Let Them Lead

Serge Savard ranks as one of the top 100 hockey players of all time, and won an incredible 8 Stanley Cups as a player, the most by any defenseman, and two more as a general manager. But in this conversation he says winning the 1972 Summit Series for Team Canada over the Soviet Union tops them all, where he was the only player to win or tie every game without any losses. Here he discusses coach Sco...

In this episode Morton Schapiro explains how this grandson of Holocaust survivors, and son of a store owner, rose from an average community college student to the president of Williams College, then Northwestern University. One crucial figure: an inspiring professor who recognized his hidden promise. Here Schapiro talks about his love for learning and teaching, the importance of humility in leader...

In this conversation, David Harlock, one of only two 3-year captains in the 100 year history of Michigan hockey, discusses what real leadership looks like, especially for a reserved personality like his; how college hockey compared to his experience winning a silver medal for the Canadian Olympic team, and playing for his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs in the NHL. Then he compares his career in hock...

John Wangler, a great Michigan quarterback in the 70s and 80s, became a successful businessman, and father of five children – three of whom played varsity sports at Michigan. Here he tells us what he learned playing for legendary coach Bo Schembechler, coming back from what they thought was a career-ending injury, and raising his kids to be resilient, handle failure, and be grateful.  About our Ho...

This week I pay homage to one of my best mentors, role models, and friends: K. Ross Childs, who passed away a year ago at 84. Ross played goalie at the University of Michigan, almost won the award for lowest goals-against as a junior – then moved to forward as a senior because that’s what the team needed. He became Grand Traverse County’s administrator, and was awarded Michigan Civil Servant of th...

Join host John U Bacon on the Let Them Lead Podcast as he delves into the extraordinary journey of Pat Richter, a sports legend who excelled in football, basketball, and baseball, securing both athletic and academic All-American honors. Pat's remarkable path led him to an eight-season NFL career with the Washington Redskins, but his story didn't end there. Rising to the role of Vice-President at O...

Matt Maasdam, a Navy SEAL for 20 years, the SEAL training program’s head instructor, and for 2.5 years, the carrier of the President’s ‘nuclear football,’ is so good in this interview that we broke it up into two episodes: Part I: Training the SEALs, and Part II: Carrying the Nuclear Football. In Part II, Navy SEAL leader Maasdam returns for a riveting bonus round. Here he tells us how he got sele...

Matt Maasdam, a Navy SEAL for 20 years, the SEAL training program’s head instructor, and for 2.5 years, the carrier of the President’s ‘nuclear football,’ is so good in this interview that we broke it up into two episodes: Part I: Training the SEALS, and Part II: Carrying the Nuclear Football. In Part I, Maasdam recounts his journey: after winning a Nebraska state championship in swimming, he beca...

In this week's Let Them Lead podcast, John Bacon and WTKA's Sam Webb discuss Michigan State University football coach Mel Tucker, who has been accused by sexual assault prevention leader Brenda Tracy of engaging in unwanted phone sex, thoughTucker claims it was consensual. The story raises more questions than answers. Can MSU fire Tucker, even if his claim is true? Who knew what at MSU, and when?...

Scott Miller learned worked under leadership legend Stephen Covey, author of the classic “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.” But Scott has become a leader in his own right, writing 7 books, including his latest, “The Ultimate Guide to Mentorship,” while producing his popular podcast and columns. His insights are unconventional, funny, irreverent, and bold, including this: Not everyone s...

Brad Park has been voted one of the 50 best hockey players of all time. The nine-time All-Star finished second of the Norris Trophy, awarded to the NHL’s best defensemen, a record six times, thanks to his one mistake: being born the same year as Bobby Orr, considered the best defenseman of all time. Here he talks about Team Canada coach Harry Sinden, who led the country’s first “Dream Team” of NHL...

This week we're sharing an interview I just did on Jeff Cohen's popular "Heart of Sports" radio show from Philadelphia's WWDB, 840AM. While it's focused on college football, the themes are all leadership, in real time: at the NCAA, where a vacuum of leadership is being filled by conference commissioners and others; at the University of Michigan, where the administration and head coach Jim Harbaugh...

If you have a TV you’ve probably seen former Federal Prosecutor Barb McQuade discussing the latest legal issue, almost daily. She’s also a professor at the University of Michigan Law School, and the author of the forthcoming book, “Attack from Within: How Disinformation is Sabotaging America. In this episode McQuade talks about her start in journalism, and what it taught her, her shift to the lega...

This week we talk with two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning author David Maraniss, whose bestsellers include biographies of Bill Clinton, Vince Lombardi, Roberto Clemente, and the city of Detroit itself. Our discussion focuses on his Lombardi book, “When Pride Still Mattered,” one of the best biographies I’ve read on any subject, in any field of endeavor. In it, Maraniss dispels several myths about the...

Launched in 1988, “Shark Week” is the world’s longest running cable TV programming event, broadcast in 72 countries. Its creator, Clark Bunting, served as President and General Manager of Discovery Channel and Animal Planet, and joins us on the Let Them Lead podcast to tell us how it started, how leadership works in cable TV, and how it succeeded – and other ideas failed, often spectacularly. Here...

This week we're addressing current events: two leadership failures, one very shocking, and the other not surprising at all -- alas. I taught at Northwestern University for six summers, and have great admiration for the university and its amazing football program under Pat Fitzgerald. I wrote about both at length in my book Fourth and Long, so I was stunned to learn he'd been fired for failing to s...

This is The Mark Divine Show, where I explore what it means to be fearless through the lens of the most inspirational, compassionate, and resilient leaders in the world, including folks from all walks of life: Stoic philosophers, motivational scientists, peace crusaders, and amazing journalists and coaches like my guest today, John U. Bacon. John’s a renowned sports journalist, radio personality,...

Some people are lucky enough to have one interesting career. Pat Hughes had two: playing in the NHL for nine years, then serving 20 years in the Ann Arbor Police Department, retiring as a Detective Sergeant. He played for legendary coaches Scotty Bowman in Montreal and Glen Sather in Edmonton, and alongside all-time greats Guy Lafleur, Wayne Gretzky, and Mark Messier, winning three Stanley Cups, t...

In this episode of the Let Them Lead podcast, host John U. Bacon sits down with Pete Heeringa and Chris Fragner, his former high school hockey captains at Ann Arbor Huron, the subject of Bacon’s book, Let Them Lead. They discuss the valuable life lessons they learned on and off the ice, proving that hockey is more than just a sport; it's a means of developing lifelong skills and relationships.   T...

Doug Stanton wrote the #1 New York Times bestselling In Harm’s Way and Horse Soldiers. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer turned Horse Soldiers into 12 Strong, starring Chris Hemsworth. Stanton is interested in “dramatic situations when people are forced to make a right decision at the most difficult moment.” Here we discuss In Harm’s Way: The Sinking of the USS Indianapolis and the Extraordinary Store of...

Most people know Jack Harbaugh as the father of John, the Super Bowl champion coach of the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens, and Jim, who has led the Michigan Wolverines to two straight Big Ten titles. But Jack took the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers from the verge of extinction to a national title himself, one of the great coaching feats of his era. In this episode Jack tells us what he learned -from paying...

When they first met, Bacon was a 22-year old assistant hockey coach at Culver Academies, and Kevin Dean was the captain of one of the nation’s best teams, and an AP history student. Dean went onto play 7 years in the NHL, and has since served as an assistant coach for five seasons with Boston and Chicago. Decades of pro hockey have taught Dean “high standards help you, not hurt you; the best playe...

AJ Harbinger and Johnny Dzubak created the immensely popular Art of Charm podcast. When they met years ago they realized they could combine AJ’s work in a University of Michigan cancer research lab and Johnny’s observations tending bar out East to transform the mysteries of influence into hard science. Now they’ve developed a coaching program that helps clients handle every sticky social situation...

Joe Battista led Penn State hockey to 6 ACHA national titles, then helped Penn State build an $88 million arena and join Big Ten hockey. A master of leadership and teamwork, his book Pragmatic Passion shows you how to “Dream big, keep it real, and make a plan.”   I met Joe Battista at Culver Academies (Indiana) in the fall of 1986, when we were both assistant hockey coaches for the legendary Al Cl...

On LET THEM LEAD, we talk about leading others. But what about leading ourselves? In 2020, John Bacon ran 700 miles, lost 35 pounds, and designed his own marathon. The key: Just put your shoes on.  On my 55th birthday in July, 2019, I tipped the scales at 205. Not healthy when you’re 5-foot-8, and not smart when you have a three-year old son. So I started running, and only eating when I was actual...