Gagen Blog

“Every organization has an emotional culture, even if it’s one of suppression” Sigal Barsade. Humans are emotional creatures. At a basic level, we are more emotional animals capable of reason than rational animals capable of emotion. That fundamental truth is born out in decades of research, which – among other findings – shows that emotions…

The concept of Black History as a celebratory event originated in 1915 in Chicago, IL when Harvard-educated historian, Dr. Carter G. Woodson attended an exhibition at the Chicago Coliseum to mark the 50th anniversary of emancipation. Inspired by the exhibits that showcased the progress of Black communities, Dr. Woodson founded the Association for the Study…

Recently, I published two pieces exploring the recent surge in employee activism. In the first, I offered my thinking on why activism is on the rise; and in the second, I offered my view on the conditions that need to exist to prevent healthy tension between employees and executives from spiraling into messy public activism…

Due to the many competing pressures businesses face today, culture ranks as a top concern for CEOs and other executives, and is increasingly seen as the pendulum on which results swing. Given how extraordinarily complex cultures are, how does an organization refine and evolve a culture to unleash potential and turn strategies into success? We…

One of the most significant challenges that executives across all industries face for their brands, reputations, and operations today is the rising tide of employee activism. Last week, in the first of a series of three posts, I reviewed some of the key forces driving rising employee activism today, and invited others to share their…

Due to the many competing pressures businesses face today, culture ranks as a top concern for CEOs and other executives, and is increasingly seen as the pendulum on which results swing. Given how extraordinarily complex cultures are, how does an organization refine and evolve a culture to unleash potential and turn strategies into success? We…

A decade ago, if you asked a group of executives of large companies to list the greatest risks to their business, you would have heard words like regulatory action, product recall, ethical lapse, or missed financial target. If you got those same executives together today, I’m nearly certain a new term would enter the conversation:…

Due to the many competing pressures businesses face today, culture ranks as a top concern for CEOs and other executives, and is increasingly seen as the pendulum on which results swing. Given how extraordinarily complex cultures are, how does an organization refine and evolve a culture to unleash potential and turn strategies into success? We…

Due to the many competing pressures businesses face today, culture ranks as a top concern for CEOs and other executives, and is increasingly seen as the pendulum on which results swing. Given how extraordinarily complex cultures are, how does an organization refine and evolve a culture to unleash potential and turn strategies into success? We…

Due to the many competing pressures businesses face today, culture ranks as a top concern for CEOs and other executives, and is increasingly seen as the pendulum on which results swing. Given how extraordinarily complex cultures are, how does an organization refine and evolve a culture to unleash potential and turn strategies into success? We…