Disrupt & Innovate

In this episode, Lisa L. Levy sits down with James Ellis to explore the real power of employer branding and why most companies need to completely rethink their recruitment strategies.

James breaks down how a clear, differentiated employer value proposition and strong storytelling can transform hiring from “filling seats” into a true driver of business growth. He explains why better applications beat more applications, how to turn negative perceptions into compelling employer narratives, and why aligning talent acquisition with business strategy is essential in today’s market. This conversation is a roadmap for anyone ready to build a hiring process that candidates actually want to be part of.

✨ Keywords:
-employer branding
-recruitment strategies
-talent acquisition
-differentiated value
-business growth
-storytelling
-hiring process
-candidate experience
-employer narratives
recruitment marketing

If you’re a leader, recruiter, or founder who wants recruitment to be a strategic advantage—not a constant pain point—this conversation with James Ellis will change how you think about hiring.

#EmployerBranding #RecruitmentStrategies #TalentAcquisition #BusinessGrowth #Storytelling #HiringProcess #CandidateExperience #EmployerNarratives #RecruitmentMarketing #DifferentiatedValue

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In this episode, Lisa L. Levy sits down with Cheryl Texeira, certified profit acceleration business coach, to break down how service-based entrepreneurs can unlock hidden profits, create market-dominating positions, and scale sustainably.

Cheryl explains why understanding your numbers is non-negotiable for CEOs, and how a strategic profit acceleration system—sometimes as little as a 3% improvement in multiple areas—can lead to massive profit growth. She shares a powerful client success story where refining the offer and market positioning led to significant revenue growth, and walks through the importance of a CEO dashboard, documented processes, and clear boundaries for long-term success.

Whether you’re transitioning from corporate to entrepreneurship or looking to scale your existing business, this conversation is a masterclass in making your business more profitable and sustainable.

✨ Keywords:
-profit acceleration
-business coaching
-revenue growth
-market positioning
-CEO dashboard
-client success
-entrepreneurial journey
-scaling business
-policies and procedures
-boundaries

If you’re a CEO, founder, or service-based entrepreneur who wants to grow revenue and keep more of what you earn, this episode with Cheryl Texeira will show you how to think—and act—like a profit-focused leader.

#ProfitAcceleration #BusinessCoaching #RevenueGrowth #MarketPositioning #CEODashboard #ClientSuccess #EntrepreneurialJourney #ScalingBusiness #PoliciesAndProcedures #Boundaries

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In this episode, Lisa L. Levy sits down with Coby Skonord, founder and CEO of IdeaWake, to talk about bottom-up innovation, employee engagement, and building a true culture of innovation that drives business growth.

Coby shares how IdeaWake helps organizations collect, prioritize, and implement ideas from the people closest to the work—the frontline. From quick wins to disruptive ideas that transform operations, he walks through success stories of companies that used the platform to unlock hidden value, develop leaders, and navigate major challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic. They also dig into the realities of change management, securing leadership buy-in, and using a “crawl, walk, run” approach to make innovation stick.

✨ Keywords:
-innovation
-employee engagement
-IdeaWake
-bottom-up innovation
-corporate culture
-leadership
-change management
-success stories
-disruptive ideas
-business growth

If you’re serious about innovation—not as a buzzword, but as a system your people can actually use—this conversation with Coby Skonord will show you how to engage employees and scale ideas that matter.

#Innovation #EmployeeEngagement #IdeaWake #BottomUpInnovation #CorporateCulture #Leadership #ChangeManagement #DisruptiveIdeas #SuccessStories #BusinessGrowth

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In this episode, Lisa L. Levy sits down with Rion Westfall to unpack the realities facing SMBs and how his “Own Your Revenue” framework and PEPSLIM methodology help business owners stabilize, grow, and sustain their companies. 

Rion explains why so many entrepreneurs start with strong skills but limited business acumen, and how that gap leads to chaos, missed opportunities, and early failure. He shares how to uncover hidden revenue, improve communication, and build purposeful networks that support long-term revenue growth and small business success. If you care about keeping Main Street alive and thriving, this conversation is a call to action. 

✨ Keywords:

-SMB

-own your revenue

-business development

-entrepreneurship

-PEPSLIM

-networking

-small business success

-revenue growth

-communication strategies

If you’re a founder, owner, or aspiring entrepreneur, this episode with Rion Westfall will help you “own your revenue” and boost your chances of long-term success. 

#RyanWestfall #OwnYourRevenue #SMB #BusinessDevelopment #Entrepreneurship #SmallBusinessSuccess #RevenueGrowth #Networking #CommunicationStrategies #PEPSLIM 

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In this episode, Lisa L. Levy sits down with Ted Whetstone, strategic thought partner and executive coach, to unpack the human element in leadership and change management.

Ted explores why the true value in any organization lies in its people, not just its processes, and why most change efforts fail when leaders impose instead of invite. He explains the critical difference between commitment to outcomes and attachment to specific ideas, and how that shift opens the door to participation, innovation, and shared ownership. Along the way, Ted dives into vulnerability, communication, and the entrepreneurial journey, and introduces the powerful concept of being the “product of your product”—the transformation of humanity within the workplace.

✨ Keywords:

-leadership-change management

-executive coaching

-organizational transformation

-commitment vs attachment

-vulnerability

-communication

-entrepreneurial journey

-product of your product

-growth mindset

If you’re a leader, founder, or change agent who wants to transform not only your organization but the humans inside it, this conversation with Ted Whetstone will challenge and inspire you.

#Leadership #ChangeManagement #ExecutiveCoaching #OrganizationalTransformation #CommitmentVsAttachment #Vulnerability #Communication #EntrepreneurialJourney #ProductOfYourProduct #GrowthMindset

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In this episode, Lisa L. Levy sits down with Simon Holzapfel, co‑founder and CFO of Leaf Lab, to explore how we can better prepare young people for the real future of work—not the one our current systems were built for.

Simon shares how Leaf Lab is redefining learning through free, hands-on, real-world experiences that teach students critical skills like value stream mapping, collaboration, and critical thinking. Drawing from personal stories and professional experience, he explains why the traditional education model is failing, what future-ready skills actually look like, and how we can build adaptable teams that thrive in today’s digital, fast-changing work environment.

If you care about education, workforce development, and innovation, this conversation will challenge your assumptions and inspire new possibilities.

✨ Keywords:
-Leaf Lab
-Simon Holtzapfel
-education
-workforce
-value stream mapping
-future of work
-collaboration
-innovation
-critical thinking
-agile learning

If you’re passionate about aligning education with real-world needs and building future-ready workforces, this episode with Simon Holzapfel of Leaf Lab is a must-watch.

#LeafLab #SimonHolzapfel #Education #FutureOfWork #ValueStreamMapping #Collaboration #Innovation #CriticalThinking #AgileLearning #Workforce

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In this episode, Lisa L. Levy sits down with John Golden to explore why a sales‑first approach to CRM is the key to real business growth, better data, and happier, more effective sales teams.

John breaks down why sales is the engine of revenue, why it must be treated as a serious career rather than a fallback option, and how most organizations are still measuring the wrong things. Instead of outdated activity metrics, he advocates for relevant, quality-focused sales metrics, dynamic sales processes, and technology that actually supports how customers buy—not just how managers want to report.

You’ll also hear how AI and modern CRM tools can enhance sales insights, improve decision-making, and empower salespeople when they’re implemented with the right strategy and training.

✨ Keywords:
-sales
-CRM
-sales process
-technology
-revenue
-sales metrics
-salespeople
-AI
-business growth
-customer relationship management

If you’re a founder, sales leader, or RevOps pro who’s tired of CRMs that nobody uses and sales processes that don’t match reality, this conversation with John Golden is your roadmap to a smarter, sales‑first approach.

#Sales #CRM #SalesProcess #Technology #Revenue #SalesMetrics #Salespeople #AI #BusinessGrowth #CustomerRelationshipManagement

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In this episode, Lisa L. Levy talks with Dr. David Gruder—organizational psychologist, board‑level advisor, 12‑award‑winning author, and what he calls a “recovering psychologist” and professional troublemaker.

David equips innovative leaders with the mindsets, skillsets, and habitsets to make integrity profitable, collaboration fruitful, and impact scalable. As a master architect of culture and the C‑suite, he helps owners and executives become who their ventures need them to be—maximizing positive impact and profits without sacrificing wellbeing or values. In this conversation, we explore his vision for the future of humanity, the Spark Framework, and how a dual‑pronged purpose can guide us toward what he calls the North Star of Integrity.

They dig into the three futures currently vying for dominance—Homo Spiritus, Homo Deus, and regressionism—and why quiet, grassroots movements may be far more powerful than they appear.

✨ Keywords:
-Dr. David Gruder
-Homo Spiritus
-Spark Framework
-organizational psychology
-leadership, integrity
-collaboration
-future of humanity
-grassroots movement
-dual-pronged purpose

If you’ve ever felt called to be a “light bringer” but struggled with fear, frustration, or fragmentation, this conversation offers language, structure, and hope.

#DrDavidGruder #HomoSpiritus #SparkFramework #OrganizationalPsychology #Leadership #Integrity #Collaboration #FutureOfHumanity #GrassrootsMovement #DualProngedPurpose

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How do we revive kinesthetic learning to create new futures—fast? In this special “play-along” episode, Lisa L. Levy welcomes Sura Al‑Naimi, CEO and chief co‑creator at Hi Hello Sura, to introduce ProPlay—a hands-on, kinesthetic method that helps leaders and teams prototype ideas, evaluate what works, and drive change with clarity and confidence.

With a background shaping innovation at Disney, Sura shows how ProPlay uses tangible models to move beyond talk and into action—accelerating alignment, revealing insights, and turning strategy into something you can actually see, test, and improve. From future-casting to change management, you’ll learn how play unlocks performance, invites authentic participation, and helps you create the future, not just predict it.

✨Keywords:

-ProPlay
-kinesthetic learning
-future creation
-evaluation
-change management
-hands-on learning
-HiHelloSura
-innovation
-leadership

If you’re ready to evaluate what works, shed what doesn’t, and create your next chapter through hands-on learning, this episode will show you how to ProPlay your way forward.

#ProPlay #KinestheticLearning #ChangeManagement #FutureCreation #Innovation #Leadership #Evaluation #HandsOnLearning #HiHelloSura #SuraAlNaimi

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In this episode, Lisa L. Levy talks with Anders Boulanger, co-founder and CEO of Engagify, about the art and science of engagement in a world shaped by technology and AI.

Anders breaks down why in-person interactions are irreplaceable, how generational differences impact communication, and why “infotainment” and pattern interruption can transform trade show performance. He shares the story behind Engagify, the power of making your clients the stars, and how systems and processes elevate management and outcomes. If you want to create authentic, memorable moments that drive real business results, this conversation is packed with actionable insights.

✨ Keywords:
-Engagement
-Trade Shows
-Generational Differences
-Authentic Interactions
-Business Innovation
-Communication Skills
-Infotainment
-Engagify
-Anders Boulanger
-AI in Business

If you’re ready to level up engagement—from the booth floor to the boardroom—this episode will show you how to make every moment count.

#Engagement #TradeShows #GenerationalDifferences #AuthenticInteractions #BusinessInnovation #CommunicationSkills #Infotainment #Engagify #AndersBoulanger #AIinBusiness

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