Podcast Summary: The Corporate Director Podcast

Episode: Why culture belongs in the boardroom
Release Date: December 10, 2025
Host: Dottie Schindlinger (with co-host Megan Day)
Guest: Bree Groff (Workplace culture expert, author of Today Was Fun)

Episode Overview

This episode dives into why corporate culture should be at the forefront of boardroom discussions. Host Dottie Schindlinger and co-host Megan Day discuss with guest Bree Groff the impact of workplace culture on organizational health, employee well-being, and ultimately, profitability. The conversation centers on practical ways directors and executives can influence and monitor culture, the risks of neglecting it, and actionable steps for creating meaningful change—beyond mere check-the-box initiatives.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Why Culture Matters in the Boardroom

[03:05–04:55]

• Dottie shares her experience moderating a session with Edelman Smithfield, highlighting how external societal shifts increasingly affect internal culture.
  • “Things happening out in the broader world in the geopolitical context ... change how your brand resonates with people. And it just feels like such a landmine.” — Dottie Schindlinger [03:32]
• The growing complexity of leading organizations is noted, especially when staying true to the company’s values in a turbulent world.

2. The Core Message of "Today Was Fun"

[08:07–13:13]

• Bree Groff details the personal experience that inspired her book—a moment of existential grief caregiving for her terminally ill mother, sparking the realization that “our Mondays are not a renewable resource.”
  • “It struck me that our Mondays are not a renewable resource, that it's important for us to enjoy our work.” — Bree Groff [08:54]
• The book’s key message: Organizations must value their employees’ “human days” as highly as the bottom line and customer experience.
  • “You are consuming human days ... and probably your biggest expense is payroll. And so we need to be thinking of what's the quality of those human days.” — Bree Groff [11:24]

3. Why Should Directors Care About Fun at Work?

[13:13–15:36]

• Bree underscores multiple compelling reasons:
  • Fun at work leads to better business outcomes (Gallup data cited—friendship at work correlates with safety, retention, inventory control, etc.).
  • Fun fosters creativity and innovation—“corporate sponsored mischief.”
  • Cultures where people enjoy themselves foster open communication and surface problems proactively, minimizing the risk of damaging issues brewing beneath the surface.
  • “Companies where people feel like, I can laugh, I can be myself ... are companies that air out whatever is going on such that it can be solved.” — Bree Groff [15:06]

4. Whose Responsibility Is Culture?

[15:36–17:57]

• Culture change is most effective from the top down but can (and should) be fostered at any level.
  • “At best, if I could paint the picture, when you're in the boardroom, you're having fun ... It contributes to a leadership team and a CEO that feels safe enough to be a human, to laugh.” — Bree Groff [15:56]
• Where top-down support is lacking, teams or individuals can still shape their immediate work environment.

5. Warning Signs and Red Flags for Bad Culture

[17:57–20:39]

• Bree introduces the concept of “orange flags”:
  • Red Flag: No one is raising concerns or suggestions anymore—silence signals disengagement.
  • Healthy Culture: Employees try to make things better, voiced through surveys or meetings.
  • “The biggest red flag is no orange flags... When those orange flags start to go away, when people are no longer complaining, that's not a good sign, that's a bad sign.” — Bree Groff [18:15]
• Board members and executives need to listen for signs of disengagement, not just crises.

6. First Steps for Improving Culture

[20:39–22:46]

• Step 1: Honest, transparent communication—acknowledge issues openly.
  • “The first thing you do is you talk to employees and you say, things are not as healthy as we'd like.” — Bree Groff [20:49]
• Avoid empty positivity or denial; it’s crucial to validate employees’ experiences.

7. Avoiding "Check-the-Box" Culture Initiatives

[22:46–25:31]

• To keep culture efforts meaningful:
  • Solicit input from informal influencers—the “curmudgeonly popular employees.”
  • Focus on small, daily experiences that matter most (e.g., annoying tech issues, coffee quality, enjoyable rituals).
  • “A reverse pet peeve is something small that disproportionately brings you joy. If you can go hunting ... for some of those small things that people love ... those sorts of daily experience of work kinds of things can also be really important.” — Bree Groff [24:48]

8. Legacy and Stepping Back—Culture as Stewardship

[25:31–27:40]

• Bree reframes the director’s role as stewards of “human days,” emphasizing the long-term societal impact of organizational culture.
  • Reflecting on losing colleagues: “Did they, like some of the days that we were working together, did I do a good job of, you know, giving them time to laugh and feel creative and productive and useful?” — Bree Groff [27:20]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On existential perspective:
  “We only get so many days on this planet, and we should be enjoying more than 2/7 of our lives.”
  — Bree Groff [09:00]

• On directors’ duties:
  “Culture is a huge risk factor ... When it goes bad, it can absolutely derail everything.”
  — Dottie Schindlinger [10:15]

• On innovation as ‘mischief’:
  “When I think of innovation, that's sort of like corporate-sponsored mischief.” — Bree Groff [14:08]

• On ‘orange flags’:
  “When those orange flags start to go away, when people are no longer complaining, that's not a good sign, that's a bad sign.”
  — Bree Groff [18:15]

• On moving from strategy to direction:
  “We've moved from the land of maps to the land of compasses. ... The maps, the strategic plans, like, that's all. We're done with those.”
  — Bree Groff [28:02]

Highlighted Timestamps

• Intro to culture as a board issue: [03:05–04:55]
• Bree Groff shares book inspiration: [08:07–10:03]
• The core argument for valuing “human days”: [11:03–13:13]
• Why “fun at work” delivers business outcomes: [13:28–15:36]
• Early warning signs — ‘no orange flags’: [17:57–20:39]
• First steps for change: [20:39–22:46]
• Avoiding check-box culture: [22:46–25:31]
• The board’s legacy of stewardship: [25:56–27:40]
• Maps to compasses metaphor: [28:02]
• Closing with practical takeaways: [30:32–31:13]

Key Takeaways for Directors

• Culture is a core boardroom issue: Don’t relegate it to management—it’s directly tied to long-term risk and value creation.
• Human days matter: Think of your company not only as a business but as the collective experience of every person working there.
• Honesty first: Admitting culture problems isn’t weakness—it’s the starting point for authentic change.
• Don’t overlook the small stuff: The daily experience matters as much as (or more than) top-down initiatives.
• Solicit real, candid feedback: Find those informal “influencers” and the unvarnished truth about what makes or breaks your culture.
• Adapt to uncertainty: Strive for alignment on direction (“true north”) rather than micromanaging the path.

Final Thoughts

This episode underscores that culture is not a “soft” topic but a concrete risk and value factor board directors must own. Building a workplace where people want to be—where fun, respect, and open dialogue are the norms—leads to better results, greater resilience, and a more meaningful legacy for all leaders.

For further reading:

• Bree Groff, Today Was Fun: A Book About Work (Seriously)

Hosts:

• Dottie Schindlinger, Executive Director, Diligent Institute
• Megan Day, Strategy Leader, Diligent

Guest:

• Bree Groff, Senior Advisor, SY Partners

For resources, the free Gartner report, and more insights, visit the Diligent Institute website.