Best Hugues & Rob Podcasts (2025)

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The Mistake That Taught a Future President How to Lead (Altera Digital Health's Marcus Perez) 41:08

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5d ago41:08

41:08

This mistake taught leadership. Marcus Perez, President of Altera Digital Health, shares a moment that unfolded in a helicopter at low altitude (where mistakes don’t get a second chance) and still shapes how he leads today. A rule had been broken the day before. The next day, his commander took the controls. He didn't get lectured. He got something…

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A CEOs' Bold Move That Built Trust FASTER Than Any Speech (Wood Mackenzie's Jason Liu) 17:00

10d ago17:00

17:00

Leadership tests you. Jason Liu, CEO of Wood Mackenzie, felt that test immediately when he stepped into the role right after a major merger. New team. New culture. Everyone watching how he’d show up. Instead of trying to project confidence the traditional way, he made a choice that could’ve easily gone wrong. It didn’t. What surprised me wasn’t the…

1
Shinobi, Crush Roller - Ulaou on the BlisSTer 1:55:43

10d ago1:55:43

1:55:43

Season 7 Episode 21 Episode 210 News Microsoft Open Sources the Zork Trilog eXoWin9x modder just released a fan patch for Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie Super Mario 64 Decomp Gets Ported to PS1 KRAKEN ZX Spectrum MultiClone Topi…

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How a President Built Speed Without Burning Out His Team (Coder's Josh Epstein) 15:28

12d ago15:28

15:28

Pressure felt like leadership (until it wasn’t) Josh Epstein, President & Chief Business Officer at Coder, learned this the hard way. I’ve seen urgency do two very different things to teams. Sometimes it sharpens focus and everything moves faster. Other times, it creates stress, confusion, and quiet burnout—while leaders think they’re “pushing for …

1
Why Half of AI Projects are Failing - CEO of Pluralsight, Erin Gajdalo 24:40

16d ago24:40

24:40

AI failure rates shock me. Erin Gajdalo, CEO of Pluralsight, joined me and what she revealed about why AI projects collapse disturbed me even more.. I expected to talk about tools, frameworks, and roadmaps. Instead, Erin asked me question I wasn’t ready for: “Is your team actually ready for this? How can you even tell?" Um... Because most leaders —…

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Gold Medal Comeback: How a CEO Rebuilt a Broken Team and Made Olympic & Paralympic History (Phil Andrews) 49:04

18d ago49:04

49:04

Winning gold didn’t end the pressure. It intensified it. A truth Phil Andrews, CEO of USA Fencing, came to understand through experience. That’s the incredible story behind Team USA’s recent historic gold… …and the leadership turnaround that made it possible. When I sat down with Phil, I wasn’t expecting what came next. He walked into a sport in cr…

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What Success Never Teaches (RLDatix CEO Dan Michelson) 17:53

22d ago17:53

17:53

Dan Michelson, CEO of RLDatix North America, shared the feedback that reshaped how he leads. When things go well, it can actually blind you to areas where he needed to improve. ...and this is why so many successful leaders often fail. Most top performers don’t realize they’re slipping until someone has the courage to tell them something they didn’t…

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The CEO Who Built a Business That Can’t Win Alone (Hometown CEO Dennis Levene) 15:12

24d ago15:12

15:12

Winning alone is losing. Dennis Levene, CEO of Hometown, bet the business on his customers’ success… and it’s paying off. Most CEOs obsess over market share and margins. Dennis obsessed over a broken system robbing schools of money. And he asked the question that changed everything: “Why should $25 of my $100 school donation go to a fundraising com…

51
FM Towns Marty with Bovine Devine 52:59

24d ago52:59

52:59

Season 7 Episode 20 Episode 209 Rob is Joined by Bovine Devine to talk about the FM Towns Marty! This is a previously recorded special episode to cover some travel time for Rob. Regular episodes will resume soon. Game Club Link Tree Retro Game Club Discord server Bumpers: Raftronaut , Inverse Phase Threads, Facebook, Bluesky, and Instagram managed …

51
Rebecca Heineman Remembrance 34:08

1M ago34:08

34:08

Rebecca's site: https://burgerbecky.com/ Burger lib: https://github.com/Olde-Skuul/burgerlib MobyGames: https://www.mobygames.com/person/343/rebecca-ann-heineman/By Rob from Detroit

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Crüe Ball, Ninja Five-O - Shinto from The Atari Jaguar Game by Game podcast 1:01:05

1M ago1:01:05

1:01:05

Season 7 Episode 19 Episode 208 News How a programmer got Doom to run on a space satellite and what happened next Sonic GX - HOT NEWS as Sonic the Hedgehog has arrived on the Amstrad GX4000 and Amstrad Plus! Classic 1988 NES Action Title 'Ninja Gaiden' Used 'Castlevania' for Inspiration Castlevania Is Being Ported To The (Checks Notes) Atari 2600 T…

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Inside the Quantum CEO's Truth-Driven Comeback (Hugues Meyrath) 12:12

1M ago12:12

12:12

Hugues Meyrath, CEO of Quantum, came back to lead the same company that built his career decades ago — a 45-year-old tech brand powering Hollywood, Space, and even the AI revolution. But when he returned, something was off. The spark was gone. The ownership was gone. And instead of hiding behind strategy decks or consultants, he did something far h…

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The Million Dollar Mistake That Made Him a Better Leader (Pattern's COO, Rob Hahn) 12:04

2M ago12:04

12:04

Ever made a call at work that backfired — big time? Rob Hahn, now COO at Pattern, knows exactly what that feels like. Early in his career as a young leader at Amazon, he faced a decision no leader ever forgets. At just 26 and leading thousands of people, a severe weather warning hit. He made the call to shut everything down. The storm never came. A…

1
Kenneth Cole CEO Shares Their Hidden Advantage (Jed Berger) 15:25

2M ago15:25

15:25

Jed Berger, Kenneth Cole Global President and CEO, is building something rare in business today — a brand that grows because it stands for something bigger. In his third appearance on Lead the Team, Jed reveals the hidden advantage behind Kenneth Cole’s continued success… and how purpose became their ultimate performance driver. “Purpose can’t just…

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The ICEE CEO’s Secret that Became a Billion-Dollar Leadership Strategy (Dan Fachner, CEO J&J Snack Foods) 13:47

2M ago13:47

13:47

It started with a freezer then and became a billion-dollar lesson. Dan Fachner, CEO of J&J Snack Foods — the company behind ICEE, Slush Puppie, and Dippin’ Dots — posted a video on LinkedIn that immediately caught my attention... ...he gets emotional while expressing gratitude to his team for their hard work and dedication. You can see how much he …

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Chip's Challenge, Rolling Thunder - President of TTI / Turbo Zone Direct, Steve Garwood 1:32:47

2M ago1:32:47

1:32:47

Season 7 Episode 18 Episode 207 News Behold: The Lego Game Boy has already been modded to play games for real Macintosh System 7 Ported To X86 With LLM Help Super Mario Bros. speedrunner discovers 'new' levels in The Lost Levels after 39 years The Toasty Guy From Mortal Kombat Has Left The Studio After 30+ Years Another Game Boy Classic Is Getting …

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Jeff Bezos’ 5-Second Rule That’s Powering AI (ActiveCampaign's Chai Atreya, Chief Product Officer) 13:10

2M ago13:10

13:10

Bezos' Law - Chai Atreya, Chief Product Officer at ActiveCampaign, once helped build Amazon Alexa under Jeff Bezos. During one internal review, Bezos made a single comment — short, specific, and completely unexpected — that changed everything. He looked at the team and said: “I want Alexa to respond in under five seconds.” That one sentence forced …

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They Said I Wasn’t Ready — So I Became the CEO (SmartBear's Dan Faulkner) 48:34

2M ago48:34

48:34

He didn’t say he was ready. He proved it quietly. When I sat down with Dan Faulkner, CEO of SmartBear, he told me he was once passed over for a leadership role because he “hadn’t done it before.” The cruelest ceiling isn’t glass — it’s being boxed in by your own expertise. Being great at something… and never trusted with more. Instead of waiting fo…

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Ranking Nintendo Consoles 59:54

2M ago59:54

59:54

Season 7 Episode 17 Episode 206 Rob is Joined by Zach from Absolutely the Best Podcast: A Work in Progress to rank all the Nintendo consoles! This is a previously recorded special episode to cover some travel time for Rob. Regular episodes will resume eventually. Game Club Link Tree Retro Game Club Discord server Bumpers: Raftronaut , Inverse Phase…

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He Led Troops in Combat — Now He Leads Billion-Dollar Companies (Lance Olmsted, President of Copperleaf, an IFS company) 31:28

3M ago31:28

31:28

Leadership Under Fire He Led Troops in Combat — Now He Leads Billion-Dollar Companies I first met Lance Olmsted, now President of IFS Copperleaf, expecting a story about discipline and precision. What I didn’t expect was how deeply human it would be. Lance served as a U.S. Marine. He learned to lead in the most uncertain environments imaginable — w…

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AI Playbook Turns $2M into $134M - CEO, Invisible's Matt Fitzpatrick 42:16

3M ago42:16

42:16

Leaders Miss This Matthew Fitzpatrick, CEO of Invisible Technologies—the #2 fastest-growing AI company in America—leads with a principle many overlook: AI may power the future, but people give it purpose. What makes Matt’s leadership stand out isn’t the speed of growth—it’s the intentionality behind it. He reminds us that real progress doesn’t come…

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Hidden Cost of Leading a $5B Global Company - COO Genpact Americas Jakub Vanek 32:11

3M ago32:11

32:11

Sacrifice No One Sees Jakub Vanek, Chief Operating Officer at Genpact Americas, has moved six times across four countries while scaling teams of thousands inside a $5B global organization. He admits the hidden cost of leadership isn’t just jet lag or late nights in the office—it’s missing his wife’s birthday, missing holidays, and asking himself th…

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Banjo-Kazooie, Castlevania: Bloodlines - Playstation at 30 1:22:11

3M ago1:22:11

1:22:11

Season 7 Episode 16 Episode 205 News Golden Axe Is Being Unofficially Ported To The Atari 2600 Sega Accused Of Using Police To Recover Nintendo Dev Kits It Had "Negligently Disposed Of" Microsoft open-sources its 6502 version of BASIC from 1976 Juergen's 100 MHz 65F02 Microprocessor is designed to work as an Accelerator for 6502 And 65C02 Computers…

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From Setback to $200M Success (COO Playbook) - Andelyn Biosciences', Cyrill Kellerhals 22:40

3M ago22:40

22:40

Under Pressure, Leaders Rise When I spoke with Cyrill Kellerhals, COO of Andelyn Biosciences, I was struck by how calm and grounded he was while describing some of the toughest leadership moments of his career. At Novartis, one of the industry’s legendary companies, he encountered the kind of regulatory challenge that every leader dreads — a moment…

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Tapper, Life Force/Salamander 1:15:21

4M ago1:15:21

1:15:21

Season 7 Episode 15 Episode 204 Zach's podcast: Absolutely the Best Podcast: A Work in Progress News Computer Entertainer has been digitized. Embedded Go as a toolchain, Pi Pico 2, Nintendo 64 CrankBoy Is A Playdate Game Boy Emulator With Impressive Performance Nintendo Of America Once Suggested Pokémon Company Should Give Pikachu Big Naturals, It'…

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How a Submarine Officer’s Biggest Mistake Taught Him Calm CEO Leadership - AeroPost's Camilo Rueda 40:23

4M ago40:23

40:23

Most leaders say they want transparency. But when the pressure’s on, many unintentionally create cultures where people hide mistakes. Camilo Rueda — CEO of Aeropost and former U.S. Navy Submarine Officer — learned this lesson the hard way, thousands of feet below the ocean’s surface. As a young officer, one bad call almost ended his career. In that…

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I Turned a Garage Door Company Into a Tech Powerhouse (14M+ Users) - CEO Jeff Meredith, Chamberlain Group 36:04

4M ago36:04

36:04

Real leadership begins the moment your team starts to doubt you. Jeff Meredith, CEO of Chamberlain Group, has lived that moment. He took a 70-year-old garage door company and transformed it into a global tech powerhouse with 14M+ connected users. But as Jeff shared with me, the toughest part wasn’t the technology or the strategy—it was earning back…

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I Used One Number to Transform My Entire Company (Amy Martin, TruWest CMO) 37:40

4M ago37:40

37:40

Erase silos. Unite the company. Rebuild trust—fast. When I first heard Amy Martin, CMO at TruWest Holdings, talk about her “One Number” strategy the TURNAROUND stopped me in my tracks. She didn’t know if leaders would embrace it… or fight to protect their own KPIs. But once it landed, everything changed: -True C-suite alignment -Faster growth -A cu…

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I Turned a Struggling Startup Into the Backbone of AI (400k+ Engineers)- CEO Revelo, Lucas Mendes 29:40

4M ago29:40

29:40

Everyone tells their teams to “use AI.” But as Lucas Mendes (CEO of Revelo) told me, that almost never works. Employees don’t resist because they’re lazy. They resist because new tools feel intimidating, misunderstood, or disconnected from what really matters in their day-to-day. That’s where leadership comes in. Lucas shared how he turned an almos…

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I Scaled Dropbox to $1 Billion (President Amplitude, Thomas Hansen) 39:16

5M ago39:16

39:16

Thomas Neergaard Hansen — President of Amplitude and former Microsoft and Dropbox executive — proved to me that even the most hard-earned leadership skills aren’t always enough. He’s led billion-dollar teams, navigated career reinventions, and even learned leadership lessons on a windsurfing board. In this episode, he opens up about the next leader…

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Rhyme Rider Kerorican, Gomola Speed - Ryan Ridley 1:58:55

5M ago1:58:55

1:58:55

Season 7 Episode 14 Episode 203 Ryan Ridley (Rick & Morty, Renfield, Star Trek: Lower Decks, etc.) joins for a special interview and Zach is back to cohost the rest of the episode! Zach's show: Absolutely the Best Podcast: A Work in Progress News Weird Al Yankovic's Lost Nintendo Game Is Real and It's Gloriously Insane The X68000 Z Is Getting Its V…

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How is Legoland Building Elite Teams? (Fmr. President Legoland Florida, Franceen Gonzalez) 49:36

5M ago49:36

49:36

Running a theme park isn’t just rides and fun. It’s about leading elite teams that deliver with precision, creativity, and resilience—day in and day out. In this episode of Lead the Team, I sit down with Franceen Gonzales, Former President of Legoland Florida Resort—one of the hidden geniuses behind its success. We cover: - A strategy to inspire pe…

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Why Losing Makes You a Better Leader (CEO of Cyara, Rishi Rana) 36:15

5M ago36:15

36:15

Some Lessons You Only Learn After Failing Rishi Rana—CEO of Cyara and former global product leader at Microsoft—shares the leadership lesson you just can’t learn in a classroom. His career has been incredible having shared the stage with Bill Gates. Tripled revenue in a brutal turnaround. Led global teams under immense pressure. But what stands mos…

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Hi-Octane, Bionic Commando - BovineDevine 1:25:52

5M ago1:25:52

1:25:52

Season 7 Episode 13 Episode 202 BovineDevine links Twitch Bluesky Discord News Canceled, But Nearly Finished Animaniacs Game Has Been Found New Neptune fpga is coming. A Feast Of 1970s Gaming History, And An 8080 Arcade Board Someone got a PS1 emulator running on a DS cartridge, and I'm really impressed Simple GOG client for Linux, Minigalaxy versi…

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Trust AI? Can Leaders Really. (CEO Aprimo, Erik Huddleston) 34:25

5M ago34:25

34:25

If you’re not leading AI… it’s already leading you. Erik Huddleston, CEO of Aprimo and a 6-time exited founder, breaks down what every modern leader needs to understand about scaling with AI—before it’s too late. If you're leading a team and feeling the pressure of speed, complexity, and rising expectations… his message is for you. "AI can produce …

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(Ingram Micro) The Doubt that Drives Fear-President Global Platform, Sanjib Sahoo 37:20

5M ago37:20

37:20

When Ingram Micro Got Tested Sanjib Sahoo, President of Ingram Micro’s Global Platform Group, was already preparing to lead under pressure—long before the headlines. Before the headlines. Before the cyberattack. Before the world was watching… When we recorded this conversation, none of us knew what was coming. But what Sanjib shared then feels even…

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Future-Proof Your Team (CEO OnLogic, Sean Larkin) 40:50

5M ago40:50

40:50

Complacency costs growth. Sean Larkin, CEO of OnLogic, learned that lesson the hard way—just because your company is scaling doesn’t mean your people automatically will too. This really stuck with me... ...the same strengths that drive today’s success often become tomorrow’s roadblocks. He breaks out a 6-point professional development plan that’s a…

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Metroid Fusion, Mega Man 5 - Metroid series ranking 1:34:25

6M ago1:34:25

1:34:25

Season 7 Episode 12 Episode 201 News Ryan Reynolds' Dragon's Lair Movie May Finally Have A Director It Looks Like 50 Cent Will Play Balrog in the Street Fighter Movie PicoGUS – The $50 / €65 / £58 Sound Card That Only Does Everything YouTube is hiding an excellent, official high-speed Pac-Man mod in plain sight After 27 years, engineer discovers ho…

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How Authenticity Earns You Instant Respect (CEO Ryan Stana, RWS Global) 35:05

6M ago35:05

35:05

He had the talent to chase Broadway fame. But he saw something even bigger. Instead of staying in the spotlight, Ryan Stana, CEO of RWS Global, decided to build an entire world behind the scenes—one that now creates over a MILLION unforgettable moments every single day: 🚢 Cruise ships 🎢 Theme parks 🎭 Broadway 🏟️ Stadiums 🌍 Seven offices around the …

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CEO of the #2 Coffee Chain in the World (Costa Coffe's Philippe Schaillee) 36:11

6M ago36:11

36:11

☕ Bold taste. Bold leadership. Leading a global coffee powerhouse is no small feat—especially when your brand ranks among the world’s most influential: 🌎 Over 4,100 stores across 37 countries 👥 More than 20,000 employees worldwide 🥤 Thousands of innovative self-serve Costa Express machines 🏆 #2 largest coffeehouse chain globally 🇬🇧 #1 coffee chain …

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The Cirque du Soleil Comeback - Duncan Fisher, Chief Show Operatations Officer 52:32

6M ago52:32

52:32

Cirque du Soleil fell—then made a HUGE comeback that no one saw coming. Enter Duncan Fisher, Chief Show Operations Officer. One of the world’s most iconic entertainment brands. Gone. Zero revenue. 5,000+ employees let go. Bankrupt. But instead of folding, they reimagined everything. 🔥 8 touring shows relaunched in just 18 months 🔥 Empowered teams o…

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The Robot-Powered Future is Here - CEO Brain Corp, David Pinn 38:37

6M ago38:37

38:37

The Robot-Powered Future Is Here. When David Pinn, Brain Corp, stepped in as CEO —the company behind the world’s largest autonomous mobile robot fleet—he didn’t just scale innovation... ...he scaled belief. They've unleashed the power of 40,000 robots around the world... 250 billion square feet cleaned and scanned $190 million raised. One big lesso…

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Metal Slug 2/X, Fatal Labyrinth - The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 1:19:34

6M ago1:19:34

1:19:34

Season 7 Episode 11 Episode 200 Zach Links: https://linktr.ee/absolutelythebest https://absolutelythebest.net News MagicX: Launch date revealed for Nintendo DS-focused gaming handheld The Commodore 64 Gets An HDMI Upgrade Polish engineer creates postage stamp-sized 1980s Atari computer WWF WrestleFest Is Being Rereleased In Home Arcade Cabinet Form…

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"Make Skullcandy Win Again" - CEO Skullcandy Brian Garofalow 43:04

7M ago43:04

43:04

Skullcandy… he reimagined it. First week on the job at Skullcandy, Brian Garofalow scheduled a meeting called: “Teach Brian how headphones work.” Not a tech guy. Not an audio engineer. But a punk-rock marketer turned Silicon Valley founder turned private equity turnaround pro— And the new CEO of Skullcandy. What happened next? He did the unthinkabl…

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Chaos is Fuel - CEO of TekniPlex, Eldon Schaffer 38:45

7M ago38:45

38:45

“We eat chaos for breakfast.” That’s the mindset Eldon Schaffer, CEO of TekniPlex, instills across 9,000 employees in 13 countries. On his first day, they lost one of their top five customers. Instead of blaming or panicking, Eldon...rallied the team to innovate fast— launching a new product and outpacing the competition in just 150 days. Since the…

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Let’s Retire Retirement - Derek Coburn, Bestelling Author 44:52

7M ago44:52

44:52

What if everything you believed about retirement… was wrong? Discover vital insights from Derek Coburn—author, wealth advisor, entrepreneur, co-founder of CADRE, an exclusive “un-networking” community for top business leaders, and now of the bold new book, Let’s Retire Retirement. He challenges the outdated notion that your best years come after yo…

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"Failure Built Me" - COO Consoldated Communications/Fidium Fiber's - Gaurav Juneja 38:47

7M ago38:47

38:47

What if failure unlocks everything? COO Gaurav Juneja didn’t climb the ladder—he took the hard route no one wanted… and built the ladder himself. He failed early. He raised his hand for the toughest projects. He switched industries. He even coached squash at Harvard before becoming COO of a national fiber infrastructure company (Consolidated Commun…

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Big Tuna Fights Back - Chicken of the Sea President, Andy Mecs 38:11

7M ago38:11

38:11

How do you revive a 100-year-old brand… without playing it safe? Andy Mecs, President of Chicken of the Sea, didn’t just inherit a legacy—he reshaped it. But not by chasing trends. Not by copying the competition. And definitely not by playing defense. Instead, he made a series of bold moves that most would’ve avoided— And in the process, turned a f…

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Qix, Tiny Tunes Adventures - S. M. Oliva 1:12:58

7M ago1:12:58

1:12:58

Season 7 Episode 10 Episode 199 S.M. Oliva Links: Music Construction Set (1983) Computer Games (1984) Halcyon (1985) Computer Games (1985) Software Piracy (1985) Thomas M. Disch's Amnesia (1986) Mr. Gameshow (1987) Computer Games (1987, Part 1) Computer Games (1987, Part 2) News Gamer Discovers Two Super Mario 64 Bugs That Only Trigger After 14 Mon…

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Telling Doesn't Work - COO of Carolina Handling, Joe Perkins 51:16

7M ago51:16

51:16

Warehouse Unrest. 3 AM. T-shirt soaked in sweat. Alone. That’s where Joe Perkins, now COO of Carolina Handling, found himself early in his career —after pushing team productivity too far, too fast. 💥 His team walked out. But instead of doubling down, Joe went back in—this time with humility. Together, they rewrote the rules. Built a new plan. And b…