Vision, empathy, and disruption: Matt McCune and Thomas Daglis on what real people heroes do

Recorded live at the isolved booth at SHRM 2025 in San Diego, this episode features two industry voices with very different superpowers—Matt McCune and Thomas Daglis. Hosted by William Tincup and Ryan Leary, the conversation digs into the unexpected traits of true HR heroes and why it takes more than empathy to make a difference. Matt explains how his company bet against the status quo twenty years ago—risking everything to fight back against a broken healthcare system. He breaks down how putting the employee first meant redefining the economics of healthcare itself. Thomas brings a data-first lens, showing how predictive analytics can transform retention strategy into a science of trust. Together, they paint a picture of leadership that doesn’t just protect the business—it changes the game. Timestamps 00:00 — Live from the isolved booth at SHRM 2025 in San Diego 00:21 — Why the phrase “people hero” means more than just empathy 01:15 — Vision and compassion enter the conversation for the first time 02:10 — Matt’s superpower: turning complexity into clarity 02:30 — Why simplifying jargon matters more than selling features 03:32 — Thomas’ superpower: predicting trends through data 04:27 — A Picasso anecdote that reframes failure and creative volume 05:14 — The moment Matt knew he made a difference 05:51 — How one bold healthcare decision rewired the status quo 06:33 — Putting employees at the center of a high-stakes pivot 07:45 — From whiteboard skepticism to market leadership 08:58 — Internal pressure, financial risk, and the cost of disruption 09:34 — The Uber analogy that put it all in perspective 10:15 — Thomas’ moment of impact: using data to reduce turnover 10:50 — Running live experiments on praise, incentives, and trust 11:32 — Why retention is really about investing in humans This episode was recorded live with isolved at the SHRM Annual Conference in San Diego. The Heroes of HR podcast is a limited series sponsored by isolved. isolved is an HCM platform that modernizes HR, benefits, and payroll across Healthcare, Hospitality, Manufacturing, and more. Learn more about isolved: ⁠https://www.isolvedhcm.com/⁠ Connect with Us: William Tincup LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/tincup/⁠ Ryan Leary LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanleary/⁠ Connect with us on social: Site: ⁠http://www.wrkdefined.com⁠ TikTok: ⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@wrkdefined⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/wrkdefined⁠ Facebook: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/WRKdefined/⁠ Twitter (X): ⁠https://twitter.com/WRKdefined⁠ Substack: ⁠https://wrkdefined.substack.com/