The Culture Fix® Podcast with Will Scott

Linda Maclachlan is the CEO of Entara, a successful IT support firm. Entara was originally named YJT Solutions, and operated for 17 years under that name. Expanded services for the company led to a rebranding with an attention on the future of the IT industry. Linda also serves on the Board of Directors for the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce. Previously Linda had served as owner and CEO of Bracken Resources, LLC.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

• [07:30] The 4 Core Values of Entara
• [16:08] Measuring employee fulfillment of the Core Values
• [37:05] Linda gives advice for adopting culture to lead a company

Resources Mentioned on this episode

• Linda Maclachlan
• Entara
• EO

Connect with Will

• About Me
• Culture Czars
• Linked In

Sonny Balani is the CEO of Balani Custom Clothing, a family clothing business which he inherited from his father. Sonny originally went to school for Finance at Michigan State University before growing into the family business working with his father. Sonny also is a member of the Board of Directors for Accelerated Growth Advisors, which provides consulting services for entrepreneurial companies looking to develop and sustain growth.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

• [01:33] Where does Balani Custom Clothing come from?
• [10:56] Core Values translate beyond employees to customers
• [22:47] Culture grows from the team to the rest of the company

Resources Mentioned on this episode

• Sonny Balani
• Balani Custom Clothing

Connect with Will

• About Me
• Culture Czars
• Linked In

David Nance is the CEO and President of SABRE, a world-class personal safety company specializing in providing top-quality pepper spray products to law enforcement organizations and civilians around the world. Since becoming the CEO in 1997, David has developed multiple safety programs such as the Law Enforcement Training Department, the Civilian Safety Awareness Program, and the College Safety Program to help citizens and officials better understand personal safety and the operation of SABRE’s products.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

• [01:00] What is SABRE?
• [12:12] Empowering employees to live the core values of SABRE
• [24:08] The cost benefits of having a great culture

Resources Mentioned on this episode

• YPO
• David Nance
• SABRE

Connect with Will

• About Will
• Culture Czars
• Linked In

Todd Smart is the CEO and founder of Chicago Traction Center, a company which helps entrepreneurs and their company leadership conceive and develop core values which encourage healthy culture within the organization. Todd is a lifelong entrepreneur who started his first business in 1991, when he was only 23 years old. He has started many other businesses since then including EO Accelerator, an entrepreneur training company.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

• [2:50] What corporate culture is to Todd
• [14:50] Trust is at the core of core values
• [25:48] Client success as a metric for measuring the quality of culture

Resources Mentioned on this episode

• Todd Smart
• 5 Dysfunctions of a Team (book)
• Mastering the Rockefeller Habits (book)

Connect with Will

• About Me
• Culture Czars
• Linked In

Julie Mitchell is the CEO and founder of Torq Ride, which began operations in 2016. She is also the founder of Parcel Design, located in Toronto, Ontario. Parcel Design is a brand design firm which helps companies find an identity and brand for which they can grow around. Torq Ride is an indoor cycling studio with a focus on culture and rapport. The relationship with the customer is built with the same dynamic as Julie looks for in her staff.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

• [2:35] What is corporate culture?
• [19:02] Mistakes are okay if you learn
• [22:34] Julie gives advice for the Culture Czars community

Resources Mentioned on this episode

• https://www.torqride.com

If you got the culture right, everything else will follow. That line captures the core of today’s episode. It is my honor to have Rachel Nielsen as a guest, the founder, and CEO of Result Drivers. The company designed to train leaders how to be result oriented. Rachel Nielsen will remind us of one of Newton’s laws: Cause and Effect. We will talk about how one person’s actions create impact and why results matter. We will also discuss the importance of having fun at work and with the people you work with an amazing realization.

I had an amazing realization. The company’s core values must be an essential aspect of an everyday operation. This important reminder resulted from a story Rachel will be sharing with us. There was an instance in the early stage of the company when the core values were not practiced. What happened to the employees involved and to the company itself? What relevant lesson did Rachel learn because of that? Let’s all tune in and find out together.

“We are people first. So, we have to treat one another as people.”

- Rachel Nielsen

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In this episode, you will learn:

1:21 – What Result Drivers as a company does and its background

3:37 –  The culture in Result Drivers and what is unique about its language

8:05 – Personal perspective about what culture is

8:52 – An example from personal experience of a toxic culture

13:47 – The process that brought about the culture in Result Drivers

14:55 – Employee awareness about the company’s culture and core values, and the practices that showcase these values

17:45 – A big mistake from the past and the lesson that came with it

20:25 – An event that resulted from violating the culture of Result Drivers and the realizations that came with it

26:40 – Rachel’s advice to the audience in managing culture as a leader – the importance of soft skills and EQ

Resources:

• Result Drivers
• Cultureczars.com

Connect with Rachel:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website

Connect with Will: 

• LinkedIn
• Website

Creating a culture where people feel safe and free to be vulnerable is by far one of the most challenging tasks any leader of a company can perform. Given that, it can also be very fulfilling.

Truly that it is a leader’s responsibility to create a home for its employees where they can be themselves, free to make mistakes, start all over and do better. All these can take into place when there is a solid culture anyone can turn to for guidance and direction. Not everyone is perfect, I think nobody is. But anyone can try, give it their best shot, and try again. We will come to realize just how relevant having a good set of culture can make or break a company.

Today, our guest, Tim Padgett, will introduce to us the two faces of culture: the bad and the good. In this episode, we will have a clearer picture of how a bad culture looks like and what damage it can do not only to the morale of its employees but also its impact on the business as a whole.

Tim Padgett is the CEO of The Pepper Group company who, having been inspired by the bad experience he had from a company that’s founded on bad culture, established his own company and ensured that the core values governing his company reflects none of the cultures he and his colleagues had to embody from their previous company.

Let’s all set into the journey of realization that the core of culture is just the regular things we do every day and know that through education, we can deal with win won negotiations and utilize our mistakes as a strong foundation for success.

“It doesn’t matter what we teach. All knowledge can be a leverage later.”

-Tim Padgett

In this episode, you will learn:

1:45 – Introduction to The Pepper Group company

3:45 – Personal definition and perspective about culture

5:55 – A program called "Kick Ass"

10:40 – The process of creating the core values of The Pepper Group

12:15 – Frameworks of the company’s culture

26:00 – A powerful recruiting message

32:00 – The dynamics that make people move

34:45 – Philosophy Tim got from other companies

35:28 – 2 main job responsibilities in the company

40:18 – Examples of a bad culture experienced: culture of family, culture of pride

46:05 – How to build a culture of joy

Resources:

• PepperGroup.com
• CultureCzars.com

Connect with Tim:

• Facebook
• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Website

Connect with Will:

• LinkedIn
• Website

What happens when a company’s culture is set on default and not really carefully and thoughtfully chosen nor aligned with the profile of the company? That’s a question we will come to unwrap the answer today. Having been a firm believer that leaders should not be leading the company and focus on leading the culture, we will come to realize the cost of not having a culture we can all go back to every time a certain company faces struggles and is threatened to go down the brink. Brian Waspi, the CEO of Clear Water Outdoors which is one of the leading companies that sells everything that supports outdoor activities, will be joining us today and will share his insights about good culture versus bad culture, the experiences that helped him start over after losing what he initially built due to misguided culture, and teach us a lesson or two about the value of doing things right the first time, with the help of carefully drafted set of core values. We will also learn how a company’s core value helped in the selection and hiring process and in determining the most fitting profile to fill up a post.

“A goal will push you but a vision pulls you. Money follows value.”

-Brian Waspi

In this episode, you will learn:

1:35 – Background of Clear Water Outdoor

3:20 – The foundation of the company’s culture based on people’s emotion

3:50 – The 2 fronts of culture Clear Water Outdoor is built upon – internal and client-side

8:10 – Bad experience on bad culture Brian Waspi has encountered, its impact, and outcome

11:25 – Core values of Clear Water Outdoor - Be awesome.

13:35 – The process that came up with the core values of the company

15:38 – How all employees are “living and breathing” the core values of the company

20:15 – Job hiring interviews based on core values

20:30 – An interesting story based on personal experience showcasing the culture of

being awesome

26:30 – How the business started all over again after losing it the first time

28:25 – Brian’s advice around culture

34:32 – How culture influence growing profit and turnover

Resources:

• ClearWaterOutdoor.com
• CultureCzars.com

Connect with Brian:

• Facebook
• Instagram
• LinkedIn
• Website

Connect with Will:

• LinkedIn
• Website