Culture Talks, hosted by Lorne Rubis, dives into the world of emerging companies that are passionately dedicated not merely to chasing success, but to making a lasting impact.
Explore the innovative ways next-gen leaders connect people and transform their visions into reality through candid conversations with visionary CEOs, founders, mentors and more.
Each episode delves into the unique challenges faced by these trailblazers as they scale their businesses, focusing on the transformative cultures they are striving to cultivate.
How Do You Hire (or Get Hired) When AI Writes and Screens Every Resume?
A candidate aced every interview. Then someone else showed up on day one. Lorne Rubis and Dave McCauley dig into a hiring process that feels soulless on both sides: AI screens the resumes, AI sends the resumes, and a New York Times piece describes Gen Z job seekers feeling like they’re staring into the void.
Their fixes: build real relationships instead of mass-applying, hire for values and growth, and try a job posting that asks “how could you help us?” Plus Lorne’s book news and why he put his mistakes in it.
00:00 Intro
00:33 Lorne’s book is on the way (Berrett-Koehler)
02:43 Walking out of a Fortune 50 office: the lessons of an imperfect leader
05:42 Picking the book’s title: “Great, Not Perfect” vs. “Front Porch Wisdom”
11:13 The publisher’s brutal feedback: stories beat frameworks
15:19 The New York Times on Gen Z job hunting: “staring into the void”
18:10 The candidate who sent a stand-in
20:29 AI vs. AI: the cat-and-mouse game of resumes
24:25 What would a more human hiring process look like?
26:46 Hiring for values and hidden potential
31:15 What employers and applicants can each do now
34:48 Lorne’s door-knocking story
40:44 Advice for new grads: eye contact and relationships over resumes
45:09 Ask for help: flipping the job posting
47:37 Wrap-up
“How do I hire people when every resume is AI-generated?”
“I’ve applied to hundreds of jobs and heard nothing. What should I do differently?”
“How can employers make hiring more human?”
“My hiring process feels broken. How do I fix it?”
28 Oct 2026
Can You Grow Without Layoffs? A Company That’s Done It for 50 Years
How does a 1,300-person manufacturer grow 18% a year and never lay anyone off? Lorne Rubis and Dave McCauley dig into the Gund story from the Wall Street Journal: leaders who own culture, financials on the walls, and people developed for the long haul. Then they weigh it against the Microsoft buyout news. Is a buyout more responsible than a layoff, or just a nicer-sounding one? Plus: a 9.34 on the Culture Pizza Review.
00:00 Canadiana shirts & robot-assisted surgery
02:08 The Gund story: a family business that doesn’t lay people off
03:47 18% growth and zero layoffs in 50 years
06:27 Lead culture from the top, not as a “nice to have”
07:17 Red cards & Gemba walks: the tools behind it
08:13 Why financial transparency builds trust
10:40 “Why not just create great places to work?”
11:44 Squishy and soft? The compound interest of investing in people
13:04 Culture Pizza Review: Gund scores 9.34
15:03 The Microsoft buyout news: smarter than a layoff?
23:20 “They haven’t earned the trust”
24:40 What do we really stand for? When leaders’ values show
26:35 The war between connection and disconnection
34:53 Quarterly thinking vs. generational thinking
38:39 Wrap-up: can we get more companies like Gund?
21 Oct 2026
How to Beat the Sunday Scaries: What Leaders Can Do About Work Dread
Why does Sunday night feel like Monday has already started?
Lorne Rubis and Dave McCauley unpack the Sunday Scaries, which a recent Wall Street Journal piece says are on the rise, and what leaders can actually do about them.
They cover removing uncertainty (especially in the age of AI), boundaries that protect weekends, Monday rituals that build momentum instead of dread, and the courage to ask for help.
00:00 Idaho snow & visiting a 96-year-old mom
01:53 The Wall Street Journal on the Sunday Scaries
02:12 What are the Sunday Scaries, really?
05:05 What can a boss do? Start with your own Sunday
08:23 Dave's rules: no weekend messages, no early Monday meetings
11:55 What if Sunday felt like excitement instead of dread?
14:05 The Thanksgiving table question: "Will you have a job?"
20:36 Monday rituals: wins, honest check-ins and pet photos
24:31 What would a 96-year-old say to the Sunday Scaries?
26:55 Saturday scaries & being "present" with the phone in hand
29:59 Agency: how we choose the rabbit hole
31:30 Do founders and farmers get Sunday scaries?
33:02 What to do if you've got them: ask for help
37:23 Wrap-up
Who has been a guest on Culture Talks
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Kimberly Vaughn
Craig Hampson
Taarif Jafferi
Christie Lagally
Les Gombik
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
1 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
3 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 15 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
17
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
32
Contact Culture Talks
Guest appearances
Does not typically book guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
Questions about Culture Talks
Who hosts Culture Talks?
Lorne Rubis host the show. Published by Lorne Rubis.
How often do new episodes come out?
The show publishes weekly, based on its RSS feed.
Does Culture Talks take guests?
The show does not typically feature guests, based on episode analyses.
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