A collection of my favorite stories from the books we covered on the podcast in 2025.
00:00 The Journey of Podcasting and Learning
02:41 Sam Walton - Saturday morning meetings
08:01 Elon Musk - Bottlenecks
12:28 Chesty Puller - "We're entirely surrounded"
14:19 Chesty Puller - Profit from your mistakes
16:30 John D. Rockefeller's Job Search
19:26 John D. Rockefeller's ceaseless pursuit of even minor improvements
23:17 Steve Jobs top 3 priorities
25:39 Bob Belleville leading up the chain
29:24 Jeff Bezos' enthusiasm
31:10 Amazon's Flywheel
33:14 Jocko Willink's map of Ramadi
37:28 Nvidia's NV30 communication challenges
41:25 Closing
What did Major Dick Winters learn about human nature when leading the Band of Brothers some of the most intense fighting of WWII?
How did he use fear as a driver to become a better leader
How did he handle combat fatigue among his troops?
How did he handle a terrible leader who was above him in the chain of command?
That's what we're going to be studying on Podcast #23. Ideas and lessons from the book "Beyond Band of Brothers" (https://a.co/d/aqgUHVk)by Major Dick Winters. Let's dive in.
00:00 Intro to Dick Winters
06:33 Childhood12:47 Military Training
14:35 Captain Sobel
20:29 Sobel Court-Martials Winters
24:24 Lessons 1: Never put yourself if a position to take from your troops
28:16 Lesson 2: Expect to Win
30:18 Lesson 3: Know Your Killers
33:38 Lesson #4: A Calm Voice
38:40 Lesson #5: Leadership can be lonely
40:15 The Can-Do Man
43:08 Lesson #7: Combat Fatigue
52:41 Lesson 8: Move among the men
54:39 Lesson #9: Know your why
57:31 Lesson #10: Dick Winters Principle Contribution
59:02 Lesson #11: Fear Failure
01:00:01 Closing
The question for Podcast #22 is: where do we see the 12 principles of Extreme Ownership (https://a.co/d/13upaFR) in action in the stories of some of history's greatest entrepreneurs, innovators, and leaders?
- How did Steve Jobs use the concept of Prioritize and Execute to save Apple?
- How did John D. Rockefeller and Sam Walton use Decentralized Command to build and scale their operations?
- How did Jensen Huang take ownership of some of Nvidia's early failures and learn from those mistakes?- How does Jeff Bezos build high-velocity organizations that are decisive amid uncertainty?- And where have we seen subordinates leading up the chain of command to drive change and make things happen?- And more...That’s what we’ll be exploring in Podcast #22: my favorite examples of Extreme Ownership in action in the lives and stories of the leaders we’ve studied so far on this podcast. Let’s dive in. 00:00 Introduction to Extreme Ownership
04:53 #1: Extreme Ownership
10:10 #2: No Bad Teams, Only Bad Leaders
14:53 #3: Believe
18:39 #4: Check the Ego
22:32 #5: Cover and Move
26:57 #6: Simple
29:49 #7: Prioritize and Execute
32:49 #8: Decentralized Command
36:05 #9: Plan
39:56 #10: Leading Up and Down the Chain of Command
43:24 #11: Decisiveness and Uncertainty
47:58 #12: Discipline Equals Freedom
Today is October 20, 2025, and that is a special day for me because it marks the 10-year anniversary of Jocko Willink publishing his first book Extreme Ownership. Soon after he published this book, he started his podcast.Over the last decade, I've read his books multiple times, I've listened to thousands of hours of the podcast, and I even built Jocko an app.So, to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the book Extreme Ownership, I wanted to ask myself: "What are the 10 lessons and ideas that I find myself recalling most often?" That have changed the way I think and how I operate in the world.That's what we're going to be diving into on Podcast Number #21: 10 lessons and ideas from 10 years of studying Jocko Willink.00:00 Introduction to Jocko Willink06:09 #1: Make Things Happen10:47 #2: Read and Write Every Day17:35 #3: You are the General21:31 #4: Leadership is a Skill24:29 #5: It's normal to feel that way29:04 #6: The Only Leadership Measure That Matters32:12 #7: Leading Up The Chain35:59 #8: Leadership Capital40:08 #9: Keep things simple42:09 #10: Study Atrocities47:07 Closing
Diving into The Nvidia Way: Jensen Huang and the Making of a Tech Giant by Tae Kim (https://a.co/d/gEccKXp), exploring 12 ideas and lessons that shine a light on how Jensen Huang turned an idea formed by 3 guys in a Denny's in 1993 into the world's most valuable company.
What lessons did Nvidia learn along the way?
What did they learn about human nature?
And how did they use those lessons to build the culture, the operating system, of the company today? An operating system that has led this group of people to create some of the most advanced technologies the world has ever seen.
That's what we're going to be studying on Podcast #20.
00:00 Introduction to The NVIDIA Way
04:56 #1: The Nvidia Way is Jensen
07:35 #2: "We're 30 days from going out of business"
11:31 #3: Long Hours
14:51 #4: Honing the Sword
18:32 #5: Extremely flat organiztion
21:13 #6: Extreme Transparency and Alignment
25:39 #7: Public Criticism
30:38 #8: Pilot in Command
32:10 #9: No one loses alone
34:35 #10: Whiteboard
40:15 #11: Know more about the customers' businesses than the customers themselves do
43:54 #12: Unwavering Beliefs
47:31 Closing
Diving into Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. by Ron Chernow (https://a.co/d/iEFLpKT). This sweeping biography follows Rockefeller’s rise from humble beginnings to becoming the world’s richest man and the mastermind behind Standard Oil. Blending business brilliance, ruthless ambition, and deep philanthropy, it’s a powerful portrait of the man who shaped modern capitalism and left an enduring mark on industry and society.
00:00 Introduction to John D. Rockefeller
05:01 Rockefeller's Father and Childhood
10:23 Rockefeller as a Child
12:29 Rockefeller Raises $2,000 for Church Mortgage
14:26 Rockefeller's Job Search
17:16 Rockefeller's Early Career
18:27 18-year-old Rockefeller Builds a House
20:27 How Rockefeller Sells
22:50 14 Ideas
23:58 #1: Keeping Ledgers and Objective Data
27:37 #2: Ceaseless Search for Minor Improvements
30:50 #3: Control Costs
32:00 #4: Take Notes34:48
#5: Advantages of being green
36:45 #6: Hurry up the boys
38:24 #7: Long-term thinking
40:09 #8: Showmanship
42:28 #9: Tell the truth
45:04 #10: Hire talent as found, not as needed
47:03 #11: Turn Adversaries into Allies
48:41 #12: Delegation and Decentralized Command
51:11 #13: Talk last in meetings
52:34 #14: Excellence
56:03 Conclusion
Diving into Sam Walton: Made in America by Sam Walton with John Huey (https://a.co/d/d5alsC5). This memoir takes you inside the story of Walmart’s founder, from his small-town beginnings to building the largest retail empire in the world. Packed with lessons on grit, frugality, and customer obsession, it’s a revealing look at the mindset that forever changed the retail landscape.
00:00 Introduction
01:41 Childhood Influences and Early Lessons
03:13 Chapter 1: Sam's Childhood
12:03 Chapter 2: Sam's first store - Newport, Arkansas
20:34 Chapter 3: Moving to Bentonville
29:13 Chapter 4: Starting Walmart
Diving into The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon by Brad Stone (https://a.co/d/gXPwvoC). From Amazon’s humble garage beginnings to becoming the “everything” marketplace, this book pulls back the curtain on Bezos’ relentless drive, bold bets, and game-changing vision.
00:00 The Journey Begins: Bezos and McKinsey's Road Trip
02:44 Lessons from Jeff Bezos: The Regret Minimization Framework
04:21 Perspective is worth 80 IQ points
06:05 #1: Deciding to start Amazon.com
10:50 #2: What is not going to change?
14:30 #3: Negative reviews
17:18 #4: Pricing AWS
23:44 #5: Kindle
28:18 #6: Amazon.love
35:33 Conclusion
Diving into Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson (https://a.co/d/gbCK0tK). Musk is one of the most fascinating and polarizing figures in modern tech and innovation. From Zip2 and PayPal to Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink, and even X (formerly Twitter), this book dives into the mind behind some of the most ambitious ventures of our time. Love him or not, his impact is undeniable.
00:00 Introduction to Elon Musk’s Journey
04:20 Elon’s Childhood
18:37 Elon’s Early Career and Zip2
22:54 #1: Elon’s insane tolerance for risk
26:23 #2: A maniacal sense of urgency
29:12 #3: Surges
32:42 #4: Maximize or minimize one or a few variables
34:52 #5: Idiot Index
36:55 #6: Know your numbers and use objective data
40:46 #7: Prioritizing the work over the people
43:51 #8: Showmanship
46:41 #9: Balancing simplicity and friendliness
49:16 #10: First Principles Thinking
51:01 #11: Designers, engineers, and manufacturing all on the same team
53:20 #12: High Velocity Decision Making
55:04 #13: The algorithm
Diving into "Marine: The Life of Chesty Puller" (https://a.co/d/5b38Ysk) by Burke Davis. Chesty Puller is a legend in US military history. He is the most decorated Marine in the history of the Marine Corps. He fought and led in Haiti, Nicaragua, at Guadalcanal in the Pacific in WWII, and in Korea.
00:00 Introduction to Chesty Puller
02:15 Chesty Puller’s Heroic Stories
10:50 Chesty’s Childhood and Early Influences
17:15 #1: Leaders don't flinch under fire; this is of the utmost importance.
21:32 #2: Never express yourself idly before the men.
24:14 #3: Concentrate your forces and aggressively attack the enemy.
27:58 #4: You don’t hurt ’em if you don’t hit ’em.
31:13 #5: Follow orders implicitly. (Not explicitly)
34:28 #6: Be someone who can just be given the commander's intent and execute.
38:18 #7: Practice communication. The men's lives will depend on it.
40:55 #8: A shepherd should smell like his sheep. Get out there and march with the men.
44:04 #9: Understand that mistakes will be made.
48:08 #10: Modulate your leadership to the individual and the situation.
54:18 #11: Don't lose sight of the big picture.
56:51 #12: We must not be too proud or too stupid to profit by our mistakes.
01:00:25 #13: Incentives drive behavior.
01:03:51 #14: Use readbacks to ensure alignment.
01:05:16 #15: When you have something to say, make it snappy.
01:06:16 #16: Leadership makes a difference.
01:10:11 #17: Keep the mission simple.
01:11:46 #18: Study history
Diving into Marine: The Life of Chesty Puller (https://a.co/d/5b38Ysk) by Burke Davis—this time, with former Marine Jed Smith.
Jed shares how Chesty is introduced from day one in boot camp, which stories get drilled into recruits, and more stories from Jed's time in the Marine Corps.
Diving into "Steve Jobs" (https://a.co/d/8x1bPBj) by Walter Isaacson — an extraordinary look into the mind of a visionary who reshaped entire industries through sheer intensity, obsession with simplicity, and a drive like no other. In this podcast I break down my 14 takeaways from the book.
00:00 Introduction to Steve Jobs' Life and Legacy
03:05 The question I'm asking
05:00 The Importance of Simplicity
05:54 #1: Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication
09:08 #2: Make things happen
13:35 #3: Don't use plywood on the back
20:04 #4: Set aggressive timelines
24:46 #5: Execution eats strategy for breakfast
28:14 #6: Hire for passion
30:56 #7: A-players only
39:50 #8: Build products for yourself
41:43 #9: Showmanship
43:59 #10: Take creative risks
48:48 #11: Focus
55:45 #12: Be decisive
58:57 #13: If you don't cannibalize yourself, someone else will
01:03:13 #14: Remember you're going to die
Diving into "The Almanack of Naval Ravikant" by Eric Jorgenson (https://a.co/d/1HmYJqE ). Naval Ravikant is an entrepreneur, investor, and thought leader known for his insights on startups, wealth creation, and personal growth. He co-founded AngelList, a platform for startups to raise capital, and has invested in companies like Uber and Twitter. His philosophy, shared through podcasts, tweets, and essays, emphasizes first-principles thinking, long-term decision-making, and achieving freedom through leverage and self-awareness.
In this podcast Petti dives in on his early life and lessons we can learn from Naval's experiences and teachings.
00:00 Introduction to Naval Ravikant
04:13 The Importance of Unconditional Love
07:04 The Power of Reading
10:23 Wealth Creation as a Skill
13:09 Early Career and Lessons Learned
15:57 The Internship Experience
19:07 Starting Opinions and the Dot Com Era
22:02 The Merger and Its Consequences
25:13 If you're so smart, why aren't you happy?
28:02 Lessons from Naval's Experience with Opinions
29:50 Deterministic Success: Living Life for Maximum Outcomes
32:13 Creating Deterministic Success
35:06 Success takes an indeterminate amount of time
37:36 Play long-term games with long term people
40:56 Holistic Selfishness: Aligning Personal and Collective Interests
44:45 All learning is error correction
46:51 All greatness comes from suffering
49:09 Wealth Games vs. Status Games
Inside “Benjamin Franklin: An American Life” (link here) by Walter Isaacson — a deep dive into the life of one of America’s most brilliant minds.
This podcast explores Franklin's entrepreneurial journey as a printer. The lessons he learned along the way and the business moves he made that set him up for financial freedom.
00:00 The Multifaced Life of Benjamin Franklin
04:02 Franklin’s Relentless Curiosity and Early Influences
09:40 The Apprenticeship and Early Career of Franklin
19:07 The Importance of Reliability and Self-Improvement
27:49 The Junto Club: A Hub for Intellectual Growth
31:41 Franklin’s Entrepreneurial Journey in Printing
43:42 Retirement and Legacy of Benjamin Franklin
Part 2 of digging into “Poor Charlie’s Almanack” (https://a.co/d/7ZNx8mG) by Charlie Munger — timeless wisdom from Charlie Munger on building a culture of trust, decentralization, and the art of persuading through self-interest over moral reasoning.
00:00 Creating a Culture of Trust and Decentralization
09:49 How to Add Value
19:35 Understanding Human Misjudgment
28:08 The Power of Incentives and Decision Making
Diving into "Poor Charlie's Almanack" (https://a.co/d/7ZNx8mG) by Charlie Munger — invaluable life and business lessons from one of the smartest investors and thinkers of our time!
00:00 Intro
02:43 Discovering Charlie Munger
05:49 Lessons from Charlie’s Early Life
08:04 The Power of Reading and Learning
11:23 The Journey to Wealth Building
14:05 The Birth of a Partnership
16:53 Harvard School Commencement Speech
19:36 The Path to Misery: Charlie’s Lessons
22:45 Inversion: A Key to Problem Solving
30:51 The Power of Inversion in Decision Making
38:31 Worldly Wisdom and the Importance of Models
54:48 Understanding Market Dynamics and Competition
57:45 Investment Philosophy: The 20 Punch Ticket
Diving into “The Wisdom of the Bullfrog” (https://a.co/d/eAHkdoL) by Admiral William McRaven — leadership lessons from a Navy Seal legend!
00:00 The Calm Before the Storm
02:20 Leadership Lessons from Admiral McRaven
04:18 Overcoming Early Career Challenges
07:36 Mistakes and Tough Decisions
10:28 Defining Leadership
12:55 The Importance of Reputation
15:19 Winning in Command
18:35 Navigating Uncertainty
26:31 Decision-Making in High-Stakes Situations
38:21 The Legacy of Leadership
What I learned by reading David Novak's book How Leaders Learn.
0:00 Intro
02:16 Lesson 1: Keep Things Simple
05:07 Lesson 2: Calibrate Your Expectations
09:54 Lesson 3: Failure Is Part of the Journey
12:51 Lesson 4: Move Toward the Problems
15:29 Lesson 5: Stack Undeniable Proof
19:27 Lesson 6: The Answers Are in Other People’s Heads
24:10 Lesson 7: Get Good at Asking Questions
26:05 Lesson 8: Climb the Ladder of Alignment
33:40 Lesson 9: The Enemy Is Outside the Wire
35:55 Final Thoughts & Why You Should Read This Book
What Jed and I learned reading Napoleon's Maxims of War
Petti sits down with Coach Joel Dearing, author of Integrity Switch, to explore the powerful leadership lessons behind the book. In this episode, Coach Dearing shares the story behind the book’s title, his unique approach to teaching integrity, and the A²B² leadership framework that has shaped his coaching philosophy. They also dive into key leadership principles, how to instill confidence in others, and the importance of managing oneself before leading others. Whether you're a coach, leader, or someone looking to sharpen your integrity and leadership skills, this episode is packed with valuable insights!
00:00 - Introduction & The Story Behind Integrity Switch
02:36 - How a One-Act Play Changed the Way Coach Dearing Teaches Integrity
08:52 - The A²B² Leadership Framework & How It Started
26:37 - Key Leadership Lessons from Coaching & Life
35:46 - The Importance of Planning & Adapting to Change
48:48 - Managing Yourself Before Leading Others
57:15 - What Makes a "Gamer" in Sports & Leadership
1:04:30 - How Great Leaders Embrace Change & Instill Confidence
1:15:52 - Closing Thoughts & Where to Find Integrity Switch