What if the way we build homes is part of the problem — and the solution — to climate change, affordability, and outdated systems? In this episode, we talk with Chris Anderson, CEO of Vantem, about how his company is reimagining housing from the ground up. Using a modular, factory-built approach and an innovative panel system, Vantem is delivering energy-efficient, cost-effective homes at scale — without the usual trade-offs. It’s a conversation about systems thinking, climate impact, and why rethinking “shelter” could shift everything we live in — literally and figuratively.

What does it really mean for a business to be purpose-led? In this episode, we sit down with Danielle Duell, founder of People With Purpose, to explore how clarity of purpose can transform everything—from strategy and governance to employee engagement and long-term resilience.

In this episode, we delve into the intricate world of systemic design with expert Mieke van der Bijl Brouwer. Systemic design merges systems thinking with design theory to address complex challenges not by dissecting them into smaller parts but by enhancing their interactions. Mieke explains how this approach can transform organizational behaviors and lead to significant societal shifts. From rethinking university systems for better student well-being to using visual tools for collaborative problem-solving, we explore how systemic design fosters deeper understanding and innovation. Join us as we uncover the potential of thinking in systems, revealing how interconnected perspectives can lead to meaningful change.

Join us as we delve into the fascinating world of systems thinking with Michael Lindfield, a visionary with over five decades of international experience. From his early days as a high school dropout to his transformative roles at the Findhorn Community and Boeing, Michael's journey epitomizes a life dedicated to exploring the depths of human potential and societal transformation. Now the Board President at Meditation Mount in Ojai, California, he shares his profound insights into the interconnectedness of self and environment. Tune in to discover how you can engage with the world and yourself more deeply.

Have you ever found yourself in a rut? Do you feel like your creative spark has flickered out? Maybe you're not even sure you even have that spark. In this episode, we engage with two extraordinary minds, Jane Hilberry, Professor of Creativity and Innovation, and Felicia Rose Chavez, Creativity and Innovation Scholar, both at Colorado College. They're here to shed light on the untapped creativity within each of us, even those moments when we might not feel particularly creative.

This story about a granite and gravel company (Luck Stone) pivoting into a values-based leadership and coaching not-for-profit business (Inner Will Leadership Institute) as well as a spin-off of a number of related businesses (Luck Companies) is a story about the power of vision. It’s about why connecting with your values matters and is an example of positive turbulence in action. To make things even better, we were able to talk to Dr. Tom Epperson, who started working at Luck Stone in college as a summer job and grew with the business through the transition to being the President of Inner Will (as well as the author of InnerWill: Developing Better People, Braver Leaders, and a Wiser World through the Practice of Values-Based Leadership) and Greg McCann a consultant, coach, presenter, author and professor and on the board of Inner Will. Don’t miss it.  

From the Center for Medical Simulation in Boston to our periphery, we bring you a conversation with Jenny Rudolph, Executive Director at the Center for Medical Simulation in Boston, Massachusetts. Jenny is a master at team building and leadership and a natural and effective turbulator. Leadership discussions are often focused on individual strengths and skills. Jenny offers us a framework for how individuals combine to create effective teams.

The problem with innovation is that it's handled like a business with masculine energy. It is very fact-based, data-based KPIs performance, speed, or so says Fabienne Jacquet, author of Venus Genius: The Female Prescription. Fabienne offers a solution and a whole lot of positive turbulence by making an important link to the power of feminine traits and how these are key to the front-end of innovation. She's pointing at something that everyone sees, but no one is talking about.

Is your team stuck in a rut? Maybe you're all burnt out after flexing, managing and adjusting through the pandemic. Join John Cimino, founder of Creative Leaps International, as we explore one highly effective way he developed to quickly generate positive turbulence for teams and change cultures using a technique called Concert of Ideas. It's unusual. It's out there. And it works! John's got 30 years of experience doing this and he shares some amazing stories. 

Darryl Stickel, the founder of Trust Unlimited, has cracked the code on building and maintaining trust. He’s the rare academic who not only has a big breakthrough in his field but also has developed a highly practical model. He’s applied this model in war zones, business settings, and families, all with great success. Darryl offers us the gift of learning how to build better and nurture trust. Our conversation with him dives into how vulnerability, uncertainty and context play into creating or inhibiting trust…and offers more than a few solid insights along the way.

Whether you are an entrepreneur or a professional looking to get ahead, you need to figure out how you are going to approach your marketing. There are endless hype-marketing-based services out there with some variation on connect-and-pitch. But what to do if that's not for you? Listen to this episode! Sarah Santacroce and her Gentle Marketing Revolution offer positive turbulence about marketing.

Climate change is a wicked problem. It will take a systems-thinking level solution to tackle it. Kelly Erhart, co-founder of Project Vesta has just the elegant solution we've been waiting for using green sand beaches and enhanced coastal weathering of olivine rock. Talk about turbulence! Kelly is a practical optimist and has a remarkably elegant solution. There's hope here and some big mental shifts to check into.

Language and storytelling have to power to change the world. But finding your voice and the right words to make the impact you want can be challenging. Tramaine Chelan'gat's shares her journey to finding her words. In doing so she found her calling as a Social Impact Strategist. Tramaine is inspired and inspiring, and in telling us her story, in confidently giving us the words to frame who she is and what she does in the world, Tramaine opens the door for all of us to consider our own stories and to reintegrate all of our compartments into a single, beautiful whole. Stay tuned, you’ll be challenged, you’ll be motivated, and you may even find the space for a good laugh.

Most journalists we encounter today ask what went wrong yesterday and who's to blame, or so says David Beers of The Tyee. He, Summers McKay and Kristy Jansen of the Optimist Daily joined Karyn and Rob for a rich and robust exploration of solutions journalism. What is solutions journalism, you may ask? Solutions journalism investigates and reports on potential solutions to our biggest challenges. It’s investigative journalism focusing on how people respond to and solve problems. It is a potential answer to the emotional inflammation that many of us are experiencing today.

Marsha Semmel is a powerhouse in the world of museums, libraries, national cultural policy and program development, philanthropy and the development and implementation of strategic public/private partnerships. Marsha is opening a door to a new way of thinking about museums and museum experiences. In doing so she’s signalling that the cultural changes we are seeing in the world are going to force us to change how we do a lot of things. Through effective partnerships to support, broaden, and evolve our approaches for how we learn, Marsha sees big opportunities for libraries and museums to play in the education space.

Chad Shipmaker's story is a fascinating exploration of the outsized impact remote working can have on innovation and creativity in small towns. This is a positive take on what happens when you apply big idea thinking and practical problem solving to solutions that work in these small-town contexts. And while there may not be the talent pool and big money you get in a Silicon Valley, Chad says connected, authentic community connection provides opportunities you just can't get in these larger places.

Another crack in the system that is being exposed right now is that the Great Person Theory of leadership, which is really the command and control model in a nicer suit, is way too rigid. To be great leaders we need to cultivate our emotional intelligence and ability to flex and be collaborative. Elaine Broe offers us a fresh take sprinkled with humor and humility.

Pete Engstrom is currently the co-founder and board President of At Home Chesapeake, an innovative not-for-profit program for seniors. They want to create a new social covenant on aging so that seniors can age in place. At Home Chesapeake is a member of the Village to Village Network, where Peter is an active board member. Prior to this gig, Pete served in the US air force in intelligence, innovation and international negotiation. He is also a founding leader of AMI. To describe him as a force of nature might be an understatement.

Here we headbang with Mike Moss, Strategy Catalyst for Non-Profits, creator of momentum for positive change, and havy metal enthusiast. There are few professionals who don’t belong to some not-for-profit association in one way or another. You might belong to a more formal one that is a governing body for you, like the Society for Professional Engineers. Or you might be a member and follow a group in your community like Creative Mornings. Whatever your affiliation, these organizations have a big influence on how we work, how we define success, and how our industry will evolve.

Consider what you think you know about aging and retirement. Those words often conjure up ideas of failing health, loneliness, and dependency. But Elizabeth Isele, Founder and CEO at The Global Institute for Experienced Entrepreneurship is here to tell you to its time to shift your perspective. Not only are people who work longer healthier, on the whole, but the so-called Silver Tsunami is also the scaffolding for the change we need in how we work.