Lead Out Loud Podcast

If you're looking for valuable insights on how to navigate the complex world of graduate degrees and fast tracking your career, this is a must-listen episode. Tune in for answers to questions such as: Should I go to graduate school? Should I get an MBA? Should I join my company’s leadership development program? How do I get on the fast track to being a manager?

It’s not often Sean maintains a friendship with someone who doesn’t think Christmas Vacation is the Christmas movie GOAT, but he’s made an exception with Mariam Laes. With a degree in industrial engineering from Clemson University, Mariam has made the rounds in her career so far, from an executive assistant who forgot to book a car for her boss on a business trip to an associate business unit mana...

In part four of our conversation with author Matt McWilliams he coins a new term while describing the value of mastermind groups. He shares valuable insights about how much time you should spend marketing content compared to creating it. We also find out how this guru of marketing went from studying ornamental horticulture in college to writing a book about turning your passions into profits. And...

In business, the only scorecard is making money. So how do you marry passion with making money? Start slow, build a following, and listen to this episode with author Matt McWilliams. The world needs your message, but it’s not going to wait for it.

This episode is filled with some of the worst assumptions people make about leadership and making an impact. Our guest, Matt McWilliams, explains what to ignore, how to lead better, and a simple test anyone can use to validate their assumptions about pretty much anything. It’s just a taste of what can be found in his newly released book, “Turn Your Passions Into Profits.” 

Affiliate marketing is a superpower, and Matt McWilliams claims to be the best in the world at teaching people how to do it profitably. That’s why people call him “The Affiliate Guy.” But whether it’s affiliate marketing or building a rewarding business, helping entrepreneurs is Matt’s passion. His new book, Turn Your Passions Into Profits, teaches you how to do just that from a guy who loves entr...

I’ll let you in on a secret:  If you’re thinking of sending your kids to a four year university, you are wasting your money. Get a thoughtful analysis of how to maximize the value of higher education from the perspective of three engineers who have eight degrees and 11 kids.

How do you solve the problem of middle management? That’s where episode 21 left off. Nate Barber, owner of Opgrade near San Antonio, provides the answer. Learn how he uses the “rule of five” to help navigate the naysayers.

When working with a consulting client, these are words you probably don’t want to hear from the CEO: “wow, this was a waste of time.” It has unfortunately happened to our guest, Nate Barber, and it’s probably happened to many of you–even if you were just a change agent inside a company trying to deliver results to your manager. Nate describes what happened and how to prevent it. Also, if you don’t...

With the holiday season upon us, we’re officially ending our first season of the Distracted Driving Podcast. Thank you for watching and listening, we’re excited to bring you more enticing conversations in the new year!

In the fourth and final episode of the conversation with Kevin Meredith, Rex and Sean do some professional blabberating, covering topics from school safety, experiential learning, and opportunity cost. Also, here’s some proof that Kevin did speak to Sean’s class and he did meet up with Rex. Find out more about Kevin’s company at 4thsi.com .

Is there any completely original content anymore? Probably not. But that’s a good thing, because when it comes to innovation, new is not enough. Outside of Glacier National Park and in the midst of a year-long road trip around the United States, Kevin Meredith discusses the need to mature our thinking about innovation and entrepreneurship and steps through his model for incubating innovation. Star...

Not every bit of creativity is going to have value, but creativity is the cost of entry for innovation. When creativity meets a stakeholder, you get innovation, but it may not be a commercial venture. How do you take something that’s innovative and make it profitable? That’s what Kevin Meredith helps people do, and that’s the topic of conversation for this episode of Distracted Driving.

If you like innovation and entrepreneurship, you’ll like this episode of Distracted Driving. Kevin Meredith , founder of 4th Sector Innovations , joins the podcast via Starlink from Glacier National Park in the midst of an epic family road trip. The episode is full of great new vocabulary words and an explanation of how Kevin’s company operates in the 4th sector of the economy. Just in case you do...

Brett Hoffstadt is building a vision for life on the moon. He’s sharing that vision with kids around the world via his book, Goodnight Moon Base. As an added bonus, this episode starts with a review of Goodnight Moon Base by Sean’s daughter, Alyssa. Spoiler: she does not want to live on a Moon base. She’s become accustomed to gravity.

We live in an age of abundance. It is an age where you can chart your own path and you don’t need someone’s permission to do it. Brett Hoffstadt reflects on these lessons and more; lessons learned thus far as an engineer, entrepreneur, musician, and author. Inspired by Seth Godin and a successful corporate career interrupted by layoffs, Brett overcame his fear of creativity and embodies the idea t...

Sean completes his conversation with industrial engineering classmates Amanda, Rick, and Eric. The quartet of friends discuss what to look for in a work environment, the importance of work-life balance, and how long to continue the conversation. Speaking of quartets, Eric was in one, and he shares the similarities of singing in a barbershop quartet and working as an engineer.

Part two of the first happy hour edition of the show features four fun, cool cats continuing a discussion of their respective career paths as engineers. If you have ever taken a breath of clean air inside a hospital, walked past an AED in an office building, or driven a car with a blind spot monitor, then their work has impacted your life. Like their careers, the episode starts off slow, but build...

If you are a recent engineering graduate, this is the episode for you. While Rex is on vacation, Sean is joined by three friends–all Cal Poly industrial engineering alumni. On the heels of a recent meetup, and against a backdrop of some college stories and a few cocktails, the group discusses career paths, networking, and the importance of building relationships. It’s the first happy hour edition...

What did you do during the summer when you were eight years old? Jackson Brooks created his own 3D Printing World on YouTube. He has more subscribers than we do. In the third and final installment of our conversation with Brian Brooks, he shares the benefits of a 4/10 work schedule (every Friday off) and how he managed to pry his son away from Roblox. Rex is so gobsmacked by the conversation he fo...

We’d like to welcome you to episode 8–and in fact, we’re going to. Brian Brooks is back to discuss culture, making people feel good, and happiness. He also suggests a few words you should consider eliminating from your vocabulary. Spoiler alert: one of them may be in the title of this show. It’s too late for us, we already bought the domain name. But you should tune in to find out how culture is r...

Are you familiar with the latin phrase Nos Tatus Quo? You will be after listening to this episode. You’ll also be familiar with Brian Brooks , a guy who likes to learn things. He’s not a reader–reading puts him to sleep–but he loves audio books. More than that, he loves to apply the things he learns from those audio books in his daily life as a senior manager in a Fortune 100 company. For example,...

Will it be hot today? It’s a simple question that seems to solicit one of two answers–yes or no. But in real life, it may not be that simple–especially if the question is asked of a technical person. The answer may contain long, wandering stories of interconnected ideas instead of an explicit yes or no answer. There is always a question behind the question. What is the definition of hot? What part...

A high school dropout with one year of college created a niche for himself in one of the largest aerospace companies in the world. His name is Michael Erickson and he is a self-proclaimed “envisioneer.” In this episode, he’ll explain why that’s not the same thing as being a Disney “Imagineer.” He’ll also tell some stories about the B-52, Leonardo DaVinci, and the power of a clipboard and a pen. Ov...