C-Change Show- Changing Business Culture for GOOD

Mike agreed to be interviewed and days later, Roe v Wade was overturned. Suddenly, our topic shifted. Mike and his team have created an incredibly inclusive and psychologically safe space at Predictive Index. We dig into those details as well as how he as the leader of this organization is addressing the legal implications of health benefits for his female employees who work across the US. Don't miss this one.
More about Mike Zani:
Mike Zani is CEO of The Predictive Index (PI), the talent optimization leader. Prior to The Predictive Index, Mike was CEO of ShapeUp, a social SaaS wellness platform that was sold to Virgin Pulse in 2014. Previously, Mike served as president of LEDCO, a manufacturer of rugged computer peripherals, where he led its acquisition and eventual sale to Havis, an industry leader in police radio consoles.

It was at LEDCO where Mike, a customer of The Predictive Index, developed his passion for the company’s vital management tools. Mike is a co-founder and partner of Phoenix Strategy Investments, a private investment fund that acquired LEDCO in 2004, ShapeUp in 2009 and The Predictive Index in 2014.

He also worked as a strategic consultant at the marketing firm Digitas.

An avid sailor, Mike began his career in marketing and sales with Vanguard Sailboats and He was a coach for the 1996 U.S. Olympic Sailing Team. He is the best-selling author of the book The science of dream teams He holds a B.S. from Brown University and an MBA from Harvard.

Mohammad Anwar is rewriting the American Dream. He is an immigrant who started Softway, a technology services company, with his family at the age of 20 while pursuing his B.S. in Computer Science with a minor in Mathematics at the University of Houston.
When Softway began in 2003, it was a small company that created websites for merchants in Houston. Since then, it has grown to a Business-to-Employee solutions company that focuses on bringing technology solutions to others by building high performing teams that speak to the human needs of the workforce. However, there was a time when the company culture at Softway was so toxic that it almost caused the enterprise to fold. Mohammad was running a classic Command and Control business in a culture of fear. After some initial quick gains, the business began to unravel. It was Mohammad's willingness and courage to own his decisions, ask for forgiveness and share his soul with the very people who felt abused his culture. He saw that love was the answer and that's when everything changed. This is his story...
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CONNECT WITH MOHAMMAD and CULTURE +:
https://www.culture-plus.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/manwarsoftway/
MORE ABOUT MOHAMMAD ANWAR:
Mohammad is the President and CEO of Softway and Culture+, co-creator and facilitator of Seneca Leaders, co-host of Love As A Business Strategy podcast, Wall Street Journal Best Selling Author of 'Love as a Business Strategy: Resilience, Belonging and Success,' he is a speaker, and a member of Forbes Business Council.
In 2021, he formed Culture+ as a standalone organization fully dedicated to our mission: bring humanity back to the workplace. Culture+ provides Culture-as-a-Service to transform behaviors of employees and leaders - creating high-performing teams capable of achieving any business outcome.

When you are a talented, educated Black man who is the Chief of Staff at a big health care company, how do you go about moving the needle on diversity? Brian shares with us his successes, frustrations and best practices in bringing equity and diversity to the highest levels of leadership in healthcare. Don't miss his podcast: Why I left, all about real stories from those who are part of the Great Resignation.
More about Brian:
Brian Aquart is an attorney, consultant and multi-faceted healthcare leader with 12+ years of experience

· in advising executives & teams

· fostering growth & innovation

· managing conflict and

· public speaking

He currently serves as the chief of staff at one of the largest health care providers on the eastern seaboard.

Brian is also the Creator and Host of the Why I Left Podcast, a show that chronicles real stories from real people about why they left their jobs during the pandemic.

He is a naturally curious person whose passion for knowing the “why” has led him to experience many of life’s joys. Brian focuses on lifelong learning, executing strategies that save lives, connecting people to mission, developing leaders, and advocating for inclusive and equitable work environments.

Brian is an alum of the University of Florida (BS) and Wayne State University Law School (JD). Brian’s professional journey took the scenic route, but he is thankful for the insights gained throughout the process. Connect with him on LinkedIn and visit WhyILeft.co.

Niki Leondakis is a tireless champion for empowering women and moving the needle on DEIB in every place she works. I had the pleasure of working with her in NY where she was the CEO of a Fortune 500 company. One of her many big impacts was galvanizing the core value of mutual respect and women's empowerment within the organization. She is a force of nature and consistently raises the level of discourse, consciousness and opportunity for women around her. In this episode, Niki reveals specific proven strategies and practices that are indispensable for any leader who wants to be effective in creating a culture fairness and equity. Sharpen your pencils, you're going to want to take notes.
*NOTE: the book Niki mentions is Rosalyn Taylor O’Neale, “7 Key 2 Success: Unlocking the Passion for Diversity”
More about Niki Leondakis:
Niki Leondakis is Chief Executive Officer at CorePower yoga, the largest yoga studio brand in the United States with over 200 studios. Throughout her career, Niki has worked to build and lead diverse and customer-centric teams in the hospitality and boutique fitness industries. She has more than 30 years of experience building lifestyle brands and creating award-winning workplace cultures that are driven by innovation and customer loyalty.

before joining CorePower Yoga, Niki served as CEO of multiple companies including The Wolff Company, a real estate private equity firm, Equinox Fitness Clubs, as well as Two Roads Hospitality (sold to Hyatt Hotels) and Commune Hotels & Resorts. Before Commune, she was President and Chief Operating Officer of Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants.

Niki has received numerous industry awards and has been named one of the “100 Most Influential Women” by the San Francisco Business Times annually since 2002. A long-time passion, she also serves on the Board of Directors for Dress for Success, an international not-for-profit organization that empowers women to achieve economic independence by providing a network of support, professional attire, and the development tools to help women thrive in work and in life.

In her free time, Niki enjoys traveling and is an avid yoga practitioner, hiker, and runner.

In this highlight episode of my transformative conversation with Amri Johnson, I unpack how bringing expectations that people will change to the equity and Inclusion conversation may be inhibiting progress.
More about Amri B Johnson:
For more than 20 years, Amri B. Johnson has been instrumental in helping organizations and their people create extraordinary business outcomes.

He is a social capitalist, epidemiologist, entrepreneur, and inclusion strategist. Amri's dialogic approach to engaging all people as leaders and change agents (previously at the research division of Novartis, as Global Head of Cultural Intelligence and Inclusion) has fostered the opening of minds and deepening of skillsets with organizational leaders and citizens enabling them to thrive and optimally contribute to one another and their respective organizations.

As CEO/Founder of Inclusion Wins, Amri and a virtual collective of partners converge organizational purpose to create global impact with a lens of inclusion.

His theory of change is focused on building ‘Inclusion Systems.’ Inclusion systems provide direction and momentum in the complexity of organizations that allow them to be antifragile—leaning into and engaging with resistance, stressors, disruptions, and disequilibrium and being stronger as a result of such engagement.

His book, Reconstructing Inclusion: Making DEI Accessible, Actionable, and Sustainable outlines how organizations can create inclusion-normative cultures and build approaches to DEI that are designed for and with everyone, unambiguously prioritized, and purpose aligned.

Born in Topeka, Kansas (USA), Amri has worked and lived in the U.S., Brazil, and currently lives in Basel, Switzerland, with his wife Martina and their three kids.

Website: https://inclusionwins.com/

Book: https://benbellabooks.com/shop/reconstructing-inclusion/

Podcast: https://reconstructinginclusion.podbean.com/