Petti Podcast

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 ceasele...

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 f...

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?...

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...

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 lesson...

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 en...

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 Introductio...

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 Minimizatio...

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...

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 Childho...

Diving into Marine: The Life of Chesty Puller ( https://a.co/d/5b38Y sk) 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...

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,...

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 Relentle...

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...

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 Ha...

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 U...

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: C...

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 oth...

n this episode, Petti shares six lessons he's learned from his first year as a CEO at Sway Medical. If you find this valuable, don’t forget to like, subscribe, and share! Chapters:00:00 - Intro: Lessons from My First Year as CEO00:52 - Lesson 1: Define the Job05:53 - Lesson 2: Define Behaviors13:16 - Lesson 3: It May Not Be Right, But It’s Ours16:05 - Lesson 4: You Are a Leadership Instructor19:37...

In this episode, Petti shares a simple trick he has picked up over the years to sharpen his intuition and make better decisions. From crunching numbers to estimating timelines, learning how adding a quick step to your process can make a huge difference. He'll talk about writing down guesses, setting error margins, and even using a timer to check how accurate you really are. It’s a practical, no-fl...

7 lessons I learned in 2024