Fearful Giants

Andrew Warden has spent 30 years inside organizations studying what actually makes teams perform, cultures stick, and leaders grow, and he keeps arriving at the same answer: love.

In this episode of Fearful Giants, Clay sits down with Andrew Warden, President of Branch Ventures and former Chief People Officer and Partner at Credera, a consulting firm he helped grow from 32 employees to nearly 4,000.

What You'll Hear:

• The conflict resolution process Andrew has used for 19+ years (and why it works)

• Why "love is a full contact verb" and how it shows up in hard feedback

• The "brick up, brick down" principle for keeping relationships whole

• What it really means when a company's values actually cost them something

If this conversation challenged the way you think about leadership, share it with someone who needs to hear it. And follow Fearful Giants wherever you listen — new conversations drop every week.

Connect with Andrew: 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/awarden/

Connect with Clay: 

Website: https://15sixty.com/ 

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/claystelzer 

Resources Mentioned:

• Think Again by Adam Grant

• Bull Durham (film) — "Hold it like an egg" / Crash Davis

• Blue Zones research by Dan Buettner (National Geographic)

• Patty McCord on Netflix culture and values

• St. Francis of Assisi: "Preach the gospel. Use words if absolutely necessary."

🎵 Music License: CMUVN6N0WHFMBOOL

About a month ago, I was diagnosed with bladder cancer, and I shared it here on the podcast. I'm good. It's out, and I'm moving forward. But what I wasn't prepared for was the response.

People I hadn't spoken to in 20 years reached out, strangers sent prayers… and not a single person asked who I voted for, or brought up anything dividing us right now. Everyone just showed up.

In this solo episode of Fearful Giants, I'm reflecting on what that outpouring revealed to me about connection, about the armor we wear as leaders, and about why going it alone is a choice, not a requirement.

What You'll Hear:

• The real reason I shared my diagnosis publicly, and what I wasn't expecting

• The one reminder that cut through all the noise: underneath all of it, we all want the same things

• Why business leaders are conditioned to hide when they're struggling

• The truth about "lonely at the top" and why I believe it's optional

• A question to sit with: how are you limiting yourself from feeling more connected?

If this one resonates, share it with someone in your world who's been going it alone. They probably need this more than they'll say.

Connect with me, Clay Stelzer:

Website: https://15sixty.com/

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/claystelzer

Email: [email protected]

Resources Mentioned:

• YPO (Young Presidents' Organization)

• EO (Entrepreneurs' Organization)

• Vistage

• Provisors

🎵 Music License: CMUVN6N0WHFMBOOL

Most leaders spend their entire career building toward one moment: the exit. The sale of the successful business. The win that's supposed to make everything feel worth it.

In this episode of Fearful Giants, Clay Stelzer sits down with Peter Kennedy—serial entrepreneur, author of The Remembering, and CEO and co-founder of Evolvewell. Peter built Tagger Media, a leading influencer marketing and social intelligence company, scaled it, and sold it to Sprout Social. By every external measure, it was everything he'd worked for.

Then he fell into the darkest depression of his life.

What followed was one of the most honest accounts of identity, fear, and spiritual awakening we've had on this show.

What You'll Hear:

• How tying self-worth to achievement slowly hollows you out, and what the exit actually exposes

• The sweat lodge vision in Brazil that cracked Peter's world open: "Fear is worse than death. And that is why I fear no death."

• Why trying to destroy your inner critic doesn't work and what integration actually looks like

• How Peter leads Evolvewell with a "personal growth before profits" philosophy including breath work sessions before team brainstorms

• The backpack of rocks metaphor that changed how Peter says no and what it means for leaders everywhere

• What vulnerability really means in leadership, and why the ego is the enemy of real culture

If this one lands for you, share it with a founder or leader who's chasing the win and might need to hear this.

Connect with Peter Kennedy: 

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterkennedy182/ 

• Website: https://www.evolveweird.com/

Connect with Clay: 

• Website: https://15sixty.com/ 

• LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/claystelzer  

Resources Mentioned: 

• The Remembering by Peter Kennedy

• Evolvewell journeys on YouTube (Alex's breath work sessions)

• Michael Singer 

• Joe Dispenza

• Iboga plant medicine

🎵 Music License: CMUVN6N0WHFMBOOL

In this episode of Fearful Giants, Clay sits down with Christopher Shutts, co-founder of BigMachines (acquired by Oracle) and Logik.ai (acquired by ServiceNow). Chris has spent his career building companies that shaped the way complex products are sold.

Chris shares what it was like starting BigMachines before most companies understood cloud software, nearly running out of money, rebuilding culture after painful layoffs, and later starting again as CEO of Logik to see if he could take a company from zero to exit, with him at the helm.

What You'll Hear:

• Why fear has been both a driver and a challenge throughout Chris’s career

• The culture mistake that nearly broke BigMachines

• What it really feels like to wake up at midnight worrying about your company

• Why prioritizing as a CEO is harder than most founders expect

• The lesson that changed how Chris built culture the second time

• Why he believes culture beats strategy every time

If you're curious how a two-time successful founder relates to fear - this one's for you.

Follow or subscribe wherever you listen. And if this hits, send it to a founder who needs to hear it.

Connect with Christopher Shutts:

Website: https://www.logik.io

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-shutts-0622237/

Email: [email protected]

Connect with Clay:

Website: https://15sixty.com/

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/claystelzer

Email: [email protected]

Music: Z0FBHRQGTPX9OMDB

In this solo episode of Fearful Giants, Clay Stelzer shares about a deeply personal experience that unfolded just days before recording - a cancer diagnosis.

Instead of treating the moment as something to gloss over or spin into instant positivity, Clay explores how we can consciously respond when life throws unexpected circumstances our way. He talks about the emotional reality of navigating difficult life events - and the fear, the frustration, the grief, and the uncomfortable adjustments that come with them.

Clay shares a powerful idea that has guided him for years: pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional.

Pain is part of life. Leaders experience it in many forms - layoffs, unexpected market changes, personal health challenges, or the loss of someone close to them. But suffering often comes from resisting reality or wishing things were different than they are.

In this episode, Clay walks through the process he’s navigating in real time:

• Allowing himself to actually feel the emotions instead of bypassing them

• Letting go of the life he thought he was going to have

• Becoming curious about what new possibilities might emerge

It’s a raw, honest reflection on how leaders can meet life as it shows up - even when the news is difficult. Because leadership isn’t about avoiding fear or pain. It’s about how we respond when life inevitably delivers both.

Connect with Clay:

Website: https://15sixty.com/ 

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/claystelzer 

Email: [email protected] 

Music: Z0FBHRQGTPX9OMDB

What happens when success stops feeling like success? When the thing you built, the life you created, the title on the door no longer feels like you?

Jodi Sweetbaum spent 26 years as Partner and President of Lloyd & Co., shaping some of the world's most recognizable brands - Gucci, Bottega Veneta, Yves Saint Laurent, Calvin Klein, Estee Lauder, Madewell, Adidas - and then she walked away. Not because she failed. Because she couldn't be herself anymore.

In this conversation, Jodi and Clay dig into what it actually takes to leave something you love, what keeps most people stuck, and what it means to choose yourself when everything on the outside looks perfect.

What You'll Hear:

• How Jodi fell into a 26-year career at one of fashion's most influential agencies - and why she finally left

• What integrity actually looks like when your values, words, and actions stop lining up

• The most underrated leadership skill - and how Jodi built it the hard way

• The difference between walking away and running away - and why it matters

• Why she didn't have a plan when she left - and why that turned out to be okay

• What it takes to finally say, out loud: I am proud of myself

If you've ever known you needed to go but couldn't quite let yourself - this one's for you.

Connect with Jodi:

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

Connect with Clay:

Website: https://15sixty.com/

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/claystelzer

Email: [email protected]

In this episode of Fearful Giants, Clay sits down with Sarah Laird, founder and CEO of Laird and Good Company, an artist management agency and full-service production company that's been a creative force for over three decades. Sarah reps top photographers, directors, and stylists for clients like Apple, Netflix, and Lancôme.

But this conversation isn't about her client list. It's about the messy, honest truth of building something from nothing while navigating fear, people-pleasing, and the constant pull between control and trust.

What You'll Hear:

• Why Sarah almost didn't do this interview (and what changed her mind)

• The moment she realized she couldn't please everyone anymore

• How "follow the energy" became her business philosophy

• What it's like representing artists when you can't control their success

• The shift from building a business to trusting it can run without her

• Why she's never had a five-year plan (and doesn't want one)

• Her mantra when fear tries to take over: "It's happening for me, not to me"

If you've ever felt responsible for other people's happiness, struggled with letting go of control, or wondered if there's a better way than planning every move, this conversation is for you.

Connect with Sarah Laird:

Website: https://lairdandgoodcompany.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/lairdandgoodcompany

Email:[email protected]

Connect with Clay:

Website: https://15sixty.com/

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/claystelzer
Email: [email protected]

What does it take to thrive in an industry where your mistakes happen in real time, in front of everyone who matters?

In this episode of Fearful Giants, Clay sits down with Noelle McInerney, founder and CEO of Ladidadi, a boutique corporate event planning agency that's brought over a thousand experiences to life over the past 20 years. From high-end celebrity events to intimate employee functions around the world, Noelle creates the kind of moments people never forget.

But this conversation isn't about logistics or timelines. It's about what it takes to lead when the stakes are high, the room is watching, and there are a zillion things that could go wrong in any moment.

What You'll Hear:

• Why event planning attracts a specific kind of person (and repels everyone else)

• What Noelle does when she feels shaky about a partner on site

• How she shifted from perfection to 'excellence as an energy'

• The sales strategy she learned from Todd Capone: call out your imperfections early

• Why 'if you're not having fun, you're doing something wrong' became a company mantra

• What it took to let go of control and trust her team of composers

• Her truth she anchors in when fear tries to drag her down

If you've ever struggled with perfectionism, worried about public failure, or wondered how to build a team you can actually trust, this conversation is for you.

Connect with Noelle McInerney:

Website: http://www.ladidadixm.com 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/noelle-mcinerney-57b30b11/

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

Connect with Clay:

Website: https://15sixty.com/

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/claystelzer

Email: [email protected]

Music: Z0FBHRQGTPX9OMDB

Most leaders know they should be having difficult conversations. Few actually know how to do it - without starting a war.

In this episode of Fearful Giants, Clay sits down with @Dan Wallace, a veteran business leader, Harvard MBA, and one of the earliest EOS implementers, who has spent decades helping founders and executive teams break through the barriers that hold them back.

Dan and Clay have known each other for over 14 years, and this conversation goes deeper than tactics. It's about the fear that keeps us from telling the truth, the biology that makes us want to fight back, and the simple tools that can change everything.

What You'll Hear:

• Why most people are terrified to say anything that might hurt someone's feelings

• The seven words that can defuse almost any conflict: "Assume good intent, then ask a question"

• How to speak from the "unarguable position" so people can actually hear you

• Why changing your words changes the biology of conflict

• The truth that helps Dan rise when fear drags him down

If you've ever rehearsed a difficult conversation in your head for days and never actually had it, this episode is for you.

Connect with Dan Wallace:

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 630-803-6625

Connect with Clay:

Website: https://15sixty.com/

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/claystelzer

Email: [email protected]

Most people would rather do almost anything than get on stage and improvise in front of strangers. But what if that fear is exactly where the growth lives?

In this episode of Fearful Giants, Clay sits down with @Jeff Ash, owner and artistic director of Westside Improv in Wheaton, Illinois, alumnus of Second City Hollywood, and a professional sales and leadership coach who combines improv principles with real business strategy.

Jeff has spent his career helping people embrace the very thing most of us run from: not knowing what comes next. And along the way, he's discovered that the principles of improv - yes and, active listening, being present, letting go of judgment - are exactly what great leaders need.

What You'll Hear:

• Why most people are terrified of improv (and why that's the whole point!)

• How "yes, and" is a mindset, not just a collaboration technique

• The difference between performing and connecting

• What Jeff learned from bombing on stage (and why he's grateful for it!)

• The mindset shift that makes fear disappear: "It's hard to be nervous when your heart is on service"

If you've ever wanted permission to stop performing and start connecting, this conversation is for you.

Connect with Jeff Ash:

Website: https://westsideimprov.com

Email: [email protected] or [email protected]

Connect with Clay:

Website: https://15sixty.com/

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/claystelzer

Email: [email protected]

Music: Z0FBHRQGTPX9OMDB