S12E8: Candace Parker & Michael C. Bush on Purpose, Leadership and Meeting the Moment

The Design Of Business | The Business of Design

In this episode of DB|BD, you’re in for a two for one– or in this case, a double double.

First up, host Ellen McGirt sits down with Michael C. Bush, the CEO of Great Place to Work. Every year, Great Place to Work sends out a survey to 23 million people across 170 countries to ask them how valued and respected they feel at work. Companies that score well on the survey are bestowed with the honor of being- you guessed it- a certified Great Place to Work.

Michael talks with Ellen about why Great Place to Work companies are also some of the most profitable, how expectations for workplace culture vary around the world and why consistency is an essential leadership trait. He also shares his thoughts on whether leadership is based in nature or nurture and if DEI was even fully baked to begin with.

Later in the episode, Ellen chats with WNBA legend Candace Parker. Candace is a three time WNBA champion and two time Olympic Gold medalist. She is still the only W player to win Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same season. She’s also the author of the new book The Can-Do Mindset: How to Cultivate Resilience, Follow Your Heart, and Fight for Your Passions. On top of all that, she is a broadcaster, mom, wife and advocate.

In this live conversation, recorded on stage at Great Place to Work’s For All Summit, Candace talks about how she got the nickname “can-do”, finding her footing in the W while also nursing her daughter, embracing negativity and why her leadership advice includes signing up for a team sport.

On this season of DB|BD, we are Designing for the Unknown. Host Ellen McGirt asks visionary designers how they navigate uncertainty- whether it be technological disruption, global crises, or shifting cultural norms.

More on the Great Place to Work Trust Index

Candace Parker’s The Can-Do Mindset: How to Cultivate Resilience, Follow Your Heart, and Fight for Your Passion

Dr. Richard Cook’s lecture “How Complex Systems Fail”

James Baldwin & William F. Buckley’s 1965 debate