Corporate Competitor Podcast

Ep. 273: Six months before his daughter's wedding, he got a diagnosis: liver cancer, less than six months to live. Three years of treatment later, and now he's Chairman, President and CEO of Southern Company — a company that just ranked #1 in its industry on Fortune's World's Most Admired Companies list. On this episode, you will learn: Why he tells his team "I can't do anything by myself" — and means it How vulnerability, not authority, built trust across 30,000 employees What it actually takes to avoid complacency after you've already won Do you want to write a book? In my new role as Publisher at Forbes Books and with the incredible resources and expertise of their team, we're making it easier than ever to help YOU to tell your story. Send us a message here to get started:https://books.forbes.com/don/ Looking for a speaker for your next event? From more than 30 years of interviewing and studying the greatest winners of all time Don offers these live and virtual presentations built to inspire your team towards personal and professional greatness. Special thanks to Amelia Prieto for making this episode possible.

Simon Sinek, leadership expert and bestselling author, explores storytelling as a powerful tool for connection, culture, and purpose. He discusses building stories like jigsaw puzzles, using vivid details, why AI cannot create better storytellers, and how origin stories shape companies. He also reflects on adversity, leadership, and the memorable techniques of great storytellers.

Ep. 271: The captain was given a choice: grab a rag to help the team wash the windows or hand over the boat. He tapped his epaulettes signaling his rank, "I'm the captain." John fired him. Why? Because the problem was never the windows. It was the belief that his title made certain jobs beneath him. Today, John Waggoner, Founder and Chairman of Victory Cruise Lines, still tells that story during employee orientation. His message is simple: if the owner will sweep the dock, carry the trash, or wash the windows, everyone should be willing to jump in. Do you want to write a book? In my new role as Publisher at Forbes Books and with the incredible resources and expertise of their team, we're making it easier than ever to help YOU to tell your story. Send us a message here to get started: https://books.forbes.com/don/ Looking for a speaker for your next event? From more than 30 years of interviewing and studying the greatest winners of all time Don offers these live and virtual presentations built to inspire your team towards personal and professional greatness. Special thanks to Will Goodman and Abbie Brandt for making this episode possible.

Ep. 270: Linfield basketball alum Dan McMillan shares how empowering your team to GIVE can create a ripple effect. A grieving customer once received a box of gourmet pears from his insurance company because a claims employee sensed he needed something extra. It turned out pears were his late wife's favorite fruit. Dan, now President and CEO of The Standard, shared the story with his executive team — and today, it's included in strategic materials shared with 30,000 salespeople around the world. On this episode, Dan joins Don Yaeger to talk about: The five words a high school coach gave him that he still lives by 40+ years later How to turn disappointment into development The lesson from a Linfield basketball bench that shaped how he handles every setback since Do you want to write a book? In my new role as Publisher at Forbes Books and with the incredible resources and expertise of their team, we're making it easier than ever to help YOU to tell your story. Send us a message here to get started: https://books.forbes.com/don/ Looking for a speaker for your next event? From more than 30 years of interviewing and studying the greatest winners of all time Don offers these live and virtual presentations built to inspire your team towards personal and professional greatness. Special thanks to Amelia Prieto and Abbie Brandt for making this episode possible.

Bud Denker, president of Penske Corporation and Team Penske leader known for bringing IndyCar to D.C. and applying sports-team principles to business. He recounts how a dinner-table idea became a presidential executive order. Conversations cover working with federal agencies and security, translating racing culture into corporate teamwork, storytelling to open meetings, and turning losses into future strategies.

Ep. 268: Stonepeak CEO was shaped by rugby league, cricket, and growing up in a working-class farming town in Australia. Today he's built a career on Wall Street, but the personality that took him there was forged on fields where teammates and opponents alike gave each other unfiltered honesty — and expected the same in return. Want to become a better storyteller? Pre-order Don's new book The Business of Storytelling and become a Founding Member of The Circle of Storytellers. This is a limited experience — it ends at launch. All of these resources are yours FOR FREE the moment your order is confirmed. donyaeger.com/circle Do you want to write a book? In my new role as Publisher at Forbes Books and with the incredible resources and expertise of their team, we're making it easier than ever to help YOU to tell your story. Send us a message here to get started: https://books.forbes.com/don/ Looking for a speaker for your next event? From more than 30 years of interviewing and studying the greatest winners of all time Don offers these live and virtual presentations built to inspire your team towards personal and professional greatness. Special thanks to Sophia Fusco and Johnny Levin for making this episode possible.

Josh Isner, President of Axon and leader of a $45B public safety tech company, shares sports-forged leadership lessons and mentor moments. He discusses mental toughness, the 'next play' focus, playing to strengths, balancing swagger with humility, and how golf and coaching shaped his approach to building winning teams.

Ep. 266: Long before he was CEO of Deloitte US, Jason Girzadas was on the pitcher's mound with the bases loaded, his team up by one run, and his coach walking out to deliver the kind of feedback that sticks for a lifetime. In this episode, you will hear the lesson he learned, PLUS: How to fight complacency inside a historically successful organization — and keep your people hungry Why "know yourself so you can be yourself" is not a soft idea but a leadership prerequisite How timely, direct, one-on-one feedback creates a domino effect of accountability across an entire organization Do you want to write a book? In my new role as Publisher at Forbes Books and with the incredible resources and expertise of their team, we're making it easier than ever to help YOU to tell your story. Send us a message here to get started: https://books.forbes.com/don/ Looking for a speaker for your next event? From more than 30 years of interviewing and studying the greatest winners of all time Don offers these live and virtual presentations built to inspire your team towards personal and professional greatness. Special thanks to Danielle Cadena and Abbie Brandt for making this episode possible.

Ep. 265: As Head of Client Solutions and Wealth Management at Guardian Life Insurance, Mike has learned that the most transformational moments in business look a lot like cycling: riders who trust each other, rotate leadership, and communicate constantly can cover ground together that no one could cover alone. In this episode, you will learn: How finding a coach — whether on a bike or in a boardroom — speeds up every kind of growth. Why the best response to a crisis is not reacting to the event itself, but locking onto what you can actually control. How making space for every voice in the room doesn't just improve morale — it produces better ideas and stronger teams. Do you want to write a book? In my new role as Publisher at Forbes Books and with the incredible resources and expertise of their team, we're making it easier than ever to help YOU to tell your story. Send us a message here to get started: https://books.forbes.com/don/ Looking for a speaker for your next event? From more than 30 years of interviewing and studying the greatest winners of all time Don offers these live and virtual presentations built to inspire your team towards personal and professional greatness. Special thanks to Guillermo Orellana and Johnathan Levin for making this episode possible.

Ep. 264: Playing high school golf in Michigan and winning the Upper Peninsula State Championship shaped this CEO who led Wendy's through a decade of global growth before stepping into the CEO role at Papa John's after a very brief retirement. Today, Todd Penegor brings that same team-first mentality to every leadership table he sits at — and in this conversation, he shares exactly how. In this conversation, Todd shares how he thinks about developing next-generation leaders, why he believes a CEO's job looks more like an offensive lineman than a quarterback, and what it really takes to earn both the heads and hearts of a franchise community. — Do you want to write a book? In my new role as Publisher at Forbes Books and with the incredible resources and expertise of their team, we're making it easier than ever to help YOU to tell your story. Send us a message here to get started:https://books.forbes.com/don/ Looking for a speaker for your next event? From more than 30 years of interviewing and studying the greatest winners of all time Don offers these live and virtual presentations built to inspire your team towards personal and professional greatness. Special thanks to Abigail Brandt and Danielle Cadena for making this episode possible.