How can leaders design work experiences that people don't just tolerate but truly love? Kevin talks with Marcus Buckingham about why love may be the most powerful force in business and why leaders need to take it seriously to create lasting behavior change. Marcus explains that leaders are experience makers, and the best outcomes come when employees and customers have "five" experiences, not merely good or acceptable ones. He introduces the five feelings that help create love at work: control, harmony, significance, warmth of others, and growth, showing how each helps people feel more fully themselves and more connected to the experience. Kevin and Marcus also discuss why many well-intentioned leadership efforts feel hollow when they skip the foundational feelings, how organizations can design love into everyday interactions, and why AI should support (not replace) the human elements that create trust, empathy, and connection.

Marcus' Story: Marcus Buckingham is the author of Design Love in: How to Unleash the Most Powerful Force in Business. For over twenty-five years, he has been the world's leading researcher on strengths, engagement, and human performance. He began his career at Gallup and was the co-creator, with Donald O. Clifton, of StrengthsFinder. He is also the New York Times–bestselling author or coauthor of many books, including First, Break All the Rules; Now, Discover Your Strengths; StandOut 2.0; Nine Lies about Work; and Love + Work. He has two of Harvard Business Review's most circulated, industry-changing cover articles and has been the subject of in-depth profiles in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Forbes, Fortune, Fast Company, TODAY, and The Oprah Winfrey Show.

https://www.youtube.com/c/MarcusBuckinghamTV

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Book Recommendations

First Break All the Rules — Marcus Buckingham & Curt Coffman
Now Discover Your Strengths — Marcus Buckingham & Donald O. Clifton
StandOut 2.0 — Marcus Buckingham
Nine Lies About Work — Marcus Buckingham & Ashley Goodall
Love + Work — Marcus Buckingham
Design Love In — Marcus Buckingham
An Intimate History of Humanity — Theodore Zeldin
Sapiens — Yuval Noah Harari
Guns Germs and Steel — Jared Diamond

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