Ready Set Exec: The Podcast
Claim This Podcastby Ready Set Exec Inc.
Podcast Overview
<p><strong>Overview:</strong> Welcome to Ready Set Exec, the podcast where executive search meets real leadership stories. Ready Set Exec explores how today’s top executives think, lead, hire, and scale through real conversations with accomplished leaders across sales, marketing, HR, operations, finance, technology, and digital transformation. Each episode features candid discussions with executives, founders, and industry experts who share practical insights on leadership, organizational growth, executive hiring, innovation, and navigating today’s rapidly evolving business landscape. From scaling companies and driving transformation to advancing executive careers and building high-performing teams, Ready Set Exec delivers real-world strategies, lessons learned, and forward-thinking perspectives for leaders shaping the future of business.</p><p><strong>What to Expect Each Episode:</strong></p><p><strong>Conversations with Executives:</strong> Hear candid stories from accomplished leaders across Ready Set Exec’s network as they share lessons learned, pivotal career moves, and their outlook on the future of leadership.</p><p><strong>Industry Insights:</strong> Explore the trends shaping leadership in the fields Ready Set Exec knows best—how Sales leaders drive growth, how Marketing executives build brand momentum, how HR shapes culture, and how Operations keeps organizations moving.</p><p><strong>Talent Strategy Deep Dives:</strong> John reveals what he's learned about hiring executives who don’t just fit the role but elevate the business, by using a relationship-driven approach.</p><p><strong>Actionable Takeaways:</strong> Whether you’re a CEO, HR leader, or an executive shaping your next move, you’ll walk away with practical insights on attracting, retaining, and thriving as top talent.</p><p><strong>Connect with Ready Set Exec:</strong></p><p>John Pezoulas LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnpezoulas/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnpezoulas/</a></p><p>Patrick Shea LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://linkedin.com/in/patrick-jm-shea/">linkedin.com/in/patrick-jm-shea/</a></p><p>Subscribe on YouTube: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.youtube.com/@ReadySetExec">https://www.youtube.com/@ReadySetExec</a></p><p>Are you a C-level Exec and want to be a guest on the podcast ? email <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:sales@readysetexec.com">sales@readysetexec.com</a></p><p>Check out our firm at <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://Readysetexec.com">Readysetexec.com</a> or call us at 737-249-9572</p>
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Publishing Since
10/17/2025
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Recent Episodes
June 26, 2026
Linda Carlisle: Your Turnover Rate is Secretly Killing Your Margins | Ready Set Exec S01E35
<p>Only 31% of US employees are engaged at work, an 11-year low. The other 70%? Checked out, actively disengaged, or job-hugging while waiting for something better. It's costing the global economy $8.9 trillion a year. And the root cause almost always traces back to leadership and communication.</p><p>Linda Carlisle is a seasoned communications strategist and founder of Comm.Ext, where she helps organizations navigate their most critical moments from shaping culture and employer brand to guiding teams through M&A integrations, reorgs, and high-impact change. With decades of experience leading internal and external comms, Linda specializes in turning strategy into clear, human-centred messaging that keeps employees informed, aligned, and engaged.</p><p>In this episode, Linda breaks down why most companies are getting communication completely wrong, why the trend back to command-and-control leadership is going to cost companies dearly, and what the real difference is between a culture problem and a communication problem.</p><p><strong>About Ready Set Exec:</strong> Founded by Managing Partners Patrick Shea and John Pezoulas, Ready Set Exec is a premier North American executive leadership recruitment firm specializing in Sales, Marketing, Human Resources, and Operations. We replace hiring chaos with a repeatable process, boasting an average time-to-hire of 39 days and a 100% placement success rate.</p><p><strong>Chapters:</strong></p><p><strong>01:32</strong> The Full Employee Lifecycle</p><p><strong>05:22</strong> Why Command-and-Control Leadership Fails</p><p><strong>08:50</strong> AI's Impact on the Talent War </p><p><strong>13:29</strong> Intentionally Designing Company Culture</p><p><strong>21:53</strong> Empathy During Crisis and Layoffs</p><p><strong>39:48</strong> Fixing the 70% Disengagement Epidemic</p><p><strong>Connect with Ready Set Exec:</strong></p><ul><li><strong>John Pezoulas LinkedIn:</strong><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnpezoulas/"> https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnpezoulas/</a></li><li><strong>Patrick Shea LinkedIn:</strong><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-jm-shea/"> https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-jm-shea/</a></li><li><strong>Subscribe on YouTube:</strong><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.youtube.com/@ReadySetExec"> https://www.youtube.com/@ReadySetExec</a></li><li><strong>Listen on Spotify:</strong><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://open.spotify.com/show/6clqPWbF2yFRlsFUOXY0CO?si=UuOAbZeiQMKpgSjV5Od5_g"> https://open.spotify.com/show/6clqPWbF2yFRlsFUOXY0CO?si=UuOAbZeiQMKpgSjV5Od5_g</a></li><li><strong>Listen on Apple Podcasts:</strong><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ready-set-exec-the-podcast/id1837951413"> https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ready-set-exec-the-podcast/id1837951413</a></li></ul><p><strong>Connect with </strong>Linda Carlisle<strong>:</strong></p><p>LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindakcarlisle/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindakcarlisle/</a></p><p>#employeeengagement #companyculture #internalcomms #HRleadership #leader</p>
June 19, 2026
Ryan Ross: Why B2B Founders Must Build a Media Empire in 2026 | Ready Set Exec
<p>Most people think webinars are boring. Ryan Ross thinks they're the most underrated growth engine in business, and he's got Mark Cuban and the founder of Netflix on his webinar roster to prove it. </p><p>As Head of Marketing at BrokersBlock and author of Benefits with Friends, Ryan has spent over a decade helping professionals in highly regulated industries build authority, trust, and a real pipeline from content that most people ignore.</p><p>In this episode, we break down how to turn one webinar into 30 pieces of content, why CE-approved events triple your registrations, how to get celebrity guests to say yes, why you should stop calling yourself an influencer, and how the Dream 100 framework could change the way you think about your entire market.</p><p><strong>About Ready Set Exec:</strong> Founded by Managing Partners Patrick Shea and John Pezoulas, Ready Set Exec is a premier North American executive leadership recruitment firm specializing in Sales, Marketing, Human Resources, and Operations. We replace hiring chaos with a repeatable process, boasting an average time-to-hire of 39 days and a 100% placement success rate.</p><p><strong>Chapters:</strong></p><p>0:00 Intro: Who is Ryan Ross?</p><p>1:42 Webinars as a growth engine: The Tree of Life framework</p><p>6:21 The celebrity guest framework: how Ryan got Mark Cuban</p><p>8:51 CE-approved webinars: why they triple your registrations</p><p>13:43 Post-webinar nurture: turning attendees into pipeline</p><p>18:00 Best practices: length, polling, Zoom settings, and landing pages</p><p>31:38 Focus, delegation, and saying no as a founder</p><p>38:33 The Dream 100: why niching down beats going broad</p><p>44:06 Why known brands win in a down market</p><p>44:54 Benefits with Friends: writing a business novel to learn an industry</p><p>50:32 How Ryan used AI to write the book (and where it helped most)</p><p><strong>Connect with Ready Set Exec:</strong></p><ul><li><strong>John Pezoulas LinkedIn:</strong><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnpezoulas/"> https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnpezoulas/</a></li><li><strong>Patrick Shea LinkedIn:</strong><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-jm-shea/"> https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-jm-shea/</a></li><li><strong>Subscribe on YouTube:</strong><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.youtube.com/@ReadySetExec"> https://www.youtube.com/@ReadySetExec</a></li><li><strong>Listen on Spotify:</strong><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://open.spotify.com/show/6clqPWbF2yFRlsFUOXY0CO?si=UuOAbZeiQMKpgSjV5Od5_g"> https://open.spotify.com/show/6clqPWbF2yFRlsFUOXY0CO?si=UuOAbZeiQMKpgSjV5Od5_g</a></li><li><strong>Listen on Apple Podcasts:</strong><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ready-set-exec-the-podcast/id1837951413"> https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ready-set-exec-the-podcast/id1837951413</a></li></ul><p><strong>Connect with </strong>Ryan Ross<strong>:</strong></p><p>LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanrossnow/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanrossnow/</a></p>
June 12, 2026
Alan McLaren: The Silent Leadership Signal Destroying Your Team | Ready Set Exec S01E33
<p>CEO posts generate 7x more impressions than company pages. Most CEOs aren't posting. That gap is costing them trust, talent, and revenue.</p><p>Alan McLaren is the co-founder of Strata Originals, the leadership branding firm that has coached more than 600 CEOs to clarify their leadership signal - the way their voice, presence, and perspective land with authority in every room and on every platform. With 30 years in executive roles across public companies, partnerships, and entrepreneurial ventures, Alan helps leaders understand why being felt is more important than just being seen.</p><p>In this episode, Alan breaks down everything: why your leadership brand matters more than ever in the age of AI, why 90% of sales reps are doing social selling completely wrong, what the Coldplay CEO scandal teaches us about visibility and values, and how to frame your communication so it builds trust instead of triggering partisan walls.</p><p><strong>About Ready Set Exec:</strong> Founded by Managing Partners Patrick Shea and John Pezoulas, Ready Set Exec is a premier North American executive leadership recruitment firm specializing in Sales, Marketing, Human Resources, and Operations. We replace hiring chaos with a repeatable process, boasting an average time-to-hire of 39 days and a 100% placement success rate.</p><p>Chapters:</p><p>00:00 Who is Alan McLaren? 600 CEOs coached, 30 years in exec roles, Strata Originals</p><p>01:24 Leadership branding vs. personal branding</p><p>06:37 What to do if you're a CEO who hates being in front of cameras</p><p>08:00 The basic assets every executive should build to start their leadership brand</p><p>15:03 The loneliness of leadership: why even CEOs need mentors and community</p><p>22:58 What "leadership signal" actually means in the Mensa CEO story</p><p>26:00 How to frame content so it starts conversations instead of creating partisan divides</p><p>28:14 Why CEOs should never talk politics online </p><p><strong>Connect with Ready Set Exec:</strong></p><ul><li><strong>John Pezoulas LinkedIn:</strong><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnpezoulas/"> https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnpezoulas/</a></li><li><strong>Patrick Shea LinkedIn:</strong><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-jm-shea/"> https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-jm-shea/</a></li><li><strong>Subscribe on YouTube:</strong><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.youtube.com/@ReadySetExec"> https://www.youtube.com/@ReadySetExec</a></li><li><strong>Listen on Spotify:</strong><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://open.spotify.com/show/6clqPWbF2yFRlsFUOXY0CO?si=UuOAbZeiQMKpgSjV5Od5_g"> https://open.spotify.com/show/6clqPWbF2yFRlsFUOXY0CO?si=UuOAbZeiQMKpgSjV5Od5_g</a></li><li><strong>Listen on Apple Podcasts:</strong><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ready-set-exec-the-podcast/id1837951413"> https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ready-set-exec-the-podcast/id1837951413</a></li></ul><p><strong>Connect with </strong>Alan McLaren<strong>:</strong></p><p>LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/alanmclaren">https://www.linkedin.com/in/alanmclaren</a></p><p>#CEO #leadershipbranding #personalbranding #LinkedInmarketing #socialselling #executiveleadership #thoughtleadership #podcast #ReadySetExec #trustbuilding</p>
35 total episodes available with 1 transcripts
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- What is Ready Set Exec: The Podcast?
<p><strong>Overview:</strong> Welcome to Ready Set Exec, the podcast where executive search meets real leadership stories. Ready Set Exec explores how today’s top executives think, lead, hire, and scale through real conversations with accomplished leaders across sales, marketing, HR, operations, finance, technology, and digital transformation. Each episode features candid discussions with executives, founders, and industry experts who share practical insights on leadership, organizational growth, executive hiring, innovation, and navigating today’s rapidly evolving business landscape. From scaling companies and driving transformation to advancing executive careers and building high-performing teams, Ready Set Exec delivers real-world strategies, lessons learned, and forward-thinking perspectives for leaders shaping the future of business.</p><p><strong>What to Expect Each Episode:</strong></p><p><strong>Conversations with Executives:</strong> Hear candid stories from accomplished leaders across Ready Set Exec’s network as they share lessons learned, pivotal career moves, and their outlook on the future of leadership.</p><p><strong>Industry Insights:</strong> Explore the trends shaping leadership in the fields Ready Set Exec knows best—how Sales leaders drive growth, how Marketing executives build brand momentum, how HR shapes culture, and how Operations keeps organizations moving.</p><p><strong>Talent Strategy Deep Dives:</strong> John reveals what he's learned about hiring executives who don’t just fit the role but elevate the business, by using a relationship-driven approach.</p><p><strong>Actionable Takeaways:</strong> Whether you’re a CEO, HR leader, or an executive shaping your next move, you’ll walk away with practical insights on attracting, retaining, and thriving as top talent.</p><p><strong>Connect with Ready Set Exec:</strong></p><p>John Pezoulas LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnpezoulas/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnpezoulas/</a></p><p>Patrick Shea LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://linkedin.com/in/patrick-jm-shea/">linkedin.com/in/patrick-jm-shea/</a></p><p>Subscribe on YouTube: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.youtube.com/@ReadySetExec">https://www.youtube.com/@ReadySetExec</a></p><p>Are you a C-level Exec and want to be a guest on the podcast ? email <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:sales@readysetexec.com">sales@readysetexec.com</a></p><p>Check out our firm at <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://Readysetexec.com">Readysetexec.com</a> or call us at 737-249-9572</p> - How often does this podcast release new episodes?
This podcast updates daily.
- Where can I listen to this podcast?
This podcast is available on 4 platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more. You can also use the RSS feed directly.
- Does this podcast accept guests?
Yes, this podcast regularly features guests.
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