Culture Matters – Details, episodes & analysis

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Culture Matters

Subbu Kalpathi

Business

Frequency: 1 episode/25d. Total Eps: 49

Learning, Leadership and Organizational Development expert Subbu Kalpathi talks with leading academics, researchers, authors, corporate leaders, consultants and subject matter experts on the topic of organizational culture. From harnessing the science of happiness at work to innovations such as the 4-day workweek, Culture Matters will challenge the way you think about your people strategy for the new world of work.

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Data updated on 20/07/2026

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Architecting People Powered Startups with Saurabh Nigam

Wednesday, July 15, 2026 • Duration 40:56

Saurabh Nigam is a seasoned HR leader, entrepreneur, and author of People Powered Startups. Over the last two decades, he has helped build and scale people functions across some of India's most prominent startups and high-growth organizations, including Snapdeal and Beroe. Today, through his advisory work, he partners with founders and leadership teams to build organizations where people and business can grow together.

In this episode, Saurabh joins Subbu to explore what it really takes to build people-powered organizations, why culture is far more than perks and policies, and how HR can become a genuine strategic partner in scaling businesses.

We explore:

Saurabh's journey from software engineer to HR leader, and the mentors who shaped his thinking
What working alongside founders at high-growth startups taught him about ambition, experimentation, and building at speed
Why startups don't need more HR processes—they need better organizational design
The strategic role of HR in helping businesses scale sustainably rather than simply adding more people
Why culture is best understood as "the way we work together" rather than office perks or employee benefits
How leaders can intentionally shape culture by defining what's okay—and what's not okay—as organizations grow
Why purpose is the foundation of every successful team, and how founders can rally people around a shared mission
How HR leaders can demonstrate business impact by connecting people initiatives to customer outcomes, innovation, and business performance
Lessons from People Powered Startups on building organizations where great ideas are matched by great people practices
Why India's founders are among the country's greatest enablers—and what it takes to build companies that last

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Decoding the science of longevity with Dr. Marcus Ranney

Thursday, July 2, 2026 • Duration 34:17

Dr. Marcus Ranney is a physician, entrepreneur, explorer, and founder of Human Edge, a longevity science company focused on helping individuals and organizations improve health, energy, and performance. He is the author of At the Human Edge and Good Stress, Bad Stress, and has led scientific expeditions to some of the world's most extreme environments, including Mount Everest.

In this episode, Marcus joins Subbu to explore what it really takes to live longer, healthier, and more energetic lives, and why many of the biggest breakthroughs in longevity have less to do with hacks and more to do with everyday habits.

We explore:

How Marcus's Mount Everest expedition shaped his views on leadership, risk, and resilience
Why the journey matters more than the summit, both in the mountains and in life
The fascinating role of mitochondria in energy, performance, and healthy aging
What longevity science actually tells us—and the myths we should stop believing
Why exercise remains the single most powerful intervention for living a longer, healthier life
The difference between good stress and bad stress, and why stress isn't always the enemy
Practical ways to build healthy stress into everyday life through movement, recovery, and lifestyle choices
How Human Edge helps individuals and organizations improve health through a data-driven, lifestyle-first approach
Why organizations are beginning to see employee energy and health as strategic business priorities
Simple daily habits that can improve health without making life more complicated

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When meetings become acts of sabotage with Rebecca Hinds

Tuesday, June 9, 2026 • Duration 50:03

Rebecca Hinds is Head of the Work AI Institute at Glean, a researcher of organizational behavior and collaboration, and the author of the bestselling book Your Best Meeting Ever. Over the course of her career, Rebecca has studied how people work together, how teams make decisions, and how technology shapes collaboration.

In this episode, Rebecca joins Subbu to discuss why meetings have become one of the biggest sources of frustration in modern organizations and what leaders can do about it.

We explore:

Why a World War II-era sabotage manual bears an uncomfortable resemblance to many modern meetings
The concept of "meeting debt" and how calendars become overloaded over time
Why equal airtime is one of the strongest predictors of team performance
How power, status, and hierarchy influence who speaks and who stays silent
Why fewer meeting participants often lead to better outcomes
The hidden costs of pre-meetings and meeting overload
The debate around cameras on versus cameras off in virtual meetings
What research tells us about Zoom fatigue and the unequal burden it places on different groups
How AI can improve meetings, and the ways in which it can inadvertently make them worse
Why successful AI adoption is ultimately a human and organizational challenge, not just a technological one

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Why Employee Engagement is Falling with Jim Harter

Tuesday, May 26, 2026 • Duration 43:51

Jim Harter is Chief Scientist for Workplace Management and Wellbeing at Gallup and one of the world’s leading researchers on employee engagement, wellbeing, and organizational performance.

For decades, Jim has studied how people experience work—what helps them thrive, what drives performance, and why some organizations consistently create stronger cultures than others. His work has shaped global conversations around engagement, strengths, leadership, and the future of management, and the annual State of the Global Workplace report has become one of the most widely referenced studies on the modern workplace.

In this episode, Jim returns to Culture Matters to unpack the findings from the 2026 report and what they reveal about the current state of work globally.

We explore:

Why employee engagement has now declined for the second consecutive year
The growing pressure and emotional burden managers and leaders are carrying
What organizations with highly engaged managers are doing differently
Why AI adoption is ultimately a management and leadership challenge
The tension between productivity gains and rising fear around AI-driven job loss
How leadership and management roles may need to fundamentally evolve
The relationship between engagement, wellbeing, burnout, and performance
And why this moment may represent a genuine inflection point in the future of work

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The legacy of Chanakya and Sun Tzu with R Gopalakrishnan and Nirmala Isaac

Tuesday, May 5, 2026 • Duration 28:31

R. Gopalakrishnan (Gopal) is one of India’s most respected business leaders, having held senior roles at Unilever and the Tata Group. Over the years, he has also become a thoughtful voice on leadership, learning, and life through his writing and speaking. Nirmala Isaac is a doctoral scholar whose work spans organizational behavior, leadership, and sustainability, with a deep interest in trust and institutional dynamics.

In this episode, Gopal, Nirmala, and Subbu explore the deep and fascinating relationship between India and China through the lens of history, culture, and exchange. Drawing from their book, the guests bring together the ideas of Chanakya and Sun Tzu to uncover how civilizations evolve, interact, and learn from one another over time.

We cover:

The origin story behind the book and the collaboration
The idea of “travel, trade, and thought” as the foundations of civilizational exchange
How business offers a unique, practical lens to build relationships across borders
The similarities and differences between Chanakya and Sun Tzu
What ancient dynasties like the Mauryas and the Han can teach us about leadership and stability
Stories of cultural exchange that still echo today, from language to rituals
Why relationships, whether between people or nations, evolve by focusing on shared interests
And what modern leaders can learn from history about navigating complexity and difference

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The Leader As Facilitator with Vinay Kumar

Wednesday, April 22, 2026 • Duration 26:36

Vinay Kumar is a leadership facilitator and organizational development expert who has spent close to two decades helping leaders and organizations navigate complex conversations, build alignment, and strengthen culture. He’s the Founder Director of C2C OD and has been the global chair of the International Association of Facilitators (IAF).

In this episode, Vinay and Subbu explore facilitation not just as a skill, but as a fundamental shift in how leadership shows up today. In a world where knowledge is abundant and easily accessible, the role of the leader is evolving, from being the one with answers to the one who creates the conditions for better answers to emerge.

We cover:

What facilitation really means and why it’s often misunderstood
Why facilitation is becoming an essential leadership capability
How leaders can move from giving answers to asking better questions
The role of facilitation in building alignment and driving cultural change
Why culture is the “spine” of an organization and what happens when it’s unstable
Common mistakes facilitators and leaders make when working with groups
The importance of creating spaces where all voices are heard
And why leadership, ultimately, is a practice, not a theory, and never a finished product

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Uncovering the Rookie Playbook with Pawan Kumar Marella

Wednesday, April 8, 2026 • Duration 45:00

Pawan Kumar Marella is a global business leader whose career spans sales, marketing, strategy, and general management across India, Africa, and the UK. From starting out in sales at Unilever—despite training in engineering and finance—to setting up business operations in Ethiopia and later working in corporate strategy in London, Pawan’s journey reflects both range and reinvention.

He is also the author of Dear Rookie, Don’t Panic—a candid, practical guide to navigating the realities of corporate life. Drawing from two decades of experience, the book distills what most professionals learn the hard way: how to deal with uncertainty, manage relationships, build credibility, and grow through setbacks.

In this episode, Pawan and Subbu explore the often-unspoken side of early careers—the panic, the pressure, and the steep shift from campus to corporate life. They unpack what it really takes to succeed at work: skill, but adaptability, self-awareness, and the ability to work effectively with others.

We cover:

Why the transition from competition to collaboration is harder than most expect
The four non-negotiables for long-term success: health, integrity, trust, and showing up
What personal branding really means—and why it’s more than self-promotion
How to navigate teams, conflict, and corporate culture with practical tools
The idea of “trust but verify” and how to build reliability without micromanaging
Why performance is the true currency of corporate life
The importance of visibility and documenting your work in today’s environment
And how the energy you bring—being a radiator or a vacuum cleaner—shapes the culture around you

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Engagement, Well-being and the Future of Work with Jim Harter

Thursday, October 30, 2025 • Duration 47:03

Jim Harter is Chief Scientist of Workplace Management and Well-being at Gallup — one of the world’s most trusted voices in understanding what makes work, and workers, thrive. Over three decades at Gallup, Jim has helped shape how organizations across the globe make sense of engagement, performance, and well-being.

His research has defined the modern science of engagement. From pioneering the first meta-analysis linking engagement to performance outcomes, to co-authoring Wellbeing at Work with Jim Clifton, Jim’s work has influenced leaders, managers, and policymakers in every industry.

In this episode, Jim and Subbu explore the evolving story of how people feel about their work: what drives engagement, why well-being can’t be separated from it, and how today’s hybrid workplaces are testing the limits of both. They unpack Gallup’s latest State of the Global Workplace 2025 report — from the sharp decline in manager engagement to the paradox of remote work, where autonomy rises but connection fades.

We cover:

How Gallup’s decades of research have reshaped our understanding of work
The drop in global engagement and why it matters more than most leaders think
Why managers hold 70% of the variance in engagement and what to do about it
The three habits of great managers
How engagement and well-being intertwine, and why one without the other won’t last
The rise of “the great detachment” and what it says about loyalty and belonging
How AI and hybrid work are redefining the manager’s role
The next frontier in Gallup’s research: strengths utilization and how it drives both performance and prosperity

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Burnout is preventable: Rethinking healthy work with Malissa Clark

Wednesday, September 24, 2025 • Duration 53:04

Professor Malissa Clark is one of the world’s leading scholars on workaholism, burnout, and the science of healthy work. She is Professor and Head of Psychology Department at the University of Georgia, where she also leads the Healthy Work Lab. Her research has redefined how we think about overwork as a multidimensional phenomenon with deep consequences for individuals, families, and organizations.

Prof. Clark is the author of Never Not Working, a book that blends rigorous research with personal insight to challenge the myths of productivity and the culture of “always on.”

In this episode, Malissa and Subbu unpack why workaholism is far more complex than simply clocking long hours, how burnout is preventable, and what both individuals and organizations can do to build healthier ways of working. They also explore the hidden costs of overwork on families, the myths that refuse to die, and the cultural signals that silently enforce “ideal worker” norms.

We cover:

Malissa’s winding career path—from sales and consulting to academia
Why she founded the Healthy Work Lab and what “healthy work” really means
The four dimensions of workaholism: motivational, cognitive, emotional, and behavioral
Why long hours don’t predict productivity—and how overwork can harm teams
The health consequences of chronic overwork—from poor sleep to cardiovascular risk
The ripple effects of workaholism on spouses, children, and workplace culture
Burnout as an organizational problem, not just an individual one—and why it’s preventable
Practical strategies to “kick the habit”: Eisenhower matrix, recovery breaks, and mastery experiences
How organizational norms—like praising late-night availability—shape unhealthy cultures
What leaders can do to reset expectations, model balance, and experiment with change
The promise and challenges of the four-day week movement
Why vulnerability and personal storytelling matter in academic work

Reframing Regret as an Engine for Growth with Daniel Pink

Wednesday, September 3, 2025 • Duration 43:09

Daniel Pink is one of the world’s most influential thinkers on work, behavior, and human motivation. He is the author of seven New York Times bestsellers—including Drive, When, and The Power of Regret—books that have shaped how leaders, educators, and individuals approach purpose, timing, decision-making, and the emotions that drive us.

Across a career that spans law, politics, speechwriting, and two decades of groundbreaking writing, Dan has made complex research in psychology and behavioral science accessible to millions of readers worldwide. His TED talks have been viewed tens of millions of times, and his work continues to influence the way organizations and individuals think about performance, choice, and meaning.

In this episode, Dan and Subbu unpack why regret is not something to suppress but a vital emotion that helps us learn, grow, and make better choices. They also explore how to navigate today’s flood of information, the habits of good decision-making, and the human commonalities revealed by studying regrets from around the world.

We cover:

Dan’s winding career path—from law school and politics to bestselling author
Why he regrets not having mentors early in his career
How he stays current with fast-moving research without drowning in information
The puzzle at the heart of The Power of Regret—why an emotion that feels terrible is so universal
Why “no regrets” culture is misguided, and how to confront regrets productively
The difference between regrets of action and inaction—and why inaction regrets dominate as we age
The four universal categories of regret: foundation, boldness, moral, and connection
What 26,000 submissions to the World Regret Survey reveal about being human
How to deal with regrets through self-compassion, writing, and sense-making
The regret optimization framework, and how to apply it to the decisions that matter most
Why kindness and pro-social behavior should become our “default setting”

Culture Matters – Details, episodes & analysis

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Culture Matters – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

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Apple Podcasts

Spotify

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