Host: Jeremy Berretta

Jeremy Berretta has spent the last decade navigating complex professional environments, gaining extensive experience in high-stakes advisory, strategic communication, and long-term planning. As a host and communicator, he is passionate about deconstructing the challenges of leadership and risk management through intentional, clear-eyed conversation.

​Throughout his career, Jeremy has specialized in the art of the "tough conversation", learning when to listen and when to ask the pointed questions that uncover the heart of a matter. He is driven by a curiosity for how people protect what matters most and a commitment to finding practical truths in unpredictable landscapes. Jeremy is best known for his ability to build immediate rapport and his knack for steering intense discussions with a calm, grounded perspective.

Guest: Sean-Paul Manning

Sean-Paul Manning has more than 20 years of experience in the video game industry, leading creative teams at studios including Blizzard, Riot Games, and Netflix.

During his time at Riot Games, he participated in an Art Leadership Academy developed with LSDS, which helped shape his approach to leadership, strategy, and team development. He later served as Senior Art Director overseeing art for League of Legends and contributed to titles including Teamfight Tactics.

In today’s episode, Jeremy Berretta and Sean-Paul Manning explore what it takes to lead creative teams with clarity, trust, and purpose. Sean-Paul discusses how leaders can create the right guardrails for creativity without limiting it, build accountability without relying on constant oversight, and connect feedback to the larger vision rather than personal preference. The conversation also looks at how artists, engineers, producers, and business leaders can align around a shared purpose, why ambition must be balanced with real-world constraints, and the importance of making difficult decisions while there is still time to act. Sean-Paul also shares his perspective on using AI as a creative tool without losing the human judgment, originality, and point of view that make great work stand out. Throughout the episode, one message remains clear: leadership is ultimately about building trust, creating focus, and helping talented people do their best work.

Part 1 of the Business Development Series

VP of Business Development Roger Moore discuss the transformational role of Business Development (BD) within an organization. Roger shares his unique perspective, drawing from his background in US Army Special Forces, to explain when a dedicated BD function becomes essential, how to use a five-year strategic plan for focus, and the importance of flexibility and company-wide communication in achieving growth. They also clarify the crucial distinction between long-term BD and short-term sales, while providing key dos and don'ts for investing in your company's developmental future.

Key takeaways:

Defining Business Development Strategy Business development focuses on long-term growth and strategic expansion rather than short-term transactional sales. It aligns organizational vision with feasibility assessments to inform leadership.

Scaling Operations and Planning A 5-year growth plan provided necessary focus for revenue targets and sector expansion. Leaders must maintain flexibility within the strategic framework to navigate unforeseen challenges. Organizational Culture and Budgeting Business development success requires company-wide support and consistent internal communication. A dedicated budget tied to overhead promotes cooperation across all divisions.

On this topic: Jordan answers questions and shares his experiences in growing a company from a “side gig” into a successful company with expanding global reach. Through ebbs and flows across the years he shares best practices, what they do not compromise on and where they’re headed.

Host: Stacy Mandock & Terry Peters

Guest: Jordan Carlson of C&C Fluid Power

Jordan Carlson is a small business owner in northeast Texas. With significant work and time invested in fluid power and engineering, the organization has grown over the past 10 years into a successful manufacturing company. C&C Fluid Power currently services the oil and gas industry through a wide manufacturing and service portfolio and is eager to expand into other industries such as the Department of Defense.

As a principal inventor and leader with C&C, Jordan has found great success in holding true to core values while developing and executing defined processes. He is interested in continued growth and development of attributes to further his ability to solve complex issues for elite teams on a global scale. (https://candcfluidpower.com/)

Key takeaways:

• Daily and weekly planning practices for efficient and productive work
• Successful starting practices and what’s grown with the company along the way
• Leadership lessons learned and honest talk about what it takes to sit in that position

Show Notes:

• C & C Fluid Power can be found on their website: https://candcfluidpower.com/

Host: Stacy Mandock

Stacy Mandock provides support to the Risk Mitigation team as the program director. With the purpose of providing the safest possible experience for travelers both foreign and domestic, Stacy assists in doing the initial research for travel destinations and identifying potential concerns and/or risks before and during travel. Her specialty is working with collegiate travelers and ensuring that they’re thoroughly prepared before travel as well as tracking potential risks or threats throughout their trips.

Guest: Stu Farris

Colonel (Retired) Stu Farris retired from the Army at the end of 2022 after serving over 25 years in the Army. He commanded Army Special Forces units from the Detachment to the Group level and deployed to Afghanistan six times. His final assignment was serving as the Chief of Staff of the US Army JFK Special Warfare Center and School at Fort Bragg, NC.

Stu lives with his wife and kids in Fayetteville, NC. He works for The Donovan and Bank Foundation, a small non-profit with a mission to help special operators leaving service "Bring closure to their warrior story and transition to a life of peace, contentment, and balance." (www.donovanbank.org)

On this topic: Stu and Terry dialogue about the benefits of hiring veterans and some of the skills they bring to the table. Tips shared for both veterans and those looking to hire them. Please see the Show Notes below for links to some of the programs and organizations mentioned in the show.

Key takeaways:

• Challenges of some of the rhetoric around veterans.
• Terry and Stu share their, very different, experiences of how they retired from serving and transitioning to the “what’s next”.
• Tips for potential employers on how to engage veterans, what to ask.

Show Notes:

• The Honor Foundation: https://www.honor.org/
• Special Operations Transition Foundation: https://sotf.org/
• Commit Foundation: https://www.commitfoundation.org/
• Bunker Labs: https://ivmf.syracuse.edu/programs/entrepreneurship/

Dynamic Leadership Discussions

Assuming Responsibility of a Dynamic Team

Host: Stacy Mandock

Stacy Mandock provides support to the Risk Mitigation team as the program director. With the purpose of providing the safest possible experience for travelers both foreign and domestic, Stacy assists in doing the initial research for travel destinations and identifying potential concerns and/or risks before and during travel. Her specialty is working with collegiate travelers and ensuring that they’re thoroughly prepared before travel as well as tracking potential risks or threats throughout their trips.

Guest: Brian Vinton

Brian is a distinguished art and creative director with a notable career in the video game industry. He gained prominence at Riot Games, where he influenced League of Legends, and later joined Bungie as Art Director and Head of the Art Department. Known for his strong leadership skills and inspiring leadership style, he focuses on coaching leaders, building teams, sourcing and training art vendors, and art and creative directing player-focused content. Dedicated to the mantra, "It's all about the player," his work continues to push the boundaries of interactive art and storytelling. The opinions expressed in this podcast are his own and not those of Bungie or Sony.

On this topic: Brian Vinton has been working with LSDS’ leadership training in different capacities for the past decade. During that time he’s moved up significantly in leadership roles in his career, more recently taking the position as Art Director at Bungie. In this podcast he digs into some of the prep work that went into taking on that role, what he prioritized during the initial phase and what he still implements today.

Key takeaways:

• Key priorities from the start
• Integrating with an experienced team as the relative “new guy”
• Best practices that have kept the momentum going

Host: Stacy Mandock

Stacy Mandock provides support to the Risk Mitigation team as the program director. With the purpose of providing the safest possible experience for travelers both foreign and domestic, Stacy assists in doing the initial research for travel destinations and identifying potential concerns and/or risks before and during travel. Her specialty is working with collegiate travelers and ensuring that they’re thoroughly prepared before travel as well as tracking potential risks or threats throughout their trips.

Guest: Dr. Kate Colvin

Dr. Kate Colvin has worked in the human performance industry for 15 years, gaining experience working with professional athletes, military special operations, as well as Fortune 500 companies. As a seasoned performance psychology consultant, she is passionate about increasing individual mental performance and thus overall psychological well-being.

​

Kate is a published author with contributions to both the Journal of Special Operations Medicine and the Journal of Alternative Medicine. She holds a M.S. in Sport and Performance Psychology from University of Idaho as well as a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from Texas Tech University and currently resides in Idaho.

See Kate’s full bio at Focus20 Coaches

On this topic: Introducing Kate and her skill set as she explains what she does, who it works for and who she loves to work with. This could be you! Working with Kate is a team experience and it’s obvious during this chat that she is energized by the unique problem sets that clients bring to her.

Key takeaways:

• Kate’s background and professional experiences
• What Kate’s passionate about in her line of work
• What are some of the qualities in a person that she loves to work with

Check out all the coaches and use the intake form on the LSDS Focus20 page to get started!

Host: Stacy Mandock

Stacy Mandock provides support to the Risk Mitigation team as the program director. With the purpose of providing the safest possible experience for travelers both foreign and domestic, Stacy assists in doing the initial research for travel destinations and identifying potential concerns and/or risks before and during travel. Her specialty is working with collegiate travelers and ensuring that they’re thoroughly prepared before travel as well as tracking potential risks or threats throughout their trips.

Guest: Beth MacDonald

Beth MacDonald has worked in the defense industry for over 20 years gaining experience in leadership, analysis, development, and solution-based results and currently works as the BD Director for Raven. As a seasoned resource management expert, she is passionate about advancing her skills in coaching and training. Driven by a mission to overcome obstacles, Beth is best known for inspiring others to rise above any circumstance and thrive. As a Gold Star spouse, Beth has spent years researching post-traumatic growth with some of the nation’s leading universities and organizations.

See Beth’s full bio at Focus20 Coaches

On this topic: Sometimes ‘No’ is the easy and fast answer, but it doesn’t mean you have to stop there. Beth dives into her experiences over the years of navigating through and around the Nos and problem-solving to the ‘Yes’.

Key takeaways:

• Ways to get the person saying No to help you get to the Yes
• Best practices for handling negative interactions
• Checking the energy - yours and theirs

Check out all the coaches and use the intake form on the LSDS Focus20 page to get started!

Read the blog online here: https://www.lsds.us/post/dynamic-leadership-discussions-how-to-get-to-the-yes

Hosts: Stacy Mandock 

Stacy Mandock provides support to the Risk Mitigation team as the program director. With the purpose of providing the safest possible experience for travelers both foreign and domestic, Stacy assists in doing the initial research for travel destinations and identifying potential concerns and/or risks before and during travel. Her specialty is working with collegiate travelers and ensuring that they’re thoroughly prepared before travel as well as tracking potential risks or threats throughout their trips.

Guest: Terry Peters 

Terry is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Leader Solutions Decisions Support (LSDS) which provides executive coaching to leaders of all levels and empowers and supports individuals and organizations with the skills and knowledge to achieve their professional vision.  Terry has led leadership development forums with Amazon’s North American Customer Fulfillment, Global Engineering Services (GES), and has built a resident leadership academy for Riot Games. He is a 27-year Army Veteran and has numerous decorations and foreign awards for his service to the Nation.

On this topic: Meetings…not everyone’s favorite word or activity, but meetings that are run well and are effective can be hugely rewarding for all involved. Terry digs into this topic and shares what he’s seen over the years as to what makes a meeting effective and when it’s going off the rails.

 In this podcast you will learn more about:

●      Best practices for conducting effective meetings

●      Don’ts to stay away from

●      Recommended timelines

●      The criticality of present attendees and the value of feedback.

Key takeaways:

▪       Eliminate anyone’s time being wasted with scheduled and structured meetings.

Read the full blog post here.

Priorities are hugely important to an organization and/or team. Equally important is the need to accurately select them at the leadership level and then communicate them down throughout the organization with clarity. Whether this is done well - or not - can have powerful effects on organizational culture. Read the summary, key takeaways, and best practices.

Host: Stacy Mandock

Guests: Lorenzo Stephenson and Terry Peters

Retros are an opportunity to build a stronger company and culture. It’s a safe space for reviewing successes, identifying opportunities for process improvement, and solving issues that may have come up. Read the summary, key takeaways, and best practices for Retros and AARs.