Stumbling Blocks: How Great Leaders Are Made

The viral video that changed aviation—and the CEO who broke the rules to fix it.

On April 9, 2017, United Airlines faced the world’s first truly global viral crisis when a passenger, Dr. David Dao, was forcibly dragged off a flight in Chicago. The internet exploded, calls for resignation mounted, and the airline’s initial response—calling the incident a "re-accommodation"—only poured gas on the fire.

In this episode of Stumbling Blocks, I sit down with former United CEO Oscar Munoz to take you inside the war room during the company’s darkest hours.

Oscar pulls back the curtain on the disaster, revealing:

• The "Insider" Reality: Why the facts of the incident were far more complex than the video showed.
• The Advice Trap: How legal fears and corporate mumbo-jumbo led to one of the worst apologies in corporate history.
• The Turning Point: The spiritual moment in the middle of the night—inspired by his grandmother—that convinced Oscar to stop listening to the experts and throw away the script.
• The Gamble: Why he threw away his prepared talking points on Good Morning America to take full blame on live TV.

Special Feature: This episode features real-time breaking news audio from 2017, immersing you in the crisis exactly as it unfolded.

Note: This is Part 1 of a 2-part conversation.

• Next Week: We explore the turnaround, the massive union negotiations, and the "Day 1" surprises.
• Follow the show now so you don’t miss the conclusion.

Links:

• Oscar's Book, Turnaround Time:
  https://www.amazon.com/Turnaround-Time-Uniting-Employees-Friendly/dp/0063284286
• United Airlines: United.com
  
  Credits:
  ABC Nightly News with David Muir:
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdWe6I3hBxk
  
  Good Morning America:
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90jSUe_vdhM&t=32s
  
  CBS Evening News
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyHu76Ofp2Y
  
  CNBC
  https://www.cnbc.com/video/2017/04/11/united-airlines-faces-social-media-backlash-in-china.html

Questions? Ideas? Shoot me a note:
[email protected]

If your team is disengaged, cynical, or burnt out—Doug Conant has been there before. As CEO of Campbell's Soup, he inherited a culture that consultants called "Swamp Water."

But by putting honoring people at the center of his leadership dashboard, Doug turned the company around, both in terms of employee engagement and also in terms of financial performance.

In this episode, the former CEO of Campbell’s Soup reveals the brutal reality of leadership. He opens up about being fired at 32 and going home to a "very large mortgage" with no plan. He talks about what it took to bounce back and become CEO 17 years later.

We deconstruct his specific turnaround playbook:

• The "Swamp Water" Problem: Leading by giving your people chances to "Live, Love, Learn, and Leave a Legacy"
• The 30,000 Note Strategy: Doug wrote 10-20 handwritten notes every single day for a decade. We break down exactly why, how, and what the impact was.
• The "TouchPoint" Tactic: How to turn a 2-minute hallway conversation into a loyalty-building moment.
  

Resources Mentioned:

• The Blueprint: 6 Practical Steps to Lift Your Leadership to New Heights – Amazon Link
• TouchPoints: Creating Powerful Leadership Connections – Amazon Link
  

• [00:00] The Cold Open: "My career felt as if it was over in a snap..."
• [01:05] The Intro: From fired to Fortune 500 turnaround artist.
• [02:47] The "Noon" Deadline: The brutal details of the day Doug lost his job.
• [05:40] "Swamp Water": Measuring the toxic culture at Campbell's (and the 4 L's Framework).
• [07:56] The 30,000 Notes: Writing 20 notes a day in the back of a car for a decade.
• [12:41] The Only Way Out is In: Why you cannot lead until you know your own life story.
• [20:10] The CEO Bubble: Why nobody tells the CEO the truth (and how to fix it).
• [23:52] The ROI of Kindness: Why high-engagement cultures are 23% more profitable.
• [31:37] The "TouchPoint" Method: How to lead by listening in 2-minute increments.
• [35:32] Next Week: The CEO who had a heart transplant while leading an airline.
  

Pete shares why he decided to tell the world his secret, what he did after finding what broke his heart, and what he'll do with the rest of his life after selling his company, AP Emissions Technology, to Berkshire Hathaway.

He discusses how the Filotimo Foundation serves people with Cystic Fibrosis, what he would say to his 19 year old self, and giving back more than the disease will take

Links: December 14, 2025 Lung Run https://filotimofoundation.org/lung-run-2025/

Filotimo Foundation:
https://filotimofoundation.org/

Pete's Full ABC News Interview on ABC 11Together
Filotimo Foundation Lung Run - ABC Interview  

Keywords Cystic Fibrosis, Family Business, Philanthropy, Health Journey, Immigrant Story, Personal Growth, Advocacy, Nonprofit, Adoption Support, Life Expectancy Takeaways, Adoption, Infertility, Lung Run, ABC News Raleigh NC, Berkshire Hathaway, AP Emissions Technology, Mergers, Acquisitions, M&A, Legacy, death sentence, secret

Pete shares his remarkable journey from being diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, to hiding the disease as a CEO, to selling to Warren Buffett, to finding what broke his heart and refusing to look away.

He discusses his family's immigration story, the evolution of their business, the challenges he faced growing up with a chronic illness, and the time his mom threatened to break a social worker's legs.

Don't miss Part 2.

Links: December 14, 2025 Lung Run https://filotimofoundation.org/lung-run-2025/

Filotimo Foundation:
https://filotimofoundation.org/

Pete's Full ABC News Interview on ABC 11Together
https://youtu.be/OwIr7_f9a9I

Keywords

Cystic Fibrosis, Family Business, Philanthropy, Health Journey, Immigrant Story, Personal Growth, Advocacy, Nonprofit, Adoption Support, Life Expectancy

Takeaways, Adoption, Infertility, Lung Run, ABC News Raleigh NC, ABC News, Blooper

In this conversation, Sandra Sucher, a professor at Harvard Business School and expert on trust, shares her unique journey from growing up in Detroit to teaching at Harvard. She discusses the importance of apologies in repairing trust, the nuances of moral leadership, and the challenges of navigating career paths.

Through personal anecdotes and research-driven insights, Sandra emphasizes the significance of acknowledging responsibility, understanding the impact of actions, and the complexities of restoring trust in both personal and professional relationships.

Takeaways

• Apologizing is a process that requires acknowledging responsibility, explaining the "why" (without being defensive!) and making an offer of repair.
• Trust can be regained but not fully restored to its original state.
• Moral leadership involves making intentional choices and understanding consequences.
• Career challenges are common, and taking charge of your own path is essential.
• Understanding the difference between intent and impact is crucial in trust-building.
• The process of making hard choices strengthens moral character over time.
• Restoring trust is like mending a translucent vase; cracks remain visible.
  
  Chapters

00:00 The Importance of Apologies in Business

14:27 Sandra's Journey: From Detroit to Harvard

18:58 Navigating Career Transitions

24:32 Moral Leadership and Missed Opportunities

33:52 Restoring Trust: Can It Be Regained?

38:31 Legacy and Impact: A Life Well Spent

Links:
Sandra's Personal Website
Sandra Sucher - Trust Researcher

Amazon: "The Power of Trust"

Amazon.com: The Power of Trust: How Companies Build It, Lose It, Regain It: 9781541756670: Sucher, Sandra J., Gupta, Shalene: Books

Amazon: "The Moral Leader"
Amazon.com: The Moral Leader: Challenges, Tools and Insights: 9780415400640: Sucher, Sandra J.: Books

Research on Effective Apologies
An Exploration of the Structure of Effective Apologies - Lewicki - 2016 - Negotiation and Conflict Management Research - Wiley Online Library

Keywords

trust, apology, moral leadership, career challenges, Harvard, Sandra Sucher, business ethics, organizational behavior, personal growth, leadership lessons

We’ve all seen the White House from the outside. But what's it really like on the inside? Especially the East Wing?

Mark Farkas knows. As the producer of the first-ever HD documentary on the White House, he spent 9 months filming in rooms most people will never see. The "stumbling block" was navigating the immense security and hidden protocols of the most secure building on Earth.

Mark gives us an unprecedented virtual tour, from the private movie theater to the official White House Chocolate Shop. He offers behind the scenes anecdotes of the First Lady and the President. This is the human side of the People's House.

Listen for these "insider" stories:

• The tense moment the Secret Service almost shut down filming on the Truman Balcony.
• What it was really like to interview President and Mrs. Bush in their private residence.
• The secrets of the (now-demolished) East Wing.
  
  Links to Mark's documentary are below.
  The White House Art and Architecture
  

President Bush on Living in the White House

White House Tour with Laura Bush

What does it take to lead when the stumbling block is a Category 5 hurricane, a massive earthquake, or two global wars?

Welcome to a masterclass in crisis leadership. Vice Admiral Mark Harnitchek (Retired) is one of the few people on Earth who truly knows.

He served on nuclear-armed submarines, commanded the $46 billion Defense Logistics Agency, and was the military's "boots on the ground" leader for the US response to Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Sandy, and the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

In this gripping conversation, VADM Harnitchek gives Jonathan an unfiltered look at making impossible decisions under unimaginable pressure, and how to build a team that can handle anything.

In this episode, you will learn:

• The #1 leadership lesson learned from the silent service of a nuclear submarine.
• How he managed the overwhelming logistics of two global wars.
• The lessons-learned from Hurricane Katrina that came in handy during Superstorm Sandy.
• How to lead with empathy and humanity...even in the toughest circumstances.
  
  Vice Admiral Harnitchek's Biography

What's the one thing that will destroy a team, a company, or a career faster than anything else?

According to Charlie Green, creator of the Trust Equation, the answer is simple: self-orientation. It’s the single biggest "stumbling block" to effective leadership.

In this episode, Charlie joins Jonathan to dismantle the idea that "if you can't measure it, you can't manage it." He makes a powerful case for why our ego is the enemy of trust, and how a relentless focus on the "human" side of business is the only real path to success.

In this episode, you will learn:

• The four components of the Trust Equation (and the one that divides all the others).
• Why being "unselfish" is a concrete, strategic advantage, not just a soft skill.
• How to spot self-orientation in yourself and your team—and what to do about it.
  
  Links to Charlie's Work:
  Understanding The Trust Equation | Trusted Advisor