
ADAPT or die
When disruption hits, average leaders freeze—great ones adapt.
Former tech-CEO–turned-leadership-coach Andreas Pettersson sits down with C-suite executives, founders, and change-makers to dissect the exact moment they faced a make-or-break challenge, the mindset pivot that unlocked progress, and the measurable success that followed.
Every episode delivers:
- Challenge → Adaptation → Success — a tight, three-act story you can steal.
- A 60-second “Hot-Seat” mini-coaching segment that turns insight into action.
- Concrete metrics, battle-tested tactics, and candid reflections you won’t hear on the PR circuit.
If you’re scaling a team, steering a turnaround, or future-proofing your career, this show equips you to adapt and thrive—because in leadership, the alternative is extinction.
ADAPT or die
Tim McVay & Marco Transport: Hauling Heavy Iron — and Stage-4 Cancer — with Unbreakable Grit
On this episode of ADAPT or Die: Transformative Leadership Conversations, former tech-CEO-turned-executive-coach Andreas Pettersson sits down with Tim McVay, second-generation president of Marco Transport—a 31-truck heavy-haul fleet moving 260-thousand-pound “yellow iron” across the Southwest. Tim recounts how a routine scan in 2023 blindsided him with Stage-4 colorectal cancer and why he still shows up at 6 a.m., greets every nurse with “I’m fantastic,” and opens the company books so employees feel like owners.
Challenge → A sudden terminal diagnosis, surging insurance costs, and a labor market where driver turnover can hit 100 %—all while Tim’s father’s legacy company faced expansion decisions and six-figure safety liabilities.
Adaptation → Tim set a strict “10-minute pity limit,” shifted to radical transparency, and invested in Saturday safety summits, load-board tech, and a one-year payroll reserve—empowering crews while he tackled bi-weekly chemo and radiation.
Success → Zero catastrophic accidents, industry-low turnover, a new Kingman, AZ outpost, and a culture so tight former drivers come out of retirement for another rig. Doctors now rank Tim in the 95th-percentile for treatment response—and he’s shopping new skis for the next powder run.
🔥 60-Second Hot Seat: Tim’s “fantastic” greeting rule, the open-books buy-in hack, and why every crisis gets a chair at the campfire (but only one beer).
Think cancer means hitting the brakes? Tim’s story will make you floor the throttle—on business and on life.
Visit ADAPTorDIEpod.com for show notes, free resources, and coaching programs.
Listen to more episodes on Mission Matters:
https://missionmatters.com/author/andreas-pettersson/