
The Action Catalyst
bySouthwestern Family of Podcasts
BusinessEntrepreneurshipEducationSelf-Improvement
The Action Catalyst interviews top leaders and achievers, sharing hard-earned tips and advice to help you uncover your inspiration and gain valuable insights to overcome setbacks, defeat mediocrity, and reach your goals in life, business, and beyond. Southwestern/Great American, Inc., dba Southwestern Family of Companies, for itself and its related entities and their assigns, reserves and retains all rights to their copyrighted materials and trademarks contained in this podcast.
Episodes(40 episodes)

E217 - REMASTERED: Repairing Broken Relationships, with Ron Alford and Josh Hudson (Sales, Responsibility, Coaching, Accountability)
Ron Alford, Senior Partner and a Professional Sales and Leadership Coach at Southwestern Consulting, and Josh Hudson, CEO of Hudson's Furniture, cover the unique relational challenges of operating in a family business, how to establish a rhythm quickly with coaching, identifying patterns in yourself, learning to accept but also to question, and letting others help you help yourself.Mentioned in this episode:This episode is brought to you by Southwestern Coaching.Southwestern Coaching
Published: Dec 23, 2025Duration: 20:30

CLIP: Double-Time Part Time for Full-Time Free Time
Angie Moss, Sales and Leadership Coach and Certified Trainer with Southwestern Consulting, shares how her coaching client adopted the productive mindset of working ON your business rather than IN your business.Hear Angie and Brad's full interview in Episode 150 of The Action Catalyst.
Published: Dec 18, 2025Duration: 1:38

Shared Wisdom, with Dr. Alex Pentland (AI, Technology, Business, Data Science)
Alex “Sandy” Pentland, a Professor at MIT, a Stanford University Fellow, and one of the most cited computational scientists in the world, dives into the misunderstood issues and opportunities around artificial intelligence, including alignment, human centricity, how different nations are handling the new tech, and the application you can put to work in your business straight away that he calls "a little bit of genius".Mentioned in this episode:Get 10% OFF Taelor gift cards right now using promo code PODCASTGIFT at Taelor.styleTaelorGet 25% OFF your first month of Taelor usin...
Published: Dec 16, 2025Duration: 27:07

CLIP: Cutting a Cruise Ship In Half
Richard Fain, the chairman and former long-term CEO of Royal Caribbean Group, explains how Royal Caribbean elevated the entire cruise industry, and why, early in his career, he literally, LITERALLY, had to cut a cruise ship in half.Hear Richard's full interview in Episode 496 of The Action Catalyst.
Published: Dec 11, 2025Duration: 3:08

E150 - REMASTERED: Conquering Complacency, with Angie Moss and Brad Moore (Management, Coaching, Goal Setting, Potential)
Angie Moss, Sales and Leadership Coach and Certified Trainer with Southwestern Consulting, and Brad Moore, Senior Vice President with BancorpSouth Wealth Management, talk about the principles of working ON your business not IN your business, moving your on goalpost for success, and becoming a leader even before you have people to lead.Mentioned in this episode:This episode is brought to you by Southwestern Coaching.Southwestern Coaching
Published: Dec 9, 2025Duration: 19:56

CLIP: Creating the Creed
Karla Lewis, an executive sales and leadership coach and Partner with Southwestern Consulting, and Steve Frody, co-founder of City2Shore Real Estate, share the value of aligning your business and team behind a shared creed (and how to create one).Hear Karla and Steve's full interview in Episode 171 of The Action Catalyst.
Published: Dec 4, 2025Duration: 4:26

E496 - Delivering the WOW, with Richard Fain (Leadership, Travel, Culture, Business)
Richard Fain, the chairman and former long-term CEO of Royal Caribbean Group, recounts the dark days of the Covid pandemic for the cruise business, and explains cheap expensive decisions, the antidote to fear, elevating and innovating the industry, and why he literally, LITERALLY, had to cut a cruise ship in half.Mentioned in this episode:Get 10% OFF Taelor gift cards right now using promo code PODCASTGIFT at Taelor.styleTaelorGet 25% OFF your first month of Taelor using code ActionCatayst at Taelor.style. Taelor
Published: Dec 2, 2025Duration: 29:00

CLIP: Unstructured Data, Moore's Law, and Hallucinations
Gayathri Krishnamurthy, Head of Product Marketing at Level AI, explains how AI is beginning to use data differently from previous versions and how the rate at which it's capabilities are expanding is exponential, but how despite this, the emerging technology is still not without its drawbacks...Hear the full conversation in a first-ever "live" episode of The Action Catalyst.
Published: Nov 28, 2025Duration: 5:18

Happy Thanksgiving, from Adam Outland
Action Catalyst host Adam Outland shares what he's thankful for this Thanksgiving.
Published: Nov 27, 2025Duration: 0:45

Thanksgiving Wishes from Stephanie Maas
Action Catalyst host Stephanie Maas breaks down her favorite parts of the Thanksgiving holiday, and what it really means to have an "attitude of gratitude".
Published: Nov 26, 2025Duration: 2:44

E171 - REMASTERED: How to Beat Being Busy, with Karla Lewis and Steve Frody (Home Ownership, Coaching, Business, Sales)
Karla Lewis, an executive sales and leadership coach and Partner with Southwestern Consulting, and Steve Frody, co-founder of City2Shore Real Estate, share the value of hiring the right assistants and what to look for when doing so, identifying your ideal client, aligning your business and team behind a shared creed (and how to create one), and why remaining coachable is an essential skill.Mentioned in this episode:This episode is brought to you by Southwestern Coaching.Southwestern Coaching
Published: Nov 25, 2025Duration: 21:56

CLIP: The Parts of Purpose
Executive business and life coach and Partner with Southwestern Consulting, Steve Reiner breaks down the key steps towards identifying and living into your purpose.Hear Steve and Tom's full interview in Episode 187 of The Action Catalyst.
Published: Nov 20, 2025Duration: 2:17

The Action Catalyst Live! AI & You: Harnessing Technology Without Losing the Human Touch (Tech, Business, Success, Education)
The Action Catalyst unites several of its esteemed alumni; Anya Cheng, founder and CEO of Taelor, Dave Brown, Founding Partner at Southwestern Consulting, Dr. Amy D'Aprix, President and Founder of Lifebridge Strategies, and newcomer Gayathri Krishnamurthy, Head of Product Marketing at Level AI, for it's first ever "live" episode, from City Winery in Nashville, and a panel discussion on harnessing the growing power of AI without using the human touch. Each guest shares their unique perspective on AI's limitations and pitfalls, how to blend technology with humanity, potential use cases and opportunities, and where we go from here.<...
Published: Nov 18, 2025Duration: 59:15

CLIP: The 6 Keys to a Long, Healthy Life
Dr. Tom Frieden, former CDC Director, NYC Health Commissioner, and current President and CEO of the global health organization Resolve to Save Lives, shares the 6, shockingly straight-forward keys to a longer, healthier life, that you can begin to implement right away.Hear Dr. Frieden's full interview in Episode 495 of The Action Catalyst.
Published: Nov 13, 2025Duration: 7:33

E187 - REMASTERED: Finding Your Life Purpose, with Steve Reiner and Tom Merritt (Mission, Focus, Service, Business)
Executive business and life coach and Partner with Southwestern Consulting, Steve Reiner, and Tom Merritt, a Branch Manager with Summit Funding, explore the healthy way to start to put yourself first, how to find your purpose, setting aside the things you can't control, and being of service to others.Mentioned in this episode:This episode is brought to you by Southwestern Coaching.Southwestern Coaching
Published: Nov 11, 2025Duration: 21:32

CLIP: Make It Scary NOT to Change
Speaker, coach, and CEO / Co-Founder of Disruption Advisors, Whitney Johnson, shares when you need to make it scarier NOT to change...in order to change.Hear Whitney's full interview in Episode 242 of The Action Catalyst.
Published: Nov 6, 2025Duration: 2:57

Overtime with Outland: Dr. Tom Frieden, Episode 495
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 495, with Dr. Tom Frieden, former CDC Director, NYC Health Commissioner, and current President and CEO of the global health organization Resolve to Save Lives.
Published: Nov 5, 2025Duration: 2:36

E495 - The Formula for Better Health, with Dr. Tom Frieden (Healthcare, Leadership, Mindset, Success)
Dr. Tom Frieden, former CDC Director, NYC Health Commissioner, and current President and CEO of the global health organization Resolve to Save Lives, shares the influence of his father, the single question that changed his life, the 3 step formula for impactful healthcare, how to assess levels of certainty, the 6 keys to a longer, healthier life, the low-tech device he uses every day, and the mindset that keeps him moving forward.Mentioned in this episode:Learn more at SouthwesternConsulting.com/Coaching/StudentsSouthwestern Student Coaching
Published: Nov 4, 2025Duration: 33:13

CLIP: Perfecting Your Press Release
Mickie Kennedy, PR expert and the founder of eReleases, a leading press release distribution service, dives into how to create the perfect press release for maximum attention for your business.Hear Mickie's full interview in his special bonus episode of The Action Catalyst.
Published: Oct 30, 2025Duration: 4:33

E242 - REMASTERED: Disruption, Innovation, and Battling Complacency, with Whitney Johnson (Business, Leadership, Executive, Learning)
Speaker, coach, and CEO / Co-Founder of Disruption Advisors, Whitney Johnson, talks about disruptive innovation and the levers of disruption, making it scarier NOT to change, providing “proof points”, the “learn, leap, repeat” method, disrupting a MARRIAGE, when feeling scared and lonely is a positive sign, and silly little things that take over the world.
Published: Oct 28, 2025Duration: 16:01