248 | The Most Powerful Leadership Skill No One’s Talking About with Keri Ford
The Business of You with Rachel Gogos
Release Date: 12/09/2025
The Business of You with Rachel Gogos
Behind every growth problem is a lack of structure. Many businesses scale fast, only to realize they've outgrown their systems, their teams, and sometimes even themselves. The result? Burnout, chaos, and missed opportunities are hiding in plain sight. In this episode of The Business of You, we explore what it really takes to grow a business with intention — learning from someone who survived the burnout and chaos caused by the hidden traps of growth for growth’s sake. This conversation is about leadership that balances people and performance, and why data without heart (or heart without...
info_outlineThe Business of You with Rachel Gogos
What if the thing you’re avoiding is the very thing holding you back? Accountability often gets a bad reputation — as pressure, control, or punishment. But what if accountability is actually the key to freedom, clarity, and sustainable success? In this episode, we explore why so many leaders feel stuck even though they “know what to do,” and how ownership — not excuses — is what creates real momentum. Robert Hunt is the founder of REF Dallas, a CEO peer group and leadership platform he’s grown since 2013. Known as “The Accountability Guy,” Robert helps leaders reclaim...
info_outlineThe Business of You with Rachel Gogos
What if the most important people in a company are the ones no one talks about? They’re the builders behind the scenes. The operators who organize chaos, fix what’s broken, and quietly turn vision into reality. Scaling isn’t glamorous — but it’s essential. In this episode, we explore what it really takes to grow companies fast and smart, and how AI is accelerating the shift toward adaptable, cross-functional leadership. Casey Woo is a public market investor turned high-growth technology COO and CFO with more than two decades of experience helping companies scale. He’s served as a...
info_outlineThe Business of You with Rachel Gogos
If you’ve ever dreamed of launching a physical product—turning an idea into something tangible—you’ve probably noticed how overwhelming the process can feel. Manufacturing, sourcing, quality control, logistics, global suppliers…every step has layers most founders never see until they’re already in trouble. In a world where disruptions happen daily and the global economy shifts without warning, the founders who succeed aren’t just innovative—they’re prepared. Today’s guest, Kerim Kfuri, brings more than two decades of global supply chain expertise spanning technology,...
info_outlineThe Business of You with Rachel Gogos
If you’ve ever looked at Amazon and wondered how some brands scale effortlessly while others disappear into a sea of competitors, you’re not alone. Amazon can feel like an unpredictable giant—full of opportunity, but also packed with complexity. And as more entrepreneurs jump in, the brands that win aren’t the ones chasing trends…they’re the ones building with intention. Today’s guest, Pasha Knish, has lived through every era of Amazon—from the Wild West days of early e-commerce to today’s data-driven, hyper-competitive marketplace. With more than 13 years of hands-on selling...
info_outlineThe Business of You with Rachel Gogos
Have you ever wondered why some brands seem to crack the code with paid ads while others burn through budget with nothing to show for it? If you’ve ever dabbled in Google Ads—or avoided them out of fear of expensive mistakes—this conversation will open your eyes to what’s possible when strategy and execution align. John Horn, CEO of StubGroup, has helped hundreds of companies transform underperforming campaigns into profitable acquisition machines. His team is ranked in the top 1% of Google Partners worldwide for performance and customer care—and their reputation is...
info_outlineThe Business of You with Rachel Gogos
You know that moment when someone sees something in you long before you’re ready to claim it? For many leaders, that moment becomes the spark that changes everything. For Vicky Brown, it was the gentle (yet persistent) nudge that pushed her from devoted “number two” to founder of a thriving HR firm that’s been supporting high-performance companies for more than two decades. Too often, business owners think of HR as paperwork, policies, or “the stuff you deal with when something goes wrong.” But Vicky’s story—and her expertise—reveal a very different truth: HR is leadership....
info_outlineThe Business of You with Rachel Gogos
When success starts to feel like stress, what if your body could tell you why? For high-achievers, it’s easy to push harder, hustle faster, and ignore the quiet signals of exhaustion. But for Keri Ford, those signals became her greatest teachers. A former Creative Director turned award-winning CEO, Keri discovered that the real key to high performance isn’t found in strategy or mindset — it’s found in the nervous system. Through her groundbreaking Somatic Success® method, Keri has helped elite women — from celebrity clients like Alison Sweeney and Kaley Cuoco to powerhouse founders...
info_outlineThe Business of You with Rachel Gogos
What if the fastest way to grow your business isn’t marketing harder, but speaking smarter? In this episode, Dr. Danny Brassell shares how to make storytelling and public speaking your most powerful tools for attracting clients, building authority, and confidently closing deals. Known as the “Jim Carrey with a Ph.D.,” Danny has spoken to over 3,500 audiences worldwide and co-founded The WellCrafted Story Workshop™, where he teaches entrepreneurs how to transform their stories into client-generating presentations. The Power Of Clarity And Connection If you’ve ever struggled to...
info_outlineThe Business of You with Rachel Gogos
What happens when business growth outpaces the guardrails that keep it sustainable? This week, I sit down with Bennett Maxwell, serial entrepreneur, investor, and founder of Franchise KI—best known for scaling Dirty Dough Cookies from one store to over 450 franchises sold in just two years. After experiencing both the highs and the chaos of hypergrowth, Bennett now helps entrepreneurs build wealth through franchising the right way: with systems, structure, and staying power. How To Grow Fast Without Burning Out Bennett reveals the critical mistakes founders make when scaling too...
info_outlineWhen success starts to feel like stress, what if your body could tell you why?
For high-achievers, it’s easy to push harder, hustle faster, and ignore the quiet signals of exhaustion. But for Keri Ford, those signals became her greatest teachers.
A former Creative Director turned award-winning CEO, Keri discovered that the real key to high performance isn’t found in strategy or mindset — it’s found in the nervous system.
Through her groundbreaking Somatic Success® method, Keri has helped elite women — from celebrity clients like Alison Sweeney and Kaley Cuoco to powerhouse founders — transform how they lead by transforming how they feel.
In this episode, Keri unpacks the most overlooked leadership skill of all: emotional regulation. You’ll learn how to listen to your body before burnout hits, rewire success from the inside out, and expand your capacity for peace, profit, and purpose.
How the Body Leads Before the Mind
Keri’s journey began with a deeply personal revelation — supporting her son through sensory processing challenges introduced her to the world of nervous system regulation.
That experience sparked her passion for understanding how our bodies seek safety and how dysregulation affects everything from relationships to revenue.
Through Somatic Success®, Keri teaches leaders to work bottom-up — training the body to communicate safety, trust, and resilience. She explains how physical sensations like tightness, heat, or tension can reveal misalignment long before the mind catches up. Learning to attune to these cues allows us to make better decisions, prevent burnout, and sustain long-term success.
Her approach transforms “high performance” from a mindset into a state of being — one that balances peace and productivity instead of trading one for the other.
Embodiment, Faith, and the Future of Leadership
As Keri tells Rachel, elite people don’t struggle because they lack skill — they struggle because their nervous systems can’t keep up with their ambition. The higher they rise, the more pressure and isolation they face. Through her boutique coaching company, retreats, and signature program, The Champagne Club, Keri helps women expand their capacity for leadership without losing their humanity.
She also shares how faith plays a quiet but grounding role in her work. Whether helping clients manage big business decisions or simply breathe through uncertainty, Keri’s focus is the same: creating safety from within.
By teaching embodied leadership, she’s rewriting what success looks and feels like — showing that true power comes not from pushing, but from presence.
Enjoy this episode with Keri Ford…
Soundbytes
11:26 – 11:58 “It’s automatic because we have an autonomic nervous system where the body goes into a self-protective response automatically… apply that to things like intimacy, really amazing money, higher levels of visibility — things that can seem quite dangerous if we haven’t been there in our growth journey as a leader. It can feel like there’s a fire.
19:54 – 20:07 “When success amplifies, everything amplifies with it, including not-so-great things. But the ability, despite that, to be calm, curious, and alert — that’s how you know you can metabolize stress really well.”
Quotes
“Your nervous system becomes the nervous system that your clients attune to. You have to embody it before you can create real change.”
“The higher you go, the more you feel misunderstood — but having a support system makes all the difference.”
“If your body isn’t prepared to hold that level of success, the pressure becomes too much.”
“We want to expand the window of tolerance — to grow your capacity for what feels safe to be with.”
Links mentioned in this episode:
From Our Guest
Website: https://elevatewithkeri.com
Connect with Keri Ford on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/kerifordofficial
Connect on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamkeriford/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kerilynn.ford
Connect with brandiD
Find out how top leaders are increasing their authority, impact, and income online. Listen to our private podcast, The Professional Presence Podcast: https://thebrandid.com/professional-presence-podcast
Ready to elevate your digital presence with a powerful brand or website? Contact us here: https://thebrandid.com/contact-form/