Creating Dignity at Work | Bob Chapman

For 50 years, Bob Chapman was CEO of Barry-Wehmiller until his retirement in 2025. Bob’s approach to organizational culture is unique and inspiring. He believes the workplace should be a source of dignity that enables every team member to flourish. This approach is the subject of Bob’s book “Everybody Matters: The Extraordinary Power of Treating Your People Like Family” and the ethos behind Barry-Wehmiller’s success.

In this interview, Bob and host Don MacPherson discuss what it looks like to have leaders throughout an organization care for their people like members of their own family. They discuss the advantages of creating a culture where people are willing to sacrifice for one another and how to create that culture throughout a multinational organization with thousands of team members.

The interview continues with a conversation about managing poor performance, surviving economic downturns, and Bob shares his thoughts on the ways he believes artificial intelligence will change and enhance organizations around the world.

Recently recognized as a 2025 Top 50 Leadership and Management Expert by Inc., Bob Chapman became the senior executive of Barry-Wehmiller in 1975 at age 30 - a position he held until 2025. In 2022, Chapman was named the Tharseō CEO of the Year by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). He’s been ranked as the #3 CEO in the world in an Inc. article, and a Top 10 Social Capital CEO by International Business Times.