"I learned a very hard lesson in my early twenties when I was running my painting business. I had a lot of my painters quit partway through the summer and I didn't understand why they were quitting on me… I was dictating. I wasn't inspiring them. I wasn't sharing my vision with them or my goals. I wasn't treating them like teammates. I was being a dictator. And my dad said to me, Kristi, people are priority. If you don't have a great team of people, you've got nothing. So make people your priority. And so I would whisper in the ear to anyone, people are priority and play is powerful. Make people priority by having some fun with some play and because it's powerful, you'll get back a lot of value from doing so."

S02E01 of the Rethink Culture podcast shines the spotlight on Kristi Herold, the founder and CEO of JAM. JAM is a company that has brought the joy of play to millions of people at work through more than 4,000 corporate events across 30+ countries. JAM has been recognized with Canada's Most Admired Culture Award, while its founder, Kristi Herold, has been named one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women.

Kristi is the best-selling author of the book It Pays to Play. Driven by a vision to engage one million people in play annually, Kristi’s passion for fun extends beyond her business. In her 40s, she taught herself to play the guitar so she could sing along, and she loves to engage in various playful activities, from card games to theatre to singing. Kristi's mission is connecting people through play, and she shares with us her insights on why prioritizing people and incorporating play into the workplace can enhance team cohesion, employee satisfaction, and overall productivity.

The podcast is produced by Rethink Culture (rethinkculture.co). Our Culture Health Check helps you turn your culture into a competitive advantage, with data.

Production, video, and audio editing by Evangelia Alexaki of Musicove Productions.

Listen to this episode to find out:
• How JAM became a workplace where thousands of friendships, marriages, and business relationships have flourished.
• What are the benefits of prioritizing people and integrating play into the workplace.
• Why the first day at work should be a memorable and engaging experience.
• How play fosters meaningful interactions, creativity, friendship, as well as trust and vulnerability.
• If play is suitable for your business, even if it is a serious institution.
• How JAM incorporates playful aspects into the interview process.
• Why Kristi prioritizes hiring for cultural complement over culture fit.
• Why cutting play during the pandemic was detrimental to JAM's employee performance.
• Why Kristi prefers to hire people with workplace experience that can appreciate the culture at JAM.

Further resources:
• Kristi's website: https://www.kristiherold.com/
• Kristi's book offer for our listeners: https://www.kristiherold.com/rethink25/
• Kristi's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristi-herold/
• JAM website: https://jamgroup.com/
• It Pays to PLAY: How Play Improves Business Culture, by Kristi Herold: https://www.amazon.com/Pays-PLAY-Improves-Business-Culture/dp/1544536224