In this episode of the Bet on People, Keegan Evans, CEO and Executive Coach at Euda, hosts Joseph (Joe) Bogdan, Human Resources Business Partner at JLL, a seasoned leadership educator, and an Air Force veteran. They discuss the importance of human-centered leadership and the continuous pursuit of self-mastery. Joseph shares his leadership philosophy, which focuses on developing world-class coaching trees and prioritizing the growth of individuals within organizations. They also explore how to align personal and professional goals, emphasizing that leadership is about coaching and serving others, rather than just mentoring.

Key Takeaways:

1. Leadership Is About Growth: Joseph highlights the importance of continuous self-improvement, both as a leader and as an individual. Leadership is not just about guiding others, but also about personal self-mastery.
2. Developing Leadership Trees: Joseph emphasizes the concept of building coaching trees, where the legacy of a leader is defined by how well they nurture and develop other leaders, rather than by their own individual accomplishments.
3. Balancing Work and Life: The conversation delves into the sacrifices made in leadership, reflecting on personal experiences in both the military and corporate settings. The importance of setting boundaries and balancing work with personal life for sustainable leadership is explored.
4. Value of Sacrifice: Leadership often requires personal sacrifices for the greater good, and while these sacrifices can be challenging, the long-term benefits usually outweigh the costs.
5. Leadership Isn’t Glamorous: True leadership involves taking on tough, unglamorous roles and making hard choices for the benefit of the team, rather than seeking accolades or recognition.

Episode Timestamps:

[00:00:00] – Introduction to Leadership Philosophy: Joseph discusses the critical role of leadership in any service industry and how it’s about continuously growing to pour into others.

[00:03:19] – World-Class Coaching Trees: Joseph explains his view on leadership as developing leaders who can coach others to success, focusing on creating long-term impact.

[00:05:16] – What Doesn’t Work in Leadership Development: Joseph talks about the mistakes leaders often make by trying to force their own methods onto others.

[00:08:13] – Self-Mastery and Leadership: How self-leadership, emotional intelligence, and self-awareness are foundational to effective leadership.

[00:10:35] – Learning from the Past: Reflecting on leadership and life choices and realizing the importance of prioritizing family and personal well-being.

[00:15:16] – The Cost of Leadership: Joseph reflects on his own sacrifices, including time away from family, during his career, and how they impacted his personal life.

[00:19:50] – Finding the Balance: The challenge of balancing personal sacrifice and leadership obligations while maintaining health and relationships.

[00:32:18] – Joseph’s Favorite Leadership Story: A reflection on how leadership is more about personal growth and less about achieving external markers of success.

[00:33:10] – The Power of Both-And Thinking: Joseph discusses how both accountability and compassion can coexist, challenging the idea of leadership being an either/or proposition

[00:46:35] – Final Thoughts: Joseph wraps up the conversation by emphasizing the continuous journey of leadership and the importance of leading from both the head and the heart.

🔗Connect with Guest Joseph (Joe) Bogdan:

👉 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jybogdan/

👉 To get a copy of Joe’s  book, or to get in touch directly, visit his official website: https://waypointbetter.com/ 

🔗Connect with JLL:

👉 Website: https://www.jll.com/en-us/

👉 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/jll/

🔗Connect with Host Keegan Evans:

👉 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keeganevans/

🔗 More from Euda:

👉 Website: https://www.euda.io/

👉 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/euda-io/

🔗 Follow the Podcast on:

👉 Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bet-on-people/id1882863281

👉 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5HgXTMbgkDsmuqzUiDGcXc

👉 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Euda-io

On this episode of Bet on People, Abby Queale joins host Keegan Evans.

Abby Queale is the Chief Legal and Compliance Officer at MagCorp, a magnet technology development company she helped build from the ground up as its founding CEO. She's a registered patent attorney who previously served as Director of Innovation at San José State University, where she launched the Technology Transfer, Industry Research Alliances, the SpartUp Incubator, and the Silicon Valley Small Business Development Center. Before all of that, she began her career in tech transfer at Florida State University and somewhere along the way, she became a Disney Parks expert who will absolutely help you plan your trip.

In this episode Abby and Keegan trace a career built on one consistent belief: you sell the person, not the business. Abby's decisions have always come back to betting on the people in the room. 

She also shares the story of building SJSU's SpartUp Incubator from scratch, including the paper plane exercise that revealed what students actually needed — and why she still wouldn't let anyone throw them.

In this Episode:

1. Why "if you put people first, the numbers will come" 
2. How Abby pushed back on investors who wrote off faculty entrepreneurs, and the argument she used to change their minds
3. The value of becoming a mentor once you've got the knowledge to give
4. & so much more

Connect with Abby and Euda:

MagCorp website: https://magneticscorp.com/

Abby on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abbyqueale/

Follow Euda at https://www.linkedin.com/company/euda-io/

Learn more about Euda at euda.io

Subscribe to The Euda Debrief: https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7435041512645718017

In this episode of Bet on People we're joined by Matt Abrams.

Matt has spent over 30 years operating across government agencies, startups, enterprises, healthcare, and venture capital — with a throughline focused on building trusted information environments. 

He is the Co-Founder of $1 Billion for Trust, a non-profit building the community, infrastructure, and capital to fund solutions that strengthen trust in information, in one another, and in critical institutions. 

His motto — printed on his hat — is "leave it better," and when he's not working to solve the information crisis, you'll find him in the mountains of Oregon or at the Ben & Jerry's franchise he and his wife own in Bend, Oregon.

This episode we discuss:

1. That leadership is all about being in service to your team
2. The value of spreading bad news quickly inside an organization
3. How important intellectual humility is in leadership
4. Why keeping your North Start at the head of your decisions will serve you and those around you
5. & so much more

Connect with Matt and Euda:

$1 Billion for Trust: https://1billionfortrust.org

Leave It Better Project: https://leaveitbetterproject.com/

Matt Abrams website: https://www.mattabrams.org

Matt Abrams on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattabrams/

Follow Euda at https://www.linkedin.com/company/euda-io/

Learn more about Euda at euda.io

Subscribe to The Euda Debrief: https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7435041512645718017

On this episode of Bet on People we sit down with Triparna Chakraborty. We recorded this episode before we locked in our format so this conversation takes a bit of a different path. 

Triparna Chakraborty is a People Business Partner at Credo with 12 years of experience across the full spectrum of HR — workforce planning, hiring, and employer branding — and an engineering background she never left behind. 

Before moving into HR, she worked across multiple countries, and that global, cross-functional lens now shapes how she approaches AI: she works with both individuals navigating career change and organizations building AI strategy, helping bridge what the technology can do with what people actually need to trust and use it. She's one of the more grounded voices on what it actually means to center people in how new technology gets adopted.

In this episode we'll talk about:

1. The micro ways that individuals can use AI to help prepare for interviews
2. The macro ways leaders and organizations need to be thinking about AI adoption 
3. The important nuances leaders need to understand to navigate conversations around AI uncertainty
4. & so much more!

Connect with Triparna and Euda:

Follow Triparna Chakraborty at https://www.linkedin.com/in/triparnachakraborty/

Follow Euda at https://www.linkedin.com/company/euda-io/

Learn more about Euda at euda.io

Subscribe to Keegan Evans on Substack at https://eudaceo.substack.com/ 

In this episode of Bet on People, we sit down with Doug Krugman. 

Doug is a retired Marine infantry officer who led units in Iraq and Afghanistan, served as a foreign area officer across Southeast Asia, and spent his final assignment planning operations for 45,000 Marines on the West Coast focused on deterring Chinese aggression in the Pacific. In January 2025, he chose to retire rather than execute orders he believed were morally wrong and potentially illegal — and in October 2025, he published an OpEd about that decision that received national attention and landed him media spots across the country. He now serves as Senior Advisor to the Vet Voice Foundation, applying the same standard to himself that he held his Marines to.

In our conversation we talk about:

• The myths about military leadership
• Why we hold leaders to higher standards than incoming recruits
• How doing your job well means making yourself obsolete
• & so much moreConnect with Doug and Euda:

Doug Krugman on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/doug-krugman/

Doug Krugman on Substackhttps://substack.com/@dougkrugman

Vet Voice Foundation: https://vvfnd.org/

Follow Euda at https://www.linkedin.com/company/euda-io/

Learn more about Euda at euda.io

Subscribe to The Euda Debrief: https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7435041512645718017

This episode of Bet on People, we invited Barrett Young to join us. 

Barrett Young is the Marketing Partner at GWCPA, an 80-year-old firm he's actively transforming. He and his partner are making big changes like shifting to subscription pricing, embedding AI across client experiences, and building tools like The Generations Advisor, a custom GPT for business owners navigating succession. 

He hosts The Art of Succession podcast, where he talks to leaders about stepping into ownership, and writes Against the Grain, a weekly newsletter on using AI creatively in professional work. Right now, he's in the middle of some of the hardest decisions of his career — but approach stays the same: stay curious, bring others along, and keep building something that lasts.

In this episode we talk about:

1. How to make big changes that impact your business's ecosystem
2. The importance of staying anchored in your values while parting ways with clients and employees
3. The value in embracing change in an industry that hasn't changed in decades
4. & so much more!

Connect with Barrett and Euda:

Subscribe to Against the Grain on LinkedIn: https://gwcpas.com/against-the-grain

Learn more about GWCPA: www.gwcpas.com

The Art of Succession podcast: available wherever you listen to podcasts

Learn more about Euda at euda.io

Subscribe to The Euda Debrief: https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7435041512645718017

Welcome to Bet on People, presented by Euda.

In each episode, we talk to leaders and business owners about the toughest decisions they’ve faced. The moments when they didn’t prioritize their people, moments when they did, and how those choices shaped their leadership.

Through honest decision stories, we explore the connection between human-centered leadership and long-term business success.

In this trailer, you’ll hear what to expect from Season 1 and why betting on people is one of the smartest decisions a leader can make.