Driving Results Through Culture

We’re not yet over the “Great Resignation.” The latest job report indicates that another 4.2 million US workers voluntarily quit in August 2022.

LinkedIn’s 2022 Workforce Confidence Index found that nearly 25 percent of Gen-Z respondents and Millennials plan to change jobs in the next six months. This study found that Gen-Zs and Millennials deliberately seek careers that offer:

1. Better alignment with their interests and values
2. ...

A month ago, the term “quiet quitting” hadn’t made much of a mark. A social media post on the concept went viral – and now everyone is talking about it.

I was delighted to join BBC News’ The Context broadcast and speak to host Nuala McGovern about quiet quitting – and how business leaders can address it.

This podcast includes the audio from the live broadcast on August 25, 2022.

What is quiet quitting? It means employees are no lon...

Companies around the globe are short-staffed. Leaders have tried to boost hiring through higher wages and even bonuses, but staffing shortages continue.

The problem? Many business leaders want to return to the “old normal” but employees and candidates don’t want “old normal.” A new Deloitte study found the top four things Gen-Y and Gen-Z workers want include work/life balance, development opportunities, higher salaries, and a posit...

About that title? We’ll get to Bruno in a minute.

The foundational principle of our book, Good Comes First, is that today’s leaders must make RESPECT as important as RESULTS, every day.

My colleague and co-author, Mark Babbitt, and I were keynoting a conference. In our presentation, we share this fundamental model - the Performance-Values Matrix.

Once you formalize performance expectations AND values expectations, players categoriz...

I grew up in California in the ’50’s and ’60’s. I watched great artists playing cool guitars - and I fell in love with stringed instruments. I’ve been collecting them since college.

To stay healthy, stringed instruments need one thing every minute of every day: proper humidity.

These instruments are made of wood - woo...

In our new book, Good Comes First, co-author Mark Babbitt and I propose four culture cornerstones that are the foundation of an uncompromising work culture.

These cornerstones help align people and practices to your ideal work culture.

Our first cornerstone, “Live Our Servant Purpose,” enables leaders, employees, contractors, and even customers to see that your company serves a purpose other than just making money.

What is a “serva...

Business leaders today have a lot on their minds – and on their plates.

They juggle hiring challenges. Mask mandates. Retaining talented players. Vaccine guidelines. Supply chain issues. Generating revenue. All these tasks are demanding, requiring attention and intention every minute.

Yes, these are important considerations in today’s business environment. However, they are not the ONLY important considerations.

Leaders may have a ...

I’m old. Over the years, back and neck pain caused me to hold my neck & shoulders & back very tightly – so moving wouldn’t hurt. Those tight muscles learned to be inflexible and immovable – so I wouldn’t hurt.

Muscles are incredibly powerful. If they learn to be inflexible and immovable, they act like bones – firm and solid. That firmness causes muscles to adhere to other muscles (for greater inflexibility) which compresses nerves.

I’m reflecting on an anniversary this month. Twenty-eight years ago this month I had a heart attack.

It was not how I planned to spend the day.

Thanks to exceptional health professionals, dedicated family, and the grace of God, I survived.

Like many others who have experienced a significant health issue, my heart attack caused me to reflect on my life. I knew my job at the time was not a great fit for me. I was not using my talents...

If you’re trying to hire staff right now, you’re not having fun. The US Federal Reserve Bank in September estimated that the average time required to fill an open job rose from 20 days to 50 days over the previous four months.

And a new global McKinsey study found that 40% of respondents are somewhat likely to quit in the next three to six months. 18% of those said their intentions to quit ranged from likely to almost certain.

This...

Years ago, a friend received some brilliant leadership advice from a mentor. The mentor said, “How you treat people today becomes conversation around their dinner table tonight.”

Today, it’s not just dinner table conversations that leaders need to be aware of. It’s Glassdoor.com and social media platforms where examples of great or lousy leadership efforts go viral with just a click!

As a culture geek, I’m constantly asking people ...

Today’s video features Good Comes First book co-authors Mark Babbitt and yours truly discussing a core foundation of a purposeful, positive, productive work culture. Here’s an excerpt.

Mark: “I often say, Chris, that most of what I learned about leadership was on the baseball field as a coach for three decades now. On the diamond, I learned that if you set rules and then you don’t follow those rules yourself –...

Today’s podcast features Good Comes First book co-authors Mark Babbitt and Chris Edmonds discussing a core foundation of uncompromising work cultures - making values measurable AND socially relevant. Here’s an excerpt.

Chris: “What I find when I, you and I both experienced that as we work with leaders to help them define what values mean, what does respect mean? What are the two or three behaviors that you want? Teamwork? To demons...

Today’s video features Good Comes First book co-authors Mark Babbitt and yours truly discussing what it takes to build and sustain an uncompromising work culture. Here’s an excerpt.

Chris: Once leaders get to a stage where they realize “This is not sustainable. We’re not going to be able to attract the kind of talent we need. We’re not going to be able to manage using, you know, ev...

Today’s video features Good Comes First book co-authors Mark Babbitt and Chris Edmonds discussing what it takes to build and sustain an uncompromising work culture. Here’s an excerpt.

Mark: Chris, in the book we talk about not just what it takes for leaders to become change champions, but how to build a team that will support, live, model a good comes first work culture. And the reality is this is not always an easy process. It tak...

Today’s video features Good Comes First book co-authors Mark Babbitt and Chris Edmonds (yours truly) discussing what it takes to build and sustain an uncompromising work culture. Here’s an excerpt.

Mark: “Let’s talk about this ‘old normal, new normal.’ What we’re doing with Good Comes First is creating a new normal or creating a means by which to generate a new normal. We don’t have to go back to a toxic work culture. One of the th...

Today’s video features Good Comes First book co-authors Mark Babbitt and me discussing what it takes to build and sustain an uncompromising work culture. Here’s an excerpt.

Mark: Chris, a question I get often is not so much why this book, but why now? We’re coming out of this strange phase of business with a pandemic. And so, what does why now mean to you?

Chris: The idea of having leaders be interested in doing better, doing diffe...

I’m grateful to tell you about my upcoming book, Good Comes First.

Written with the amazing Mark Babbitt, Good Comes First is a practical, step-by-step guide to creating a work culture that’s better for morale and for your bottom line.

For decades, business leaders around the globe have spent billions of dollars and countless hours attempting to improve employee engagement, decrease burnout, increase retention, and improve produc...

If you’ve been following my thinking over the past 20+ years, you know I coach senior leaders to define their desired culture, align their desired culture, and refine their desired culture.

Defining your desired culture is the easy part. Aligning and refining demands that leaders lean on the accountability lever, holding leaders and team members throughout their organization accountable for both respect and results, every day.

Work...