Together at the Top

Esteemed business coach Nick Warner adds value to your life and career by tapping into his considerable network to explore business and management principles through the voice of successful professionals and business owners across all industries.

Together at the Top is a business podcast hosted by Nick Warner, with 52 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Nick Warner hosts Together at the Top, a business show with 52 episodes published.

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  Episode #53

  Nick Notes with Special Guest Rocklin Police Chief Rustin Banks

  Aug 5, 202648 min

  Nick brings Rocklin Police Chief Rustin Banks into this "Nick Notes" session to break down the mechanics of leadership across both private consulting and public service. Their conversation centers on a social contract where titles disappear and honesty takes over, with a leader's composure acting as the primary anchor for team culture. Nick deconstructs his "Rule of Six" and challenges the tired management line of "bring me solutions, not problems," while Rustin explains how 360-degree criticism prevents blind spots and keeps a leader's voice relevant. Both reject superficial team-building (escape rooms and the like) in favor of personal discipline and clean ends to the workday. The takeaway is simple: real authority comes from staying steady and wearing down the chaos with consistency. Episode Highlights: 00:00 - Introduction 03:25 - Invest in Leadership Coaching and Professional Growth 08:02 - Build High-Performing Leadership Teams 13:53 - Stop Sending Your Best People Away Without Support 15:32 - Rethink Team Building for Better Communication 18:42 - Balance Teamwork, Accountability, and Healthy Conflict 27:23 - Develop Emerging Leaders with Clear Expectations 33:12 - Why Consistency Defines Great Leadership 36:20 - Create Structure, Composure, and Strong Daily Habits 40:27 - Learn from Young Talent and Embrace New Ideas 44:14 - Use Strategic Networking to Accelerate Leadership Growth Key Takeaways: "Once a decision is made, it’s our decision and we own it as a group, even if it was controversial and you didn't win." "As long as the dialog is there and you're getting feedback, you can pick and choose what to implement." "Telling a team 'don't bring me problems, bring me solutions' is useless at the top. It stops your best people from bringing you their hardest problems." "If an organization has personality conflicts, an escape room won’t help. Relationships are what matter." "Consistently showing up for your team is hard. It’s not complex, but it’s hard because we’re all human." "I want clean ends to days, weeks, months, and quarters. Haphazard management leaves an organization frazzled." "Character is what counts. I want the instructor, the partner, and the person looking for voids to fill and step up." Links: Nick Warner Consulting: https://www.nickwarnerconsulting.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nick-warner-consulting/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nickwarnerconsulting X: https://x.com/NickWarnerCoach Together at the Top @ Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/together-at-the-top/id1606943728 Police Chief Rustin Banks: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rustin-banks-747aa8108/

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  Together at the Top

  The Game Knows with UC Davis Head Coach Jim Les

  Jun 30, 20261h 3m

  Nick sits down with Jim Les, head coach of UC Davis men’s basketball. With seven seasons in the NBA and 25 years as a collegiate head coach, Coach Les brings deep insights into high-stakes management. Nick and Jim explore effective leadership, relentless work ethic, and the value of mentorship in sports and corporate settings. Listeners will learn to cultivate sustainable success by prioritizing trust, clear communication, and professional excellence. The conversation covers elite team building, detailing how to recruit and retain top talent competitively. Jim explains how adapting your coaching style and building deep relationships serves as the ultimate anchor against turnover. They also highlight essential leadership behaviors like extreme accountability, vulnerability, and admitting mistakes. Finally, they discuss balancing a demanding career with family life, including Jim's experience coaching his son to a Division I championship. This is a truly fascinating discussion for business leaders and sports enthusiasts alike - one which clearly demonstrates that true success requires personal growth and mutual respect. Episode Highlights: 00:00 - Introduction 03:31 - Why Urgency Creates Great Leaders 08:15 - Turn Adversity Into Long-Term Success 09:44 - Build Trust Before You Lead 19:06 - Coach the Person, Not Just the Performance 24:27 - Never Stop Growing as a Leader 27:03 - Develop Leaders Beyond the Game 30:11 - How Great Cultures Retain Top Talent 38:26 - Lead With Honesty and Accountability 47:48 - Balance Leadership, Family, and Success 59:53 - Win With Gratitude and an Underdog Mindset Key Takeaways: "If you're not where you want to be in your life, personally or professionally, you’ve got to edit your life. What are the things that are preventing you from getting to those areas?" “In order to grow, you’ve got to go through adversity... and your limits have to be constrained in order to take steps forward." "I can deliver a good message, but if I don't live that message on a daily basis, the kids are going to pick up on that." "If a young man's not playing well or playing up to his potential, rather than point the finger at him, I tell our staff, we’ve got to point it at us." "If you run your organization or you run your team or run your program to try and retain, you're going to lose people. You have to be who you are." "I saw people that didn't respect the game, didn't work at it... and, man, the game humbled them." "There have been a lot of times I've walked in after the game and I said, 'You know what? That was a horrible play I drew up.'... I think it's important for us to own that in front of them." Links: Nick Warner Consulting: https://www.nickwarnerconsulting.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nick-warner-consulting/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nickwarnerconsulting X: https://x.com/NickWarnerCoach Together at the Top @ Apple Podcasts : https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/together-at-the-top/id1606943728 Jim Les @ UC Davis: https://ucdavisaggies.com/staff-directory/jim-les/29

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  Together at the Top

  From the Flight Deck with Captain Kyle Koukol

  Jun 2, 202656 min

  Captain Kyle Koukol, co-host of the From the Flight Deck podcast, joins Nick to dive into the topic of bridging the gap between aviation leadership and entrepreneurship. Discussing high-altitude discipline and his mission at his company, Dial a Pilot, Kyle demonstrates how humanizing the cockpit helps flyers overcome anxiety. This episode also provides an insider’s look at the grit needed to lead in both the sky and in business. Together, Kyle and Nick explore "shared mental models" and the necessity of "upstream feedback" as Kyle explains why leaders must invite correction to ensure safety and accountability. They discuss delegating to experts to avoid becoming a managerial bottleneck. Finally, Kyle shares his strategy for decompressing to balance a high-stakes career with a restorative home life and offers a roadmap for high-performance teams. Episode Highlights: 00:00 - Introduction 02:23 - Building a Career as an Airline Captain 05:25 - Balancing Leadership, Marriage, and Life at Home 11:22 - What Airline Pilots Love About the Job 14:42 - Managing Stress and High-Stakes Decisions 21:36 - Leading Older, More Experienced Team Members 24:22 - The Power of Debriefs and Continuous Improvement 29:37 - Solving the Fear of Flying Crisis 36:53 - Turning a Passion Project Into a Startup 42:25 - Building High-Performance Teams 46:38 - Leadership Lessons From Aviation 51:48 - Scaling Dial A Pilot and Impacting Millions Key Takeaways: "I really, really appreciate when people can give that upstream feedback, because I need to have that accountability." "The most important time for me to really receive good quality feedback is when I am the one making the call." "My first six months as captain, I really had to change the way that I would make those announcements... under-promising and over-delivering." "I am an airline pilot, we do calls with nervous flyers... and we will talk to you for as long as you want about flying." "A news agency... has to hit on negative emotions. Fear, anxiety, anger, all of those are just absolutely ripe in aviation." "I very much try to take the perspective that I know the least in the room." "I naturally surround myself with the people that are bought-in. If somebody is not passionately bought-in, I just won't work with them." "Surrounding yourself with the right people is just so incredibly important." Links: Nick Warner Consulting: https://www.nickwarnerconsulting.com/ Kyle Koukol: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kylekoukol/ Dial a Pilot: https://www.dialapilot.com/ From the Flight Deck : https://www.dialapilot.com/podcast-episodes/podcast

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  Together at the Top

  Leading with Grace with Kristin Olsen-Cate

  May 1, 20261 hour

  California lobbyist, former state and local government leader, and Aspen Rodel fellow Kristin Olsen-Cate joins Nick on the podcast to share what it looks like to lead with civility in an era of toxic politics. From moderating the recent Central Valley gubernatorial debate to building a bipartisan dialogue program through California Rodel, Kristin offers a window into a career spent at the center of the biggest issues, and the convictions that have kept her grounded along the way. Together, Nick and Kristin explore what she calls the "exhausted majority" and her belief that real change happens not at the Capitol, but at dinner tables and in neighborhoods. They discuss her path from the Modesto Planning Commission to the State Assembly to the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors, the realities women still face in leadership, and the "don't tread on me" moment that taught her how to reshape perception. The conversation also covers stress, family, and her 2026 word, rest, alongside her enduring belief that "clear is kind" and that hard work paired with grace can still move mountains. Episode Highlights: 00:00 - Introduction 02:32 - Moderating a Bipartisan Gubernatorial Debate in the Central Valley 06:35 - The Exhausted Majority and Choosing Rest as Her 2026 Word 10:37 - From Capital Fellows to a Career in California Public Policy 14:03 - Returning to Modesto, Planning Commission, and the City Council Run 17:00 - Outworking the Field to Win a State Assembly Seat 22:40 - Women in Leadership and the Power of Being Asked 25:23 - Never Let Them See You Sweat and Reshaping First Impressions 30:03 - Clear is Kind: Civility, Smiles, and Choosing Joy 32:20 - Trust, Relationships, and What Makes a Great Lobbyist 36:39 - California Rodel and Transformational Change One Conversation at a Time 49:14 - Team Building, Stress Management, and Failing Forward Key Takeaways: "We don't need to be people's greatest critics. We need to be their greatest encouragers." "Clear is kind. We can treat each other with kindness and with respect while at the same time being adamant about our policy positions." "Walk through the doors that open and don't get too disappointed over the doors that close, and you might be surprised what's right in front of you." "Relationships are primary. Everything else is derivative." "True transformational change in a society and in people's lives happens one conversation at a time, one dinner table at a time, one neighborhood at a time." "Goals are just a wish without a plan." "Never apologize for your kids." "Failures are fingertips on the way to achievements." "We need to lead through politics and have friendships that are more important than political disagreements." "Choose joy. You can always find a reason to smile and make somebody else's day better." Links: Nick Warner Consulting: https://www.nickwarnerconsulting.com/ Kristin Olsen-Cate: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristin-olsen-cate-41b2446 California Strategies: https://calstrat.com/

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  Together at the Top

  Coffee and Consciousness with Java City CEO Pete Rogers

  Mar 31, 202651 min

  Nick welcomes Pete Rogers, CEO of Java City, to share his story of revitalizing a legacy brand and so much more in a conversation that goes far beyond business strategy. Together, they explore the intersection of leadership, personal consciousness, and practical stress management, as they dig into the principles of neuroscience and intentional mindset shifts that can positively affect a company's culture and one's own professional life. Pete details Java City's history, including its transition into a family-led and future employee-owned (ESOP) company. He and Nick go on to explore the unique dynamics of running a family business, highlighting the need to separate personal and professional roles. The conversation really centers on actionable wellness strategies, with Pete sharing a guided breathing exercise for managing stress. This is one episode which definitely offers valuable insights for leaders focused on building a resilient, healthy culture and improving their own mindset. Episode Highlights: 00:00 - Introduction 02:35 - Pete Rogers’ Path to Leading the Java City Coffee Turnaround 06:12 - Rebuilding a Legacy Coffee Brand After COVID Disruption 09:15 - Putting the Right People in the Right Roles as a CEO 11:09 - Running a Family Business Without Hierarchy Conflicts 14:23 - Teaching Neuroscience and Communication Inside Company Culture 18:22 - The Increasing Presence of Stress in Our Lives 20:42 - Pete’s Gift to Listeners 21:46 - The Science Behind Stress and Stress Management 30:39 - Why CEOs Should Teach Mindset and Emotional Intelligence at Work 33:55 - Shifting From “I Have to Work” to “I Get to Work” Thinking 38:36 - Why Personal Responsibility and Choice Drive Career Change 41:04 - Building an Employee-Owned Company With an ESOP Model 44:05 - Rewiring Stress Responses With Daily Leadership Habits 48:30 - Why Authentic Leaders Build Stronger Teams and Culture Key Takeaways: "In our society, we often feel stuck. But realizing life is a choice is empowering. If you don't like it, change it." "I value people and relationships above all else. Next is winning sustainability and healthy culture." "Stress costs U.S. corporations $322 billion a year. Awareness and tools can change that." "Focus your attention on your heart. Breathe in for four seconds, out for five. In 90 seconds, you can change your state." "We live in three letters: B, C, D. Birth, Choice, Death. All we have is choice." "You get to work or you gotta work? Your mindset shapes your reality." "Teaching neuroscience to employees fosters growth. We discuss concepts to solve real challenges." "Humility is a dividing line between good and great. Authentic leaders admit mistakes and change." Links: Nick Warner Consulting: https://www.nickwarnerconsulting.com/ Java City: https: javacity.com The Courage to Be Disliked : https://www.amazon.ca/Courage-Be-Disliked-Phenomenon-Happiness/dp/1982107022 The Biology of Belief : https://www.amazon.ca/Biology-Belief-Unleashing-Consciousness-Miracles/dp/1401923127

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