COMPELling Conversations

"When you appreciate someone at their best, you not only boost their performance — you create a ripple effect that spreads through families, teams, and communities." — Joanna Brandi
In this episode of COMPELling Conversations, Steve Ramerini sits down with Joanna Brandi, a customer experience expert, speaker, and consultant with over 25 years of experience transforming workplaces into thriving environments that drive both employee motivation and customer loyalty.
Joanna shares her insights on the five pillars of flourishing (PERMA) — Pleasure, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment — and explains how applying these principles can elevate both personal wellbeing and business performance. From building authentic relationships to fostering engagement and appreciation in the workplace, Joanna demonstrates how positivity isn't just “fluffy” — it’s scientifically proven to increase productivity, collaboration, and organizational success.
She also discusses how leaders can help employees leverage their strengths, reduce anxiety, and create a culture that spills over into families, communities, and beyond. Whether you’re a business owner, CEO, or emerging leader, this conversation provides actionable strategies for making work more meaningful, engagement-driven, and rewarding.
Key Takeaways:
The science behind PERMA and its application in business and life.
How positive emotion, engagement, and relationships directly impact performance and wellbeing.
Strategies for fostering authentic relationships in a digital and hybrid work environment.
The importance of strength-based leadership to unlock employee potential.
Simple techniques to increase appreciation and positive feedback in the workplace.
The ripple effect of positivity: happier employees create happier families and communities.
Who Should Listen:Business owners, CEOs, HR leaders, managers, and anyone invested in improving workplace culture, employee engagement, and overall wellbeing.

In this episode of COMPELling Conversations, Steve Ramerini sits down with serial entrepreneur, speaker, and CEO of Slater Success, Ivy Slater.
Ivy shares the entrepreneurial journey behind building and exiting her New York City printing company before launching Slater Success in 2008 — at the height of the financial crisis. Her story is one of resilience, strategic planning, and disciplined decision-making in the face of uncertainty.
Throughout the conversation, Ivy unpacks:
Why five-year planning (2030 thinking) is critical for CEOs
How to plan boldly — while staying agile enough to course-correct
Why leaders must lean into AI instead of fearing it
The power of reading the “storybook” behind your numbers
How relationships become your greatest business asset
What to do when you make a bad decision — and how to recover fast
Ivy compares business leadership to driving down Highway 66: you control the wheel, but you must constantly monitor your financials, marketing, sales, and operations to stay on course.
Her core message is clear:Build a great business to live a great life — not the other way around.
This episode is packed with practical insight for CEOs navigating economic shifts, technological disruption, and the constant need to adapt without losing momentum.

In this episode of COMPELling Conversations, host Steve Ramerini sits down with Natalie McVeigh — executive and entrepreneurial coach, Master Neuroplastician (M.npn), and globally recognized family enterprise advisor.
Natalie is a Fellow and Faculty member of the Family Firm Institute, Director of Research & Development at Aspen Family Business Group, serves on the Education Development Committee of the Purposeful Planning Institute, is Faculty of the FBA Accreditation Program through the University of Adelaide, and is a Trust and Estate Practitioner (TEP) through Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. She also trained in interest-based negotiation at Harvard Law School’s Program on Negotiation and is completing her Ph.D. in Applied Psychophysiology at Saybrook University.
But despite the impressive résumé, Natalie’s core message is simple:
Most family businesses don’t struggle because of strategy — they struggle because of avoided conversations.
In this episode, she and Steve explore:
Why early, honest feedback is essential in succession planning
How small unspoken tensions become generational fractures
When to begin conversations about joining the family business
The critical distinction between ownership and management
Why “equal love” and “equal inheritance” aren’t always the same
How estate plans can unintentionally create lasting resentment
Drawing on neuroscience, mediation, and decades of family enterprise work, Natalie explains why strong families build strong businesses — but strong businesses do not automatically build strong families.
For founders navigating succession, next-gen development, or estate decisions, this episode is a masterclass in protecting both wealth and relationships.

Artificial intelligence is reshaping business faster than most leaders can comprehend. Talent has gone remote. Family dynamics complicate succession. And deal structures are getting more sophisticated.
So what’s actually putting transactions at risk?
In this episode of Compelling Conversations, Steve Ramerini interviews Allan Cohen, Managing Partner of the Long Island office of Nixon Peabody, and one of the most active deal attorneys serving COMPEL CEOs.
With 37 years of experience in corporate law and M&A, Allan breaks down:
The hidden threats that derail transactions
Why personality — not paperwork — kills deals
How AI will transform legal work (and business operations)
The infrastructure mistakes growing companies make
Why CEOs must rethink talent in a remote world
If you’re planning to sell, grow, or transition your business in the next five years — this episode is required listening.

Steve Ramerini interviews Mark Altman, Founder of Mindset Go, about emotionally agile leadership, courageous conversations, and building a culture rooted in shared language and accountability. From delegation challenges to generational communication, this episode offers practical tools for leaders who want to communicate better — especially when it’s hard.
Listeners will gain practical tools for:
Leading with questions instead of statements
Reframing accountability as collaborative, not confrontational
Handling delegation challenges by addressing internal narratives
Creating a cultural operating system built on shared language
Developing self-awareness and reflection as daily leadership habits
This episode is a practical roadmap for entrepreneurs and executives who want to build stronger cultures, have better conversations, and lead with confidence — without sacrificing standards.

What happens when AI levels the playing field and your competitors suddenly have the same tools you do?
In this episode of Compelling Conversations, Steve Ramerini interviews long-time COMPEL member and serial entrepreneur Larry Siedlick, founder of Sunrise Medical Labs and the Montauk Beach House.
After building and selling multiple companies — including one that set an industry record multiple — Larry explains why technology alone doesn’t create greatness… culture does.
They discuss:
Why businesses plateau (and don’t realize it)
The coming AI equalizer — and who will lose
The Long Island “brain drain” crisis
Why trust is the only sustainable competitive advantage
The mistake most CEOs make when growth slows

Steve Ramerini interviews Dr. Christophe Morin, neuroscientist, author, and co-founder of SalesBrain, about the science behind persuasion, the responsible use of AI, and the power of neuroplasticity in healing and leadership. From neuromarketing to mental health and spiritual growth, this conversation explores how understanding the brain can transform business — and life.
 
🎧 Listen to learn:
Why emotions are the true drivers of decision-making
How to responsibly implement AI inside your company
What “neural prompting” means for the future of marketing
How storytelling rewires the brain
Why curiosity — without recklessness — is the leadership skill of the future

The business world is moving too fast, so in this crucial episode of COMPELling Conversations, our host Steve Ramerini sits down with certified reinvention expert and four-time author, Carolyn Strauss (a Certified Reinvention Practice Practitioner and former Ford model), to address the exhaustion and stress caused by intense global disruption.
 
The challenge? The business cycle has collapsed from 75 years to just 5 years—and it’s still shrinking.
 
Carolyn reveals her essential playbook for survival:
Master the 90-Second Rule: Because change is biologically triggering causing a burst of adrenaline, leaders must learn to pause and take a deep breath for 90 seconds before reacting.
Proactive Disruption: Don't wait to be made obsolete. Leaders must proactively ask, "How can I disrupt myself before someone else does it for me?". 
"Kill Your Company" exercise
Team Genius and AI Strategy: Business is now a team sport. Carolyn advocates for Patrick Lencioni's Working Genius Assessment which helps identify team gaps, ensuring all parts of a project (ideation, activation, implementation) are covered by energized people. Strategically deploy AI to replace jobs that are dull, dirty, or dangerous, freeing human employees to focus on relationship building.
Finally, Carolyn shares some crucial advice: avoid looking at your phone or the news during the first 15 minutes after waking up, as your brain is most susceptible to negative information during that window.
 
🎙️ Listen now to get the tools you need to stop reacting and start reinventing your business for the future.

In this episode of Compelling Conversations, host Steve Ramerini, Founder and Chief Visionary Officer of COMPEL CEOs, sits down with Sean Flaherty, Navy veteran, technologist, educator, and Co-Builder of ITX Corp., a 300-person software consultancy, to explore what it truly means to lead.
Sean shares his remarkable journey — from serving on aircraft carriers to founding a tech company and teaching leadership through social science — and the “code” that drives human motivation, innovation, and culture. Drawing from his recent talks with COMPEL groups, he explains why great leadership starts with connection before content, how to create environments where both employees and customers thrive, and why adaptability and learning are the true engines of growth.
Together, Steve and Sean dive deep into momentum, influence, cognitive bias, and the language that defines great cultures. The conversation is equal parts practical and philosophical — a masterclass in leading with clarity, curiosity, and care.
🎧 Listen to learn:
The “code” behind intrinsic motivation and leadership
Why connection must come before content in any culture
How to build adaptable organizations through learning
The secret to transforming constructive feedback into gold
How cognitive bias shapes leadership and behavior

In this episode of COMPELling Conversations, Steve Ramerini, Founder and Chief Visionary Officer of COMPEL CEOs, sits down with Mary Maloney, a seasoned executive and branding expert who has spent over 30 years helping organizations around the world articulate and activate their purpose. With a career spanning roles as CEO, CMO, and advisor to public, private, and venture-backed firms, Mary brings a wealth of insight into leadership, brand identity, and transformation.
Mary shares her perspective on why every leader needs a Brand Manifesto—a clear articulation of one’s purpose, why, and how—and how it serves as a compass for authentic, values-driven leadership. She explains how knowing your “why” fuels clarity, conviction, and impact, and why the leaders people are most inspired to follow all share one common trait: purpose.
Steve and Mary discuss the power of self-awareness in leadership, the importance of defining your non-negotiables (“the hows”), and how purpose alignment drives both personal fulfillment and organizational success. Mary also reflects on her journey as an entrepreneur, her experience founding and selling her company by age 32, and her recognition with the prestigious Athena Award for lifting up women in business.
Whether you’re leading a company, building a team, or redefining your professional purpose, this conversation will challenge and inspire you to lead with clarity, conviction, and heart.
🎙️ Listen now to learn how a Brand Manifesto can become your most powerful leadership tool.