ABOUT THIS EPISODE
"We've created a workplace filled with efficient strangers." — Thom Singer
Your team hits every metric. Projects ship on time. Nobody's underperforming. And you still can't answer a basic question: if half your people quit tomorrow, would anyone outside your walls notice or care? Thom Singer has a name for the gap — and it's not a culture problem, it's a math problem that shows up the moment you have to make a layoff list.
Thom is a keynote speaker and "conference catalyst" who's spent 15+ years helping organizations build real human connection in an increasingly AI-driven world. He's the CEO of the Austin Technology Council, a longtime podcast host, and the author of 12 books — and his core message is disarmingly simple: all opportunities come from people.
In this episode, Thom breaks down:
- Why "efficient strangers" — teams that get work done but don't actually know each other — quietly cost companies more than they realize
- The real reason two employees with similar performance get treated differently on a layoff list
- Why gatekeeping client relationships from your own team usually backfires
- A simple exercise from a pandemic-era client check-in that turned a cold Zoom call into genuine connection — and is still used years later
- The three-word audit — community, collaboration, conversation — for whether your culture is real or just a values page
#H2H #HumanConnectionPodcast #StartupLeadership #CompanyCulture #B2BRelationships
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You can connect with Thom Singer here:
You can connect with Karl Pontau here:
www.thehumanconnectionpodcast.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kpontau
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUbf_bDWwB9KVrFn5Sj3u2w?sub_confirmation=1
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