Professional coach Shelly Smith shares one of the most common complaints she hears from her coaching clients, and the simple exercise that she uses to combat it.

Hear Shelly's full interview in Episode 175 of The Action Catalyst.

Overtime with Outland is Action Catalyst host Adam Outland's reflections and commentary on discussions with each of his esteemed and accomplished guests.

In this segment, Adam dissects Episode 506 with Phil Le-Brun, former McDonald’s VP and International CIO and current AWS leader.

Phil Le-Brun, former McDonald’s VP and International CIO and current AWS leader, shares powerful leadership and organizational strategy insights from his book The Octopus Organization, emphasizing how modern businesses can thrive by balancing centralization and decentralization. Drawing on experience scaling technology across 38,000+ global locations, Le-Brun explains why curiosity, clarity of purpose, and strong leadership are critical for innovation and growth, and how companies can avoid common “anti-patterns” like excessive bureaucracy, rigid structures, and artificial ownership. He highlights the importance of empowering teams with true agency, fostering psychological safety through feedback, and maintaining startup-like agility in large enterprises to drive faster decision-making and customer value.

Mentioned in this episode:

Learn more at SouthwesternConsulting.com/Coaching/Students

Southwestern Student Coaching

Janice Kapner, former communications leader at Microsoft and T‑Mobile, shares the experience of interviewing and working alongside Bill Gates.

Hear Janice's full interview in her special bonus episode of The Action Catalyst.

Mortgage professional Jennifer Bennett and professional coach Shelly Smith share a powerful story of resilience, mindset transformation, and business growth through coaching. Bennett discusses rebuilding her career after a difficult divorce and personal setbacks, revealing how limiting self-talk, stress, and a lack of control were holding her back from regaining top performance in sales. With Smith’s guidance, she learned to reframe negative thoughts, focus on what she could control, and intentionally reshape her mindset to overcome adversity, improve productivity, and rebuild client relationships. The conversation highlights the critical role of coaching in personal development, the impact of mindset on sales success, and how shifting from fear and scarcity to belief, focus, and gratitude can drive both professional achievement and personal fulfillment.

Bestselling author and researcher Tom Rath explains that meaning—not happiness—is the key to fulfillment, emphasizing that focusing on helping others, leveraging strengths, and connecting daily work to a larger purpose leads to higher productivity and better outcomes.

Hear Tom's full interview in Episode 185 of The Action Catalyst.

Janice Kapner, former communications leader at Microsoft and T‑Mobile, shares expert insights on navigating high‑stakes corporate transformation, mergers and acquisitions, and leadership without formal authority. Drawing on her experience leading communications during the largest telecom merger in U.S. history, Kapner explains how transparency, strategic storytelling, and consistent stakeholder communication are critical to maintaining trust, credibility, and momentum throughout multi‑year integration processes. She highlights common leadership mistakes—such as underestimating resource needs and post‑merger execution—and emphasizes the importance of understanding business fundamentals, building cross‑functional relationships, and earning credibility over time. The conversation also explores lessons from launching Office 365 at Microsoft, working alongside Bill Gates, and more.

Monica Nassif, founder of Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day and Caldrea, explains how bravery is like a muscle, and why it's only one of the many essential attributes for a successful entrepreneur.

Hear Monica's full interview in Episode 505 of The Action Catalyst.

Bestselling author and researcher Tom Rath shares insights from his book "Are You Fully Charged?" on how to improve performance, well‑being, and engagement at work and in life. Rath explains that meaning—not happiness—is the key to fulfillment, emphasizing that focusing on helping others, leveraging strengths, and connecting daily work to a larger purpose leads to higher productivity and better outcomes. He explores how personal energy, including sleep, movement, and health, directly impacts cognitive performance, leadership effectiveness, and workplace success, while warning against the dangers of distraction, especially from smartphones, which reduce attention and relationship quality. The episode also highlights how emotions and behaviors spread through social networks, influencing teams and organizations, and why leaders must prioritize well‑being and purpose to build stronger cultures.

Dr. Barb Rembiesa, founder and CEO of the International Association of IT Asset Management, shares how a small act of kindness on her part led to an enormously outsized impact on the residents of a small Kentucky town.

Hear Dr. Rembiesa's full interview in her special bonus episode of The Action Catalyst.

Monica Nassif, founder of Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day and Caldrea, reveals hard‑earned lessons on entrepreneurship, leadership, and building a successful consumer brand from the ground up. Nassif emphasizes the importance of simplicity, resilience, and belief—highlighted through her “plant, water, weed, believe” philosophy—as well as the mindset that failure is simply learning. She explains how successful entrepreneurs must commit fully, embrace risk, and develop bravery over time while pairing self-awareness with a big, disruptive business idea. The conversation explores key startup principles including preparation, market research, financial discipline, and having “skin in the game,” along with practical advice on raising capital, overcoming fear, and executing with urgency when opportunity strikes, as well as the value of creativity, hard work, and perseverance as essential “superpowers".

Mentioned in this episode:

Click here to get your copy of the Problem-First Method.

Kevin Dias / Problem First Method

Click here to get your copy of the Problem-First Method.

Kevin Dias / Problem First Method