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Business Roundtable

Business Roundtable

Written by: David W. Carr
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Welcome to the Business Roundtable Podcast, hosted by David Carr of Steward Your Business. This engaging and informative podcast series is dedicated to helping business owners, and entrepreneurs navigate the complexities of running a successful enterprise. Each episode features David Carr and a roster of industry experts, including regular contributors like Curtis Cochran, who bring their wealth of experience in mergers and acquisitions, organizational health, and team building.

Dive into discussions that cover a broad range of topics essential to business growth and sustainability. From strategic planning and preparation to understanding the cycles of business ownership, the podcast provides invaluable insights into evaluating, enhancing, and exiting business ownership. Listeners can expect practical advice on scaling businesses, managing finances, and creating a culture that aligns with company goals.

What sets this podcast apart is its focus on actionable strategies combined with real-world experiences. The conversations often delve into the importance of providing more value than the dollars earned and the necessity of adaptability in a rapidly changing business landscape.

Whether you're a budding entrepreneur or a seasoned business owner, the Business Roundtable Podcast is vital for staying ahead in today's competitive market. Join David Carr and his guests as they explore the art of making a business profitable but also enjoyable and sustainable. Tune in for your dose of inspiration, guidance, and tools to make 2024 and beyond a resounding success for your business ventures.

Become a podcast supporter at just $2 a month at https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/business-roundtable--6049255/support.Steward Your Business Economics Leadership Management Management & Leadership
Episodes
  • Why Your Business Can't Run Without You

    Why Your Business Can't Run Without You
    Jun 2 2026
    Most owners think they have a people problem, a time problem, or a strategy problem. Usually, it's none of those — the business is just built to keep everything flowing back to you.

    Carol Schultz, Founder & CEO of Vertical Elevation, has spent 30 years as a recruiter and executive coach, helping CEOs stop being "hostages" to their own companies. In this conversation, she unpacks founder's syndrome, why "just hire the right person" rarely works (hint: you're the common denominator), and the succession mindset that separates owners who scale from owners who stay stuck.

    She also walks through her Organizational Scaffold System — a roughly 12-week process that closes gaps in communication, accountability, and structure, and then places a chief of staff to act as the CEO's copilot. Plus, a simple pen-to-paper exercise you can start this week to see where your time really goes.

    Carol Schultz — author of "Powered By People," Inc., and CEOWORLD columnist, host of "Authentically Successful."
    Website: https://verticalelevation.com
    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolbschultz/

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/business-roundtable--6049255/support.

    Connect with Steward Your Business:

    • Book a Leadership Clarity Call: https://calendar.stewardyourbusiness.com/cc
    • Call: +1 909.404.9865
    • Website: https://stewardyourbusiness.com
    • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidwcarr
    Watch more episodes and subscribe on YouTube:
    https://www.youtube.com/@steward_your_business
    Show More Show Less
    40 mins
  • Before You Deploy AI, Ask These Questions — Or Pay the Price | Jill Stover Heinze

    Before You Deploy AI, Ask These Questions — Or Pay the Price | Jill Stover Heinze
    May 14 2026
    You are moving fast on AI. Your team is experimenting. You are deploying tools. But you have not asked the critical questions that will determine whether you are building competitive advantage or exposing your business, your people, and your customers to serious risk.

    Jill Stover Heinze has spent her career helping organizations think through complex technology decisions. When generative AI hit the market, she realized that speed was replacing judgment. Companies were racing to deploy without asking basic questions about data, bias, security, privacy, and alignment with their values. She created an AI Trust Architecture framework to help leaders slow down and ask the right questions before deployment, not after something breaks.

    In this episode, David Carr and Jill break down what responsible AI governance actually looks like in practice, which questions every leader should be asking right now, and why slowing down is not falling behind.

    In this episode:
    • Why most organizations are making Band-Aid decisions about AI instead of building intentional governance
    • The fundamental difference between speed and readiness in AI deployment
    • What data flows you should be questioning in every AI tool you consider
    • How to identify and evaluate bias before it impacts your customers
    • The role of privacy and permissions in responsible AI adoption
    • How to align AI decisions with your core values and business strategy
    • Why your instinct that something is not right about an AI implementation deserves serious attention
    • The four AI horizons framework for asking the right questions at each stage
    About Jill Stover Heinze:
    Jill Stover Heinze is an AI Trust Architect and founder of Saddle-Stitch Consulting. With a background in user research, product strategy, and library science, Jill has spent over two decades helping Fortune 500 companies and institutions think through complex technology decisions. She is currently the Responsible AI Program Director at the American College of Financial Services and has championed AI governance functions across multiple organizations. Her approach combines human-centered design with rigorous risk assessment.

    You cannot build trust in AI by rushing its deployment. You build it by asking hard questions, being transparent about limitations, and aligning technology decisions with human values. That is what governance is actually for.

    If this episode made you realize you have been moving too fast on AI without asking the right questions, that is the conversation to have with your team this week. Share this with one leader who needs permission to slow down.

    Links mentioned in this episode:
    • Jill Stover Heinze on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jill-stoverheinze
    • Saddle-Stitch Consulting: https://www.saddlestitchconsulting.com
    • AI Horizons Framework: Available through Saddle-Stitch Consulting
    • The American College of Financial Services Responsible AI Program: https://theamericancollege.edu


    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/business-roundtable--6049255/support.

    Connect with Steward Your Business:

    • Book a Leadership Clarity Call: https://calendar.stewardyourbusiness.com/cc
    • Call: +1 909.404.9865
    • Website: https://stewardyourbusiness.com
    • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidwcarr
    Watch more episodes and subscribe on YouTube:
    https://www.youtube.com/@steward_your_business
    Show More Show Less
    38 mins
  • You're Making Yourself Obsolete — Here's How to Become Indispensable in the AI Era | Nikki Barua

    You're Making Yourself Obsolete — Here's How to Become Indispensable in the AI Era | Nikki Barua
    May 13 2026
    You built your career on accumulating knowledge, protecting your territory, and holding onto status. That strategy made sense in the old world. In the AI era, it is making you invisible.

    Nikki Barua has spent 25 years leading large-scale transformation at Fortune 500 companies and building high-growth businesses as a serial entrepreneur. What she has watched happen in real time is a fundamental shift in how power works. Old power was currency you hoarded it, protected it, and held on tight. New power is current; it flows, it democratizes, and the more you give away, the more valuable you become. AI has accelerated this shift dramatically. And for Gen X leaders like you, that means everything you were taught about success is now working against you.

    In this episode, David Carr and Nikki break down why holding on to knowledge, status, and control is making leaders obsolete, what new power actually means in practice, and how to completely reimagine your business and your leadership before the window closes.

    In this episode:
    • Why Gen X leaders trained on old power principles are at the highest risk of becoming invisible
    • The difference between old power and new power, and why AI has fundamentally changed the equation
    • Why incremental thinking will destroy your business in the exponential AI era
    • How to think in terms of zero resource constraints to unlock exponential vision
    • The 90-day sprint methodology for building momentum and collective confidence
    • Why waiting for certainty is actively ensuring your failure
    • One action item you can take today to stop waiting and start reinventing
    About Nikki Barua:
    Nikki Barua is a serial entrepreneur, bestselling author, keynote speaker, and CEO of FlipWork, a platform transforming organizations into agentic enterprises where people and AI collaborate. With 25 years of experience in digital transformation and organizational change, Nikki has advised Fortune 500 companies and built multiple high-growth businesses. She is the author of Beyond Barriers and is recognized as a thought leader on reinvention, leadership, and the human future in the AI era.

    The most powerful technology on Earth is still the human being. But that human has to be visible. They have to be sharing their wisdom. They have to lead with influence, not hoard knowledge. That is what we believe at Steward Your Business.

    If this episode made you realize you have been holding on to things that are making you obsolete, that is the conversation to have with yourself right now. Share this with one Gen X leader who needs to hear it.

    Links mentioned in this episode:
    • Nikki Barua on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikkibarua
    • FlipWork: https://www.flipwork.ai
    • Nikki's Weekly Newsletter: https://www.nikkibarua.com/newsletters/reinvention-roadmap/subscribe
    • Beyond Barriers book: https://www.nikkibarua.com


    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/business-roundtable--6049255/support.

    Connect with Steward Your Business:

    • Book a Leadership Clarity Call: https://calendar.stewardyourbusiness.com/cc
    • Call: +1 909.404.9865
    • Website: https://stewardyourbusiness.com
    • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidwcarr
    Watch more episodes and subscribe on YouTube:
    https://www.youtube.com/@steward_your_business
    Show More Show Less
    39 mins
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