The Culture Matters Podcast
The Culture Matters Podcast with host, Jay Doran, is a platform to talk with business owners, executives, and cultural alike to get inside each individual's eco-system in which they practice culture in the workplace. We speak to some of the most interesting people about why culture is important.
The Culture Matters Podcast
Season 88, Episode 1054: 2025 NYE Lollapalooza Episode 7: Consistency, Execution, Love, and Transformation
Episode 7 of the New Year’s Eve Lollapalooza is part coaching session, part brotherhood, and part wake-up call—because this crew doesn’t just talk about growth… they talk about the cost of growth.
Jay Doran and co-host Mike “Mike Drop” Calhoun are joined by Alex Rawdin, Jeff Silva, Ken Jordan, and Demetri Stakias for a fast-moving roundtable that turns into something deeper: identity, resilience, and what it takes to rebuild when the punches don’t stop.
You’ll hear each guest anchor 2026 with a single word:
- Jeff Silva lands on Consistency—rebuilding in a new market, owning the fall-apart seasons, and remembering that you don’t “find” momentum… you earn it.
- Alex Rawdin sharpens his initial instinct of “action” into what really matters: Execution—being effective, not just busy, while raising three young kids and helping lead a multi-decade family advisory firm.
- Demetri Stakias brings the most vulnerable turn: moving from last year’s word Unstoppable to this year’s word Love—after being forged by adversity that most people only hear about in headlines.
- Ken Jordan declares Transformation, and then opens up about the hardest part of leadership: rebuilding confidence after the difficult decisions of 2022–2023, learning the difference between empathy and compassion, and getting ready to recruit and lead again without fear writing the script.
Then the episode pivots—hard—into one of the most practical moments of the entire Lollapalooza: go live.
Mike lays out a conviction that feels like a challenge: if you do nothing different in 2026 except schedule consistent live conversations (YouTube, LinkedIn, anywhere), you’ll spend the year building trust, proximity, and pipeline—for free. Not performative. Not perfect. Just real, consistent, and present.
This episode is for the leader who’s been carrying it alone… and is ready to get back into rooms that make them better.
If you’re stepping into 2026 with a word, a mission, or a rebuild—this one will hit.