

The Action Catalyst
Southwestern Family of Podcasts
The Action Catalyst interviews top leaders and achievers, sharing hard-earned tips and advice to help you uncover your inspiration and gain valuable insights to overcome setbacks, defeat mediocrity, and reach your goals in life, business, and beyond.
Southwestern/Great American, Inc., dba Southwestern Family of Companies, for itself and its related entities and their assigns, reserves and retains all rights to their copyrighted materials and trademarks contained in this podcast.
Southwestern/Great American, Inc., dba Southwestern Family of Companies, for itself and its related entities and their assigns, reserves and retains all rights to their copyrighted materials and trademarks contained in this podcast.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Sep 11, 2025 • 3min
CLIP: The Greatest Thing Mike Johnson Ever Did
Mike Johnson, the 56th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, as well as an alum of The Action Catalyst's parent company, Southwestern, explains why his participation in the Southwestern Advantage program was "the best thing he ever did".Hear Speaker Johnson's full interview in his special bonus episode of The Action Catalyst.

Sep 9, 2025 • 9min
REMASTERED: Going All-In, with Chester Elton (Culture, Business, Leadership, Management)
Author, executive coach, and culture consultant Chester Elton walks us through how to create an all-in culture in our business, including managing culture during crisis, and why the customer experience will never exceed the employee experience.

Sep 4, 2025 • 2min
CLIP: Interested, Not Interesting
Speaker, author, and coach Bruce Van Horn explains the best ways to be "other-focused" on social media, and provide more value to, and thereby get more loyalty from, your audience.Hear Bruce's full interview in Episode 11 of The Action Catalyst.

Sep 2, 2025 • 16min
God Is Not Done With America Yet, with Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (Leadership, Politics, USA, Success)
Mike Johnson, the 56th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, as well as an alum of The Action Catalyst's parent company, Southwestern, breaks down his unique path to the speakership and the big role Southwestern played in getting him there, recounts danger in Tucson and getting a little help from Brett Favre, delivers an absolutely killer Trent Lott impression, outlines the importance of speaking with clarity, conviction, and consistency, and explains why "duty is ours, but result belong to God". Mentioned in this episode:This episode is brought to you by Southwestern Advantage.Southwestern Advantage

Aug 28, 2025 • 3min
CLIP: The REAL Cost of Turnover
Dr. Angela Jackson, the founder/CEO of Future Forward Strategies and a lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, explains the REAL cost of turnover in organizations, and the numbers may surprise you.Hear Dr. Jackson's full interview in her special bonus episode of The Action Catalyst.

Aug 26, 2025 • 8min
REMASTERED: Twitter Tips for Movers and Shakers, with Bruce Van Horn (Social Media, Business, Success, Networking)
Speaker, author, and coach Bruce Van Horn shares Twitter/X tips for movers and shakers, including the critical importance of authenticity, putting connection over saturation, and the most common-sense advice that you probably overlook all of the time.

Aug 21, 2025 • 4min
CLIP: Don't Put Strategy Over Heart
Culture strategist and leadership coach Jenni Catron shares why it’s important to lead with the heart as well as strategy, and how developing the awareness to do both can be a challenge.Hear Jenni's full interview in Episode 128 of The Action Catalyst.

Aug 19, 2025 • 22min
The Win-Win Workplace, with Dr. Angela Jackson (Management, Leadership, Business, Engagement)
Dr. Angela Jackson, founder/CEO of Future Forward Strategies and Harvard lecturer, discusses key insights from her studies of Fortune 500 companies. She highlights the hidden costs of employee turnover and argues that top-down decision-making is outdated. Jackson emphasizes that today’s workforce values flexibility and shared values over salary alone. She shares compelling case studies linking employee empowerment to profitability and offers innovative engagement strategies for small businesses looking to enhance retention and productivity.

Aug 14, 2025 • 4min
CLIP: Actual Vs. Foundational Knowledge
Greg DeVore, CEO and co-founder of ScreenSteps, lays out his “Find & Follow” philosophy to reduce supervisor burnout and improve employee performance, including concepts like actual vs. foundational knowledge, the value it can provide in the event of a sale, and the knowledge operations maturity model.Hear Greg's full interview in Episode 492 of The Action Catalyst.

Aug 12, 2025 • 18min
REMASTERED: The 4 Dimensions of Extraordinary Leadership, with Jenni Catron (Strategy, Faith, Business, Author)
Culture strategist and leadership coach Jenni Catron shares “The Grand Commandment” and how it pertains to leadership, why it’s important to lead with the heart as well as strategy, the value of creating a safe space for honest feedback, the delicate balance of being bold but respectful, the role of faith, and why leadership is sacred work.