Leading Organizations That Matter

On my podcast, I often cover topics associated with meaning, purpose, impact, and personal values… though I have not as of yet discussed issues pertaining to faith. I’m happy to change that with today’s interview. Matthew Potter is a co-founder of the Pray.com platform which contains over 1,700 years of content consumption. We discuss his fascinating path to the point of developing the app and sev...

In this episode, I speak with change and leadership expert, Jim Carlough, on the topics of change management versus managing change, the six characteristics of effective leaders, building strong and effective teams, and the common mistakes that leaders make. 

This week, I had a chance to chat with Professor Erin Sullivan (Harvard Medical School and Suffolk University) about physician and provider burnout, a problem that is getting worse and negatively impacting all of us. How did this happen and what can we do about it?

Strategic planning exercises offer a unique opportunity to gather feedback from employees. In this week's episode, I discuss recent trends in this regard.

Have you ever been in a meeting and someone (or perhaps you yourself) said " I wish we had more accountability here. " In this week's episode, I suggest a strategy for moving in this direction.

Peter Drucker said: "Culture eats strategy for breakfast." I actually see it a bit differently.

Some organizations and their leaders struggle to make and execute on critical decisions. In this week's episode, I discuss why this might be the case.

According to surgeon, author, and thought leader, Atul Gawande: " Everyone deserves a coach. " In this week's episode, I explore whether Dr. Gawande is right. Noted professor, facilitator, and executive coach, Ted Witherell, and I discuss this topic and ponder some deep questions such as: (1) Are you worthy of an investment? and (2) How do you process inspiration? For more informati...

It's time for a change in your organization... but how do you get started? In this brief episode, I offer some advice on how to begin the process.  I refer to my "Four Values" methodology in this episode. Link here .

Do you and your organization possess the necessary capabilities in order to manage a change agenda? In this brief episode, I suggest an equally important question: does it possess the commitment?

This week, I speak with leader, consultant, and professor Gina Mazza about a topic that is anything but the new, new thing: Servant Leadership . It's a leadership style and set of values that does, however, seem to be making a comeback. In this episode, Gina I I discuss what servant leadership is and why it's gaining more attention.

Hospice Nurse Penny is on a mission to demystify death, help all of us to become more comfortable with the dying process, and alleviate something she herself has experienced: death anxiety. Moving from bedside hospice nursing to social media platforms, Nurse Penny uses education, humor, and direct talk to accomplish her mission. In this episode we discuss all of these matters, the hospice industry...

In this week's episode, I speak with Attorney Robert Griffin, a renowned expert on non-profit organizations. Our topic relates to what causes such organizations to go sideways from a legal and governance perspective, the causes of decline and trouble, the marks of good governance, and the many lessons learned from his forty years of policy-making, legal practice, and contributing over 170 cum...

“ Don’t waste your suffering .” — Deborah Grassman In this week’s episode, I speak with the founder of Opus Peace , an organization that was founded based on the important life lessons gained from working with 10,000 dying veterans. Deborah Grassman and I speak on the topics of childhood scripting, unprocessed trauma, personal pain, and peace and healing. This is a powerful topic and I hope you’ll...

Dr. Annie Brewster is a both a physician and a patient and in this week's episode, we explore the incredible (and I dare say surprising ) healing power of storytelling. We cover Dr. Brewster's personal experiences and the ensuing work that she and her colleagues have done to empower, inspire, and... to heal. Her work is meaningful and will, I hope, help you to consider your own personal...

It's not every day that the owner of a multi-billion dollar global for profit entity decides to convert to his company to non-profit status. In what can only be described as a  profound "put your money where your mouth is" statement, Bayada Home Health Care did just that. In this week's interview, I discuss this conversion - along with some broader health care industry topics -...

Profitability is good and essential, but the significant increase in the number of for profit hospice organizations has had an impact and much of that is not so good. In this episode, I speak with Diana Franchitto, President and CEO of HopeHealth, which is a leading non-profit hospice and palliative care organization. We discuss this trend and answer the question: does this matter? Spoiler alert -...

Suddenly, AI seems to be everywhere . In this week's episode, I interview renowned expert, Dmitri Tcherevik, an innovator, leader, and educator, to learn more, especially as it pertains to mission driven non-profits. Dmitri helps to explore whether leaders should consider AI to be a great opportunity, a mere curiosity, or even possibly a threat. We discuss implications for students and indust...

I'm sure everyone can think of good "less is more" examples. In this week's episode, I comment on this from the perspective of leading organizations in crisis and/or needing to undertake a significant change agenda. I cite two examples where this was exactly the right path forward.

Woody Hungarter is very uniquely qualified to speak to the daunting task of strengthening and preserving the legacy of historically significant mission driven organizations. He served as CEO of the VNA of Philadelphia, a pioneering 138 year old nonprofit, and now as CEO of Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice, which is a manifestation of the landmark Karen Ann Quinlan case of the 1970s and 1980s. In this epi...

In this episode, I discuss the mergers and acquisitions of mission driven non-profits with industry expert, Mark Kulik, of The Braff Group. We review the whys and hows for those leaders charged with the mission, impact, and legacy of such organizations as they consider the consolidations taking place within the industry. I am hoping that this will provide an orientation and primer for those who wa...

This week, I speak with long-time colleague, Lisa DiTullio, principal of Project Chalk Talk , about managing change and how best to ensure your own - and your company's - competency and capacity for managing change. Lisa and I were colleagues during the high profile turnaround at Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, an organization that transformed from state supervised receivership to the number one...

I am pleased to present an interview with Dr. Andrew Gerber, President of Silver Hill Hospital in New Canaan, Connecticut. Dr. Gerber is a clinician, leader, educator, and widely respected voice on issues pertaining to mental health care. In this interview, we discuss the current behavioral health "crisis" and the various issues impacting hospitals, physicians, patients, and... all of us...

With appreciation to David Storto, long-time health care industry leader, in this episode we explore the topic of Medicare Advantage. We look at Medicare Advantage from the perspective of taxpayers, enrollees, and health care providers. As we discuss, there are some very important pros and cons to this governmental health care program… ones that impact patients, providers, and ultimately… all of u...

When the focus of a strategic planning initiative is to develop a "product", then that's an opportunity lost. Here, I suggest another way of thinking about strategic planning.