The Strategy and Leadership Podcast with Anthony C. Taylor
The Strategy & Leadership Podcast with Anthony C. Taylor explores strategic planning, strategy execution, and executive leadership in complex organizations. Hosted by Anthony C. Taylor, Founder & Principal of SME Strategy, the show features conversations with CEOs and senior leaders on business strategy, organizational alignment, leadership development, and change management. Episodes examine real trade-offs, decision-making, and the practical structures that turn strategic plans into measurable results and sustained team performance. Designed for CEOs and executive teams responsible for making strategic plans work in the real world. Learn more: https://www.smestrategy.net Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonyctaylor604/
Episodes
What does it actually take to lead when the stakes are life and death, and what happens when those same pressures show up in a boardroom? According to Jenn Donahue, the answer starts not with strategy or skill, but with the voices inside your own head.
In this episode, Anthony C. Taylor speaks with Jenn Donahue, PhD, PE, retired U.S. Navy captain, international keynote speaker, business coach, and USA Today bestselling author of Bec...
What happens when you build a global brand, sell it for $200 million, and realize it's not what you want? According to Mark Rampolla, the real lesson isn't about the exit or buyback. It's about understanding that growth isn't something you do. It's something you become.
In this episode of the Strategy & Leadership Podcast, Anthony C. Taylor speaks with Mark Rampolla, founder and CEO of ZICO Coconut Water, co-founder and managing...
What separates teams that chase perfection from those that settle for good enough? According to Jason Richardson, it comes down to three things: the culture you build from the roots up, the trust you earn before you need it, and the ownership every leader takes for the environment their team lives in.
In this episode of the Strategy and Leadership Podcast, Anthony C. Taylor speaks with Jason Richardson, a former Royal Australian Air...
What separates the leaders who scale from the ones who stall? According to Jim Remley, it comes down to three things: the expectations you set, the people you develop, and the financial discipline you build before you need it.
In this episode of the Strategy & Leadership Podcast, Anthony C. Taylor speaks with Jim Remley, founder of the largest independent real estate brokerage in Oregon and nationally recognized coach at eRealEs...
What if the secret to building a company that lasts over a century isn't disruption, technology, or even capital — but the discipline to put relationships before transactions, every single time?
In this episode, Anthony C. Taylor speaks with Jonathan Iger, CEO and President of Sage, a 102-year-old commercial real estate company that has outlasted every recession, market shift, and industry disruption since 1924. Jonathan share...
Most executives will tell you they understand their business. Ask them to walk you through their financial statements, and the room goes quiet.
In this episode of the Strategy & Leadership Podcast, Anthony C. Taylor speaks with Tim Vipond, Co-Founder and CEO of Corporate Finance Institute (CFI), about why financial acumen is a non-negotiable leadership skill and why the rise of AI is making it more critical, not less.
Tim breaks ...
66% of tech projects never launch. 70% of the ones that do fail to deliver what leadership expected. The problem isn't the technology — it's the C-suite.
3x Inc 5000 founder Dustin Domerese joins Anthony C. Taylor to unpack why mid-market tech rollouts keep failing and what CEOs of $30M–$300M companies need to do differently.
In this conversation:
- Why your frontline workers aren't the adoption problem (and who is)- The m...
What if the biggest mistake leadership teams are making with AI isn’t about the technology at all?
In this episode of the Strategy & Leadership Podcast, Anthony Taylor speaks with Jeroen De Flander, international expert in AI Strategy and Strategy Execution, keynote speaker, and co-founder of The Performance Factory.
Jeroen has worked with more than 500 companies worldwide and has spent decades helping organizations close t...
What happens when success itself starts pulling your company away from its mission?
In this episode of the Strategy & Leadership Podcast, Anthony Taylor speaks with Eric Ries, entrepreneur and author of Incorruptible: Why Good Companies Go Bad… and How Great Companies Stay Great.
Eric is best known for The Lean Startup, a book that reshaped how modern companies are built. In this conversation, he expands on that foundation...
Why Your Leadership Team Isn’t Aligned on What Actually Drives Value with Lee Benson
What happens when a leadership team can’t agree on what actually drives value?
In this episode of the Strategy & Leadership Podcast, Anthony Taylor speaks with Lee Benson, a multi-exit CEO who has built and sold companies ranging from seven to nine figures and developed a practical methodology for aligning teams around what matters mo...
The Creator Economy Is Just Getting Started with Greg Selkoe of XSET
What happens when culture, gaming, media, and entrepreneurship converge?
In this episode of the Strategy & Leadership Podcast, Anthony Taylor speaks with Greg Selkoe, a serial entrepreneur who has spent his career building culture-driven companies at the intersection of media, commerce, and community.
Greg is the Co-Founder and CEO of XSET, a gaming lifestyle bra...
Many organizations focus heavily on strategy, but the real differentiator inside high-performing organizations is culture. While strategy sets direction, culture determines whether teams can collaborate, innovate, and execute consistently over time.
In this episode of the Strategy and Leadership Podcast, host Anthony C. Taylor sits down with Chris Deaver, culture architect, leadership coach, and co-author of Brave Together. Chris is...
Applying AI Responsibly Without Overengineering or Chasing Hype with Daniel Hindi, CEO of NOEM.ai
Many organizations are rushing to adopt artificial intelligence, but leaders often struggle with where to start and how to apply it responsibly. While AI promises efficiency and automation, the real challenge is using it strategically without overengineering systems, chasing hype, or creating unnecessary fear within teams.
In this episod...
Most leaders believe success comes from better tools, better strategies, or better tactics. But under real pressure, those things rarely determine the outcome. What actually matters is the operator behind them—and whether they can stay focused, disciplined, and effective when conditions aren’t ideal.
In this episode of the Strategy and Leadership Podcast, host Anthony Taylor sits down with Simon Jeffries, former UK Speci...
For many entrepreneurs, growth means hiring more people, increasing revenue, and expanding into new markets. But what if there were another path to scaling—one that uses capital markets, partnerships, and strategic acquisitions to grow faster and more efficiently?
In this episode of the Strategy and Leadership Podcast, host Anthony Taylor sits down with Callum Laing, partner at Unity Group, investor, entrepreneur, and M&A ...
In business, leaders make decisions every day under uncertainty. But what if the biggest risk isn’t the one you see — it’s the one you misunderstand?
In this episode of the Strategy and Leadership Podcast, host Anthony Taylor sits down with Dr. Michael Orkin, Professor Emeritus of Statistics and author of The Story of Chance: Beyond the Margin of Error, to explore how probability, randomness, and cognitive bias sha...
In many organizations, engagement is treated as a morale metric or a human resources initiative. But what if engagement isn’t a byproduct of strategy — what if it is the strategy?
In this episode of the Strategy and Leadership Podcast, host Anthony Taylor sits down with Christine Miller, former CEO of Melinta Therapeutics and seasoned Life Sciences executive, to explore how disciplined strategic planning, structural clar...
In a business world driven by growth targets, dashboards, and scale, leaders are often told that expansion is the ultimate measure of success. But what if the real challenge isn’t scaling bigger, it’s protecting what matters?
In this episode of the Strategy and Leadership Podcast, host Anthony Taylor sits down with Richard Mah, former Global Head of Digital Marketing at ASICS and now steward of Northern Cafe and Grill, a...
Why good decisions often fail after they’re made — and how leaders can align intuition, planning, and execution so choices actually turn into results.
Even strong strategies can fall apart if organizations aren’t designed to execute them. Decisions that look right on paper often fail downstream, not because they were wrong, but because the systems, structures, and judgment required to carry them through were never ...
In a time defined by rapid technological change, economic uncertainty, and shifting assumptions about work, innovation alone is no longer enough. Leaders are being challenged to rethink not just what they build, but how and why they build it.
In this episode of the Strategy and Leadership Podcast, host Anthony Taylor sits down with JoAnn Garbin, former Microsoft innovation leader and founder of Regeneris Labs, to explore what comes ...
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