From the outside looking in, The ECD is an unassuming deck of cards – a game to be played. But The Emotional Culture Deck has grown beyond the deck. The game symbolises something greater. 

The ECD has become a philosophy for how we work and live. It stands against leaders and individuals who treat others like a resource or data point. It stands against those who intentionally and unintentionally suppress people in their environments. It stands against top-down authority and leadership. It stands against exclusion.

Instead, The ECD stands for people being able to speak their truth. It stands for people being able to express themselves. It stands for connection. It stands for giving people space to be heard.

I believe wholeheartedly in our mission to humanise the workplace. More than ever, people need permission and the tools to express themselves and tap their emotions to challenge and shift behaviours.

But it's not possible to do this alone.

I've received hundreds and...

TRANSFORMATION IS A DECISION OF THE HEART, NOT THE HEAD - such a beautiful and insightful POV from Jeremy Dean, founder of riders&elephants in New Zealand, in this latest episode of "Let Go & Lead" with Gagen MacDonald founder Maril Gagen MacDonald.

As Maril and Jeremy discuss, the conversation around EMOTIONS has been taboo in the workplace - but emotions drive every action and decision we make.

Such a great discussion and a real call-to-arms to more explicitly have long overdue conversations about emotions with your teams. 

Watch the full onversation below.

Our founder, Jeremy was invited to be part of Imagine This, a podcast about creative people who have started from their garages and kitchen tables, and built businesses that are making an impact. 

Leading New Zealand journalist Jehan Casinader explores the Wellington business landscape in conversation with industry leaders, innovators and change-makers.

Hear all about the journey he's been on to bring this wild dream to life, where he's at now and where he's heading next. 

Check out more of this amazing Imagine This series here: https://www.wellingtonnz.com/imagine-this

Imagine this presented by

In 2020, Jehan Casinader was named “Broadcast Reporter of the Year” at the Voyager Media Awards for his extensive coverage of the Christchurch terror attack. In 2018, he was named “Reporter of the Year” at the New Zealand Television Awards. 

Jehan has worked in the fast-past world of primetime TV for more than a decade. Most...

Here's what you might not have known about The ECD. Go behind the scenes with Jeremy as he shares some of his latest insights and lessons from using The Emotional Culture Deck over the past two years. 

– By Jeremy Dean, Founder and Master Gamemaker at R&E.

Emotion plays a huge part in how people make decisions and how they feel about the situations that affect them.

People want to be heard, they want to feel, they want to be understood, they want to bring their full selves to their work (and life).

They want to express themselves.

But right now, they can’t – because:

They haven’t had permission;

They haven’t had mechanisms;

Their emotions are seen as weakness.

So much is being left unsaid because people aren't given permission to be open and vulnerable.

And because of that, so much human potential and opportunity is being stifled or going untapped.

To reverse that, R&E believe we need to create a conversation renaissance.

We need to encourage people to speak up and to share their emotions openly and honestly.

Our research shows that organisations and individuals should be looking at harnessing emotions to their strategic advantage.

...

A couple of weeks ago Jeremy was invited onto the Fully Human webinar by Kate Billing, Founder & Creative Director, Blacksmith.

In this one hour webinar, we discuss:

• how The Emotional Culture Deck came into being
• emotion as the missing link in organisational culture
• using unpleasant emotions as a tool for self-awareness and personal growth
• fearing our own emotions and those of others, like a bomb that could go off at any moment
• the importance of developing a deep and wide emotional vocabulary
• the cathartic and connecting power of emotionally-centred conversations
• reciprocity, vulnerability, and emotional courage
• group affect, emotional contagion, and leadership responsibility
• the power of using ‘a game’ to facilitate emotionally-centred conversations: vocabulary, transference, the familiarity of using cards, and holding things lightly; and
• how little nudges and micro-moments create trust and psychological safety.

A 3-minute read and 1-hour...

Thanks to The Culture Guy aka Benjamin Drury in the UK, for inviting Jeremy onto his podcast to chat about The Emotional Culture Deck amongst other things we're doing in the culture space at riders&elephants.

Listen to our interview here: https://thecultureguy.co.uk/podcast/004/

1. Welcome – 1:00
2. The Emotional Culture Deck – 4:40
3. The Customer Experience Deck – 10:50
4. It’s All History – 17:45
5. Companies doing the stuff – 27:50
6. Netflix Culture Deck – 31:40
7. Lion Brewery Flexible Working – 33:05
8. Autonomy and Flexibility – 34:30
9. Check this out – Resources – 36:00
10. Finishing up – 40:00

Show Notes

• Dan and Chip Health – Switch / Made to Stick / Power of Moments
• The Emotional Culture Deck
• Brian Solis
• Crazy Australian Dentist – Paddi Lund
• Dan Kahneman – Thinking Fast and Slow
• Perpetual Guardian
• Daniel Pink – Drive
• Session Lab
• SY Partners
• ...