Thirty Minute Mentors

Chuck Templeton is the co-founder of OpenTable, a business that changed the way millions of people make restaurant reservations and currently seats more than a billion diners each year. Chuck is also a successful venture capitalist, as he co-founded and is a senior managing director of S2G Ventures. Chuck joins Adam to share his journey and his best lessons and advice. Chuck and Adam discuss entrepreneurship, leadership, sales, raising and investing capital, culture, customer centricity, and much more.

Bob Muglia played a key role in building two of America’s leading technology companies. Bob was the CEO of Snowflake, valued today at more than $50 billion, and previously ran a $17 billion division of Microsoft. Bob joins Adam to share his journey and his best lessons and advice. Bob and Adam discuss a wide range of topics: leading people and teams, hiring and motivating talent, what leaders should understand about AI and big data, lessons learned from Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer, and much more.

The leader of one of the largest private companies in America, Alex Taylor is the CEO of Cox Enterprises, a conglomerate that generated $22 billion in annual revenue and includes a number of prominent media, communications, and automotive businesses, including Cox Communications, Kelley Blue Book, and Autotrader. Alex joins Adam to share his journey and best lessons and advice. Alex and Adam discuss leadership, impact, trust, building winning teams and cultures, success and failure, and much more.

Heidi Heitkamp is the first woman to be elected to the United States Senate from North Dakota and a Democrat who was elected in a deeply Republican state. Senator Heitkamp joins Adam to share her journey and her best lessons learned along the way. Senator Heitkamp and Adam discuss a wide range of topics: leadership; risk-taking; re-examining failure; decision-making; building relationships and consensus; the power of fun; dealing with difficult people; and much more.

John Colgrove, co-founder and Chief Visionary Officer of Pure Storage, shares his journey in revolutionizing data storage. He dives into his early passion for computer science and vital career habits like debugging and continuous learning. John emphasizes the importance of fostering teamwork through effective leadership and building a strong company culture based on values like persistence and creativity. He also discusses the innovative shift from disk to flash storage, highlighting how collaboration and curiosity drive success in entrepreneurship.

The leader of one of America’s largest and leading financial services firms, John Schlifske is the CEO of Northwestern Mutual, which generated nearly $35 billion in revenue last year and has more than $550 billion in assets under management. John joins Adam to share his journey and his best lessons and advice. John and Adam discuss leadership, career development, building winning teams and cultures, risk management, sales, and much more.

The most recognized male figure skating star in the world, Scott Hamilton is an Olympic gold medalist and a member of the United States Olympic Hall of Fame and the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame. Scott joins Adam to share his journey and his best lessons learned along the way. Scott and Adam discuss a wide range of topics, including reaching peak performance and attaining greatness, overcoming setbacks and failures, excelling in multiple careers, winning over your audience, and much more.

Charles Conn was the founding CEO of Ticketmaster-Citysearch, a pioneering internet company whose portfolio included Match.com and Evite and is known today as Ticketmaster. Charles joins Adam to share his journey and his best lessons and advice. Charles and Adam discuss a wide range of topics, including personal and professional development, leadership, managing in times of uncertainty, building winning teams and cultures, managing failure, and much more.

A retired four-star general, General Frank McKenzie was the commander of the United States Central Command, where he oversaw the raid that killed Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the then-leader of ISIS, and the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan. General McKenzie joins Adam to share his journey and his best lessons and advice. General McKenzie and Adam discuss a wide range of topics: leadership, personal and professional development, building winning teams and cultures, crisis management, and much more.  

Wes Schroll is the founder and CEO of Fetch, America’s leading consumer rewards app, with more than 17 million users and a valuation above $2.5 billion. Wes joins Adam to share his journey and best lessons and advice. Wes and Adam discuss a wide range of topics: entrepreneurship, ideation, growth and scale, developing key relationships, fundraising, leadership, mentorship, and more.