#010 Transforming Teams with LEGO with Brandon Wetzstein

Have you ever thought about what gets in the way of teams achieving the results they want? My guest, Andres Marquez-Lara, makes the case that it’s not due to a lack of tools or technology, but rather due to miscommunication, misaligned agendas, ego and conflict. Or, as he calls it, “messy human stuff.” Andres is a leadership development and collaboration expert who combines his training in clinical psychology with his background in improv and theater to create connections that help people come together and get past the barriers that get in the way of accomplishing great work. 

In this episode Andres and I discuss how he works with leaders and organizations to navigate the “messy human stuff” that gets in the way of team engagement, trust, alignment, and the achievement of organizational goals. We also talk about how he learned to use skills from improv and theater to build community, how creating trust is an ongoing activity, the importance of self-awareness for leaders, the lessons he learned through his experience as an immigrant, and his book writing experiment using Chat GPT. 

ABOUT OUR GUEST 

Andres Marquez-Lara is Founder and CEO of UFacilitate. He helps high-performing teams in nonprofit and philanthropic institutions deal with the “messy human stuff” that creates silos that put their mission at risk by breaking down barriers to collaboration across people, departments, and organizations.

Andres is Adjunct Faculty at the Executive Master in Policy Leadership (EMPL) and Master of Policy Management (MPM) at the Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy, Adjunct Faculty at Georgetown University Institute for Transformative Leadership and a Guest Lecturer at the Georgetown University’s Latin America Leadership Program (LALP). He is also a Senior Fellow at the Center for Excellence in Public Leadership (CEPL) at George Washington University, and an Advisor at the Emergence Project for Purposeful Entrepreneurship at Stanford University. 

He was named one of the emerging social innovators of the year in North America by Ashoka and American Express back in 2014. He also received the George C. Askew Award from the American Academy of Certified Public Managers for his exceptional curriculum when he worked at the DC Department of Behavioral Health. He earned a BA in psychology from Duke University, and a graduate degree in clinical community psychology from the Universidad Catolica Andres Bello in Caracas, Venezuela. He lives in the triangle area in North Carolina with his wife and two young children.

Download Andres’ book “Facilitating Leadership” here: https://www.ufacilitate.com/book/

ABOUT MAKING BUSINESS ART 

Making Business Art is a podcast for curious people where we explore how to make our work more meaningful and enchanting for ourselves and the people we serve. We draw lessons and inspiration from entrepreneurs, designers, scientists, creative leaders and artists about creating remarkable experiences that light up our customers and our teams.

This podcast is the creation of and hosted by me, Ezequiel Williams. I am an entrepreneur, innovation strategist, facilitator, and business designer. I help leaders and teams see their challenges differently and find ways to deliver value that are more desirable and satisfying for the people they serve. I am very curious and love to learn about how things work, what makes people tick, and how to create more joy in the world. 

Instagram: @MakingBusinessArt 

Most of us have been disenchanted with the world of work at some point in our careers. But what if the culture of our organizations actively encouraged better communication, creativity and experimentation in pursuit of creating much better solutions for the people we serve? My guest and creative leadership consultant, Arne van Oosterom, is sought after by leaders who seek to foster that environment for their teams.  

In this conversation Arne and I discuss how he helps leaders and teams stretch the boundaries of what they think is possible. We explore Arne’s path to becoming the entrepreneur and creative leadership consultant he is today, including how dyslexia shaped how he engaged with the world, how he learned to overcome the fear of failure, and how he incorporated what he learned as a musician, visual artist, photographer, and comedian into businesses he founded. Arne’s story is an example of how the skills and tools from the world of art can help us transform ourselves and how we show up and lead in the world of work. My hope is that, like me, you find Arne’s story a source of inspiration that helps you reframe any personal limitation, recognize your different abilities and talents, and find ways to bring them together into a more creative, integrated and more satisfying expression of yourself.    

ABOUT OUR GUEST 

As an accomplished creative facilitator, leadership coach, trainer, and keynote speaker, Arne van Oosterom has devoted his career to sparking inspiration and empowering individuals and organizations worldwide. In 2006, he founded DesignThinkers Group and DesignThinkers Academy. Today, these organizations stand at the forefront of the innovation landscape, with thriving teams spanning over 25 countries. Aiming to push boundaries even further, Arne launched Blue Sky Republic in 2020. This initiative serves as a nurturing sanctuary for change agents, innovators, generalists, misfits, and open-minded thinkers, all collaborating to redefine the realm of possibilities. His expertise commands attention from a broad spectrum of clients, including startups, governments, and industry titans like Under Armour, Coca Cola, Volkswagen, BOSCH, Philips, SAP, ING Bank, Estée Lauder, Cartier, and L’Oréal. Arne’s mission is to inspire, educate, and build connections, challenging traditional thought patterns and paving the way for a brighter, more innovative future. 

ABOUT MAKING BUSINESS ART 

Making Business Art is a podcast for curious people where we explore how to make our work more meaningful and enchanting for ourselves and the people we serve. We draw lessons and inspiration from entrepreneurs, designers, scientists, creative leaders and artists about creating remarkable experiences that light up our customers and our teams.

This podcast is the creation of and hosted by me, Ezequiel Williams. I am an entrepreneur, innovation strategist, facilitator, and business designer. I help leaders and teams see their challenges differently and find ways to deliver value that are more desirable and satisfying for the people they serve. I am very curious and love to learn about how things work, what makes people tick, and how to create more joy in the world.

Instagram: @MakingBusinessArt

What is a restaurant, or product, or a hospitality experience that you love and would highly recommend to a good friend? What was it about that brand that really hooked you, and what would you say about it to somebody else? 

My guest and branding strategist and storyteller, Cheryl Farr, points out that a brand is not so much about what we say about ourselves, but what other people say about you. Or to echo the words of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, a brand is what people say when you are not in the room. 

In this conversation Cheryl and I talk about how she helps teams create brands people trust and love, and her path to learn and get really good at her craft. Her journey reminds and teaches us how we can connect the dots among our different passions and experiences to create a work life we love while helping others put their best foot forward. Cheryl brings a rare and refreshing depth of care, commitment, insight and wisdom to her approach to brand creation and strategy. This conversation is peppered with insights and tips, and I hope you come away with as much inspiration and takeaways as I did. 

ABOUT OUR GUEST 

Cheryl Farr is the Founder and Chief Strategist for SIGNAL Brand Innovation, a brand consultancy and strategic design agency dedicated to creating and activating brands people love. She founded the firm in 2009 to help organizations and leaders align their brands with their business strategies and take great leaps forward. Her success stories include Fairmont Hotels and Resorts where she helped position the brand for expansive worldwide growth, the Polti Group where she led the creation of an innovative new consumer trending methodology to guide product and marketing innovations for the nation’s largest homebuilder, and Cornell Hotel Society where she crafted the ultimate rallying cry for the world’s largest and most influential hospitality alumni network. 

Cheryl has led multiple brand development and repositioning initiatives as part of mergers and acquisitions, most notably in the technology space. She is a former travel writer and editor for recognized guidebooks like “Frommer’s,” “for Dummies” and Travel + Leisure. 

Cheryl holds master’s degrees in business and history from Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration and Columbia University. She is a writer and a public speaker on topics related to branding and creating winning experiences for customers and employees. She is also passionate about mid-century architecture and design and lives in the mid-century modern mecca of Palm Springs, California with her husband, Tony, and their talkative Shih Tzu, Harry Carson, who incidentally has his own Instagram handle, “@HarryCarsonSpeaks.”

ABOUT MAKING BUSINESS ART 

Making Business Art is a podcast for curious people where we explore how to make our work more meaningful and enchanting for ourselves and the people we serve. We draw lessons and inspiration from entrepreneurs, designers, scientists, creative leaders and artists about creating remarkable experiences that light up our customers and our teams.

This podcast is the creation of and hosted by me, Ezequiel Williams. I am an entrepreneur, innovation strategist, facilitator, and business designer. I help leaders and teams see their challenges differently and find ways to deliver value that are more desirable and satisfying for the people they serve. I am very curious and love to learn about how things work, what makes people tick, and how to create more joy in the world. 

Instagram: @MakingBusinessArt 

What do you think about emerging technologies with Artificial Intelligence? It’s a topic that some people find distressing, others are cautious or curious, and some, like my guest Rick McCawley, see enormous potential for creativity and productivity. Rick believes that AI can help us do away with boring grunt work while amplifying our creativity, productivity, and our ability to express ourselves. Since the release of a number of AI-based tools to the public in 2022, Rick has racked up thousands of hours applying AI to his expertise as photographer, designer, professor, and author.  

In this episode Rick and I discuss how he is integrating AI into his work, the distinction between AI as a tool and what it really takes to make work that connects with and moves people, his thoughts on how we can benefit from AI, and lessons he is passing on to his students and sharing with the broader community. I believe that showing is greater than telling, and Rick’s growing body of work with AI truly does show us the door to broader horizons. I was inspired by this conversation and I hope it sparks your curiosity to explore how these tools can help you make your work more meaningful and enchanting for yourself and the people you serve.   

ABOUT OUR GUEST 

Rick McCawley is a Photographer, Design Thinker, and Senior Professor of Graphic Design & Photography at Broward College in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida for the past 23 years. 

During his 13-year tenure as a staff photographer for the Miami Herald (1980-1993), Rick’s assignments included covering the first space shuttle launch, photographing four Presidents, and the Pope. He was part of the Miami Herald’s Pulitzer Prize-winning team for public service in 1993. His photographs have been featured in prominent publications worldwide, including Time magazine, Bunte, The New York Times, and numerous others. 

Rick is an accomplished publisher with more than 28 books on Graphic Design, Photography, and Fine Art to his name. His latest works include the "Top 100" book series, covering categories such as Underwater, Travel, Photojournalism, and Fine Art. 

As the head of his consulting firm, Digital Renaissance, Rick specializes in providing training and developing digital arts curriculum for universities in the Southeast U.S. Furthermore, Rick is a founding member of The Miami Street Photography Festival and frequently serves as a lecturer at the events. 

He holds an MA in Photography from Barry University and an MFA in Graphic Design from Florida Atlantic University.

You can learn more about Rick’s work at: https://bit.ly/m/RickMcCawley  

ABOUT MAKING BUSINESS ART 

Making Business Art is a podcast for curious people where we explore how to make our work more meaningful and enchanting for ourselves and the people we serve. We draw lessons and inspiration from entrepreneurs, designers, scientists, creative leaders and artists about creating remarkable experiences that light up our customers and our teams.

This podcast is the creation of and hosted by me, Ezequiel Williams. I am an entrepreneur, innovation strategist, facilitator, and business designer. I help leaders and teams see their challenges differently and find ways to deliver value that are more desirable and satisfying for the people they serve. I am very curious and love to learn about how things work, what makes people tick, and how to create more joy in the world. 

Instagram: @MakingBusinessArt 

For many of us work is a place where we *have* to go. But what if it was a place we *wanted* to go? What would have to be true for work to be a better place for all of us? 

My guest and employee experience design expert, Lisa Morris, is passionate about designing ways to make the world of work a much better place for people. 

In this conversation Lisa and I discuss her perspective on shifts in the workplace in the last 30 years, discovering human-centered design and shifting her professional focus to employee experience design, mentorship, distinguishing between technical expertise and true leadership, deep listening and making a connection with each other at work, the importance mindset plays in enabling people to design effective solutions, how studying typography helped her be a more effective consultant, the workplace as community, how to make work a better place for people and more.   

ABOUT OUR GUEST 

Lisa Morris has over 25+ years’ experience at the forefront of brand, organizational behavior, and human-centered design. As founder and CEO of XPLOR, she has become a leading expert in EX design and service design. Her innovative approach has helped clients in a range of sectors bridge design and execution to create engaging and memorable experiences for their customers and employees that create lasting value. 

Before starting XPLOR, Lisa served as a Senior Director at Sparks Grove, where she led the Global Employer Brand and Employee Experience Practice and co-led the Service Design Practice. During her tenure, she helped some of the world's most prominent brands, including Coca-Cola, Red Hat, and Johnson & Johnson, tackle complex employee engagement challenges.

Prior to Sparks Grove, Lisa spent nearly 20 years at Accenture, where she worked with a diverse set of global clients, including Accenture itself. Her educational background includes an undergraduate degree in Mass Communications and a graduate degree in Organizational Behavior and Communication from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Additionally, Lisa holds advanced certificates in Employer Brand Strategy, Graphic Design, Human-Centered Design, and Service Design, and is a certified Human-Centered Design Instructor and Facilitator.

ABOUT MAKING BUSINESS ART 

Making Business Art is a podcast for curious people where we explore how to make our work more meaningful and enchanting for ourselves and the people we serve. We draw lessons and inspiration from entrepreneurs, designers, scientists, creative leaders and artists about creating remarkable experiences that light up our customers and our teams.

This podcast is the creation of and hosted by me, Ezequiel Williams. I am an entrepreneur, innovation strategist, facilitator, and business designer. I help leaders and teams see their challenges differently and find ways to deliver value that are more desirable and satisfying for the people they serve. I am very curious and love to learn about how things work, what makes people tick, and how to create more joy in the world. 

Instagram: @MakingBusinessArt 

As the pace of change and complexity of our world keeps accelerating, it is increasingly necessary for us to develop the leadership skills to navigate the demands emerging from shifts in markets and society.   

My guest and leadership development and culture consultant, Chris Baer, observes that some leadership approaches that worked in the past are no longer adequate to meet the demands of our emerging reality. Instead, Chris believes that it is more important than ever to lead with heart, develop greater discernment and key “inner skills” that help us produce “outer results.” 

In this conversation Chris and I discuss the lessons he has learned in nearly three decades of navigating waves of disruptive technologies, his role as a global innovation leader, his work developing leaders, teams, and winning innovation cultures in organizations, and his latest initiative, the Insight Leadership Accelerator. We also explore Chris’ insights into human development and teamwork, his role as co-founder of Sunstone Therapies*, a healthcare company conducting research on psychedelic-assisted therapies, his passion for abstract painting and DJing, and how he has adapted and applied the lessons learned from these creative pursuits in his work accelerating growth in leaders and teams. 

*See Sunstone Therapies featured on ep. 2 of the Netflix docuseries “How to Change Your Mind” 

ABOUT OUR GUEST 

Chris Baer has spent over 25 years working at the intersection of brand, digital technology and innovation, and has a particular passion for leadership development. His experience spans founding start-ups to helping power global brands, and he has consulted across healthcare, hospitality, real estate, insurance and other industries.

Chris presently leads design at A&MPLIFY, a global agency advising clients aiming to employ AI to serve customers and support employees.  He is also founder of Mandala, a consultancy offering innovation and leadership programs that rapidly upskill leaders and teams.  

Chris is a co-founder of Sunstone Therapies, a healthcare company bringing trial psychedelic therapies to treat depression, anxiety and PTSD in the medical setting. 

Previously, Chris looked after global leadership development and talent experience design at Marriott International, where he developed a global innovation blueprint, oversaw worldwide talent and customer experience initiatives, digital product innovation and talent and executive development.

Chris is also a fine artist working in oil paint and glass. His work is in private collections and has been featured in the United States embassies abroad.

Chris holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial design from Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), where he has been a guest lecturer. He also has co-taught innovation at the University of Virginia’s Batten Institute executive MBA program.

ABOUT MAKING BUSINESS ART 

Making Business Art is a podcast for curious people where we explore how to make our work more meaningful and enchanting for ourselves and the people we serve. We draw lessons and inspiration from entrepreneurs, designers, scientists, creative leaders and artists about creating remarkable experiences that light up our customers and our teams.

This podcast is the creation of and hosted by me, Ezequiel Williams. I am an entrepreneur, innovation strategist, facilitator, and business designer. I help leaders and teams see their challenges differently and find ways to deliver value that are more desirable and satisfying for the people they serve. I am very curious and love to learn about how things work, what makes people tick, and how to create more joy in the world.

Instagram: @MakingBusinessArt

Have you ever felt the urge to take off and travel the world? My guest Lauren Rathvon did just that – and then went on to build a travel business that takes people on meticulously curated and crafted tours that aim to connect travelers with places and people in deeply personal ways. Lauren teaches us about the value of building trust with the people we serve, how to deliver excellent service and craft experiences that some of her clients have called the “trip of a lifetime.”   

In this conversation Lauren and I talk about the importance and art of delivering great customer service, lessons learned in her career, the unintended consequences of being good at what you do, the value and craft of creating trust with customers, the launch of her travel business, designing truly memorable travel experiences, healing and the power of placebos, her experiences at Taco Bell around the world, making friends with street dogs, and her favorite song by The Muppets.  

ABOUT OUR GUEST 

Lauren Rathvon is the founder and owner of RetreaTours, a small travel company with a focus on Around the World journeys, as well as cultural experiences, wildlife safaris, and Buddhist pilgrimages (all of which are triple carbon offset). She has been living on the road for over a decade, researching and creating travel itineraries year-round with her husband BJ Graf.

Lauren specializes in making the "daunting" more accessible to her guests with patience and humor. Prior to her life on the road, Lauren was an Acupuncture Physician and Doctor of Oriental Medicine with a passion for treating stress and anxiety. On the road she enjoys taking photos, exploring exactly what "Mexican" food means around the world, and spending quality time with each and every street dog she encounters.  

You can find Retretours on Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, TikTok and at www.retreatours.com. 

ABOUT MAKING BUSINESS ART 

Making Business Art is a podcast for curious people where we draw lessons and inspiration from creative leaders, entrepreneurs, artists, designers, and scientists about making a beautiful business and life. We have conversations about how to create a powerful connection with the people we serve while making our craft an engine for personal growth.  

This podcast is the creation of and hosted by me, Ezequiel Williams. I am an entrepreneur, innovation strategist, facilitator, and business designer. I help leaders and teams see their challenges differently and find ways to deliver value that are more desirable and satisfying for the people they serve. I am very curious and love to learn about how things work, what makes people tick, and how to create more joy in the world. 

Instagram: @MakingBusinessArt 

Bringing scientists and artists together to collaborate on projects may seem counterintuitive, yet it can have transformative results. Although we might think of scientists and artists as being quite different, they both share and participate in the act of observation and asking questions that open the door to exploration and discovery. It is at this point of departure in the process of discovery that a meeting between the world of art and science can achieve a much greater impact in generation of new questions, compelling ideas, and engaging communication with partners and the world at large.

My guest Claudia Schnugg is a scholar, curator, and consultant who specializes in exploring new ways of employing artistic strategies in a wide variety of scientific organizations.   

In this conversation Claudia and I discuss her experience researching and working with science-based organizations and artists, the benefits of multi-disciplinary approaches to problem-solving, how art can contribute to wellbeing among workers in organizations, and much more. 

ABOUT OUR GUEST 

Claudia Schnugg, holds a PhD in social and economic sciences and is an independent researcher and curator developing methodologies for innovation and meaningful interaction with the arts, science and technology. Her academic expertise builds on social, economic, and cultural sciences. 

 She has been producer and curator of artist-in-residency programs, and catalyst for numerous international artscience projects. This includes projects with partners such as Helmholtz Center Munich, Accenture, Science Gallery, European Space Agency ESTEC, Johannes Kepler University, Pro Helvetia, and also with individual scientific projects, independent galleries and artscience spaces. Her most recent book is Creating ArtScience Collaborations (2019), published by Palgrave Macmillan.

Claudia is currently based in Wels, Austria, and can be found online at www.claudiaschnugg.com  

ABOUT MAKING BUSINESS ART 

Making Business Art is a podcast for curious people where we draw lessons and inspiration from creative leaders, entrepreneurs, artists, designers, and scientists about making a beautiful business and life. We have conversations about how to create a powerful connection with the people we serve while making our craft an engine for personal growth.  

This podcast is the creation of and hosted by me, Ezequiel Williams. I am an entrepreneur, innovation strategist, facilitator, and business designer. I help leaders and teams see their challenges differently and find ways to deliver value that are more desirable and satisfying for the people they serve. I am very curious and love to learn about how things work, what makes people tick, and how to create more joy in the world.

Instagram: @MakingBusinessArt

Few things bring people together like shared genuine laughter or a compelling story. While we might typically associate these and other elements from the world of performing arts with entertainment, they can also be powerful tools that enable people to come together and collaborate effectively in solving complex problems in novel ways. My guest and customer experience consultant, Adam Lawrence, borrows techniques from the world of theater, comedy, improv, design, and psychology to help teams in the private and public sector tackle difficult challenges and deliver value in ways that deepen connection with customers. 

In this wide-ranging conversation, Adam and I discuss his experience applying techniques from theater, comedy and improv to facilitating innovation projects around the world We also cover the value of using laughter to bring people together; the magic of the “common breath;” what makes a facilitator effective; balancing structure, freedom, fear and trust when working with teams; the distinction of “being” versus “doing” in facilitation and design; taking smart risks and embracing different ways of solving problems; the difference between facilitating and “difficultating;” the benefits of allowing ourselves to be childlike; Adam’s medieval hobby, and praise for Kate Bush. 

ABOUT OUR GUEST 

Adam Lawrence is a customer experience consultant, comedian and actor with a background in psychology and the global automotive industry. For years he has been using expertise gained in the world of theater, film, stand-up comedy and storytelling to help organizations influence and impress their customers and partners. 

Adam is co-founder of WorkPlayExperience, and co-initiator of the Global Service Jam - the world’s biggest ever service design event (so far). He is a co-author of the top selling book, “This is Service Design Doing.” 

Find out more about Adam here: https://linktr.ee/adamstjohn 

ABOUT MAKING BUSINESS ART 

Making Business Art is a podcast for curious people where we draw lessons and inspiration from creative leaders, entrepreneurs, artists, designers, and scientists about making a beautiful business and life. We have conversations about how to create a powerful connection with the people we serve while making our craft an engine for personal growth.  

This podcast is the creation of and hosted by me, Ezequiel Williams. I am an entrepreneur, innovation strategist, facilitator, and business designer. I help leaders and teams see their challenges differently and find ways to deliver value that are more desirable and satisfying for the people they serve. I am very curious and love to learn about how things work, what makes people tick, and how to create more joy in the world. 

Instagram: @MakingBusinessArt 

Have you ever been in a situation at work where people are not communicating clearly, feel stuck, and are disengaged? What if I told you that type of situation could be turned around with...LEGO bricks!

While LEGO may have been a cherished part of your childhood, it turns out that we can still use LEGO as grown ups to improve how we work while adding more play to our work lives along the way. My guest Brandon Wetzstein is the founder of In8 Create and team performance consultant who employs a method known as LEGO Serious Play to enable teams to align and communicate more clearly, define and build culture and strategy, and use the power of metaphor to tell stories that transform how they work and achieve their goals together. 

In this episode Brandon and I talk about his journey from working in corporate operations at Fortune 100 retailers to starting his own consulting business, his early experiments bringing improv into his corporate teams. the joys of PowerPoint Karaoke, how leaders and teams can dramatically improve communications through LEGO Serious Play, stories you can tell with a LEGO duck, how just six pieces of LEGO can yield thousands of build variations, and how making conversations visual and tangible can exponentially amplify the level of communication, understanding, and alignment among groups of people. 

ABOUT OUR GUEST 

Brandon Wetzstein is an innovator, entrepreneur, and lifelong learner who enjoys finding ways in which we can be our best selves. After many years in the retail industry with multiple Fortune 100 companies, he started IN8 Create- A firm that designs and facilitates custom workshops aimed at unearthing the potential of teams and organizations.

Brandon loves to read and is especially interested in human behavior. He also enjoys cooking, gaming, being in nature, and the joy of a wonderful nap.

In8 Create 

Instagram: @in8create   

ABOUT MAKING BUSINESS ART 

Making Business Art is a podcast for curious people where we draw lessons and inspiration from creative leaders, entrepreneurs, artists, designers, and scientists about making a beautiful business and life. We have conversations about how to create a powerful connection with the people we serve while making our craft an engine for personal growth.  

This podcast is the creation of and hosted by me, Ezequiel Williams. I am an entrepreneur, innovation strategist, facilitator, and business designer. I help leaders and teams see their challenges differently and find ways to deliver value that are more desirable and satisfying for the people they serve. I am very curious and love to learn about how things work, what makes people tick, and how to create more joy in the world. 

Instagram: @MakingBusinessArt