The Unfolding Thought Podcast

Eric Pratum sits down with Mike Wiles—YouTube’s Tractor Mike—to explore the future of rural America, small-scale farming, and compact tractor markets. Mike shares his extensive experience, beginning with his early days working an apple orchard, through his career managing farm equipment dealerships, to educating hundreds of thousands of people through his popular YouTube channel.

Mike discusses the growing interest in small-time far...

In this episode of The Unfolding Thought Podcast, Eric Pratum sits down with Jes Deaver, an architect and storyteller who uses interdisciplinary thinking, film, and science fiction to help communities envision better futures. Jes talks candidly about her journey from working with specialty cameras on film sets to exploring architecture through personal and collaborative projects, including the meaningful partnership with her archit...

Eric Pratum speaks with Hugh Massie—founder and executive chairman of DNA Behavior—a behavioral insights company that helps individuals and organizations measure and leverage natural behavior patterns to drive financial performance, cultural alignment, and leadership effectiveness.

Hugh shares his journey from chartered accountant in Australia to global entrepreneur, explains how “financial DNA” and “business DNA” were born, and rev...

Eric Pratum sits down with Kari Zeller, whose journey began as an Air Force officer confronting the critical realities of aircraft maintenance during wartime. Kari explains how her leadership evolution from the battlefield to the corporate world shaped her approach to organizational mobilization—a distinct departure from traditional change management. Together, they explore why aligning strategy, structure, culture, and human engag...

In this episode of The Unfolding Thought Podcast, Eric Pratum talks with Derek Mulhern—a consultant often working with nonprofits and associations to align their strategic vision with practical human-centered solutions. With over 15 years of experience in organizational strategy, team alignment, and board governance, Derek shares powerful insights into why many organizations struggle with effective change implementation and how tru...

On this episode of The Unfolding Thought Podcast, Eric Pratum sits down with Alan Fine, renowned coach and one of the originators of GROW. Alan takes listeners through his unexpected journey into coaching, from a childhood tennis tournament to shaping global leadership strategies. The conversation delves into how coaching is not merely about asking questions, but also about creating environments where people can safely explore and ...

In this episode of The Unfolding Thought Podcast, Eric Pratum sits down with Sheila Burkett, a tech entrepreneur whose background spans finance, racing, historic redevelopment, and digital innovation. Sheila’s career started at Edward Jones, where she advanced from intern to general partner, gaining insight into technology and leadership along the way. Sheila went on to co-found Spry Digital, leveraging open-source technology to em...

In this episode of The Unfolding Thought Podcast, host Eric Pratum chats with Mandy Hoskinson—a digital marketer and agency founder whose journey took her from UCLA’s nascent social media team to founding her own agency in Los Angeles. Along the way, Mandy led social campaigns for marquee brands (like CBS primetime shows, the LA Olympic bid, and more), using her holistic, multicultural perspective to connect data and storytelling. ...

In this episode of The Unfolding Thought Podcast, host Eric Pratum welcomes Simplifying Beauty founder Kimberly Beckley, a lash artist, salon owner, and soon-to-be academy director with 20 years of beauty industry experience. Kimberly isn’t your typical beauty professional: she’s driven by the idea that real success comes from running a human-focused, sustainable business—not just chasing trends or hustling 24/7. Kimberly opens up ...

In this episode of The Unfolding Thought Podcast, host Eric Pratum chats with Ted Wright, the unstoppable force behind the word-of-mouth marketing agency Fizz. Whether you’ve sipped on a Pabst Blue Ribbon after hearing it was suddenly “cool,” tried chocolate milk as your new post-gym recovery hack, or embraced Intel’s early dual-core chip for gaming, there’s a good chance Ted’s work was behind it. Ted insists that the most human br...

In this episode of The Unfolding Thought Podcast, host Eric Pratum welcomes Jeremy Haselwood—a dynamic marketer, speaker, and two-time author who once poured his heart into making it big in the music industry. Reflecting on experiences from rap battles to marketing consulting for Fortune 500 clients, Jeremy shares how he discovered his “why,” found balance after years of full-throttle hustle, and now helps organizations plan and ex...

In this episode of The Unfolding Thought Podcast, host Eric Pratum welcomes Lucas Mack—former morning TV reporter, creative agency founder, and head of brand for Kubota. Through personal stories of adversity and triumph, Lucas explains how telling the truth—both to yourself and to others—can become a powerful catalyst for transformation in business and life.

Topics Explored:

1. Resilience Rooted in Hardship - Lucas shares how surv...

In this episode of The Unfolding Thought Podcast, host Eric Pratum welcomes Juli Rush, whose work spans educating everyone from middle-schoolers to adults in strategic foresight and supporting individuals as a death doula. Drawing on her background in thanatology (the study of death and dying) and her role as Director of the Foresight Activation Lab at the University of Houston, Juli reveals how these seemingly different fields sha...

In this episode of The Unfolding Thought Podcast, host Eric Pratum welcomes Andy Bales, whose extensive experience spans from the Door of Faith Mission in Des Moines to serving as CEO of Union Rescue Mission in Los Angeles—often described as the epicenter of homelessness in the U.S. Andy dives into the forces that lead individuals into homelessness, the hidden traumas that often go unseen, and why providing a roof alone won’t repai...

In this episode of The Unfolding Thought Podcast, host Eric Pratum talks with Dan Reus, founder of Openly Disruptive, about how creative pivots and unexpected collaborations can drive innovation—whether in theme parks, brand marketing, or entire city ecosystems. Dan’s path stretches from designing roller-coaster experiences to advising corporate leaders on how to align competing teams, and even competitors, around a shared vision o...

In this episode of The Unfolding Thought Podcast, host Eric Pratum chats with Adam Wallace, who has spent a career solving the puzzle of why good plans so often fail in execution. Adam’s background spans broadway technical direction, multi-billion dollar oil projects, enterprise software rollouts, and now a family office portfolio. Across these diverse domains, he’s seen the same patterns: people aim for the “promised land,” but hi...

In this episode of The Unfolding Thought Podcast, host Eric Pratum interviews Bill Jacobs, who has spent over two decades helping nonprofits use data to drive better fundraising results. Bill explains how donor behavior is shifting—especially in today’s economic and cultural environment—and why many nonprofits find themselves behind the curve when it comes to analytics and innovation.

Together, Eric and Bill explore:

• Fundraisin...

In this episode of The Unfolding Thought Podcast, Eric Pratum sits down with Eliot Frick, founder of Bigwidesky, to discuss how our deeply ingrained, mechanical view of business and culture can actually limit innovation and true leadership. Eliot explains why some challenges can’t be solved simply by adopting best practices, and how leaders can learn to operate effectively in uncharted territory.

Together, Eric and Eliot delve into:

In this episode of The Unfolding Thought Podcast, Carlos Martinez, Site Director at MilliporeSigma, discusses his journey from growing up in Puerto Rico to work touching on the Human Genome Project and leading innovation in life sciences. Carlos shares how his passion for bridging ideas, disciplines, and people has shaped his leadership style and his career.

Carlos dives into the power of CliftonStrengths as a tool for unlocking ind...