You are not average — and your culture can't be either. This episode of Culture-Neer is one of the most compelling conversations we've had about what it actually looks like to build a culture where people don't just show up — they thrive.

Host Terry Gwaltney sits down with Dr. Dave Hataj — second-generation owner of Edgerton Gear in Wisconsin, founder of Craftsman with Character, author, speaker, and one of the nation's leading voices restoring dignity to skilled and blue-collar work. While companies across America struggle with staffing shortages, disengaged employees, and high turnover, Edgerton Gear is fully staffed, has virtually no turnover, and the average employee is in their early 30s. The secret? Believing that character matters more than competence, and that good work forms good people.

Dave's story starts in a dark place — a family business plagued by alcoholism, a toxic shop culture, and a young man who wanted nothing to do with any of it. But after seven years away, a calling he couldn't ignore, and mentors who helped him see what was possible, Dave came back and built something entirely different. This conversation is raw, honest, and full of practical wisdom for any leader who wants to use their business as a place of healing, purpose, and legacy.

In this episode, you'll discover:

Why hiring for character over competence is the single most important cultural decision you can make

How Dave transformed a toxic, broken shop culture into a place people refuse to leave

The powerful practice of blessing and affirming people — and why it's the number one thing a leader can do on the floor

Why every tradesman, plumber, machinist, and blue-collar worker is in full-time ministry

How your own unresolved dysfunction as a leader shapes your company's culture more than any strategy ever will

📖 Pickup one of David’s Books here at his website: https://www.davehataj.com/books

📖 Pick up Terry's book Culture-neer: Building a Team That Beats the Odds: https://www.amazon.com/Culture-neer-Building-Team-That-Beats-ebook/dp/B0CW198LN6

🌐 Connect with Terry at: https://terrygwaltney.com/connect/

We want to thank you for tuning in to the Culture-neer podcast. And we need your help to get this show in front of more leaders who can use a weekly dose of inspiration and encouragement.

Don't forget to subscribe, like, and share to help spread the message.

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Main Quote:

"We build culture one conversation at a time, one coaching moment, one difficult decision, one relationship at a time."

Email us with any questions, comments, or suggestions at [email protected]

You are not average — and your culture can't be either. This episode of Culture-Neer is a masterclass in what it looks like when a leader's values, faith, and life experiences converge into something truly transformational.

Host Terry Gwaltney sits down with Douglas Shaw — founder of Douglas Shaw & Associates, author, and one of the most respected voices in nonprofit fundraising and leadership development. Over four decades, Douglas has helped raise hundreds of millions of dollars for ministries and organizations around the world. But his story doesn't start there. It starts in a 25x25 Boeing packing crate in Washington State, with no electricity, a Coleman lantern, and a hunger to become something more.

In this conversation, Douglas unpacks his new book Curative Culture: Stepping Away from a Toxic Workplace — and why the culture you build at work doesn't stay at work. It follows people home. It shapes families. It either heals or harms the people entrusted to your leadership. This one is for every leader who has ever tolerated a toxic high-performer, struggled to articulate their core values, or wondered what servant leadership actually looks like in practice.

In this episode, you'll discover:

How Douglas went from poverty and a Boeing packing crate to raising hundreds of millions for global ministries

Why Robert Greenleaf's Servant Leadership and Max DePree's teachings changed everything about how Douglas leads

The hard truth about toxic cultures: you either create them or you allow them

Why values answer a different question than mission and vision — and why that distinction matters

📖 Pick up Terry's book Culture-neer: Building a Team That Beats the Odds: https://www.amazon.com/Culture-neer-Building-Team-That-Beats-ebook/dp/B0CW198LN6

🌐 Visit Terry at: https://www.terrygwaltney.com

We want to thank you for tuning in to the Culture-neer podcast. And we need your help to get this show in front of more leaders who can use a weekly dose of inspiration and encouragement.

Email us with any questions, comments, or suggestions at [email protected]

Don't forget to subscribe, like, and share to help spread the message.

💬 Let us know your biggest takeaway in the comments!

Review us on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-culture-neer-podcast/id1725507226

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Share — let your friends know about the podcast by sharing your favorite episode on social media!

Main Quote:

"Mission and vision answer the question, 'What do you do for a living?' Values answer the question, 'How does it feel to work in your company?'"

Email us with any questions, comments, or suggestions at [email protected]

You are not average — and your culture can't be either. This episode of Culture-neer is a challenge for every leader who has ever said "God owns my business" but still wakes up at 3 a.m. carrying the weight of it alone.

Host Terry Gwaltney gets real about a lesson he wishes he had learned much earlier: there is a profound difference between being an owner and being a steward — and that difference changes everything about how you lead, how you decide, and how you rest.

Terry unpacks the triple bottom line that every Kingdom-minded leader should be measuring: Profit, People, and Purpose. Not one. Not two. All three. Because if your company is winning but the people inside it are losing, that's not Kingdom success.

If you've been carrying burdens you were never designed to carry, or building a business while slowly losing the people who matter most, this episode will give you a new lens — and a new freedom.

In this episode, you'll discover:

Why saying "God owns my business" and actually leading that way are two very different things

How stewardship creates freedom while ownership creates burnout

Why profit is like oxygen — necessary, but never the purpose

The harder question every leader must ask: what's happening to the people who work for you?

How to build a culture your employees refuse to leave and your customers demand

We want to thank you for tuning in to the Culture-neer podcast. And we need your help to get this show in front of more leaders who can use a weekly dose of inspiration and encouragement.

Grab your copy of Culture-neer today!

https://terrygwaltney.com/culture-neer-3/

Get in touch with us today!

https://terrygwaltney.com/connect/

Don't forget to subscribe, like, and share to help spread the message.

💬 Let us know your biggest takeaway in the comments!

Review us on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-culture-neer-podcast/id1725507226

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Share — let your friends know about the podcast by sharing your favorite episode on social media!

Main Quote:

"If the company is winning but people are losing, that's not Kingdom success. People are not just assets. They're not just resources. People are eternal — and we need to treat them like they are."

Email us with any questions, comments, or suggestions at [email protected]

Contact us at [email protected]

You are not average—and your culture can’t be either. This episode of Culture-Neer is a wake-up call for leaders who find themselves caught in the tension between building something significant at work and staying present at home.

We sit down with Travis Penfield—founder of 49 Financial, entrepreneur, and host of The Tension podcast. But Travis’s story isn’t just about building successful businesses. It’s about the slow fade into pride and materialism, and the devastating brain tumor at age 26 that forced a total reset of his life, his leadership, and his legacy.

This conversation goes deep: the difference between success and significance, why culture shouldn't equal tenure as you scale, and the profound marriage advice he received from golf legend Jack Nicklaus that reshaped how he leads. If you’ve ever wondered if your ambition is costing you your peace, or if you're struggling to maintain your organization's values while driving results, this episode will meet you right where you are.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

•What happens when a life-threatening diagnosis forces you to re-evaluate your legacy

•The "99% Give, 1% Take" mindset that transforms marriages and leadership

•Why scaling a company creates a constant tension between values and results

•How to ensure your company culture welcomes newcomers instead of just protecting veterans

•Why every founder and CEO must remain the "Chief Cultural Officer"

We want to thank you for tuning in to the Culture-neer podcast. And we need your help to get this show in front of more leaders who can use a weekly dose of inspiration and encouragement. Here are three simple ways you can do that…

Don’t forget to subscribe, like, and share to help spread the message.

💬 Let us know your biggest takeaway in the comments!

Review us on Apple podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-culture-neer-podcast/id1725507226

Subscribe—we’re available wherever you listen to podcasts

Share—let your friends know about the podcast by sharing your favorite episode on social media!

Main Quote:

"Culture equals how we are as human beings and how we make decisions and how we show up for people."

Email us with any questions, comments, or suggestions at [email protected]

Contact us at [email protected]

What would change about the way you lead if you actually believed God was in the room with you every decision you made? In this solo leadership training episode, Terry Gwaltney challenges business owners, managers, and everyday leaders to stop separating their Sunday faith from their Monday work. This is not a devotional. It is a practical, conviction-driven look at what kingdom leadership actually looks like inside a business — how it changes the way you treat people, handle pressure, make decisions, and build culture. From the tension between control and surrender to the power of small moments that build or break trust, this episode will shift the lens through which you see your role as a leader and the organization you are building.

Main Quote:

Who is leading you while you are leading others? Because every leader is being led by something.

Learn more in Terry's book, Culture-neer

🔔 Subscribe for weekly leadership content

Don’t forget to subscribe, like, and share to help spread the message.💬

Let us know your biggest takeaway in the comments!

Review us on Apple podcasts. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-culture-neer-podcast/id17255072262

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Email us with any questions, comments, or suggestions at [email protected]

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Ken Ham — founder of Answers in Genesis, the Creation Museum, and the Ark Encounter — joins Terry Gualtney for a conversation that goes far deeper than creation and evolution. Ken unpacks why the real battle in culture isn't at the worldview level, it's at the foundation. He shares how his father's unwillingness to compromise shaped his entire ministry, what it takes to step out in faith when you have no money and no roadmap, and why the principles that built a $120 million ark apply just as much to building a healthy organization. Whether you lead a team, a company, or a ministry, this episode will challenge you to examine what your leadership — and your culture — is actually built on.

Main Quote:

"Whatever you're doing, you're doing for the Lord. Do it with excellence — because it's for the Lord that you're doing it."

Don’t forget to subscribe, like, and share to help spread the message.💬

Let us know your biggest takeaway in the comments!

Review us on Apple podcasts. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-culture-neer-podcast/id17255072262

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Share—let your friends know about the podcast by sharing your favorite episode on social media!

Email us with any questions, comments, or suggestions at [email protected]

Contact us at [email protected]

Gregg Dedrick spent 30 years at the highest levels of corporate leadership — as President of KFC, a key architect behind the Yum! Brands launch, and a force in revitalizing major brands like Denny's. By every visible measure, he was winning. But beneath the success was a leader running dry. In this conversation, Gregg opens up about the moment he hit a wall, what God showed him about self-sufficiency, and how everything changed when he stopped doing things for God and started doing them with him. He also shares what it looks like to lead a company as a sacred calling, why culture ripples instead of scales, and how he now defines legacy after a life built in the boardroom and the church. This is one of the most honest and substantive leadership conversations we've had on the podcast.

Learn more in Terry's book, Culture-neer

🔔 Subscribe for weekly leadership content

Main Quote:

Mission says this is what we do. Vision says this is where we're going.

Don’t forget to subscribe, like, and share to help spread the message.💬

Let us know your biggest takeaway in the comments!

Review us on Apple podcasts. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-culture-neer-podcast/id17255072262

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Share—let your friends know about the podcast by sharing your favorite episode on social media!

Email us with any questions, comments, or suggestions at [email protected]

Contact us at [email protected]

Talent, opportunity, and hard work still aren't enough if your people can't see where you're going. In this episode, Terry Gwaltney walks through what it really means to cast vision — not as a one-time speech, but as an ongoing discipline that shapes your culture, your hiring, and the way your people show up every day. If you want a team that's engaged, aligned, and moving in the same direction, this conversation is for you.

Topics covered:

- The difference between mission, vision, and culture

- Why vision has to be repeated, not just announced

- How to communicate a future your people can see themselves in

- What Blockbuster, Western Union, and Walt Disney teach us about vision

Learn more in Terry's book, Culture-neer

🔔 Subscribe for weekly leadership content

Main Quote:

Mission says this is what we do. Vision says this is where we're going.

Don’t forget to subscribe, like, and share to help spread the message.💬

Let us know your biggest takeaway in the comments!

Review us on Apple podcasts. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-culture-neer-podcast/id17255072262

Subscribe—we’re available wherever you listen to podcasts

Share—let your friends know about the podcast by sharing your favorite episode on social media!

Email us with any questions, comments, or suggestions at [email protected]

Contact us at [email protected]

In this episode of the Culture-Neer Podcast, Terry sits down with Jeanna Roach, CEO of Betenbough Companies—a faith-driven organization redefining what it means to lead in the marketplace.

Jenna shares her journey from public relations to leading a multi-entity business with over 400 employees, and how humility, identity, and faith became the foundation of her leadership.

This conversation dives deep into:

• Building a culture that truly impacts people

• Integrating faith into everyday business decisions

• The truth about “sacred vs. secular” work

• Leading with humility and identity

• What it looks like to reveal God through business

If you're a leader, entrepreneur, or someone trying to align your work with your faith—this episode will challenge and inspire you.

If you want to build a company that stands above the competition, attracts loyal customers, and develops a reputation people trust, you cannot rely on effort alone.

You must build a culture of excellence.

Because the truth is simple:

Legendary companies aren’t built by accident.They’re built by leaders who refuse to accept the average.

We want to thank you for tuning in to the Culture-neer podcast. And we need your help to get this show in front of more leaders who can use a weekly dose of inspiration and encouragement. Here are three simple ways you can do that…

Don’t forget to subscribe, like, and share to help spread the message.💬

Let us know your biggest takeaway in the comments!

Review us on Apple podcasts. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-culture-neer-podcast/id17255072262

Subscribe—we’re available wherever you listen to podcasts

Share—let your friends know about the podcast by sharing your favorite episode on social media!

Contact us at [email protected]

What separates legendary companies from average ones?

It’s not intelligence.It’s not luck.It’s standards.

In this episode of Culture-Neer, Terry breaks down one of the most important leadership principles for entrepreneurs and business owners: excellence is not a talent — it’s a system.

Many leaders believe success comes from hustle alone. Hustle may help you start, but it won’t help you scale. Legendary companies are built on intentional standards, clear systems, and a culture that refuses to tolerate mediocrity.

In this conversation, Terry explains:

• Why excellence must be defined and operationalized

• How standards shape reputation

• The difference between hustle and systems

• Why companies that tolerate mediocrity always stay average

• The hidden cost of poor culture and weak leadership

• Why customer experience will never exceed employee experience

• How leaders unintentionally create cultures of mediocrity

• Why clarity is the real job of leadership

• How excellence compounds like interest over time

If you want to build a company that stands above the competition, attracts loyal customers, and develops a reputation people trust, you cannot rely on effort alone.

You must build a culture of excellence.

Because the truth is simple:

Legendary companies aren’t built by accident.They’re built by leaders who refuse to accept the average.

We want to thank you for tuning in to the Culture-neer podcast. And we need your help to get this show in front of more leaders who can use a weekly dose of inspiration and encouragement. Here are three simple ways you can do that…

Don’t forget to subscribe, like, and share to help spread the message.💬

Let us know your biggest takeaway in the comments!

Review us on Apple podcasts. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-culture-neer-podcast/id17255072262

Subscribe—we’re available wherever you listen to podcasts

Share—let your friends know about the podcast by sharing your favorite episode on social media!

Email us with any questions, comments, or suggestions at [email protected]