In this episode of the Culture From the Heart Podcast, hosts Larry Levine and Darrell Amy are joined John Sansoucie, Chairman and CEO of CogNet, shares what he has learned from growing the business from roughly 67 employees to around 670 while working across continents and cultures. For John, preserving culture through growth starts with communication. Leaders must over-communicate strategy, stay visible, measure what matters, and make sure employees understand both where the company is headed and how they contribute.
The conversation also explores how to build a genuine family atmosphere across cultural and geographic boundaries. John emphasizes listening, participation, and understanding what matters to employees rather than defining culture entirely from the top down. At the heart of CogNet’s philosophy is a simple belief: the people are the product. That means investing in training, development, wellbeing, and long-term relationships while helping American and Indian teams better understand one another.
John also discusses the challenge of maintaining culture while introducing new leadership, new ideas, and AI. Technology can create opportunity, but it can also disrupt the way people work, making clear communication even more important. His advice is to keep a pulse on the people, combine institutional knowledge with fresh perspectives, communicate change repeatedly, and protect the human relationships that made the organization successful in the first place.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Culture becomes more intentional as a company grows. What happens naturally with a small team requires communication, measurement, and leadership involvement at scale.
- Leaders must listen to employees instead of designing culture entirely from the top down. Participation and connection reveal what truly matters to the people inside the organization.
- People are the foundation of the business. Training, development, wellbeing, and long-term relationships are investments in the company's most important asset.
- Cross-cultural leadership requires understanding in both directions. Strong partnerships emerge when employees and customers learn how the other side communicates, works, and lives.
- Outsourcing works best when outsourced employees are treated as part of the client's team. Real relationships, clear responsibilities, and honest expectations create stronger collaboration.
- Growth, new leadership, and AI all require over-communication. When the organization changes, leaders must repeatedly explain where the company is going and why.
QUOTES
- “Our product is our people, period.”
- “Listen a little bit is a big one.”
- “You’ve got to allow both cultures to exist.”
- “We don’t just teach topic. We teach culture and who we are.”
- “This is your team. They just happen to work for me.”
- “Pay attention and keep your pulse on the culture and the people.”
Learn more about Darrell and Larry.
Darrell’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrellamy/
Larry’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/larrylevine1992/
Connect and learn more from John Sansoucie
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