In this Business Blast Podcast episode, host Tyler Wagner interviews Jay Doran, founder of Culture Matters, a coaching firm that embeds culture into organizations. Doran shares a vivid personal story about surviving a severe ATV accident in 2017, crediting eight years of personal development for his calm response and subsequent growth. He emphasizes that leaders who respect, listen to, and train their employees foster competence, leading to higher productivity, lower turnover, and greater profitability. Doran advises openness, conscientiousness, and daily self‑work as essential habits for success. He identifies competency as the core to happiness, explaining that deep understanding and confidence enable one to help others and achieve purpose. Doran recommends Jordan Peterson’s Maps of Meaning as a foundational text aligning with Culture Matters’ philosophy, and cites Charlie Munger’s quote, “Life is too unfair to give to undeserving people,” to illustrate personal responsibility. The episode concludes with Doran’s online contact points (Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, Bumble).
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Welcome to the Business Blast Podcast. I'm your host, Tyler Wagner. This episode is brought to you by Authors Unite. Authors Unite provides you with all the resources you need to become a successful author. You can learn more about Authors Unite and join the free community at authorsunite.com. Now let's jump into the episode.
All right everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast podcast. I'm your host Tyler Wagner. Today I have an extremely special guest. His name is Jay Duran. He's the founder of Culture Matters, which is a coaching company that focuses on coaching culture into companies, and he is the coach for the coaches. So welcome to the show, Jay.
I, I, I almost— I heard you You stalled for a second. You said he's a cult. Wait. The culture. The cult. Yes. The cult.
Yes, you heard correct. I noticed that as well. And we will dive in, Jay. I have the first question for you. The first question I have is, what is the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
Well, it was at the latter end. Or the end of a 9-month journey my mother took. Now I'm just kidding, that was the birth. That was the birth. Yeah, so actually I'm going to use the latest ridiculous experience that helped me develop as a human. September 22nd, 2017, I was in an ATV, a side-by-side, a 1,000-pound metal vehicle, in the passenger seat with my seat belt on and a helmet on, thinking that I was cool, Facebook Live-ing my colleague driving 40 miles an hour in this metal contraption. And he turned left too quickly and it flipped over and it landed on my right arm and almost severed it from my body. All right, have a great day. And what I remember was the wave of calm washed over my face like Leonidas in 300 when he's kicking the guy off the cliff. No, so seriously, I knew in that moment that my life was not gonna be the same. And if it wasn't for 8 years of personal development, I would not have been able to stay calm and to, ask my friend if he was all right, and then ask him to lift the car off of me and drive 40 minutes to the hospital. Now, the reason I'm sharing that story is because of what happened next. In the 2 weeks that followed, where I went from being okay with it to getting in a really dark place in a fetal position, metaphorically speaking, I realized something. That it, it wasn't that I needed things in this world anymore. It was that I wanted them. And if it wasn't for that experience and it wasn't for the 8 years of personal development that led up to it for me to be able to handle it that way, I don't think I'd be on this call with you. I think I'd be working at UPS delivering boxes. Nothing wrong with delivering boxes, but I think that's what I'd be doing right now, not coaching executives on culture. I might have given up. I might have given up.
And thank you for sharing that. The next one I have for you, and I'm excited for your answer on this one, is what is the most valuable piece of information we should know that is within your expertise or industry?
Every single human that works for you or will work for you can, will, and most definitely will put in the work that you're putting in if you're a leader in your business, if they feel you respect them and you consistently listen and train them. If they feel like you respect them because you're investing time in them and you train them on the competencies they need to be confident, they will become leaders and your business will grow. Your productivity will increase, your turnover will decrease, and your profitability will go through the roof. And you will feel better on a dopaminergic serotonin level, like your endorphins. You'll generally feel higher on life because a good leader, and they will feel better, and you will have a much better business. That's what's possible.
And what is your best piece of overall— it might tie in, but overall business advice, so not necessarily industry specific—
to be open and to be conscientious. Meaning all of the yes people that will surround you as you start earning results in this life, appreciate where they're coming from Don't be attached to positive or negative feedback. Be appreciative of it. Be open always to reflect and learn from your failures, your experiences, whether good or positive. And be conscientious in the sense of always be working on yourself daily. Think. That's what I want to tell people, to think, to interpret things, to not be attached to them, to reflect on them, and be conscientious, take action on them.
And if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?
Be friends with Tyler Wagner sooner.
Best answer out of the 351.
1 trillion percent, aim higher and don't attach yourself to other people's story of yourself.
Aim higher. In your opinion, what's the key to happiness?
Competency.
And what is the—
Competency. Yeah, go ahead.
No, no, go ahead. Do you want to elaborate?
Competency. It's very simple. When you believe in something and you understand it thoroughly, to use whatever that something is, that skill set is, that interdependence is, to then go and help someone else, right? So instead of self-help, which means self-serving through your competency, another— because that's what business really is, you're solving other people's problems to solve your own— when you're competent and you understand and you take action, you help other people on a biological, psychological, neurological, spiritual level, you will feel more— you will feel actualized, you will feel purposeful, you will feel fulfilled. And you will do, you will in turn spread that like a contagious love virus to everyone else when you're confident in something. But until you're confident in something, you will not have the confidence to share it and you will not live a life of natural highs. So get confident with something.
And oh boy, this is the best question for you. What is the best book that you've read and what was the number one thing you learned from it?
Maps of Meaning is the best book, and I've read over 1,000 books in the last 4 years and I'll continue to read. Until they bury me slowly, very slowly under the books. Maps of Meaning was written and authored in 1999 by Jordan B. Peterson, who's an acclaimed speaker at this time for reasons we won't get on this podcast. However, that book needs attention. It needs study. It wholeheartedly theorizes and pragmatizes everything that Culture Matters stands for and what we do with executives and corporations in a very deep, on a very deep, you know, psychological level, Maps of Meaning breaks down how we as humans form purpose in this world. And I highly recommend it to someone to attempt to study that book.
And what is your favorite quote and why?
Two girls, one— I'm just kidding. Charlie Munger is the business partner of Warren Buffett. A lot of people don't know him. He was a very successful lawyer prior to working with Warren Buffett, and he always says— he has a book called Charlie Munger's Almanac, and the quote I love is, "Life is too unfair to give to undeserving people." Ties into my ethos of life where be competent and responsible, and you're gonna be self-actualized. You're gonna be in purpose, which ties back to that book that I just talked about. So yeah, life is too unfair to give to undeserving people. Meaning no one, no one, no one or no thing that's ever happened has any personal attachment to whatever has happened in your life that's going to hold you back. You're either going to make a decision to overcome it or you're going to fall into the abyss.
Yes, man. Dude, always a pleasure. The last question I have for you before we let you go is where's the best place for people to find you online?
Bumble.
Bumble, we'll put it in.
No, no, well, no. J-A-Y-D-O-R-A-N on Facebook, okay? LinkedIn is the same name. YouTube, there are 785 videos on there right now that are free. By the time you type it in, you're going to see there will be more videos because they're between 5 and 10 are popped on there a day. Everything from book reviews to just conversations like this, to speaking, whatever. So Jay Duran, J-A-Y-D-O-R-A-N, on Facebook, on LinkedIn. I will message you back. On YouTube, and then Jay Duran underscore Culture Matters on Instagram. I'm very active on that as well.
And, uh, yeah, yes, and Bumble. Thank you again for coming on, brother.
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