Most executives believe they're strong communicators. Their teams often disagree. That gap — and what to do about it — is exactly where Dr. Danny Brassell lives.

Known as "Jim Carrey with a Ph.D.," Dr. Brassell has delivered over 3,500 keynotes worldwide and authored 21 books on leadership, communication, and business growth. As co-founder of WellCrafted Story™, he's helped entrepreneurs, executives, and organizations transform the way they communicate — turning speaking engagements into measurable business results.

In this episode of Breakthrough Innovation, produced by Centered, host J.L. Heather sits down with Dr. Brassell to unpack why storytelling without intention falls flat — and what separates a good speaker from one who actually moves the needle.

You'll walk away with:

The Five C's framework for building a presentation that converts — not just engages

Why ending on your call to action may be costing you 50% of your audience

The counterintuitive reason leaders should share their failures, not their victories

A free Storytelling Blueprint at freestoryguide.com to start building your own Well-Crafted Story

If your ideas deserve a bigger audience — and a bigger return — this episode is your starting point.

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Most organizations don't fail at strategy. They fail at execution — and the gap between the two is where transformations go to die.

In this episode of Breakthrough Innovation, JL Heather sits down with Jeff Niebuhr, a seasoned technology and delivery executive who has spent his career leading large, complex organizations through modernization, restructuring, and high-stakes change. Jeff has led global teams of hundreds, delivered mission-critical platforms at companies like Verizon, and operated at the intersection where strategy either works in practice — or fails fast.

Jeff shares what he actually looks for when he steps into a broken organization, including the red flags most leaders overlook, why "can't" is almost always hiding a decision someone is afraid to make, and why knowledge trapped in one person's head is one of the biggest transformation risks in enterprise technology.

He also pulls back the curtain on a surprising side project: an AI-powered autonomous content and marketing system — with roughly 50 virtual employees — that recently won a Pinnacle Award for autonomous enterprise systems. The lessons he's drawn from building it part-time are reshaping how he thinks about AI as a force multiplier inside large organizations.

If you're a senior leader navigating transformation pressure, this one is worth your full attention.

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In this episode of Breakthrough Innovation, we talk with Coby Skonord, founder of IdeaWake, about why most corporate innovation programs fail — and how organizations can unlock massive value from the ideas already inside their workforce.

Coby shares lessons from building IdeaWake from scratch, raising venture funding, and helping companies like Kraft Heinz, SiriusXM, and U.S. Bank crowdsource employee ideas that drive measurable business impact.

💡 Why most innovation programs fail before they start

🚫 The “black hole” problem that kills employee participation

📉 Why companies expect breakthrough innovation but fund it like a side project

⚙️ How small operational improvements often outperform moonshots

📊 The simple framework companies can use to measure innovation ROI

If you're trying to build a culture of innovation, this episode shows why ideas aren’t the problem — systems are.

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In this episode of Breakthrough Innovation, we sit down with Paul Schmidt, VP of AI & Innovation at SmartBug Media, to break down why so many innovation efforts fail — even when the ideas are solid.

Paul brings an operator’s lens to innovation, services, and AI adoption, focusing not on hype, but on what actually sells, scales, and sticks.

💥 The #1 reason new services fail: no distribution, no buyers

🧩 Why innovation must include sales, marketing, service, and customers from day one

📉 How overly bespoke solutions quietly kill scalability

🎯 Why your biggest growth lever is probably existing customers, not new logos

🤖 How to adopt AI by solving small, painful problems instead of boiling the ocean

If you care about turning innovation into revenue — not theater — this episode delivers a clear, grounded playbook.

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In this episode of Breakthrough Innovation, we sit down with Kylee Ingram, co-founder and CEO of Wiser, to unpack why organizations with smart, experienced leaders still make costly decisions.

Kylee’s journey spans international television, award-winning interactive media, and now decision science — all driven by one core question: why do groups sometimes make brilliant decisions and other times fail spectacularly?

🧠 Why decision quality is not the same as decision outcomes

🚨 The three hidden biases sabotaging leadership teams

👥 Why “the loudest voice” often wins — and why that’s dangerous

📊 How cognitive diversity matters more than titles or hierarchy

⚙️ How better decision design can reduce errors and increase innovation

This episode is a wake-up call for executives who rely on instinct, experience, or consensus — and want a more reliable way to lead through complexity.

Thanks for tuning in to Breakthrough Innovation! Want to subscribe to the podcast? Have feedback to share? Connect with us on Spotify or iTunes and leave us a review—we’d love to hear from you!

In this episode of Breakthrough Innovation, we speak with Oksana Lukash, executive advisor, culture builder, and former Chief People Officer, about what real transformation looks like — not the buzzword kind, but the kind that reshapes identity, systems, and leadership behavior.

Oksana shares her No Matter What values framework and powerful insights into how leaders can navigate crisis, growth, and cultural rewrites with clarity, courage, and humanity.

💡 Why confidence is misunderstood — and how clarity changes everything

🚫 What happens when toxic high performers go unchecked

🧠 How leaders can discover their “unknown unknowns” (and respond without ego)

🛑 Why “culture” isn’t words on a wall — it’s daily behavior

🌱 The power of modeling behavior and letting go of performative leadership

This conversation is for bold leaders ready to move from fear-driven systems to values-driven culture.

Thanks for tuning in to Breakthrough Innovation! Want to subscribe to the podcast? Have feedback to share? Connect with us on Spotify or iTunes and leave us a review—we’d love to hear from you!

In this episode of Breakthrough Innovation, we sit down with Jeff Sykes, a veteran DevOps and platform engineering leader who’s helped teams bridge the gap between tech ambition and real-world sustainability.

Jeff shares honest reflections on infrastructure, culture, and leadership — and why understanding the story you’re in might be the most important part of doing meaningful work.

🧱 Why building is fun — but value is only captured in the running

💥 “Production hates you” — the mindset shift DevOps engineers must make

🧠 Why story beats principle — and how narrative creates resilience

🧭 The bridge-builder mindset: how to walk halfway toward dev, ops, or security

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Why therapy, friends, and slowing down might be your next leadership move

This is a vulnerable, wise, and powerful conversation for anyone leading in complexity — especially if you’re questioning what it all means.

Thanks for tuning in to Breakthrough Innovation! Want to subscribe to the podcast? Have feedback to share? Connect with us on Spotify or iTunes and leave us a review—we’d love to hear from you!

In this episode of Breakthrough Innovation, we’re joined by James A. Weiss, Managing Director at Big Drop Inc., a top-tier digital agency known for high-impact web and platform experiences.

James shares what most companies get wrong about digital transformation — and how to build creative, scalable solutions that don’t fall apart in 12 months.

🚫 Why most transformation efforts fail before they deliver value

🧠 The real reason teams lose motivation — and how to reignite them with purpose

📊 When “doctor smiles” is a better metric than site traffic

⚙️ Why you must stop buying solutions and start defining real problems

🧱 How to build platforms that grow with you — not lock you in

This episode is packed with lessons for digital leaders who want to deliver lasting impact — not just shiny features.

Thanks for tuning in to Breakthrough Innovation! Want to subscribe to the podcast? Have feedback to share? Connect with us on Spotify or iTunes and leave us a review—we’d love to hear from you!