
C Suite and Sour
By Align

C Suite and Sour May 26, 2023

EP 17: Buddy Teaster
Great business leaders need drive and ambition on top of skills, but leading a nonprofit organization requires taking those traits to a whole new level.
This week, we sit down with Buddy Teaster, CEO of Soles4Souls and author of Shoestrings: How Your Donated Shoes and Clothes Help People Pull Themselves Out Of Poverty.
Buddy dives into the challenges nonprofits face and what really sets them apart from for-profit businesses, uncovering how team alignment and personal growth are huge drivers for organizational performance.
Get involved at soles4souls.org.
Shoestrings: How Your Donated Shoes and Clothes Help People Pull Themselves Out of Poverty

EP 16: Beck Sydow
Anyone with the right skills can lead a team. But what separates good leaders from great leaders is the ability to combine interpersonal and intrapersonal skills to develop meaningful business acumen.
Beck Sydow, business coach and former CEO, shares what it takes to strike the perfect balance between people-oriented and task-oriented leadership. From embracing diversity to adopting habits that support team members, Beck explains how your approach makes all the difference in your organizational performance.

EP 15: Herb Cogliano
One thing that all great business methodologies have in common is that they are based on proven results.
Herb Cogliano, Scaling Up Certified Coach, drills down on the most important assets of the proven Scaling Up methodology and how businesses around the world use it to create long-term success. He explains the most common challenges he’s seen in his 35 years of experience, from understanding the key levers that impact business profitability to why you might be hiring candidates based on the wrong checklist.

EP 14: Rich Armstrong
Many thriving businesses credit their success to effective leadership and proper coaching. Our guest in this episode is an expert in both.
Rich Armstrong, President of The Great Game of Business, reveals the strategies and insights behind the Great Game methodology that have helped him bring teams to success throughout his 30 years of experience as a coach and executive.

EP 13: Jeff Wadholm
We know hybrid work is here to stay, but are businesses doing it right?
Join us for lucky #13 as we sit down with Jeff Wadholm, Senior VP of Revenue Operations at MeridianLink. Jeff shares his favorite leadership word and its impact, tips to achieve the perfect blend of hybrid work, and why diversity could be the key to a happier, more productive team.

EP 12: Dr. Chitra Anand
Could intrapreneurship be the answer to success after the pandemic? Dr. Chitra Anand is here to break it down. In great businesses, you don’t have to be a CEO to feel and act like an owner within your company. In EP 12, Dr. Anand (Award-Winning Marketing & Communications Executive) discusses her take on developing an entrepreneurial mindset and the impact it can have on any individual’s success.

EP 11: Kevin Nolan
Ever wondered what it’s like to be a one-person marketing team for a half-billion dollar company? Kevin Nolan tells all. As the former VP of Marketing at Sagility (previously part of Hinduja Global Solutions Healthcare), Kevin discusses the perks and challenges (or the sweet and sour, if you will) of marketing healthcare in 2023.

EP 10: David Meltzer
There are three simple words that will change your life, according to David Meltzer. In this mini episode, David discusses how he was able to defy the odds and bounce back after going bankrupt. As a founder, 3X bestselling author, and renowned keynote, David knows what it takes to be a great leader and create a legacy that will set up any team for success.

EP 9: Vaughn Sigmon
Do you know what the single most important leadership trait is? Vaughn Sigmon has an idea or two. Join us for EP 9 as we sit down with Vaughn, Co-Founder of Results Driven Leadership. We discuss all-things leadership – from how leaders can get hiring right by focusing on candidates’ competencies rather than experience, to the importance of balancing management with leadership in running a team.

EP 8: Dan Kelsall
In EP 8, we are joined by Dan Kelsall, Creative Director and Co-Founder of Offended. Offended puts a twist on the world of marketing by defying social norms, taking risks, and embracing the uncomfortable. Dan discusses his journey in marketing and reveals how he was able to write and publish a bestselling book within 20 hours. This episode is edgier than the ones before it (complete with a few F-bombs), and delves into creating success in the unlikeliest of ways while maintaining strong professional relationships and growing a powerhouse team.

EP 7: Anne Pao
In EP 7, we are joined by Anne Pao, Fractional Operations Executive for High Growth Startups. Anne discusses her “empowerment and enablement” leadership style and how businesses can build team cohesion by optimizing the strengths of individual employees. She discusses being a people-driven leader by promoting employee autonomy, overcoming team conflict, and identifying top performers as early as the hiring process.

EP 6: Sam Jacobs
In EP 6, we are joined by Sam Jacobs, CEO & Founder of Pavilion, a community and career development platform for high-growth leaders and their teams. Sam discusses overcoming imposter syndrome and bouncing back after failure, explaining how business leaders can best navigate the modern workforce. He expands on how to combat the challenges that come with hiring in 2023 to ensure businesses can build strong teams and sustainable organizations.

EP 5: Karen Mangia
In EP 5, we sit down with Karen Mangia, WSJ Bestselling Author, Salesforce Executive, and TEDx speaker. Karen delves into her non-traditional approach to leadership and discusses how old playbooks only limit people from reaching their full potential. She encourages c-suite leaders to create meaningful change instead of imposing mandates through less traditional means. She advises how business leaders can use available resources to supercharge their teams and accelerate during times of crisis.

EP 4: Kirk Barnes
In Episode 4, we sit down with Kirk Barnes, CEO & Co-Founder of TransPharMed. We delve into networking as a vital skill that is often overlooked, but has become increasingly more important amid mass layoffs and uncertainty in the workplace. Kirk explains how technological advancements have helped drive effective networking, and how professionals can utilize these resources to navigate their lives and careers. He also discusses how business leaders can accept and embrace diverse work styles and drive alignment among a team of both introverts and extroverts.

EP 3: Joe Martin
In Episode 3, we are joined by Joe Martin, VP of Marketing at Scorpion. Joe discusses how his years of management experience at Adobe helped shape his creative approach to marketing and leadership and provides strategic guidance on building the right stack to prompt growth.

EP 2: Gord Smith
In the second episode of "C Suite and Sour," we interviewed Gord Smith, CEO of Alta Consulting. Gord has extensive experience working with North American organizations and has trained and empowered countless sales teams. He also coaches business leaders on driving profitable growth.
Gord believes the next generation of leaders should inspire their team members instead of relying on outdated command and control methods. The pandemic has led to a significant people problem in many businesses, with staff feeling disconnected and uninspired by traditional management techniques. To scale up post-pandemic, Gord suggests prioritizing a strong culture focused on learning and development opportunities, coaching skills, building relationships between employees, and focusing on core competencies and strategies aligned with priorities. Join us as we delve into Gord's insights and learn how to become a better leader in the post-pandemic world.

EP 1: Barrett King
In our first episode, guest Barrett King discusses how his winding career journey and early-stage struggles motivated him to pursue success in the sales industry, eventually landing him a senior role leading HubSpot’s GTM Strategy. Barrett reflects on his experiences and advises how up-and-coming sales executives can take advantage of continuous learning, capitalize on understanding customers and human behavior, and develop strategic communication skills.