Today’s panel coaches are Andres Zylberberg and Kim Bayer-Augustavo. Andres has over 15 years of experience as a consultant and business growth coach and Kim worked as the Marketing Officer for McDonald’s for over 22 years and now impacts companies as a growth coach, as well.

Our panel will be discussing and sharing their thoughts on some of Verne’s insights and will be highlighting some of the world’s most interesting events for the month of December. They talk about gender equality in the workplace, whether culture fit hurts diversity, and why you should stop saying your company is like a family.

There’s a big shift in culture around the world, not just in the Middle East. However, Saudi Arabia is a prime example showcasing that it’s never too late to make a change and go against what is considered ‘tradition’ with their recent end to gender segregation in restaurants.

When it comes to equality in the workplace, the more equal the culture, the more likely they are to innovate and create something amazing. Cultures that have a balance of both genders were not afraid to fail in the pursuit of innovation.

There is often a disconnect between what we want the company to be versus what it actually is from a culture perspective. Andres highlights an example where if you’re not happy with the culture of the company, it starts with you first. A CEO commented to him that his culture began to change the moment he stopped wearing a suit to work. People within the organization realized very quickly that it was okay to change!

Ben Horowitz is out with a new book, What You Do Is Who You Are: How to Create Your Business Culture. In it, he discusses that strong cultures include a ‘shocking rule.’ Kim really likes this idea and will be working with clients going forward on incorporating more of this into a company’s culture. A shocking rule captures people’s attention and helps them think outside of the box.

Denise Lee Yoh makes the case to not talk about your company like they are your family. Bill once had ‘we’re like a family’ in his company values and he had to retire it because he realized that when you fire the employee, you’re not inviting them to Thanksgiving dinner.

Kim agrees. When she worked with McDonald’s, they used to call themselves a McFamily. However, the culture has changed dramatically since its inception and the prior CEO, Steve Easterbrook, said that family doesn’t apply anymore because they are a business.

Andres worked with a client where the family concept was no longer applicable in their business as well. Instead of tying a family connection into the company, they shifted focus and developed a growth mindset instead. They asked everyone, ‘What do you want to get out of this company?’ Andres feels this is a much better approach than trying to build a family connection in a company. It’s a give-and-take approach and it sets the right expectations for everyone.

Interview Links:

Andreszylberberg .com

Augustavointernational .com

Accenture

182: Scaling Up Insights — Coach Panel with Andres Zylberberg and Kim Bayer-Augustavo

Scaling Up Business with Bill Gallagher