Reinventing Success: A Conversation with James D. Feldman, CSP

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James D. Feldman, CSP, has built a career around guiding leaders and organizations through change. He doesn’t wrap his advice in flashy jargon or lofty promises. Instead, he speaks plainly, offering strategies people can actually use. In an era where uncertainty seems constant, that clarity feels refreshing.

When we spoke, Feldman wasted no time getting to the point. Reinvention, he said, isn’t a buzzword — it’s a discipline. “Organizations don’t need theory,” he told me. “They need something they can actually put to work. Otherwise, it’s just noise.” His words carry the weight of someone who’s been in the trenches, helping companies and associations navigate disruption for decades.

That philosophy isn’t just something he shares from the stage. It’s woven into how he runs his own business. He gave an example of sending hundreds of emails to financial planners, not with the intention of pitching them a product, but to test ideas, learn from the responses, and refine his approach. For him, every outreach is a kind of experiment — a way to gauge what resonates and what doesn’t.

“You can’t reinvent from the sidelines,” Feldman explained. “You’ve got to be in the game — trying things, adjusting, figuring out what works.” That willingness to stay engaged and adaptable is what he believes separates organizations that thrive from those that struggle.

The challenges he encounters with clients may come from different industries, but they often share common threads. Association leaders want to know how to keep members engaged. Companies are looking for ways to pivot after market shifts. Executives worry about maintaining momentum when people feel exhausted by change. To Feldman, these problems all point to the same opportunity: building a culture that treats reinvention not as a reaction, but as a habit.

“Reinvention doesn’t mean throwing everything out,” he said. “It means keeping what’s strong, letting go of what’s holding you back, and moving forward even when the path isn’t perfectly clear.” It’s a perspective rooted in pragmatism. He doesn’t promise quick fixes — instead, he encourages leaders to focus on what’s within their control and to take the next smart step.

What makes Feldman’s message resonate is the balance between candor and encouragement. He doesn’t downplay the challenges organizations face, but he frames them in a way that feels actionable. His advice doesn’t sound like it belongs on a motivational poster; it sounds like something you could try tomorrow. That straightforwardness has earned him a reputation as both a speaker and a strategist — someone who can inspire from the stage while also helping clients roll up their sleeves and get to work.

As our conversation wound down, Feldman reflected on the future. Change, he said, isn’t slowing down. But the organizations that accept that reality — and build reinvention into their DNA — will be the ones that succeed.

“Change is going to happen,” he reminded me. “The real question is whether you’re ready to keep changing with it.”

Listen to Jim’s podcast episode of ASSC Mic Drop.

Fred Joyal Wants You to Build Your Boldness Muscle

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Fred Joyal knows something about mistakes. Over nearly three decades as co-founder and CEO of 1-800-DENTIST, the pioneering dental referral service, he steered a company that at its peak generated $45 million annually—and racked up what he describes as “millions and millions of dollars in mistakes.”

“That’s the thing about success,” Joyal says with a shrug. “The more money you make, the bigger the mistakes you can afford to make.”

But what stands out about Joyal, a bestselling author and keynote speaker, isn’t the scars of entrepreneurship. It’s his mission to help others avoid the speed bumps that nearly derailed him. His message, honed across hundreds of stages and enshrined in his 2021 book Superbold: From Under-Confident to Charismatic in 90 Days, is deceptively simple: boldness isn’t an innate trait. It’s a life skill. And like any skill, it can be learned.

From Shy to Superbold

Joyal is quick to admit he wasn’t born bold. “I was a painfully introverted kid,” he recalls. Even into his thirties, he avoided the spotlight. That changed when he taught himself to push past discomfort—not by eliminating fear, but by leaning into it.

“It’s backwards from what people think,” he explains. “They say, ‘I’d be bold if I were confident.’ But confidence is the result of bold action, not the other way around. You build it like a muscle.”

In his workshops, Joyal prescribes “boldness reps”: small, repeatable actions like striking up conversations with strangers or offering compliments without expecting anything in return. The idea is to gradually increase intensity, much like lifting heavier weights at the gym, until approaching an intimidating investor—or striking up a conversation with a potential partner—feels natural.

Selling Boldness

Not surprisingly, sales teams flock to Joyal’s message. Prospecting, cold calling, negotiating—each requires a tolerance for discomfort and rejection. Joyal calls it “alligator skin,” the resilience that comes from failing forward.

“I tell managers, what if every one of your salespeople closed 10 percent more deals?” he says. “I can show them how. Not with tricks or hacks, but by rewiring how they approach fear and discomfort.”

Entrepreneurs, too, are a receptive audience. Starting a business, pitching investors, firing friends-turned-employees: all are acts of boldness. And Joyal believes learning to act decisively when it matters most can be transformative.

Yet some of his favorite audiences are younger ones—college students, even high schoolers. “If you learn this skill early, you stop stacking regrets,” he says. “You chase your dreams before the clock runs out.”

A Workshop in Discomfort

Joyal’s sessions are far from passive lectures. He often calls the “shyest person in the room” onto the stage and gently nudges them through an exercise, showing the entire audience what growth looks like in real time.

“I want people to feel discomfort in a safe environment,” he says. “If you can face it here, you can face it when the stakes are real.”

His “PRIDE” framework—Preparation, Relaxing, Insights, Dosage, and Everyday Action—guides participants step by step toward bolder living. The exercises begin where each individual is comfortable, whether that means smiling at strangers or role-playing a pitch, and build steadily from there.

The Business of Boldness

Joyal sold 1-800-DENTIST years ago, but he’s still building something: a movement around the idea that boldness, not talent or luck, is the cornerstone of success. His corporate clients include sales organizations, associations, and leadership teams, but he’s just as comfortable leading pre-conference workshops or three-hour deep dives.

The resonance of his message may lie in its universality. Boldness isn’t just about business. It’s about asking for a promotion, launching a passion project, or approaching the person you’ve always wanted to meet. “Life is too short to wait,” Joyal says. “You don’t want to be on your deathbed thinking, I should have tried.”

One story he often shares involves watching a terrified woman in New Zealand bungee jump off a 100-foot bridge. “She was sobbing, begging to be pushed,” he recalls. “But when she finally jumped, she came back grinning and said, ‘If I was so scared of this and it was so much fun, why would I ever be scared of anything again?’”

For Joyal, that’s the essence of boldness: acting in spite of fear, not in the absence of it. And once you’ve leapt once, the next leap comes easier.

Watch Fred’s Showcase here

Suhein Beck: Reviving the Lost Art of Honor in Leadership

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Most executives are skilled, ambitious, and capable. But Suhein Beck argues that skill and ambition alone aren’t enough. What modern organizations lack, she says, is wisdom — the kind that anchors cultures, inspires loyalty, and gives leaders the courage to look beyond the next quarterly report.

Beck traces her perspective to her Circassian heritage, a culture that has endured more than 7,000 years of conflict and upheaval. The secret to that survival, she explains, is Adiga Khabza — a code of honor that shaped not only how her people fought wars, but how they lived, led, and sustained communities.

“Honor has almost disappeared from the American business vocabulary,” Beck says. “But if leaders don’t reclaim it, they risk building companies that are technically compliant but culturally bankrupt.”

From Compliance to Conscience

Beck knows the machinery of compliance well. With 15 years in corporate real estate and another 15 in manufacturing, including FDA-regulated products, she has seen the limits of policies and standards up close.

She recalls discovering that while European and Asian regulators ban more than 1,600 ingredients in personal care products, the United States bans only 11. “That gap,” she says, “isn’t about science. It’s about priorities. Compliance sets the floor. Honor sets the ceiling.”

For Beck, that distinction is critical: “If all you’re doing is covering yourself legally, you’re leading small. Wise leaders elevate their standards, not because the law tells them to, but because their people, their customers, and the world deserve more.”

A Stage Like No Other

Audiences don’t simply listen to Beck; they experience her. She takes the stage dressed in the traditional garb of her warrior ancestors, belt gleaming, stance commanding. She speaks as if sent from another era, carrying a message both urgent and timeless: leaders must rise above convenience and rediscover dignity in how they lead.

Multimedia elements — from Circassian martial arts to dance rituals — add depth to her keynotes. At times, she even invites attendees to try on traditional warrior costumes. “When people feel the weight of the clothing, when they straighten their posture, something changes,” she says. “They realize honor isn’t an abstract concept. It’s something you embody.”

Why It Resonates Now

Beck’s approach resonates with industries as varied as pharmaceuticals, real estate, hospitality, and manufacturing. She offers leaders a framework rooted in twelve principles of Adiga Khabza, each one guiding them toward cultures of integrity, loyalty, and purpose.

Her message isn’t nostalgia. It’s a challenge. “America is young compared to cultures that have endured millennia. We can’t afford to be short-sighted. If we want organizations that last, leaders must do more than survive the present moment — they need to build with honor.”

Fighting With a Microphone

Beck likes to remind audiences that while her ancestors wielded daggers, her weapon today is the microphone. Her fight is against the culture of “CYA” — cover your assets — that dominates too much of corporate life.

“I’m here to slice that mindset out of leadership,” she says. “Because when leaders raise their standards, their teams follow. And when teams follow, organizations don’t just succeed. They endure.”

Watch Suhein’s showcase video: https://speakercommunity.org/suhein-beck/