Operations Unlocked™

Flourish & Thriving Solutions
  • 5.0 (3)
  • Entrepreneurship

Operations Unlocked™ is the podcast for founders, executives, and business leaders responsible for turning vision into reality. Hosted by Michelle Holmes, Founder & CEO of Flourish & Thriving Solutions, each episode features conversations with leaders who share practical lessons on leadership, operations, growth, and execution. If you’re building a business, leading a growing team, or navigating the challenges of growth, you’ll find real-world insights and strategies you can put into practice.

Episodes

  1. Nov 6

    Unlocked 5: Beyond the Process, the People Behind Performance - Sherri Malouf

    Episode 5 | Unlocked Beyond the Process: The People Behind PerformanceWhat happens when your systems are working, but your people aren't? In business, we spend so much time perfecting processes, building systems, and developing strategies that we sometimes overlook the most important part of any organization: the people who make it all work. In this episode of Operations Unlocked, host Michelle Holmes, Founder & CEO of Flourish & Thriving Solutions, sits down with Sherri Malouf, President & Master Trainer at Strategic Soft Skills Institute, for a powerful conversation about the human side of organizational success. With more than 35 years of experience working with leaders around the world, Sherri has helped executives and functional leaders, including those within Fortune 100 companies, strengthen communication, navigate difficult conversations, develop emotional intelligence, and build high-performing teams. Together, Michelle and Sherri explore why even the best organizational structures can fall short when human connection, communication, and teamwork are missing. In this episode, we explore: People Before Processes: Why organizational success requires more than efficient systems and well-designed strategies.The Hidden Cost of Poor Soft Skills: How communication breakdowns, ineffective leadership, and interpersonal challenges impact productivity and performance.Building Teams That Actually Work: Understanding the importance of relationships, collaboration, and having the right people in the right roles.Emotional & Social Intelligence: Why understanding people is essential to influencing, leading, and executing effectively.When Structure Creates Problems: How organizational priorities, systems, and processes can unintentionally contribute to negative behaviors and slow execution.Leadership Beyond the Classroom: Developing practical skills that create meaningful change in everyday workplace interactions.Sherri challenges leaders to look beyond traditional training and examine the behaviors, relationships, and organizational dynamics that directly influence results. Because building a successful organization isn't just about getting the processes right. It's about creating an environment where people can perform, collaborate, and thrive. Whether you're a business owner, executive, entrepreneur, or team leader, this conversation will challenge how you think about leadership, performance, and the people who drive your organization forward. Connect with Our GuestSherri Malouf President & Master Trainer | Strategic Soft Skills Institute Explore Sherri's Fast Track to Leadership program, a 15-hour journey designed to accelerate leadership growth. https://strategicsoftskillsinstitute.com/Fast-track.html About Operations UnlockedHosted by Michelle Holmes, Founder & CEO of Flourish & Thriving Solutions, Operations Unlocked explores the strategies, systems, leadership principles, and real-world experiences that help businesses move from operational challenges to sustainable growth. Subscribe, share, and join the conversation as we unlock what it really takes to build businesses that flourish and thrive. #OperationsUnlocked #FlourishAndThriving #LeadershipDevelopment #StrategicSoftSkills #PeopleAndProcesses #BusinessGrowth #TeamPerformance #OrganizationalLeadership #FunctionalLeadership

  2. Oct 2

    Unlocked 4: Change Management In Execution - Rachael Kelley

    Unlocked 4: Change Management in Execution Growth sounds exciting—until the business starts moving faster than the systems built to support it. In Episode 4 of Operations Unlocked™, Michelle Holmes sits down with Rachael Kelly, Founder & CEO of Hive Enterprises, Human Systems Architect, operator, and platform builder, to unpack what happens when strategy changes but the organization isn’t equipped to execute it. With more than 20 years of experience inside high-growth and private equity-backed businesses, including serving in Chief People Officer roles, Rachael has seen firsthand how acquisitions, rapid expansion, new strategies, and emerging technologies like AI can expose weaknesses in leadership, decision-making, workflows, and organizational structure. This conversation explores the real work of change management in execution—moving beyond the announcement of a new direction and building the systems, roles, accountability, and leadership capacity required to actually make it work. Rachael shares insights from her work through HiveSMART and the Hive Human OS, including how leaders can identify where value is leaking, clarify decision rights, strengthen management capacity, redesign workflows, and create organizations that can grow without every decision finding its way back to the CEO. Because the challenge isn’t always having the right strategy. Sometimes the strategy is clear—but the organization hasn’t been built to carry it. If your company is navigating growth, M&A, organizational change, or AI transformation, this episode will challenge you to ask an important question: Are your people struggling to execute—or are your systems making execution harder than it should be?

  3. Sep 25

    Unlocked 3: When Sciences Meets Strategy - Dr. Leonid Glazychev

    What happens when the mind of a scientist meets the demands of entrepreneurship, global growth, and rapidly evolving technology? In this episode of Operations Unlocked™, Michelle Holmes sits down with Dr. Leonid Glazychev, Co-Founder and CEO of Logrus IT, whose journey from plasma physics and computer simulation to building a global organization spanning more than three decades proves that some of the best business strategies begin with asking better questions. Leonid shares how an unexpected opportunity in software localization became a life-changing pivot, eventually growing Logrus IT from just three employees to a global team of more than 160. He and Michelle explore what it takes to lead complex operations across cultures, challenge conventional thinking, make technology-driven decisions, and maintain quality while scaling. They also dive into the rapidly changing world of artificial intelligence—including why Leonid believes AI is most powerful when paired with intentional human input, judgment, and creativity. With the precision of a scientist and the experience of a 33+ year entrepreneur, Leonid challenges leaders to move beyond assumptions and bring greater objectivity, measurement, and critical thinking into the way they operate. Because sustainable growth isn't just about moving faster. Sometimes, it's about thinking differently. 🎙️ Episode 3: Unlocked — When Science Meets Strategy Hosted by Michelle Holmes, Founder & CEO of Flourish & Thriving Solutions.

  4. Sep 18

    Unlocked 2: Dying for Connection - Pete O'Dell

    On Episode 2 of Operations Unlocked with Michelle Holmes, Michelle sits down with Pete O’Dell, CEO of Perdata.ai, entrepreneur, author, military veteran, and longtime technology leader whose latest mission is tackling one of the most pressing challenges of our time: loneliness. At a time when we have more ways to communicate than ever before, many people are still struggling to build meaningful friendships and genuine community. Pete and his team at Perdata.ai are working to change that by using technology to help people move beyond digital interaction and connect in real life around shared interests, passions, and experiences. But Pete’s journey extends far beyond his latest startup. He is also a Director of Swan Island Networks, a global open-source intelligence company he helped establish following 9/11, and previously served four years in the United States Army. Across military service, entrepreneurship, technology, leadership, and now authorship, Pete has consistently found himself at the intersection of complex problems and meaningful solutions. Together with his co-founder Johan Wikman, Pete co-authored Dying for Friendship and Community: Two Old Friends Attack Loneliness, exploring what happens when friendship, belonging, and community begin to disappear—and what it will take to rebuild them. In this conversation, Michelle and Pete unpack the loneliness epidemic, the difference between digital connection and genuine human connection, the role technology can play in strengthening community, and why leaders should pay attention to the relationships being built—or lost—around them. They also explore Pete’s own experiences with leadership, service, entrepreneurship, friendship, and the lessons that come from building solutions for problems that are deeply human. This episode asks an important question: In a world where everyone is connected, why do so many people still feel alone? 🔓 Join Michelle Holmes and Pete O’Dell as they unlock a conversation about friendship, belonging, leadership, technology, and what it will take to bring people back together. Operations Unlocked — Episode 2 Featuring Pete O’Dell, CEO of Perdata.ai and co-author of Dying for Friendship and Community

  5. Sep 9

    Unlocked 1: When Purpose Meets the Pivot - Susan Langer

    Operations Unlocked with Michelle Holmes launches its inaugural episode with Susan Langer, Founder & CEO of Spave and Executive Director of IgniteMN. In this powerful opening conversation, Susan takes us behind the title and into the journey—sharing the challenges, triumphs, pivotal decisions, and even the role love and purpose have played in shaping her success. As the founder of Spave, Susan is building at the intersection of financial wellness, behavioral finance, and charitable giving. The fintech platform helps people turn everyday financial activity into opportunities to save, give, and invest toward what matters most. But Susan’s story is about more than building a company. It is about navigating change, rebuilding, evolving, and having the courage to begin again. Michelle and Susan unpack what it takes to lead through transition, stay connected to purpose, and build something meaningful when the path forward does not always look the way you expected. This is more than a conversation about fintech. It is a conversation about leadership, resilience, purpose, and what becomes possible when your work aligns with what matters most. Welcome to the first episode of Operations Unlocked.

  • 5 Episodes

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Operations Unlocked™ is the podcast for founders, executives, and business leaders responsible for turning vision into reality. Hosted by Michelle Holmes, Founder & CEO of Flourish & Thriving Solutions, each episode features conversations with leaders who share practical lessons on leadership, operations, growth, and execution. If you’re building a business, leading a growing team, or navigating the challenges of growth, you’ll find real-world insights and strategies you can put into practice.

Information

  • Creator
    Flourish & Thriving Solutions
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    5
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Flourish & Thriving Solutions
  • Show Website
    Operations Unlocked™