Strategies for Tomorrow's Leaders

Making Belief Practical—From Hiring to Customer Experience

Introduction: In Part 2, we get into the how. Matt walks through what belief looks like in action—from hiring people who align with your culture, to defining values in ways people can actually use, to building customer experiences that transform relationships. This is packed with real stories from Apple, Nordstrom, and other brands that got it right, plus Matt's CADET framework that changes how you think about every interaction.

Summary: We tackle the practical side of building belief-driven cultures. Matt shares how to hire for cultural fit and belief (not just skills), and walks through his experience scaling Apple retail from 10,000 to 25,000 employees without losing their DNA. We dig into why values are meaningless without tangible definitions, the power of storytelling in creating shared understanding, and the CADET framework for customer experience. Matt also explains why incentives must align with desired behaviors, using real examples of what happens when they don't.

Key Highlights:

• Apple hired for people who loved the brand and wanted to serve, not for product expertise—then trained them
• Values need tangible definitions: what does "kindness" look like, sound like, feel like in your specific organization?
• The CADET framework: Connect, Assess, Deliver, Exceed, Transform—and why you can't skip steps
• Incentives and behaviors must align, or your culture breaks down (the e-commerce returns example)

Key Takeaways:

• Hire for belief, train for skill. Look for alignment with your mission and values first, then build competence.
• Define your values in observable terms. Don't just say "kindness"—describe what it looks like in action and what it doesn't look like.
• Use storytelling to build culture. Get your team to share transformational experiences, then identify the common threads.
• Deliver flawlessly before trying to exceed. Master the basics (stated needs) before attempting to wow people with extras.
• Remove barriers to desired behaviors. If you want certain actions, make sure your incentive structure supports them, not fights them.

Next Steps for Listeners:

• Pick one of your company values. Can you describe it in specific, observable terms? If not, gather your team and define it together using stories.
• Review your last few hires. Did you prioritize skills or cultural alignment? What would change if belief came first?
• Walk through a customer or employee experience using CADET. Where are you trying to "exceed" before you've "delivered"?

Title: What Happens When Love Enters the Boardroom (Part 2) Guest: Kelly Hall — Author of Love Works: Transforming the Workplace with Purpose and Authenticity

If Part 1 asked us to bring our whole selves to work, Part 2 asks: How?

Kelly Hall returns to share how she learned to lead from love — through crisis, coaching, and experience. A former finance executive turned leadership expert, Kelly discovered that love and high performance aren't opposites — they're fuel for each other.

Together, she and Mike explore the tools that turn emotion into insight, chaos into clarity, and leadership into a relationship worth following.

• Emotional intelligence and the "second thought" that defines mature leadership.

• Why pausing for clarity leads to better decisions than rushing for control.

• The shift from "commander" to "coach" — and what that means in real life.

• How consent-based decision-making builds trust and buy-in.

• The science of love as energy — and why caring deeply drives performance.

• "Your first thought isn't a choice — but your second one is."

• "Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is pause."

• "Love is power, not weakness."

• "When leaders go last, people start to think for themselves."

• "Replace delegation with enrollment — don't assign work, invite ownership."

• Lead last. Listen first.

• Create clarity by slowing down before speeding up.

• Turn reaction into reflection — pause before you decide.

• Empower others to make decisions, not just execute them.

• Redefine ego: use it to serve your people, not control them.

In your next meeting, go last. Let the room breathe. Listen without fixing — and notice what shifts when you trust the process more than the plan.

Title: What Happens When Love Enters the Boardroom (Part 1) Guest: Kelly Hall — Author of Love Works: Transforming the Workplace with Purpose and Authenticity

What happens when a business leader says the word "love" in a boardroom? Kelly Hall found out firsthand.

After two decades leading global teams in industries where performance ruled, Kelly began exploring what happens when we let emotion — empathy, compassion, and yes, love — belong at work.

In Part 1, Kelly and Mike unpack the tension between results and humanity: why we've been trained to separate who we are from what we do, and how reconnecting the two builds teams that trust, engage, and stay.

• Why "love" still feels taboo in corporate culture — and why that's changing.

• Kelly's story of being told to remove the word "love" from a presentation to investors.

• The danger of leaving parts of ourselves at the office door.

• Mike's moment of authenticity: going from "Michael" to "Mike."

• Redefining psychological safety and what it really looks like in action.

• "It's scary to bring your emotions to work — and that's a tragedy."

• "The best leaders put their hand on your back, not their thumb on your head."

• "Safety doesn't mean comfort. It means you can stretch without fear."

• "When leaders show up as their whole selves, it gives everyone else permission to do the same."

• Real leadership is relational, not positional.

• Love is just another word for deep respect and care.

• Authenticity isn't a soft skill — it's a performance advantage.

• Create spaces where people can make mistakes and still belong.

• Growth happens when people feel safe enough to stretch.

Ask yourself: Do people on my team feel safe to tell me the truth — even when it's uncomfortable? This week, lead one conversation from curiosity, not control.

The Foundation of Belief-Driven Leadership

Introduction: What is culture, really? In this conversation, Matt Marcotte—who's led teams at Apple, Salesforce, and Bergdorf Goodman—helps us move past the buzzwords. We talk about why belief is the difference between teams that comply and teams that commit, why uncertainty makes this more critical than ever, and how leaders can stop trying to be the hero and start creating environments where people bring their best.

Summary: Matt introduces his new book Built on Belief and explains why he pivoted from frameworks to focus on the real competitive advantage: belief. We explore how belief transforms into commitment versus compliance, why leaders feel pressure to have all the answers (and why that's wrong), and the importance of clarity around what your organization actually believes. Matt shares the "heart, head, hands" framework and explains why people feel first, think second, then act—and how leaders need to work with that reality, not against it.

Key Highlights:

• Culture comes down to two things: how people act and what they believe
• Belief is the "magic elixir" for fighting uncertainty in today's business environment
• The myth of the hero leader: your success is predicated on your people's success, not on having all the answers
• The "heart, head, hands" framework: humans are wired to feel first, then make sense of it intellectually, then act

Key Takeaways:

• Start by defining what you believe. Most organizations focus on the "how" and "what" but skip the foundational "why."
• Commitment is born from conflict. People need agency, voice, and the ability to challenge ideas to truly buy in.
• Redefine what control means. Great leaders are conductors orchestrating the whole, not soloists playing every instrument.
• Lead with emotion, not intellect. "I have a dream" beats "I have a plan" every time when building commitment.
• Put people in choice. Be clear about your mission so people can authentically opt in—or out.

Next Steps for Listeners:

• Ask yourself: When's the last time I thought about what my organization actually believes?
• Identify one person on your team and practice looking at a challenge through their eyes.
• Think about your last big initiative—did you lead with vision (emotion) or plan (intellect)? How did people respond?

Intro In this episode of Strategies for Tomorrow's Leaders, I sit down with Jean Marie Callahan for a candid conversation about what it really takes to lead in uncertain times. From mindset shifts to practical tools, this episode covers the habits and practices leaders need to build trust, resilience, and engagement.

Summary We start with the personal side of leadership—resilience, authenticity, and presence—before moving into practical strategies leaders can use right away. Jean Marie shares how her own experiences shaped her perspective and why presence matters more than polish. We then dig into trust, communication, and feedback: what works, what doesn't, and how leaders can create environments where people feel steady even when circumstances aren't.

Highlights

• Resilience as adapting forward, not bouncing back

• Why presence and authenticity create stronger trust than "having all the answers"

• How personal stories shape leadership style

• Listening as a leadership superpower

• Consistency between words and actions as the foundation of trust

• Framing feedback as support rather than criticism

• Balancing empathy with accountability in real-world leadership

Key Takeaways & Next Steps

• Show up with honesty, not false certainty

• Practice being present and listening fully

• Build trust by aligning your actions with your words

• Use feedback as a way to grow people, not tear them down

• Apply these practices daily to foster resilient, engaged teams