The Level Up Podcast w/ Paul Alex – Episode Summary

Episode Overview

Title: Nike, Ford, Pepsi… What They Get Wrong About Innovation
Date: December 14, 2025
Host: Paul Alex Espinoza
Guest: Bud Cadell, Founder of Nobel

In this insightful episode, Paul Alex speaks with Bud Cadell—a change expert and founder of Nobel consulting—on why some of the world’s biggest brands (like Nike, Ford, and Pepsi) consistently struggle with innovation, why change fails in many organizations, and how new entrepreneurs can sidestep the common traps that derail both startups and corporate giants. The conversation is candid, tactical, and rich with real-life stories and actionable advice, making it a must-listen for entrepreneurs and leaders at all stages.

Main Discussion Points & Insights

Bud’s Early Journey and What Shaped His Mindset

• Bud’s Background:
  • Grew up in Houston in a family of entrepreneurs (grandfather and father in construction).
  • Became a self-proclaimed “extreme nerd,” programming by age 10, leading tech at a startup at 16, and consulting for major brands in New York by his twenties.
  • Quote (Bud, 02:10): “If you grow up in Houston, where I did, and you pour concrete in the summer, you quickly want to work on computers.”

The Moment of Realization: Fixing How Companies Work

• The Shift:
  After watching brilliant ideas die due to internal dysfunction, Bud realized “innovation” wasn’t the core problem—execution and aligned incentives were.
  • Key Story (03:11): Magic wand wish list for families at a retailer failed not for lack of brilliance, but for lack of cross-team alignment and risk appetite.
  • Quote (Bud, 04:15): “I just watched the dysfunction inside this company... I was solving the wrong problem.”

Why Big Companies Fail at Change

• Core Reason:
  Bud describes how culture, not mere declarations, determines if innovation survives.
  • Key Hollywood Studio Story (05:19): Hired Google talent, but stifling culture prevented innovation from taking root.
  • Quote (Bud, 06:00): “Innovation is a product of a system... making room for risk and experimentation... it’s not just saying, ‘Let’s be innovative.’”

The Consulting Industry’s Misstep

• Problem with Traditional Consulting:
  Big firms deliver massive decks that gather dust. Nobel focuses on embedding the actual changes post-deck.
  • Quote (Bud, 08:35): “I get a call probably once a month from a big organization saying, ‘McKinsey just dropped off this 100-slide PowerPoint deck. No one knows what to make of it or how to move it forward.’”

Most Chaotic Situation: Crisis Strategy on the Brink of Bankruptcy

• Bud’s Approach (09:48):
  Called an emergency planning session after the CEO announced possible bankruptcy. Centered the room and got leaders to map scenarios and actionable steps, preventing paralysis.
  • Quote (Bud, 10:14): “I got up there and invited everyone to take one huge breath and said, ‘Okay, how are we going to solve this problem?’”

First-Time Leaders & Why Change Feels So Hard

• Key Advice:
  Take lessons from bad bosses and be transparent about the ‘why’ for any change.
  • Quote (Bud, 11:30): “The most fatigued people are the ones who just can’t explain ... why the organization is doing what it has to do right now.”

Culture as Growth’s Secret Weapon

• Example of Success Through Culture:
  Start-up scaled from eBay sales to $150M/year, with culture as the glue during chaotic growth.
  • Quote (Bud, 13:36): “[It was] all culture that stabilized them through that process.”

Advice For Early-Stage Entrepreneurs

Moving Fast Without Big-Business Resources

• Focus:
  Find your specific customer and go deep; hire for decision speed and skills missing from founder team.
  • Quote (Bud, 16:03): “Entrepreneurs who succeed really have... the ability to focus and not try to bake the entire cake at once.”

Navigating Partnerships

• On Partnerships:
  Both Paul and Bud share personal lessons about the risks of business partnerships, especially as money and pressure mount.
  • Quote (Bud, 18:23): “Don’t have partners... it requires a huge amount of work, requires more time and attention than you give to a spouse.”

Vision vs. Operator - Founder Types

• Bud’s Self-Assessment:
  Vision and details person, needs strong operators to run the middle.
  • Quote (Bud, 20:05): “I have a strong vision... then I have a really annoying eye for detail and for delivery... but there’s the middle altitude that I need smarter people around me to handle.”

What Great Leaders Do Differently

• Living in Customer Spaces:
  Great leaders constantly track trends themselves and are always in touch with their market’s information sources.
  • Quote (Bud, 21:42): “They live in the spaces their consumers spend time in... they understand what’s happening around them and don’t trust just the information that’s handed to them.”

Mindset for Future Survival

• Top Advice:
  Stay humble, protect your cash flow, and question what you think you know—curiosity starts with humility.
  • Quote (Bud, 23:07): “Humility is the beginning of curiosity, right? You can’t be curious if you’re not humble.”

Building a Lasting Team Culture

• Look for Cultural ‘Torchbearers’:
  Hire those who care about building (not just managing), and who will protect and spread your values.
  • Quote (Bud, 25:13): “Look for the people who are cultural torchbearers, who care about the culture they build, who care about their impact on others...”

The Most Reliable Strategy for Entrepreneurs

• Delegation vs. Deputization:
  Don’t just assign tasks—empower your team with ownership of outcomes.
  • Quote (Bud, 26:50): “Don’t just delegate to people—deputize, right?... Delegation is like, ‘hey, go do this task and bring it back’... Deputization is, ‘here’s an outcome, go chase it, and tell me how you did it.’”

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• On struggling partnerships:
  Bud Cadell (00:32): “Don’t have partners... it requires a huge amount of work, more time and attention than you give to a spouse.”
• On failed innovation in big brands:
  Bud Cadell (03:11): “It was this really awesome idea that we had tested with real families that loved the idea... and I just watched the dysfunction inside this company... I was solving the wrong problem.”
• On why leaders must be humble:
  Bud Cadell (23:07): “Humility is the beginning of curiosity, right? You can’t be curious if you’re not humble.”
• On executing strategy:
  Bud Cadell (26:50): “Don’t just delegate—deputize... As you’re growing an organization, you’re always going to hit a moment where you can’t do everything… can I deputize this person to go chase that outcome?”

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Bud’s upbringing & nerd roots: 02:10–02:58
• Innovation labs heartbreak (retailer story): 03:11–05:03
• Why transformation fails (Hollywood studio story): 05:19–06:29
• Consulting industry’s main failing: 08:35–09:24
• Handling company on brink of bankruptcy: 09:48–11:08
• Why change is so hard for new leaders: 11:30–13:03
• Culture in hypergrowth startups: 13:36–15:17
• Growing fast with limited resources: 16:03–17:54
• On business partnerships: 18:23–19:55
• Bud’s founder profile (Visionary/Operator): 20:05–21:07
• How great leaders stay ahead: 21:42–22:42
• Mindset for new leaders: 23:07–23:55
• Golden rule for building lasting culture: 25:13–26:15
• “Old faithful” strategy – Deputization: 26:50–28:07

Actionable Takeaways for Listeners

• Start with a clear customer and focus, saying ‘no’ to distractions.
• Build culture intentionally from Day One; hire only those who build and live your values.
• Be transparent about why and why now when leading change.
• Don’t just give tasks to your team—give them clear outcomes to own (“deputize, don’t just delegate”).
• Practice humility and curiosity to weather inevitable market and company shifts.

Find Bud Cadell:

• Website: nobl.io
• Instagram & LinkedIn: @BudCadell

“If you want to build a culture, you got to have people who care about culture.”
—Bud Cadell (25:13)