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PODCAST

The Corporate Couch: Work Stories I Only Tell My Friends

Interviews with successful leaders and company founders sharing stories of their career journey, great leadership, and not-so-great. It will help you become a better leader while poking fun at all the crazy shit that happens in corporate America. Hosted by Jeff Pelaccio who has over 40 years of leadership experience for every t-shirt size company - Small (4 employees) to XL (over 1 million employees). Listen, learn, and laugh each week to learn from great leaders from all walks of life.

business careers

All Episodes

41:58

Back on the Couch: Help Me Think Through This with...

The Corporate Couch: Work Stories I Only Tell My Friends ·

2026/10/05

Mary Messner is back on The Corporate Couch.Again. At this point, she may need her own parking space. Mary returns with her new book, Help Me Think Through This (https://a.co/d/06Af484P), built around a simple idea: creativity is not just for artists or designers. It is the courage to keep going in a new and different way. Jeff and Mary talk about where that idea came from, including the wonderfully strange story of a failed band called Wicked Lester that reinvented itself with face paint, wigs,

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62:03

George Brooks: Build the Company. Get Out of the Way.

The Corporate Couch: Work Stories I Only Tell My Friends ·

2026/09/28

George Brooks (bio below) built Crema almost by accident.Then, 18 years later, he did something that may have been even harder: He left it for two months. Completely. No email. No checking the pipeline. No “just one quick question” from the founder. And when George returned from his sabbatical, the company was doing just fine. Actually, better than fine. That created a much bigger question: If the company can thrive without you, who should you be when you come back? George’s path to

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60:46

Bad Bosses, Better Leadership, and Calling Your Own...

The Corporate Couch: Work Stories I Only Tell My Friends ·

2026/09/21

Steve Jorgenson (see bio below) has had an interesting career.Law school. An MBA. Government contracts. Staffing and recruiting. Entrepreneurship. Hockey. Rugby. Remote work around the world. And more than a few bosses who provided excellent examples of how not to lead. In this conversation, Jeff talks with Steve about growing up outside Chicago, being a spectacularly unenthusiastic high school student, eventually earning both a JD and MBA, and navigating a career filled with difficult managers,

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75:02

From Laminating ID Cards to the C-Suite with Diankha...

The Corporate Couch: Work Stories I Only Tell My Friends ·

2026/09/14

Diankha Linear’s career (see bio below) did not exactly begin with a polished five-year plan.It started with a red hope chest, a flight from Seattle to Washington, D.C., and the discovery that she had forgotten to apply for housing and complete the FAFSA. So naturally, she joined the Army. In this episode, Jeff talks with Diankha about a remarkable career that moved from humble beginnings in West Seattle to military service, airborne school, law school at the University of Pennsylvania, big law,

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71:39

When the Map Runs Out: Leading Beyond the Uniform...

The Corporate Couch: Work Stories I Only Tell My Friends ·

2026/09/07

Milford “Beags” Beagle (bio below) has spent his life getting over hurdles.Sometimes literally. Before he became a senior U.S. Army leader with a 35-year career, Beags was a kid from small-town South Carolina who admired his truck-driving father, played in the woods, broke his mom’s chairs practicing hurdle technique, and became a state champion hurdler. That combination of blue-collar grit, athletic discipline, and comfort with hard things eventually led him into the Army, where he discovered a

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68:50

DJ DiDonna: Big Time Off and Feeling Human Again

The Corporate Couch: Work Stories I Only Tell My Friends ·

2026/08/31

DJ DiDonna (see bio below) believes time off can change your life.Not “check your email from a beach chair” time off. Real time off. In this conversation, Jeff talks with DJ about his new book, Big Time Off: The Transformative Power of Sabbaticals and How to Take One, and why sabbaticals can be far more than an extended vacation. DJ’s own sabbatical came after building what looked like a dream career. He co-founded a mission-driven company, lived and worked around the world, and was doing

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74:18

Joy Spotting and the Spiritual Side of Work with...

The Corporate Couch: Work Stories I Only Tell My Friends ·

2026/08/24

Jessica Grossmeier (see bio below) has spent more than 25 years helping organizations understand what it really takes for people to thrive at work.And no, it is not just a fitness challenge, a meditation app, and a sad banana in the break room. In this episode, Jeff talks with Jessica about workplace well-being, burnout, human-centered organizations, and the deeper role that meaning, connection, purpose, and spirituality play in how people experience their work. Jessica grew up in Chippewa Falls,

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77:46

Matthew Naylor: From Billy Carts to Liberty’s Beacon

The Corporate Couch: Work Stories I Only Tell My Friends ·

2026/08/17

Dr. Matthew Naylor (see bio below) grew up in Melbourne, Australia, making billy carts from rubber factory wheels and learning early lessons about independence, possibility, and the common good.Today, he is the President and CEO of the National WWI Museum and Memorial, one of Kansas City’s most iconic institutions and, in Matthew’s words, “Kansas City’s front porch.” In this episode, Jeff talks with Matthew about his Australian childhood, his father’s World War II service, his own early experience

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77:12

From Broken Eggs to Breakthroughs with Britney Valas

The Corporate Couch: Work Stories I Only Tell My Friends ·

2026/08/10

Britney Valas (see bio below) has lived enough chapters for three memoirs, two Netflix docuseries, and possibly one CrossFit workout no one should attempt without medical supervision.In this episode, Jeff talks with Britney about resilience, reinvention, faith, family, leadership, and what happens when life hands you the business-owner version of a flaming casserole. Britney’s path started with a seven-year plan she created as a teenager to become a pharmaceutical sales rep. She worked at Kmart,

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76:16

Shari Noonan: Pack Light, Move Fast, and Rewrite the...

The Corporate Couch: Work Stories I Only Tell My Friends ·

2026/08/03

Shari Noonan (see bio below) has built a career by stepping into complexity and figuring out how to move it forward. In this episode, Jeff talks with Shari, CEO and co-founder of Rialto Markets, about a career that started with summers at Lake of the Ozarks, waiting tables, reading through the local library, and becoming an accounting major partly out of spite after a professor suggested she switch to communications. Naturally, she stuck with accounting. Spite, apparently, can be a surprisingly

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59:59

Mountain Lions, Challenge Coins, and Building What’s...

The Corporate Couch: Work Stories I Only Tell My Friends ·

2026/07/27

Anna Redmond’s story starts with a mountain lion in her yard.Seriously. Before Jeff and Anna (bio below) get into entrepreneurship, physical security, challenge coins, blockchain, Harvard, venture capital, and leadership, Anna explains how a mountain lion turned her neighborhood into a national news story and trapped her family in the house for hours. Not your typical podcast warm-up. Anna is the Founder and CEO of Braav, a physical security company trusted by organizations nationwide. She also

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21:50

Special Edition: The Chief Energy Officer with Noorah...

The Corporate Couch: Work Stories I Only Tell My Friends ·

2026/07/24

In this Special Edition episode, Jeff welcomes friend and Kansas City connector Noorah Nachbor, founder of Palm and Light (Her Website) and The Leap, for a conversation about career pivots, energy, intuition, healing, entrepreneurship, and what happens when the corporate grind no longer fits.After nearly two decades in recruiting, talent acquisition, and HR, Noorah stepped away from corporate life to launch her own talent search and placement firm. She quickly proved she could build a business, but

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77:14

From Tornado Chasing to Strategy-First Marketing with...

The Corporate Couch: Work Stories I Only Tell My Friends ·

2026/07/20

Jeff welcomes his friend, former Sprint PCS colleague, and fractional CMO Lori Wiles (see bio below) to The Corporate Couch for a conversation about career pivots, marketing strategy, leadership, AI, and finding new energy in the next chapter. Lori’s career started in broadcast news, where she was a 10 o’clock news anchor and reporter in Garden City, Kansas. That chapter included chasing tornadoes, interviewing a self-professed witch with an FCC problem, shooting video from a helicopter during an

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54:29

Back on the Couch: Marketing Isn’t a Magic Wand with...

The Corporate Couch: Work Stories I Only Tell My Friends ·

2026/07/13

Dave Patrick was one of the earliest guests on The Corporate Couch, appearing way back on episode seven. More than 200 episodes later, he returns to the couch to go deeper on one of the topics that made our first conversation so memorable: why CEOs often struggle to understand marketing, and why that disconnect can lead to a lot of expensive activity that looks productive but does not actually drive the business. Dave brings the perspective of someone who has lived on both sides: iconic agency

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71:22

Dossiers, Dragons, and the Long Game with Kendall...

The Corporate Couch: Work Stories I Only Tell My Friends ·

2026/07/06

What happens when your podcast guest hands you a 15-page dossier about himself before the interview starts? You know you’re in for a different kind of conversation. Jeff recorded this episode in person at Kendall Schoenrock’s (see bio below) podcast studio in Lenexa, Kansas, where they talked about entrepreneurship, AI, family, fear, legacy, and what it means to build things that last. Kendall also hosts his own podcast, Hidden Foundations, making this part conversation, part podcast crossover, and

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31:35

Special Edition: My Bagger Vance - Golf, Habits, and...

The Corporate Couch: Work Stories I Only Tell My Friends ·

2026/07/02

In this Special Edition episode, Jeff reconnects with Ed LeBeau, founder of Heartland Golf Schools (Website) and one of the most influential teachers in Jeff’s own golf journey. Jeff first met Ed in 2003 while attending Heartland Golf School, and over the years Ed has become a bit like Jeff’s own Bagger Vance: part golf instructor, part philosopher, part calm voice on the lesson tee reminding you that maybe the problem is not your left elbow, your hips, or the seven swing thoughts currently fighting

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55:21

Back on the Couch: When Success Stops Working with...

The Corporate Couch: Work Stories I Only Tell My Friends ·

2026/06/29

Maki Moussavi is back, and she officially becomes the first guest to return for a full-length episode. No pressure, Maki. Just podcast history :-) In her first conversation, Maki talked about career journeys, leadership, and the idea of success conditioning, the way high-achieving professionals are trained to chase goals, promotions, validation, and the next “big thing,” often without stopping to ask whether any of it is actually working for them. In this return episode, she goes deeper. Much

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56:56

From Pop-Up to Powerhouse: Building Kansas City’s...

The Corporate Couch: Work Stories I Only Tell My Friends ·

2026/06/21

What happens when three guys with almost no retail experience decide to open a local goods store? In Keith Bradley’s case, you get Made in KC. Keith, co-founder of Made in KC, shares the story of how a 300-square-foot pop-up featuring 15 local artists grew into one of Kansas City’s most recognizable local brands, with more than 15 locations, including a store in the Kansas City airport. And yes, the founders’ combined retail experience at the beginning was basically one winter break at Williams

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56:22

Billy Hodes: From Dinner Table Business School to...

The Corporate Couch: Work Stories I Only Tell My Friends ·

2026/06/15

What do 11 kids, Jesuit college night, Charlie Hooper’s, plumbing supplies, private equity, faith, family, and a guy named “Billy the Turd” have in common? Billy Hodes (see bio below). Billy grew up in Kansas City as the youngest of 11 children in a big, faith-filled family where business lessons were often served at the dinner table. His father built a national plumbing supply distribution company, taught him the value of hard work, and once fired him after Billy hung up on the company’s top sales

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82:36

From Flatlander to WellSky: Lumberjacks, Startups,...

The Corporate Couch: Work Stories I Only Tell My Friends ·

2026/06/08

What does a former choker setter in the Washington woods have to do with leading one of the country’s largest healthcare technology companies? More than you might think. Bill Miller (see bio below), Chairman and CEO of WellSky, shares a career journey that started far from the executive suite: growing up in a big Midwest family, running a paper route at seven years old, chasing football dreams, getting injured, and unexpectedly spending a summer in Washington working one of the most

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244 results

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