In this episode of Training That Works, Rustin Schroeder talks with Juliette Mao about the truth behind soft skills and why mastering emotional intelligence, leadership, and communication is the real key to business growth.

Juliette reveals her journey from high-performing tech sales leader to founder of a training company that helps organizations build better managers and stronger teams. She exposes why most corporate training doesn’t work, how to design learning that actually sticks, and the science behind developing EQ, confidence, and influence at work.

You’ll learn how top leaders build trust faster, handle conflict better, and create cultures where people want to perform. If you’ve ever wondered how to turn “soft skills” into measurable business results… this episode will change the way you think about leadership forever.

🎙️ Training That Works — where top performers share what actually works.

🔥 Email Magic™ turns average communicators into credible, respected voices.  👉 email-magic.com

In this episode of Training That Works, Rustin Schroeder talks with Aparna Muralidharan about the moment she realized her training programs were failing… not because the content was bad, but because it lived outside the work. One conversation, one failed rollout, and one surprising experiment flipped everything she believed about enablement.

Aparna shares how she rebuilt her approach from the inside out, embedding learning into the daily rhythm of the team. No decks. No theory. Just real reps doing real work and learning as they go. 

The results? Faster adoption, stronger pitches, and a culture that trains itself. But it didn’t happen overnight… and what she discovered in the process might change how you design training forever.

🎙️ Training That Works — where top performers share what actually works.

🔥 Email Magic™ turns average communicators into credible, respected voices.  👉 email-magic.com

In this episode of Training That Works, Rustin Schroeder talks with Lisa Hammack about a moment that completely flipped how she thought about training. One workshop changed everything — teams stopped zoning out, started solving real business problems, and leadership actually used their ideas. It wasn’t luck. It was one simple shift: starting with goals instead of content.

But that breakthrough didn’t come easy. Lisa had to fight through the usual noise — slide decks, scattered buy-in, and “training for training’s sake.” She reveals what finally made her programs stick… the tools she uses to bring learning inside the flow of work… and the exact question she asks before every session that guarantees ROI. By the end, you’ll see why most training fails — and how one change can make your team unstoppable.

🎙️ Training That Works — where top performers share what actually works.

🔥 Email Magic™ turns average communicators into credible, respected voices.  👉 email-magic.com

In this episode of Training That Works, Rustin Schroeder talks with David Hays about what happens when you stop training people to know and start training them to perform. David shares the story of sitting through a 35-module online course that promised transformation but delivered nothing, followed by a single instructor-led session that completely changed how his team sold, communicated, and closed deals. The difference was not in the slides but in the mindset.

That realization led him to the B4B model, Business for Business, where training moves from checking boxes to producing measurable outcomes. David explains how real training builds credibility, deepens customer connection, and turns intangible skills into results the business can see. Then he reveals an unexpected story about producing a 6,000-person community concert with 100 volunteers, and how that experience became the ultimate proof that his B4B approach delivers in the real world.

By the end, you will see why most training never sticks and what to do differently to make your next program actually work.

🎙️ Training That Works — where top performers share what actually works.

🔥 Email Magic™ turns average communicators into credible, respected voices.  👉 email-magic.com

In this episode of Training That Works, Rustin Schroeder talks with Daniel Metcalf about how one failed training changed everything. Daniel shares the story of standing in front of a team that didn’t learn, didn’t engage, and didn’t change and how that moment forced him to rebuild his entire approach. What he discovered about data, behavior, and follow-through turned his next rollout into a company-wide success.

He explains the simple rhythm that keeps teams performing long after the training ends and why most leaders miss the signals that show whether their programs are actually working. There’s a turning point where Daniel connects one overlooked metric to breakthrough results, and it’s the kind of insight that changes how you design every session that follows. If you’ve ever wondered how to turn training into proof of performance, you’ll want to hear what happened next.

🎙️ Training That Works — where top performers share what actually works.

🔥 Email Magic™ turns average communicators into credible, respected voices.  👉 email-magic.com

In this episode of Training That Works, Rustin Schroeder talks with Logan Hawley about what it really takes to drive behavior change inside a sales team. Not theory. Not another workshop deck. Real-world transformation that sticks.

Logan shares the truth most training programs miss, why so many fail to create lasting results, and how to build ones that actually change how people act, think, and sell. He explains the difference between knowledge and execution, why curiosity beats compliance, and how leaders can tier training by skill level to unlock real growth.

They dig into how AI can amplify or completely derail enablement, the psychology behind behavior change, and the simple frameworks Logan uses to move reps from knowing… to doing. If you lead training, sales, or enablement, this episode shows you how to stop teaching for understanding and start building for impact.

🎙️ Training That Works — where top performers share what actually works.

🔥 Email Magic™ turns average communicators into credible, respected voices.  👉 email-magic.com

In this episode of Training That Works, Rustin Schroeder talks with Brandon Gort about the hidden ingredient behind every high-performing training program… accountability. Before he ever built courses or sold software, Brandon was thrown into a sales floor with zero experience. No scripts, no handholding… just a manager who demanded daily proof of progress. What he learned there shaped everything he believes about training today.

Brandon shares how that same mindset drives the learning culture at Articulate—where 100% of the Fortune 100 build their e-learning. He tells the story of how one company turned a failing onboarding program into a profit engine just by tracking what reps actually did after training. Then he unpacks the three accountability levers every leader can pull to make learning stick: real feedback, public transparency, and follow-up that matters.

By the end, you’ll see why accountability isn’t punishment… it’s the fastest path to growth. And once you hear Brandon’s story, you’ll never design training the same way again.

🎙️ Training That Works — where top performers share what actually works.

🔥 Email Magic™ turns average communicators into credible, respected voices.  👉 email-magic.com

In this episode of Training That Works, Rustin Schroeder talks with Hina Madha about how emotional intelligence, not policy or process, became the anchor when her company grew from 40 people to over 2,000. She shares the moment she realized things were breaking… new hires flooding in, leaders stretched thin, and teams losing connection. That’s when she found a different kind of training. One that started with emotion before execution.

Hina takes you inside that shift. She tells the story of one live session that changed everything. No slides. No theory. Just real conversations that made her rethink how she coached, handled conflict, and helped people perform under pressure. It became the model for how she trains her teams today… grounded in human connection, not checklists.

By the end, she opens up about the small daily moves that keep her people patient and passionate, the lesson that almost broke her confidence, and the mindset that turned it all around. The real takeaway isn’t about knowing more. It’s about learning to feel smarter.

🎙️ Training That Works — where top performers share what actually works.

🔥 Email Magic™ turns average communicators into credible, respected voices.  👉 email-magic.com

In this episode of Training That Works, Rustin Schroeder talks with Achal Channarasappa, Head of Solutions Engineering at Superblocks, about what happens when training moves from theory to touching the real thing.

Achal shares how his team discovered a faster, smarter way to onboard by throwing out the endless video libraries and replacing them with live, 90-minute hackathons. The result? Reps and customers reach their “light-bulb moment” in hours instead of weeks. But getting there took some bold moves… including turning failed LMS training into a hands-on system that scaled across technical and customer teams.

He also reveals why empathy, not technology, drives the best training results and how a single mindset shift turned frustrated users into raving fans. If you’ve ever wondered how to make people actually care about the training you build… this conversation shows you exactly how he did it.

🎙️ Training That Works — where top performers share what actually works.

🔥 Email Magic™ turns average communicators into credible, respected voices.  👉 email-magic.com

In this episode of Training That Works, Rustin Schroeder talks with Brian Maiers about the two trainings that completely changed how he sells. The first gave him a simple framework he could use anywhere, even in an airport if he ran into a dream client. The second made him look inward, uncovering his natural strengths and the one thing most salespeople ignore while trying to “fix” themselves.

Then Brian shares the worst training he ever sat through... one that actually taught reps to force three objections out of every prospect before ending a call. That experience pushed him to rethink everything about how learning should work. From that moment on, he built a personal system rooted in connection, clarity, and confidence. If you’ve ever wondered what separates training that fades from training that sticks, this conversation tells you exactly how to find out.

🎙️ Training That Works — where top performers share what actually works.

🔥 Email Magic™ turns average communicators into credible, respected voices.  👉 email-magic.com