Knowing Your People as People and Building Diverse Teams E16
This was such a great show, with two wonderful guests, to round out the first year of the Culture Crush Business Podcast. This first year has been a blast and we have plans to grow even more this year.
It was so great to have Darren Thompson from DiverseCity and Brian Mohr with anthym on the show this month. We are thankful for their honesty and openness to discuss the real things that really grow company culture.
The show also reached some very honest and real discussions surrounding company culture when it comes to diversity and inclusion and supporting your people as real people with feelings. This show was also lighthearted and fun, with momma Maples (Kindra’s mom Connie) in the studio as well.
Company culture is deeper than just the values on the wall that people align with though. It is important to understand the others that you are working with as more than just what their job is. Who are they? We spend the majority of our days with the people that we work with, so why not understand them on a deeper level. It is also extremely important to understand the importance of diverse teams and making sure that everyone truly feels included and accepted.
Once your company has been able to include diverse teammates and see them as people with feelings, then they can grow the culture of the company even further.
There were so many great tidbits in this show, that people will definitely want to take a listen.
- Leaders get the teams they deserve
- Culture is the way and how things get done
- People simply want to be
- Once you have the taste of a company with a good culture you just can’t go back.
If you are a company that is trying to take your company culture to the next level, then you need to listen to the show. This podcast is for all leaders. Brian and Darren give examples, tips, and reasoning for the ways that they are helping to grow company culture. Both gentlemen are supporting companies in their journeys to grow company culture.
DiverseCity is a mobile technology designed to help engage and sustain DEI initiatives.
Darren Thompson is VP of Marketing at DiverseCity, a technology platform dedicated to supporting and managing diversity, equity and inclusion education. In addition, he is also the Founder of POKR, a Digital Business Development and Marketing Firm. 
Darren attended undergraduate studies at The University of Arizona, and launched his career in education. He eventually branched out into Sales & Business Development Consulting and now has a diverse client base to include his favorite: Start-ups.
Today, Darren is devoted to building his own tech-based start up and currently resides in sunny Phoenix, Arizona near his identical twin brother. He is an avid traveler, musician, chess player and remains committed to working with young entrepreneurs to help them achieve their goals.
Follow DiverseCity on LinkedIn.
Thriving organizations recognize that their level of future success will be a direct result of a highly connected and engaged team working together to create value and impact for those they serve. Connection and engagement can’t be dictated or mandated, and it doesn’t happen by accident; it’s the result of a deliberate focus on fostering a deep sense of belonging, inclusion, and trust within the culture.
The anthym experience harnesses the power of personal storytelling to knock down artificial walls and shine a bright light on the depth and breadth of authentic human connection that exists within every team. By leveraging the universal accessibility and time machine-like power of music, anthym sparks a new level of curiosity and opens the door for a heightened level of conversation leading to unparalleled levels of connection and trust.
anthym is the leading team building technology platform for remote, distributed, and hybrid teams.
Brian Mohr’s career is a learning-based journey with an intense focus on people, purpose, values, culture, and leadership. Brian has had amazing entrepreneurial and leadership experiences at Jobing.com, P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Y Scouts and Conscious Capitalism Arizona. Today, Brian is channeling his experiences and energy into helping organizations build cohesive teams in the rapidly accelerating distributed workplace through his new company, Anthym.
Brian is on the national Board of Directors of Conscious Capitalism, Inc., he is a Board member and President Emeritus of the Arizona Chapter of Conscious Capitalism, a member of the Board of Directors of the Better Business Bureau of the Pacific Southwest, a TEDx speaker, and the co-author of “Hiring on Purpose – How the Y Scouts Method is Revolutionizing the Search for Leaders”.
Brian’s most important and cherished responsibilities are being the lucky father to his 2 daughters, Taylor and Riley, and the proud husband to his wife, Jackie. In his spare time, you’ll find Brian practicing guitar and catching a live music concert every chance he can get.
Connect with Brian on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
About Culture Crush
Culture Crush is officially relaunched! We are thankful to Debra Caron who launched and hosted the show originally. Culture Crush is back with a new host but the same focus- highlighting what makes a great company culture and how it affects the overall success of a company.
Culture is not just a tag word to be thrown around. It is not something you throw in job descriptions to draw people to applying for jobs within a company.
According to Marcus Buckingham and Ashely Goodall in their book Nine Lies About Work, “Culture is the tenants of how we behave. It’s like a family creed. This is how we operate and treat each other in the family.”
On this long form podcast we will highlight companies local to Arizona and beyond that are crushing it with great culture!
We will talk with company leaders to learn about real-life experiences, tips, and best practices for creating a healthy work environment where employees are finding joy and satisfaction in their work while also striving and growing within the company.
About the Host
Kindra Maples is your new host taking the lead on the relaunch of Culture Crush! She is spartan racer, past animal trainer, previous magician’s assistant, and has a weakness for Oreo cookie shakes. Her journey working with people actually started working with animals as a teenager (don’t worry we won’t go that far back for her bio).
She worked for over 15 years in the zoo industry working with animals and the public. Her passion of working with animals shifted into working with people in education, operations and leadership roles. From there her passion of leadership and helping people develop has continued to grow.
Then came the opportunity for relaunching the Culture Crush Podcast and she jumped on it. Leadership, growth, and strong company cultures are all areas that Kindra is interested in diving into further.
Shout Outs
We want to thank a few people for their behind the scenes effort in helping this relaunch to come to life. James Johnson with Tailored Penguin Media Company LLC.– It is a small, but powerful video production company with a goal to deliver the very best by articulating the vision of your brand in a visually creative way. Gordon Murray with Flash PhotoVideo, LLC. -Flash Gordon has been photographing since high school and evolving since then with new products that will equip, encourage, engage, and enable. Renee Blundon with Renee Blundon Design – She is not only one of the best free divers (that’s not how she helped with the podcast) but she is great with graphics design and taking the direction for the vision that you have while also adding creative ideas to bring to your vision to life.
These are just a few of the folks that supported the relaunch of the podcast. If you would like to be part of the Culture Crush team or would like to support underwriting the show- please reach out: culturecrushpodcast@gmail.com
