by Annette Franz | May 6, 2026 | business outcomes, core values, culture, employee experience, golden thread, leadership, outcome tracing, outcomes, Uncategorized, workplace
“Fix the culture, fix the outcomes.” I say this often (and I’ve written about it before). It’s even my signature line when I do Built to Win: Designing a Customer-Centric Culture That Drives Value for Your Business book signings. Occasionally someone...
by Annette Franz | Dec 3, 2025 | collaboration, culture change, frontline employees, leadership, management, Uncategorized, workplace
In 1989, Sidney Yoshida introduced a concept that still hits hard today: the Iceberg of Ignorance. According to his research at a Japanese car manufacturer: frontline employees are aware of 100% of the problems in an organization but only 74% (of the problems) are...
by Annette Franz | Nov 26, 2025 | culture, employee experience, leadership, people-centric, Uncategorized, workplace
Stress in the workplace is inevitable. Burnout is not. Yet far too many companies don’t take stress seriously until it shows up in the form of disengaged employees, poor performance, or regrettable turnover. By then, the damage is done – and it’s costly. If your goal...
by Annette Franz | Oct 22, 2025 | culture, culture change, employee experience, leadership, strategy, Uncategorized, workplace
Culture isn’t what’s written on your walls or printed in your employee handbook. It’s the unwritten rules, the behaviors you tolerate, and the silent agreements that shape every decision, interaction, and result. It’s not “soft stuff,” and it’s not fluffy, as...
by Annette Franz | Aug 13, 2025 | culture, customer experience, employee experience, leadership, Uncategorized, workplace
There’s a lot of noise around psychological safety in today’s business discussions. Some dismiss it as HR fluff or simply as a buzzword. Others misinterpret it as coddling employees or eliminating discomfort. But here’s the truth: psychological safety isn’t a...
by Annette Franz | Aug 6, 2025 | core values, culture, customer-centric culture, employee experience, leadership, metrics, Uncategorized, workplace
For too long, “culture” has been (and continues to be) dismissed as a soft concept, i.e., something nice to have, a feel-good initiative, or an HR responsibility with no direct bearing on the bottom line. That’s a mistake. A costly one. Here’s the reality: culture is...
