ULTIMATE CULTURE
COMING TOGETHER TO BRING YOU
The Ultimate Culture
WITH ERIKA MACLEOD AND STACEY COWPERTHWAITE
Congratulations to coauthors Erika MacLeod and Stacey
Cowperthwaite for reaching Amazon best-seller status with a
comprehensive debut and nonfiction narrative, The Ultimate Culture:
It’s about DNA, not Resumé. For those who haven’t had a chance to
pick it up, The Ultimate Culture details the life, times, and
development of the refined Tulip Media culture, which is furthered
by applying these cultural concepts to other organizations on a
large scale. These two incredible women have put together
something timeless in terms of culture, and you’ll find this book
has a valuable takeaway for everyone.
I’m excited to speak with these two engaging new thought leaders
about their take on the writing process and what the conceptual
development of this book looked like for them from start to finish.
TELL ME ABOUT THE PROCESS OF WRITING THE
BOOK. WHAT WAS THE OVERALL EXPERIENCE
LIKE FOR YOU?
STACEY: When we decided to do this book, it was a bit
overwhelming. As we dove in and started to work on the book,
things came together quite quickly as we have so much history and
memories together. This goes back to our philosophy of jumping
out of the plane and building the parachute on the way down. We
always figure it out!
ERIKA: It was an amazing experience and a great opportunity to
take a trip down memory lane. It reminded me just how much of
our Tulip Media culture we often take for granted. There were many
“aha!” moments when Stacey and I realized just how fortunate we
are to work in the environment that we do.
THE ULTIMATE CULTURE REALLY USES
EXPERIENCE TO REFLECT ON WHAT YOU’VE
PORTRAYED HERE AS THE ULTIMATE CULTURE.
LOOKING BACK, WHAT WERE SOME OF YOUR
FAVORITE MEMORIES TO REVISIT?
STACEY: I really enjoyed looking back to the early days when it
was just Andy and me in the office. We knew what we wanted but
not how it would transpire. We had a mutual purpose of building
the company into what it is today. It has been great to revisit these
memories and our successes and failures, and that is what business
is about.
THE CULTURE OF LEARNING IN TULIP MEDIA
REALLY SHINES THROUGH. CAN YOU TALK A
LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT YOUR OWN
EXPERIENCES FURTHERING YOUR COMPANY
ROLE THROUGH EDUCATION? WHAT DID THIS
LOOK LIKE AND HOW WERE YOU SUPPORTED?
ERIKA: I fully appreciate how fortunate I am to utilize some of
the connections that we have to take part in so many of the events
that Tulip Media attends. There are so many people whose books I
have read and whom I follow online, and these summits have given
me the opportunity to actually meet them in person.
Some of these events have a $25,000 attendance fee, and I’ve been
given the opportunity to go all over North America to sit in on
some of these events with truly amazing speakers.
A large part of my role is coordinating our national content, which
requires me to extensively research business authors. It’s not
uncommon for me to spend hours researching an up-and-coming
author or thought leader, so these connections are invaluable to my
growth in my position here at Tulip Media.
When Andy and I attend these events, we always bring back what
we learned into the office and allow it to impact our culture in a way
that benefits the entire company. We are always trying new things,
constantly looking for better ways to communicate and to become
more efficient, to name a few. Everything we do revolves around
knowledge.
VERY COOL! WHO ARE SOME OF THE PEOPLE
YOU’VE BEEN ABLE TO WORK WITH BECAUSE OF
THIS?
ERIKA: Included in those I have met is business and team
management expert, Patrick Lencioni. Lencioni is best known as
the author of The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, a popular business
fable that explores work team dynamics and offers solutions to
help teams perform better. Others include Chris Voss, a former
FBI hostage negotiator, the CEO of The Black Swan Group Ltd,
and coauthor of the book Never Split the Difference; Jack Daly,
an international expert in sales and sales management; John
DiJulius III, an authority on world-class customer service; Joe
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