Excellent Executive Coaching: Growing Your Business and Enhancing Your Craft.

EEC 397: From CEO to Cellblock - An Entrepreneur’s Wake-Up Call, with Kevin McCarthy

Sep 2, 2025

Kevin McCarthy, author of BlindSpots and a Certified Speaking Professional, shares his dramatic journey from successful entrepreneur to federal prison inmate. He discusses the blind spots that can lead to significant life and career setbacks. Self-awareness and emotional intelligence are essential for leadership effectiveness. Kevin also offers practical tools to help entrepreneurs avoid ethical missteps and navigate decision-making under pressure, all while emphasizing the importance of fostering a resilient, people-centered business culture.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Books

Transcript

Episode notes

ANECDOTE

From CEO To Prison

Kevin McCarthy describes building a real-estate and dot-com career that led him to a president role at a public company.
He never anticipated his boss's long-running fraud and later spent 33 months in federal prison as an unwitting accomplice.

ANECDOTE

Unwitting Accomplice Explained

Kevin explains he wasn't an insider trader but borrowed on restricted stock and became entangled when his CEO ran a $93M fraud.
His public defender taught him federal conspiracy law meant he could be guilty without knowing about the crime.

INSIGHT

Blind Spots Are Thinking Errors

Blind spots include unconscious biases like confirmation bias that lock you into beliefs and hide facts.
Recognizing these thinking errors is essential to avoid destructive behaviors.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

Kevin McCarthy is the author of the bestselling book, BlindSpots – Why Good People Make Bad Choices, and holds the highest certification recognized globally by the speaking industry, the Certified Speaking Professional.

What were the blind spots that led to your downfall, and how can other entrepreneurs recognize similar risks before it's too late?
How can self-awareness and emotional intelligence change the trajectory of a business leader’s success?
What practical tools can aspiring entrepreneurs use to avoid ethical missteps and make better decisions under pressure?
Why do talented subject matter experts often struggle when promoted into leadership — and how can they make that transition successfully?
What does it really take to build a resilient, people-centered business culture — especially after hitting rock bottom?

Kevin McCarthy

An award-winning sales professional, he built one of the largest Century 21 offices in America, then developed and sold a dot-com startup. In 2004, his boss was arrested for the largest stock fraud in Washington State history. As a result, Kevin spent 33 months in federal prison for a crime he didn’t knowingly commit. There he studied Cognitive Psychology and recognized — then deeply researched — the blind spots that lead to his predicament.

Today, Kevin and his team empower leaders to uncover their blind spots, harness their innate talent, and drive peak performance through enhanced self-awareness and emotional intelligence.

Excellent Executive Coaching Podcast

If you have enjoyed this episode, subscribe to our podcast on iTunes. We would love for you to leave a review.

The EEC podcasts are sponsored by MKB Excellent Executive Coaching that helps you get from where you are to where you want to be with customized leadership and coaching development programs. MKB Excellent Executive Coaching offers leadership development programs to generate action, learning, and change that is aligned with your authentic self and values. Transform your dreams into reality and invest in yourself by scheduling a discovery session with Dr. Katrina Burrus, MCC to reach your goals.

Your host is Dr. Katrina Burrus, MCC, founder and general manager of Excellent Executive Coaching a company that specializes in leadership development.