Episodes

🧠 Erik’s Take After reflecting on his conversation with Adam Plouffe, Erik realized something important: some of the most brilliant leadership thinking in the world lives quietly inside companies we rarely hear about. Adam ma...

Adam Plouffe has spent decades leading inside an industry most people rarely think about—but one that quietly shapes the global economy: steel. As COO of Brunswick Steel, Adam operates at the intersection of supply chains, ta...

This episode marks the beginning of a new weekly series featuring Justin Coats—AI expert, co-founder of Learn Air, and now recurring co-host. Erik brings his biggest questions about AI in business, and Justin brings grounded,...

In this conversation, Erik and Alli unpack a deceptively simple leadership dilemma: Should you step in and do the work to prove you're ready for the next level—or hold back to avoid being taken advantage of? What unfolds is a...

🧠 Erik’s Take In this reflection episode, Erik steps back from his conversation with legal commentator and Young Voices contributor Addison Hosner to unpack the deeper themes that emerged. What stood out most wasn’t just the ...

In this episode, Erik sits down with attorney and nonprofit executive Addison Hosner to unpack the realities behind the legal profession — from burnout in family law to the structural incentives that shape how justice is prac...

Mass layoffs, uncertainty, and pressure to perform—this conversation tackles one of the hardest realities leaders face: guiding a team through chaos when you don’t have answers yourself. Erik and Alli unpack what leadership a...

After his conversation with Patrick Guerette, Erik reflects on a simple but uncomfortable idea: we may be measuring success completely wrong. In sports, success is usually measured by medals, championships, and rankings. But ...

In this conversation, Erik sits down with Patrick Guerette to explore what sports systems can teach us about leadership, development, and long-term performance. Patrick shares insights from his experience in sport and athlete...

The rise of the “mega manager” is real—and it’s breaking traditional leadership models. In this conversation, Erik and Alli unpack what happens when managers go from leading 6–8 people to 12–16 (or more), why it’s happening, ...

🧠 Erik’s Take In this reflection episode, Erik revisits his conversation with Ashley Falsafi and pulls out the leadership principles that stuck with him most — especially around trust, mentorship, and buy-in. What stood out w...

Ashley Falsafi didn’t take the traditional path into sales—or leadership. From operations to high-ticket sales to COO of an oil brokerage education company, Ashley’s journey challenges the myth that you have to “come up throu...

In this episode, Erik and Alli unpack one of the most frustrating leadership scenarios: when growth outpaces execution—and your team’s hard-earned wins start slipping away. Instead of diving into operational fixes, they go de...

🧠 Erik’s Take In this reflective follow-up, Erik unpacks the brilliance behind Charles Byrd’s joint venture framework—and why it hit deeper than just “networking advice.” What stood out wasn’t hype. It was structure. Charles ...

In this conversation, Erik sits down with Charles Byrd—joint venture strategist and founder of PureJV—to unpack the systems, psychology, and subtle habits that turn conversations into million-dollar opportunities. From master...

A real-world leadership scenario sparks a deep, practical conversation between Erik and Alli: how to deliver difficult organizational news that may feel like a step backward for someone—even when it’s the right move. This epi...

🧠 Erik’s Take In this reflection, Erik unpacks his conversation with Andrea Brown — and admits something uncomfortable: he wasn’t fully sold on her exit-strategy-first mindset at first. The big idea that stuck? You don’t have...

In this episode, Erik sits down with business strategist and author Andrea Brown to unpack one of the most misused words in business: strategy. Together, they explore why most companies start with momentum instead of directio...

In this conversation, Erik and returning co-host Alli Murphy unpack a subtle but dangerous pattern in modern leadership: we often reward visibility, speed, and activity instead of real impact. What starts as a question about ...

🧠 Erik’s Take After sitting down with Steve Toomey, Erik found himself less interested in the mechanics of questions—and more interested in the conditions that make them meaningful. The original goal was simple: reverse engin...

In this long-awaited conversation, Erik sits down with longtime friend and mentor Steve Toomey to unpack the art of curiosity, the discipline of presence, and the quiet power of asking better questions. They explore why inter...

In this conversation, Erik and Alli explore a powerful new concept spreading through the workplace: “quiet cracking.” Together they unpack the subtle signals leaders should watch for, the fine line between healthy stress and ...

🧠 Erik’s Take This conversation with Pattie Dale Tye hit on something deeply practical—and deeply uncomfortable. Most of us didn’t intentionally choose our careers based on our aptitudes. We drifted. We followed prestige. We ...

Pattie Dale Tye doesn’t just talk about extraordinary careers—she’s lived one. From a small Southern town to leading multi-billion-dollar divisions at companies like AT&T and Humana, Pattie Dale built a 30+ year C-suite caree...