Culture Architects™

In this episode of Culture Architects, David sits down with psychological safety expert Stephan Wiedner. Stephan is currently the CEO of two psychological safety-based organizations: the professional coaching network Noomii, which he co-founded in 2007; and the Zarango training program, which he established in 2021. In today’s episode, Stephan takes listeners through the concept of psychological s...

In this new episode, David and Meg continue talking about intentional hiring practices at Inspirant Group. Meg shares what lessons she’s learned from her mistakes and delves deeper into what it means to lead a people-first company.

Our latest Culture Architect is Meg Newhouse — co-founder and CEO of Inspirant Group. In 2017, Meg was one of three seasoned consultants who started the Chicago-based firm that has since garnered attention for the work it describes as “unconsulting.” In this episode, Meg talks about the origins of “unconsulting,” and walks David through the ways in which she has been intentional about leading the...

David continues his conversation with Brad Whitchurch. In this second part, Brad shares mistakes made and lessons learned from building the culture at Seal Shield, as well as his hopes and projections for the future of the company.

In this episode, David welcomes Brad Whitchurch, the founder, CEO, and chairman of Seal Shield. In 2006, Brad invented the world’s first dishwasher-safe keyboard and mouse, and grew the company into an internationally recognized provider of infection control solutions. Today, Seal Shield is an award-winning workplace that is intentional about its people and its company culture. At their helm is Br...

David wraps up part one of his conversation with Zach McLeroy. In part two, Zach discussed how he selected his team members to maintain Zaxby’s company culture, as well as his vision for the future of Zaxby’s.

For this episode of Culture Architects, David sits down with Zach McLeroy, the co-founder and chairman of Zaxby’s. Since opening his first location in 1990, Zach’s leadership has led the way to Zaxby’s becoming the 30th largest restaurant chain in the United States. From humble beginnings, to a billion-dollar franchise, Zach attributes Zaxby’s growth to the intentional relationships made within th...

In part 2 of the episode, David concludes his conversation with Mark Baiada. Listen in as Mark discusses how he’s implemented rituals and behaviors from the Bayada Way and casts a vision for the future of Bayada Home Healthcare and beyond.

In this episode, David interviews Mark Baiada, the founder and chairman of Bayada Home Healthcare. Since starting the company at age 27, Mark has led Bayada Home Healthcare to international success with over 350 offices in 8 countries. While providing high quality, in home healthcare, Mark has maintained his focus on company culture. In 2002, Mark created The BAYADA Way, a cultural operating syste...

David continues his conversation with Anson Dorrance. In part two, Anson shares the qualities he looks for in his players, and what he is most proud of over his 45-season career.

David interviews Anson Dorrance, the legendary head coach of the Women’s Soccer Team at the University of North Carolina. Throughout his 45 seasons as head coach of the Tar Heels, Anson has led his team to over 1,000 wins including 21 NCAA Championships and 22 ACC Tournament championships. In part one, Anson shares the beginnings of his career and the strategic choices he made to create his team c...

David wraps his conversation with Deanna Knobloch. In part two, Deanna reflects on her long coaching career, and how this team made an impact on the coaches, the players, and the parents, beyond the game.

The guest today is Deanna Knobloch, the legendary former girls’ lacrosse coach at Moorestown High School. During her 27 years coaching the Quakers, Deanna’s leadership carried the team to unprecedented success, including 15 state championships. Her dedication to building team culture has played a major role in making her one of the most successful high school coaches in New Jersey State History. I...

David continues his conversation with Adam Bruckman. In part two, Adam shares the journey and growth OneDigital has experienced over the years, as well as the lessons learned along the way.

In this episode of Culture Architects, we have Adam Bruckman, the President and CEO of OneDigital Health and Benefits. Throughout his extensive career in the healthcare industry, Adam has received numerous awards for his innovation and leadership. Since launching OneDigital in 2000, Adam’s leadership has taken the company from a start-up from to one of the nation’s leading advisory firms. His comm...

David wraps up his conversation with Michael Burns. In part two, Mike shares the importance of servant leadership, the skill set he acquired as a Navy SEAL that is helping him today, and why sometimes you need to sacrifice to succeed.

This week’s Culture Architect is Michael Burns. During his distinguished military career, Mike was involved in hundreds of combat operations around the world and is the recipient of numerous military awards, including the Bronze Star Medal with Valor. Mike also served as a team leader for multiple SEAL, Joint Forces, and multinational teams. Mike is currently an associate at Sway Ventures. In part...

In the conclusion of David's discussion with  Kevin Oakes, the author of Culture Renovation:18 Leadership Actions to Build an Unshakeable Company, Kevin talks about why companies should rethink the way they bring on new employees and why there are no shortcuts when it comes to changing a culture.

David welcomes Kevin Oakes to the podcast. Kevin is the CEO and co-founder of The Institute for Corporate Productivity and the author of Culture Renovation:18 Leadership Actions to Build an Unshakeable Company. Kevin has made it his mission to study and measure the role culture plays in organizational success. In part one, Kevin shares how he was introduced to the human capital field and how he de...

In the conclusion of David's conversation with Rich Miller, the retired CEO of Virtua Health, Rich talks about the two principles that guided his leadership journey and how his team screened for candidates that would fit their culture.

This week's Culture Architect is Rich Miller. In 1995, Miller was the CEO for West Jersey Health System and three years later he played a pivotal role in a merger between West Jersey Health System and Memorial Hospital in Burlington County. That led to the formation of Virtua Health in the marketplace, where Miller would work for 22 years. In part one, Rich shares when he first recognized the impo...

In the conclusion of David's conversation with Horst Schulze, the legendary co-founder of The Ritz Carlton Hotel Company, Horst shares what every CEO is responsible for and why the principles of Ritz Carlton's Gold Standards apply to all industries.

David welcomes legendary Culture Architect, Horst Schulze. Horst is one of the co-founders of The Ritz Carlton Hotel Company and over the course of his career transformed the approach of service and hospitality across multiple industries. In part one, Horst shares his humble beginnings in the service industry, why he joined the founding team of The Ritz Carlton Hotel Company, and how he built a cu...

David wraps up his conversation with Peter Bayer Jr., who proudly served over 29 years as a Soldier in the United States Army and is currently the SVP of Operations at Penske Logistics.  In part two, Pete talks about the most difficult part of his transition to civilian life, the importance of being a servant leader with humility, and what he's learned from the biggest mistakes he's made as a lead...

David welcomes Peter Bayer Jr. to the podcast. Pete is the Senior Vice President of Operations at Penske Logistics. He is also the recipient of the Silver Star while serving in the United States Army during Operation IRAQI FREEDOM, where he helped develop the strategy that brought down the regime in Baghdad. Pete joined Penske Logistics in 2014 where he leads numerous warehousing and transportatio...