Game Changers with Molly Fletcher is our podcast designed to help you maximize your influence and unleash your potential. Each episode, we take you behind the scenes with peak performers to learn what makes them tick and discover how you can apply their lessons to your life. Join Molly each week to hear from her special guests— top athletes and coaches, transformative CEOs, brilliant thought leaders, and entrepreneurs and trailblazers from around the world. Subscribe now on iTunes or Google Play.

Recent Episodes

Atlanta Braves Chipper Jones

Episode 12- Chipper Jones on What Baseball Taught Me About Failure

During his 19-year career with the Atlanta Braves, Chipper Jones was a World Series Champion, 1999 National League MVP and 8x All-Star. But baseball also forced him to fail time and time again, and in that he found his most valuable lessons. On this episode, the former #1 pick and future Hall of Famer discusses the highs and lows of being a professional athlete, opens up about his personal struggles, and talks about the mental toughness and perseverance required to become one of the game’s greatest switch-hitters. His new book, Ballplayer, is in stores now.

Atlanta Braves Chipper Jones

Follow Chipper: Twitter  |  Facebook

“If reality TV had been the in thing in the mid to late 90s, I would have had the best show on TV.”

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Show Notes

  • What made the Atlanta Braves teams of the 1990s so special (2:12)
  • What it was like to play for Atlanta Braves manager Bobby Cox (4:37)
  • The Atlanta Braves veterans who mentored him in the clubhouse (7:04)
  • How baseball taught him to recover from failure faster (10:32)
  • The positive self-talk Chipper used when in a slump (12:32)
  • The advice his mother gave him that he remembered every time he stepped to the plate (15:00)
  • The story of how Chipper went hunting the morning of the World Series (18:37)
  • His pre-game routine (21:30)
  • Focusing on baseball while his personal life fell apart (25:20)
  • The decision to retire and the transition (29:30)
  • The best practical jokes from the Braves clubhouse (35:43)
  • The advice Chipper would give his younger self (40:35)

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Kat Cole, FOCUS Brands

Episode 11- Kat Cole on Authentic Leadership

From her start as a hostess at Hooters to leading some of the world’s best-known food brands, Kat Cole shares the leadership lessons she’s learned through her accelerated rise up the corporate ladder. On this episode, the current group president of FOCUS Brands talks about her personal leadership philosophy, how to help people embrace change, her advice to young leaders, and what it takes to lead successful teams with hustle and heart.

Follow Kat: Twitter  |  Instagram

“Don’t forget where you came from, but don’t you dare ever let it solely define you.”

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Show Notes

  • Insights into her younger life (2:45)
  • Opening a Hooters franchise in Australia at age 19 (5:58)
  • Curiosity + confidence + humility + courage (7:00)
  • How her experiences have influenced her leadership style (8:52)
  • Why her correlation with money wasn’t positive growing up (10:40)
  • Her definition of success (10:46)
  • Her advice to young leaders (16:50)
  • How she handles doubters (19:30)
  • Building the culture at FOCUS Brands (23:22)
  • How to create a culture of innovation (26:20)
  • How to get team members to embrace change (29:22)
  • A moment she failed and how she recovered (33:05)
  • How she finds work-life balance (36:04)

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Laura Gentile ESPN

Episode 10- Laura Gentile on Building A Winning Brand at ESPN

Laura Gentile turned her passion and purpose into a vision, leading the launch of the espnW platform for ESPN. On this episode, the former college field hockey standout takes us behind the scenes to talk about the hard-driving culture at ESPN, her vision for espnW, and what it takes to launch a new brand.

Laura Gentile ESPNW

Follow Laura: Twitter | Instagram | Website

“The way I approach work is through an athletic mindset.”

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Show Notes

  • Launching espnW as a startup (2:14)
  • The data behind the decision to launch espnW (3:10)
  • What she looked for in her first hires at espnW (3:45)
  • Launching the business at the espnW Summit (6:24)
  • Her vision for the espnW brand (7:12)
  • Tapping into the power of the female consumer (8:30)
  • How she’s aligned her purpose with her work (11:33)
  • What she’s learned from working in the industry (18:28)
  • What the culture is like at ESPN (20:14)
  • Her views on youth sports today (23:05)
  • Her advice to anyone who wants to work in the sports industry (26:17)

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KIPP Co-Founder Mike Feinberg

Episode 9- Mike Feinberg on Purpose-Driven Leadership

Work hard. Be nice. Those simple words are at the core of KIPP (Knowledge is Power Program), a national network of college-prep public charter schools in underserved communities. On this episode, co-founder Mike Feinberg shares the vision behind KIPP, how to infuse purpose into leadership, and how grit can be cultivated in kids.

KIPP Co-Founder Mike Feinberg

Follow Mike: Twitter | Facebook | Website

“Academics without character is hollow. Character without academics is useless. You need both.”

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Show Notes

  • How KIPP scaled from a local idea to a national program (5:07)
  • The role purpose plays in Mike’s life and at KIPP (6:30)
  • Learning from his failures (8:00)
  • How your child can attend a KIPP school (10:30)
  • The American dream is a parent dream (11:50)
  • Behind KIPP’s slogan “Work Hard. Be Nice.” (14:28)
  • His leadership philosophy (15:13)
  • What character strengths they teach their students (16:32)
  • True grit is when you’re faced with challenges and you persist (18:46)
  • Why you need both academics and character to succeed (22:44)
  • What life lessons you can learn on the sports field (25:31)
  • How we close the character gap in today’s win-it-all mindset (27:25)
  • Most memorable career moment so far (29:20)

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Jessie Graff- American Ninja Warrior

Episode 8- Jessie Graff on Superheroes, Ninja Warriors and Facing Fear

Hollywood stuntwoman and American Ninja Warrior competitor Jessie Graff is living out her dream of being a superhero. Her day-to-day activities include: “anything on rooftops, sides of buildings or bridges, and dramatic wipeouts.” In this episode, Jessie talks about breaking down gender barriers, chasing Hollywood dreams, her training regimen, and how to stare down fear.

Jessie Graff- American Ninja Warrior

Follow Jessie: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Website

“The more scared you are; the more preparation you have to do.”

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Show Notes

  • Advice for women working in male-dominated fields (4:05)
  • How she decided to become a Hollywood stunt woman (6:02)
  • Learning to appreciate the process (8:40)
  • How she overcomes fear (12:07)
  • The American Ninja Warrior experience (16:13)
  • The hardest part of American Ninja Warrior (19:17)
  • How she approaches training for competition (22:17)
  • How rehabbing from an injury led her to pursue Ninja Warrior (25:20)
  • The goal behind the Wolfpack Ninja Tour (32:40)
  • Her training regimen focuses on maximum effort (35:56)
  • Pushing through the possibility of failure (38:53)
  • Thinking she can’t do something isn’t damaging unless it stops her from trying (40:26)

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Atlanta Hawks CEO Steve Koonin

Episode 7- Steve Koonin on Creating An Innovative Culture

Visionary Steve Koonin has spearheaded marketing for iconic brands—from Coca-Cola to Turner to the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks. His offbeat marketing ideas– Tinder night, anyone?–  and unique leadership approach have reinvigorated the Hawks franchise. In this episode, Steve shares what it takes to break through the status quo and create a culture of innovation that rewards great ideas and risk taking.

Atlanta Hawks CEO Steve Koonin

Follow Steve: Twitter | Website

“Ideas are like diapers– when they are full of crap, just throw them away.”

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Show Notes

  • His vision for the Atlanta Hawks franchise (2:55)
  • Risk taking in marketing (6:00)
  • How to create a workplace culture where people aren’t afraid to fail forward (7:57)
  • The biggest mistake new leaders make (9:06)
  • Trading core values for core actions (12:00)
  • How fear stifles creativity (19:20)
  • The idea behind “Swipe Right” night at the Hawks game (20:38)
  • Hiring for the right fit (23:38)
  • How to reward the right metrics (25:26)
  • The biggest influences on his leadership philosophy (28:35)
  • His favorite hobby (31:12)

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Billy Horschel

Episode 6- Billy Horschel on Mental Toughness

PGA Tour golfer Billy Horschel is one of golf’s brightest young stars. On this episode, Billy talks about recovering from adversity, developing mental toughness, how to handle pressure, and the piece of advice he received from Tiger Woods that changed his mental approach.

Follow Billy: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Website

“If you aren’t feeling the heat then this doesn’t mean anything to you.”

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Show Notes

  • How his blue collar upbringing influenced his mentality (2:40)
  • On the importance of mental toughness in golf (8:26)
  • Using visualization to mentally prepare for tournaments (11:48)
  • On the visualization trick that Tiger Woods taught him (15:06)
  • How he manages his energy during life out on Tour (17:35)
  • His advice to his younger self (24:00)
  • Trusting the process (26:03)
  • His unique style via Ralph Lauren (33:50)

 

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Tom Glavine

Episode 5- Tom Glavine on Peak Performance

A Hall of Fame pitcher, Tom Glavine etched his name in history as one of baseball’s greats as he led the Atlanta Braves to five World Series appearances in the 1990s. On this episode, Tom shares what it takes to compete at the highest level, the challenges with youth sports today, and the ingredients to build a winning team culture.

Tom Glavine

Follow Tom: Twitter

“Talent only takes you so far.”

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Show Notes

  • Glavine talks about the leadership style of Atlanta Braves manager Bobby Cox (1:44)
  • What separates great players from everyone else (5:20)
  • The advice his Dad gave him as a kid that stuck with him (11:00)
  • Talent alone will only take you so far. (11:30)
  • How sport specialization is harming youth sports (15:07)
  • What baseball taught Glavine about failure (24:46)
  • The problem with being just results-driven (28:50)
  • The importance of having teammates who will give you honest feedback (30:20)

 

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Monique Mosley

Episode 4- Monique Mosley on Being Your Own Boss

An entrepreneur, angel investor and philanthropist, Monique Mosley has helped guide the careers of visionaries in the music and entertainment industries and has worked as a consultant on the hit TV show Empire. On this episode, Monique talks about the making of a hit TV show, what it takes to build your own brand, and why as leaders we can—and should—always pay it forward.

Monique Mosley

Follow Monique: Twitter

“Once you are able to change your life, you can help change someone else’s.”

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Show Notes

  • What inspired her entrepreneurial spirit at a young age (2:16)
  • How she bridged the gap between the music & entertainment industry and corporate clients (3:52)
  • How Empire became a hit TV show (6:05)
  • The people who influenced her career (7:30)
  • How to structure a mentor relationship (9:02)
  • Her advice to young entrepreneurs (11:20)
  • When she knows she wants to invest in an early stage startup (12:58)
  • Her greatest personal and professional accomplishments (16:09)
  • Some of the “firsts” she’s accomplished in her career (16:43)
  • The charitable organizations she’s involved with and why (18:26)
  • Behind the scenes of Empire (20:37)
  • Find out more about her foundation, Always Believing Foundation (23:42)
  • The best advice she’s ever received (26:16)

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Big East Commissioner Val Ackerman

Episode 3- Val Ackerman on Reinventing Your Career

From serving as the first President of the WNBA to heading up the Big East Conference, Val Ackerman has made her mark on the sports industry. On this episode, Val talks about the importance of women in leadership and why you shouldn’t be afraid to reinvent your career.

Follow Val:  Website

“Life isn’t always a straight line. Don’t be afraid to zig and zag.”

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Show Notes

  • How she approached coming aboard the Big East (2:01)
  • How she’s leading through the changing landscape of college sports (4:22)
  • The way she creates structure to help move things forward amid such a fast-paced business (7:00)
  • The hardest part of her job (9:25)
  • What some of the proudest moments and toughest challenges in her career have been (11:20)
  • Her crusade to better women’s leadership in sports, especially internationally (14:27)
  • The biggest gaps that need to be closed for women’s sports to be where she wants them to be (15:03)
  • How to close the revenue gap between men’s and women’s professional sport (16:24)
  • Things she learned from David Stern (17:53)
  • Her words to describe David Stern as a leader (20:05)
  • Advice for people who are afraid to make a change (21:38)
  • What it was like leaving her position as president of the WNBA (25:17)
  • How she juggled work and family (26:54)
  • Life isn’t always a straight line…don’t be afraid to zig and zag (28:04)
  • Biggest fear (30:12)
  • Her life motto (30:55)

Resources / People Mentioned

Recommended For You

Did you enjoy this episode? Then listen to:

And read:

Thanks for checking out Game Changers with Molly Fletcher. Be sure to subscribe on iTunes and leave a rating or review!

Do You Like to Get What You Want…But Don’t Like Negotiating?

Our immersive Game Changer 360 Negotiation Workshops will teach you and your team how to negotiate more effectively and build stronger relationships in and out of the workplace.

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