Chief Change Officer

In Part 2, Waverly Deutsch opens up about her decades at Chicago Booth, where she helped founders refine not just their business models but their ability to lead. She discusses how emotional connection strengthens logic, why confident delivery isn’t enough, and how AI is changing but not replacing human insight. 

For Gen Xers mentoring across generations or rethinking their own leadership, this episode is a reminder: great guidance ...

We meet Waverly Deutsch not as a Chicago Booth professor or coach for entrepreneurs, but as a real human navigating career decisions in a world that often asks us to pick between passion and practicality. 

From falling in love with theater to entering computer science as one of only three women in a class of 30, Waverly’s story is one of blending head and heart across every career twist. She shares the real story behind leaving acad...

Dominic Carter, CEO of the Carter Group, shares how a personal frustration with his aging parents’ care became a long-term mission: building real, user-driven aging tech in one of the world’s oldest—and most demanding—markets. From human-centric research to venture studio development, Dominic shows how Gen Xers can lead the future of aging by solving the problems we’re all going to face. This isn’t just eldercare innovation—it’s pr...

Dominic Carter, the CEO of the Carter Group, didn’t become an aging tech founder by chasing trends—he got there by building slowly, listening deeply, and surviving the kind of early burnout that forces reinvention. 

In Part 1, he shares how moving to Japan, launching businesses, and failing hard shaped the systems-thinking approach that now powers his work on aging innovation. This isn’t a startup story—it’s a Gen X blueprint: stead...

This episode offers you $79 worth of value—completely free. Read till the end for the gift.

In Part 2, Kevin introduces the core ideas behind his latest book, Flexible Leadership. He explains why leading isn’t about finding the perfect style—it’s about flexing based on the situation without abandoning your principles. We break down how intention, context, and flexors all work together, why rigid leadership labels backfire, and why t...

Kevin Eikenberry didn’t start in a leadership lab—he started on a farm where animals had to be fed no matter what else was happening. In Part 1, he shares how early lessons in discipline and systems thinking carried into his leadership work decades later. From his unexpected pivot from fertilizer sales to corporate training, to founding the Kevin Eikenberry Group, Kevin talks about the mistakes, pivots, and realities that shaped hi...

In Part 2 of his conversation, Tokyo-based American Gary Bremermann moves beyond his own story to share the frameworks and realities that shape career reinvention today. From his Seven Steps to Career Clarity to his candid views on Japan’s ageist hiring market, Gary offers a Gen X blueprint for change: slow, thoughtful, grounded in values, and fiercely human. For anyone tired of chasing titles and ready to build a career worth livi...

Tokyo-based American Gary Bremermann didn’t stumble into career clarity—he fought for it across countries, careers, and crises. From hitchhiking North America to building and burning out of his first company, Gary’s story is a blueprint for real Gen X reinvention: practical, nonlinear, and painfully honest. 

In this first of a two-part series, he shares how early travel, entrepreneurial scars, and the brutal experience of misaligned...

In the second half of his conversation, Collin Plume moves beyond financial products into financial legacy—sharing how Gen Xers can teach resilience, ownership, and critical thinking to the next generation. From diversifying income streams to protecting family futures with real assets, Collin reveals why wealth isn’t about a flashy portfolio—it’s about building something that lasts, even when systems shift. 

For Gen Xers tired of fl...

Collin Plume didn’t build Noble Gold to chase hype—he built it to restore trust in a system Gen X knows can break. 

In this first of a two-part series, Collin shares how early lessons from insurance sales, real estate, and recession-era survival shaped his people-first approach to wealth building. He explains why real assets like gold and silver aren’t just investments—they’re anchors of ownership in a world increasingly built on de...

In Part 2 of her conversation, Nina Sossamon-Pogue moves from storytelling to strategy—offering real-world tools for navigating change, resilience, and reinvention. From building a reverse resume to mapping your own success timeline, she shares frameworks that help Gen Xers (and anyone feeling stuck) turn lived experience into a launchpad. 

Instead of chasing corporate validation or viral moments, Nina reminds us that real success i...

Nina Sossamon-Pogue didn’t build a personal brand around change—she built a life out of it. 

In this first of a two-part series, she shares how elite gymnastics hardwired her resilience, how journalism sharpened her communication instincts, and how a strategic leap into tech proved that reinvention is less about following trends—and more about knowing who you are at the core. 

For Gen Xers who’ve quietly navigated identity loss, layo...

In Part 2 of her conversation, Erica Sosna bridges personal resilience and professional wisdom—sharing how The Career Equation helps both individuals and organizations build careers that actually fit. Instead of offering empty advice, Erica gives a practical, human-centered model that empowers people to align their skills, passions, impact, and environment into a sustainable career path. 

For Gen Xers tired of ad-hoc career advice a...

Erica Sosna was already a respected career strategist, author of The Career Equation, and founder of a successful consultancy. But when a near-fatal accident left her paralyzed in 2022, everything changed. 

In this first of a two-part series, Erica shares how she rebuilt her life—and her career—on new terms. From learning to walk again to rethinking the purpose of work itself, she offers a blueprint for reinvention that doesn’t rely...

In Part 2, Adaira shares how she and Resa shaped Micro Skills into a fast-impact, high-utility guide for early career professionals—and why it intentionally skips fluff in favor of action. She opens up about saying yes too often, burning out from “non-potable work,” and how she finally embraced what she calls JOMO—the joy of missing out. We also hear how they trimmed the book’s original title (“Chisel”) and why ambition without dis...

Dr. Adaira Landry grew up in an under-resourced city, entered Berkeley at 16, and faced early career confusion without access to mentors or professional networks. 

In Part 1, she shares the formative life moments that led her into emergency medicine—from stepping in to help save a man’s life on campus to surviving a painful burn injury alone. She also reflects on how mentorship found her late, how her master’s in education shaped he...

In Part 2, Resa explains why she and Adaira started their book MicroSkills with the most overlooked chapter: self-care. From emotional and civic health to better rest and boundaries, she unpacks how showing up well starts before you speak. She also shares practical tools for navigating hard moments—like having a failure buddy—and reveals why thoughtful email etiquette isn’t just about manners, but about professional respect. 

This e...

In Part 1, Dr. Resa Lewiss shares how growing up in Rhode Island, challenging gendered assumptions at home, and studying the liberal arts all shaped her path to medicine. She opens up about the moment emergency medicine clicked for her, and how her love for procedures and working with her hands helped her find her place in a specialty that sees everything, all at once.

Key Highlights of Our Interview:

Why She Chose Medicine

“It was al...

In the second half of their conversation, Edward J. van Luinen, Ed.D. and Tricia Cerrone reveal the system behind their decade-long collaboration—and the framework that became their book, Collaborate to Compete.

But this isn’t just theory. It’s a Gen X playbook for how to lead, design, and scale collaboration that actually sticks. Grounded in five core behaviors—generosity, resourcefulness, co-creation, action, and gratitude—and pow...