Épisodes

  • Your Business Is 3 Decisions From Bankruptcy

    Your Business Is 3 Decisions From Bankruptcy
    Jun 22 2026
    Your business is growing. That does not mean it is stable. For a lot of founders, growth quietly hides the problems that will break the company later, and you do not see it until it snaps.

    Tracy Holland is a founder, investor, and operator who took HatchBeauty Brands from zero to 100 million dollars, then built a live selling business to 27 million in two years and sold it. She now buys distressed companies and rebuilds them, and she has worked with more than three thousand entrepreneurs.

    In this conversation with David Carr she names founderitis and its symptoms, lays out the three decisions that put a business near bankruptcy, and explains why revenue can climb while the company gets weaker. Then it gets practical: why most founders built a job instead of a business, how to move from operator to owner, and the one skill worth more than any technical talent, going deep into your customer's pain until you can describe it better than they can.

    You will walk away knowing what to look at first, and why if it is a money issue, it is not really an issue.

    Connect with Tracy Holland on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracyholland
    Tracy on Instagram: search Tracy M. Holland


    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/business-roundtable--6049255/support.

    Connect with Steward Your Business:

    • Book a Leadership Clarity Call: https://calendar.stewardyourbusiness.com/cc
    • Call: +1 909.404.9865
    • Website: https://stewardyourbusiness.com
    • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidwcarr
    Watch more episodes and subscribe on YouTube:
    https://www.youtube.com/@steward_your_business
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    49 min
  • Why Most Businesses Get AI Wrong

    Why Most Businesses Get AI Wrong
    Jun 19 2026
    Most owners buy the AI tool, skip the strategy, and wonder why nothing improves. Jason Alexander, CEO of Chief AI, explains why AI is a people and process problem, not a tool problem.

    Hand someone a guitar, and you still hear no music until you teach them to play. Jason has lived the operator side of this. Over 20 years, he built and scaled a staffing and consulting business to roughly 100 million dollars before selling, and now he helps founders turn AI into practical, measurable results.

    In this conversation with David Carr, he breaks down the three-year success roadmap he uses to determine where AI actually belongs, why "assess, one quick win, then scale" beats chasing silver bullets, and how to make AI part of your culture rather than hiding it from clients. He also gives a straight answer on the fear everyone carries: AI is a force multiplier, not a layoff plan. Arm 100 people to produce 400, rather than cutting headcount to save payroll.

    If you are a founder or leader trying to make AI pay off without losing what makes your business human, start here.

    Connect with Jason:
    ChiefAI: https://chiefai.co
    Jason Alexander on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonalexander
    Free AI Readiness Score: https://chiefai.co/ai-readiness-assessment/

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/business-roundtable--6049255/support.

    Connect with Steward Your Business:

    • Book a Leadership Clarity Call: https://calendar.stewardyourbusiness.com/cc
    • Call: +1 909.404.9865
    • Website: https://stewardyourbusiness.com
    • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidwcarr
    Watch more episodes and subscribe on YouTube:
    https://www.youtube.com/@steward_your_business
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    38 min
  • Why You Don't Do What You Know You Should

    Why You Don't Do What You Know You Should
    Jun 17 2026
    You can have the right strategy, the right team, and the right systems. But if you are running on empty, none of it performs the way it should. And most leaders already know what they should do. They just do not do it.

    Jalene Szuba is the founder of Happiness Anchor, a nationally board certified health and wellness coach, TEDx speaker, and Tulane University wellness consultant. In this conversation with David Carr she starts with sleep as a performance driver, not a lifestyle topic, then goes where most leadership talks never reach: why knowing better so rarely changes what we do.

    She unpacks the Immunity to Change framework from Robert Kegan and Lisa Lahey, the same process she uses in her coaching and in research at Tulane. You will hear how hidden commitments and big assumptions work against your goals, one foot on the gas and one on the brake, why small tests beat massive overhauls, and why a healthy culture has to start at the top. Underneath it all is the Steward Your Business idea that the biggest constraints on a leader are internal, and they will not fix themselves.

    You will walk away able to name the change you keep avoiding, and with a simple first step you can take tonight.

    Connect with Jalene Szuba on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaleneszuba/
    Happiness Anchor: https://www.happinessanchor.com


    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/business-roundtable--6049255/support.

    Connect with Steward Your Business:

    • Book a Leadership Clarity Call: https://calendar.stewardyourbusiness.com/cc
    • Call: +1 909.404.9865
    • Website: https://stewardyourbusiness.com
    • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidwcarr
    Watch more episodes and subscribe on YouTube:
    https://www.youtube.com/@steward_your_business
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    37 min
  • Leading With Purpose When Your World Turns to Ashes

    Leading With Purpose When Your World Turns to Ashes
    Jun 12 2026
    What do you do when your world turns to ashes? In one season, Elaine Lankford faced a yearlong attack on her character, lost her father, and watched her husband get a cancer diagnosis. Then, on a mission trip, she heard God whisper, "Go home and raise up my daughters."

    That whisper became She Steps Forward. Elaine is the founder of She Steps Forward Coaching and the nonprofit She Steps Forward International, and she spent over 16 years in nursing before coaching women into their callings. A certified John Maxwell Team member, she now mentors women through the hardest first years of building a business, ministry, or nonprofit, in the United States and across Africa.

    In this conversation, she and David Carr talk about leading with purpose through adversity, why a God-sized dream is supposed to feel bigger than you, and the confidence gap and comparison game that keep capable women stuck. She shares the picture of Mary and Elizabeth from Luke 1 that anchors her work: who is pouring into you before you step forward, and who are you pouring into? Running underneath it is the Steward Your Business conviction that leading yourself well is where everything starts.

    You will walk away with permission to dream bigger and a simple first step to take when you feel the pull toward something more.

    Connect with Elaine Lankford on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elaine-lankford/
    She Steps Forward Coaching: https://www.shestepsforwardcoaching.com
    She Steps Forward International: https://shestepsforwardinternational.org

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/business-roundtable--6049255/support.

    Connect with Steward Your Business:

    • Book a Leadership Clarity Call: https://calendar.stewardyourbusiness.com/cc
    • Call: +1 909.404.9865
    • Website: https://stewardyourbusiness.com
    • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidwcarr
    Watch more episodes and subscribe on YouTube:
    https://www.youtube.com/@steward_your_business
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    38 min
  • Why Your Business Can't Run Without You

    Why Your Business Can't Run Without You
    Jun 2 2026
    Most owners think they have a people problem, a time problem, or a strategy problem. Usually, it's none of those — the business is just built to keep everything flowing back to you.

    Carol Schultz, Founder & CEO of Vertical Elevation, has spent 30 years as a recruiter and executive coach, helping CEOs stop being "hostages" to their own companies. In this conversation, she unpacks founder's syndrome, why "just hire the right person" rarely works (hint: you're the common denominator), and the succession mindset that separates owners who scale from owners who stay stuck.

    She also walks through her Organizational Scaffold System — a roughly 12-week process that closes gaps in communication, accountability, and structure, and then places a chief of staff to act as the CEO's copilot. Plus, a simple pen-to-paper exercise you can start this week to see where your time really goes.

    Carol Schultz — author of "Powered By People," Inc., and CEOWORLD columnist, host of "Authentically Successful."
    Website: https://verticalelevation.com
    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolbschultz/

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/business-roundtable--6049255/support.

    Connect with Steward Your Business:

    • Book a Leadership Clarity Call: https://calendar.stewardyourbusiness.com/cc
    • Call: +1 909.404.9865
    • Website: https://stewardyourbusiness.com
    • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidwcarr
    Watch more episodes and subscribe on YouTube:
    https://www.youtube.com/@steward_your_business
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    40 min
  • Before You Deploy AI, Ask These Questions — Or Pay the Price | Jill Stover Heinze

    Before You Deploy AI, Ask These Questions — Or Pay the Price | Jill Stover Heinze
    May 14 2026
    You are moving fast on AI. Your team is experimenting. You are deploying tools. But you have not asked the critical questions that will determine whether you are building competitive advantage or exposing your business, your people, and your customers to serious risk.

    Jill Stover Heinze has spent her career helping organizations think through complex technology decisions. When generative AI hit the market, she realized that speed was replacing judgment. Companies were racing to deploy without asking basic questions about data, bias, security, privacy, and alignment with their values. She created an AI Trust Architecture framework to help leaders slow down and ask the right questions before deployment, not after something breaks.

    In this episode, David Carr and Jill break down what responsible AI governance actually looks like in practice, which questions every leader should be asking right now, and why slowing down is not falling behind.

    In this episode:
    • Why most organizations are making Band-Aid decisions about AI instead of building intentional governance
    • The fundamental difference between speed and readiness in AI deployment
    • What data flows you should be questioning in every AI tool you consider
    • How to identify and evaluate bias before it impacts your customers
    • The role of privacy and permissions in responsible AI adoption
    • How to align AI decisions with your core values and business strategy
    • Why your instinct that something is not right about an AI implementation deserves serious attention
    • The four AI horizons framework for asking the right questions at each stage
    About Jill Stover Heinze:
    Jill Stover Heinze is an AI Trust Architect and founder of Saddle-Stitch Consulting. With a background in user research, product strategy, and library science, Jill has spent over two decades helping Fortune 500 companies and institutions think through complex technology decisions. She is currently the Responsible AI Program Director at the American College of Financial Services and has championed AI governance functions across multiple organizations. Her approach combines human-centered design with rigorous risk assessment.

    You cannot build trust in AI by rushing its deployment. You build it by asking hard questions, being transparent about limitations, and aligning technology decisions with human values. That is what governance is actually for.

    If this episode made you realize you have been moving too fast on AI without asking the right questions, that is the conversation to have with your team this week. Share this with one leader who needs permission to slow down.

    Links mentioned in this episode:
    • Jill Stover Heinze on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jill-stoverheinze
    • Saddle-Stitch Consulting: https://www.saddlestitchconsulting.com
    • AI Horizons Framework: Available through Saddle-Stitch Consulting
    • The American College of Financial Services Responsible AI Program: https://theamericancollege.edu


    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/business-roundtable--6049255/support.

    Connect with Steward Your Business:

    • Book a Leadership Clarity Call: https://calendar.stewardyourbusiness.com/cc
    • Call: +1 909.404.9865
    • Website: https://stewardyourbusiness.com
    • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidwcarr
    Watch more episodes and subscribe on YouTube:
    https://www.youtube.com/@steward_your_business
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    38 min
  • You're Making Yourself Obsolete — Here's How to Become Indispensable in the AI Era | Nikki Barua

    You're Making Yourself Obsolete — Here's How to Become Indispensable in the AI Era | Nikki Barua
    May 13 2026
    You built your career on accumulating knowledge, protecting your territory, and holding onto status. That strategy made sense in the old world. In the AI era, it is making you invisible.

    Nikki Barua has spent 25 years leading large-scale transformation at Fortune 500 companies and building high-growth businesses as a serial entrepreneur. What she has watched happen in real time is a fundamental shift in how power works. Old power was currency you hoarded it, protected it, and held on tight. New power is current; it flows, it democratizes, and the more you give away, the more valuable you become. AI has accelerated this shift dramatically. And for Gen X leaders like you, that means everything you were taught about success is now working against you.

    In this episode, David Carr and Nikki break down why holding on to knowledge, status, and control is making leaders obsolete, what new power actually means in practice, and how to completely reimagine your business and your leadership before the window closes.

    In this episode:
    • Why Gen X leaders trained on old power principles are at the highest risk of becoming invisible
    • The difference between old power and new power, and why AI has fundamentally changed the equation
    • Why incremental thinking will destroy your business in the exponential AI era
    • How to think in terms of zero resource constraints to unlock exponential vision
    • The 90-day sprint methodology for building momentum and collective confidence
    • Why waiting for certainty is actively ensuring your failure
    • One action item you can take today to stop waiting and start reinventing
    About Nikki Barua:
    Nikki Barua is a serial entrepreneur, bestselling author, keynote speaker, and CEO of FlipWork, a platform transforming organizations into agentic enterprises where people and AI collaborate. With 25 years of experience in digital transformation and organizational change, Nikki has advised Fortune 500 companies and built multiple high-growth businesses. She is the author of Beyond Barriers and is recognized as a thought leader on reinvention, leadership, and the human future in the AI era.

    The most powerful technology on Earth is still the human being. But that human has to be visible. They have to be sharing their wisdom. They have to lead with influence, not hoard knowledge. That is what we believe at Steward Your Business.

    If this episode made you realize you have been holding on to things that are making you obsolete, that is the conversation to have with yourself right now. Share this with one Gen X leader who needs to hear it.

    Links mentioned in this episode:
    • Nikki Barua on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikkibarua
    • FlipWork: https://www.flipwork.ai
    • Nikki's Weekly Newsletter: https://www.nikkibarua.com/newsletters/reinvention-roadmap/subscribe
    • Beyond Barriers book: https://www.nikkibarua.com


    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/business-roundtable--6049255/support.

    Connect with Steward Your Business:

    • Book a Leadership Clarity Call: https://calendar.stewardyourbusiness.com/cc
    • Call: +1 909.404.9865
    • Website: https://stewardyourbusiness.com
    • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidwcarr
    Watch more episodes and subscribe on YouTube:
    https://www.youtube.com/@steward_your_business
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    39 min