Talent gets you through the door. It does not keep you in the room, and it has almost nothing to do with what you become.

Kieren Jack is proof. The last pick in the AFL rookie draft, too small and too slow on paper, he outworked every reason he should not have made it. Kieren played 256 games for the Sydney Swans, co-captained the club, won the 2012 premiership and earned a place in its Hall of Fame. Then he did the harder thing. He walked away at the top and started again, building a whole new career in business where his name meant nothing.

What carries across is the useful part. How do you keep performing when you are running on empty? What actually holds a team together when pressure hits? Why do the people who get knocked down and underestimated often end up the most dangerous?

Recorded live, in a room that was never meant to be a podcast. No script, no second takes. You've got a seat that wasn't on sale.

Whatever you are trying to build, you'll leave this one thinking differently about how you get there.

0:00 Pick 138, a famous surname, and why talent only opens the door
1:50 How the Swans built a dynasty on character, not talent
5:10 Missing the draft, choosing his own sport, and finding his identity
9:20 The 2012 flag, and what that team had that he's never seen again
17:40 Take the baton: the motto that outlived the players who made it
19:15 A season as co-captain, played on empty, in a dressing gown
22:05 When a private family conflict went public before his 200th game
28:10 Twins, no sleep, and what sport does and doesn't teach you about parenting
33:45 Why he studied an MBA mid-career, and why leaving the game made him better
37:00 A $120m deal in four months, and what footy gave him no MBA could
41:05 Joining the West Coast rebuild and flipping the member thank-you
44:55 Premiership to wooden spoon: what went wrong and what a rebuild takes
48:25 Q&A: carrying elite habits into everyday life when structure disappears
49:55 Q&A: what good culture really looks like, and who actually builds it
53:20 Q&A: leading young, learning empathy, and what he'd do differently at 20

You can find Kieren at his LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kieren-jack-b09b2396/
Or at his Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kjack_15/?hl=en

Use Code "PQPODCAST10" to get 10% off your Lumo Coffee order:https://lumocoffee.com/

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