Growth Hacking Culture

Return to office debates miss the point. Dr. Agustin Chevez explains why hybrid is the wrong word and how to design a full spectrum workplace that works. In 2018, architect and workplace researcher Agustin Chevez walked 900 kilometers alone from Melbourne to Sydney. 42 days, no team, one question: what is actually broken about the way we work? His answer challenges office mandates, cost per visit metrics and the belief that more collaboration always means more innovation. Dr. Agustin Chevez is an architect with a PhD in workplace architecture, an honorary fellow at the University of Melbourne, and the author of The Pilgrim's Guide to the Workplace. He has spent years mapping who talks to whom inside organizations and how office design shapes trust and the flow of ideas. In this episode: Why "hybrid" is the wrong word and what a full spectrum workplace looks like Intermittent isolation: why the best ideas need time alone and time together Why cost per visit is a dangerous return to office metric How to frame a workplace experiment your CEO will actually test Why socializing at work does not automatically lead to innovation Design work first, then the workplace This one is for the HR leader or CEO stuck arguing about office days when the real question is what the office is for. You can also watch thsi episode in the GHC Youtube channel: https://youtu.be/nDNCgHWNc_k?si=9hEKaeWDozlXvPRz  Key moments: 02:03 The Galapagos iguanas that sparked a 900 km walk 09:46 Cost per visit and why filling offices is the wrong goal 14:27 Why hybrid is the wrong word: yellow, blue and green 19:35 How to run a workplace experiment with your CEO 44:04 Socializing is not the same as exchanging ideas 47:59 Design work first, then the workplace Connect with Dr. Agustin Chevez: Website: https://www.achevez.com/  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/agustin-chevez/  Book: The Pilgrim's Guide to the Workplace https://a.co/d/03HZjzBb  -- Ivan's book Expired? The Science of Staying Indispensable in a World Obsessed with New is out now: https://a.co/d/09I4jBWs  If this episode was useful, a quick rating or review helps more people find these conversations. Growth Hacking Culture is a top 5% global podcast exploring the neuroscience, psychology, and behavioral science behind leadership and workplace culture. Hosted by Ivan Palomino

Creativity at work is a process you design, not an event. Coral McConnon on the neuroscience of creativity, why brainstorming fails, and AI for innovation. Most companies still run innovation workshops the same way: six hours in a room, "no idea is a bad idea", and a wall of ideas that end up safe, boring or off strategy. The right brain creativity myth is still shaping behavior, even in teams that say they know better. Meanwhile, AI generates ideas faster than ever and can quietly narrow our thinking. Coral McConnon has more than 20 years of global innovation experience leading early-stage innovation projects with cross-functional teams through 8 Innovation. She holds a master's in creativity focused on the neuroscience of creativity and is the author of The Breakthrough Brain: The Neuroscience of Creativity for Smarter Early-Stage Innovation. In this episode: Why the right brain left brain creativity myth still damages teams The 4 rules of divergent thinking every facilitator should know Why breakthrough ideas show up in the final third of ideation How to use AI as a devil's advocate without narrowing ideas Why psychological safety alone is not enough for creative teams The 5 C's for designing the conditions for creativity and innovation This one is for the HR leader, L&D professional or innovation facilitator who keeps running brainstorming sessions and wonders why the ideas never go anywhere. Key moments: 09:32 Right brain vs left brain: what neuroscience really shows 13:26 Why companies keep using creativity methods science has debunked 18:01 The 4 rules of divergent thinking 22:42 AI as a devil's advocate, not an idea machine 25:22 Stop treating creativity as an event 36:50 Does national culture change how you facilitate innovation? Connect with Coral McConnon: The Breakthrough Brain (book): https://amzn.eu/d/06qzdEFh 8 Innovation: https://www.8innovation.com/  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/coral-mcconnon/  ---- Ivan's book, Expired? The Science of Staying Indispensable in a World Obsessed with New: https://www.ivanpalomino.net/expired-book-ivan-palomino  If this episode was useful, a quick rating or review helps more people find these conversations. Growth Hacking Culture is a top 5% global podcast exploring the neuroscience, psychology, and behavioral science behind leadership and workplace culture. Hosted by Ivan Palomino

Quiet contributors deliver results. But corporate recognition programs, performance reviews, and promotion criteria were built around visibility, not value. The recognition gap between introverts and extroverts in the workplace is costing companies their best talent, and most HR leaders cannot even see it happening. Greg Roche is a total rewards and compensation expert with 20+ years at Fortune 500 scale, former VP of Compensation at UnitedHealth Group, and founder of Retention and Rewards Partners. He is also a self-described introverted networker who built his entire consulting practice on the introvert-friendly career strategies he teaches. In this conversation, Ivan and Greg break down how employee retention, engagement surveys, and reward systems consistently overlook quiet performers, and what leaders need to change to close the gap. In this episode: Why compensation committees picture "charisma" when they read words like executive presence and stakeholder influence, and how that filters out quiet high performers The feedback Greg received multiple times in his career: "you don't talk enough in meetings," and the specific technique he developed to turn that around Why interview performance correlates almost nothing with job performance, and what hiring processes should look like instead How disengagement in introverts looks identical to their default mode, and why traditional engagement surveys miss it entirely Greg's 5-leader method: a concrete, introvert-friendly framework for building career visibility through one-on-one conversations The case for fractional and consulting roles as a legitimate career path for introverts who are exhausted by the "work around the work" Why discretionary effort is a better measure of engagement than activity, and how confusing the two costs companies billions This one is for the quiet contributor who delivers results but feels invisible, and for the HR leader who suspects their best talent is slipping through a system that was never built for them. Connect with Greg Roche LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregsroche/   Free resource: 5 Tips to Create a Culture of Connections https://www.retentionandrewards.com/gift  Book: The Fast and Easy Guide to Networking for Introverts https://a.co/d/09epBrT2   ---- Ivan's latest article: Am I Ready to Start a Business After 45? A Behavioral Scientist's Self-Test https://www.ivanpalomino.net/post/am-i-ready-to-start-a-business-after-45-a-behavioral-scientist-s-self-test  Growth Hacking Culture is a top 5% global podcast exploring the neuroscience, psychology, and behavioral science behind leadership and workplace culture. Hosted by Ivan Palomino

Good AI delegators were good human delegators first. Sean Campbell on why fluid intelligence, not technical skill, predicts who thrives with AI at work. Sean spent 25 years running Cascade Insights, advising companies from startups to Fortune 500s on market research and competitive intelligence. When AI hit, he noticed a pattern: the leaders who struggled to delegate to people struggled even more to delegate to machines. The ones who already trusted others with important work picked up AI tools faster than anyone expected. Sean is CEO of Cascade Insights and an AI professor at George Fox University, where he teaches an MBA course blending AI, entrepreneurship, and critical thinking. He has consulted with organizations across industries on AI strategy and workforce transformation. In this episode: Why your IT department should not lead AI adoption What a fractional Chief AI Officer actually does and who needs one Fluid intelligence: why delegation skill predicts AI success The "depth of AI water" framework for assessing job impact Why Gen X may be the generation best suited for AI Judgment and critical thinking as the irreducible human skills This one is for the leader who knows AI matters but cannot figure out who in the organization should own it. Key moments: 02:30 Why IT should not lead your AI strategy 08:00 The fractional CAIO role explained 18:00 84% of organizations have not redesigned for AI 30:00 Fluid intelligence: good delegators become great AI users 36:00 Why Gen X might be the best AI generation 42:00 Judgment as the skill AI cannot replace Connect with Sean Campbell: Website: https://www.cascadeinsights.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seancampbell/    Experienced professional thinking about starting something of your own? The Pre-Founder Bootcamp, Silver Edition helps you decide before you commit: silver-bootcamp.ivanpalomino.net   If this episode was useful, a quick rating or review helps more people find these conversations. Hosted by Ivan Palomino    

Grit turns self-destructive when you can’t put it down. Pauline Nguyen on grit vs grip, body signs of leadership burnout, and rest that restores performance. Pauline ran Red Lantern, the most awarded Vietnamese restaurant in the world, for 25 years. She also worked 80 to 100 hour weeks until stress made her hair fall out. Her way out was not to try less. It was to learn the difference between grit, a fire you choose, and grip, a fear that has you and never switches off. Pauline escaped Vietnam by boat at three years old. Today she coaches CEOs and founders on conscious leadership and nervous system regulation, and is the author of The Way of the Spiritual Entrepreneur. In 2026 she was named Global Transformational Leader of the Year. In this episode: Grit vs grip: why one has an off switch and the other does not Three body signs your drive has turned self-destructive: jaw, breath and sleep Why companies promote the leader who never stops, and what it costs the team Why rest is a weapon, and the seven types of rest most leaders skip How to build nervous system regulation from micro moments, with no extra hour What to strip out of grit (martyrdom) and what to keep (the fire) This one is for the high performer who cannot stop, and the HR leader watching their best people run on fumes. Key moments: 08:46 Grit has an off switch, grip does not 18:32 Three body signs that grit has turned to grip 28:28 Rest is a weapon, not a spa day 30:52 The seven types of rest 41:28 What to strip out of grit 🔗 Connect with Pauline Nguyen Website: https://pauline-nguyen.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paulinenspeaks/ (DM the word ACTION to get the Sovereign Leader System) Book: The Way of the Spiritual Entrepreneur: https://pauline-nguyen.com/product/the-way-of-the-spiritual-entrepreneur/  Ivan’s book, Expired? The Science of Staying Indispensable in a World Obsessed with New, is live now: https://a.co/d/0e29LDC9  If this episode was useful, a quick rating or review helps more people find these conversations. Growth Hacking Culture is a top 5% global podcast exploring the neuroscience, psychology, and behavioral science behind leadership and workplace culture. Hosted by Ivan Palomino