How do you bring autonomous vehicles to an industry that hasn’t fundamentally changed in 200 years — and get century-old regulators on board?

In this episode of CEOs Unscripted, host Jane Gentry sits down with Matt Soule, founder of Parallel and a 13-year SpaceX veteran, to unpack what building rockets taught him about leading change everywhere else. From battery-electric autonomous rail to the messy human side of transformation, Matt shares the leadership principles behind moving a legacy industry forward.

This is a masterclass in mission, ownership, and why the smartest performers build teams instead of protecting turf. Essential listening for any founder or mid-market CEO navigating growth, AI, and organizational change.

Key Topics Covered:

• Why a compelling, clear mission is a company’s greatest recruiting and execution tool
• How diffuse ownership quietly paralyzes organizations — and how to fix it
• Why job descriptions should focus on outcomes, not tasks
• How AI doesn’t break silos — it exposes the ones leadership won’t address
• The compensation and organizational design problems AI forces to the surface
• Why “it’s not the change people resist, it’s the loss” — and how to lead through it
• The SpaceX lesson on engaging regulators early to build trust
• Why every job — even engineering — eventually becomes a sales job
• How to plan with assumptions and triggers instead of rigid annual forecasts
• The interview tactic that separates real problem-solvers from people who simply drop problems

💬 A Few Lines That Stuck With Us:

• “Learning how to do great discovery is the most underrated skill in business.” — Jane Gentry
• “The people who are so good at their job that they eliminate that function — those are the people I want to promote.” — Matt Soule
• “It’s not the change that people resist, it’s the loss.” — Jane Gentry

📌 Episode Timestamps:

• 00:00 — Cold Open: Ownership, Discovery & Doing What’s Best for the Team
• 00:59 — Welcome to CEOs Unscripted
• 02:34 — Meet Matt Soule: From SpaceX to Parallel
• 04:09 — What SpaceX Taught Him About Leadership & Mission
• 05:48 — Mission vs. Clarity: Why Nobody Knows Where the Company’s Going
• 06:52 — Clear Ownership & a Bias Toward Action
• 07:31 — How a Lack of Role Clarity Paralyzes Teams
• 08:44 — Outcomes Over Tasks: Rethinking Job Descriptions
• 09:45 — Tackle Problems as a Team, Not by Territory
• 10:37 — How AI Is Bubbling Up the Silos in Your Org
• 13:30 — AI as a Productivity Amplifier (and Turf-Protection Trap)
• 13:56 — The Sales vs. Client-Support Story: Codifying Silos
• 16:23 — Promote the People Who Eliminate Their Own Function
• 16:29 — The CEO’s Role as Shepherd of Change
• 18:04 — The Incentive for Change in a No-Growth Industry
• 19:04 — Every Job Is a Sales Job
• 19:56 — Leading With Empathy & Curiosity to Drive Change
• 20:32 — It’s Not the Change People Resist — It’s the Loss
• 21:49 — Risk vs. Reward & the Innovator’s Dilemma
• 23:02 — Helping Your People Take Thoughtful Risks
• 25:24 — Why Great Discovery Is the Most Underrated Skill
• 26:52 — Knowing When to Be the Gas and When to Be the Brake
• 28:46 — Shepherding Change at the Federal Level
• 30:59 — The SpaceX Lesson: Engage Regulators Early
• 31:40 — Turning Stakeholders Into Internal Advocates
• 34:48 — Planning for When Success Starts to Break the Company
• 37:52 — Assumption-Based Planning: Thermostats, Not Rearview Mirrors
• 40:15 — Cross-Discipline Teams in a High-Performing Company
• 40:39 — The Engineer Who Had to Learn Sales
• 44:08 — Hiring People Better Than You & Knowing What “Good” Looks Like
• 45:15 — Lessons From Working With Elon Musk
• 47:52 — Interviewing for True Problem-Solvers
• 49:17 — Holding the Tension Between Limited Cash & Big Ambition
• 51:23 — Partnership Over Trickle-Down Solutions
• 51:34 — Closing Thoughts

👤 About Matt Soule:

Matt Soule is the founder of Parallel, a company using battery-electric autonomous vehicles to move more freight by rail. An engineer by background, he spent 20 years in aerospace — including 13 years at SpaceX — before launching Parallel to solve for service quality and flexibility in a 200-year-old industry.

🎙️ About CEOs Unscripted:

CEOs Unscripted is a bi-weekly podcast for mid-market CEOs, featuring real conversations with leaders scaling $10M–$500M businesses. Hosted by Jane Gentry, the show cuts through the fluff and jargon to share honest lessons from CEOs, founders, and executives who’ve been where you are.