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The 2025 America’s Top 100 is live. See the list →
In this episode of The Leader Show Lou Carter talks with Dr. Susan Dorfman, president and CEO of CMI Media Group, named one of America’s Top 100 Most Loved Workplaces in 2023. The episode delves into the company’s empathetic, innovative approach to healthcare marketing and its dedication to fostering talent, continuous learning, and mentorship. Susan highlights managing a widespread team with trust, technology, and communication, alongside a strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, emphasizing a supportive and inclusive work culture.
Ladies and gentlemen, it’s a pleasure to have you join us on a new episode of The Leader Show with Lou Carter. We are joined by Dr. Susan Dorfman, the president and CEO of CMI Media Group, which is ranked 25th on 2023 America’s Top 100 Most Loved Workplaces.
CMI Media Group, a WPP company, is a full-service global media agency focused solely on health, wellness, and pharmaceutical marketing. The company’s core offerings include audience strategy, planning, development, and insights; data and analytics; buying and investment; and direct response and customer experience.
As the leading media resource for the world’s top healthcare companies, CMI Media Group brings together leading technology, data, and talent to deliver seamless capabilities for clients. With that said, let’s delve into the insights that Susan shares in this episode.
Firstly, Lou and Susan discuss the core functions and values of CMI Media Group, highlighting its role as the world’s leading healthcare media agency.
The latter highlights CMI Media Group’s commitment to providing information and knowledge as the first step to health, aiming to deliver hope through its services. She articulates the culture of service within the company, which is guided by empathy, agility, and a human touch.
Susan shares her personal philosophy of respect, honor, and doing the right thing, influenced by her upbringing and focused on prioritizing people in all aspects of the business. She strongly believes that this approach is integral to the company’s interactions with both employees and clients. It underpins the belief in treating the company as a family and striving for the greater good, especially in the context of health care.
Moving on, Susan highlights CMI Media Group’s approach to talent cultivation and the importance of fostering a community and family-like atmosphere within healthcare organizations.
She emphasizes the significance of respect and co-creation in creating a Most Loved Workplace and how these values are central to its model. Susan then delves into the specifics of the company’s university learning services team, highlighting the importance of hiring individuals with a desire to learn and engage.
She shares her personal journey at CMI Media Group, starting with no background in media but possessing a strong desire to learn, which was supported by the company’s culture of coaching and development. According to Susan, this emphasis on investing in employees’ learning and development is key to the CMI Media Group’s success. It enables the company to attract and develop talent who are committed to doing good and excelling in their roles.
Next, Susan discusses the importance of mentorship and personal growth within CMI Media Group, highlighting the value of adapting learning and coaching methods to individual needs and experiences. She shares how her own learning experience, facilitated by a colleague named Kate, served as a model for expanding mentoring and development opportunities across the company.
Susan mentions “relatability” as a key element in effective learning and mentorship. She notes that understanding and connecting with experiences can make new challenges less intimidating and more approachable, even if they’re not directly similar.
The speakers then discuss the dynamics of mentorship, including the importance of being open to different perspectives and the value of feedback that challenges one’s initial viewpoints.
Susan stresses that learning and growth are continuous processes that occur at all career levels and in various directions—top-down, side-to-side, and bottom-up. She advocates for a culture where everyone is open to learning from each other, reflecting a holistic approach to development and mentorship within the organization.
Lou picks a question from Scott Baxt, who inquires about Susan’s leadership approach to managing a rapidly expanding company with a geographically dispersed workforce. Susan responds by highlighting the importance of trust, accessibility, open communication, and technology.
CMI Media Group operates across multiple locations, both in the US and globally, with a flexible approach that combines remote work with on-premise opportunities for collaboration. Trust and access are emphasized as critical factors for fostering a positive work environment, supported by a strong emphasis on communication and the use of technology to facilitate accessibility.
Susan mentions the role of the learning services group as a vital support system for employees, ensuring that they feel comfortable asking questions and accessing the resources they need. She also shares her commitment to speaking with every employee, aiming to fully understand their experiences and needs, although she acknowledges the challenge of reaching everyone.
The conversation also touches on the importance of listening, adjusting based on feedback, and fostering a culture where titles do not dictate the level of openness in communication. It encourages feedback and ensures that necessary changes are made to improve the workplace. Accountability is highlighted as a mutual responsibility, emphasizing the value of diverse perspectives in finding better solutions.
Lastly, the speakers affirm the significance of these practices in making CMI Media Group a “Most Loved Workplace,” underlining the effort and commitment required to maintain such a culture.
Susan also discusses the importance of prioritizing people in regard to the DE&I initiatives at CMI Media Group. She explains that these priorities naturally emerged from her fundamental belief in putting people first. She argues that genuinely caring about individuals’ well-being, inclusiveness, and feelings makes everything else fall into place, distinguishing between authentic care and superficial checkbox approaches.
Susan credits the company’s status as a Most Loved Workplace to its foundation of caring and inclusivity, set by its active chairman and carried forward by her leadership.
On that note, Lou highlights how CMI Media Group’s emphasis on a people-first philosophy aligns with the sentiments and emotions valued by Most Loved Workplace, particularly in relation to LGBTQ+ and diversity. Susan’s role as the executive sponsor for Plus+, the LGBTQ ERG, and Shalom, the Jewish ERG, exemplifies her commitment to this philosophy.
Towards the end, Susan delves deeper into the impact of embracing diversity and making cultural additions at CMI Media Group.
She explains that moving beyond traditional hiring criteria, such as the requirement for a four-year degree, has allowed them to tap into a broader and more diverse talent pool. It includes integrating tools such as the AI across the workforce rather than limiting them to a select few, demonstrating the company’s commitment to adaptability and growth.
Lou reflects on the personal significance of cultural experiences and how they enrich workplace diversity and understanding. Susan emphasizes her support for all communities and highlights the importance of a people-centered approach that transcends DE&I initiatives, focusing instead on genuinely supporting and uplifting individuals.
Furthermore, Susan shares her background as a refugee and the opportunity given to her family, underscoring her commitment to paying it forward by helping others thrive and recognizing their unique contributions. She asserts that CMI Media Group doesn’t just advocate for these values in theory but actively practices them, creating a workplace environment based on love, respect, and prioritizing people above all.
Thank you for your time!
