Today, we welcome Dr. Greg Giuliano, advisor and executive coach to senior leaders and teams around the world, and founder of GA | Ultra Leadership. Greg is the author of three #1 Amazon Bestsellers, including his newest book, Coaching for (a) Change: How to Engage, Empower, and Activate People.

Greg's Website

Greg on YouTube

@ultraleadership on Instagram

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/greggiuliano/

In this book, Greg challenges traditional command-and-control leadership and offers a practical alternative: coaching. Drawing on more than two decades of experience, he introduces the GR8 Coaching Framework, a set of eight powerful questions designed to help leaders shift from being expert problem-solvers to facilitators of ownership, engagement, and real change.

1. Why This Book, and Why Now?
2. Greg, let’s start at the beginning. What experiences or patterns in your leadership and coaching work prompted you to write Coaching for (a) Change? What problem were you seeing leaders struggle with most?
3. From Manager to Coach
4. You talk about the need for leaders to shift from “manager” to “coach.” What does that shift really mean in day-to-day leadership—and why does the old command-and-control model fall short?
5. Ultra Leadership vs. Traditional Leadership
6. You distinguish between traditional leadership and what you call Ultra Leadership. How are they different, and what behaviors separate leaders who engage and empower people from those who unintentionally shut them down?
7. The Power of Coaching (and the Misconceptions)
8. Many leaders say they don’t have time to coach—or that coaching is soft or optional. Why is coaching actually a critical leadership skill today, and what are the biggest misconceptions leaders have about it?
9. The GR8 Coaching Framework
10. Let’s get practical. Walk us through the GR8 Coaching questions. How do these questions help leaders kick the “expert problem-solver” habit and activate ownership, accountability, and change?

For leaders listening right now who want to start coaching for change—but don’t know where to begin—what’s one question they can ask this week that would immediately shift how their people show up?

Thanks to our sponsor, White Cloud Coffee — fueling creative conversations everywhere. Listeners, enjoy 10% off your first order at whitecloudcoffee.com.

And before you go, you can download a free copy of my e-book A World of Creativity when you visit mark-stinson.com.

Today we’re joined by Sophia Kristjansson, Founder and CEO of Lexicon Lens, a boutique consulting firm that helps leaders close the persistent gap between strategy and execution—so plans don’t just look good on paper, they actually turn into results.

Sophia's Website

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiakristjansson/

With more than 25 years of experience guiding organizations through growth, change, and transformation, Sophia works closely with leadership teams to restore clarity, align people and process, and build traction when momentum starts to stall. She also teaches graduate courses in business strategy and organizational transformation at the University of Denver

She’s a contributing author to Lives Lost and Leadership Found, edited by Ian Ziskin—who joined us a few episodes back.

1. Why Strategy Fails at the Finish Line
2. Sophia, many organizations have smart strategies—but struggle with execution. From your experience, where do things most often break down between intention and action?
3. Closing the Strategy–Execution Gap
4. At Lexicon Lens, your work centers on alignment, collaboration, and leadership development. What are the first signs you look for that tell you a team is losing traction—and how do you help them regain momentum? Sophia shares these six signs:
5. Misaligned success signals – Leaders focus on the wrong metrics, missing what truly indicates performance or risk.
6. Organizational silos – Limited cross-functional visibility creates blind spots that hide emerging problems.
7. Communication mistaken for clarity – Sending emails or memos is assumed to solve issues, without ensuring understanding or follow-through.
8. Execution problems misdiagnosed – Symptoms are addressed instead of root causes, leading to recurring issues.
9. Outdated mental models – Leaders rely on old assumptions and ways of thinking without realizing they no longer fit current realities.
10. Human risk ignored – The people impact (capacity, morale, alignment, burnout) is not surfaced or discussed openly.
11. These six signals indicate leaders may not be seeing the real problem. Bringing leaders together to surface these blind spots enables shared understanding, innovation, and collaboration—often prompting the realization that the issue isn’t execution alone, but perception and alignment.
12. Turning Ideas into Action in Complex Environments
13. Leaders today are navigating constant change, competing priorities, and growing complexity. What practical frameworks or habits help leaders move from analysis paralysis to decisive action?
14. Lessons from “Lives Lost and Leadership Found”
15. You contributed to Lives Lost and Leadership Found, a book that explores how personal loss and reflection can deepen leadership capacity. How did that experience shape—or reinforce—your perspective on leadership, resilience, and execution?
16. Teaching the Next Generation of Leaders
17. You teach graduate students in business strategy and organizational transformation. What do you see emerging leaders getting right—and where do they most need to develop skills to lead effectively in today’s organizations?

For leaders listening right now who feel stuck between a clear vision and uneven execution—what’s one small, meaningful step they can take this week to move forward?

Today, we’re welcoming Bob Campana, a California-based serial entrepreneur with more than 40 years of experience building businesses across hospitality, travel, real estate, and aviation.

ROBERT's Website

ROBERT on YouTube

From hot tub manufacturing to founding the beloved Redwood Café in Modesto, to leading Redwood Café Tours across Europe, Asia, and Oceania, Bob’s career is a living case study in adaptability, optimism, and grit.

He’s also the author of the book Don’t Look Down! The Improbable Adventures and Battle-Tested Lessons of a Serial Entrepreneur, where he shares candid lessons learned from a lifetime of figuring it out as he went. Bob has his own entrepreneurship podcast, continuing his mission to share what really happens behind the scenes of business building.

1. A Lifetime of Reinvention

Bob, you’ve built businesses in very different industries—from manufacturing to hospitality to aviation. Looking back over 40 years, what allowed you to keep reinventing yourself rather than getting stuck in one version of success?

2. Risk, Fear, and the Title “Don’t Look Down!”

Your book title says a lot. Don’t Look Down! suggests both courage and consequence. How have you learned to take risks without being reckless—and what’s one moment when looking down might have stopped you if you’d let it?

3. Building Places That Connect People

Redwood Café became more than a restaurant—it became a community hub, and now it’s evolved into Redwood Café Tours around the world. What do you think makes an experience or a business truly memorable to people? (Bob recommends two books. “Moments of Truth: How the SAS President and CEO Adapted to the New Customer-Driven Economy” by Jan Carlzon. “Setting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business” by Danny Meyer.)

4. Lessons Earned the Hard Way

Your book promises “battle-tested lessons,” not theory. What are one or two hard-earned truths about entrepreneurship that you wish more people understood before they start their first venture?

5. What’s Next—and Why Keep Going?

You’re still expanding into real estate and aircraft leasing, writing books, and launching a podcast. What keeps you energized at this stage—and what advice would you give to entrepreneurs who wonder if it’s too late to start something new?

Bob, if you could leave our listeners with one mindset or principle that’s helped you navigate uncertainty over four decades, what would it be?