Don't Waste the Chaos

On this episode of the Don’t Waste the Chaos Podcast , Kerri Roberts - a Christian business & HR consultant with over two decades of experience, goes back to the data. After discovering that her Top HR Trends for 2025 episode ranked among the most-listened-to episodes of the year, Kerri asks a critical leadership question: Did those predictions actually hold up? Kerri walks through each 2025 H...

Is your growth threatening your marriage - or is it actually an invitation from God? If you’re a Christian woman in business, a Christian leader, or a faith-driven entrepreneur who feels God stretching you in this season, but your spouse feels stuck or left behind, this episode is for you. We unpack how to pursue godly success, purpose at work, and faith-driven leadership without sacrificing your...

Does being “the strong one” actually make you a better leader—or is it quietly destroying your joy, your confidence, and your capacity as a high-achieving Christian woman in business? If you’re a Christian woman in leadership, a faith-driven entrepreneur, or a high-capacity professional who’s used to holding everything together, this episode of the Don’t Waste the Chaos Podcast with Kerri Roberts...

In this solo episode of Don’t Waste the Chaos , Kerri Roberts, Christian business & HR consultant and founder of Salt & Light Advisors, opens up about a deeper tension many high-achieving Christians carry but rarely say out loud: when ambition, excellence, and drive cross the line from worship to idolatry. Drawing from her own story as a COO in the insurance industry, Kerri shares how priv...

Does God actually like you - or just love you because He has to? If you’re a high-achieving Christian woman in business or leadership who feels like God is constantly evaluating, correcting, and disappointed with you, this episode of the Don’t Waste the Chaos Podcast with Christian business & HR consultant Kerri Roberts is for you. We’ll unpack why so many Christian women in business and faith...

If you’ve ever said, “I hate tech, I just want this to work,” this episode is your blueprint. Kerri M. Roberts sits down with systems and automation expert Brenda Breland of Build Business Academy and BuildDesk , who helps small business owners automate leads, follow-up, and client journeys - without needing a full-time ops or marketing team. Learn how to plug the money leaks in your follow-up, us...

Pay transparency isn’t a trend - it’s a structural shift. If sharing salary ranges makes you nervous, it’s not your employees - it’s your compensation structure . In this episode, Kerri Roberts (Strategic HR & People Ops) breaks down how to build transparent, fair pay with salary bands, job levels, and a simple rollout plan that earns trust and improves retention.   You’ll learn: Why leaders a...

If you think you “don’t need HR,” you’re probably losing money and people. In this episode, Kerri M. Roberts breaks down 5 HR failures that quietly drain small businesses - and shows you how to turn HR into a profit + culture lever in 90 days.   You’ll learn: Why turnover isn’t a mystery line item (it’s 19–40% of base pay per exit) The manager effect: when leaders slip, engagement and productivity...

Employee loyalty isn’t dead - we killed it. One policy, one broken promise, one missed conversation at a time. In this solo episode, Kerri Roberts (20+ years in HR & People Ops) breaks down why trust eroded and how leaders and HR can rebuild it with practical, humble-efficient systems. What you’ll learn The “broken loyalty contract” and how policies replaced relationships Why HR became the vil...

In Part 2, Kerri moves from revelation to application. After realizing in Part 1 that devotion to people had begun to override devotion to God, this episode lays out a simple, repeatable rhythm for leading in alignment: Structure, Stewardship, and Spirit. You’ll hear how Kerri redesigned her days (and her boundaries) to create peace, stop over-functioning, and make decisions from listening instead...

This week’s episode feels more like an unfolding than a plan. After a recent session with her coach and intuitive mentor, Kerri shares a revelation that stopped her in her tracks: Sometimes our devotion to people and outcomes quietly replaces our devotion to God. In this deeply personal conversation, Kerri explores how her vow of devotion - once her greatest strength - began to cloud her discernme...

Leadership under pressure can look a lot like control. In this real, faith-informed conversation, Kerri and her husband Terry (USMC veteran & entrepreneur) unpack why trust beats micromanagement , how devotion without discernment derails good leaders, and the simple practices that help you hear the Holy Spirit , set healthy boundaries , and steward your people, brand, and resources well. You’l...

What happens when life changes the rules - and the identity you’ve built no longer fits?   In this episode of Don’t Waste the Chaos , host Kerri Roberts sits down with Matt Vincent , a two-time Highland Games World Champion, entrepreneur, author, and host of the Not Dead Yet podcast. After career-ending injuries forced him to rebuild from the ground up, Matt turned loss into purpose - creating a g...

What does it really take to stay “top of mind” with your clients, colleagues, and team members? In this episode of Don’t Waste the Chaos , I sit down with John Hall - Chief Strategist at Relevance.com , Co-Founder of Calendar.com , and bestselling author of Top of Mind . Named EY Entrepreneur of the Year and recognized as one of the Business Journals’ Top 100 Visionaries, John is a nationally reco...

What happens to a team when trust takes a hit—and how do you rebuild it? In this candid solo episode of Don’t Waste the Chaos , host Kerri Roberts tackles one of the most underestimated drivers of workplace culture: trust. Pulling from her own consulting experience and research from Gallup, Edelman, and PricewaterhouseCoopers, Kerri lays out exactly why trust is the currency of leadership and what...

What happens when overstimulation quietly rewires our brains and families? In this episode of Don’t Waste the Chaos, host Kerri Roberts sits down with returning guest Karen Brooks, MSW — speaker, mentor, and mental health advocate — to unpack the truth behind dopamine “addiction.” With her trademark clarity and compassion, Karen breaks down what’s really happening in our brains, why technology is...

What happens when HR touches one of the most controversial workplace topics today? In this episode of Don’t Waste the Chaos , I share my candid take on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs - and why I believe companies don’t need them to build inclusive workplaces. I’ll walk you through: Why DEI initiatives exploded post-2020, and why many companies are now pulling back The unintended r...

Too many business owners are grinding for years without truly paying themselves what they’re worth. Loyalty doesn’t mean self-sacrifice - and underpaying yourself is silently wrecking your finances, your business, and your culture.  In this episode, Kerri Roberts pulls back the curtain on what happens when leaders don’t prioritize their own paycheck, why it’s dangerous, and how to start fixing it...

Money isn’t just numbers - it’s trust, culture, and retention. In this fiery episode of Don’t Waste the Chaos , Kerri Roberts exposes the hidden dangers of staying silent about money inside your business. From solo cups sparking wild rumors to leaders unknowingly breeding distrust, Kerri unpacks why financial transparency is the leadership move that keeps your people engaged, loyal, and productive...

Your values are only as strong as your hardest day. Culture isn’t built on t-shirts, swag, or pretty mission statements - it’s tested in the fire. In this week’s episode of Don’t Waste the Chaos , Kerri Roberts calls out performative cultures, hollow values, and leadership that only looks good on paper. Backed by hard data and lived client experience, she lays out how to stop wasting money on surf...

A small HR oversight — a missing policy, an incomplete employee file, a misclassified worker — can turn into a lawsuit that costs your business $125,000 or more, and 70% of small businesses face an employee-related legal claim at some point. In this solo episode, Kerri Roberts breaks down exactly how to conduct a DIY HR audit for your business across five areas — compliance basics, hiring and onbo...

What does it actually take to find your voice, build a platform, and show up authentically in a world that wants you to be everything to everyone — and what does any of that have to do with running a business? In this episode, Kerri Roberts sits down with Denise Tallcott, former radio host turned podcast creator, public speaker, business coach, and the warmhearted force behind Working Moms Redefin...

What does it look like to build something that lasts without burning through the people who make it possible? In this episode, Kerri Roberts sits down with Emily Holdman, Managing Director at Permanent Equity, a Missouri-based private equity firm with a 30-year investment horizon and a foundational commitment to do no harm — which in practice means walking into an organization and learning before...

If your team is showing up but nobody seems fully there, you're not imagining it — and you're not alone. Only 21 to 23% of employees globally report being actively engaged at work right now, 59% admit to doing the bare minimum, and 66 to 82% of the workforce is experiencing burnout in 2025. In this solo episode, Kerri Roberts breaks down what's actually driving the morale crisis, wh...

Most small business owners don't lay people off because they planned to — they lay people off because they panicked, waited too long, and ran out of options. In this solo episode, Kerri Roberts draws a sharp line between reactive layoffs and intentional right sizing, and makes the case that how you handle workforce reduction when growth slows is one of the clearest signals of your integrity a...