The Culture Works Podcast

Most HR leaders talk about culture. Carol MacKinlay has had to build it from scratch, inside a crypto company under federal scrutiny, across a 2,500-person Mexican manufacturing plant, and now as CHRO at Pebble, one of the oldest and largest employer of record providers in the world. In this conversation, Carol shares what she learned about transparency when the headlines are bad, why "talent...

Most organizations treat HR and marketing as separate worlds. Nate Brock, CHRO and Head of Marketing at Lincoln One Federal Credit Union, decided to knock the wall down between them, and the results speak for themselves: record income, record mortgage production, record-low attrition, and more job applicants than they can handle in a county with record-low unemployment. In this conversation, Nate...

Most insurance companies are racing to automate. Chris Mari, CHRO of ECBM, is doing something different, doubling down on human connection while the rest of the industry consolidates under private equity. In this conversation, Chris shares how he restructured a 150-person family-owned brokerage to get the right people in the right seats, why integrity is the one cultural value he'll never nego...

The real cost of getting HR wrong isn't the consultant. It's the drift. Chester Elton and Adrian Gostick host Libbie Lamott, market president at HR Edge Consulting and part of the Peak Road fractional CHRO practice. Lamott explains how fractional HR works: senior-level HR support on a flexible, pay-for-hours basis, with engagements averaging about 25 hours per month. The model helps compan...

Most HR leaders say they want a seat at the table. Jim Scarfone says if you have to ask for it, you haven't earned it yet. As Chief Human Resources Officer and Human Capital Operating Partner at Mid-Ocean Partners, Jim has spent four decades building people infrastructure at companies you know — Toys R Us, Kind Healthy Snacks, Duane Reade, and Ulta Beauty — and now applies that experience to h...

An 866% increase in diverse candidates just by letting AI rewrite a job description. That's not a projection. That's something Roseanne Donahue actually did. As a former Chief People Officer in cybersecurity and a veteran of Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, and JP Morgan, Roseanne has operated at the intersection of highly regulated, high-stakes environments and fast-moving tech culture. In this...

Most HR leaders inherit a system. Cory Rose inherited a vacuum. Stepping into Eyecare Services Partners as CHRO with no predecessor for 18 months, a brand new C-suite, 1,500 employees across multiple states, and a core HR team of four, she had every reason to play it safe. Instead, she got on a plane. In this conversation, Cory breaks down her "collect, gather, go" philosophy, why she fl...

Most wellness programs fail because they're just policies and gym reimbursements. Tiffany Nugent, Chief People Officer at Concert Health and owner of SALT Wellness, learned this the hard way after being hit by a car and recovering while leading 11,000 healthcare employees through COVID. In this conversation, Tiffany shares her philosophy of reflective leadership, why psychological safety is th...

An 80-point engagement swing in three months sounds impossible, but Bruce Nichols did it at Liberty Mutual by doing something radical: he stopped pushing culture from the top down. As a partner at The Human Resource Consortium and former HR leader at companies like Liberty Mutual, Fidelity, and Citizens Bank, Bruce shares how he transformed a failing tech organization by empowering first-line mana...

When your organization wins Best and Brightest Company to Work For ten consecutive years, you're doing something right. Shawn Premer, CHRO of Consumers Credit Union, shares how she's maintained award-winning culture through pandemic uncertainty, financial stress, and the mental health crisis while driving 38 consecutive years of double-digit organic growth. In this conversation, Shawn reve...

What if AI could make your workplace more human, not less? Laura Butler, Chief People Officer at TTEC, is proving this isn't just possible, it's already happening. Leading HR for over 50,000 employees across 25 countries, Laura shares how her team uses AI to strip away robotic tasks and unlock human creativity, connection, and innovation. From personalized onboarding experiences with &quot...

In this powerful conversation, Dave Ulrich, the "Father of Modern HR" and University of Michigan professor, transforms how we think about HR's role in building culture. Discover why the most successful HR leaders focus on customer value over internal processes, how organizational culture beats individual talent 4-to-1 in driving results, and why AI requires "authentic intimacy&q...

What does it take to grow a company from $250 million to $3.5 billion while maintaining 98% employee retention and respect for leadership? Former WD-40 CEO Garry Ridge joins Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton to share the leadership philosophy that transformed his company into a global powerhouse. In this inspiring conversation, Garry reveals how a chance encounter with the Dalai Lama's wisdom a...

Darcy Verhun, CEO of Canada Diagnostic Centers and co-author of "The Freedom of Constraints," joins Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton to discuss his leadership transformation playbook. From inheriting a company with 121 unfinished projects to implementing his focused "CDC" framework (Culture, Deliver Care, Cost Excellence), Darcy shares how he's revolutionizing healthcare le...

In this episode of Culture Works, hosts Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton sit down with Dr. Brent Ridge, co-founder of Beekman 1802, to explore how authentic leadership and purpose-driven culture can transform both business outcomes and human lives. From losing his job as a Manhattan physician during the 2008 recession to building a global beauty brand powered by goat milk and kindness, Brent's...

Most communication fails because people aren't communicating well with themselves first. Leadership expert Molly Tschang, co-author of "Say It Skillfully" with Marshall Goldsmith, joins Adrian and Chester to unpack why those post-meeting sidebar conversations are killing team alignment, and what leaders can do about it. In this conversation, you'll discover the difference between...

The Culture Works Podcast dives deep into the evolving dynamics of leadership and workplace culture. Hosted by bestselling authors and leadership experts Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton, this show brings real conversations with C-suite leaders, HR changemakers, and cultural innovators. From recognition and psychological safety to AI disruptions and hybrid work, every episode helps today’s leaders...