In this episode, Thomas Bertels and Bruce Bolger, founder of the Enterprise Engagement Alliance, discuss what lessons we can learn from Total Quality Management (TQM) about creating a creating a movement.

Bruce argues TQM succeeded because competition made the economic impact of poor quality undeniable, while engagement lags because most companies don’t measure its costs within their own operations.

He advocates for a CEO-led, stakeholder-based, systematic approach based on clarifying purpose, goals, and values, establishing metrics, and aligning operating systems.

Bruce explains how silos, poor job design, and toxic leadership undermine engagement and why companies that embrace a stakeholder-centric approach are keeping a low profile.

Bruce Bolger is one of the founders of the practice of enterprise engagement, or stakeholder vapitalism, who since 1988 has combined a career in business publishing and content marketing with stakeholder management across the enterprise, human capital reporting, marketing and investor relationships in all the people aspects of business.

He founded the Enterprise Engagement Alliance in 2009, assembling academic and business experts in all aspects of engagement to create a formal framework for the practical implementation of stakeholder engagement practices.

Today, Bolger works with boards, CEOs, CHROs, CMOs, and investor relations at organizations seeking to profit from a formal stakeholder management plans, metrics, and reporting strategies that enhance performance as well as engagement and experiences.

He also works with investors seeking to make sense of the human capital management reporting and with brands and advisory firms seeking to profit from the $500 billion engagement field.

He created the first professional education program for Stakeholder Engagement and human capital measurement, served as an advisor to the first ISO (International Organization for Standardization) conforming human capital report, proposed the original standard for employee engagement that has recently been published by ISO, and created the Forum for People Performance and Management at Northwestern University Medill School.

He is also the author of two books on Stakeholder Engagement—Enterprise Engagement for CEOs: The Little Bluebook for Stakeholder Capitalists, and Enterprise Engagement: The Roadmap, a practical guide to implementation, and the producer of dozens of high-level video interviews with leaders in all areas of ESG investment and human capital.

For More Information, visit www.TheEEA.org.

00:00 TQM Lessons for Engagement

01:16 Economics and People Factor

02:39 Why Engagement Hasn't Taken Off

06:16 Competition and Quiet Winners

08:21 Tech Tools Need a System

10:50 Turnover Costs and Blind Spots

13:23 ISO Standards and Stakeholders

15:55 Need a Visible Champion

17:01 Engagement Needs Proof

18:00 Selling CEOs on Metrics

19:29 Why Stakeholder Capitalism Wins

19:48 Three Forces Changing Business

22:04 Waste and Broken Workplaces

24:19 TQM and System Thinking

25:28 CEO Playbook for Change

29:42 Quality Circles and DEI

31:54 Job Design Drives Engagement

32:32 Building an Engagement Industry

34:03 Hopeful Wrap Up

When it comes to leadership, context makes a big difference. Leaders that do well in large, established organizations are masters of securing resources, building consensus, and navigating the politics. But if you take those successful executives and put them into a leadership role in a start-up, many of them struggle - because leadership in a start-up requires a different set of skills.

Michele Fite has made that difficult transition. She is a foodtech executive, Board Director, and advisor. Who currently serves as the Chief Commercial Officer of Elo Life Systems. Prior to that, Michele was the chief commercial officer at Motif FoodWorks, where As one of its first employees she led Motif’s efforts to introduce and commercialize the company’s game-changing ingredients and where I had the pleasure of working with her. But before Motif, Michele held executive roles at giant companies like Nestle and DuPont, where she was in charge of a $3.5B Nutrition & Health portfolio.

In our conversation, we explore how leadership in a large, established company is different from leadership in a start-up, how her big-company experience has helped her, what she had to unlearn, and what’s really key to succeed with that transition.

Whether you are an exec toying with taking the leap into the startup world or a founder looking to bring in some big company experience to help you scale, this episode offers lots of practical insights.

00:00 Why Startups Now

02:23 Startup Leadership Reality

06:37 Big Company Skills That Help

11:51 What To Unlearn Fast

18:13 Hiring Builders Not Roles

24:59 Variable Teams And Networks

29:59 Scaling Without Losing Soul

35:03 Should You Make The Leap

41:52 Closing Reflections

In this episode of the Work Matters Podcast, host Thomas Bertels is joined by Jesse Jacoby, founder of Emergent Consultants, to discuss best practices for managing layoffs and how to minimize negative impact on morale and productivity. Jesse delve into the roles of senior leaders and middle managers, the hidden costs of mishandling layoffs, the critical importance of clear communication, and the impact of AI.

Jesse Jacoby has led enterprise transformation efforts for leading companies. His work spans complex initiatives such as corporate restructuring, organizational redesign, mergers and acquisitions, technology implementation, process reengineering, and enterprise-wide cost reduction. Known for his ability to align people, processes, and strategy, Jesse helps clients accelerate progress and sustain meaningful change.

Use the following links to learn more about Jesse and to connect with him: Website: https://emergentconsultants.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jjacoby/

Episode Flow:

00:00 Introduction

02:00 The Hidden Costs of Layoffs

03:01 Alternatives to Layoffs

04:36 Role of Senior Leaders in Layoffs

06:07 Role of Middle Managers in Layoffs

16:25 Effective Communication Strategies

18:55 Impact of AI on Layoffs

23:22 Successful Layoff Strategies

31:20 Conclusion and Contact Information