Podcast Summary: Bloomberg Businessweek

Episode: Former Jamba Juice CEO on Building a Culture for Success

Date: December 9, 2025
Hosts: Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec
Guest: James D. White, Former CEO of Jamba Juice, Chairman of The Honest Company, Co-Founder/CEO of Culture Design Lab, Co-author of “Culture Design: How to Build a High-Performing, Resilient Organization with Purpose”

Overview

This episode features an insightful interview with James D. White, the former CEO of Jamba Juice. The discussion centers around the critical role of culture in organizational success, lessons learned from leading Jamba Juice through transformation, and how leaders can intentionally design workplace culture for resilience and high performance. The conversation also touches on evolving perspectives in leadership, diversity, and the importance of human-centric workplaces.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Jamba Juice Transformation

• Jamba Juice Origin Story:
  • Started as “Juice Club” in San Luis Obispo, California ([02:07])
  • White joined in December 2008 and led a substantial turnaround and rebranding ([03:52])
• White’s Tenure Highlights:
  • “I joined Jamba in December 2008 and led the company through a turnaround and transformation. … Market cap over my tenure increased by 500%. We really repositioned the company from a smoothie chain to a more healthy lifestyle brand, but had a great run…” – James D. White ([03:52])
• Strategic Shift:
  • Repositioned from just smoothies to holistic healthy living
  • Focus on transformation during challenges and the shift to private ownership

Building Culture: People First

• The Stakeholder Approach:
  • “You start with the people, you start with the key stakeholders. … For me, as I go back to that first week, we asked four simple questions: What should the organization start doing? What should we stop doing? And what are the things that are working well that we should continue? And then the final bonus question is what advice would you have for me as CEO?” – James D. White ([04:42])
  • Employees are the primary source for real insights on necessary changes ([05:50])
  • Engaged with board, suppliers, and consumers to build comprehensive understanding ([05:59])
• Role of Employees:
  • “I always start with the employees because they actually know what actually needs to be done to … reenergize or strengthen the company.” ([05:50])

Connecting Culture to Performance

• Tangible & Intangible Metrics:
  • “The way I think about it is, and I've got a colleague of mine, a board colleague of mine that says the human capital drives the financial capital and that directly relates to the people and relates to the company culture.” – James D. White ([07:08])
  • Emphasis on measuring both hard (financial) and soft (employee engagement, NPS) culture metrics ([08:27])
  • “Anything in business that matters, you actually measure it ... there are both hard and soft measurements, employee engagement, there’s poll surveys. There’s net promoter scores, but there’s employee net promoter scores that are … incredibly helpful.” ([08:27])

Culture by Design vs. Default

• Intentional Leadership:
  • “The thesis of our book is companies have culture by design or default. So always be intentional in building a company’s culture.” – James D. White ([05:32])
• Three Pillars of Culture Design (from the book):
  • Knowing what matters — understanding company context ([07:21])
  • Doing what matters — operationalizing culture in daily practice ([07:21])
  • Measuring what matters — using both quantitative and qualitative metrics ([07:21])

Leadership Transparency, Empathy, and Humanity

• Learning from the Next Generation:
  • Discussion of co-authoring with his daughter Krista; her influence on leadership transparency ([08:42])
  • “We think that empathy is really a core capability. And one of the things that I've learned in my work with my millennial daughter is … kind of sharing more of myself really strengthens the ability for me to connect with leaders and people on a really different level.” – James D. White ([09:32])
• Leadership Practice Example:
  • Reference to Sam Bright (Google Play), who provides a “user manual” to his teams—sharing personal background helps team members collaborate more effectively ([10:46])

DEI and Anti-Racism: Principles Over Labels

• Evolving Context:
  • Noted the shifting landscape of DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) in corporate America ([11:15])
  • “But I think the best leaders…they’ve got a true north. They’re very focused on their values and they know that if you put people first and you create an environment where all the humans get to do their best work, you’re going to always win.” – James D. White ([11:35])
• Advice to Companies:
  • Less concerned with specific DEI terminology, more concerned about adherence to purpose and building inclusive environments ([11:35])

Final Leadership Advice

• White’s Core Message to Leaders:
  • “Really put the human beings, the people in your organization first and work hard to create and design environments where they can do their very best work and bring their full selves to the organization. And I think it will yield great benefits that will deliver high performance results.” – James D. White ([12:35])

Notable Quotes

• “Companies have culture by design or default. So always be intentional in building a company’s culture.” (James D. White, 05:32)
• “The human capital drives the financial capital and that directly relates to the people and relates to the company culture.” (James D. White, 07:08)
• “Empathy is really a core capability. … When we get to know each other as human beings, we can find the things that are common. And what I found from a leadership perspective is that allows you to unlock the full potential of the organization by being more human and kind of humanizing the leader.” (James D. White, 09:32)
• “If you put people first and you create an environment where all the humans get to do their best work, you’re going to always win.” (James D. White, 11:35)

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | |-----------|----------------------------------------------------------| | 02:07 | Origin story of Jamba Juice | | 03:52 | White’s overview of Jamba Juice transformation | | 04:42 | First-week strategy: question stakeholders | | 05:50 | Primary role of employees and other stakeholders | | 07:08 | Culture, human capital, and performance connection | | 08:27 | Measuring culture: engagement and NPS | | 09:32 | Empathy & transparency in leadership | | 10:46 | Leadership “user manuals” example | | 11:35 | Evolving views on DEI, advice for leaders | | 12:35 | Final advice for leaders |

Tone and Style

The conversation was warm, reflective, and practical, favoring real-world examples and actionable frameworks. James D. White’s approach emphasizes empathy, intentionality, and a people-centric philosophy. The hosts, Carol and Tim, kept the discussion grounded with relatable anecdotes and thoughtful follow-up questions.

In Summary

This episode offers actionable insights on leading organizational change through culture, practical wisdom for leaders, and a timely reminder that putting people first is both a prudent business strategy and an ethical imperative. White’s emphasis on intentional culture design, transparency, and empathic leadership marks a progressive blueprint for modern companies seeking resilience and high performance.