Strategic Minds

How can leaders develop strategies that adapt to uncertainty and avoid the pitfalls of overconfidence?

In this episode, Rich sits down with Professor Sir Lawrence Freedman — Emeritus Professor of War Studies at King’s College London and one of the world’s leading scholars on strategy, international relations, and military history. Knighted for his contributions and the official historian of the Falklands Campaign, Sir Lawrence ha...

How can you apply the mental training techniques of world-class achievers to maximize your performance?

In this episode, Rich sits down with Dr. Nate Zinsser — performance psychologist, long-time director of West Point’s Center for Enhanced Performance, and author of The Confident Mind. Dr. Zinsser shares practical tools for building unshakable confidence, how to mentally prepare for high-stakes moments, and why envisioning your wi...

If plans don’t always pan out, how can we best prepare for the future? In this episode, Rich sits down with Dr. Frederik G. Pferdt who was Google’s first Chief Innovation Evangelist and is now a Stanford educator and an Executive-in-Residence and Visiting Fellow at NYU Stern. In this conversation, he shares insights into how to ritualize and embody cultural values, how to prepare for the future and the power of choosing to show u...

How does a long-term entrepreneur identify a good idea, scale it, and stay committed to that vision over 30 years?  In this episode, Rich sits down with Angie Hicks, Co-founder and Chief Customer Officer at Angi, formerly Angie’s list. They discuss building a business from the ground up, leading employees and external partners, and maintaining enthusiasm for a long-term goal. 

---------

“ If you don't maintain the cult...

What military strategies and tactics can business leaders leverage to position their companies for success?  In this episode, Rich sits down with four-star General Robert Brown, President and CEO of the Association of the United States Army. General Brown is an experienced commander who has led at every level, from platoon through Army Service Component Command, leading a group of over 100,000 soldiers.  In this conversation, he ...

What strategic thinking techniques can leaders apply from a world poker champion to better position themselves for success?  In this episode, Rich sits down with Darren Elias,  a four time World Poker Tour champion. Darren is ranked number one all time in victories, final tables and cashes on the World Poker Tour and has amassed over $12.5 million in live tournament poker winnings.  

In this conversation, Darren gives us insight i...

What are the business techniques leaders can learn from a Chess Master CEO and how should they be thinking about the future of AI? 

In this episode, Rich sits down with Alan Trefler, a chess master and the Founder and CEO of Pegaystems, the Enterprise Transformation Company that helps organizations Build for Change® with enterprise AI decisioning and workflow automation. Alan has earned multiple patents and overseen the expansion o...

How can you use the principles of neurosurgery to maximize your leadership performance?

In this episode, Rich sits down with Dr. Theodore Schwartz, a pioneering neurosurgeon at Weill Cornell Medicine, known for developing minimally invasive techniques for brain tumor and epilepsy surgery.

Dr. Schwartz explores the mental and physical preparation required for surgery, navigating the challenge of making hundreds of cascading decision...

What does it take to scale a business for sustained success?

In this episode, Rich sits down with Joel Holland, CEO of Harvest Hosts, a unique membership program for RVers offering stays at over 5,000 locations.

Joel shares his entrepreneurial journey founding and growing Storyblocks into a nine-figure business, culminating in a successful sale to a private equity firm. He dives into the real challenges of starting a company, from ...

How can you guide the growth of your people into a competitive advantage? 

In this episode, Rich sits down with Tami Wolownik, Head of People & Organization at Siemens Mobility, where she leads the HR function for 4,000 employees.  Tami discusses one of the biggest strategic resources for any company: talent. She shares practical advice on how to help people create a skills-based future, improve performance management through ...

How can you drive disruptive innovation and gain competitive advantage in a highly-regulated industry? 

In this episode, Rich sits down with Dennis Devine, President and CEO of Alliant Credit Union, one of the largest and fastest-growing credit unions in the United States. Dennis explores how to design differentiated strategies that disrupt industry norms, build a member-centric culture, leverage data for innovation, and form strat...

How do you navigate all of the challenges that come with running a business and transform them into actionable insights that drive continued success? In this episode, Rich sits down with Alex Atzberger, CEO at Optimizely, a digital experience platform that helps more than 10,000 businesses orchestrate their entire content lifecycle, monetize digital experiences and experiment across all customer touchpoints. He and Rich discuss the...

How do you identify and seize opportunities for disruption? In this episode, Rich sits down with Jed Ayres, CEO of ControlUp, a company that helps IT resolve issues faster, prevent tickets, and reduce spending. Jed is widely recognized for the transformational impact he is making on the end user computing industry.  He and Rich discuss innovation, creative thinking and the importance of storytelling in leadership. 

---------

How can you leverage the principles of physics to grow your business? In this episode, Rich sits down with Bob Rogers, CEO of Oii.ai and a PhD in physics who studied supermassive black holes. They discuss how Bob’s background as a scientist informs how he thinks about business, how to know when to pivot in a startup, and how cross-pollinating ideas from different domains leads to innovation for customers and patent-worthy ideas. 

-...

How do you find creative and original ideas? When you do, how do you continue to find them consistently over a long period of time? How do you transform them into strategies that create competitive advantage?   

In this episode, Rich sits down with Bradley Hartmann, CEO of Bradley Hartmann & Co. Bradley has consistently put unique products into the construction industry, innovating within a more traditional industry to great s...

How does a leader evolve the business and their role for future time horizons? In this episode, Rich sits down with Assaf Resnick, CEO of BigPanda. Assaf’s journey is anything but conventional—transitioning from venture capitalist at Sequoia Capital to founding a successful software company. He shares invaluable insights on fostering a first-team culture, maintaining differentiation in a competitive market, and mastering strategy i...

What does it take to lead organizations through change and innovation? In this episode, Rich sits down with Christie Tarantino-Dean, CEO of Institute of Food Technologists (IFT). With over 30 years of experience in association management, Christie has also served as President and CEO of the Association Forum of Chicagoland and Executive Director of the Academy of General Dentistry. She shares insights on the importance of relations...

How do you identify and develop the ideas that generate a multi-billion-dollar business using strategic thinking? In this episode, Rich sits down with Bill Harris, former CEO of TurboTax, PayPal and Intuit, and current founder of Evergreen Money. Bill is a prolific founder and “ideas guy” who has spent 30 years building and leading companies at the intersection of investing, tax and technology. Bill shares his framework for startup...

How does a winning Olympic coach approach strategy?  In this episode, Rich sits down with Hugh McCutcheon, the Assistant Athletics Director and Sport Development Coach at the University of Minnesota. Hugh coached the US Men’s Volleyball team to the gold medal at the 2008 Olympic games, then coached the US Women’s volleyball team to the silver medal at the 2012 Olympic games. He shares his thoughts on coaching, competition, practice...