In this episode of the Culture From the Heart Podcast, hosts Larry Levine and Darrell Amy are joined by Micah Lacher of Anchor Investments, a Nashville-based real estate investment company pursuing a vision of becoming America’s most generous real estate company, believes culture from the heart begins with truly knowing the people on your team. He sees employees as people first, not simply job titles, and extends that care to their spouses and children.

Micah shares how generosity has become part of both the culture and mission of Anchor Investments. The company connects everyday work to a larger purpose, using business success to support nonprofit and kingdom-focused efforts. The conversation also explores in-person mentorship, learning the work before relying on AI, and using EOS to create structure, accountability, and clear values such as Give It Away, aggressive learning, drive, and team over self.

Micah also explains how his personal story shaped his commitment to generosity. Growing up watching his mother work tirelessly through financial hardship gave him a desire to give if he was ever entrusted with resources. Today, he sees business not simply as a financial engine, but as a calling, and encourages leaders to treat generosity like a muscle that grows stronger through consistent practice.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• People want to be known beyond their job title. Heart-centered leadership means understanding what is happening in employees’ lives and recognizing that work affects their families too.
• Generosity can become part of company culture. Anchor intentionally gives to employees, their families, nonprofit partners, and communities rather than treating generosity as something separate from the business.
• Connect everyday work to a bigger mission. Employees are more likely to see meaning in difficult or routine work when leaders consistently show them how their contribution creates a larger impact.
• Strong culture needs structure and accountability. EOS helped Anchor clarify expectations, organize meetings, establish priorities, and create accountability while protecting the team from constant distractions.
• Business can become a platform for purpose. Micah’s perspective shifted from seeing the company merely as a financial engine to viewing the marketplace itself as a meaningful calling.
• Generosity grows through practice. Micah describes generosity as a muscle that becomes stronger and more natural the more you exercise it.

QUOTES

• “I think human beings want to be known.”
• “We are trying to build a different workplace.”
• “We’re just trying to be radically generous.”
• “You still have to learn how to do the work.”
• “Being generous gives me so much purpose.”
• “The marketplace is a great calling.”
• “Generosity’s a muscle.”

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 Micah Lacher

https://www.linkedin.com/in/micah-lacher-1366151/

FOLLOW THE CONVERSATION:

Behind every heart-centered company is a heart-centered leader. We want the world to hear their stories. Recognize the leaders building culture from the heart here:

https://culturefromtheheart.com/NominateYourCEO

Ready to begin realizing the full potential of your sales team? Hire Great Salespeople with Confidence. SCHEDULE YOUR EXECUTIVE BRIEFING.

https://sellingfromtheheart.net/hiring

Unlock The Power of Team Growth with Learnit’s Live Training Platform. CLAIM your 45-day trial of unlimited training now!

https://www.learnit.com/lp/culture

Stop gambling on interviews. Combine analytics with a sales recruiting system to screen out non-performers so you only interview candidates that can become great salespeople.

https://hiringguide.salesindex.ai/

In this episode of the Culture From the Heart Podcast, hosts Larry Levine and Darrell Amy are joined by RJ Kedziora, co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Estenda Solutions and author of Productive Harmony: How to Optimize Productivity in the 21st Century. RJ works at the intersection of software, data analytics, AI, and healthcare, helping build technology designed to improve the health and wellness of others.

RJ explains that technology is ultimately not about technology—it is about people and processes. For leaders and teams to create meaningful solutions, especially in healthcare, they must understand the experiences of the people they serve. Empathy, curiosity, firsthand conversations, and a willingness to continuously learn help employees make better decisions and build solutions that create a greater human impact.

The conversation also explores RJ’s concept of productive harmony. Rather than chasing an unrealistic version of work-life balance, RJ encourages leaders to think about how they manage their energy across work, family, health, and other priorities. Productivity is not simply about getting more done. Sustainable performance requires rest, recovery, movement, good decision-making, and knowing when to step away.

RJ also challenges leaders to rethink productivity in the age of AI. While AI can dramatically increase efficiency, every efficiency gain should not automatically result in employees being asked to do more. Leaders must protect critical thinking, maintain human accountability, and use technology to create capacity rather than simply increase workload.

For RJ, productive harmony means using technology intelligently while preserving the empathy, curiosity, responsibility, rest, and human connection that allow people to perform at their best.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Technology should support people and processes rather than replace the human element behind the work.
• Work-life balance is not always realistic; leaders should instead pursue harmony between competing priorities.
• Sustainable productivity depends on managing energy, not simply managing time.
• Rest and recovery are essential components of high performance rather than rewards for finishing more work.
• AI should create greater efficiency and capacity without automatically creating greater workloads.
• Human accountability and critical thinking must remain at the center of AI-assisted work.

QUOTES

• “Technology is not about the technology, it’s about the people and the processes.”
• “Balance doesn’t exist.”
• “You need to find the harmony between these different things, different aspects of life.”
• “Think about how you can use AI to be more efficient, more effective, and to gain some of that time back.”
• “The answer can’t be, ‘Well, now do more.’”
• “Use AI to understand the task.”

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 RJ Kedziora

https://www.linkedin.com/in/rjkedziora/

FOLLOW THE CONVERSATION:

Behind every heart-centered company is a heart-centered leader. We want the world to hear their stories. Recognize the leaders building culture from the heart here:

https://culturefromtheheart.com/NominateYourCEO

Ready to begin realizing the full potential of your sales team? Hire Great Salespeople with Confidence. SCHEDULE YOUR EXECUTIVE BRIEFING.

https://sellingfromtheheart.net/hiring

Unlock The Power of Team Growth with Learnit’s Live Training Platform. CLAIM your 45-day trial of unlimited training now!

https://www.learnit.com/lp/culture

Stop gambling on interviews. Combine analytics with a sales recruiting system to screen out non-performers so you only interview candidates that can become great salespeople.

https://hiringguide.salesindex.ai/