
Corporate Competitor Podcast
What do most Fortune 500 executives have in common? They learned important lessons on the fields and courts of their high school and collegiate sports teams. This is true for both men and women. Ernst & Young found that a whopping 94% of women holding a C-suite position, played sports.
Join 11-time New York Times Best-Selling Author Don Yaeger on his journey to sit with some of the brightest executives in the world as we discuss how sports shaped their professional trajectory in life.
Latest episodes

Aug 28, 2024 • 33min
Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro says: The best way to tell a story is to believe in it
Ep. 195: Basketball was Josh’s primary sport and he was good enough at it that in his senior year of high school he was invited to play in the Tri-Valley League All-Stars game in Massachusetts! He recounts how he initially felt somewhat out of place, but the game had an incredible ending! Our BONUS RESOURCE for this episode includes Don’s favorite quotes from today’s episode and a reflection question so you can apply today’s insights. In this episode, Josh shares valuable insights gained from his 26-year tenure at Disney, revealing how he leads a team of 180,000 cast members. Lessons include: How to turn “imposter syndrome” into a genuine adventure that pushes your limits. The power of insatiable curiosity to clear a pathway through unfamiliar territory. 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 Vince Jones and Samantha Clark for making this episode possible.

Aug 21, 2024 • 30min
Deloitte Consulting CEO Dan Helfrich says: If you are choosing between you and the firm, choose you.
Ep. 194: Georgetown Soccer shaped this executive who, after playing for the Hoyas, took on the role of the program's play-by-play announcer. Two decades later, he’s only missed one game. Our BONUS RESOURCE for this episode includes Don’s favorite quotes from today’s episode and a reflection question so you can apply Dan’s insights. In this episode you will learn: Why people with strong interests outside your company make your company better. How to tap into the unheard voices in your firm to get game-changing feedback. The one question Helfrich asks job candidates to assess self-awareness and humility. 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 T.J. Percell and Samantha Clark for making this episode possible.

Aug 14, 2024 • 32min
Ethan Allen CEO Farooq Kathwari asks: What did you do this week to improve your talent and service?
Ep. 193: Cricket shaped the longest-tenured CEO ever featured on Corporate Competitor! Since 1988, he has managed to avoid burnout by "focusing on the most important things." Today, he diligently reviews weekly reports from his leadership team, posing questions such as, "What did you do this week to enhance your talent and service, expand your marketing within the team or community, improve technology, and advance social responsibility?" Our BONUS RESOURCE for this episode includes Don’s favorite quotes from today’s episode and a reflection question so you can apply today’s insights. 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 Ethan Salzberg and Francisco Nunez for making this episode possible.

Aug 7, 2024 • 43min
Lumen CEO Kate Johnson says: Feedback is not criticism, it is unlocking the next level.
Ep. 192: Tennis and track shaped former Microsoft US President and current CEO of Lumen – the company that owns and operates one the world’s biggest, most connected fiber networks. Our BONUS RESOURCE for this episode includes Don’s favorite quotes from today’s episode and a reflection question so you can apply today’s insights. 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 Hannah Edwards and Tara Openshaw for making this episode possible.

Jul 31, 2024 • 27min
Broadridge CEO Tim Gokey asks: Are you willing to take yourself out of the boat if it makes the team better?
Ep. 191: This financial services company hired eight of the women on the US Olympic rowing team. This partnership is led by Tim who went to Oxford University on a Rhodes Scholarship while captaining his Boat Club to its most successful season in 40 years. Our BONUS RESOURCE for this episode includes Don’s favorite quotes from today’s episode and a reflection question so you can apply today’s insights. Listeners will appreciate the specific sports-to-business analogies and lessons he has implemented to keep his widely distributed workforce of 15,000 associates in 23 countries locked onto a common vision and culture. --- 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 Chase Skipper and Jack Martha for making this episode possible.

Jul 24, 2024 • 30min
LogicMonitor CEO Christina Kosmowski encourages you to form a personal board of directors
Ep. 190: Northwestern University Soccer shaped this executive who held leadership roles at Salesforce and Slack before taking on the role of CEO at LogicMonitor, which helps companies monitor, manage, and maintain IT infrastructure. Our BONUS RESOURCE for this episode includes Don’s favorite quotes from today’s episode and a reflection question so you can apply today’s insights. Listeners seeking to engage their teams more fully will enjoy her varied and sometimes humorous approach to communicating this mission-critical knowledge, including: Using values-based recruiting methods to build strong cultures. Engaging product-sales-service teams to transform customer satisfaction levels. The Slack channel Kosmowski created called "Where in the world is Christina?" to present herself in a more personal way. -- 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 Hannah Edwards and Jessi Wynn for making this episode possible.

Jul 17, 2024 • 31min
President of ERA Real Estate Alex Vidal shares four business lessons from completing an IRONMAN
Ep. 189: Alex shares 4 lessons that remain the same whether you devoting 500 hours to IRONMAN training or overseeing operations for more than 40,000 affiliated brokers and sales associates across 2,400 offices worldwide. Our BONUS RESOURCE for this episode includes Don’s favorite quotes from today’s episode and a reflection question so you can apply today’s insights. --- 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 T.J. Percell and Jessi Wynn for making this episode possible.

Jul 10, 2024 • 46min
Guild Chief Product & Technology Officer Rohan Chandran asks: Will you be ready when a momentous opportunity arises?
Ep. 188: Cricket shaped this executive’s decision to attend Stanford University. Rohan became a founding member of the cricket media site Cricinfo, which was later acquired by ESPN, and a member of the Stanford Supernovas Cricket Team, an alumni team that recently hoisted a league trophy. Today, he works at Guild – an education benefits company that collaborates with large employers like Target, Chipotle, Hilton, and PepsiCo to train their workforces and create career mobility for employees – and will teach you how to harness momentum in business. Our BONUS RESOURCE for this episode includes Don’s favorite quotes from today’s episode and a reflection question so you can apply today’s insights. 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 Hannah Edwards and Nicklas Urban for making this episode possible.

Jul 3, 2024 • 33min
U.S. Navy Blue Angels Commander Alex Armatas shares how to build your high-trust organization
Ep. 187: Absolute faith in each other is imperative among members of the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels precision flying team, where soaring canopy-to-canopy at 500 mph is all part of a day’s work. In this episode, “Boss” Armatas – a former lacrosse and basketball player— teaches you how to build trust, repair trust, resist micromanaging, and debrief effectively! Our BONUS RESOURCE for this episode includes Don’s favorite quotes from today’s episode and a reflection question so you can apply today’s insights. -- 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 Libby Klemeyer and Samantha Clark for making this episode possible.

Jun 26, 2024 • 26min
AmeriLife Executive Brian Peterson says: When you think you have communicated enough, communicate one more time.
Brian Peterson, AmeriLife Executive and former President and CEO of TruChoice Financial Group, discusses leadership lessons from sports, transitioning into new roles, nurturing company culture for success, and the importance of communication and cultural values in leadership.
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