Aug 25, 2026
Here's a question I want you to think
about before you hit play.
When was the last time you felt like the work you were doing
actually mattered? Not mattered as in the numbers went up or the
boss was happy. Mattered in that way where you finished a day and
felt genuinely full rather than just done.
Most of us have forgotten what that feels like. Or maybe we never
had it to begin with.
This conversation goes deep on that. My guest Joe
Fusco and I got into what actually makes a company great,
why people don't fit in a spreadsheet no matter how hard we try to
make them, and what it really means to lead in a way that brings
out the best in the people around you. We talked about AI coming
for the people business, why capitalism is at an inflection point,
and an analogy involving Newtonian versus quantum physics that
completely reframed the way I think about connection and
networking.
And then we got into retirement, which in Joe's world looks nothing
like what most people picture. It's less about slowing down and
more about finally having the freedom to point everything you've
built toward something that actually matters to you.
This one's a slow burn in the best possible way. Stay with it.
More About the Guest
For 28 years until his retirement in 2022, Joe
Fusco was a senior executive with a publicly-traded
mid-cap company, where he served as an advisor to the chairman and
CEO.
Joe has spoken frequently to companies and organizations on
leadership, organizational culture, business and cultural trends,
and business strategy and sustainability. He’s been engaged as a
speaker by groups and companies such as the U.S. Department of
Agriculture, the Credit Union National Association, the U.S.
Department of Homeland Security, and the Telecommunications
Association of the Southeast.
He is currently the co-host of “Retirement
Unscripted,” a regular series of conversations exploring the
design of that next stage of life through a lens of freedom,
creativity, wisdom, and identity.
Joe is on the board of Internality, a non-profit corporation
dedicated to engaging an expanding coalition of business leaders,
academics, and other key stakeholders in catalyzing a systemic
rework of how business is conducted and how the economy works.
He is also an advisor and teacher in the University of Vermont’s
top-ranked Sustainable Innovation MBA program, and advises senior
executives on leadership, culture, and strategy in an array of
industries from hospitality to clean energy.
Joe lives in Chittenden, Vermont with his wife, Renae. They are the
parents of five grown children.
Ripple with Joe Fusco
LinkedIn
Tune in to Retirement Unscripted
Catch Joe Fusco's Graduation Ripple sessions in The Pond
community.
More About the Host
Steve Harper is the founder of Ripple Central
and host of The Ripple Effect Podcast, where he explores what it
really takes to build authentic, meaningful relationships.
He also owns Owner Insite, a construction project management
software company. Steve runs The Pond, a community built around
intentional connection and 8-Minute Ripple events.
Ripple with Steve Harper:
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