The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk

Jim Collins, author and researcher behind Good to Great, shares personal stories and leadership research. He discusses life-changing cliffs and inflection points. He defines three types of luck and how to get return on luck. He explains encodings—durable capacities—and how to recognize them. He explores leadership as inspiring people to do what must be done and the art of reflection and small celebrations.

Dr. Nicole LePera, clinical psychologist and creator of The Holistic Psychologist, blends mind-body healing with reparenting work. She discusses growing up as an overachiever, hiding pain behind success, and self-medicating as a teen. She explains why awareness alone is not enough, how real boundaries work, and daily somatic practices that help heal the body as well as the mind.

David Epstein, bestselling author and investigative reporter, explains why limits can spark creativity. He discusses choosing structure after too much freedom, rituals and routines that protect deep work, narrative values that shape meaning, and how constraints simplify decisions and sharpen writing. Short examples and stories make the case for working inside smart limits.

Marcus Buckingham, leadership researcher and bestselling author who co-created StrengthsFinder, explains why preserving a founder’s passion matters. He explores designing experiences that create love in business. He outlines the five sequential feelings leaders must create and the ABCs of authentic leadership. He also warns about the costs of scaling without protecting what people love.

Nir Eyal, Stanford lecturer, behavioral designer, and bestselling author, explains the Turnaround technique to spot and reshape limiting beliefs. He talks about how beliefs filter attention, methods to generate alternative perspectives, ways to reduce relationship friction, and how shifting belief can reveal opportunities others miss.

Will Guidara, former co-owner of Eleven Madison Park and author of Unreasonable Hospitality, transformed restaurants by centering people. He talks about obsession as a driving love, turning adversity into growth, lessons learned from Danny Meyer about caring for your team, and hospitality as a lasting competitive advantage through thoughtful touchpoints and designed experiences.

Clark Lea, Vanderbilt head football coach known for a major program turnaround. He talks culture-building through relatedness and belief as daily practice. He explains owning outcomes, developing people across life roles, valuing misfits who fit the program, and how alignment and readiness create competitive edges.

Scott Galloway, NYU Stern marketing professor, entrepreneur, and bestselling author. He explores how action absorbs anxiety and why leaning into emotion and novelty makes life feel longer. He argues praise is underrated as leadership currency. He shares tactics for storytelling, reverse engineering success, and turning personal brands into enterprise value.

Kat Cole, CEO of AG1 and former Cinnabon executive who rose from Hooters waitress to Fortune 40 Under 40, shares career-shaping frameworks. She discusses product-first growth and how trusted recommendations fueled AG1’s expansion. Hear her rules for everyday professional interviews, the four mindsets senior leaders need, and the storytelling role of a CEO.

Jamie Siminoff, inventor of Ring who sold it to Amazon for over $1B, shares the origin of the video doorbell and the moment it became a neighborhood-safety mission. He recounts Shark Tank rejection that sparked momentum. He explains hypergrowth risks in hardware, why Amazon was the right exit, and his hiring focus on passionate ‘marathon runners’ over pedigree.