William Salvi is the co-founder and host of Executive House, a global business media platform that spotlights prominent business executives through in-depth, authentic conversations. He is also the creator and host of The CEO Series, an Emmy-winning, YouTube-based interview show focused exclusively on CEOs, where he explores not just what leaders build, but how and why they lead.

In this episode, Brad and William discuss:

• How Executive House and The CEO Series were built to spotlight real, human conversations with business leaders
• Why filming CEOs in their own environments creates more honest and vulnerable interviews
• The tension between authenticity and corporate communications in executive leadership
• The hidden loneliness, pressure, and moral weight CEOs carry behind closed doors
• Hiring mistakes, painful business iterations, and lessons learned from building a media company

Key Takeaways:

• CEOs are often misunderstood because the public narrative focuses only on the loudest, wealthiest outliers. William emphasizes that thousands of ethical, thoughtful leaders quietly run strong companies that deserve more attention and recognition.
• Authentic leadership requires striking a balance between vulnerability and responsibility. CEOs cannot share everything, but selective honesty builds trust far more effectively than polished corporate language.
• Corporate speak often exists to reduce risk, but it can strip leaders of credibility. When leaders say everything “perfectly,” they often say nothing meaningful at all.
• Building a business through multiple iterations is painful but clarifying. Each failed hire, pivot, and setback helped William and his team define what truly mattered and what didn’t.
• Hiring too early or without clarity is one of the most costly mistakes founders make. Clear vision and structure are prerequisites to effective leadership and team management.

“Honesty doesn't mean share everything. Honesty means, you know, be real.” - William Salvi

Connect with William Salvi:

Website: http://www.ceoseries.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/william-salvi/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ExecutiveHouse

Connect with Brad Foley:

Website: https://www.hrvaluepartners.com/

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

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hrvaluepartners/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hrvaluepartners/

Email: brad@hrvaluepartners.com

Show notes by Podcastologist: Francine Poblete

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.

Andrew Sykes grew up in South Africa and built one of the country’s largest healthcare consulting businesses. With 25 years of experience in sales, he has lived, worked, and run businesses across six continents, giving him a global perspective on leadership, trust, and human behavior. Andrew is the author of The 11th Habit, a TEDx speaker, and a lecturer at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. He is also the founder of Habits at Work, where he helps customer-facing teams build stronger relationships, leverage trust, and uncover their customers’ deeper needs beyond what’s on the surface.

In this episode, Brad and Andrew discuss:

• Andrew’s unconventional journey from actuarial science to entrepreneurship and leadership development
• How fear-based, command-and-control leadership can drive profits but destroy trust and retention
• Trust is a judgment others make, not a personal trait leaders can assume they possess
• The research behind habit formation and why most training programs fail to create real behavior change
• Why first impressions matter more than most leaders realize and how to build trust in minutes, not months

Key Takeaways:

• Trust is not something leaders inherently have; it is a judgment others make, often within the first five minutes of interaction. Leaders who ignore this reality unintentionally operate from a trust deficit.
• Fear-based leadership can produce short-term financial results, but it guarantees high turnover, cultural damage, and long-term instability.
• Knowledge alone does not drive behavior change. Skills must be deliberately practiced and turned into habits to create lasting performance improvement.
• Trust accelerates everything in business; sales cycles shorten, employees stay longer, mistakes are forgiven more easily, and innovation increases.
• Rebuilding trust requires humility and intention. Small promises kept consistently are far more effective than grand gestures after trust has been broken.

“Mere experience gained on automatic is the enemy of mastery.” - Andrew Sykes

Connect with Andrew Sykes:

Website: https://www.habitsatwork.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewsykes1/

Other Resources: Cohort on Trust for 2026 - https://www.habitsatwork.com/trust-advantage

Book: https://cerene.squarespace.com/woof-book-store/p/the-book

Connect with Brad Foley:

Website: https://www.hrvaluepartners.com/

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

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hrvaluepartners/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hrvaluepartners/

Email: brad@hrvaluepartners.com

Show notes by Podcastologist: Francine Poblete

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.

Christine Toson is the President and CEO of The Tribute Companies, Inc., based in Hartland, Wisconsin. Tribute owns and manages four prominent, family-owned and operated cemeteries across Wisconsin, located in Milwaukee, Hartland, Wausau, and Green Bay, each offering full-service cemetery products and services. In addition to cemetery ownership and management, The Tribute Companies includes an architectural firm and two precast concrete manufacturing facilities in Illinois and Indiana that serve the death care profession. Christine represents the fourth generation of her family in the cemetery industry and has worked within The Tribute Companies for nearly 30 years. Her expertise spans cemetery ownership, management, design, and development, as well as the manufacturing of precast concrete products for the cemetery industry.

In this episode, Brad and Christine discuss:

• Why compassion is a non-negotiable trait when hiring and leading teams
• Balancing hard business facts with empathy when serving grieving families
• The stigma and talent challenges facing the cemetery and funeral profession
• Why pre-planning and honest conversations about death matter for families
• Leading innovation while honoring tradition in a highly emotional industry

Key Takeaways:

• Compassion is not optional in Christine’s business. It is the foundation of everything they do. Even in manufacturing and B2B relationships, respect for grieving families must come first.
• Leadership in emotionally charged industries requires both empathy and realism. Christine emphasizes using facts, statistics, and real stories rather than “soft” messaging when discussing difficult topics.
• Recruiting and retaining talent is challenging due to stigma around death care, but creative recruiting and clear expectations help attract the right people.
• Pre-planning is not about the person who passes away; it’s about protecting the family left behind. Avoiding these conversations often leads to conflict, stress, and regret.
• Family businesses require long-term thinking. Christine credits prior generations for over-funding trust accounts and prioritizing stewardship over short-term gain.

“At the core of everything is compassion. And so they need to be compassionate, because that's what our business is all about.” - Christine Toson

Connect with Christine Toson:

Website: http://www.tributeinc.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christine-toson-cce-5489882/

Connect with Brad Foley:

Website: https://www.hrvaluepartners.com/

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

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hrvaluepartners/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hrvaluepartners/

Email: brad@hrvaluepartners.com

Show notes by Podcastologist: Francine Poblete

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.