People Business is a weekly podcast exploring human nature in the workplace. Every business is in some way a "people business" and it's often how we manage these dynamics that leads to long-term success or failure.
Latest Episodes
How Work Gets Done (and Evolving it for AI) w/ David Dean
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- People Skills
- People Strategy
- Personal Growth
- Uncategorized
Developing Mental Toughness w/ Sean Bacon
Sean Bacon is a Canadian Armed Forces veteran who served 12 years as a Paratrooper and as an instructor at the Canadian Forces Military Police Academy. During that time, Sean developed a system of training that psychologically and physically prepared both soldiers and police to thrive in some of the worst situations the world has […]
Growing People Without Promotions w/ Gustavo Serbiá
Gustavo Serbiá is the Head of Human Resources at Hair Cuttery, a retail hair salon with 5,000+ employees across 10 states. In this episode, we talk about the challenges of leading a workforce with few promotion opportunities. Gustavo shares lessons on how they recruit, develop talent, and help people grow inside and outside the organization. […]
The Psychological Safety Playbook w/ Karolin Helbig & Minette Norman
When Minette Norman and Karolin Helbig heard about psychological safety, they knew it could have a big impact on their workplaces. But they struggled to find guidance on how to put the principles of psychological safety into practice. Like all good self-starters, they decided to write the book they wished they’d had. In this episode, […]
The Work Better Project w/ Rebecca Ryan & Libby Castro
Professional Futurist Rebecca Ryan returns to the podcast and brings with her Libby Castro, Founder and Principal at LP/w Design Studios. The two have joined forces to create the Work Better Project, a community geared towards redesigning the what, where, and how of work. Mentioned in this Episode: The Work Better Project: https://www.linkedin.com/company/work-better-project/ “People First: The […]
Building a Committed Team w/ Andy Bass
Dr. Andy Bass is the founder and principal of BassClusker Consulting. He works with leaders of successful businesses who are acutely aware of the rapid pace of change in the world. Andy specializes in getting them ahead of the change and bringing their people with them, and he does it in a very unusual way […]
Recovering From the Marathons of Life w/ Dr. Sunitha Chandy
Dr. Sunitha Chandy, Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Founder of Artesian Collaborative, returns to the show to talk about ways we can recover after expending all of our energy and resilience running life’s great marathons (for example, coming out of a global pandemic). Mentioned in this Episode Sunitha Chandy, PsyD is the lead trainer at Artesian […]
Improving Population Health w/ Todd Hlasney
Todd Hlasney is the Director of Health Risk Solutions at Lockton where he and his team help companies build wellness programs that improve health and lower cost. In this episode, Todd shares best practices, how to make data actionable, and the ways to approach different segments of your employee base. Mentioned in this Episode: Lockton […]
Building a Healthy Business w/ Dr. Richard Safeer
Dr. Richard Safeer is the Chief Medical Director of Employee Health and Well-Being @ Johns Hopkins Medicine. He works to help leaders understand how to build cultures of health in their own organizations. He holds faculty appointments in both the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the Bloomberg School of Public Health. His book, A […]
- All Episodes
- People Skills
- People Strategy
- Personal Growth
- Uncategorized
How Work Gets Done (and Evolving it for AI) w/ David Dean
David Dean is an author, speaker, and business AI realist who explores how artificial intelligence reshapes work, judgment, and accountability in organizations. Rather than focusing on AI capabilities, he examines the human elements that remain essential: how people navigate uncertainty, where accountability lies when AI assists decisions, and what holds organizations together when technology accelerates […]
Self-Funding w/ Spencer Smith
Spencer Smith is a Senior Vice President at Pareto Health, a leading employee benefit group captive manager that helps midsize employers reduce health insurance costs and volatility. He is also the host of Self-Funded with Spencer, a podcast focused on self-funded employee benefits plans and the complex healthcare ecosystem. Mentioned on the Show Learn more about […]
Dignity Bridges the Gap w/ Dr. Donna Hicks
Dr. Donna Hicks is an Associate at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University and the former Deputy Director of the Program on International Conflict Analysis and Resolution (PICAR). She facilitated dialogues in numerous unofficial diplomatic efforts in the Middle East, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Colombia, Cuba, Libya and Syria. She has taught courses […]
How Small Businesses Compete & Win w/ Sri Kaza
Sri Kaza is a business leader and small business advocate with a career spanning corporate strategy, entrepreneurial ventures, and dedicated support for small businesses. He is the author of Unconvention: A Small Business Strategy Guide. Mentioned on the Show Visit Sri’s website: https://sri-kaza.com/ Connect with Sri on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/srikaza Get Sri’s book, Unconventional: https://a.co/d/d9swnpB O’Brien and Sri discussed the […]
The Customer Experience Mindset w/ Mark Fithian
Mark Fithian is the cofounder of WideOpen, a consultancy that helps organizations achieve sustainable growth through strategic customer experience. Mark’s expertise in CX is informed by more than thirty years of work across industries, partnering with leading brands such as Providence, SAP, PayPal, Optum, IBM, BMW, the American Cancer Society, and Microsoft. Before founding WideOpen, […]
Taking Control of Our Health w/ Brock Anderson & Tracy Awe from Function Health
Brock Anderson and Tracy Awe are Directors of Enterprise and Strategic Partnerships with Function Health, a biometric data company helping individuals and groups take control of their health data to live longer, healthier, more productive lives. Mentioned on the Show Listen to Dr. Mark Hyman on the Huberman Lab podcast: https://www.hubermanlab.com/episode/how-to-improve-your-vitality-heal-from-disease-dr-mark-hyman Learn more about Function Health […]
Hiring Workers with Criminal Records w/ Shawn Bushway
Shawn Bushway has a PhD in economics and public policy from the Heinz College at Carnegie Mellon University and has spent his career in criminology, where he has been recognized as a Distinguished Scholar for the Division of Corrections and Sentencing and a Fellow of the American Society of Criminology. He has published two books […]
No More Goal Setting w/ Radhika Dutt
Radhika Dutt draws on 25 years of experience across industries, continents, and sizes of organizations to write, speak, and consult on innovation and change. Her experience has taught her that goal-setting systems often produce the opposite of what they promise: short-termism, performance theater, and cultures that prioritize looking good over doing good work. In this […]

