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Ep. 274: Playing football and basketball shaped this CEO who oversees 32,000 financial advisors and $2.6 trillion in assets. You will learn: What getting benched after an 0-6 start to his high school football season taught Rich about the impact of his effort on others. Why HOW you win matters just as much as WHAT you accomplish—and why LPL uses it as the deciding factor when evaluating talent. How unexpected "surprise and delight" moments can create a culture where people feel valued and celebrated. 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 Abbie Brandt for making this episode possible.

Ep. 273: Six months before his daughter's wedding, he got a diagnosis: liver cancer, less than six months to live. Three years of treatment later, and now he's Chairman, President and CEO of Southern Company — a company that just ranked #1 in its industry on Fortune's World's Most Admired Companies list. On this episode, you will learn:  Why he tells his team "I can't do anything by myself" — and means it How vulnerability, not authority, built trust across 30,000 employees What it actually takes to avoid complacency after you've already won 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 for making this episode possible.

Ep. 272: The Business of Storytelling hit shelves this week and Simon Sinek is here to celebrate! Join us for this special edition episode to learn: Why you should treat every story like a jigsaw puzzle Why AI can write a great story, but can't make you a better storyteller The Disneyland detail that reveals the real power of a company's origin story Why "I've heard this story..." might be the most underrated four words in 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 Abbie Brandt for making this episode possible.

Ep. 271: The captain was given a choice: grab a rag to help the team wash the windows or hand over the boat. He tapped his epaulettes signaling his rank, "I'm the captain." John fired him. Why? Because the problem was never the windows. It was the belief that his title made certain jobs beneath him. Today, John Waggoner, Founder and Chairman of Victory Cruise Lines, still tells that story during employee orientation. His message is simple: if the owner will sweep the dock, carry the trash, or wash the windows, everyone should be willing to jump in. 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 Will Goodman and Abbie Brandt for making this episode possible.

Ep. 270: Linfield basketball alum Dan McMillan shares how empowering your team to GIVE can create a ripple effect. A grieving customer once received a box of gourmet pears from his insurance company because a claims employee sensed he needed something extra. It turned out pears were his late wife's favorite fruit. Dan, now President and CEO of The Standard, shared the story with his executive team — and today, it's included in strategic materials shared with 30,000 salespeople around the world. On this episode, Dan joins Don Yaeger to talk about: The five words a high school coach gave him that he still lives by 40+ years later How to turn disappointment into development The lesson from a Linfield basketball bench that shaped how he handles every setback since 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 Abbie Brandt for making this episode possible.

Ep. 269: Team Penske has raced in more than 6,600 races and won 10% of them — and they're the winningest team in IndyCar history. This summer, Bud is leading the Freedom 250 Grand Prix, the first-ever IndyCar race in the nation's capital, down Pennsylvania Avenue August 22–23. In this episode, you will learn how a dinner-table idea turned into a presidential executive order and lessons in: Why "it's all in the communication" when you're building trust with people you don't lead Why effort equals results — and why Bud carries a coin with his sons to prove it How to turn a gut-wrenching loss into your team's next strategy session Why he opens meetings with a story instead of a to-do list 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 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 toward personal and professional greatness. Special thanks to Amelia Prieto and Lilly Mae Stewart for making this episode possible.

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. Want to become a better storyteller?  Pre-order Don's new book The Business of Storytelling and become a Founding Member of The Circle of Storytellers. This is a limited experience — it ends at launch. All of these resources are yours FOR FREE the moment your order is confirmed. donyaeger.com/circle  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 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. — 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.   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. https://gr8links.co/bookdon

Ep. 261: Just months after winning his first IndyCar race, Sam Schmidt hit a wall at nearly 200 miles per hour during preseason testing. He was paralyzed from the neck down at 35 years old. Doctors told his wife he wouldn't make it through the night.   Twenty five years later, Sam has co-founded championship racing teams, driven a car at 107 miles per hour using only his head, stood in an exoskeleton to dance with his daughter on her wedding day, and built a foundation helping thousands of others get the rehabilitation they would never otherwise receive.   In No Finish Line, his new memoir—which I had the honor of co-authoring with him—Sam shows what resilience looks like when life refuses to follow the script. ——— 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.

Ep. 260: The Harvard water polo co-captain, who had never played the sport before joining the team,now leads one of the fastest-growing beverage brands in the countrywith the same philosophy that earned her that captaincy: it's not about being the most valuable player. It's about creating the most valuable team. In this episode, you will learn: • Why the "zone of discomfort" is where real leadership growth happens  • How to set goals just beyond what seems possible—and why trust makes them achievable  • Why the jobs we don't like are often the ones with the most to teach us Our BONUS RESOURCE for this episode includes Don's favorite quotes from today's episode and a reflection question so you can apply today's insights. 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.