The Labels We Use

Small Happy Teams Make For Big Happy Results

Ever wonder why big teams struggle while small ones thrive? Join me as I unpack a gem from my cousin Andrew: "Small Happy Teams Produce Big Happy Results." We'll dive into Dunbar's number, why bonuses often backfire, the magic of daily check-ins, and how true followership—where everyone owns the team's vibe—creates unstoppable motivation. No fluff, just real talk on building teams where people actually want to show up.

What organizations really teach

This episode explores how organizations shape behavior through the gap between declared values and lived values. It argues that culture is not what leaders say, but what they reward, tolerate, and promote. The discussion connects ethical fading, toxic systems, psychological safety, and promotion practices that reinforce bad behavior. The central message is simple: organizations teach people how to succeed, and sometimes they teach the wrong lesson. REFERENCES Cappelli, P., Tavis, A., and Travers, M. “How You Promote People Can Make or Break Company Culture.” Harvard Business Review, January 1, 2018. https://hbr.org/2018/01/how-you-promote-people-can-make-or-break-company-culture Deci, E. L., and Ryan, R. M. “Self-Determination Theory and the Facilitation of Intrinsic Motivation, Social Development, and Well-Being.” American Psychologist 55, no. 1 (2000): 68–78. https://selfdeterminationtheory.org/SDT/documents/2000_RyanDeci_SDT.pdf Gehman, J., and Singh, J. “The (Bounded) Role of Stated-Lived Value Congruence and Authenticity in Employee Evaluations of Organizations.” Organization Science (published online April 25, 2022). https://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/10.1287/orsc.2022.1578 Kish-Gephart, J. J., Harrison, D. A., and Treviño, L. K. “Bad Apples, Bad Cases, and Bad Barrels: Meta-Analytic Evidence About Sources of Unethical Decisions at Work.” Journal of Applied Psychology 95, no. 1 (2010): 1–31. Referenced through ethical fading source context.karengelhaar.agnesscott [https://karengelhaar.agnesscott.org/download/browse/95CvBG/EthicalFading.pdf] Sull, D., Sull, C., and Zweig, B. “How to Fix a Toxic Culture.” MIT Sloan Management Review, September 27, 2022. https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/how-to-fix-a-toxic-culture/ The Center for Self-Determination Theory. “Theory.” Accessed April 18, 2026. https://selfdeterminationtheory.org/theory/ University of Rochester Medical Center. “Self-Determination Theory of Motivation.” Accessed April 18, 2026. https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/community-health/patient-care/self-determination-theory When It Comes to Culture, Does Your Company Walk the Talk? MIT Sloan Management Review, July 20, 2020. https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/when-it-comes-to-culture-does-your-company-walk-the-talk/ A concept analysis of psychological safety. National Library of Medicine / PMC, 2021. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8685887/ Understanding Ethical Fading: An Invisible Corporate Culture Threat. SAI360, April 7, 2024. https://www.sai360.com/resources/grc/understanding-ethical-fading-an-invisible-corporate-culture-threat-blog

The Labels We Use

Hey everyone, welcome back! Today, we’re diving into something we all do: slapping labels on people — including ourselves. Some labels can trap us, judge us, or stick around way too long. Others can actually help us connect and understand each other better. In this episode, we’re asking: are labels the problem, or is it how we use them? Let’s peel back a few layers together.

Luck = Preparation + Opportunity

This episode explores how most career opportunities come not from applying, but from trust, curiosity, and openness. John reflects on followership, preparedness, and inclusion as the real engines of progress and chance. Learning, collaboration, and courage—rather than credentials alone—create the connections that open doors and sustain meaningful work.

Special Edition: Be a disappointment

Exploring a counterintuitive idea that might just change the way you move through the world — what if getting better at disappointing people was actually the key to living a fuller, more honest life? The original full text from which this was pulled is here: https://ckarchive.com/b/5quvh7hnog3mwbp5xxd52a95qqv44in by Oliver Burkeman