Management Blueprint | Steve Preda

Alana Dobbins, Executive Director of the Business Owner Success Alliance (BOSA) and Business Development Specialist at W.G. Nielsen & Co., shares how servant leadership and active listening help advisors and entrepreneurs make smarter, faster, and more aligned business decisions. Alana introduces the 5-Step Listening Framework she developed through her extensive experience in investment banking and business development: Mandate, Plan, Team, Execution, and Self-Awareness. This framework helps leaders build trust, uncover risks, and strengthen alignment between vision and execution. She also discusses BOSA, an upcoming mentorship platform connecting business owners with trusted advisors through short, video-based guidance — creating an accessible way to get sound advice at the right time. From building chemistry with clients to balancing empathy with accountability, Alana shares how genuine listening and mentorship drive growth and confidence in the world of M&A. --- Important Links: Alana’s LinkedIn Business Owner Success Alliance (BOSA) W.G. Nielsen & Co.

https://youtu.be/76GQZb8nj_Q Pál Jalsovszky, founder of Jalsovszky Law Firm — Hungary’s fastest-growing commercial law firm — shares how he built a top-tier legal practice by challenging tradition and creating a firm that reflects his values of professionalism, creativity, and clarity. We explore Pál’s journey from international firms to founding his own, and how his Straightforward Legal Advice Framework—being Practical, Specific, and Risk-Weighted—reshaped the client–lawyer relationship. Instead of theoretical opinions, Pál believes lawyers must take responsibility, quantify risk, and give actionable answers that empower clients to decide with confidence. He also discusses building a culture of collaboration, training lawyers to think like business partners, and how AI will transform the legal profession—from due diligence and analysis to redefining what young lawyers should focus on next. --- Important Links: Pál’s LinkedIn Pál’s website

Adam Joseph, entrepreneur, 5-time PE-funded CEO, two-time Fortune 100 executive, and Summit OS Guide™, shares how developing people through ownership, mentorship, and trust drives leadership growth and organizational success. We explore Adam’s journey from first-time founder to leading multiple private equity–backed companies, and how his Leadership Growth Framework—Identify Talent, Launch Careers, Mentor, and Allow Them Room to Fail—has helped him build empowered, high-performing teams. Adam explains why potential matters more than experience, why CEOs must coach forward instead of managing backward, and how giving people space to fail builds resilience and confidence. He also discusses the “Burn the Boats” mindset—what it means to go all in as a leader—and shares how to balance ambition with purpose, family, and fulfillment. --- Important Links: Adam’s LinkedIn Adam’s website

Tinsley Galyean, CEO of Curious Learning, is on a mission to eradicate illiteracy worldwide by helping people reframe how they think, learn, and lead through curiosity. We explore Tinsley’s journey from the MIT Media Lab to co-founding Curious Learning, a non-profit transforming education for children in over 200 countries. He introduces his Eliminate Limiting Beliefs Framework, which guides leaders to let go of defensiveness, open up to curiosity, ask questions to understand, and create awareness of their assumptions. Tinsley explains how curiosity dissolves barriers to change, why awareness precedes transformation, and how these principles can drive both personal growth and global literacy. He also shares stories of communities teaching themselves to read and offers a surprising belief that 90% of leaders would disagree with—challenging traditional notions of control and leadership. --- Important Links: Tinsley’s LinkedIn Tinsley’s website Tinsley’s Email: Tinsley@curiouslearning.org

Bill Ryan, Founder of Ryan Consulting, helps organizations maximize their investment in technology and people by ensuring they work together efficiently and effectively, regardless of location. We explore Bill’s journey from technologist to consultant and his mission to connect people “over time and distance” by giving them what they need at the time of need. Bill introduces his Culture of Curiosity Framework, a leadership model designed to foster innovation, engagement, and problem-solving inside organizations. The framework emphasizes being willing to say “I don’t know”, making it safe to ask “why”, encouraging employees to figure out solutions, and provoking thoughtful conversation that sparks collaboration. Bill also shares why curiosity is the foundation of leadership, how leaders can model vulnerability to build trust, and why he views learning and development not as an expense but as a strategic investment in long-term performance and retention. --- Important Links: Bill’s LinkedIn Bill’s website Bill’s Email: bill@williamjryan.com

Jon Ferrara, CEO of Nimble, has devoted his career to helping people grow their businesses by turning contacts into lasting, valuable relationships. We explore Jon’s journey from creating GoldMine, one of the first successful CRMs, to founding Nimble, a relationship-focused CRM that brings contact management back to its roots. Jon shares his personal “Why” — to grow his soul by helping others grow theirs — and explains why relationships, not technology, are the real key to business success. He introduces his signature frameworks: the Five F’s of Relationships (Family, Friends, Food, Fun, and Fellowship) for building authentic connections, the Five E’s of Brand-Building (Educate, Enchant, Engage, Embrace, and Empower) for expanding influence, and the Three P’s (Passion, Plan, Purpose) for achieving personal and professional goals. Jon also describes how Kanban-style workflows and selective automation enable entrepreneurs and teams to manage contacts at scale without losing the human touch. --- Important links: Jon’s LinkedIn Start a free trial of Nimble Email Jon directly: jon@nimble.com

Sri Kaza, serial CEO (most recently of BriteCap Financial) and author of Un-Convention: A Small Business Strategy Guide, joins me to share how unconventional thinking and the Trust Equation Framework can transform client relationships and small-business strategy. Sri explains how he discovered entrepreneurship through his own career, from Y2K programmer to global sales executive to CEO, and why developing people is at the heart of his personal “Why.” We explore Sri’s memorable experience selling software in Japan—where karaoke, izakayas, and takoyaki roulette taught him more about trust than any sales manual—and how David Maister’s Trust Equation Framework — credibility × reliability × intimacy ÷ self-interest — later helped him make sense of it. Sri also unpacks the principles behind his book Un-Convention: why small businesses can leverage their proximity to customers, nimbleness, and purpose to outperform bigger competitors, and how to avoid “empty-calorie” expansion by focusing on the right customers. --- Important Links: Sri’s LinkedIn Sri’s website

Patrick Seaton, President and Owner of Innovative Management Tools and creator of the Change OS™ Framework, helps leaders and organizations proactively navigate change with clarity and structure. Drawing on decades as a corporate manager facing growth, chaos, and constant change, Patrick built tools to give leaders a roadmap for facilitating change instead of simply reacting to it. We explore Patrick’s journey from survival-mode middle manager to building 28 frameworks for change facilitation, culminating in Change OS™. Patrick explains why traditional “change management” became a messy junk drawer of tactics, and how the Change OS™ Framework reframes it into seven clear steps. In this conversation he walks us through four of them—Change Management, Change Preparation, Change Enablement, and Change Readiness—showing how proactive preparation of people, skills, and motivation creates far better outcomes than simply “dealing with it.” Patrick also shares why people don’t actually resist change—they resist being changed—how to create internal champions who spread buy-in, and why slowing down up front helps organizations go faster later. Important Links: Patrick’s LinkedIn Patrick’s website

What fuels a business? It all starts with the dream. In this episode, we look at lessons from the legendary Michael E. Gerber, author of The E-Myth Revisited, who first championed the idea that entrepreneurs must cultivate their dream before anything else. From there, we explore why emotion is the spiritual energy behind every great business, movement, or mission. Without it, even brilliant ideas and top teams fall flat. With it, you attract missionaries instead of mercenaries—people who believe in your vision and help you build something that lasts. Defining a higher purpose is an overlooked advantage. Bring that spiritual dimension into your company and your people can put a small dent in the universe. --- Bring in the Spiritual Dimension Hi everyone. Today I want to share something really special. I recently had the honor on interviewing the great Michael Gerber, yes, the author of The E-Myth Revisited on my podcast. Now, Michael is close to 89 years old, but let me tell you, he’s still sharp as a samurai’s blade. During our conversation, Michael emphasized just how important it is for every entrepreneur to cultivate their dream. Because the dream, it fuels your passion for the business. And once it's alive, it becomes the energy behind everything else. Your role as a thinker, a storyteller, a leader, a designer, a builder, a launcher, and ultimately a grower. It really hit me. All of this is about tapping into one thing, emotion. Think about it. You can have brilliant ideas, unique assets, and a team of full of A-players. But without emotion, nothing happens. Emotion is the fuel in the tank of your business. And doesn't that sound familiar? Every great religion, every movement, every political ideology in history, what did they all do? They tapped into the spiritual power of emotion to rally people. So why would it be any different in a business? Here's the real question. Do you want mercenaries or missionaries helping you to grow your business? If it's the latter, then you need a mission that excites you and inspires your people. The good news? Every company already has a seed of a great mission inside it. At Summit OS®, we call this the Company Why™. And here’s the thing: it’s not about inventing it—it’s about unearthing it, polishing it, and sharing it boldly. Let me give you a few powerful examples. “Liberate people from unhealthy and unpleasant tasks”. That's the 'Why' of Combi Packaging Systems. A maker of packaging machines that help people not have to climb high ladders or work in dusty and steamy places. “Facilitate people’s independence and self-determination”. That's the 'Why' of RackN that manages physical server parks. “Transform people to help fulfill their potential and enjoy a better social life”. That's the 'Why' of Eos Rejuvenation, a facial plastic surgery in Los Angeles. And finally, “Help entrepreneurs reach their Ideal Lives while creating a positive impact”. That's our very own 'Why' at Summit OS Group. Defining a higher purpose is the number one missed opportunity for business owners, and yet it's one of the most powerful ways to create excitement, pride, attract top talent, and spark creativity in your business. So don't forget to bring that spiritual dimension into your company because when you do, your people will begin to put a small dent in the universe. If you'd like to dive deeper, check out SummitOS.co for more videos on this concept. And until next time, keep growing.

https://youtu.be/JgJaZ9-fg-E Steven Wilson, CEO of Parallel 42 Coaching & Consulting, Certified Working Genius Facilitator, and Six Sigma Black Belt, helps leaders unlock potential by applying Patrick Lencioni’s Working Genius Framework to transform teams and organizations. His mission is to guide people and businesses to be better at who they are, what they do, and how they serve others. We explore Steven’s journey from Lean Six Sigma process expert to leadership coach and how the Working Genius Framework helps individuals identify whether they’re in the right seat, boosts productivity by focusing 80% on natural strengths and 20% on personality, and increases team collaboration. Steven explains how the six types of genius align with the phases of any project and how leaders can recognize where people are most engaged to build resilient, high-performing teams.He also shares why organizational “health” often matters more than “smarts,” how hungry, humble, and smart behaviors strengthen culture, and how servant leadership creates accountability, trust, and long-term success.

https://youtu.be/PniriBnM0mo Legacy may not be the number 1 driver for most business owners—but it’s close. Right after financial security, wealth creation, and personal freedom. In this video, we explore why building a successful business is one of the most powerful, controllable, and lasting ways to make an impact that lives on long after you’re gone. You’ll hear real examples of entrepreneurs who started late and still changed the world—like Colonel Sanders, Arianna Huffington, and Ray Kroc—and discover why business can be a greater legacy-builder than sports, politics, or entertainment. We’ll also look at how great businesses multiply impact—helping employees, customers, and entire communities—while setting you up to attract A-players and create something that stands the test of time. If you’re ready to grow your company faster, with less risk and cost, tune in—and remember: it’s never too late to start building your legacy. --- What Will Be Your Legacy? What will be your legacy? “Legacy” isn't the most important driver for most business owners to grow their business—but it’s damn close. Right behind financial security, wealth creation, and achieving personal freedom. I've always believed that building a successful business is the most straightforward way to create a legacy that lives on well after you’re gone. Sure, you can do it in other ways through athletic achievement, becoming a rock or movie star, writing bestselling books, or achieving top political office. But creating a business often requires fewer sacrifices of youth, health, and integrity. It's also far more controllable. Making it big as an athlete is usually decided in childhood. It's mostly a function of parenting an environment. Becoming a rock star or a movie star also hinges on youth, inborn talent, or early desire. Again, largely environment-driven. Becoming a famous author is exceedingly rare and often takes writing dozens of books before one gets recognized, let alone achieves name recognition. Political careers are mostly self-created, but it can be a long road to breaking free of party whips and agendas—if that ever happens. Turning politics into a lasting positive legacy is even rarer. No more than a handful of examples emerged each century, if that. Now compare all of these to building a business legacy. Business success is rarely threatened by injuries, addictions, or character assassinations. You can start at nearly any age. Martha Stewart was a model, caterer, and author before launching her media company in her fifties. Ray Kroc, a milkshake machine salesman, saw potential in the McDonald's burger stand and launched a franchise model at age 52. John Pemberton, a Civil War veteran and pharmacist, created the original formula for Coca-Cola at the age of 55 while seeking an alternative to morphine. Arianna Huffington, after a successful career as an author and commentator at age 55, launched The Huffington Post in 2005, which became a leading digital news platform. Colonel Harland Sanders, after a series of jobs and running a gas station restaurant, began franchising his fried chicken recipe at age 65, using his first Social Security check to fund the idea. And you can build quietly sneaking up on competitors until it's too late for them to catch up. The best part? A great business is an impact multiplier. You can help your employees, their families, and all the customers who benefit from your superior products and services. If you own a viable business, you have a massive opportunity to grow it and make it highly profitable so you can attract and retain A-players and build a lasting pyramid for yourself. The heroes of our age are business entrepreneurs who change the world around us. Steve Jobs, founder of Apple Next, and CEO of Pixar. Revolutionized personal computing, digital animation, digital music, and cracked the code on tablet computing and smartphones. Sam Mond,

https://youtu.be/ySHMeFn4kPA Andy Hite, Founder of Scaling Minds Coaching & Consulting, is on a mission to help leaders navigate complexity, align their teams, and drive meaningful results by transforming both self-leadership and organizational leadership. We explore Andy’s Six Shifts Leadership Operating System: Trust, Candor, Ownership, Empowerment, Alignment, and Leadership—a framework that turns groups of executives into high-performing, strategically aligned leadership teams. Andy shares why self-leadership is the starting point for culture change, how to move from hub-and-spoke decision-making to empowered departmental ownership, and why peer accountability and “The Gym of Life” are essential for lasting leadership growth. --- Take Your People to the Gym of Life with Andy Hite Good day, listeners. Steve Preda here with the Management Blueprint Podcast, and my guest today is Andy Hite, the founder of Scaling Minds Coaching and Consulting, helping leaders navigate complexity, align their teams, and drive meaningful results. Andy, welcome to the show. Hey, Steve. Thanks for having me. I'm excited for the conversation. Yeah, you've got a great story. You've got a great business. And let's get into it with my favorite question, which is, what is your personal “Why” and what are you doing to manifest it in your business? Yeah, I love that question. Because most people can answer what is your “Why.” They might reach for something, but I love the follow-up. What are you actually doing to manifest it? Because that's the part that a lot of people don't always consider. I have a personal and a professional “Why.” My personal “Why,” I really landed on seven, eight years ago. My personal “Why” is to show my children that they can do and be and achieve anything they want. My kids are now 19, twin daughters, by the way. And as most parents do when they're younger, as they're growing up, we tell them these things. Hey, you can do anything, you could be anything, you can create anything. But I was confronted maybe eight years ago with walking the walk, not just talking the talk. I had a corporate gig and the thought and idea of starting this business was there. And for a while, I kind of put blinders on because truthfully, as many of your listeners can imagine, I'm sure you can imagine as well, leaving something that's steady and secure to start over in your forties is really, really scary, and most people, I talked to a lot of people, entrepreneurs, they're like, I can't do it. I have a family of obligations, I have bills. And I was confronted with that. I've been telling my kids this forever, am I living it? Am I actually going after the things that I want? And so I didn't want my words to be hollow. So I started walking the walk. I left that work and I started this business. And every day, as entrepreneurs know, can be a struggle as we're building. And so it's really just showing them, hey, if you're willing to put in the work, you can create anything. You can be anything.Share on X So that's a long-winded answer, Steve, of what my personal “Why” is and how I get up every morning thinking about, don't be a hypocrite, go do the work and show them. I tell this to my kids as well, that the biggest thing about being a father is that, or any parent, is that there's nowhere to hide. So, you really have to evoke, otherwise you are a hypocrite and it's not always easy. You have to really do the right thing, not just pretend you're doing the right thing because they're gonna see it. Yeah, well, and I didn't want my words to just be for them or hollow. So I was forced to kind of walk the walk and thank God I did. Yeah. Okay, well, I'm sure that there is another motivation behind this. It's not just the show for the kids. You've got to love what you're doing. So, tell me a little bit about what you do and specifically you develop the leadership operating system called Six Shifts.

https://youtu.be/avv30Z0wD9Q Josh Tarbutton, Entrepreneurial Chairman and Chief Innovation Officer of Bravo Team Engineering Design and Fabrication, is on a mission to restore the dignity of engineers and unleash their creative potential through intentional culture and agile structure. We explore Josh’s journey from soldier and professor to engineering leader, and his Engagement Success Framework, which includes: Scoping/Visioning, Customer Communication, Resourcing, and Solution. Josh explains how this structured process allows Bravo Team to align deeply with client goals, unlock team creativity, and deliver complex, high-impact innovations with confidence. We also discuss how “grooming” a project helps avoid costly misalignments, how AI and Agile methods are transforming the engineering workflow, and why design for sustainability and accessibility will define the next frontier of innovation. --- Unleash the Power of Engineers with Josh Tarbutton Good day, dear listeners, Steve Preda here with the Management Blueprint Podcast. And my guest today is Josh Tarbutton, former professor, soldier, and currently the Entrepreneurial Chairman and Chief Innovation Officer of Bravo Team Engineering Design and Fabrication. Josh, welcome to the show. Steve, glad to be here, thank you. Well, I'm excited to have this conversation because your kind of firm has not been represented on the show for the last 300 episodes. So, we're definitely gonna have some new insights and the new perspectives. We've never had an engineering consulting firm, I believe. And you also have a very inspiring “Why” of why you're doing this. So let's start with this. And would you share your personal “Why” and how you are manifesting it in Bravo Team? Yes. So why Bravo Team or why do this? So I think there's the truth that if you want to create new things, you got to imagine them and put yourself in a position to create.Share on X And I think as engineers, we have that unique opportunity and in many of our careers to be the tip of the spear for creativity in our organizations. And, for me personally, seeing how soldiers are trained in the army, seeing how engineers are matriculated in academia and seeing the career paths that they end up with, I really feel like there's a little bit of a mismatch in the market between what the engineer is really capable of and what they're actually able to produce in an organization. And I would say that to the extent that there’s a blockage between the creative capacity of the engineer and the value that they could deliver, I feel like I kind of want to help that. And so what is that? Well, part of it has to do with like just the dignity of the engineer and how we understand the value contribution. And so part of my “Why” is I actually believe that if we actually have intentional conversations and we change some of the ways that we do things that we can get, we can allow people to be much more creative and we can have bigger budgets because we're reducing waste in other areas and really make a dramatic impact into the way that we do design work. Okay, so that is fascinating. And you mentioned the dignity of engineering. So, what is happening with the dignity of engineering? Why it needs to be restored? So fundamentally, dignity is, I think, mostly just about respect. And I think, sometimes, when two people are having a conversation, our assumptions that we bring into the conversation can really take away from what the other person is saying. And I think that happens a lot in engineering, where the engineer is doing their best to try to communicate what needs to be communicated. And yet, there's a little bit that's lost in translation. So, then the engineer comes across as being a resistive or adding some restriction or creating problems or trying to slow things down. When in reality, I'd say almost all the time, these individuals are trying to help and reduce risk and increase the customer experienc...

https://youtu.be/w1ZbzfSrdFk Michael Viane, Executive Coach, Strategic Advisor, and Keynote Speaker, is driven by a mission to help people overcome challenges and find the clarity to act. His Marathon Mindset Framework includes Purpose, Preparation, Pace, and Perseverance—four guiding principles that help individuals and teams sustain momentum and avoid burnout in pursuit of long-term goals. We dive into Michael’s journey from a 30-year corporate career to coaching, inspired by a desire to live with purpose and help others do the same. He explains how leaders can use the Marathon Mindset to navigate overwhelm, maintain strategic focus, and build resilience. Michael also shares the concept of DMAs (Difference-Making Actions)—intentional, goal-aligned tasks that counter reactive busyness and drive daily progress. --- Make a Difference Each Day with Mike Viane Good day, dear listeners, Steve Preda here with the Management Blueprint Podcast. And my guest today is Michael Viane, Executive Coach, Strategic Advisor, and Keynote Speaker, empowering individuals, teams, and organizations to overcome challenges and find the clarity to take action. Michael, welcome to the show. Thank you, Steve. Thank you for that nice introduction. I copied it from your LinkedIn page, so it wasn't my creation, but I think it's a good one. So as an introduction, by way of introduction, Michael, why don't you share what is your personal “Why” with our audience? I will give you a rather lengthy answer on it. My “Why” started after 30 years in corporate America of having the recognition that I was waking up each day without any passion for what I was doing, without any sense of fulfillment at the end of my day. And the recognition that I needed to find the courage to move forward and do something that I deserved. And that was to have passion and fulfillment in my everyday life, to want to wake up in the morning and do things. And I had the very obvious and rewarding recognition that my greatest accomplishments in my career were always in coaching and mentoring people on my team to be greater organizational contributors, to be future leaders. And when I said this to people, they said, let me introduce you to somebody. And I met a coach. I met a business coach who explained to me what he does. And then I was introduced to Focal Point Business Coaching. And at Focal Point, we have the idea that we are a pebble in the pond, and that when we help one person and we drop that pebble into the pond, we see the ripple effect go out. My “Why” is literally to help others, to teach others, and make even the smallest of difference in their lives and in their business worldShare on X so that it creates that pebble in the pond ripple effect and it affects and makes people who work for this business owner, their lives better, their family lives better, the community stronger. This is my goal, this is my “Why,” this is my passion. Okay, love it. To be the pebble in the pond and create the ripple effect, that is awesome. And definitely coaching can create that, especially when you coach executives who then coach their direct reports and their family life gets better. Let's talk about how you do that and one of the things that you talked about earlier when we chatted really struck a chord with me when you talked about the marathon mindset. It's not a sprint, it's a marathon. And how do marathonists think about the race and how they pace themselves? So, what is the Marathon Mindset and what are the four Ps of the Marathon Mindset? Yeah, and this was actually the topic of our Focal Point conference this year. The Marathon Mindset and the four Ps. The four Ps are Purpose to begin with. And we just talked about this and “Why.” Our “Why.” So we talk about our purpose. then we talk about Preparation. Preparation is our process, our ability to plan, our ability to practice, to set goals, to have a mental readiness,

https://youtu.be/FB11MbVTtlo Andrew Jernigan, CEO of Insured Nomads, is on a mission to redefine insurance for the globally distributed workforce. His Globally Distributed Company OS includes communication, documentation, education, and integration—core pillars that help companies effectively manage international remote teams. We learn about Andrew’s journey from banking and global living to founding Insured Nomads—a company providing health, travel, and risk coverage for digital nomads, remote teams, and expats. Andrew shares how cultural nuance, asynchronous collaboration, and documentation help build trust and cohesion in a fully remote environment. We also explore how comprehensive global health insurance differs from standard travel insurance, what digital nomads often overlook, and why benefits like mental health access, cybersecurity, and global lounge access are becoming essential for the international workforce. --- Mine Gold in Your People with Andrew Jernigan Good day, dear listeners, Steve Preda here with the Management Blueprint Podcast, and my guest today is Andrew Jernigan, CEO of Insured Nomads, providing frictionless travel and health insurance for globally distributed teams, expatriates, digital nomads, remote workers, travelers, world schoolers for a successful international lifestyle. Andrew, welcome to the show. Well, thank you, Steve. And hi, everyone. I'm glad you're tuning in. This is going to be a fun episode. Yeah, it is going to be fun. I'm super excited about what you have up your sleeves about how you built this business, because this really a post-COVID type remotely operated business that you have, and it's a global business. You have like an interesting background. You lived in Amsterdam for several years. You're married to a Brazilian woman. I lived in Ghana, worked in England, Thailand, Emirates. Running a cross-border team is something I've been part of for a couple of decades now. So this is a valuable conversation for the way the world works today and the future of work as well. Yeah, so basically you are the target market of your company, maybe, that you call the Insured Nomads. So tell me, what is your “Why,” your personal “Why,” that inspired you to start Insured Nomads in the first place? I've lived the lifestyle, I've had the plans and then fast forward a few years, I brokered over 26 of the international companies in our space and realized, took me back to my banking days back out of university, where I was building online banking and a lot of the FinTech components many years ago. And I realized, wow, insurance needs that kind of change. Healthcare, financing of healthcare needs reform. And so brought together some leaders in the industry and said, let's do it differently. Took off to build Insured Nomads for health insurance and short term travel insurance that meets today's standards. And this was before the pandemic was declared. I was working from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Belo Horizonte and Rio de Janeiro. And my co-founders were oceans apart. And this was birthed and soon after pandemic was declared, and the trigger effect of that, of realizing, okay, flexible, hybrid, remote first, digital first, etc. Work dynamics have affected the world.Share on X Yeah. So basically, you fell into this. So you had this international background, then suddenly the Zoom revolution came and it made it possible, or somehow people's paradigm shifted and suddenly it was totally okay to meet on Zoom. If you can meet on Zoom, then you can meet with anyone in the world on Zoom, basically, and then suddenly the world becomes your oyster because you can hire people anywhere in the world. So how did that evolve and how do you put the blocks together? Was it hard to start to build a culture with more people? Well, prior to this, we go back in time, we had ICQ, we had AOL Instant Messenger, Yahoo Instant Messenger, etc. and others in other cultures and regions of the w...

https://youtu.be/vKFULhTQwg0 Katie O’Malley, Founder of (en)Courage Coaching, is on a mission to create workplaces that do no harm by equipping leaders with the skills to prevent toxicity and foster cultural transformation. We dive into Katie’s career path from political campaigns and higher education to leadership coaching, and explore her Power of Listening Framework—the AIR Methodology: Attention, Intention, and Recognition. Katie shares how listening well is one of the most powerful tools leaders have to build trust, increase engagement, and demonstrate respect. We also discuss how she uses LEGO Serious Play to unlock team vulnerability and build connection in a playful but profound way. --- Make People Feel Heard with Katie O'Malley Good day, dear listeners, Steve Preda here with the Management Blueprint Podcast. And my guest today is Katie O'Malley, the founder of (en)Courage Coaching. She has helped over 200 leaders and leadership teams prevent toxic workspace experiences and create cultural transformations across the US and the UK. Katie, welcome to the show. Steve, thank you so much for having me. I'm delighted to be here and really eager for our conversation and to be helpful to your audience. I'm sure you will be very helpful. You bring a different perspectives than what we had, the previous 300 guests, so definitely very interesting. But let's start with my favorite question, which is, what is your personal “Why” and what are you doing to manifest it in your practice? Absolutely. So my personal “Why” goes all the way back to when I was in college studying political science. I have always wanted to make a positive impact in the world, the communities that I'm a part of, the connections and the relationships that I have. And that thread has pulled throughout my entire career, whether it was working on political campaigns and nonprofit organizations or in higher education. And eventually what I realized is I had this kind of itch for small business ownership, entrepreneurship, having the agency and autonomy to work the way that I wanted to work and took that, combined it with my “Why” of really helping folks at the intersection of mental health and work. It's where we spend eight, 10, 12 hours of our day. And to think that it doesn't have an impact on how we move through the world or our overall well-being is bonkers. And so I spend my days really helping folks to align their strengths, talents, and values with the roles and organizations that they're pursuing.Share on X And also working on the other side of the equation, on the employer side of the equation, training up their leaders to do no harm to their teams and employees throughout the workday. And so, yeah, my “Why” is how do we help people have, at worst, a net neutral experience in their workday and at best, a workday that elevates their life outside of work. Yeah, I mean, it's a huge thing and a lot of companies don't realize that they have these employees in the company and if they are happy, they're going to be much more productive. They are going to project a much better impression of the company to the outside world. They are going to make their customers happier. So it's really worth investing in improving the mental health and the happiness of the people in the company. That's a big lever that you're pulling there. So let's take this as a good pivot point because we are podcasting on frameworks, as you know, and our listeners know. I'm always on the hunt for a good framework that someone has discovered. What you do definitely is an important topic. You talk about the empathy, you have background in counseling. So you came up with a framework called the Power of Listening Framework, and I would love it for you to explain why it's important and how does it work with our listeners? Yeah. So I call it the AIR Methodology. A stands for attention, I stands for intention, R stands for recognition.

https://youtu.be/lljfWj6VRmc Phil Wofford, Entrepreneur, Fractional CFO/COO, Business Coach, and owner of Scale and Thrive, is on a mission to help business owners scale profitably, improve operations, and build teams that run without them. We explore Phil’s entrepreneurial journey, including the successful exit of two healthcare clinics, and how he now supports other leaders through coaching and fractional leadership. He shares his Focus Time Framework, which helps owners regain control of their day by:Writing 3 top priorities above a line, 2–3 secondary tasks below it, and staying focused on what’s above the line. We also discuss how strategic financial oversight drives long-term profitability, what makes a business attractive to buyers, and why every owner should be asking what truly matters in life and business. --- Focus Your Time with Phil Wofford Good day, dear listeners, Steve Preda here with the Management Blueprint Podcast. And my guest today is Phil Wofford, the owner of Scale and Thrive, who helps business owners scale, increase profitability, and build teams that run without them. Phil, welcome to the show. Thank you. I'm happy to be here. Well, great to have you here and great to talk about some of your frameworks and what you are doing as a coach, as a fractional CFO, COO, as an entrepreneur. So a lot to get into here. But let's start with my favorite question. What is your personal “Why” and what are you doing to manifest it? Yeah, my personal “Why” is I just really enjoy using my experience and background to help business owners and CEO grow their business.Share on X And really that manifests by us really drilling down into their business and understanding what are the key components that affect their profitability, their operations, all the things that are really important. So I just really enjoyed doing that because I've done it in my own businesses over the years and so now it's my chance to give back as well. Love it. So, you say that you like to drill in and see what prevents people from growing, being more profitable. What do you see as being the most common two or three things that is creating an obstacle for entrepreneurs, business owners? Yeah, it's kind of a two-pronged thing. Some businesses don't understand their KPIs or their key performance indicators. And it may be that they just haven't been exposed to it and they haven't created those. In my world that I've operated in, those have always been really important items that we use to manage the business day to day, month to month, quarter to quarter. And then you have the other side, the business person that's really into it and they want to measure everything. They have 48 components of KPIs and it just drives them and the staff crazy trying to keep up with that many. When really there should be three to six really key things that we're keeping our eyes on,Share on X depending on the business, that really help guide us to make decisions day by day. Yeah, that is true. And if you have too many KPIs, then essentially you diluted their power and then it just becomes noise. But if you have a few good ones, then you can really drive the business. And Jim Collins even talks about the profit per X having one big differentiating, and that's going to be very powerful. Okay. So you're an entrepreneur as well. And you're in the process of exiting some clinics in Alaska that you created. Tell me a little bit about how that came about and what did you do there and why are you exiting? Yeah, I've done many international startups and that led me to becoming a business coach and a fractional COO, fractional CFO. And a few years ago, my friend from kindergarten that we grew up together, we ran across the business opportunity in the healthcare field. And so we created a clinic here in the Atlanta area. And subsequently that led to a second one. And we exited the first one, middle of COVID,

https://youtu.be/GigFOIkP3BI Doug Gray, Family Wealth Advisor, Succession Planning Expert, and Founder of Action Learning Associates, is passionate about helping leaders flourish through agency, curiosity, and collaborative frameworks. We discuss Doug’s ADFIT Protocol for Leadership Development, a simple and effective framework that assumes people don’t need to be “fixed” — they need the structure to grow. Doug also explores how family businesses can navigate succession by understanding emotional dynamics, empowering Next Gen leaders, and shifting from control to collaboration. His latest book, The Success Playbook for Next Gen Family Business Leaders, gives rising leaders the tools to step into their future with clarity and confidence. --- Enable Family Transitions with Doug Gray Good day, dear listeners, Steve Preda here with the Management Blueprint Podcast. And my guest today is Doug Gray, Family Wealth Advisor, Business Change Management Agent, Organizational Leadership Facilitator, Succession Planning Advisor, and Executive Coach. He's also the founder of Action Learning Associates and the author of three books on leadership. Doug, welcome to the show. Thanks so much, Steve. Pleasure to be here. Yeah, great to have you. And let's start with my favorite question. What is your personal “Why” and how do you manifest this in your practice and in your activities? I like to go big. So, to serve tens of thousands of leaders, I'm not sure how to quantify it, but I think the idea of serving others in their leadership development journey is the most important “Why” I can imagine. Yeah, well, that certainly can be rewarding. Any particular reason it's important to you to serve others? We don't use the verb serve enough. I live in the south where Chick-fil-A is abundant and people will openly ask, how may I serve you? Which is a delightful question. Greenleaf was an academic and a Quaker who asked, how may I serve you? And service servant leadership emerged from that philosophy. And I think we need to do a better job of serving one another's needs. Yeah, I love that. Really, this mindset of looking at the other person and thinking about the other person rather than ourselves and not be self-serving, but be other serving. It's definitely a resonance with me. It's primary also in leadership development, but also in learning. Curiosity is the result of, like you worked in executive coaching for a long time. And curiosity is the currency of learning. To what extent can you become curious about the other person on the call? Similarly, right now, your podcasters are thinking, oh, this Doug Gray guy, he's fairly weird. And they get curious about various things. And they ask questions or they invite you to do so. And that curiosity is what impels us to learn. It's what enables us to use tools like AI. Coaches are great at writing prompts, thankfully. What I love about AI is that anything that comes to mind, I'm a very curious person. And I hear a word, I say, where does this word come from? And then I can immediately ask AI and then I can go about my business. It doesn't take any effort and better insight. So yeah, I agree. I was talking to a client just the other day, a new client, and he asked whom should I bring to the team into discussion? And we went through different perspectives and still there was some uncertainty in his mind about who has the potential to be leader. And I asked him, which of these people are curious? He says, oh yeah, some of them are not curious. And then he connected the dots that if they're not curious, they're not going to learn, they're not going to grow, they're not going to be leaders. That's right. Yeah, totally agree with that. Okay. So I'm very curious about the framework that you're bringing to this show. And we discussed in the pre-interview about this idea that people don't need to be fixed because they have agency and capacity.

Dr. Chris Fuzie, President of the National Leaderology Association and Founder of CMF Leadership Consulting, is on a mission to elevate leadership into a respected science—and to develop better leaders by grounding them in theory and behavior. We dive into the emerging field of Leaderology and how Dr. Fuzie is working to verify and certify leadership practitioners as “Leaderologists.” He introduces the STICKUM Framework for building team cohesion through Sacrifice, Teamwork, Interaction, Communication, Keeping people focused, Unique norms and symbols, and Mission. Chris also explores the concept of Liminal Leadership—where leaders must seamlessly transition between leading and following—and explains how followership is as critical as leadership itself. --- Create Cohesion with Dr. Chris Fuzie Good day, dear listeners. Steve Preda here with the Management Blueprint podcast. And my guest today is Dr. Chris Fuzie, president of the National Leaderology Association, a non-profit organization that establishes and promotes leaderology, the study of leadership as a respected discipline in science. He is also the owner of CMF Leadership Consulting. So without further ado, welcome to the show, Chris. Thank you, Steve. I'm very happy to be here. Yeah, I'm looking forward to this. Well, I have to tell you that we are 300 episodes in and you're the first leaderologist that we ever had on this podcast. So it's kind of a big day for us. Oh, good. So, what is leaderology? I've never heard this before, but it sure sounds interesting. Well, okay, so you have psychology, you have psychologists. You have biology, you have biologists. You have all of these other ologies, which is the scientific study of or the study of whatever the discipline is. So leaderology is nothing more than the scientific study of leadership. So as a leaderologist, there's different levels within leaderology. And as a leaderologist, that means that you are formally educated in leadership theory and leadership practice.Share on X And the different levels, if you have one degree, two degrees, like I have three degrees, so three formal degrees in leadership. And so that's what a leaderologist is. It's just somebody who studies just like a biologist studies biology. So, is this a trademark designation or anyone can call themselves a leaderologist who are expert in leadership? Yeah, that's the thing is that we actually verify that the person is a leaderologist. And so through the National Leaderology Association, what we do is in order to join, you have to submit your transcripts to show that you've actually studied leadership, not management, but leadership. I know you know the difference between management and leadership, but that's why we look at the type of classes that people have taken, what is their dissertation on that kind of stuff. So we look at all that kind of stuff before we designate somebody. That's why they're called verified leaderologists, because they have been vetted, they have been verified as a leaderologist before we will say, yes, this person knows what they're talking about. Okay. That makes sense. So in terms of definition, my favorite definition is that you manage things and you lead people. What is your definition? What is the official designated definition of a leaderologist and the leader? I say the same thing. Manage things, you lead people. But a leaderologist understands the theories behind the concepts of leading people. As an example, let's use cohesion as an example. There's different ways of building cohesion. I use the acronym STICKUM. Personal sacrifice, teamwork, getting people to interact. C is communication. K is keeping people focused on the mission. U is unique norms and symbols. And then the M is the mission focus.Share on X If you think about all those things, when you look at cohesion, then it's important that you use all of those things. Plus cohesion,

https://youtu.be/wrIFxgnkJ1A Nathan Miller, Founder and CEO of Miller Ink, is on a mission to help organizations communicate clearly and strategically—especially in moments of high stakes and crisis. We explore Nathan’s journey from diplomacy and speechwriting at the UN to launching one of California’s top crisis communication firms. He shares the Miller Ink Communications Framework, which anchors every campaign with a clear objective, a targeted audience, and a compelling message. Nathan breaks down how to craft memorable messaging using the 3 Cs (Clear, Concise, Compelling) and the 3 S’s (Stories, Statistics, Soundbites). He also reveals how to build a reputation-driven business, navigate hiring decisions, and future-proof your communications in a rapidly changing media landscape. --- Communicate in Soundbites with Nathan Miller Good day, dear listeners. It's Steve Preda here with the Management Blueprint and my guest today is Nathan Miller, founder and CEO of Miller Ink. and he's also a seasoned communication strategist with deep experience in business, government, diplomacy, crisis management and issue advocacy. Nathan, welcome to the show. Thanks for having me, Steve. It's great to be here. Well, it's good to have you. And I've got some questions I'm really curious about that I want to ask you. And starting with my favorite one, what is your personal “Why” and what are you doing to manifest it in your business? My personal “Why” really is a couple of things. One, our business makes a huge impact for a lot of people and to feel that impact every day is tremendous and it gives me a lot of satisfaction and pride. The people who work for Miller Ink., the people who work here and launched their careers through this company, our clients, every day you get to be in rooms with people who are solving problems, addressing challenges, navigating different challenges, and helping them get to a better place is incredibly gratifying. You want to be somebody who's of service in that way. We do a lot of advocacy and mission-driven work as well as an agency. I've done a lot of work on behalf of the Jewish community and the State of Israel, which has also been very meaningful. And for me, the most important personal “Why” is I have three kids and so much of what I do is really for them. And that is really one of my big North Stars in life. Yeah, well, lots of meaningful stuff in your life. And you left the UN Security Council, where you were a writer, to become a PR entrepreneur. So tell me about this journey. The journey was crazy. My career began, I got a master's in public policy here at UCLA. I went to Europe for a little bit. I worked in Brussels with the EU institutions there at a think tank. And then I came back and I worked at a PR firm in LA for a couple of years early in my career. I got a job as the chief speechwriter for Israel's mission to the UN. And it was a crazy time to be doing that job. I was really young, and it was the outbreak of the Arab Spring. A lot of different things that were happening in the Middle East and in the world. So, fascinating moment. And I did that job for three years. And at that point, my now wife and I were dating, and she was in LA and I was in New York, and we had to figure out a place to be. So I said, you know what, I'm gonna come back. And I think I have a problem with authority is what I learned working in big institutions in different ways. And I like to be able to set the pace of what I do. And so I say, every entrepreneur has a different cross that they're trying to not bear. And for me, it was really having control of my own destiny, and that mattered a lot to me. So I was a young guy. I saw communications changing rapidly, really rapidly. When I started at the UN, then the ambassador, Susan Rice, they asked her if she was on Twitter and she said, I don't do diplomacy by haiku. And that was like a funny thing.