#270: Eric Konkol is the head men's basketball coach at the University of Tulsa and has established himself as one of college basketball's most respected program builders. He most recently lead the Golden Hurricane to one of their best seasons in program history winning 30 games (second most in school history), reaching the American Conference semifinals for the first time in over a decade, and making a run in the NIT all the way to the championship game.

Since taking over Tulsa in 2022, he has been recognized for his emphasis on culture, player development, and leadership. Before arriving at Tulsa, he spent seven successful seasons at Louisiana Tech, where he won 153 games, led the Bulldogs to six 20-win seasons, captured a Conference USA West Division title, and was named Conference USA Coach of the Year.

More importantly than all of the accolades you will get to hear the real reason why he coaches to make an impact on his players and everyone that is a part of the program. 

For more on Coach Konkol check out social media as well as tulsahurricane.com 

Enjoy the show!

#269: Andy Andrews is a New York Times bestselling author, internationally recognized speaker, and leadership expert whose books, including The Traveler's Gift and The Noticer, have sold millions of copies worldwide. 

Known for blending timeless wisdom with engaging storytelling, Andy has spoken to Fortune 500 companies, professional sports teams, military organizations, and audiences around the globe. Through his work, he equips leaders to make better decisions, develop lasting perspective, and create meaningful impact in their personal and professional lives. 

Leaders from the world’s top organizations, including four U.S. presidents, regularly seek him out as a trusted resource for unlocking extraordinary results.

Today, he joins us to share practical insights on leadership, success, faith, and the small choices that shape extraordinary lives.

For more on Andy check out andyandrews.com 

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#268: Justin Roethlingshoefer is a performance scientist, former NHL strength and conditioning coach, and the founder of OWN IT—an elite health coaching ecosystem trusted by Stanley Cup champions, Olympians, and mission driven leaders such as Brandon Lake & Phil Wickham. 

His life’s work lives at the intersection of data-driven performance and Spirit-led transformation. Holy Health is the most personal and prophetic piece of literature he has published. Fusing science with biblical truth, he redefines health as a holistic act of worship, aligning body, mind, and spirit. Having overcome personal health crises, he provides a blueprint to break the "all-or-nothing" cycle, moving from burnout to overflow.

For more on Justin and his new book check out holyhealthbook.com holyhealth.org & justinroethlingshoefer.com 

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#267: Mark Miller is a bestselling leadership author, speaker, and the co-founder of Lead Every Day. His books have sold more than 1.5 million copies in 32 languages.

Mark’s career at Chick-fil-A spans over 40 years, starting as an hourly team member and becoming the company’s 16th corporate employee. He recently retired as Vice President of High-Performance Leadership, where he was instrumental in building Chick-fil-A’s renowned leadership culture.

For 25 years, Mark led initiatives investing tens of millions of dollars to develop and validate leadership principles across high-performance teams, employee engagement, execution, and organizational culture. His work resulted in globally acclaimed books such as THE Secret as well as Wall Street Journal bestsellers. He’s recognized for translating leadership principles into real-world application and unlocking the potential of executives and teams to create high-performance organizations.

For more on Mark at leadeveryday.com or his personal contact in the show notes. 

Enjoy the show! 

Contact Mark: [email protected] or 678-612-8441

#266: Austen Allred is a technology entrepreneur, education innovator, and Y Combinator founder whose work has influenced the national conversation around workforce development, skills-based hiring, and alternative pathways to technology careers. He is the founder and CEO of Gauntlet AI an intensive AI engineering talent platform that partners with employers to identify and develop elite AI-native engineers. Previously, he co-founded Lambda School, later rebranded as BloomTech, one of the most recognized coding academies of the past decade, helping pioneer income-share agreements and raising more than $100 million from leading investors, including GV, Y Combinator, and Stripe.

Before founding BloomTech, Allred co-founded the citizen journalism platform Grasswire and co-authored the bestselling growth-marketing book Secret Sauce. His perspectives on entrepreneurship, education reform, and the future of work have been featured in publications including Harvard Business Review, The Economist, WIRED, Fast Company, TechCrunch, and The New York Times. Today, he is widely recognized for his efforts to rethink how top technical talent is trained and deployed in the age of artificial intelligence.

You can find Austen on X and Linkedin, as well as austenallred.com.

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#265: Lieutenant General (Retired) Mark Hertling served 38 years in the United States Army as a tanker and cavalry officer, culminating as Commander of U.S. Army Europe and Seventh Army. 

During his military career, Hertling spent 38 months in combat. He served as a major and operations officer of a cavalry squadron during Operation Desert Storm, as Assistant Division Commander of the 1st Armored Division in Baghdad in 2003–2004, and later as Commander of the 1st Armored Division and Multinational Task Force Iron in northern Iraq during the 2007–2008 surge. 

After retiring from the Army in 2012, Hertling transitioned to the private sector as a Senior Vice President at a major healthcare organization. He was asked to design and lead a healthcare leadership program, work that led to his first book, Growing Physician Leaders (2016). His second book, If I Don’t Return: A Father’s Wartime Journal, was published by Ballast Books in 2026.

From 2014 to 2024, he served as a senior analyst for CNN. He currently writes for The Bulwark and appears on MSNBC as a freelance national security analyst.

For more on General Hertling check out markhertling.com as well as LinkedIn & Twitter. You can find his book in the amazon link below. 

Enjoy the show! 

Book: 

https://www.amazon.com/If-Dont-Return-Fathers-Wartime-ebook/dp/B0GDJFMF21?ref_=ast_author_mpb 

#264: Chris Garner is a veteran SEC football official, leadership speaker, and author with more than two decades of experience officiating at the highest levels of college football. A graduate of The Ohio State University and former U.S. Navy servicemember, Chris worked his way from Ohio high school football fields to the Big Ten and the Southeastern Conference, earning assignments to major bowl games, conference championships, and College Football Playoff contests. 

Drawing from years of making split-second decisions under intense pressure and his sales experience, he shares insights on leadership, accountability, teamwork, and performance in high-stakes environments. Chris is also the author of Whistles and Wisdom, where he explores the lessons officiating has taught him about excellence both on and off the field.

For more on Chris check out garnerleadership.com 

Enjoy the show! 

#263: Jason Jacobus is the Chief Commercial Officer of Brainerd Chemical, where he leads commercial strategy and growth for one of the country’s established chemical manufacturing and distribution companies. With decades of experience in sales, operations, and leadership, he has built a reputation for combining business performance with long-term relationships, operational discipline, and values-based leadership in a demanding industry.

Outside of business, Jacobus is also the author of Realigned, a book centered on faith, personal growth, leadership, health, family, and purpose. Drawing from his own life experiences, he speaks openly about success, setbacks, and the importance of aligning life around deeper principles instead of external achievement alone. His message resonates with entrepreneurs, leaders, and professionals looking to build meaningful success without losing sight of what matters most.

Book: https://www.amazon.com/Realigned-Jason-Jacobus/dp/B0G8LYBL11/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0

#262: Samyr Qureshi is an entrepreneur, investor, and business leader best known as the co-founder and former Chief Executive Officer of Knack, a nationally recognized education technology company focused on advancing student success through peer learning. Under his leadership, Knack partnered with universities across the United States and raised significant venture capital to support its growth and impact. A Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree and University of Florida “40 Gators Under 40” recipient, Samyr is widely respected for his work at the intersection of education, technology, and entrepreneurship. Today, he advises and invests in emerging companies while continuing to advocate for innovation, leadership, and expanding opportunity through scalable solutions.

https://www.samyr.co/ 

#261: Mark C. Fava is a career aviation lawyer and retired naval flight officer. He is a prolific writer and entertaining speaker. Mark retired from the US Navy as a captain having commanded three units, including an aviation squadron. He has been a law firm partner and a corporate executive lawyer. He has written numerous articles, including “What I Learned from the Judge” in the SC Lawyer and “Steering Through a Crisis: Lawyers as Leaders” in The Washington Lawyer. As a law school adjunct professor, he has also taught aviation law and legal writing.

Mark was the chief operations attorney at Delta Air Lines on 9/11 and spent years in the navy’s P-3 Orion chasing Soviet submarines. He has practiced law for more than thirty years and is currently a vice president at the world’s largest aerospace company.

He lives in his hometown of Charleston, South Carolina, with his wife and three daughters. When not working, reading, or writing, Mark enjoys life in the low country and appreciates a cold glass of sweet tea in the summer and a good oyster roast in the fall.

markcfava.com