The 5Cs

Charlene Norman

Healing the globe can take many different paths. Imagine if most businesses took the lead in healing the planet and helping the people. Imagine the profit; imagine the impact. Imagine if it worked beyond our wildest dreams! Practical insights, provocative points of view. Simultaneously inspiring and educational. Join Charlene Norman every Saturday at 6 a.m. EST for this 2.1 version of Exploring Compassionate Capitalism.

  1. Masculine, Feminine, and the Danger of Overfocus

    12h ago

    Masculine, Feminine, and the Danger of Overfocus

    Masculine, Feminine, and the Danger of Overfocus In this episode with Rashmir Balasubramaniam of https://rashmir.net/ we discuss the broken balance between masculine and feminine ways of operating. Not as opposites to set against each other, but as complementary forces we have allowed to fall dangerously out of alignment. Rashmir offers one of the most unexpected and clarifying metaphors I've encountered for understanding what our economic system has done to us: the biology of shortsightedness. And she lands at reversibility and genuine hope. The key highlights are: Why the problem isn't masculinity or the drive toward outcomes. It's the over-reliance on one mode of operating at the expense of everything else, and what that crowding-out effect has cost us The shortsightedness metaphor: how over-focusing on a single goal, whether in our eyes or our economies, physically and systemically narrows what we're able to see as possible Why the belief that the damage is irreversible may be the single biggest barrier to genuine change, and why the regenerative evidence says otherwise Links and notes for show: Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi Carol Sanford and  Regenisis Group Ready to benchmark your leadership impact? Take this 5-minute Stewardship Quiz and get a personalized report showing exactly where you rank - plus actionable strategies to elevate your performance. The 5Cs Podcast connects forward-thinking executives who are building sustainable competitive advantages while driving positive impact. Think of it as an exclusive network of leaders who understand that stewardship isn't just good ethics - it's good business. Connect with Charlene Norman on LinkedIn, find her at her website, subscribe to our Substack for strategic insights, or download the full series on Spotify and Apple.

    13 min
  2. The Inner Work Nobody Talks About

    May 23

    The Inner Work Nobody Talks About

    The Inner Work Nobody Talks About In this episode with Rashmir Balasubramaniam of https://rashmir.net/ we discuss what it actually takes to move from where most leaders are operating right now toward something genuinely different. And why the answer is not a strategy, a method, or a roadmap. Rashmir introduces a parallel framework for understanding how we relate to the world, from feeling like a victim of circumstances all the way through to allowing life to flow through us. And she makes the case that the inner work of leadership is not a detour from the work of change. It IS the work. The key highlights are: A four-level framework for how we relate to the world — from the world happening to us, through for us, as us, and ultimately through us — and why most leaders are operating far below their actual capacity Why you can only meet people where they are and how working with the potential someone can already see, rather than the potential you can see for them, is what makes change sustainable Why global development work has lost the development piece and what it costs us when we focus so relentlessly on outcomes that we stop developing the people inside the systems we're trying to shift Links and notes for show: Peter Sage  Carol Sanford Ready to benchmark your leadership impact? Take this 5-minute Stewardship Quiz and get a personalized report showing exactly where you rank - plus actionable strategies to elevate your performance. The 5Cs Podcast connects forward-thinking executives who are building sustainable competitive advantages while driving positive impact. Think of it as an exclusive network of leaders who understand that stewardship isn't just good ethics - it's good business. Connect with Charlene Norman on LinkedIn, find her at her website, subscribe to our Substack for strategic insights, or download the full series on Spotify and Apple.

    14 min
  3. From Stewardship to Co-Creation

    May 16

    From Stewardship to Co-Creation

    From Stewardship to Co-Creation In this episode with Rashmir Balasubramaniam of https://rashmir.net/ we discuss what it actually means to move from a force-based to a flow-based way of leading — and why that shift matters more right now than any strategy, tool, or methodology. Rashmir introduces the distinction between stewardship and co-creation, unpacks two very different schools of thought on flow, and offers a four-level energy framework that maps the journey from functioning on automatic to operating at the level of genuine creativity. The key highlights are: Why the dominant model of leadership — forceful, linear, outcome-driven — has served its purpose but is no longer sufficient for what the world is asking of us now The difference between performance-based flow (optimising for output) and a more feminine, receptive flow that asks what wants to happen here rather than making it happen Four levels of energy — vital, automatic, conscious, and creative — and why moving from automatic toward creative is the central leadership challenge of our time Links and notes  John Bennett framework (four energy levels) — The Dramatic Universe Carol Sanford — Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi — flow psychology reference Steven Kotler — flow performance science Ready to benchmark your leadership impact? Take this 5-minute Stewardship Quiz and get a personalized report showing exactly where you rank - plus actionable strategies to elevate your performance. The 5Cs Podcast connects forward-thinking executives who are building sustainable competitive advantages while driving positive impact. Think of it as an exclusive network of leaders who understand that stewardship isn't just good ethics - it's good business. Connect with Charlene Norman on LinkedIn, find her at her website, subscribe to our Substack for strategic insights, or download the full series on Spotify and Apple.

    14 min

About

Healing the globe can take many different paths. Imagine if most businesses took the lead in healing the planet and helping the people. Imagine the profit; imagine the impact. Imagine if it worked beyond our wildest dreams! Practical insights, provocative points of view. Simultaneously inspiring and educational. Join Charlene Norman every Saturday at 6 a.m. EST for this 2.1 version of Exploring Compassionate Capitalism.