Host Jeremy C. Park talks with Michele Herlein, Founder and CEO of CultureMax, who shares what led her to launch her company after a 25-year career working in leadership roles at major companies to now focus on helping more organizations build positive cultures, and highlights her new book "Cultural Excellence." She explains that her book provides a leader's guide for strengthening organizational culture through horizontal and vertical alignment, emphasizing the importance of executive buy-in and manager alignment. Michele shares her experiences across different companies to demonstrate how cultural transformation leads to both employee satisfaction and improved business results, and announced that her new book is now available for purchase at all major retailers.

Cultural Excellence Leadership Guide - Michele Herlein, a 25-year veteran of corporate America, discusses her journey from working at companies like Bridgestone Americas, Inc. to founding CultureMax, where she now helps organizations create positive cultures. She explains that her book, "Cultural Excellence: A Leader's Guide to Strengthening the Heart of Your Organization," is a guide aimed at strengthening organizational culture, and she has created a mastermind group for HR professionals to implement the book's methodology. The book includes downloadable worksheets and is designed to be a practical resource for creating great organizational cultures.

Empowering Workplaces for Better Results - Michele shares her experience of spending 25 years in corporate America, where she observed that workplaces often deplete employees rather than energize them. She expresses her mission to help create organizations that motivate and value their employees, noting that this approach not only benefits individuals but also leads to better business results and improved metrics.

Transforming Organizational Culture Alignment - Michele discusses her book's approach to organizational culture transformation, focusing on horizontal and vertical alignment. She emphasizes the importance of getting executive team buy-in and aligning managers, who she refers to as "The Mighty Middle," to reinforce the company's cultural direction. The book outlines a step-by-step process for diagnosing culture, aligning leaders, and integrating cultural values into the organization's DNA through systems, processes, and behaviors.

Building Strong Organizational Cultures - Michele emphasizes that building a strong culture requires consistent effort and integration from the top down and bottom up, comparing it to maintaining healthy habits. Michele shares examples from her experiences at Bandag, Bridgestone, and Barge, highlighting how different companies can implement unique cultural values and processes. She notes that aligning leaders and systems with employee needs leads to both employee satisfaction and outstanding financial results, as seen in Bridgestone's 5x and Barge's 7x profit increases.

Cultural Excellence Book Launch - Michele announces that her new book "Cultural Excellence: A Leader's Guide to Strengthening the Heart of Your Organization" is now available for purchase on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. She emphasizes that the book includes downloadable files at the end of each chapter to help readers implement its concepts practically.

To learn more about CultureMax, visit https://culture-max.com.