Fishing isn’t the same as catching: An interview with John R. Childress
- John R. Childress
- Feb 16
- 1 min read
Fishing is not the same as catching — and leadership isn’t the same as results.
In this episode of Soul of Business with Blaine Bartlett, John Childress joins the conversation to explore what helps strategy and intent travel into execution.
John is co-founder and Chairman of Pyxis Culture Technologies, and previously co-founded the leadership and culture consultancy Senn-Delaney (1978), building it into an international firm supporting senior leadership teams. He has authored 12 books, including Fly Fishing for Leadership.
What this episode covers
The episode is chaptered clearly, so you can jump to the parts most relevant to you:
The soul of business (2:15) — what sits underneath performance, beyond plans and metrics
Co-creation (3:46) — how outcomes are built with people, not “done to” them
Interconnectedness (6:21) — why leadership decisions ripple through systems
The levers of culture (10:18) — the practical mechanisms that shape behaviour at scale
The relationship setting walker (13:38) — a chapter focused on relationships and how they’re set
The 7s model (18:06) — a structured lens for looking at organisational alignment
Leadership Mastermind (22:00) — closing on leadership learning and shared thinking
Why it’s worth your time
If you’re accountable for delivery — especially when pressure is high — this is a conversation that aims to connect leadership behaviour, culture, and systems, and to distinguish intention from outcomes.