Culture Catalyst

In 1956, pioneering psychedelic researchers Abram Hoffer and Humphry Osmond were invited to join members of the Red Pheasant First Nation near North Battleford, Saskatchewan, to participate in a peyote ceremony hosted by the Native American Church of Canada. Inspired by their experience, they wrote a series of essays explaining and defending the consumption of peyote and the practice of peyotism. They enlisted the help of Hoffer’s sister, journalist Fannie Kahan, and worked closely with her to document the religious ceremony and write a history of peyote, culminating in a defense of its use as a healing and spiritual agent. Although the text shows its mid-century origins, with dated language and at times uncritical analysis, it advocates for Indigenous legal, political and religious rights and offers important insights into how psychedelic researchers, who were themselves embattled in debates over the value of spirituality in medicine, interpreted the peyote ceremony. Ultimately, they championed peyotism as a spiritual practice that they believed held distinct cultural benefits. “A Culture’s Catalyst” revives a historical debate. Revisiting it now encourages us to reconsider how peyote has been understood and how its appearance in the 1950s tested Native-newcomer relations and the Canadian government’s attitudes toward Indigenous religious and cultural practices.

Culture Catalyst: Seven Strategies to Bring Positive Change to Your Organization “Culture—not vision or strategy—is the most powerful factor in any organization. It determines the receptivity of staff and volunteers to new ideas, unleashes or dampens creativity, builds or erodes enthusiasm, and creates a sense of pride or deep discouragement about working or being involved there. Ultimately, the culture of an organization—particularly in churches and nonprofit organizations, but also in any organization—shapes individual morale, teamwork, effectiveness, and outcomes.” –from Chapter One Often, organizational leaders confuse culture with vision and strategy, but they are very different. Vision and strategy usually focus on products, services, and outcomes, but culture is about the people—an organization’s most valuable asset. Culture Catalyst: Seven Strategies to Bring Positive Change to Your Organization offers a practical resource for discovering the deficits in an existing organization’s culture, and includes the steps needed to assess, correct, and change culture from lackluster to vibrant and inspirational, so that it truly meets the needs of the organization. Prominent leadership consultant Sam Chand describes the five easily identifiable categories of organizational culture (Inspiring, Accepting, Stagnant, Discouraging, and Toxic), and includes diagnostic methods that leaders can use to identify the particular strengths and needs of their organization’s culture. To help in this process, there is also a separate, free, online assessment tool (www.samchandculturesurvey.com). Once an organization’s culture is clearly identified, leaders can put in place a strategy for applying the seven keys of CULTURE (Control, Understanding, Leadership, Trust, Unafraid, Responsive, and Execution) that will make their culture one that stimulates people to be and do their very best and ultimately reach their highest goals.

In 1956, pioneering psychedelic researchers Abram Hoffer and Humphry Osmond were invited to join members of the Red Pheasant First Nation near North Battleford, Saskatchewan, to participate in a peyote ceremony hosted by the Native American Church of Canada. Inspired by their experience, they wrote a series of essays explaining and defending the consumption of peyote and the practice of peyotism. They enlisted the help of Hoffer’s sister, journalist Fannie Kahan, and worked closely with her to document the religious ceremony and write a history of peyote, culminating in a defense of its use as a healing and spiritual agent. Although the text shows its mid-century origins, with dated language and at times uncritical analysis, it advocates for Indigenous legal, political and religious rights and offers important insights into how psychedelic researchers, who were themselves embattled in debates over the value of spirituality in medicine, interpreted the peyote ceremony. Ultimately, they championed peyotism as a spiritual practice that they believed held distinct cultural benefits. “A Culture’s Catalyst” revives a historical debate. Revisiting it now encourages us to reconsider how peyote has been understood and how its appearance in the 1950s tested Native-newcomer relations and the Canadian government’s attitudes toward Indigenous religious and cultural practices.

A Wall Street Journal Bestseller Learn how to Empower and Lead a Healthy, High-Performance Organization from the Inside Out in this Wall Street Journal Bestseller! Sometimes corporate leaders forget that businesses are human systems. Revenue, innovation, and growth are all generated by human beings. Every organization is a human system, an amalgamation of personalities, behaviors, moods, actions, and interactions. All too often, personalities when on overdrive, cause defensive aggressive or passive defensive polarities in how people work together. This causes relational friction, dysfunction, dissatisfaction, and stress - all adversely impacting organizational culture. Offering a unique combination of experiential coaching, evidence-based leadership tools, and actionable strategies, this book empowers business leaders with the wisdom and insights they need to assess how personality overdrive is causing relationship breakdowns and unnecessary conflict. Ignite Culture gives CEOs, HR, and Business Leaders a first-hand view into what causes dysfunction in the workplace and what to do about it. You learn how to cultivate a healthy company culture, increase employee engagement and performance, spark innovation among teams and align people towards a common cause. Inside, you learn to: -Understand how important introspection and self-discovery are to personal and organizational performance. -Learn the impact of our behavior on the spaces in which we work. -Experiment with new ways to alter old behaviors that inhibit growth. -Be equipped to coach and mentor others on owning their impact. -Catalyze positive change across the organization. -Inspire peak performance and achieve market leadership. "Margaret is an expert in the field of culture change and development. Her work has helped thousands of people across companies heal trust, mend broken relationships, and create space for people to start working together more effectively. Her real stories and experiences combine with research to create an authentic and powerful resource. This is the book every leader needs to read!" -Dr. Marshall Goldsmith, #1 Executive Coach and New York Times bestselling author of The Earned Life. Get Ignite Culture today!

Making the Healthcare Shift is a practical guide for healthcare leaders across the globe who have the fortitude to transform their organizations to both compete and win in the age of healthcare consumerism. Healthcare organizations finally have both the motive and means to engage and empower consumers. While healthcare organizations have recognized the need to change, they often don’t know where or how to begin. As the industry sits on the edge of transformation, marketing strategists, Scott Davis and Jeff Gourdji, reveal how traditional healthcare organizations (payers, providers, pharma companies) can prepare for the changes to come and re-invent how they engage with consumers. Making the Healthcare Shift includes over 60 executive interviews with the biggest names in healthcare and a quantitative research study. Some of these names include Mayo Clinic, Blue Cross Blue Shield plans, and Pfizer. Scott and Jeff identify five shifts organizations can make to better compete and win in this evolving landscape and offer practical advice on how to make those shifts become a reality.

Healthcare reform in the United States is a significant, strongly debated issue that has been argued since the early 1900s. Though this issue has been in circulation for decades, by integrating various new models and approaches, a more sustainable national healthcare system can perhaps be realized. Evaluating Challenges and Opportunities for Healthcare Reform presents comprehensive coverage of the development of new models of healthcare systems that seek to create sustainable and optimal healthcare by improving quality and decreasing cost. While highlighting topics including high-value care, patient interaction, and sustainable healthcare, this book is ideally designed for government officials, policymakers, lawmakers, scholars, physicians, healthcare leaders, academicians, practitioners, and students and can be used to help all interested stakeholders to make well-informed decisions related to healthcare reform and policy development for the United States and beyond, as well as to help all individuals and families in their decisions related to choices of optimal healthcare plans.

World-class experts and seasoned practitioners give deep and holistic insights on agility, preparing executives for leading under uncertainty.