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Growth Hacking Culture: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Ivan Palomino
The Growth Hacking Culture Podcast is a series of insightful interviews with prominent experts on mindsets, skills and mental resources to grow individually, lead motivated teams and create human-centric work cultures. These episodes are about thought provoking ideas to scale up and growth hack human-centric and performing work cultures. Hosted by Ivan Palomino.
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- Yesterday52 min
Your Ambition Has No Stop Button. Now What? with Hugo Brooks
Ambition is not a goal. It is an independent drive with no off switch, and most leaders never separate the force from the direction. Hugo Brooks on redirecting ambition before it redirects your life. Hugo spent 35 years building and selling businesses, advising organizations like Coca-Cola, Unilever and Nestle. Then his wife asked a five-word question that stopped him cold: "Are you sure you want to do this again?" He had no answer. That pause forced him to see that the drive and the destination are two separate things, and that ambition itself is neutral until you point it somewhere. Hugo Brooks is an ambition strategist, speaker and author of Ambition: Redefining Success for a Restless Age. He coaches driven leaders across three life stages on how to stop the autopilot and redirect their ambition toward what is actually meaningful. In this episode: - Why ambition resets the moment you reach any goal - The lion and antelope analogy for limitless human drive - Goals are doors, your whole life is corridor time - Corporate cultures that confuse agility with speed - "Let the rabbits run" instead of mono-pathway planning - The eulogy exercise: 10 minutes to find your real values This one is for the senior leader who keeps hitting targets but quietly wonders whether they are the right targets. Key moments: 02:23 The five-word question that ended 30 years of autopilot 14:28 Lions kill one antelope. Humans fill freezers full and keep hunting 19:58 Goals are doors. Your whole life happens in the corridor 34:37 Let the rabbits run: why one pathway kills innovation 47:02 The eulogy exercise you can do this weekend Connect with Hugo Brooks Book: Ambition: Redefining Success for a Restless Age - https://amzn.eu/d/0fQh9qed Website: https://hugobrooks.com/ If this episode was useful, a quick rating or review helps more people find these conversations. Growth Hacking Culture is a top 5% global podcast exploring the neuroscience, psychology, and behavioral science behind leadership and workplace culture. Hosted by Ivan Palomino
- 4 days ago46 min
CEOs Spend 5% of Their Time on People. Alain Bejjani Says That’s the Problem
Most CEOs say people are their greatest asset. Alain Bejjani actually measured how much time they spend on them: less than 5%. The rest goes to balance sheets, asset returns, quarterly reporting. Then they wonder why culture falls apart when the market shifts. Bejjani knows something about market shifts. He took over as CEO of Majid Al Futtaim in 2015, a brick-and-mortar retail giant spanning 17 countries and serving 560 million customers a year. He spent five years rewiring the business for digital while colleagues questioned the urgency. When COVID hit, they were ready. Most competitors were not. His argument is sharp and backed by a career of doing it: the companies that win long-term are the ones that treat people as capital to invest in, not resources to consume. He calls this framework "Talentism," and his new book NEXT: Leading Through the New Realities lays out why it matters more now than ever, as AI reshapes every industry. In this conversation, Ivan Palomino and Alain Bejjani dig into what talentism looks like when it stops being a slogan and starts showing up in how a CEO actually spends Monday morning. In this episode: Why CEOs spend less than 5% of their time on the one thing that determines long-term success The real difference between human resources and human capital, and why renaming the department was a strategic signal, not a branding exercise How the global financial and tax system actively penalizes investing in people and rewards investing in assets Which human skills matter most as AI gets more capable: judgment, adaptability, and the learning mindset Why role modeling beats training programs. What toddlers can teach us about how adults actually learn The "jaws of culture": how organizational culture grinds leaders into conformity unless they break through Resilience vs. efficiency: how to sell redundancy to a board that only sees margins ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Why the logic of “technology scales, people don’t” is exactly backwards 01:56 - What is Talentism, and why did Bejjani bet on it over automation? 04:41 - How garage startups dethroned billion-dollar balance sheets 06:07 - Why investing in people is treated as expense while software gets capitalized 08:21 - AI as the most life-changing invention since fire. And why that terrifies him 10:45 - Judgment is still a human exclusive. For now 12:43 - AI agents getting trolled: the brake pedal argument in real time 13:32 - “People are our greatest asset” was bullshit before COVID. Is it still? 15:05 - The tension between short-termism and long-termism that traps every CEO 18:11 - Why labor is taxed 4-5x more than capital gains, and what it signals 20:15 - Real leaders balance quarterly profits with building for tomorrow 21:43 - The jaws of culture: they grind you or you break them 22:27 - Nassim Taleb, skin in the game, and the systems that reward the wrong behaviors 24:42 - “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” Why sustainability reporting failed 25:46 - The four new realities every leader must face at once 30:02 - CEOs should manage strategy like a portfolio, not a single bet 31:16 - Which human skills actually matter as AI takes over tasks? 32:07 - Raise your employees like you raise your kids. Start with values, not skills 34:17 - Role modeling: why what people observe beats what they hear 36:26 - “The world will never be as slow as it currently is” 37:25 - There is no adaptability pill you can buy on a shelf 39:29 - What toddlers teach us about leadership. We learn 50% of everything by age three 41:49 - Monday morning: the first concrete thing a CEO should do 44:20 - How Majid Al Futtaim was ready for COVID when competitors weren’t 48:27 - When you don’t have a burning platform, the CEO should become one 50:17 - Stakeholder capitalism: creating value beyond the balance sheet This one is for the CEO, CHRO, or people leader who suspects their organization says the right things about talent but hasn't changed where the time and money actually go. 🔗 Connect with Alain Bejjani: Website: https://alainbejjani.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alainbejjani/ Book: NEXT: Leading Through the New Realities - amzn.eu/d/07OanO1O 📘 Explore Expired? The Science of Staying Indispensable in a World Obsessed with New by Ivan Palomino. Because if talent is the real capital, staying visible and indispensable is how you protect yours. https://www.ivanpalomino.net/expired-book-ivan-palomino If this episode shifted how you think about investing in people, a quick rating or review helps more people find these conversations. Growth Hacking Culture is a top 5
- 1 weeks ago36 min
The Full Spectrum Workplace: Stop Saying Hybrid ft. Agustin Chevez
Return to office debates miss the point. Dr. Agustin Chevez explains why hybrid is the wrong word and how to design a full spectrum workplace that works. In 2018, architect and workplace researcher Agustin Chevez walked 900 kilometers alone from Melbourne to Sydney. 42 days, no team, one question: what is actually broken about the way we work? His answer challenges office mandates, cost per visit metrics and the belief that more collaboration always means more innovation. Dr. Agustin Chevez is an architect with a PhD in workplace architecture, an honorary fellow at the University of Melbourne, and the author of The Pilgrim's Guide to the Workplace. He has spent years mapping who talks to whom inside organizations and how office design shapes trust and the flow of ideas. In this episode: Why "hybrid" is the wrong word and what a full spectrum workplace looks like Intermittent isolation: why the best ideas need time alone and time together Why cost per visit is a dangerous return to office metric How to frame a workplace experiment your CEO will actually test Why socializing at work does not automatically lead to innovation Design work first, then the workplace This one is for the HR leader or CEO stuck arguing about office days when the real question is what the office is for. You can also watch thsi episode in the GHC Youtube channel: https://youtu.be/nDNCgHWNc_k?si=9hEKaeWDozlXvPRz Key moments: 02:03 The Galapagos iguanas that sparked a 900 km walk 09:46 Cost per visit and why filling offices is the wrong goal 14:27 Why hybrid is the wrong word: yellow, blue and green 19:35 How to run a workplace experiment with your CEO 44:04 Socializing is not the same as exchanging ideas 47:59 Design work first, then the workplace Connect with Dr. Agustin Chevez: Website: https://www.achevez.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/agustin-chevez/ Book: The Pilgrim's Guide to the Workplace https://a.co/d/03HZjzBb -- Ivan's book Expired? The Science of Staying Indispensable in a World Obsessed with New is out now: https://a.co/d/09I4jBWs If this episode was useful, a quick rating or review helps more people find these conversations. Growth Hacking Culture is a top 5% global podcast exploring the neuroscience, psychology, and behavioral science behind leadership and workplace culture. Hosted by Ivan Palomino
- 1 weeks ago40 min
Stop Hoping for Creativity, Start Designing for It | Neuroscience of Creativity, Innovation & AI ft. Coral McConnon
Creativity at work is a process you design, not an event. Coral McConnon on the neuroscience of creativity, why brainstorming fails, and AI for innovation. Most companies still run innovation workshops the same way: six hours in a room, "no idea is a bad idea", and a wall of ideas that end up safe, boring or off strategy. The right brain creativity myth is still shaping behavior, even in teams that say they know better. Meanwhile, AI generates ideas faster than ever and can quietly narrow our thinking. Coral McConnon has more than 20 years of global innovation experience leading early-stage innovation projects with cross-functional teams through 8 Innovation. She holds a master's in creativity focused on the neuroscience of creativity and is the author of The Breakthrough Brain: The Neuroscience of Creativity for Smarter Early-Stage Innovation. In this episode: Why the right brain left brain creativity myth still damages teams The 4 rules of divergent thinking every facilitator should know Why breakthrough ideas show up in the final third of ideation How to use AI as a devil's advocate without narrowing ideas Why psychological safety alone is not enough for creative teams The 5 C's for designing the conditions for creativity and innovation This one is for the HR leader, L&D professional or innovation facilitator who keeps running brainstorming sessions and wonders why the ideas never go anywhere. Key moments: 09:32 Right brain vs left brain: what neuroscience really shows 13:26 Why companies keep using creativity methods science has debunked 18:01 The 4 rules of divergent thinking 22:42 AI as a devil's advocate, not an idea machine 25:22 Stop treating creativity as an event 36:50 Does national culture change how you facilitate innovation? Connect with Coral McConnon: The Breakthrough Brain (book): https://amzn.eu/d/06qzdEFh 8 Innovation: https://www.8innovation.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/coral-mcconnon/ ---- Ivan's book, Expired? The Science of Staying Indispensable in a World Obsessed with New: https://www.ivanpalomino.net/expired-book-ivan-palomino If this episode was useful, a quick rating or review helps more people find these conversations. Growth Hacking Culture is a top 5% global podcast exploring the neuroscience, psychology, and behavioral science behind leadership and workplace culture. Hosted by Ivan Palomino
- 2 weeks ago46 min
Quiet Contributors and the Recognition Gap: What Companies Keep Getting Wrong | Greg Roche
Quiet contributors deliver results. But corporate recognition programs, performance reviews, and promotion criteria were built around visibility, not value. The recognition gap between introverts and extroverts in the workplace is costing companies their best talent, and most HR leaders cannot even see it happening. Greg Roche is a total rewards and compensation expert with 20+ years at Fortune 500 scale, former VP of Compensation at UnitedHealth Group, and founder of Retention and Rewards Partners. He is also a self-described introverted networker who built his entire consulting practice on the introvert-friendly career strategies he teaches. In this conversation, Ivan and Greg break down how employee retention, engagement surveys, and reward systems consistently overlook quiet performers, and what leaders need to change to close the gap. In this episode: Why compensation committees picture "charisma" when they read words like executive presence and stakeholder influence, and how that filters out quiet high performers The feedback Greg received multiple times in his career: "you don't talk enough in meetings," and the specific technique he developed to turn that around Why interview performance correlates almost nothing with job performance, and what hiring processes should look like instead How disengagement in introverts looks identical to their default mode, and why traditional engagement surveys miss it entirely Greg's 5-leader method: a concrete, introvert-friendly framework for building career visibility through one-on-one conversations The case for fractional and consulting roles as a legitimate career path for introverts who are exhausted by the "work around the work" Why discretionary effort is a better measure of engagement than activity, and how confusing the two costs companies billions This one is for the quiet contributor who delivers results but feels invisible, and for the HR leader who suspects their best talent is slipping through a system that was never built for them. Connect with Greg Roche LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregsroche/ Free resource: 5 Tips to Create a Culture of Connections https://www.retentionandrewards.com/gift Book: The Fast and Easy Guide to Networking for Introverts https://a.co/d/09epBrT2 ---- Ivan's latest article: Am I Ready to Start a Business After 45? A Behavioral Scientist's Self-Test https://www.ivanpalomino.net/post/am-i-ready-to-start-a-business-after-45-a-behavioral-scientist-s-self-test Growth Hacking Culture is a top 5% global podcast exploring the neuroscience, psychology, and behavioral science behind leadership and workplace culture. Hosted by Ivan Palomino
- 3 weeks ago52 min
Good Delegators Make the Best AI Users | Fractional CAIO, Judgment & AI Adoption ft. Sean Campbell
Good AI delegators were good human delegators first. Sean Campbell on why fluid intelligence, not technical skill, predicts who thrives with AI at work. Sean spent 25 years running Cascade Insights, advising companies from startups to Fortune 500s on market research and competitive intelligence. When AI hit, he noticed a pattern: the leaders who struggled to delegate to people struggled even more to delegate to machines. The ones who already trusted others with important work picked up AI tools faster than anyone expected. Sean is CEO of Cascade Insights and an AI professor at George Fox University, where he teaches an MBA course blending AI, entrepreneurship, and critical thinking. He has consulted with organizations across industries on AI strategy and workforce transformation. In this episode: Why your IT department should not lead AI adoption What a fractional Chief AI Officer actually does and who needs one Fluid intelligence: why delegation skill predicts AI success The "depth of AI water" framework for assessing job impact Why Gen X may be the generation best suited for AI Judgment and critical thinking as the irreducible human skills This one is for the leader who knows AI matters but cannot figure out who in the organization should own it. Key moments: 02:30 Why IT should not lead your AI strategy 08:00 The fractional CAIO role explained 18:00 84% of organizations have not redesigned for AI 30:00 Fluid intelligence: good delegators become great AI users 36:00 Why Gen X might be the best AI generation 42:00 Judgment as the skill AI cannot replace Connect with Sean Campbell: Website: https://www.cascadeinsights.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seancampbell/ Experienced professional thinking about starting something of your own? The Pre-Founder Bootcamp, Silver Edition helps you decide before you commit: silver-bootcamp.ivanpalomino.net If this episode was useful, a quick rating or review helps more people find these conversations. Hosted by Ivan Palomino
- 3 weeks ago48 min
Grit vs Grip: The Body Signs You’ve Crossed the Line | Burnout, Rest & Nervous System ft. Pauline Nguyen
Grit turns self-destructive when you can’t put it down. Pauline Nguyen on grit vs grip, body signs of leadership burnout, and rest that restores performance. Pauline ran Red Lantern, the most awarded Vietnamese restaurant in the world, for 25 years. She also worked 80 to 100 hour weeks until stress made her hair fall out. Her way out was not to try less. It was to learn the difference between grit, a fire you choose, and grip, a fear that has you and never switches off. Pauline escaped Vietnam by boat at three years old. Today she coaches CEOs and founders on conscious leadership and nervous system regulation, and is the author of The Way of the Spiritual Entrepreneur. In 2026 she was named Global Transformational Leader of the Year. In this episode: Grit vs grip: why one has an off switch and the other does not Three body signs your drive has turned self-destructive: jaw, breath and sleep Why companies promote the leader who never stops, and what it costs the team Why rest is a weapon, and the seven types of rest most leaders skip How to build nervous system regulation from micro moments, with no extra hour What to strip out of grit (martyrdom) and what to keep (the fire) This one is for the high performer who cannot stop, and the HR leader watching their best people run on fumes. Key moments: 08:46 Grit has an off switch, grip does not 18:32 Three body signs that grit has turned to grip 28:28 Rest is a weapon, not a spa day 30:52 The seven types of rest 41:28 What to strip out of grit 🔗 Connect with Pauline Nguyen Website: https://pauline-nguyen.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paulinenspeaks/ (DM the word ACTION to get the Sovereign Leader System) Book: The Way of the Spiritual Entrepreneur: https://pauline-nguyen.com/product/the-way-of-the-spiritual-entrepreneur/ Ivan’s book, Expired? The Science of Staying Indispensable in a World Obsessed with New, is live now: https://a.co/d/0e29LDC9 If this episode was useful, a quick rating or review helps more people find these conversations. Growth Hacking Culture is a top 5% global podcast exploring the neuroscience, psychology, and behavioral science behind leadership and workplace culture. Hosted by Ivan Palomino
- Oct 5, 202645 min
Above the Line Leaders Use AI for Flow, Not Busywork | Focus, Deep Work & The Flow Multiplier ft. Jared Quoyeser
AI brain fry drains focus, flow state, and deep work, and it starts when every tool meant to save you time becomes another inbox. Jared Quoyeser lived it, with 14 Slack messages, WhatsApp, Teams, and three AI assistants all competing for his attention. He knew the answer was a system, not another tool. Jared Quoyeser spent more than two decades at Intel, where he led teams and managed billions in revenue, while competing as a professional endurance athlete in cycling and triathlons. Today he is co-founder and managing partner of the Louisiana Impact Fund, a speaker, and the author of The Flow Multiplier: Building Peak Performance Systems with AI. He has spent thirty years chasing flow state, and he now teaches high-performing executives how to reach it on command. In this conversation, Ivan and Jared unpack why the same AI that can sharpen strategy can also bury a leader in noise, and why the line between above the line and below the line leaders is the system they build before they add the tools. In this episode: Why AI can turn into a second, third, and fourth inbox, and what 14 open screens did to Jared's focus The difference between above the line and below the line leaders, and why a "second brain" either amplifies one or floods the other How AI meeting transcripts and note takers are quietly making leaders absent from the meetings they attend Why the system comes first and AI comes last, starting with the 1A, 1B, and 1C priorities Jared writes down before he opens email Practical ways to protect deep work: the phone out of arm's reach, the Brick, the basket exercise, and a one-hour block as a starting point Why recovery is a performance strategy, and how Jared plans rest across the week, the quarter, and the year like an athlete's season How to define productivity on your own terms, and how cutting research from 40 hours to 4 hours (his example) frees time for judgment This one is for the executive or people leader who keeps adding AI tools to a full calendar and wonders why the days feel busier while the thinking feels shallower. Connect with Jared Quoyeser: LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jared-quoyeser Book: The Flow Multiplier: Building Peak Performance Systems with AI ---- If Jared's point about defining productivity on your own terms struck a chord, and you are an experienced professional aged 45 or older wondering whether building something of your own is your next chapter, take a look at my Prefounders Bootcamp Silver Edition. It is a four-week live cohort on founder psychology and decision-making that ends with a readiness verdict, a financial runway analysis, and a personalized action plan. The next cohort starts Monday, November 16, 2026. Details at https://silver-bootcamp.ivanpalomino.net/ Growth Hacking Culture is a top 5% global podcast exploring the neuroscience, psychology, and behavioral science behind leadership and workplace culture. Hosted by Ivan Palomino
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About Growth Hacking Culture
The Growth Hacking Culture Podcast is a series of insightful interviews with prominent experts on mindsets, skills and mental resources to grow individually, lead motivated teams and create human-centric work cultures. These episodes are about thought provoking ideas to scale up and growth hack human-centric and performing work cultures. Hosted by Ivan Palomino.
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