Change Cultivators

Hannah Dasher is a unique talent, and her recent Half Record is a too-short vehicle for her estimable gifts. Her sense of humor and grace makes the songs spirited and elegant. And her gregarious and winning persona makes her an appealing and entertaining artist.  - “Pop Matters”

Hannah Dasher isn’t simply an up-and-coming country singer; she’s also an entertainer. Like country greats Dolly, Reba, and Wynonna, Dasher has cultivated a charming and witty musical persona that looks to country music history. The big hair, the bell-bottomed jumpsuits, the cool swagger. Dasher is no stranger to The Hustle and the world of change. Man, ‘change’ is her middle name and ride that wave, she does.

Dasher’s journey to success has been a long, tough 11 year climb. Not short of deep passion, history, disappointments and smiles. She grew up a child of ‘90s country, even calling herself the youngest member of the Alan Jackson fan club. “I hated to read as a kid so instead of reading storybooks, I would read album covers front to back, who the producers were, songwriters, and of course the lyrics,” she explained. “Alan Jackson’s lyrics really spoke to me because he was from Georgia like me, and he talked like I did, so conversational, I thought he was a badass.”

After college, Dasher moved to Music City (Nashville, USA) and couldn’t make a living with her music business degree so she took a job at Bass Pro Shop which happened to be in the same parking lot as the Grand Ole Opry. “I lived in an attic on Belmont Blvd and slept on a mattress on the floor, ate bologna sandwiches and peanut butter jelly everyday. Her honesty about the hard road to “making it” in the music industry is refreshing and her determination is evident. She got fired from her day job for writing songs on the job but it turns out, one of those songs ended up being her first cut as a songwriter, a song for Brad Paisley called “Go To Bed Early”. And she tells the Change Cultivators how she is ‘so thankful she got fired’.

Success looks wonderful when you have arrived. But what many fail to realise is the road it took to get there. Have a listen to how this fiery, self motivated powerhouse woke herself up every morning to say ‘Let's do this. Good, bad and pandemics. And let's make it count!’

Patti Sanchez says she always knew that she wanted to do something working with words.

And as Chief Strategy Officer at Duarte Inc. she is certainly delivering on that dream!   Whether it’s helping leading brands create compelling communications, teach professionals powerful frameworks and methods, or speaking or writing books on the topic – Patti is truly a respected and sought out industry leader in change communications.

In this episode we did a deep dive exploration of change communication ranging from how to leverage insights from change movements to breaking down the 5 stages of a change journey and understanding the leadership imperatives at each stage.

Patti’s depth of research and insight into communication applied to change can help any leader improve in this critical area.

Have a listen!

Can leading change be serious play? Can you help free yourself and your team to be more creative and approach disruption and change differently?

Leo Chan is an expert on innovation, from mindset to thinking to culture and more.

A graphic designer by early trade, Leo was catapulted into a long term fascination with innovation in his time at State Farm, and honed his craft by leading The Hatch, the multi-disciplinary hub of innovation at Chick-fil-A.

Now as a sought-out speaker and a consultant / trainer Leo helps build innovators.

In this discussion Leo shares his passion on creativity and innovation freely – covering a broad array of topics including the powerful methodology of Lego Serious Play, the Chick-fil-A innovation mindset, and how to create ‘safe space’ for innovators.

Dr. Melissa Petersen is a sought-out expert in thriving! For over 20 years as an author, speaker and thought leader in epigenetics and precision longevity, she's been connecting the dots, coaching experts and enthusiasts alike on how to unlock their DNA code and harness their limitless potential to flourish in business, health and life while looking, feeling and living their life optimized.

She is the host of the Longevity Lab Podcast, author of the Codes of Longevity, visionary behind the 120 Collective for those ready to be ageless, founder of the Longevity Experts Network for today's top health leaders, is an advisory member to Heads Up Health Technologies and holds the position as the Chief Limitless Officer at Apeiron Academy of Epigenetics.

Her clinical training and background include a Licensed Doctor of Chiropractic & Epigenetic Human Performance Success Coach, with a Board Certification in Holistic Health and a Masters in Wellness Leadership and Performance. Pair this with her past fitness and television career in the world of professional wrestling and you get a powerhouse that is on a mission to uplift, inspire and ignite people around the globe to express greater states of health, wellbeing and human flourishing.

In this episode we spoke to Melissa about the role of your DNA language in navigating change, her new book and upcoming Longevity Summit (25- 29 August 2021).

Cassandra’s life journey – both professionally and personally – led her focus on helping people leverage human emotions to thrive and be positive when transformation, disruption and change comes along.  Her background as a chemical engineer, a successful corporate executive and now a sought after speaker and consultant helped her codify the holistic practice of Change Enthusiasm, which she has now documented in a powerful new book, Change Enthusiasm: How to Harness the Power of Emotion for Leadership & Success.

In this episode we explored many aspects of Cassandra’s thinking and previewed many of the key topics detailed in the new book.

Business consultant, author, keynote speaker and TV commentator (as seen on CNN, Headline News and others!) Jamie Turner joined us to talk leadership.  Jamie is a student of leadership, and through his work he has compiled and documented a list of tips that any leader can benefit from.

During our chat we focused on his newest e-book, titled THE UNSPOKEN RULES OF LEADERSHIP, HOW TO LEAD YOURSELF AND THOSE AROUND YOU.  It is a fast paced read and filled with great lessons, which Jamie says he has observed and learned the hard way -- through mistakes and failure!

We hope you enjoy this energetic and fun chat!

Sophie Le Ray is an entrepreneur, an author, and an experienced business facilitator.

Sophie is the founder and spokesperson for the WIL Forum, the first platform for businesswomen leaders in the Middle East and Asia. Based in Dubai for over a decade, she is the co-author of award winner ‘Game Changers: How Women in the Arab World Are Changing the Rules and Shaping the Future’, published in May 2016.

Most recently co-founder of EVE list, a social enterprise measuring the state of gender equity in the workplace.

She now lives in Europe where she advises companies on their D&I practices and regularly speaks in global conferences on entrepreneurship and women's economic empowerment.

Henna Inam is an accomplished business leader, a best-selling author, a sought after executive coach and a wonderful human with a compelling personal story of her career journey.

We got to chat with Henna on her perspectives about leading in change. We take a deep dive into a number of ‘hot takes’ from her fabulous leadership books, Wired for Disruption and Wired for Authenticity.

Henna has done much work to understand and bring to life how humans function and how that impacts leaders and is a regular contributor to the Forbes Leadership Channel.

Do you start out your workday thinking ‘I am going to be Legendary today’?

Most leaders don’t, but our guest Tommy Breedlove thinks maybe you should.

We got a chance to talk to Tommy about the thinking and perspectives he has built into his best-selling book LEGENDARY: A SIMPLE PLAYBOOK FOR BUILDING AND LIVING A LEGENDARY LIFE.

To Tommy, living legendary is about living a life with purpose and significance.  In our conversation we talk about working in your ‘Zone of Brilliance’ and ‘Being a Pro’, building a Personal Mission Statement to serve as your rock during changing times, empowering yourself by saying NO and asking for guidance, and much more.

Tommy’s energy and passion for helping leaders to develop and reach their potentials, as well as his personal narrative of overcoming obstacles and finding his way, provide great insights that can help you become a better leader.

We hope you enjoy it.

This episode comes at change from a bit of a different angle, as we get to chat with two of the leaders who are bringing the Special Olympic games to Orlando, FL in 2022.

Amy Wise, Chief Development and Marketing Officer for the 2022 USA Special Olympics Games and Meghan McLean, SVP Sports for the Games sat down with us to talk how things like the impacts of COVID, trends in Corporate Social Responsibility and advances in data and analytics are shaping the changing approach to the upcoming games.

A key shift in their planning is the keen focus on the athletes, the true stars of the games.  Telling their stories, bringing leading-edge technology to the competition for them … Meghan and Amy and the entire team is focused on making the intense training and preparation of the Games pay off as they plan for a massive event with over 4000 athletes, 10000 volunteers, and over 125000 spectators in July 2022.

Make sure to listen to the end as Meghan talks about the inspiring story of Chris Nikic, an athlete who recently became the first person with Downs Syndrome to complete the grueling Ironman Triathlon!