High Octane Leadership

About High Octane Leadership

Most leadership podcasts give you theory. High Octane Leadership gives you the real playbook - from someone who has actually used it. Donald Thompson is an EY Entrepreneur of the Year, Forbes Next 1000 honoree, and 3x Inc. 5000 Chief Executive who has built, scaled, and successfully exited multiple companies over a 25-year career. He's advised Fortune 500 brands, led post-merger integrations, served on corporate and nonprofit boards, and authored Underestimated: A CEO's Unlikely Path to Success and The Inclusive Leadership Handbook. Now he brings that hard-won experience directly to you - in conversations with the executives, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders who are actually moving the needle. Every episode delivers cheat codes - the insights, frameworks, and lessons that took decades to earn and minutes to apply. Whether you're running a company, building toward your first leadership role, or somewhere in between, High Octane Leadership is where serious professionals come to get sharper. Subscribe and lead at full throttle.

Publisher

Donald Thompson

Category

business · business

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

28 Jan 2019

Latest episode

8 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

65 of 189 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   8 Oct 2026TRANSCRIPT

   The Business of Executive Storytelling & Why Your Story Is Your Unfair Advantage

   Donald Thompson and Bob Batchelor discuss how executives can build powerful organizational stories to gain a competitive advantage in this interview.

2. 

   24 Sept 2026TRANSCRIPT

   How Writing a Spy Thriller Made Us Better Executives | "Are You a Patriot?" Authors Bob Batchelor and Donald Thompson

   Authors Bob Batchelor and Donald Thompson discuss how writing their spy thriller "Are You a Patriot?" offers unique insights into leadership and patriotism, in an interview with host Jason Gillikin.

3. 

   10 Sept 2026TRANSCRIPT

   92% of Buyers Trust People, Not Companies — Are You Building the Right Brand?

   Donald Thompson interviews Jackie Ferguson and Bob Batchelor on building personal brand trust as a business strategy to drive opportunities.

Inside a recent episode

The Business of Executive Storytelling & Why Your Story Is Your Unfair Advantage

Published 8 Oct 2026 · Transcript excerpt

[…] And that's something that I would share as well. Last question for me to you, Bob. You're sitting with an executive team, right? And they're looking at changing their story. In corporate speak, you call it a rebrand, right? We're rebranding, right? And people spend gazillions of dollars with agencies and different things and blah, blah, blah. If you are working with someone that is looking to rebrand, what are some of the questions that you ask them before you as a communications expert can really advise them? What things do you need to know before you can even chart their path with them? Before a company rebrands, they should really spend a lot of time On the pieces of their heritage that they are unwilling to give up. […]

Who has been a guest on High Octane Leadership

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Bob Batchelor
• Jackie Ferguson
• Lacey Newman
• Bob Buday
• Don Shin

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

23,889

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.8 / 5

13 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

2 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 87 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

94

Social presence

94

YouTube

76

Engagement

77

Contact High Octane Leadership

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

Questions about High Octane Leadership