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Beautiful Business

Steven Morris

Many business owners strategize the purpose and function of their business, but few strive to make it “beautiful.” Each week, listen in as Steven Morris and his guests discuss brand, culture, and business strategies that will create new ways to shape your beautiful business. If you are ready to evolve your business from functional to beautiful, this is the podcast for you.

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20 episodes
weekly
Avg 6 min
English

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#67
Yesterday · 6 min
Finally. Five Hours of Sleep.
Why do so many high-performing people feel they have to earn rest? In this episode, I explore burnout, caregiving, and the invisible burdens people carry at work—and why healthier leadership cultures make room for rest before people reach their breaking point.
#66
August 24 · 5 min
Second-Guessing & Double-Checking
In this episode, I explore the difference between double-checking and second-guessing—and why knowing which one you’re doing matters. Using the story of Apollo 11’s 1202 alarm, I look at what happens when leaders revisit the work versus revisit the judgment itself. Sometimes looking again is rigor. Sometimes new evidence demands a different decision. And sometimes, we’re simply uncomfortable with having made the choice. Good leadership isn’t about never questioning a decision. It’s knowing whe
#65
August 21 · 4 min
Best of…Leadership Essays
A strong strategy can still fail if the team isn’t ready to execute it. In this episode, Steven Morris introduces the Readiness Triad—Appetite, Capacity, and Skillset—and explains why these three conditions are essential before leaders roll out a major strategic initiative. You’ll learn how to spot execution risks early, distinguish agreement from genuine ownership, assess whether your team has the capacity to sustain the work, and identify capability gaps before they slow progress.
#64
August 7 · 6 min
The Maybe Story
What if we resisted the urge to decide whether something is good or bad before we know how the story ends? I reflect on the wisdom of “maybe,” and what it can teach us about uncertainty, leadership, curiosity, and the value of leaving some things unresolved.
#63
July 27 · 6 min
Let's Get Carried Away
What we carry into a room shapes what becomes possible inside it. In this episode, Steven Morris explores how joy, play, and pleasure can strengthen creativity, trust, engagement, and performance—and why choosing to enjoy the work may be one of the most serious decisions a leader can make.
#62
July 21 · 7 min
The Useful Opponent
Assigned dissent can reveal risks, but genuine disagreement changes how a team thinks. Steven Morris explores how pre-mortems, red teams, and Devil’s Advocate exercises create temporary cover for candour—and why the real test begins when someone speaks in their own voice.
#61
July 7 · 6 min
Who’s the Fairest One?
What if one of the greatest leadership lessons comes from a fairy tale? In this episode, Steven Morris explores the enduring metaphor of Snow White’s mirror and what it reveals about the hidden biases that shape our workplaces. From the “beauty premium” and the myth of meritocracy to culture fit, charisma, and unconscious assumptions, he examines the invisible mirrors we use to judge the people around us. Drawing on the work of Carl Jung, Arthur Brooks, Thomas Moore, and leadership research, S
#60
July 1 · 5 min
What Force Won’t Fix
In this episode, Steven Morris explores why effective leadership isn’t about applying more pressure—it’s about creating the right conditions for people to succeed. Drawing on Buckminster Fuller’s trim tab metaphor, research from Edwin Locke, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, and Edward Deci & Richard Ryan, and insights from Good Will Hunting, Steven explains why performance challenges often stem from different underlying causes. Discover how diagnosing capability, motivation, and trust can help leaders c
#59
June 22 · 7 min
The 26% Problem
What does Lionel Messi, Mr. Rogers, workplace engagement, and loneliness have in common? More than it might first appear. In this episode, Steven explores two striking statistics: only 26% of Americans know their next-door neighbour by name, and only 20% of employees are engaged at work. Together, they point toward a deeper challenge facing communities, organizations, and leaders alike. Drawing on recent research from Gallup, Edelman, the American Psychological Association, and the U.S. Surge
#58
June 15 · 6 min
Between “No Longer This” and “Not Yet That”
Many of us have experienced seasons where we feel stuck, lost, or uncertain about what comes next. We often treat these moments as problems to solve, signs that something has gone wrong. In this essay, Steven Morris explores a different possibility: that these periods are not failures, but transitions. Drawing on the work of William Bridges, Chip Conley, James Hollis, and David Whyte, he examines the space between an old story that has ended and a new one that has not yet fully emerged. Throug
#57
June 8 · 4 min
Good For What?
In this episode, I explore a question from Nietzsche that continues to challenge leaders today: Good For What? Using the story of a CEO who walked away from a seemingly attractive acquisition, I examine how many strategic decisions are shaped by inherited assumptions about growth, scale, and success. Drawing on insights from both Nietzsche and Jung, I reflect on the importance of questioning the frameworks we use to judge what is good, valuable, and worth pursuing.In this episode, I explore a q
#56
June 1 · 3 min
Best of… Essays
Some essays fade quickly. Others continue to resonate long after they're published. In this episode, I revisit ten of the most-read essays from the past few years and reflect on the leadership themes that seem to matter most to readers—trust, culture, courage, pressure, kindness, and the responsibility of helping others grow.
#55
May 26 · 5 min
Beyond the Title
In this episode, I reflect on how leadership can become constrained when we mistake our titles, achievements, or roles for who we are. Drawing from an unexpected lesson I learned while sketching as a child, I explore why the strongest leaders are often those least attached to proving themselves—and how seeing beyond identity can help us lead with greater clarity, presence, and adaptability.
#54
May 18 · 10 min
Non-Business Books for Business Leaders: Vol 6
In this episode, I reflect on the non-business books that have most shaped my thinking on leadership, humanity, reciprocity, and the inner life. Drawing from poetry, psychology, spirituality, biography, and philosophy, I explore why the best leaders remain open to being changed by what they read — and why wisdom rarely comes from business books alone.
#53
May 11 · 6 min
Achievement Is Not the Same as Fulfillment
In this episode, I reflect on the quiet disappointment that can follow achievement, especially when the thing we worked so hard to reach does not bring the fulfillment we expected. Through the story of a leader navigating a major promotion, I explore the difference between outward success and a more examined, meaningful life. I consider why titles and milestones can’t resolve the deeper questions many leaders carry, and why self-awareness, emotional honesty, and presence are essential to leadin
#52
May 5 · 6 min
What Polite Costs
Politeness can make a team feel safe while quietly hiding the conversations that matter most. In this episode, Steven reflects on the cost of smoothing things over, why candor requires trust, and how clarity creates the conditions for people to speak honestly without fear.
#51
April 27 · 6 min
Leadership Requires Different Kinds of Knowing
Why more data and AI-driven insight often leads to less clarity in leadership is the central question of this episode. The answer, I argue, lies less in the technology itself and more in the kind of knowing leaders rely on—whether they depend on information alone or develop deeper understanding through relationship, lived experience, and sustained engagement with the work.
#50
April 20 · 6 min
Your AI Strategy is a People Strategy
Why AI boosts personal productivity yet so often fails to improve organizational performance is the central question of this episode. The answer, I argue, lies less in the technology itself and more in whether leaders have built the cultural conditions for people to direct new capacity toward shared purpose.
#49
April 13 · 4 min
The Garden We Were Given
At some point, success stops answering the deeper question of identity. This episode reflects on the difference between accumulating achievement and becoming the person your work is shaping, inviting leaders to examine what their years of effort have truly cultivated within.
#48
April 6 · 5 min
Words that Raise People
Appreciation does more than acknowledge what someone has done. It raises what is seen in them. This episode explores how specific, authentic recognition shapes identity, influences performance, and teaches a team what it means to truly see and value one another.

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