The Leadership Podcast

Co-hosts Jan Rutherford and Jim Vaselopulos interview Scott Friedman. Scott is an internationally sought-after professional speaker and author. As a motivational humorist, Scott inspires and entertains with fun-filled interactive and content-rich programs. Scott's main area of expertise is employee innovation, customer experience, and using humor and celebration as a strategic tool. In addition to...

Co-hosts Jan Rutherford and Jim Vaselopulos interview Rob "Waldo" Waldman, professional wingman and leadership expert. Waldo is his call sign from his days as a fighter pilot. The Wingman, as Waldo is known, is a professional leadership speaker, and author of the New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-seller, Never Fly Solo. He teaches organizations how to build trusting, revenue-producing re...

On this Mastermind episode, co-hosts Jim Vaselopulos and Jan Rutherford talk about their Crucible expedition in Patagonia. Self-Reliant Leadership has been running Crucible expeditions for a few years now with the primary goal of assisting Special Operations veterans with their transition to the business world. With a recent international expedition, Jim & Jan expanded their goal to include figuri...

Co-hosts Jan Rutherford and Jim Vaselopulos interview Paul Spiegelman, Chief Culture Officer of Stericycle, a NASDAQ listed global services organization, with more than 25 thousand employees. Jan and Jim talk with Paul about his journey from starting a small company, exiting, and taking on a C-suite role. They also discuss The Small Giants community, Paul's three books, and the reality that the pr...

Co-hosts Jan Rutherford and Jim Vaselopulos interview Michael Simpson, Co-Founder and CEO of Pairin. Michael's passion for helping people reach their potential was fueled by his own rise from poverty to international recognition as a market strategist. The son of educators, he went on to become a corporate intrapreneur, and then a three-time entrepreneur. He co-founded Pairin after a decade as a c...

On this Mastermind episode, part 1, co-hosts Jan Rutherford and Jim Vaselopulos interview retired four-star General Stanley McChrystal, former commander of the nation's premier military counterterrorism force. General McChrystal (Ret.) is best known for developing and implementing a comprehensive counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan, and for creating a cohesive counterterrorism organization t...

Co-hosts Jan Rutherford and Jim Vaselopulos interview Kevin Kruse, a keynote speaker, leadership expert, entrepreneur, NYT bestselling author of six books, and host of the very popular Extreme Productivity podcast. Kevin is one of the most read leadership columnists on Forbes. As a keynote speaker and performance coach, Kevin has worked with fortune 500 CEOs, start-up founders, the United States M...

Co-hosts Jan Rutherford and Jim Vaselopulos interview Shawn Trisler, Senior Principal Operations Analyst at General Dynamics Information Technologies. Shawn retired from the Navy after 27 years, and was commissioned as an Operations Limited Duty Officer. Shawn now works on ballistic air and missile defense, keeping our Navy safe. In this engaging and fun conversation, Shawn and Jan share jabs on "...

Co-hosts Jan Rutherford and Jim Vaselopulos interview Jacqueline Molnar, Senior Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer at Western Union. Jacqueline has 20 years of experience as an attorney and compliance officer, focusing on AML/CFT (Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism), sanctions, anti-bribery/corruption, consumer protection, fraud, and litigation defense. Her discuss...

Co-hosts Jan Rutherford and Jim Vaselopulos interview Dr. Christophe Morin, CEO and Chief Pain Officer at SalesBrain. With over 30 years of experience in marketing and business development, Christophe is passionate about understanding and predicting consumer behavior using neuroscience. He is an expert on the effect of advertising on the brains of adolescents and young adults. Christophe discusses...

Co-hosts Jan Rutherford and Jim Vaselopulos interview Colleen Abdoulah, former Chair and CEO of WOW! Colleen, who was the only female CEO at a top-ten cable operating company, is widely respected for her passionate focus on customer experience and company culture. In this episode, Colleen motivates young professionals to lead passionately with purpose, by first learning the history, then seeking a...

Co-hosts Jan Rutherford and Jim Vaselopulos interview Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Schmitt, as he transitions from special operations leadership to corporate advisor after 30 years of military service. Starting his career as an enlisted soldier at the age of 17, he understands the requirement to recruit great people while investing in their development and taking the time to explain the organiza...

Co-hosts Jan Rutherford and Jim Vaselopulos interview Bruce Temkin, Customer Experience Transformist and Managing Partner of Temkin Group. Bruce is widely viewed as a customer experience visionary, helping large companies define and accelerate their customer experience journeys. He trains leaders the principles of purpose, brand value, employee engagement, and customer connectedness, helping them...

Co-hosts Jan Rutherford and Jim Vaselopulos interview Jason McCarthy, Founder and CEO of GORUCK, a company that makes rucksacks (also known as backpacks), and runs rucking events similar to the Special Forces selection process. Jason reveals why and how he started GORUCK, the obstacles he faced along the way, his mission for GORUCK, and his success in building leaders by overcoming adversity as a...

Co-hosts Jan Rutherford and Jim Vaselopulos interview Scott Page, Chief Executive Officer of Colorado Business Bank and Arizona Business Bank, on his experiences as a CEO, particularly regarding how the CEO position is distinct from all others. Scott covers the importance of preparation through education, accepting mentorship, and developing awareness and presence in the moment. Scott reveals pitf...

We're giving this episode out to the world at large today as an example of future Mastermind episodes. In the future, only those who subscribe to our email list will get access to the mastermind episodes… so please take the time to sign up on our website at – www.theleadershippodcast.com. Our guest, Mike Figliuolo – Managing Director of thoughtLEADERS LLC and Founder at Executive Insight 16 discus...

Co-hosts Jan Rutherford and Jim Vaselopulos, discuss their upcoming expedition – the Crucible in Patagonia, Argentina. They explore the project's conception, purposes, technical and social challenges, and goals. They also describe the participants' unique backgrounds, and how they were selected for being selfless, adventurous, and possessing heroic aspirations to make a difference in the lives of...

Thea Polancic is a passionate advocate for the power of business as a force for good in the world. She is the Founder and Chair of the Chicago Chapter of Conscious Capitalism - a movement dedicated to elevating humanity through business, founded by John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market. The Chicago Chapter is the first in North America, and in less than 18 months it has grown to more than 1,100 m...

Todd is the CEO and Founder of Bunker Labs, a national entrepreneurship organization dedicated to helping military veterans start and grow businesses. Announced in June 2014 at 1871, Chicago's Tech Entrepreneurship Hub, Bunker Labs has grown to locations in several other cities through a chapter affiliate model, with further expansion plans underway. Todd Connor is a former management consultant,...

Christian Anschuetz inspires the unconventional with a unique mix of strategic vision, adventurous spirit, bold action, and keen sense for calculated risk. He fuses these traits with executive business savvy and bleeding-edge technical knowledge to build high-performance organizations and solutions that enable transformative change. Mr. Anschuetz is an entrepreneur, business executive and veteran...

For most people, stepping out of their comfort zone requires more risk than they are willing to take. In Scott Kinder's book, The Hill, he points out that the first step in overcoming fear is to identify it as fear, then accept it for what it is and move past it. Scott is a natural born teacher who is determined to assist civilians and businesses in forming high-performance teams. He translates hi...

As the Executive Director for the non-profit startup, Team Red, White and Blue (RWB), Blayne Smith feels a deep sense of purpose and believes he is making the world a better place. His goal is to bring veterans out of their houses and into communities where their skills and talents can be recognized and utilized. Veterans are uniquely gifted with the extensive experience of being part of a team, w...

Bios While a Board Member of Prime Health and a Senior Advisor to 10.10.10, health-tech entrepreneur Mike Biselli witnessed firsthand the tremendous power that a determined community of clinicians, technologists, and investors could wield, and realized just how much more could be accomplished if that power were harnessed. Over the next few years, Mike began developing the industry integrator conce...

On this 6th episode of the Leadership Podcast, your hosts Jim Vaselopulos and Jan Rutherford will be sharing the how, what and why behind this enterprise. Jim and Jan both ardently believe that a person's family is their most important legacy. These C-Level executives have very different backgrounds but similar aspirations. They joined forces to accomplish their goal of creating a place for young...

Colonel Jill Morgenthaler spoke to her experience trailblazing as one of the first women in the direct military chain of command. She outlined her many firsts, told great stories of the adjustments she had to make and what gave her the strength to persevere. She spoke of courage, what it means to fake it 'till you make it and why you want to "stop the stupid." She spoke how adversity is your oppor...