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The story of America is the story of getting punched in the face and choosing to come back stronger. That is not just history. That is leadership. As the country turns 250, BJ sits down with Army Colonel Steve Messenger to unpack what that actually demands of you. Steve teaches a class called Failing with the Stoics and has spent his career building leaders inside the military's deliberate, hierarchical, brutal development system.

In this episode, Steve and BJ get into the BRAG framework for servant leadership, why solid citizens and learners need totally different things from you, the three ropes every leader has to bounce off of, the moment a major stepped into a combatives ring and got slammed in the face, and the identity lie most leaders quietly believe. The line that stuck with BJ: chase people, not badges.

Topics discussed:

00:00 - Reagan, freedom, and the 250th birthday setup

01:13 - Why America's story is the story of getting back up

07:25 - Doing your best when life has split priorities

10:07 - The Failing with the Stoics class

11:04 - Solid citizens vs learners and what each one needs

14:01 - The BRAG framework for servant leadership

19:00 - The major who stepped into the combatives ring

24:29 - Jack Hughes and the gold medal goal that says it all

27:11 - The three ropes every leader needs to bounce off of

35:02 - The identity lie most leaders quietly believe

Connect with Stephen Messenger:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-messenger-866136a5/

Website: https://themaximumstandard.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephenmessenger19/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100069227347214&locale=es_LA

Connect with BJ Kraemer:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bj-kraemer-9a0855b/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bj_kraemer/

Website: https://mcfaglobal.com/

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4bcvcAw0rigwymZCwZgfgN?si=45fc1e07c82742ee

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-blueprints/id1561090224

Books mentioned:

• Why Not the Best by Jimmy Carter
• Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
• No Rules Rules by Reed Hastings
• Antifragile by Nassim Taleb

This episode was produced by Podcast Boutique: https://www.podcastboutique.com

Get Weekly Leadership Blueprints in your inbox: https://mailchi.mp/mcfaglobal/leadership-blueprints-newsletter

Most firms send their project managers to a bootcamp once a year, hand them a certificate, and call it development. Anthony Fasano says that's not even close. PMs are running your client relationships, your budgets, your teams. They are CEOs of their projects. If you are not building them like CEOs, you are capping your own growth. Anthony just released Beyond PM Training, and his ecosystem approach is a wake up call for any firm that thinks a seminar is a strategy.

In this episode, Anthony and BJ break down the four phases of real PM development, why 90 percent of firms cannot even tell you how many PMs they have, the abundance mindset most of the industry is missing, and the line BJ keeps coming back to. Systems beat seminars. If you run a firm or you are a PM trying to develop yourself, this one is the blueprint.

Topics discussed:

00:00 - Why PM development is the real growth lever
02:33 - PM development is an ecosystem, not a class
04:01 - The four phases of the development ecosystem
05:07 - Why 90 percent of firms cannot even count their PMs
06:18 - Why you have to assess PMs before you train them
10:14 - Getting senior PMs speaking the same language
17:14 - PMs have to advocate for themselves too
19:10 - The abundance mindset that lifts the whole industry
21:19 - Why systems beat seminars
23:11 - How to micro dose PM development

Connect with Anthony Fasano:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonyjfasano/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EngineeringManagementInstitute/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/engineeringmanagementinstitute/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@engmgtinstitute
X: https://x.com/EngMgtInstitute
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@EngineeringManagement
Website:https://engineeringmanagementinstitute.org/

Connect with BJ Kraemer:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bj-kraemer-9a0855b/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bj_kraemer/
Website: https://mcfaglobal.com/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4bcvcAw0rigwymZCwZgfgN?si=45fc1e07c82742ee
Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-blueprints/id1561090224

This episode was produced by Podcast Boutique: https://www.podcastboutique.com

Get Weekly Leadership Blueprints in your inbox: https://mailchi.mp/mcfaglobal/leadership-blueprints-newsletter

Most parents think they're doing right by their kid in youth sports. They show up. They invest. They mean well. But Jonathan Carone says two hidden emotions are quietly driving most of the bad sideline calls. Self love and self glory. Once you can name them, the whole thing changes. Jonathan runs Healthy Sports Parents and helps moms, dads, and coaches build the kind of relationship with their kid that makes the sport actually mean something.

In this episode, Jonathan and BJ get into the youth sports arms race, why kids are quitting before high school, the fun map study that puts winning at 40th on the list of things kids actually find fun, and the 5 to 10 ratio every parent and coach should know. The line that stuck: methods are many, principles are few.

Topics discussed:

00:00 - Welcome and why this topic matters
01:17 - What kids actually need from the adults around them
03:33 - The two hidden emotions driving every sports parent
06:15 - BJ's real time dilemma with his nine year old
11:20 - If you're meant to get there, you're going to get there
22:20 - The fun map study and where winning actually ranks
23:01 - The 5 to 10 ratio every parent and coach should know
26:34 - Why you need love deposits before criticism
28:52 - The Kobe Bryant moment that reframes coaching kids
31:09 - I'm dad. Then I'm coach.

Connect with Jonathan Carone:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-carone-52145778/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HealthySportsParents/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/healthysportsparents\
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@healthysportsparents
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@HealthySportsParents
Website: https://healthysportsparents.com/

Connect with BJ Kraemer:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bj-kraemer-9a0855b/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bj_kraemer/
Website: https://mcfaglobal.com/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4bcvcAw0rigwymZCwZgfgN?si=45fc1e07c82742ee
Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-blueprints/id1561090224

This episode was produced by Podcast Boutique: https://www.podcastboutique.com