Can companies operate effectively without bosses, titles, or hierarchies? How can organizations empower employees to take full ownership of their roles while maintaining accountability and productivity?

In this episode of the Value Creators Podcast, Hunter Hastings speaks with Doug Kirkpatrick, author of The No Limits Enterprise and a pioneer of self-management. Doug shares his experience implementing self-management at The Morning Star Company, a firm that scaled successfully without traditional managers or management.

Key insights include:

• The two core principles that enable a self-managed organization: no coercion and keeping commitments.
• How the Colleague Letter of Understanding (CLOU) replaces job descriptions and performance reviews.
• Why bureaucratic hierarchies are outdated and how eliminating them enhances agility and innovation.
• The evolving role of leadership as facilitators rather than controllers.
• The connection between self-management, trust, and high business performance.
• How AI and digital transformation are making self-management more relevant than ever.

For business leaders, entrepreneurs, and anyone looking to rethink traditional management, this episode offers a compelling look at the future of work. Discover how to transition from a control-based hierarchy to a high-trust, self-managed enterprise.

Resources:

➡️ Learn What They Didn’t Teach You In Business School: The Value Creators Online Business Course

Connect with Doug on LinkedIn

Read Doug’s Blog on “The Future of Work”

Get Doug’s Book The No-Limits Enterprise

Read Morning Star’s Success Story

Connect with Hunter Hastings on LinkedIn

The Value Creators on Substack

What if the traditional view of leadership—an individual who is assertively bold, visionary, and all-powerful—was actually harmful? What if leadership is not about commanding authority but interpersonal relationships, collaboration, self-awareness, and authenticity?

In this episode of the Value Creators Podcast, Hunter Hastings speaks with Josefine Campbell, international business coach and author of 12 Tools for Managing a Selfish Leader: Unlocking Authenticity for Resilience. Josefine shares how toxic leadership dynamics can damage organizations and individuals—and how employees and leaders alike can protect themselves and build resilience.

Key insights include:

• Why the traditional leadership myth is outdated and how a more human-centered approach is needed.
• How selfish leaders manipulate employees and erode company culture.
• The role of energy management in maintaining resilience against toxic leadership.
• Why self-awareness and authenticity are essential for outstanding leadership.
• The importance of corporate culture in preventing toxic leadership behaviors.
• Practical tools like the Awareness Matrix and Values Lighthouse to help individuals navigate difficult leadership situations.

Whether you're a leader striving to improve or an employee dealing with a challenging manager, this episode offers valuable tools to foster authenticity, resilience, and ethical leadership. Learn how to protect yourself from toxic leadership and embrace a leadership model that works for the 21st century.

Resources:

➡️ Learn What They Didn’t Teach You In Business School: The Value Creators Online Business Course

Visit josefinecampbell.com

Connect with Josefine on LinkedIn

Sign Up To Josefine’s Newsletter

Check Out Josefine’s books:

12 Tools for Managing a Selfish Leader

Power Barometer: How To Manage Personal Energy For Business Success

Connect with Hunter Hastings on LinkedIn

The Value Creators on Substack

How can businesses shift from rigid, hierarchical structures to agile, fast-moving organizations that adapt to change effortlessly? What if businesses could remove bottlenecks, eliminate bureaucracy, and enable knowledge to flow freely—boosting innovation and engagement?

In this episode of the Value Creators Podcast, Hunter Hastings speaks with Mark Beliczky, co-creator of the Kinetic Flow State Organization (KFSO) model. Mark explains why traditional business structures are failing in today’s dynamic market and how KFSOs enable companies to replace control with continuous motion and adaptability.

Mark served as President and CEO of ProHome Holdings, LLC, and in Executive Management roles at The Carlyle Group. He was the Founder, President & CEO of Salus Sciences, LLC, and held senior executive positions with PepsiCo, UBS, Citigroup, Sunrise Senior Living and other companies. He has been engaged in numerous business start-ups, turnarounds, transformations, and acquisitions/ mergers. Mark is a Fellow at the Strategic Management Forum, and a member of the American Academy of Management and the International Leadership Association. He holds an MBA from Loyola University, is a graduate of Heidelberg University, and has a faculty appointment at Georgetown University. He has authored over 120 articles on leadership, management, culture and performance excellence, and has led numerous leadership seminars and been a speaker at global leadership forums.

Key Episode insights include:

• Why legacy business models—designed for stability—fail in today’s high-speed market.
• How a KFSO enables real-time knowledge flow, decision-making, and adaptability.
• The two key components of a KFSO: kinetics (momentum) and flow (barrier elimination).
• How psychological safety and real-time feedback drive innovation and employee engagement.
• The shift from top-down leadership to dynamic, expertise-driven leadership.
• The step-by-step process for transitioning from a legacy model to a KFSO.

For business leaders, entrepreneurs, and anyone rethinking organizational design, this episode offers a blueprint for creating a company that moves fast, innovates freely, and thrives in an era of continuous change. Discover how to enable a Kinetic Flow State Organization designed for the future.

➡️ Learn What They Didn’t Teach You In Business School: The Value Creators Online Business Course

Connect with Mark Beliczky on LinkedIn

Connect with Hunter Hastings on LinkedIn

The Value Creators on Substack

Read Mark's Articles:

The New Organizational Model That Is Needed For The 21st Century

Reimagining Organizational Structures for the 21st Century: The Agility Advantage

Adapting for Success: The Organizational Shift Every 21st Century Business Needs

The Evolution of Agile and the Rise of Enterprise Flow Organizations

Real estate is more than buying and selling properties—it’s about creating value for tenants, investors, and communities. How do you scale a real estate business from a single duplex to managing thousands of units? How do you navigate economic cycles while ensuring consistent returns for stakeholders?

In this episode of the Value Creators Podcast, Hunter Hastings speaks with Ivan Barratt, founder of BAM Capital, about his entrepreneurial journey and the principles that have driven his success in the real estate industry.

Key insights include:

• How Ivan scaled his business from a duplex to managing nearly 9,000 units.
• The importance of creating a positive workplace culture for property management success.
• The concept of forced appreciation and its role in increasing property value.
• Strategies for navigating economic cycles and balancing cash flow with long-term growth.
• The potential of AI in enhancing property management while preserving human connection.

Whether you’re an aspiring real estate entrepreneur or looking to invest in multifamily housing, this episode offers valuable lessons on leveraging innovation, culture, and strategy to create lasting value. Learn how to approach real estate as a value-driven business and scale sustainably.

Resources:

➡️ Learn What They Didn’t Teach You In Business School: The Value Creators Online Business Course

Visit BAM Capital

Connect with Ivan Barratt on LinkedIn

Connect with Hunter Hastings on LinkedIn

The Value Creators on Substack

How can businesses successfully navigate the relentless pace of change without alienating employees? Why do so many change initiatives fail, and what role does communication play in driving successful transformations?

In this episode of the Value Creators Podcast, Hunter Hastings speaks with Nellie Wartoft, founder and CEO of TigerHall, about a revolutionary approach to organizational change—change activation. Nellie explains how businesses can move beyond outdated, top-down "change management" processes to foster bottom-up, action-driven change that engages employees and aligns with company culture.

Key insights include:

• Why employees resist change when they lack a voice and feel excluded from the process.
• How TigerHall uses data, personalization, and modern content formats (videos, podcasts, live streams) to activate change effectively.
• The importance of two-way feedback loops, real-time insights, and ongoing execution to drive agile, impactful transformations.
• Why culture is defined by who you hire and how behaviors are rewarded and recognized.

For leaders seeking to address change fatigue, retain top talent, and create agile organizations, this episode provides a roadmap to activate meaningful and lasting transformation.

Resources: 

Discover how TigerHall helps businesses navigate change in a human, engaging, and data-driven way.

The Executive Council For Leading Change

Connect with Nellie Wartoft on LinkedIn

➡️ Learn What They Didn’t Teach You In Business School: The Value Creators Online Business Course

Connect with Hunter Hastings on LinkedIn

The Value Creators on Substack

Show Notes:
0:00 | Intro
2:02 |  Change is the Only Constant: The Concept of Change Management in Corporate America and Its Challenges
4:57 | Increasing Frequency of Changes Employees Face and its Impact on Engagement  
5:35 | Subjective Value
8:39 | Change Activation and its Importance Over Traditional Change Management. 
13:04 | Change with the Organization
14:42 |  Overview of TigerHall's Platform and its Features for Driving Change Activation.   
18:12 | TigelHall’s Content Creation Process  
20:42 | Dynamic Audience Group: Targeting messages             
22:09 | Value Creators Online Course
23:22 | AI-driven targeted messaging
24:16 | Self Selection 
25:26 | Success Story and the Role of Culture in Change Management and its Challenges
29:19 | Giving Individuals a Voice
31:37 | Culture 
34:49 | The Flow Concept: Future of Change Management and the Need for Adaptable Professionals
37:52 | Training People with Special Skills and Experience
40:40 | Wrap-Up

What if you could leverage billions of dollars in pre-built infrastructure to grow a thriving e-commerce business without the burden of warehouses, logistics, or massive overhead? How can small innovations—rather than big inventions—solve customer problems and create scalable brands?

In this episode of the Value Creators Podcast, Hunter Hastings sits down with Neil Twa, CEO and Co-Founder of Voltage Holdings, to explore the concept of "almost automated income." With over 17 years of experience building businesses both online and offline, Neil shares his expertise in scaling multi-million dollar brands through Amazon FBA and other e-commerce channels. Since 2012, he’s launched 5+ personal brands, generated tens of millions in revenue as an 8-figure seller, and helped over 1000 entrepreneurs grow their businesses through consulting, coaching, and mentoring.

Neil walks through key principles, including:

• Focusing not on products but on customer value creating solutions that deliver real value by meeting real needs.
• Choosing profitable offerings with high margins through a data-driven "Greenlight Process."
• Balancing demand creation (social media, influencers) with supply chain mastery.
• Scaling efficiently with small teams, automation, and AI systems.

Listeners will learn how to identify winning products, test market potential, and build exit-ready brands that can sell for 3-15x their earnings. More than just a business model, Neil highlights how entrepreneurship can create purpose, freedom, and a fulfilling lifestyle.

For entrepreneurs looking to tap into today’s generative platforms, this episode is packed with actionable insights and inspiration to achieve success in the new economy.

Resources:

➡ 📚 Get a Free Copy of Neil’s Book “Almost Automated Income with FBA” Using code: VALUECREATORS

Connect with Neil Twa on LinkedIn, Instagram, X, and YouTube.

Connect with Hunter Hastings on LinkedIn

The Value Creators on Substack

➡  Learn What They Didn’t Teach You In Business School: The Value Creators Online Business Course

Show Notes:
0:00 | Intro
3:21 | How Does Neil View Entrepreneurial Business Growth?
5:19 | Platforms That Drive Business Growth and Their Impact on Success
10:09 | Customer-Centric Business Models
16:49 | Subjective Value VS Solution Value
19:58 | Value Creators Online Course
21:11 | Price Value Choosing Customer
24:45 | Finding Suppliers 
29:02 | Profit & Balance Sheet: Building Profitability and Assets
34:19 | Neil Shares his Value Proposition:  Innovation and Product Development
39:06 | CEO Operators: Future of Economy
40:20 | Process, Process, and Process: Building a Brand and Capturing Demand
44:15 | Wrap-Up

Big Tech for Small Businesses: Unleashing the Power of Geofencing with Barbara Wardell and Ernesto Cullari

How can small businesses best use cutting-edge technologies? Geo-fencing is a great example, providing location-based advertising to drive traffic, revenue, and ROI for local businesses. What does the future hold for small businesses as they integrate advanced tech to personalize customer experiences?

In this episode of the Value Creators Podcast, Hunter Hastings explores these questions with Barbara Wardell and Ernesto Cullari of Cullari and Wardell, a pioneering service provider in geofencing and location-based marketing solutions. Barbara and Ernesto share their expertise in helping small and medium-sized businesses harness advanced technologies to attract customers, increase conversions, and create sustainable growth.

They emphasize a customer-centric approach, leveraging tools like GPS tracking and demographic data to tailor highly targeted ads that resonate with local audiences. By combining technology with a deep understanding of small business challenges, they demonstrate how geofencing can deliver measurable results, from attracting new customers to optimizing location choices based on foot traffic studies.

Barbara and Ernesto also discuss the importance of hyper-specialization, ROI measurement, and the evolving future of advertising, where AI and privacy-sensitive data play a pivotal role. For small business owners, this episode offers actionable insights into leveraging big tech to compete effectively while maintaining the personal touch that defines their success.

This conversation is a masterclass on how to think and act as value creators, showcasing how innovation, technology, and customer focus can unlock new opportunities for small businesses.

Resources:

➡  Learn What They Didn’t Teach You In Business School: The Value Creators Online Business Course

Barbara Wardell & Ernesto Cullari’s Agency

Connect with Hunter Hastings on LinkedIn:

The Value Creators on Substack

➡ 📈 Get Your Free CFO Consultation with Kristian: https://finstratmgmt.com/cfo/

In this episode of the Value Creators Podcast, host Hunter Hastings engages with Kristian Marquez, founder and CEO of FinStrat Management, to explore the multifaceted nature of entrepreneurship. Kristian shares his journey, from the founding team of a successful medical data company that went public to navigating startup challenges with a venture-funded business to pioneering the delivery of CFO-as-a-service. The episode concludes with insights on leveraging external expertise as a service and a free CFO consultation offer. 

Resources:

➡ 📈 Get Your Free CFO Consultation with Kristian: https://finstratmgmt.com/cfo/

➡  Learn What They Didn’t Teach You In Business School: The Value Creators Online Business Course

Connect with Hunter Hastings on LinkedIn:

Connect with Kristian Marquez on LinkedIn:

The Value Creators on Substack

This episode is a repost from The B2B Growth Blueprint podcast with Mark Osborne.

There is a shift away from traditional management toward self-managed, digitally-enabled companies. We are entering the Post Managerial Era of Capitalism. In this new way of thinking about business and organization, top-down structures are giving way to self-management, where employees make decisions informed by real-time data and customer insights.

Mark Osborne from the B2B Growth Blueprint podcast provided a platform to discuss the implications of this shift.

Mark highlights the role of empathy, emotional engagement, and agile customer feedback in building responsive, customer-centric businesses, and emphasizes the importance of leveraging digital tools to create interactive environments where customers can actively participate and provide invaluable insights. This approach allows businesses to strengthen product development and build loyalty by making customers feel directly involved.

Mark Osborne emphasizes the relevance of these strategies for early-stage companies, emphasizing iterative design and customer engagement, even with limited resources. By integrating these principles, businesses can not only strengthen their product development but also create a loyal customer base that feels directly involved in the process.

Resources:

Learn What They Didn't Teach You In Business School (The Value Creators Course)

Connect with Hunter Hastings on LinkedIn

Connect with Mark Osborne on LinkedIn

The B2B Growth Blueprint Podcast on Apple Podcast

The B2B Growth Blueprint Podcast on YouTube

thevaluecreators.com

TVC Substack: hunterhastings.substack.com

We are about to enter the era of AI agents, and learning about them and deploying them is relevant to every business. What are they? How can a business develop one? How can a business successfully deploy one? How can a business develop a team of AI agents to work together to automate processes? How will these AI agents create value for customers?

In this episode of the Value Creators Podcast, Hunter Hastings gets answers to these questions from  Michael Walker of SmythOS. Michael is the right expert to learn from because he prioritizes customer-centricity in AI solutions. Michael believes that businesses should put customer needs and benefits first, before technology features. That’s the Value Creators mindset, and it helps businesses to avoid the common pitfall in tech-first startups where excessive focus on features can obscure the value for end-users. According to Michael, this focus on customer problems is foundational, and AI deployment should primarily aid in addressing customer needs rather than showcasing technological capabilities.

SmythOS advocates for a future where AI and humans work in synergy to optimize value creation effectiveness.

Resources: 

Connect with Hunter Hastings on LinkedIn

Connect with Michael Walker on LinkedIn

Follow Michael Walker on Substack

The Value Creators Online Course

Show Notes:

0:00 | Intro
0:30 | Focus on Customer’s 
2:17 | Can AI be Emphatatic?
3:59 | Mainstream Market for AI: Is it Here Yet?
6:47 | SmithOS: Vision and Mission
9:04 | OS: Coordinated AI
11:57 | Solving the Problem of Generating Innovation Idea
15:37 | Can AI Improve the Quality of Technological Investments?
18:01 | AI Boosts Productivity by Optimizing Resource Allocation
19:27 | Michael’s Views on AI: Enabling Smaller, Tech-Driven, Specialized Firms
21:47 | AI May Replace OR Transform SaaS Companies
23:39 | Smith OS: Relationship Between the Owner of the Problem and the Designer of the Solution
25:36 | AI Integration May Eliminate Traditional Company Departmental Silos
28:01 | AI Agents as Team Members
29:30 | AI CEO
31:30 | Hunter’s Contradictory Approach: AI Can Help Us with Vision and Mission
33:41 | Can AI Generate Bold, Unconventional Ideas?
34:34 | Entrepreneurial Intent
36:00 |  Changing Interaction Modes will Transform Technology Perception
39:15 | Potential AI Risks and Concerns
40:54 | Wrap - Up