Dr. Gustavo Grodnitzky is a speaker, consultant, psychologist, and author whose diverse background brings a unique and multidimensional perspective to his global clients.
After obtaining his Ph.D. in clinical and school psychology, he completed post-docs in both cognitive therapy and forensic psychology. He has previously run an inpatient drug rehabilitation unit in a correctional institution and an outpatient mental health center.
Since the year 2000, Dr. Grodnitzky has focused on engagements with corporate clients, and he has worked with Global 1000 companies around the world, as well as with smaller, often family run, businesses. As a professional speaker and consultant, he has delivered more than 1,000 presentations on a variety of topics, including corporate culture, emotional intelligence, building trust in organizations, and integrating multigenerational workforces.
Dr. Grodnitzky’s recent book, Culture Trumps Everything: The Unexpected Truth about the Ways Environment Changes Biology, Psychology, and Behavior, investigates the powerful ways how organizational culture impacts the creation of “quintessence” in organizations. It is this quintessence – or lack thereof – that ultimately determines the success and sustainability of organizations. If we want to ensure the best possible outcomes for ourselves and our organizations, we must focus on developing an organizational culture that fosters quintessence, and leads to success for all stakeholders, because…culture trumps everything.
When not traveling to see clients or give presentations, Dr. Grodnitzky lives in the mountains west of Denver, Colorado with his wife and his Black Lab.
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Show Notes:
- Gustavo grew up on the East Coast.
- He eventually moved to Colorado because he likes hiking and skiing.
- He said he moved so that he could do things he enjoyed more easily.
- Meditation has helped Dr. Grodnitzky be successful.
- He stumbled upon meditation while going through a divorce.
- “What good is my psych degree if I can’t use it on myself.”
- He says that it’s his way to start everyday in the same place.
- Dr. Grodnitzky says that we live our lives in autopilot and that we can only truly reach our potential and live fully when we come out of autopilot.
- Dr. Grodnitky’s book, Culture Trumps Everything, deals with culture in the workplace.
- When you look across industries there is a large diversity in what businesses do, but if you look at successful companies, they have very similar cultures.
- There are several ways to get culture wrong, but only a handful of ways to get it right.
- Culture changes us through epigenetics.
- Culture is made up of:
- Beliefs – The way we see the world.
- Behavioral Rules – The rules that govern our behavior.
- Traditions – Things we do repeatedly.
- Rituals – Things we do repeatedly.
- How does the company treat customers, employees, society, stakeholders, business partners, etc?
- Culture is the one competitive advantage that a company can have that can’t be bought, sold, or stolen.
- When you have a performance based culture, mediocre and low performance employees don’t apply because there is high competition.
- When you empower people, it nips bad behaviors in the bud.
- Culture is self-moderated.
- Leadership sets the parameters, but everyone is involved and helps to maintain and create culture.
- The top two reasons businesses fail are:
- They run out of money.
- They have high turnover.
- Businesses need to be able to adapt or they’ll fail.
- Radical change is temporary. Incremental change is permanent.
- The primary human drives are to connect and to belong. In business:
- Connection is building relationships with all the individuals we impact through our business weather they be inside or outside the company.
- Belonging is about being something bigger than ourselves and working towards some greater good.
- Trust is an important part of any business’s culture
- Trust = Reliability + Openness + Competence + Concern / Risk
- The more risk you ask of someone, the more trust in you they’ll have to have to follow through with what you ask.
- A shared, common language is important for any business culture.
- Lastly, time perspective is an important aspect of culture.
- Most leaders like to think long term, but it’s necessary to give up the security of goals when thinking of innovation. You won’t be sure of the outcome, but that’s okay.
- The Profit Paradox looks at two forms of capitalism.
- Classic Capitalism – The role of the owners and investors is to create a machine of business where you put capital in at the front of the machine and run it through the machine of business to churn out profit which is then passed onto shareholders (the owners and investors).
- Shareholders determine the decisions.
- Social Capitalism – A form of capitalism that has learned to use primary human drives to motivate behavior and performance.
- Also called conscience capitalism or conscience business.
- Social Capitalism balances the needs of stakeholders.
- Stakeholders are all constituents of a business. They are not just the shareholders but also the employees, consumers, and more.
- Social Capitalism ensures that no one stakeholder should be allowed to profit at the expense of another.
- Classic Capitalism – The role of the owners and investors is to create a machine of business where you put capital in at the front of the machine and run it through the machine of business to churn out profit which is then passed onto shareholders (the owners and investors).
- Companies that use social capitalism outperform those that use classical capitalism on their own metrics (returns to investors). They are more profitable.
- If you’re not a leader, you can still create a subculture that is better than the overarching culture.
Gustavo Grodnitzky’s Recharge Round
- Share with us how you believe your mindset affects your life? Mindset is huge. It’s important to have a growth mindset and not a fixed mindset. It’s important to be improving yourself and not always thinking you’re right.
- What do you do daily to bring Energy into your life? Dr. Gustavo meditates and exercises. He has a routine that starts two hours before his first official task of the day, and this routine helps him sustain himself for the rest of the day.
- Share the number one connection that has made the biggest impact on your life? His music teacher in grade school who gave him a string base and put him on a stage in front of people for the first time.
- What advice has Influenced you the most in your life? We are all biologically more than 99.9% identical. Our differences come from differences in experiences and opportunities.
- Recommend a book and share why you love it? Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck
- Define in one sentence or less, what legacy you want to leave on the world? I want to be remembered as someone who tried to bring people together.
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Culture Trumps Everything by Gustavo Grodnitzky
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