Podcast
I Have Some Questions...
Hosted by Erik Berglund · EN
Most people know the headline of a leader’s story. Few know the path it took to get there. This podcast goes beyond titles, book launches and business wins, to explore the lived journey behind the thought leader.
Through deep, unhurried conversations, we uncover the moments that shaped them—the doubts, pivots, convictions, and quiet breakthroughs that built their body of work.
Each episode features authors, coaches, executives, and bold thinkers who have forged their own path. Instead of rehearsed talking points, they’re invited into a space where thoughtful questions unlock something more human. The result is a layered conversation that reveals not just what they preach, but how they became the kind of person who can teach it.
Because we believe the best stories aren’t always told—they’re revealed. And when brilliant people are given the right questions and the room to answer them fully, what emerges is insight you can feel, frameworks you can apply, and a deeper understanding of what it truly takes to lead, create, and contribute at a meaningful level.
99episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
213: "The Hidden Gap Between Human Behavior and Organizational Design" (Reflections On John Marshall)
5d ago00:08:27Tap to summarize🧠 Erik’s TakeErik treats this short review as more than “culture talk.” The conversation with John Marshall keeps circling back to a hard truth: our systems can evolve, but humans bring the same familiar dynamics into every room. The stakes change, the tools change, the mission context changes, but the interpersonal variables stay stubbornly human. Erik’s takeaway is that culture cannot be left as vibes, slogans, or “someone will handle it.” It has to be engineered into the operating reality: articulated, localized, inspected, grown, normalized, and sustained.🎯 Top Insights from the InterviewHumans remain the most unpredictable system variable, even when the mission looks wildly technical.Interpersonal dynamics persist through growth, even when the org and tools get bigger and the consequences get heavier.ALIGNS reframes culture as an operating system, not a poster, by making the how visible and repeatable.A real business stage exists where culture infrastructure must arrive before a full internal enablement team does.🧩 The Personal LayerErik admits he initially resisted the “playing house” framing because it can sound like it minimizes stakes. But he sees John’s sharper point: it is not about lowering stakes, it is about acknowledging that the interpersonal dynamics do not scale away. Erik also notices the practical discomfort in his own leadership instincts, especially around accountability conversations. His mind keeps returning to the same pattern: what gets rewarded and avoided becomes the real culture, whether leaders explicitly intend it or not.🧰 From Insight to ActionAudit the “how” in your organization: where do people learn what matters through rewards, norms, and silence?Operationalize culture with a repeatable loop: articulate expectations, localize them by role, and inspect whether reality matches the language.Build culture infrastructure earlier than you think you need it, especially before growth fractures informal norms into microcultures.Create safe pathways for the hard thing to be said sooner, so truths surface before they become expensive failures.🗣️ Notable QuotesWe’re all just playing house, but the house gets bigger, the tools get better, and the consequences get heavier.If humans are one of the most unpredictable variables, then it would be poor engineering not to design around them.Culture isn’t just something you believe in. It’s something you have to define, inspect, reinforce, and maintain.If you don’t define the how, people will make it up. Usually not maliciously. Usually not consciously.🔗 Links & ResourcesListen to John Marshall's Episode
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212: "Supply Chain People Are Accountable For Everything, But Responsible For Nothing" (Reflections On John Kill)
6d ago00:10:00Tap to summarize🧠 Erik’s TakeErik treated the episode like a field report from inside the parts of business most people never notice. After listening to John C. Kill, he came away less focused on “supply chain” as a function and more focused on supply chain as a proving ground for trust. He kept returning to the same paradox: when everything is working, it looks normal, but when it breaks, the organization suddenly realizes how much invisible work has been happening all along. The practical tension that stuck with him is that leaders often budget for supply chain as a cost. The interview reframed it as operational trust,🎯 Top Insights from the InterviewSupply chain failures are often symptoms, but someone still has to do the hidden work to make reality match the planThe say/do ratio is internal trust currency, and it determines whether people believe hard messages as truth or as excusesLast-mile is not just transportation, it is communication lag between consumption, vendors, and stakeholdersTechnology creates leverage only when it targets real communication delays and preserves human judgment🧩 The Personal LayerErik noticed he naturally talks about systems, software, and process improvements, but this conversation pulled him back toward a human-centered definition of competence. He resonated with the idea that supply chain can be accountable for everything while being held responsible for nothing. That dynamic mirrors other leadership spaces where one team owns the outcome but not the initial cause. He also felt a personal nudge: his credibility is not a personality trait, it is a pattern created by closing loops, telling the truth early, and following through often enough that people stop second-g🧰 From Insight to ActionAudit where communication lag creates waste or surprise, then pick one delay to fix instead of adopting tools for their own sakeBuild a say/do habit in leadership: commit clearly, update early, and document what you promised versus what happenedTreat supply chain partners as trust builders, not just cost centers, and align incentives to resilience outcomesStrengthen the “who to call and what to ask” capability by capturing playbooks for breakdown moments🗣️ Notable QuotesSupply chain is like duck feet paddling under the water, smooth on top, work everywhere beneath.The say/do ratio is the currency of trust inside the company.When you’ve earned credibility, you can deliver bad news without drama.The last-mile problem is also a communication problem, not only a transportation problem.🔗 Links & ResourcesListen to John Kill's Episode
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211: John Marshall: "Psychological Safety Is Not the Counterpart of Conflict"
1w ago01:31:07Tap to summarizeJohn Marshall argues the hardest challenge of becoming an interplanetary species is not rockets, it’s psychology. He explains how “humescence” helps individuals and organizations redesign inner, interpersonal, and communication systems so missions teams can handle stress, conflict, and sabotage. The goal is mission performance and accelerated learning, powered by psychologically safe, conflict-ready culture that scales.👤 About the GuestJohn Marshall is founder of Humescence, a human-centered leadership and cultural development company. His work blends executive coaching, immersive leadership training, and culture enablement consulting. He helps leaders turn individual self-understanding into collective capability by aligning systems with how humans actually think, feel, and behave.🧭 Conversation HighlightsThe “interplanetary mission team” problem: interdependence, prolonged isolation, and high-stakes stress amplify default interpersonal patterns.Culture as an engineered system: optimize for human capacity, not just avoid catastrophes, and create feedback loops that measure and improve.A framework called ALINES: articulate, localize, inspect, grow, normalize, sustain to make culture actionable and scalable.Why live, human facilitation matters for heart-centered skills, beyond what information alone can deliver.💡 Key TakeawaysTech is increasingly abundant, but competitive advantage is the human element: how people communicate, integrate insights, and work through conflict.A culture that works is not “nice.” It is psychologically safe, explicitly conflict-capable, and built to surface what would otherwise stay unsaid.Default behaviors are rooted in subconscious “operating systems,” so change must happen at deeper levels, not just via training content.Sustainable culture requires systems that persist through hiring, onboarding, performance reviews, coaching, and leadership transitions.❓ Questions That MatteredIf stakes are higher, why do interpersonal dynamics still revert to basic human needs and triggers?How do you engineer culture so it produces predictable outcomes without flattening human differences?What forcing functions are pushing companies to address culture earlier instead of reactively after attrition or conflict?Why does John emphasize in-person, human-to-human facilitation when digital training is easier?🗣️ Notable Quotes“The last frontier for us would be scaling the systems so we can solve for interplanetary travel.”“A psychologically safe culture should actually be highly competitive, conflict driven.”“Culture isn’t ‘we all get along’. This is the emotional workplace.”“Ninety percent of the gold comes off of questions because of the live, facilitated experience.”🔗 Links & ResourcesFollow John Marshall's LinkedInCheck out Humessence.com
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210: John Kill: "The Real Truths Surrounding the Supply Chain Industry"
1w ago01:27:55Tap to summarizeJohn C. Kill explains why supply chain stays invisible until it breaks, using the “duck paddling under water” metaphor. He shares what friction really looks like: last-mile trucking pressures, supplier consolidation, weather and geopolitical ripple effects, and why supply chain teams fail only when “the wheels come off.” He also digs into low-risk practice, leadership trust, vendor relationships, and how AI should augment people, not replace them.👤 About the GuestJohn C. Kill is a seasoned supply chain leader with 25 years in procurement and resilience. He has held senior roles at GE Transportation, Vestion, Bluebird Corporation, and Finish Thompson, and most recently served as Chief Procurement Officer at Vesa Manufacturing, including rapid rescues when suppliers fail. An MBA holder and Six Sigma Greenbelt, he also contributes through Penn State business.🧭 Conversation HighlightsSupply chain is “accountable for everything but responsible for nothing,” so success demands breadth, tenacity, and relationship skill.Current headwinds include trucking/driver shortages, logistics consolidation, downstream impacts from global disruption, and weather-driven supplier failures.Failure prevention is built through “low-impact” exercises that train teams to respond like it’s the end of the world, without real catastrophe.Trust and leadership in crises rely on a strong “say-do ratio,” plus honest, non-offensive communication up and down the org.💡 Key TakeawaysGreat supply chain work is practiced, not improvised: run controlled simulations so real emergencies feel familiar.Relationships are operational infrastructure. Vendors help faster when they stay profitable and treated fairly.AI is best used to save grind work and expand capability, while preserving human judgment and entry-level learning.Resilience comes from drilling beyond direct suppliers and using dashboards for multi-layer risk, not just stocking inventory.❓ Questions That MatteredWhy does supply chain stay under the radar until disruption enters the national lexicon?What does it feel like internally when supply chain “fails,” and what does recovery actually require?How do you teach teams to handle expensive crises by rehearsing low-risk versions first?How can supply chain become a strategic advantage, not just a cost center, especially post-COVID?🗣️ Notable Quotes“It’s the duck sliding across the pond. You don’t see how furiously the little webbed feet are paddling underneath.”“In the supply chain world, we’re accountable for everything but responsible for nothing.”“Give your people low-impact exercises so they build muscle memory before the true crisis.”“If you can’t tell harsh truths with care and concern, you won’t earn the trust people need to follow you.”🔗 Links & ResourcesFollow John Kill's LinkedIn
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209: "Are Your AI Tools Updating Faster Than Your Team Can Handle?" ft. Justin Coats
1w ago00:45:47Tap to summarizeErik and Justin dig into how fast-moving AI platforms are changing (sometimes without warning) and what business leaders can do to avoid broken workflows, plus a few concrete examples like GPT Live voice, ChatGPT Work, and Atlas being retired.🧭 Conversation HighlightsAI updates follow iterative deployment, so changes land when features are ready, not on a schedule, and teams often notice only when something breaks.Justin argues for an “AI champion” steward who monitors release notes, tests impacts, and keeps adoption coherent across the organization.They debate the real value of integrated voice and “rambling,” clarifying the difference between dictation mode and interactive conversational voice.Key release-note examples include GPT Live voice, ChatGPT Work (desktop and web), and retiring Atlas, with browser functionality moving into the ChatGPT desktop app.💡 Key TakeawaysTreat AI updates as a continuous operating condition, not an occasional event, and plan for ongoing process iteration.You can automate the “watching” with agents, but humans still need to validate what changed and what it affects in your specific workflows.Don’t frame browser-tool changes like Atlas as failure. Reframe as consolidation into a more integrated “work inside the app” model.Clarity and role ownership matter. Small, focused teams with clear AI use cases adapt faster than teams that keep spinning up committees.❓ Questions That MatteredHow do you stay updated when AI platform changes arrive without a predictable schedule?What’s the right balance between automated monitoring (agents) and human interpretation?Does more conversational, live voice reduce the usefulness of “rambling,” or does it complement other voice modes like dictation?When tools like Atlas disappear, how should leaders communicate the change so it does not feel like chaos or constant churn?🗣️ Notable Quotes“In this era of AI, we’re in the era of iterative deployment… No one’s going to tell you a new update’s happening.”“So you as a human being… the representative of the advancement of AI in your organization, you still need to read it.”“It is possible… [but] you still need to read it. You need to be on the forefront.”“I would increase your sometimes to, you know, almost an absolute of always.”🔗 Links & ResourcesListen To Other Episodes Co-Hosted With Justin
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208: "Navigating Through Uncomfortable Ceiling Talks" ft. Alli Murphy
1w ago00:14:22Tap to summarizeErik and Alli unpack what it feels like when a leader realizes a person might be at their ceiling. They compare different coaching approaches, including changing assumptions about the role, using outside perspective, and running short “experiments” to replace gut-feeling with confidence.🧭 Conversation HighlightsErik frames the moment of realizing someone may be at “the ceiling” as uncomfortable, doubly so because leaders worry they could be wrong or be the problem.Alli shares her own example: she suspected a direct report had hit capacity, but she later discovered the issue was role fit and the person rose after adjustments.They discuss how to diagnose the real situation: Alli emphasizes mentorship, peer feedback, and mapping what the role actually needs against what the person does well or not well.Erik adds a practical approach: create a time-bound experiment and ask, “Why do I believe this will ever be different?” so the leader can act from reality, not fear.💡 Key TakeawaysBefore you act, separate role fit from capacity. Sometimes the ceiling is really a mismatch between what the job demands and what the person is wired to deliver.A first step can be admitting the possibility to yourself (and only then, as needed, to others). It’s intimidating, but avoiding it usually keeps the problem hidden.Short, structured tests beat vague optimism. Build an “experiment” that answers whether improvement is likely within a reasonable timeframe.Even if someone cannot grow into the hardest parts of the role, that doesn’t automatically mean exit. Think about how to keep them in the work they do well, with honest expectation-setting.❓ Questions That MatteredIs this person genuinely at their ceiling, or are they in the wrong role for what they do best?Am I the one getting in their way, or have my expectations and feedback been unclear?What evidence do I have that change is possible in a short, meaningful timeline?If they cannot do the top requirements, what is the right long-term plan for how they contribute?🗣️ Notable Quotes“We rise to our highest level of incompetence.”“Fun fact of the day: you never surprise people in a performance review.”“If you're willing to acknowledge that... what if I'm wrong? What if I'm the problem?”“Why would I believe this will ever be different?”🔗 Links & ResourcesListen To Other Episodes Co-Hosted With AlliCheck out Alli's Skool Community
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207: Gregory Kovsky: "The Hidden Barriers To Becoming a Real Business Broker"
2w ago01:20:16Tap to summarizeSelling a business is often the largest financial transaction of an entrepreneur’s life—but according to Gregory Kovsky, most business owners underestimate how complex the process really is.In this conversation, Erik sits down with Gregory Kovsky, President and CEO of International Business Associates (IBA), to unpack the realities of business brokerage, M&A advisory, and what separates elite dealmakers from average brokers. Gregory shares lessons from more than 30 years in the industry, including why so many businesses never sell, how experience changes outcomes, and why communication—not information—is often the most valuable asset in a transaction.Along the way, they explore negotiation, AI, leadership, business evolution, and the surprising similarities between business brokerage and heart surgery.👤 About the GuestGregory Kovski is President and CEO of International Business Associates (IBA), the Pacific Northwest’s oldest and largest business brokerage firm. With 30+ years of experience and 300+ personal transactions, he leads a team across 10 offices in Washington and Oregon and has helped complete 4,400+ deals. He blends brokerage, finance, and licensing expertise, and publishes and speaks on buying and,🧭 Conversation HighlightsWhy barriers to entry are too low for what business brokerage actually demandsThe “three tiers” of communication: articulate, educate, persuadeA broker’s job is to spot yellow flags, then pull in the right experts fastIndustry-specific nuance and process discipline matter for long, emotionally loaded retirement exits💡 Key TakeawaysBusiness brokerage is not one skill. It spans accounting, taxes, finance, law, insurance, real estate, licensing, and psychology.A good broker is a facilitator: recognize risk, educate clients, and coordinate experts, not claim omniscience.Communication wins deals: clarity in the moment, plus referenceable written materials.Screen brokers like you’d screen a surgeon: track record, specialization, and experience under pressure.❓ Questions That MatteredWhat should the minimum licensing and continuing education bar be for business brokers to match the complexity of the work?Why do so many deals fail or leave sellers regretting the outcome, and what predicts those outcomes?How is technology and AI changing information asymmetry in business sales, and why does lived execution still matter?How should an entrepreneur vet a broker: personal trust, firm scale, and industry-specific experience all at once?🗣️ Notable Quotes“A good business intermediary needs diverse knowledge and experience to professionally represent their client.”“Our job is to get people to shake hands.”“If you don’t know about them, if you don’t understand them, how can you guide a client through that sale process?”“There’s nothing good that happens from forcing anything.”🔗 Links & ResourcesFollow Gregory Kovsky's LinkedInCheck out IBA’s Website: ibainc.com
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206: Olivia Bryant: "Culture Breaks When Values Become Words"
2w ago01:11:21Tap to summarizeWhat happens when an HR executive, hospitality operator, and culture strategist all show up in the same person?In this conversation, Erik sits down with Olivia Bryant to explore one of the most misunderstood topics in business: culture. Drawing from decades of experience spanning hospitality, technology, finance, HR, and operations, Olivia shares why culture isn't a soft concept—it's a business system.Together, they unpack the post-COVID shift in employee values, the hidden power of hospitality leadership, Disney's remarkable employer brand, and why resilient cultures behave more like lungs than rulebooks. 👤 About the GuestOlivia Bryant is a culture strategist, operations leader, and Chief Operating Officer executive whose career spans hospitality, enterprise technology, finance, and organizational development.After helping lead large-scale people initiatives—including work surrounding the historic Citrix-TIBCO merger—Olivia returned to her roots in hospitality, where she now helps restaurant organizations blend operational success with purposeful culture-building. She is also the creator of The Culture Chat, where she explores leadership, culture, and the future of work. That podcast is filled with insightful conversations about organizational culture and best practices that drive success in today’s diverse workplace. 🧭 Conversation HighlightsCulture as an operational system: belief, resilience, assimilation, and accountabilityTurning data into real decisions: guest sentiment, reviews, sales signals, and milestonesHiring and onboarding for “people who chose the industry as a career,” not just a jobChange management recipe: buy-in, change champions, honest pain points, and measurable progress💡 Key TakeawaysCulture is happening either way. The choice is whether you build it consciously and measure what matters.Data closes the loop, but it has to become action via milestones, feedback, and training.Strong hospitality cultures run on belief and reinforcements, not posters and perks.Resilient culture needs cadence, flexibility, and a tolerance for fluctuation during change.❓ Questions That MatteredHow do you hire for genuine buy-in and not just enthusiasm you can say in an interview?What feedback loops actually improve the guest experience beyond lagging KPIs?What makes culture on purpose resilient through leadership changes and major shifts?How do you gather “data not anecdotes” without undermining human service?🗣️ Notable Quotes“If you don't have accountability you have culture, but it's probably not the culture anybody wants to be part of.”“Culture on purpose needs resilience, like lungs that can compress and expand through change.”“The heartbeat of culture is what people actually live, not what’s on the poster.”“The statement is: it's being built regardless. You're either building it consciously or you're building it unconsciously.”🔗 Links & ResourcesFollow Olivia on LinkedInCheck out Vine Hospitality's Website: vinehospitality.comListen to ‘The Culture Chat’ Podcast
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205: AI Will Disrupt Tasks, Not Entire Jobs
2w ago00:35:54Tap to summarizeErik argues that AI will displace some tasks and some people, but the bigger story is job redefinition and hiring growth driven by unlocked market value. He lays out five examples, contrasting “tasks” AI can replace with “jobs” that exist because humans add customer value.🧭 Conversation HighlightsAI can replace tasks, but it does not automatically replace jobs, because jobs are bundles of quality, judgment, coordination, and accountabilityCustomer value is what expands markets, and AI can help companies identify where humans actually add valueCoding, radiology, and customer-facing roles show the pattern: automation changes work, it does not necessarily reduce the number of rolesHistorically, technology threats often follow a paradigm shift (ATMs versus digital banking), not the technology itself (the iPhone point) instead of the ATM point alone (teller work)💡 Key TakeawaysJob displacement will be real for individuals, and transitions can be painful, but the larger scale effect may be more opportunity createdMcDonald’s kiosks illustrate the idea that automation can redirect human time toward customer experience roles, not necessarily cut headcountEven where AI is a strong tool (developers, radiology), the human contribution often shifts to architecture, security, care coordination, and patient guidanceThe risk of mass job loss is more tied to whether markets shrink due to paradigm shifts, not whether AI exists❓ Questions That MatteredHow do we distinguish AI replacing tasks from AI replacing entire jobs?Where, in a specific company, do humans add the most customer value, and can AI reveal that faster?Is the real threat to jobs the automation itself, or the paradigm shift that changes customer behavior and market demand?When creative tools automate production, what happens to the overall market for creative services, and who gets new access?🗣️ Notable Quotes“AI is good at replacing tasks, but not really automatically replacing jobs.”“Jobs are made or lost because markets grow or shrink.”“The technology itself isn’t what's going to take it. It's the replacement of the task… that’s when people no longer need you.”“The future isn’t jobless. The future isn’t… high income everywhere. It is very redesigned around more and more human value.”🔗 Links & ResourcesListen To More Solo EpisodesGoldman Sachs — How Will AI Affect the US Labor Market?Anthropic — The Anthropic Economic IndexJames Bessen / IMF — Toil and TechnologyAmerican College of Radiology — The Radiologist Shortage: A Workforce UpdateCNN — McDonald’s Touchscreen Kiosks Were Feared as Job Killers. Instead, Something Surprising Happened
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204: "How To Coach Through The Delegation Mess" ft. Alli Murphy
2w ago00:16:46Tap to summarizeDelegation doesn’t go wrong because you delegated. It goes wrong because something underneath was already broken, and now you can see it. The real work for a senior leader is to respond in a way that protects trust while helping your people solve the problem on their side of the table.🧭 Conversation HighlightsDelegation often reveals process, skill, or expectation breakdowns that were already present, especially when you assign “new-to-them” work.Don’t confuse urgency with control: jumping in too aggressively can damage trust and make people afraid to take the next opportunity.Use a conversation to coach: get curious, ask open-ended questions, clarify success, and help them build their own repeatable approach.In high-pressure moments, you may need to help or provide options, but preserve agency so the person learns and owns the outcome.💡 Key TakeawaysTreat delegation failures as “visibility,” not proof of incompetence. The flashlight was just overdue.Protect trust while solving the problem. If the person feels vulnerable, your response can either build safety or shut it down.Your goal is repeatability, not just getting the current project finished. Empower the person to solve it again in the future.When you must intervene for timeline or stakes, do it in a way that still keeps the person in charge of choices and next steps.❓ Questions That MatteredWhat “rats or spiders” are showing up when delegation isn’t working, and what breakdown is actually underneath it?What does success look like to you, and where do we meet versus where do we miss?How do we enhance trust so the person can ask for help and learn instead of hiding mistakes?When urgency forces you to step in, how can you still preserve the person’s control and ownership?🗣️ Notable QuotesDelegation is just finally revealing that those things were going wrong the whole time.The problems were already there, and now you can finally fix them.If you can remember that the person you're leading in this situation is vulnerable, and if you insert yourself aggressively back into it, you will tear to shreds whatever trust you might have been b uThe next time you delegate, you'll have a lot more confidence because you went through that with them.🔗 Links & ResourcesListen To Other Episodes Co-Hosted With AlliCheck out Alli's Skool Community
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