Highs of Innovation

Phil Whitebloom, Fortune 500 Sales Leader and Author of Handling Objections

Sales Excellence in a Changing World - Podcast Guest Phil Whitebloom | Highs of Innovation with Jasmine MartirossianIn this episode, Jasmine Martirossian sits down with Phil Whitebloom, a sales veteran, consultant, and author of The Sales Fixer and Handling Objections: Clues for Closing the Sale, for a wide-ranging conversation on what separates thriving sales organizations from struggling ones.
Phil opens with a foundational principle that great sales strategy begins with reverse engineering from results. Companies need to know not just what their revenue targets are, but what they want them to be, and then honestly assess whether they're hitting them. That honest self-critique, he notes, is harder than it sounds, even for the most open-minded leaders.From there, the conversation moves into diagnosing underperformance. Phil distinguishes between external factors (economic disruptions, pandemics, political shifts) and internal ones that companies can actually control. Among the internal culprits are misaligned compensation structures that breed complacency, the absence of real pipeline management discipline, and the trap of "tweaking" outdated systems rather than rebuilding them for today's marketplace.The marketing-sales alignment problem gets particular attention, including Phil's counterintuitive warning that a wildly successful marketing campaign can actually damage a business if sales and operations aren't scaled to meet the surge in demand.One of the episode's most memorable segments tackles the age-old mistake of promoting a top salesperson into sales leadership.  Phil Whitebloom is clear that individual contributor excellence and management excellence are fundamentally different skill sets.  The best field salesperson may be ill-equipped for the coordination, cross-functional communication, and people development demands of leadership, and companies that refuse to promote talented salespeople who are ready for those demands risk losing them entirely.Jasmine and Phil also explore the universal nature of selling, which is the argument that everyone, from doctors to professors, to Chamber of Commerce attendees, is always selling something.  Phil's anecdote about calling out a room full of "non-salespeople" at a networking event earns one of the episode's biggest laughs, and his point lands that denying that you're in sales is simply a way of avoiding the responsibility to do it well.The episode closes with Phil's take on AI in sales, which is enthusiastic, but clear-eyed. He's a user and a believer, but he's also a vocal critic of the "good enough" mentality that leads companies to deploy AI receptionists and customer-facing tools that frustrate rather than serve. His advice to salespeople entering today's market is refreshingly direct: make the calls, and when you're done, make more. Ask great questions.  Then stop talking and listen.

Katie Greenwood, Talent and Leadership Development Executive

In this episode, Jasmine Martirossian talks with Katie Greenwood, an experienced talent and leadership development executive, about how organizations create real, lasting learning and engagement.Katie Greenwood argues that leadership development only works when people understand why they’re there.  Intake conversations, empathy, and small repeated practices build the “muscle” of new behavior.  She explains why many corporate training offerings fail when treated as compliance or a checkbox, and how leaders who “think like marketers” can attract, engage, and retain talent by clearly communicating purpose and value.
Katie shares the origins and impact of her “ConnectUps,” voluntary weekly gatherings that kept a global team connected and productive through the COVID pandemic.  She emphasizes that employee engagement is infrastructure, not a soft metric, and that investing in manager development and intentional succession planning is essential for long-term performance.This conversation also covers the power of strengths-based work, the role of curiosity in leadership, and why cutting training during budget squeezes undermines future growth. Practical, human-centered, and actionable, Katie offers concrete strategies for leaders who want development to stick.#LeadershipDevelopment  #EmployeeEngagement  #LifelongLearning
 

Brendan Nash-Beresford, CEO of StormIn Advisory

In this episode of Highs of Innovation, host Jasmine Martirossian welcomes Brendan Nash-Beresford, CEO (Chief Energy Officer) of StormIn Advisory.  They explore the concept of sense-making in business, a vital skill that facilitates the ability to interpret complex situations and make strategic decisions.Brendan shares personal anecdotes about his career journey, the significance of understanding human dynamics in organizations, and how sense-making can transform both small businesses and larger corporations. As they delve into the importance of stepping back from day-to-day chaos to gain perspective, they discuss the power of reflection and the necessity of agility in today's fast-paced business environment.Listen to this episode to learn from the gems and insights shared by Brendan Nash-Beresford.

Mike Harper, President of FLANDERS Motors

Leadership is often talked about in abstract terms. But what does it actually look like in practice, especially in industries where reliability, expertise, and operational excellence are mission-critical?In this episode of Highs of Innovation, Mike Harper, President of FLANDERS Motors, shares his views on leadership, strategy, and what it takes to grow a nearly 80-year-old industrial company in today’s rapidly changing business environment.Mike shared a powerful perspective on leadership – it is never about the individual leader – it is about building the right team and empowering them to succeed. Leading a global organization of hundreds of employees requires trust, clear strategy, and giving people both the authority and accountability to execute.One of the most striking insights from our conversation was FLANDERS’ deep commitment to training and expertise. Their field service team has an average tenure of more than 30 years, a remarkable level of institutional knowledge in an era when many organizations underinvest in workforce development. As Mike noted, when customers face a critical operational failure, there is no time to “Google the answer.”  You need experienced professionals who can step in immediately and solve the problem.Listen to this episode with Mike Harper to strengthen your leadership muscle.

Eric Levine, Founder of StratEngine AI

Eric Levine's journey is that of innovation and reinvention.  He has done that each time building on the previous step, making leaps that the average person would consider as not doable. 
From a degree in philosophy to an accounting practice at Deloitte, to a strategy role at Meta, and to founding StratEngine AI, Eric has successfully pivoted and reinvented himself.  This type of reinvention is critical in our modern era where change is the only constant. There is so much to learn from Eric Levine's journey.
 

Latané Conant, CMO of Parloa, Author of No Forms. No Smap. No Cold Calls.

In this episode of Highs of Innovation, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Latané  Conant, CMO of Parloa, and former CMO of 6sense.  Latané is the author of the book titled No Forms. No Spam. No Cold Calls.
This was not a tactical marketing conversation. It was a leadership and innovation masterclass.
Trusting Instincts as a Strategic Advantage
Latané shared that the best advice she ever received was simple – trust your instincts. Innovation, in her view, is deeply connected to confidence. Not every breakthrough is loud or disruptive. Sometimes it’s the subtle, intuitive shift that changes trajectory.  That is, if you have the courage to act on your intuition.
As she steps into her new role at Parloa, she’s intentionally in “sponge mode,” absorbing context before making bold moves. What worked at 6sense doesn’t automatically port over.  Context defines strategy.
Rethinking the Customer Conversation
Her original thesis behind No Forms. No Spam. No Cold Calls. challenged conventional MarTech thinking:  “Why do marketers spend millions trying to get customers to talk to us, while post-sale systems are designed to deflect conversations?”
Now operating in the AI-driven customer engagement space, she’s asking a bigger question:  “What if we stopped optimizing for call deflection, and started optimizing for meaningful conversation?”
She also challenges traditional performance metrics, be it MQLs in marketing or “case resolved” statistics in customer support. If the customer walks away frustrated, was it truly resolved?  Metrics must reflect real sentiment, not vanity indicators.
Leadership as Humanity in Action
One of the most powerful parts of our discussion centered on people.
Latane measures leadership impact by one simple metric and question:  “Do people follow you to your next company?”
She spoke candidly about:
Supporting team members through deeply personal challenges
Building cultures that live their values, not just display them
Making tough calls when high performance clashes with culture
Helping people find roles where they can truly excel
Her philosophy is to take the organization’s mission seriously, but not yourself.
Innovation Requires Space
In a world obsessed with AI buzzwords, Latane reframed innovation as something more human. Innovation requires mental space. Curiosity. Perspective. Whether through travel, art, gardening, or meaningful connection, leaders must intentionally create the conditions that allow instinct and insight to surface.
This conversation was a reminder that innovation is not just about technology.It’s about confidence. Context. Metrics that matter. And seeing people as people.
If you care about the future of marketing, customer experience, and leadership, then this episode is worth your time.  Listen now!

Alexandra Doyle, Sales Leader, Mondo

In this deeply personal and powerful episode of Highs of Innovation, I sit down with Alexandra Doyle, Director of Sales in Boston and National Enterprise Strategy at Mondo.
Alexandra’s story is not a linear climb up the corporate ladder. It is a journey marked by adversity, reinvention, resilience, and ultimately, alignment.
From living independently at 17 and working multiple restaurant jobs, to accelerating through community college and graduating from University of Connecticut in record time, Alexandra built her life through relentless commitment and short-term sacrifice for long-term growth.
At Mondo, she rose quickly, opening markets, leading high-performing teams, and reaching the VP level. But when success collided with burnout, illness, and identity loss during COVID and early motherhood, sheer willpower was no longer enough.
In this candid conversation, we explore:
What happens when drive and ego overtake authenticity
Why “flow” is a leading indicator of alignment
The dark side of strengths—and how to manage it
The courage it takes to step down in order to rise stronger
How self-awareness transforms leadership
Through deep personal development work and insights from the Gallup Strengths framework, Alexandra rebuilt her leadership from the inside out. Today, she is growing again, opening new markets, building high-performance teams, and leading from authenticity rather than ego.
This episode is about more than career progression. It’s about identity, humility, resilience, and the power of knowing yourself.
If you’ve ever felt stuck at the top, disconnected from your own success, or unsure how to reinvent yourself, this conversation is for you.

Abby Flynn, HR Leader, Olympia Hospitality

In this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Abby Flynn, Senior Manager of HR at Olympia Hospitality, a family-owned hotel management company with an impressive portfolio of properties. Their portfolio includes the exceptional Inn by the Sea, which is one of the favorite properties of our family.
What stood out most in our conversation? A simple, but often overlooked truth articulated by Abby, "You cannot deliver a great guest experience without first creating a great employee experience."
Abby shares how Olympia Hospitality navigated the post-COVID talent crisis in an industry known for long hours, limited remote flexibility, and historically lower pay. Rather than retreat, they adapted:
- Reframed hospitality roles around transferable skills
- Rebuilt talent pipelines by recruiting from adjacent industries (including daycares and customer service sectors)
- Increased pay competitiveness
- Focused on flexibility in scheduling
- Strengthened onboarding and training
But the real differentiator isn’t just recruitment, it’s Olympia Hospitality's leadership philosophy.
Abby is deeply committed to a Strengths-based approach to leadership. Instead of obsessing over weaknesses, she focuses on identifying where employees naturally excel and developing those areas from a “6 to a 10,” rather than trying to force a “2 to become an 8.”
Her perspective on leadership is rooted in:
- Servant leadership (“Home Office,” not “Corporate”)
- Self-awareness and receptivity to feedback
- Investing in long-term employee growth
- Recognizing that team members are at the core of business success
We also discussed:
- Why hospitality teaches highly transferable leadership skills
- The importance of adaptability over rigid plans
- The power of ownership culture (if you see the trash, you own it)
- How longevity within an organization reflects leadership health
- Why focusing on strengths unlocks performance at scale
One of my favorite insights from Abby, “We’re in the memory-making business. We are part of people’s stories.” That mindset changes everything.
This episode is a powerful reminder that strategy, service excellence, and performance all begin with how leaders treat their people.
If you care about leadership development, culture, Strengths-based management, or the future of hospitality, then this conversation is worth your time.

Maite Quinn-Richards, President of Resource Recycling

I had the pleasure of speaking with Maite Quinn Richards, President of Resource Recycling and Executive Director of the U.S. Flexible Film Initiative. What stood out most was not just her industry insights, but the remarkable non-linear career journey that brought her there.
From Storytelling to Systems-Building – Maite began her career as a television and documentary producer.  A single idea – following the life of recyclables from curbside to overseas markets and back again – pulled her into the recycling industry.  That curiosity became a career pivot into operations, marketing, and eventually executive leadership.
Scaling Infrastructure, Not Just Narratives – Maite’s career path took her from running recycling companies to helping build some of the largest material recovery facilities (MRFs) in the country, working closely with municipalities, private equity, and infrastructure investors. She witnessed firsthand how global policy shifts (like China’s Green Fence) reshaped U.S. recycling economics — and why domestic infrastructure matters.
Private Equity as an Unexpected Lever for Sustainability – Another pivotal turn was helping launch a private equity fund focused on recycling infrastructure, acquiring and scaling facilities, and, ultimately, building what is now the largest privately held pure-play recycler in the U.S. It’s a powerful example of how capital markets and sustainability intersect.
Listen to this episode for inspiration with Maite's journey and to learn from her insghts.

Melanie Gillis, Strategic HR Leader at CarbonBuilt

In this episode, Melanie Gillis shares what it’s like to step into HR leadership at a fast-growing climate startup that acquired a 50+ year-old, family-owned manufacturing business.  We explore:
Change management in a legacy industrial environment
Why safety must include both physical and psychological safety
Employer branding and why “we’re a family” corporate messaging often does more harm than good
Rethinking performance reviews, feedback, and accountability
Treating employees like adults, and why that mindset matters for engagement and innovation
This conversation is especially relevant for leaders navigating growth, transformation, or cultural change in traditional industries.