The Action Catalyst

Best-selling author and time management coach Elizabeth Saunders explains why more input doesn’t equal more busy, and shares ways to expertly manage email, use text expanders, define "time investment", and get clarity from your calendar, plus breaks down techniques like the I.N.O. method, and priority-based decision making.

Hall of Fame speaker, author, and human behavior expert Connie Podesta breaks down the differences between relaters vs bottom-liners, and how those differences manifest in everything from a sales relationship, to a marriage.

Hear Connie's full interview in Episode 34 of The Action Catalyst.

Action Catalyst hosts past and present unite to mark a major milestone; the 500th episode of The Action Catalyst. The trio of Adam Outland, Stephanie Maas, and Dan Moore gather and reflect on their favorite guests, lessons learned, mistakes made, and the impact, both personal and professional, that the podcast has had on them over the years.

Tom Bilyeu, co-founder of unicorn company Quest Nutrition and CEO of Impact Theory, explains what "The Matrix" is for him, and how his life's purpose is to help pull people out of it.

Hear Tom's full interview in Episode 198 of The Action Catalyst.

Hall of Fame speaker, author, and human behavior expert Connie Podesta explains why EVERYTHING is sales, breaks down the difference between relaters vs bottom-liners, and shares how the person doing the selling should be the person to have to shoulder any discomfort in a situation….but why people are reluctant to do so.

Internationally renowned psychologist and author Dr. Guy Winch reveals the biggest misconceptions about work-life balance, and how the pandemic presented an opportunity that didn't quite pan out.

Hear Dr. Winch's full interview in his special bonus episode of The Action Catalyst.

Tom Bilyeu, co-founder of unicorn company Quest Nutrition and CEO of Impact Theory, lays out the impact of acting for ONE vs many, talks about making their own manufacturing equipment, pulling people out of The Matrix, becoming the new Disney and adopting a Jedi mindset, and waxes poetic on the impossibility of impossibility.

With the 2026 Olympic Games underway, we dug into The Action Catalyst archive for three guests who have represented Team USA on an Olympic level; Vince Poscente, who is now an in-demand speaker and expert on resiliency, explains how he used determination and innovation to rise to the ranks of an Olympic skier in just four short years, Johnny Quinn, a professional speaker and former professional football player with the Buffalo Bills and Green Bay Packers tells the story of his unbelievable journey from the NFL to the United States Olympic bobsled team, to competing in the 2014 Winter Olympics in...

Jimmy Wales, Founder of Wikipedia and the Wikimedia Foundation, examines the emotional and practical implications of trust, both in personal relationships, and also inside of organizations, including a cautionary tale from Uber.

Hear Jimmy's full interview in Episode 499 of The Action Catalyst.

Internationally renowned psychologist and author Dr. Guy Winch shares how a life-changing event in an elevator set him on his path, reveals the biggest misconceptions about work-life balance, and explains how to distinguish between true physical and mental fatigue, burdens vs. nuisances, using “stress thermometers”, and when to take email intermissions.

In this cut-for-time clip from Episode 499 of The Action Catalyst, Jimmy Wales, Founder of Wikipedia and the Wikimedia Foundation, explains how the internet has ALWAYS had dark corners, and what he sees as one of the bright spots on the web today.

Hear the rest of Jimmy's interview in Episode 499 of The Action Catalyst.

In honor of this year’s Superbowl, we've put together a special episode featuring the many guests we've been pleased to welcome to the show, all of whom have had a career with the National Football League.

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Dawn Fotopulos, Founder of Hidden Profit Academy, and Associate Professor of Business at The King's College, explains what bankruptcy really IS and ISN'T, and some common mistakes around income, invoicing, and cash flow.

Hear Dawn's full interview in Episode 65 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 499 with Jimmy Wales, Founder of Wikipedia and the Wikimedia Foundation.

Jimmy Wales, Founder of Wikipedia and the Wikimedia Foundation, replays the origins of Wikipedia and the unique challenges it faced, examines the emotional and practical implications of trust, and chats about working with for-profit vs non-profit stakeholders, his issues with large language models and the way they work, the polarization of societal and business interests, and why he remains a “pathological optimist”.

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Southwestern Student Coaching

In honor of this year's Grammy Awards, we are taking a look back at a pair of Grammy nominated and Grammy winning artists that we have had the pleasure of welcoming to The Action Catalyst. We begin with Freddie Ravel, a virtuoso piano player and more who has performed with some of the biggest names in music, and co-produced and wrote the title track, as well as performed on the George Benson/Al Jarreau album “Given It Up”, which won 4 Grammys in 2007, and was nominated for a 5th, and continue with Dennis Scott, a two-time Grammy Award winner for his...

Dave Mortensen, President and Co-Founder of Self-Esteem Brands / Purpose Brands, explains why the fitness industry is like the McDonald's ball pit, and what AI has taught his team about the behavior of it's gym members.

Hear Dave's full interview across Episodes 497 and 498 of The Action Catalyst.

Dawn Fotopulos, Founder of Hidden Profit Academy, and Associate Professor of Business at The King's College, lays out the 3 financial questions to ask when running ANY business, what bankruptcy IS and ISN'T, the 3 main parts of a balance sheet, recognizing accounting yellow flags, and the importance of adopting a new mindset around managing your money.

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 Episodes 497 and 498, with Dave Mortensen, President and Co-Founder of Self-Esteem Brands / Purpose Brands.

Dave Mortensen, President and Co-Founder of Self-Esteem Brands / Purpose Brands, continues the conversation with insights on advancement vs perfection, noise vs value, the 80/20 rule of where good ideas come from, listening to the voice not speaking in the room, and how to "live in the grey".

Mentioned in this episode:

Learn more at SouthwesternConsulting.com/Coaching/Students

Southwestern Student Coaching

This episode is brought to you by Southwestern Coaching.

Southwestern Coaching

Adam Outland, Action Catalyst host and President of Southwestern Consulting, examines the true superpower of curiosity and it's relationship to risk, both in the business realm, and on a personal level.

Hear more from Adam in his appearance in the Action Catalyst Panel, "Scaling With Purpose".

Dave Mortensen, President and Co-Founder of Self-Esteem Brands / Purpose Brands, recounts the improbable meeting between himself and his business partner of over 30 years, and shares why 80-90% of any great idea isn't about the idea itself, the secret to truly great partnerships, the 4 Ps of executing their business, doing vs leading, identifying passion and talent, and why the fitness industry is like the McDonald's ball pit.

Mentioned in this episode:

Learn more at SouthwesternConsulting.com/Coaching/Students

Southwestern Student Coaching

This episode is brought to you by Southwestern Coaching.

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Scott Stratten, Creator and President of UNMarketing Inc, explains what marketing is at it's core, and how you're never NOT doing it.

Hear Scott's full interview in Episode 140 of The Action Catalyst.

Adam Outland, Action Catalyst host and President of Southwestern Consulting, and David Stuart, President and Founder of Southwestern Insurance Group, break down how they've each re-examined the structure of their long-standing businesses, including a few key decisions on what NOT to do, taking a hard look at where true revenue comes from, reframing and calculating risk, following the data, the push-pull relationship with tradition, improving the client experience, bringing technology into the mix, and the superpower of curiosity.

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This episode is brought to you by Southwestern Coaching.

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Vice President of Information Technology for the Southwestern Family of Companies, Ed Solima, and Training and Development Manager for Southwestern Consulting, Chad Rothermich, examine recent changes in AI, and explain how you can even use AI to learn more about...AI!

Hear Ed and Chad's full discussion in their very special episode of The Action Catalyst.

Scott Stratten, Creator and President of UNMarketing Inc, explains how the context defines which sales approach you need, why marketing is an "always on" function, the huge lesson he learned from his wife's business, and the fear, promise, and future of social media and AI.

Ron Alford, Senior Partner and a Professional Sales and Leadership Coach at Southwestern Consulting, lays out his holistic approach to coaching.

Hear Ron and Josh's full interview in Episode 217 of The Action Catalyst.

Action Catalyst host Stephanie Maas helps turn the page on 2025, and takes a look ahead for this podcast and all of our listeners!

Host Adam Outland bids farewell to 2025, and looks ahead to the new year and everything that's in store for our listeners!

Vice President of Information Technology for the Southwestern Family of Companies, Ed Solima, and Training and Development Manager for Southwestern Consulting, Chad Rothermich, examine recent changes in AI and other tech, and offer an in-depth use case as well as some guiding principles for vetting potential tools and vendors, engaging stakeholders in your operation, integrating into existing systems, and even using AI to learn about AI.

Alex “Sandy” Pentland, a Professor at MIT, a Stanford University Fellow, and one of the most cited computational scientists in the world, explains the misunderstood issues around artificial intelligence, including alignment and human centricity, and shares the way you can apply AI in your business straight away that he calls "a little bit of genius".

Hear Dr. Pentland's full interview in his special bonus episode of The Action Catalyst.

Host Adam Outland wishes all of our listeners a very "Catalyst" Christmas!

Action Catalyst host Stephanie Maas shares what's keeping her spirits merry and bright at this magical time of the year, and her wishes for all of our listeners.

Ron Alford, Senior Partner and a Professional Sales and Leadership Coach at Southwestern Consulting, and Josh Hudson, CEO of Hudson's Furniture, cover the unique relational challenges of operating in a family business, how to establish a rhythm quickly with coaching, identifying patterns in yourself, learning to accept but also to question, and letting others help you help yourself.

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This episode is brought to you by Southwestern Coaching.

Southwestern Coaching

Angie Moss, Sales and Leadership Coach and Certified Trainer with Southwestern Consulting, shares how her coaching client adopted the productive mindset of working ON your business rather than IN your business.

Hear Angie and Brad's full interview in Episode 150 of The Action Catalyst.

Alex “Sandy” Pentland, a Professor at MIT, a Stanford University Fellow, and one of the most cited computational scientists in the world, dives into the misunderstood issues and opportunities around artificial intelligence, including alignment, human centricity, how different nations are handling the new tech, and the application you can put to work in your business straight away that he calls "a little bit of genius".

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Richard Fain, the chairman and former long-term CEO of Royal Caribbean Group, explains how Royal Caribbean elevated the entire cruise industry, and why, early in his career, he literally, LITERALLY, had to cut a cruise ship in half.

Hear Richard's full interview in Episode 496 of The Action Catalyst.

Angie Moss, Sales and Leadership Coach and Certified Trainer with Southwestern Consulting, and Brad Moore, Senior Vice President with BancorpSouth Wealth Management, talk about the principles of working ON your business not IN your business, moving your on goalpost for success, and becoming a leader even before you have people to lead.

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This episode is brought to you by Southwestern Coaching.

Southwestern Coaching

Karla Lewis, an executive sales and leadership coach and Partner with Southwestern Consulting, and Steve Frody, co-founder of City2Shore Real Estate, share the value of aligning your business and team behind a shared creed (and how to create one).

Hear Karla and Steve's full interview in Episode 171 of The Action Catalyst.

Richard Fain, the chairman and former long-term CEO of Royal Caribbean Group, recounts the dark days of the Covid pandemic for the cruise business, and explains cheap expensive decisions, the antidote to fear, elevating and innovating the industry, and why he literally, LITERALLY, had to cut a cruise ship in half.

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