Jim sits down with Sara Blackmer, retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel, senior partner at Salaiko Capital, and CEO of FluidLogic. This conversation is about leadership that holds up in the real world, not theory.

You’ll hear how discipline creates clarity, why servant leadership is the fastest path to high performance, and how confidence is built through repetition and daily wins. They also get into team dynamics, role alignment, and why movement is not the same thing as momentum. 

If you’re serious about building winning cultures and making better decisions with your time and money, this episode hits.

What You’ll Learn

• Confidence is built through preparation, repetition, and proof
• Servant leadership means taking care of people so they can take care of the mission
• Discipline creates focus and alignment
• High-performing teams beat even the most talented individuals every time
• When you fully commit to what you say yes to, opportunities show up you could not have predicted

Action Steps

1. Start the day with order
   Make your bed. Get one win on the board early. Your mindset follows your actions. 
2. Create role clarity
   If someone cannot explain how their role impacts the mission, you have a leadership problem, not a talent problem. 
3. Serve your team daily
   Ask: “What roadblock can I remove for you today?” Then do it.

Sara Blackmer’s Final Word

“Give all of yourself to what you say yes to. If you do that again and again, opportunities will come in ways you never expected.”

Chapters

00:00 Aim High and the Power of Military Leadership
03:05 Confidence as a Skill, Not a Personality Trait
10:30 Daily Discipline and Why Small Wins Matter
14:40 Servant Leadership and Taking Care of Your People
20:15 Discipline, Alignment, and Mission Clarity
24:45 Women, Engineering, and Owning Your Strengths
27:40 Why Teams Always Beat Individual Talent
33:20 Intelligent Hydration and Peak Performance
40:55 Alternative Investing and Breaking Away From the Herd
41:50 The Best Advice Ever Given, Kill the Job You Have
44:30 Books That Shape Leaders and Winning Cultures

Connect with Sara Blackmer:

Website: www.solycocapital.com
Website: https://fluidlogic.com/
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/sara-blackmer-bb44b25/

Connect with Jim Oliver:

Facebook: CreateTailwind & Jim Oliver
Website: https://createtailwind.com/
YouTube: CreateTailwind
LinkedIn: Jim Oliver

Join the free CreateTailwind Community: https://community.createtailwind.com/