Podcasts about culturewise

Our guest is David J. Friedman - Founder/CEO of CultureWise and the author of two books “Culture by Design” and “Fundamentally Different” His leadership story began in the 1980's where he cut his teeth as President of RSI, an award-winning employee benefits firm in the Philadelphia area. In 2006, RSI were the only company to win New Jersey's highest award for quality – the Governor's Award for Performance Excellence. It was their unique culture that was the foundation for their success. In 2011, David published my first book, Fundamentally Different, which is based on the insights he learned and taught throughout his leadership career. Since that time, he has led more than 600 workshops and taught more than 7,500 CEOs. In 2018, he published his second book, Culture by Design, which quickly became the “go to” manual for companies looking to truly operationalize their culture, and in 2021, he published its 2nd edition, updating his original work to address the challenges of the new remote workforce. With his team at High Performing Culture, he created the CultureWise® operating system which is now used by nearly one thousand companies across North America. In this episode of Scaling Culture, Ron and David discuss: How people are your most significant and sustainable competitive advantage Why defining fundamental behaviours is more important than defining core values The power of practicing blameless problem-solving Building impactful company rituals that will last How to select a good culture fit and how to properly integrate them into your business. For more information about David or his books, please go to davidjfriedman.com. To learn more about our books or our Scaling Culture Masterclass on how to build and sustain a resilient, high-performing team, please go to ScalingCulture.Org. Lastly, if you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a comment and share the podcast with one of your friends or colleagues!

Today's episode #38 of the Work Positive Podcast with host Dr. Joey Faucette's guest is David Friedman, the founder, and CEO of High Performing Culture, known for developing the CultureWise® operating system used by nearly one thousand companies across North America. With a degree in philosophy from the College of William & Mary, David brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in designing standout cultures. He resides in Moorestown, NJ, with his wife, Catherine. Key Takeaways from the Episode

Writing and publishing a book was a decision that changed my life entirely. Now after having written and published 5 books for corporate people, I know very well that writing a book is a smart decision for thought leaders, consultants, business owners and even corporate professionals.I am thrilled to have an esteemed guest joining us today and showing us why you must write a book, and what will that do for you.Melanie Booher is a female entrepreneur, author, and game creator - who founded a successful HR & Culture Consulting firm and a hybrid-publishing company - Influence Network Media (INM). Melanie is President of Influence Network Media, the go-to media company for business experts to produce, publish and promote business books for business experts.She has a mission to change the world, one leader / one workplace at a time. INM helps leaders find their voice, share their expertise, grow their business and leave a legacy. With a background in human resources, Melanie brings to Influence Network Media 20+ years' experience and deep expertise in culture, benefits, legal, training and recruiting.Melanie is a 6x Amazon best-selling author and launched her first book Conscious Culture in June of 2021.Melanie Booher believes every Business Expert has a book inside them. As a bestselling author and a publisher for more than 60 other bestselling authors, Melanie understands how a book can enhance your professional career and open doors to promote your business. Melanie is the bestselling author of Conscious Culture and Powerhouse.She has worked for powerhouses like Macy's, Cintas, Provident & National City Bank, and Charming Shoppes. She's a certified Culture Coach with CultureWise (2019) and Conscious Culture (2021). Melanie holds a bachelor's degree from Miami University and a Masters in human resources from the University of Cincinnati.TUNE IN. CONNECT WITH MELANIE BOOHERWebsite | Influence Network MediaLinkedIn - Melanie BooherGrab yourself a copy of her book!Conscious Culture: A game plan to build a great workplace----------------------------------Please feel free to reach out to us for any questions.connect@authorhina.comPre Order 'Chasing Desires'Send us your Purchase Receipt to connect@authorhina.com to receive the Goodies.Experiencing a Challenge at your Job?Request a 15 minute FREE  CLARITY CALLLearn more about my Signature Job Hunt ProgramExplore our Upcoming  Corporate Coaching & Healing RetreatsCheck out my books:https://amzn.to/3B65Wz7CONNECT WITH MEFacebook TwitterLinkedInYoutubeTop Software Engineers from Eastern Europe | IT Staff Augmentation | Money Back GuarantyBoost your tech team with top IT talent, risk-free hiring, 10% off with code ECHO PODCAST.Support the show

In an increasingly polarized world, one thing nearly all leaders agree upon is the foundational role that culture plays in organizational success. While we all may agree about its significance, understanding the real mechanics of culture and, more importantly, how to create and drive it has always been shrouded in mystery, until now.  My guest this week is David J. Friedman, Founder and CEO of Culture Wise.  David literally wrote the book, "Culture by Design," empowering leaders to operationalize their corporate cultures.   David Friedman has done with culture what Michael E. Gerber has prescribed we do for all of the physical systems and processes in your business.  Yes, he has created a system for turn-keying-culture and optimizing the behaviors of your people, teams and franchisees, to consistently drive the disciplines that are the backbone of your organization. This is a conversation you don't want to miss, as we will unpack it all with Vistage's 2021 Speaker of the Year, Culture Wise Founder and CEO, David J. Friedman.         

Do you ever think about your relationship to technology? How is it affecting your routines, your relationships at home, and how is being constantly-connected shaping the next generation? Join Kevin, Lori, and Patrick as we begin a conversation about being Tech-Wise Families.

Culture is the bedrock that holds not only society but every organization. In today's episode, Al Curnow from CultureWise discusses how the best organizations create, drive, and sustain culture. He clears out the misconceptions that often cloud what culture really means and the changes happening that affect how people behave in the organization. Al then shares the systems in place to create a company culture and the importance of having processes to reinforce it. In this changing environment, there are more threats to the way our people perform in the organization. Lean and learn from this conversation to overcome these challenges and better position your organization as one of the best!

When you utilize your gifts and talents the impact is huge.  David Friedman does that everyday as he loves to teach business leaders how to build amazing cultures.  His journey started in the insurance industry and after having incredible success there he found himself with a unique opportunity ahead.He began speaking at Vistage Leadership meetings all over the country and specifically taught about how culture has such an impact on everything in business.  With over 600 Vistage talks under his belt the message is powerful and David finds great fulfillment in helping others see the opportunities that lie ahead. David shares about his amazing family and how his passion for fitness drives him with incredibly healthy habits that make each day meaningful.  David is a true hero of industry and his personal journey is full of wisdom and insight that we can all learn from.Enjoy and remember to keep asking why! Guest: David J. Friedman - Founder/CEO at CultureWiseDavid's Resources: WebsiteCulture By Design Fundamentally Different Industry War Story Submission: Send us a DM!FacebookInstagramHost: Chris GraingerExecutive Producer: Adam SheetsPodcast Editor: Andi Thrower

On this episode, Ami Kassar interviews David Friedman, CEO of High Performing Culture, on the new rules about corporate culture in the post-pandemic world. David is an author, speaker, CEO, and the developer of the CultureWise® operating system. His company helps organizations to create, drive, and maintain high-performing cultures, with a proven system that's straightforward, practical, and easy to use. The principles that David teaches are based on the process he developed while serving as the President of RSI, an employee benefits consulting firm headquartered in Mt. Laurel, NJ. Under his leadership and direction, RSI grew from 2 employees to a staff of more than 100 professionals and annual revenues in excess of $16 million. The firm won numerous awards including being named one of the Best Places to Work in the Philadelphia region 3 times and one of the Best Places to Work in NJ 4 times. In 2006, RSI earned the NJ Governor's Award for Performance Excellence – Gold Level, the highest award for total quality available in the state. In 2008, RSI became a division of Arthur J. Gallagher & Associates (AJG), one of the largest insurance brokers in the world. David served as the Area President for Gallagher until his retirement in July of 2010. In 2011, David published his first book, Fundamentally Different, based on the insights he learned and taught during his leadership career. His second book, Culture by Design, was published in 2018 and has already been called “the most useful book ever written on organizational culture.” In 2021, David published the 2nd edition of Culture by Design, which includes insights and strategies for managing culture in the new remote/hybrid work environment. Today, in addition to leading CultureWise, he's a frequent guest speaker and seminar leader on leadership, organizational culture, and building high-performance teams. In the last 7 years alone, he's led more than 500 workshops for more than 5,000 CEOs. In 2021, David was recognized by Vistage International as their Speaker of the Year. He also serves as a consultant to scores of companies around the country. David is a 1983 graduate of the College of William & Mary with a degree in philosophy. Recorded 08/15/2022.

Do not leave culture to chance because it influences everything!  David Friedman literally wrote the book on how to design company cultures that make an impact and he shares some of the insights he's learned over the years that are sure to help you move forward.  David leaves no ground uncovered and reviews areas such as:How culture can drift and what to do to correct itWhat a "culture plan" is and why most organizations miss this Eight step framework for creating a winning cultureThe incredible power of ritualsHow to create fundamentals (behaviors) that you'll actually have buy in withImplementation and putting culture into practiceDavid is an award winning Vistage speaker and has poured his heart into the topic of culture.  It can be what separates the best from the rest and is now more critical than ever when it comes to attracting and keeping talent.  As industry evolves the importance of company culture keeps rising as a key differentiator and conversations like this are sure to set you on a path of success.  So will you design your culture or are you letting the environment around you define it for you?We highly encourage others to connect with David and the team at CultureWise as they are the industry leaders in helping businesses take control and begin acting with intent to build a culture by design! Guest: David J. Friedman - Founder/CEO at CultureWiseDavid's Resources: WebsiteCulture By Design - BookIndustry War Story Submission: Send us a DM!FacebookInstagramHost: Chris GraingerExecutive Producer: Adam SheetsPodcast Editor: Andi Thrower

Beth Garner talks with David Friedman, founder and CEO of High Performing Culture, LLC and author of Fundamentally Different and Culture by Design: How to Build a High-Performing Culture, Even in the New Remote Work Environment. In today's episode, David shares why culture is the biggest opportunity for companies to have a competitive and sustainable edge against their competitors and explains how leaders can create and implement their culture plan.Key Takeaways:[:50] A little bit about David and his journey towards launching the CultureWise platform in 2020.[3:45] David shares his experience writing two books.[4:55] What makes culture a competitive edge?[6:40] The biggest opportunity we have for differentiation is our people. [9:15] Most CEOs nowadays agree that culture is very important but not all of them know what to do about it.[10:50] David explains how culture can be made into a core business process.[13:30] David shares why most CEOs don't have a documented culture plan.[14:40] What does a culture plan look like in the new hybrid/remote working environment?[17:50] David defines rituals and their importance in sustaining your culture.[20:05] David shares the steps for building and defining a culture. [21:25] David discusses the difference between core values and fundamentals. [27:40] How can companies introduce culture to new employees?Resources:Abandoned 401(K) Accounts and The Great ResignationERISA Center of ExcellenceEmail: bdotalkserisa@bdo.comCulturewise.comDavid on LinkedInBeth on LinkedinQuotes:“Whatever you told me that makes you special and if I were to invite your competitors in the room and ask them the same questions, they'd probably give me the same answer.”“Culture is the single biggest thing that affects how people show up and do what they do every day.”

Culture is absolutely critical to attracting and retaining high quality talent. "Culture by Design" author Friedman shares how to create a successful culture at your restaurant business. Don't miss this episode! More episodes at https://restaurantlaborcrunch.com

This match was like pairing great wines. We love when we have a company that has a great culture paired with a company that supports great culture. This show was just that perfect match for the Culture Crush Business Podcast. Kelle and David both bring so much knowledge and expertise to the discussion around company culture. This fluid conversation took us in the direction of discussing companies with unhealthy company culture, how to deal with companies that do not have a good culture, and how to support others in leaving those companies in their search for a company with a great culture. We live in a time where there is no need to stay stuck with a company that has an unhealthy culture. Companies are hiring everywhere and many of those companies are ones with great company culture. The consensus in the discussion was to encourage people to find the best fit for them, especially if it means leaving and finding a position somewhere else. Although we discussed many situations of companies with unhealthy culture and what to do, we also discussed that there are companies with a great company culture that still might not be the right fit. If you are a person that likes flexibility then it would not make sense for you to work at a company that is very strict. If you are not an outdoors type of person then it would not make sense for you to work for a company that has a strong culture that focuses on being outdoors. Finding the right company is like finding the right soulmate online on a dating app. This conversation is yet another one that we will have to plan on doing a part two in the future. Listen to this podcast: If you are working for a company that has a good culture but is wanting to grow it better If you are working for a company with an unhealthy culture If you are thinking of leaving your company for a company with a better company culture If you are interviewing for a new position with a different company and are trying to find the right fit If you are wanting to learn more about company culture and resources to support you in this journey CultureWise offers small to medium size businesses a turnkey operating system for culture. David Friedman is an award-winning CEO, entrepreneur, author, and renowned public speaker. In 2011, he published his first book, Fundamentally Different, which is based on the insights he learned and taught throughout his leadership career. In 2021 he published the second edition of his book, Culture by Design, the definitive “how to” manual for building a high-performance culture — even in the new remote work environment. His current company, High Performing Culture, has helped hundreds of companies throughout North America to implement his culture operating system, CultureWise®. Follow CultureWise on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. ADMANITY® is the home of the innovative, breakthrough algorithm, The ADMANITY® Protocol. ADMANITY® is the first company to create an online test and predictive emotional algorithm to determine the best emotional advertising strategy for your business, in any niche.  The affordable, 5-minute true/false ADMANITY® Protocol test isolates one of 15 emotional archetypes best suited for your business. The ADMANITY® Protocol is the only algorithm that can identify your company's emotional archetype and then identify your ideal advertising strategies, tactics, formulas, and even copywriting tactics. It gives you agency-level recommendations that your business can use for years. Discover the secrets formulas billion-dollar brands use every single day. Kelle Steinecke is the Chief Marketing Officer and Partner at ADMANITY®. An accomplished Marketing Executive, her career spans decades of success and numerous milestones of personal achievement. Being an ardent creative with a competitive spirit, Kelle fast-tracked the corporate ladder, regardless of the barriers thrown her way. Kelle initially found great success in the financial sector but has proven herself equally adept in many industries, including real estate, healthcare, automotive retail, managed IT, waste management, and bank/credit union consulting. In addition to being an expert leader of marketing teams across many diverse industries, Kelle evolved into a leadership coach for both staff and C-suite teams. Kelle is a die-hard optimist who champions the kind of culture where teams don't just survive – but thrive. She sees a challenge only as a gateway to an innovative solution and her passion for helping others achieve goals previously thought impossible, is truly what fuels her entrepreneurial soul. Connect with Kelle on LinkedIn and follow ADMANMITY® on Facebook, Twitter , and Instagram.  

LifeBlood MAXIMIZE: We talked about culture building, the role standards play in culture, why letting it sort itself out is a dangerous strategy, how having a great culture is easier than you think, and how to get started with David Friedman, CEO of High Performing Culture and author.  Listen to learn how to align culture's importance with your behaviors! For the Difference Making Tip, scan ahead to 19:42. You can learn more about David at CultureWise.com, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn. You can learn more about the show at MoneyAlignmentAcademy.com, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook or contact George at Contact@GeorgeGrombacher.com.

Great episode on tap here featuring Jaime Oikle of RunningRestaurants.com along with David Friedman, CEO of Culturewise and author of "Culture By Design" and "Fundamentally Different." Perhaps your restaurant has been remiss in not taking the time to talk about culture in your business. Well, this session is guaranteed to load you up with talking points and strategies for success as we hit on: Defining the behaviors / "Fundamentals" that drive success in an organization; Creating and deploying rituals to teach and practice behaviors with consistency; Engaging the workforce for maximum impact; How to roll out culture training to a restaurant; The impacts of the current hiring crisis; Keys to avoiding bad hires and more. You don't want to miss this...check it out... Find out more at https://www.culturewise.com & https://www.runningrestaurants.com.

Corporate culture is difficult these days with many employees having agendas differing from their employers. Case examples of Basecamp and Coinbase - two premier companies in the tech space. Shark Bite Biz's David Strausser of Vision33 and David Friedman, CEO of CultureWise and top business author, chats about the importance of drawing lines and writing down a formal culture for your small business. Grab David Friedman's book, Culture by Design, right here: https://amzn.to/3xubXS9 Check out David Friedman's CultureWise right here: https://culturewise.com/ Get Dead House Coffee to support the channel using code SHARK for 20% off here: https://bit.ly/3tjRbD8 Make sure you visit David's article on Forbes.com: https://bit.ly/StrausserForbes Visit our NEW Merch store: https://store.sharkbitebiz.com  Join our Reddit Community: https://www.reddit.com/r/SharkBiteBiz/ Donate to our Patreon to SUPPORT this channel and get some BENEFITS and PERKS: http://patreon.com/sharkbitebiz Subscribe to the audio podcast on: http://www.SharkBiteBiz.com Find out more about the host, David Strausser: http://www.davidstrausser.com Follow David Strausser on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dstrausser83/ Follow us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SharkBiteBiz Follow us on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/SharkBiteBiz Listen on Apple iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/shark-bite-biz/id1522304651 Listen on Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc2hhcmtiaXRlYml6LmNvbS9mZWVkLnhtbA Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1CZh0QdNr5Nn8CD8kInMAJ Listen on Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/shark-bite-biz Listen on iHeartRADIO: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-shark-bite-biz-68819872/ Intro music courtesy of Stationary Giant: https://instagram.com/stationarygiant?igshid=1mf4umgejvpgi Connect with David Strausser on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/DavidStrausser Produced by: Francisco Strausser: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC82qlvfm4mXg3C3AzqPHthw Visit David Strausser @ Vision33: http://vision33.com 

Guest: David Friedman, the founder and CEO of CultureWise and the author of a great new book, Culture by Design. Overview: Effective CEOs have systems, plans, and analytics that manage and measure nearly every aspect of their businesses. But many don't have a system for guiding the company's culture, which is arguably the most significant driver of BIG growth. On today's show, culture expert David Friedman explains how to build a powerful cultural operating system that replaces all those inspirational break room posters with a set of defined, teachable behaviors.

David Friedman is an award-winning CEO, entrepreneur, author, and renowned public speaker. In 2011, he published his first book, Fundamentally Different, which is based on the insights he learned and taught throughout his leadership career, and in 2018 he published his second book, Culture by Design, the definitive “how to” manual for building a high-performance culture. His current company, High Performing Culture, has helped hundreds of companies throughout North America to implement his culture operating system, CultureWise™.   During the show we discuss: ● What is corporate culture and how can it be operationalized in a company ● 8-step framework to create a winning culture ● How to define with crystal clear clarity what your culture should be ● The difference between values and behaviors  ● How to create behaviors that give your team clear expectations  ● Some of the most popular cultural behaviors that companies adopt  ● Explain how and why organizational culture changes. ● The bottom-line benefits of a high-performing culture ● What should every corporate culture have and not have ● The primary reasons why leaders choose to focus on their culture ● How to adopt a culture that can last forever  ● How can companies effectively manage their culture when employees are working remotely ● How different is remote culture vs traditional organizational culture ● Define the behaviors that drive success in your organization ● How to create and deploy the rituals necessary to teach and practice those behaviors with consistency ● How to engage your workforce for maximum impact   Show resources: www.culturewise.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidfriedman-01b38a35/

Welcome to Episode 161 of Building My Legacy.In this podcast David Friedman — award-winning CEO, entrepreneur and author — talks with us about the importance of building cultures. David believes that, as a leader, if you don't take control of your corporate culture, it will be created for you by the strongest personalities within your organization. In our discussion, he provides tips on how you can be intentional about culture and introduces us to the process his CultureWiseTM system uses to simplify the experience for you and employees at all levels of your company.David explains how to implement the culture you want by defining it clearly and introducing “rituals” to implement the needed behavior changes in a structured, systematic way. He's convinced that most employees want to do great work, but they may not understand fully what that entails and may not have the internal discipline needed to lead to success.So if you want to know:– How culture has an enormous influence over how employees do what they do– Why the CEO has to be the chief culture officer, too– What prevents leaders from being intentional about workplace culture– Why it's easier to coach someone about their behaviors than their values– Why rituals are so important in the rollout and maintenance of your desired work culture– Practical ways to measure the implementation of a cultural change About David FriedmanDavid Friedman is a CEO, entrepreneur, author and renowned public speaker. As CEO of an employee benefits consulting company, he grew the business from a few people to more than 100 employees because of the culture the company had built. After he sold that company, he wrote his first book, Fundamentally Different, based on the insights he learned by intentionally building the right culture at his former company. He followed that up with his second book, Culture by Design, a “how-to” manual for building a high-performance culture. His current company, High Performing Culture, has helped hundreds of companies throughout North America implement his culture operating system, CultureWise. More information about David and his company is available at his website, CultureWise.comAbout Lois Sonstegard, PhDWorking with business leaders for more than 30 years, Lois has learned that successful leaders have a passion to leave a meaningful legacy. Leaders often ask: When does one begin to think about legacy? Is there a “best” approach? Is there a process or steps one should follow?Lois is dedicated not only to developing leaders but to helping them build a meaningful legacy. Learn more about how Lois can help your organization with Leadership Consulting and Executive Coaching:https://build2morrow.com/Thanks for Tuning In!Thanks so much for being with us this week. Have some feedback you'd like to share? Please leave a note in the comments section below!If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with your friends by using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of the post.Don't forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic episode updates.And, finally, please take a minute to leave us an honest review and rating on iTunes. They really help us out when it comes to the ranking of the show, and I make it a point to read every single one of the reviews we get.Please leave a review right now. Thanks for listening!Building My Legacyhttps://businessinnovatorsradio.com/building-my-legacy/Source: https://businessinnovatorsradio.com/episode-161-david-friedman-on-building-your-workplace-culture-building-my-legacy-with-lois-sonstegard-phd

Welcome to Episode 161 of Building My Legacy.In this podcast David Friedman — award-winning CEO, entrepreneur and author — talks with us about the importance of building cultures. David believes that, as a leader, if you don't take control of your corporate culture, it will be created for you by the strongest personalities within your organization. In our discussion, he provides tips on how you can be intentional about culture and introduces us to the process his CultureWiseTM system uses to simplify the experience for you and employees at all levels of your company.David explains how to implement the culture you want by defining it clearly and introducing “rituals” to implement the needed behavior changes in a structured, systematic way. He's convinced that most employees want to do great work, but they may not understand fully what that entails and may not have the internal discipline needed to lead to success.So if you want to know:– How culture has an enormous influence over how employees do what they do– Why the CEO has to be the chief culture officer, too– What prevents leaders from being intentional about workplace culture– Why it's easier to coach someone about their behaviors than their values– Why rituals are so important in the rollout and maintenance of your desired work culture– Practical ways to measure the implementation of a cultural change About David FriedmanDavid Friedman is a CEO, entrepreneur, author and renowned public speaker. As CEO of an employee benefits consulting company, he grew the business from a few people to more than 100 employees because of the culture the company had built. After he sold that company, he wrote his first book, Fundamentally Different, based on the insights he learned by intentionally building the right culture at his former company. He followed that up with his second book, Culture by Design, a “how-to” manual for building a high-performance culture. His current company, High Performing Culture, has helped hundreds of companies throughout North America implement his culture operating system, CultureWise. More information about David and his company is available at his website, CultureWise.comAbout Lois Sonstegard, PhDWorking with business leaders for more than 30 years, Lois has learned that successful leaders have a passion to leave a meaningful legacy. Leaders often ask: When does one begin to think about legacy? Is there a “best” approach? Is there a process or steps one should follow?Lois is dedicated not only to developing leaders but to helping them build a meaningful legacy. Learn more about how Lois can help your organization with Leadership Consulting and Executive Coaching:https://build2morrow.com/Thanks for Tuning In!Thanks so much for being with us this week. Have some feedback you'd like to share? Please leave a note in the comments section below!If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with your friends by using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of the post.Don't forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic episode updates.And, finally, please take a minute to leave us an honest review and rating on iTunes. They really help us out when it comes to the ranking of the show, and I make it a point to read every single one of the reviews we get.Please leave a review right now. Thanks for listening!Building My Legacyhttps://businessinnovatorsradio.com/building-my-legacy/Source: https://businessinnovatorsradio.com/episode-161-david-friedman-on-building-your-workplace-culture-building-my-legacy-with-lois-sonstegard-phd

David Friedman is an award-winning CEO, entrepreneur, author and renowned public speaker. In 2011, he published his first book, Fundamentally Different, which is based on the insights he learned and taught throughout his leadership career. And in 2018, he published his second book, Culture by Design, the definitive “how to” manual for building a high-performance culture.   His current company, High Performing Culture has helped hundreds of companies throughout North America to implement its culture operating system, CultureWiseä.   Questions   Can you share with us a little bit about your journey? How it is that you got to where you are today. We like to always ask our guests in their own words, if they can just share with us a little bit about who they are and how it is that they got to where they are today. So your first book that you wrote Fundamentals, you had mentioned that one of your fundamentals is quick response time. Could you share with our listeners what are some of the other things that is the core of your fundamental practices? Do you see any emerging trends in relation to things that leaders in organizations need to focus on more, even more now than before the pandemic probably for the next two or three years? Can you share with us if you have an app, a tool or a website that you absolutely can't live without in your business? Can you share with us one or two books that have had the biggest impact on you? You mentioned one earlier The Effortless Experience, but maybe any others - it could have been a book that you read a very long time ago or even one that you read recently, but it really has impacted you. What is something that you are really excited about - one thing that's going on in your life right now that you're really excited about, it could be something that you're working on to develop yourself or your people. Can you share with us where listeners can find you online? Do you have a quote or saying that during times of adversity or challenge, you will revert to this quote, it kind of helps to get you refocus, maybe because you got derailed or you just got off track? And so this quote kind of just brings you back to centre to focus on what's really important.   Highlights   David's Journey   David shared that he lives in the Philadelphia area, he spent 27 years as the CEO of an employee benefits consulting company. And he grew that company from a couple of people to a little bit over 100 people and during the years that he was growing that company, they were very, very successful in almost every dimension you can look at, but the foundation of all of their success. Everything that made them successful was the culture that they had created in that company. And as the CEO of that company, he did a lot of things in a very intentional way to make that culture happen. He eventually sold the company to a large multi-billion-dollar company, ended up retiring from that industry. And he wrote his first book, which was called Fundamentally Different which was referred to before. And it was a book about the things he had done in his career that made them so successful, specifically around culture. And what ended up happening is people started reading that book and getting a lot of value from it and they started asking him if he would come to speak to their organizations about the things about which he had written. And so, next thing he knew he was travelling around the country giving talks to CEOs and people started hiring him to help them and next thing he knew he was in a new career. And so, over the last seven or eight years, he has given more than 500 workshops on this material, typically to CEOs and other leaders, worked with hundreds and hundreds of companies helping them do it. And has written three books on the topic. And so, it all comes from the experience that he had leading a company himself, and what he learned and what he now teaches people.    Other Core Fundamental Practices    Me: So your first book that you wrote Fundamentals, I know at the beginning of the conversation, you had mentioned that one of your fundamentals is quick response time, which was music to my ears. Could you share with our listeners what are some of the other things that is the core of your fundamental practices?   David stated that what he teaches people is that in any organization, he doesn't care of organization it is, the culture in that organization has an enormous influence over everything that happens from customer service to everything else that takes place.   And so, as leaders, we should be intentional about creating the culture that we want to have. One of the important elements and probably the most important element in creating a really great culture or any culture for that matter, is being clear about what are the behaviours that you say, “Boy, if we could get all of our people living to these behaviours, this is the kind of organization I want to have.” And he gives those behaviours a name, it's just his nomenclature, he calls them fundamentals because he thinks they're fundamental to success.   So they help organizations define their culture in terms of a set of very specific behaviours. In his particular company, and this is his company, it doesn't have to be the same for a different company. But in his company, some of their fundamentals, the one you're asking about a moment ago, is one that we called Be a Fanatic About Response Time. Some of the others that he teaches in his own company are things like Honour commitments, Practice Blameless Problem Solving, Get Clear on Expectations, Be a Generous Listener, these are actions, they're things that people do, and you get people doing these kinds of things, you create a very different kind of organization. So those are just some samples of the fundamentals he teaches in his own company.   Me: Great. So, those are also in the book, right? Could you share with us why you think those things are critical to creating a culture where customer experience, of course, is at its utmost best because clearly, a lot of organizations have many challenges in trying to get their customer experience to be consistent. How is it that you go into these organizations, I'm sure a lot of their issues is everybody's not doing what they're supposed to be doing, how do we get people to be passionate? How do we get them to operate like how we do? I wish I could clone myself and have 100 of me, but the reality is you can't. So how do we get everybody on the same page?   David shared that the foundation of the system that he teaches is, there eight steps to it, but let's just boil it down to its essence.   There are two things that are critical for success. And this is true, whether we're talking about customer experience, or we're talking about innovation, or we're talking about anything, even a sports team, a family, you want to get a group of people to be consistent so that you can clone yourself, there are two things that are critical. The first is what we were just talking about, we have to be crystal clear about the expectations. So frequently, he hears leaders frustrated that people aren't being the way they want them to be but they haven't been clear enough about what they expect, they're just annoyed that people haven't somehow, miraculously by osmosis figured it out themselves.   So the first step is absolute clarity about what is it that we expect of people. And when we talk about that clarity, one of the ways that companies try to do that and fail, is that the typical way of doing that is they create a list of core values and they look wonderful on the website, except most of the time, they're so broad, and so nebulous that they don't really bring enough clarity.   He makes a big deal about the difference between what he calls values and what he calls behaviours.   So a value is an abstract idea, quality, integrity, loyalty, service, teamwork, those are wonderful words, but they mean so many different things to different people, that they're very difficult to operationalize.   Behaviours are actions, they're things people do and because they're action oriented, they're a lot easier to be coaching people about, it's very difficult to coach somebody about their values, it's a lot easier to coach them about their behaviours.   So the first step is this defining with way more clarity, exactly what we expect, in terms of a set of behaviours or as he noted a moment ago, he calls fundamentals.   Now, once we have that, it's great to have them listed and have more clarity. But here's the real key step. And this is so simple. He calls it creating rituals.   So a ritual is a routine, a habit, something that we do all the time and the reason that rituals are so important, is that most people and you've seen this, most people aren't very good at sticking with things. We come up with all kinds of wonderful ideas. And then we get busy and life gets in the way and they fall by the wayside, so the company comes up with the big new programme and for three months or even three weeks, everybody's all excited about the new programme and then they fall by the wayside.   When something becomes a ritual or routine, it's not difficult to continue, it's just part of our routine. So he'll give a simple example in another area and then take us back to this topic of service and business.   You wake up in the morning, you brush your teeth, before a ballgame in the States the do the national anthem, there are just routines about how you operate. Some people before a meal, they say a prayer. When something is a routine like that, it's not hard to do. So the way we use that simple concept is we take these fundamentals as he calls them and they begin to focus on one fundamental every week through a series of rituals.   So week number one, everybody in the company all week long is thinking about working on focusing on fundamental number one, the week after that everybody in the company is on number two, and the week after that three, and they keep cycling through them.   So giving one simple example of a ritual to illustrate it for the listeners. So one of the rituals that he practices in his company, and all of their clients do this as well, is that every time they have a meeting in their company, whether it's a project team meeting, a department meeting, a virtual meeting, if they have a meeting in their company this week, every single one of those meetings, the first agenda item of the meeting is the fundamental of the week. And they spend the first few minutes of the meeting talking about this week's fundamental and what it means.   So his company's fundamental this week, he mentioned it before actually is called Practice Blameless Problem Solving. So every time they have a meeting anywhere in their company this week, the first agenda item is going to be a three or four-minute discussion about practicing blameless problem solving.   That gets them lots of chances to teach and teach and teach and teach. So if they start by defining really clearly the behaviours that are important in their organization, and then they have a structured systematic way to teach those behaviours over and over and over and over again, sooner or later, those behaviours are going to become internalized in their people and that's how you get yourself cloned. What most people do is they again, either aren't clear enough, or they put stuff out there and then they figure, “Okay, I talked about it once or it's on the wall, or it's on the website, how come everybody doesn't do it?” You need repetition, without repetition, we don't learn anything.   Me: That is so true. I say it in training so many times. When you're teaching children ABC, you don't just go to school one day and the teacher says, okay, this is the alphabet, ABCDEFG to Z and then they never say it again. It's like constantly being reinforced with the kids; they sing to it. They sing ABC songs to them, they read to them about ABC, they talk to them about ABC, they have pictures. So it's constantly being reinforced and as you mentioned, repetition and adults learn just like children.   David agreed that we do, it's how humans work. And yet somehow in most organizations, we think that people are just going to magically figure it out without that repetition. He'll give a very good example of actually where he learned all of this originally, and it relates very directly to customer service.   So, one of the organizations that is world renowned for incredible customer service experiences is the Ritz Carlton Hotel chain. If there ever was an icon for extraordinary customer experiences, it would probably be Ritz Carlton. And many years ago, he had an experience at where he brought his company to a Ritz Carlton for a day of brainstorming about great service and knowing how great they were, he asked them if they could share during their lunch with them some of the things that they do, and they do a very specific thing that really became the foundation for the concept behind what he teaches.   At Ritz Carlton, they have 20 behaviours that they have articulated about delivering great customer experiences. And these behaviours are called their basics. The Ritz Carlton basics, and there are 20 of these.   And every day they have a ritual that's called the daily lineup and a daily lineup, what happens is in every Ritz Carlton property in the world, in every department and in every shift, the team members get together at the beginning of the shift, and they gather around for a 10 or 12-minute meeting known as the daily lineup. And the first thing they do in their daily lineup is they talk about the basic of the day.   So if today were day number one in every department, every shift people would be getting together and kicking off their shift with a brief meeting and they start the meeting talking about basic number one. Tomorrow, everybody would be on number two and the next day number three, and so on.   And at the end of 20 days, they go back to the beginning and they do it over and over and over again, every day of their entire career. And that's how they get people to absorb and internalize the things that lead to extraordinary experience. They don't do it by just hoping they're going to get really nice people and it will all work out, they teach these things every single day with repetition. Makes sense.   Me: And you're right. Ritz Carlton, that's the gold standard that everybody's aiming to achieve and sometimes people think, is it that they got really amazing people, but they probably have the same level or standard of people in terms of their recruitment. But as you said, their technique and their strategy in terms of what they're doing, it makes sense because it's being repeated, it's being reinforced, people are being held accountable and now it becomes almost a part of your DNA. Because if you're doing something over and over again, it becomes so a part of you. I remember when I went to high school, I went to a Catholic High School, we were not allowed to walk on the grass, it was completely forbidden. And I recently went on vacation with my daughter to Airbnb in Ocho Rios and she just walked across the grass and I had to walk on the path and go around. And the little light bulb went off in my head, and I said, “Yanique, why don't you walk on the grass?” And I said, “Because it's not allowed.” But it's something that I had to do for 7 years. And so, it actually became a part of me, I think it was like an unconscious behaviour because it was after I thought about what I did, that I was able to dissect and say, “Okay, that's the reason why I did it.”   David agreed and stated that to take that same thought and now let's apply that same exact thinking to customer service or any kind of thing that we're trying to get in our culture. If we want our people to be so unconscious, so automatic about how they deliver fantastic service, well, we have to tell them.   What are the behaviours, that if you were doing these things every day that would create amazing service experiences? We have to be crystal clear about them. And then just like the way you learn not to walk on the grass, we have to teach those things over and over and over and over again, with enough repetition so that they become internalized by our people. And once they become internalized by our people, well, that's just the way we do things around here. It starts to happen and it's such a simple idea.   Me: Simple, yet profound, yet many people are not doing it.   Trends Organizations Need to Focus On   Me: You're in this industry teaching about culture, you're teaching about behaviours. Can you share with us maybe one or two things, trends that you see emerging? We're coming out of a pandemic, not sure if you've noticed anything in the States where you are from in your neighbourhood, if you've noticed anything that's different in terms of people's behaviours, have you found that customers have become more heightened to the quality of experience that they're expecting especially seeing that safety is now the new buzzword in terms of how safe you make your customers feel? Do you see any emerging trends in relation to things that leaders in organizations need to focus on more, even more now than before the pandemic probably for the next two or three years?   David stated that the first thing he would say that's very related to the pandemic is obviously, we have gone to people working remotely in a way that didn't exist before. And even as vaccines become more prevalent and the pandemic gets behind us. Certainly, almost everybody recognizes that we will continue to have a high number of people, never more than ever before that will continue to work remotely.   So some people will be back at the office, but there will be many, many people who will forever work remotely or in some hybrid kind of environment where some are in person and some are working remotely.   And that has enormous impacts, specifically as it relates to culture. That if your culture was mostly a function of people being together everyday, and somehow by example, your were people were figuring out, I guess this is how things happen around here. But there was no overt methodology for teaching, it was just leadership by example. “Well, if I'm not seeing you anymore because we're not physically together. Well, then you're going to have some real struggles if there's no other structured way to convey culture.”   And so, it's become more important than it ever used to be to be systematic about how we create our culture, because we can't rely on people being together anymore and he thinks that's a significant shift.   He would say the second shift that I see and he doesn't know that this is so much a function of the pandemic, as much as it is just a general societal business trend is certainly there's a trend toward more self-service, where there are many clients and many buyers who want to be able to access tools and resources on their own.   So the definition of what is great service means has changed, great service used to mean very high touch personal interaction and so in some cases, that's still true. But there are many other people, especially the younger generation, who their attitude about services, “Just give me the tools to do it myself, I don't want somebody pestering me, I don't want this intense personal relationship.”   And again, obviously, this varies with the person and the product. But in many things, especially the younger generation, “Just give me the tools to go online and do it myself and I'm a happy camper, I don't need anybody to be talking to me. In fact, I don't even want to talk to somebody, I just want to be able to do it.”   And so, he thinks that the implication of that trend is that businesses need to be able to provide multiple ways for people to get the service that they need. If I'm a customer that wants high touch, then I'm going to be frustrated if I can't find anybody to talk to. And so, you need to be able to provide that for me. But if I'm a customer who doesn't want to talk to somebody, you need to provide me with avenues to do self-service. So, he thinks responding to the variety of ways in which people want to receive service, companies need to have a number of different methods.   Me: Those are really, really good points. And you are right, self-service is definitely something that people want. I definitely have seen that as a higher emergence. As a matter of fact, locally, when I tried to reach out to my utility companies, I find I get through to them much quicker through the chatbots that they have on their websites than actually calling them on the telephone, you get through much quicker. You sit there on the phone for 56 minutes, 70 odd minutes, some ridiculous times, just listening to this awful music or recording that they have going on over and over again, but you go online and it's like there's more response, the response time is much faster and the person online is in a better position to assist you.   David shared that there's a great book called The Effortless Experience: Conquering the New Battleground for Customer Loyalty by Matthew Dixon. And that's a great book. And one of the points they make in that book is that the challenge is mostly there are these different ways that people want to access service and the problem comes if the way that I want to do it doesn't work, if I have to switch methods. So if I want to call somebody and I can't get through because I'm on hold for 45 minutes, I'm going to be really frustrated. If I want to be able to go online and do it myself and I try it and it's too confusing and I have to give up and pick up the phone and call somebody, then I'm going to be frustrated too. So I need to have different methods to respond to different customers' desires and each of them has to work well. If the way that I tried to get my service doesn't work and I have to switch to method number two, that's where you really frustrate your customers and they leave.   App, Website or Tool that David Absolutely Can't Live Without in His Business   When asked an online resource that he cannot live without in his business, David shared that he has found that in his whole career, that being well organized is an absolutely critical element of success, that if you don't have good systems for keeping on top of everything you need to do, things fall through the cracks and it's extraordinarily difficult to deliver great service to people. It's hard to honour your commitments if you don't have a good way to track all your commitments. It's hard to be a fanatic about response time if things slip through the cracks because you didn't keep track of at all. So systems to keep track of everything you need to do are critical to him. There's a system that he uses many years ago that was back then and then there's an updated version. But back then, he was a big Franklin planner user and a software version of the Franklin planner. A number of years ago switched to an Apple environment from a PC environment, Franklin planner never came out with an Apple version but there's a different company that created a product that is almost identical to what Franklin planner software was. And it's called Opus One and it's basically a planning tool to allow you to keep track of task management, everything you need to accomplish in your life. And how does he keep track of it? How does he prioritize it? How does he make sure nothing is ever forgotten? And he can't imagine how he would function without that, everything he needs to do in his life is there, he looks at it every day. And it's scary to think about what life would be like if he didn't have a tool like that.   Books That Have Had the Greatest Impact on David   When asked about books that have had an impact, David shared that The Effortless Experience: Conquering the New Battleground for Customer Loyalty by Matthew Dixon was certainly one of them. He would say a book that he just finished rereading or actually more accurately listening to. He read it years ago and he just re-listened to it is Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference. He read that when it came out, it came out like 2002 and for some reason it just came across his attention recently and he listened to it on Audible. And he really thinks it's a fascinating book and it gives him pause to think a lot about the things that they're doing. And for those listeners who may not have read or heard The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell, the author looks at social epidemics, how does an idea all of a sudden take off and spread, whether it's a fashion, whether it's a product, whether it's a service, and all of a sudden something goes from nobody knows about this? And then at a certain point, everywhere you look people are talking about that or reading about it or heard of it. And how does that actually take place? Where's the tipping point where all of a sudden, it goes viral? And why does that happen? What are the factors that contribute to something going viral? It's a fascinating book, highly recommend it.   What David is Really Excited About Now!   David stated that the biggest thing he's excited about is the opportunity to scale what they're doing. And what he means by that is that the concepts that he teaches as you've heard, even just in a cursory way in this podcast, the idea that if we really want to drive the culture in an organization, it really comes down to two very simple things, define really clearly the behaviours that drive success and then create this structured systematic way to teach those over and over and over again. And if you do that, you're going to be really successful and he calls that whole concept, he calls it the Power of Fundamentals, that when we have a set of fundamentals that driver our success and then we can have a way to teach it, it has an unbelievable impact. So the Power of the Fundamentals is just such a powerful idea and such an impactful idea and he's really excited and enthusiastic about the work that they're doing in their company to spread that idea so that not just hundreds or 1000s of people but ultimately millions of people can leverage those concepts and apply that to improve their families, their children, their companies, their sports teams, their churches, it applies in every walk of life. And so, the opportunity to spread those ideas and give people tools that enable them to be more successful is just a very exciting and rewarding challenge.   Where Can We Find David Online   Website – www.culturewise.com   David shared that on the website are lots of simple videos that explain the concepts, really easy to understand material there. There's also links there to his books and you can also get them on Amazon or Audible. The most recent book, which was published this spring is an updated version of his original book called Culture by Design.   Culture by Design: How to Build a High-Performing Culture, Even in the New Remote Work Environment (Fundamentals Series Book 2) by David Friedman   Quote or Saying that During Times of Adversity David Uses   When asked about quote or saying that he tends to revert to, David shared that he's going to broaden that. And so yes, and it's a quote that is more related to organisations, but it's equally important individually. So for organizations as it relates to culture, the quote that he says often and really centres him is he says that, “Good companies have good cultures by chance. But world class companies have world class cultures by design.” And what he means by that is that when he looks at those companies and those individuals who are most successful, they don't do anything that's so incredibly unusual, he sometimes says they do ordinary things with extraordinary consistency. They just are very purposeful about everything they do that reasonably moderately successful people naturally are gifted and they do a lot of things successful just almost by accident. But the most successful people, the most successful companies, it's by design, they're incredibly intentional about everything they do. So if he looks at his own work, it's about not just relying on instincts, but being really systematic and really intentional about practicing day after day after day, the things that lead to success.   Please connect with us on Twitter @navigatingcx and also join our Private Facebook Community – Navigating the Customer Experience and listen to our FB Lives weekly with a new guest   Grab the Freebie on Our Website – TOP 10 Online Business Resources for Small Business Owners   Links   Fundamentally Different by David J. Friedman The Effortless Experience: Conquering the New Battleground for Customer Loyalty by Matthew Dixon The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell Culture by Design by David Friedman Culture by Design: How to Build a High-Performing Culture, Even in the New Remote Work Environment (Fundamentals Series Book 2)   The ABC's of a Fantastic Customer Experience   Do you want to pivot your online customer experience and build loyalty - get a copy of “The ABC's of a Fantastic Customer Experience.”   The ABC's of a Fantastic Customer Experience provides 26 easy to follow steps and techniques that helps your business to achieve success and build brand loyalty. This Guide to Limitless, Happy and Loyal Customers will help you to strengthen your service delivery, enhance your knowledge and appreciation of the customer experience and provide tips and practical strategies that you can start implementing immediately! This book will develop your customer service skills and sharpen your attention to detail when serving others. Master your customer experience and develop those knock your socks off techniques that will lead to lifetime customers. Your customers will only want to work with your business and it will be your brand differentiator. It will lead to recruiters to seek you out by providing practical examples on how to deliver a winning customer service experience!

David Friedman is an award-winning CEO, entrepreneur, author, and renowned public speaker. In 2011, he published his first book, Fundamentally Different, which is based on the insights he learned and taught throughout his leadership career, and in 2018 he published his second book, Culture by Design, the definitive how-to manual for building a high-performance culture. His current company, High Performing Culture, has helped hundreds of companies throughout North America to implement his culture operating system, CultureWise™. What you'll learn about in this episode: David shares how he started as a college philosophy major before moving into the business world, and he shares how he realized the importance of intentional culture Why culture has an enormous impact on everything in your organization, and why getting intentional allows you control over your culture Why leaders automatically emerge in every group, and why those strong personalities will fill a culture vacuum by creating a culture with our without your influence Why too many businesses will plan finances, their sales goals, their business growth and every other aspect of the business but neglect doing work to create an intentional culture David shares his Eight Step Framework for “operationalizing” your business culture so that you can intentionally design it to serve your organization Why the two most important steps are to completely define the culture you want and create rituals that make your culture sustainable, and how the other six steps support that How most businesses articulate their “vision, mission and values” without giving enough clarity, and how David differentiates between core values and behaviors Why creating rituals is crucial for success by helping create regular, repeatable, second-nature habits What David's rituals look like, and how David and his team repeatedly go back to and practice those rituals until they become habits Resources: Learn more about creating an intentional culture at David's website Email: david@culturewise.com LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/david-friedman-01b38a35/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/high-performing-culture/ Facebook: www.facebook.com/MyCultureWise Twitter: @CultureWiseUSA   Additional Resources: Free Executive Leadership Summary report from Predictive ROI: https://predictiveroi.com/research Sell With Authority by Drew McLellan and Stephen Woessner: https://amzn.to/39y7x13 Predictive ROI Free Resource Library: https://predictiveroi.com/resources/ Stephen Woessner's LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/stephenwoessner/

The topic of culture is certainly a hot topic, but what does it mean and how do you create it? Are your company values enough?  Today's guest, David Friedman answers these questions and more!Learn more about David's company CultureWise = CLICK HERE.Get a copy of David's book, "Culture by Design"  = CLICK HERE.If you are ready to franchise your business or take it to the next level = CLICK HERE.Prior to founding CultureWise, David was the President of RSI, an award-winning employee benefits brokerage and consulting firm that grew to become one of the largest and most successful independently-owned agencies in the country. RSI was named one of the Best Places to Work in the region seven times, and was four times named one of the Fastest Growing companies. In2006, RSI was the only company of any size in any industry to win New Jersey’s highest award for quality – the Governor’s Award for Performance Excellence – Gold Level.In 2011, he published his first book, Fundamentally Different, which is based on the insights he learned and taught throughout his leadership career, and in 2021 he published the 2nd Edition of his book, Culture by Design, the definitive “how to” manual for building a high-performance culture.Today, in addition to leading CultureWise, David does more than 100 workshops and Keynote talks per year, sharing his experiences and wisdom with thousands of leaders across the country.

David Friedman is an award-winning CEO, entrepreneur, author, and renowned public speaker. In 2011, he published his first book, Fundamentally Different, which is based on the insights he learned and taught throughout his leadership career, and in 2018 he published his second book, Culture by Design, the definitive “how to” manual for building a high-performance culture. His current company, High Performing Culture, has helped hundreds of companies throughout North America to implement his culture operating system, CultureWise™.

Host Shari Altergott, Chief Experience Officer of The CX Edge talks with Bill Kaiser, VP of Sales for CultureWise. They discuss the importance of company culture and how to establish a culture to take your company to the next level. Stay tuned for more episodes of the MHEDA Talks podcast series when Shari will interview industry thought leaders on issues and trends affecting MHEDA members.

This week, on The Conscious Consultant Hour , Sam welcomes founder and Executive Strategic Consultant, *Dean Foster*. Dean is the founder of DFA Intercultural Global Solutions; and former Worldwide Director of Berlitz Cross-Cultural; and currently Executive Strategic Consultant for Dwellworks Intercultural. His work has taken him to more than 100 countries. He is the host on *CNN* of the nationwide “Doing Business in … ” series; a frequent guest commentator on culture, global work and social issues for *CNN, CNBC,* the *BBC* and other radio and TV shows; and has been interviewed in *Newsweek, USA Today,* *New York Times,* and elsewhere *.* In 2012 Dean was inducted into Worldwide ERC's prestigious *“Hall of Leaders”;* in 2013 he received the Forum for Expatriate Management's acclaimed *Lifetime Achievement Award*. Dean has written many articles and published five books, including *Bargaining Across Borders* ( https://d38rqs2egh08o4.cloudfront.net/link_click/f0yQJ5XfJ7_bkDkc/36005d53214a11aa269901c7e6db790e ) , voted as one of the top ten business books of the year by the American Library Association. As a contributing editor with National Geographic, he wrote the monthly “CultureWise” column appearing in National Geographic Traveler Magazine.  Watch the *Facebook Livestream by clicking here* ( https://www.facebook.com/InspiredThoughtsWithSam/videos/4393348954023716/ ) *.* *‍* ‍ *Segment 1:* The show starts with the weekly quotes from Abraham and the Universe. The first quote has to do with focusing on conquering today. The second is about living in the moment -- the journey is not about getting to the destination, it is about joyfully walking along the path. So often we are just looking to get to the end goal and not appreciating the views on the way there. Sam introduces his guest Dean Foster, (not to be confused with science fiction author Allen Dean Foster). Dean is an extremely accomplished global businessman. He has published 5 books, one of which was voted into the top 10 Business Books of the Year. He consults with organizations on understanding the impacts that culture has when you work with many different backgrounds. *Segment 2:* Dean, like Sam, is a native New Yorker and grew up in an extremely multicultural environment. Dean says multiculturalism is like being a fish in the water, who doesn't see the water. You are often immersed in it without knowing it and Dean suggests that people should be aware of how the cultural differences affect a person's environment. Defaulting to a negative standpoint when we think about culture is not productive, and instead it should be thought of as a gift and opportunity to think about things differently. Sam asks what can be done to be more mindful of cultural differences. Dean gives a two tiered response: (1) turn off your ego, and (2) enlist them as an ally in your journey by asking questions. He suggests that businesses use the differences as a tool to achieve an understanding. *Segment 3:* Sam and Dean use the example of the Japanese, who Sam has worked with closely in the past. They do business community-style which means everyone on the team must have their questions answered, everyone has to look at every detail before they come to a decision, and it must be a consensus. This may be frustrating for the US American who is looking for fast decision making without consulting too heavily with the team. There is an inherent humility with the Japanese, who do not differentiate their solo work from the work of the team, which is very different from the American style of business. They discuss how the Japanese have been wearing masks for so long and the Americans are having trouble latching on to this. Sam says that wearing a mask is an “act of kindness” rather than a political statement - it shows caring for the wellbeing of others. The “collective good” mindset that is common in Asia is a factor as to why they are making such progress with COVID. Dean reminds the audience that it's all about balance. *Segment 4:* Sam asks Dean how he relates to someone who has an extremely different culture from him. Dean says that we must humbly and respectfully ask questions about the things we don't understand. It is important to find the similarities between cultures, but the similarities don't negate the differences. The similarities are what you use to build on, but the differences are what will make the problems. Dean says the biggest challenge we must conquer is denying the differences even though the current generation is more mindful that they exist. The problem is people don't know how to manage them. It is the responsibility of everyone to educate themselves about the variances between the people of this planet. Dean's greatest hope is that as we are forced to interact with each other, we find a way to grow rather than retreating to violence. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-conscious-consultant-hour8505/donations