#124 Josh Pankow: Becoming Indispensable

My guest today is Josh Panko, President of Leaf Trading Cards. Josh's journey in the sports card industry started at age seven when he opened a card shop in his basement. That childhood passion turned into a remarkable career that's taken him from working at card shops as a teenager, to Upper Deck's product development team, to now leading one of the most creative trading card companies in the industry.

What I love about Josh's story is how he built his career by working every angle of the business—retail, distribution, manufacturing, customer service. He learned the entire supply chain, which gave him a perspective that few in the industry have. And today, at Leaf, he's creating some of the most innovative products in the space, from on-card autographs of Hollywood legends like Al Pacino and Clint Eastwood, to unique sports card concepts that major licensed manufacturers can't touch.

This conversation is packed with wisdom on hard work, taking initiative, building relationships, and staying humble even as you climb the ladder. Whether you're in the trading card world or not, Josh's lessons on career development and leadership are gold.

In this episode we discuss:

• Why working every level of your industry early in your career creates an unfair advantage - and how Josh's experience in retail, distribution, and manufacturing shaped his leadership at Leaf
• The handwritten letter strategy that landed Josh his dream job at Upper Deck - and why his father's unconventional advice to FedEx overnight it to the CEO actually worked
• How being kind to everyone (especially people outside your department) can fast-track your career - Josh's finance department friendships got his projects prioritized over senior colleagues
• Why Josh would rather employees take initiative and make mistakes than wait for permission - and the Shawshank Redemption lesson about not asking to go to the bathroom
• The "harder you work, the luckier you get" philosophy - and how Josh turned clocking out at 5pm then returning to work unpaid into career-defining opportunities

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