Ep. 268: Stonepeak CEO was shaped by rugby league, cricket, and growing up in a working-class farming town in Australia. Today he's built a career on Wall Street, but the personality that took him there was forged on fields where teammates and opponents alike gave each other unfiltered honesty — and expected the same in return.

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In my new role as Publisher at Forbes Books and with the incredible resources and expertise of their team, we're making it easier than ever to help YOU to tell your story. Send us a message here to get started: https://books.forbes.com/don/

Looking for a speaker for your next event?

From more than 30 years of interviewing and studying the greatest winners of all time Don offers these live and virtual presentations built to inspire your team towards personal and professional greatness.

Special thanks to Sophia Fusco and Johnny Levin for making this episode possible.

Ep. 267: Harvard Golf and playing at Whisper Rock alongside Jon Rahm, Wyndham Clark, and Max Homa shaped Josh Isner's understanding of what winning really requires — and it shows in how he leads one of the most competitive companies in America.

Axon is the $45 billion public safety company behind body cameras and life-saving technology protecting law enforcement and first responders across the country.

In this episode, you will learn:

• Why the best mentors are never assigned — and how Luke Larson, a Marine Corps officer just one year ahead of Josh at Axon, chose to invest in him and deliver the one line that transformed his leadership: "It's not what you say — it's what they hear."
• How the advice, "It's not what you say; it's what they hear," reshaped the way he communicates, coaches, and leads.
• How playing alongside the world's top golfers at Whisper Rock revealed the mindset shift that separates good from great — and how Josh applied it to his leadership.

Download a free chapter of Don Yaeger's new book on mastering The Business of Storytelling

Do you want to write a book? In my new role as Publisher at Forbes Books and with the incredible resources and expertise of their team, we're making it easier than ever to help YOU to tell your story. Send us a message here to get started: https://books.forbes.com/don/

Looking for a speaker for your next event? From more than 30 years of interviewing and studying the greatest winners of all time Don offers these live and virtual presentations built to inspire your team towards personal and professional greatness.

Special thanks to Lilly Mae Stewart and Abbie Brandt for making this episode possible.

Ep. 266: Long before he was CEO of Deloitte US, Jason Girzadas was on the pitcher's mound with the bases loaded, his team up by one run, and his coach walking out to deliver the kind of feedback that sticks for a lifetime.

In this episode, you will hear the lesson he learned, PLUS:

• How to fight complacency inside a historically successful organization — and keep your people hungry

• Why "know yourself so you can be yourself" is not a soft idea but a leadership prerequisite

• How timely, direct, one-on-one feedback creates a domino effect of accountability across an entire organization

Do you want to write a book? In my new role as Publisher at Forbes Books and with the incredible resources and expertise of their team, we're making it easier than ever to help YOU to tell your story. Send us a message here to get started: https://books.forbes.com/don/

Looking for a speaker for your next event? From more than 30 years of interviewing and studying the greatest winners of all time Don offers these live and virtual presentations built to inspire your team towards personal and professional greatness.

Special thanks to Danielle Cadena and Abbie Brandt for making this episode possible.

Ep. 265: As Head of Client Solutions and Wealth Management at Guardian Life Insurance, Mike has learned that the most transformational moments in business look a lot like cycling: riders who trust each other, rotate leadership, and communicate constantly can cover ground together that no one could cover alone.

In this episode, you will learn:

• How finding a coach — whether on a bike or in a boardroom — speeds up every kind of growth.

• Why the best response to a crisis is not reacting to the event itself, but locking onto what you can actually control.

• How making space for every voice in the room doesn't just improve morale — it produces better ideas and stronger teams.

Do you want to write a book? In my new role as Publisher at Forbes Books and with the incredible resources and expertise of their team, we're making it easier than ever to help YOU to tell your story. Send us a message here to get started: https://books.forbes.com/don/

Looking for a speaker for your next event? From more than 30 years of interviewing and studying the greatest winners of all time Don offers these live and virtual presentations built to inspire your team towards personal and professional greatness.

Special thanks to Guillermo Orellana and Johnathan Levin for making this episode possible.

Ep. 264: Playing high school golf in Michigan and winning the Upper Peninsula State Championship shaped this CEO who led Wendy's through a decade of global growth before stepping into the CEO role at Papa John's after a very brief retirement.

Today, Todd Penegor brings that same team-first mentality to every leadership table he sits at — and in this conversation, he shares exactly how.

In this conversation, Todd shares how he thinks about developing next-generation leaders, why he believes a CEO's job looks more like an offensive lineman than a quarterback, and what it really takes to earn both the heads and hearts of a franchise community.

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Do you want to write a book? In my new role as Publisher at Forbes Books and with the incredible resources and expertise of their team, we're making it easier than ever to help YOU to tell your story. Send us a message here to get started:https://books.forbes.com/don/

Looking for a speaker for your next event? From more than 30 years of interviewing and studying the greatest winners of all time Don offers these live and virtual presentations built to inspire your team towards personal and professional greatness.

Special thanks to Abigail Brandt and Danielle Cadena for making this episode possible.

Ep. 263: With a resume that includes StubHub President and Google President of Asia Pacific and Latin America, this technology exec joins the show talk about how tennis shaped her, and the way she now is involved in ownership of the Toronto Tempo!

In this episode, you will learn:

• Why pre-morteming failure shrinks fear and drives real action

• Why the who you work for will always matter more than the what

• How modeling imperfection — not perfection — creates psychological safety on your team

• How to find passion in your work, not just find work you're passionate about

Do you want to write a book? In my new role as Publisher at Forbes Books and with the incredible resources and expertise of their team, we're making it easier than ever to help YOU to tell your story. Send us a message here to get started: https://books.forbes.com/don/

Looking for a speaker for your next event? From more than 30 years of interviewing and studying the greatest winners of all time Don offers these live and virtual presentations built to inspire your team towards personal and professional greatness.

Special thanks to Amelia Prieto and Johnathan Levin for making this episode possible.

Ep. 262: What conditions do you actually need to perform at your best? Emmy award-winning chef Giada De Laurentiis shares that knowing your non-negotiables is the key ingredient.

Don't miss these amazing stories on this episode:

• Food is connection. When Giada moved to the US from Italy, she struggled with the language barrier. But food became the great translator. "Food was the thing that could connect me to other people and maybe start to forget some kind of community," she said.
• Keep your recipes. As an Italian-born chef living in the US, Giada wonders how to balance being herself with preserving culture. "How do I gain my independence but still hold onto what I feel like is my identity and my grounding?" she said. Ultimately, she tries to put it all in the food.
• A kitchen is like a ballet. The best teams feel as if everyone is on a string, like each person is moving in unison together. Giada likens that to a dance. "The kitchen is like a dance, right? It's like a ballet—it really takes precision," she said.