Practical Wisdom for Leaders with Scott J. Allen, Ph.D.

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Dr. Ravi G. Joshi is President of JTM Products and ChemMasters, where he leads two family-owned specialty chemical businesses based in Northeast Ohio. He brings more than 23 years of leadership experience across technical, commercial, and organizational roles in the specialty chemicals industry.
Born and raised in India, he earned an MS in polymers and a PhD in coatings. He spent the early part of his career leading technical and R&D teams in the United States and Europe before moving into commercial leadership across Central and South America and Asia Pacific. He also holds an MBA from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. Throughout, his focus has been on translating technical capability into commercial value and building teams that can execute through growth and change.
At the center of his leadership philosophy is a simple belief: high standards and humanity can coexist. He is passionate about building strong businesses and strong cultures in parallel, developing people, creating ownership, and helping organizations understand what to preserve, what to improve, and what truly needs to change.
Ravi describes leadership as an ongoing experiment and believes that becoming is never finished. His approach is grounded in curiosity, humility, ambition, self-awareness, and a deep commitment to leaving people and organizations better than he found them.
A Few Quotes From This Episode
"When you're in the lab, and a reaction doesn't go as you planned, you don't blame the molecules. You change the conditions. And the more I work with people, the more I realize that even as a leader, you are also one of the conditions."
"Between the stimulus and the response, there is a space. And that space, in my opinion, is the power of choice."
"The moment 'I know it' comes in, you have already started becoming less curious about the situation."
"Your normal is usually the world you have seen so far. And when it gets larger, your capacity to understand people grows."
"Aspirations can lift you as long as your pursuit never becomes more important than the purpose you have behind it."
About The International Leadership Association (ILA)
The ILA was created in 1999 to bring together professionals interested in studying, practicing, and teaching leadership. Attend The Global Conference in Toronto, October 28-31.
About  Scott J. Allen
Website
Weekly Newsletter: Practical Wisdom for Leaders
My Approach to Hosting
The views of my guests do not constitute "truth." Nor do they reflect my personal views in some instances. However, they are views to consider, and I hope they help you clarify your perspective. Nothing can replace your reflection, research, and exploration of the topic.

♻️ Please share with others and follow/subscribe to the podcast!
⭐️ Please leave a review on Apple, Spotify, or your platform of choice.
➡️ Follow me on LinkedIn for more on leadership, communication, and tech.
📜 Subscribe to my weekly newsletter featuring four hand-picked articles.
🌎 You can learn more about my work on my Website.

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Deb Donley is the founder of Vocon, an architecture and interior design firm with offices in Cleveland, Chicago, and New York. She and her brother, Paul Voinovich, founded the firm in 1987, and over nearly four decades, she has grown it into one of the larger design practices in the country. The firm now employs more than 225 professionals, including architects, interior designers, strategists, and experiential brand designers. Vocon is licensed in all 50 U.S. states and ranks 41st globally on Interior Design Magazine’s list. Clients include Sherwin-Williams, PwC, KeyBank, Goodyear, and Willis Towers Watson.
A Few Quotes From This Episode
"I write every person at Vocon a birthday card on their birthday. It forces you to sit down and think: do I have enough content to write a birthday card about this person? And if I don't, it's a signal to me that I've missed something about somebody."
"Awards to me are the outcome of a team that has been so successful because the space has come to life in a way that is totally and authentically that organization. That is the secret sauce."
"We are all heroes, top to bottom, side to side. Own it. We have the ability to change someone's day by the decisions we make."
About The International Leadership Association (ILA)
The ILA was created in 1999 to bring together professionals interested in studying, practicing, and teaching leadership. Attend The Global Conference in Toronto, October 28-31.
About  Scott J. Allen
Website
Weekly Newsletter: Practical Wisdom for Leaders
My Approach to Hosting
The views of my guests do not constitute "truth." Nor do they reflect my personal views in some instances. However, they are views to consider, and I hope they help you clarify your perspective. Nothing can replace your reflection, research, and exploration of the topic.

♻️ Please share with others and follow/subscribe to the podcast!
⭐️ Please leave a review on Apple, Spotify, or your platform of choice.
➡️ Follow me on LinkedIn for more on leadership, communication, and tech.
📜 Subscribe to my weekly newsletter featuring four hand-picked articles.
🌎 You can learn more about my work on my Website.

Send us Fan Mail
Jason Allen is an executive with more than 25 years of leadership experience spanning supply chain, operations, and human resources. He currently serves as Vice President of Corporate Supply Chain for Twenty-Six Defense, a U.S. aerospace and defense company, where he focuses on building resilient supply chains, strengthening organizational performance, and preparing teams to meet increasingly complex mission demands.
A U.S. Air Force veteran, Jason holds an MBA from Colorado State University and a bachelor's degree in organizational management and human resources from Colorado Christian University. His leadership philosophy centers on clarity, accountability, healthy teams, and the belief that sustainable performance begins with getting the people and the culture right.
Jason lives in New Hampshire with his wife, Nicole. He is a husband, father, grandfather, committed Christian, fitness enthusiast, and his family believes that if he were on Survivor, he'd get voted off halfway through the season.
A Few Quotes From This Episode
"People don't dislike change. They dislike uncertainty and ambiguity. Many people enjoy change, but what they don't like is not knowing their part in it."
"It means nothing to be excellent in my function if it's hurting the enterprise."
"My motives were vertical, which is the definition of a silo."
"Feedback is a blessing. Just because it's a blessing doesn't mean it doesn't hurt to go through that process."
"Sometimes we believe something at our core, but when we're tired, when we're under stress, we don't show up the way we intend to."
"People depend on you to be excellent and get better every day so that they can have a job. Leadership costs people jobs."
Resources Mentioned In This Episode
Jason Allen's Personal Leadership Materials
About The International Leadership Association (ILA)
The ILA was created in 1999 to bring together professionals interested in studying, practicing, and teaching leadership. Attend The Global Conference in Toronto, October 28-31.
About  Scott J. Allen
Website
Weekly Newsletter: Practical Wisdom for Leaders
My Approach to Hosting
The views of my guests do not constitute "truth." Nor do they reflect my personal views in some instances. However, they are views to consider, and I hope they help you clarify your perspective. Nothing can replace your reflection, research, and exploration of the topic.

♻️ Please share with others and follow/subscribe to the podcast!
⭐️ Please leave a review on Apple, Spotify, or your platform of choice.
➡️ Follow me on LinkedIn for more on leadership, communication, and tech.
📜 Subscribe to my weekly newsletter featuring four hand-picked articles.
🌎 You can learn more about my work on my Website.

Send us Fan Mail
Jason Blumer is an entrepreneur, consultant, and co-author of Scale With Purpose: The Service Entrepreneur’s Guide to Intentional Growth. His work focuses on helping service-based leaders scale their businesses with clarity, intention, and respect for the people who make growth possible.
Jason owned and led Blumer CPAs, a fully virtual CPA firm serving entrepreneurs who want more clarity, confidence, and control as they grow. He served as CEO for more than 23 years. The firm provided full-service accounting departments and tax planning and preparation. Through advisory work, coaching, and onsite consulting, Jason partnered with founders and leadership teams to rethink how their businesses operate, aligning structure, capacity, and culture with long-term goals.
In 2010, he also founded Thriveal, a consultancy and program-based learning organization dedicated to supporting service firm entrepreneurs as they grow, evolve, and build strong, sustainable teams. Thriveal offers monthly mastermind groups that follow its proprietary dashboards for structuring growth, along with coaching and consulting engagements for service entrepreneurs. The organization operates virtually and from its learning center in Greenville, SC.
Ian Vacin is co-founder and chief partnerships officer at Karbon, a maker of AI-driven accounting practice management software, and is co-author of the Amazon best-selling book: Scale with Purpose: The Service Entrepreneur’s Guide to Intentional Growth. He has nearly three decades of leadership experience in technology and accounting with Karbon, Xero, and Intuit, and is passionate about helping accounting professionals be as successful as possible so they can better serve the small businesses they support.
A Few Quotes From This Episode
"The question is whether you want what growth is going to mean for you, your family, and your identity.” 
“Doing tax returns is way different from running a business that does tax returns.” 
“Sometimes the step back is exactly what you need” 
About The International Leadership Association (ILA)
The ILA was created in 1999 to bring together professionals interested in studying, practicing, and teaching leadership. Attend The Global Conference in Toronto, October 28-31.
About  Scott J. Allen
Website
Weekly Newsletter: Practical Wisdom for Leaders
My Approach to Hosting
The views of my guests do not constitute "truth." Nor do they reflect my personal views in some instances. However, they are views to consider, and I hope they help you clarify your perspective. Nothing can replace your reflection, research, and exploration of the topic.

♻️ Please share with others and follow/subscribe to the podcast!
⭐️ Please leave a review on Apple, Spotify, or your platform of choice.
➡️ Follow me on LinkedIn for more on leadership, communication, and tech.
📜 Subscribe to my weekly newsletter featuring four hand-picked articles.
🌎 You can learn more about my work on my Website.

Send us Fan Mail
Craig Parry is currently the Director of Hitting for the Toronto Blue Jays and has been in the coaching profession since 2011 following his player career.  His coaching career began at Miles Community College in Miles City, MT, and has traveled across the collegiate ranks with stops at Sacramento State University, Dallas Baptist University, Southern Arkansas University, University of Arkansas, and Abilene Christian University before joining the Blue Jays ahead of the 2023 season.  In Craig’s current role, he is tasked with leading the Blue Jays Hitting Department and the development of its hitting coaches and hitters alike throughout the MiLB system.  Craig graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science from South Dakota State University and a Master’s degree in ​Sports Management from American Public University.  Personally, Craig resides in Fayetteville, AR with his wife, Morgan, and their two daughters.
Damon Rose is the Vice President of Sales Operations for the Toyota division of Toyota Motor North America (TMNA). He is responsible for sales success in Toyota’s 10 regional offices and two private distributors. He collaborates closely with key stakeholders, including Toyota dealers to achieve the company’s goals.
Since joining Toyota in 1998, Rose has served in several leadership positions at the regional sales offices and Toyota Motor Sales. 
Previously, Rose was the Vice President of Sales Operations for Lexus. Rose was responsible for national new and certified vehicle sales, dealer development, and Lexus dealer training. Rose also worked with the four Lexus area offices located. Formerly, in addition to serving as General Manager of the Central Atlantic Toyota Region and Lexus Eastern Area, Rose held various management positions in Los Angeles Toyota Region, Lexus Southern Area, and Boston Toyota Region. He has extensive operational experience in the field and worked at Toyota Motor Sales in the sales & marketing and distribution departments for both the Toyota and Lexus Divisions.  
Rose graduated from the University of Tennessee with a bachelor’s degree in marketing.  In early 2021 he relocated to Texas with his wife and four children.
A Few Quotes From This Episode
"There are more unique ways to succeed and more common ways to fail when it comes to coaching and leadership."
"Arrogance is the enemy of coaching."
"The ego of the self can't be stronger than the ego of the team."
"The higher the challenge, the higher the support, the higher the safety net."
About The International Leadership Association (ILA)
The ILA was created in 1999 to bring together professionals interested in studying, practicing, and teaching leadership. Attend The Global Conference in Toronto, October 28-31.
About  Scott J. Allen
Website
Weekly Newsletter: Practical Wisdom for Leaders
My Approach to Hosting
The views of my guests do not constitute "truth." Nor do they reflect my personal views in some instances. However, they are views to consider, and I hope they help you clarify your perspective. Nothing can replace your reflection, research, and exploration of the topic.

♻️ Please share with others and follow/subscribe to the podcast!
⭐️ Please leave a review on Apple, Spotify, or your platform of choice.
➡️ Follow me on LinkedIn for more on leadership, communication, and tech.
📜 Subscribe to my weekly newsletter featuring four hand-picked articles.
🌎 You can learn more about my work on my Website.