Take Command: A Leadership Podcast

About the Guest: Ginni Rometty comes from a long line of hardworking women. First there was her great grandmother, who came from Belarus and cleaned bathrooms in the Wrigley building in Chicago. Next, it was her grandmother, a young widow twice over. Finally, there was her mother, who brought herself and her kids up through education and hard work after her husband abandoned them. Watching these w...

Remember how people used to ask when you were younger what you wanted to be when you grew up? Well, no one asked Guy Fieri that question because by nine years old, he already was what he wanted to be. After a funny incident with his mother, Guy’s love for cooking took off. From his first childhood business of selling soft pretzels to his more than ninety award-winning restaurants now open around t...

About the Guest: You may know him as the illustrious host of the Take Command podcast and the CEO of Dale Carnegie & Associates, but today, you can meet the “Average Joe” behind his story. Joe says, “My ambition as a high school and college person was to go to law school, become a lawyer, join a large firm, become very successful, and do that for 40 years. And I was on that track.” But Dale Carneg...

About the Guest: While he never would have imagined being where he is today, Jason Buechel was truly made for his current position as CEO of Whole Foods. Jason’s parents grew up on dairy farms, sowing in him a strong connection to the land and food. Combine that with Jason’s thirteen years of retail consulting work, and you have a man with a unique intersection of perspectives that continue to bri...

About the Guest: You’ll always find this guest asking new questions because that’s just who Penny Zenker is. Penny says her career path has been a “crazy old maze,” taking her from accounting and finance to building and selling a multi-million-dollar company, to becoming a keynote speaker and executive coach. But she couldn’t have done any of it without her “focusology” practice. “The name of the...

About the Guest: Say hello to Bob Chapman, CEO of the internationally renowned Barry-Wehmiller, a machinery industry company with over 12,000 employees in over 100 countries. Bob’s first title at the company was “Somebody He Could Trust”—meaning he was tasked with helping his father (the owner) make business decisions. But all did not go as planned. “I worked with my dad for six years, was put in...

About the Guest: Meet Bill Kramer, CEO of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Bill carries a deep appreciation for art, but despite his mother being an artist, he didn’t see it as a viable career path. So, he earned a BA in actuarial sciences and went to work supporting creatives behind the scenes.  After stints at Columbia University and the Sundance Institute, he joined the Academy...

About the Guest: Meet Gary Shapiro, CEO of the Consumer Technology Association. For the last 35 years, he’s been responsible for over 4,000 vendors and 130,000 guests each year at CES, the largest consumer electronics tradeshow on the planet. He’s a lawyer, a runner, a leader, and he was also awarded the Légion d'Honneur (Legion of Honor) by French President Emmanuel Macron in 2021.   Not only tha...

About the Guest: It takes a lot to stand out among greatness, and Wonya Lucas’s family is home to some heavy hitters—from her dad, the first Black general manager in Major League Baseball, to her mom, whose bright idea in a Turner Broadcasting meeting turned into Cartoon Network, to her uncle, the late great Hank Aaron. But Wonya has made just as much a name for herself with her storied career.   ...

About the Guest: Being only the 9th CEO in Deluxe Corporation’s 109-year existence, Barry McCarthy feels the weight of that history, saying, “You start with a deep sense of humbleness that you are carrying on a legacy that has been so significant for so long.” But that doesn’t mean Barry will treat any company with kid gloves. He says, “I think of myself as something of a fixer, a reinventor, an i...

Meet Richard Edelman, the president and CEO of Edelman Communications, a global marketing firm. Richard’s life was on the right track from an early age. Then, just one month before graduating from Harvard Business School and with a plan to work as an assistant product manager at Playtex, Richard’s father called and asked him to work for the family business. Forty-six years later, Richard is now th...

About the Guest: Meet Sharon Price John, President and CEO of Build-a-Bear Workshop and an all-around powerhouse of a woman. Sharon dives deep into her roots to guide who she is today. Coming from a small town, she felt restricted and couldn’t wait to get out and go to college (the first in her family to do so). But she also says, “I didn't really start growing until I made peace with the value th...

About the Guest: Meet Aaron Witt, a man who loves dirt. Or, more specifically, loves the industries that hold our society together. As founder, CEO, and chief “dirt nerd” of BuildWitt, Aaron uses his marketing chops to bring light to the jobs and people who keep our world running. Aaron says he loves the purpose of the dirt industries because they support everybody else, just as Aaron tries to sup...

Episode Summary About the Guest: Lisa Sun is a businesswoman through and through. She credits it to her parents, saying, “I cut my teeth as an entrepreneur, because in 1987, at the age of eight—I don't think my mother understood child labor laws—I was the cashier [at their restaurant]. I learned firsthand what it took to create something from nothing.”  Lisa’s achievements accelerated when she ent...

About the Guest: Say hello to David Meltzer. After becoming a millionaire nine months out of law school (not by being a lawyer, mind you), David was hired as CEO of his dream company. But in 2008, his multimillionaire status turned into bankruptcy. From this, he learned to attach his intentions not to outcomes but to the pursuit of his own potential. While some people may pursue the paths others s...

Scott Osman always thought he never needed an executive coach. Jacquelyn Lane had an epitome when she vigorously tried to defend a mistake she had made when one of her supervisors asked her, “What does it serve you to be defensive here?” Both now run 100 Coaches Agency, an organization representing the world’s best coaches, founded by internationally renowned author, coach, and educator, Marshall...

About the Guest: Meet Asheesh Advani, a long-time entrepreneur and current CEO of Junior Achievement (JA). Asheesh had his first brush with the business world when he was voted CEO of a student business at the age of fourteen. As founder and leader of several entrepreneurial ventures, Asheesh learned the true meaning of “leadership,” which he says is still evolving as he pursues new goals and trai...

About the Guest: Say hello to Robin Holdren, a retired U.S. Navy Master Chief Petty Officer and now global leader and coach of Learning and Development at ABB, where she provides training opportunities to over 20,000 employees in 50 countries. Robin says she’s grown professionally and personally by embracing a lifelong education—not only through schooling but also by simply interacting with people...

Embark on a journey of real-life business insights and inspiring personal growth narratives. Welcome to Take Command: A Dale Carnegie Podcast, where we seek to uncover what leadership means in today’s world. Hosted by Joe Hart, CEO of Dale Carnegie, we’ll be talking to diverse leaders across various industries to help unlock your potential for success. We’ll be sharing real-life insights into lead...

About the Guest: Meet Matt Norman, the president of Dale Carnegie, North Central US. Matt’s career started in technology, where he struggled with confidence, building relationships, and communication. Over time, and by following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather (both Dale Carnegie trainers), Matt learned to trade the comfort of solving tangible problems for a deeper understanding of...

About the Guest: Meet Suzanne Sutter Chesnutt, a dynamic leader with a rich corporate leadership, philanthropy, and organizational development background. Suzanne's illustrious career culminated in her role as the CEO of Things Remembered, overseeing a massive 650-store organization. Her journey is characterized by a deep commitment to leadership development and significant contributions to charit...

About the Guests: Christina Dorr Drake & Rusty Drake are the co-founders of Willa’s Organic Oat Milk since 2020. The couple juggled launching their product while simultaneously navigating Christina's breast cancer diagnosis and facing the COVID-19 pandemic. This episode features Rusty, a former filmmaker & Dale Carnegie master trainer turned entrepreneur, and Christina, an advertiser, a resilient...

About the Guest: Niren Chaudhary is the CEO & Chairman of the Board of Panera Brands, one of the world's largest fast-casual restaurant companies. With prior roles as President of Krispy Kreme and 23 years at Yum! Brands, including the Global President of KFC, his leadership is unparalleled. Fluent in four languages, he supports DKMS, a leading non-profit with the world’s largest stem cell donor r...

About the Guest: Alvaro Nuñez Alfaro, originally from Madrid, Spain, found himself drawn to the world of tennis at an early age. His dreams of becoming a professional tennis player laid the foundation for his resilient and adventurous spirit. Graduating as a valedictorian student,Alvaro used his proficiency in tennis as a lever to secure a scholarship in the U.S., kickstarting a journey that would...

About the Guest : Chris Winton, from his early days in Memphis, initially struggled with his academic performance while juggling two jobs to support his family. However, an internship through the InRoads program at FedEx altered the trajectory of his life. This opportunity ultimately led him to become a key figure in both FedEx and Tesla, gaining profound insights from iconic CEOs Fred Smith and E...