Throttle Up Leadership Podcast

We Say We Want Innovation, Then Punish It Episode 193 Organizations say they want innovation, then quietly punish the behavior that produces it. Dr. Melisa Buie on courage, failure, and the experimental mindset that solves hard problems. Curiosity gets labeled a distraction. Experiments get labeled risk. Failure gets treated as something close to fatal, so people stop trying things, and the safest path becomes the only path anyone walks. The result is a workforce full of capable adults doing careful, forgettable work. Dr. Melisa Buie (PhD, nuclear engineering and plasma physics; leadership roles at Lam Research, Coherent, Applied Materials, and Advanced Energy; author of Faceplant: Free Yourself From Failure's Funk) joins Dr. John Dentico on why fear of failure stops people from trying, how to get through failure's funk, and how leaders make experimentation a normal part of how work gets done. Key takeaways Fear of failure is close to universal: nearly half of people worldwide won't try something new because of it, and 80% of risk-taking founders and CEOs say it keeps them up at night. The goal isn't to stop feeling failure. It's to get through the funk and turn those emotions into energy and curiosity. Limit the blast zone: small, incremental experiments beat betting the whole farm on one big launch thrown over the fence. Strategic planning looks for answers; strategic thinking makes sure you are asking the right questions, and risk-based thinking belongs in the boardroom, not only in the quality department. A pre-mortem asks, "It's four years out and this failed. What happened?" No one is attached to a failure that hasn't happened yet, so people name the red flags freely. Many failures are really gaps between expectations and reality; spell out expectations and plan what you will do if they aren't met. Nested mission statements give every team its own marching orders tied to the larger mission, turning people into self-leaders. 00:00 — Welcome: when organizations punish the behavior that produces innovation   00:58 — Meet Dr. Melisa Buie 01:49 — An Alabama family farm, math with Dad, and Auburn's farm experiments 03:55 — After the PhD: design of experiments and a mentor at Applied Materials 07:14 — Faceplant: courage and the global fear of failure 09:19 — "Successful attempts" and the emotional side of failure 11:28 — Getting free of failure's funk 13:27 — The safe cracker: keep what you've learned 15:26 — Bureaucracy, big bets, and limiting the blast zone 18:45 — Strategic thinking vs. strategic planning 21:33 — Risk-based thinking belongs in the boardroom 24:50 — The pre-mortem, explained 28:28 — Pre-mortems as simulation: reverse-engineering failure 32:03 — Failure as a gap between expectations and reality 34:11 — Forward deployed engineers and nested mission statements 39:03 — Cascaded missions create self-leaders 40:20 — What's next: Faceplant for organizations, two new books, a project with Mom 42:27 — Perseverance, resilience, and close If you enjoy the Throttle Up Leadership Podcast, please like, share, and subscribe, we genuinely appreciate your support.

Episode 192 In the highest-stakes rooms, the costliest move is often saying nothing. Dr. Karalee Picard on silence, psychological safety, and leadership that holds under pressure. Someone sees the flaw in the plan, weighs what speaking up will cost them, and lets it go. The briefing ends, the decision moves forward, and nobody logs the moment the organization chose silence. Dr. Karalee Picard (DIA / U.S. Strategic Command; founder, Insight Leadership Consulting) joins Dr. John Dentico on why capable people stay quiet, what silence costs the mission, and how leaders design culture so truth can be said without being sidelined. Key takeaways Silence in high-stakes rooms is a leadership design failure: without psychological safety, people will not risk humiliation, ridicule, or being sidelined — even when the mission depends on it. Dual chains of command (and relationship-based workarounds) quietly degrade quality when the people with the best insight are bypassed. Values on the wall are decoration until teams define how they run meetings, hold each other accountable, and practice psychological safety — then point to that agreement when behavior slips. Put the leader in the room as a participant, not a director; culture work without the boss present rarely changes anything. Nest the mission: a lofty command or corporate statement does not tell people why their piece of work matters — local purpose and shared language do. Strategic planning finds answers; strategic thinking makes sure you are asking the right questions (and naming the real threats/gaps) first. Power AI cannot replace is relational and expertise-based influence — used to fix processes, win informal champions, and put decisions where they belong. 00:00 — Welcome: when the most dangerous thing is nothing 01:42 — Meet Dr. Karalee Picard 01:58 — North Dakota roots, Navy intel, and a doctorate in culture 07:55 — When a capable professional decides not to speak 11:19 — Values alignment, personal agency, growth trajectory 13:32 — Culture workshops that make values usable 18:26 — Simulations, mental models, and nested missions 22:36 — Branding vs. mission: purpose people can feel 25:47 — Strategic thinking vs. strategic planning 28:20 — INTEL decision model for non-supervisors 33:29 — Human Powered: power AI will never replace 36:37 — Two definitions of leadership 39:56 — Informal power, trust, and winning change champions 45:31 — Bureaucracy as the court — creativity still plays 48:45 — What's next: consulting, a book, and a Memory Café 50:23 — Close and thanks If you enjoy the Throttle Up Leadership Podcast, please like, share, and subscribe — we genuinely appreciate your support.

Description: Episode 191 Guest: Ekta Agarwal, senior technology leader turned startup founder and AI enthusiast After 20 years driving results inside someone else's system, Ekta asked a harder question at 39: what happens when you stop optimizing another person's vision and start building your own? We talk about starting when you're stuck, leading without a title, why AI should amplify judgment instead of replacing it, and how belonging is something you sometimes have to create. Takeaways If you don't feel you belong, create your own space rather than waiting for permission. AI's real power is amplifying judgment and speeding good work, not replacing capable people. Keep learning the new tools; engineers who adapt keep building, they don't get sidelined. Treat ideas as living: watch what's already working elsewhere, refine fast, and stay open to change. Use AI with standards (especially in healthcare): privacy, security, and human review still own the outcome. Leadership is a process, not a bottleneck at the top; invite more minds into decisions as speed increases. Self-doubt is common; capability is often larger than the story you're telling yourself. Chapters 0:00 Welcome and why Ekta left certainty for possibility 1:33 Growing up in India, moving to the U.S., and creating belonging 4:41 Early career and the boss who saw more potential 6:16 Leaving corporate, reclaiming hobbies, and stepping into leadership roles 7:50 Does AI replace software engineers or make them faster? 12:33 Finding ideas, learning from what already exists, and building in public 15:39 Using AI for honest critique, not flattery 17:13 Local AI, Apple's pace, and healthcare data privacy 21:56 Leadership as process when one person becomes the bottleneck 25:05 How AI changes the speed and shape of building companies 29:47 Women in tech: capability, multitasking, and moving past self-doubt 34:28 What's next for Ekta: startup goals and helping others Links Throttle Up Leadership: https://throttleupleadership.com LinkedIn (Dr. John P. Dentico): https://www.linkedin.com/in/johndentico Guest: https://cdn.bmapinc.com/shareables/20043159/articles/iw_4065-2026-07-20-19-00-39-square.png Meaning is the new money.

Episode 190 Founders and operators: strong EBITDA means nothing if the bank balance is empty. In this episode, Dr. John Dentico talks with chartered accountant and non-executive director Ayanda Vabaza-Mvandaba (Outsourced CFO) about cash vs. profit, customer-acquisition costs, mission alignment across functions, and why cutting people is the wrong first lever. Takeaways: • Profit on paper can hide a cash crisis — watch runway, not just EBITDA • Fragmented strategies nobody can recite are a leadership/structure problem • Every function needs its own mission that supports the whole • Compliance lag and product irrelevance kill scalability quietly • Cyber resilience starts with basic education and enforced policy 00:00 – Welcome & Guest Introduction 01:48 – Early Life, Influences & Path to Chartered Accountancy 05:47 – Cash Flow vs Profit: The Quiet Crisis Scenario 08:48 – Customer Acquisition Costs in Downturns 10:30 – What a Non-Executive Director Really Adds 12:30 – Aligning Mission, Strategy & the Whole Team 16:10 – Why Finance (and Every Function) Needs Its Own Mission 20:30 – AI Financing Realities from a South African Lens 23:50 – Healthcare Cyber-Attack Case Study & Lessons 28:20 – The Compliance Blind Spot Founders Share 30:50 – Two Leadership Mistakes Seen Across Every Sector 34:00 – South Africa's Entrepreneurial Future & Closing Listen + resources: https://www.throttleupleadership.com/podcast Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/throttle-up-leadership-podcast/id1613171927 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3i8W3PvFJz9rQuD2uQ7FIY If this helped, leave a rating — it helps other leaders find the show. About the guest: Ayanda Vabaza-Mvandaba is a chartered accountant and non-executive director with Outsourced CFO in South Africa, with audit, valuations, and board experience across financial services and public entities.

Episode 189 If your purpose statement can't survive a quarterly scorecard, it's decoration. Dr. John Dentico runs a LeadSimm-style micro-simulation with purpose practitioners Jennie McLaughlin and Sarah Rozenthuler on values alignment vs. utilization metrics — and why only about 10% of organizations reach real purpose alignment. Takeaways: • Purpose is a design problem and a conversation problem • Scorecards that only measure utilization punish doing the right thing • The purpose lifecycle dies when words aren't wired into strategy and numbers • Burnout and cognitive load are structural, not personal weakness • AI belongs where it reduces load — leaders still own judgment 00:00 Two Purpose Practitioners, Two Continents 02:22 Applied Math, Startups and the Sinek Spark 03:32 Happy and Useful: The Road Into Dialogue 05:38 Joyful Eating: When Purpose Survives a Sale 08:09 The Purpose Lifecycle and the Ten Percent Problem 13:37 Scratchy Rooms and the Listening Posture 16:34 Micro Simulation: Amy and the Stainless Steel Promise 18:56 Rude Awakenings or Collateral Damage 26:29 Seven Words and the Bank Teller Test 31:58 Burnout, Fumes and the 170 Percent Conversation 41:31 Cognitive Relief: Who Is Actually in the Loop 48:06 Team Purpose, Following the Money, What Comes Next Listen + resources: https://www.throttleupleadership.com/podcast Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/throttle-up-leadership-podcast/id1613171927 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3i8W3PvFJz9rQuD2uQ7FIY If this helped, leave a rating — it helps other leaders find the show. About the guests: Jennie McLaughlin founded Purpose Led Transformation (ex-EY purpose practice, APAC). Sarah Rozenthuler is a chartered psychologist, founder of Bridgework Consulting, and author of Now We're Talking.