The Power of Women’s Stories in Tech | Miri Rodriguez | 675
Release Date: 10/30/2025
From High-Stakes Flying to High-Impact Leadership | Merryl Tengesdal | 704
Leveraging Thought Leadership
What does it take to lead when the plan breaks, the pressure spikes, and failure is part of the mission? In this episode of Leveraging Thought Leadership, Peter Winick talks with Colonel (Ret.) , author of " about the ideas that drive her work today: adaptability, resilience, authentic leadership, and the courage to keep moving when the outcome is uncertain. Her message is clear. Success is never a straight line. The leaders who thrive are the ones who learn to adjust in real time. Merryl brings a powerful framework to the conversation. She treats leadership like flying. You prepare well....
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How To Turn Books into Thought Leadership Assets | Kevin Anderson | 703
Leveraging Thought Leadership
What does it really take to turn a book into a business asset instead of a vanity project? In this episode of Leveraging Thought Leadership, Peter Winick sits down with , CEO of to unpack what authors get wrong about publishing, platform, and the real role a book plays in growing authority. Kevin makes the case that a strong book is not just about writing well. It is about aligning the message, the market, and the outcome from the very beginning. Kevin brings a practical lens to the publishing world. He explains why authors should bring in expert guidance earlier, not later. He breaks down...
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Are You Solving the Right Problem? | 702 | Thomas Wedell-Wedellsborg
Leveraging Thought Leadership
What makes thought leadership actually travel? Not a bigger platform. Not louder marketing. A sharper idea that solves a real problem. In this episode, Peter talks with , coauthor of and author of Thomas’s work sits at the intersection of innovation, problem framing, and practical execution inside real organizations. The conversation focuses on a core truth behind strong thought leadership: the best ideas win because they are useful. Thomas explains that both of his books grew from underserved problems in the market. Innovation as Usual challenged the idea that innovation belongs only to...
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How Top Sales Performers Think | 701 | Bob Kocis
Leveraging Thought Leadership
What separates average sellers from elite performers? In this episode, Peter Winick sits down with , author of , to unpack the ideas, behaviors, and disciplines that turn sales expertise into real thought leadership. Drawing from interviews with top performers who have earned more than 150 Presidents Club wins combined, Bob shares a sharper view of what high performance actually looks like. This conversation goes beyond sales war stories. Bob’s work is focused on codifying what the best sellers do differently and translating those lessons into practical guidance for the next generation. He...
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Well, This Is Awkward: We Wrote a Book | 700 | Bill Sherman & Naren Aryal
Leveraging Thought Leadership
What does it really take to turn expertise into influence that lasts? In this special episode of Leveraging Thought Leadership, host Peter Winick is joined by and to announce their book, The Thought Leadership Handbook published by . This is not a conversation about writing a book for the sake of writing a book. It is a conversation about building a body of work that creates value, sharpens thinking, and expands impact. Drawing on hundreds of podcast conversations, client engagements, and years inside the thought leadership space, Peter, Bill, and Naren explore the...
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Rethinking Executive Coaching for Modern Leaders | 699 | Kendra Dahlstrom
Leveraging Thought Leadership
What if the leadership issue in front of you is not strategy, but an old wound you have never fully resolved? In this episode, Bill Sherman talks with an executive coach and host of "" podcast about the deeply personal path that led her into thought leadership, and why she believes the future of leadership development must go far beyond traditional coaching. Kendra shares how her own experience as a coaching client changed the way she worked, lived, and led. What started as personal growth became something bigger. Senior leaders began turning to her for guidance in high-pressure...
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Stop Closing Deals. Start Winning Consumption. | 698 | Art Fromm
Leveraging Thought Leadership
What happens when the real “close” isn’t the signature—but the customer’s commitment to consume? In this episode, Peter Winick talks with , a keynote speaker and sales enablement leader focused on what many B2B organizations still miss: the costly gap between pre-sales and sales. Art’s thought leadership centers on building seamless partnership, not a messy handoff, so clients win sooner and revenue sticks longer. Art makes the shift unmistakable. The market moved from one-time enterprise transactions to SaaS, recurring revenue, adoption, retention, and usage-based economics....
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Leading From the Heart in a High-Speed Culture | 697 | Claude Silver
Leveraging Thought Leadership
What would change in your culture—and your revenue—if people didn’t have to put on “work armor” just to show up? In this LinkedIn Live edition of Leveraging Thought Leadership, Peter Winick sits down with , the world’s first Chief Heart Officer at , to unpack the contents of her new book “” and what it looks like when the pace is fast, the stakes are high, and the workplace is more human than ever. Claude’s thought leadership is practical, not performative. She isn’t selling “soft.” She’s building the conditions for performance: psychological safety, real...
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Deinstitutionalizing Your Expertise | 696 | David Lancefield
Leveraging Thought Leadership
What happens when you walk away from the big logo—and discover that your thought leadership gets sharper, not smaller? In this episode, Peter Winick sits down with , host of podcast, a strategy coach to CEOs, C-suite leaders, and founders who has advised more than 50 CEOs and hundreds of executives over three decades. David writes on strategy, leadership, and culture for outlets like Harvard Business Review and MIT Sloan, and he’s deeply focused on what strategy looks like in practice, not just on slides. David breaks down what thought leadership actually does when it’s done...
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Story Precision: The New PR Advantage | 695 | KJ Blattenbauer
Leveraging Thought Leadership
What if “getting PR” isn’t about hype at all—but about engineering trust at scale? In this episode, Peter Winick sits down with , founder of and author of , who helps founders, creatives, and experts turn clear storytelling and smart media strategy into real authority—without the fluff. She breaks down what PR actually does: find the story behind your expertise, explain why it matters now, and package it for real-world attention spans. KJ makes the case that your work doesn’t “speak for itself” anymore. Not in a market where everyone is being commoditized...
info_outlineWhat happens when a storyteller from Microsoft turns her lens on the women shaping technology’s past, present, and future?
Today on Leveraging Thought Leadership, Peter Winick sits down with Miri Rodriguez, CEO of Empressa AI, best-selling author, storyteller at Microsoft, and co-author of "The Women of Microsoft" (Wiley). Miri reveals how a simple Teams message from a colleague in Poland sparked a global collaboration — uniting 50 women from across cultures, career levels, and disciplines to tell their stories of innovation, resilience, and purpose.
Miri’s thought leadership centers on mission-driven storytelling — using narrative as a strategic tool for inclusion and brand love. She shares how metrics like “brand love” go beyond data to measure emotional impact, connection, and loyalty. Her goal isn’t just to celebrate women at Microsoft, but to ensure their contributions are recorded in the technological history being written right now.
She challenges leaders to think beyond traditional boundaries of thought leadership inside corporations. For Miri, there’s no dividing line between personal purpose and professional platform — every story she tells aligns with her mission to empower women’s voices. Her journey demonstrates how clarity of purpose can attract the right opportunities and how a clear mission can transform your work into a force multiplier.
This conversation is a masterclass in how to use storytelling as strategy — to inspire action, build communities, and leave a lasting mark on the narrative of innovation.
Three Key Takeaways:
• Mission-driven storytelling creates lasting impact — when your message aligns with a clear purpose, it naturally attracts opportunities and amplifies your influence.
• Emotional connection is a powerful metric — concepts like “brand love” show that loyalty and inspiration can be measured through human connection, not just numbers.
• Authentic voices shape the future — sharing real stories, especially from underrepresented groups, ensures that innovation and progress include every perspective.
If you were struck by the power of storytelling, emotional connection, and mission-driven leadership in this episode, the conversation with Jenna Fisher will take you deeper into those same themes in a corporate leadership setting. In her interview, you’ll hear how she interviewed dozens of women leaders to uncover the real barriers and strategies for rising to the top, even when the rules seem stacked against you. Listen next to discover how to merge narrative, metrics, and career strategy into a playbook for women (and all leaders) to advance influence, voice, and impact.
Listen now: “Women in Corporate Leadership"