Leadership Lessons You Only Learn the Hard Way with Rand Stagen

Great Entrepreneurs Learn When To Pivot with Alan Ezeir

Nobody can predict the next wave that rewrites business, but we can get better at spotting signals, choosing partners, and selling something people truly want. We sit down with Alan, a lifelong entrepreneur and investor whose journey runs from UCLA side hustles to telecom, domain names, and backing founders across industries. His stories are candid, specific, and full of lessons you only earn through repetition, risk, and recovery. For decision-makers dealing with uncertainty—and for any founder who’s ever felt alone in tough calls about pivots, partnerships, or timing—Alan brings a deeply question-driven approach to entrepreneurship. What problem is real enough that people will pay to solve it? What signal matters versus noise? And are you adapting because the market changed, or because fear did? We dig into why sales is the first job of every founder, why distribution is often the real moat, and how to build resilience without sliding into stubbornness. Alan shares what he looks for when investing: timing validation, repeated behavioral patterns, and the character traits that predict who stays standing when markets turn. It’s a form of peer-powered disruption—surrounding yourself with people who sharpen judgment, challenge blind spots, and help you avoid building in isolation. The conversation also explores co-founder fit, “manufacturing serendipity,” and the difference between chasing every opportunity and committing to the right pivot. Sometimes growth means deciding what’s not your problem so energy stays focused where momentum actually exists. Other times it means learning to run toward the roar when the data is incomplete but the opportunity is real. Then we go deeper on the human side of leadership: fear, anxiety, ego, trust, and the subtle ways money can make businesses worse by lowering urgency and dulling creativity. We close with a grounded take on AI in business: don’t worship it, don’t ignore it, and demand real ROI before calling it transformation. For anyone ready to challenge their comfort zone around entrepreneurship, investing, and leadership under uncertainty, this conversation will sharpen your instincts without pretending there are easy answers. Real leaders. Real stories. Real action. Subscribe for more, share this with a founder who needs it, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway: what’s the “cat and cheese” that keeps you moving? 🎙️ Enjoyed this conversation? Subscribe to Your Seat at the Table for more candid discussions on leadership, growth, and the real stories behind the decisions that shape great organizations. 💬 We'd love to hear from you! Share your thoughts in the comments — or let us know what topics you'd like us to explore next. 👉 Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@YourSeatatTheTablePodcast 👉 Listen on Apple Podcasts & Spotify: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1826002539 https://open.spotify.com/show/0fDDb1gvrvsttm4nInRL8Y  👉 Connect with us:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/gmichaelmaddock/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-tobin-a54225/ https://flourishadvisoryboards.com/ https://www.mike-maddock.com/ Pull up a chair. There’s always room for your seat at the table.

Adaptability in an Uncertain World with Cameron Atlas

Change is speeding up, and the leaders who thrive aren’t the ones pretending to be certain—they’re the ones staying curious, staying human, and staying grounded in what they value when the plan breaks. For decision-makers dealing with constant uncertainty—and for any leader who’s ever felt alone in tough calls when the future won’t sit still—we’re joined by Cameron Atlas, leadership speaker, musician, and National Geographic Explorer, to explore what adaptability really looks like in practice. His approach is deeply question-driven: if it all ended today, what haven’t I done yet that I wish I had? Cameron traces the experiences that shaped this mindset—from growing up on a remote farm in Outback Australia to discovering how early technology expanded his world. That blend of isolation and possibility became the foundation for a leadership style rooted in curiosity, resilience, and continuous improvement—one that enables peer-powered disruption by encouraging teams to think, act, and adapt together rather than wait for perfect direction. From there, we get practical. We talk about why CEOs feel stuck when the world changes faster than forecasting models, and how clarity often comes not from better predictions, but from stronger alignment to values, mission, and identity. Cameron shares a gripping Colombia river story that becomes a simple resilience playbook you can use immediately: POGO (Perspective, Ownership, Gratitude, Opportunity). It’s a reminder that sometimes the path forward is found when you choose to run toward the roar instead of resisting uncertainty. We also take on the AI reality head-on: agentic AI, guardrails, critical thinking, and what it means to remain human when tools can do more and more of the work. We explore the growing risks around mental health and loneliness, and why replacing real, friction-filled relationships with AI companionship may solve for convenience while creating deeper leadership blind spots. In a world of accelerating capability, knowing what’s not your problem—and what still deeply is—becomes a defining leadership skill. For anyone ready to challenge their comfort zone and lead with clarity in an AI-driven world, this episode offers a grounded path forward. Real leaders. Real stories. Real action. If you care about leadership, adaptability, resilience, curiosity, and better decision-making, hit subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review. What’s one guardrail you think every team should set before adopting more AI? 🎙️ Enjoyed this conversation? Subscribe to Your Seat at the Table for more candid discussions on leadership, growth, and the real stories behind the decisions that shape great organizations. 💬 We'd love to hear from you! Share your thoughts in the comments — or let us know what topics you'd like us to explore next. 👉 Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@YourSeatatTheTablePodcast 👉 Listen on Apple Podcasts & Spotify: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1826002539 https://open.spotify.com/show/0fDDb1gvrvsttm4nInRL8Y  👉 Connect with us:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/gmichaelmaddock/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-tobin-a54225/ https://flourishadvisoryboards.com/ https://www.mike-maddock.com/ Pull up a chair. There’s always room for your seat at the table.

The Twin Thieves of Leadership with Steve Jones

A butterfly struggles in its cocoon, and a coach resists the urge to cut it open. That image becomes our compass in The Twin Thieves of Leadership as Coach Steve Jones—record-setting high school football coach, educator, and executive coach—unpacks how resilience is built, how culture actually wins, and why fear steals more potential than failure ever could. For decision-makers dealing with pressure to perform—and for any leader who’s ever felt alone in tough calls—Steve offers a question-driven path to stronger teams: Are we building comfort or capacity? Are we rescuing too quickly? Are we rewarding effort or just outcomes? His approach turns culture into a form of peer-powered disruption, where teammates—not titles—protect the ship from ego, entitlement, and complacency. We start with the moments that shape a leader: a hungry new kid, a teacher who noticed, and a quiet act of kindness that changed a life. From there, Steve maps the practices that turned a public school program into a 70-game dynasty and now power executive teams: design culture to drive consistent winning behaviors, make love synonymous with accountability, and build connection through stories, service, and shared struggle. The best cultures aren’t top down—they’re owned horizontally. Then we name the invisible opponents: fear of failure and fear of judgment. Steve has seen them stall high schoolers and CEOs alike. His tools are simple and actionable: create psychological safety for well-earned risk, challenge catastrophic thinking (“Is that 100% true?”), act as your own best coach, and adopt an internal scoreboard that rewards growth and consistency. Sometimes leadership means learning to run toward the roar instead of protecting comfort. Sustained success brings new pressure—Steve calls it a privilege. He explains how to keep noise out of the hull, why trust is a trainable skill built on authenticity and consistency, and why “clear is kind” when fit fails. For anyone ready to challenge their comfort zone as a parent, coach, or executive, this episode is a reminder that productive struggle builds strength—and that sometimes what feels like help is actually harm. Real leaders. Real stories. Real action. If you felt a nudge while listening, follow it. Subscribe, share this with a parent or leader who needs it, and leave a review telling us which tool you’ll try first. 🎙️ Enjoyed this conversation? Subscribe to Your Seat at the Table for more candid discussions on leadership, growth, and the real stories behind the decisions that shape great organizations. 💬 We'd love to hear from you! Share your thoughts in the comments — or let us know what topics you'd like us to explore next. 👉 Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@YourSeatatTheTablePodcast 👉 Listen on Apple Podcasts & Spotify: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1826002539 https://open.spotify.com/show/0fDDb1gvrvsttm4nInRL8Y  👉 Connect with us:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/gmichaelmaddock/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-tobin-a54225/ https://flourishadvisoryboards.com/ https://www.mike-maddock.com/ Pull up a chair. There’s always room for your seat at the table.

Leadership Lessons You Only Learn the Hard Way with Rand Stagen

What if the fastest path to scaling your company isn’t a new strategy—but a new you? In Lessons You Can Only Learn the Hard Way, we sit down with Rand Stagen—entrepreneur, educator, and founder of the Stegen Leadership Academy—to unpack why companies don’t grow; people do. For decision-makers dealing with stalled growth—and for any leader who’s ever felt alone in tough calls at the top—Rand offers a question-driven lens on development: What part of me is capping the business? What discomfort am I avoiding? What’s not your problem anymore that you’re still carrying? We dig into the heart of adult development: growth happens where support and challenge meet. Drawing on research and decades of coaching CEOs, Rand shows how the right kind of discomfort rewires habits, expands leadership range, and reduces reactivity. He surfaces the quiet question leaders rarely say aloud—“What if I don’t know?”—and reframes vulnerability as a strategic capability. Context matters. Sometimes armor protects the mission; sometimes taking it off creates the clarity your team needs. The conversation turns candid when Rand admits how founder heroics kept his company small. Fear of losing soul created a growth “governor,” until trusted peers stepped in—an act of peer-powered disruption that forced reinvention. By codifying first principles and designing constraints that scale beyond personality, his team doubled impact without diluting purpose. It’s a powerful example of learning to run toward the roar instead of managing around it. We also explore long-term culture building, why short investor horizons sabotage real transformation, and how turning alumni into coaches creates a multiplier effect that outlives any single initiative. Through multiple lenses—self-awareness, accountability, culture, capital, and courage—Rand shows that sustainable growth is less about tactics and more about disciplined inner work. For anyone ready to challenge their comfort zone, this episode is a reset. Write down your non-negotiables. Own development at the top. Seek rooms that expose blind spots. True friends stab you in the front—invite them in, learn fast, and keep practicing. Real leaders. Real stories. Real action. Subscribe, share this with a leader who needs it, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway—where will you add more challenge or more support this week? 🎙️ Enjoyed this conversation? Subscribe to Your Seat at the Table for more candid discussions on leadership, growth, and the real stories behind the decisions that shape great organizations. 💬 We'd love to hear from you! Share your thoughts in the comments — or let us know what topics you'd like us to explore next. 👉 Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@YourSeatatTheTablePodcast 👉 Listen on Apple Podcasts & Spotify: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1826002539 https://open.spotify.com/show/0fDDb1gvrvsttm4nInRL8Y  👉 Connect with us:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/gmichaelmaddock/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-tobin-a54225/ https://flourishadvisoryboards.com/ https://www.mike-maddock.com/ Pull up a chair. There’s always room for your seat at the table.

The 4 Forces of Growth with Kevin Lawrence

What actually makes a company keep climbing when so many stall on a tidy plateau? We sat down with Kevin Lawrence—CEO coach, Scaling Up contributor, and author of The Four Forces of Growth—to unpack why well-run organizations quietly stop growing and how leaders can reignite momentum without blowing up what works. For decision-makers dealing with stalled momentum—and for any leader who’s ever felt alone in tough calls about people, structure, or strategy—Kevin brings a question-driven approach to growth. Where exactly did the plateau begin? What changed in behavior, not just metrics? And what’s become not your problem that you’re still carrying anyway? Kevin’s path from kid entrepreneur to global coach sets the stage for a candid look at the “loyalty liability,” where founders hold on to beloved executives long after the role has outgrown them. He describes the leap from pond hockey to the NHL of leadership, embracing Jim Collins’ “first who, then what,” and building the courage muscle that turns smart opportunities into real thrust. Sometimes growth requires you to run toward the roar—making the people call you’ve been postponing or confronting the comfort that’s quietly calcifying culture. We also unpack the seduction of streamlining: the drift toward problem-solving that polishes margins while starving expansion. Kevin reframes sustainable scaling through practical lenses—economic drivers, talent intensity, cultural clarity, market relevance, and disciplined execution—showing how focused alignment can create peer-powered disruption inside the organization without chaos. You’ll leave with tools you can use this quarter: * Find your X—the core unit that drives your economics—and make it visible so pricing and mix don’t mask decay. * Protect new X by tracking new accounts and adjacencies, turning farmers back into hunters. * Set your smack list of non-negotiables to avoid a common trap: hiring an impressive president, then abdicating the operating system that made you great. * Keep founder mojo inside the company by carving a lane for intuition and asymmetric bets instead of letting that creative spark drift away. For anyone ready to challenge their comfort zone and move from playing not to lose back to playing to win, this episode is a reset. Kevin blends servant leadership with productive paranoia—and reminds us that listening beats selling, and clarity beats charisma. Real leaders. Real stories. Real action. Subscribe, share this episode with your team, and leave a review with one insight you’ll act on this month. 🎙️ Enjoyed this conversation? Subscribe to Your Seat at the Table for more candid discussions on leadership, growth, and the real stories behind the decisions that shape great organizations. 💬 We'd love to hear from you! Share your thoughts in the comments — or let us know what topics you'd like us to explore next. 👉 Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@YourSeatatTheTablePodcast 👉 Listen on Apple Podcasts & Spotify: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1826002539 https://open.spotify.com/show/0fDDb1gvrvsttm4nInRL8Y  👉 Connect with us:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/gmichaelmaddock/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-tobin-a54225/ https://flourishadvisoryboards.com/ https://www.mike-maddock.com/ Pull up a chair. There’s always room for your seat at the table.