The Moët Hennessy Mess: What Leaders Can Learn About Handling Workplace Toxicity
Moët Hennessy, part of LVMH and valued at around €6 billion, once suggested that an employee take “anti-seduction training” to get promoted. Yes, seriously. When Toxicity Takes Center Stage In 2024, Maria Gasparovic, the former chief of staff at Moët Hennessy, reported misconduct and harassment in the workplace. Instead of addressing the boys’ club culture, […]
Community Building Strategist – Turning Mars Moments into Strong Bonded Groups
If I asked you whether you trust every person in New Jersey, you’d probably say, “Of course not. Have you been on the turnpike?” But here’s the twist. Imagine you’re in a cozy cafe in California. You overhear someone mention they’re from Jersey too. Suddenly, it’s like you’re old friends. Sharing diner recommendations. Debating if […]
Payroll Is Your Most Neglected Investment
You’re spending half your budget on people, but what’s the plan? Visa spends 47% of its total expenses on payroll.JPMorgan Chase? 56%.Meta: 41%.Alphabet (Google): 55%. For most companies, payroll isn’t a line item. It’s the line item. But here’s the part no one wants to say out loud:If you asked most exec teams to show […]
When No One Raised Their Hand
It’s a classic facilitator trick – You ask a question, raise your hand high to model what you want, and wait in silence. People hate silence. Someone always raises their hand. Except once, no one did. And I learned a lesson I’ll never forget. I was in South Korea leading a workshop with a room […]
Why Your Boring Signs Are Sabotaging Your Culture of Connection™
Want to kill your company culture? Hang another boring sign. I never thought the Cryptography Museum in Washington DC would teach me something about building a Culture of Connection™, but they masterfully transformed what is usually a mundane piece of communication into an engaging message that roped me deeper into their world. Museum walls are […]
The Remote Work Engagement Crisis: How Leaders Can Turn the Tide
AI Crashed My Virtual Team-Building Party. I recently found myself staring into the abyss—or rather, a grid of blank Zoom squares. I was hired to inject some life into a remote team struggling with disengagement, so I eagerly anticipated 20 faces ready for connection. Instead, five sent their AI note-takers (rude!), seven hid behind camera-off […]
Is Your Company Culture Rotten to the Core? Here’s How to Fix It:
Is your company culture more toxic than a reality TV reunion? Every company has a culture, whether they realize it or not. It’s the personality of your organization, the shared values and beliefs that shape how people behave. And just like people, cultures can be healthy or the workplace equivalent of that coworker who microwaves […]
Your Logo is Killing Your Community
Logos are EVERYWHERE. We’re obsessed with slapping them on everything from t-shirts to water bottles, hoping to make a lasting impression on anyone who sees them. But let’s be honest—how many logos can one person remember? And more importantly, do logos really build meaningful connections with our community? Think back to the last conference or […]
The $0 Secret to Sky-High Retention Rates
As a top-tier loyalty program member with United, I’ve spent a small fortune on flight fares over the years. But on my last flight, they gave me something that made me feel like a million bucks – well, at least my ego. It was a subtle yet powerful gesture that reminded me of the importance […]
Your Onboarding Process is Broken: Why New Members Are Leaving (And It’s Not Their Fault)
Let’s face it: your onboarding process is a disaster. It’s a sink-or-swim approach that’s leaving new members feeling isolated, overwhelmed, and wondering if they made a mistake by joining your community. Let’s break down what a broken onboarding process looks like. The Cost of a Broken Onboarding Process: Houston, we have a major problem here. […]