In this episode, Eric talks with Kyle McDowell, bestselling author of Begin With WE and former Fortune 10 executive, about why most culture initiatives fail long before they reach execution.
Kyle argues that culture doesn’t break down because leaders lack frameworks, values statements, or motivation. It breaks down because real change requires personal cost. Political capital. Short-term discomfort. The willingness to be exposed.
The conversation centers on Kyle’s 10 WEs framework, not as a set of aspirational principles, but as daily practices that either show up in behavior or quietly die on the wall. Eric and Kyle explore which of the WEs are most often misunderstood, which ones are hardest to live out personally, and why leaders tend to turn culture frameworks into critiques of others rather than mirrors for themselves.
They also dig into why so many people feel inspired after books, keynotes, and TED talks, yet fail to act, and how responsibility, not motivation, is the missing ingredient. Kyle reflects on decades of leadership experience, what has genuinely changed about work over time, and what hasn’t changed at all.
This is a grounded, no-nonsense conversation for leaders who are serious about culture and honest enough to examine the cost of living it out.
Topics Covered
Episode Links
For more episodes: https://unfoldingthought.com
Questions or guest ideas: eric@inboundandagile.com
