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Episodes

100

Latest episode

Aug 2026

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About the show

Employee engagement, customer experience and more from two business coaches. Mike and Mark turn business trends, research and theory into practical actions you can apply at work.

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60 recent

August 25, 2026Episode 32025 min

Woke 1, Woke 2? What's next after cancel culture?

They Might Be Giants are the USA's greatest rock band. (Mark said so.) An early lyric of the band gives us a window into hipsters, millennials and cancel culture. But the UK's best comedy mind (Mark said so) David Mitchell points to a different path. Can our workplaces use his insight before it's too late? Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark .

August 18, 2026Episode 31936 min

Without this, you are doing continuous improvement wrong

The closest English translation is probably self-reflection. But that definition doesn't really do it justice. Hansei isn't sitting around thinking about your feelings. It isn't beating yourself up about something you did wrong. And it definitely isn't the corporate ritual where everybody sits around a conference table after a bad month trying to figure out who screwed things up. Hansei is much more powerful. It is the discipline of looking honestly at what happened, examining your role in the outcome, and deciding what you will do differently next time. Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark .

August 11, 2026Episode 31819 min

Why you must use care and candor

We all tend toward one or the other. If you emphasize both, you share a skill with some of the best leaders. Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark .

August 4, 2026Episode 31714 min

Two simple questions that improve every employee meeting, sales pitch, marketing, etc., etc., etc.

A roofer's watermelon trick ... a game for high-school juniors ... what do they have in common? Something that goes back at least to Aristotle. And it's something that can help just about every area of your thinking and interacting. Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark .

July 28, 2026Episode 31626 min

5 Responses to Change: Caring for Your Navigator

Change fatigue is real! In our continuing series, we discuss how even skilled Navigators can burn out when change is constant, incomplete or poorly supported. Sustaining the healthy response requires systems and personal practices that protect energy and dignity over time. Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark .

July 21, 2026Episode 31533 min

5 Responses to Change: The Leader as Navigator

You've seen these responses to change in your workplace or home. Change creates uncertainty, and people tend to respond as a Victim, Critic, Bystander, Charger or Navigator. When change shows up at work, who do you become? And how can you respond to the others? Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark .

July 14, 2026Episode 31443 min

Aphantasia: Mike's lifelong condition--and superpower

A simple test helped Mike realize he was one of perhaps only 4 percent of the world's population. Since his youth, he had turned it into a superpower. Do you have any in your workplace? Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark .

July 7, 2026Episode 31342 min

Try our free snapshot of your professional life (we vibe-coded it!)

Mark coding with AI--without any experience? Getting clarity about professional successes worth celebrating and professional opportunities for more fulfillment, balance and satisfaction? Yes to both! Take the Self-Assessment here . (Adapted from Co-Active Coaching (3rd ed.) © 2011 by Henry Kimsey-House, Karen Kimsey-House and Phillip Sandahl-- fourth edition sold here .) Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark .

June 30, 2026Episode 31226 min

Honor: The Hidden Driver of Performance ... Since the Trojan War

One of the foundational stories of our civilization spells out how the ancients thought about honor. And as our culture changes, these stories will give you insight into how your employees and coworkers think about honor. Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark .

June 23, 2026Episode 31145 min

How employees can sabotage, CIA-style

Did you know the precursor to the CIA gave people a manual for turning workplaces in enemy countries into a living, breathing "Office Space?" Are you prepared to protect your workplace against them? Part 3 of 3, where we finally get to the subject of employee sabotage. Spoiler: Office workers get their own entire section in the OSS manual. ... Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark .