In today's episode: AI shouldn't be used to replace human connections and leadership. AI should be leveraged to manage and govern; scheduling and summaries of events can easily be automated for efficiency. It's not clear how this trend ends for middle-management. We're likely to see jobs at that level shrink as AI becomes more efficient, but will employees accept answering to AI management instead of strong human leadership? CEO Daily Brief is a daily, five-minute podcast for CEOs where we disse...
Mar 11, 2025•7 min
In today's episode: Nobody knows exactly what'll happen next with tariffs. That's disruptive at all levels. Some companies appear to be jumping into big, billion-dollar decisions to move manufacturing to the U.S. They're likely just publicizing or doubling down on efforts that have been in the works for years. Dealing with tariffs is a company-wide task, which requires breaking down silos between departments. It's a huge challenge for leadership. At this point, tariffs aren't the only big challe...
Mar 10, 2025•7 min
In today's episode from Fox LiveNow: Experiences shape beliefs. These headlines about huge cuts, tariffs, and DEI are leaving business leaders uncertain--which requires an adaptive culture strategy. Tech layoffs will continue. We have mature tech companies that no longer need to scale in size. Meanwhile, we're struggling to find nurses and other healthcare providers. Silos between areas of a company need to be broken down now, more than ever. Shared accountability across departments isthe best w...
Mar 07, 2025•7 min
In today's clip from one of Jessica's keynotes: People want three things in life: meaning, connection, and wholeness. When building a culture, these three values should be top-of-mind experiences. Employee engagement is just a measure of productivity and attention; fulfillment is the extent to which abilities and character are fully developed. The role of the leader isn't to tell people what to do; it's to create an environment where people can thrive. Culture Leaders Daily is a daily, five-minu...
Mar 07, 2025•5 min
In today's episode: Our understanding of human resources and corporate organization will become more skills-based and cross-functional, requiring continuous learning. AI provides massive value, but only when you redesign jobs and organization. It may not replace a job in its entirety, but it can take tasks from many different roles. In this time of change, people fear job loss; but it's is also an opportunity to shape the kinds of jobs that will be available in the future. Culture Leaders Daily ...
Mar 06, 2025•8 min
In today's episode: The ability to scale new technology often gets stuck in middle management due to fear of job loss. In the past, hoarding information made a person valuable. In the age of AI, collaboration and innovation will be key. Adaptable, innovation-focused cultures are the ones that drive results. Culture Leaders Daily is a daily, five-minute podcast for CEOs where we dissect the week's biggest news, unpack hot-button workplace trends, and bring you exclusive interviews with leaders wh...
Mar 05, 2025•8 min
Karalee Close, Accenture’s Global Lead for the Talent & Organization practice joins Jessica to talk about all things artificial intelligence; starting with her belief that AI, like all technology, can be harnessed for human flourishing. They discuss the web of relationships between AI, employees, and corporate structures, the evolution of change management practices, and the growing need for human skills like empathy and creative problem-solving in an AI-driven workforce. Technology is the H...
Mar 04, 2025•58 min
In today's episode: With new technology that learns alongside humans, change management is no longer static; it's about continuous learning. Ina co-learning model, humans and AI work together to solve problems; both learn from and improve each other through consistent feedback. Culture Leaders Daily is a daily, five-minute podcast for CEOs where we dissect the week's biggest news, unpack hot-button workplace trends, and bring you exclusive interviews with leaders who leverage culture to drive re...
Mar 04, 2025•5 min
In today's clip from one of Jessica's keynotes: Back to basics: what exactly is culture? It isn't ping-pong tables or corporate retreats. Professor Sumantra Ghoshal's definition comes closest: "the smell of the place," which shaped his behavior. There are thousands of subcultures in any organization; each leader creates their own "smell of the place." Culture is the set of experiences that shape beliefs, which drives actions that provide results. It isn't magic: this is how humans work in all as...
Mar 03, 2025•7 min
In today's clip from one of Jessica's keynotes: People want to understand their company's purpose, values, and goals. The Seed Model provides a cohesive narrative for a company. Purpose: in six words or less, why does the company exist? Core Values: What is essential for us to succeed, and what will be possible as a result of achieving our purpose? Priorities and Objectives: What are our priorities for the next year? How do we measure success? Culture Leaders Daily is a daily, five-minute podcas...
Feb 28, 2025•4 min
In today's clip from a Q&A at one of Jessica's keynotes: Culture change was key to Oracle's successful shift to the cloud in the 2010s. Shawn Price found the operating gaps in the business and the cultural shifts necessary to fix them. They followed what would become the Culture Equation: identify key results, the actions necessary to achieve them, and the cultural beliefs that need to drive those actions. Culture Leaders Daily is a daily, five-minute podcast for CEOs where we dissect the we...
Feb 27, 2025•6 min
In today's episode from Schwab Network: Whether you agree with the Trump administration's actions on tariffs and spending, it creates uncertainty across all levels of the economy. Markets prefer certainty, whether it's bad news or good news. In these uncertain times, the markets are dropping. Individually, our confidence is tied to our perception of the world. Top performers will be confident, since they still have job security. Lower performers will feel a lot shakier. Culture Leaders Daily is ...
Feb 26, 2025•7 min
In today's clip from a Q&A at one of Jessica's keynotes: Within a company, how can one team convince another to offer help and realign their priorities? The answer: starting with love. By caring for others and offering ways to help them succeed, you build goodwill. By offering a new experience, you create a new belief, which drives a reaction: they'll help you in return. Culture Leaders Daily is a daily, five-minute podcast for CEOs where we dissect the week's biggest news, unpack hot-button...
Feb 25, 2025•3 min
In today's episode: Aviatrix's Doug Merritt explains how he successfully transitioned a software company to the cloud--a process which had huge impacts on its workforce. The company saw large turnover in the first eighteen months, but they planned on a five-year time horizon to pace out the change. The plan itself changed frequently, but the diligent planning process was key to weathering the transition. Culture Leaders Daily is a daily, five-minute podcast for CEOs where we dissect the week's b...
Feb 24, 2025•7 min
In today's episode: Aviatrix's Doug Merritt wants to build cultures around daily learning and consistent feedback. In a culture that prioritizes that kind of learning, managers need to be "dribbling coaches"--helping employees continuously implement feedback to achieve long-term success. Feedback is a constant part of school, sports, and other endeavors. There's no reason it should stop in the workplace. Culture Leaders Daily is a daily, five-minute podcast for CEOs where we dissect the week's b...
Feb 21, 2025•7 min
In today's episode from Bloomberg Radio: Government jobs used to be a safe, reliable bet--but that's not the case any longer. To survive in the new, less-stable environment, federal workers will need to upskill and become top talent, just like their private-sector counterparts. The cuts being made by DOGE have rippling impacts across industries and time-scales. We won't know the full impact for at least a few months. Culture Leaders Daily is a daily, five-minute podcast for CEOs where we dissect...
Feb 20, 2025•8 min
In today's episode: Aviatrix's Doug Merritt says there is no failure--just feedback that leads to improvement. When we over-focus on binary successes and failures, we miss the feedback that every outcome reveals to us. By focusing on learning, daily rigor, and a strong feedback loop, we can be ready for surprises and setbacks, achieving success in the long-term. Culture Leaders Daily is a daily, five-minute podcast for CEOs where we dissect the week's biggest news, unpack hot-button workplace tr...
Feb 19, 2025•7 min
Doug Merritt, Chairman, CEO, and President of Aviatrix, joins Jessica to discuss his process-centered philosophy in life and business, which focuses on daily learning and consistent feedback to achieve long-term results. Plus, how he developed his company’s culture to survive a digital transformation from on-site to cloud-based software service, and how lessons from his upbringing shaped an approach to leadership that reaches big goals while honoring the humanity of the people who achieve them. ...
Feb 18, 2025•1 hr 6 min
In today's episode: The latest inflation numbers are bad news; things are getting more expensive, and there's no immediate relief in sight. That means rising cost pressures for businesses, especially in areas like real estate, wages, and the supply chain. Leaders need to be adaptable, and the employee experience is now more important than ever. As people get more stressed, you need to get them on board with your purpose, strategy, and culture. Culture Leaders Daily is a daily, five-minute podcas...
Feb 18, 2025•5 min
In today's episode: We've seen the upheavals for federal workers in the last few weeks, including the "fork in the road" email offering a buyout. Anecdotally, people don't seem to be taking the offer, but there's still plenty of disruption, strategic shifting, and realignment to scrub mentions of DEI. How are federal workers on the ground handling these developments? We'd love to hear from them. Culture Leaders Daily is a daily, five-minute podcast for CEOs where we dissect the week's biggest ne...
Feb 17, 2025•5 min
In today's episode: Whatever we do regularly, our brains get better at. That includes things like anxiety, avoidance, and pessimism--but also mindsets of growth, optimism, and self-improvement. Negativity and fear can be attractive mindsets, but they only lead to worse results. Sometimes, the answer is to act your way into better thinking, rather than the other way around. Culture Leaders Daily is a daily, five-minute podcast for CEOs where we dissect the week's biggest news, unpack hot-button w...
Feb 14, 2025•5 min
In today's episode: From the AI Action Summit in Paris, it's clear that governments are moving from Fear to FOMO when it comes to AI. Leaders are now interested in getting employees onboard with adopting a digital transformation. The official line is that AI won't replace jobs and will result in higher wages--but so far, we've mostly seen layoffs. Culture Leaders Daily is a daily, five-minute podcast for CEOs where we dissect the week's biggest news, unpack hot-button workplace trends, and bring...
Feb 13, 2025•6 min
In today's episode from Merit Street: It's still not clear who will be the AI superpower in the future, but the US is certainly in the running. The winners of the AI race will be the people who get their people onboard--which means the biggest task is shifting minds, not just developing technology. Culture Leaders Daily is a daily, five-minute podcast for CEOs where we dissect the week's biggest news, unpack hot-button workplace trends, and bring you exclusive interviews with leaders who leverag...
Feb 12, 2025•3 min
In today's episode: Leaders are good at setting goals, but companies need employee buy-in at a fundamental culture level in order to make big changes, like adapting to AI. Pick three goals to focus on, then tell employees, out loud, the mindset you'd like them to have. Employees should know: if they aren't thinking about how to adapt AI into their job, their bosses certainly are. Good leaders will emphasize education and training programs to help their employees prepare for the shifting workplac...
Feb 11, 2025•8 min
In today's episode: The bipartisan State of the Nation Report reveals that America is wealthy, but unhappy. We're doing great in terms of productivity and economic output, but terrible in terms of depression, substance abuse, polarization, trust in government, labor force participation and more. For CEOs, that means a precarious balance. If the social metrics keep getting worse, there will come a tipping point that shatters the economic metrics, too. Leaders can get ahead of that by building tru...
Feb 10, 2025•7 min
In today's episode: Jessica recently spoke at a company that has a pretty non-inspirational mission. But employees across the board raved about the company culture. By implementing the same techniques that Culture Leaders emphasizes, the company earned long-term employees who love the work. A strong culture can make any company one that people want to work for. Culture Leaders Daily is a daily, five-minute podcast for CEOs where we dissect the week's biggest news, unpack hot-button workplace tre...
Feb 07, 2025•6 min
In today's episode: Workday has another announcement: a big layoff is coming. This as the company is reported to have exceeded its Q4 forecast. These employees aren't being directly replaced by agentic AI; instead, their labor costs will go toward other departments like the ones working on AI projects. In a few years, those jobs might be gone, too. This all comes America is leading the world in economic output, as well as in depression, anxiety, and overdoses. Economically, we're doing great, bu...
Feb 06, 2025•6 min
In today's episode: Across the political spectrum, people are outraged. To be effective, outrage needs to be channeled into accountability. The four steps to accountability are: See It, Own It, Solve It, Do It. Identify the problem, focusing on the part in your control, find a solution, and implement it. Leaders need to take accountability and lead their teams into adopting the same mindset. Culture Leaders Daily is a daily, five-minute podcast for CEOs where we dissect the week's biggest news, ...
Feb 05, 2025•6 min
Jim McCann, Founder and CEO of 1-800-FLOWERS, shares his story as an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and thought leader who turned a single flower shop into a multi-billion dollar enterprise. In this conversation, Jim discusses the importance of community connections in business, and his efforts to adapt his business to the age of AI, and the lessons he learned while writing his self-help book, Lodestar. What is Your Why? Jim explains how his ever-changing why has now become multi-generational; lo...
Feb 04, 2025•55 min
In today's episode: Just like some companies were born digital-native, there will be companies that are born AI-native. Older companies need to do the legwork to keep up. Each AI model will have its own strengths. unique strengths and weaknesses. Jim McCann of 1-800-FLOWERS says businesses should find AI-building partners whose models most suit their needs. Culture Leaders Daily is a daily, five-minute podcast for CEOs where we dissect the week's biggest news, unpack hot-button workplace trends,...
Feb 04, 2025•5 min
