DeadThree - Coaching and Leadership Development

Think about the last time somebody on your team challenged you. Not criticized you. Challenged you. Did it feel like an attack? Or like somebody who cared about the result? Most teams never find out. Nobody says anything. The thing slides, everybody watches it slide, and in the retro somebody finally says, "I knew from the start that was never going to work." You knew. And you never said anything....

Pull out your calendar. Look at this week. Which of those blocks actually produced something? Not which ones kept you busy. Which ones moved the scoreboard. In episode 138, I break down WE 7 from Kyle McDowell's Begin With We : we measure ourselves by outcomes, not activity. Last week was about picking each other up. So now you have a team with a standard. It moves, it tells the truth and it has e...

A teammate hits the floor in a preseason game and starts to get up on his own. LeBron tells him: sit back down. We will come get you. That's a standard. That's not a feeling. Somebody on your team is on the ground right now. When they went down, who moved? In episode 137, I break down WE 6 from Kyle McDowell's Begin With We: we pick each other up. This is the one I don't see enough of. Teams talk...

Your team will make mistakes the minute you tell them to move. What you do next decides your culture. We are not judged by our mistakes. We're judged by how quickly we fix them and whether we repeat them. In episode 136, I break down WE 5 from Kyle McDowell's Begin With We: we own our mistakes. Last week was about getting your team to take action. This week is what comes right after. Punish the mi...

Your team isn't stuck because of bad ideas. It's stuck because everyone is waiting for permission. Taking action and making mistakes is OK. Being idle is not. In episode 135, I break down WE 4 from Kyle McDowell's Begin With We, and I'll be honest: this is the one I struggle with most. You can set great standards. You can lead by example and keep every commitment. If nobody on your team is willing...

Your team is keeping score. Not on your title. On whether you did what you said you'd do. Your credibility is your brand, and it gets built or destroyed one commitment at a time. In episode 134, I break down WE 3 from Kyle McDowell's Begin With We: we say what we're going to do, and then we do it. This is the principle that decides whether the first two are real. You can do the right thing and lea...

George is back with the second principle from Kyle McDowell's Begin With We: We Lead By Example. Using Einstein's line that example isn't the main way to influence people, it's the only way, he breaks down Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, a software engineer named Z who reset her team's standard on a Friday afternoon, and the question every leader has to answer: are you the thermostat, or are...

It's been a year since the last episode. George is back, and he's not easing in. This one breaks down principle one from Kyle McDowell's Begin With We — the standard that has to hold before any other principle in your organization works. Trust, the John Lucas story, the Tylenol crisis, and twenty years of watching corporate America choose low standards over high ones. Corporate America isn't broke...

In this episode of the DeadThree Coaching Show, we kick off 2026 by finishing a two-part conversation about getting into uncomfortable rooms—and more importantly, what it takes to stay there, grow there, and eventually belong there. Getting access is only the first step. High performers separate themselves by what they do after the door opens. This episode breaks down three defining principles tha...

As we close out 2025 and look straight at 2026, this episode is a line in the sand. Growth does not happen in familiar rooms. It happens when you intentionally place yourself in environments where you’re uncomfortable, challenged, and not the most experienced voice in the room. In this episode, recorded on a cold Missouri walk, I unpack a core principle that will define elite leaders in 2026: You...

In this episode of the DeadThree Coaching Show, we start with a Duke vs. Florida basketball moment and turn it into a leadership blueprint for IT teams and organizations. Duke guard Isaiah Evans was 0-for-7 from three. Game on the line. Instead of going away from him, Coach Jon Scheyer drew up the final play for Evans — and he buried the game-winning three. That decision wasn’t just about X’s and...

In the last episode, we named the silent accountability crisis—those moments when projects stall, standards slip, and no one speaks up. In this follow-up conversation, we tackle the next hard question leaders are wrestling with: How do you build real accountability without turning into a controlling micromanager? Drawing from years in the IT and software space, this episode breaks down why so many...

How many times have you sat in a meeting, watched a project completely miss the mark, and silently thought: “Why didn’t anyone step up?” “Why are we settling for this?” No urgency. No honest ownership. Just quiet avoidance. In this episode, we kick off December — the reset and realign month — by naming what’s really happening in so many organizations:  a silent accountability crisis. You walk thro...

Episode Overview In this follow-up to Part 1, George goes deeper into what his Jerry Maguire moment really means for his life, his work with IT leaders, and for any executive who knows they’re capable of much more. He unpacks the current reality he sees inside software and IT organizations—overwhelmed leaders, burnt-out teams, low standards, weak execution—and contrasts it with what’s actually pos...

In this episode, George pulls back the curtain on a defining decision in his life and business: going all-in on April 1st. He frames it as his Jerry Maguire moment —the point where clarity meets courage and “good enough” stops being acceptable. You’ll hear why he’s done watching elite people walk the halls like “The Walking Dead,” why he believes IT organizations are drastically under-coached, and...

Most leaders say they want to grow their people and build high-performing teams… but then keep doing everything themselves. In this episode, George breaks down key ideas from Dan Martell’s book Buy Back Your Time and reframes them through a leadership lens. This isn’t about becoming a “busier” entrepreneur — it’s about becoming a stronger leader who builds people, systems, and cultures that can ex...

What happens when you try to lead, build, sell, strategize, and “just handle it” all by yourself? In this episode, I break down how Dan Martell’s book Buy Back Your Time quietly doubles as one of the most important leadership books you can read—especially if you’re a leader who’s stuck in the loop of doing instead of leading. I unpack why leadership without structure always ends in burnout, why so...

Great leaders don’t bark orders — they build alignment. In this episode of the DeadThree Coaching Show, George breaks down how elite organizations like the Ritz-Carlton build cultures of empowerment, trust, and execution — not by demanding obedience, but by creating clarity so strong that permission isn’t needed. Drawing lessons from Brian Gottlieb’s book Beyond the Hammer and real-world leadershi...

What makes teams elite isn’t talent — it’s alignment. In this episode of the DeadThree Coaching Show, George breaks down one of the most misunderstood truths in leadership: Teams rarely fail because they’re lazy. They fail because they’re misaligned. Drawing lessons from Brian Gottlieb’s Beyond the Hammer , George explores how belief, purpose, and alignment form the foundation for execution — and...

What if the real reason people stay—or leave—has nothing to do with pay, perks, or projects… but everything to do with how they’re led? In this episode of the DeadThree Coaching Show, George dives into one of the most powerful truths from Beyond the Hammer by Brian Gottlieb: People don’t stay for the work. They stay for the leader. When leadership is built on belief, care, and development—not cont...

What separates a manager from a leader? It’s not the title, the office, or the authority — it’s belief. In this episode of the DeadThree Coaching Show, George unpacks one of the most powerful ideas from Beyond the Hammer by Brian Gottlieb: the greatest leaders don’t build through force — they build through belief. Real leadership is about seeing potential in people long before they see it in thems...

What if the missing ingredient in your team’s performance wasn’t accountability — but empathy? In this episode of the DeadThree Coaching Show, George breaks down a leadership truth that many overlook: you can’t demand discipline from people who don’t first feel understood. Leaders who rush to enforce standards without connection end up managing compliance, not commitment. Through personal reflecti...

What if the real measure of greatness wasn’t how high you rise — but how long you can keep showing up when no one’s watching? In this episode of the DeadThree Coaching Show, we strip away the hype and get brutally honest about what greatness actually looks like in real life — the early mornings, the unseen hours, the boring repetition, the emotional fatigue. Because here’s the truth: greatness isn...

Who Do You Want to Become? How identity, humility, and disciplined action shape your path to real greatness. This episode goes straight at a question most leaders avoid: Who are you becoming—on purpose? Not your title, not your goals, not your possessions. Your identity. Because until you define that, you’ll keep chasing outcomes that don’t change who you are. Drawing from Ryan Holiday’s Ego Is th...

Episode 115: “Don't Be the Reason They Quit” What happens when the same kid, with the same talent and love for the game, goes from loving a sport one year… to hating it the next? It’s rarely about the sport. It’s almost always about the coach. In this episode of the DeadThree Coaching Show , we unpack the raw truth about leadership — that the person leading can either ignite passion or extinguish...