Companies love to say they’re “learning organizations.”
But when the pressure hits, training is the first to get cut—or worse, it's used to mask deeper failures in leadership, culture, and accountability.

In this episode of Hero to Zero, host Ken Pearson sits down with David Dauman, CEO of Solutions House and longtime L&D advisor, to unpack how corporate training programs can become a performance illusion. What starts as a genuine effort to develop people often collapses into checkbox compliance, hollow slogans, and “launch in 30, measure in 2” metrics that never had a chance.

Together, Ken and David explore:

• Why so many learning initiatives are designed to fail
• The difference between training that teaches vs. training that protects leadership optics
• The myth of self-directed learning—and what people actually need to grow
• The fading line between “development” and “damage control”
• Real stories from organizations that got it right—and those that faked it until trust was gone

David introduces his framework of Compliant vs. Catalyst organizations:

You’ll also hear sharp metaphors, lived satire, and stories that blend humanity with strategic critique—from the gym to Hamburger University to operating rooms and construction sites. This is one of our most layered episodes yet.

Whether you're in HR, executive leadership, or just tired of being “trained” without being supported—this episode will hit home.

🔊 Subscribe and listen to Hero to Zero on your favorite platform:
🎧 Apple Podcasts: [link]
🎧 Spotify: [link]
🌐 All platforms: https://linktr.ee/ShadeTreeConsulting

Follow David Dauman
🔗https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-s-dauman-a11bb8/

Follow Ken Pearson and ShadeTree Consulting
🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/pearsonken/
🔗 https://shadetree-consulting.com/

Hero to Zero: What happens when leadership efforts collapse—and how to rebuild better.

🎙️ Thanks for listening to Hero to Zero — where the real stories of HR, leadership, and corporate life get told (finally).

📩 Got a wild workplace story? We want to hear it:
ken.pearson@shadetree-consulting.com

🧠 New episodes drop monthly — subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

Because in HR... it only takes one email to go from hero to zero.

🎙️ Hero to Zero | Episode 2: "Do the Music and Lyrics Match?"
Guest: Fred Deschamps, Founder of FitMe

What happens when the culture your company sings doesn’t match the one your people hear?

In this episode, Ken Pearson sits down with Fred Deschamps—cultural strategist and founder of FitMe—to dissect the dangerous disconnect between stated values and lived experience inside organizations.

Using the metaphor of a dysfunctional orchestra, they explore how corporate leadership often acts as the conductor, shouting “people first” while setting a tempo that burns people out. From HR to high performers, from silent middle managers to performative policies, this episode tackles the reality of what happens when the music and lyrics of workplace culture don't match.

Fred brings 30+ years of corporate experience and the data to back up what many have felt but couldn’t prove: culture misalignment can now be measured. And when it's ignored, it doesn't just cost you talent—it breaks trust, destroys engagement, and creates dissonance that no mission statement can fix.

In this episode:
🎼 Why employees fake harmony when leaders are out of sync
🧠 How culture becomes weaponized by well-meaning managers
🧛 “Vampires and Zombies”: the hidden risk of toxic high performers
📉 Real-life moments when policies killed trust (“Bring us a death certificate”)
🧾 How record profits and pizza parties became the new gaslight
📊 What FitMe is doing to measure and predict culture fit—before it’s too late

If you’ve ever been promised belonging and given burnout…
If you’ve ever watched a quarterly town hall and thought, “Do these execs even like each other?”…
If you’ve ever wondered whether the culture is really what it claims to be…

This one’s for you.

🎧 Listen now on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
If you missed Episode 1 with Dean Trimble, it’s streaming now:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7iLN4wCQwyqL2bcaOqvqsp
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-01-recruiting/id1810908481?i=1000708583152

About the Host:
Ken Pearson is the founder of ShadeTree Consulting and architect of the Eye to I framework. He’s spent two decades coaching executives, rebuilding cultures, and calling out the gap between what organizations say and what they do. Hero to Zero is where those stories get told—with candor, context, and a refusal to sanitize the truth.

🎙️ Thanks for listening to Hero to Zero — where the real stories of HR, leadership, and corporate life get told (finally).

📩 Got a wild workplace story? We want to hear it:
ken.pearson@shadetree-consulting.com

🧠 New episodes drop monthly — subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

Because in HR... it only takes one email to go from hero to zero.

Recruiting used to be about finding great talent. Now it feels like applying for a mortgage, joining a secret society, and surviving a reality show — all at once.

In Episode 1 of Hero to Zero, host Ken Pearson is joined by Dean Trimble (Managing Director at Jackson Stevens Global) to unpack why the modern hiring is so frustrating — and what to do about it.

From job descriptions that read like horoscopes to interview loops that never end, this episode is both a reality check and a roadmap. Plus: a powerful closing story from listener Sean Gibbons about walking away from an opportunity — and choosing empathy over explanation.

🎯 Real stories. Real red flags. And no, pizza parties don’t replace performance bonuses.

💌 Send us your HR fails: h2zfails@gmail.com

[Hero to Zero is hosted by Ken Pearson, Executive Coach and Founder of ShadeTree Consulting.]

🎙️ Thanks for listening to Hero to Zero — where the real stories of HR, leadership, and corporate life get told (finally).

📩 Got a wild workplace story? We want to hear it:
ken.pearson@shadetree-consulting.com

🧠 New episodes drop monthly — subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

Because in HR... it only takes one email to go from hero to zero.