Accidental Thought Leadership: When a Minor Point Becomes a Major Movement | Ellen Joan Ford | 641
Release Date: 04/27/2025
The Stakeholder Alignment Advantage | Frankie Russo | 686
Leveraging Thought Leadership
What if the real growth problem isn’t strategy… but misalignment? In this episode, , the Founder of and bestselling author of "", breaks down what it takes to create growth that compounds—without relying on charisma, hustle, or a one-time “big moment” on stage. Frankie makes a clean distinction: a book is a platform, not the mission. Thought leadership is the movement behind the platforms—and the work is designing ideas that change behavior and drive measurable outcomes. A core idea he returns to is stakeholder-first growth. Customers, colleagues, and community aren’t...
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The Performance Paradox: Why High Achievers Stop Growing | Eduardo Briceño | 685
Leveraging Thought Leadership
Are your top performers actually holding back your organization’s growth? Today on Leveraging Thought Leadership, Peter Winick talks with , global keynote speaker, CEO of , and author of "". Eduardo is one of the leading voices on growth mindset in organizations, building on 16+ years of work with as co-founder of Mindset Works and two TEDx talks that have each passed 4 million views. Together, they unpack how leaders and companies can move beyond one-off inspiration and build true learning cultures that deliver sustained performance. Eduardo explains his core framework: the Learning Zone...
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The Apple Effect: Turning Hard Lessons Into Scalable Systems | Apple Levy | 684
Leveraging Thought Leadership
What if every hard-earned lesson in your business came with a simple mandate: how dare you do nothing with what’s been given to you? In this episode, Bill Sherman talks with serial entrepreneur and systems strategist , author of "". Apple has spent decades in construction, manufacturing, home flipping, and retail. She combines operational grit with financial discipline to help entrepreneurs stop firefighting and start scaling with intention. Her core belief is simple and provocative: if you know something that works, you have a duty to share it. Apple walks through how she turned years of...
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Mindsets, Not Maps: Rethinking Corporate Innovation | Richard Braden | 683
Leveraging Thought Leadership
What if innovation wasn’t reserved for a handful of “geniuses” in hoodies and turtlenecks? What if every person in your organization could solve real problems in bold new ways? Today's episode of Leveraging Thought Leadership, I’m joined by to explore how to democratize innovation inside the enterprise. We dig into his practical framework from "" which was co-authored with to challenge the myth of the lone genius. Innovation stops being a mysterious black box and becomes a repeatable, teachable capability across the business. Rich explains why most organizations over-invest in...
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Designing the Long Tail of Thought Leadership | Tom Ziglar | 682
Leveraging Thought Leadership
What if your thought leadership wasn’t just inspiring for 40 minutes on stage, but life-changing for years after the keynote? In this episode, Peter Winick talks with , CEO of , about how he’s evolving his father legacy into a modern, scalable thought leadership business. They dig into how to turn big ideas into programs, tools, and revenue streams that deliver real behavior change for clients, not just applause. Tom shares how Ziglar built an AI “digital brain” for Zig Ziglar by feeding in manuscripts and 50+ hours of audio. The result is Zig AI – a focused tool that gives only...
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AI, Executive Coaching, and the Future of Thought Leadership | Alisa Cohn | 681
Leveraging Thought Leadership
What if your most valuable business asset isn’t your product, but the way you think? In this episode of Leveraging Thought Leadership, Peter Winick sits down with —one of the world’s top startup coaches, and award winner, author of "", and host of a by the same name. Together, they unpack what it really takes to turn expertise into a scalable thought leadership platform that attracts premium clients. Alisa breaks down what great coaching actually is at the top of the house. Not therapy. Not box-checking. It’s the disciplined work of helping senior leaders see where they are, where...
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Why Pressure—not Power—Breaks Leaders: | Sabina Nawaz | 680
Leveraging Thought Leadership
What happens when pressure—not power—shapes the way leaders show up? That’s the question at the heart of this conversation with executive advisor, keynote speaker, and bestselling author . Sabina’s thought leadership centers on a bold idea: pressure can squeeze the humanity out of even the best leaders. And in today’s high-velocity business environment, every manager—from first-line supervisors to CEOs—is at risk. Her work helps leaders reclaim that humanity, especially when the stakes are highest. In this episode, Sabina shares the research behind her book " " , built on 12,000...
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The Playbook for Scaling Thought Leadership | Daniel Harkavy | 679
Leveraging Thought Leadership
What does it take to transform leadership into a calling — and build a business that transforms others? Today, Peter Winick sits down with , founder and CEO of , a pioneer in executive coaching and leadership development. Daniel shares how he turned the lessons from his early career in mortgage banking into a structured, scalable system for growing leaders — and why his success is rooted in helping others unlock their potential. Daniel’s approach to thought leadership isn’t about pedigree or credentials — it’s about proof. He took what worked in one high-performance environment...
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How Rituals (Not Routines) Transform Leadership and Life | Erin Coupe | 678
Leveraging Thought Leadership
What if you could stop running on empty—and still perform at your best? That’s the question , author of "" (and host of a by the same name), invites leaders to ask. She challenges the old “time management” mindset that rewards burnout and box-checking, replacing it with a human-centered strategy of presence, choice, and renewal. Her message? Productivity doesn’t come from cramming more into your day—it comes from creating rituals that restore you. Erin works with executives and teams to help them shift from survival mode to sustainable performance. Through keynotes, workshops,...
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The Power of the Pause: Why Slowing Down Fuels Stronger Leadership | Melissa Gonzalez | 677
Leveraging Thought Leadership
What happens when life forces you to stop—and that pause changes everything? , Principal at and author of "", knows firsthand. A medical crisis made her rethink what success truly means. Once a Wall Street professional turned retail design expert and author of "", Melissa built a thriving business helping brands tell their stories through physical spaces. But when her own defining moment arrived, she found a new story to tell—one about purpose, well-being, and the strength found in vulnerability. In this episode of Leveraging Thought Leadership, Melissa joins Bill Sherman to explore how...
info_outlineWhat happens when leadership, military service, and motherhood collide with a mission for change?
Dr. Ellen Joan Ford didn’t set out to become a thought leader—she became one by accident, driven by action. A former army officer, academic, and founder of Belonging, Autonomy and Purpose Leadership, Ellen first spoke about the challenges of working parents as a small part of a leadership talk. But that minor moment struck a nerve—and sparked a tidal wave. Strangers reached out. Stories poured in. And suddenly, Ellen was leading a movement.
That movement became #WorkSchoolHours, a principles-based approach to workplace redesign. Through a TEDx talk, a book, and ongoing advocacy, Ellen challenges leaders to reconsider the structure of work—not just for productivity, but for humanity. Her research began informally, collecting real stories from overwhelmed parents, but it soon evolved into a mission grounded in compassion and backed by data.
Ellen’s leadership philosophy is shaped by three defining moments: serving in the military, becoming a parent, and helping evacuate Afghans to safety. Each began with getting "pissed off" enough to act—and that same passion drives her thought leadership today. But she’s not just collecting stories anymore. She’s implementing solutions.
In this episode, we explore how passion becomes platform, how impact is scaled through persistence, and how thought leadership can evolve from lived experience. If you’ve ever wondered how to turn a personal challenge into systemic change, this conversation will show you what’s possible.
Three Key Takeaways:
• Big impact often starts small. Ellen didn’t set out to lead a movement—she simply mentioned the challenges of working parents in a leadership talk. That small moment resonated deeply, leading to thousands of unsolicited stories and the creation of the #WorkSchoolHours platform.
• Thought leadership is fueled by personal experience and action. Ellen’s credibility and influence stem from her lived experiences: leading in the military, becoming a parent, and coordinating a massive humanitarian effort. Her thought leadership emerged not from theory alone, but from taking action when she saw problems that needed solving.
• Change begins when someone gets “pissed off enough to act.” Whether improving military leadership, reshaping workplace norms, or saving lives, Ellen demonstrates that passion, combined with persistence and a clear purpose, can spark real-world impact—even on systems as entrenched as the modern workplace.
If this conversation sparked your interest in how empathy and personal experience can fuel workplace transformation, don’t miss our earlier episode with Scott Shute, former Head of Mindfulness and Compassion Programs at LinkedIn. Like Ellen Joan Ford, Scott turned personal conviction into a platform for change—advocating for compassion as a strategic business imperative. Together, these episodes offer a powerful look at how thought leadership can humanize work and reshape what leadership looks like in today’s world.