Leadership Bootcamp

My guest on this episode of the Leadership Bootcamp Podcast is Robert Potter, CEO at Oomnitza, an enterprise asset intelligence company. We talk about the importance of professional networking, authentic leadership, empathy, setting a vision, how to identify your passion and make career changes, mentorship, and other topics.Learn more about Oomnitza at oomnitza.com.

Jeff talks with Todd Smith, CEO and co-founder of TAHO. We talk about the importance of professional networking, authentic leadership, the desired capabilities of a leader, what leaders should and shouldn’t do, leadership challenges at different levels of an organization, how to pivot and capitalize on new ideas and turbulent times, and other topics.

Jeff's guest is Dr. Dawna Ballard, associate professor of communication at the University of Texas at Austin and author of the new book Time By Design. They discuss the differences between and intersections of time and experience, why relationships matter, aligning on concepts of time, how intentionally designing time can be the key to organizational success, why slow is fast, the importance of taking stock of how you spend your own time, and other topics.

Jeff talks to the cofounder and executive director of the Long Way Home Foundation, Matt Paneitz. Matt is a devoted humanitarian, served in the Peace Corps, and is the distinguished winner of numerous humanitarian awards including the Peace Corps' prestigious Sargent Shriver Award for Distinguished Humanitarian Service. Matt founded Long Way Home to make a long-lasting impact in the lives of impoverished communities in Guatemala by creating schools out of discarded recyclables, teaching young people the importance of sustainability and community while instilling civic values and a generational focus.

In this episode of the Leadership Bootcamp Podcast, Jeff talks about how culture scales with company growth. As a company grows, culture falls behind, or important elements of culture that contribute to employee wellbeing and performance dissolve or change into rituals and norms that don't serve the business - or its people - as well as they could. Jeff shares the four key elements of scaling culture, practices that leaders can employ right now to improve culture, and how to codify and systematize cultural practices to inspire and empower employees and support a company's growth.

My guest for this episode of the Leadership Bootcamp Podcast is Washington State senator T'wina Nobles. Senator Nobles and I discuss the importance of ethics at work, how to draw professional boundaries, humility and responsibility in leadership, staying grounded when imbued with power, differences between leadership in politics and private enterprise, why the idea of “service” is important and how it’s lost in the current environment of “civil service,” how to generate support from opponents, and how to maintain strong relationships with those harmed by difficult decisions, among other topics.

Jeff speaks with Nile Franklin. Nile is a coach at Strange Strength and Conditioning in North Hollywood, CA and Ganbatte Fitness in Glendale, CA. She’s a 6-time qualifier for the USA Weightlifting Nationals Master-level competition, the 2025 USA Weightlifting Master National champion, and an international Olympic weightlifting gold medalist. Nile is also the star of the upcoming documentary Chasing the Crown, produced and directed by Sarah Keene, debuting in 2026.We talk about how to motivate yourself and others, including some potent motivational phrases; how to stay resilient and focused in the face of setbacks; self-reflection and self-improvement; how to turn failure into learning and success; and the importance of teamwork; and other topics.

Jeff talks with Jonathan Head, cofounder of WithMemberly, a platform that helps event producers escape the volatility of one-off ticket sales through subscription-based access. Jonathan is also the manager of product support at AEG Presents, who you'll know from their production of iconic live music events like Coachella, Stagecoach, and the New Orleans Jazz Festival. We discuss Jonathan's people-centric leadership strategies for keeping people motivated through difficult organizational change; why employee well-being is crucial to success; how he prioritizes work for himself and his team; the importance of networking and relationships; and much more. This is an episode you won't want to miss!

In this episode, Jeff is interviewed by Matt Lombardo, manager of professional services and tech evangelist at Rippling, a leading human resource management company. Rippling's technology integrates IT, HR, finance, and other company functions into a seamless platform to allow employees to focus on what matters by streamlining processes and procedures to maximize efficiency.We discuss the importance and balance of process and performance; creating and maintaining high quality relationships; motivating a high-performance team; how to amplify a team's impact; and why consistently giving people more than they expect is a winning strategy.

Steve Heckler is the former Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer of Sony Pictures Entertainment, and leader at companies including IBM, AT&T, and Activision. He's delivered management training at companies that include DirecTV, and is the former president of the Society for Information Management and of the Professional Coaches and Mentors Association, as well as a past executive board member of the Southern California chapter of the ACLU. We discuss Steve's new book, So... You Want To Be A Manager, and cover topics including hiring and terminating; mission and values; the importance of communication; and common pitfalls for new managers.The audio and video in this episode is a bit irregular, but the conversation was wonderful nonetheless. If you find it useful, please consider subscribing and sharing.