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I Have Some Questions...
Most people know the headline of a leader’s story. Few know the path it took to get there. This podcast goes beyond titles, book launches and business wins, to explore the lived journey behind the thought leader.
Through deep, unhurried conversations, we uncover the moments that shaped them—the doubts, pivots, convictions, and quiet breakthroughs that built their body of work.
Each episode features authors, coaches, executives, and bold thinkers who have forged their own path. Instead of rehearsed talking points, they’re invited into a space where thoughtful questions unlock something more human. The result is a layered conversation that reveals not just what they preach, but how they became the kind of person who can teach it.
Because we believe the best stories aren’t always told—they’re revealed. And when brilliant people are given the right questions and the room to answer them fully, what emerges is insight you can feel, frameworks you can apply, and a deeper understanding of what it truly takes to lead, create, and contribute at a meaningful level.
Episodes
190 episodes
192: "Psychological Safety As The Real Happiness Strategy: Seek, Speak, Listen" (reflections on Scott Crabtree)
🧠 Erik’s TakeErik opens with gratitude and a clear reason for doing the review: the Scott Crabtree conversation hit something deeper than the headline topic. He reflects that as a listener he felt the urge to re-extract the core m...
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191: "What If Retention Has Less to Do with Product and More to Do with Belonging?" (reflections on Anthony Badalian)
🧠 Erik’s TakeIn this reaction episode, Erik reflects on his conversation with Anthony Badalian, COO and President of Stride Fitness, and unpacks the deeper business principles hiding beneath the fitness industry surface.Wha...
190: Scott Crabtree: "What Google Found In Project Aristotle That Changes How You Lead Teams"
Erik and Scott Crabtree unpack why happiness feels hard to define, what science can actually say, and why “chasing” happiness can backfire. They connect happiness to productivity through brain states, then zoom in on psychological safety, leade...
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189: Anthony Badalian: "Why Is Fitness So Hard to Sell When Everyone Needs It?"
Anthony Badalian, President and COO of STRIDE Fitness, joins Erik for a deep conversation about the hidden complexity of the fitness franchising business. What starts as a discussion about gyms and boutique fitness studios quickly evolves into ...
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188: "Why Do We Feel Guilty Taking Rest Even When We Deserve It?" ft. Alli Murphy
Erik and Alli get real about a form of guilt that shows up for high performers and solopreneurs: not only guilt about resting, but guilt about “adulting” not being productive too. They unpack why it happens, what “rest” actually means, and prac...
187: "When Did Trust Between Patients and Physicians Begin to Break Down?" (reflections on Cameron Sabet)
🧠 Erik’s TakeErik reflects on his conversation with Cameron Sabet—a 24-year-old medical student, researcher, venture capitalist, policy advisor, and entrepreneur whose ability to operate across multiple disciplines left a lasting ...
186: "What Are the Real Reasons Healthcare Workers Leave? (reflections on Christopher Sund)
🧠 Erik’s TakeAfter his conversation with Christopher Sund, Erik walked away thinking less about healthcare staffing—and more about systems.The healthcare industry is being squeezed from both sides at once: an aging populati...
185: Cameron Sabet: "The Real Breakdown Happening Inside Healthcare"
Cameron Sabet operates at the intersection of medicine, venture capital, journalism, policy, and global public health—and somehow manages to connect all of them into one coherent worldview.In this conversation, Erik and Cameron explore t...
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184: Christopher Sund: "Is Healthcare Staffing Broken Beyond Repair?"
Erik sits down with healthcare staffing leader Christopher Sund for a wide-ranging conversation about the future of healthcare, hiring, leadership, and AI.From staffing shortages and burnout to interviewing, recruiting, and organizationa...
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183: "Kids Are Intuitively Hacking AI With Their Voice, Not Their Keyboard" ft. Justin Coats
Erik shares how he’s running a week-one “vibe coding” summer curriculum for his 10- and 7-year-old daughters using voice-first ChatGPT. He and Justin unpack what’s working, what friction to watch for, and how to think about learning, iteration,...
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182: "What is Being Hyper-Responsive Actually Costing You?" ft. Alli Murphy
Erik and Alli dig into “invisible rules” that shape how we behave at work, especially the ones that reward constant availability and create anxiety. They compare examples from different cultures, then get practical about how to change the rules...
181: "The Best Businesses Solve Recurring Problems" (reflections on Bill Dowd)
🧠 Erik’s TakeIn this reaction episode, Erik reflects on his conversation with Bill Dowd — founder of Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control — and explores the deeper strategic lessons hiding underneath what initially sounds like a simp...
180: "What If Your Team Already Knows What’s Broken, But Won’t Say It?" (reflections on Josh Frantz)
🧠 Erik’s TakeAfter reflecting on his conversation with Josh Frantz, Erik kept coming back to a deceptively simple idea: every company has hidden problems that leadership would absolutely want to solve — if they actually knew about...
179: Bill Dowd: "Why Are So Many Entrepreneurs Ignoring Businesses Like This?"
Bill Dowd went from professional hockey player to founder of North America’s largest humane wildlife control franchise — and in the process, built a business most people never even realize exists until they desperately need it.In this co...
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178: Josh Frantz: "The Value Behind Extracting Knowledge From Frontline Employees"
In this episode, Erik sits down with entrepreneur and Blyndspot CEO Josh Frantz to explore one of the most overlooked ideas in business: the untapped intelligence hidden inside organizations. Josh shares how his experience building multiple com...
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177: "Is Typing Becoming Old-Fashioned in the AI Age?" ft. Justin Coats
Erik and Justin take a practical tour through AI “tools that actually ship.” They start with Lovable to build a real landing page fast, then move to NotebookLM for source-grounded research and repackaging, and finish with Spinach AI for meeting...
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176: "Is Talking to Your Boss the Same as Talking to a Brick Wall?" ft. Alli Murphy
Alli and Erik work through a familiar leadership bottleneck: a team is burning out, a senior leader brings data and requests support, and the boss keeps asking for more data or dismisses what’s already been presented. Erik frames the real probl...
175: "Are You Leading Conversations… or Just Waiting to Talk?" (reflections on Nicole O'Sullivan)
🧠 Erik’s TakeThis conversation with Nicole O’Sullivan went deeper than expected—and that’s exactly why it mattered. What stood out wasn’t just how to sell better, but how to think better about people.Erik reflects ...
174: "Ownership Builds Trust Faster than Success Does" (reflections on Zia Mohi)
🧠 Erik’s TakeErik reflects on his conversation with Zia Mohi through a leadership lens that’s both practical and deeply personal. What stood out most wasn’t just tactical advice—it was the mindset shifts required to lead at a high...
173: Nicole O'Sullivan: "What If a Mindset Shift Could Add $56M to Your Sales?"
Nicole O’Sullivan doesn’t teach sales tactics—she rewires how people think about selling. In this conversation, she and Erik explore why most sales conversations fail long before the pitch even begins.From the brain’s built-in shortcuts ...
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172: Zia Mohi: "Are You Leading… or Just Taking Credit?"
In this conversation, Erik sits down with Zia Mohi, COO of CTI Staffing, to unpack a journey that started in reluctant sales and evolved into high-level operational leadership. What unfolds is a raw, practical exploration of effort, accountabil...
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171: "Can Companies with 5 Employees and 50 Digital Employees Thrive?" ft. Justin Coats
Erik and Justin unpack what an “AI orchestration layer” actually means when agents move from experiments into day-to-day operations. They focus on the practical shift from building tools to managing systems: mirroring the org chart with digital...
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170: "What Changes When You Start Leading Leaders?" ft. Alli Murphy
Erik and Alli compare notes on what goes wrong when high-performing leaders move from managing individual contributors to leading leaders. They highlight recurring gaps, including losing ground-level visibility, suddenly being expected to influ...
169: "Are We Really Preparing Like it Matters?" (reflections on Scott Anderson)
🧠 Erik’s TakeErik reflects on his conversation with Scott Anderson as a rare opportunity to learn from someone who has led where most people will never go—combat zones, humanitarian crises, and high-stakes environments where failu...
168: "Building Culture That's Actually Lived, Not Just Talked About" (reflections on JD Hilzendager)
🧠 Erik’s TakeErik reflects on his conversation with JD Hilzendager as a study in intentional culture, unconventional thinking, and problem-first leadership. What stands out most isn’t just what JD has built—but how he thi...