Corporate Competitor Podcast

Ep. 15: Indiana State Baseball shaped this business icon. Learn how to navigate mergers and acquisitions in this technology month episode with Joe Quaglia! Joe joined the Tech Data team in 2006 and rose to be President of the Americas. Tech Data connects the world with the power of technology and has been named one of Fortune's World's Most Admired Companies for 11 straight years. Joe was a member of the Indiana State Baseball team until an injury to his throwing arm halted his aspirations to be a pitcher at the next level, but that shift taught him leadership lessons he still uses today! Visit Episode 15 of corporatecompetitorpodcast.com for a free gift and today's show notes!

Ep. 14: Chicago Cubs Manager David Ross spent most of his 15-year career playing in the major leagues as a backup catcher. But, when he learned how to become a great teammate, his career doubled in length and he had the opportunity to win two world series championships. We wrote a New York Times Best-Selling book together that teaches us how to create environments that recognize and celebrate those people who can become invaluable without ever being most valuable. Click here for a free bookmark download! Special thanks to Francisco Nunez for making this episode possible.

Ep. 13: Gymnastics shaped this business icon. We continue TECHNOLOGY MONTH with our first gymnast on the show, and although Jill Billhorn gave up the floor routines and balance beam long ago, her competitive spirit is still alive as, CDW's Senior Vice President of Corporate Sales. She will reveal the question every salesperson should be asking their customers. Plus, you will learn the benefits of a high-pressure practice with a great story from my interview with Olympic Gold Medalist, Gabby Douglas. Visit Episode 13 of corporatecompetitorpodcast.com for a free gift and today's show notes!

Ep. 12: Ohio State baseball shaped this business icon. TECHNOLOGY MONTH continues in Episode 12, and not only will you learn how to wake-up with a winning attitude, but you will also learn how President of ViON, Jeff Henry, has been shaped by his Ohio State University baseball experience. Jeff believes the ability to teach people, and then see their success, is more important than anything he could ever accomplish individually— and THAT is the kind of leader from which I want to learn! Today, you have an all-access pass to his wisdom here! Visit Episode 12 of corporatecompetitorpodcast.com for a free gift and today's show notes!

Ep. 11: Rowing at Michigan shaped this business icon. We are kicking off TECHNOLOGY MONTH with ViON's Executive Vice President of Operations, Rob Davies. ViON is a cloud service provider and market leader in the design, delivery, and maintenance of IT infrastructure solutions. Rob brings more than 25 years of experience to his role and over the course of his career, he has established a strong track record of generating growth, creating partnerships with customers, and empowering employees. Growing up, Rob played baseball, soccer, and tennis, then he joined the crew team at the University of Michigan. In this episode, you will learn how to set incremental goals and focus on consistency more than intensity. Plus, at the end of the episode, the winningest coach in college baseball history, Mike Martin, joins the show! Visit Episode 11 of corporatecompetitorpodcast.com for a free gift and today's show notes!

Ep. 10: Princeton ballet shaped this business icon. As Amazon's Vice President of Consumables-- a $56 billion portfolio including grocery, household products, and beauty-- Carla Vernon is the highest-ranking woman of color at one of the world's largest corporations. Previously as the President of General Mills Natural & Organic, Carla restored growth to Nature Valley resulting in the highest level of unit sales in the brand's history, making it the world's top-selling granola bar. I am confident you will laugh out loud at least once during our authentic conversation. You will learn how to facilitate a sense of trust, create a shared experience, and collective direction. Plus, Carla shares her corporate warm-up that is easy to implement and has proven very effective. Visit https://donyaeger.com/corporate-competitor-podcast/episode-10/ for free resources and a show outline!

Ep. 9: Edinboro basketball shaped this business icon. Xavier Williams, who played college basketball at Edinboro University, spent 30 years working for AT&T and rose to become President of the Public Sector and FirstNet. He leads with the motto: "Culture trumps strategy." In this episode, you will get a behind the scenes look into how Xavier took one of the country's lowest-ranking AT&T branches, and turned it into the fourth-best within two and half years, without changing a single team member. Xavier reveals steps you can implement today to spur growth and camaraderie. Doing the work from 8 to 5 is expected, but it takes a true Corporate Competitor to prepare and expand your knowledge from 5 to 8. Leaders are learners, and Xavier Williams is the perfect example. Visit Episode 9 on corporatecompetitorpodcast.com for a show outline and free resources!

Ep. 8: Basketball shaped this business icon growing up in Centerville, Ohio. In this episode, you will learn the #1 time-waster in leaders' lives and how to eliminate it from leadership expert, John C. Maxwell. John is a #1 New York Times Best-Selling Author, speaker, and coach. He has sold 26 million books in 50 languages and trained six million leaders. He recently reached the milestone of having trained leaders from every country in the world. John began practicing leadership at a young age, as a sophomore on the Circleville High School basketball team, he was named captain. "He might be the youngest," his coach said to the team, "but there is nobody here that wants you to succeed as much as John." We discuss how to apply John's bookends of success — preparation and reflection — to your routine. Plus, I ask John: Were you a trash-talker? For that hilarious answer and show notes, visit corporatecompetitorpodcast.com!

Ep. 7 SPECIAL EDITION: We know how sports shapes executives, but in this special edition, we discuss how sports shaped society. September 12th is the 50th anniversary of a game that, many would argue, completely changed college football. Bear Bryant, who was still coaching an all-white football team at Alabama in 1970, slyly pulled off a game against a fully integrated Southern Cal team in a game many credited with opening the door to the full-scale integration of Southern college football. In this bonus episode, Don Yaeger will start by telling you the story as it was chronicled in his book, Turning of the Tide. Then, three of the players who were in the stadium that night, join the show to reflect on the game – and its enormous implications. AND get excited -- Don's colleagues at ESPN will continue celebrating with a College Gameday Feature on September 12th. https://donyaeger.com/corporate-competitor-podcast/

Ep. 6: Wrestling shaped this business icon growing up in Pennsylvania. As the President and COO of VMware, Carl Eschenbach helped build the company from 200 employees and 30 million dollars in revenue to 20,000 employees and 7 billion dollars in revenue. In 2016, he became a partner at Sequoia Capital – widely regarded as Silicon Valley's most prestigious venture capital firm. Carl is a true Corporate Competitor: He grew up in Pennsylvania and received five Most Valuable Athlete Awards and 10 varsity letters from his time playing football, baseball, and wrestling. In 2020, Carl was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as an Outstanding American. In this episode, Carl emphasizes the importance of "learning how to lose" because it is unlikely we will go undefeated in life. You will hear specific examples of his push (motivation) and pull (inspiration) leadership techniques so you can fight complacency. Download a free bookmark of Carl's best advice on the episode 6 page of corporatecompetitorpodcast.com

Ep. 5: Georgia Tech tennis shaped this business icon. Rugby and Weber State football shaped this business icon. In his senior executive role at Microsoft, Oguo manages Global Cloud Scale Services. Educated in three different continents, Oguo has the ability to interweave his mixed cultural background with his rich career experiences. In our conversation, Oguo shares stories about how his love of football, rugby, and soccer shaped his leadership journey and explains how everyone on your team falls into one of four categories. Plus, he gives us tips on how to interact with each type so that your team is operating efficiently! The power of perspective unfolds in Episode 5! Visit corporatecompetitorpodcast.com for show notes and free resources.

Ep. 4: Bill was a three-sport athlete in high school and rose to become a member of the Georgia Tech tennis team. His four decades of C-Suite experience include serving as the Executive Vice President of Honeywell, Chairman, and CEO of Medtronic, and TODAY he is a senior fellow at Harvard Business School, where he has taught leadership since 2004. He has written several best-selling books including one of my favorite leadership books of all time — True North. In this episode, you will see why clarity in leadership always begins with yourself. Plus, you will get the opportunity to take a leadership quiz on the Episode 4 page of corporatecompetitorpodcast.com.

Ep. 3: Texas A&M volleyball shaped this business icon. While studying petroleum engineering at Texas A&M, Kim McHugh played on the Aggie volleyball team and advanced to the NCAA tournament! She rose to become the Vice President of Chevron's Drilling and Completions and today attributes her mental strength to her experience on the court: You can do more than you think you can— it's your mind that stops you. In this episode, you will learn how to lead with empathy, communicate clearly, and fairly assess feedback from the highest-ranking woman in a very male-dominated industry. Not only is Chevron deemed as one of the best places to work, but their team is also celebrated for their inclusion. Visit corporatecompetitorpodcast.com for in-depth show outlines and free downloads that will help accelerate your climb up the corporate ladder.

Ep. 2: Drake track and field shaped this business icon. Louis Carr's story encourages us to set impactful goals, work harder than everybody else, and refine our mental skills. You will learn the power of competing against yourself as Don Yaeger interviews the man responsible for more advertising dollars targeting African-American consumers than any other professional or company in history. Louis Carr has led an incredible 21 straight years of advertising revenue growth. His athletic accolades are as impressive as his corporate leadership success. Louis was the co-captain of the 1974 State Champion Track Team at Lane Tech high school in Chicago and was awarded a four-year track scholarship to Drake University. In this episode, you will discover how he uses the lessons from the track in his leadership today. Visit CorporateCompetitorPodcast.com for show notes and a free chapter of Don's best-selling book.

Ep. 1: Harvard track and field shaped this business icon. In 2021, Dolf accepted the role of CEO of Lindblad Expeditions. His team partners with National Geographic to take customers on adventure cruises around the world. Dolf was a member of the Harvard track and field team in the early 1980s. Now, he sits on the board for USA Track and Field, and continues to find athletic success. Dolf is the #2 ranked Decathlete in the world for his age group and participated in two seasons of American Ninja Warrior. His pole vaulting motto "choose to be brave before you start" shaped his two decades of C-Suite experience, including serving as the COO of Diedrich Coffee, COO of House of Blues Entertainment, President of Lucky Strike Lanes, President, and COO of Dave & Buster's, and CEO of Topgolf where he oversaw 20,000 employees in 25 countries.

What do most Fortune 500 executives have in common? They learned their leadership 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 New York Times Best-Selling Author Don Yaeger on his journey to sit with the brightest executives in the world as we discuss how sports shaped their professional trajectory in life. Our first episode with Topgolf CEO, Dolf Berle, is coming Wednesday, August 5th and this preview gives you a behind the scenes look into what is coming up this year on this leadership podcast! Visit our website corporatecompetitorpodcast.com for free downloadable resources and a leadership lesson from our weekly Forbes.com article.