The single thing that every organisation should do to fix culture

The single thing that every organisation should do to fix culture

Author: brucedaisley.com November 7, 2023 Duration: 39:58

Professor Frances Frei is the biggest brain in the field of workplace culture and I was delighted to get another opportunity to talk to her.


She explains the one thing that firms should do to fix their cultures (spoiler: train their managers), why she thinks inclusion is a more important element of culture than just diversity.


The previous episode with Frances Frei

Frances and Anne’s podcast Fixable

Frances’ and Anne Morriss’ new book Move Fast and Fix Things

Sign up for the newsletter 


Quotes from the book that I cited: 

“One way to build cynicism quickly in an organisation, something we see all the time, by the way - is to ask people for their input and then do very little with the information they give you (and take a long time to even do that)’


Robert McDonald, former CEO of P&G “Organisations are perfectly designed to get the results they get… if you don’t like the results you need to change the design”. 


We're often asked for a summary of how to build a workplace where everyone feels welcome. Our short answer is to recruit great people you don't already know, give them interesting work to do, and invest in them as if your company's future depends on it. If they deserve a promotion, give it to them in a timely man-ner. Don't make them wait. Don't make them go to a competitor to get the role, title, and decision rights they already earned on your watch. And in the name of all that is right and just in the world, pay them fairly and equitably for the work they do.”


Sign up to the Make Work Better newsletter or check out the best ever episodes at the website.

Eat Sleep Work Repeat is made and hosted by Bruce Daisley.


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.


There’s a conversation happening about how our jobs shape us, and Eat Sleep Work Repeat sits right at the heart of it. Host Bruce Daisley approaches workplace culture not with prescriptive advice, but with genuine curiosity, digging into the science and social dynamics behind why we work the way we do. Each episode feels like a thoughtful exploration, blending research from management, psychology, and sociology with real-world stories. You’ll hear discussions that challenge conventional wisdom about productivity, teamwork, and wellbeing, moving beyond simple fixes to understand the deeper systems at play. This podcast recognizes that improving work isn't just about office perks; it's about examining the rhythms, relationships, and expectations that fill our days. It’s for anyone who has ever wondered how to make their team more resilient, their own work more meaningful, or simply how to disconnect at the end of the day. With millions of listens, it’s become a trusted resource for rethinking the modern work experience. The tone is engaging and accessible, turning complex ideas into practical reflections. For more from Bruce Daisley, visit brucedaisley.com.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Eat Sleep Work Repeat - better workplace culture
Podcast Episodes
Presence: Presence starts with positive leadership [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:30
Flow is the state of being in which people become so immersed in the joy of their work or activity “that nothing else seems to matter.”Presence is to be in a flow state of connection with others.Here’s the last discussio…
The future of work? "The manager as a therapist" [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:53
Isabel Berwick is a writer and podcaster who focusses on the evolving state of modern work. I’ve celebrated her podcast Working It many times here (here’s her specials on the 4-day week for example, or her special on mee…
Getting real with Employee Experience [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:02
How should most of us think about the differences between Employee Experience and Employee Engagement.I first spoke to Emma Bridger, who is the author of a well respected book on this topic and the founder of the EX Spac…
Better conversations, better relationships [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:16
Charles Duhigg’s bestseller The Power of Habit was the definitive guide to building and sustaining successful habits.His new book, Supercommunicators, grapples with the knotty topic of creating successful interactions wi…
Do bonuses actually make us work harder? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:23
Many of us have worked in environments that provided bonuses or rewards for success. Maybe they took the form of team rewards or individual incentives, or end of year profit-share schemes. But do these rewards achieve wh…
Workchat: workplace culture has never been more complicated [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:44
This week's Eat Sleep Work Repeat is hosted by Bruce Daisley, Ellen C Scott and Matthew Cook.Roll up roll up as this week we talk the major trends in work and workplace culture and the big stories of the last month.Inclu…
Can better culture improve the results of an NHS Trust? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:52
I was flattered to be invited to visit the NHS trust of Barking, Havering and Redbridge last year. I spent an afternoon meeting the team and seeing the place in action.It was an inspiring question that CEO Matthew Traine…
Building Trust at Work: Trends for 2024 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:56
We often overlook the fact that trust is the basis for all good culture. I called out some of the remarkable data on this in the Work In 2024 deck.In Slack’s August 2023 survey of over 10,000 global office workers, trust…
Helping the accidental manager: Trends for work [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:31
The role of managers are pivotal in our working lives but most managers aren't trained or prepared for the responsibilities that they are given.When we look at the research from Gallup about burnout and why people hate t…