I Have Some Questions...

🧠 Erik’s Take

In this reflection episode, Erik revisits his powerful conversation with therapist, designer, and leadership coach Monique Lecomte, spotlighting three resonant themes: adaptive leadership, the art of zigging when others zag, and the radical courage to own your origin story.

Monique’s journey—from rural Alabama to the boardrooms of design and organizational leadership—offers more than inspiration. It models a way of seeing leadership not as performance, but as personal evolution. Her ability to turn hardship into artistry, and pattern into purpose, leaves Erik asking himself—and all of us—what buried story we might need to feature instead of hide.

🎯 Top Insights from the Interview

• Adaptive leadership starts with unlearning. Monique’s work centers on resisting the “one-size-fits-all” playbook and staying present with the humanity in the room.
• Zig when others zag. Whether in design, career choices, or facilitation, Monique consistently chooses the less obvious path—and creates leverage by doing so.
• Origin stories hold power. The parts we want to skip are often the parts others most need to hear.
• Her book is a metaphor. The Expert General Generalist doesn’t just tell a story—it is the story: nonlinear, beautiful, layered, and unconventional.
• Leadership is design. And Monique sees space, systems, and power dynamics like a designer—revealing what's usually hidden in plain sight.

🧩 The Personal Layer

Monique’s honesty around her upbringing made Erik reflect on how much of our work, curiosity, and style comes from early experiences we may not even realize are driving us. He doesn’t have a book about his story—but this episode helped him consider what it might include. It’s an invitation to all listeners: if you traced your leadership back to its roots, what would you find? And more importantly—what would you do with it?

🧰 From Insight to Action

• Identify where you're applying a "one-size-fits-all" approach—and pause. Could you be more curious?
• Revisit your own career “zags.” What made you different—and how has that paid off?
• Spend 10 minutes journaling about a formative experience from childhood. What skill or sensitivity did it give you?
• Flip through The Expert General Generalist (if you have it)—not for answers, but for structure. How could you tell your story in a nonlinear way?
• Consider how you’re designing your leadership—not just practicing it. What patterns are you reinforcing without realizing it?

🗣️ Notable Quotes from Erik

“She doesn’t just tell her story—she features it. And that’s leadership.”

“Monique’s book is her strategy: beautiful, nonlinear, and completely outside the box.”

“The willingness to turn a hard story into a usable asset? That’s courage in action.”

“Adaptive leadership isn’t a theory. It’s a decision made over and over, in real time.”

“Her whole life has been a masterclass in zigging when others zag.”

🔗 Links & Resources

• Listen to Monique Lecomte's Episode

In this episode, Erik sits down with sales and leadership strategist Monique Lecomte for a raw, generous conversation on the dynamics of leadership, healing, and relational growth. Through the lens of her experience—from working with incarcerated teams to coaching senior executives—Monique reveals how personal wounds, cultural systems, and relational patterns show up in our work, and what it really means to lead with presence rather than performance.

👤 About the Guest

Monique Lecomte is a keynote speaker, leadership expert, and facilitator with a career spanning 20+ years in global business for iconic brands– Herman Miller, Knoll, and Hightower. Growing up in rural Alabama, she learned resilience and adaptability—skills that shaped her journey from small-town life to the boardroom. A recognized Expert Generalist, she has built high-performing teams, driven cultural change, and helped organizations thrive by balancing innovation with a human connection.

🧭 Conversation Highlights

• The subtle (and not-so-subtle) trauma responses that shape how leaders show up
• Why the “fixer” instinct often creates disconnection and resentment
• What leaders can learn from others—and what they absolutely shouldn’t copy
• How systemic inequality shapes interpersonal dynamics at work
• The difference between “holding space” and avoiding discomfort
• A practical exercise for exploring relational patterns using you <--> me language
• Why every team has a collective nervous system—and how to listen to it
• The real role of somatics, not as a trend, but as a signal of what’s unspoken

💡 Key Takeaways

• Fixing is often a disguised need to reduce your discomfort—not meet their need.
• Every interaction is shaped by what’s in the system—past stories, power dynamics, and unspoken rules.
• Language matters: even small shifts (“you <--> me” structures) can expose entrenched roles and change a conversation.
• Unprocessed trauma or identity harm doesn’t stay personal—it shows up in leadership.
• Your body often knows the truth before your mind will admit it.

❓ Questions That Mattered

• “What are you protecting when you keep trying to fix things?”
• “What happens in the space between two people when one always performs and the other always disappears?”
• “What’s the cost of leadership that avoids conflict in the name of harmony?”
• “How do we lead when our nervous system is still recovering from old wounds?”
• “What shifts when we treat power as relational, not positional?”

🗣️ Notable Quotes

“Fixing makes the other person disappear. It assumes they’re broken and you know better.”

“A lot of what we call leadership is just a well-trained trauma response.”

“The room is always full of ghosts—of systems, of stories, of history. The work is learning how to see them.”

“There’s a difference between being regulated and being controlled. One leads to connection. The other leads to shutdown.”

“I’m not here to optimize you. I’m here to help you tell the truth in the room.”

🔗 Links & Resources

• Check out Monique's Website: moniquelecomte.com
• Monique's LinkedIn
• Monique's Instagram
• Read or Listen to 'The Expert Generalist', Monique's Book

In this candid, co-hosted conversation, Erik Berglund and Alli Murphy dive into the trending workplace phenomenon of ghost growth—where employees are handed more responsibilities without more compensation. They unpack where this trend is coming from, how it shows up in real teams, and what both leaders and employees can do to navigate it without burning out or blowing up. With plenty of real-life examples, frameworks, and tactical scripts, this episode is a masterclass in setting boundaries, negotiating expectations, and turning tension into growth.

🧭 Conversation Highlights

• The rise of ghost growth: what it is, how it differs from scope creep, and why it’s hitting workers hard right now
• How leaders can frame tough asks without sounding manipulative
• Smart, non-monetary ways to reward extra effort—and why money isn’t always the most effective motivator
• Why “yes or no” isn’t the only response to being handed more work
• How to build capacity through systems, not just effort
• Scripts for pushing back without burning bridges
• The power of “start, stop, continue” when reevaluating your workload
• Why most job descriptions are broken—and what that says about expectations

💡 Key Takeaways

• Ghost growth is real—but it can be leveraged for meaningful development if handled with care.
• Leaders must co-own the problem, not just hand it off. It’s not just “here’s more work”—it’s “how do we solve for this together?”
• Scope creep without strategy leads to burnout, not growth. Honest, upfront conversations are essential.
• Employees have more agency than they think. The key is negotiating from curiosity and alignment—not reactivity.
• Incentives don’t always mean raises. Promotions, ownership, and time off often hold more value.

❓ Questions That Mattered

• Where does ghost growth actually come from—and how should leaders address it?
• What options exist beyond “say no” or “accept and drown”?
• How can middle managers protect their team’s well-being while navigating top-down pressure?
• What frameworks help employees reframe overwhelming asks as growth opportunities?
• Why do leaders default to “adding” instead of “subtracting”—and what’s the cost?

🗣️ Notable Quotes

“Growth happens under tension. But if you're not careful, you're just creating stress—not development.” —Erik

“There’s this false binary: say no and be punished, or say yes and drown. There are at least 17 other options.” —Alli

“Most people are more motivated by personal brand growth than a few extra dollars.” —Erik

“You don’t have to respond right away. You’re allowed to pause, reflect, and come back with a plan.” —Alli

“We’re wired to add, not subtract. But real leadership sometimes means removing more than it means adding.” —Alli

🔗 Links & Resources

• Listen to other episodes co-hosted with Alli

🧠 Erik’s Take

This episode is Erik’s reflection on the electric, vulnerable, and revealing conversation with performance coach Ann Rivera—a woman whose origin story as a rebellious underdog athlete reads like a masterclass in bootstrapped entrepreneurship. Erik connects Ann’s volleyball hustle to the startup journey: making yourself visible in a market that doesn’t know it needs you, adapting your offer mid-flight, and staying grounded in the uncomfortable yet exhilarating reality of growth.

At its core, this review is about how sports, grit, and flow are not metaphors for business—they are business when done right.

🎯 Top Insights from the Interview

• Her story is a startup. Ann's journey from overlooked 5'9" volleyball player to European pro is the perfect entrepreneurial parable—scrappy outreach, market rejection, product pivot, and relentless execution.
• Flow state is not an accident. Ann’s self-designed rituals—journaling, music, visualization—weren’t indulgences; they were systems. A blueprint.
• Sports reveal what business forgets. Things like preparation, internal competition, and honest feedback are baked into athletics—but go missing in most professional environments.
• Coaches see what you can’t. The best leaders in business should take cues from athletic coaching: notice patterns, provide feedback loops, and challenge people to show up sharper.
• Your flow might surprise you. For Erik, the conversation helped reveal that his flow lives in real-time problem-solving with others—not in isolation or over-prep.

🧩 The Personal Layer

Erik reflects on the discomfort and clarity of being asked about his own flow state live in the moment. It prompted a deeper recognition that he's at his best when he's “thinking out loud alongside someone”—not when he’s locked away in solo prep. That moment of unexpected self-awareness becomes a model of how coaching actually works: not prescriptive, but revealing.

🧰 From Insight to Action

• Revisit your pre-performance rituals. Are they accidental… or are they engineered to get you into your best zone?
• Ask yourself: What’s my position on the team? And are you playing the right one… or one you settled for?
• Audit your leadership like a coach. Can you see what your team can’t? Do you help them train with feedback and rigor?
• Build a “flow formula.” What sound, space, movement, or dialogue helps you tap in? Then reverse-engineer it.
• Stop expecting excellence from people who don’t have feedback loops. Add one. Even if it’s simple.

🗣️ Notable Quotes from Erik

“She had to pivot her product in real time just to stay in the game. That is entrepreneurship.”

“We admire athletes because they have what we hope for in our teams—grit, feedback, and stakes.”

“There’s no benching someone in business. But there is spotlighting where they’re not bringing it.”

“Flow isn’t magic. It’s math. Figure out your formula.”

“The best leaders are watching the film. You’re not in the play. You’re seeing the pattern.”

🔗 Links & Resources

• Listen to Ann Rivera's Episode

In this episode, Erik sits down with coach and former pro athlete Ann Rivera for a wild, gritty, and deeply human conversation on what it really takes to perform at your peak—when the odds are stacked, the rules don’t fit, and you have to reinvent the game to stay in it. From cold-calling European volleyball teams in the pre-internet 90s to coaching executives in Spanish boardrooms, Ann’s story is an unfiltered look at how survival mode, punk rock rebellion, and sheer audacity became her personal playbook for leadership, coaching, and building high performers in business.

👤 About the Guest

Ann Rivera is a former professional volleyball player turned performance coach who works with high-performing athletes, executives, and teams to cultivate flow, resilience, and purpose. Drawing from years of real-world grit—from competing overseas to teaching English to corporate leaders—Ann’s coaching centers on emotional honesty, systems of accountability, and activating untapped potential. She’s known for her deep listening, bold truth-telling, and ability to help even the most resistant high-achievers transform.

🧭 Conversation Highlights

• How punk rock rebellion, rage, and being told “you’re not worth it” forged Ann’s performance mindset
• Writing 100 letters to European volleyball teams as her own agent—and why it worked
• Performing tryouts in foreign languages with no GPS, no phone, and a Walkman-fueled mindset routine
• The hidden traps of flow state when transitioning from performer to leader
• The coaching skill that changes everything: radical, reflective listening
• Why most companies fail to replicate the stakes and feedback loops of elite sports
• What happens when grit gets built from survival mode—and how to coach through it
• How Ann responds to resistance and sabotage in the room with curiosity and courage

💡 Key Takeaways

• Grit isn’t glam—it’s often forged in fear, rage, and rebellion. And that’s okay.
• Performance in sports and business breaks down the same way: expectations, comparisons, and fear of consequence.
• Your job as a leader isn’t just to chase outcomes. It’s to build rituals and systems that support the process.
• Coaching works when it meets someone at their edge—and holds them there with love and rigor.
• The best coaches don’t tell you what to do. They listen so deeply that you hear yourself more clearly.

❓ Questions That Mattered

• “Where did that rage and rebellion come from—and how did it become your rocket fuel?”
• “How do you help high-performers identify their mindset glitches and recalibrate their process?”
• “Why do we abandon performance routines in business that we know are essential in sports?”
• “What does it really mean to hold someone accountable—without breaking them?”
• “How do you coach someone who thinks they already have it all figured out?”

🗣️ Notable Quotes

“Every match felt like a tryout. So I wrote a letter to the opposing coach saying, ‘watch how I play—I might be a player for your team next year.’ That’s sales.”

“The world doesn’t tell you to be who you are. It tells you to fit the mold. That was never gonna work for me.”

“A lot of people are already high performers. What they need is help with their edge—the part of them that’s afraid to be uncomfortable.”

“The Walkman. The playlist. The candle. That was how I got in flow. That was the difference between drowning and dominating.”

“Coaching is not about having the answers. It’s about seeing clearly, listening deeply, and being brave enough to hold space for the truth.”

🔗 Links & Resources

• Read all about Ann's work at www.coachannrivera.com

In this sharp and insightful conversation, Erik Berglund is joined by leadership coach and facilitator Alli Murphy to explore a question that came straight from the field: How do I navigate tough conversations with honesty—without sugar-coating or throwing people under the bus? Together, they unpack the emotional and strategic layers of diplomacy, drawing on real-world leadership scenarios, coaching insights, and personal stories.

Whether you’ve ever felt stuck between being too soft or too sharp, this episode will give you language, frameworks, and permission to do both—kindly and powerfully.

🧭 Conversation Highlights

• The unspoken emotional cost of sugar-coating
• Why diplomacy without candor is self-sabotage
• Alli’s framework for separating facts from fiction
• What to do when new leadership joins—and you have hard truths to share
• The difference between being a “nice boss” vs. a “kind boss”
• How to ask for permission to tell someone the hard thing
• Managing perception vs. managing outcomes as a leader
• Real-world scripts for talking to senior leaders (without throwing others under the bus)

💡 Key Takeaways

• Sugar-coating isn’t diplomacy—it’s self-protection
• Kindness requires clarity, not avoidance
• Effective leaders name the fear, then name the truth
• Diplomacy is a co-creative act, not a performance
• You can be candid and compassionate—those are not opposites

❓ Questions That Mattered

• “What’s the thing you’re afraid to say—and why?”
• “What are the facts here, and what’s the fiction I’m telling myself?”
• “How do you want me to challenge you—in public or in private?”
• “What’s possible if we tell the truth about what’s not working?”
• “Am I trying to manage someone else’s emotions, or lead with clarity?”

🗣️ Notable Quotes

“Sugar-coating isn’t for them—it’s for you. It’s self-sabotage dressed up as diplomacy.” – Erik

“You can be both diplomatic and direct. There’s a rainbow between silence and bulldozing.” – Alli

“Kind bosses tell the truth. Nice bosses make people feel better. Don’t confuse the two.” – Erik

“The story I was telling myself was: He might hate my idea. The truth was: He didn’t even know the program existed.” – Alli

“Diplomacy starts with getting people bought in on the opportunity—not just the issue.” – Erik

🔗 Links & Resources

• Listen to other episodes co-hosted with Alli

🧠 Erik’s Take

In this review episode, Erik zooms out from his conversation with Craig Dunaway—President of Penn Station East Coast Subs—to reflect on what makes a franchise truly scalable in today’s business climate. Drawing from Craig’s 40+ years in QSR franchising, Erik breaks down the realities of leading at the intersection of labor, tech, culture, and margin.

This isn’t just about restaurants—it’s about leadership clarity, precision thinking, and building systems that don’t collapse under pressure. Whether you lead a team, a business unit, or a multi-location operation, this episode helps you rethink where your actual risks are—and how to lead with ROI at the center.

🎯 Top Insights from the Interview

• Tech adoption isn’t about innovation—it’s about ROI. If your franchise can’t see a clear path to payback, the “cool” tech is just noise.
• Every ketchup packet counts. Scalability breaks when leaders dismiss the impact of small inefficiencies.
• Labor has changed—and so must your leadership. Gen Z and younger workers aren’t less capable—they’re differently conditioned.
• The restaurant industry is fragile—but the restaurant model is anti-fragile. That paradox shapes how successful franchises grow.
• Franchisees must be detail-obsessed. Culture is what makes or breaks consistency at scale—not SOPs alone.

🧩 The Personal Layer

For Erik, this episode stirred reflections on how easy it is to ignore “invisible leakage” in business—whether it’s financial (like an extra 2 ketchup packets) or cultural (like hiring misalignment). He admired Craig’s unapologetic clarity around ROI, culture fit, and not being seduced by shiny tools. In a world full of tech-first headlines, this was a grounded, systems-first masterclass in responsible leadership.

🧰 From Insight to Action

• Audit your adoption curve. Are you chasing tech too early—or ignoring it for too long?
• Look for your ketchup packets. What tiny leaks are compounding across your org or team?
• Revisit your hiring process. Are you selecting for alignment, not just skills?
• Clarify your North Star. What does ROI look like for you—and is everyone aligned to it?
• Challenge performative clarity. Can your team explain decisions with Craig-level simplicity?

🗣️ Notable Quotes

“If you give out two extra ketchup packets with every order, that’s $10,000 a year. Now do that five more times—and you’re out of business.” — Erik, reflecting on Craig’s example

“Tech in QSR isn’t about being cool—it’s about being stable enough to return capital.”

“The best operators are obsessed with unsexy details. That’s how you scale.”

“Hiring for cultural alignment is more powerful than adding new rules.”

“Franchising is unforgiving—but it’s not impossible. You just have to know where the edge is.”

What does it really take to thrive in the hyper-competitive world of quick-service restaurants? Erik sits down with Craig Dunaway, President of Penn Station East Coast Subs, to unpack the operational DNA of successful franchises, the post-COVID evolution of the restaurant industry, and what many leaders get wrong when scaling through franchising. With nearly four decades of experience in the franchise world (from Papa John's to Penn Station), Craig drops hard-earned wisdom on leadership, operations, and why a 6¢ ketchup packet might be more important than you think.

👤 About the Guest

Craig Dunaway is the President of Penn Station East Coast Subs, where he oversees over 300 franchise locations across the U.S. With a background in public accounting and decades of leadership in franchising, Craig brings a systems-driven, ROI-obsessed lens to running and growing franchise businesses.

🧭 Conversation Highlights

• The difference between thriving and failing QSR brands during COVID
• Why customers now dictate how food is served—and how restaurants must adapt
• The real cost of labor inflation and how it’s impacting the restaurant model
• What private equity often gets wrong about franchising
• How Penn Station evaluates tech and why they don’t chase trends
• What prospective franchisees must understand before they buy in
• Why setting expectations is the secret to culture and performance

💡 Key Takeaways

• The franchisor-franchisee relationship must be built on trust, alignment, and a shared obsession with ROI
• Don’t underestimate labor costs or customer experience—small gaps lead to massive losses at scale
• Successful franchise systems prioritize replicability and clarity over novelty
• Vetting franchisees is just as important as supporting them
• The best leaders set expectations and hire for alignment, not just experience

❓ Questions That Mattered

• “How do you lead a workforce that’s been changed by social media and remote work?”
• “What should franchise candidates look for in an FDD?”
• “How do you scale culture across hundreds of locations?”
• “Is it better to be an early adopter of tech—or let others take the risk first?”
• “What’s the difference between a good product and a good business?”

🗣️ Notable Quotes

“You can hire an idiot and train them. But at the end of the day, you’ve got a well-trained idiot.” — Craig Dunaway

“The guest only cares about their $14 meal. And you’ve got to deliver for them—every single time.” — Craig Dunaway

“If a concept like Chipotle isn’t doing it, what makes us think we’re smarter than they are?”— Craig Dunaway

“Don’t get into franchising if you want to change the franchisor. Follow the model or don’t join.” — Craig Dunaway

“As a franchisor, we have two customers: the guest and the franchisee. We serve both.” — Craig Dunaway

🔗 Links & Resources

• Craig’s email: [email protected]
• Penn Station East Coast Subs

In this honest and energizing conversation, Erik and Alli dive into one of the most essential (and overlooked) truths of leadership: You don’t have to be the fixer to be effective. Through vulnerable stories and sharp insights, they explore what it takes to step away from performative leadership and into deeper influence—especially when your calendar, culture, and conditioning are telling you to do the opposite.

Whether you’re leading a team, managing up, or trying to rewire the habits that got you here, this episode offers a grounded, practical lens on what modern leadership really requires.

🧭 Conversation Highlights

• The identity trap of being the “fixer” leader
• How Alli used a one-hour morning experiment to rewire her leadership defaults
• Erik’s broken “bullshit meter” and what it taught him about trust and manipulation
• The tension between presence vs. preparation in leadership culture
• Why leaders must move from inherited habits to intentional frameworks
• A powerful parable about ham, history, and unnecessary habits

💡 Key Takeaways

• Responsiveness is not the same as leadership
• Being needed can feel good—but it can also create dependency
• Coaching your team isn’t about fixing—it’s about letting them figure it out
• Showing up everywhere isn’t leadership; preparing others to shine is
• Many leadership habits are inherited, not chosen—and that’s fixable

❓ Questions That Mattered

• What belief about leadership are you still unconsciously carrying?
• Where is your calendar performative vs. purposeful?
• What would happen if you stepped back for one hour a day?
• Are you reacting from reward-conditioning… or leading with intention?
• Whose leadership playbook are you still running?

🗣️ Notable Quotes

“I thought being a fixer made me valuable. Turns out, it made me unavailable to do the deeper work.” — Alli

“Preparation over presence changed everything for me.” — Erik

“They weren’t just managing the customer—they were managing me. And I didn’t know it.” — Erik

“The truths that got you here don’t have to go with you. They served you… until they didn’t.” — Alli

“You’re not broken. You’re probably just cutting the ends off the ham.” — Erik

🔗 Links & Resources

• Listen to other episodes co-hosted with Alli

🧠 Erik’s Take

In this follow-up to his interview with Eric Collett, Erik shares his personal reflections on the most powerful takeaways—especially the deceptively simple IA/E framework (inflammation over energy). He explores how this model shifted his thinking around brain fog, burnout, and everyday performance, and why brain health isn't about trying more—it's about understanding more.

From metaphor-rich science to real-life health pivots, Erik distills a dense interview into a lens that makes brain optimization feel actionable, not abstract.

🎯 Top Insights from the Interview

• IA/E is a game-changer: Brain health can be reframed as a ratio—how much immune activation (inflammation) are you generating per unit of energy you're using?
• Exhaust isn't just emotional—it’s biological: External and internal “exhaust” (smoke, alcohol, poor fuel, heat) can derail your performance without you realizing it
• Diagnosis ≠ understanding: Many “mental health” diagnoses may actually be hardware issues like nutrient absorption or inflammation
• Wearables can help—but not alone: Data is only helpful if you know how to interpret it; most people don’t have a system or guide for translating biofeedback into action
• Small tweaks can lead to massive clarity: From swapping a B-vitamin format to using glutathione to clear toxic load, the right interventions create real results fast

🧩 The Personal Layer

Erik reflects on how this conversation activated the "science brain" he rarely gets to use, connecting it to years of high-level leadership and performance coaching. He shares how wearables helped him reframe his relationship with alcohol and why more data isn't always more useful—unless you're guided by the right framework.

This episode isn't just about health—it's about owning your agency.

🧰 From Insight to Action

• Reframe symptoms like fog, fatigue, or forgetfulness as a signal, not a flaw
• Ask: Am I experiencing an IA/E imbalance right now?
• Identify your sources of exhaust (e.g., smoke, poor sleep, glucose spikes, alcohol)
• Choose one wearable or diagnostic tool—and pair it with interpretation support
• Experiment with one biological intervention (e.g., upgraded supplements) and track how you feel

🗣️ Notable Quotes

“The next time I feel foggy, I’ll ask: what inflammation am I not seeing?” — Erik

“Wearables can tell you what happened, but not what to do about it.” — Erik

“We’re swimming in diagnostics. But you still need a guide to navigate the data.” — Erik

“Exhaust isn’t just metaphorical—it’s literal. And it’s making your brain underperform.” — Erik

“IA/E gave me a whole new lens for thinking about mental sharpness.” — Erik

🔗 Links & Resources

• Free Brain Health Assessment: amindforallseasons.com/energy
• Text OPTIMIZE to 72000 for a free intro video series