Episode 305: Head Down to Chin Out: Building Trust in Business

What does it mean for business leaders to not just keep their heads down—but lift their chins up? In this episode, we explore how CEOs and entrepreneurs can step into authentic leadership that unites, inspires, and drives change.

In this thought-provoking conversation, we sit down with Neil Ghosh, President of MGR Professional Services and author of Do More Good. With a career spanning government, nonprofit, and for-profit sectors, Neil has reinvented himself as a bridge builder and champion of authentic business leadership. Together, we unpack the unique role businesses play in today’s culture and governance, and why trust, empathy, and purpose are no longer “nice to haves” but essential pillars of leadership.

Neil also shares powerful insights from his book, which features stories of inspiring leaders and provides actionable steps for anyone who wants to move beyond inspiration to meaningful action. From cultivating moral leadership to embedding corporate social responsibility into a company’s DNA, this episode challenges us all to consider what kind of citizen—corporate and personal—we want to be.

Here are highlights:

-The Trust Recession: Why Neil calls this moment in history a “trust recession”—and why business leaders are now more trusted than governments and media.

-Shifts in the Workforce: The three major shifts reshaping the workforce: cultural diversity, generational expectations, and the demand for moral leadership.

-Navigating Polarization: How leaders can unite their teams without diluting core values in today’s divisive climate.

-CSR as Strategy, Not Charity: Why doing good isn’t just a feel-good exercise—it’s good business, and how companies can integrate CSR into their DNA.

-Purpose, Empathy, and Action: The pillars of Neil’s book Do More Good and how small steps can drive outsized impact.

About the guest:

Neil Ghosh is a seasoned executive whose expertise spans the nonprofit, government, philanthropic, and private sectors. His book, Do More Good, showcases some of the most captivating individuals in modern history—people he has met and interacted with on his mission to inspire meaningful change. With 30+ years of experience, Neil has successfully launched and scaled both nonprofit and for-profit ventures, building teams, business models, partnerships, and strategies to drive impact and support vulnerable populations in more than 50 countries. Neil’s work has been featured in national outlets including CNN, Devex, the Washington Post, Economic Times, Voice of America, the Australian, the Huffington Post, Patheos, and Stanford Social Innovation Review.

Connect with Neil:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilghosh1/

Website: https://www.neilghosh.org/⁠ 

Connect with Allison:

Feedspot has named Disruptive CEO Nation as one of the Top 25 CEO Podcasts on the web, and it is ranked the number 6 CEO podcast to listen to in 2025! https://podcasts.feedspot.com/ceo_podcasts/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allisonsummerschicago/ 

Website: https://www.disruptiveceonation.com/  

#CEO #leadership #startup #founder #business #businesspodcast

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