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We spend a lot of time thinking about what it takes to succeed, but what if identifying the behaviors that guarantee failure could be just as valuable?  Drawing on lessons from UCLA head football coach Bob Chesney and Charlie Munger's famous prescriptions for a life of misery, we examine how identifying destructive behaviors can help us clarify our values and avoid becoming someone we never intended to be. Learn More About Zach: Email Zach -- [email protected] Zach's new website here.Download my free Win More, Live Better Leadership Playbook here.You can watch the video recordings of the podcast on YouTube here.

Jamion Christian is the head men's basketball coach at Bryant University, bringing more than a decade of Division I head coaching experience and an international championship to the Bulldogs. Christian began his head coaching career in 2012 at his alma mater, Mount St. Mary's, becoming one of the youngest Division I head coaches in the country at just 29 years old. During his six seasons leading the Mountaineers, he guided the program to two Northeast Conference Tournament championships and NCAA Tournament appearances in 2014 and 2017. He went on to serve as head coach at Siena College, where he earned MAAC Coach of the Year honors in 2019, before spending three seasons leading the program at George Washington University. Christian's coaching journey also took him overseas to Italy, where he led Pallacanestro Trieste to promotion back to the country's top professional basketball division. Before becoming a head coach, Christian held assistant coaching positions at William & Mary, Bucknell, and VCU. Here's some notable highlights from our conversation: [5:48] — Creating "Forever Relationships" [9:22] — Turning Love Into Daily Behaviors [13:54] — Asking Better Questions [18:43] — Building Confidence By Reinforcing Strengths [23:24] — Accountability Doesn't Require Yelling [27:42] — From Young Tyrant to Intentional Leader [31:12] — Supporting Athlete's Well-being [35:03] — Demand More, React Less [38:36] — What Getting Fired Taught Me [44:12] — Build A Culture Worth Staying For [48:48] — Winning Beyond Basketball Learn More About Zach: Zach's Email -- [email protected] 1:1 coaching with Zach -- Schedule a free call here.Download my free Win More, Live Better Leadership Playbook here.You can watch the video recordings of the podcast on YouTube here.

What if one of your greatest competitive advantages is being willing to look where others won't? Gil Brandt helped revolutionize NFL scouting by finding extraordinary talent in places other organizations overlooked, but his success wasn't simply about thinking differently. It was about knowing exactly what he was looking for, while remaining open-minded about where he might find it. In this episode, we explore what Brandt's unconventional approach can teach us about recognizing potential and finding valuable lessons beyond our own profession. Learn More About Zach: Email Zach -- [email protected] Zach's new website here.Download my free Win More, Live Better Leadership Playbook here.You can watch the video recordings of the podcast on YouTube here.

At the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, Tanzanian marathon runner John Stephen Akhwari finished more than an hour behind the winner. Injured and exhausted, he crossed the finish line long after most spectators had left the stadium. When asked why he continued, his response became one of the most memorable statements in Olympic history. In this episode, we explore what Akhwari’s story teaches us about commitment, purpose, and the mindset required to finish what you start.  Learn More About Zach: Email Zach -- [email protected] 1:1 coaching with Zach -- Schedule a free call here.Download my free Win More, Live Better Leadership Playbook here.You can watch the video recordings of the podcast on YouTube here.

One of the best ways to prepare people for difficult moments is to intentionally create more of them in training. Borrowing inspiration from Olympic gold medalist and Team USA volleyball coach Karch Kiraly, this episode explores an exercise he calls the "escape room" and how to challenge athletes to embrace difficulty, navigate frustration, and develop resilience. Learn More About Zach: Email Zach -- [email protected] 1:1 coaching with Zach -- Schedule a free call here.Download my free Win More, Live Better Leadership Playbook here.You can watch the video recordings of the podcast on YouTube here.

Dr. Barry Davis is a Hall of Fame baseball coach whose career spans nearly four decades and more than 1,000 victories across three levels of college baseball. Barry began his head coaching career at Gloucester County College, where he won four NJCAA Division III national championships and earned four National Coach of the Year awards. He later led Georgia Southwestern to a conference championship and a school-record 49-win season before taking over at Rider University in 2005. Across 21 seasons at Rider, Barry transformed the Broncs into a consistent MAAC contender, winning five conference tournament championships, making five NCAA Regional appearances, and earning three MAAC Coach of the Year honors. In 2026, he returned to lead Rider to the first season in program history featuring both regular-season and tournament championships. Barry also holds a Ph.D. in Sports Leadership and now shares his experience through speaking, coaching, and his book, Old Dog, New Tricks: The Power of Leading with Emotional Intelligence. Here's some notable highlights from our conversation: [5:54] — Returning to Rider as a Different Coach [10:27] — The Gift of Perspective With Stepping Away [14:17] — What Winning Conceals [19:10] — The Greatest Leadership Talk He Ever Heard [24:35] — Barry's Self-Talk Walk [29:03] — Learning to Coach With Empathy [33:30] — Barry's Dissertation on Sustainable Winning Programs [39:27] — Leaders Have to Be Repeaters [46:52] — The EQ Edge [53:57] — Old Dog, New Tricks Book [58:41] — Moving From Knowledge to Execution [1:04:28] — What Comes After 1,000 Wins? [1:08:38] — A Lifetime of Chasing Excellence Learn More About Dr. Davis: Follow Barry and his work here.Explore more resources from Barry here.Learn More About Zach: Zach's Email -- [email protected] 1:1 coaching with Zach -- Schedule a free call here.Download my free Win More, Live Better Leadership Playbook here.You can watch the video recordings of the podcast on YouTube here.

What if you hired someone whose only job was to keep you from reaching your goals? What would they tell you to do? In this episode, Zach explores the concept of red teaming and how thinking like a saboteur can expose the vulnerabilities that might derail you or your team. With references to a famous speech by NFL Head coach, John Harbaugh, and a simple strategic planning team exercise, you'll learn how proactively identifying what could go wrong can help you build the systems, habits, and responses to prevent it. Learn More About Zach: Email Zach -- [email protected] 1:1 coaching with Zach -- Schedule a free call here.Download my free Win More, Live Better Leadership Playbook here.You can watch the video recordings of the podcast on YouTube here.

If you repeated today’s habits and decisions for the next 100 days, would you be closer to what matters most or further away? That question and a lesson from NASA's Apollo missions is at the heart of today's episode. We explore how drift develops, why adjusting your route can help you stay committed to your goals, and how to recover when you veer off course. Whether you’re evaluating your leadership, relationships, or personal routines, this conversation offers a simple way to check your direction and make a purposeful adjustment. Learn More About Zach: Email Zach -- [email protected] 1:1 coaching with Zach -- Schedule a free call here.Download my free Win More, Live Better Leadership Playbook here.You can watch the video recordings of the podcast on YouTube here.

You can’t force someone to change, but you can create the conditions that make change more likely. In this From the Other Side of the Mic episode, Zach joins Billy Allen on the "Coach Your Brains Out" podcast with additional guests Bernie Holliday and Ceci Clark for a wide-ranging conversation about one of the most important (and complicated) parts of coaching and leadership: Helping people change their behavior. They explore why advice alone rarely creates lasting change, how to build greater ownership and buy-in, the role of honest feedback and difficult conversations, why environment can sometimes teach more effectively than a coach, and what leaders can do when growth initially looks and feels like regression. Whether you’re a coach, leader, parent, or teacher, you’re in the behavior-change business. This conversation explores how to help people move forward without trying to force them there.  Learn More About the Coach Your Brains Out Podcast: You can listen to other episodes on the Coach Your Brains Out podcast hereYou can learn more about Billy Allen here:You can learn more about Ceci Craft here:You can learn more about Bernie Holliday here: Learn More About Zach: Email Zach -- [email protected] 1:1 coaching with Zach -- Schedule a free call here.Download my free Win More, Live Better Leadership Playbook here.You can watch the video recordings of the podcast on YouTube here.

To celebrate the production of 300 episodes for Win More, Live Better and more than 40+ conversations with championship coaches across sports, Zach steps back to examine a larger question: What are the common themes great coaches consistently reference for sustaining excellence? In this masterclass episode, Zach references past guest conversations and explores the six core roles and responsibilities that head coaches must master in order to sustain excellence, for themselves and others.  Learn More About Zach: Email Zach -- [email protected] 1:1 coaching with Zach -- Schedule a free call here.Download my free Win More, Live Better Leadership Playbook here.You can watch the video recordings of the podcast on YouTube here.

When it comes to athletes, coaches see their qualities such as competitiveness, perfectionism, insecurity, confidence, work ethic and need to prove people wrong, to name a few. What they don’t always see is where those behaviors and qualities come from. Using Landon Donovan's journey to become a US soccer icon, this episode highlights what he can teach coaches about empathy, the motivation beneath the behaviors we see, and why learning more about where someone has been can help us better support where they’re going. Learn More About Zach: Email Zach -- [email protected] 1:1 coaching with Zach -- Schedule a free call here.Download my free Win More, Live Better Leadership Playbook here.You can watch the video recordings of the podcast on YouTube here.

Leadership requires knowing when to use the mirror and when to use the spotlight. When your team falls short, can you examine your own contribution before pointing elsewhere? When your team succeeds, can you step aside and give others the credit they deserve? Using a story from Tim Cook’s leadership at Apple and a recent leadership workshop, Zach explores why ownership and recognition both require courage and why leaders have to recommit to both again and again. Learn More About Zach: Email Zach -- [email protected] 1:1 coaching with Zach -- Schedule a free call here.Download my free Win More, Live Better Leadership Playbook here.You can watch the video recordings of the podcast on YouTube here.

You can hold the retreat, organize the team-building exercise, bring in the guest speaker, and put your values on the wall, but some of your most important culture-building opportunities happen in the ordinary moments in between. In this episode, we use Zach Mercurio’s research on mattering to explore what happens when people feel seen, heard, valued, and needed (and what happens when they don’t). Learn More About Zach: Email Zach -- [email protected] 1:1 coaching with Zach -- Schedule a free call here.Download my free Win More, Live Better Leadership Playbook here.You can watch the video recordings of the podcast on YouTube here.

Jay Johnson is the head baseball coach at LSU and one of the most accomplished coaches in college baseball. In five seasons at LSU, Johnson has led the Tigers to two national championships, winning the College World Series in 2023 and 2025. He became the fastest coach to win multiple national titles during his tenure at a single school and has twice earned National Coach of the Year honors. His head-coaching journey began at his alma mater, Point Loma Nazarene, before he spent eight seasons as an assistant under Rich Hill at the University of San Diego. Johnson later led Nevada to its first conference championship and guided Arizona to two College World Series appearances, including the championship series in his first season. Across 14 seasons as a head coach, Johnson has won more than 500 games and developed 34 Major Leaguers, including Kris Bryant, Paul Skenes, and Dylan Crews. Five LSU players under Johnson have been selected among the first six picks of the MLB Draft. Here's some notable highlights from our conversation: [5:15] — The Hardest Decision of Jay's Career [8:35] — Coaching Lessons From Rich Hill [13:51] — Model What You Want From the Team [18:04] — Learning Not to Make Losing Personal [20:58] — The Loss That Changed His Leadership [26:25] — Jay Johnson’s Four-Part Hiring Process [30:43] — If Everyone Agrees, Someone Isn’t Needed [34:53] — Defining and Evaluating His Coaching Process [38:38] — Bringing Outside Expertise to Help Your Staff Grow [41:43] — Coaching the Best Pitcher on the Planet [45:57] — Players Confronting and Demanding the Standard [48:55] — What Skip Bertman Meant to Jay Johnson [53:07] — Never Waste a Failure [56:24] — Helping Players Achieve Their Dreams Learn More About Jay: Follow Jay and his coaching journey here.Learn More About Zach: Zach's Email -- [email protected] 1:1 coaching with Zach -- Schedule a free call here.Download my free Win More, Live Better Leadership Playbook here.You can watch the video recordings of the podcast on YouTube here.

Human nature is to expect progress to be steady, visible and linear, but most meaningful goals are accompanied by setbacks, course corrections and periods when you have to take a step backward in order to go forward. Through the metaphor of tacking in sailing, this episode offers a better way to understand the inevitable zig-zags of growth and how to adjust your process in pursuit of goals, without having to change the destination. Learn More About Zach: Email Zach -- [email protected] 1:1 coaching with Zach -- Schedule a free call here.Download my free Win More, Live Better Leadership Playbook here.You can watch the video recordings of the podcast on YouTube here.