The Retention Trap: How Investing in People Builds Resilient Companies with Mark Peters
August 11, 2025
What if retention was the wrong goal? In this episode of Mindful Management, host Shenandoah Chefalo sits down with Mark Peters, CEO of Butterball Farms and author of The Retention Trap, to unpack why simply keeping employees isn’t enough and how intentional talent investment transforms individuals, organizations, and communities. Mark shares how his early experience on the factory floor shaped his leadership philosophy, why CEOs must be the first movers in culture change, and how investing in aspirations creates resilient companies and stronger communities.
Employee retention may keep people in their seats, but it doesn’t guarantee they’ll thrive or that your company will.
In this episode of Mindful Management, host Shenandoah Chefalo sits down with Mark Peters, CEO of Butterball Farms and author of The Retention Trap, to challenge traditional thinking around retention and explore the deeper value of intentional talent investment.
What You’ll Learn:
- Why retention as a metric can lead to ineffective problem-solving
- How to shift from employee stabilization to aspiration-driven investment
- The importance of leaders acting as “first movers” in culture change
- Why responsibility equals power and how that changes systems
- How investing in human capital creates resilience for companies and communities
- Practical ways to partner with community resources for employee development
Mark Peters is the CEO of Butterball Farms, Inc., recognized nationally as one of The Best and Brightest Companies to Work For® from 2018 to 2024. In 2003, he brought together a pioneering group of West Michigan CEOs and community leaders to create The SOURCE, a nonprofit that has helped hundreds of workers overcome challenges interfering with their jobs, delivering an average annual ROI of 200% to its partner organizations. An engaging speaker and storyteller, Mark has addressed TEDx and other audiences, sharing his vision for workplace cultures that invest in people. His new book, The Retention Trap: Stop Measuring Turnover, Start Measuring Talent Investment (Post Hill Press, June 3, 2025), builds on the foundation of his first book, The Source, offering a bold roadmap for shifting from retention metrics to meaningful talent development.
Resources:
- Mark Peter’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markpetersbutterball
- Mark Peter’s website: https://www.linkedin.com/company/butterball-farms-inc-/
- The Retention Trap book site: https://www.theretentiontrap.com/
- ‘The Source’ by Mark Peters: https://www.amazon.com/SOURCE-Mark-Peters/dp/1735895016/
- Get in touch with Shen: https://www.chefaloconsulting.com/contact
- Shen’s New Book: https://www.chefaloconsulting.com/best-bunny
- Have us talk at your event: https://www.chefaloconsulting.com/speaking-events
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