The Winning Cultures Podcast

Bruce and Roger Spoelman grew up at the Muskegon YMCA, and both went on to run a Y. Bruce served as CEO of the Muskegon YMCA and Executive Director of YMCA Camp Pendalouan. Roger became a Y CEO at 27, then spent nearly 40 years in healthcare leadership, including years as President and CEO in the Trinity Health system. In this episode, host Jason Piasecki talks with the brothers about why culture leaks, why a leader endorses whatever they tolerate, and how Roger blended the proud, generational cultures of Mercy Health and Hackley Hospital into one community system. They also get into the summer Bruce was sent to Pendalouan to protect an asset the Y planned to sell, and why he decided to guard its spirit instead.

Doug Shapiro has heard a lot of answers to what changes when you love what you do. The best one is everything. You're healthier, you do better work, and you actually enjoy your time. Doug is Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at JSI, a 150-year-old furniture maker in Jasper, Indiana, and host of the Love What You Do podcast. In this episode, host Jason Piasecki talks with Doug about how an offhand comment from a design firm became JSI's motto and a promise coworkers make to each other. They get into why leaders in elf costumes are proof that a culture is real, how to hire for enthusiasm, and the family penny that explains why purpose keeps people. 

Troy, Alabama, is a town of about 17,700 with a ballpark that seats 2,500. When the Trojans hosted the first Super Regional in program history this June, 13,459 fans came through the gates over two days. Troy University had never been to the College World Series in Omaha in its 115-year history, and this year they got there after sitting at 22-25 in early May. In this episode, host Jason Piasecki talks with Troy head coach Skylar Meade about why he believes culture produces winning, not the other way around, and who actually determines culture when 60 percent of the roster is new. They also get into the ten hours between a walk-off grand slam loss at 11:07 at night and a 9 a.m. elimination game, and the pitcher who walked into the coaches' offices at 6-10 and asked what more he could be doing.

Volunteers can walk away any time, and there's no paycheck to make them think twice. Amy Courter led 61,000 of them as National Commander and CEO of the Civil Air Patrol, the U.S. Air Force Auxiliary, where she was the first woman to wear two stars. Today she's an Executive Coach and Certified EOS Implementer. In this episode, host Jason Piasecki talks with Amy about who actually owns culture, why every organization has one whether it was built on purpose or not, and how she answers anyone who dismisses volunteer work: the Titanic was built by professionals, does pay or passion really drive winning? They also get into the town halls she called "stump the general," and the deal she cut with the janitors to catch her team working late.

Motion Dynamics started as an automotive contract manufacturer in 1992. Today, the majority of what they make goes into medical devices and aerospace components. That kind of shift doesn't happen by accident, and it doesn't hold together without the right people. Richard Witham is a sales engineer at Motion Dynamics and the grandson of its founder. In this episode, host Jason Piasecki talks with Richard about how a West Michigan manufacturer built a culture rooted in communication, ownership, and precision, and why those values are inseparable from the quality their customers depend on. They also get into how Motion Dynamics hires for character over credentials, and why the president sits in on every second interview.

Few people have had a better seat to watch a winning culture get built than Dean Stotz. He spent 37 years as associate head coach at Stanford Baseball, working alongside Mark Marquess to create one of the most celebrated programs in college baseball history: two national titles, 14 College World Series appearances, and five straight trips to Omaha. In this episode, host Jason Piasecki talks with Dean about what made Stanford so hard to beat, how the coaching staff built and maintained standards year after year, and what any leader can take from it. He also talks about his book, 108 Double Stitches, and the thread that runs through 37 years of baseball stories.

Jason Piasecki sits down with Gina Thorsen, CEO of Stormy Kromer, to talk about what it really takes to build a strong culture. They discuss how pride, ownership, and relationships show up in day-to-day operations, and how those elements have helped shape a team that people want to be part of. If you're thinking about how culture impacts hiring, retention, and performance, this conversation offers a practical look at what actually works.