The Corporate Couch: Work Stories I Only Tell My Friends

What does it take to walk into a struggling company, make the tough calls, and turn it into a high-performing business?

That’s the world Charlie Cole (see bio below) lives in.

Charlie is a private-equity-backed CEO who has built a reputation for stepping into complex situations and creating momentum fast. From transforming global consumer brands to scaling AI and SaaS platforms, his career has been defined by high-stakes leadership...

What if the real competitive advantage in business isn’t strategy, hustle, or technology… but simply caring?

In this Special Edition episode, Justin Ricklefs returns to the Corporate Couch to discuss his first book, Give A Damn: The Catalyst for Caring Companies.

Justin shares how the book began as scribbles on napkins during a conversation with his wife in a Colorado saloon and turned into a powerful framework for building stronge...

What happens when a pastor, a public servant, and a nonprofit leader decides to buy a coffee shop?

You get Keith Davenport (see bio below), founder of 030 Holding Company, on a mission to bring more and better jobs to Gardner, Kansas, zip code 66030.

Keith’s journey is anything but linear, from a small-town Illinois upbringing with a graduating class of 49… to pastoral ministry… to higher education… to Johnson County, KS government...

In this February edition of It’s 5 O’Clock Somewhere, Marc Shaffer and I pull up a couple of barstools and let you eavesdrop on a conversation that ranges from Kansas City networking rooms to Florida marinas, from Super Bowl parties to superhero costumes.

We kick things off with our new Kansas City business community, “The Table,” a curated group of leaders focused not just on swapping business cards, but actually helping each ...

What do competitive tug-of-war, executive search, career transition, and Kansas City networking have in common?

Gentry Ferguson (see his bio below).

In this episode, Gentry shares a career journey that spans lawn-care entrepreneurship, leadership roles at Garmin and AMC Theatres, a layoff just months before COVID shut down the world, and the bold decision to build what is now Talent Solutions Partners.

We talk about:

• What he ...

What do you get when you combine Division I basketball, 27 years in the U.S. Air Force, a PhD in Organization Development, and a passion for helping small businesses become profitable?

You get Dr. Russ Barnes (see his bio below).

In this episode, I reconnect with my former Manhattan College dorm mate, now retired Air Force Colonel, strategist, author, and founder of Systro Solutions, for a wide-ranging conversation about leadership...

What happens when a dream career collides with real life and real priorities?

In this episode, I sit down with Paul Sullivan (see bio below), a longtime New York Times columnist, author, and founder of The Company of Dads, to explore a career journey that spans elite journalism, bestselling books, keynote stages, and ultimately, a bold reinvention.

Paul shares how growing up in a working-class Massachusetts town shaped his ambition...

Do you hate work meetings? Meetings consume more time than any other business process, and yet they’re often the most frustrating part of the workday. According to Rebecca Hinds (see her bio below), that’s not a coincidence. It’s a design problem.

Rebecca is a leading expert on organizational behavior and the future of work, with deep experience at the intersection of research, technology, and real-world execution. In this conversa...

The first It’s 5 O’Clock Somewhere of the new year felt less like goal setting and more like catching up with a friend who knows you well enough to keep it real.

In this January conversation, Marc Shaffer and I ease into 2026 by talking about what actually matters when the calendar flips: health, energy, relationships, and letting go of the pressure to start the year at full throttle. We swap stories about holiday parties that got ...

What if being a great leader isn’t about having all the answers, but about how people feel when they’re around you?

In this episode, Jason Young (see bio below) joins me on The Corporate Couch for a wide-ranging, candid conversation about leadership, emotional intelligence, burnout, and why “likability” may be one of the most underrated leadership skills in business today.

Jason shares stories from his early life, formative mentors...

In this powerful episode, Jeff Pelaccio sits down with Seth Deutsch (see his bio below), founder of Samson Partners Group and former President and CEO of multi-billion-dollar divisions at AECOM. Seth shares his unconventional journey from Division I basketball player at Rice University to leading global teams across 80 countries and executing over 70 a...

Frank Keck (see his bio below) believes leadership starts with being fully yourself and laughing a little more along the way.

With over 25 years of experience helping leaders and teams communicate better, Frank blends humor, neuroscience, and real-world insight to show why people thrive when they feel seen, heard, and empowered. In this conversation, he shares how his journey from teaching Dale Carnegie courses to building a speaki...

Rich Chungong’s (see his bio below) story is anything but linear, and that’s exactly the point. A former professional football player, lifelong gamer, and naturally curious builder, Rich has reinvented himself at the intersection of Web3, AI, gaming, and community-driven innovation.

In this conversation, Rich shares how the abrupt pause of the 2020 pandemic forced him to confront a question many athletes and high performers eventua...

Todd Ziegler (see his bio below) has seen the trucking industry from angles most people never do, from stolen loads of six-figure filet mignon to the quiet financial mechanics that determine whether carriers survive or fail. And according to Todd, the biggest issue in trucking isn’t drivers, trucks, or capacity. It’s how long it takes people to get paid and how much it costs them to wait.

Todd is a seasoned C-suite transportation v...

In this December edition of It’s 5 O’Clock Somewhere, Marc Shaffer and I wrap up the year the only way we know how by catching up like old friends over a wide-ranging, unscripted conversation that blends business, life, laughter, and reflection.

We talk about the blur between November and December, holiday parties, birthdays, book parties (not book launches), and the reality of trying to slow down during the busiest time of the yea...

Casey Wright’s (see his bio below) career has been shaped as much by people and perseverance as by placements and performance. As President and Owner of Chief of Staff KC, he brings nearly two decades of recruiting experience and a deeply relational approach to helping companies and professionals find the right fit far beyond what an algorithm or job board can deliver.

The conversation traces Casey’s journey from a football-playing...

Shannon Nash’s (see her bio below) career doesn’t follow a straight line—and that’s exactly the point. Attorney. CPA. CFO. Board director. Podcast host. Film producer. Zumba instructor. Her journey is a masterclass in saying yes to growth, even when it means rewriting the plan entirely.

In this conversation, Shannon shares how growing up between the Midwest and the East Coast, sitting outside law school classrooms as a child, and w...

Lori Tauber Marcus (see her bio below) has lived a career many only dream about, 24 years rising through the ranks at PepsiCo during the height of the Cola Wars, followed by C-suite roles at The Children’s Place, Keurig Green Mountain, and Peloton. But what makes Lori remarkable isn’t just her résumé. It’s her candor, her humor, and her relentless commitment to helping leaders build workplaces where everyone can thrive.

In our wide...

Lindsay Howerton’s (see her bio below) leadership journey begins long before she coached executives, scaled companies, or became a sought-after fractional COO. It starts with a 10-year-old kid in rural Missouri waking up at 2:30 a.m., layering up against the winter cold, and heading out to tend hogs before school.

That grit never left her...it just evolved.

Today, Lindsay is a performance coach, operational strategist, and property...