thrive. Explore how he masterfully built a team of domain experts, empowering them to channel their focus, creativity, and productivity while staying out of their way.

Listen to this episode to find out:

·       Why at Rise employees either exit after the first year or stay for a very long time.

·       Why when shaping your organizational culture, it’s crucial to have “strong convictions, loosely held” and avoid becoming too attached to it.

·       How having experienced and knowledgeable employees and empowering them to excel defined the uniqueness of Rise.

·       What makes Rise special and what the words “focus, discipline, and cadence” mean for Byron.

·       How to tackle the Peter Principle using radical candor while also ensuring employees are in roles where they feel content.

·       How Byron extended the “Rocks and Sand” concept even further.

·       What is the practicality behind the concept of a functional accountability chart.

·       Byron's personal favorites among the myriad frameworks he has explored and implemented, such as Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS), Scaling Up, 3HAG, StoryBrand, Topgrading, and more.

·       What Shannon Susko's strategic functional and hiring swimlanes are.

·       How Byron gamified the quarterly theme, injecting fun and uniqueness into the workplace.

·       Byron’s invaluable lesson on leadership: focus on one task at a time, and never underestimate the importance of punctuality in meetings.

Further resources:

·       Radical Candor, by Kim Scott: https://www.amazon.com/Radical-Candor-Revised-Kick-Ass-Humanity-ebook/dp/B07P9LPXPT/ 

·       3HAG WAY, by Shannon Susko: https://www.amazon.com/3HAG-WAY-Strategic-Execution-Wild-Ass-Guess-ebook/dp/B07C7RGVD2 

·       Topgrading, by Bradford D. Smart, Ph.D.: https://www.amazon.com/Topgrading-Hire-Coach-Keep-Players-ebook/dp/B09GS9GT25/ 

·       Building a StoryBrand, by Donald Miller: https://www.amazon.com/Building-StoryBrand-Clarify-Message-Customers-ebook/dp/B06XFJ2JGR/ 

·       The Six Week Cycle, by Basecamp: https://3.basecamp-help.com/article/35-the-six-week-cycle 

"I always think of culture like a garden. […] We're always in the middle of the journey. There's no real finish line to culture. It's always like that garden. You're always replanting it. You're always finding new crops. You're finding a new kind of seed to plant. And sometimes it doesn't work out and it's a failure. That's OK, too. There's learning in that as well."

S02E01 of the Rethink Culture podcast shines the spotlight on Erik Lilla, the Founder and CEO of Metro Star Gymnastics, a large gymnastics company that celebrated its sweet 16th anniversary in January 2023 and teaches over 3,000 people per week. Erik’s “why” statement is “to coach and inspire others so we can celebrate their success,” and he has built such a strong culture that members of his staff are getting Metro Star Gymnastics logo tattoos.

Listen to this episode to find out:

·       How consolidating, launching, highlighting core values, and using customer-focused welcome boxes helped Metro Star Gymnastics attract a good culture fit in team members as well as customers. 

·       How EO's Entrepreneurial Master's Program shifted Erik's mindset from contrarian counterculture to culture enthusiast.

·       How Erik applies the “learn and grow” value to his company by providing monthly hands-on training and an annual learning-day Summit to his staff. 

·       What the High Five board is, how it represents the Metro Star Gymnastics core values and how it is used in a card-giving program to show staff appreciation.

·       What makes Erik’s staff members want to get a tattoo of the Metro Star Gymnastics logo.

·       How Erik practices the “confidence with humility” core value by taking a facility-by-facility monthly net promoter score.

·       Why culture, your “why” statement, and your authentic self must be central to everything you do. 

·       How Erik's team makes decisions collectively and each member is responsible for culture.

Further resources:
 The Song of Significance: A New Manifesto for Teams, by Seth Godin

https://www.amazon.com/Song-Significance-New-Manifesto-Teams/dp/0593715543 

“Is it companies who put employees first? Do they perform better than companies who put customers first? Or those that put stakeholders first?. I thought it was a fundamental question needed to be answered. And the answer [the came through John Kotter’s research] surprised everybody… The companies that outperformed by a factor of 10 were those that treated all 3 equally. That the employees, customers, and shareholders were all like a 3-legged stool.”

S01E12 of the Rethink Culture podcast shines the spotlight on Verne Harnish, founder of the world-renowned Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) with 18,000 members globally, and CEO of Scaling Up, a global executive education and coaching company, and author of several books, including Mastering the Rockefeller Habits, and Scaling Up Compensation.

Listen to find out:
- how would Verne write a book about culture and its first three chapters 
- why every company is strange, as it tries to align its particular culture with the people that fit it.
- why you shouldn’t try to mess with the culture of an organisation after the first 5 years
- why we need to replace the word leadership with the word “careship”
- why people don’t want to be managed or led, but coached. 
- why language is a key component of a culture

Further references:
- Verne Harnish on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/verneharnish/
- Scaling Up: https://scalingup.com/
- Entrepreneurs Organization (EO): https://growth.eonetwork.org/

Books referenced:
- “Change to Strange: Create a Great Organization by Building a Strange Workforce” by Daniel M. Cable: https://www.amazon.com/Change-Strange-Organization-Building-Workforce/dp/0131572229
- “Scaling Up: How a Few Companies Make It...and Why the Rest Don't” by Verne Harnish: https://www.amazon.com/Scaling-Up-Companies-Rockefeller-Habits/dp/0986019526
- “Corporate Culture and Performance” by John P. Kotter and James L. Heskett: https://www.amazon.com/Corporate-Culture-Performance-John-Kotter/dp/1451655320
- Culture Renovation: 18 Leadership Actions to Build an Unshakeable Company by Kevin Oakes https://www.amazon.com/Culture-Renovation-Leadership-Actions-Unshakeable/dp/1260464369
- The Heart of Business: Leadership Principles for the Next Era of Capitalism by Hubert Joly https://www.amazon.com/Heart-Business-Leadership-Principles-Capitalism/dp/B09156FL17/ref=sr_1_1?crid=E77JU5VTTTZH
- “Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time” by Jeff Sutherland and J.J. Sutherland: https://www.amazon.com/Scrum-Doing-Twice-Work-Half/dp/038534645X
- “Elon Musk” by Walter Isaacson: https://www.amazon.com/Elon-Musk-Walter-Isaacson/dp/1982181281

“I think that culture has always been there […] There are two fish swimming in a pond, and a bigger fish swims past them and says, “How's the water?”. And when he swims away, the fish look at each other and say, “What's water?” […] Culture is always there. It's always around you. You can feel it, but you don't even realize you're in it.”

S01E11 of the Rethink Culture podcast shines the spotlight on Miren Oca, the visionary behind the Ocaquatics swim school in Miami, a business whose primary customers are its own employees and for whom culture is the real competitive advantage.

Listen to find out:
- How Miren founded Ocaquatics when her life took an unexpected turn at 19.
- How growing up in a restaurant shaped Miren’s commitment to customer service and her passion to teach people
- What makes Ocaquatics' hiring process unique, and Miren’s worst firing mistake
- Why Ocaquatics is not a family but a high performance sports team
- The Leadership Ocademy, providing leadership skills like meditation, financial literacy, and soft skills like emotional literacy.
- Why it’s important to really be intentional about the kind of culture that you want
- What steps Ocaquatics took to attain their B Corp Certification, failing first before succeeding
- How Miren and her team turned a one-star Google review into a wealth of five-star feedback while having lots of fun
- The long term commitment to culture: “we want to have such a great business that you would want your children to work with us”

Further references:
- Miren Oca on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/miren-oca-80561261/
- Ocaquatics: https://www.ocaquatics.com/

Books referenced:
- "Delivering Happiness" by Tony Hsieh: https://www.amazon.com/Delivering-Happiness-Profits-Passion-Purpose/dp/0446576220
- "The E-Myth Revisited" by Michael Gerber: https://www.amazon.com/Myth-Revisited-Small-Businesses-About/dp/0887307280
- "Integrity" by Henry Cloud: https://www.amazon.com/Integrity-Courage-Meet-Demands-Reality/dp/006084969X
- "Atomic Habits" by James Clear: https://www.amazon.com/Atomic-Habits-Proven-Build-Break/dp/0735211299
- "The Infinite Game" by Simon Sinek: https://www.amazon.com/Infinite-Game-Simon-Sinek/dp/073521350X

“Who you choose as your partner, what you choose as your vacation or your place of work, or the community you choose to live in, I think if these are not aligned to your values, you have a very low chance of success in the long run.”

S01E10 of the Rethink Culture podcast shines the spotlight on Robert Glazer, founder and chairman of Acceleration Partners, a global affiliate marketing agency that’s recognized by the Glassdoor Employee Choice Awards for two years in a row. He's also the author of six books including Elevate and How to Thrive in the Virtual Workplace. Robert is the host of the very successful the Elevate Podcast and the Friday Forward newsletter, which reaches 200,000 subscribers.

Robert has a lot to say about how culture intersects with core values. He describes how he was inspired to build a company with a strong culture due to past negative experiences in high-growth venture-backed businesses. For Glazer, culture is what you do, not what you say - and he’s proud of creating a culture where what the company thinks, says, and does are in alignment. He describes how Acceleration Partners has a unique culture that fits only 1-2% of people that subscribe to their three company values - own it, embrace relationships, excel and improve - and how he’s worked over the years to distill the company values down to the essential three. And how he prefers to have a candid conversation and fire fast when a person is not the right culture fit.  He talks a lot about cultivating vulnerability within an organisation, but drawing a fine line between emotionally transparent and overly emotional, or the “drama” that might erode trust within a team. And why developing an authentic foundation grounded in core values is essential in becoming a level four or five leader.

Listen to Rethink Culture wherever you get your favourite podcasts, including:  

(Spotify)  https://open.spotify.com/show/4BLXQ8CgFHvYG6UoIQazj9  

(Apple podcasts)  https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/rethink-culture/id1655123154

(YouTube)  https://www.youtube.com/@rethinkculture 

Further references:  

Robert Glazer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/glazer

Acceleration Partners: https://www.accelerationpartners.com/

Acceleration Partners on Glassdoor: https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Acceleration-Partners-Reviews-E775757.htm

Books referenced: 

Mistakes Were Done But Not By Me https://www.amazon.com/Mistakes-Were-Made-But-Not/dp/1491514132