While working in the technology sector and then on Wall Street, Michael observed differences in the cultures of organizations he worked with that negatively impacted morale and performance, which led him to ask, “is there a best culture?” In 2002, he left Wall Street to research organizational culture in-depth, ultimately writing two books about it, Fired Up or Burned Out (2007) and Connection Culture (2015), and co-founding Connection Culture Group.

Michael and his colleagues developed frameworks, training and tools that have been praised by many well-respected leaders, including Alan Mulally, the CEO who turned around the Ford Motor Company; Frances Hesselbein, the leader who rejuvenated the Girl Scouts of the U.S.A.; Jim Sinegal, co-founder and longtime CEO of Costco; and CNO Admiral Vernon Clark, the second-longest serving chief of the U.S. Navy.

Michael's clients have included a wide variety of organizations, including Costco, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, NASA, Qualcomm, U.S. Air Force, Turner Construction Company and Yale New Haven Health System. Texas Christian University founded the TCU Center for Connection Culture based on Michael and his colleagues’ work. Articles written by or about Michael or his work have appeared in leadership periodicals worldwide.