Ep. 183: Cal Basketball shaped Dave who was drafted by the Boston Celtics, only to be denied an NBA career because of a player’s strike and injury. But he pivoted to a career in finance and now serves as Co-CEO of Dimensional Fund Advisors.

In the 25 years since he joined, the firm has grown from $10 billion in assets under management to nearly $700 billion. You will learn:

• How to use powerful storytelling to effect changes in corporate culture.
• How to hire “characters with character” rather than clones in your organization.
• The case for involving your most junior people early on in evaluating important hires.

Our BONUS RESOURCE for this episode includes Don’s favorite quotes from today’s episode and a reflection question so you can apply Dave’s insights.

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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 Hannah Edwards for making this episode possible.

Ep. 182: As a four-sport athlete, sports was one area that provided a level-playing field for Brian who grew up in Queens raised by his mom and grandparents. Coaching high school football helped pay his way through UCLA and now the chair and CEO of one of America’s most iconic companies, nearly 2,000-store Target, just shakes his head in wonder as he thinks about just how much he learned from watching UCLA’s John Wooden.

Our BONUS RESOURCE for this episode includes Don’s favorite quotes from today’s episode and a reflection question so you can apply Brian’s insights.

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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 Libby Klemeyer and Daniel Kehn for making this episode possible.

Ep. 181: Colgate Football shaped this leader whose family of companies serves more than 38.5 million people. You will learn how to model calm presence and total responsibility to your team when these qualities are needed most.

Our BONUS RESOURCE for this episode includes Don’s favorite quotes from today’s episode and a reflection question so you can apply Pat’s insights.

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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 Hannah Edwards and Catherine Pattillo for making this episode possible.

Ep. 180: Baseball shaped the founder of the company that grew to more than 250 million subscribers and fundamentally altered how the world experienced media. Lessons include:

• What playing second base taught Marc about the importance of good daily habits.
• Why Netflix decided to have no vacation policy or travel policy.
• How to develop managers to be excellent evaluators of talent.

Our BONUS RESOURCE for this episode includes Don’s favorite quotes from today’s episode and a reflection question so you can apply Marc’s insights.

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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 Nicklas Urban and Samantha Clark for making this episode possible.

Ep. 179: Field Hockey at the University of Pennsylvania shaped this non-profit leader. Good Sports – “a food bank for sporting goods” – just hit their $100 million donation milestone.

If you are a leader who wants to learn how to make a larger impact through your clearly defined mission, you have much to learn from Melissa’s experience building Good Sports!

Our BONUS RESOURCE for this episode includes Don’s favorite quotes from today’s episode and a reflection question so you can apply Melissa’s insights.

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 Libby Klemeyer and Francisco Nunez for making this episode possible.

Ep. 178: Baseball and basketball shaped Jeff who leads 60,000 global tax professionals. While he doesn’t do his own taxes, Jeff does “file” several practical tips in this episode including:

• The best way to begin team meetings by “checking in” and “checking out”
• How to frame questions that are “provocative” but also productive rather than aggressive or alienating.
• How to rescue an unproductive meeting by figuratively getting everyone on your leadership “out on the balcony” to get some distance on what’s going sideways.
• The important difference between the “failing fast” and “learning more” mindsets.

Our BONUS RESOURCE for this episode includes fill-in-the-blank notes and reflection questions.

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 T.J. Percell and Nicklas Urban for making this episode possible.

Ep. 177: Baseball, football, and fencing in college shaped this leader who has received 30 promotions during his decades-long career—showcasing his determination to equip those around him with a team-first mindset that produced an impact across the company. You will learn:

• The critical business lesson he learned from taking a called third strike during a Little League All-Star.
• The difference between leading a team and transforming a team.
• Why risk-taking is essential to swing momentum in your favor.

Our BONUS RESOURCE for this episode includes fill-in-the-blank notes and reflection questions.

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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 Francisco Nunez and Samantha Clark for making this episode possible.

Ep. 176: Steve found himself on the basketball court with Barack Obama growing up in Hawaii! His competitive spirit was on display when he co-founded AOL and lead the second largest merger of all time with the blending of new media AOL and old media Time Warner.

Our BONUS RESOURCE for this episode includes fill-in-the-blank notes and reflection questions. Click here to download the bonus resource.

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 Ethan Salzberg and Francisco Nunez for making this episode possible.