The Marcel Podcast
The Marcel Podcast
Marcel Schwantes
How Great Leaders Build Cultures That Scale with Mark Abbott
44 minutes Posted Aug 7, 2026 at 7:29 pm.
– Welcome and introduction to Mark Abbott and Ninety
– Mark’s personal story and competitive drive
– “I help founders build great leaders”
– From banking and private equity to building Ninety
– Why culture really matters (beyond perks)
– Three types of culture: relationship, agreements, principles
– Matching culture to pace and ambiguity of your market
– What it means to build a “humane” culture
– Ideal employee profile vs. ideal customer profile
– The five elements at the soul of a company
– The global leadership deficit and self‑serving leaders
– How Ninety and AI support culture and leadership habits
– Quarterly conversations, feedback, and agreements
– When high‑growth companies “lose their way” culturally
– High care vs. high performance: getting the balance wrong
– The real job of every leader: helping the company win
– Complexity of leadership: leading, managing, coaching, mentoring
– Thinking in stages of development as you scale
– Advice for first‑ and second‑time founders
– Ego development and the inner journey of a leader
– One thing leaders must do to truly flourish today
– Where to find Mark and learn more about Ninety
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Episode recap:
 
If you are a champion of human-centered leadership and want to see your people flourish, Marcel would love to speak with you to explore partnership opportunities. Book a call here: https://calendly.com/marcelschwantes/discovery-call?month=2026-02
 
Bio:
 
Mark Abbott is the Founder and CEO of Ninety, which helps leadership teams build extraordinarily productive, humane, and resilient companies. He is a serial entrepreneur, investor, coach, and author who is widely regarded as a pioneering voice in modern company-building.
 
Timeline:
 
 
About the Show: 
 
The Marcel Podcast (previously the Love in Action podcast) is ranked in the top 2% of all podcasts globally and is distributed to 160 countries. The show features deep conversations with the world's top leadership experts, authors, scientists, and thought leaders about what it means to flourish as leaders and human beings. Episodes are available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and wherever you get your podcasts. If you like what you hear, be sure to follow us and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. 
 
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