Summary: Today’s episode is with Joseph Kopser and Bret Boyd, co-authors of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Catalyst-Leadership-Strategy-Changing-World-ebook/dp/B079XXB7XS/&tag=author-hour20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Catalyst</a>. Change is happening faster and bigger than ever before. How can your organization adapt to these forces when the environment is evolving so rapidly?<br> Joseph and Bret have a framework to guide leaders into the future. They are co-founders of the Grayline Group, a firm dedicated to disruptive change management. Bret is a strategy and corporate development executive with a ton of experience in defense, energy, technology and the finance sectors. Joseph graduated from West Point and served in the US army and is also the former CEO and co-founder of RideScout, which was acquired by Car2Go.<br> In this episode, they explain how change works, why disruption is happening so quickly, how to adapt, and what is required of our leaders to succeed in the future.<br> <br> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Catalyst-Leadership-Strategy-Changing-World-ebook/dp/B079XXB7XS/&tag=author-hour20" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"></a>Get Joseph and Bret’s new book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Catalyst-Leadership-Strategy-Changing-World-ebook/dp/B079XXB7XS/&tag=author-hour20" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Catalyst</a> on Amazon.<br> Find out more at <a href="https://graylinegroup.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Grayline Group</a>.<br> <br> The Beginnings of Catalyst<br> Charlie Hoehn: How did it begin for you?<br> Joseph Kopser: It really began when I was a captain in the United States Army. As the company commander, I thought everything that we were doing and working on in the Army had to do with tanks and guns and blowing stuff up.<br> I got a visit one day in the motor pool from three different black tinted window, fifteen-passenger vans, and then out pops a group of people. This young woman, probably in her thirties, about my age, was in the lead of this V-shaped formation, and on the wings of this V were all of these generals and colonels.<br> That’s when I realized that she was from the Senate Armed Service Committee.<br> <br> She was the staff that was coming to visit Fort Hood to see what was going on. It really made me understand that the world is so big in terms of the intersection between the big decisions and the big budgets in Congress and the big decisions made in the military.<br> <br> Despite all of them, it came down to people and how she was being treated on her trip. <br> <br> If she walked away with a favorable impression of Fort Hood, that would probably be good for Fort Hood’s future. But if for some reason she had a bad trip, it would be bad.<br> No matter how well-intended everybody is in terms of the making sure that they have the right strategy, it’s the human side of the execution that’s hard to replace.<br> Charlie Hoehn: When did it start for you Bret?<br> Bret Boyd: One of the things that I find is very interesting here is you know, I don’t care who you are, a student, business professional, soldier, sailor, airman, et cetera. It’s impossible to watch the news right now and not really seize the idea that things are happening.<br> <br> There is just so much change that’s going on in the world right now, it’s really a remarkable time to be alive.<br> <br> I guess the epiphany for me here was to take that realization or that constant awareness that we see in the media. If you extrapolate this forward here, there is a lot of fundamental conditions that we’ve built businesses and social structures and government institutions on top of, and it seems like they’re changing.<br> That realization led to a little bit deeper discovery to say, “Well, you can’t just generally look at these things and get enough comfort with what to do about it. You really have to dive in and identify what’s important.
