Blog

Rick Blackshaw spent his career inside big footwear, putting 500 million to 600 million shoes on people's feet. Then he noticed who the industry was not serving. A conversation about seeing a gap from the inside and building Stoke to fill it.

At a certain level everyone knows the system. The difference is state. A one-game semi-final, an opponent that escalated, players who kept their hands up and skated away, and why calm is the vessel that carries every other part of leadership.

Lisa Ascolese, known as the Inventress, has spent her life turning everyday problems into products and helping others do the same. Her napkin is a challenge. All or nothing, now or never. Why hesitation costs momentum you may never get back.

A job search turned into an offer to buy a 35 year old travel company. Dan Perry and Michael Serapiglia on getting lost on purpose, keeping a founder's legacy alive, and testing new ideas light before going all in.

Brandon Bagley's napkin says we is greater than me. Eighteen years into owning AlphaGraphics locations, he explains why peers, accountability and trust given first let him take six weeks away with no worry.

As a business grows, the relationships multiply faster than any owner can control. Michael Walsh offers four driving influences of human behavior, and a few simple tells for spotting who on your team is protecting themselves and who is ready to contribute.

You can't stop the waves, but you can learn to surf. Heidi Hanna on why stress carries information, why calm is as contagious as panic, and the step most leaders skip between spotting a problem and fixing it.

When her husband's corporate jet was sold in 2020, Julie Whitney sat in the cockpit, cried, and went home to write a children's book. Then she sold it the way she had pitched national media for decades. One yes at a time.

Stephanie Szostak played Division One golf and landed a lead role opposite Steve Carell, and still felt paralyzed on set. Her napkin is the one sentence that steadies her now, and the three-minute habit that keeps it alive.

Roberta Perry started her skincare business with her sister and best friend, Michelle. When Michelle died, Roberta was left with grief and no regrets. Her napkin, leave no stone unturned, is about saying it now, to the people who matter most.

Amanda Carpenter's napkin says stop waiting for an invitation, open to receive. Here is what each half means for a driven owner, and why the two belong together.

Ashley Perona's napkin reads explore, experience, evolve. She and her husband have traveled the world full time for years. What looks like wandering runs on structure, a clear list of what she won't do, and a shared vivid vision.

Shep’s message challenges us to examine our mindset. The difference between “don’t” and “won’t” is crucial.

Raeanne Lacatena's napkin says business can be a series of deaths and rebirths. A business coach and trained mental health professional, she learned it early in pediatric palliative care. Here is how to feel an ending, get out of the loop, and build the next phase.

Molly Booker carried thoughts of suicide for nearly two decades and told no one. What changed was one person who slowed down, asked, and answered with love. Her case for asking the hard question, at home and at work.