What really changes a workplace culture—and what’s just surface-level noise? In this powerful conversation, Chellie Phillips sits down with Stephen Childs, Chief HR Officer at Panasonic, to uncover the real strategies that transformed Panasonic from a single-location operation into a multi-billion-dollar, award-winning Best Place to Work.

Stephen takes us behind the scenes of their culture journey—from visiting top innovation companies to implementing behaviors-based leadership, enforcing a “no asshole policy,” and aligning every executive around a shared culture model. He shares why ping-pong tables and casual dress codes don’t move the needle, how accountability truly works, and why transparency during crises (including COVID shutdowns) earned Panasonic its best employee opinion scores in the toughest year on record.

We explore:

• Why culture must be treated as a business process—not an HR initiative
• How to get executive buy-in for real, lasting change
• What accountability looks like at every level
• How to align a growing organization around shared values and behaviors
• Why leaders must hear the truth—even when it’s uncomfortable
• How Panasonic cut turnover in half and built deep leadership trust

If you're leading a team, building a culture, or trying to create meaningful organizational change, this episode is packed with practical insights you can apply today.

Thanks for listening. Grab the book the podcast is based on at https://mybook.to/culturesecrets . Check out my website www.chelliephillips.com for more great content. Follow me on LinkedIn.