She walked away from a business she built, and found something bigger on the other side. In this conversation with Megan Militello, CEO of the Alaska Manufacturing Association and former founder of Elevated Oats, we talk about what it really looks like to build something meaningful, and when to let it go. Megan has a rare ability to see systems, … Read More

When I was in elementary school I had a teacher who fundamentally changed the way I see the world. The teacher in question, Mr. H, would periodically bring interesting examples of science and technology to share with the class. I don’t specifically remember any of them, but they always felt like school had stopped and we were doing something fun … Read More

It isn’t the workload that’s breaking people. It’s everything else. In this conversation, I sit down with Dr. Liane Davey to unpack a problem almost every leader feels but can’t quite name: the invisible weight that makes work harder than it should be. She calls it thoughtload and once you hear it, you’ll see it all around you. We dig … Read More

I hate black and white movies. And it’s for the dumbest reason imaginable. The thing I hate isn’t the absence of high-fidelity color, it’s that every black and white movie seems like the same movie to me.  If I sat down to watch a black and white movie and every scene was followed by a scene from a different black … Read More

Some of the hardest conversations you’ll ever have…stop being so hard the moment trust walks into the room. In this episode, I mix it up with Charlie Leonelli from MAC Federal Credit Union for something a little different. We skip the normal interview – because we’ve already done that – and just riff on an idea that shows up in … Read More

Ignoring your haters is not the answer. Here’s why: In March of 2025 my daughter and I winged our way thousands of miles across the country to catch a few Yankee spring training games in Tampa, Florida. The vibe at these spring games was absolutely delicious. The crowds were so much smaller than regular season games in the big stadiums … Read More

This episode is proof that you don’t need a detailed map to have a fulfilling career if you lean into curiosity, meaningful relationships, and a mission bigger than yourself. This week, I sit down with Tlisa Northcutt, President of the University of Alaska Foundation, to explore what it really looks like to grow into leadership over time. We talk about … Read More

The first time I saw it I knew I loved it. And I knew I had a problem. Late last year I replaced my truck and decided that it was time to put a topper on the load bed. When I picked it up from the installer I was in love. It looked great and was going to solve a … Read More

When today’s guest realized most companies were automating chaos instead of clarity, they decided to fix it. In this conversation, I check in with Shelly Thomas, the founder of Building Beta, to unpack what’s actually happening with AI inside organizations right now. Not the hype. Not the buzzwords. The real work. Shelly brings a rare mix of engineering rigor and … Read More

I probably shouldn’t be telling you this… For the record: whatever you say to an employee you lead about another employee you lead after saying those seven words is a truly bad idea. In fact, if you ever hear those words coming out of your mouth about any topic at all, just stop talking. The problem for many leaders is … Read More

What do you call it when the work you do and the thing you love are so tangled together you can’t quite tell them apart? In this conversation, I sit down with Joe Sprague, former CEO of Hawaiian Airlines, to explore what it actually takes to lead at the highest levels, and why his love of aviation made his career … Read More

A couple months back I spent about 3 days fully wiped out with the flu. I just had zero juice in the tank. And for reasons not fully clear, even to me, I spent a lot of time watching old episodes of Matlock. A couple things struck me as I took this nostalgic trip back to my youth: It’s not … Read More

What does it take to lead an organization where creativity, community, and logistics collide every week? In this conversation, I sat down with Daniel Ponickly, Executive Director of the Fairbanks Symphony Orchestra, whose background spans professional dance, film, arts education, and nonprofit leadership, a unique mix that shapes how he thinks about leadership. We talked about how he moved to … Read More

When my brain gets the best of me in the middle of the night I use two simple techniques to short circuit the chaos: 1. I count to 100 in French2. I list the 50 states in alphabetical order But this isn’t really about sleeping better. It’s about paying attention to what we rehearse. Because the byproduct of this exercise … Read More

When Fotini Iconomopoulos was growing up, she earned the nickname “the negotiator” and she’s been turning high-stakes conversations into high-impact outcomes ever since. In this episode, I sit down with negotiation expert, author, and speaker Fotini Iconomopoulos to unpack what real negotiation looks like in everyday leadership, not power suits and table-pounding, but clarity, empathy, and trust. Fotini shares why … Read More

Dear Leaders: you don’t have to have all the answers. I know that deep down you already know this. I know you know that NO ONE has ALL the answers. But it just feels so good to be the one who solves for X. And yet, how much better is it to give your people the chance to find X? … Read More