In this episode of The People Playbook, Jason Taylor sits down with veteran entrepreneur, leadership coach, and President of Landscape Ontario, Ed Hansen. From humble beginnings cutting neighbors’ lawns to leading a multimillion-dollar business and coaching CEOs across the country, Ed shares hard-earned lessons on leadership, resilience, and empowering people.

You’ll hear stories about breaking the “right” rules, learning from failure, and why the best leaders sometimes lead from behind. Ed also dives into building a strong team culture, embracing innovation without losing tradition, and creating a work-life rhythm that lasts.

Whether you’re a seasoned CEO or an entrepreneur just starting out, this conversation will challenge how you think about leadership - and inspire you to lead with care, curiosity, and courage.

In this episode of The People Playbook, host Jason Taylor sits down with Neil Nicholson, CEO of Powerhouse Controls, to talk about leading through trust, building teams that thrive under pressure, and creating a culture that scales with growth. With nearly three decades at Powerhouse and a career that took him from employee #5 to CEO of a global automation leader, Neil shares hard-earned lessons on transparency, succession planning, leadership empathy, and what it really takes to empower people to lead.

Whether you're a CEO, manager, or aspiring leader, this episode is packed with practical insights on how to build teams that run with integrity - even when you're not in the room.

What does it take to invent not just a product, but an entirely new category?

In this episode of The People’s Playbook, Jason sits down with Carmelo Marsala, Founder and CEO of Spray-Net - a home-improvement franchise that’s flipping the script on traditional painting. From student painter to quadruple patent holder, Carmelo shares how a scratched front door sparked a revolutionary idea, how he scaled his startup into a 120+ territory franchise, and why marketing, mindset, and just starting matter more than perfection.

Whether you're a founder, franchisee, or future innovator, Carmelo’s story will challenge how you think about execution, growth, and leadership in today’s competitive landscape.

What does it really take to build a company from scratch in a new country during a global crisis?

In this episode of The People’s Playbook, host Jason Taylor sits down with Moatassem Moatez - TEDx speaker, Entrepreneur of the Year, and Founder & CEO of MyCourier Inc. - to unpack a story of hustle, empathy, and execution.

Moatassem shares how he:

• Went from Uber-canceling job pitches to building a 100+ person team
• Built culture through empathy and hands-on leadership
• Navigated pandemic chaos with zero vision—just survival instincts
• Unlocked passion by taking action, not waiting for “the right idea”
• Learned how to balance ambition, family, and community impact

This is more than a founder story - it's a playbook for resilience, reinvention, and leading with purpose.

In this episode of The People Playbook, host Jason Taylor sits down with Joe Salemi, Executive Director of Landscape Ontario, to explore what it really takes to lead with empathy, build high-performing teams, and create a culture that thrives -even when you're not in the room.

Joe shares his personal journey from software to association leadership, what it means to step into the shoes of a legend, and why the best leaders empower others to lead too. We also dive into the leadership gap facing many landscape businesses, the power of peer-to-peer vulnerability, and how one green tie became a symbol of trust and transformation.

If you're a leader, culture builder, or entrepreneur navigating people challenges -this one is a must-listen.

In this powerful and candid conversation, George Croft- Senior Advisor at First Key Consulting and Non-Executive Board Member at BrewDog - joins Jason Taylor to reflect on a leadership journey that spans decades in the beverage industry. From his humble beginnings at Labatt to transforming Waterloo Brewing into a national player, George shares how persistence, people-first leadership, and radical candor shaped his approach and legacy.

This episode is a masterclass in leading with values, building resilient teams, and making the tough calls when it counts. Whether you’re scaling a company or growing your career, George’s wisdom will challenge and inspire you.

In this episode of The People Playbook, I sit down with Steven Wright, President and CEO of Focus, to unpack one of the most common - and costly - misconceptions in sales: the belief that success comes from hiring the elusive sales “rockstar.”

Steven shares how his team helps growth-minded business owners scale by installing systems, structure, and leadership that empower average performers to become great - and great performers to thrive without the business owner micromanaging every deal.

We talk about:
✔ The dangers of chasing unicorn salespeople
✔ Building a sales engine that’s scalable and predictable
✔ How to balance structure with human flexibility
✔ Real-world stories of sales teams transformed
✔ What business owners must let go of to truly lead

If you're tired of being stuck in sales management mode and want to build a self-sustaining growth machine - this conversation is for you.

In this episode of The People Playbook, host Jason Taylor sits down with John Evans - award-winning entrepreneur, proud millennial franchisor, and founder of EverLine Coatings. What started as a small pavement marking business in Calgary is now a $51M franchise network spanning North America.

John shares how he scaled EverLine by mastering people leadership, building systems, and disrupting an overlooked industry. From battling self-doubt to expanding into the U.S. market during a pandemic, this candid conversation unpacks lessons in leadership, trust, and how to stay authentic in a world increasingly driven by AI.

If you want to hear how bold leadership and people-first culture can turn the “unsexy” into unstoppable success, this episode is for you.