GrowthReady Podcast with Steve Mellor

This week, Steve sits down with John Ravaris, author of “Define Value, Drive Growth” and founder of UVP Solutions, for a conversation about staying curious, figuring out your unique value, and what it really takes to deserve to win. 
 John has spent his career building and leading sales organizations, but his philosophy on growth extends far beyond the sales team. For John, sustainable growth happens when an entire organization understands why it is different, the value it creates, who that value matters to, and how every person on the team contributes to delivering it. 
The conversation challenges the idea that growth starts with setting a bigger target. Instead, John argues that organizations and individuals need to do the work first, as winning and losing falls on the team as a whole. That means confronting reality, understanding the competition, getting curious about the people you serve, identifying what makes you uniquely valuable, and building the systems that allow success to become predictable and repeatable. 
In this episode, you’ll hear about: 
Growth enablement 
What it actually means to “deserve to win” 
The importance of confronting reality instead of telling people what they want to hear 
How curiosity can transform the way we approach sales and relationships 
How to identify and communicate what makes you uniquely valuable 
Listen now and ask yourself: What are you doing today that gives you a reason to deserve to win? 
About the guest: 
John Ravaris has spent his career helping businesses stand out in competitive markets. With more than thirty-five years of marketing and sales leadership experience, he has worked across both product and service-based organizations and in private-equity backed environments selling directly and through distribution. His career has been shaped by family-owned companies, from tens of millions to hundreds of millions in revenue. Along the way, John was inspired by visionary leaders who prioritized client-centric strategies and drove exceptional growth in revenue and profit. 
In 2023, John founded UVPsolutions, an advisory dedicated to helping small- and medium-sized businesses create compelling, unique value propositions and build growth-enabled organizations. He believes that in today’s crowded marketplace, differentiation, value creation, and organizational alignment are essential for long-term success. John holds a marketing degree from the University of Maine and an MBA from Saint Joseph’s University. He lives in Delafield, Wisconsin, with his wife, Joanna, and is the proud father of two adult daughters. 
His debut book, Define Value, Drive Growth: Build a Business Clients Choose and Competitors Envy, released June 2. 
Define Value, Drive Growth is a practical, experience-driven roadmap for leaders who want to build a business that stands out, delivers exceptional client value, and grows with intention. Written for small- to mid-sized, founder-led and family-owned companies, this book shows that the foundation of differentiation isn’t found in branding or marketing trends -- it begins inside the organization, with the people who bring the business to life. 
Drawing from more than thirty-five years of marketing, sales, and leadership experience, John Ravaris introduces the 4D Roadmap™ -- a proven framework that guides organizations through discovering what makes them truly unique, developing compelling value propositions, deploying a unified commercial strategy, and delighting clients in ways that build advocacy and momentum. With clarity and humility, John shows leaders how to uncover internal strengths, understand client pain points and success factors, and align marketing and sales around a single, powerful message of value. 
Through real-world examples, actionable tools, and repeatable processes, the book helps organizations shift from generic claims to outcome-based differentiation that clients immediately understand. It offers guidance on building growth-enabled teams, strengthening organizational culture, creating consistent sales narratives, and turning satisfied clients into champions who accelerate long-term growth. Define Value, Drive Growth is a hands-on guide for any business seeking clarity, alignment, and a lasting competitive edge. 
Connect with John Ravaris: 
Website: https://www.uvpsolutions.com/  
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-ravaris-128a46a  
Book: https://www.amazon.com/Define-Value-Drive-Growth-Competitors/dp/B0FX3GJK41  
Send us Fan Mail
Support the show
Connect with Steve Mellor
Stay connected and keep growing with Steve:
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-mellor-cc/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/coachstevemellor
Book Steve to speak at your next event → www.stevemellorspeaks.com
Support the GrowthReady Podcast by leaving a 5-star rating → Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/growthready-podcast/id1406082163
Connect with GrowthReady
Join the community and keep your growth journey going:
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/wearegrowthready/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/growthreadypodcast/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/growthreadywithcoachstevemellor
Official Website - https://growthready.com/
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This podcast was produced on Riverside and released via ...

This week, Steve sits down with Steve Miska, author, former military leader, educator, and founder of Wrangling & Writing, for a conversation about curiosity, risk, leadership, decision-making, and what it means to move forward when you’re never truly ready. 
Miska embraces the idea of the 40/70 rule-- the belief that waiting for complete clarity can cause us to miss important opportunities, while acting with too little information can lead us down the wrong path. Instead, he argues that there is a productive space between the two: a point where we have enough clarity to act while remaining open to what we might learn along the way. 
The conversation explores how curiosity, empathy, and humility can help leaders navigate uncertainty, manage noise, and move beyond black-and-white thinking. Mellor and Miska also discuss the rescuers' archetype, the responsibility we have for how we show up emotionally and why people need to own their own decisions. 
In this episode, you’ll hear about: 
• The 40/70 rule and how to act without waiting for perfect clarity 
• Why curiosity, empathy, and humility are essential to navigating uncertainty 
• How leaders can separate signal from noise and move beyond black-and-white thinking 
• Why helping others doesn’t mean owning their decisions for them 
• The rescuer archetype and how high performers can fall into “urgency addiction” 
• What horses can teach us about emotional awareness, trust, and leadership 
Whether you are navigating a major transition, making a difficult decision, leading a team, or simply trying to become more aware of how you show up in the world, Steve Miska offers a powerful reminder: you may never feel completely ready-- and you don't have to. Readiness can come from staying curious, embracing uncertainty, and being willing to act with enough clarity to take the next step. 
Listen now and ask yourself: Am I waiting for certainty when I already have enough clarity to move? 
About the guest: 
Steve Miska is currently on what he and his team refer to as the Wrangling & Writing 2026 Horse Farm Sabbatical. He shares writing about horses and lifts stories about hidden gems in communities around the country. He served twenty-five years in the Army, including three combat deployments to Iraq and service in the White House as Director for Iraq on the National Security Council. Most recently, he led the Department of Veterans Affairs’ implementation of the PACT Act, the largest expansion of veteran healthcare in over a generation. During the Afghanistan withdrawal, Steve stood up a team in Los Angeles that assisted hundreds of nonprofits and other veteran advocates to get their trusted partners out of Taliban violence. He plans to continue his self-directed equine therapy mission, writing about veterans returning from conflict zones, processing those experiences, and seeking to understand the deep divisions tearing at the social fabric of the United States and humanity. 
Connect with Steve Miska: 
Substack: https://substack.com/@wranglingandwriting  
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wranglingandwriting/  
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-miska/  
Book: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B094MS98BJ?ccs_id=0a7b6741-645c-4133-a7cc-85e0ee68889c  
Send us Fan Mail
Support the show
Connect with Steve Mellor
Stay connected and keep growing with Steve:
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-mellor-cc/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/coachstevemellor
Book Steve to speak at your next event → www.stevemellorspeaks.com
Support the GrowthReady Podcast by leaving a 5-star rating → Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/growthready-podcast/id1406082163
Connect with GrowthReady
Join the community and keep your growth journey going:
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/wearegrowthready/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/growthreadypodcast/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/growthreadywithcoachstevemellor
Official Website - https://growthready.com/
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This podcast was produced on Riverside and released via ...

This week, Steve sits down with Ayelet Fishbach, Professor of Behavioral Science and Marketing at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and author of Get It Done, for a conversation about motivation, goal setting, identity, self-control, and what it really means to understand what drives us forward. 
Ayelet challenges the idea that motivation is simply something we either have or don’t have. Instead, she explains why motivation is something we can learn through knowledge—knowledge of ourselves, our goals, our obstacles, and the environments we create around us. 
The conversation explores how to set goals that are genuinely motivating, why connecting goals to our identity can create greater commitment, and how anticipating obstacles can help us navigate challenges before they happen. Steve and Ayelet also discuss why we often see health as competing with our other goals, when in reality it can provide the foundation for achieving them. 
In this episode, you’ll hear about: 
• Why motivation is more about knowledge than willpower 
• How our understanding of motivation has evolved beyond the idea of “self-control” as a muscle 
• The four common barriers that can leave us feeling stuck 
• How to set goals that are specific, meaningful, and intrinsically motivating 
• Why connecting our goals to our identity can strengthen motivation 
• How asking “why” can help us connect our goals to who we are 
• Why health goals don’t have to conflict with our professional, family, or personal goals 
• How giving advice to others can actually increase our own motivation 
Whether you are struggling to stay motivated, reconsidering the goals you’ve set, trying to balance competing priorities, or simply looking to better understand what drives your behavior, Ayelet offers a powerful reminder: motivation isn’t something you find or lose. It’s something you can learn about, understand, and continually develop. 
Listen now and ask yourself: What could I learn about myself that might change the way I pursue my goals? 
About the guest: 
Ayelet Fishbach is an expert on motivation and a TED speaker. She is the Eric J. Gleacher Distinguished Service Professor of Behavioral Science and Marketing at the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business. Fishbach studies social psychology, management, and consumer behavior. She is the past president of the Society for the Science of Motivation and the International Social Cognition Network, and has published several books, including GET IT DONE: Surprising Lessons from the Science of Motivation. 
Fishbach is an expert on motivation and decision making. Her groundbreaking research on human motivation has won the Society of Experimental Social Psychology’s Best Dissertation Award and Career Trajectory Award, the Society of Consumer Psychology’s Distinguished Scientific Contribution award, and the Fulbright Educational Foundation Award. She further received the Provost’s Teaching Award from the University of Chicago. 
Fishbach’s work shows how people can live up to their highest aspirations. She’s written about exercising, healthy eating, working, studying, and saving money — the hard-but-worth-it challenges that occupy our lives. She studies self-control, intrinsic motivation, feedback, patience, and promoting a healthy lifestyle. 
Connect with Ayelet: 
  •  Website 
  •  LinkedIn 
  •  Book 
  •  Wiki 
Send us Fan Mail
Support the show
Connect with Steve Mellor
Stay connected and keep growing with Steve:
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-mellor-cc/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/coachstevemellor
Book Steve to speak at your next event → www.stevemellorspeaks.com
Support the GrowthReady Podcast by leaving a 5-star rating → Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/growthready-podcast/id1406082163
Connect with GrowthReady
Join the community and keep your growth journey going:
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/wearegrowthready/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/growthreadypodcast/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/growthreadywithcoachstevemellor
Official Website - https://growthready.com/
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This podcast was produced on Riverside and released via ...

Steve sits down with Jeanine Stewart, PhD, Neuroscientist, Coach, and Creator of the NeuroMighty framework, for a conversation about failure, behavior change, human performance, and what it means to stay distinctly human in an increasingly AI-driven world. 
Jeanine brings together neuroscience and coaching to explore how we grow through the moments when what used to work no longer does. For her, GrowthReady comes down to three practices: authentic curiosity, humble discernment, and impactful clarity. 
The conversation also explores what those skills mean in the age of AI. As technology becomes increasingly embedded in the way we think, work, and collaborate, Jeanine argues that distinctly human qualities like curiosity, discernment, vulnerability, connection, and purpose become even more important. 

In this episode, you’ll hear about: 
• Jeanine’s three-part framework for being GrowthReady 
• Why failure is often an essential part of meaningful growth 
• Why we sometimes need to sit with failure longer than we want to 
• How our relationships and social environment influence performance 
• Why humans are wired for purpose, productivity, and connection 
• How impactful clarity moves us beyond self-awareness and toward meaningful action 
• Why lasting behavior change is so difficult and why practice matters 
• The changing role of humans as AI becomes part of our teams and workplaces 
 
Whether you are leading through change, adapting to new technology, recovering from a setback, or questioning whether the behaviors that brought you this far will take you where you want to go next, Jeanine offers an important reminder: growth is not simply about avoiding failure. It is about becoming curious enough to examine it, humble enough to learn from it, and clear enough to turn what you learn into impact. 
 
Listen now and ask yourself: How is AI affecting your authentic curiosity and the relationships you have with others? 
 
About the guest: 
Dr. Jeanine Stewart is a neuroscientist and PCC-certified executive coach who works with senior leaders navigating the cognitive demands and complexities of AI-era leadership. 
She holds a PhD in behavioral neuroscience from the University of Virginia, where she also completed a postdoctoral fellowship in neural plasticity, and has spent nearly two decades advising and coaching C-suite and senior leaders across Fortune 100 organizations, government agencies, and global institutions. 
Her work is grounded in a simple but powerful insight: as AI transforms the workplace, the competitive advantage no longer belongs to the leader who processes the most information. It belongs to the leader who understands how to orchestrate both human and artificial intelligence.   
She calls this capacity Multi-Cognitive Awareness, and it is the foundation of everything she does in her coaching, her keynotes, and her forthcoming book with the working title, NeuroMighty®: Working Smarter in a Multi-Cognitive WorkplaceTM. 
 
Connect with Jeanine: 
  •  Website 
  •  LinkedIn 
  •  Substack 
  •  Newsletter 
 
Connect with Steve Mellor:
  •  LinkedIn 
  •  Instagram 
  •  Book Steve to speak at your next event → www.stevemellorspeaks.com  
 
Connect with GrowthReady :
  •  LinkedIn 
  •  Instagram 
  •  Facebook 
  •  Official Website 
  •  Send us Fan Mail 
  •  Support the show 
  •  Support the GrowthReady Podcast by leaving a 5-star rating → Apple Podcasts 
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This podcast was produced on Riverside and released via Buzzsprout. 
Send us Fan Mail
Support the show
Connect with Steve Mellor
Stay connected and keep growing with Steve:
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-mellor-cc/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/coachstevemellor
Book Steve to speak at your next event → www.stevemellorspeaks.com
Support the GrowthReady Podcast by leaving a 5-star rating → Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/growthready-podcast/id1406082163
Connect with GrowthReady
Join the community and keep your growth journey going:
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/wearegrowthready/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/growthreadypodcast/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/growthreadywithcoachstevemellor
Official Website - https://growthready.com/
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This podcast was produced on Riverside and released via ...

Steve sits down with Nick Montalbine, founder of Inner Voice Analytics, for a conversation about growth, change, listening to the signals around us, and knowing when something needs to change before the cracks become chasms.
Nick’s career has taken him from Nike and the world of Lean Six Sigma to entrepreneurship, leadership, and helping organizations better understand what their people are really experiencing. Along the way, he learned that growth does not always begin with a big breakthrough. Sometimes, it starts with the small signals we are tempted to ignore.
Nick shares a deeply personal look at the signs he experienced before leaving Nike – diminished pride in his work, irritability, insomnia, fatigue, and eventually a moment when he realized he had been overwhelmed for far longer than he wanted to admit. Those micro moments eventually became a much bigger realization: something had to change.
Today, that same philosophy shapes his work with organizations through Inner Voice Analytics, where he helps leaders listen more closely to their people before small problems turn into much bigger ones.
In this episode, you’ll hear about:
• The difference between micro moments and macro moments of change
• Recognizing the signals that tell us something is no longer working
• Knowing when to say yes and how to apply your strengths
• How family, health, and personal values shape the decisions we make
• Finding balance between strategy, the day-to-day, and listening to your team
• The importance of hearing the hard truths
• How ignoring small signals can allow cracks to become chasms
• Why our feelings and physical well-being are important signals, even when things look successful on paper

Whether you are questioning your next career move, leading a team through change, or simply sensing that something in your life is no longer working the way it once did, Nick’s story offers an important reminder: the signals are often there long before the breakthrough.
Listen now and ask yourself: What is your life or work trying to tell you that you might not be listening to?
About the Guest:
Nick Montalbine is the founder of Inner Voice Analytics, a consultancy that leaders turn to when something feels off, but the data says everything’s fine. He helps organizations surface what’s really happening beneath the surface using continuous listening and behavioral analytics to detect cultural cracks before they spread.
Nick’s work focuses on early signal detection, spotting disengagement before it turns into attrition, and helping leaders intervene before culture breaks. His approach blends behavioral science with AI-driven listening to build workplaces where people feel heard, valued, and motivated to stay.
With over 20 years of experience, Nick has led transformation efforts across Fortune 100 companies and complex systems in healthcare, retail, and finance. He’s held leadership roles at Nike and Legacy Health, where he helped guide large-scale organizational change by uncovering risks traditional metrics missed.
Leaders call Nick when performance dips, trust erodes, or culture starts to fracture, often before it shows up in turnover.
He lives in Oregon’s Willamette Valley with his wife and daughter, where they grow grapes and build a life with the same intentionality he brings to his work.
Connect with Nick:
Website: https://www.innervoiceanalytics.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickmontalbine/
Stay connected and keep growing with Steve:
  •  LinkedIn
  •  Instagram
  •  Book Steve to speak at your next event → www.stevemellorspeaks.com  
  •  Support the GrowthReady Podcast by leaving a 5-star rating → Apple Podcasts
Connect with GrowthReady
Join the community and keep your growth journey going:
  •  LinkedIn 
  •  Instagram
  •  Facebook
  •  Official Website 

- Send us Fan Mail
- Support the show 

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This podcast was produced on Riverside (https://riverside.sjv.io/QjdaMo)  and released via ... (https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=1968998)
Send us Fan Mail
Support the show
Connect with Steve Mellor
Stay connected and keep growing with Steve:
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-mellor-cc/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/coachstevemellor
Book Steve to speak at your next event → www.stevemellorspeaks.com
Support the GrowthReady Podcast by leaving a 5-star rating → Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/growthready-podcast/id1406082163
Connect with GrowthReady
Join the community and keep your growth journey going:
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/wearegrowthready/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/growthreadypodcast/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/growthreadywithcoachstevemellor
Official Website - https://growthready.com/
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This podcast was produced on Riverside and released via ...