Truly Human Leadership

On this episode, we remember BW Chairman Bob Chapman, who passed away on March 19, 2026. Bob Chapman was more than a business leader, author and speaker, he was a relentless optimist who dedicated his life to building a better world. He worked to redefine what it meant to be a leader in business, to further the understanding that it was an awesome responsibility because the way we lead impacts the way people live. He worked tirelessly to bring more caring to business and built the foundation for Barry-Wehmiller to champion new definitions for success in business: by demonstrating that economic growth and human vibrancy can exist in harmony. Bob became CEO of a struggling Barry-Wehmiller in 1975 upon the death of his father, William Chapman. At the time, the company was a $20 million supplier of equipment for the brewing industry. As of 2025, when Bob handed the reigns of the business to his son Kyle, the current President and CEO, Barry-Wehmiller had become a $3.6 billion-plus global powerhouse with 12,000 team members and a portfolio spanning industrial and packaging automation, professional services, and life sciences technology. Beyond his business acumen, in the late 1990s into the 2000s, Bob underwent a personal transformation that changed his thinking from that of traditional "management" to what would later be called Truly Human Leadership. He then spent the last 15 years of his life sharing the lessons of his transformation by writing prolifically and speaking to audiences around the world. Although there's no way we could encapsulate the whole of Bob and what he has meant to so many, on this episode, we want to try to pay tribute to Bob through a clips of a number of interviews we've featured with Bob over the duration of the podcast. Clips that we selected that not only pay tribute to his ideas and insight, but that hopefully showcase the person he was.

For more than 75 years, The Gund Company has grown into one of the largest manufacturers and fabricators of composite materials, thermoplastic materials, and elastomeric materials. They have 12 manufacturing locations in five countries and have seen a tremendous amount of growth in the past few years. Like Barry-Wehmiller, the Gund Company is based in St. Louis and also like Barry-Wehmiller, they are a family business. On this podcast, we're featuring the Gund Company as Truly Human Leadership Case Study. A few weeks ago, Steve Gund, CEO of the Gund Company gave a presentation at Washington University here in St. Louis to students in their business school. Steve was joined by Brian Wellinghoff, Barry-Wehmiller's Director of Outreach, who you've heard several times before on this show. Steve talked about the Gund company's leadership journey and the part Barry-Wehmiller played in helping them along the road to becoming a Truly Human company. Brian provides some additional context from Barry-Wehmiller's own story. We hope you're inspired by this story that shows how human and economic vibrancy can exist in harmony and how business can be a force for good.

Our last episode featured an interview with Raj Sisodia and Nilima Bhat on their new book, Healing Leaders: 7 Steps to Recovery of Self. In that discussion, we talk about their previous book collaboration, Shakti Leadership: Embracing Feminine and Masculine Power in Business. To compliment the discussion of Healing Leaders, we're going to re-release a podcast episode from 2016 where Raj and Nilima talk about Shakti Leadership in more depth. Raj once said, "Vulnerability is not a liability, it's an ability. He was speaking about the benefits of bringing both the masculine and feminine sides of our psyche that exists inside every one of us to our leadership every day. Moving from leadership that is about acquiring power to leadership that nurtures and inspires people. We at Barry-Wehmiller have long believed that there's room for emotion and caring in business. And that's why these two conversations with our friends Raj and Nilima are important insights into how leaders can bring those attributes into their stewardship of those within their span of care.

Raj Sisodia is the co-founder of Conscious Capitalism and, with BW Chairman Bob Chapman, the co-writer of Everybody Matters: The Extraordinary Power of Caring for Your People Like Family. Raj is a frequent guest on this podcast. For one, he's a very insightful friend and secondly, he's a prolific writer. Raj has co-authored a new book, Healing Leaders: 7 Steps to Recovery of Self with his friend and fellow conscious leader, Nilima Bhat. Nilima is a pioneer in integrating Indian wisdom traditions with modern leadership practice, she has trained leaders at organizations such as Microsoft, Etsy, and Tata. Nilima and Raj previously co-authored the book Shakti Leadership, which took a transformative look at the notion of power and business and how leaders can balance all of their inherent traits to lead with their whole self. As you'll hear on this podcast, Healing Leaders continues that journey. But it isn't just another leadership book—it's a spiritual and emotional roadmap for reclaiming your humanity in a world that asks you to perform, produce, and pretend. You can find out more about the book and get your copy at rajsisodia.com.

Barry-Wehmiller Chairman Bob Chapman has said this about the importance of listening: Time and again, I've written that listening is the most important thing a leader can do. But it transcends the leader role. Listening is the most important thing we, as humans, can do for one another. It shows empathy, it shows you care, and most importantly, it shows the person you are listening to that they matter. We are not taught to listen in our society. So much value is placed on speaking, but not listening. How many listening classes do you see in schools or colleges? They have "speech" classes and debate teams. The skill of listening is special and we need to be taught how to do it well. Learning the skills to become an effective listener will not only make you a better leader, but a better human being as well Listening is something we talk about often at Barry Wehmiller, and you've probably heard a lot about it on this very podcast. It's the foundational class of Barry Wehmiller University, our internal school for our team members. We call this class Listen Like a Leader. It's also one of the most important offerings of our consulting company, Chapman & Co. Leadership Institute, as they bring Truly Human Leadership to their clients. And it was the reason Bob and his wife Cynthia created their non-profit, Chapman Foundation for Caring Communities, who brings our listening curriculum to municipal and non profits organizations under the name Our Community Listens. On this podcast, we want to feature an interview with someone our listening curruculm has had a large impact on, Gregory Bulanow, a retired a fire chief in North Charleston, South Carolina. In 2014, Chief Bulanow was looking for training for the leadership of his department and heard about Our Community Listens through word of mouth. After he attended, the chief knew this was something that could make a huge impact on his department and on the North Charleston community. In his retirement, Chief Bulanow is still a professor bringing our listening curruculm to his community. His story was featured in the revised and expanded 10th anniversary edition of Bob Chapman and Raj Sisodia's book, Everybody Matters the Extraordinary Power of Caring for Your People Like Family. This interview with Chief Bulanow was dome several years ago before his retirement and he talked about the significance of listening in his work, and he starts off talking about why a class such as this would apply to his department.

A few months ago, we were honored that Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington, named the week of October 13, 2025 "Chapman Leadership Week." That week, their School of Business Administration hosted the inaugural Chapman Lecture on Truly Human Leadership, named in honor of Barry-Wehmiller Chairman Bob Chapman. It was the culmination of a partnership our outreach team has had with the university to bring the principles of Truly Human Leadership to their classrooms, as well as their training of educators and staff. The speaker at this inaugural Chapman Lecture was, fittingly, Kyle Chapman, Barry-Wehmiller President and CEO and Bob's son. Kyle used this opportunity to talk about how Barry-Wehmiller is changing the game of business by showing that economic and human vibrancy can exist in harmony. And he issued a challenge to these future leaders at Gonzaga to demand more from their future workplaces and join us in our goal of building a better world through business. So on this podcast, we want you to hear Kyle's challenge at Gonzaga and give you the opportunity to join us as well. In addition to this podcast, which you can watch the the link in the header image or through your favorite podcast host, you can watch a video summary of Chapman Leadership Week through the video below:

Over the years, we've talked about the Harvard Case Study that was written about Barry-Wehmiller in 2016. It's a best seller, taught in over 200 universities to more than 30,000 students. On an earlier podcast, we talked to the authors of the case study, one of which is our guest today, Harvard Professor Jan Rivkin. The earlier episode kind of dealt with the how and why the case study was written, but on this episode, we want to go a little deeper. The Harvard Case Study of Barry-Wehmiller deals with layoffs, a subject that is very prominent in people's minds today. So, on today's episode, we talk with Professor Jan Rivkin about this issue and we also dive into the subject of business education and how leadership is taught and how students are thinking about leadership and how they react to the Barry-Wehmiller case study. It's a wide-ranging discussion, but one that is very pertinent to many issues we are facing today.

Aaron Witt started his career as a kid who loved construction. But over the years, he's built something bigger than he could have ever envisioned to support the industry he loves. Aaron is the founder of Build Witt. You can find out more about them at buildwitt.com and Aaron has his own website at aaron-witt.com. Build Witt is a company that creates microlearning software for the critical infrastructure industries, they operate the online community Connect and they host the Ariat Dirt World Summit. BW Chairman Bob Chapman was actually a speaker at the first Dirt World Summit. Aaron invited Bob to speak after reading the original version of Bob's book, Everybody Matters: The Extraordinary Power of Caring for Your People Like Family. In fact, here's what Aaron had to say when he endorsed the recently released revised and expanded edition of the book: "Discovering Everybody Matters as a 20-something business leader has saved me heartache and, more importantly, given me a roadmap to make an enormous difference in countless lives. This book is a MUST-READ for anyone leading people, especially up-and-coming leaders!" Just as Barry-Wehmiller has shown that you can have Truly Human Leadership in the manufacturing industry, Aaron Witt wants to show that the same can exist in the construction and infrastructure industries and that it can also help those businesses flourish. On this episode, we have a conversation with Aaron about how he is trying to make this happen.

A few months ago, our friend Simon Sinek visited our BW Papersystems location in Phillips, WI to record an episode of his "A Bit of Optimism" podcast with Barry-Wehmiller Chairman Bob Chapman. It wasn't the first time Simon had been to Phillips, WI, as you'll soon hear, and for his podcast, Simon not only wanted to talk to his good friend Bob, but other BW teammates in Phillips, some he had met almost 15 years ago. That episode of Simon's podcast is out now. I highly encourage you to listen to it or watch the video version on You Tube, which is almost a mini documentary. You can find this and all things Simon at his website SimonSinek.com On this episode of our podcast, we want to bring you something special. While in Phillips to record, Simon and Bob held a Town Hall for the team members there as a thank you and to recognize them for the inspiration they have been, not only to Simon but countless others. We're going to bring you that Town Hall, which is a great dialogue between Bob and Simon, but also includes a couple questions from the audience, including the high school aged son of one of our team members that is a big fan of Simon's and was very excited to talk to him. Also, Simon and Bob talk about the 10th anniversary revised and expanded edition of Bob and Raj Sisodia's book, Everybody Matters: The Extraordinary Power of Caring for Your People Like Family, which is available now. Find out more about that at everybodymattersbook.com. So, here is a companion piece to Simon Sinek's A Bit of Optimism podcast featuring Bob Chapman and Barry-Wehmiller. Here's a Town Hall with Simon Sinek and Bob Chapman.

You may have heard Simon Sinek's recent "A Bit of Optimism" podcast that featured Barry-Wehmiller Chairman Bob Chapman and a number of BW team member from our BW Papersystems company in Phillips, WI. One particular team member that was interviewed was Randall Fleming, who was a welder when we aquired (or adopted) Marquip, the company that would become BW Papersystems. While presenting our message of Truly Human Leadership, our CEO Bob Chapman is often asked: What about the people who don't get it? What about the people who actively work against positive change? Barry-Wehmiller has adopted more than 150 companies and as Bob once wrote: We realize that when we acquire a company, the people within that company are a product of their experiences. They may have experienced great leaders in their past or, more likely, they have had some negative experiences. Consequently, some have difficulty trusting our leadership message. That's okay. We're all at a different point on this journey, and we have to be patient and trust that the skeptics will eventually see the transformative power it can have—on both their work lives and their personal lives. On this podcast, you'll hear the story of Randall Fleming, who was one of those people who resisted change at first, but then experienced a radical transformation. He told Simon a part of his story, but we wanted to give you a deeper dive. This episode is Randall's story, told by Randall. It also features BW team members Ken Coppens and Maureen Schloskey. Randall's story is testament to the life-changing power of meaningful work and the power of what happens when people care in business. It's what happens when you establish a workplace culture of empathy and shared purpose as opposed to the "command and control" atmosphere of most traditional management environments. Randall's story is an illustration of when we say that the way we lead impacts the way people live. He not only found more fulfillment in his work, his whole life completely changed. And Randall then became a leader, mentor and inspiration to others.

This week, we are celebrating the release of the new revised and expanded edition of Everybody Matters: The Extraordinary Power of Caring for Your People Like Family, Barry-Wehmiller Chairman Bob Chapman and Raj Sisodia's book on Bob and Barry-Wehmiller's journey to Truly Human Leadership. On today's podcast, we want to share a story of Bob and the book's impact on one particular leader. Jason Lippert is the President and CEO of Lippert Components, a global supplier of a broad array of highly engineered components for the leading manufacturers of recreational vehicles, automobiles, watercraft and prefab homes. They also operate in adjacent markets, including hospitality, transportation, construction and agriculture. Lippert and Barry-Wehmiller are very similar in size, both are on their third generation of family leadership. And they both have similar values when it comes to stewarding the lives in their span of care. On this episode, I have a conversation with Jason about his leadership journey. How he became a Truly Human Leader and what that meant for Lippert Components. How they approach leadership and personal development. How they approach community service and why that's important to their company culture. We also talk about the impact Bob and Everybody Matters had on his leadership and his company.

This past week signaled a major milestone in the history of our company. We announced that Kyle Chapman is now CEO of Barry-Wehmiller, in addition to his existing role as President. His father, Bob Chapman, who has served as CEO since 1975, will continue to serve as Chairman of the Board. Barry-Wehmiller has been led by a Chapman since 1957, when William A. Chapman, Bob's dad, became President after joining Barry-Wehmiller four years prior. It's a very exciting time for us here at Barry-Wehmiller. And to celebrate this moment, on this podcast we bring you a conversation between Bob and Kyle where they talk about the history of the Chapman family ownership of Barry-Wehmiller. They talk about a legacy of leadership. They talk about the transition, what it means for the company and our people. And what it means for the future. And you're going to hear a lot about how business can be a force for good. We announced a couple of weeks ago the new revised and expanded edition of Everybody Matters: The Extraordinary Power of Caring for Your People Like Family, the book Bob Chapman co-wrote with Raj Sisodia which chronicles Bob and Barry-Wehmiller's journey. Bob and Kyle also talk about the book and its significance and Bob talks about his future. Spoiler alert: in addition to remaining chairman of the board, he's going to continue to share the message of Truly Human Leadership for a long time to come.

We told you in the last episode about the new revised and expanded edition of our CEO, Bob Chapman's book, Everybody Matters: The Extraordinary Power of Caring for Your People Like Family, which will be out Oct 21. Learn more about it at everybodymattersbook.com. If you read the original version, you know it's a story of transformation. It's about a leader who realized there was a better way to lead that was different than everything he was taught and thought he was supposed to do. And how his company changed because of those realizations and why others should change as well. On our podcast today, we havea fantastic discussion with a leader who also had a dramatic transformation experience. Mohammad Anwar is the CEO of Softway, a people-first consulting firm that helps evolving organizations truly transform in areas of technology, communication, and culture. Mohammad and Softway's story was chronicled in their first book: Love as a Business Strategy. Their recently released book, Love as a Change Strategy details Softway's further learnings. On this episode, we talk to Mohammad about his leadership journey. We talk about his amazing transformation and how Softway transformed. We talk about what it means to be a human centered technology company. And we talk about why Mohammad thinks AI can help humans get back in touch with their humanity.

If you're a regular listener of this podcast, you've probably heard of Bob Chapman and Raj Sisodia's book, Everybody Matters: The Extraordinary Power of Treating Your People Like Family. Well, I'm pleased to be able to finally tell this audience that a revised and expanded version of this seminal book will be released Oct. 21. It has 75 extra pages, catching readers up to Bob and Barry-Wehmiller's journey since Everybody Matters was originally released ten years ago. There are many new stories and insights that point to the thing we say at the top of each podcast: The way we lead impacts the way people live. You can find out all the particulars about the book and its release, download an excerpt and see more content at everybodymattersbook.com. On this podcast, we want to bring you a discussion between Bob and Raj where they talk about the new version of Everybody Matters. They have a wide-ranging discussion on the need for a new version, the impact of the original version and their hopes as this expanded edition is released into the world.

BW CEO Bob Chapman often tells a story about meeting Steve Jones, who was formerly a high school football coach at Kimberly High School in Kimberly, WI. Steve led his teams to five consecutive state titles from 2013-2017 with an incredible run of 70 consecutive victories, a Wisconsin state record. With those impressive credentials, Bob asked Steve what he taught his players about winning and losing. Steve said they didn't. He said that they teach them to play their position well for their fellow team members. Do it as an act of respect for their fellow team members. He said, "When people truly care for one another, it's amazing how hard they will work for each other." To Bob, it begged the question: if you create an environment of unconditional care, wouldn't the people there want to "play their position well" for their teammates? But how do you create that environment? Well, that's the subject of today's podcast. Chapman & Co. Leadership Institute is Barry-Wehmiller's company that is a human-centered consultancy that helps organizations and their leaders align people, culture and strategy to drive results.​ They help build agile, purpose-driven workplaces ​where individuals thrive, teams perform and impact endures.​ You can find out more at ccoleadership.com When it comes to building a high-performing team, Chapman & Co. will say it isn't just about assembling talented team members and setting a shared vision or common goals. You can have exceptional individuals, a compelling mission and still feel like something's not clicking in your team dynamics. Most teams don't need fixing, maybe they just need perspective. On this podcast, you'll hear from Praisy Isaac and Emily Gauvain, experts on team building at Chapman & Co. They're going to talk about the hidden dynamics that determine whether teams merely function or genuinely thrive and ultimately create that environment of care where people want to play their position well for their teammates.

Our friend Jane Adshead-Grant says this is key in furthering our hope to build a better world: "As we begin to share the message of what it means to be a Truly Human Leader, to take the responsibility of leadership and be this great steward of people who have been entrusted to us… What I see, time and time again is that there are few role models that enable our future generations to be this way. And so, for me, it's about how do we role model this way of being in the world? And it isn't just at work, you know, it's how we show up in every day life." We are fortunate to have Jane as one of those role models. Jane shares quite a bit of insight in this episode, including a discussion of the challenges of the changing landscape of leadership. Based in the UK, she has been a leadership coach and mentor for almost 20 years. In a conversation with Mary Rudder, Barry-Wehmiller's Director of Communications, Jane talks about some of the challenges her clients are facing in today's world and the tools she uses to help them become better leaders.

There is a hunger for a new kind of leadership. Throughout business and organizations, people continue to be taught to be managers, not leaders. They make sure everyone is in their seat on time, they take headcount for the day, they check off the boxes of daily tasks. But this is changing. As the evidence of the success of caring organizations becomes overwhelming, organizational leadership is reconnecting with their own humanity and recognizing the humanity of those they lead. They are recognizing that the people within their span of care are not numbers on a spreadsheet that are part of the calculations that equal profit and loss, but someone's precious children and should be treated accordingly. They are recognizing that the people within their span of care are not just functions, but whole beings who are capable of so much more than the role into which they've been pigeonholed. Leaders inspire. Leaders care. Leaders help people grow. It's not about the tasks, it's about the person. When we treat people with respect and dignity and create opportunities through which they can realize their potential and be appreciated for it, we, in business, can really impact the world in a positive way. Jacob Morgan interviewed Barry-Wehmiller CEO Bob Chapman and 140 other CEOs and leaders for his new book, The Future Leader. He took that insight and turned it into a roadmap for leaders present and future to see that leadership is not management, it's something much bigger and much more valuable. This is Jacob's second appearance on our podcast. Hear Jacob talk about his research on the future of leadership on this episode.