The Action Catalyst
The Action Catalyst interviews top leaders and achievers, sharing hard-earned tips and advice to help you uncover your inspiration and gain valuable insights to overcome setbacks, defeat mediocrity, and reach your goals in life, business, and beyond. Southwestern/Great American, Inc., dba Southwestern Family of Companies, for itself and its related entities and their assigns, reserves and retains all rights to their copyrighted materials and trademarks contained in this podcast.
Episodes
Pay negotiation expert John Gates, author of "Act Your Wage", shares proven salary negotiation strategies to help professionals increase compensation by 10–20% without risk or confrontation. Drawing on decades of experience as a recruiter, Gates explains why most candidates leave money on the table, how to overcome negotiation anxiety, and how to shift the power dynamic by using salary ranges, asking strategic questions, and ...
Phil Le-Brun, former McDonald’s VP and International CIO and current AWS leader, shares how companies can avoid common “anti-patterns” like excessive bureaucracy and rigid structures, and defines what "artificial ownership" is, and how it can erode team creativity and cohesion.
Hear Phil's full interview in Episode 506 of The Action Catalyst.
Preston Smiles, personal development leader, author, and speaker, shares powerful insights on personal growth, emotional intelligence, and conscious leadership. Smiles explores how self-awareness, radical responsibility, and authentic communication are essential for creating success in both personal and professional life. He emphasizes the importance of healing limiting beliefs, embracing vulnerability, and shifting mindset pattern...
Professional coach Shelly Smith shares one of the most common complaints she hears from her coaching clients, and the simple exercise that she uses to combat it.
Hear Shelly's full interview in Episode 175 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 506 with Phil Le-Brun, former McDonald’s VP and International CIO and current AWS leader.
Phil Le-Brun, former McDonald’s VP and International CIO and current AWS leader, shares powerful leadership and organizational strategy insights from his book The Octopus Organization, emphasizing how modern businesses can thrive by balancing centralization and decentralization. Drawing on experience scaling technology across 38,000+ global locations, Le-Brun explains why curiosity, clarity of purpose, and strong leadership a...
Janice Kapner, former communications leader at Microsoft and T‑Mobile, shares the experience of interviewing and working alongside Bill Gates.
Hear Janice's full interview in her special bonus episode of The Action Catalyst.
Mortgage professional Jennifer Bennett and professional coach Shelly Smith share a powerful story of resilience, mindset transformation, and business growth through coaching. Bennett discusses rebuilding her career after a difficult divorce and personal setbacks, revealing how limiting self-talk, stress, and a lack of control were holding her back from regaining top performance in sales. With Smith’s guidance, she learned to ...
Bestselling author and researcher Tom Rath explains that meaning—not happiness—is the key to fulfillment, emphasizing that focusing on helping others, leveraging strengths, and connecting daily work to a larger purpose leads to higher productivity and better outcomes.
Hear Tom's full interview in Episode 185 of The Action Catalyst.
Janice Kapner, former communications leader at Microsoft and T‑Mobile, shares expert insights on navigating high‑stakes corporate transformation, mergers and acquisitions, and leadership without formal authority. Drawing on her experience leading communications during the largest telecom merger in U.S. history, Kapner explains how transparency, strategic storytelling, and consistent stakeholder communication are critical to maintai...
Monica Nassif, founder of Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day and Caldrea, explains how bravery is like a muscle, and why it's only one of the many essential attributes for a successful entrepreneur.
Hear Monica's full interview in Episode 505 of The Action Catalyst.
Bestselling author and researcher Tom Rath shares insights from his book "Are You Fully Charged?" on how to improve performance, well‑being, and engagement at work and in life. Rath explains that meaning—not happiness—is the key to fulfillment, emphasizing that focusing on helping others, leveraging strengths, and connecting daily work to a larger purpose leads to higher productivity and better outcomes. He explores how...
Dr. Barb Rembiesa, founder and CEO of the International Association of IT Asset Management, shares how a small act of kindness on her part led to an enormously outsized impact on the residents of a small Kentucky town.
Hear Dr. Rembiesa's full interview in her special bonus episode of The Action Catalyst.
Monica Nassif, founder of Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day and Caldrea, reveals hard‑earned lessons on entrepreneurship, leadership, and building a successful consumer brand from the ground up. Nassif emphasizes the importance of simplicity, resilience, and belief—highlighted through her “plant, water, weed, believe” philosophy—as well as the mindset that failure is simply learning. She explains how successful e...
New York Times bestselling author Darren Hardy explains how, in truth, EVERYONE is an entrepreneur, but how being a TRUE entrepreneur means leaving the “herd,” which often generates criticism, isolation, and resistance from peers.
Hear Darren's full interview in Episode 93 of The Action Catalyst.
Dr. Barb Rembiesa, founder and CEO of the International Association of IT Asset Management, shares how small, intentional acts of kindness can create outsized impact in leadership, business, and everyday life. Drawing on her experience building IAITAM into the world’s leading authority on IT asset management and guiding organizations through technology compliance, AI governance, and digital transformation, Dr. Rembiesa explai...
Meg Tuohey, licensed psychologist, author, speaker, and host of the Wisdom Stripes podcast, introduces the concept of "heartprint"—the unique inner blueprint that guides fulfillment, purpose, and growth, and explains how high‑achieving women can feel successful yet emotionally numb, and a bit of the neuroscience behind elite performance.
Hear Meg's full interview in her special bonus episode of The Action Catalyst.
New York Times bestselling author Darren Hardy delivers a candid and practical look at why most entrepreneurs fail—and how to beat the odds. Hardy explains that the 66% small‑business failure rate is driven less by external factors like capital or competition and more by internal, emotional unpreparedness, lack of focus, and unrealistic expectations about the entrepreneurial journey. He explores the psychological cost of leav...
Hal Elrod, bestselling author of "The Miracle Morning", shares the experience that set him down the path to self-improvement, and the snooze‑proof wake‑up strategy that KEEPS him on that path each day.
Hear Hal's full interview in Episode 53 of The Action Catalyst.
Meg Tuohey, licensed psychologist, author, speaker, and host of the Wisdom Stripes podcast, explores why modern self‑help culture often fails women by encouraging self‑override instead of self‑trust, and introduces the concept of "heartprint"—the unique inner blueprint that guides fulfillment, purpose, and growth. Learn how high‑achieving women can feel successful yet emotionally numb, why intuition is a critical emotional su...
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