Building an Intentional Culture Through Core Values and Consistent Systems featuring Kelly Knight

Building an Intentional Culture Through Core Values and Consistent Systems featuring Kelly Knight

In this episode of the Culture From the Heart Podcast, hosts Larry Levine and Darrell Amy are joined by Kelly Knight, Integrator and President of EOS Worldwide. Kelly helps lead an organization dedicated to helping entrepreneurial leadership teams gain clarity, strengthen alignment, build traction, and achieve more of what they want from their businesses. Kelly explains that a strong culture does not happen by accident. It begins when leaders honestly evaluate the culture they have today, define the culture they want to create, and intentionally connect their words, actions, and behaviors to meaningful core values. Without clarity, consistency, and repeatable systems, employees are left to make assumptions about what the organization truly represents. Throughout the conversation, Kelly shares how EOS Worldwide reinforces its five core values: be humbly confident, grow or die, help first, do the right thing, and do what you say. She also explains how meeting rhythms, storytelling, recognition, accountability, and frequent repetition help transform values from words on a wall into everyday behaviors.  For Kelly, culture is not simply what an organization looks like. It is what people feel when they are part of the team. KEY TAKEAWAYS * Culture must be created intentionally rather than left to chance. * Core values should be visible through leaders’ words, actions, and behaviors. * Consistent systems and processes help turn values into repeatable practices. * Leadership credibility grows when leaders model the standards they expect from others. * Recognition and storytelling help employees understand what core values look like in action. * Culture becomes sustainable when employees at every level celebrate and reinforce the organization’s values. * Repetition builds clarity, alignment, trust, and long-term cultural consistency. * Leaders can begin improving culture by taking one simple, intentional next step. QUOTES * Culture must be created intentionally rather than left to chance. * Core values should be visible through leaders’ words, actions, and behaviors. * Consistent systems and processes help turn values into repeatable practices. * Leadership credibility grows when leaders model the standards they expect from others. * Recognition and storytelling help employees understand what core values look like in action. * Culture becomes sustainable when employees at every level celebrate and reinforce the organization’s values. * Repetition builds clarity, alignment, trust, and long-term cultural consistency. * Leaders can begin improving culture by taking one simple, intentional next step. Learn more about Darrell and Larry. Darrell’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrellamy/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrellamy/] Larry’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/larrylevine1992/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/larrylevine1992/] Connect and learn more from Kelly Knight.  https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellypknight/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellypknight/]  FOLLOW THE CONVERSATION: Nominate Your CEO! Let's recognize the leaders building culture from the heart. https://culturefromtheheart.com/NominateYourCEO [https://culturefromtheheart.com/NominateYourCEO] Ready to begin realizing the full potential of your sales team? Hire Great Salespeople with Confidence. SCHEDULE YOUR EXECUTIVE BRIEFING. https://sellingfromtheheart.net/hiring [https://sellingfromtheheart.net/hiring] Unlock The Power of Team Growth with Learnit’s Live Training Platform. CLAIM your 45-day trial of unlimited training now! https://www.learnit.com/lp/culture [https://www.learnit.com/lp/culture] Stop gambling on interviews. Combine analytics with a sales recruiting system to screen out non-performers so you only interview candidates that can become great salespeople. https://hiringguide.salesindex.ai/ [https://hiringguide.salesindex.ai/]

Scaling Fast by Investing in People and Leadership Influences featuring Chris Sund

In this episode of the Culture From the Heart Podcast, hosts Larry Levine and Darrell Amy are joined by Chris Sund, the President and COO of Uniti Med, GQR Healthcare, and Nebula, where he leads high-growth organizations at the intersection of healthcare staffing and AI-driven talent solutions. Under his leadership, Uniti Med grew 12x in revenue in just two years and earned the #3 ranking on the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing companies in the Midwest. A Maxwell Leadership Certified Speaker and Coach, Chris is passionate about helping leaders build high-performing cultures where people choose to stay, grow, and perform at their best. He is also the host of the Amplify Speakers Podcast, where he interviews top executives, authors, and thought leaders on leadership, culture, and personal growth. Chris believes that great leadership is about unlocking people's potential and creating meaningful experiences that inspire trust, connection, and lasting impact—making him a perfect fit for the Culture From the Heart audience. KEY TAKEAWAYS * Culture begins when leaders genuinely value people. * Employee pride creates stronger performance and service. * Recognition does not require a large budget, only intention. * Great workplaces invest in people beyond their job roles. * Appreciation turns employees into passionate brand advocates. * Strong culture can accelerate growth, retention, and results. QUOTES * “People are giving up their most valuable asset, which is their time.” * “Culture is the most important part.” * “How do we make our employees raving fans?” * “It doesn’t take a big budget. It doesn’t take technology. It takes just a little bit of time.” * “If we surround ourselves with great people, we all become better.” * “It’s one thing to become the best version of ourselves. It’s another to help others become a better version of themselves.” Learn more about Darrell and Larry. Darrell’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrellamy/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrellamy/] Larry’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/larrylevine1992/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/larrylevine1992/] Connect and learn more from Chris Sun https://www.linkedin.com/in/christophersund/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/christophersund/]  FOLLOW THE CONVERSATION: Nominate Your CEO! Let's recognize the leaders building Culture from the Heart. https://culturefromtheheart.com/NominateYourCEO [https://culturefromtheheart.com/NominateYourCEO] Ready to begin realizing the full potential of your sales team? Hire Great Salespeople with Confidence. SCHEDULE YOUR EXECUTIVE BRIEFING. https://sellingfromtheheart.net/hiring [https://sellingfromtheheart.net/hiring] Unlock The Power of Team Growth with Learnit’s Live Training Platform. CLAIM your 45-day trial of unlimited training now! https://www.learnit.com/lp/culture [https://www.learnit.com/lp/culture] Stop gambling on interviews. Combine analytics with a sales recruiting system to screen out non-performers so you only interview candidates that can become great salespeople. https://hiringguide.salesindex.ai/ [https://hiringguide.salesindex.ai/]

Creating a Culture of Accountability featuring Josh Mastel

Culture as the Competitive Advantage: High Standards, Accountability, and Winning In this episode of the Culture From the Heart Podcast, hosts Darrell Amy and Larry Levine sit down with Josh Mastel. Josh argues that in competitive markets, culture is the primary differentiator because employee performance sets a company apart.  Training and directives aren’t enough without an internal culture of high standards, which enables sustained behavior and “generations” of high performers.  They explain that their organization intentionally built a culture of high performance and high accountability, emphasizing that accountability and standards are not negative or opposed to culture; rather, a company without them has poor culture if it aims to win.  One core value is “winners win,” and the organization seeks that mindset in hires, underscored by the phrase being written in concrete outside Josh’s office. KEY TAKEAWAYS * In a competitive market, culture is your true differentiator — not products or pricing * Employee performance is what separates you from competitors, and that performance is shaped by culture * Training alone doesn't work without a cultural foundation of high standards * Accountability and high performance aren't the enemy of culture — they are the culture * A company without standards and accountability has poor culture, not a kind one * "Winners win" — hiring and cultivating people with a winner's mindset is a deliberate cultural choice QUOTES * "When you're playing in a competitive space, culture is the only thing that can really set you apart." * "You can train it all you want, but if you don't have that culture of a high standard inside the organization, they're not gonna actually do that." * "A company without standards and without accountability has poor culture." * "Winners win." Learn more about Darrell and Larry. Darrell’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrellamy/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrellamy/] Larry’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/larrylevine1992/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/larrylevine1992/] Connect and learn more from Josh Mastel https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshmastel [https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshmastel] Ready to begin realizing the full potential of your sales team? Hire Great Salespeople with Confidence. SCHEDULE YOUR EXECUTIVE BRIEFING. https://sellingfromtheheart.net/hiring [https://sellingfromtheheart.net/hiring] Unlock The Power of Team Growth with Learnit’s Live Training Platform. CLAIM your 45-day trial of unlimited training now! https://www.learnit.com/lp/culture [https://www.learnit.com/lp/culture] Stop gambling on interviews. Combine analytics with a sales recruiting system to screen out non-performers so you only interview candidates that can become great salespeople. https://hiringguide.salesindex.ai/ [https://hiringguide.salesindex.ai/]

Servant Leader or Selfish Leader? Coca-Cola’s Culture Secret featuring Mark Whitacre

Who leads, what changes, where does culture show up, when does transformation begin, and why do employees stay when a 17,000-person company chooses servant leadership over selfish leadership? In this episode of the Culture From the Heart Podcast, hosts Darrell Amy and Larry Levine sit down with Mark Whitacer, Vice President of Culture and Care at Coca-Cola Consolidated and Executive Director of the TFactor Initiative. Mark reveals how Coca-Cola Consolidated is working toward an ambitious vision: developing more than 17,000 servant leaders across every level of the organization—from senior executives to frontline teammates and forklift drivers. At the heart of this mission is a simple but challenging leadership question: Are you serving the people around you, or are you primarily serving yourself? Mark walks through the company’s LEADS leadership model: * Listen at a deeper level * Show genuine Empathy * Advocate for your employees * Develop the people around you * Practice Self-reflection and prayer He also explains how Coca-Cola Consolidated turns its values into visible action through employee chaplains and care partners, a teammate benevolence fund, disaster-response teams, leadership development, servant-leader awards, and community volunteerism. These initiatives have helped create a culture where employees feel known, supported, and valued. While many people initially join the organization because of the Coca-Cola brand, Mark says the culture is what inspires them to stay. The conversation also explores the TFactor Initiative, which shares Coca-Cola Consolidated’s culture-building principles with leaders and organizations around the world. Mark explains how companies can begin transforming their workplaces by shifting from “What’s in it for me?” to “What’s in it for the people around me?” This episode challenges every leader to take an honest look in the mirror and decide what kind of leadership legacy they want to create. KEY TAKEAWAYS * Every leader is either serving others or serving themselves. Servant leadership begins when leaders place the needs, development, and success of others ahead of personal recognition. * Culture must be translated into repeatable behaviors. Coca-Cola Consolidated’s LEADS model gives leaders a practical framework for listening, demonstrating empathy, advocating for employees, developing others, and reflecting on their performance. * Employees stay where they feel genuinely cared for. Benevolence funds, chaplains, care partners, disaster-response teams, and supportive leadership demonstrate that employee care must extend beyond words. * Service becomes contagious. When employees experience meaningful care inside the workplace, they are more likely to serve their teammates, customers, and surrounding communities. * Organizational transformation starts with personal transformation. Leaders change culture by moving from “What’s in it for me?” to “What’s in it for others around me?” QUOTES * “If you're not a servant leader, you're, you're a selfish leader.” * “We should be listening more than we're talking.” * “The more you serve, the more the others around you start to serve.” * “Culture trumps everything.” * “When you go from what's in it for me, when you go to what's in it for others around you, that's transformation.” Learn more about Darrell and Larry. Darrell’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrellamy/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrellamy/] Larry’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/larrylevine1992/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/larrylevine1992/] Connect and learn more from Mark Whitacre. https://faithdrivenentrepreneur.org/mark-whitacre/ [https://faithdrivenentrepreneur.org/mark-whitacre/] Ready to begin realizing the full potential of your sales team? Hire Great Salespeople with Confidence. SCHEDULE YOUR EXECUTIVE BRIEFING. https://sellingfromtheheart.net/hiring [https://sellingfromtheheart.net/hiring] Unlock The Power of Team Growth with Learnit’s Live Training Platform. CLAIM your 45-day trial of unlimited training now! https://www.learnit.com/lp/culture [https://www.learnit.com/lp/culture] Stop gambling on interviews. Combine analytics with a sales recruiting system to screen out non-performers so you only interview candidates that can become great salespeople. https://hiringguide.salesindex.ai/ [https://hiringguide.salesindex.ai/]

Overcoming Business Challenges with AI featuring Nick Damoulakis

In this episode of Culture From the Heart Podcast, hosts Darrell Amy and Larry Levine are joined by Nick Damoulakis, CEO of Orases, about “culture from the heart” as shared passion, values, behaviors, and norms modeled from the top and lived daily. Nick describes his evolution from a toxic, whip-driven young leader to defining non-negotiables and company values through the DRIVE acronym: demonstrate thoughtful communication, rise to the occasion, integrity all the time, value to the client, and excel at your craft. He explains how culture enabled Orases to adopt AI early (starting with ChatGPT in late 2022), encouraging employees to fail often, fast, and cheap while leaders supported learning.  Nick outlines Orases’s AI journey: fluency, data context and readiness, governance, organizational and change management, reskilling for conflict and judgment, avoiding “AI slop,” measuring ROI, shifting business models, tool/LLM consolidation, and committing to Anthropic, with benefits now emerging and a key turning point when employees proudly showed what they built. KEY TAKEAWAYS * Great culture starts with self-awareness — before you can lead others, you must know your own values and non-negotiables * Culture is a living organism, not a wall poster; it's built through daily behaviors, language, and how leaders react under pressure * The DRIVE framework (Demonstrate thoughtful communication, Rise to the occasion, Integrity always, Value to the client, Excel at your craft) gives a team shared language and purpose * AI adoption is not a technology problem — it's a people and culture problem; fear, sabotage, and confusion are the real barriers * The AI adoption journey follows predictable stages: fluency → data readiness → governance → change management → organization redesign → consolidation → ROI * You can't have AI transformation without organizational transformation * "Fail often, fail fast, fail cheap" — psychological safety is the fuel for innovation * Leaders must help people cross the "valley of death" quickly when jumping to a new S-curve, or risk losing their trust * What used to take 3 years of AI adoption can now be compressed into 3–6 months QUOTES * "Culture from the heart is not something you can just say — it's something you show and feel." * "I led with a whip, not through the heart. I didn't know myself. I didn't know my own values." * "Some CEOs have to go through that journey where they're like, 'I'm the problem.'" * "It's a living organism. You're constantly tested, and the decisions you make — how you react to certain situations — that is the true culture from the heart." * "Integrity shouldn't even be on the list. It should just be a non-negotiable." * "Fail often. Fail fast. Fail cheap." * "Just because you can doesn't mean you should." (on AI slop) * "You can't have AI transformation without organization transformation." * "As soon as they said, 'Look what I built,' and had a smile on their face — we just hit it." * "AI needs context. At the end of the day, it needs context." Learn more about Darrell and Larry. Darrell’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrellamy/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrellamy/] Larry’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/larrylevine1992/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/larrylevine1992/] Connect and learn more from Nick Damoulakis. https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickdamoulakis/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickdamoulakis/] Ready to begin realizing the full potential of your sales team? Hire Great Salespeople with Confidence. SCHEDULE YOUR EXECUTIVE BRIEFING. https://sellingfromtheheart.net/hiring [https://sellingfromtheheart.net/hiring] Unlock The Power of Team Growth with Learnit’s Live Training Platform. CLAIM your 45-day trial of unlimited training now! https://www.learnit.com/lp/culture [https://www.learnit.com/lp/culture] Stop gambling on interviews. Combine analytics with a sales recruiting system to screen out non-performers so you only interview candidates that can become great salespeople. https://hiringguide.salesindex.ai/ [https://hiringguide.salesindex.ai/]