Pull the Chute - Grow your People, Grow your Company Podcast

Hosted by Jeff Sesol and Janna Landry

Business ManagementInterviews guests

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Episodes

362

Latest episode

Nov 2026

Language

EN-US

About the show

The goal of this podcast is to interview business owners and/or C-level executives to get an understanding of how they built their culture, what worked, what failed, and what tips can they give new and upcoming business owners. Our goal over the next ten years is to help as many small to medium-sized businesses get to the next level by growing their people, which will grow their company. Through coaching and transformational leadership, Pull the Chute can guide company leaders to invest time to get to know their people and understand their roles, goals, and challenges to provide learning & growth opportunities - ultimately helping their people be the best they can be.

Listen to episodes

60 recent

November 13, 2026Episode 12832 min

The Science of Hiring, Training, and Retaining Top Talent with Mike Matalone

Send us Fan Mail Are your business growth plans stalling due to hiring mismatches, poor onboarding, or unengaged teams? In this episode of the Pull The Chute Podcast , hosts Jeff and Janna sit down with Mike Matalone , serial entrepreneur, former Vistage Chair, and author of Hire Train Retain . Mike breaks down his XP3 Talent System and reveals why every growing company is secretly in the training and coaching business. Why You Should Listen Master the Hiring Formula: Learn why evaluating coachability and learning ability is far more effective than just scanning resumes for skills. Unlock Discretionary Effort: Discover how structured onboarding and 90-day review cycles boost employee engagement and double productivity without adding headcount. Align Culture with Decision-Making: Explore how clear, memorable mission, vision, and core value statements drive daily alignment and employee retention. Key Highlights 00:00 – Introduction: Jeff and Janna welcome serial entrepreneur and executive coach Mike Matalone. 01:10 – The Origin of XP3 Talent: Mike shares his takeaways from leading Vistage CEO groups and realizing most business problems are people problems. 02:40 – Onboarding & Discretionary Effort: Why the first few days on the job determine whether employees become disengaged or long-term advocates. 03:50 – The 90-Day Review Cycle: Ditch annual reviews in favor of quarterly progress checks and frequent 1-on-1 touchpoints. 05:15 – Identifying Coachable Candidates: Practical interview techniques to test resourcefulness, instruction-following, and willingness to grow. 07:20 – Cultural Fit & Core Values: Using concise mission, vision, and core values as decision-making filters across your entire organization. 10:40 – The Peter Principle & Sales Promotions: Why promoting top individual performers into management without training leads to burnout and failure. Join the Conversation! Facebook Group: Connect with other leaders and join the episode discussion in our Facebook Group . More Episodes: Tune in to past and future episodes of the Pull The Chute Podcast at www.pullthechute.net

November 10, 2026Episode 12731 min

Navigating Mid-Career Shifts & Redefining Work Identity with John Tarnoff

Send us Fan Mail With Millennials stepping into leadership without proper training, the ongoing impact of the Great Resignation, and rapid AI disruptions, mid-career professionals are facing unprecedented workplace volatility. In this clip from the Pull The Chute Podcast , hosts Jeff and Janna sit down with career transitions coach John Tarnoff to unpack how the traditional "compact" between employers and employees has completely broken down. Why You Should Listen Understand the Shifting Career Compact: Learn why the old expectation of staying at one company for decades is officially dead. Overcome Mid-Career Uncertainty: Discover why losing a job or pivoting in mid-life no longer carries the stigma it once did. Separate Identity from Job Title: Gain insight into how tying your self-worth exclusively to your role holds you back during career transitions. Join the Conversation! Facebook Group: Connect with other leaders and join the discussion in our Facebook Group . More Episodes: Tune in to past and future episodes of the Pull The Chute Podcast at www.pullthechute.net

November 7, 2026Episode 12631 min

Relational Leadership, Culture & Authenticity with Joshua Evarts

Send us Fan Mail In an age dominated by screen time, social media metrics, and rapid AI adoption, have we lost touch with genuine human connection? In this engaging episode of the Pull The Chute Podcast , hosts Jeff and Jana sit down with tech entrepreneur, downtown redevelopment expert, and cigar lounge owner Joshua Evarts . Josh shares key insights from his book, If Jesus Smoked Cigars: 8 Lessons in Relational Leadership , exploring why authentic relationships and intentional culture remain the ultimate drivers of business success. Why You Should Listen Discover why an intentional workplace culture always outperforms strict operational execution. Learn how to differentiate between online followers and true, authentic human relationships. Understand why generosity and genuine care create passionate customer and employee advocates. Key Highlights From Software to Historic Banks: Josh outlines his 30-year journey across defense tech, urban redevelopment, and co-founding The Vault Cigar Lounge in a restored 1905 bank. The 3 Modern Relational Disruptors: How the internet, COVID-19 isolation, and AI agents have subtly disconnected us from authentic human connection. Lesson 1: Culture Trumps Execution: Why healthy organizational cultures attract better talent, lower turnover, and absorb operational friction. Lesson 8: Love Over Like: How an extreme introvert practices relational leadership by genuinely caring about people's growth and outcomes. Authenticity vs. Followers: Why real influence relies on trust, presence, and relational connection rather than vanity metrics. Selling Relationship Over Product: Why customers keep returning to brick-and-mortar spaces when products can be bought cheaper online. Overcoming Failure: The importance of asking for wisdom, remaining transparent as a leader, and staying open to unexpected opportunities. Join the Conversation! Facebook Group: Connect with other leaders and join the episode discussion in our Facebook Group . More Episodes: Tune in to past and future episodes of the Pull The Chute Podcast at www.pullthechute.net

November 3, 2026Episode 12527 min

How Hidden Mindsets Limit Leadership with Teresa Gregory

Send us Fan Mail Are hidden biases and automatic assumptions quietly sabotaging your team's potential? In this insightful episode of the Pull The Chute Podcast , hosts Jeff and Jana chat with executive strategist Teresa Gregory . Drawing from her extensive background—including over three decades of experience working with leaders at tech giants like Microsoft—Teresa breaking down her proprietary P.A.U.S.E. framework . Discover how taking just a moment to recognize subconscious snap judgments can transform your leadership style, retention strategy, and organizational trust. Why You Should Listen Learn how it takes only 7 seconds to form a lasting bias about someone—and how to intentionally overcome it. Master the P.A.U.S.E. framework to navigate workplace tension, improve communication, and uncover hidden employee needs. Explore proactive succession planning and discover why continuous education mixed with real-world application is the key to lasting executive growth. Key Highlights Reclaiming Executive Roots: Teresa shares her transition from corporate downsizing during COVID to building her own executive coaching practice. The 7-Second Assumption: How our biological flight-or-freeze wiring causes us to form instant biases about people before they even speak. Breaking Down P.A.U.S.E.: Step-by-step insight into P ause, A cknowledge, U nderstand, S hift, and E xecute consistently. A Lesson in Empathy: Why a top performer’s drop in punctuality had nothing to do with disengagement and how a simple schedule shift solved it. Debunking AI Workforce Myths: Why your people remain your number one asset and why real retention requires active engagement, not just pizza parties. Succeeding Upward: Rethinking succession planning to prepare yourself for your next career step rather than feeling stuck. Free Resources: Teresa shares how listeners can access her free P.A.U.S.E. walkthrough guide. Join the Conversation! Facebook Group: Connect with other leaders and join the episode discussion in our Facebook Group . More Episodes: Catch up on all past and future episodes of the Pull The Chute Podcast at www.pullthechute.net

October 23, 2026Episode 12428 min

Stop Your AI Leak: Secure Data, Manage Agents & Control Costs with Dennis O’Shea

Send us Fan Mail How can businesses adopt AI without leaking confidential data or blowing up their IT budgets? In this eye-opening episode of the Pull The Chute Podcast , hosts Jeff and Jana sit down with Dennis O'Shea , founder of Mobile Mentor (rebranding to Mentor). Dennis shares his journey from Nokia to scaling a global IT services organization, revealing the hard-learned lessons behind enterprise AI integration. Whether you are implementing Copilot or wrestling with shadow AI use, this conversation delivers the strategic blueprint you need to avoid critical operational pitfalls. Why You Should Listen Discover why unguided AI adoption creates massive data privacy hazards—and how to fix them before a breach occurs. Learn the "5 Foundations" framework for rolling out enterprise AI safely and measuring real ROI. Gain foresight into the hidden costs of AI, including token consumption and multi-category spending risks. Key Highlights From 100-Day World Tour to Nashville: Dennis shares how a temporary 4-year stay turned into a 10-year permanent home. The Nokia Breakthrough: Leaving Nokia after a wake-up call in Switzerland and founding Mobile Mentor to bridge the gap between people and technology. The Real AI Threat: Why resourceful employees uploading company documents into public LLMs triggers immediate data breaches. Confessions of a Tech CEO: Dennis admits the 5 major mistakes his own team made during their early AI rollout and how they corrected them. Debunking AI Doomsday Hype: A pragmatic look at AGI hysteria versus practical regulatory and geopolitical challenges. The Copilot Mentoring Program: How to clean up "dirty data" across Microsoft applications and enforce secure guardrails. The 3 Imminent AI Crises: Why Data Security, Agent Governance, and Unbudgeted Token Spend are the real threats facing businesses in the immediate future. Join the Conversation! Facebook Group: Connect with other leaders and join the episode discussion in our Facebook Group. More Episodes: Tune in to past and future episodes of the Pull The Chute Podcast at www.pullthechute.net !

October 21, 2026Episode 12328 min

What Can the Battlefield Teach You About Leadership? Featuring Christopher Hossfeld

Send us Fan Mail What can the battlefield teach us about leadership? More than you might think. In this episode of Pull the Chute , we sat down with Chris Hossfeld to explore how lessons from military leadership and historical battles can translate into the business world. One lesson stood out: Great leaders don't just tell people what to do. They give them the purpose, authority, and trust to make decisions. Because when everything depends on the leader being available, the organization becomes the bottleneck. But when people understand the why , they can act with confidence—even when the leader isn't in the room. So here's the question: How well does your team understand the way you think, communicate, and make decisions? And… Have you given them enough trust and clarity to lead without you?

October 19, 2026Episode 12230 min

Your Words Can Build a Team… or Break One. Featuring Michael Neuendorff

Send us Fan Mail What if your next conversation could change the way your team works together? In this episode of Pull the Chute, we sat down with executive coach Michael Neuendorff to talk about something every leader needs to master: Communication. One of the biggest takeaways? “Words create worlds.” As leaders, we can't control how everyone responds — but we can become more intentional about the conversations we create. When a conversation starts going sideways, don't immediately react. Pull the chute. Pause. Ask questions. Get curious. And remember: strong teams aren't built on results alone. They require trust, healthy conflict, commitment, accountability, and results. Most importantly, great leaders recognize that they have blind spots. They ask for feedback — and then actually do something with it. Because leadership isn't just about having a title. It's about becoming someone people want to work with and follow.

October 16, 2026Episode 12134 min

Your Employees Aren’t Leaving For The Reasons You Think. Featuring Clark Ingram

Send us Fan Mail Your employees may already know exactly what’s wrong. The question is whether leadership is listening. In this episode of Pull the Chute , Clark Ingram shares a practical perspective on employee retention, recruiting, leadership, and engagement. One of the biggest takeaways? Don’t guess why people are leaving. Find the root cause. And when employees tell you what’s getting in their way, don’t just collect the feedback — act on it. Real engagement isn’t about ping-pong tables or perks. It’s about sincerity, trust, communication, alignment, and giving people the tools they need to succeed. Sometimes the solution to a major workplace frustration can be surprisingly simple. The bigger challenge is creating an environment where people feel safe enough to tell you what the problem actually is.

October 14, 2026Episode 12031 min

Your marketing doesn't need to be complicated--It needs to cut through! Feat. John Dwyer

Send us Fan Mail Marketing has changed dramatically over the years. But according to JD, the fundamentals haven’t changed nearly as much as we think. The channels are faster. The technology is smarter. AI can create in minutes what once took days. But at the core, great marketing still comes down to understanding your customer’s problem and presenting a compelling solution. And one of the biggest opportunities today? Using AI as a partner — not a replacement for creativity and human judgment. JD also shared a powerful concept: sampling. Instead of simply telling people how great your product or service is, give them a reason to experience it. A sample. A free trial. A valuable bonus. A useful piece of content. A taste of what you can actually do. Because sometimes, the best marketing isn’t telling people what you can deliver. It’s letting them experience it. And when you’re ready to turn that attention into action, remember the 5-step formula: Problem → Agitate → Solution → Proof → CTA The last one is where many businesses fall short. Don’t just tell people what their problem is. Tell them what to do next.

October 12, 2026Episode 11929 min

AI Shouldn’t Replace Your Thinking. It Should Make It Better. Featuring Don Kurz

Send us Fan Mail AI is changing the way we work—but using AI doesn't automatically make you innovative. In this episode of Pull The Chute, Don Kurz shares how his agency, Omlet, has integrated AI into its creative and strategic processes. The key difference? They don't treat AI as a replacement for people. They treat it as a partner. AI can help generate ideas, process information, develop strategic briefs, and accelerate the creative process. But human judgment is still needed to determine what is relevant, original, strategic, and worth pursuing. And that's especially important when everyone has access to the same tools. AI may help you move faster. Human insight helps you stand out. The goal isn't to let AI do everything. It's to learn how to work with it.