The Middle Is Gone: 5 Leadership Moves Top Experts Are Making in 2026

Full Episode Page: The Middle Is Gone: 5 Leadership Moves Top Experts Are Making in 2026 This is a solo episode of The Business Owner's Journey with host Nick Berry, pulling together insights from six Season 3 guests to map out the leadership moves expert business owners need to make right now. Six months into 2026, AI handles average work and expertise is being commoditized faster than ever. The middle 60% of experts can't coast on credentials or effort anymore. Nick pulls clips from Joe Gannon, Dr. Benjamin Hardy, Katelyn Bourgoin, Natasha Walstra, Debbie Oster, and Jordan DiPietro to lay out five leadership moves for expert business owners. If your positioning, content, or value proposition sounds like something AI could generate, you're already invisible to the people who don't know you yet. You'll Hear Why AI exposed the middle 60% of experts, not replaced them How radical honesty unlocks every leadership move that follows What an ownable idea is and why expertise alone won't cut it Why most experts hide their trophies instead of showing up How narrowing your audience opens more opportunity, not less Why the best founders build support systems for harder calls Links 5 Stages of the Business Owner's Journey Five Ceilings for Expertise Businesses Featured Guests & Episodes Joe Gannon Episode: AI, Authority and Personal Branding for Founders Dr. Benjamin Hardy Episode: The Science of Scaling and Why 10x Changes Leadership Katelyn Bourgoin Episode: Buyer Psychology and the Ownable Idea Natasha Walstra Episode: Personal Branding and LinkedIn Strategies Debbie Oster Episode: Messaging Strategy, Marketing Leadership, and Agency Jordan DiPietro Episode: The 3H Leadership Framework Chapters 00:00 Mid-Year 2026 Business Recap 01:46 Joe Gannon: The Middle Is Gone and AI's Impact on Expert Businesses 02:36 Five Leadership Moves for Expert Business Owners 03:06 Dr. Benjamin Hardy: Tell Yourself the Truth 04:31 Why Working Harder Won't Move You Up 05:05 Katelyn Bourgoin: Build an Ownable Idea 09:37 Natasha Walstra: Stop Hiding and Stand Out as an Expert 11:07 Debbie Oster: Decide Who You Are Not For 14:13 Jordan DiPietro: Don't Go It Alone 17:25 One Shift, Five Moves, What's Next The Business Owner's Journey podcast is where entrepreneurs, leaders, and innovators join entrepreneur Nick Berry to share stories, challenges, and strategies from their journeys as business owners. Nick Berry is an entrepreneur and business advisor, known for creating the Business Alignment System™ and The 5 Stages of the Business Owner’s Journey™. He offers a (free) personalized 90-Day Business Growth Roadmap telling you exactly where you are today and what specific steps to take next. 🟢 Official: NickBerry.info. tBOJ is hosted by Nick Berry, produced by Nick Berry, Kelly Berry & FCG.  🟢 Sponsors: Redesigned.Business, Authority Coded, FR, Entrepreneur's Edge