Unpacked with Ron Harvey

Scott Proposki went from shooting events at the White House under President Obama to building a multimillion-dollar photography business, then losing all of it during COVID. In this episode of Unpacked with Ron Harvey, Scott walks through the three years he spent in the wreckage, the one question from his coach that pulled him out, and the method he now uses to help business owners find the small changes that move an entire year of...

Erin Treacy spent years working 80- and 90-hour weeks, telling herself she would slow down next week. Her body ended the argument for her. Standing on the cook line of one of her 1950s-style diners, her right leg went numb. The diagnosis was a slipped disc and compressed discs in her lower back, and she could no longer stand on a concrete floor for twenty minutes, let alone a twelve-hour shift.

In this episode of Unpacked with Ron H...

In this episode of Unpacked with Ron Harvey, host Ron Harvey sits down with Luke Mickelson, the Idaho farm kid who turned a single homemade bunk bed into Sleep in Heavenly Peace, now the largest bed-building charity in the world. What began in Luke's garage in 2012 has grown into a national movement fighting child bedlessness, and along the way Luke discovered a challenge that quietly derails many founders and leaders: founder synd...

In this episode of Unpacked with Ron Harvey, host Ron Harvey sits down with Anya Cheng, founder and CEO of Taelor AI, the AI-powered styling and clothing rental service that helps busy men look sharp without shopping, laundry, or guesswork. Before launching Taelor, Anya led product at Meta building Facebook and Instagram shopping, served as head of product at eBay, was a senior director at McDonald's building its global food delive...

On this episode of Unpacked with Ron Harvey, behavioral scientist and serial entrepreneur Curtis Sprouse joins Ron for a candid conversation about why most leadership development fails and what it actually takes to build teams that perform without burning out. Drawing on a behavioral data set of more than 4,500 people and decades inside the biopharma, device, and healthcare industries, Curtis unpacks the difference between teams th...

When disaster strikes, what separates the leaders who rise from the ones who freeze? In this episode of Unpacked with Ron Harvey, crisis management expert Keith Erwood draws on decades on the front lines of emergencies, from his years as a New York City EMT to advising organizations on business continuity and disaster recovery. Keith makes a sharp case that the plan itself is never the real test of leadership under pressure. The de...

What does it really take to build a business that outlasts you? In this episode of Unpacked with Ron Harvey, host Ron Harvey sits down with Ty Givens, MBA, a customer experience consultant, operator, and founder with 26 years in the CX space. Ty pulls the curtain back on the unglamorous realities of entrepreneurship and the mindset shifts that kept her in the game when quitting felt like the easier option.

From getting stiffed by he...

We break down why the first 90 days in a new executive role matter more than most leaders expect, and how earned authority is built through visible, consistent behavior. We share practical ways to start strong, win trust fast, and avoid misreading the moment when everyone is watching. 

• why getting the right leader hired is only half the battle 
• using intentionality to set tone and expectations early 

We break down why leadership is the real growth engine in business and why results only scale when trust does too. Chip Higgins shares a momentum model for small business owners and the people-first habits that keep culture strong under pressure.

• Chip’s path from banking to small business coaching and consulting
• Business momentum as mass times velocity and how leaders influence both
• The leadership test that...

In this episode of Unpacked with Ron Harvey, host Ron Harvey sits down with Stephanie Vera, Supplier Development and Engagement Operational Lead at BMW Manufacturing, to talk about the leadership it takes to build something authentic from the ground up. Stephanie owns the concept, approvals, and execution of the BMW Supplier Exchange, and she pulls back the curtain on what it really takes to bring a 2,500-person event to life while...

In Episode 177 of Unpacked with Ron Harvey, host Ron Harvey of Global Core Strategies and Consulting sits down with David Fung — executive coach, founder of Coach Full Coaching, and 23-year veteran of the tech industry, including a leadership tenure at Salesforce. Based in Toronto, Canada, David now works with executives and teams navigating major transitions and chaos, helping them find clarity when the stakes are highest.

Ro...

We talk with Hanna Hasl-Kelchner about why fairness at work is a leadership issue that shapes trust, health, and performance. We break down the hidden “unwritten rules” that drag down engagement and share practical ways leaders can build a fairer culture without treating work like a transaction. 
• fairness as a social contract that drives results 
• why power shifts can make good leaders less curious&nb...

In this episode of Unpacked with Ron Harvey, Ron sits down with Sebastian Page, money manager, marathon runner, and author of The Psychology of Leadership, for a candid conversation about what actually separates good leaders from great ones. After 25 years in finance and after publishing scientific research in quantitative finance, Sebastian turned his attention to a different kind of question: why do high performers stress about s...

What does it take to walk away from a stable, high-paying career and bet everything on yourself? In this episode of Unpacked, host Ron Harvey sits down with Giuseppe Grammatico, franchise consultant, author, and host of the Franchise Freedom podcast, to unpack the real story behind leaving Wall Street to become a business owner. Just three days after launching his first business, Giuseppe found out he was about to become a father, ...

What if the reason your strategy keeps failing has nothing to do with the strategy itself? On this episode of Unpacked with Ron Harvey, Ron sits down with Brooke Dukes, CEO and founder of BMB Consulting, international bestselling author, and a leader with over 24 years of experience in behavioral science, neuroscience, and human design. Brooke has worked with billion-dollar companies, fortune 500 executives, and small businesses al...

We sit down with entrepreneur and speaker Ken Miller to talk about identity, truth, and the hard work of rebuilding a life after addiction, incarceration, and years of being stuck. We unpack what leadership really requires when you are scaling a business, earning trust, and trying to stay resilient in public and in private. 

• Ken’s background from foster care to Ivy League to incarceration and entrepreneurship&nb...

Ron Harvey sits down with Kenneth Givens II, Senior Project Manager at Miller Valentine Construction and published author, for a candid conversation about the leadership habits that separate good managers from truly great ones. Kenneth shares the moment he realized he was building robots instead of leaders — and the mindset shift that changed everything.

Key topics and takeaways from this episode:

• Why stepping in to save th...

In this episode of Unpacked with Ron Harvey, Ron sits down with George Pesansky, author of Super Performance and president of My Blended Learning, a consulting firm he's led for 17 years. George brings a rare blend of military service, corporate leadership, and entrepreneurship to a conversation that challenges everything most organizations believe about performance, feedback, and growth.

Here's what Ron and George unpack in this ep...

We sit down with Kimberely D. Brown to talk about the kind of leadership that’s forged through high standards, hard pivots, and showing up with character. She shares how self-awareness, trust, and relationships shape her path from banking and affordable housing to CDFI lending and community impact.

• tough leaders with high expectations shaping long-term excellence 
• learning yourself through 20s, 30s, and rep...