The Failure Gap

Susan Lintonsmith has built a career by saying yes to opportunities that stretched her leadership. From marketing roles at Pizza Hut and Coca-Cola to leading Quiznos as CEO and now serving as President and CEO of Regis Corporation, her journey reflects a commitment to learning, enterprise thinking, and leading through change. Along the way, she has also served on multiple boards, bringing a broad...

Kristen Russell’s leadership journey is anything but linear. From managing engineers at Sun Microsystems to leading global operations at Oracle, serving as Colorado’s first Secretary of Technology, and now guiding CBTS as CEO, her career has been shaped by two questions: Can I learn? and Can I contribute? That curiosity has helped her lead large-scale transformations across industries and navigate...

Sergio Rodriguez’s leadership journey is a reminder that careers rarely follow a straight line. Starting as an architect, moving into technology consulting, and eventually becoming President and CEO of The Hector and Gloria Lopez Foundation, Sergio’s path reflects the power of staying open to opportunity. Today, he leads a foundation dedicated to helping first-generation Texas students earn bachel...

Richard Kopelman, CEO of Aprio Advisory Group, has spent more than three decades with the firm, evolving from a generalist learning the craft to leading a rapidly scaling, global organization. Along the way, he built and grew practices, leaned into specialization, and then expanded back out into enterprise leadership. He describes becoming CEO as “starting over as a freshman,” a mindset that seems...

Kristi Cappelletti-Matthews is the Chief Human Resources Officer at VSP Vision, bringing more than three decades of HR leadership across healthcare and high tech. Her journey to CHRO started with a chance gym conversation that turned into a career-defining opportunity. Beginning as a compensation specialist, she expanded her scope by consistently connecting her expertise to broader business outcom...

Kendall Colman’s leadership journey starts with a coach who saw her potential before she did. Early struggles with self-doubt and feeling out of place shifted when a field hockey coach challenged her to get out of her own way. That moment sparked a lifelong focus on unlocking potential in others. Over the past 25 years, she’s built Colman Coaching, helping senior leaders elevate their presence, co...

Josh Miramant, founder and CEO of Blue Orange Digital, brings a leadership story that proves careers are rarely built in straight lines. He started on a path toward politics and law, then took a sharp turn into startups, scaling, and eventually data and AI consulting. Along the way, he learned what many leaders eventually discover: growth usually looks less like a master plan and more like a serie...

Justin Salisbury “stumbled” into the car wash world with a mix of business education and trade school skills, then discovered it was the perfect place to put both to work. Fourteen years ago, he joined Breeze Thru Car Wash when it had just two locations, earned his way into ownership after three years, and leaned hard into what he loves most: building operational systems that help people grow. Tod...

Justin Nassiri, founder and CEO of Executive Presence, joined Julie Williamson to explore what it really takes to move from agreement to alignment, especially when leaders know they should be more visible but struggle to act. Justin traced his leadership journey from drum major to the Naval Academy, nuclear submarines, Stanford, and multiple startups, landing on a key insight Julie reinforced thro...

Chris Baird is the President and CEO of OptConnect, and his leadership story starts far from the corner office. He joined the company in 2009 as an ATM repair specialist, kept volunteering for the “extra mile” work (where, as he put it, there’s no traffic), and stepped into a bigger responsibility when ownership transitioned and a leadership gap opened. Along the way, he learned his path is hard t...

Jeremy Sharpe grew up riding around the desert with his dad, thinking he was on grand childhood adventures while secretly getting groomed as a real estate developer. Now president of Sharpe Development Group and managing partner of Rancho Sahuarita, he carries forward a multigenerational commitment to “creating a better life for people” through the built environment. His path was not linear, with...

In this episode of The Failure Gap, host Julie engages in a conversation with Tony Goncalves, former CEO of Otter Media and EVP of Warner Media, about his career journey and the transition from the media industry to founding The Evrose Group in Portugal. Tony shares insights on building bridges between the US and Portugal, the importance of trust and timing in leadership, and his personal mission...

In this episode of The Failure Gap, Julie Williamson speaks with Andy Cowan, president of Particle Measuring Systems, about the significance of aligned leadership. They explore Andy's journey to leadership, the importance of team alignment, and the characteristics that define effective leaders. The conversation delves into building trust within teams, navigating challenges, and celebrating success...

At Karrikins Group , we work alongside leaders to close the gap between great ideas and real results by combining business expertise with social science to help teams align on how to deliver together - driving better outcomes and stronger connections. In this episode of the Failure Gap, host Julie Williamson, PhD, engages in a thought-provoking conversation with Carice Anderson, author of "Intelli...

At Karrikins Group , we work alongside leaders to close the gap between great ideas and real results by combining business expertise with social science to help teams align on how to deliver together - driving better outcomes and stronger connections. In this episode of the Failure Gap, host Julie engages with Nick Anderson, CEO of OneAccord, discussing the challenges leaders face in bridging the...

At Karrikins Group , we work alongside leaders to close the gap between great ideas and real results by combining business expertise with social science to help teams align on how to deliver together - driving better outcomes and stronger connections. In this episode of The Failure Gap, Julie Williamson, Ph. D. speaks with Jersey Banks, Co-Founder of Urban Cowboy Boutique Hotels. Jersey shares her...

At Karrikins Group , we work alongside leaders to close the gap between great ideas and real results by combining business expertise with social science to help teams align on how to deliver together - driving better outcomes and stronger connections. In this conversation, Lisa Adams, an AI advisor and strategist, discusses the transformative potential of AI in organizations, emphasizing the impor...

At Karrikins Group , we work alongside leaders to close the gap between great ideas and real results by combining business expertise with social science to help teams align on how to deliver together - driving better outcomes and stronger connections. In this episode, Mandy Morris discusses the importance of emotional intelligence and mental health in leadership. She shares insights on how early e...

At Karrikins Group , we work alongside leaders to close the gap between great ideas and real results by combining business expertise with social science to help teams align on how to deliver together - driving better outcomes and stronger connections. In this episode of the Failure Gap, Julie Williamson, Ph. D. speaks with Matt Leta, CEO of Future Works, about the intersection of AI and innovation...

At Karrikins Group , we work alongside leaders to close the gap between great ideas and real results by combining business expertise with social science to help teams align on how to deliver together - driving better outcomes and stronger connections. In this conversation, Michelle Prince shares her journey from a corporate career to becoming a bestselling author and the CEO of Performance Publish...

At Karrikins Group , we work alongside leaders to close the gap between great ideas and real results by combining business expertise with social science to help teams align on how to deliver together - driving better outcomes and stronger connections. In this conversation, Harvey Johnson, CEO of PBMares, shares his journey to leadership, emphasizing the importance of alignment between personal and...

At Karrikins Group , we work alongside leaders to close the gap between great ideas and real results by combining business expertise with social science to help teams align on how to deliver together - driving better outcomes and stronger connections. In this conversation, Matthew Pine, CEO of Xylem, shares his insights on leadership, alignment, and the challenges of organizational transformation....

At Karrikins Group , we work alongside leaders to close the gap between great ideas and real results by combining business expertise with social science to help teams align on how to deliver together - driving better outcomes and stronger connections. In this episode of The Failure Gap, Julie Williamson, Ph. D. speaks with April Whitson, VP of HR for ABB and author of The Stay Challenge . They dis...

At Karrikins Group , we work alongside leaders to close the gap between great ideas and real results by combining business expertise with social science to help teams align on how to deliver together - driving better outcomes and stronger connections. In this conversation, Dr. Jandel Allen-Davis shares her journey from being an obstetrician-gynecologist to the CEO of Craig Hospital, emphasizing th...

At Karrikins Group , we work alongside leaders to close the gap between great ideas and real results by combining business expertise with social science to help teams align on how to deliver together - driving better outcomes and stronger connections. In this conversation, Cyril Peupion shares his journey from a corporate leader to the founder of Work Smarter Live Better (WSLB), emphasizing the im...