The Action Catalyst

Author, executive coach, and culture consultant Chester Elton breaks down the idea of "the noble cause" in business, and how Texas Roadhouse restaurants are a shining and enduring example of the idea in action.

Hear Chester's full interview in Episode 35 of The Action Catalyst.

Overtime with Outland is Action Catalyst host Adam Outland's reflections and commentary on discussions with each of his esteemed and accomplished guests.

In this segment, Adam dissects Episode 493, with Hattingh Basson and Werner Barnard, Senior Partners at Southwestern Talent.

Hattingh Basson and Werner Barnard, Senior Partners at Southwestern Talent, explain the unique career history that spawned the business, the professional services gap that they are filling and why it exists, why offshoring isn't really offshoring anymore, how the South African people create a world-class talent pool, overcoming start-up pain points, and why sometimes the low-tech solution is the winning one.

Mentioned in this episode:

Learn more at SouthwesternTalent.com

Southwestern Talent

Learn more at SouthwesternConsulting.com/Coaching/Students

Southwestern Student Coaching

Mike Johnson, the 56th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, as well as an alum of The Action Catalyst's parent company, Southwestern, explains why his participation in the Southwestern Advantage program was "the best thing he ever did".

Hear Speaker Johnson's full interview in his special bonus episode of The Action Catalyst.

Author, executive coach, and culture consultant Chester Elton walks us through how to create an all-in culture in our business, including managing culture during crisis, and why the customer experience will never exceed the employee experience.

Speaker, author, and coach Bruce Van Horn explains the best ways to be "other-focused" on social media, and provide more value to, and thereby get more loyalty from, your audience.

Hear Bruce's full interview in Episode 11 of The Action Catalyst.

Mike Johnson, the 56th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, as well as an alum of The Action Catalyst's parent company, Southwestern, breaks down his unique path to the speakership and the big role Southwestern played in getting him there, recounts danger in Tucson and getting a little help from Brett Favre, delivers an absolutely killer Trent Lott impression, outlines the importance of speaking with clarity, conviction, and consistency, and explains why "duty is ours, but result belong to God".

Mentioned in this episode:

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Dr. Angela Jackson, the founder/CEO of Future Forward Strategies and a lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, explains the REAL cost of turnover in organizations, and the numbers may surprise you.

Hear Dr. Jackson's full interview in her special bonus episode of The Action Catalyst.

Speaker, author, and coach Bruce Van Horn shares Twitter/X tips for movers and shakers, including the critical importance of authenticity, putting connection over saturation, and the most common-sense advice that you probably overlook all of the time.

Culture strategist and leadership coach Jenni Catron shares why it’s important to lead with the heart as well as strategy, and how developing the awareness to do both can be a challenge.

Hear Jenni's full interview in Episode 128 of The Action Catalyst.

Dr. Angela Jackson, the founder/CEO of Future Forward Strategies and a lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, reveals the lessons learned from studying Fortune 500 companies, the REAL cost of turnover, why top-down decision making is dead, and the two main takeaways for small business owners.

Greg DeVore, CEO and co-founder of ScreenSteps, lays out his “Find & Follow” philosophy to reduce supervisor burnout and improve employee performance, including concepts like actual vs. foundational knowledge, the value it can provide in the event of a sale, and the knowledge operations maturity model.

Hear Greg's full interview in Episode 492 of The Action Catalyst.

Culture strategist and leadership coach Jenni Catron shares “The Grand Commandment” and how it pertains to leadership, why it’s important to lead with the heart as well as strategy, the value of creating a safe space for honest feedback, the delicate balance of being bold but respectful, the role of faith, and why leadership is sacred work.

Author, entrepreneur, and “overwhelmologist” Ari Meisel reveals how to optimize, automate, and outsource, the shockingly straightforward system for keeping work, and anxiety, from piling up.

Hear Ari's full interview in Episode 122 of The Action Catalyst.

Overtime with Outland is Action Catalyst host Adam Outland's reflections and commentary on discussions with each of his esteemed and accomplished guests.

In this segment, Adam dissects Episode 492, with Greg DeVore, CEO and co-founder of ScreenSteps.

Greg DeVore, CEO and co-founder of ScreenSteps, lays out his “Find & Follow” philosophy to reduce supervisor burnout and improve employee performance, breaking down concepts like actual vs. foundational knowledge and knowledge spenders vs. knowledge investors, the knowledge operations maturity model, the dead simple exercise that’ll change how your team gets work done, how just good people with the right tools can be world-class people, and why he’s a bit of a rockstar on Animal Planet.

Founder & CEO of ZavoMedia PR Group, Liana Zavo, reveals THE biggest PR mistake people make, and what they SHOULD be doing instead when a crisis hits.

Hear Liana's full interview in Episode 491 of The Action Catalyst.

Author, entrepreneur, and “overwhelmologist” Ari Meisel reveals how to optimize, automate, and outsource, gives a masterclass in Virtual Assistants 101, explains what delegation REALLY means, and breaks down the "3D" inbox zero plan.

Culture strategist and leadership coach Jenni Catron takes a hard look at comparison vs. jealousy, what the differences are, and how fear lies at the bottom of both.

Hear Jenni's full interview in Episode 26 of The Action Catalyst.

Founder & CEO of ZavoMedia PR Group, Liana Zavo, recounts how a college dropout and single mom made the jump from Russia to the US and from the style world to PR, gives a bit of advice for Blake Lively, reveals THE biggest PR mistake people make, how to come down from the ledge of panic in the moment, why authenticity and accountability equals authority, the difference between brand vs. reputation, and what it means to “B.E.P.I.C.”

Best-selling author, professor, and leadership expert Ryan Gottfredson distinguishes the doing side vs. the being side of ourselves, what each of those means, and how they contribute to who we are.

And be sure to check out Ryan's original appearance in Episode 317 of The Action Catalyst.

Culture strategist and leadership coach Jenni Catron takes a hard look at “clout killers”, and talks about exchanging fear for truth, comparison vs jealousy, combating a scarcity mentality, the duality of insecurity and pride, and how control means putting power over influence.

Klaus Kleinfeld, the former CEO of Siemens and Alcoa and the only leader to have successfully served as CEO of two Fortune 500 companies on different continents, explains why we should be talking about energy instead of productivity, and what it means to staying in your desired "performance zone".

Hear the full interview with Klaus in Episode 490 of The Action Catalyst.

Best-selling author, professor, and leadership expert Ryan Gottfredson explains how mindsets aren't just attitudes, distinguishes the doing side vs. the being side of ourselves, and talks about gauging your "window of tolerance", the 3 levels of adult development, reaction vs. response, and healing to grow.

And be sure to check out Ryan's original appearance in Episode 317 of The Action Catalyst.

Author, podcast/radio host, and Certified Financial Coach Rachel Cruze explains why comparison isn't just the thief of joy...it's the thief of your paycheck as well.

Hear Rachel's full interview in Episode 161 of The Action Catalyst.

Overtime with Outland is Action Catalyst host Adam Outland's reflections and commentary on discussions with each of his esteemed and accomplished guests.

In this segment, Adam dissects Episode 490, with Klaus Kleinfeld, the former CEO of Siemens and Alcoa and the only leader to have successfully served as CEO of two Fortune 500 companies on different continents.

Klaus Kleinfeld, the former CEO of Siemens and Alcoa and the only leader to have successfully served as CEO of two Fortune 500 companies on different continents, recalls going to work at age 12, and covers the perils of sign language in the business world, getting close to the source of an issue, why we should be talking about energy instead of productivity, the "rule of feedback", the 5 critical components of a high performance team, why purpose is a laser, and being a "hypothesis generating machine".

Mentioned in this episode:

Learn more at SouthwesternConsulting.com/Coaching/Students

Author, podcast/radio host, and Certified Financial Coach Rachel Cruze breaks down the easiest methods for paying for college WITHOUT debt.

Full interview with Rachel in Episode 39 of The Action Catalyst.

Author, podcast/radio host, and Certified Financial Coach Rachel Cruze shares the role gratitude plays in financial stability, why it’s never too early, or too late, to get your finances in shape, and says…..uh oh…. the "C" word (not that one).

Mentioned in this episode:

Purchase the Monthly Bill Payment Checklist here. And please consider leaving a great book review if you found the book useful.

Stephen Ural / Monthly Bill Payment Checklist

Daniel Goddard, CEO of the AI networking app, Dysko and an actor with over 30 years of experience, examines the parallels between entertainment and entrepreneurship and the same qualities that make you successful in both.

Hear Daniel's full interview in Episode 489 of The Action Catalyst.

Author, podcast/radio host, and Certified Financial Coach Rachel Cruze talks about putting 4-year-olds to work, teaching your kids about giving, paying for college without debt, and what contentment REALLY means.

Mentioned in this episode:

Purchase the Monthly Bill Payment Checklist here. And please consider leaving a great book review if you found the book useful.

Stephen Ural / Monthly Bill Payment Checklist

Richard Ruback and Royce Yudkoff, Harvard Business School professors and co-hosts of the Think Big, Buy Small podcast, share a truly delicious example of how entrepreneurship by acquisition can be a satisfying and lucrative path forward for those with the right mindset.

Hear Richard and Royce's full interview in Episode 488 of The Action Catalyst.

Daniel Goddard, CEO of the AI networking app, Dysko and an actor with over 30 years of experience examines the parallels between entertainment and entrepreneurship, recounts the crazy reaction when daytime TV messed with his fan base, pinpoints the business that oversees ALL business, recalls disappointing a date in bed (for a really noble reason), and shares his first-of-its-kind product and the lesson he learned from it, and how his new app is coming to the rescue at universities and conventions across the country.

Author, professor, and organizational psychologist David Burkus reveals the TRUTH behind Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, and the way the social media is being misused in networking.

Hear David's full interview in Episode 240 of The Action Catalyst.

Author, professor, and organizational psychologist David Burkus explains why great leaders don’t innovate the product, they innovate the factory, and how not to end up as a Blockbuster.

Hear David's full interview in Episode 180 of The Action Catalyst.

Overtime with Outland is Action Catalyst host Adam Outland's reflections and commentary on discussions with each of his esteemed and accomplished guests.

In this segment, Adam dissects Episode 488, with Richard Ruback and Royce Yudkoff, Harvard Business School professors and co-hosts of the Think Big, Buy Small podcast.

Richard Ruback and Royce Yudkoff, Harvard Business School professors and co-hosts of the Think Big, Buy Small podcast, explore the growing trend of "acquisition entrepreneurship", including the type of person who might be right for it, the type of opportunity to look for and how to find them, the relative LACK of risk involved, and a deep dive into the economics of pie.

Mentioned in this episode:

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Podcast the Newsletter

Learn more at SouthwesternConsulting.com/Coaching/Students

Southwestern Student Coaching

Author, professor, and organizational psychologist David Burkus leads a deep dive into the power of networking, exploring weak and dormant ties, structural holes in networks, social capital, navigating "multiplexity", and the TRUTH behind Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.

Mentioned in this episode:

Learn more at HowToGrowYounger.com

The Secret Method for Growing Younger

High-growth strategy specialist, executive advisor, and lecturer at the London Business School, Dr. Rebecca Homkes, lays out the 4 foundational C's that threaten a business, and the 6 critical questions to ask in the middle of a strategy reset.

Hear Rebecca's full interview in Episode 487 of The Action Catalyst

Author, professor, and organizational psychologist David Burkus shares insights from his book “Under New Management”, including why salary transparency shouldn’t be scary, tips on setting email limits, being in the business of elimination, and why great leaders don’t innovate the product, they innovate the factory.

Mentioned in this episode:

Learn more at HowToGrowYounger.com

The Secret Method for Growing Younger