Your Future Realized

Find the full transcript at: YourFutureRealized.com/106.

When was the last time you truly left your phone alone for a whole hour? No peeking at Slack, or email? Does anyone do that anymore?

After four months together, a client of mine—a real go-getter—shared something that really landed:

“My husband told me I’ve never had a healthier relationship with work.” 

Her son had been sick. Her former M.O. would have been to feel guilty and che...

Find the full transcript at YourFutureRealized.com/105.

Ever have one of those days where even the smallest decisions feel impossible? Even the best ops leaders can freeze up, not for lack of ideas or drive, but from info overload. 

One leader I know kept seeing her team spinning their wheels, like they were dragging their heels. They were hanging back, waiting for certainty that never came. Meanwhile, nothing moved forward. 

What cha...

Find the full episode and transcript at YourFutureRealized.com/104.

Have you ever led a team and realized—maybe a little too late—that something was off? On the surface, everything looks fine. But people have stopped sharing or pushing back, and the energy… shifts.

This happened with a client whose meetings were heavy with silence. And not the kind you get when people are focused, the kind where they’re holding back.

One day, a collea...

Find the full episode, and more resources for operations executives, at yourfuturerealized.com/103.

Ever notice someone on your team seems to operate on an entirely different wavelength? Or maybe that’s you—juggling a hundred moving parts and still feeling a bit out of sync.

Is being “wired differently” a flaw, or could it be your hidden superpower?

Ops execs know what it’s like to keep things stable, even when the real challenges are...

Find the full transcript at YourFutureRealized.com/102. 

I want to tell you about Sam. Sam is an operations leader at a small business that’s growing and changing fast. He’s very used to powering through and solving problems quickly.

Lately, Sam’s team ran into tech glitches from new AI features—with no easy fixes yet. His first move? Double down: work longer, push harder, expecting the same great results.

But problems kept piling up ...

Find the full transcript at yourfuturerealized.com/101. 

How many of your meetings truly move the needle? 

I recently worked with someone whose days were full of urgent meetings that didn’t deserve her time. We looked at each one: Why it was there, what it specifically was for, and if she really had to attend.  

She found nearly a third were there out of habit. This kept her stuck reacting, firefighting, and never moving forward on th...

Find the full transcript at yourfuturerealized.com/100.

I’ve struggled with running for years. I’d push through 5ks, only to crash hard afterward, wiped out, knees spent, quitting for months. It felt like winning and failing, again and again. 

Then a physiotherapist/running coach helped me shift to playing the long game: strength training, recovery, smart pacing, and patience.

Funny how often I’ve had to relearn this simple lesson, in...

Find the full transcript at yourfuturerealized.com/99. 

Last week, I was chatting with a creative powerhouse of an ops leader who's been juggling a global team around the clock. She felt overwhelmed, so we came up with a simple challenge: try going to bed the same time her son does for one week.

It sounded like a simple thing, but she was surprised by the difference. She woke up more rested, was eating better, got more done, and...

Find the full transcript at: yourfuturerealized.com/98.

Operations execs often tell me they’re running full tilt but are unable to make meaningful progress. Days packed with back-to-back meetings and emails leave little room for breakthroughs.

It’s so easy to get trapped on this hamster wheel of reactive busyness. And I know you already get that being busy doesn’t always mean making progress.

Breaking out of this pattern is tough, esp...

Find the full transcript at yourfuturerealized.com/97.

At a successful, growing company, the sales ops team was split into two, to form dedicated sales and ops teams. It looked like the perfect solution. More focus, right? 

But soon, these teammates who’d worked together side by side for years, even gone to each other’s weddings, were squabbling. The split, instead of bringing clarity, caused confusion and a tug-of-war over prioritie...

Find the full transcript at yourfuturerealized.com/96.

You know what it’s like when you’re juggling a dozen urgent things, and suddenly a project just… stalls? Out of the blue. Later, you find out that your counterpart in another department “thought you were on it,” but you haven’t actually talked to them in weeks. 

Now you’re both annoyed, and the work is grinding to a halt.

Let’s talk about something that can quietly make or break y...

Find the full transcript for this episode at yourfuturerealized.com/95.

I’m looking at a little photo of a bluebird on my bulletin board, with a saying that’s stuck with me. It goes, “A bird sitting on a tree is never afraid of the branch breaking, because her trust is not in the branch but in her own wings.”

I printed this out years ago during a messy company reorg. Folks kept coming to me, looking for some breathing space, a should...

Find the full transcript for this episode at yourfuturerealized.com/94.

How often do you find yourself in a meeting, the conversation swirling, and suddenly everyone’s looking to you for the answer? You know that moment when you are expected to cut through the noise and make a call fast. And past all the data, there’s an inner voice nudging you.

What do you do? Do you go with the numbers, or do you trust that gut feeling you can’t qu...

Find the full transcript at yourfuturerealized.com/93.

You know that feeling when you log on in the morning, and before you’ve even had your first sip of coffee, the Slack pings start rolling in? Then the emails, the DMs… It’s like a digital avalanche. 

I recently spoke with someone with over 2800 unread emails in her inbox. Two thousand, eight hundred! It’s almost funny, except it’s not. And that’s what so many leaders are up agains...

Find the full transcript at yourfuturerealized.com/92.

"I don't have the answers... I'm the guy that asks more questions." 

That's Josh Renicker, COO of Energy Access. It's a refreshing take from someone at the top, isn't it?

Josh climbed the ladder from midnight shifts to the executive boardroom, working full time while earning multiple degrees, and keeping his boots-on-the-ground perspective all al...

Find the full transcript at yourfuturerealized.com/91.

Ever been the only lifeguard at a packed pool? You’re perched up high, scanning every corner, whistle ready, always on alert. 

At first, it’s fun. But after a while, you realize you’re just stuck. You can’t be everywhere and jump in every time something happens. And if you try, you just wear yourself out. And honestly, something still going to slip through the cracks.

Leading oper...

Find the full transcript at: yourfuturerealized.com/90.

Have you heard this old joke?: “What do you call someone who hangs out with musicians? A drummer.” 

It always gets a chuckle, but anyone who’s ever been in a band knows the truth: The drummer is the backbone. Without them, the whole thing falls apart. They keep everyone in sync, set the pace, and hold it all together, even though they’re not out front with the mic. 

Just stop and...

Find the full transcript at yourfuturerealized.com/89.

“Ugh, I know I need to have this conversation. But I don’t want to sound harsh or make them defensive.”

If your ops team is dropping the ball, that probably hits close to home. Accountability talks can be tough. They’re easy to put off because they’re just plain uncomfortable.

But here’s the thing: when you handle them the right way, these conversations don’t just solve problems, ...

Find the full transcript at yourfuturerealized.com/88.

Some days it feels like you’re spinning plates on a windy day, and everyone’s counting on you to keep things from crashing.

Whether your job title says “operations” or you’re just the person who quietly keeps the ship running, you know what it’s like to juggle all the moving parts, shifting priorities, and constant surprises. 

If you’ve ever wondered how to stay steady when everyt...