Work That Matters Podcast

In a global, 24/7 market place, the demands on businesses are significant. How executives guide a company through the business complexities differentiates the winners from the mediocre performers. On Work That Matters we like to explore how managers can make a difference in their organizations and for their employees. In this episode we'll look at some of the ingredients necessary to flawlessly execute ideas in today's complex business world. My guest is James Kerr. James is a management consultant, organizational behaviorist and partner at Blum Shapiro — a regional accounting, tax and business consulting firm based in New England. There James specializes in strategic planning, corporate transformation and project & program development. He is the author of four books, including The Executive Checklist, the book we'll explore today. Get ready to take notes. More great wisdom coming your way. If you enjoy Work That Matters, please rate the podcast. For show suggestions, please email Shawn Murphy at sh

CEO David Hassell of 15Five believes his company's why is to help businesses and their people realize their highest potential. We explore how 15Five helps businesses and employees accomplish such an aspirational outcome. Work is more than a place; it's what you do. Get ready to take notes. More great wisdom coming your way. If you enjoy Work That Matters, please rate the podcast. For show suggestions, please email Shawn Murphy at shawn@switchandshift.com.

What would happen if you looked at your job as a way of doing good? What if you looked beyond the activities you do and focus on the impact they have? These are actions of someone who does great work. My guest,David Sturt, author of Great Work, is going to help us dig into what great work is and what it looks like. Get ready to take notes. More great wisdom coming your way. If you enjoy Work That Matters, please rate the podcast. For show suggestions, please email Shawn Murphy at shawn@switchandshift.com.

The dominant storyline in business has focused on matters such as profits, costs, competition, efficiencies, logistics. These are critical matters to manage for businesses to thrive. They are not, however, the only matters that require management attention, and only part of the equation for a thriving organization. My guest today, Rich Karlgaard, publisher of Forbes and "Innovation Rules" columnist, positions that the soft edge items, like trust, story, teams, need management attention to get ahead in today's business environment. Rich has a new book out titled The Soft Edge. Get ready to take notes. More great wisdom coming your way. If you enjoy Work That Matters, please rate the podcast. For show suggestions, please email Shawn Murphy at shawn@switchandshift.com.

We want more than a 9-5 job. We want work to be meaningful and directed by purpose. What does it take to create a work environment rooted in purpose? This is a leadership challenge for today's leader. And it's the focus of this episode of Work That Matters. I talk with Christoph Lueneburger, author of Culture of Purpose and lead Egon Zehnder's global Private Equity Practice, having previously founded and scaled the firm's sustainability practice. Get ready to take notes. More great wisdom coming your way. If you enjoy Work That Matters, please rate the podcast. For show suggestions, please email Shawn Murphy at shawn@switchandshift.com.

Professor and writer Zeynep Ton (coolest name ever!) is passionate about helping businesses understand how to create a good job strategy. These are jobs that help the business grow through investing in employees. It's a people first approach. We use Zeynep’s book The Good Job Strategy to inform this fascinating discussion. Get ready to take notes. More great wisdom coming your way. If you enjoy Work That Matters, please rate the podcast. For show suggestions, please email Shawn Murphy at shawn@switchandshift.com.

Professional coach Nan Watts is passionate about helping people come alive to make a dent in the world. Nan and I talk through the invaluable journey of deepening and expanding our own self-awareness to have a more meaningful impact as a leader. Get ready to take notes. More great wisdom coming your way. If you enjoy Work That Matters, please rate the podcast. For show suggestions, please email Shawn Murphy at shawn@switchandshift.com.

According to business owner, designer and author Brian Sooy, a business must know what it stands for to make a difference. In this episode of Work That Matters, I explore with Brian what the elements are to be a business that is clear on what it stands for—what its cause is. We dip into Brian's book Raise Your Voice to guide the conversation. Get ready to take notes. More great wisdom coming your way. If you enjoy Work That Matters, please rate the podcast. For show suggestions, please email Shawn Murphy at shawn@switchandshift.com.

How people are influenced and how behaviors are changed is rooted in their belief system. So, belief plays a key role in business outcomes and causing change. In this episode, speaker and writer Tom Asacker talks about how belief is the genesis for taking action and change that yield desired results. Join us as we explore Tom's latest book, The Business of Belief. Get ready to take notes. More great wisdom coming your way. If you enjoy Work That Matters, please rate the podcast. For show suggestions, please email Shawn Murphy at shawn@switchandshift.com.

Dr. Andrew Thorn has spent the past 20 years working with leaders to help them bring their personal and professional responsibilities into full harmony. He does this, in part, by helping them understand what their leadership legacy is. For many of us we think of legacy as something we leave behind. But Andrew has a different take on this and it can very well change the way you lead and show up as a leader. Get ready to take notes. More great wisdom coming your way. If you enjoy Work That Matters, please rate the podcast. For show suggestions, please email Shawn Murphy at shawn@switchandshift.com.

As a leader, how do you respond to messy, difficult situations? Strategic conversations are what successful leaders use to navigate those difficult situations. In this lively, upbeat interview, authors Chris Ertel and Lisa Kay Solomon guide us through key elements to have impact through strategic conversations. Get ready to take notes. More great wisdom coming your way. If you enjoy Work That Matters, please rate the podcast. For show suggestions, please email Shawn Murphy at shawn@switchandshift.com.

Join us for an in depth conversation with author, speaker and Chief Envisioner at TELUS Transformation Office, Dan Pontefract. Dan talks with Shawn about flatter business sturctures, connected leadership, and keeping your leadership relevant in rapidly changing environments. Get ready to take notes. More great wisdom coming your way. If you enjoy Work That Matters, please rate the podcast. For show suggestions, please email Shawn Murphy at shawn@switchandshift.com.

I wanted to explore an unusual topic for the show. Today college graduates face a difficult time finding work that matters. Award winning educator and writer Jonathan Blake Huer discusses what students need to do to be employed when they graduate. He shares wisdom from his book Be Employed When You Graduate. Get ready to take notes. More great wisdom coming your way. If you enjoy Work That Matters, please rate the podcast. For show suggestions, please email Shawn Murphy at shawn@switchandshift.com.

To do work that matters means creating results. To work hard and go nowhere is demotivating. A clear strategy for what you want to accomplish is key to realizing the benefits of doing meaningful work. Author and consultant Rich Horwath helps clarify what we need to consider when setting a strategy for success. In this interview Rich and I talk about the three basic disciplines of strategic thinking: Acumen, Allocation and Action. We also discuss how start-ups can leverage strategy to grow their businesses. Get ready to take notes, more great wisdom coming your way. For recommendations of show guests, email shawn@switchandshift.com Please leave a rating in iTunes or Stitcher. Let us know how we're doing!

We all need an anchor to guide our leadership. Identifying and defining your personal values serves as an important anchor. In this interview, CEO and author Harry Kraemer identifies the four principles of values-based leadership: Self-reflection, balance and perspective, true self-confidence, and genuine humility. We discuss these four principles and how they guide a practice of values-based leadership. Get ready to take notes, more great wisdom coming your way. For recommendations of show guests, email shawn@switchandshift.com Please leave a rating in iTunes or Stitcher. Let us know how we're doing!

How have you spent your life? Does it reflect your purpose? For some of us, living with purpose is an ideal or a someday-possibility. Robert D. Smith advocates living each day as if it was your last. Sounds trite, right? But his enthusiasm and insights on what that looks like is hardly trite. Wait till you hear what Robert has to say about the meaning and importance of No Reserves. No Retreats. No Regrets. Powerful stuff. Get ready to take notes, more great wisdom coming your way. For recommendations of show guests, email shawn@switchandshift.com Please leave a rating in iTunes or Stitcher. Let us know how we're doing!

What does doing work that matters look like? Well, it's pursuing work that brings joy and provides value. Andrew Ferebee embodies these two important aspects. In this interview Andrew is the founder and host of Knowledge for Men, a podcast. We explore what you can do to pursue meaningful work, strike out on your own, and pursue purposeful work. Get ready to take notes, more great wisdom coming your way. For recommendations of show guests, email shawn@switchandshift.com Please leave a rating in iTunes or Stitcher. Let us know how we're doing!

LaRae's job was to expose foreign spies and recruit them to work for the U.S. government. Her time in the FBI taught her mental toughness that she now taps into and teaches leaders how to develop their own mental toughness. We talk about the elements of mental toughness and what's key to building it. We explore how mental toughness can help you advance in your careers and navigate the transitions we all face in life. Get ready to take notes. More great wisdom coming your way. If you enjoy Work That Matters, please rate the podcast. For show suggestions, please email Shawn Murphy at shawn@switchandshift.com.

How does a business evolve to remain relevant in the 21st century? Certainly it’s a big question with a complex answer. Yet, Frederic Laloux has answers that are elegant, useful and center on bringing humanity into the way business is run. If you believe business is ripe for reinvention, then listen in to Frederic’s insightful ideas. Get ready to take notes. More great wisdom coming your way. If you enjoy Work That Matters, please rate the podcast. For show suggestions, please email Shawn Murphy at shawn@switchandshift.com.

Speaker and author Jeremy Kingsley tackles the business value of inspiration and its powerful influence on business results. Listen in as we explore the type of leadership essential to inspire people and the elements of inspiration. Get ready to take notes. More great wisdom coming your way. If you enjoy Work That Matters, please rate the podcast. For show suggestions, please email Shawn Murphy at shawn@switchandshift.com.