The Sticky From The Inside Podcast

Is Purpose Too Popular? What About Mattering?

Episode Overview
Professor Zach Mercurio thinks Company Purpose is getting a bit too popular. In their engaging conversation on Company Purpose and Mattering, Andy Goram asks Professor Zach Mercurio to explain himself.  They discuss the fact that purpose is not new, it's something that's innate in humans. Why purpose gets into trouble when it's used as a tactic and not a genuine driver of why you exist. When proclaiming your purpose is akin to being a bad comedian. How questions a toddler can answer may help. The differences between having a purpose and being purposeful and what that really means. Why these things are common sense but not common practice. The difference between the meaning "of" work and the meaning "in" work. The impact of mattering and significance at work and a whole bunch more stuff. Plus of course, 3 fabulous Sticky Notes that summarise the key take outs to help you improve!
Join The Conversation
Find me on LinkedIn here
Follow the Podcast on Instagram here
Follow the Podcast on Twitter here
Check out the Bizjuicer website here
Download the podcast here
Useful Links
Follow Professor Zach Mercurio on LinkedIn here
Follow Zach Mercurio on Twitter here
Follow Zach Mercurio on Instagram here
Follow Zach Mercurio on Facebook here
Sign-up for Zach's "The Spark" newsletter here
Find out more about Zach Mercurio here
Find Zach Mercurio's Book - The Invisible Leader here
Read the McKinsey article referenced here
Find out more about Viktor Frankl here
Find Viktor Frankl's book - Man's Search For Meaning here
Read Larry Fink's 2021 Letter to CEO's here
Full Episode Transcript
Get the full transcript of the episode here
 
 

You Can't Run A Values-Led Business, Remotely

Episode Overview
In a not too distant future world where remote and hybrid working remains commonplace, Andy speaks to Mark Saxby, about Mark's belief that you can't run a truly values-led business, remotely.
Mark was a BBC journalist for 20 years and is now the proud co-director of Status Social, a social media agency that really does live and breathe its core values. They even bring in outside businesses to talk to them and show them how that works in real-life.  This is why Andy was so shocked during in a recent conversation, when Mark said, "You can't run a values-led business, remotely."
In this episode the pair discuss and exchange views on what is really meant by being a "values-led business", what the benefits of that are for an organisation, the impact the global pandemic has had on maintaining cultural integrity and employee engagement within businesses.  Mark openly talks about what commitment to living by your values really takes, including sacking clients who don't match up, and the positive benefits employees feel and respond to.  The pair also get into why Mark believes doing all this remotely just isn't possible and what could be done to improve the situation.  Whilst the two don't always agree on everything, they do agree that if you're going to have company values, they need to be alive and kicking.
Join The Conversation
Find me on LinkedIn here
Follow the Podcast on Instagram here
Follow the Podcast on Twitter here
Check out the Bizjuicer website here
Download the podcast here
Useful Links
Follow Mark Saxby on LinkedIn here
Follow Status Social on Twitter here
Follow Mark Saxby on Twitter here
Find out more about Status Social here
Full Episode Transcript
Get the full transcript of the episode here
 

The Impact of Psychological Safety

Episode Overview
Andy speaks to Helen Frewin, about the impact one of the hottest topics in workplace culture right now is having on employee engagement, productivity, and leadership - Psychological Safety.
Helen is a friend, business psychologist, executive coach, professional speaker and host of the popular Totem Talks podcast.  Together they discuss the findings and resulting impact of Google's Project Aristotle which uncovered that Psychological Safety was the number influencing factor in a team's effectiveness. 
In this conversation, they cover topics like dealing with dysfunctional leadership teams (one of which Andy was a part of!), trust and the work of Patrick Lencioni in this area, diversity and inclusion, imposter syndrome, the balance of work and home life and personalities, productivity, speaking up and the fact that Andy officially qualifies as a human being by his actions!
Plus, Helen leaves behind her 3 Sticky Notes on the virtual walls of the Sticky From The Inside studio, in an attempt to help you successfully think about how you can improve the levels of Psychological Safety in your workplace.  A list of useful links, including a link to the full transcript of the show can be found lower down in these Show Notes.
Join The Conversation
Find me on LinkedIn here
Follow the Podcast on Instagram here
Follow the Podcast on Twitter here
Check out the Bizjuicer website here
Download the podcast here
Useful Links
Follow Helen Frewin on LinkedIn here
Find out more about the Totem Talks podcast here
Follow Patrick Lencioni on LinkedIn here
Find Patrick Lencioni's Book "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team" here
Fins Patrick Lencioni's Book "The Truth About Employee Engagement" here
Full Episode Transcript
Get the full transcript of the episode here
 
 

The Magic of Customer Care

Episode Overview
Andy speaks to Mike Hurst, a Partner at Lane4, Adrian Moorhouse's performance improvement consultancy, about the effect that genuine customer care has on customer advocacy and employee engagement.
Mike has over 30 years of experience in bringing about effective and lasting culture change, both in his work in Retail brands and now helping a wide cross-section of businesses harness the power of their people and culture to create great experiences for customers and strong profits for businesses.
In this conversation, they cover topics like the famous Dixon's red bag, walking towards complaining customers, how the customer isn't always right, the power of genuine customer care, the sales stories of Cialdini, controlling the controllables, employee empowerment and the lessons learned along the way.
Plus, Mike leaves behind his 3 Sticky Notes on the virtual walls of the Sticky From The Inside studio, in an attempt to help you successfully think about your approach to customer care.  A list of useful links and a full transcript of the show can be found lower down in these Show Notes.
Join The Conversation
Find me on LinkedIn here
Follow the Podcast on Instagram here
Follow the Podcast on Twitter here
Check out the Bizjuicer website here
Download the podcast here
Useful Links
Follow Mike Hurst on LinkedIn here
Find out more about Lane4 here
Check out Mike Hurst's "For You" YouTube channel here
Find out more about Robert Cialdini her
Full Episode Transcript
Get the full transcript of the episode here

Unified Business Purpose

Episode Overview
Andy speaks to Julian Saipe, former opera singer, entrepreneur, business leader, and now an international executive coach and member of the Forbes Coaches Council about the power, benefits and pitfalls of bringing a unified purpose to a business.
Julian talks about his experiences of being an entrepreneur and his purpose journey from the solo "vanity trip" to an involving and inspiring collective approach, as he recalls taking Zafferano, one of London's highly acclaimed food and event management brands, from conception to exit over 15 years.
In this conversation, they cover topics like opera (!), singing for the Queen Mum, dreams, humanity, authenticity, employee engagement, the role of straplines, reinventing organisations, purpose as a 100 year project and examine what might be behind a leader's struggle to embrace and make the most of having a unifying purpose driving their business forwards.
Plus, Julian leaves behind his 3 Sticky Notes on the virtual walls of the Sticky From The Inside studio, in an attempt to help you successfully think about and develop your own unifying purpose.  A list of useful links and a full transcript of the show can be found lower down in these Show Notes.
Join The Conversation
Find me on LinkedIn here
Follow the Podcast on Instagram here
Follow the Podcast on Twitter here
Check out the Bizjuicer website here
Download the podcast here
Useful Links
Check out Julian Saipe's website here
Follow Julian Saipe on Twitter here
Follow Julian Saipe on LinkedIn here
Find out more about Hal Gregersen here
See and buy "Questions Are The Answer" by Hal Gregersen on Amazon here
Follow Frederic Laloux on Twitter here
Follow Frederic Laloux on LinkedIn here
See and buy "Reinventing Organisations" by Frederic Laloux on Amazon here
The Full Podcast Transcript
Here's a full transcript of the whole episode, so you can check out what we said in more detail.  It was originally automated, but I've done my best to tidy it up, and I think it's pretty accurate, but if there are errors please accept my apologies :)
See the full episode transcript here

Sticky Bits No.1 - A Look Ahead

Episode Overview
In the first episode of the shorter, solo, "sticky bits" format, Andy Goram summarises his experiences of the first few episodes of the full, Sticky From The Inside Podcast, and looks at the opportunities that businesses have ahead of them to grow employee engagement in the New Year.
Full Transcript
Right, we’re a few episodes into this new podcast and I thought I’d just record my first, shorter “sticky bits” episode, to summarise my thoughts and look ahead to the new year.
Doing this podcast thing has been great fun. I’m learning some new skills and getting to meet and chat to some fine and interesting people.  As we move into the new year the plan is to do more of the same and try to keep offering up some interesting conversations that also provide you with some food for thought and hopefully some practical advice to take back to your place of work and start improving your workplace culture and the levels of engagement across your business. And I’ve got some great guests lined up to do just that.
I really think as we look ahead that building and maintaining morale and engagement is going to be something that more and more businesses are going to have to deal with and face into.  If this podcast can help people do that more effectively then more’s the better.
Over the last few months, businesses and their employees have had to cope with a lot. It doesn’t matter whether business has been booming or been an enormous struggle to stay alive.  The situation may have caused you to act differently than your stated values just to keep going.
Your success may have caused you to put even more pressure on your employees, whilst they continue to try to balance things at work and home.
If you’ve had a boon you may have been so task-focused, to take advantage of the situation that your relationship with your employees may have suffered and you’ve lost some connection with them.
You may have had to lay a lot of people off, and ended up piling even more on the people left behind, and what has that done to their morale and engagement? You may even have had to recruit a whole bunch of new people to cope, but have had no time to induct them properly and show them the important part they will play in the future success of your business. And you may just have seen or spotted things you just don’t like about your company, or things you’d perhaps like to change.
Whatever the issue or reason behind the behaviour has been, we all now have an opportunity to change things for the better as we go into the new year.
One of the best things about this horrible moment in history has been some of the change that’s already been seen in how some people are doing business.  There seems to be more humanity coming through, with a genuine focus on trying to balance making a profit and doing right by people.
There’s been a greater focus on local and helping out in the community. And I’m not trying to sound worthy when i say this, but if we can keep these three things going into the future, i genuinely think it will feel like a better place to work.
If we can take this ethos into the new year, in more places, and combine this attitude with the foundations of strong employee engagement, which remain:
Having a strong, compelling strategic narrative, told consistently and continually throughout the business
Developing leaders & managers who understand and are well-equipped to communicate well, manage for trust and can focus and empower their people
Giving employees a real voice within the business where they feel heard and feel like they can contribute and influence
And finally having a clear purpose and set of actionable values and behaviours that guide decisions and actions consistently, with no “say-do” gap
Then I think we will finally see consistent growth in employee engagement and improved workplace cultures.
But like all things that are worth having, it’s no easy task and it’s going to take commitment and time to get it in, working and sticking. And that’s why this podcast is here.  The more we talk about it, hear examples of where it’s working and importantly how it’s working, then hopefully we’ll see a lot more of it as we move forward.
So I for one move into the new year with a positive attitude.  I feel more businesses are in a position to start or continue their own engagement journeys, and the need for it has never been greater.  So, the sticky from the inside podcast and i will be here to help as best we can.
I hope you will continue to join me and bring others to join the party.  And I wish you all a happy, engaging, and prosperous new year.
Until the next episode, thanks for listening.

The Culture of One

Episode Overview
Andy speaks to Megan V Walker, podcast host, independent Power Platform consultant and Microsoft Business Applications MVP about no matter how big or small your business, you have to be to really think about your workplace culture.
But what have these two got in common?  Well, they're both independent, both go into other peoples' businesses and have to work with and adapt to those cultures, whilst considering and espousing their own.  So more than you'd think at first. Oh! and they both host podcasts too.
In this conversation they cover topics like personal brand, engagement, purpose, personal values, behaviours as a marketing tool, how throwing fish around a Seattle Fish Market has inspired them both, "borrowing the theories of an excellent book "The Company of One" by Paul Jarvis, the "consistent chameleon" and whether or not a "Culture of One" exists.
Plus, Megan leaves behind her 3 Sticky Notes on the virtual walls of the Sticky From The Inside studio, in an attempt to help you successfully take forward your culture of one.  A list of useful links and a full transcript of the show can be found lower down in these Show Notes.
Join The Conversation
Find me on LinkedIn here
Follow the Podcast on Instagram here
Follow the Podcast on Twitter here
Check out the Bizjuicer website here
Download the podcast here
Useful Links
Check out Megan V Walker's website here
Follow Megan V Walker on Twitter here
Follow Megan V Walker on LinkedIn here
Check out Megan V Walker's YouTube Channel here
Download the Up Podcast here
Follow The Up Podcast on Twitter here
Find out more about Fish Philosophy here
See and buy "The Company of One" by Paul Jarvis on Amazon here
The Full Podcast Transcript
Here's a link to the full transcript of the whole episode, so you can check out what we said in more detail.  It was originally automated, but I've done my best to tidy it up, and I think it's pretty accurate, but if there are errors, please don't get mad :)
See the full episode transcript here

Big E & Little E with Karen Turton

Episode Overview
My first ever guest, Karen Turton, serial entrepreneur, CEO of Purple Story, ex Learning & Development Director of Transition, and National Innovation in Training Award nominee,  joins me to talk about her controversial views on modern performance measurement, empathy, employee engagement, workplace culture, customer experience, and how well leaders are equipped to deal with some of the softer skills and values needed in business today.
Describing organisations in a Forrest Gump-esque way, as a "box of chocolates" with a range of hard and soft centres, comparing Rugby World Cup captain, Martin Johnson's Big Talk and Little Talk, with Karen's Big E, Little concept of customer experience, how things are moving on from Jim Sullivan's business teachings and receiving my set of summarised Sticky Notes to put up on the virtual walls of the Sticky From The Inside studio, that listeners can take back to the ranch, were all part of the conversation.

A Sticky Introduction

What on earth is the "Sticky From The Inside Podcast" all about?  And, what is a "Stickier Business" for goodness sake?
Well, this first, introductory episode seeks to answer both these questions and give you a little more insight into what this podcast is about.
The level of employee engagement across the globe is frankly shocking and it hasn't changed in years.  I'm your host, Andy Goram and I'm on a mission to help businesses and their employees get much more out of their working relationship and create great workplace cultures, happier places to work and tonnes more mutual success.