What’s Stopping You from Outgrowing Yourself?
Change Ambitiously. Outgrow Yourself.
Chief Change Officer isn’t just another podcast. It ranks in the Top 3% globally, hit #1 in Careers (US), and cracked the Top 10 in Business (US)—because it offers what others don’t: expansive human intelligence, shared by the world’s most extraordinary thinkers and doers.
This is the space for transformation gurus, bold hearts, black sheep, and unsung visionaries. We go beyond digitized tips and AI-smooth talk. Here, you get real, time-tested, experience-driven wisdom—the kind that blends logic and love, art and science, hindsight and foresight.
For me, this show marks career transition #18. Across 17 transitions, I’ve been mentored by global changemakers who helped me emerge stronger and freer. Now, I’m passing that power forward—through raw, unfiltered conversations with extraordinary people across cultures, industries, and identities.
If you’re a growth progressive, a black horse, a visionary underdog, or someone boldly rewriting the rules—you’re already one of us. Because you are the Chief Change Officer.
Our mission?
To help you become wiser in action, clearer in thought, and more ambitious in motion—so you can outgrow yourself and unlock outcomes beyond imagination or calculation.
A better you is already unfolding.
130,000+ followers are outgrowing.
Join them on LinkedIn, Apple, Spotify, and YouTube @chiefchangeofficer.
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In this final part, we go beyond buzzwords. Colin breaks down how to make AI work for you—not replace you. He explains how human intelligence and machine intelligence can combine to create authentic, enhanced value. From warning students not to cheat with ChatGPT to showing executives how to tailor their own AI strategy, Colin’s message is clear: You don’t need every tool. You need the right ones—and a deeply human way to use them. Key Highlights of Our Interview: You Don’t Need Every Tool—Just ...
In this episode, Colin deconstructs the romanticism of “lifelong learning” and makes a sharp case for skill stacking —not as a buzzword, but as a career imperative. From the strategy rooms of Japan to the boardrooms of Canada, he unpacks the realities of navigating change in cultures, families, and workplaces. Plus, why some organizations say they want transformation but are actually addicted to the comfort of legacy systems. If you’re tired of collecting degrees that lead nowhere, this one’s fo...
If reinvention were a passport, Colin Savage’s pages would be full. From global projects across seven countries to helping old-school industries like Japanese insurers modernize with tact, Colin’s career isn’t just built on change—it thrives on it. In Part One, we go deep on the difference between chasing novelty and building purpose. Colin dismantles the dated idea of “lifelong learning” and replaces it with something sharper: skill stacking. You’ll also hear how he developed change muscles by ...
Rebecca Sutherns didn’t follow a straight path—and she’s the first to say that’s the point. As a strategy coach and solo entrepreneur for 27 years, she’s helped leaders rethink what’s next while doing the same for herself. In this two-part series, we talk about work-life trade-offs, momentum, and why imagining your future might be the most strategic thing you’ll do. If you’ve ever hit pause or felt stuck in place, this one’s worth a listen. Key Highlights of Our Interview: Midlife Isn’t a Crisis...
Rebecca Sutherns didn’t follow a straight path—and she’s the first to say that’s the point. As a strategy coach and solo entrepreneur for 27 years, she’s helped leaders rethink what’s next while doing the same for herself. In this two-part series, we talk about work-life trade-offs, momentum, and why imagining your future might be the most strategic thing you’ll do. If you’ve ever hit pause or felt stuck in place, this one’s worth a listen. Key Highlights of Our Interview: 27 Years Solo—By Desig...
Robert MacPhee didn’t start out teaching values—he started out parking cars. But somewhere between the valet stand and becoming Jack Canfield’s right-hand man (yes, that Chicken Soup guy), Robert found his lane. Now the author of Living a Values-Based Life , he’s guiding people to stop driving in circles and finally align their actions with what truly matters. In this second half of the series, Robert breaks down how to live out your values in everyday life—not just name them. We dig into why va...
Before he was coaching CEOs or co-creating workshops with Jack Canfield, Robert MacPhee was parking cars. That detour became a defining feature—not a footnote. In Part One, Robert shares his unlikely path from backstage support to clarity coach. We explore why most people struggle to name their values, how he built the “Excellent Decisions” framework, and why aligning your choices with your core values is less about woo-woo ideals and more about long-term clarity. Forget vibes—this episode is ab...
Part Two. The queen of corporate improv is back—and this time, we’re going deeper into the messy, magnificent art of failing forward. In this episode, Erin Diehl shares her Worst Terrifying Failure (aka WTF moment): how the pandemic brought her business to a standstill, her body to a breakdown, and her mindset to a crossroads. But instead of spiraling, she built a comeback rooted in self-healing, radical joy, and a step-by-step method called MOVE ON. From chronic pain to corporate reinvention, t...
Before Erin Diehl was training Fortune 500 teams to think on their feet, she was juggling job fairs by day and Second City by night. In Part One, we go back to the origin story—how a recruiting job collided with a comedy stage and sparked a business idea no one saw coming. From cold pitching United Airlines with zero credentials to redefining ROI as “Return on Objective,” Erin shares how improv became her leadership laboratory. Along the way, we talk about joy, failure, and what really happens w...
In a world obsessed with AI, automation, and the next big tech trend, Todd Davis believes human intelligence is more valuable than ever. Sure, AI can crunch numbers—but can it build trust, resolve conflicts, or make people feel heard? In Part 2, we go straight into the human side of leadership—why most people don’t actually listen, why trust is like a bank account, and how one employee nearly lost her career over a simple blind spot. Todd also shares a powerful story about a prison inmate who tr...
Todd Davis didn’t just teach The 7 Habits —he lived them for 30 years inside the leadership company that built its name on them. As the former Chief People Officer at FranklinCovey, Todd spent three decades coaching teams, executives, and entire organizations on what truly drives effectiveness—and what quietly kills it. In this episode, he unpacks why trust is more than a buzzword, how most leaders think they’re being clear (but aren’t), and what’s gone missing in today’s fast-changing workplace...
What if the biggest barrier to innovation isn’t a lack of ideas—but a mountain of pointless work? In Part Two of this series, Lisa Bodell, CEO of FutureThink and one of the world’s top speakers on simplification, walks us through her strategy to make work—and life—less overwhelming and more meaningful. She shares how organizations like Pfizer and Google cut clutter to free up creativity, and how we can do the same in our personal lives. Lisa also gets personal about parenting, mental health, and...
Lisa Bodell didn’t just study the future—she built a career helping others prepare for it. In Part One of this two-part series, the CEO of FutureThink shares how her path from advertising to futurism led to a global mission: helping teams simplify, innovate, and stop drowning in busywork. She breaks down what it really means to be a futurist (hint: no crystal balls involved), why complexity is the true enemy of innovation, and how she’s helped companies like Pfizer kill zombie meetings and make ...
Part Two of a 2-part series with Deborah Perry Piscione. She’s been a White House staffer, a Silicon Valley founder, and now co-author of Employment is Dead . In this final chapter, Deborah unpacks the future of learning, hiring, and leadership. Her son skipped college, built a six-figure business, and learned survival in Antarctica—and she says that path may be more relevant than a classroom. From blockchain credentials to portfolio careers and life-stage flexibility, Deborah lays out what’s ne...
What happens when a political insider, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, and a bestselling author walk into a podcast? You get Deborah Perry Piscione. In Part One of this two-part series, Deborah shares her wild career ride—from shaping policy in Washington to pioneering bottoms-up innovation in tech. She breaks down why fear is a tool in politics, but collaboration fuels real change—and how a chance encounter in a coffee shop led to her first startup and a new lens on what work could be. From co-f...
Part Three of a 3-part series with Josh Drean. Josh isn’t here to tweak the old system—he’s here to build a new one. In this final chapter, the Work3 Institute co-founder and co-author of Employment is Dead goes deep on what it actually takes to evolve. Vince and Josh tackle the hard stuff: Are degrees still relevant in a skills-first world? How does blockchain flip the hiring process? What if your next “employee” is actually a DAO participant with token voting power? And what happens to compani...
Part Two of a 3-part series on Josh Drean. Josh has worn many hats—Harvard MBA, psychology grad, co-founder of Work3 Institute and now, co-author of Employment is Dead (Harvard Business Review Press). In Part 1, we tore down the outdated rituals of traditional employment, including the performative disaster that is the annual engagement survey. Today in Part 2, we go behind the scenes: how did a random cold call spark a bestselling book that landed at HBR? Josh shares the publishing highs and he...
What if employment as we know it has already died—and we’re just pretending not to notice? In Part One of this three-part series, Josh Drean—Harvard MBA, startup founder, and co-author of Employment is Dead (Harvard Business Review Press)—joins Vince to dissect the slow death of traditional work. From the failure of annual engagement surveys to the false promise of “people-first” slogans, Josh makes it clear: the current system was built for the factory floor, not the future. We trace Josh’s jou...
This episode explores Alison Stewart's transition from a stable corporate career to leading a startup, Overalls, which redefines employee benefits. Overalls acts as a life concierge, helping employees manage personal tasks from booking plumbers to eldercare, thus reducing mental load and stress. The venture uniquely taps into an overlooked talent pool of stay-at-home parents and retirees, providing flexible work while boosting employee productivity and loyalty for employers. Alison also shares insights on developing confidence and navigating the diverse responsibilities of startup operations.
Not all career changes are dramatic. Some are deeply deliberate—and a little serendipitous. In Part One , Alison Stewart, COO of Overalls, walks us through her transition from 10+ years in the financial sector to co-founding a startup she discovered on LinkedIn. With two kids at home and a stable job in a Fortune 100 company, Alison didn’t jump recklessly. Instead, she asked the hard questions: Am I fulfilled? What do I want next? And how much risk am I really willing to take? This episode unpac...
Most people retire after one successful business. Ral West kept building. In this episode, Ral shares how she co-ran a charter airline between Alaska and Hawaii for 25 years—eventually selling it to Alaska Airlines—and then launched into her next chapters: owning cruise ships, investing in real estate syndications, and helping other entrepreneurs find sustainability without burnout. From navigating gender bias in a family business to designing automated booking systems and letting go of control ...
Comebacks rarely happen all at once. They’re built in small moments, with slow wins. In Part Two , Athena Brownson opens up about what it really takes to rebuild when chronic illness becomes your new normal. She walks us through her mindset rituals, the power of written affirmation, and how she finally learned the one thing no athlete ever wants to admit: she couldn’t do it alone. From retraining her brain to let go of pain patterns, to redefining leadership through delegation, Athena shares a p...
At 25, Athena Brownson was a rising star in real estate with a pro skiing past and unstoppable energy. Then came Lyme disease—a diagnosis that would upend her health, identity, and entire way of life. In Part One , Athena shares the unfiltered truth of what it means to live with a chronic, invisible illness for nearly a decade. From neck surgery to plasma transfusions, she walks us through the daily battles, emotional toll, and quiet strength it takes to show up—even when she doesn’t want to. Th...
What do janitors, jazz musicians, and neuroscientists have in common? According to Dr. Nicole F. Roberts, everything. In Part Two , the Doctor of Public Health and co-author of Generosity WINS unpacks how she and Monty Wood turned a business book into a narrative experiment—part fiction, part real-world leadership case study. She shares how they chose a fictional hotel manager named Emily to guide readers through generosity’s ripple effects, and how each chapter’s QR code links to a real leader ...
What happens when your five-year plan falls apart—and you start to like it that way? In Part One , Nicole F. Roberts—Doctor of Public Health, human rights founder, and co-author of Generosity WINS —shares the real story behind her very unpolished path. From flunking chemistry and walking away from med school dreams to launching a human rights firm mid-dissertation, Nicole proves that success isn’t always strategic—it’s responsive, human, and messy in the best way. We explore how her neuroscience...
What does generosity look like in a divided, distracted world? In Part Two , Monte Wood—former CEO of Opus Agency and author of Generosity Wins —dives deeper into how generosity gets lost in the noise of modern life and what it takes to reclaim it. From quiet reflections on Steve Jobs’ legacy to a chance encounter with Elon Musk in a hotel hot tub, Monte shares how generosity can take many forms—and why practicing it daily is the ultimate leadership move. He also unpacks the forces working again...
Is generosity a nice-to-have—or a career superpower? In Part One , Monte Wood, former CEO of Opus Agency and author of Generosity Wins , makes the case for generosity as a leadership strategy with real-world ROI. Drawing from personal stories, his time working with legends like Steve Jobs, Andy Grove, and Mark Benioff, and life lessons from his own mentors, Monte shares how small acts of generosity can ripple out into long-term success—and why true generosity isn’t transactional, it’s transforma...
Paul Austin isn’t here to evangelize psychedelics. He’s here to demystify them. As the founder and CEO of Third Wave, Paul has spent a decade educating the public on responsible psychedelic use—from microdosing protocols to full-dose journeys. In this episode, he shares how psychedelics are being used not just to treat mental health conditions, but to enhance leadership, decision-making, and personal clarity. We explore the science of neuroplasticity, the legal gray zones, and the risks of skipp...
After launching a global anti-trafficking movement in his teens, Chris Schrader didn’t settle down—he leveled up. In Part Two , the founder of the 24 Hour Race draws parallels between navigating the Gobi Desert and leading high-growth businesses across continents. From dropping out of Harvard to leading expeditions and scaling software companies, Chris shares why building teams isn’t about maximizing your strongest players—it’s about supporting your weakest. And why sometimes, real leadership me...
Sometimes the biggest movements begin with a simple question: What can I do? In Part One , Chris Schrader, founder and executive chairman of the 24 Hour Race, shares the unfiltered origin story behind the world’s largest student-run movement to fight human trafficking. What started as a walk across England in memory of a friend became a 24-hour endurance race, then a global platform that’s raised over US$20 million across 25 cities. But Chris doesn’t romanticize it. He breaks down how it all cam...
