How Leaders Lead with David Novak

Today’s guest is Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase. He took this job back in 2006 – and it has not been an easy road. He faced the global financial crisis in ‘08, the COVID-19 pandemic, and all its aftermath. It’s just been one thing after another.  But I love the no-nonsense way Jamie approaches leadership in these tough moments. He isn’t surprised by problems. He’s prepared for the...

Today’s guest is NHL Hall of Famer Mark Messier. The man hardly needs an introduction! He’s won the Stanley Cup a whopping six times and is one of the NHL’s all-time leading goal scorers.  He’s a legend of the game. But he’s also widely regarded as one of the best leaders in the game – not just in hockey, but in all of sport.  In this conversation, you’ll get a glimpse into his leadership style an...

Today’s guest is Larry Merlo, CEO of CVS Health. When Larry took the helm at CVS in 2011, they were doing about 100 billion dollars in revenue. That’s a lot of money. But guess what? Now they’re doing almost 250 billion in revenue. It’s a remarkable amount of growth. But it’s not the most remarkable thing Larry has done. He also made the bold decision to remove tobacco products from CVS stores – e...

Listen to the second part of our conversation with Tom Brady, quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. If you haven’t heard the first part yet, find it on the podcast feed – you’re going to want to start there.  In the second half of our conversation, we talk about Tom’s upbringing, which is where his incredible discipline really starts.  Tom also talks in depth about the specific mentality shifts...

Today’s guest is Tom Brady, the quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And if you know anything about Tom Brady, you know he’s incredibly disciplined. His nutrition, his fitness, his training, his prep, his mindset – the guy has an elite level of dedication to being his best. And that hard work is a huge reason why he is the greatest of all time, the GOAT! But here’s what a lot of people miss. A...

Today’s guest is Indra Nooyi, the former Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo. Indra is an incredibly accomplished leader. In her twelve years in charge at PepsiCo, she navigated all kinds of challenges – a global recession, major restructuring, sweeping changes in consumer habits. And yet, in those same twelve years, PepsiCo sales had risen by 80%. That kind of leadership is impressive. But what’s even mo...

Today’s guest is Bobbi Brown, Founder of Bobbi Brown Cosmetics & CEO of Beauty Evolution.  She is an absolute creative genius. Not just in makeup. In her whole life! When Bobbi comes up against a problem, she approaches it in the most wonderful and nontraditional ways.  And it works! She basically reinvented makeup in the 80s. She built a billion dollar brand. Today, she’s leading a successful wel...

Today’s guest is Ajay Banga, CEO of Mastercard. Ajay is one of the most respected leaders in the world, and he’s a classic example of that old adage, “When you do the right thing, the right things happen.” In fact, that idea of doing the right thing is so core to his leadership style that he coined a term for it – he calls it the “decency quotient.” As a leader it’s not enough to have a good IQ an...

Today’s guest is Ethan Brown, Founder and CEO of Beyond Meat. You hear a lot of leaders say they want to change the world. But that is literally Ethan’s mission at Beyond Meat. Their company is devoted to getting the same protein as animal meat straight from plants – so they can reduce climate change, improve human health, and help animal welfare. Now that’s an epic mission!  And when you listen t...

Today’s guest is Tony Xu, Cofounder and CEO of Doordash.  Getting a nice tasty burrito delivered to your door may seem pretty straightforward.  But when you think about all the moving parts – vendors, drivers, logistics, traffic, weather, technology – there are a lot of places where problems can pop up! Tony and his team love to solve those problems. And they do it by breaking them down to their s...

Today’s guest is Seth Waugh, CEO of the PGA of America. Seth Waugh’s background is actually in finance – most recently, as the CEO of Deutsche Bank. That’s obviously impressive, but what really sets him apart is his unique ability to relate to people at every level of an organization.  And that’s exactly what he did when took over as CEO of the PGA of America. He listened, he learned, and he gave...

Today’s guest is Evan Spiegel, CEO of Snap.  The tech world is driven by innovation. And Snapchat has set the gold standard for getting new ideas to take off, ever since 2011 when Evan Spiegel co-founded the company while he was a student at Stanford.  But there’s a lot more to Snapchat’s success than just having these good ideas. They have created a culture where those ideas can actually develop....

Today’s guest is Larry Fitzgerald, who has played for the Arizona Cardinals for 17 years and is widely regarded as one of the best wide receivers to ever play the game. He’s also an incredible philanthropist, investor, and businessman.  When we think about leadership, often what comes to mind for us is the person who’s up in front of the crowd, leading the meeting, or giving the big speech. But wh...

Today’s guest is Kendra Scott, Founder, Executive Chairwoman of the popular jewelry brand Kendra Scott. Have you ever gotten stuck because you felt so overwhelmed by how complicated something seemed?  It can happen when you launch a new initiative, start a new role, or come up against a new challenge.  In those moments we leaders can overcomplicate things! And when we get bogged down like that, it...

David Novak lets you be a fly on the wall and learn from the best CEOs, founders & entrepreneurs in business, sports and entertainment to talk about how they lead and get such incredible things done. Past guests include Tom Brady, Condoleezza Rice, Indra Nooyi, Jamie Dimon, Stanley Druckenmiller, Carol Tomé, Ginni Rometty, Ken Langone, Dude Perfect, Roger Goodell, and many others. David, a former...