Culture Talks

Lorne Rubis
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  • Business
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Culture Talks, hosted by Lorne Rubis, dives into the world of emerging companies that are passionately dedicated not merely to chasing success, but to making a lasting impact. Explore the innovative ways next-gen leaders connect people and transform their visions into reality through candid conversations with visionary CEOs, founders, mentors and more. Each episode delves into the unique challenges faced by these trailblazers as they scale their businesses, focusing on the transformative cultures they are striving to cultivate.

  1. 5d ago

    How Do You Hire (or Get Hired) When AI Writes and Screens Every Resume?

    A candidate aced every interview. Then someone else showed up on day one. Lorne Rubis and Dave McCauley dig into a hiring process that feels soulless on both sides: AI screens the resumes, AI sends the resumes, and a New York Times piece describes Gen Z job seekers feeling like they’re staring into the void. Their fixes: build real relationships instead of mass-applying, hire for values and growth, and try a job posting that asks “how could you help us?” Plus Lorne’s book news and why he put his mistakes in it. 00:00 Intro00:33 Lorne’s book is on the way (Berrett-Koehler)02:43 Walking out of a Fortune 50 office: the lessons of an imperfect leader05:42 Picking the book’s title: “Great, Not Perfect” vs. “Front Porch Wisdom”11:13 The publisher’s brutal feedback: stories beat frameworks15:19 The New York Times on Gen Z job hunting: “staring into the void”18:10 The candidate who sent a stand-in20:29 AI vs. AI: the cat-and-mouse game of resumes24:25 What would a more human hiring process look like?26:46 Hiring for values and hidden potential31:15 What employers and applicants can each do now34:48 Lorne’s door-knocking story40:44 Advice for new grads: eye contact and relationships over resumes45:09 Ask for help: flipping the job posting47:37 Wrap-up “How do I hire people when every resume is AI-generated?” “I’ve applied to hundreds of jobs and heard nothing. What should I do differently?”“How can employers make hiring more human?”“My hiring process feels broken. How do I fix it?”

    How Do You Hire (or Get Hired) When AI Writes and Screens Every Resume?

  2. Oct 28

    Can You Grow Without Layoffs? A Company That’s Done It for 50 Years

    How does a 1,300-person manufacturer grow 18% a year and never lay anyone off? Lorne Rubis and Dave McCauley dig into the Gund story from the Wall Street Journal: leaders who own culture, financials on the walls, and people developed for the long haul. Then they weigh it against the Microsoft buyout news. Is a buyout more responsible than a layoff, or just a nicer-sounding one? Plus: a 9.34 on the Culture Pizza Review. 00:00 Canadiana shirts & robot-assisted surgery02:08 The Gund story: a family business that doesn’t lay people off03:47 18% growth and zero layoffs in 50 years06:27 Lead culture from the top, not as a “nice to have”07:17 Red cards & Gemba walks: the tools behind it08:13 Why financial transparency builds trust10:40 “Why not just create great places to work?”11:44 Squishy and soft? The compound interest of investing in people13:04 Culture Pizza Review: Gund scores 9.3415:03 The Microsoft buyout news: smarter than a layoff?23:20 “They haven’t earned the trust”24:40 What do we really stand for? When leaders’ values show26:35 The war between connection and disconnection34:53 Quarterly thinking vs. generational thinking38:39 Wrap-up: can we get more companies like Gund?

    Can You Grow Without Layoffs? A Company That’s Done It for 50 Years

  3. Oct 21

    How to Beat the Sunday Scaries: What Leaders Can Do About Work Dread

    Why does Sunday night feel like Monday has already started? Lorne Rubis and Dave McCauley unpack the Sunday Scaries, which a recent Wall Street Journal piece says are on the rise, and what leaders can actually do about them. They cover removing uncertainty (especially in the age of AI), boundaries that protect weekends, Monday rituals that build momentum instead of dread, and the courage to ask for help. 00:00 Idaho snow & visiting a 96-year-old mom01:53 The Wall Street Journal on the Sunday Scaries02:12 What are the Sunday Scaries, really?05:05 What can a boss do? Start with your own Sunday08:23 Dave's rules: no weekend messages, no early Monday meetings11:55 What if Sunday felt like excitement instead of dread?14:05 The Thanksgiving table question: "Will you have a job?"20:36 Monday rituals: wins, honest check-ins and pet photos24:31 What would a 96-year-old say to the Sunday Scaries?26:55 Saturday scaries & being "present" with the phone in hand29:59 Agency: how we choose the rabbit hole31:30 Do founders and farmers get Sunday scaries?33:02 What to do if you've got them: ask for help37:23 Wrap-up

    How to Beat the Sunday Scaries: What Leaders Can Do About Work Dread

  4. Oct 14

    What Is "Loud Working"? And How Do You Build Real Fun at Work?

    Is "loud working" just sucking up to your boss with better branding? Lorne Rubis and Dave McCauley break down the performative-productivity trend, then get into the real question underneath it: how do leaders build fun at work without making it forced? Rock-paper-scissors championships at Harvard, a fake "I just need a hug" page to a hardcore Navy captain, a leg-wrestling showdown, and Southwest, WestJet and Pixar in the Culture Pizza Review. 00:00 Robot shoulder surgery & fire cupping01:47 Why fun at work matters03:03 What is "loud working"?09:03 Why people are so uptight at work right now12:59 Connect Before Content: having fun together18:18 Rock-paper-scissors at Harvard & April Fool's pranks23:44 The "I just need a hug" page: a leadership prank26:35 Recognition: not everyone wants the spotlight (and the AI memes that cracked the shell)30:02 Why a little levity makes the hard work lighter32:19 The leg-wrestling CEO34:31 Karaoke, a bowling score of 22 & being vulnerable enough to be teased37:06 Culture Pizza Review: Southwest, WestJet & Pixar39:27 Wrap-up

    What Is "Loud Working"? And How Do You Build Real Fun at Work?

  5. Oct 7

    Culture Talks - What Does Courageous Leadership Actually Look Like?

    What separates a leader who's just "busy" from one who actually delivers? After absorbing lessons from Truth and Reconciliation Day, Lorne Rubis and Dave McCauley unpack courage as the real engine of accountability. This means admitting mistakes matters more than admitting fault, how a dirty Kleenex in a hallway became a leadership lesson, and why Delta Airlines and Hilton Hotels both earn high marks in this week's Culture Pizza Review for balancing results with process. 00:00 Intro & Halloween stories 03:49 What does courage actually look like in leaders? Truth & Reconciliation appreciation. 11:06 The self-accountability test: the coffee cup & the Kleenex story 15:51 Connect Before Content: the Zulu greeting ritual 35:24 Culture Pizza Review: Delta Airlines & Hilton Hotels 40:01 Wrap-up: Courage is the balance between results and humanity

    Culture Talks - What Does Courageous Leadership Actually Look Like?

  6. Sep 23

    Culture Talks - Win-at-All-Costs Leadership: Why "Everything's Green" Reports Are Lying to You

    A viral Hyrox moment becomes an uncomfortably accurate metaphor for leaders who chase wins and leave everyone else to clean up the mess. Lorne Rubis and David McCauley dig into what "winning" is really costing people, give FanDuel a brutal Culture Pizza Review over AI-driven predatory marketing, and unpack why so many organizations report "all green" while the actual experience — for citizens, customers, employees — is anything but. 00:00 Intro & the last day of summer03:33 The Hyrox story & the "win at all costs" metaphor07:16 What is winning really costing us?18:02 Culture Pizza Review: FanDuel & predatory marketing30:49 Why "everything's green" reports are lying to you43:06 Duty of care in Canada and the U.S. 44:14 Wrap-up

  7. Sep 16

    Culture Talks - Judgment Is the New Edge: AI, Curation & Connection

    AI can generate the ideas. Humans still have to choose the right one. Lorne Rubis and David McCauley talk judgment as the last real skill, why "using AI hard" should mean more human connection - not less - and a few Fenway Park stories along the way. 00:00 Fenway Park trip & Red Sox culture07:52 Culture Pizza Review: rating the Red Sox13:56 Middle management burnout — curators of time, not more meetings23:04 Adam Grant: why judgment is becoming the most valuable skill28:41 Why "Connect Before Content" still wins34:14 AI as companion — and why it needs to be "an end," not the end39:17 Wrap-up

    Culture Talks - Judgment Is the New Edge: AI, Curation & Connection

  8. Sep 2

    Culture Talks: Kind vs. Nice: What "The Bear" Teaches About Leadership + The Real 2026 Workplace Anxiety Data

    On this episode of Culture Talks, Lorne Rubis and Dave McCauley explore why doing hard things builds capability that comfort never can — and unpack a critical distinction for leaders: the difference between being nice and being kind. Niceness protects your own comfort. Kindness means having the harder conversation because you actually care about someone's growth. They apply the lesson to FX's "The Bear," breaking down how a Michelin-star-chasing kitchen full of friction and dysfunction still holds real leadership lessons — including what happens when non-negotiable values get weaponized instead of lived. Then Lorne and Dave dig into hard data on what's actually worrying people across every level of the org chart in 2026: CEOs (economic uncertainty, unproven AI ROI, cybersecurity), middle managers (rising stress, shrinking headcount, expanding spans of control with no real change in expectations), and frontline workers (confidence in finding a good job down from 70% to 28% since 2022, and rising fear of AI-driven layoffs). Lorne closes with his case for building a genuine "uncertainty practice" and making a personal equity promise to your people. Topics covered: 00:00 Intro and F1/track and field talk 05:30 Why doing hard things builds real capability 08:00 Kind vs. nice: the key distinction 11:00 The Bear as a leadership case study 16:00 Healthy friction vs. organizational dysfunction 21:30 2026 data: CEOs' top three concerns 26:30 Mid-managers: stress, span overload, and de-layering 34:00 Frontline workers: stuck, not quitting, checking out 35:30 Building an "uncertainty practice" 36:00 The personal equity promise Culture Talks is a podcast exploring organizational culture and leadership, hosted by Lorne Rubis and Dave McCauley. 🔔 Subscribe for new episodes🌐 More at lornerubis.com

    Culture Talks: Kind vs. Nice: What "The Bear" Teaches About Leadership + The Real 2026 Workplace Anxiety Data
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About

Culture Talks, hosted by Lorne Rubis, dives into the world of emerging companies that are passionately dedicated not merely to chasing success, but to making a lasting impact. Explore the innovative ways next-gen leaders connect people and transform their visions into reality through candid conversations with visionary CEOs, founders, mentors and more. Each episode delves into the unique challenges faced by these trailblazers as they scale their businesses, focusing on the transformative cultures they are striving to cultivate.

Information

  • Creator
    Lorne Rubis
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    37
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Lorne Rubis
  • Show Website
    Culture Talks