Most HR leaders inherit a system. Cory Rose inherited a vacuum. Stepping into Eyecare Services Partners as CHRO with no predecessor for 18 months, a brand new C-suite, 1,500 employees across multiple states, and a core HR team of four, she had every reason to play it safe. Instead, she got on a plane. In this conversation, Cory breaks down her "collect, gather, go" philosophy, why she flew to a remote practice in Redding, California before building a single initiative, how she ran a five-question SurveyMonkey engagement survey that outperformed anything a big consulting firm had done, and why translating people metrics into EBITDA language is the only way HR gets a seat at the PE table. If you lead a lean HR team inside a fast-moving organization, this one's for you.

Timestamps:

00:00 Collect Gather Go Mindset

00:25 Meet Cory And The Challenge

01:34 Interviewing Into Change

04:06 Diagnosing The Field Reality

06:29 Fixing Systems With A PEO

09:17 Building One Culture Many Practices

11:58 Redding Visit And Trust Building

14:56 Survey Action And Follow Through

16:26 Authentic Leadership Follow Through

17:17 Accountability Through Surveys

17:53 Trust Updates Even When None

19:21 Balancing PE And Culture

21:33 Translate People Metrics To EBITDA

23:19 Leading Transformation As A Team

26:23 Managing Urgency With Team Charter

28:29 Lightning Round CHRO And IPO

31:05 Healthcare Workforce Future

32:16 Wrap Up And Where To Connect

Follow Chester & Adrian:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thecultureworksofficial/

Website: https://thecultureworks.com/

Connect with Cory: 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/coryrose/

Website: https://www.espmgmt.com/leadership/cory-rose/

Most wellness programs fail because they're just policies and gym reimbursements. Tiffany Nugent, Chief People Officer at Concert Health and owner of SALT Wellness, learned this the hard way after being hit by a car and recovering while leading 11,000 healthcare employees through COVID. In this conversation, Tiffany shares her philosophy of reflective leadership, why psychological safety is the universal foundation for high performance, how AI is creating HR's biggest strategic opportunity in decades, and what it actually takes to build cultures where people thrive instead of just survive. A refreshingly honest look at what real human-centered leadership requires.

Timestamps:

[00:00:00] Opening: Curiosity sparks innovation and change

[00:01:25] Welcome and Tiffany's dual role as CPO and wellness center owner

[00:02:00] Getting hit by a car and the journey to opening SALT Wellness

[00:03:05] Career journey from healthcare to tech to behavioral health

[00:06:20] Why Concert Health and collaborative behavioral care

[00:09:15] Building human-centered workplaces: What does thriving really mean?

[00:11:00] Leadership as privilege and responsibility

[00:13:50] Psychological safety as the universal foundation

[00:16:20] The biggest mistakes CHROs make with wellbeing programs

[00:18:15] What's really going on when leaders get stuck

[00:19:45] Leading from authenticity and dealing with difficult people

[00:22:05] Courage and curiosity as leadership requirements

[00:24:05] What CHROs should focus on with AI disruption

[00:26:15] Lightning round begins

[00:28:35] Where to connect with Tiffany

[00:28:50] Final advice for burned-out HR leaders

Follow Tiffany, Chester & Adrian:

Connect with Chester & Adrian: 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thecultureworksofficial/

Website: https://thecultureworks.com/

Connect with Tiffany: 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tiffanynugent/

Website: https://www.saltwellnessky.com/

An 80-point engagement swing in three months sounds impossible, but Bruce Nichols did it at Liberty Mutual by doing something radical: he stopped pushing culture from the top down. As a partner at The Human Resource Consortium and former HR leader at companies like Liberty Mutual, Fidelity, and Citizens Bank, Bruce shares how he transformed a failing tech organization by empowering first-line managers to own the change. In this conversation, Bruce reveals why HR technology fails without solid process foundations, how to build integrated people-first systems, and why bureaucracy is killing corporate HR. If you're an HR leader tired of surveys that go nowhere and initiatives that don't stick, this episode will change how you think about culture transformation.

Timestamps:

• [00:00:00] The 80-point culture transformation story begins

• [00:02:00] How Liberty Mutual's tech division was hemorrhaging talent

• [00:03:50] The five-point plan that changed everything

• [00:06:25] Why storytelling and being heard drove the transformation

• [00:07:30] The moment Bruce realized top-down culture pushes don't work

• [00:09:20] When first-line managers became the culture owners

• [00:11:25] What mini-celebrity status really means for HR credibility

• [00:13:25] Building trust in low-engagement environments

• [00:14:05] Why technology on broken systems makes things worse

• [00:16:00] The "One HR" approach to breaking down silos

• [00:18:15] Mapping the entire employee journey to find what's broken

• [00:21:20] Why Bruce says "don't buy HR tech"

• [00:23:00] The moment Bruce decided to leave corporate HR

• [00:25:10] Where HR is heading in the next 3-5 years

• [00:27:00] The embedded HR model that's emerging

• [00:28:30] Lightning round: Best Army leadership lesson

• [00:30:20] What HR trend makes Bruce skeptical (spoiler: AI)

• [00:31:00] What "culture works" means to Bruce

Follow Bruce, Chester & Adrian:

Connect with Chester & Adrian: 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thecultureworksofficial/

Website: https://thecultureworks.com/

Connect with Bruce: 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brucernichols/

Website: https://thehrc.com/

When your organization wins Best and Brightest Company to Work For ten consecutive years, you're doing something right. Shawn Premer, CHRO of Consumers Credit Union, shares how she's maintained award-winning culture through pandemic uncertainty, financial stress, and the mental health crisis while driving 38 consecutive years of double-digit organic growth.

In this conversation, Shawn reveals how Consumers Credit Union approaches employee wellbeing in high-stress, member-facing roles. She discusses their partnership with Be Nice for suicide prevention, the decision to bring employees back five days a week, and how they balance deep care for people with high performance accountability.

Timestamps: 

[00:00] Introduction and Shawn's background 

[02:11] Journey from 110 to 500 employees while maintaining culture 

[04:30] What keeps Shawn engaged after 15 years 

[06:20] How credit union membership shapes culture and purpose 

[08:15] Real stories of helping members through financial struggles 

[10:20] Partnership with Be Nice for suicide prevention 

[13:05] Removing stigma around mental health conversations 

[15:10] Starting mental health support in your organization 

[17:30] Leading member-facing teams through emotional moments 

[20:20] Decompression strategies for high-stress roles 

[22:10] Bringing employees back five days a week 

[24:15] Culture challenge: Balancing care with accountability 

[27:15] What strategic HR really means 

[28:25] Lightning round: Best advice, recommended books, and HR trends

Follow Chester and Shawn:

Connect with Chester: 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chesterelton/

Website: https://chesterelton.com/

Connect with Shawn: 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawnpremer/

Website: https://www.consumerscu.org/

What if AI could make your workplace more human, not less? Laura Butler, Chief People Officer at TTEC, is proving this isn't just possible, it's already happening. Leading HR for over 50,000 employees across 25 countries, Laura shares how her team uses AI to strip away robotic tasks and unlock human creativity, connection, and innovation. From personalized onboarding experiences with "Louie" the digital concierge to prompt engineering that teaches leaders to ask better questions, Laura demonstrates how technology can drive extraordinary employee and customer experiences at scale. She tackles the biggest misconceptions about AI in HR, reveals how to create cohesive culture across diverse global teams, and offers concrete ROI strategies that go beyond the "soft skills" debate. If you're navigating the intersection of technology and human-centered leadership, this conversation will shift how you think about the future of work.

Timestamps:

[00:00] Opening: The AI revolution in HR and human potential

[02:00] Practical AI applications transforming productivity at scale

[04:45] Navigating resistance: From 50-year-olds to Marshall Goldsmith's AI embrace

[08:20] How prompt engineering makes you a better leader

[09:00] Building cohesive culture across 25 countries

[10:30] Non-negotiables: Service mindset and "Act as One" philosophy

[12:05] Creating innovation culture: Celebrating experiments, not punishing failures

[14:05] Technology-enabled employee journey: Recruitment through retention

[18:20] The Culture Challenge: Proving ROI on psychological safety

[23:55] Lightning Round: People are magic, and HR's future is untapped

[24:55] Why culture matters more than strategy

Follow Chester, Adrian and Laura:

Connect with Chester & Adrian: 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thecultureworksofficial/

Website: https://thecultureworks.com/

Connect with Laura: 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurabutler/

Website: https://www.ttec.com/

In this powerful conversation, Dave Ulrich, the "Father of Modern HR" and University of Michigan professor, transforms how we think about HR's role in building culture. Discover why the most successful HR leaders focus on customer value over internal processes, how organizational culture beats individual talent 4-to-1 in driving results, and why AI requires "authentic intimacy" to truly work. Dave shares real examples of HR leaders who turned culture initiatives into billion-dollar business outcomes, plus his contrarian take on leading through uncertainty by focusing on what you're certain about. Whether you're in HR, leadership, or culture change, this episode will shift your perspective on creating workplace cultures that actually drive business performance.

Key Topics Discussed:

• Why HR is "not about HR", it's about creating stakeholder value

• The 4:1 advantage of organizational culture over individual talent

• How to build culture from the customer's perspective

• The AI paradox: Artificial Intelligence × Authentic Intimacy

• Leading through uncertainty by focusing on certainty

• Real case studies of culture driving billion-dollar results

Timestamps:

• 00:00 Introduction: Embracing Uncertainty in Culture
• 00:29 Welcome to the Culture Work Podcast
• 01:01 Meet Dave Ulrich: The Father of Modern HR
• 01:56 The Evolution of HR: From Administrative to Strategic
• 04:55 The Importance of HR in Business Strategy
• 09:11 HR's Role in Building Culture and Teams
• 12:39 Shifts in HR Over the Last Decade
• 15:52 Understanding Your Top Customers
• 16:10 The Role of AI in HR
• 18:40 The Paradox of AI
• 22:16 Culture Challenge Segment
• 28:53 Lightning Round and Conclusion

Follow Chester & Adrian and Dave:

Connect with Chester & Adrian: 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thecultureworksofficial/

Website: https://thecultureworks.com/

Connect with Dave: 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daveulrichpro/

Website: https://www.rbl.net/

What does it take to grow a company from $250 million to $3.5 billion while maintaining 98% employee retention and respect for leadership? Former WD-40 CEO Garry Ridge joins Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton to share the leadership philosophy that transformed his company into a global powerhouse.

In this inspiring conversation, Garry reveals how a chance encounter with the Dalai Lama's wisdom at 38,000 feet sparked a cultural revolution. Learn about the power of "learning moments" over failures, why WD-40 celebrates the 39 formulas that didn't work, and how servant leadership principles created psychological safety across a global workforce.

Garry shares practical insights on building tribal cultures, the "Maniac Pledge" that eliminated finger-pointing, and why values must be hierarchical to truly guide decision-making. Plus, discover how focusing on safety, customers, and business fundamentals helped WD-40 thrive during the pandemic.

Key Topics:

• Transforming from manager to coach mindset

• Creating learning moments instead of failure culture

• Building global tribal cultures with clear values

• Leading through uncertainty and crisis

• The ROI timeline for culture transformation

• Servant leadership in practice

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction to Leadership Challenges

00:31 Welcome to the Culture Work Podcast

00:51 Introducing Garry, Former CEO of WD-40

02:11 Garry's Leadership Journey and Philosophy

04:29 Implementing Servant Leadership at WD-40

06:15 The Importance of Culture and Values

10:23 Learning Moments and Innovation

12:17 The Long-Term Impact of Cultural Change

15:00 Dealing with Resistance to Cultural Change

17:37 Turning Down a Tempting Offer

21:40 The Maniac Pledge: Empowering Responsibility

23:12 Leading Through Uncertainty

27:34 Advice for New Leaders

30:50 Rapid-Fire Leadership Insights

31:21 Conclusion and Farewell

Follow Chester & Adrian and Garry:

Connect with Chester & Adrian: 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thecultureworksofficial/

Website: https://thecultureworks.com/

Connect with Garry: 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garryridge/

Website: https://thelearningmoment.net/

Darcy Verhun, CEO of Canada Diagnostic Centers and co-author of "The Freedom of Constraints," joins Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton to discuss his leadership transformation playbook. From inheriting a company with 121 unfinished projects to implementing his focused "CDC" framework (Culture, Deliver Care, Cost Excellence), Darcy shares how he's revolutionizing healthcare leadership through coaching principles and strategic clarity.

Key topics include:

• Why culture change begins immediately, not in years

• The power of the "65%" principle for laser focus

• How asking "How are you?" transformed his leadership approach

• Moving from boss to coach in command-and-control environments

• Creating remarkable patient care that spans multiple brands and locations

• The clinic excellence index: measuring what good looks like

• Why constraints actually create freedom in organizations

Whether you're leading healthcare teams or any organization facing complexity, Darcy's insights on servant leadership, strategic focus, and human connection offer practical frameworks for building cultures where people want to stay.

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction to Culture Change

00:41 Welcome to The Culture Works Podcast

00:58 Meet Darcy Verhun: Transformational Leader

01:54 Unpacking the Leadership Playbook

02:58 The Concept of Clinic Excellence Index

03:57 Balancing Quality and Access to Care

05:32 The Freedom of Constraints

08:02 The 65% Rule in Arts and Business

12:05 Focusing on Culture, Care, and Cost Excellence

15:20 The Power of a Smile in Healthcare

18:01 From Boss to Coach: Rewiring Team Leadership

18:31 From Boss to Coach: Key Lessons for Executives

20:25 Coaching Culture and Financial Excellence

21:36 The Importance of Follow-Up in Coaching

22:34 Maintaining a Coaching Mindset: Habits and Rituals

24:52 The Culture Challenge: Real-World Leadership Dilemmas

32:44 Lightning Round: Leadership Principles and Practices

34:22 Concluding Thoughts and Gratitude

Follow Chester & Adrian and Darcy:

Connect with Chester & Adrian: 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thecultureworksofficial/

Website: https://thecultureworks.com/

Connect with Darcy: 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darcy-verhun/

Website: https://canadadiagnostics.ca/

In this episode of Culture Works, hosts Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton sit down with Dr. Brent Ridge, co-founder of Beekman 1802, to explore how authentic leadership and purpose-driven culture can transform both business outcomes and human lives.

From losing his job as a Manhattan physician during the 2008 recession to building a global beauty brand powered by goat milk and kindness, Brent's journey demonstrates that culture truly drives business success. Discover how he and his husband Josh turned a weekend farm purchase into a purpose-driven empire that puts kindness at the center of everything, literally listing it as an ingredient in every product.

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction to the Culture Work Podcast

01:00 Meet Brent Ridge: Physician Entrepreneur and Co-Founder of Beekman 1802

02:29 The Origin Story of Beekman 1802

03:38 Building a Brand on Kindness

07:09 Lessons in Leadership and Resilience

13:05 Embedding Purpose in Company Culture

26:10 Maintaining Authenticity and Values

29:35 Staying Grounded and Humble

32:31 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Follow Chester & Adrian and Brent:

Connect with Chester & Adrian: 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thecultureworksofficial/

Website: https://thecultureworks.com/

Connect with Brent: 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brent-ridge-md-0641791/

Website: https://beekman1802.com/

Most communication fails because people aren't communicating well with themselves first. Leadership expert Molly Tschang, co-author of "Say It Skillfully" with Marshall Goldsmith, joins Adrian and Chester to unpack why those post-meeting sidebar conversations are killing team alignment, and what leaders can do about it.

In this conversation, you'll discover the difference between being direct and being destructive, why vulnerability makes senior executives uncomfortable (and why it's essential anyway), and how to create the kind of psychological safety that actually moves teams forward. If you've ever struggled with having difficult conversations or wondered why your team isn't as aligned as you thought, this episode cuts straight to the practical solutions that work.

00:00 Introduction to Effective Communication

00:30 Meet Molly Tschang: Transforming Team Communication

01:59 The Importance of Trust in Leadership

03:54 Addressing Sidebar Conversations

06:19 Say It Skillfully: Finding Your Authentic Voice

11:58 Real-Life Examples and Executive Presence

16:13 Handling Difficult Personalities at Work

19:05 Building Credibility and Offering Constructive Feedback

21:01 The Importance of Transparency in Leadership

22:01 Creating a Culture of Inclusion and Dissent

24:18 Aligning Leadership Actions with Cultural Values

28:47 Addressing Politeness and Realness in Organizational Culture

30:24 Rapid Fire Questions and Leadership Insights

35:03 Final Thoughts and Resources for Growth

Follow Adrian, Chester and Molly:

Connect with Adrian Gostick | Chester Elton

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thecultureworksofficial/

Website: https://thecultureworks.com/

Connect with Molly: 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mollytschang/

Website: https://www.sayitskillfully.com/