by Sarah Nicastro, Creator and Editor in Chief, Future of Field Service
We have some exciting podcast news coming soon, but before that comes let’s be sure you’ve seen the Top 10 episodes of 2025! In late December I revealed these on the podcast, but I realize those episodes came out during the busy holiday season and not everyone may have had an opportunity to listen. Further, I know not everyone is a die-hard podcast fan – but these 10 are well worth diving into (and if you do, maybe you’ll become a regular).
#10: Using AI to Unlock Potential While Protecting the Human Experience (Episode 313)
This episode with Faisal Hoque, serial entrepreneur, business strategist, and best-selling author, explored the delicate balance between AI advancement and human potential. We spoke about everything from distinguishing consumer AI from enterprise initiatives to understanding the concept of regenerative leadership and how organizations can harness AI's power while preserving what makes us uniquely human. Favorite quote from the episode: “That's why we introduce this divergent framework
called open and care. You have to be radically open to possibilities because there's so much good that we can do with this set of technologies. You have to learn how to identify opportunity and then create a portfolio of opportunities. But then also, you have to be catastrophically focused on risk, and that's why you introduce care.”
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#9: An Inside Look at ACCO’s Strategic Big Bets to Win the Talent War (Episode 309)
This episode with Michael Potts, who at the time was EVP at ACCO Engineered Systems, explores ACCO's strategic big bets in talent acquisition and retention. Michael spoke about everything from prioritizing cultural fit over quick hires to embracing disruptive change and investing in emotional intelligence training. This is a great episode whether you're struggling with recruitment challenges or looking to build a more resilient service culture.
Michael gives plenty of food for thought and some really strong examples of how challenging the status quo is often the best strategy for long term success and investing in emotional intelligence training. This is a great episode whether you're struggling with recruitment challenges or looking to build a more resilient service culture. Michael gives plenty of food for thought and some really strong examples of how challenging the status quo is often the best strategy for long term success.
Favorite quote from the episode: “When I started down this emotional intelligence path, my perception was I'm going to learn tools to figure out how I communicate with you better. What I found was it's not an external opportunity to look externally and figure out how the person sitting across the desk from you is reacting. It's really your behavior and how you react to situations around you that was eye opening to me.”
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#8: Move Over Bob: A New Narrative to Reinvigorate & Diversify the Trades (Episode 331)
In this episode, Kate Glantz, who is the CEO and Co-Founder of Move Over Bob, shares her mission to revolutionize the trades through innovative media. She explains how the approach of Move Over Bob is filling a crucial gap when it comes to working to diversify the trades with its fresh approach, engaging content that stands out, and focuses on both informing and empowering specifically young women. I absolutely loved Kate's story and love her mission.
Favorite quote from the episode: “We have a workforce that's retiring from construction, skilled trades, advanced manufacturing, and a lot of different roles that require not necessarily college, but a lot of expertise in a trade and specialty. So we're not going to be able to meet the demands of today, let alone what's going to happen in about five years when over 40% of the construction labor workforce retires. If you sort of have your finger on the pulse, you're hearing faint alarm bells. It's not being talked about in mainstream culture. And I always joke, we're ten minutes from the zeitgeist. This is going to be an all hands on deck conversation and issue, but there's really no impact that can be made fast enough if we're not playing in culture.”
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#7: 5 Best Practices for Building Your Business Case for Service Improvement (Episode 334)
In this episode, Carrie Toth, VP of Customer Experience at Generac Power System Systems, calls on years of experience across different industries and different organizations to curate these five essential best practices for securing service investment. She touches on everything from assessing organizational dynamics and building relevance to smart storytelling and maintaining agility and really gives good practical strategies for service leaders who are
looking to build their relevance, get more buy in and more investment, and drive transformation and building relevance to smart storytelling and maintaining agility and really gives good practical strategies for service leaders who are looking to build their relevance, get more buy in and more investment, and drive transformation.
Favorite quote from this episode was when Carrie shared about her own feelings of imposter syndrome: “I never feel like the smartest person in the room. I sometimes feel like, gosh, I don't know how I got here. I don't belong or I don't know what they're talking about. That's not unique to being an intern or a first-time manager or even being a vice president for the first time. And we've got to be vulnerable and encourage everyone to find those mentors and allies and support systems that will allow us to take those risks but do it in a cautious way and help nurture growth.”
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#6: How Lean Methodology is Guiding Service Transformation at Diebold Nixdorf (Episode 326)
In this episode, Brian Gallipeau, SVP of Service for the Americas at Diebold Nixdorf, shares how lean methodology is transforming service operations in a global organization. He gives practical insights on implementing lean principles through ride alongs, Kaizen events, and video training. But the episode dives into so much beyond lean including the cultural implications of big transformations and major change, the importance of leadership and building trust, taking accountability, and
taking action on feedback. Favorite quote from the episode: “Pretty much everyone who's in a management position at DN does a ride along with a technician. It doesn't matter whether in you're in procurement or HR. It doesn't matter what the role is. You need to be out there and actually feel what the technicians feel on a day-to-day basis because, again, this is what our business is. And if you don't understand, you can't make intelligent decisions about what we're doing.”
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#5: Authoritarian Leadership is Out: Why (and How) to Embrace the Power of Mattering (Episode 341)
In this episode, I'm joined by Zach Mercurio, a researcher with a PhD in organizational learning, performance, and change, a leadership development facilitator specializing in purposeful leadership mattering and meaningful work, and author of The Power of Mattering. Zach sheds light in this episode on why command and control leadership is fundamentally incompatible with the innovation and loyalty leaders claim to want today and instead offers his
perspective on what actually works. Favorite quote from the episode: “If you want someone to contribute, they first have to believe they're worthy of contributing. If you want someone to share their voice, they first have to believe their voice is significant. If you want someone to use their strengths, they first have to believe that they have them. If you want something to matter to someone, they first have to believe that they matter. If you want someone to care, they first have to feel cared for. So, it's really the prerequisite to motivation, performance, and productivity. A lot of times, we've thought that people needed to add value to be valued, but psychologically, biologically, it is the opposite. People need to feel valued to add value.
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#4: The Untold Truths of Service Leadership (Episodes 329 and 337)
A bit of a cheat because this is really two episodes, but I couldn’t resist. Gyner Ozgul, CEO of Fortis Fire and Safety, offers a deep dive into some of the truths most leaders encounter, but few are willing to talk about out loud. In part one, we focus on business realities leaders must navigate and in part two we discuss the more personal side.
Favorite quote from these episodes: “Your experience does not validate your level of rightness. Your experience shouldn't be weaponized in an organization or for you as a leader.
That's not what it's for. It's for you to enable outcomes, for you to, in your organization, drive success with your teams. It is not a weapon.”
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#3: How Unisys is Differentiating Through Experience Management (Episode 330)
In this episode, Patrycja Sobera, SVP and General Manager of Digital Workplace Solutions at Unisys, outlines the how the company has transformed service delivery through their XMO (experience management office). They have evolved from traditional SLAs to experience focused metrics are delivering powerful experiences using a combination of proactive automation and human touch. In this episode, Patrycja dispels myths about experience management, shares practical advice and lessons learned, and relays a keen prespective on how the future
of service hinges more on the creation and measurement of valuable experiences. But my favorite quote from this episode was when we discussed motherhood: “Sometimes we don't do all the homework, and sometimes we have McDonald's. Sometimes all of her uniform pieces are not perfectly ironed, and it's okay to be imperfect and focus on what's most important. And you know what? She has a blast. She still loves me the same, if not more. We have a good giggle when we forget something or we don't do homework and, you know, we do it quickly in the car or sneak something outside of the classroom. I would just say, give yourself a break. Focus on what's important. Focus on yourself if you can. Focus on what's important to you. And we talked about the art of purpose. There's no point in trying to be everything for everyone and, you know, a perfect mom.”
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#2: The High Performance Traits of Stand Out Leaders (Episode 335)
This special episode of UNSCRIPTED, which originally aired when we announced the 2025 Stand Out 50 Leadership Awards, features Jake Humphrey, Co-Host of the acclaimed High Performance podcast and Founder of the Whisper Group. Jake and I talked about the incredible Dame Stephanie Shirley's legacy. we talked about different views on authentic leadership, why being yourself is crucial for sustained success, how optimism builds resilience, why recovery is just as important as achievement, and so much more. Favorite quote of this episode: “I think in many ways, leadership is changing.
Favorite quote of this episode: “I think in many ways, leadership is changing. For a long time, leaders felt that they had to be the most important person in the room. And there's a lovely line that I like, which is when you talk to a manager, you get the feeling they are important. When you talk to a leader, you get the feeling that you are important. And I think that is also something for people to take out of today. How much of your time is spent trying to make yourself feel important? How much of your time is spent making other people feel important?”
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#1: How Multivac Cut Technician Turnover in Half (Episode 325)
There is really no more universal challenge among service leaders I speak with than finding and keeping the right talent. In this episode, Dave Sarazen, VP of Customer Service at Multivac, gives the specifics around how the company has reduced technician turnover by 50%. There's no way you do that without some real reflection, change, and hard word, and Dave shares much of that in this conversation. We discuss how they've transformed their approach to recruiting and retention but
also intentional leadership, meaningful recognition, and much more. Favorite quote from this episode: “We communicate, communicate, communicate. You can never have too much of it. We do one on ones, and we also have a biweekly Teams call with each of the regions and all of the technicians and their leadership. We go through their situations, technical aspects, company updates, and what we're seeing in the field from competitors.”
If you aren’t already a regular listener of UNSCRIPTED, in addition to the website you can find our weekly episodes on Spotify, Apple, and in video form on YouTube.