New Belgium Brewing Co. and ODD Media recently announced the launch of Green Flags: How to Humanize Business and Get Rich Trying, a new podcast series about the quest for a business model that works for workers, not the other way around — and boosts the bottom line as a result. Through interviews with individual workers and top experts, Green Flags examines the red flags of corporate America today, with the goal of turning them into “green flags” that represent a humanized approach to business.
The inaugural episode, entitled Sleep vs. Work: The Eternal Cage Match, is available today on all major listening platforms — including Spotify, Apple Music, and Stitcher. Green Flags is hosted by Adam Fetcher, senior director of communications and public engagement at New Belgium Brewing, and Maude Standish, a futurist, innovation consultant, and executive producer at ODD Media.
“The world doesn’t need another business podcast for businesspeople,” said Standish. “Green Flags is a podcast for everyone who thinks our system can do better — and wants to help. We grounded each episode in the experiences of regular folks who spend most of their waking hours working for businesses, and then we go out and show how business can work for us instead — and actually boost their bottom line in the process.”
Green Flags was created based on the insight that businesses touch our lives in countless ways every day, whether we invite them in, or they intrude (often in the form of negative externalities). Meanwhile, a growing number of Americans experience anxiety about the state of our economic system and less trust for corporations and other institutions, aware that our biggest crises — from climate change to economic inequality — are closely linked to the red flags of our corporate status quo. At the same time, a growing number of people — especially younger generations – want to see corporations step up to help solve our biggest social and environmental challenges.
“Green Flags shines a light on a business model we’ve pioneered at New Belgium over 30 years in which businesses truly invest in their people, who then turn around and invest themselves in the business — which boosts profits and resilience,” said Fetcher. “This might seem obvious, but we’re caught in a cycle of short-term thinking and shareholder primacy despite a lot of noise about purpose and stakeholders. Our goal is to make these conversations accessible to anyone and show how everyone can join the movement to humanize business.”
Green Flags’ inaugural season focuses on the impact of business on its own workers. The season tracks with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, an effective way to think about the role of business in humanity, to learn how businesses do — or don’t — take responsibility for the basic needs of their employees, and what opportunities for long-term profitability and broader prosperity would emerge if corporations adopted a people-first philosophy.
Notable Guests on Green Flags Include:
- Mike Robbins — Author of Bring Your Whole Self to Work and other highly-cited books about teamwork, leadership, and emotional intelligence
- Cindy Gallup — Sought after corporate innovation and leadership consultant and self-described “Michael Bay of Business”
- Christopher Barnes — Top expert on the relationship between sleep and work and Professor of Management at the University of Washington Foster School of Business
- Bill Weihl — Founder of Climate Voice; former Green Energy Czar at Google and Head of Sustainability at Facebook
- Julianna Pillemer — Expert in the complex dynamics of interpersonal connections in the workplace and Professor at NYU Stern School of Business
- Ken Pucker — Professor at Tufts Fletcher School of Business; former COO at Timberland
- And many more!
Green Flags’ focus on finding clues that represent a humanized approach to business stems from New Belgium’s pioneering Human-Powered Business model, based on the simple but radical truth that business is a human endeavor. This philosophy, ingrained in New Belgium’s ethos from the start by co-founder and former social worker Kim Jordan, recognizes that putting the wellbeing of coworkers and our communities at the center of everything we do is the best path to building a successful and resilient business for the long term. Founded more than 30 years ago, New Belgium is today the largest and fastest-growing craft brewery in America.
About the Hosts
With unique experience at the intersection of business, politics, and advocacy, Adam Fetcher has built a career helping mission-driven companies define their values — and turn them into meaningful impact. Prior to joining New Belgium, Fetcher served as Global Communications Director at Patagonia; Senior Director of Brand Advocacy at Lyft; and a strategic adviser helping companies engage meaningfully in advocacy movements through his consultancy Big Future Mission & Message.
Maude Standish works at the nexus of business, innovation, and culture to help companies create brand experiences and products that reflect customer values and build reciprocal relationships. She’s worked as a trend forecaster at Creative Artist Agency; Director of Strategy at The Many; Director of Liminal Lab at Icon Group; VP of Programming at Fullscreen Media; and a consultant for a wide range of brands, including Disney, Unilever, Toyota, Hilton, Campari, AT&T, and more.
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