--- title: The Business Case for Culture With Jackie Fisher description: Juneau Construction's Jackie Fisher on turning HR from a compliance function into a growth engine for retention, engagement, and business results. image: https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/ep-30-Jackie-1.png --- [![Velocity Advisory Group](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Velocity-Logo-2023-Wide-1.png)](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/) ☰ Menu - About - [Meet Our Team](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/about/) - [Meet Our Coaches](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/coaches/) - [Careers](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/careers/) - [Speaking Engagements](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/velocity-speakers/) - Solutions - [Culture & Engagement](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/culture-engagement/) - [DISC Assessments & Training](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/disc-assessments-training/) - [Employee Experience](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/employee-experience/) - [Executive Coaching](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/executive-coaching/) - [Family Business](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/family-business/) - [Leadership Development](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/leadership-development/) - [Sales Training](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/5cs-of-selling/) - [Strategy & Implementation](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/strategy-implementation/) - Resources - [Activating Greatness Podcast](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/podcast/) - [Blog](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/blog/) - [Case Studies](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/case-studies/) - [News and Announcements](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/news-and-events/) - [OrderDisc](https://orderdisc.com/) - [Upcoming Events](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/upcoming-events/) - Industries - [Construction](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/construction/) - [Financial Services](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/financial-services/) - [Life Sciences](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/lifesciences/) - [Contact](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/contact/) Activating Greatness Podcast Episodes May 18, 2026 | Episode 30 # The Business Case for Culture: Turning HR Into a Growth Engine — with Jackie Fisher ## 4 Values and the Discipline to Say No: Jackie Fisher on Hiring for Culture When Talent Is Scarce **In this post:** *Juneau Construction Company Vice President of People and Culture Jackie Fisher explains why the company hires to four simple values, turns away talented candidates who do not fit, and refuses to do anything halfway.* At Juneau Construction Company, a candidate can be incredibly talented and still not get the job. That is a hard line to hold in commercial construction, where, as Jackie Fisher put it, "there's more jobs than there are people in the industry." Fisher, Vice President of People and Culture at Juneau, holds it anyway. "Sometimes, although the skills may be incredible, if the drivers aren't there and they don't align, well then it's not a fit," she said on *Activating Greatness*, the leadership podcast from Velocity Advisory Group. Most companies say culture matters. Fewer are willing to pay for it at the moment it costs something: an open role, a strong résumé, and a project that needs people. Fisher's approach over more than a decade at the Southeast builder offers a case study in what it takes to make values strict enough to say no. ## Start With Who You Already Are About six years ago, Juneau refined its values and brand. The company landed on four words: people, passion, commitment, and fun. The exercise worked because it did not reach for an aspirational version of the company. "It wasn't that we were trying to say we want to be this or we want to be that," Fisher said. "It was instead, who are we today? What do we love about ourselves today, and what do we want to make sure we're loving about ourselves for the rest of time?" That distinction matters when the values become a hiring filter. A company that describes who it wants to be can hire people who match the poster. A company that describes who it already is can test candidates against behavior its people see every day. ## Values Short Enough to Use Under Pressure The first version did not stick. The original values carried a few more words around each one, and while employees liked them, Fisher said, they could not recall them when it counted. "They couldn't rattle them off. They couldn't resort to them when there was a tough decision," she said. So the team simplified again about two years ago. Each value now has a single word, a tagline, and six or seven lines of definition that act as guardrails for what the value looks like at Juneau. "Fun can mean a lot of things. Passion can mean a lot of things," Fisher said. Host Alec McChesney, who came to Velocity from marketing, said brand values need to be unique, memorable, and portable: A new hire's mentor should be able to explain them to another person. Seventeen core values fail that test. Four words with clear guardrails pass it. Leadership keeps them in circulation. Fisher said Juneau's leaders joke that they are "chief repeating officers," referencing the values and vision in biannual town halls, team meetings, and annual goal setting. Her lesson from the role is simple. "If you think you've communicated it enough, tell them one more time." ## The Interview Is Where Culture Gets Protected Repetition keeps values alive inside the company. Hiring decides who gets inside at all. Fisher said Juneau builds its values into interviews for every level, from intern candidates to new graduates to experienced hires. The team knows what each value looks like in practice, and it measures candidates against that picture. She described the company as "bullish about it in the best way." The discipline extends past hiring. Fisher said leaders also talk openly when things are not lining up with the values, and they expect work with clients and trade partners to reflect them. "You've got to put your money where your mouth is and walk the walk," she said. If a company celebrates its values on a big stage and then drops the ball the next day, "then that means nothing." Jeanne Hecht made a similar case for [culture as a strategic value driver](https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/activating-greatness-podcast-episodes/ep-29-ceo-owns-culture-jeanne-hecht). FREE ONE-PAGE CHECKLIST ### The Values-in-Hiring Checklist Use it to boil your values down to words people can recall, define what each looks like in practice, and test every candidate against them. [Get the free checklist](https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/leadership-library/values-in-hiring-checklist) > "To me, doing something halfway is worse than not doing it at all." > > *Jackie Fisher, Vice President of People and Culture, Juneau Construction Company* ## Why Halfway Is Worse Than Nothing The same refusal to compromise shaped how Juneau builds leaders. Several years ago, the company considered running its own leadership development program, with members of the leadership team each teaching the concepts they knew best. The team realized quickly that it could not do that well. Too many other priorities pulled attention away. "To me, doing something halfway is worse than not doing it at all," Fisher said. Juneau went external and partnered with Velocity, adapting an existing year-long program to fit the organization rather than accepting a one-size-fits-all version. The company is now wrapping up its third cohort. Internally, Juneau opened a 3,000-square-foot training space it calls the Center for Construction Excellence, where employees practice project details and processes hands-on before they see them on a job. Fisher said it has been such a success that the company plans to double it by the end of the year. ## People First, Then Projects The strict hiring standard makes more sense once you hear how Juneau grows. Fisher said the company's biggest growth has come in project size and complexity, and it has always started with the people. "We put the people first and then the projects come," she said. She could not recall a time the company assembled an entirely new team after winning a project. That philosophy holds at the top. Fisher estimated that 90% or more of Juneau's leadership team has been with the company at least seven years, and she said the group operates without egos. When McChesney asked how people decisions connect to business results, she did not hesitate. "The growth doesn't happen without the people, period." Jesse Hernandez explored [why trust and culture drive results](https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/activating-greatness-podcast-episodes/ep-21-why-trust-and-culture-drive-results-jesse-hernandez) in construction. ## Rapid-Fire Leadership Lessons - **Daily habit:** Talking with her team every day, even if it is only a pulse check, and greeting people in the hallway to "let you know I see you and I appreciate you." - **Most underrated skill:** "The ability to listen." - **Stop doing:** "Talking the talk and not walking the walk." - **Best advice:** Everyone you talk to brings a different worldview and different experiences. "So don't assume." HOW VELOCITY HELPS ### Velocity Leadership Development & Emerging Leaders Fisher chose to go external rather than run a leadership program halfway. Velocity's year-long Leadership Development and Emerging Leaders programs are built for organizations that want development done right: a 70/20/10 model, cohort coaching, reinforcement calls, and a Velocity Coach paired with every participant. Programs can be adapted to an organization's values and challenges, so leaders practice the behaviors their culture already prizes while working on the real problems in front of them. See how Velocity works with [construction teams](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/construction/). [Explore Leadership Development](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/leadership-development/) ## The Takeaway: Protect What You Built Fisher closed by calling her role a privilege. She said she gets "the honor of serving in the role that I do and helping those around me be the best versions of themselves." That privilege rests on a set of hard choices: values honest enough to describe the company as it is, simple enough to use in a tough decision, and firm enough to turn away a talented candidate in a tight labor market. Culture survives when leaders protect it at the door. ## Listen to the Full Episode Hear Jackie Fisher's full conversation with host Alec McChesney on *Activating Greatness*. [Watch on YouTube](https://youtu.be/jvC3UIYma8c), or listen on [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/4LcgAut0KyYiGyDhFvMjPD) and [Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1868386871). FREE GUIDE ### The Assumption Check Fisher's best advice is simple: everyone brings a different worldview, so don't assume. This framework helps you catch the assumptions and half-measures that quietly damage culture-building work. [Get the free guide](https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/leadership-library/assumption-check) Share: [facebook-f icon](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/activating-greatness-podcast-episodes/ep-30-hiring-for-culture-fit-jackie-fisher) [linkedin-in icon](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/activating-greatness-podcast-episodes/ep-30-hiring-for-culture-fit-jackie-fisher) [Twitter icon](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/activating-greatness-podcast-episodes/ep-30-hiring-for-culture-fit-jackie-fisher) [pinterest-p icon](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/link/?url=https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/activating-greatness-podcast-episodes/ep-30-hiring-for-culture-fit-jackie-fisher) [envelope icon](mailto:?body=https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/activating-greatness-podcast-episodes/ep-30-hiring-for-culture-fit-jackie-fisher) [Construction](https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/activating-greatness-podcast-episodes/tag/construction) [HR & People Strategy](https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/activating-greatness-podcast-episodes/tag/hr-people-strategy) ## Ready to activate greatness on your team? Velocity Advisory Group helps leadership teams build the culture, strategy, and systems that let good people do their best work. [Book a discovery call](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/contact/) ## Related posts [![EP 21 With Jesse Hernandez](https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/ep-21-Jesse-1.png?height=200&name=ep-21-Jesse-1.png)](https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/activating-greatness-podcast-episodes/ep-21-why-trust-and-culture-drive-results-jesse-hernandez) [Construction](https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/activating-greatness-podcast-episodes/tag/construction), [Culture & Engagement](https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/activating-greatness-podcast-episodes/tag/culture-engagement) ## [Episode 21: Why Trust and Culture Drive Results in Construction — with Jesse Hernandez](https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/activating-greatness-podcast-episodes/ep-21-why-trust-and-culture-drive-results-jesse-hernandez) [Alec McChesney](https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/activating-greatness-podcast-episodes/author/alec-mcchesney) Apr 13, 2026, 11:48:19 AM Every System Is Perfect Until You Add People: Jesse Hernandez on Leading in Construction In this... [Read more](https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/activating-greatness-podcast-episodes/ep-21-why-trust-and-culture-drive-results-jesse-hernandez) [Construction](https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/activating-greatness-podcast-episodes/tag/construction), [Culture & Engagement](https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/activating-greatness-podcast-episodes/tag/culture-engagement) ## [Episode 43: Advancing Women in Construction: Fixing the Career Ladder — with Barb Allen](https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/activating-greatness-podcast-episodes/ep-43-advancing-women-in-construction-barb-allen) [Alec McChesney](https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/activating-greatness-podcast-episodes/author/alec-mcchesney) Aug 24, 2026, 4:00:00 AM Missing, Broken, Sticky, and Slippery: Barb Allen on the 4 Rungs Holding Women Back in Construction... [Read more](https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/activating-greatness-podcast-episodes/ep-43-advancing-women-in-construction-barb-allen) [Construction](https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/activating-greatness-podcast-episodes/tag/construction), [Strategy & Change](https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/activating-greatness-podcast-episodes/tag/strategy-change) ## [Episode 52: Construction Leadership Development Without a Playbook — with Lisa O'Brien](https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/activating-greatness-podcast-episodes/ep-52-construction-leadership-development-lisa-obrien) [Alec McChesney](https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/activating-greatness-podcast-episodes/author/alec-mcchesney) Oct 12, 2026, 8:00:00 AM Construction's 3 Transformations at Once: Lisa O'Brien on Leading Without a Playbook In this post:... [Read more](https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/activating-greatness-podcast-episodes/ep-52-construction-leadership-development-lisa-obrien) --- [![](https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Velocity%20Logo%202023%20Wide-2.png?width=1025&height=267&name=Velocity%20Logo%202023%20Wide-2.png)](http://velocityadvisorygroup.com) Copyright © 2026, Velocity Advisory Group ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Alec McChesney", "url" : "https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/activating-greatness-podcast-episodes/author/alec-mcchesney" }, "dateModified" : "2026-10-20T15:01:46.285Z", "datePublished" : "2026-05-18T06:17:00.000Z", "headline" : "The Business Case for Culture With Jackie Fisher", "image" : [ "https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/ep-30-Jackie-1.png" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/activating-greatness-podcast-episodes/ep-30-hiring-for-culture-fit-jackie-fisher", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/hubfs/Velocity%20Logo%202023%20Wide-2.png" }, "name" : "Velocity Advisory Group" } } ```