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Part 2: Close Up Radio Welcomes Back Retired US Army Chief Warrant Officer 5 and Public Speaker Wendy Wayman of Whiskey Squared

Posted December 29, 2025 • 00:34:03

Fayetteville NC - When a young Wendy Wayman first donned Army fatigues in the mid-1980s, she entered a world with few women and even fewer female role models. Today, she stands at the front of packed auditoriums and intimate workshops alike, encouraging everyone regardless of background to look in the mirror and truly believe in themselves. As the founder of Whiskey Squared LLC, Wayman has launched a new chapter as a motivational speaker, drawing on decades of military experience to ignite confidence and purpose in her audiences.Wayman’s career is a tapestry of perseverance. She rose to the rare rank of Chief Warrant Officer 5, earning respect in roles historically reserved for men, and breaking through stereotypes with a quiet determination learned, in part, on her family’s farm in rural South Dakota. “There wasn’t one moment that defined my drive to speak and lead,” Wayman says. “It was a culmination of challenges, especially doubt. Not just my own, but the doubts of others.”Her earliest days in the Army set the tone. Wayman recounts her first encounter with a senior leader who dismissed her place in the military with a blunt, “Let me know, little girl, when you’re done playing army.” Rather than deter her, the comment fueled her resolve to prove wrong anyone who underestimated her.Wayman’s journey wasn’t just about overcoming personal hurdles. She navigated shifting societal and professional landscapes, watching the military transform from a place where women were discouraged from serving long-term, to one where leadership roles became accessible to those driven by talent and tenacity. Her experiences on the physical and cultural front lines, from Operation Desert Storm to deployments during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, shaped her philosophy: Believe in yourself, even when the world says you shouldn’t.Her message resonates because it is grounded in candor and authenticity. “Every one of us has some level of self-doubt or impostor syndrome,” she explains. “But if you let that mindset take root, you’ll never realize your full potential. Sometimes, all it takes is a small spark of belief to unlock extraordinary things.”Wayman’s motivational platform, Whiskey Squared LLC, is aptly named. Her mantra, “BEE-lieve in Yourself and Take Flight” (deliberately spelled B-E-E-L-I-E-V-E), draws inspiration from the improbable flight of the bumblebee. “Scientists once said bees shouldn’t be able to fly. Their wings are too small for their bodies. The bee, of course, never got that memo and flies anyway,” she shares with a smile. “Why let anyone else define your limitations?”The bee also holds personal significance. Wayman’s great-grandmother and grandmother were beekeepers, and the bee has become a family symbol representing resilience and ingenuity. It serves as a visual reminder throughout her presentations that the impossible is only a matter of perspective.Wayman’s rural South Dakota upbringing enriches her speaking engagements. Raised on a small family farm, she witnessed firsthand the challenges of the 1970s farm recession, watching neighbors lose their livelihoods and her family make tough decisions to adapt and survive. Her father’s creative solution (using his mechanical skills to provide specialized farming services) showed young Wendy the value of innovation, adaptability, and honoring one’s roots.Audiences consistently find Wayman’s storytelling both relatable and insightful. Her presentations move beyond military anecdotes, connecting with anyone struggling to believe in themselves—whether corporate teams seeking to harness untapped ideas, students facing uncertainty, or individuals simply looking for a spark of hope. “My message is universal. It’s about realizing the most important person in your life is the one you see in the mirror. No gender, ethnicity, background, or belief system changes that fundamental truth,” shares Wayman.Wayman’s presentations are also peppered with literary nods to her lifelong love of books. She quotes A.A. Milne’s Winnie the Pooh and collects editions of Peter Pan and The Wizard of Oz from around the globe. Her South Dakota hometown even boasts a yellow brick road and a connection to L. Frank Baum. “These stories of courage, imagination, and belonging echo the lessons I’ve learned on farms and battlefields alike.”Now retired from a distinguished Army career, Wayman continues to teach, coach, and mentor through Whiskey Squared LLC. Her audiences leave not just informed, but inspired to take action in their own lives. “If someone looks in the mirror at the end of the day and decides to believe in themselves, if even a little, then I’ve succeeded.”About Wendy WaymanWendy Wayman, Chief Warrant Officer 5 (Retired), served over 40 years on active duty, becoming the Army’s longest-serving warrant officer and one of only a handful at the top of her field. A renowned expert in signals intelligence and leadership, she continues to serve through speaking, mentoring, and consulting.For more information about Wendy Wayman, please visit https://www.whiskeysquaredllc.com/

Part 2: Close Up Radio Welcomes Back Susan Schall of SOS Consulting

Posted December 23, 2025 • 00:31:29

Front Royal, VA - Susan O. Schall is a woman with an extraordinary set of skills and engineering education that she parlayed into an engineering career followed by a consulting practice. While her PhD is in industrial engineering, and manufacturing operations are a major segment of those she supports, her work impacts many different operations, processes and levels of leadership. She has delivered $250 million in results driven by process improvements and organizational health methods. In addition to providing operational management for SOS Consulting (clearly derived from her name) Susan volunteers for ABET, a nonprofit global accreditor of STEM education, aligned with her expertise in engineering and quality.SOS Consulting was formed in 2004 in response to a friend who sought her out for assistance delivering Six Sigma training to a global food and beverage manufacturer. Recognizing her experiences and approaches have broad application, Dr. Schall diversified her offerings and provides training, coaching and thought leadership for a variety of clients and business segments.“SOS Consulting creates a means for everyone to contribute and create an organization that is more effective and positioned competitively. Most of the clients are smaller manufacturers, teams who have been ignored by the local, state and federal economic development groups. Everything is changing all at once for them. We enable these organizations to deal with productivity, quality, technology, and organization health in this sea of change.”While the bottom line is always ROI and turning a profit, people make it all happen. The best places to work recognize this, and create a workplace where everyone can flourish, impacts the bottom-line. Those who do, see a higher return than those who do not (upwards of 13%). She enjoys making that kind of impact.Dr Schall has over 30 years of experience that she leverages in all of her engagements. Client industries have included higher education, and non-profits as well.Dr. Schall met with our hosts before and will review some principles she discussed in the past. She will also bring listeners up to speed on things that have occurred lately, for herself and in industry. She will talk about manufacturing challenges, including finding people to fill skill gaps and disappearing trades, such as welders and truck drivers. She will also talk about a forthcoming book, based on the 220+ blog posts she has created over the last 9 years. And she will discuss what it’ means to turn data into good decisions.“We live in an age where we have access to more data than any time in human history, yet most people are uncomfortable using statistics. I teach people to think statistically, to look at the data as a story, and make good decisions using it.”Susan will devote one episode of her extended 4-part series to what she calls The Six Essentials to Healthy Manufacturing One of them is this concept of statistical thinking. Another is cohesive leadership; the specific skills and vision it takes to inspire team cooperation and motivate people towards change. Strategic clarity is another key element. Many of these principles can be viewed in her SOS logo design.In addition to operational and leadership improvements, Susan believes it is important to strengthen relationships with suppliers, customers, and stakeholders around a company.Dr. Schall’s website further enforces the message: if we don’t execute on organization health and process improvements, we cannot stay competitive in a sea of change. There are new challenges arising daily: digitization, tariffs, and geopolitical conflicts that impact manufacturers and their ability to thrive.Learn more about her mission, philosophy and consulting practice in these two December shows.For more information about Dr. Schall, visit: www.execute2compete.com

Part 1: Close Up Radio Spotlights Danielle Joleigh Bennett of Radiant Legacy Collective

Posted December 23, 2025 • 00:34:39

Johnson Creek, WI - Danielle Joleigh Bennett (a. k. a. Dani Jo) is the leader organizations call when the stakes are high and the margin for error is razor thin. A veteran, parent, coach, and founder, Ms. Bennett built her career in the places at the intersection of complexity, pressure, and accountability, across the U.S. Navy, aerospace, defense contracting, and enterprise transformation. For more than two decades, she has taken on the high-risk initiatives, the ones others hesitate to touch, consistently converting instability to operational clarity and sustainable performance.As the Founder, President, and CEO of Radiant Legacy Collective, Inc., Ms. Bennett leads a multi-brand strategic architecture company dedicated to building human-forward systems and ventures that scale with integrity. She guides strategy, intellectual property, product performance, and enterprise launches—all anchored in the company’s proprietary frameworks, including Leadership Voltage™, VoltageSystem™ (Formerly GraceGlow™), and the Radiant Resilience Framework. These systems reframe leadership development by measuring human metrics alongside financial results, making growth operational, trackable, and genuinely transformative.Growing up in a world where traditional roles were shifting and expectations were anything but simple, Dani Jo learned early what it meant to carry responsibility with intention. Her path to leadership began with mastering self-management; skills forged not in classrooms, but in the midst of real challenges rooted in resilience, clarity, and courage. Those formative experiences didn’t just shape who she was; they became the foundation of her leadership philosophies.Ms. Bennettis also the architect behind Voltage Brands, a commercial portfolio that brings Leadership Voltage™ to life in the marketplace. Through Franchise Voltage and Business Voltage, she translates leadership theory into real-world capability, delivering franchise consulting, operational readiness, entrepreneurial coaching, curated networks, and practical toolkits. Voltage Brands exists to turn leaders into builders and businesses into scalable, sustainable engines. Her work is guided by more than credentials; it carries the imprint of her personal resilience and the hard-won insights that come from lived experience.Through DS7 Precision Strategies, her executive strategy and consulting practice under Radiant Legacy Collective, Dani Jo works directly with entrepreneurs, franchisors, and executives who want disciplined growth without losing their human center. She provides hands-on coaching, leadership recovery, commercialization support, and the operational playbooks that help organizations scale with clarity and confidence.Her work extends into the government sector through DS7 LLC, her forward-facing Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business. There, Dani Jo confronts high-risk challenges head-on, supporting program recovery, supply-chain integration, manufacturability assessments, and mission-critical operational turnarounds. When government programs demand technical rigor, rapid stabilization, and performance under pressure, DS7 LLC is often the partner of choice.Across her distinguished career, Dani Jo has managed more than $1.2 billion in defense contracts, led joint military support across Iraq, Syria, Kuwait, and Turkey, and built a reputation for rescuing failing programs others had written off. She has contributed to critical national defense efforts, including Columbia-class submarine initiatives and medium voltage medium frequency programs, consistently delivering results on time, on budget, and under extraordinary circumstances.Her leadership style blends operational discipline with a deep understanding of people. A certified executive coach and practitioner of Soft Power for Hard Systems™, Dani Jo combines emotional intelligence with tactical rigor to build organizations that don’t just withstand disruption, they grow stronger because of it. Through executive coaching, practitioner training, conference programming, and digital toolkits, she equips leaders to convert turbulence into durable advantage. She shines as a beacon of clarity and intentionality, illuminating the way for leaders seeking direction and purpose.Ms. Bennett brings mainstream credentials and lived leadership experience to her work. A proud veteran, she completed some of the U.S. Navy’s most demanding professional programs and holds a Master of Science in Acquisition and Supply Chain Management. Her background spans military, corporate, and entrepreneurial leadership, supported by formal training through the Harvard Business Analytics Program, advanced joint professional military education, emergency management, and federal contracting. She is a certified Project Management Professional, a certified Everything DiSC partner, and a John Maxwell–certified leadership coach. Ms. Bennett has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who of America, including Top Professional honors for 2025-2026, for her contributions to leadership and business consulting. She is actively advancing her professional speaking and leadership platform, integrating certified leadership frameworks with original methodologies developed through real-world application.Community remains central to everything she builds. Dani Jo coaches youth sports, serves as a youth activities director, and mentors in her hometown, believing that leadership starts early, grows through service, and is measured by the strength of the communities it uplifts. She champions inclusive employment, fair wages, and economic ecosystems that help small businesses and families thrive.At the heart of Ms. Bennett’s work lives a simple promise: to steward legacy while building radiance. She believes in the value of ongoing learning. And she remains steadfast in her commitment to elevating and expanding the field of leadership development. Her upcoming book and Leadership Voltage programs will extend that promise into conferences, certifications, and tools designed to transform how leaders rise, rebuild, and lead with purpose.Learn more about Dani Jo in her upcoming interviews with Jim, where she shares her journey, fresh ideas, innovations, and unique perspectives. You’ll walk away with greater clarity, and plenty of inspiration.For more information, visit www.radiantlegacycollective.com

Part 2: Close Up Radio Welcomes Back Freelance Brand Consultant Naomi Arndt

Posted December 23, 2025 • 00:29:38

Newfield, NY - Naomi Arndt, a freelance brand consultant with a unique blend of academic rigor and lived experience, is bringing a fresh, people-centered approach to organizational development, employee engagement, and brand strategy. Drawing on a vibrant career that bridges higher education, HR, curriculum development, and research, Naomi’s consulting work has become a resource for organizations looking to both inspire loyalty and create practical solutions for everyday challenges.In 2023, Naomi took on a pivotal role as a research assistant in the PRODIG Scholar Program at Empire State University. This initiative supports master’s and doctoral students from underrepresented backgrounds, preparing them for future roles as faculty members at colleges and universities nationwide. Naomi’s participation in this program highlighted her commitment to inclusive leadership and her ability to thrive in demanding environments, balancing a full doctoral course load, practical research, and home life, all while mentoring and learning from accomplished educators such as Dr. Sehwan Kim.During her tenure with the PRODIG Scholar Program, Naomi’s research uncovered a simple yet often overlooked truth: employees desire authentic recognition from their employers. Payment alone is not enough to foster satisfaction or loyalty. The research found that when managers take a genuine interest in the well-being and milestones of their staff, whether academic achievements or family events, workplace morale rises, and turnover falls. Naomi’s ability to gather candid feedback from employees rather than just management provided actionable insights, reinforcing the value of holistic employee engagement.Naomi’s path to consulting is rooted in resilience and a deeply held belief in treating everyone with dignity, regardless of background or circumstance. Raised in a multicultural community within a family who emphasized respect, education, and service, Naomi’s journey includes overcoming personal and academic setbacks while supporting her family through crises. Her educational background includes studies at Cornell University, Tompkins Cortland Community College, and pursuing a Doctorate in Business Administration designed for professionals eager to solve real-world problems.“Every person brings a unique story and set of challenges to the workplace,” Naomi explains. “Organizations that recognize and celebrate those stories see greater loyalty and productivity. My mission is to help businesses and institutions tap into that potential by offering practical, empathetic solutions.”Naomi’s consulting practice is as dynamic as her career. A typical day can involve anything from homeschooling her son to advising organizations on personnel issues, reviewing advertising strategies, developing curriculum for workforce training, or conducting research interviews. Her remote work capabilities enable her to serve clients across the United States and internationally, relying on digital communication to provide timely, thoughtful support.Her personal story is one of grit and purpose. Naomi has navigated life-changing challenges, including overcoming academic dismissal, caring for family members during crises, and returning to graduate school after years away, graduating with honors and delivering a commencement address with a 4.0 GPA in her final semester. She credits her achievements to faith, persistence, and the support of friends, mentors, and her community.Naomi is especially interested in economic equity. She advocates for creating more opportunities for underserved populations, such as part-time jobs and project-based assistant roles that provide real experience and income. Her vision includes leveraging small steps, like increasing survey opportunities and flexible work arrangements, to helping close the opportunity gap for those often left out of traditional employment pipelines.Colleagues and clients describe Naomi as a straight shooter with a warm heart. She is known for her collaborative spirit, her refusal to cut ethical corners, and her ability to connect authentically with people from all walks of life. Whether she’s analyzing a company’s internal communications, helping a brand find its voice, or mentoring future scholars, Naomi’s focus remains on practical results and meaningful relationships.In a landscape where many organizations are looking to offer remote work, diversity, and employee well-being as competitive advantages, Naomi Arndt’s expertise stands out as relevant and timely. She offers clients a mix of candid insights, creative problem-solving, and a relentless commitment to fairness. As she continues her doctoral studies and expands her consulting practice, Naomi is proving that you can build a rewarding career and help others thrive—no matter where you start or what obstacles you face.For more information about Naomi Arndt, please visit https://www.linkedin.com/in/naomi-arndt-636a3425/

Part 1: Close Up Radio Welcomes Back Retired US Army Chief Warrant Officer 5 and Public Speaker Wendy Wayman of Whiskey Squared

Posted December 22, 2025 • 00:40:23