After a decade running Acumen, Dan Cooper took a full month off, no email, no meetings, no contact with his team. In this episode, he sits down with David Ellis to unpack what he learned about rest, trust, identity, and leadership once the business was stripped away for thirty days, including what his team did with the authority he left behind.

In this episode of The Sharpen Podcast, host Steve Van Diest sits down with Steve Donnigan, founder of A65 Consulting and a fellow member of the Acumen community, to talk about the eight-year journey of building a boutique contract engineering firm that helps medical device companies bring life-changing products to market.

Together, they look back on the calculated leap out of a stable engineering job, the brutal test of losing major clients and income during 2020, and the slow, ongoing work of learning to trust God and trust a team rather than trying to do everything alone.

Connect with Steve on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevedonnigan/

Learn more about A65 Consulting: https://a65consulting.com/

Learn more about Acumen and Peer Advisory Teams: https://go.acumenimpact.com/why-acumen

Blake Moroney built a lifestyle business spanning landscaping, a national car dealership, and real estate — all run as divisions of one company, alongside his wife and business partner, Paige.

In this episode, Blake shares how two personal tragedies reshaped his definition of "enough," why he walked away from his longest-running business, and why he's now focused on acquiring local, family-owned Kansas City businesses instead of chasing the biggest exit.

Financial advisor Shane Bauman joins the Sharpen Podcast to talk about the shame so many of us carry around money, why true wealth is closer to wholeness than a portfolio number, and how to pass down values, not just assets, as a real inheritance.

Connect with Shane at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shanebauman/

Learn more about Rise Wealth Strategies at: risewealth.org

Learn more about Acumen: https://go.acumenimpact.com/why-acumen

In this episode of The Sharpen Podcast, hosts Dan Cooper and Steve Van Diest celebrate the 50th episode and reflect on 15 years of Acumen.

Together, they discuss what they have learned from working with CEOs and business owners, including the value of peer advisory teams, honest feedback, trusted community, faith-infused leadership, and stewardship.

Learn more about Acumen: https://acumenimpact.com

In this episode of The Sharpen Podcast, Drew Hiss sits down with Bobby Gruenewald, pastor and innovation leader at Life.Church and founder and CEO of YouVersion.

Bobby shares his journey from early entrepreneurship to Life.Church, the story behind the Bible App, and the leadership lessons learned along the way.

Connect with Bobby:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobbygruenewald/
https://www.youversion.com

Learn more about Acumen:

https://acumenimpact.com

In this episode of The Sharpen Podcast, Steve Van Diest sits down with Dan Martella, who leads business development for Bennett Thrasher. They discuss how growth-minded business owners can move beyond reactive compliance and build advisory relationships that support stronger decisions, better capacity, and long-term growth.

Dan shares insight on state and local tax challenges, founder-led sales, owner dependency, business valuation, delegation, professional advice, and the personal leadership work required to let go of control and show up with authenticity.

Learn more about Dan and Bennett Thrasher here: https://www.btcpa.net or connect on LinkedIn

Learn more about Acumen: https://acumenimpact.com

In this episode of The Sharpen Podcast, Dan Cooper sits down with Merle Mees of Soulcare Matters to talk about the hidden cost of leadership pressure, the warning signs of soul depletion, and the rhythms that help leaders recover clarity, rest, and wholeness.

Merle shares his own story of burnout and explains why soul care is not just another responsibility. It is the work of tending to the inner life that shapes how leaders show up for their families, teams, organizations, and calling.

Connect with Guest:

Learn more about Soul Care Matters or connect with Merle on LinkedIn.

Learn more about Acumen: https://acumenimpact.com