Beautiful Business

In today’s episode, I explore a distinction that leaders often overlook but that changes everything once you see it clearly: culture and community are not the same thing. It begins with Michael Polanyi’s idea of spontaneous order, drawn from watching scientists solve an impossibly complex problem without a central coordinator. That image opens a deeper question for organizational life. What if the healthiest systems are not just well managed, but genuinely self-organizing? What if culture is not the end goal, but the condition that makes community possible? This episode explores culture as a living signal system. People are always reading the environment around them: what gets rewarded, what gets repeated, what gets ignored, and how leaders behave when the pressure rises. Those signals shape how people orient themselves, what they believe is safe, and whether they feel invited to contribute more fully. But while culture creates the conditions, community is what grows inside them. Drawing on Dan Coyle’s work, I walk through the sequence that turns culture into something more enduring: autonomy, ownership, belonging, and horizon. This progression helps explain why some organizations feel merely functional while others become places where people share responsibility, meaning, and momentum. Community begins when people stop simply working for an organization and start building something together. I also reflect on the role of leadership language and behavior in shaping that process. The phrases may be simple, but the signals behind them are powerful: It’s up to you. You are safe here. We are all in this together. When those messages are reinforced through consistent action, people begin to trust more deeply, contribute more courageously, and invest in something larger than themselves. Join me as I explore: ✅ Why culture and community are related, but fundamentally different ✅ How leaders function as signal amplifiers in organizational life ✅ Why autonomy, ownership, belonging, and horizon matter so much ✅ How trust and shared meaning turn systems into communities ✅ What leaders should ask instead of “What is our culture?” 🔑 Key Takeaways: ✔️ Culture is the system; community is what the system can make possible ✔️ People are always responding to signals, whether leaders intend them or not ✔️ Belonging and shared purpose cannot be managed into existence ✔️ Community forms when people begin to build something together ✔️ A better question for leaders is not what culture is, but what community is becoming 🔎 Resources & References: 📖 Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan) — a framework for understanding human motivation and the role of autonomy, competence, and relatedness in supporting engagement, well-being, and intrinsic motivation. 📩 Subscribe & Share: If this episode resonates with you, share it with someone thinking deeply about culture, community, and what it really takes to build something people can belong to. And subscribe for more conversations at the intersection of leadership, culture, and the human experience. #Leadership #Culture #Community #OrganizationalCulture #Belonging #LeadershipDevelopment #HumanCenteredLeadership Steven Morris, CEO of Matter Consulting is an ever-curious life-seeker, brand and culture building expert, advisor, author, and speaker. With over 27 years of entrepreneurial experience, he has served as a trusted advisor to over 3,000 business leaders and evolved more than 250 brands and cultures, including Google, Habitat for Humanity, Samsung, and Disney. His best-selling book, "The Beautiful Business," and his widely read Insights blog are a testament to his consulting expertise in creating unignorable, magnetic, and sustainable companies.His diverse interests, including meditation, fine art painting, surfing, and beekeeping, infuse his work with creativity, soul, and a deep understanding of the human experience.You can find more podcasts and join 30,000+ other brilliant and soulful readers of his weekly INSIGHTS blog at MatterCo.

In today’s episode, I explore why visible effort so often gets mistaken for value—and why the most important breakthroughs in culture rarely arrive looking dramatic, orderly, or earned in obvious ways. It begins with a deceptively simple insight from behavioral research: when people saw identical outcomes from a travel search, they preferred the version that appeared to work harder. The result was the same, but the visible effort changed how they valued it. That tendency, while understandable, creates a real problem for leaders trying to shape culture. Because cultural breakthroughs do not usually arrive with a satisfying paper trail. This episode looks at the gap between what appears effortful and what is actually generative. I reflect on why the moments that change teams, organizations, and creative work often seem spontaneous in hindsight, even though they are usually the product of preparation, tension, and conditions that have been building for a long time. Drawing on examples from art, music, innovation, and organizational life, I explore what leaders can actually influence. Not the breakthrough itself, but the environment around it. The space where fragile ideas are protected. The room where unfinished thinking can breathe. The structures that allow something new to emerge before it gets managed out of existence. Join me as I explore: ✅ Why visible effort often gets confused with real value ✅ How breakthrough moments usually emerge from conditions, not control ✅ What leaders can learn from 3M, Pixar, Brian Eno, and creative practice ✅ Why unfinished, unoptimized spaces matter more than we admit ✅ How cultures lose vitality when they stop leaving room for surprise 🔑 Key Takeaways: ✔ Breakthroughs cannot be forced, only invited ✔ Visible labor is not the same as meaningful transformation ✔ Receptivity is often more important than optimization ✔ Fragile ideas need protection before they can become useful ✔ A culture that cannot surprise itself is already starting to harden 📩 Subscribe & Share: If this episode resonates with you, share it with someone thinking about creativity, culture, or how real breakthroughs actually happen. And subscribe for more conversations at the intersection of leadership, culture, and the human experience. #Leadership #Culture #Creativity #Innovation #OrganizationalCulture #ChangeLeadership #HumanCenteredLeadership Steven Morris, CEO of Matter Consulting is an ever-curious life-seeker, brand and culture building expert, advisor, author, and speaker. With over 27 years of entrepreneurial experience, he has served as a trusted advisor to over 3,000 business leaders and evolved more than 250 brands and cultures, including Google, Habitat for Humanity, Samsung, and Disney. His best-selling book, "The Beautiful Business," and his widely read Insights blog are a testament to his consulting expertise in creating unignorable, magnetic, and sustainable companies.His diverse interests, including meditation, fine art painting, surfing, and beekeeping, infuse his work with creativity, soul, and a deep understanding of the human experience.You can find more podcasts and join 30,000+ other brilliant and soulful readers of his weekly INSIGHTS blog at MatterCo.

In today’s episode, I explore a force that quietly shapes leadership, decision-making, and culture more than we often realize: enchantment. It begins with a simple recognition. Every so often, a person, idea, or opportunity captures our attention so completely that it begins to rearrange how we see the world. It feels energizing, magnetic, and just beyond logic. We often think of this as inspiration or chemistry, but there is something deeper at work. This episode looks at enchantment not as fantasy, but as a real psychological and relational force. In organizations, it can show up through a compelling founder, a vision that electrifies a room, or a leader whose presence shifts the emotional field before they even begin to speak. At its best, enchantment expands imagination, risk-taking, and belief in what is possible. It changes how people reach into the work. But enchantment has a shadow. The same force that opens us up can also distort perception. We can stop seeing a leader, strategy, or opportunity clearly and begin seeing through hope-colored lenses instead. This is where projection, bias, and self-deception enter the picture. What feels compelling may also be selectively inaccurate. Drawing on myth, psychology, and leadership practice, this episode explores why enchantment is both a gift and a risk. I reflect on how leaders can remain moved by vision without being consumed by it, and why the real skill is not avoiding enchantment, but staying awake inside it. The leaders who do this well cultivate a kind of double awareness: they can feel the pull of the moment while remaining anchored in clarity, curiosity, and self-possession. Join me as I explore: ✅ Why enchantment is more present in leadership than we usually admit ✅ How energy, imagination, and momentum can emerge from it ✅ Why projection and bias often intensify when we are under its spell ✅ What it means to coach and lead within the aura a person brings ✅ How to stay grounded while still allowing yourself to be inspired 🔑 Key Takeaways: ✔ Enchantment can expand vision, courage, and creative possibility ✔ The same force can also narrow perception and distort judgment ✔ Leaders are especially vulnerable to self-enchantment when stories go unchallenged ✔ Grounded leadership requires both openness and self-awareness ✔ The goal is not to avoid enchantment, but to remain conscious within it 📩 Subscribe & Share: If this episode resonates with you, share it with someone thinking deeply about leadership, influence, or the stories that shape how we see. And subscribe for more conversations at the intersection of leadership, culture, and the human experience. #Leadership #Enchantment #LeadershipPresence #Culture #DecisionMaking #HumanCenteredLeadership Steven Morris, CEO of Matter Consulting is an ever-curious life-seeker, brand and culture building expert, advisor, author, and speaker. With over 27 years of entrepreneurial experience, he has served as a trusted advisor to over 3,000 business leaders and evolved more than 250 brands and cultures, including Google, Habitat for Humanity, Samsung, and Disney. His best-selling book, "The Beautiful Business," and his widely read Insights blog are a testament to his consulting expertise in creating unignorable, magnetic, and sustainable companies.His diverse interests, including meditation, fine art painting, surfing, and beekeeping, infuse his work with creativity, soul, and a deep understanding of the human experience.You can find more podcasts and join 30,000+ other brilliant and soulful readers of his weekly INSIGHTS blog at MatterCo.

In today’s episode, I explore a leadership experience that often feels uncomfortable but can be deeply instructive: bewilderment. It begins during a large culture evolution engagement inside a national organization, where the work was progressing—but not in ways that felt neat or easily resolved. Competing narratives, long-held assumptions, and the limits of familiar frameworks all began to surface at once. In one conversation, I described the work with a single word: bewildering. The response was simple: “Good.” That moment opened a deeper reflection. What if bewilderment is not a sign of failure, but evidence that we have reached the edge of easy answers? This episode explores the older meaning of the word bewildered—to be led into the wilds—and why that idea matters for leadership. Because every meaningful act of leadership eventually brings us beyond what is already known. Strategy reaches toward futures that do not yet exist. Culture work exposes what has been hidden. Growth creates conditions that cannot be met with certainty alone. Drawing on leadership practice, cultural transformation, and lived experience, this episode argues that bewilderment can be a necessary threshold. When leaders resist the urge to rush toward clarity, they create space for deeper listening, better questions, and more grounded change. Join me as I explore: ✅ Why bewilderment often signals depth, not dysfunction ✅ How leadership brings us to the edge of what we already know ✅ Why premature certainty can weaken real transformation ✅ How curiosity and deep listening help patterns emerge ✅ Why the wilderness can be a threshold to stronger, wiser leadership 🔑 Key Takeaways: ✔ Bewilderment often means you are engaging what actually matters ✔ Not knowing can sharpen attention rather than weaken leadership ✔ Quick answers often block deeper understanding ✔ Wonder is more useful than defensiveness in uncertain moments ✔ Real transformation often begins where the familiar path ends 📩 Subscribe & Share: If this episode resonates with you, share it with someone navigating uncertainty, complexity, or change. And subscribe for more conversations at the intersection of leadership, culture, and the deeper work of being human. #Leadership #Bewilderment #Culture #OrganizationalChange #LeadershipDevelopment #ChangeLeadership #HumanCenteredLeadership Steven Morris, CEO of Matter Consulting is an ever-curious life-seeker, brand and culture building expert, advisor, author, and speaker. With over 27 years of entrepreneurial experience, he has served as a trusted advisor to over 3,000 business leaders and evolved more than 250 brands and cultures, including Google, Habitat for Humanity, Samsung, and Disney. His best-selling book, "The Beautiful Business," and his widely read Insights blog are a testament to his consulting expertise in creating unignorable, magnetic, and sustainable companies.His diverse interests, including meditation, fine art painting, surfing, and beekeeping, infuse his work with creativity, soul, and a deep understanding of the human experience.You can find more podcasts and join 30,000+ other brilliant and soulful readers of his weekly INSIGHTS blog at MatterCo.

In today’s episode, I explore a quieter dimension of leadership—one that doesn’t center on influence, visibility, or control, but on what leadership asks us to give up. It begins with a story shared by Ken Burns in conversation with Adam Grant, reflecting on a defining pattern in the life of George Washington. At moments when power gathered around him, Washington stepped away. Not once, but repeatedly. Leadership, in his example, was something held in trust—and released when the time called for it. That story opens a deeper question: What if leadership was never meant to be held tightly, but stewarded and, at times, surrendered? Drawing on the work of Michael Meade, this episode traces an older pattern of leadership rooted in sacrifice—not as loss, but as the act of making something sacred in service of the whole. In this light, leadership becomes less about gaining authority and more about creating the conditions for others to grow. Today, that sacrifice often looks subtle. It shows up in restraint. In choosing not to speak first. In leaving space for others. In recognizing when holding on begins to limit what the system could become. Join me as I explore: ✅ Why leadership is better understood as stewardship, not ownership ✅ How knowing when to step back can strengthen—not weaken—a system ✅ The hidden cost of holding authority for too long ✅ Why restraint, not control, is often the more powerful leadership move ✅ How creating space allows new leadership capacity to emerge 🔑 Key Takeaways: ✔ Leadership is something you hold in trust—not something you keep ✔ Stepping back can be an act of responsibility, not disengagement ✔ Restraint creates space for growth, trust, and capability ✔ Holding on too long can quietly constrain the system ✔ The measure of leadership is often what it protects and enables 🔎 Resources & References: 🎧 ReThinking Podcast – Conversations on leadership, psychology, and rethinking assumptions 🌐 Mosaic Multicultural Foundation – Storytelling, mythology, and leadership through a cultural lens 📩 Subscribe & Share: If this episode shifts how you think about leadership and responsibility, share it with someone navigating when to step forward—and when to step back. And subscribe for more reflections on leadership, culture, and the human experience. #Leadership #Stewardship #OrganizationalCulture #HumanCenteredLeadership #Trust #LeadershipDevelopment Steven Morris, CEO of Matter Consulting is an ever-curious life-seeker, brand and culture building expert, advisor, author, and speaker. With over 27 years of entrepreneurial experience, he has served as a trusted advisor to over 3,000 business leaders and evolved more than 250 brands and cultures, including Google, Habitat for Humanity, Samsung, and Disney. His best-selling book, "The Beautiful Business," and his widely read Insights blog are a testament to his consulting expertise in creating unignorable, magnetic, and sustainable companies.His diverse interests, including meditation, fine art painting, surfing, and beekeeping, infuse his work with creativity, soul, and a deep understanding of the human experience.You can find more podcasts and join 30,000+ other brilliant and soulful readers of his weekly INSIGHTS blog at MatterCo.

In today’s episode, I explore a tension many leaders feel but rarely name: the pressure to perform leadership instead of inhabiting it.It starts with a moment in a boardroom—a senior executive freezing mid-sentence as she realizes the words coming out of her mouth aren’t hers at all. They’re borrowed. Polished. Safe. And completely disconnected from the leader her team actually knows.That moment becomes a doorway into a deeper question: What do we lose when we turn ourselves into brands?For years, leaders have been told that personal branding is the path to clarity, credibility, and influence. Distill yourself. Stay on message. Smooth the edges. Be coherent at all costs. But branding is a form of compression—and humans aren’t meant to be compressed.Drawing on psychology, leadership research, and lived experience, this episode argues that presence—not polish—is what creates trust. The leaders who move us aren’t the most consistent; they’re the most responsive. The most alive to the room. The most willing to let contradiction, uncertainty, and growth be visible.Join me as I explore:✅ Why personal branding often undermines the very trust it promises to build✅ How compressing your identity erodes presence and credibility✅ What Jung and James Hillman reveal about the myth of a singular “authentic self”✅ Why leaders who change their minds are often the ones we follow most✅ How human presence creates safety, connection, and momentum in organizations🔑 Key Takeaways:✔ A brand is a compression; leadership is a living process✔ People don’t follow polish—they follow attunement✔ Consistency matters less than responsiveness✔ Packaging yourself turns growth into performance✔ Your contradictions don’t weaken trust—they create it🔎 Resources & References:📖 Carl Jung – The psyche as a multiplicity, not a singular self📖 James Hillman – The “parliament of gods” and psychological pluralism📜 Tao Te Ching – “The usefulness of a cup is in its emptiness”📊 Organizational trust research on psychological safety and leadership presence📩 Subscribe & Share:If this episode challenges how you think about leadership, branding, and authenticity, share it with someone feeling pressure to perform instead of lead. And subscribe for more conversations at the intersection of leadership, culture, and the human experience.#Leadership #PresenceOverPerformance #PersonalBranding #AuthenticLeadership #Culture #HumanCenteredLeadership Steven Morris, CEO of Matter Consulting is an ever-curious life-seeker, brand and culture building expert, advisor, author, and speaker. With over 27 years of entrepreneurial experience, he has served as a trusted advisor to over 3,000 business leaders and evolved more than 250 brands and cultures, including Google, Habitat for Humanity, Samsung, and Disney. His best-selling book, "The Beautiful Business," and his widely read Insights blog are a testament to his consulting expertise in creating unignorable, magnetic, and sustainable companies.His diverse interests, including meditation, fine art painting, surfing, and beekeeping, infuse his work with creativity, soul, and a deep understanding of the human experience.You can find more podcasts and join 30,000+ other brilliant and soulful readers of his weekly INSIGHTS blog at MatterCo.

In today’s episode, I’m unpacking one of the most timeless—and urgent—lessons in business: adapt or become irrelevant.Guy Kawasaki tells the story of the ice industry, where no company successfully transitioned from lake-harvested ice → ice factories → refrigerators. At each stage, the market transformed, but the leaders of yesterday failed to “jump the curve.”That same story is unfolding right now—in retail, transportation, media, hospitality, and tech. Disruptors rise, incumbents cling to the old model, and the pace of change keeps accelerating. AI, climate tech, and shifting consumer values are only making the cycles faster.Join me as I explore:✅ Why most companies miss disruptive shifts—and how to spot them sooner✅ The accelerating pace of reinvention across every industry✅ How values-driven consumers are creating market disruption, too✅ The questions leaders must ask to avoid becoming obsolete✅ Practical ways to “jump the curve” before the ground disappears beneath you🔑 Key Takeaways:✔ Incremental improvement isn’t enough—bold reinvention is required✔ Disruption never stops—even disruptors get disrupted✔ Customers’ values are now as disruptive as technology✔ Adaptation is a choice; irrelevance is not✔ Leaders who anticipate shifts shape the future, instead of being shaped by it🔎 Resources & References:📖 The Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki – Lessons on innovation and curve-jumping📊 McKinsey & Company report on AI adoption – 20–30% productivity gains📈 Deloitte research on values-driven consumers – 63% demand brands that align📩 Subscribe & Share:If this episode reframes how you think about innovation and disruption, share it with a leader navigating change. And subscribe so you don’t miss future deep dives into the forces reshaping business and culture.#Innovation #Leadership #BusinessStrategy #Disruption #AdaptOrDie #FutureOfWork Steven Morris, CEO of Matter Consulting is an ever-curious life-seeker, brand and culture building expert, advisor, author, and speaker. With over 27 years of entrepreneurial experience, he has served as a trusted advisor to over 3,000 business leaders and evolved more than 250 brands and cultures, including Google, Habitat for Humanity, Samsung, and Disney. His best-selling book, "The Beautiful Business," and his widely read Insights blog are a testament to his consulting expertise in creating unignorable, magnetic, and sustainable companies.His diverse interests, including meditation, fine art painting, surfing, and beekeeping, infuse his work with creativity, soul, and a deep understanding of the human experience.You can find more podcasts and join 30,000+ other brilliant and soulful readers of his weekly INSIGHTS blog at MatterCo.

In today’s episode, I’m unpacking one of the most misunderstood dynamics in leadership and culture: pressure. Most of us are taught to manage it, reduce it, or even escape it. But the world’s best teams—from the New Zealand All Blacks to Pixar’s story rooms—do the opposite: they normalize it, ritualize it, and transform it into purpose.The All Blacks put it bluntly: “Pressure is an honor.” It’s not a burden, it’s evidence that the moment matters. And they back this ethos with cultural anchors like “Sweep the sheds” and “Leave the jersey in a better place.” In Danny Meyer’s restaurants, pressure fuels hospitality. At Pixar, it fuels creativity. Across wildly different arenas, pressure becomes a marker of significance—not something to avoid, but something to lean into.Join me as I explore:✅ Why most leaders treat pressure as a threat—and why it backfires✅ How elite teams reframe pressure as proof of significance✅ The role of mantras, rituals, and shared language in metabolizing stress✅ How trust transforms pressure from fear into fuel✅ Practical ways to shift your own relationship to high-stakes moments🔑 Key Takeaways:✔ Pressure isn’t the problem—our framing is✔ Great cultures name, normalize, and ritualize stress✔ Shared language turns pressure into purpose✔ Humility and stewardship ground performance under pressure✔ The highest-performing teams lean into pressure as proof of meaning🔎 Resources & References:📖 The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle – Lessons from the All Blacks and beyond📚 Setting the Table by Danny Meyer – Insights into hospitality under pressure🎥 Pixar’s Braintrust process – Building safety for creativity under stakes📌 Research on performance under pressure – Harvard Business Review📩 Subscribe & Share:If this episode reframes how you think about pressure in leadership and culture, share it with someone navigating their own high-stakes arena. And subscribe so you don’t miss future deep dives into the mindsets that separate good teams from great ones.#LeadershipCulture #HighPerformanceTeams #PressureIsAPrivilege #OrganizationalCulture #FutureOfWork #ResilientLeadership Steven Morris, CEO of Matter Consulting is an ever-curious life-seeker, brand and culture building expert, advisor, author, and speaker. With over 27 years of entrepreneurial experience, he has served as a trusted advisor to over 3,000 business leaders and evolved more than 250 brands and cultures, including Google, Habitat for Humanity, Samsung, and Disney. His best-selling book, "The Beautiful Business," and his widely read Insights blog are a testament to his consulting expertise in creating unignorable, magnetic, and sustainable companies.His diverse interests, including meditation, fine art painting, surfing, and beekeeping, infuse his work with creativity, soul, and a deep understanding of the human experience.You can find more podcasts and join 30,000+ other brilliant and soulful readers of his weekly INSIGHTS blog at MatterCo.

In today’s episode, I’m unpacking one of the most overlooked dynamics in leadership: how trust erodes. It rarely collapses in one dramatic scandal. More often, it fades through small cracks—a shift in direction left unexplained, a promise quietly broken, or a rumor left unaddressed.In Buddhist ethics, these subtle forces are called “near enemies”—things that look like virtues but hollow them out from within. In leadership, one of the most dangerous near enemies of trust is inconsistency. It’s often disguised as flexibility, agility, or boldness, but behind the scenes it creates confusion, doubt, and disconnection.So how do leaders build trust that lasts? Not through charisma, but through clarity, alignment, and consistency.Join me as I explore:✅ Why inconsistency is the silent killer of trust✅ The three ways credibility quietly erodes inside organizations✅ How leaders mistake ambiguity for adaptability—and why it backfires✅ Why clarity creates more freedom, not less✅ Four trust-building practices you can put into action today🔑 Key Takeaways:✔ Trust erodes quietly through near enemies, not obvious failures✔ What leaders don’t say can matter as much as what they do✔ Inconsistency feels nimble at the top but chaotic to the team✔ Consistency builds credibility, alignment, and resilience✔ Charisma can spark attention, but only consistency sustains belief🔎 Resources & References:📊 Enemies of Trust – Harvard Business Review📖 The Book of Joy by the Dalai Lama & Desmond Tutu – Insights on near enemies and virtues📚 Amy Edmondson – Research on psychological safety as a foundation for trust📌 Harvard Business Review – Studies on leadership credibility and alignment📩 Subscribe & Share:If this episode reshapes how you think about trust in leadership, share it with a colleague or mentor. And don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss another deep dive into the future of leadership and organizational culture.#TrustInLeadership #ConsistentLeadership #OrganizationalCulture #LeadershipDevelopment #FutureOfWork #LeadWithIntegrity #ResilientLeadership Steven Morris, CEO of Matter Consulting is an ever-curious life-seeker, brand and culture building expert, advisor, author, and speaker. With over 27 years of entrepreneurial experience, he has served as a trusted advisor to over 3,000 business leaders and evolved more than 250 brands and cultures, including Google, Habitat for Humanity, Samsung, and Disney. His best-selling book, "The Beautiful Business," and his widely read Insights blog are a testament to his consulting expertise in creating unignorable, magnetic, and sustainable companies.His diverse interests, including meditation, fine art painting, surfing, and beekeeping, infuse his work with creativity, soul, and a deep understanding of the human experience.You can find more podcasts and join 30,000+ other brilliant and soulful readers of his weekly INSIGHTS blog at MatterCo.

In today’s episode, I’m exploring a powerful shift in how we think about organizations. For over a century, we’ve treated them like machines—efficient, optimized, predictable. But systems don’t breathe, empathize, or imagine. People do.Efficiency has its place, but when it becomes the only priority, resilience is lost. The model looks sleek—until disruption exposes its fragility. Nature offers another way forward: ecosystems. Forests don’t chase quarterly goals. They adapt, regenerate, and grow stronger because of difference, not in spite of it.So, what if leaders thought less like engineers and more like gardeners—tending roots, caring for soil, and making space for diversity to thrive?Join me as I explore:✅ Why efficiency alone is too brittle to sustain resilience✅ How ecological thinking can transform organizational design✅ The role of diversity as a source of vitality, not a threat to control✅ What it means to lead with cultivation, interconnection, and renewal✅ How to create organizations that not only endure, but evolve🔑 Key Takeaways:✔ Systems don’t innovate—people do✔ Efficiency is valuable, but it cannot replace resilience✔ Nature models adaptability through diversity and interdependence✔ Leaders who tend culture like a living system unlock renewal and creativity✔ The future of leadership is about making room for soul to breathe🔎 Resources & References:📖 Let Your Life Speak by Parker J. Palmer – Reflections on vocation, leadership, and authenticity📚 The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben – Lessons from ecology on interconnection and resilience📊 Harvard Business Review – Research on resilience and adaptive leadership🌱 Systems Thinking & Ecology in Leadership – A growing field of organizational design that draws from living systems📩 Subscribe & Share:If this episode shifts the way you think about leadership and resilience, share it with a colleague who’s shaping culture in their organization. And don’t forget to subscribe for more deep dives into the future of work and leadership.#LivingSystems #ResilientLeadership #EcosystemThinking #BeyondEfficiency #HumanCenteredLeadership #FutureOfWork Steven Morris, CEO of Matter Consulting is an ever-curious life-seeker, brand and culture building expert, advisor, author, and speaker. With over 27 years of entrepreneurial experience, he has served as a trusted advisor to over 3,000 business leaders and evolved more than 250 brands and cultures, including Google, Habitat for Humanity, Samsung, and Disney. His best-selling book, "The Beautiful Business," and his widely read Insights blog are a testament to his consulting expertise in creating unignorable, magnetic, and sustainable companies.His diverse interests, including meditation, fine art painting, surfing, and beekeeping, infuse his work with creativity, soul, and a deep understanding of the human experience.You can find more podcasts and join 30,000+ other brilliant and soulful readers of his weekly INSIGHTS blog at MatterCo.

In today’s episode, I’m unpacking one of the most counterintuitive truths about leadership: the more effective you are, the less visible you become.While popular culture glorifies charismatic leaders and loud voices, real impact happens when leaders step back—and their teams step forward. Rooted in ancient wisdom and backed by modern psychology, this episode explores why disappearing might just be the most powerful move a leader can make.Join me as I explore:✅ Why great leadership is felt—not flaunted✅ How psychological safety transforms teams from compliant to creative✅ What Google’s research says about trust and high performance✅ How to lead with presence, not control✅ The paradox of power—why clinging to authority makes you lose itThis conversation is for anyone who’s ready to shift from managing from the front to empowering from within. If you're a founder, manager, or team lead looking to build a culture of shared ownership and trust, this one's for you.🔑 Key Takeaways:✔ The best leaders leave the light and let their teams shine✔ Psychological safety isn’t softness—it’s the foundation of innovation✔ Real authority comes from trust, not control✔ Strong leaders listen longer, trust first, and own their mistakes✔ When the work is done, the best teams say, “We did it,” not “They did it”🔎 Resources & References:📖 Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu (translated by Ursula K. LeGuin) – A timeless guide to leadership through humility and presence📚 Amy Edmondson – Psychological safety as a key to learning and performance📊 Google’s Project Aristotle – Trust and safety are the top predictors of team success📌 Harvard Business Review – The quiet power of servant leadership and trust-building📩 Subscribe & Share:If this episode inspired a shift in how you think about leadership, share it with a colleague or mentor who leads with heart. And don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss a deep dive like this.#InvisibleLeadership #PsychologicalSafety #QuietPower #LeadWithoutEgo #EmpoweredTeams #LeadershipParadox #TaoOfLeadership Steven Morris, CEO of Matter Consulting is an ever-curious life-seeker, brand and culture building expert, advisor, author, and speaker. With over 27 years of entrepreneurial experience, he has served as a trusted advisor to over 3,000 business leaders and evolved more than 250 brands and cultures, including Google, Habitat for Humanity, Samsung, and Disney. His best-selling book, "The Beautiful Business," and his widely read Insights blog are a testament to his consulting expertise in creating unignorable, magnetic, and sustainable companies.His diverse interests, including meditation, fine art painting, surfing, and beekeeping, infuse his work with creativity, soul, and a deep understanding of the human experience.You can find more podcasts and join 30,000+ other brilliant and soulful readers of his weekly INSIGHTS blog at MatterCo.

In today’s episode, I'm challenging the long-held belief that success requires relentless hustle. Burnout has become an unspoken status symbol in many workplaces, but what if true peak performance and long-term success aren’t about grinding harder—but leading smarter?Radical self-care isn’t indulgence—it’s strategy. When leaders and organizations prioritize well-being, they don’t just prevent burnout—they create cultures of innovation, trust, and sustainable success.Join me as I unpack:✅ The hidden costs of overwork and burnout✅ Why stress isn’t a badge of honor—it’s a warning sign✅ The data-backed case for self-care as a leadership strategy✅ Four powerful ways to integrate radical self-care into your leadership✅ The ROI of well-being—how companies that prioritize health and balance outperform their competitionThis conversation is for leaders, entrepreneurs, and anyone ready to redefine what success really looks like. Let’s build workplaces where thriving—not just surviving—is the norm.🔑 Key Takeaways:✔ Burnout is a business liability. Overworked teams don’t innovate or collaborate effectively—they survive.✔ Sleep isn’t a luxury—it’s a leadership tool. Rested minds make sharper decisions and drive better results.✔ Great leaders don’t just manage—they show up. Presence, mindfulness, and self-awareness create resilient teams.✔ Psychological safety fuels high performance. When employees feel safe to share, innovate, and take risks, businesses thrive.✔ Radical self-care is the new competitive advantage. Teams that prioritize well-being are 31% more productive and three times more creative.🔎 Resources & References:📊 World Health Organization Study – Long working hours increase the risk of stroke by 35% and heart disease by 17%.📚 Matthew Walker, Neuroscientist – Sleep deprivation weakens decision-making, creativity, and emotional regulation.📖 Harvard Business Review – Leaders who project calm under stress build trust and resilience in teams.📌 Google’s Project Aristotle – Psychological safety is the #1 factor in high-performing teams.📩 Subscribe & Share:If this episode resonated with you, share it with a colleague or leader who needs to hear it. And don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode!#RadicalSelfCare #BurnoutPrevention #MindfulLeadership #WorkSmarter #PsychologicalSafety #LeadWithCare Steven Morris, CEO of Matter Consulting is an ever-curious life-seeker, brand and culture building expert, advisor, author, and speaker. With over 27 years of entrepreneurial experience, he has served as a trusted advisor to over 3,000 business leaders and evolved more than 250 brands and cultures, including Google, Habitat for Humanity, Samsung, and Disney. His best-selling book, "The Beautiful Business," and his widely read Insights blog are a testament to his consulting expertise in creating unignorable, magnetic, and sustainable companies.His diverse interests, including meditation, fine art painting, surfing, and beekeeping, infuse his work with creativity, soul, and a deep understanding of the human experience.You can find more podcasts and join 30,000+ other brilliant and soulful readers of his weekly INSIGHTS blog at MatterCo.

In this profound and heart-opening episode of Beautiful Business, host Steven Morris welcomes two extraordinary thought leaders—Jerry Colonna, co-founder and CEO of Reboot, and Tony Martignetti, leadership advisor and author. Together, they explore the intersections of radical self-inquiry, spirituality, and leadership, weaving personal anecdotes and practical wisdom into a conversation that challenges conventional approaches to work and life.The discussion ranges from the importance of remembering our ancestral roots to the role of empathy, compassion, and love in creating transformative and inclusive workplaces.Key Themes:Radical self-inquiry as a leadership toolReunion with ancestors and its impact on leadershipThe value of slowing down in a fast-paced work cultureThe integration of spiritual values in the workplaceLeadership as a moral and empathetic endeavorHighlights:Jerry Colonna shares insights from his book Reunion, emphasizing the power of re-membering and reconnecting with oneself and one’s past.Tony Martignetti discusses the courage of following intuition and the significance of "divergent minds, convergent hearts" in organizational success.Steven Morris explores the importance of embedding love and humanity into business culture and values.Top Quotes: Jerry Colonna:"We cannot know the experience of another person unless we're willing to stand in our own experience.""The most powerful person in the room is often the one with the calmest nervous system.""Why cut yourself off from what your body and intuition are telling you?""Morality in business stems from spiritual wisdom traditions.""Compassion and empathy in the workplace are antidotes to systemic othering."Tony Martignetti:"We must slow down enough to ask: Who are we and why are we here?""Divergent minds with convergent hearts create the most transformative teams.""True connection comes from understanding and respecting the stories of those around us.""Love in the workplace is about admiration and respect for others.""Follow what your heart is yearning for—it’s the path to meaningful transformation."Steven Morris:"You cannot hate someone whose story you know.""There’s nothing more powerful than a united group of souls ignited in a common cause with love at the core.""Spiritual values serve as a universal compass guiding our actions and decisions.""Active imagination is the bridge between understanding and transformation.""Slowing down to align our somatic and emotional states is where leadership begins."Resources Mentioned:Jerry Colonna’s book: ReunionTony Martignetti’s books: Campfire Lessons for Leaders and Climbing the Right MountainSteven Morris’s blog: MatterCo.coConnect with the Guests:Jerry Colonna: Reboot.io | LinkedIn: Jerry ColonnaTony Martignetti: Inspire Purpose Partners | LinkedIn: Tony MartignettiConnect with Steven Morris:Website: MatterCo.coBlog: Insights BlogLinkedIn: Steven Morris Steven Morris, CEO of Matter Consulting is an ever-curious life-seeker, brand and culture building expert, advisor, author, and speaker. With over 27 years of entrepreneurial experience, he has served as a trusted advisor to over 3,000 business leaders and evolved more than 250 brands and cultures, including Google, Habitat for Humanity, Samsung, and Disney. His best-selling book, "The Beautiful Business," and his widely read Insights blog are a testament to his consulting expertise in creating unignorable, magnetic, and sustainable companies.His diverse interests, including meditation, fine art painting, surfing, and beekeeping, infuse his work with creativity, soul, and a deep understanding of the human experience.You can find more podcasts and join 30,000+ other brilliant and soulful readers of his weekly INSIGHTS blog at MatterCo.

Show NotesIntroduction to Micro-CulturesYour thriving garden with standout crops represents micro-cultures in organizations.Definition and significance of micro-cultures as high-performing teams with unique energy and effectiveness.Impact of Micro-CulturesDeloitte study: 71% of leaders see micro-cultures as crucial, but only 12% take action.Micro-cultures lead to 1.8x better employee outcomes and 1.6x higher likelihood of exceeding business goals.How to Foster Micro-CulturesFocus on What Works: Tailor development to the specific tasks and needs of micro-teams.Tailor Talent Care: Align hiring, development, and reward systems with each micro-culture’s needs.Empower Leaders: Enable leaders to cultivate micro-cultures that align with broader organizational goals.Real-Time Measurement: Use tools and feedback mechanisms to monitor and support micro-cultures effectively.Signals That Micro-Cultures Need EmpowermentCultural Drift: Leadership sees a misalignment in organizational culture.Grassroots Innovation: Teams develop their own effective work practices.Stifled Agility: Rigid processes hinder innovation.Talent Disconnect: A one-size-fits-all culture impedes attracting and retaining talent.Outdated Norms: Traditional work norms no longer meet evolving needs.ConclusionImportance of “thinking small” to strengthen overall organizational culture.Benefits of fostering micro-cultures: enhanced collaboration, improved outcomes, and greater agility.Encouragement to embrace and nurture micro-cultures as a path to organizational success and future readiness. Steven Morris, CEO of Matter Consulting is an ever-curious life-seeker, brand and culture building expert, advisor, author, and speaker. With over 27 years of entrepreneurial experience, he has served as a trusted advisor to over 3,000 business leaders and evolved more than 250 brands and cultures, including Google, Habitat for Humanity, Samsung, and Disney. His best-selling book, "The Beautiful Business," and his widely read Insights blog are a testament to his consulting expertise in creating unignorable, magnetic, and sustainable companies.His diverse interests, including meditation, fine art painting, surfing, and beekeeping, infuse his work with creativity, soul, and a deep understanding of the human experience.You can find more podcasts and join 30,000+ other brilliant and soulful readers of his weekly INSIGHTS blog at MatterCo.

In this episode, Steven Morris, Lori Schwanbeck, and Scott Shute discuss:The three components of self-compassionMindfulness is observation without judgmentExpanding your view of your circumstancesPracticing empathy and kindness in your self-careKey Takeaways:Practice self-compassion. The three components of self-compassion are these: mindfulness, common humanity, and kindness.Mindfulness is observing inner experiences without identification or judgment. Use the concept of “what else is true” to challenge negative thoughts. Ask your inner voice if it has the full story.When we go through something difficult, we tend to adopt a narrow view of ourselves and of the world. Remember the concept of “common humanity” when you go through hardships. Always remind yourself that you are not alone in your struggles.Once you have practiced mindfulness and have made yourself aware of common humanity, the next step is to bring in kindness to yourself. Ask yourself, “What do I need most right now?” and “How do I want to meet this moment?”"Gratitude primes us. It's an attentional strategy, like noticing what it is that we're usually taking for granted. It's a self expanding emotion. " — Lori Schwanbeck“It starts with us… so what's the light that we can cultivate from within and be the lighthouse for others?” — Scott ShuteLori Schwanbeck and Scott Shute’s book recommendations: Connect With Lori Schwanbeck:Website: https://www.lorischwanbeck.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lori-schwanbeck-43187a7/Scott Shute: Website: https://www.scottshute.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottshute/Get "The Beautiful Business" book by clicking on this link: https://the-beautiful-business.com/Connect With Steven MorrisWebsite: https://matterco.co/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenmorris111/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/matter_smorris/Twitter: https://twitter.com/StevenMMorris Steven Morris, CEO of Matter Consulting is an ever-curious life-seeker, brand and culture building expert, advisor, author, and speaker. With over 27 years of entrepreneurial experience, he has served as a trusted advisor to over 3,000 business leaders and evolved more than 250 brands and cultures, including Google, Habitat for Humanity, Samsung, and Disney. His best-selling book, "The Beautiful Business," and his widely read Insights blog are a testament to his consulting expertise in creating unignorable, magnetic, and sustainable companies.His diverse interests, including meditation, fine art painting, surfing, and beekeeping, infuse his work with creativity, soul, and a deep understanding of the human experience.You can find more podcasts and join 30,000+ other brilliant and soulful readers of his weekly INSIGHTS blog at MatterCo.

Show Notes:Brand as Olympic Torch Metaphor: A brand embodies its core values and vision like the Olympic torch represents the Games.Role of the Torchbearer: Initially lit by a leader or founder, the torch’s flame should be carried and shared by the entire organization.Sustaining the Flame: Successful brands like Apple and Nike keep their flame vibrant through continuous innovation and adaptation.Consequences of Neglect: A brand that fails to adapt risks becoming irrelevant, similar to how Blockbuster's flame dimmed.Shared Responsibility: Every member of an organization plays a role in maintaining and passing on the brand’s flame.Power of Connection: A strong brand creates a shared experience and connects with customers on a deeper level.Rekindling the Flame: Regularly assess and renew the brand’s purpose, values, and promises to keep the flame burning bright.Impact Beyond Origin: Like the Olympic torch carried globally, a well-managed brand’s influence can reach and inspire beyond its immediate scope. Steven Morris, CEO of Matter Consulting is an ever-curious life-seeker, brand and culture building expert, advisor, author, and speaker. With over 27 years of entrepreneurial experience, he has served as a trusted advisor to over 3,000 business leaders and evolved more than 250 brands and cultures, including Google, Habitat for Humanity, Samsung, and Disney. His best-selling book, "The Beautiful Business," and his widely read Insights blog are a testament to his consulting expertise in creating unignorable, magnetic, and sustainable companies.His diverse interests, including meditation, fine art painting, surfing, and beekeeping, infuse his work with creativity, soul, and a deep understanding of the human experience.You can find more podcasts and join 30,000+ other brilliant and soulful readers of his weekly INSIGHTS blog at MatterCo.

In this episode, Steven Morris and Michael Bungay Stanier discuss:Psychological safety enhances workplace dynamics How leaders can nurture the best relationshipsSide-stepping the drama triangle and focusing on clear communicationRedefining your meaning of success Key Takeaways:Cultivating healthy working relationships is imperative for both personal happiness and success. Conversations that create psychological safety can enhance workplace dynamics. For leaders to nurture the best relationships possible, they should aim for safety, vitality, and repairability. These discussions are pivotal for cementing a successful and harmonious rapport. Conflict, if not managed well, tends to devolve into putting each person or party in the role of either the rescuer, the victim, or the persecutor. Clear out boundaries and remind everyone that the goal is to communicate effectively, not for either side to win or lose. Seek growth through overcoming challenges rather than simply amassing wins. Redefine your meaning of success; set meaningful goals, learn continuously, and know when to feel content and how you can contribute positively. "Keep asking yourself what success is, and then keep finding opportunities to do work that is thrilling and important and daunting, that gives you some principles to figure out some interesting stuff and be fulfilled." — Michael Bungay StanierMichael Bungay Stanier’s book recommendations: Connect With Michael Bungay Stanier: Website: https://www.mbs.works/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mbs_worksLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelbungaystanierYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdFUOWjr4uI6T45zN1uJZ3QFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/mbs_works-113849977032317 Get "The Beautiful Business" book by clicking on this link: https://the-beautiful-business.com/Connect With Steven MorrisWebsite: https://matterco.co/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenmorris111/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/matter_smorris/Twitter: https://twitter.com/StevenMMorris Steven Morris, CEO of Matter Consulting is an ever-curious life-seeker, brand and culture building expert, advisor, author, and speaker. With over 27 years of entrepreneurial experience, he has served as a trusted advisor to over 3,000 business leaders and evolved more than 250 brands and cultures, including Google, Habitat for Humanity, Samsung, and Disney. His best-selling book, "The Beautiful Business," and his widely read Insights blog are a testament to his consulting expertise in creating unignorable, magnetic, and sustainable companies.His diverse interests, including meditation, fine art painting, surfing, and beekeeping, infuse his work with creativity, soul, and a deep understanding of the human experience.You can find more podcasts and join 30,000+ other brilliant and soulful readers of his weekly INSIGHTS blog at MatterCo.

In this episode, we dive deep into the real meaning of branding and why it's more than just a logo refresh. Here's what we cover:Rebranding vs. Re-Logo-ing:Why many rebranding efforts fall short by focusing solely on logo updates.A critical observation from a retail CEO about the difference between true rebranding and just better decoration.What is Branding?Branding as a promise, a story, and a problem solver.The essence of a brand beyond its visual identity.The Role of a Logo:How a logo serves as an identifier but isn’t the core of what a brand stands for.The value of aligning a logo with core brand beliefs.Identifying Your Audience:Understanding your target ‘avatars’ or ‘personas’ and what they believe, value, and want.The importance of crafting a unique promise that resonates with these individuals.The Power of Brand Stories:How great brands like Apple, The Beatles, and Patagonia have built reputations through their stories and values.The role of storytelling in shaping how people perceive and share your brand.The Impact of Brand-Culture Alignment:How company culture embodies and delivers on brand promises.The importance of integrating brand and culture for trust and effective customer experience.Why Change is Crucial:The necessity of acting on branding changes driven by economic and market pressures.How businesses evolve through brand evolution during challenging times.The Role of a Brand Strategist:Beyond aesthetics: How a brand strategist helps shape and align your organization’s strategy with your brand’s core values and audience.Culture’s Influence on Branding:How employees’ alignment with brand promises affects customer satisfaction and trust.The dynamic between brand promises and cultural delivery.Achieving Synergy:The strategic importance of integrating brand and culture.How this fusion drives results, team synergy, and overall business success.Key Takeaways:Branding is about more than just logos—it's about promises, stories, and solving problems.True rebranding involves deep connections with your audience and alignment with your core values.Culture and brand must work together to build trust and achieve business goals. Steven Morris, CEO of Matter Consulting is an ever-curious life-seeker, brand and culture building expert, advisor, author, and speaker. With over 27 years of entrepreneurial experience, he has served as a trusted advisor to over 3,000 business leaders and evolved more than 250 brands and cultures, including Google, Habitat for Humanity, Samsung, and Disney. His best-selling book, "The Beautiful Business," and his widely read Insights blog are a testament to his consulting expertise in creating unignorable, magnetic, and sustainable companies.His diverse interests, including meditation, fine art painting, surfing, and beekeeping, infuse his work with creativity, soul, and a deep understanding of the human experience.You can find more podcasts and join 30,000+ other brilliant and soulful readers of his weekly INSIGHTS blog at MatterCo.

In this episode, Steven Morris, Dan Pink, and Chip Conley discuss:The powerful connection between our deepest regrets and personal valuesHow midlife is a time of reflection and significant change in identity and purposeThe role of anticipated regret as a catalyst for taking meaningful risks and making important life decisionsThe necessity of embracing a positive perspective on aging and the concept of a 'midlife edit'Ways to harness regret positively for personal growth and as a means for improving negotiation and thinking skills Key Takeaways:Midlife can be a period of growth if we confront our regrets and leverage them for personal developmentAnticipating future regrets can help avoid them, with significant life decisions being the focus rather than trivial concernsA proactive and reflective approach to midlife challenges can reduce feelings of being stuck and promote transformationThe importance of peer support, accountability partners, and reconnecting with lost relationships in fostering fulfillmentDifferentiating between consequential and inconsequential decisions is crucial to maintaining a healthy life perspective "Regret is adaptive if we treat it right." — Dan Pink "I think that the decisions I've made along the way, especially when people have said, 'That's a really bad idea'... that's when I think I feel the best. It's because I did not succumb to the popular wisdom or the popular perspective or people who are trying to protect me."— Chip Conley Connect With Dan Pink:Website: https://www.danpink.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielpink/Twitter: https://x.com/danielpinkInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/danielpinkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/danielhpink Connect With Chip Conley:Website: https://chipconley.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chipconleysf/Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChipConleyInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/chipconley/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chipconleyauthorGet "The Beautiful Business" book by clicking on this link: https://the-beautiful-business.com/ Connect With Steven Morris:Website: https://matterco.co/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenmorris111/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/matter_smorris/Twitter: https://twitter.com/StevenMMorris Steven Morris, CEO of Matter Consulting is an ever-curious life-seeker, brand and culture building expert, advisor, author, and speaker. With over 27 years of entrepreneurial experience, he has served as a trusted advisor to over 3,000 business leaders and evolved more than 250 brands and cultures, including Google, Habitat for Humanity, Samsung, and Disney. His best-selling book, "The Beautiful Business," and his widely read Insights blog are a testament to his consulting expertise in creating unignorable, magnetic, and sustainable companies.His diverse interests, including meditation, fine art painting, surfing, and beekeeping, infuse his work with creativity, soul, and a deep understanding of the human experience.You can find more podcasts and join 30,000+ other brilliant and soulful readers of his weekly INSIGHTS blog at MatterCo.

Visionary Leadership:Emphasize the ability of visionary leaders to see beyond immediate concerns and inspire others to strive for a better future.Discuss how the Earthrise photo represents the transformative power of vision in driving meaningful change.Environmental Consciousness:Highlight the ecological movement initiated by the Earthrise photograph and its relevance to sustainability in business.Explore the benefits of integrating environmental stewardship and sustainable practices into business operations and decision-making.Borderless Global Perspective:Address how viewing Earth from space offers a perspective that transcends borders, politics, and ideologies.Encourage embracing diversity, fostering inclusion, and practicing global thinking in today’s interconnected world.Gratitude and Humility:Reflect on how witnessing Earth’s beauty and fragility from space fosters a deeper appreciation for our planet.Discuss the importance of approaching leadership responsibilities with humility and recognizing the interconnected impact of our actions on future generations. Steven Morris, CEO of Matter Consulting is an ever-curious life-seeker, brand and culture building expert, advisor, author, and speaker. With over 27 years of entrepreneurial experience, he has served as a trusted advisor to over 3,000 business leaders and evolved more than 250 brands and cultures, including Google, Habitat for Humanity, Samsung, and Disney. His best-selling book, "The Beautiful Business," and his widely read Insights blog are a testament to his consulting expertise in creating unignorable, magnetic, and sustainable companies.His diverse interests, including meditation, fine art painting, surfing, and beekeeping, infuse his work with creativity, soul, and a deep understanding of the human experience.You can find more podcasts and join 30,000+ other brilliant and soulful readers of his weekly INSIGHTS blog at MatterCo.

Benefits of Harmonizing Internal ConflictsWhen leaders address these internal conflicts, the results are profound:Self-Trust: Teams and leaders rediscover confidence in their abilities.Resilience: Uncertainties transform into a robust support system.Deep Growth: Superficial insights deepen, driving sustainable progress.A Roadmap for ChangePhase 1: Awareness and AssessmentIdentify Barriers: Reflect on personal and organizational behaviors that hinder progress—especially the invisible barriers.Gather Feedback: Use surveys and discussions to uncover internal conflicts.Set Goals: Define clear, specific improvement goals.Phase 2: Understanding and Addressing Unproductive BehaviorsExplore Motivations: Uncover the beliefs driving unproductive behaviors.Challenge Assumptions: Reframe fears and resistance.Take Stock of Unproductive Behaviors: Identify and track counterproductive actions.Phase 3: Implementation and ReinforcementAction Plans: Develop and implement plans that promote productive behaviors.Monitor and Adjust: Regularly review progress and adjust strategies.Celebrate Successes: Reinforce new behaviors by acknowledging progress. Steven Morris, CEO of Matter Consulting is an ever-curious life-seeker, brand and culture building expert, advisor, author, and speaker. With over 27 years of entrepreneurial experience, he has served as a trusted advisor to over 3,000 business leaders and evolved more than 250 brands and cultures, including Google, Habitat for Humanity, Samsung, and Disney. His best-selling book, "The Beautiful Business," and his widely read Insights blog are a testament to his consulting expertise in creating unignorable, magnetic, and sustainable companies.His diverse interests, including meditation, fine art painting, surfing, and beekeeping, infuse his work with creativity, soul, and a deep understanding of the human experience.You can find more podcasts and join 30,000+ other brilliant and soulful readers of his weekly INSIGHTS blog at MatterCo.

Critique of Self-Help: Examination of the limitations of self-help approaches that focus on changing external conditions.Need for a "Help Others" Section: Proposal for prioritizing service to others over self-improvement in bookstores and in life.Capitalism's Paradox: Discussion on how capitalism has both improved and harmed well-being.Current Well-Being Statistics: Overview of Gallup National Health and Well-Being Index 2023 data and historical comparison.Benefits of Acts of Kindness: Presentation of scientific evidence showing how helping others reduces stress and improves mental health.Redefining Work and Leisure: Suggestion to reallocate work time towards community service and meaningful activities.Impact of Volunteering: The potential societal impact if all Americans volunteered two hours a week.Purpose and Well-Being: Emphasis on living with purpose through family, community, and environmental contributions for a better life. Steven Morris, CEO of Matter Consulting is an ever-curious life-seeker, brand and culture building expert, advisor, author, and speaker. With over 27 years of entrepreneurial experience, he has served as a trusted advisor to over 3,000 business leaders and evolved more than 250 brands and cultures, including Google, Habitat for Humanity, Samsung, and Disney. His best-selling book, "The Beautiful Business," and his widely read Insights blog are a testament to his consulting expertise in creating unignorable, magnetic, and sustainable companies.His diverse interests, including meditation, fine art painting, surfing, and beekeeping, infuse his work with creativity, soul, and a deep understanding of the human experience.You can find more podcasts and join 30,000+ other brilliant and soulful readers of his weekly INSIGHTS blog at MatterCo.

Create the perfect growing conditions.Streamline meetings because nobody ever said, “Gee, I wish this meeting was longer,” or “I wish I had more meetings on my calendar.”Refine your decision-making processes and reduce approval requirements. Empower your people to make the right decisions aligned with your strategic framework.Review and revise your operating principles that guides consistent observable behaviors that create responsibility not just accountability.Trust your people and recognize outstanding contributions like they are Olympic medals.Create pollination opportunities that continue to learn and borrow from your highest-performing micro-cultures.Here’s the secret sauce.Make your micro-culture an asset to the larger organization.Be the team everyone wants to work with.Show appreciation beyond your immediate circle.Be clear, positive, and productive in your interactions. Steven Morris, CEO of Matter Consulting is an ever-curious life-seeker, brand and culture building expert, advisor, author, and speaker. With over 27 years of entrepreneurial experience, he has served as a trusted advisor to over 3,000 business leaders and evolved more than 250 brands and cultures, including Google, Habitat for Humanity, Samsung, and Disney. His best-selling book, "The Beautiful Business," and his widely read Insights blog are a testament to his consulting expertise in creating unignorable, magnetic, and sustainable companies.His diverse interests, including meditation, fine art painting, surfing, and beekeeping, infuse his work with creativity, soul, and a deep understanding of the human experience.You can find more podcasts and join 30,000+ other brilliant and soulful readers of his weekly INSIGHTS blog at MatterCo.

In this episode, we explore the essence of true leadership through the example of Julie, CEO of a nonprofit in the Midwest. Julie's approach emphasizes empathy, introspection, and cultivating a psychologically safe environment for her team. By understanding her team's perspectives and fostering genuine connections, Julie encourages collaborative growth and innovation. She integrates self-reflection to continuously improve her leadership skills and acknowledges her own vulnerabilities to prevent projecting insecurities onto others. Julie's leadership underscores the importance of harmonious relationships and collective development, demonstrating how embracing deeper psychological dynamics can foster environments where everyone thrives together. Join us as we delve into the transformative power of true leadership and its impact on organizational success and wellbeing. Steven Morris, CEO of Matter Consulting is an ever-curious life-seeker, brand and culture building expert, advisor, author, and speaker. With over 27 years of entrepreneurial experience, he has served as a trusted advisor to over 3,000 business leaders and evolved more than 250 brands and cultures, including Google, Habitat for Humanity, Samsung, and Disney. His best-selling book, "The Beautiful Business," and his widely read Insights blog are a testament to his consulting expertise in creating unignorable, magnetic, and sustainable companies.His diverse interests, including meditation, fine art painting, surfing, and beekeeping, infuse his work with creativity, soul, and a deep understanding of the human experience.You can find more podcasts and join 30,000+ other brilliant and soulful readers of his weekly INSIGHTS blog at MatterCo.

We explore the paradigm shift from traditional B2B and B2C frameworks to the more human-centric P2P approach in business interactions. It emphasizes how understanding and meeting the emotional and practical needs of individuals drive meaningful connections and sustainable success. From fostering trust and empathy to transforming communication strategies from sales-driven to solution-oriented, the discussion underscores the importance of prioritizing genuine relationships over transactions. This shift is not just about terminology but a fundamental reorientation towards humanizing business practices, resonating with customers on a deeper level, and ultimately, positioning businesses for long-term relevance and impact in a digitally-driven world. Steven Morris, CEO of Matter Consulting is an ever-curious life-seeker, brand and culture building expert, advisor, author, and speaker. With over 27 years of entrepreneurial experience, he has served as a trusted advisor to over 3,000 business leaders and evolved more than 250 brands and cultures, including Google, Habitat for Humanity, Samsung, and Disney. His best-selling book, "The Beautiful Business," and his widely read Insights blog are a testament to his consulting expertise in creating unignorable, magnetic, and sustainable companies.His diverse interests, including meditation, fine art painting, surfing, and beekeeping, infuse his work with creativity, soul, and a deep understanding of the human experience.You can find more podcasts and join 30,000+ other brilliant and soulful readers of his weekly INSIGHTS blog at MatterCo.

We delve into the critical role of self-awareness in organizational culture, as illustrated by a global non-profit's culture audit. The findings underscored the importance of leaders confronting challenges head-on and embracing opportunities for growth and improvement. We explore how self-awareness unlocks trust within teams, fostering an environment where honesty, accountability, and creativity thrive. Insights from Carl Jung remind us of the power in making the unconscious conscious, steering organizational fate toward collaboration and productivity. Practical strategies for nurturing self-awareness are shared, emphasizing the value of understanding individual preferences, learning from past successes, and fostering open communication. Ultimately, the episode underscores how cultivating self-awareness among leaders can catalyze a positive cultural shift and enhance overall team performance. Steven Morris, CEO of Matter Consulting is an ever-curious life-seeker, brand and culture building expert, advisor, author, and speaker. With over 27 years of entrepreneurial experience, he has served as a trusted advisor to over 3,000 business leaders and evolved more than 250 brands and cultures, including Google, Habitat for Humanity, Samsung, and Disney. His best-selling book, "The Beautiful Business," and his widely read Insights blog are a testament to his consulting expertise in creating unignorable, magnetic, and sustainable companies.His diverse interests, including meditation, fine art painting, surfing, and beekeeping, infuse his work with creativity, soul, and a deep understanding of the human experience.You can find more podcasts and join 30,000+ other brilliant and soulful readers of his weekly INSIGHTS blog at MatterCo.

In a recent conversation, I engaged with a CEO who shared their experience of feeling overwhelmed by the imposition of an external "brand process" by an agency, a phenomenon they termed as being "agencied." This encounter sparked a profound reflection on the alignment between brand and culture, as the CEO emphasized the importance of delving into the essence of their organization rather than adhering to superficial branding exercises. This resonated deeply, highlighting the intrinsic connection between brand and every facet of a company's operations. The imperative of ensuring this alignment was underscored, as fragmentation between brand, culture, and business strategy can undermine long-term viability. Trust emerged as pivotal, emphasizing the necessity of consistent delivery and fulfillment of promises to sustain customer loyalty and employee engagement. Steven Morris, CEO of Matter Consulting is an ever-curious life-seeker, brand and culture building expert, advisor, author, and speaker. With over 27 years of entrepreneurial experience, he has served as a trusted advisor to over 3,000 business leaders and evolved more than 250 brands and cultures, including Google, Habitat for Humanity, Samsung, and Disney. His best-selling book, "The Beautiful Business," and his widely read Insights blog are a testament to his consulting expertise in creating unignorable, magnetic, and sustainable companies.His diverse interests, including meditation, fine art painting, surfing, and beekeeping, infuse his work with creativity, soul, and a deep understanding of the human experience.You can find more podcasts and join 30,000+ other brilliant and soulful readers of his weekly INSIGHTS blog at MatterCo.

Born dyslexic, I navigated an uphill battle in Catholic school, wrestling with learning difficulties exacerbated by strict teachers. But adversity birthed creativity. Now, I leverage those early struggles as a professional synthesizer, distilling complex conversations into actionable insights for business leaders. My advice? Hone your synthesis skills through active listening and distillation. It's transformative, revolutionizing communication, leadership, and collaboration. Ready to unlock new possibilities? Steven Morris, CEO of Matter Consulting is an ever-curious life-seeker, brand and culture building expert, advisor, author, and speaker. With over 27 years of entrepreneurial experience, he has served as a trusted advisor to over 3,000 business leaders and evolved more than 250 brands and cultures, including Google, Habitat for Humanity, Samsung, and Disney. His best-selling book, "The Beautiful Business," and his widely read Insights blog are a testament to his consulting expertise in creating unignorable, magnetic, and sustainable companies.His diverse interests, including meditation, fine art painting, surfing, and beekeeping, infuse his work with creativity, soul, and a deep understanding of the human experience.You can find more podcasts and join 30,000+ other brilliant and soulful readers of his weekly INSIGHTS blog at MatterCo.

Imagine possessing immense power, one that demands wisdom and kindness in its use. Surprisingly, the one under your sway isn’t a distant figure—it’s you. In a tranquil Delaware evening, a profound realization hit me under the starlit sky: the key to happiness lay within my grasp. This taught me the importance of self-control, understanding that while we can’t change the past or control others, we hold the reins to shape our future. Being our own ally isn’t easy, but it’s crucial; self-compassion isn’t just nice to have—it’s vital for personal growth. Steven Morris, CEO of Matter Consulting is an ever-curious life-seeker, brand and culture building expert, advisor, author, and speaker. With over 27 years of entrepreneurial experience, he has served as a trusted advisor to over 3,000 business leaders and evolved more than 250 brands and cultures, including Google, Habitat for Humanity, Samsung, and Disney. His best-selling book, "The Beautiful Business," and his widely read Insights blog are a testament to his consulting expertise in creating unignorable, magnetic, and sustainable companies.His diverse interests, including meditation, fine art painting, surfing, and beekeeping, infuse his work with creativity, soul, and a deep understanding of the human experience.You can find more podcasts and join 30,000+ other brilliant and soulful readers of his weekly INSIGHTS blog at MatterCo.

We often rely on past experiences to protect us, creating a metaphorical armor. While this armor symbolizes strength, it can sometimes block the connections vital for our growth, especially in our professional lives. Despite the competitive nature of work, authenticity and vulnerability are not just valuable but essential, creating environments where trust and collaboration thrive. Reflecting on a pivotal moment during a workshop with a leadership team, where shared struggles fostered unity, emphasizes the power of vulnerability. In professional settings, it's tempting to remain guarded, yet intentionally embracing vulnerability can lead to transformative connections, driving personal and professional fulfillment. Recognizing the balance between guarding ourselves and being open is crucial, as the wisdom gained along our journey can surpass any protective barriers. Ultimately, embracing vulnerability unlocks deeper relationships and propels us forward. Steven Morris, CEO of Matter Consulting is an ever-curious life-seeker, brand and culture building expert, advisor, author, and speaker. With over 27 years of entrepreneurial experience, he has served as a trusted advisor to over 3,000 business leaders and evolved more than 250 brands and cultures, including Google, Habitat for Humanity, Samsung, and Disney. His best-selling book, "The Beautiful Business," and his widely read Insights blog are a testament to his consulting expertise in creating unignorable, magnetic, and sustainable companies.His diverse interests, including meditation, fine art painting, surfing, and beekeeping, infuse his work with creativity, soul, and a deep understanding of the human experience.You can find more podcasts and join 30,000+ other brilliant and soulful readers of his weekly INSIGHTS blog at MatterCo.

In our fast-paced lives, we often encounter situations—whether it's a challenging project, an infuriating email, or the chaos of social media—that send our stress levels soaring. In these moments, rather than pushing forward, the secret to gaining clarity and control is to hit the pause button. This pause acts like an oasis, allowing our slower, rational thoughts to catch up to our quick emotional reactions, transforming impulsive responses into thoughtful decisions. By embracing these intentional breaks, we can shift from reactive to reflective, turning potentially volatile situations into opportunities for insight and growth. Steven Morris, CEO of Matter Consulting is an ever-curious life-seeker, brand and culture building expert, advisor, author, and speaker. With over 27 years of entrepreneurial experience, he has served as a trusted advisor to over 3,000 business leaders and evolved more than 250 brands and cultures, including Google, Habitat for Humanity, Samsung, and Disney. His best-selling book, "The Beautiful Business," and his widely read Insights blog are a testament to his consulting expertise in creating unignorable, magnetic, and sustainable companies.His diverse interests, including meditation, fine art painting, surfing, and beekeeping, infuse his work with creativity, soul, and a deep understanding of the human experience.You can find more podcasts and join 30,000+ other brilliant and soulful readers of his weekly INSIGHTS blog at MatterCo.

In this episode, Steven Morris and Bob Burg discuss:The ROI of focusing on giving value The difference between value and price The law of compensation Putting people first while you influenceWhy it’s important to be authentic Key Takeaways:When you focus on serving others, they will trust you and would want to get to know you. Eventually, they’ll want to do business with you and tell others about you. This is the practical value of putting your focus on giving. The law of value says, that your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment. There’s a difference between price and value - price is a number, while value is the relative worth or desirability of something. Money is an echo of value, the thunder to value’s lightning. The law of compensation states that your income is determined by how many people’s lives you touch and how well you serve them. This means that the more people we touch with the value that we provide, the more money will be rewarded to us. Your influence is determined by how abundantly you place other people’s interests first. When planning a marketing campaign, always put front and center into your mind that it’s not about you, it’s about them. Show them how they will be better off doing business with you. Strive to always grow towards a better version of yourself and show authenticity. The most valuable gift you can offer is yourself. All of the skills, knowledge, and experiences you’ve gained are very important but it will be all for nothing without your true authentic core. "Shifting your focus from getting to giving - constantly and consistently, providing immense value to others understanding that doing so is not only a more fulfilling way of conducting business, it's actually the most financially profitable way as well." — Bob BurgBob Burg’s book recommendations: Connect With Bob Burg:Website: https://burg.com/Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/burgbobYouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/burgcommunicationsLinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/bobburgInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/realbobburg/Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/bobburg Get "The Beautiful Business" book by clicking on this link: https://the-beautiful-business.com/Connect With Steven MorrisWebsite: https://matterco.co/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenmorris111/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/matter_smorris/Twitter: https://twitter.com/StevenMMorris Steven Morris, CEO of Matter Consulting is an ever-curious life-seeker, brand and culture building expert, advisor, author, and speaker. With over 27 years of entrepreneurial experience, he has served as a trusted advisor to over 3,000 business leaders and evolved more than 250 brands and cultures, including Google, Habitat for Humanity, Samsung, and Disney. His best-selling book, "The Beautiful Business," and his widely read Insights blog are a testament to his consulting expertise in creating unignorable, magnetic, and sustainable companies.His diverse interests, including meditation, fine art painting, surfing, and beekeeping, infuse his work with creativity, soul, and a deep understanding of the human experience.You can find more podcasts and join 30,000+ other brilliant and soulful readers of his weekly INSIGHTS blog at MatterCo.

In this episode, Steven Morris, Denise Lee Yohn, and Adam Bryant discuss:Creating a purpose statement and tracking your progress Is your purpose statement a part of the strategy or just a marketing exercise? Why we shouldn’t generalize about the workforce Creating a fusion of strategy, purpose, and values as a business leaderKey Takeaways:Almost every business will claim that they have a clearly defined purpose that’s integrated with their core business strategy. However, those same businesses don’t prioritize tracking their progress on their purpose. This suggests that businesses don’t take their purpose statement as seriously as they thought. Most business leaders are much more concerned with what they say their purpose is than what their purpose really is and according to a survey, business leaders feel like their purpose statement is more of a PR exercise than a business strategy. We need to be careful about generalizing about workforces in general. Not every employee has the luxury of wondering whether there’s an alignment in purpose or values. Some workers are in their offices because they need a paycheck and nothing more. Creating made up of the strategy, the purpose, and the values of the company is not the job of the marketing department, but that of the CEO of the company. Creating unity between those three means that the leader has to be the one creating direction. "You as an organization, you as a leader, or you as a person, need to play an invaluable, irreplaceable role in this world. And your purpose statement enables you to articulate what that role is: why you do what you do" — Denise Lee Yohn "We need to open up the conversation about the fact that employees bring their own purpose. Purpose is ultimately about narrative. It's about storytelling. And we all create our own narratives around purpose in our lives and what we do things for." — Adam Bryant Connect With Denise Lee Yohn:Website: https://deniseleeyohn.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/deniseleeyohnYouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/dyohn1LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/deniseleeyohnConnect With Adam Bryant:Website: https://adambryantbooks.com/Email: [email protected]: https://twitter.com/adambbryantLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adambryantleadership/ Get "The Beautiful Business" book by clicking on this link: https://the-beautiful-business.com/Connect With Steven MorrisWebsite: https://matterco.co/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenmorris111/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/matter_smorris/Twitter: https://twitter.com/StevenMMorris Steven Morris, CEO of Matter Consulting is an ever-curious life-seeker, brand and culture building expert, advisor, author, and speaker. With over 27 years of entrepreneurial experience, he has served as a trusted advisor to over 3,000 business leaders and evolved more than 250 brands and cultures, including Google, Habitat for Humanity, Samsung, and Disney. His best-selling book, "The Beautiful Business," and his widely read Insights blog are a testament to his consulting expertise in creating unignorable, magnetic, and sustainable companies.His diverse interests, including meditation, fine art painting, surfing, and beekeeping, infuse his work with creativity, soul, and a deep understanding of the human experience.You can find more podcasts and join 30,000+ other brilliant and soulful readers of his weekly INSIGHTS blog at MatterCo.

In this episode, Steven Morris, Charlotte Lockhart, and Michael Bungay Stanier, discuss:How employers should partner with employees Three elements that need to be balanced to make a goal that mattersWhy does your goal need to be daunting? Lessons learned from the pandemic for employers Key Takeaways:As employers, we have to remember that we borrow our people from their lives. Someone has a life and they bring it to their workplace. In order for our businesses to operate, we need to partner with our people, but we must only partner with a part of their life and not the whole. There are three elements that need to be balanced in order to make a goal that matters to you. The goal needs to be thrilling, meaning it excites you while at the same time, it has to be balanced against the fact that it is important. This means that it has an element of giving back to the world. Your goal has to be important, thrilling, but also, daunting. When looking at your goal, you’ve got to ask the question of “is this a place where I’m going to learn, grow and stretch?” We unlock our greatness by working on hard things, so you have to work on hard things. The pandemic granted us some insights into what the future of work could be. Most importantly, we’ve got to ask employees what would work best for them and listen and implement changes that make a difference. Design your business for all the people that it matters to, which is your customers but also your own people. "Understanding that moving forward as businesses, we cannot operate without partnering with our people. When you partner with someone, you partner with their entire life, but you're only entitled to part of it." — Charlotte Lockhart“If you don't have the right goal, it doesn't matter how smart it is. It doesn't matter how good or wonderful your measurableness is if you're working on the wrong things… We unlock our greatness by working on the hard things, you have to pick the things that are thrilling and important.” - Michael Bungay Stanier Connect With Charlotte Lockhart:Website: https://www.4dayweek.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlottelockhartnz/Connect With Michael Bungay Stanier:Website: https://www.mbs.works/Books: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B002QK41GQGet "The Beautiful Business" book by clicking on this link: https://the-beautiful-business.com/Connect With Steven MorrisWebsite: https://matterco.co/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenmorris111/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/matter_smorris/Twitter: https://twitter.com/StevenMMorris Steven Morris, CEO of Matter Consulting is an ever-curious life-seeker, brand and culture building expert, advisor, author, and speaker. With over 27 years of entrepreneurial experience, he has served as a trusted advisor to over 3,000 business leaders and evolved more than 250 brands and cultures, including Google, Habitat for Humanity, Samsung, and Disney. His best-selling book, "The Beautiful Business," and his widely read Insights blog are a testament to his consulting expertise in creating unignorable, magnetic, and sustainable companies.His diverse interests, including meditation, fine art painting, surfing, and beekeeping, infuse his work with creativity, soul, and a deep understanding of the human experience.You can find more podcasts and join 30,000+ other brilliant and soulful readers of his weekly INSIGHTS blog at MatterCo.

In this episode, Steven Morris and Dr. Kevin Sansberry II discuss:The Four “Horsemen” of Workplace MasqueradeDid the pandemic make workplaces intolerable? Practicing self-love and positive self-talkThe most important values of a leader Key Takeaways:Remember the four “horsemen” of workplace masquerade: facades conformity, cultural theatre, courage, and avoidance. People avoid being their authentic self if the environment does not encourage it or feels safe enough to do so. The pandemic didn’t make a lot of workplaces intolerable, it actually exacerbated intolerable workplacesChange a part of your life where you’re going to spend time with you and for you for 5 minutes a day. If you don’t know yourself, you won’t know what impact you have on other people. Self-love is not vanity, it’s sanity.Behind every great person, there’s a circle of great people. If leaders display humility, the organization would end up generating more ideas and be more united. A leader must also be a healer, a vessel of compassion that inspires their organization to be healers of the world as well. "There’s far too many leaders who coasted by simply because of their positional power and now covid is requiring you to be more empathetic, now the market and the employees are demanding you to be more people-first. If you’re not, they’re gonna leave." — Dr. Kevin Sansberry II Dr. Kevin Sansberry II’s book recommendations: The Untethered Soul, by Michael Singer - https://www.amazon.com/Untethered-Soul-Journey-Beyond-Yourself/dp/1572245379/ Connect With Dr. Kevin Sansberry II:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevindsansberry/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/toxicleadershippodcast Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/ToxicLeaderShow YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJH-Z6f3ZjdE5v40S6LVMKA/featured TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@toxicleadershippocast?lang=en Get "The Beautiful Business" book by clicking on this link: https://the-beautiful-business.com/ Connect With Steven Morris:Website: https://matterco.co/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenmorris111/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/matter_smorris/Twitter: https://twitter.com/StevenMMorris Steven Morris, CEO of Matter Consulting is an ever-curious life-seeker, brand and culture building expert, advisor, author, and speaker. With over 27 years of entrepreneurial experience, he has served as a trusted advisor to over 3,000 business leaders and evolved more than 250 brands and cultures, including Google, Habitat for Humanity, Samsung, and Disney. His best-selling book, "The Beautiful Business," and his widely read Insights blog are a testament to his consulting expertise in creating unignorable, magnetic, and sustainable companies.His diverse interests, including meditation, fine art painting, surfing, and beekeeping, infuse his work with creativity, soul, and a deep understanding of the human experience.You can find more podcasts and join 30,000+ other brilliant and soulful readers of his weekly INSIGHTS blog at MatterCo.

In this episode, Steven Morris and Dorie Clark discuss: How to approach and carve out an “indirect career path” that is still anchored in who you areThe importance of making time for long-term planning and then following through with itApplying strategic thinking without disrupting the day to day flowThe importance of serendipity in business and how to leave space for it Key Takeaways:Dorie’s goal is to help individuals and companies get their message heard is an noisy and crowded environmentLater in your career you must be more selective about where you put your time and energy, because your experience has made it more valuableYou have to align your day to day activities with your long-term future vision Limit yourself to 1 personal and 2 professional goals and focus on them for 6 months "We all kind of have to go through that gauntlet of commoditization and anonymity in order to break through to the other side of being able to individualize ourselves in the marketplace and have people thank us for it." — Dorie Clark Connect with Dorie Clark:Website: https://dorieclark.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/dorieclarkLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/geneearly/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dorieclark/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dorieclarkauthor/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/DorieClarkLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/doriec/ Book Recommendations:Find all of Dorie’s books here: https://www.amazon.com/Dorie-Clark/e/B009FBO664?ref_=dbs_p_pbk_r00_abau_000000 Song of Spider Man Get "The Beautiful Business" book by clicking on this link: https://the-beautiful-business.com/ Connect With Steven Morris:Website: https://matterco.co/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenmorris111/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/matter_smorris/Twitter: https://twitter.com/StevenMMorris Steven Morris, CEO of Matter Consulting is an ever-curious life-seeker, brand and culture building expert, advisor, author, and speaker. With over 27 years of entrepreneurial experience, he has served as a trusted advisor to over 3,000 business leaders and evolved more than 250 brands and cultures, including Google, Habitat for Humanity, Samsung, and Disney. His best-selling book, "The Beautiful Business," and his widely read Insights blog are a testament to his consulting expertise in creating unignorable, magnetic, and sustainable companies.His diverse interests, including meditation, fine art painting, surfing, and beekeeping, infuse his work with creativity, soul, and a deep understanding of the human experience.You can find more podcasts and join 30,000+ other brilliant and soulful readers of his weekly INSIGHTS blog at MatterCo.

In this episode, Steven Morris and Gene Early discuss:The journey to one’s selfParadox of vulnerabilityExperiencing agapeElders and leaders Key Takeaways:Our origin story is so important, it’s the narrative that we live - though not always articulated or aware of. It’s a narrative that gets created through an event or a series of things that brings out a compelling motivation.Vulnerability is a direct path towards transformation.You are enough and one way for you to transition into believing that is by drawing from a deep well of love, by experiencing it truly in its most genuine form.“Elders” in business must own a core identity of leadership, be able to lead beyond self-interest, and is also full of wisdom and experience. When a leader is an elder, people will want to serve and give their best."The holy grail is the wholeness itself… returning home is really returning home to self." — Gene Early Connect with Gene Early:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/geneearly/Email: [email protected] Book Recommendations:The Nature of OrderThe Hidden Messages of WaterWhat Should I Do with My Life Get "The Beautiful Business" book by clicking on this link: https://the-beautiful-business.com/ Connect With Steven Morris:Website: https://matterco.co/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenmorris111/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/matter_smorris/Twitter: https://twitter.com/StevenMMorris Steven Morris, CEO of Matter Consulting is an ever-curious life-seeker, brand and culture building expert, advisor, author, and speaker. With over 27 years of entrepreneurial experience, he has served as a trusted advisor to over 3,000 business leaders and evolved more than 250 brands and cultures, including Google, Habitat for Humanity, Samsung, and Disney. His best-selling book, "The Beautiful Business," and his widely read Insights blog are a testament to his consulting expertise in creating unignorable, magnetic, and sustainable companies.His diverse interests, including meditation, fine art painting, surfing, and beekeeping, infuse his work with creativity, soul, and a deep understanding of the human experience.You can find more podcasts and join 30,000+ other brilliant and soulful readers of his weekly INSIGHTS blog at MatterCo.

In this episode, Steven Morris, Libby Wagner and Owen Ó Súilleabháin discusses:Commodifying arts and the artistry of conversationWhat does artistry really mean?Reverence and humilityBeauty in business, in leadership and in life Key Takeaways:Conversation is an artform and it’s more studied in companies or businesses.Artistry is the impulse and the yearning to create. It’s the genius that visits us. It could also be a need that arises.Reverence is humility. It's about creating and nourishing what has been created. It is also honoring the world of possibilities and really serving for the greater good of those around them.People want a beautiful life and a beautiful business but of course, corruption and loneliness is ever-present in an imperfect world. Once a leader comes face to face with this reality and attains humility, we admit that we want a different way. We have to let go of models, ideas, and mindsets that aren't serving us. "When we approach our world like a work of art, suddenly things start to flow and we start to move in conversation with the world around us and things start to change." — Owen Ó Súilleabháin Get "The Beautiful Business" book by clicking on this link: https://the-beautiful-business.com/Check out The Studio: https://studioleadership.com/ Connect With Libby WagnerWebsite http://www.libbywagner.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/libbywagner/Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/boardroompoetTwitter: https://twitter.com/boardroompoet Connect WIth Owen Ó SúilleabháinWebsite: https://www.owenandmoley.com/ | https://www.pbs.org/video/owen-and-moley-o-suilleabhain-eksjuw/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/owen-%C3%B3-s%C3%BAilleabh%C3%A1in-95422b3/ Connect With Steven MorrisWebsite: https://matterco.co/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenmorris111/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/matter_smorris/Twitter: https://twitter.com/StevenMMorris Steven Morris, CEO of Matter Consulting is an ever-curious life-seeker, brand and culture building expert, advisor, author, and speaker. With over 27 years of entrepreneurial experience, he has served as a trusted advisor to over 3,000 business leaders and evolved more than 250 brands and cultures, including Google, Habitat for Humanity, Samsung, and Disney. His best-selling book, "The Beautiful Business," and his widely read Insights blog are a testament to his consulting expertise in creating unignorable, magnetic, and sustainable companies.His diverse interests, including meditation, fine art painting, surfing, and beekeeping, infuse his work with creativity, soul, and a deep understanding of the human experience.You can find more podcasts and join 30,000+ other brilliant and soulful readers of his weekly INSIGHTS blog at MatterCo.

In this episode, Steven Morris and Sarah Santecroce discusses:When work doesn’t feel like workLearning from the pandemicA better way to market your businessEvolution of marketing Key Takeaways:You know you’re doing something right when your work feels good and when you profit from it in multidimensional ways - not only in monetary value, but in meaning, in life, and in impact on others. People come out of the pandemic like they didn’t learn anything from it - some jump right into the rat race, forgetting how the pandemic taught them what to value the most. When Marketing becomes solely focused on wanting to sell more - it becomes soul-less. We can redeem marketing when we present ourselves in a humane way, with authenticity and integrity, without the desire to manipulate or trick the audience into getting converted into your business, but rather - enticing them with your genuine and full identity. Passion, personal power, partnership - these are new key principles in marketing. They focus on the being and not the doing. "Manipulative [marketing]... work to attract instant audiences, they work to add money to your bank account. They don't work to build a sustainable business, you will never escape the hustle because you need to keep hustling to get more to the door." — Sarah Santecroce Connect With Sarah Santecroce: Website: https://sarahsantacroce.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahsantacroce/Twitter: https://twitter.com/sarahsantacroceFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/sarahsantacroce Get "The Beautiful Business" book by clicking on this link: https://the-beautiful-business.com/ Connect With Steven MorrisWebsite: https://matterco.co/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenmorris111/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/matter_smorris/Twitter: https://twitter.com/StevenMMorris Steven Morris, CEO of Matter Consulting is an ever-curious life-seeker, brand and culture building expert, advisor, author, and speaker. With over 27 years of entrepreneurial experience, he has served as a trusted advisor to over 3,000 business leaders and evolved more than 250 brands and cultures, including Google, Habitat for Humanity, Samsung, and Disney. His best-selling book, "The Beautiful Business," and his widely read Insights blog are a testament to his consulting expertise in creating unignorable, magnetic, and sustainable companies.His diverse interests, including meditation, fine art painting, surfing, and beekeeping, infuse his work with creativity, soul, and a deep understanding of the human experience.You can find more podcasts and join 30,000+ other brilliant and soulful readers of his weekly INSIGHTS blog at MatterCo.

In this episode, Steven Morris discusses:The role and responsibility of designers and creativesLeading with awareness and authenticityExperiencing vulnerability and doing meaningful workHow business should impact others Key Takeaways:Creatives have a greater responsibility to understand the impact they have on the people they influence. Giving yourself a licence to be seen as a Human is a beautiful way to be a leader. Vulnerability doesn’t get easier, but it gets easier to recognize the value and the courage it takes to be vulnerable. A beautiful business is one that has a clear idea of what they’re about and people who are part of it and interact with it feel seen, supported valued. "Vulnerability doesn’t necessarily get easier… I want to be vulnerable more because I see the value of what that vulnerability can get me to." — Justin Ahrens Connect With Justin Ahrens: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinahrens/Website: https://rule29.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/justinahrens Get "The Beautiful Business" book by clicking on this link: https://the-beautiful-business.com/ Connect With Steven Morris:Website: https://matterco.co/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenmorris111/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/matter_smorris/Twitter: https://twitter.com/StevenMMorris Steven Morris, CEO of Matter Consulting is an ever-curious life-seeker, brand and culture building expert, advisor, author, and speaker. With over 27 years of entrepreneurial experience, he has served as a trusted advisor to over 3,000 business leaders and evolved more than 250 brands and cultures, including Google, Habitat for Humanity, Samsung, and Disney. His best-selling book, "The Beautiful Business," and his widely read Insights blog are a testament to his consulting expertise in creating unignorable, magnetic, and sustainable companies.His diverse interests, including meditation, fine art painting, surfing, and beekeeping, infuse his work with creativity, soul, and a deep understanding of the human experience.You can find more podcasts and join 30,000+ other brilliant and soulful readers of his weekly INSIGHTS blog at MatterCo.

In this episode, Steven Morris and Nicolas Petit discuss:The engine of corporate cultureMovement: bringing humanity to the workplaceTaking advantage of organizational network analysisThe hidden strength of weak ties Key Takeaways:Corporate culture transforms all according to what behaviors and stories are spread from peer-to-peer.Let your mission be more than just following orders, achieving something or getting results, let your mission be all about changing people’s lives.Recognize who are the nodes, the periphery, and the brokers. Pay attention especially to the brokers for their existence as an intermediary between subgroups promotes innovation and encourages connection.In music, harmony isn’t when everybody’s singing the same note - but when everybody’s singing different notes, coming from different perspectives but aligned to the same key.Weak ties are better than strong ties for encouraging innovative thinking. We must prioritize bringing back the weak ties aspect in the virtual workplace in order for the organization and its members to benefit from it. "It takes courage to let go. As leaders, we tend to want to be in control because we’re afraid of the consequences it may have on us but if you let go, magic happens. You need to have the courage to show your own vulnerabilities, close your eyes and enjoy the show." — Nicolas Petit Connect with Nicolas Petit:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/njupinpetit/ Resources mentioned in the episode:From Distraction to Augmentation with Pattie Maes: https://youtu.be/yrHTncDuQL4?t=1245The Alter Ego project: https://www.media.mit.edu/projects/alterego/overview/Amplifying human intelligence using AI: https://hbr.org/2019/04/how-wearable-ai-will-amplify-human-intelligencethe Teal Around The World (TATW) community: https://www.tealaroundtheworld.com/“Social Physics” by Alex "Sandy" Pentland: https://www.amazon.com/Social-Physics-Networks-Make-Smarter/dp/0143126334How Good Ideas Spread by Sandy Pentland: https://youtu.be/HMBl0ttu-Ow Get "The Beautiful Business" book by clicking on this link: https://the-beautiful-business.com/ Connect With Steven MorrisWebsite: https://matterco.co/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenmorris111/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/matter_smorris/Twitter: https://twitter.com/StevenMMorris Steven Morris, CEO of Matter Consulting is an ever-curious life-seeker, brand and culture building expert, advisor, author, and speaker. With over 27 years of entrepreneurial experience, he has served as a trusted advisor to over 3,000 business leaders and evolved more than 250 brands and cultures, including Google, Habitat for Humanity, Samsung, and Disney. His best-selling book, "The Beautiful Business," and his widely read Insights blog are a testament to his consulting expertise in creating unignorable, magnetic, and sustainable companies.His diverse interests, including meditation, fine art painting, surfing, and beekeeping, infuse his work with creativity, soul, and a deep understanding of the human experience.You can find more podcasts and join 30,000+ other brilliant and soulful readers of his weekly INSIGHTS blog at MatterCo.

In this episode, Steven Morris and Jenny Blake discusses:The Great RecalibrationTips for overgiving people pleasersFinding your zone of geniusTrusting your intuition Key Takeaways:You don’t have to leave your job in order to recalibrate. But it does take some honesty to recognize that what you’re doing is already draining you - at that point, it might be necessary to make a change towards a direction that makes you feel more alive. Pause before you make a decision. Ask yourself, “is this something I’ll be super excited about if I was making the request?”, if you don’t feel excited about making that request, it probably should end up as a no. What is your childhood wound? Whatever it is you felt could be your zone of genius - something that you’re going to be passionate about doing for others.Intuition is a valuable asset when it comes to making good, life-enriching decisions. It’s about looking for what makes you feel excited. "Free time is either… to be present with your loved ones or with yourself… the other way - freeing our time to do our best work" — Jenny Blake Check out Greetabl by clicking here: https://greetabl.com/ Jenny’s recommended books: Frequency: The Power of Personal Vibration by Penney Pierce - https://www.amazon.com/Frequency-Personal-Vibration-Penney-Peirce/dp/1582702152Outrageous Openness: Letting the Divine Take the Lead by Tosha Silver - https://www.amazon.com/Outrageous-Openness-Letting-Divine-Take/dp/1476793484 Connect With Jenny Blake: Website: https://www.pivotmethod.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/jenny_blakeLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennyblakeEmail: [email protected]: www.instagram.com/pivotmomentumFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/pivotbook/Podcast: https://www.pivotmethod.com/podcastYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ-nun3N5_8xNQvzTct1Oxg Get "The Beautiful Business" book by clicking on this link: https://the-beautiful-business.com/ Connect With Steven Morris:Website: https://matterco.co/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenmorris111/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/matter_smorris/Twitter: https://twitter.com/StevenMMorris Steven Morris, CEO of Matter Consulting is an ever-curious life-seeker, brand and culture building expert, advisor, author, and speaker. With over 27 years of entrepreneurial experience, he has served as a trusted advisor to over 3,000 business leaders and evolved more than 250 brands and cultures, including Google, Habitat for Humanity, Samsung, and Disney. His best-selling book, "The Beautiful Business," and his widely read Insights blog are a testament to his consulting expertise in creating unignorable, magnetic, and sustainable companies.His diverse interests, including meditation, fine art painting, surfing, and beekeeping, infuse his work with creativity, soul, and a deep understanding of the human experience.You can find more podcasts and join 30,000+ other brilliant and soulful readers of his weekly INSIGHTS blog at MatterCo.

In this episode, Steven Morris and Chris Cooper discusses:What is Elevation and why is it important?Key things that leaders must know Income-focused businesses versus Beautiful BusinessesCreating a legacy with your business Key Takeaways:Elevation is an inner journey in the leader to be the best version of themselves and to inspire their members to be the best version of themselves too. It’s taking something to a new level, where it’s never been before. Be a “we” oriented leader, address global issues in a way that transcends the “me” part of the equation.Focus on making money in your company and you’ll end up having a lot of money but losing a lot of people. Business can be more than just profit, it can be an avenue in which you and your team can serve the world in one shape or form. Think beyond growth, think about legacy. How would you want to have impacted the world when you’re past the finish line? "Beautiful businesses is something that flows and it flows downstream, together, and creates something special for it’s communities, customers, and people" — Chris Cooper “In compassion and grace, be like the sun...In concealing others’ faults, be like the night...In generosity and helping others, be like a river...In anger and fury, be like the dead...In modesty and humility, be like the earth...In tolerance, be like the sea...Either appear as you are, or be as you appear..” — Rumi Connect With Chris Cooper:Website: https://chriscooper.co.uk/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisdcooperTwitter: http://twitter.com/chrisdcooper Get "The Beautiful Business" book by clicking on this link: https://the-beautiful-business.com/ Connect With Steven MorrisWebsite: https://matterco.co/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenmorris111/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/matter_smorris/Twitter: https://twitter.com/StevenMMorris Steven Morris, CEO of Matter Consulting is an ever-curious life-seeker, brand and culture building expert, advisor, author, and speaker. With over 27 years of entrepreneurial experience, he has served as a trusted advisor to over 3,000 business leaders and evolved more than 250 brands and cultures, including Google, Habitat for Humanity, Samsung, and Disney. His best-selling book, "The Beautiful Business," and his widely read Insights blog are a testament to his consulting expertise in creating unignorable, magnetic, and sustainable companies.His diverse interests, including meditation, fine art painting, surfing, and beekeeping, infuse his work with creativity, soul, and a deep understanding of the human experience.You can find more podcasts and join 30,000+ other brilliant and soulful readers of his weekly INSIGHTS blog at MatterCo.

In this episode, Steven Morris and Gay Hendricks discuss:Living to inspire others to live their best lifeBreaking through your upper limit Loving yourself and loving othersMaking relationships work Key Takeaways:The great joy of life is being able to do what you most love to do while you’re doing things that inspire other people to do what they want to doRecognize your upper limit - know what you or someone or some event done to your perception of how far you can go and enter your zone of creative genius. Feeling burnt out? Ask yourself what it is that you really love to do. Start 10 minutes a day doing what you most love to do. You can’t give what you don’t have and in the same way, the more love you have for yourself, the more you could give to others.A cycle of blaming and victimhood does not solve anything or benefit anyone. Cultivate a relationship of trust, responsibility, and creativity. "There’s this one quotation that I find so inspiring: ‘if you bring forth, what is within you, what is within you will save you’. To me that’s the essence of bringing forth your genius because it has health benefits and wealth benefits." — Gay Hendricks Get "The Beautiful Business" book by clicking on this link: https://the-beautiful-business.com/ Connect With Steven MorrisWebsite: https://matterco.co/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenmorris111/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/matter_smorris/Twitter: https://twitter.com/StevenMMorris Steven Morris, CEO of Matter Consulting is an ever-curious life-seeker, brand and culture building expert, advisor, author, and speaker. With over 27 years of entrepreneurial experience, he has served as a trusted advisor to over 3,000 business leaders and evolved more than 250 brands and cultures, including Google, Habitat for Humanity, Samsung, and Disney. His best-selling book, "The Beautiful Business," and his widely read Insights blog are a testament to his consulting expertise in creating unignorable, magnetic, and sustainable companies.His diverse interests, including meditation, fine art painting, surfing, and beekeeping, infuse his work with creativity, soul, and a deep understanding of the human experience.You can find more podcasts and join 30,000+ other brilliant and soulful readers of his weekly INSIGHTS blog at MatterCo.