October 20, 2026
The Inspire Podcast — Practical Leadership for People Who Run Companies
The Inspire Software Origin Story
Why would a founder who had already run a company for 25 years start again? In this episode of The Inspire Podcast Executive Series, Jason Diamond Arnold, Director of Leadership Solutions at Inspire Software, sits down with Chris Wollerman, CEO and Co-Founder of Inspire Software, to tell the story behind Inspire: where it came from, the leadership ideas built into it, and where AI is taking it next.
Chris and his wife, Lynn, co-founded Innova Systems in 1997 after about a decade in big companies with cultures they didn’t enjoy. They spent the next 25 years trying to build a great one, and Inspire grew out of what they learned along the way.
WHAT CEOS CAN TAKE FROM INSPIRE’S STORY
- Make culture a goal, not a byproduct. Creating a great culture was Innova’s main goal for 25 years, and Chris connects it to the engagement, retention and revenue gains that followed.
- Training alone often doesn’t stick. Innova invested in Franklin Covey and Ken Blanchard programs, but people left the classroom with workbooks and the skills weren’t being applied. Inspire was built to put those skills to work week to week.
- Build the framework into the tools. OKRs with lead measures, scoreboards, Four Disciplines of Execution accountability meetings and regular one-on-ones live inside the software. Chris says Innova’s Gallup Q12 engagement scores moved from the middle into the nineties within the first year and stayed there for the next ten years.
- Learn it, test it, report back. Chris describes the University of San Diego executive leadership cohort that shaped Inspire: learn a model over a weekend, try it in your company, and bring the results back the next month.
- Coach to the situation. Inspire supports both Situational Leadership models, from The Center for Leadership Studies and Ken Blanchard’s SL2, and pairs them with personality tools like DISC so leaders can coach each person on each goal the way they need.
- Diagnose before you prescribe. Inspire.ai consulting starts with your business, your culture, your workflows and the tech stack you already have. Clients aren’t asked to buy Inspire.
- What got you here won’t get you there. Chris borrows Marshall Goldsmith’s line to describe what comes next: talking to a central AI assistant like Claude, ChatGPT or Copilot that helps you align goals, plan your big rocks and coach your team, while the human element stays at the center.
SHORT ON TIME?
Watch Chris explain what Inspire is in under two minutes: https://youtu.be/-ubX8dE-YoA
QUESTIONS THIS EPISODE ANSWERS
- What is Inspire Software, and why did Chris Wollerman start it?
- Why build a new platform instead of buying an existing performance management system?
- Why does leadership training so often fail to change how people work?
- How do OKRs, the Four Disciplines of Execution and one-on-ones fit together?
- How does Situational Leadership help managers coach different people on different goals?
- What does Inspire offer beyond the software?
- Where did the name Inspire come from?
- How will AI change the way leaders plan, execute and coach?
WHO THIS VIDEO IS FOR
CEOs, founders, executive teams, and HR leaders at small and mid-sized companies who want culture, strategy, and leadership development to work together, plus anyone curious about the people and ideas behind Inspire.
CHAPTERS
- 0:00 Highlight: from bad cultures to great cultures
- 0:50 Welcome: Jason and Chris
- 2:25 What Inspire is and why Chris started it
- 4:18 Why build Inspire instead of buying a system
- 6:38 The executive leadership program at USD
- 8:07 Covey, Blanchard and a common leadership language
- 10:47 Beyond the software: Inspire.ai consulting
- 12:02 Personality types and Situational Leadership
- 14:11 A partner, not a silver bullet
- 14:57 Where the name Inspire came from
- 17:32 Where Inspire is going next
- 19:46 Wrap-up
ABOUT INSPIRE SOFTWARE
Inspire unifies strategy to the OKRs, performance, recognition, leadership development, planning, and task management that carry it out, in one platform, with coaching from the Inspire team.
INSPIRE YOUR COMPANY!
Talk with an Inspire expert: https://meetings-na2.hubspot.com/bill-pappa?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=inspire-podcast&utm_campaign=inspire-origin-story
What leaders say on G2: https://www.g2.com/products/inspire-software-inspire/reviews
Subscribe to The Inspire Podcast and tell us in the comments what you want Chris and Bill to cover next: https://www.youtube.com/@inspiresoftware
Related Resources
For More on How AI Can Help Executive Leaders Create a Strategy Execution Engine through Continuous Performance Management, read this Inspire article: https://inspiresoftware.com/the-execution-engine/
For More Insights on how to Turn Strategy into Action Through OKRs, read this Inspire article: https://inspiresoftware.com/ai-for-planning-toward-okrs-helps-organizations-turn-strategy-into-action/
Download the free eBook — The Six Steps to a Winning Strategy: https://inspiresoftware.com/resources/ebook-the-6-steps-to-a-winning-strategy/
Get the State of Strategy Execution in 2025 report: https://inspiresoftware.com/resources/the-state-of-strategy-execution-in-2025/
Featured Co-host: Chris Wollerman — CEO and Co-Founder, Inspire Software. Chris has spent his career helping organizations connect strategy, goals, performance, and leadership into a single execution system. About Inspire Software Inspire helps companies align strategy with performance to drive effective execution and employee engagement through meaningful, measurable results. The platform connects strategy, OKRs, continuous performance management, leadership development, and recognition to turn intent into action.
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