In this episode, Erick Rheam interviews foreign policy expert, Dr. Liam Collins.
Liam describes his journey from the team captain of the cross-country/track team at Army West Point to team leader of a special forces group dropping into Afghanistan in response to the 9/11 terrorist attack, to a significant influencer to US foreign policy.
Liam shares why he chose to go special forces and his journey through the selection process that led to multiple tours in Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq. Finally, Liam describes in detail a high altitude combat jump at 16,000 feet behind enemy lines with a 13 manned special forces group to disrupt terrorist operations. He discusses what it’s like to lead a mission like that and how to lead others in chaos.
Dr. Liam Collins is the executive director of the Viola Foundation, the executive director of the Madison Policy Forum, a senior fellow with New America, and a permanent member with the Council on Foreign Relations.
He is co-editor of the Routledge Handbook of U.S. Counterterrorism and Irregular Warfare Operations and co-author of Understanding Urban Warfare.
Liam served in the U.S. Army for 27 years. As a career Special Forces officer, he conducted multiple
operational and combat deployments to Afghanistan, Iraq, Bosnia, South America, and the Horn of Africa.
Liam retired from the military in 2019 as the founding director of the Modern War Institute and as the director of the Department of Military Instruction at the United States Military Academy at West Point.
From 2016-2018, Liam served as the executive officer to U.S. Senior Defense Advisor to Ukraine. In that position he met with hundreds of Ukrainian officials to include their president, minister of defense, and chief of defense to help them reform their defense establishment. Within the United States he met with numerous officials including the National Security Advisor, the Secretary of Defense, senior Department of State Officials, and the House Armed Services Committee to help shape U.S. policy.
Liam also served as the director of the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point and is the author of dozens of articles and reports related to terrorism and conflict. Liam’s work has been cited by the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security & Counterterrorism, the White House Press Secretary, The New York Times, Associated Press, CNN, ABC News, Fox News, NPR, The Wall Street Journal and USA Today.
An expert on the military, defense, and security, Liam routinely provides expert commentary for BBC, CNN, Al Jazeera, NPR, Deutsche Welle News TV, India Today, RFE/RL, among others.
He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering (Aerospace) from the United States Military Academy, and a Master’s in Public Affairs and a PhD from Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs.
An accomplished athlete and coach, he has competed as an athlete and coached teams in different sports at multiple world championships. He won the Army’s Best Ranger Competition in 2007 and was selected as the Army’s Coach of the Year in 2011. He also has two multi-million dollar winning thoroughbred racehorses named after him.
His military awards and decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, three Bronze Star Medals with “V” devices for valor, Special Forces Tab, Ranger Tab, Sapper Tab, Master Parachutist Badge, and Military Free Fall Badge with Bronze Star (for combat jump).
In this episode, Erick Rheam interviews business coach, Deb Feder.
Deb shares her mission to help busy professionals have big careers and big lives and feel they can work togethers. She discusses the four things to stop and rethink how professionals manage their days by being responsive and responsible.
Deb shares thoughts on her new book, Tell Me More, where she discusses how to leverage everyday conversations and turn them into opportunities.
Deb Feder is a business development coach, strategist, and CEO of Feder Development LLC, a consulting firm focused on helping lawyers and professionals bring in consistent clients through curious, confident conversations and changing the way we view productivity for professionals.
For the last decade, she has committed herself to changing the way we think about work-life balance and how we tackle high-stakes work, allowing for big careers while enjoying our free time.
Prior to founding Feder Development, Deb practiced corporate law for 15 years; she holds a history degree from the University of Michigan and her JD/MBA from the University of Iowa.
Deb’s latest book, After Hello: How to Build a Book of Business, One Conversation at a Time is a guide to building a thriving law practice based on a blend of mindset, strategy, and straightforward solutions.
Deb is a frequent speaker at conferences, podcasts, and firm retreats on business development, productivity, networking, authenticity, and communication.
In this episode, Erick Rheam interviews certified leadership coach, Jim Bishop.
Jim shares his story and how coaching helped him find balance in his life and why he feels it’s important for busy, professional leaders to be intentional about their work and lives in a way that allows them to have long and fruitful careers.
Jim discusses why reframing choices and looking at our obstacles with a different paradigm can free us up to make better life and business decisions. He introduces the concept of making a “not” to do list that frees leaders up to focus on the main things.
With over two decades of immersive experience in executive development, corporate leadership and human performance, Jim Bishop stands as a beacon of transformative leadership through his business, Conjunction Leadership.
Jim's journey has taken him across the globe, coaching executives, diverse teams and orchestrating the modernization of leadership systems for transforming business units.
Having collaborated with industry giants like Eli Lilly, Roche, and Elanco, Jim recognized the pivotal role of a visionary leader willing to first work on themselves while revitalizing their culture. This catalyzed the birth of Conjunction Leadership in 2020, where Jim provides executive coaching and team development solutions.
As a certified coach by the International Coaching Federation and a Certified Leadership Facilitator with Blanchard, Jim's methods are a blend of science and art. He empowers executives through executive coaching, corporate culture consulting, and team effectiveness programs, focusing on holistic development within volatile contexts.
At Conjunction Leadership, transformation starts within. The exclusive DISRUPT, BRIDGE, and GROW process guides leaders on a journey of self-discovery, mindset shifts, and measurable growth.
In this episode, Erick Rheam describes the impact of two annual retreats he just finished in the last month.
Erick describes what he experienced during his retreats and why those experiences are so important to how he approaches the year. He outlines four reasons why you should embrace the idea of a retreat and challenges you to schedule a retreat as well.
In this episode, Erick Rheam interviews Joe Schotthoefer, Vice President of Operations at Doetsch Environmental Services, Inc.
Joe discusses what it was like to grow up with the family business as a big part of his young life and how it impacted him to work in the family business full time. Joe describes the business and the importance of the culture of the company and why it means so much to him and his family.
We discuss his family dynamic and their philosophy in how they train and support their team for long term success. Finally, Joe gives insight on how he approaches the human side of supervising others.
Joe Schotthoefer is VP of Operations for Doetsch Environmental Services, a fifth-generation family owned business located in Detroit Michigan.
Established in 1898, Doetsch is committed to preventing pollution of lakes, rivers and oceans by maintaining underground sewerage systems.
The Doetsch name and reputation have been synonymous with high quality, professional industrial inspection and cleaning services.
Oil spills, hazardous waste, solid waste and sewer line backups are formidable clean-up jobs tackled on a daily basis by Doetsch Environmental Services, a 122-year-old environmental contractor, based in Warren, Michigan.
Doetsch Environmental Services offers professional cleaning services of wet and dry materials, located above or below ground, to municipalities, manufacturing facilities, power plants, foundries, chemical plants and refineries.
In this episode, Erick Rheam interviews West Point Athletics Hall-of-Famer Jason Stewart about his journey from his successful conclusion of his collegiate career and how he leveraged that to pursue a world class running career, while serving his country.
Jason recounts the obstacles he faced trying to find his place on the world stage while navigating his Army career as a Field Artillery Officer and being deployed to Bosnia Herzegovina in the mid 1990s.
Jason describes what it was like to be on the front lines of Operation Joint Endeavor in Bosnia while losing all of his fitness and the struggle to get back into racing shape in time to compete in the United States Olympic Trials for a chance to represent his country in the Olympics.
Jason outlines three key lessons he learned from his decade of elite running from high school, college, and at the olympic levels and why he’s content influencing the next generation to pursue excellence.
Personal:
Married: Tracy – married 23 years
Children: Lily – 21 – Chemical Engineering Senior at Penn State University
Nate – 18 – Freshman at the United States Naval Academy, Annapolis
Work:
Vice President – Keurig Dr Pepper
Athletic:
UNITED STATES ARMY WORLD CLASS ATHLETE PROGRAM
UNITED STATES MILITARY ACADEMY
CONRAD WEISER HIGH SCHOOL - Robesonia, PA
Career Personal Bests:
Other:
In this episode, Erick Rheam interviews West Point Athletics Hall-of-Famer Jason Stewart about his journey from high school soccer star to a world class distance runner for the United States Army.
Jason shares his journey from rising star as a collegiate division I recruit to All-American status and premiere collegiate runner at the United States Military Academy. Jason describes the moment he challenged his Army teammates to commit to a new level of training and mental toughness needed to be one of the best programs in the country.
Jason not only recounts how that pivotal moment on that training run not only changed the trajectory of his team, but in his own career and what lessons he learned from it.
Personal:
Married: Tracy – married 23 years
Children: Lily – 21 – Chemical Engineering Senior at Penn State University
Nate – 18 – Freshman at the United States Naval Academy, Annapolis
Work:
Vice President – Keurig Dr Pepper
Athletic:
UNITED STATES ARMY WORLD CLASS ATHLETE PROGRAM
UNITED STATES MILITARY ACADEMY
CONRAD WEISER HIGH SCHOOL - Robesonia, PA
Career Personal Bests:
Other:
In this episode, Erick Rheam provides the audience with a process to jumpstart their 2024 using some key ideas from his Rise Above Chaos methodology.
Erick challenges the audience to do a 50 day Rise Above Chaos challenge with seven key things to do over the next 50 days to jumpstart their year. These challenge pieces were carefully selected and arranged so that everyone can start the year focused on the key things to elevate them above the chaos.
Finally, Erick provides a fun exercise that will provide tangible evidence that we have all moved in a positive direction in 2024.
In this episode, Erick Rheam interviews speaker, author, podcaster, and productivity expert, Jeff Sanders, on his insights on how to approach the daily grind of life in a healthy and meaningful way.
Jeff shares insights on common mistakes most overwhelmed people make when they approach their days. He believes it all starts with a realistic plan and learning to cut out 40% of what you plan to complete for the day to allow space for life to happen.
Jeff gives practical advice on how to manage email and why he believes it’s important to wake up thirty minutes earlier in the day and do something that excites you.
Jeff Sanders is the founder and CEO of 5 AM Miracle Media.
He is a keynote speaker, productivity coach, author of The 5 AM Miracle, The Free-Time Formula, and founder of The Rockin’ Productivity Academy.
He also hosts The 5 AM Miracle Podcast, which has ranked #1 in Apple Podcasts in the Self-Improvement and Business categories, been nominated for 7 Podcast Awards, and exceeded 13 million downloads.
Jeff is a productivity junkie, plant-based marathon runner, and personal development fanatic. He also eats a crazy number of bananas. ?
Jeff also consistently shares new and fascinating content about healthy habits, personal development, and rockin’ productivity. Every week you can find him writing and speaking at JeffSanders.com.
In this episode, Erick Rheam interviews Scott and Shate Hayes, from the Love Haze, and discusses the hard parts of life we often don’t like to talk about with each other.
Scott and Shate discuss their journey together and their passion for helping others. Erick talks to them about the need for therapy and how Scott and Shate have benefitted from having a professional support them on their journey.
Scott gives practical advice on how to find a therapist and then how to get the most out of the experience.