Leadership consultant John Durso shares a deceptively simple exercise that reveals what your values actually are — not the ones on your website.

Most leaders can't actually name their real values. They list the words on their website — honesty, integrity, loyalty — and call it a day. John Durso says those aren't values. They're table stakes.

In this episode, John walks Matt through a deceptively simple exercise that reveals what your values actually are: ask one or two people who know you well to describe you in one word, then ask them to tell a story that backs it up. What comes back is rarely what you'd predict.

John's wife described him as "unstoppable." Matt's two people landed on "charisma" and "generous." And the magic of the exercise isn't just learning what others see in you — it's that the word they choose tells you what they value most, which is critical leadership intel.

John spent over 22 years in retail banking working with hundreds of small businesses and nonprofits across the greater Philadelphia region. Today he runs Brilliant Business Strategies, helping community banks, credit unions, nonprofits, and small businesses build stronger leadership, healthier cultures, and better team performance.

In this conversation:

- Why "honesty" and "integrity" don't count as real values
- The one-word exercise — and why the story matters more than the word
- How perception becomes reality inside your company
- What Disney's Winnie the Pooh casting reveals about hiring for values
- How a new leader can use this exercise in their first 30 days

If you're a founder or CEO stepping into a bigger role — whether that's a hypergrowth season, a succession moment, or a move into thought leadership — this is foundational work. The kind serious leaders do at the start and return to when things get complicated.

CONNECT WITH JOHN DURSO
Website: brilliantbusinessstrategies.com
LinkedIn: search "John Durso Brilliant Business Strategies"

CONNECT WITH MATT STONE & THE BIGGER STAGE
The Bigger Stage helps founder-CEOs make the operator-to-icon transition.
Website: thebiggerstage.com
LinkedIn: search "Matt Stone Bigger Stage"

Subscribe wherever you listen for more conversations with leaders stepping onto bigger stages.

Kate Joynt co-invented a product nobody was searching for. Then one influencer post took her Amazon sales from 25 a day to 800 — and EZ Outlet landed in Home Depot.

Full Show Notes

Kate Joynt is the founder and CEO of EZ Outlet, an electrical outlet extender now sold at Home Depot, on Amazon, on Walmart.com, and featured twice on NBC's Today Show.

She didn't come from consumer products. She came from real estate, enterprise tech sales, and a lifelong fascination with inventions that started with a kid-invention show on Nickelodeon. When her co-founder Tony made an offhand comment one day — "wouldn't it be cool if you could just plug something into the original outlet and pull the power up here, above the couch?" — Kate's ear was already primed for it.

What followed was years of prototyping, UL certification, factory sourcing, tooling and molding investments, and a brutal early period of paying for clicks that weren't there. Because nobody was searching for "electrical outlet extender." The category didn't exist yet.

Then one influencer posted one video. Sales went from 25 a day to 800 in an hour. Home Depot followed.

But the part of this conversation I keep coming back to isn't the wins. It's Kate describing her business as a "glass bubble" — fragile, vulnerable, something she had to protect through years where investors told her to keep going but nobody wrote a check until she didn't need one. It's her honesty about the stress that doesn't show up in pitch decks. And it's the specific, hard-won wisdom she has for the next founder standing where she was five years ago.

If you're an operator with an idea you keep almost-pursuing, or a founder in the messy middle of building something real, this episode is for you.

In this conversation:

What EZ Outlet actually is, and why the problem it solves is so universal • Why it took years to get to market and what "overnight success" really looks like • The conversation that sparked the idea, and why Kate's ear was ready for it • Working with a co-founder who's your polar opposite • How she found engineers, factories, and a buying agent without a manufacturing background • The shocks of UL certification and consumer product compliance • Why pay-per-click failed and one influencer post changed everything • Getting on NBC's Today Show — twice • The copycat problem, the safety stakes, and protecting the brand • The emotional toll of being all-in on one product • Why investors only fund you once you don't need them • Three pieces of advice for the next generation of founders

About Kate Joynt Kate Joynt is the founder and CEO of EZ Outlet, a patent holder, and an ETL-certified entrepreneur. Her background spans a decade in real estate and enterprise technology sales. Find EZ Outlet at Home Depot, on Amazon, on Walmart.com, and occasionally on HSN.

EZ Outlet website: https://ezoutlet.com/

Kate Joynt on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katejoynt/

About The Bigger Stage The Bigger Stage is a podcast for founder-CEOs making the leap from operator to recognized authority. Hosted by Matt Stone, founder of The Bigger Stage. Learn more at thebiggerstage.com.

If this episode landed for you, the best thing you can do is share it with one founder who needs to hear it — and leave a rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It's how more people find the show.

He built the largest painting company in Southeastern Pennsylvania. Then he let go. Kevin Nolan on identity, succession, and the happiest chapter yet.

Kevin Nolan started with a paintbrush, a roommate, and a college student's ambition. Forty years later he'd built the largest residential painting company in Southeastern Pennsylvania — and done something most founders never manage.

He actually let go.

In this episode, Matt Stone sits down with Kevin for a wide-ranging conversation about what an entrepreneurial life really looks like across four decades. The 17 years Kevin spent grinding in the dark with no business plan, just payroll on Friday. The Zig Ziglar moment at 37 that changed everything. How he found his CEO and CFO hiding on his own paint crews. And what those final 18 months felt like — staying quiet in meetings he used to run.

In September 2024, Kevin retired. He says it felt like rocks coming off his shoulders.

This is a conversation about identity, legacy, and the courage it takes to step into something new.

In this episode:

• Why Kevin says he was never a painter — even when he was painting
• The Zig Ziglar line that launched his "second entrepreneurial seizure" at 37
• How John (an Eagle Scout from Sherwin-Williams) became his CEO 30 years later
• The 20-foot KPI wall — including profit — that every employee could see
• What emotional intelligence looks like inside a trades business
• The Wally story: why great leaders run toward conflict, not away
• Writing the final chapter of his career — before it happened
• September 2024: retirement and the rocks off his shoulders
• Running a marathon in all 50 states — and what that taught him about business
• Graduating 2,300th out of 2,600 at Villanova. And why he's glad he did.

Resources mentioned:

• Organizational Muscle by Kevin Nolan — https://a.co/d/0gywqBST
• Good to Great — Jim Collins
• Emotional Intelligence — Daniel Goleman
• The E-Myth Revisited — Michael Gerber
• How to Win Friends and Influence People — Dale Carnegie
• How to Stop Worrying and Start Living — Dale Carnegie

Connect with Kevin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinjnolan1/

Connect with Matt: Website: thebiggerstage.com
Email: matt@mattstone.co

What if getting comfortable being unscripted actually requires more preparation, not less? Meridith Grundei has coached speakers at Amazon, Google, Pfizer, and Sotheby's — and her answer might change how you think about every stage you step onto.

Meridith reached the highest levels of improv — including teaching at the famed Second City in Chicago. These days she takes everything she learned in the theater and puts it in the hands of leaders and entrepreneurs who need to earn trust in rooms that matter, move people to action, and stop sounding like everyone else.

In this conversation we get into why structure is the secret to freedom, what improv actually trains you for when things go wrong on stage, and why your next talk — wherever it happens — could be the inflection point that changes everything in your business and your life.

If you're an entrepreneur on a mission to build something bigger than yourself, this one is for you.

What you'll hear in this episode:

— Why every presenter sounds the same right now
— and what to do about it
— The paradox at the heart of improv: tighter containers create more freedom
— The top mistakes speakers make (and why winging it is not the same as being unscripted)
— What Meridith's clients look like before and after working with her
— The "children's story" exercise that breaks every over-explainer
— How your speaking practice makes you a better leader in every room
— Why your talk is not just a talk
— it's a catalyst for change
— Matt's personal story: what stepping onto Meridith's stage revealed

Timestamps:

0:00 Cold open: Why every presenter sounds the same
0:46 Introduction: Meet Meridith Grundei
2:46 What Meridith does and who she serves
4:09 The top mistakes speakers make
6:26 Why improv is actually about structure — and how that sets you free
8:23 Slide deck or no slide deck? The trust question
10:51 Everything is at your disposal — you've just been limiting yourself
12:44 When the deck dies on stage: what improv actually prepares you for
14:11 Being human on stage — and what it reveals about who you are
15:41 Who works with Meridith: entrepreneurs, execs, and engineers at Amazon
17:45 Every product has a pulse: simplifying complex ideas for any audience
19:38 How long does real improvement take?
21:04 What transformation actually looks like on the other side
22:45 The full opportunity most clients don't see coming
23:56 Your talk is not just a talk — it's a catalyst for change
24:19 Be perfectly imperfect: the theater approach to high-stakes moments
26:28 The cybersecurity guy who was hilarious — and why audiences change everything
26:51 Speaking as a leadership tool: Q&A, all-hands, and managing the room
28:31 "Yes, And" — the improv rule that makes you a better leader
30:11 What Meridith is most excited about in 2026
32:05 The message for anyone still on the fence
32:46 Matt's personal story: what Unscripted revealed
34:17 Playback theater and the moment you play your own story back
36:11 Simon Sinek, a flip chart, and why the idea doesn't have to be new

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Connect with Meridith Grundei:
Website: meridithgrundei.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/meridith/

Connect with Matt Stone / The Bigger Stage:
Website: thebiggerstage.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/matt-stone-letsconnect/

The Bigger Stage is where founder-CEOs come to make the leap from operator to icon — through the power of their voice, their story, and their stage.

What if the key to success isn't about doing more — but giving up the right things?

David Kalinowski has spent 30 years building Proactive Worldwide, a global competitive intelligence firm operating across 62 countries. But in this conversation, we leave the business strategy behind and go somewhere more important — the inner game.

David's third book, The Sacrifice Paradox, draws on 101 real stories from entrepreneurs, executives, athletes, parents, and students — all wrestling with the same fundamental tension: what do you have to let go of to get where you're going?

In this episode we get into:

• Why most people are making sacrifices unconsciously — and what it's costing them
• The three types of sacrifice and why only one of them actually moves the needle
• A practical 2x2 decision framework for high-stakes trade-offs
• The personal story that sparked the book, including leaving his mother's side at his father's hospital bed to honor a professional commitment
• What the Jennifer Esposito story reveals about passion, risk, and the moment you don't see coming
• Why high performers don't avoid sacrifice — they choose it deliberately

This one will sit with you. Whether you're in the middle of building something, at a crossroads, or just trying to be more intentional about how you spend your time and energy — there's something in here for you.

📖 Get the book: thesacrificeparadox.com 📧 Contact David: davidk@proactiveworldwide.com

SHORT DESCRIPTION (For platforms with character limits)

David Kalinowski built a global company over 30 years and wrote a book about what it really costs. The Sacrifice Paradox explores the trade-offs behind every meaningful success — and gives you a framework for making them intentionally. A conversation about entrepreneurship, resilience, and the inner game most people never talk about.

Nina Froriep grew up in Zurich being told her job was to become an interesting wife. She moved to New York at 23 and never looked back.

What followed was 30 years of figuring it out: film sets, production companies, forced pivots, mentors who saw something in her before she saw it herself — and eventually, a second act helping coaches and consultants show up on LinkedIn.

This is a conversation about the winding road. Nina is direct, funny, and unapologetically real. If you're in the middle of your own next chapter, this one's for you.

--

SHOW NOTES

Nina Froriep is a filmmaker, producer, and LinkedIn coach who helps coaches and consultants build awareness and relationships on the platform. She's Swiss by design, savvy by New York — and she's been pivoting her whole career long before that was a buzzword.

In this episode:

• Why Nina's upbringing in Zurich left her with no career plan — and a lot of fantasies
• The Houston trip at age 11 that gave her her first taste of the wider world
• Coming to NYC for one semester at 23 and realizing she didn't have to follow anyone else's script
• The broken printer two minutes before airtime — and the moment she knew she was in the right world
• Building Clockwise Productions from scratch, surviving 9/11, and navigating the slow death of the traditional film business
• The friend who said "you need to do this for a living" — and why she was finally ready to hear it
• Eight years of building something new in the online space
• Why LinkedIn isn't just social media — and why she's not worried about AI killing curiosity (for the curious)
• The best advice she ever received: "I hope you never find it"

Connect with Nina: LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/nina-froriep Email: nina@clockwiseproductions.com

Most founders obsess over revenue growth.

Very few talk about what growth does to the person leading it.

In this final pre-launch episode of The Building Business Relationships Show, Matt Stone sits down with Theresa Cantley, growth architect to CEOs and founders, for a candid conversation about the internal side of scaling a business.

Theresa shares stories from both ends of the leadership spectrum — the boss who nearly broke her, the mentor who changed her trajectory, and the identity shifts that happen as founders rise.

This episode explores:

• why leaders lose connection to themselves as they scale
• the difference between revenue growth and human growth
• how toxic leadership can catalyze entrepreneurship
• why identity work is foundational for CEOs
• what it means to build from the inside out

If you’re leading a team, building a company, or stepping into your next level, this conversation will challenge what you prioritize — and why.

This episode also marks the close of the pre-launch run of The Building Business Relationships Show and the transition to The Bigger Stage w/ Matt Stone.

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In this episode:

• The hidden cost of scaling for founders
• A boss who pushed her into entrepreneurship
• The mentor who saw potential early
• Why CEOs disconnect from themselves
• Revenue growth vs human growth
• Building from the inside out

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Connect with Theresa Cantley on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theresacantley/

What do high-performing CEOs, professional athletes, and founders quietly struggle with behind the scenes?

In this episode of Building Business Relationships, Matt sits down with Jen Boyle, founder of a high-touch lifestyle management company serving high-net-worth families and executives across the U.S.

What begins as a story about fixing a scratch on a hardwood floor becomes a powerful metaphor for leadership, scaling, and the hidden pressures of success.

In this conversation, you’ll hear:

• Why “hustle” may be the wrong mindset for sustainable growth
• The invisible stress leaders carry — even at the top
• How trust becomes the true currency in high-stakes relationships
• Lessons from toxic leadership environments
• Why failure is often the fastest path to long-term success
• How to scale a business without losing your humanity

If you’re building something meaningful and want to grow without burning out — this episode is for you.

This is one of the final episodes under the Building Business Relationships pre-launch banner. The show will soon relaunch as The Bigger Stage with Matt Stone, expanding into deeper conversations about leadership, influence, and the human stories behind business success.

Subscribe so you don’t miss what’s next.

A conversation about trust, hustle culture, leadership, and the hidden emotional cost of success — with founder Jen Boyle.

For more on Jen Boyle, visit: https://morelm.com