Inside Move America Initiative: Culture in Action with Alicia Hart and Jeanine Charlton

Culture in action is what separates a strategy everyone nods along to from one people actually live out. In this episode of The Bliss Business Podcast, we continue our conversation with Merchants Fleet, welcoming Alicia Hart, Chief People Officer, and Jeanine Charlton, Chief Technology Officer, the internal sponsors behind the company's Move America initiative.

In this episode we explore:

• Why culture must be owned by leaders across the organization

• How strategy becomes meaningful through daily leadership behavior

• The role managers play in creating alignment and connection

• Why cross-functional commitment is essential during growth

• How values move from presentation slides into everyday decisions

• What it takes to turn a company vision into a shared movement

A Six-Chapter Story, Not a Strategy Deck

Move America began with a narrative built with The Storytellers, delivered to employees by their own leaders rather than handed down from HR. "It wasn't just here's our strategy and here's what we're going to do," Alicia explains. "It was here's where we've been, here's where we're going, through the eyes of employees across the company."

Burying the Past, Literally

One especially candid moment: a "bury the past" exercise where leaders wrote down old grievances and sealed them in a locked box. "We're all human, and we all need that opportunity to just have that moment," Jeanine says. Employee survey scores on psychological safety rose 13 points afterward, evidence that culture in action shows up in how people feel, not only in what gets executed.

Culture Isn't HR's Job Alone

As Chief Technology Officer, Jeanine's sponsorship signals that culture in action isn't HR's job alone. "Culture is really shaped in those moments that test execution," she says, when leaders are under pressure and people are watching how they actually respond, not just what they say in calm moments.

One Shared Metric: Client NPS

Asked what single metric their two departments would share, both answered instantly: client NPS. Merchants Fleet ties it to leadership bonuses, and this year extended a bonus opportunity to the entire company based on it, a concrete way of making "every employee plays a role" more than a slogan.

It's a reminder that internal culture and external brand experience are the same story told to two audiences, the kind of values-led narrative work Zero Company helps organizations build into both.

Ninety-two percent of Merchants Fleet employees now say they understand the company's strategy and their role in it, proof that culture in action compounds when leaders keep telling the story. Learn more about Merchants Fleet's Move America initiative at merchantsfleet.com, or find Alicia Hart and Jeanine Charlton on their guest profiles.

Key Takeaways

• (2:49-4:41) Move America’s six-chapter narrative, co-built with The Storytellers and delivered by leaders, not HR

• (4:57-5:48) The “portal to the future” exercise: 300 employees writing their own vision cards for the company

• (6:08-8:08) Why Jeanine, as CTO, sponsoring a culture initiative matters, culture as cross-functional, not HR-owned

• (11:47-15:13) The “Bury the Past” exercise and the locked box, and the 13-point jump in psychological-safety scores

• (18:08-20:51) Refreshing company values through a cross-functional “culture crew,” and the Heart Award

• (26:16-27:45) Client NPS as the one shared metric, and tying it to a company-wide bonus this year

• (28:06-29:31) Designing a distinct experience for remote employees, not just streaming the in-person version

• (36:13-37:58) The Love Question: care as showing up, listening, and serving beyond the task in front of you

FAQ

What is the “Bury the Past” exercise at Merchants Fleet?
A ritual where leaders wrote down old grievances from a difficult period in the company’s history and sealed them in a locked box before moving forward together. Employee psychological-safety survey scores rose 13 points afterward.

What single metric do Alicia Hart and Jeanine Charlton say their departments share?
Client NPS. Merchants Fleet ties it to leadership bonuses and, this year, extended a bonus opportunity to the entire company based on it.

How does Merchants Fleet make sure remote employees feel part of a culture shift like Move America?
By designing a distinct experience for remote participation rather than just replicating the in-person version, and giving leaders tools to run their own team sessions either virtually or on-site.

🎙️ Hosted by Stephen Sakach and Tullio Siragusa

🎧 Produced by Martha Huerta

Read the full recap on Culture Becomes Real When Strategy Turns Into Daily Behavior, catch up on where this conversation started with Matt Dyer, CEO of Merchants Fleet, hear the marketing side of Merchants Fleet from Rebecca Throop, or explore the Featured Guest Series.