We’re looking back at some of our favorite moments from the Voice of the Underdog in 2021. This year, we talked with authors, bankers, marketers and entrepreneurs – all outstanding leaders and not surprisingly, all advocates of building and curating extraordinary cultures. In this episode, those leaders share their stories, their insights, some surprising revelations and why thinking like a challenger brand and having that underdog mindset has driven the kind of success we all hope to have.

At work, at home, and in every area of our lives, we all need encouragement. But as much as we love getting encouragement, we're not always so great at giving it. In this episode, Mike and Michael visit with "Chief Encouragement Officer" James Brown whose Encourage X platform and website are transforming the way we think about and encourage our colleagues, family and friends.

In the midst of the country's largest hiring challenge ever, no one has the pulse of what companies and candidates are looking for better than those in professional staffing. In this episode, Robert Half's Elizabeth Bailey tells Mike and Michael about the new role culture is playing in the hiring process, how companies should handle requests for more benefits, more money and more flexibility and how "work from home" has literally made the job market global.

Unless you work in collegiate directories, you've probably never heard of Publishing Concepts. But for challenger brands looking to build strong companies by leveraging great culture, there's no greater role model. PCI has been named The Best Place To Work in Arkansas, Virginia and the Best Place To Work in Texas TWICE! In this episode, CEO Drew Clancy and his HR Director Lori Bishop share their recipe for success, how to build a company based on love, empathy and respect and why for them, culture is everything!

ZUBI's founder Sarah Zubiate tells Mike and Michael how she went from a bond trader with humble beginnings to starting a food business and building her own farm. Sarah's delicious, healthy, plant-based salsa, queso, and crema de jalapeño dips are selling out everywhere, and in this episode she shares some of the valuable lessons she's learned as a true Challenger Brand, her a-ha moments, and how creating a positive culture has made all the difference. 

Episode 3: The Crunch of Disruption Marketing, Digital and Social Media expert Nancy Eichler shares her insights about disruption, strong work ethics, building great company cultures and how her online and customer experience working in the early days of AOL helped her grow Brownie Brittle from a startup challenger brand to more than $50 million in sales.

Episode 2: Banking on culture

First United Bank CEO Greg Massey shares the journey that helped transform his brand from the inside out with a challenge to all the bank’s stakeholders to Spend Life Wisely®. The bank has grown from a single location in Durant, Oklahoma to more than 70 locations across Texas and Oklahoma by defining its mission, vision, and values and living into them with consistency and enthusiasm.

Episode 1: A creator’s take on culture, 
The Voice of the Underdog™ podcast makes its debut with our first guest, author and creator-in-chief David Emerald. David is the author of The Power of TED* (*The Empowerment Dynamic)® and 3 Vital Questions® He shares his insights for laying the groundwork necessary for building a transcendent company culture.