“You can’t talk your way out of something you behaved your way into.” That line changed a Fortune 500 company, and it should change how you lead your team.

When a Fortune 500 company is literally ringed in razor wire, you don’t pep-talk your way out— you do the hard, specific work of rebuilding trust.

In this “Success for the Athletic-Minded Man” episode, I sit down with Doug Conant, the CEO who walked into Campbell Soup with plunging sales, a disengaged workforce, and a headquarters in one of America’s most dangerous cities, and left it with the highest employee engagement score in the Fortune 500. 

Doug’s a student-athlete-turned-CEO who learned early that discipline matters. He played tennis at Northwestern, coached there, survived the LBO chaos at Nabisco, and then dug in at Campbell. 

He tells the story straight, how Gallup called Campbell the worst engagement case they’d seen, how Doug’s first day included firing the CFO, and how he and his team rebuilt an organization by showing up with consistency, respect, and tough-minded compassion. 

We unpack practical moves: measurable engagement targets, replacing leaders who can’t buy in, the “living, loving, learning, leaving a legacy” playbook Doug used, and the daily habits: the morning reflection, the commute rituals, the weekly appreciation, that let him be present for both the company and his family. 

If you run a business or a team and want concrete, repeatable methods for turning disengaged people into relentless team members, this episode is your field guide. Don’t miss it!

After you listen, if you’re thinking, “How do I use this in my day-to-day?”, Doug just launched STEPS (Success Through Empowering Professional Support), a leadership course built specifically for administrative professionals, taught by Doug himself. Use my code Harshaw10 for a discount.

If you don’t have time to listen to the entire episode or if you hear something that you like but don’t have time to write it down, be sure to grab your free copy of the Action Plan from this episode— as well as get access to action plans from EVERY episode— at JimHarshawJr.com/Action.

Download the Action Plan from This Episode Here

Website: https://conantleadership.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ConantLeadership
Twitter: https://x.com/DougConant/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doug_conant

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