Create the Future

What happens when the career you spent 25 years building no longer feels like the future you want? For Joe Patneaude, the answer required one of the hardest leadership decisions of his career: stepping away from the corporate world after decades in financial services, including senior C-suite leadership roles, and redefining what success and identity meant to him. Joe began his career in the mailr...

What if the pressure driving your success is also holding you back as a leader? For more than 20 years, Claire Hayek worked in high-stakes engineering environments where decisions carried serious consequences. She learned how to perform under pressure, lead teams, and manage complex challenges. But after moving into entrepreneurship, she reached a turning point: she realized that pressure wasn't s...

What would you do if you had the opportunity to fund a potentially transformative cancer treatment—but the science wasn't proven yet? For Stephanie Oestreich, PhD, MPA , this isn't a hypothetical question. As Managing Director of the Myeloma Investment Fund, she helps evaluate early-stage biotech companies developing innovative approaches to multiple myeloma. The challenge is balancing scientific...

How do you make difficult decisions as a leader when your career, company, health, family, or future is at stake? In this episode of Create the Future with Rick Williams Podcast , Mary Grothe shares the difficult leadership and life decisions that took her from burnout, relentless business success and a painful company exit to a new life built around faith, family, service, purpose and freedom. Ma...

What do you do when your life is already full—but you still have a dream worth pursuing? In this episode of the Create the Future Podcast , Rick Williams sits down with Lisa Woodruff , Founder and CEO of Organize 365 , author, speaker, and business leader, to explore the courage it takes to make a life-changing decision when you already have a career, a business, and a family to care for. Lisa sha...

In this episode of Create the Future with Rick Williams Podcast , Tom Doorley shares powerful lessons from decades of leadership, strategy, entrepreneurship, consulting and corporate governance—including difficult decisions he made in his own career and the strategic decisions he helped major companies navigate. Tom Doorley is the CEO of Sage Partners , a strategy and governance advisory firm, and...

In this episode of the Create the Future Podcast , Rick Williams sits down with Dr. Eugene Manley Jr. , Founder & CEO of SCHEQ Foundation , scientist, speaker, and health equity advocate. Dr. Manley shares his journey of championing health equity, inclusive leadership, and the courage required to create lasting impact in communities. Through powerful stories and practical leadership lessons, h...

In this episode of the Create the Future Podcast , Rick Williams sits down with Dr. Zafra Lerman , internationally recognized chemist, educator, human rights advocate, and President of the Malta Conferences Foundation. Dr. Lerman shares how scientific collaboration can build trust across political, cultural, and ideological divides. From promoting science education to advancing human rights and pe...

What should you do when your career no longer goes according to plan? In this episode of the Create the Future Podcast, Rick Williams speaks with Executive Coach and the President of theWealthSource, Kim Sawyer, about turning career setbacks, uncertainty, and difficult decisions into opportunities for growth. Kim shares how his approach to decision-making evolved throughout his career—from reactin...

In this episode of Create the Future, your host Rick Williams speaks with Tom Doorley, CEO of Sage Partners, about leadership and decision-making. Tom shares his journey from chemical engineer to management consultant at Arthur D. Little, and eventually entrepreneur. He recounts two key decisions: leaving Arthur D. Little to found his own consulting firm despite personal financial pressures, and h...

In this episode of Create the Future , host Rick Williams speaks with John Walsh, Founder and CEO of Endera. John shares his entrepreneurial journey, from launching businesses at just 25 years old to building and scaling an electric bus company in a rapidly evolving market. Drawing on lessons from private equity, automotive restructuring, startup failures, and customer development, John explains w...

In this episode of Create the Future, your host Rick Williams speaks with Bobby Humes, CEO of BH Consultancy and former HR Director for the City of Seattle. Bobby shares his leadership journey, including receiving anonymous critical letters while modernizing Seattle's HR department, battling imposter syndrome, and navigating resistance to change. He discusses how executive coaching transformed his...

What happens when a successful career is no longer the biggest opportunity in front of you? For Terence Chatmon, one of the most difficult decisions of his career was ultimately about purpose, impact, and what he wanted his leadership to accomplish . After building a senior career in corporate America—including leadership experience with Johnson & Johnson, Citibank, and Coca-Cola—Terence made...

In this episode of Create the Future, your host Rick Williams speaks with Dr. Eugene Manley, Jr., Founder and CEO of STEMM & Cancer Health Equity. Dr. Manley shares his journey from inner-city Detroit to becoming a mechanical engineer, molecular biologist, and patient advocate. He recounts a pivotal leadership moment when an uninvited speaker demanded keynote status at his lung cancer health e...

What if the biggest mistake entrepreneurs make is building the product before they know customers actually want it? In this episode of the Create the Future Podcast , Rick Williams sits down with John Walsh , Founder and CEO of Endera , to explore what it really takes to build, validate, and scale a company in the rapidly evolving electric vehicle industry. John shares lessons from his entrepreneu...

In this episode of the Create the Future podcast, your host Rick Williams speaks with Rhonda Petit, Founder of 3X5 Coaching LLC. Rhonda shares her journey from a 34-year sales career to becoming a leadership coach. She discusses the pivotal decisions she made at 40, including leaving a demanding job and ending her marriage, driven by her struggle with codependency and approval addiction. Rhonda em...

What if your paycheck could become the starting point for a business that gives you more freedom, purpose, and control over your time? In this episode of the Create the Future Podcast , Rick Williams sits down with George Dubec , Author & Internet Marketing Consultant, to explore what it really takes to make the leap from a steady job to entrepreneurship. George shares lessons from his journey...

In this episode of the Create the Future Podcast, your host Rick Williams speaks with Adam Povlitz, CEO & President of Anago Cleaning, about his journey from finance and IBM to leading his father's three-tier commercial cleaning franchise. Adam shares how he started at the bottom, learned every role, and eventually scaled the company from $67M to $100M in just 19 months by delegating strategic...

What does it really take to lead across cultures, adapt to change, and create genuine inclusion? In this episode of the Create the Future Podcast , Rick Williams sits down with Frances West , veteran technology executive, author, and founder of FrancesWestCo. , to explore the leadership lessons she learned from navigating complex cross-cultural environments. Frances shares insights from her experi...

In this episode of the Create the Future podcast, host Rick Williams interviews Dr. Zafra Lerman, President of the Malta Conferences Foundation. Dr. Lerman shares her journey as a scientist and leader, highlighting her courageous efforts to unite scientists from conflicting Middle Eastern countries to promote peace through science. She discusses overcoming personal and political challenges, the po...

What gives a leader the courage to leave a secure position, start over, and pursue a vision that others may not understand? In this episode of Create the Future with Rick Williams , Rick sits down with Larry Gulko , the Founder of BRAND: NEW DAY Retreat , for a candid conversation about leadership, courage, difficult decisions, entrepreneurship, and knowing when it is time to take a different path...

In this episode of Create the Future, your host Rick Williams interviews Desiree Martinez, Founder of The Kast Agency. Desiree shares her journey from early social media marketing to making a pivotal decision: shifting her business from chasing rapid growth to focusing on sustainable, values-driven strategies. She discusses adapting to industry changes, especially the rise of AI and the renewed ne...

In this episode, host Rick Williams and guest Dusty Holcomb, Founder and CEO of Arcqus Group, engage in a thoughtful discussion on effective leadership, focusing on decision-making, vulnerability, and self-leadership. They share personal stories and practical strategies, highlighting the importance of seeking diverse perspectives, managing fear, and separating self-worth from outcomes. The convers...

In this episode of the Create the Future Podcast, host Rick Williams interviews leadership coach and author Paul Thornton. Paul shares his journey from corporate HR leader to college professor and prolific writer. He recounts a pivotal lesson from coaching hockey: enforcing accountability by leaving late players behind, despite their importance to the team. The discussion explores the challenges o...

How do some experts become industry icons while others remain invisible? In this episode of the Create the Future Podcast, Rick Williams sits down with Paige Arnof-Fenn , Founder & CEO of Mavens & Moguls , to explore what truly builds a memorable brand. Paige shares lessons from leading marketing initiatives for Fortune 500 companies and startups, revealing why authenticity, bold positioni...