THRIVE: Turning Uncertainty into Competitive Advantage

With Special Guest: Anne Bonney, Change Management Authority, International Keynote Speaker, and Author of Get Over It! and Get Them Over It! Most people spend their whole career running from discomfort. Anne Bonney built hers by running straight at it. In this episode, Meridith sits down with change management authority Anne Bonney, who traces her path from a childhood spent moving across four co...

Using Humor to Find the Success in Uncertainty With Special Guest: Joel Zeff, Work Culture Expert, Keynote Speaker & Author Uncertainty is serious business. But the leaders who navigate it best may have one thing in common: they never stopped having fun. In this episode, Meridith sits down with Joel Zeff — work culture expert, improv performer, and author of Make the Right Choice — to make the cas...

The Power of Abundance With Special Guest: Dr. Mitchell Levy, Global Credibility Expert & Executive Coach When uncertainty hits, most leaders default to scarcity. They protect, they contract, they play defense. What if the leaders who win are the ones who choose something different? In this episode, Meridith sits down with Dr. Mitchell Levy — global credibility expert, executive coach, and member...

Being Ridiculously Easy to Do Business With With Special Guest: David Avrin, Customer Experience Expert & Bestselling Author Your product is good. Your team is good. Your pricing is competitive. So why are customers still leaving? In this episode, Meridith sits down with internationally in-demand keynote speaker and customer experience strategist David Avrin to tackle the question most businesses...

With Special Guest: Brandon Hance, Serial Entrepreneur, Investor, and High-Performance Coach What separates leaders who perform at the highest level under pressure from those who crack when it counts? According to serial entrepreneur and high-performance coach Brandon Hance, it's not talent. It's not even strategy. It's identity - and most leaders have never taken the time to define theirs. In thi...

With Special Guest: Mark Hunter, "The Sales Hunter" and Author of Integrity Selling In a marketplace flooded with noise, shortcuts, and quarterly pressure, integrity has become one of the rarest competitive advantages in sales. And according to Mark Hunter, that's exactly why it's the most powerful one. In this candid and compelling episode of Ask for Change, Meridith sits down with her Sales Logi...

With Special Guest: Dr. Mary Kelly, Co-Author of Leadership is Tough (with Peter Stark) Leadership looks easy when the market is good. It's when conditions get hard that you find out who's actually running a great organization - and who's just been riding a favorable tide. In this high-energy episode of Ask for Change, Meridith welcomes back one of the show's most popular guests, Dr. Mary Kelly, t...

With Special Guest: Steve Bonar, EVP, Conklin Company Most leaders coast once they earn the title. The ones who build lasting teams — and lasting results — never do. In this episode, Meridith sits down with Steve Bonar, Executive Vice President of the Conklin Company, to talk about what it actually takes to lead, sell, and grow when the pace of change is relentless and uncertainty is the only cons...

With Special Guest: Jeannie Walters, Founder of Experience Investigators Your competitors are not just disrupting your market. They are stealing your customers, one bad experience at a time. In this episode, Meridith sits down with customer experience pioneer Jeannie Walters to break down why most organizations treat CX like fairy dust — and why that is costing them revenue they cannot see leaving...

With Special Guest: Jim Alling, Former President of Starbucks U.S. and COO of T-Mobile What does it actually look like to lead through uncertainty at the highest levels of corporate America - and never lose yourself in the process? In this rare and candid episode of Ask for Change, Meridith sits down with Jim Alling, a C-suite veteran whose career spans Nestle, Starbucks, T-Mobile, and Tom's Shoes...

With Special Guest: Michael Neece, President of Our Future Is Kind and Co-Founder of the Human Summit In a marketplace driven by quarterly results, relentless urgency, and constant disruption, kindness rarely makes the shortlist of competitive strategies. But what if it should? In this episode of Ask for Change, Meridith sits down with international bestselling author and kindness researcher Micha...

With Special Guest: Ken Hartley, Certified Speaking Professional and Author of Calling the Presidents History doesn't repeat itself - but it does offer a playbook. In this episode of Ask for Change, Meridith welcomes speaker and author Ken Hartley, whose new book Calling the Presidents goes where most business books don't: straight into the leadership crucibles of every U.S. president to extract t...

With Special Guest: Justin Jones-Fosu, Speaker, Author, and Founder of the Work Meaningful Foundation Most leaders are chasing meaningful work. Justin Jones-Fosu argues they've got it backwards - meaningful work isn't something you find, it's something you create. In this deeply personal and strategically powerful episode of Ask for Change, Meridith sits down with speaker, author, and accidental f...

With Special Guest: Elke Rubach Episode Description Uncertainty has a way of paralyzing financial decisions, and doing nothing is often the most expensive choice. In this episode, Meridith Elliott Powell is joined by wealth strategist Elke Rubach to discuss how individuals and families can regain control of their financial future, even in volatile times. Elke shares why clarity, ownership, and pla...

With Special Guest: Dr. Mary Kelly Technology is advancing faster than most organizations are prepared for, and it is creating a dangerous and often invisible risk. In this episode, Meridith Elliott Powell sits down with economist and leadership expert Dr. Mary Kelly to uncover the growing information and knowledge gap inside today's workforce. As companies rush to cut costs and adopt AI, they are...

Special Guest: Anna Liotta Episode Description Stress is no longer occasional. It is constant. And if leaders are honest, many are running on empty while trying to inspire confidence in everyone else. In this powerful episode, Meridith Elliott Powell sits down with Hall of Fame speaker and generational expert Anna Liotta to unpack what is really happening inside our bodies when uncertainty acceler...

With Special Guest: Colleen Stanley Episode Description In a marketplace defined by disruption and disengagement, mentorship is no longer optional. It is a strategic advantage. In this episode, Meridith Elliott Powell welcomes emotional intelligence expert and bestselling author Colleen Stanley to explore why mentorship is one of the most underutilized leadership tools today. Together, they challe...

With Special Guest: Jake Stahl Episode Description Influence is not about persuasion tactics. It is about understanding how people actually make decisions. In this episode, Meridith Elliott Powell is joined by sales neurostrategist Jake Stahl to unpack the psychology behind influence, communication, and behavior change. Jake explains why most people speak to the wrong version of their audience and...

With Special Guest: Amy Lessinger Staying stuck is a decision, even when it does not feel like one. In this episode, Meridith Elliott Powell sits down with former RE/MAX President Amy Lessinger to discuss what it truly takes to create transformation in your career, leadership, and life. Amy introduces the concept of the irreversible step, the moment where you stop hedging, stop waiting for certain...

With Special Guest: Dr. Cindy McGovern Too many leaders know what they want to say but never give themselves permission to say it. In this episode, Meridith Elliott Powell is joined by Dr. Cindy McGovern, known as the First Lady of Sales, to explore why so many capable, accomplished professionals struggle to trust their own voice. Dr. McGovern introduces the idea of internal permission and explain...

With Special Guest: Brynne Tillman LinkedIn is no longer optional, but most professionals are still using it the wrong way. In this episode, Meridith Elliott Powell welcomes LinkedIn strategist Brynne Tillman to break down how to build real relationships, credibility, and opportunity on the platform without gimmicks or automation. Brynne explains why connect and pitch is killing trust, how to leve...

Welcome to another episode of Thrive, the show that helps you turn today's uncertainty into your greatest competitive advantage. This week, host Meredith Elliott Powell sits down with Verl Workman, a serial entrepreneur, renowned real estate coach, and the author of Raving Referrals . Verl brings his incredible personal story of rising from poverty to industry leadership, sharing how resilience, r...

Welcome to another episode of Thrive, the podcast that helps you turn uncertainty into your greatest competitive advantage. I'm your host, Meredith Elliott Powell, and today we're diving into the rewarding and sometimes misunderstood world of franchising. Whether you're exploring business ownership, looking to scale your operations, or just curious about what it takes to make it in the franchise w...

Welcome to Thrive, the podcast where we turn uncertainty into your greatest competitive advantage. In this episode, host Meridith Elliott Powell sits down with Scott Leese, founder of Leese Consulting, whose incredible story of overcoming severe illness and launching a successful sales career is both inspiring and full of actionable lessons. Scott opens up about facing life-threatening health chal...

Welcome to Thrive! I'm your host, Meredith Elliott Powell, and today we're taking on a topic that every leader faces but most want to avoid: workplace conflict. I'm thrilled to welcome my guests, Karin Hurt and David Dye, the dynamic duo behind Let's Grow Leaders and the authors of "Powerful Phrases for Dealing with Workplace Conflict." Karin and David are here to share research-backed insights on...