Growth Hacking Culture
Most workplace advice treats people as the problem. Growth Hacking Culture starts from the opposite premise: if your best people are disengaged, burned out, or leaving, the system is broken, not them.
Hosted by Ivan Palomino, this top 5% global podcast brings you unfiltered conversations with the people rewriting the rules of work: executives from Apple, Goldman Sachs, and Zappos, organizational psychologists, neuroscientists, and founders who've built cultures that perform without burning people down.
No corporate wellness fluff. No recycled leadership clichés. Just the behavioral science, psychology, and uncomfortable truths behind workplace culture, employee engagement, and leadership that actually works.
For HR leaders, CHROs, founders, and executives who suspect the standard playbook is the problem.
Most workplace advice treats people as the problem. Growth Hacking Culture starts from the opposite premise: if your best people are disengaged, burned out, or leaving, the system is broken, not them.
Hosted by Ivan Palomino, this top 5% global podcast brings you unfiltered conversations with the people rewriting the rules of work: executives from Apple, Goldman Sachs, and Zappos, organizational psychologists, neuroscientists, and founders who've built cultures that perform without burning people down.
No corporate wellness fluff. No recycled leadership clichés. Just the behavioral science, psychology, and uncomfortable truths behind workplace culture, employee engagement, and leadership that actually works.
For HR leaders, CHROs, founders, and executives who suspect the standard playbook is the problem.
Episodes

Mar 27, 2022
Mar 27, 2022
8 min
Technology is accelerating the transformation of jobs: some will be inexistent in 5 years and new ones will be created. Beyond the skills that are more contextual to businesses: critical thinking, creativity, agility, continuous learning - human skills have come up to the ranking: the ones that are related to self-management such as mental capacity, stress management, resilience. These have become essential to thrive in a world where adapting to a continuously changing world is paramount to the survival of organizations and to make individuals fulfill their potential.
📖 Here is an interesting reading to complement this podcast on Lifelong Learning Skills You Should Build Today at Work
This episode is hosted by Elena Agaragimova and Ivan Palomino.
🚀 Subscribe to our monthly 📧 newsletter https://bessern.substack.com/ and Get superpowered for your self-development: learn stuff that makes you proud of you, manage your wellbeing, have the mindset to make your life awesome.
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Mar 27, 2022
8 min

Mar 24, 2022
Mar 24, 2022
54 min
Our impressive guest speaker in this episode is John Sanei - He is going to take us through ten things we can do to develop foresight from where we are.
+ Understand the moment and prepare for life as you now know it to be.
+ Focus your energy on what you want.
+ Follow your curiosity and find your wisdom.
The unprecedented global crisis has been an opportunity to prepare ourselves for the collective future we want. Now is the time to invent new ways to add value to a world in desperate need of help. This may mean that we need to start again and reimagine our purpose. Who knows, we may well like the new story better.
About our guest: John Sanei (Sah-nay) is a Knowledge Mercenary who travels the globe to uncover the lessons needed to uplift communities and help humanity thrive. His unlimited fascination with the future has seen him become Africa’s first faculty member at Singularity University in San Francisco, a lecturer at Duke Corporate Education in Johannesburg, and a Partner Associate at the Copenhagen Institute of Future Studies in Denmark. Author of best-sellers such as FutureNext, What’s Your Moonshot?, Magnetiize and FOREsight, John is also the Co-founder and Chief Exponential Officer at Future Self Academy, an author-led, online platform that connectors the curious to leading thinkers. Despite this success, John still freely shares his passion and excitement through his signature videos – find him online and start upgrading your perspective.
This episode is hosted by Elena Agaragimova
🚀 Subscribe to our monthly 📧 newsletter https://bessern.substack.com/ and Get superpowered for your self-development: learn stuff that makes you proud of you, manage your wellbeing, have the mindset to make your life awesome.
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Mar 24, 2022
54 min

Mar 21, 2022
Your time for action to fight Stress at Work
Mar 21, 2022
Mar 21, 2022
8 min
Awareness about the impact of stress at work has become one of the most important topic of discussions among corporations today. Despite campaigns and talks about its impact (physical, mental and financial); not enough progress has materialized. - The level of stress has skyrocketed comparing the pre-COVID period vs. today - Still today, many employees feel that it is not a good idea to voice over concerns on stress at work: half of employees fear negative consequences such as being denied a raise or promotion. If your company is not doing enough: speak up!
Start doing your own actions for you and others to pro-actively self-care: listen to some actionable points to take control of your levels of anxiety at work: Experiment what could work for you: mindfulness, setting boundaries, venting your stress, no-meeting day, going for a jog, meeting a friend, doing something new, anything that makes you feel good.
Final tip, get a process to manage your stress by practicing habit formation.
📖 Here is an interesting reading to complement this podcast on Understanding the root cause of of burnout at work
🏆 Do you want to learn about the Simply Human! Awards ✨ ? a platform to recognize HR professionals making an impact on Humans in their Organizations. Nominations are open!
This episode is hosted by Elena Agaragimova and Ivan Palomino.
🚀 Subscribe to our monthly 📧 newsletter https://bessern.substack.com/ and Get superpowered for your self-development: learn stuff that makes you proud of you, manage your wellbeing, have the mindset to make your life awesome.
🚀 Follow us on:
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Twitter https://twitter.com/BessernOfficial
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/bessernofficial
Mar 21, 2022
8 min

Mar 17, 2022
Mar 17, 2022
1 hr 6 min
It is not easy to compete in the modern marketplace. Standing out amongst growing competition, surviving salary cuts and tending with the forces of digitalization are critical challenges. Most professionals are aware that differentiation is key to survival, but very few are able to differentiate successfully in practice. In this webinar, we were joined by a guest speaker:
Samuel Salzer, who will discuss with us how do we actually create habits to help us build thriving organizations and foster mental well-being.
Some of the topics covered:
- What is the current situation of employees in corporate? What is in the CEO agenda or the organization?
- Working from home? Enhance productivity and wellbeing during crisis
- What are we doing right or wrong to deal with performance and wellbeing? - What can we learn from the way the brain works to increase chances of success?
About our Learn With Bessern Guest: Samuel Salzer is a leading behavioral strategist and habit expert, having worked with organizations across Europe, Australia, and North America. Among other things, he's one of the world's first Chief Behavioral Officer (CBO) in tech, and he specializes in applying insights from behavioral science and behavioral economics to build user-centered and habit-forming products and services. At the forefront of the emerging field of Behavioral Design, Samuel is a frequent keynote speaker, curates the popular newsletter Habit Weekly, and has co-authored “Nudging in practice - Helping organizations make it easy to do the right thing.” The book offers a comprehensive guide to organizations interested in understanding and systematically utilizing behavioral insights.
This episode is hosted by Elena Agaragimova and Ivan Palomino.
🚀 Subscribe to our monthly 📧 newsletter https://bessern.substack.com/ and Get superpowered for your self-development: learn stuff that makes you proud of you, manage your wellbeing, have the mindset to make your life awesome.
🚀 Follow us on:
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/bessern.co
Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/bessern
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YouTube https://www.youtube.com/bessernofficial
Mar 17, 2022
1 hr 6 min

Mar 16, 2022
Mar 16, 2022
37 min
The world of work has seen a shift in different areas of work in recent years - from corporates caring about wellbeing at work, to remote work and challenges & opportunities that came along to how we, as leaders & organizations, see the future of the workplace in general. In this insightful conversation with Ben Eubanks - speaker, author, and researcher, specializing in the field of human resources and workforce of the future - we sit down to discuss lessons learned from the pandemic, how we can make the workplace more human, how technology can help us makes it more accessible and affordable for us to learn in organizations, as well as how micro learnings are leading the way when it comes to upskilling an organization.
About Ben Eubanks: He is a speaker, author, and researcher living in Huntsville, Alabama. Ben is the Chief Research Officer at Lighthouse Research & Advisory and the author of Artificial Intelligence for HR: Use AI to Build a Successful Workforce. His work has been featured in the New York Times, Business Insider, SHRM, HR Executive, and other influential outlets.
📖 Here is an interesting reading to complement this podcast on 4 cultural pillars for creating awesome organizations
This episode is hosted by Elena Agaragimova and Ivan Palomino.
🚀 Subscribe to our monthly 📧 newsletter https://bessern.substack.com/ and Get superpowered for your self-development: learn stuff that makes you proud of you, manage your wellbeing, have the mindset to make your life awesome.
🚀 Follow us on:
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/bessern.co
Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/bessern
Twitter https://twitter.com/BessernOfficial
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/bessernofficial
Mar 16, 2022
37 min

Mar 16, 2022
Mar 16, 2022
7 min
In this episode of Learn with Bessern - we discuss on the value of creating trust and go beyond sympathy and assertiveness.
It is nice to be liked. It is our human nature to want to belong and be accepted. It would be awesome to be liked and respected as a leader, but more often than not this is not the case.
We hear this saying a lot - don’t be liked, be respected – but it has different meanings depending on the context. There are leaders who use it as an excuse to be just awful and rude. That is not the aim here. From our side, what it means is that sometimes you will have to do things that people might not like, but if you truly believe it is the best course of action then you cannot worry about being disliked as a result of the decision.
Being respected when you grow too fast can be challenging because your once colleagues are now reporting to you – that alone can cause friction and interpersonal conflicts. On top of that, if you are the type of leader who is looking to create change in an organization, you are going to make many people uncomfortable and surely you will not always be liked.
📖 Here is an interesting reading to complement this podcast on the Steps To Motivate Your Employees https://www.bessern.co/post/10-easy-steps-to-motivate-your-employees-in-2022
🎙️ This episode is hosted by Elena Agaragimova and Ivan Palomino.
🚀 Subscribe to our monthly 📧 newsletter https://bessern.substack.com/ and Get superpowered for your self-development: learn stuff that makes you proud of you, manage your wellbeing, have the mindset to make your life awesome.
🚀 Follow us on:
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/bessern.co
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/bessern
Twitter https://twitter.com/BessernOfficial
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Mar 16, 2022
7 min

Mar 14, 2022
How to do an effective virtual learning at work
Mar 14, 2022
Mar 14, 2022
7 min
One of the challenges corporations have experienced is that since individuals have increasingly joined online meetings, trainings and projects discussion - employees frequently have numerous interruptions and distractions, keeping them from being completely present and focused in their online interaction. In this episode of #LearnWithBessern, we talk about how organizations can facilitate seamless and effective online interactions. What do we take into consideration to do better online trainings?
📖 Here is an interesting reading to complement this podcast on How to design a affective remote training approach at work
🏆 Do you want to learn about the Simply Human! Awards ✨ ? a platform to recognize HR professionals making an impact on Humans in their Organizations. Nominations are open!
This episode is hosted by Elena Agaragimova and Ivan Palomino.
🚀 Subscribe to our monthly 📧 newsletter https://bessern.substack.com/ and Get superpowered for your self-development: learn stuff that makes you proud of you, manage your wellbeing, have the mindset to make your life awesome.
🚀 Follow us on:
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/bessern.co
Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/bessern
Twitter https://twitter.com/BessernOfficial
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/bessernofficial
Mar 14, 2022
7 min

Mar 9, 2022
Mar 9, 2022
5 min
Confidence is based on decisions and achievements that feed your passion and that cause you to feel cheerful and at ease with what your identity is. 🔎 Finding these elements of confidence is perhaps the most beneficial quest for you life.
🧠 Research shows that a regular practice of rituals and habits — like surrounding ourselves with people who believe in us, or celebrating even our smallest of wins — can help us feel more self-assured over time. It can also be helpful to build a toolbox of strategies to implement on the days where confidence-boosting doesn’t feel so intuitive.
We have to learn to embrace ourselves without comparing ourselves with others. We are unique and different in our own ways and when we stop comparing our self to other people we feel more confident. In return our self- esteem also rises.
Lastly, we must accept change around us and learn to adapt to it. If we do this at our own pace we will be at ease and feel more confident.
Here is a recommended interesting reading on How to start a Positive Self-Talk Habit
This episode is hosted by Elena Agaragimova and Ivan Palomino.
🚀 Subscribe to our monthly 📧 newsletter https://bessern.substack.com/ and Get superpowered for your self-development: learn stuff that makes you proud of you, manage your wellbeing, have the mindset to make your life awesome.
🚀 Follow us on:
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/bessern.co
Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/bessern
Twitter https://twitter.com/BessernOfficial
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/bessernofficial
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Mar 9, 2022
5 min

Mar 3, 2022
Mar 3, 2022
10 min
Being a manager in times of uncertainty and massive changes in the way we work - It is a true challenge for newly appointed managers. The initial days are critical to define the culture you want to instill in your team as well as build relationships with them on a personal level.
The most important aspects to start working on are:
➡️ Build trust with the team
➡️ Understand the level of collaboration in the team
➡️ Collect the team's expectations
Accelerating the human connection from the start can give you an edge to create a thriving team. However to build this efforts must be taken from the very first day itself. Once team members feel like they re part of a team or family productivity and progress grow on a large scale.
Interesting reading on How Leaders can start Well-Being by example - showing actions not intentions
https://www.bessern.co/post/how-leaders-can-start-well-being-by-example-showing-actions-not-intentions
This episode is hosted by Elena Agaragimova and Ivan Palomino.
🚀 Subscribe to our monthly 📧 newsletter https://bessern.substack.com/ and Get superpowered for your self-development: learn stuff that makes you proud of you, manage your wellbeing, have the mindset to make your life awesome.
🚀 Follow us on:
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Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/bessern
Twitter https://twitter.com/BessernOfficial
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/bessernofficial
Mar 3, 2022
10 min

Feb 28, 2022
Feb 28, 2022
8 min
Emotional intelligence comes up – over and over again across various future of work and skills reports - as a critical skill for leaders to possess in order to be successful in the workplace. While technology will continue to transform the way we work, skills such as emotional intelligence will never go out of style.
In this episode we focus on the growing areas of emotional intelligence such as Self-Awareness, Empathy, Connecting with others and developing Agility.
➡️ Here is an interesting reading on How Emotional Intelligence is shaping the future of leadership https://www.bessern.co/post/how-emotional-intelligence-is-shaping-the-future-of-leadership
This episode is hosted by Elena Agaragimova and Ivan Palomino.
🚀 Follow us on:
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/bessern.co
Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/bessern
Twitter https://twitter.com/BessernOfficial
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/bessernofficial
Feb 28, 2022
8 min

Feb 24, 2022
Feb 24, 2022
8 min
What are the most needed skills needed today at work? 🤔 In a world of constant change and accelerated reinvention due to COVID - we see new imperatives rising in organizations:
➡️ Continuous learning has become a new competitive advantage
➡️ The wellbeing of employees has supported their performance
➡️ Humans are extremely resilient despite uncertainty and setbacks during this crisis, we have proof that when the time is urgent and the mission is clear - we can do amazing things 👏 Preparing a bright future will depend on the choice of skills that organizations put on their priority list ✔️
Interesting reading on Lifelong Learning Skills You Should Build Today https://www.bessern.co/post/10-lifelong-learning-skills-you-should-build-today
This episode is hosted by Elena Agaragimova and Ivan Palomino.
🚀 Follow us on:
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/bessern.co
Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/bessern
Twitter https://twitter.com/BessernOfficial
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/bessernofficial
Feb 24, 2022
8 min

Feb 24, 2022
Bad workplace cultures and the raise of burnout
Feb 24, 2022
Feb 24, 2022
8 min
In this episode about Burnout at Work, we are answering some of the important questions:
What are the root causes of Burnout and how corporate culture can affect individual wellbeing?
How can corporate redesign their culture with actions that are impactful, meaningful and somehow effortless.
While many managers think they understand burnout, the reality is the concept is not so simple, and solutions are often complicated. While employees can feel burnout due to several work-related reasons—too much stress, ineffective communication, unreasonable workloads—there are plenty of other reasons employees might feel bogged down. If team leaders want to combat burnout effectively, they need to identify the root cause and help their employees address it. Sometimes burnout can be traced back to a lack of support—formal or informal.
Sometimes employees feel like they don’t have the tools necessary to do their jobs well, which can often be remedied with better training. There’s also burnout related to a lack of significance and function—employees feel like their jobs don’t matter, or they don’t understand how what they do fits into the big picture.
In order to avoid all of this it is very important for managers to build good relations with the employees and further take into consideration their mental well-being as well.
📖 Here is an interesting reading to complement this podcast on Understanding the root cause of of burnout at work
🏆 Do you want to learn about the Simply Human! Awards ✨ ? a platform to recognize HR professionals making an impact on Humans in their Organizations. Nominations are open!
This episode is hosted by Elena Agaragimova and Ivan Palomino.
🚀 Subscribe to our monthly 📧 newsletter https://bessern.substack.com/ and Get superpowered for your self-development: learn stuff that makes you proud of you, manage your wellbeing, have the mindset to make your life awesome.
🚀 Follow us on:
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/bessern.co
Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/bessern
Twitter https://twitter.com/BessernOfficial
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/bessernofficial
Feb 24, 2022
8 min








