Henry Clay Conner recounts his harrowing escape from Japanese forces in the Philippines and subsequent 34-month survival in the jungle during WWII while battling tropical diseases and navigating complex political alliances.

• Escape from Bataan on April 9, 1942, as Japanese forces broke through American and Filipino defenses
• Climbing treacherous mountains and drinking contaminated water while suffering from malaria, dengue fever, and dysentery
• Finding shelter among supportive Filipino families who risked execution to hide American soldiers
• Close encounter with the communist Huk guerrillas who put Clay on "trial" before his daring escape with fellow Americans
• Evading a 300-strong Japanese force hunting them with a price on their heads
• Living among the Negrito people in remote jungle areas and adopting Filipino clothing and identity 
• Learning Tagalog and other Filipino dialects to survive while navigating the complex political dynamics of occupation

If you enjoyed this episode of my grandfather's war story, join us for the next installment, where we'll continue exploring his remarkable journey of survival.

Jeff Mosley shares his 28-year journey as a Chick-fil-A operator, revealing how his path from ministry to marketplace leadership created a culture of care that transforms lives far beyond the restaurant industry.

• Transitioning from 15 years in ministry to finding purpose in business through Chick-fil-A
• Starting at a low-volume mall location and not writing a profit check for three years
• Managing teams of 100-120 employees across two locations with remarkably low turnover
• Creating benefits beyond paychecks: college tuition programs, financial literacy, and personal development
• Viewing fellow operators as partners rather than competitors through an abundance mindset
• Navigating COVID challenges with innovation while experiencing 28% business growth
• Learning from Truett Cathy's legacy and principles that built Chick-fil-A into America's third-largest restaurant company
• Empowering team members and fostering alignment with purpose as key leadership strategies
• Developing youth through mentorship and helping them find their calling
• Building leadership pipelines that have launched seven team members into becoming operators

"I tell you what, I can do it alone, but why would I want to? There's just something so powerful about engaging with others... When we're aligned as a market, my goodness, there's nothing we can't do together."

Henry Clay Conner, Jr. shares his extraordinary WWII experience from joining the 27th Bomb Group as a communications officer to becoming a guerrilla leader in the Japanese-occupied Philippines. His candid account reveals how unprepared American forces were for the reality of war in the Pacific and the cultural misunderstandings that led to tragedy.

• Born in Indianapolis on August 31, 1918 and graduated from Duke University in 1940
• Joined the Army Air Force in January 1941 with minimal training in communications
• Assigned to the 27th Bomb Group, the first complete bomb group sent overseas in US military history
• Stationed in the Philippines when Japanese forces attacked just hours after Pearl Harbor
• Received no cultural orientation about Japanese attitudes toward prisoners of war
• Heard President Roosevelt describe American forces in Bataan as "expendable"
• Chose to escape rather than surrender when Bataan fell on April 9, 1942
• Survived for 34 months behind enemy lines, leading guerrilla forces with Filipino support
• Witnessed firsthand how Japanese occupation forces mistreated Filipino civilians
• Credits Filipino loyalty and support for his survival throughout the occupation

Jason Starner, Commercial Team Lead at Conner Insurance, shares his journey from a banking background to insurance professional and the pivotal risks that shaped his career. Reflecting on 25+ years in the industry, he discusses his unexpected path into insurance and the valuable lessons learned along the way.

• Growing up in rural Ohio with a father in banking initially led Jason to assume he would follow that career path
• His first real exposure to insurance came through a finance class at Bowling Green State University
• Early career anxiety about meeting experienced insurance professionals was overcome by purposefully seeking relationships with top agencies
• The transition from carrier representative to agency side required taking a significant risk - "burning the ships" on his previous career
• Transparency with clients and team members has been fundamental to building successful relationships
• Current insurance market continues to be challenging with general liability claims and "nuclear verdicts" driving increases
• Mentoring early career talent provides as much fulfillment now as closing new business
• Taking calculated risks earlier in your career can lead to unexpected growth opportunities

Insurance is about relationships first—listening, empathy, showing up consistently, and following through on promises. If you do these things and focus on transparency, the technical expertise naturally falls into place.

Andy Long shares the fascinating journey from high school teacher to dealer principal of Royal Auto Group, weaving together family legacy, automotive industry insights, and personal growth across three generations of leadership.

• Royal Auto Group began in 1969 when Andy's grandfather purchased a Chevrolet dealership in Bloomington, Indiana
• The company now operates three locations with six brands: Toyota, Mazda, Volvo, Subaru, Volkswagen, and Audi
• Andy initially pursued teaching before joining the dealership for a "one-year internship" that evolved into a lifelong career
• Car buying has transformed dramatically – from multiple dealership visits to primarily online research and communication
• New car sales operate on thin margins as a volume business, while used cars offer more profit potential due to their uniqueness
• Current tariffs are significantly impacting manufacturers, who are largely absorbing costs rather than raising consumer prices
• The electric vehicle market faces challenges despite government incentives – consumer adoption has slowed amid concerns about range, infrastructure, and cost
• Pending legislation in California could mandate elimination of new gasoline vehicles, creating major industry uncertainty
• Balancing work and family differently than his grandfather led to a pivotal confrontation that transformed their relationship
• Andy's grandfather's late-in-life spiritual transformation became one of his most meaningful memories

Trevor Daer, President and Founder of Granite Peak Analytics, reveals the hidden complexities of Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) and why specialized consulting is crucial for self-funded health plans. He shares his journey from corporate burnout to creating a company that helps employers navigate the convoluted PBM landscape and avoid overpaying for prescription benefits.

• PBM consulting helps benefits advisors navigate pharmacy complexity and secure better contracts for clients
• Granite Peak Analytics was founded after discovering independent pharmacies were being squeezed by PBMs while employers overpaid
• The pharmaceutical supply chain involves manufacturers, wholesalers (McKesson, Cardinal, AmeriSource Bergen), pharmacies, PBMs, and employers
• "The Big Three" PBMs (Optum, Express Scripts, CVS Caremark) control 80-85% of the market and are vertically integrated with insurance carriers
• PBMs have approximately 45 different revenue streams, creating misaligned incentives where they profit as drug costs increase
• Employers without specialized PBM consulting typically overpay by up to 50% on their pharmacy benefits
• Pharmacy costs have grown from 4-5% of self-funded plans to 25-30% today
• Rebates create perverse incentives where higher-cost drugs are often preferred over lower-cost alternatives
• Current trends include rising GLP-1 costs, specialty medications, and biosimilar adoption challenges
• Active management of pharmacy benefits is essential, especially with expensive new therapies

The Marshall Allen Project preserves the legacy of investigative healthcare reporter Marshall Allen through an AI clone trained with his expertise to help Americans navigate medical debt. Founded by his widow after his sudden passing, the nonprofit organization aims to give 100 million Americans struggling with healthcare costs the tools to make better decisions and fight unfair billing practices.

• Marshall Allen spent 18 years investigating healthcare from the patient perspective before his death in May
• The MAC (Marshall Allen Clone) contains knowledge from 475 articles, books, podcasts and speaking notes
• One in six Americans has medical debt in collections, making healthcare costs their #1 financial concern
• The AI tool provides practical guidance on negotiating bills, finding fair pricing, and writing appeals
• Available in 115 languages to serve non-English speaking communities
• Victory Stories newsletter shares real examples of people who successfully fought medical bills
• Accredited educational curriculum available for brokers (NABIP) and HR professionals (SHRM)
• In 106 documented cases, Marshall helped individuals save an average of $15,000 each
• The foundation aims to save Americans over $10 million in its first year

Visit the Marshall Allen Project website to access the MAC and learn how to fight unfair medical bills and win.

Brett Billups, CHRO of Marketplace Chaplains and author of Biblical HR, shares his 30-year journey in human resources and how he bridges his Christian faith with workplace challenges.

• Stumbling into HR after seeing disconnects between management and employees at a manufacturing company
• Writing Biblical HR as a personal guide before publishing it to help others apply faith to specific workplace situations
• Challenging the notion that Christians should avoid accountability—holding people accountable in a godly way is actually biblical
• Approaching conflict resolution with the understanding that resolving conflict is ultimately God's job
• Reframing work-life balance as having one unified life dedicated to honoring God in everything
• Explaining how workplace chaplains provide confidential support that traditional HR departments often cannot
• Discussing the challenges of writing about diversity from a biblical perspective
• Sharing how the book led to his current position at Marketplace Chaplains

If you're struggling to align your faith with your work, remember that biblical principles represent how we were designed to function—they work whether we label them as religious or not.

In this NextGen Healthcare Summit episode with Steve Santangelo of Garner Health, he delves into healthcare costs heading toward an unsustainable threshold where nearly 9% of company revenue will go toward benefits packages—the same percentage that contributed to GM's financial crisis in 2008. Data analysis reveals that which individual doctor a patient sees has the greatest impact on healthcare costs, with significant variations in quality and expense that don't necessarily correlate with each other.

• Top-performing doctors maintain complication rates around 5% for major surgeries while bottom-performing doctors approach 20%
• Approximately one-third of all healthcare procedures are deemed medically unnecessary
• Basic office visits cost around $100 with top doctors versus $250 with lower performers
• Traditional methods of evaluating doctor performance are highly inaccurate
• More granular assessment of doctor performance includes factors like tendency to jump to surgery, techniques used, complication rates, and setting choices
• Employers can save approximately 27% by directing employees to higher-quality providers
• Current provider directories are only about 27% accurate, creating barriers to finding good doctors
• AI and machine learning can help clean provider directories and deliver real-time information
• Using incentives to encourage patients to see high-quality doctors creates better outcomes while reducing costs
• Implementing these approaches can reduce employer healthcare spend by approximately 12%

Brett Varvel shares his journey from creating backyard films to becoming an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker dedicated to faith-based storytelling. His creative foundations were shaped by growing up in an artistic household as the son of an internationally syndicated cartoonist, where exploration of various art forms was encouraged from an early age.

• Growing up in a creative household with his cartoonist father provided early exposure to visual storytelling
• Started with 2D art as a child before discovering his passion for filmmaking around age five
• Used action figures to create stories before gaining access to the family video camera
• Found that filmmaking combined all art forms he loved - visual design, writing, acting, and production
• Family garage became "Varvel Studio" where he and his brother created music videos and short films
• Negotiated with high school teachers to create films instead of written reports
• Won a statewide competition with a faith-based short film that changed his career direction
• Professor Jim Shasky at Ball State University provided tough but necessary criticism that shaped his development
• His film "Disciples in the Moonlight" took seven years to develop and explores what would happen if the Bible were outlawed in America
• Continues to embrace collaboration and dreams of creating a film about the crucifixion from both physical and spiritual perspectives

To experience Brett's work, watch "Disciples in the Moonlight" on Amazon, Apple TV, or Google Play.