Shift How You Think, Feel, and React to Uncertainty
Ask For Change
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. Jeannie is the founder of Experience Investigators, creator of the Customer Experience Investigation Framework, and author of the new book Experience Is Everything. She has spent two decades...
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Lessons Learned From CEO Jim Alling
Ask For Change
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, for a masterclass in values-driven leadership. Jim shares the defining decisions that shaped his career - including walking away from a senior role at Starbucks because his son's health came first,...
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Can Kindness Be Your Competitive Advantage?
Ask For Change
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 Michael Neece to challenge the assumption that soft skills are secondary skills. Michael makes a compelling, data-backed case that kindness is not niceness - it's the foundation of psychological safety,...
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The Secrets to Leading in Uncertainty
Ask For Change
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 goes where most business books don't: straight into the leadership crucibles of every U.S. president to extract timeless lessons on navigating uncertainty, change, and crisis. What made Washington lay down power when no one in history had done it before? What can Harry Truman's first days in office - inheriting a world war he knew...
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Doing Meaningful Work
Ask For Change
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 foundation-starter Justin Jones-Fosu to explore what it actually takes to thrive - not just survive - in a world of relentless uncertainty and change. Justin's journey is anything but linear: from...
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Strategizing for Wealth in the Age of Uncertainty
Ask For Change
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 planning matter more than ever, and why wealth management is about far more than investments. From cash flow and risk protection to legacy planning and financial literacy, this conversation breaks down...
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Closing the Information Gap
Ask For Change
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 unintentionally losing critical experience, institutional knowledge, and leadership continuity. Dr. Kelly explains why this is not a recession problem but a succession problem, and why short-term...
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Decoding What's Making You Tired, Wired, & Burned Out
Ask For Change
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 accelerates. Anna introduces the concept of the vagus nerve and explains why nervous system regulation may be the most overlooked leadership skill in today’s marketplace. When change is moving at record...
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Mentorship as a Competitive Advantage
Ask For Change
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 challenge the outdated belief that mentorship must be formal, time-consuming, or hierarchical. Instead, Colleen reframes mentorship as something that can happen in moments, conversations, and daily...
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The Psychology of Influence
Ask For Change
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 how leaders and sales professionals can learn to communicate at the brain level. From nonverbal signals to reframing conversations, this episode offers a deeper look at what it really means to own...
info_outlineWith 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.
Jeannie is the founder of Experience Investigators, creator of the Customer Experience Investigation Framework, and author of the new book Experience Is Everything. She has spent two decades helping organizations turn good intentions into measurable business results.
What you will take away from this conversation:
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Why customer experience is not a department — it is a discipline that lives across every function of your organization
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The three-part framework (mindset, strategy, discipline) that separates companies who talk about CX from the ones who profit from it
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Why your C-suite dashboards are hiding the real cost of poor customer experience
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How uncertainty in the marketplace is actually your window to build deeper customer loyalty — if you move first
If you lead a team, own a business, or sit in the C-suite, this episode will change how you see every customer interaction — and what it is actually worth.
Connect with Jeannie Walters: experienceinvestigators.com | LinkedIn: Jeannie Walters Experience Is Everything — available now at experienceiseverythingbook.com