Win Via Trust Leadership Podcast

No data is perfect. Leaders still have to decide.

Dr. Ed Keating, Deputy Director of National Security Analysis at the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), shares how to make decisions people can trust anyway, drawing on a career that took him from aspiring professor to 24 years as a defense economist at the RAND Corporation and then to CBO.

Host Michael Rabinowitz and Ed discuss:

• Telling the truth about what the data say, without anticipating what a sponsor wants to hear
• Making sound decisions with imperfect data through transparent assumptions and sensitivity analysis
• Responding when critics dismiss findings by attacking the data
• Protecting nonpartisan credibility when every number can become political
• Why defense decisions often mirror the tradeoffs business leaders face
• Building trust by working together in person and delegating with room to fail
• A measured look at what AI will and won’t change
• Why more women should consider careers in national security

Dr. Keating appears in his personal capacity. The views he shares are his own and not those of the Congressional Budget Office.

Chapters

00:00 Welcome and Guest Introduction

01:38 Ed’s Career Journey: From Aspiring Professor to RAND and CBO

04:20 Trust and Objectivity in National Security Analysis

06:02 When Trust Becomes a Strategic Advantage

08:25 Making Decisions with Imperfect Data

11:41 Handling Pushback: When Critics Say “The Data Are Bad”

13:06 Protecting Nonpartisan Credibility

15:08 Briefing Leaders Effectively

18:36 Myths About Defense Decisions

20:42 What Grad School Doesn’t Teach About Rigor

22:35 Leadership Advice for Monday Morning

26:13 AI: Impact and Skepticism

28:38 Encouraging Women in National Security

29:55 Resources and Closing

Resources mentioned: cbo.gov, rand.org, winviatrust.com

Looking for more insights, the award-winning Win Via Trust is availble.

Produced by Intelluvia Media

How do you keep a team’s trust when nobody knows howthe story ends?

Host Michael Rabinowitz and Emmy-nominated Hollywood producer Guy Shalem explore how trust drives both filmmaking and leadership.

Guy defines trust as integrity, and as a process of “earning and keeping and earning it again” as you lead people through difficult, uncertain creative journeys.

In this episode:

• How Guy’s film Monument came together: an unfinished documentary, a Shabbat dinner with the story’s real-life subject, and Jon Voight signing on a week before shooting
• Why filmmaking is “controlled chaos,” and the biggest misconception about trust in Hollywood
• Why earning trust can be harder with newcomers than with veterans, with stories from projects involving Jane Lynch, Betty White, and Paris Hilton
• Building SZZL during the pandemic to produce remote content at a fraction of the usual cost, and what AI means for leaders
• Meeting of the Masters, his underground dinner club, where role reversal and service build humility, connection, and trust
• Why the human heart remains a leader’s edge over machines

Chapters:

00:00 Welcome to the Podcast

00:30 Meet Guy Shalem

01:49 Defining Trust

03:09 Making Monument

05:04 Hollywood Trust Myths

07:06 Directing Stars

08:37 Startups and AI

12:19 Underground Dinner Club

16:17 Humility and Leadership

17:26 Heart Over Machines

19:22 How to Follow Guy

19:58 Closing and Summary

If you found the podcast insightful, go deeper with the book Win Via Trust

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Trust is the winning strategy.

Produced by Intelluvia Media

She left a thriving corporate career to bake pastries, and built a global business on trust.

On this episode of the Win Via Trust Leadership Podcast, host Michael Rabinowitz sits down with Sophie Dubost, founder of Voilà Chef. Sophie had it all on paper: advanced degrees and a successful corporate career.

She walked away to train as a pastry chef at Ferrandi Paris. Today Voilà Chef brings the best pastry chefs in France, including Meilleurs Ouvriers de France, to bakers worldwide through 140+ courses and 900+ technique videos.

How do you get the world's most demanding chefs to trust a newcomer with their craft? One great master class at a time. Sophie tells Michael how a single satisfied chef sparked a "chain of trust," why filming days push even champions to their limits, and why her biggest mistakes turned out to be her best trust-builders.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro

01:41 Defining Trust in Leadership

03:05 Earning Chefs' Trust

04:16 Behind the Scenes Filming

05:19 Scaling Without Losing Quality

07:03 Building Customer Trust Online

08:48 Where to Find Voilà Chef

09:15 Trust with Offline-First Customers

10:30 Trust Signals When Hiring

11:49 Life Sciences vs. Culinary Trust

13:09 Self-Trust and Leaving the Corporate Path

15:43 Favorite Pastries

16:18 Mistakes That Build Trust

18:01 Closing

Produced by Intelluvia Media.

Get Michael Rabinowitz's book, Win Via Trust, in hardcover, paperback, or Kindle on Amazon, and find the Trustworthy Decision Matrix and more resources at WinViaTrust.com.

Subscribe for new episodes with leaders and newsmakers on building trust in leadership.

Can a fighter pilot, a U.S. Senator, and a NASA contractor all trust the same person?

Retired U.S. Navy Captain W. Scott Butler explains why the answer is yes. On this episode of the Win Via Trust Leadership Podcast, he joins host Michael Rabinowitz to trace trust from the cockpit of an F-14 to the halls of NATO, and into the boardrooms of the defense industry.

Butler is no stranger to the power of trust having commanded a Navy strike fighter squadron, ran a base of 3,000 troops from a dozen nations during combat operations over Libya, and led a NATO School, educating more than 10,000 students a year from over 80 countries.

He shares stories and practical insights that cover empowering junior ranks despite huge risks, transitioning to new technology with humility, and managing international teams of different cultures and customs. Butler discusses what trust has meant throughout his career journey including a sharp contrast between the military and Capitol Hill.

He does not hold back and uses the Navy's "Fat Leonard" scandal as a cautionary tale of betrayal of trust, while giving listeners plenty to think about and practical suggestions to immediately elevate their leadership skills. 

Chapters:

00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro

02:16 Defining Trust

04:18 Trust and Empowerment on the Flight Deck

06:23 Leading Through Transition

08:42 Humility as a Critical Leadership Attribute

10:32 What Trust Means on Capitol Hill

14:23 Multinational Command in Italy

18:29 Trust as Business Currency

22:28 Building Trust Across Cultures

24:31 When Trust Gets Betrayed

27:41 One Practical Trust Habit

28:59 Takeaways

Produced by Intelluvia Media

Get the book Win Via Trust on Amazon and find more episodes and resources at winviatrust.com.

What does it take to make a life-or-death forecast to millions of people who've never met you and be right often enough that they keep coming back?

This episode of Win Via Trust Leadership podcast brings practical leadership advice from an unexpected source: the national weather desk.

Host Michael Rabinowitz sits down with Steven Strouss, meteorologist and weather producer at NBC News, whose forecasts guide viewers through hurricanes, tornadoes, and everything in between. Steve's career runs through AccuWeather, CBS3 Philadelphia, and News 12 in the New York market before landing him on the national desk at NBC — earning an Emmy Award along the way.

Their conversation surfaces trust leadership strategies that apply far beyond a newsroom: what actually earns public trust in an era of algorithm-driven misinformation, why meteorologists remain some of the most trusted faces in media even as public trust broadly declines, how Steve decides how much responsibility to hand a new intern before a severe weather night, and what happens when AI forecasting models disagree with human judgment.

Topics covered:

— How Steve defines trust, and why it's one-sided when you're the one on TV

— The biggest misconceptions about meteorology

— Why meteorologists have held onto public trust while other institutions haven't

— The forecast Steve wishes he could take back, and the cautionary tale of a Philadelphia meteorologist who never recovered from one

— How much to delegate to a new intern

— Does AI raise or lower public trust in forecasting?

— One trust-building habit any executive can adopt Monday morning

Chapters:

0:00 Welcome and Guest Intro

1:30 Defining Trust in Forecasting

4:17 Meteorology Misconceptions

7:14 Why Weathercasters Earn Trust

11:52 Trust Under Pressure

13:07 Forecasting Mistakes and Accountability

17:05 Delegating on Severe Nights

20:15 AI and the Future of Forecasts

24:08 Communicating in Real Time

26:01 Trust Habits for Leaders

27:53 Final Reflections and Wrap Up

Get Michael Rabinowitz's book, Win Via Trust, in hardcover, paperback, or Kindle on Amazon, and find the Trustworthy Decision Matrix and more resources at WinViaTrust.com.

Subscribe for new episodes with leaders and newsmakers on building trust in leadership.

Produced by Intelluvia Media.

Looking for practical leadership advice on building trust? This special episode brings together the most powerful moments from our first nine conversations: CEOs, military leaders, physician executives, nonprofit innovators, and creators sharing the trust leadership strategies that drive real results. Across these standout clips, you will hear leaders define trust in their own words, share stories of accountability, explore how trust breaks and gets repaired, and reflect on the mentors who shaped their careers.

Featured Themes

-What Trust Really Means

- How Leaders Build and Lose Trust

- Repairing Trust

- AI and Trust

- Mentors Who Shape Us

Why This Episode Matters This highlight collection serves as a reset and a chance to revisit the ideas that sparked the most reaction and reflection throughout the season. Whether you are a leader, builder, creator, or someone navigating trust in your own work, these insights offer a grounded and practical lens on what trust makes possible.

Details

00:00 Welcome and Season Recap

00:59 Defining Trust

03:47 Trust Builds Scale

07:39 Handling Untrustworthy People

10:44 Repairing Trust and Apologies

12:40 The Role of AI

15:04 High Stakes Trust Military

16:49 Mentors

20:43 Trust Based Leadership Culture

22:01 Self Reflection and Closing

About the Show: Win Via Trust is hosted by Michael Rabinowitz, author of Win Via Trust, now available on Amazon and other retailers. Each episode features direct conversations with leaders and newsmakers who are redefining how trust drives performance, culture, and impact.

Produced by Intelluvia Media.

What happens when a multimillion-dollar research partnership collapses overnight? In this Win Via Trust leadership podcast episode, Michael Rabinowitz sits down with Pamela “Pam” Demain, CEO of Prokaryotics, for a sharp, grounded conversation on trust in business and how it becomes a true leadership advantage in biotech and beyond.

Pam’s definition of trust is both simple and powerful: honesty, respect, openness, active listening, and consistent follow‑through. She explains how those behaviors motivate teams, accelerate problem‑solving, and shape culture.

We also explore:

• Empowering women leaders and the Biotech CEO Sisterhood,  
• The role and importance of alliance management,
• A research collaboration that stalled and how trust reset the path forward,
• How apology, used well, strengthens negotiations without losing leverage,
• The crucial role of mentors,
• and much more.

A concise, insightful episode from a leader who has operated at every level of the industry.

00:00 Welcome and Introductions

01:13 Defining Trust in Leadership

02:58 Women Leaders and Trust

04:35 Deal Breakdown to Breakthrough

08:59 Relationship Building Playbook

11:57 Professional Boards and Networking

13:50 A Tough Negotiator Who Apologizes

16:22 Mentorship and Dad’s Lessons

18:46 Trust as Competitive Advantage

20:49 Closing

Produced by Intelluvia Media.

How does a franchise win trust in a crowded fitness market? In this Win Via Trust leadership podcast episode, Michael Rabinowitz talks with Eric Rothstein, former pharma marketer turned Spenga Springhouse franchise owner, about the leadership strategies that keep members coming back: trust built through consistent delivery.

Eric breaks down how his franchise earns that trust with personalized coaching, clear outcomes, and zero surprises, driving attrition far below typical gyms. He shares the retention moves that matter—transparency, helping members define their “why,” and using change‑management principles to turn good intentions into lasting habits.

We also get into how he measures trust through NPS, attendance patterns, real conversations, and social proof, and how he adapts communication across a diverse team while keeping feedback flowing during constant change.

Watch for a sharp look at how a franchise owner turns trust into a competitive edge.

00:00 Welcome and Introductions

01:19 Defining Trust in Leadership

05:46 Winning Customer Trust

08:05 Customer Retention

11:25 Measuring Trust and Feedback

13:18 Social Media Credibility

15:40 Leading a Diverse Team

18:36 Creating a Feedback Culture

21:42 Closing and Subscribe

Produced by Intelluvia Media.

If you want to understand trust leadership, talk to the people who rebuild trust every day. That is why this Win Via Trust leadership podcast episode features Kara Teeple, CEO of Lawrence Hall since 2015, one of Chicago’s most respected nonprofits serving young people and families who have experienced trauma, instability, and broken trust.

In this full‑length conversation, we explore:

• How leaders rebuild trust in environments where it’s been fractured
• What it takes to create stability for people who’ve rarely experienced it
• How nonprofit teams show up with consistency, clarity, and care
• Why mission‑driven leadership often reveals the purest form of trust.

It’s one of the most grounded and human discussions we’vehad on the show.

00:00 Welcome

02:01 Why Social Services

03:34 What Trust Means at Nonprofits

06:38 Earning Donor Confidence

11:01 Listening as a Leadership Skill

13:47 Trauma Informed Misconceptions

15:14 Women and Trust in Leadership

16:15 National Child Abuse Prevention Month efforts

18:02 Self Reflection and Closing

 Produced by Intelluvia Media.

What does it take to earn trust in an industry most people never think about, but rely on every single day? In this episode of the Win Via Trust Leadership Podcast, Michael Rabinowitz talks with James “Jim” Dancy, a longtime Waste Management executive who led operations across 26 states and 14 countries, for leadership advice grounded in integrity, character, and keeping your word.

Jim defines trust through integrity, character, and keeping your word, and recounts several workplace stories that offer valuable insights such as restoring public trust for the company in Oregon through transparency and direct communication. Jim also discusses building credibility internationally, navigating required partnerships, and a leadership approach grounded in listening, clarity, and steady communication.