A 2-minute guided mindfulness reset designed to help you pause, breathe, and reconnect with gratitude in the middle of your day. Narrated with a warm, calming voice and soft ambient background.

Imagine an engineer who’s gone from writing code to building a venture-backed startup—now creating AI-powered tools tailored for fashion brands in New York. That’s Harish Chandramowli, Co-Founder of Flaire. His journey is a compelling example of the kind of leadership, innovation, and resilience we highlight on the Breakfast Leadership Show.

With a twelve-year engineering career at organizations like MongoDB, Bloomberg, and Johns Hopkins, Harish made the leap into entrepreneurship by co-founding Flaire—an ERP platform that fuses artificial intelligence with user-centered design for retail. What makes Harish’s story stand out is his ability to blend deep technical expertise with the gritty, hands-on realities of scaling a business.

Whether he’s designing smarter code-review workflows (like Greptile, which dramatically reduces dev feedback cycles) or jumping into client sales conversations, Harish brings a unique perspective. He’s learned firsthand how to build high-performing remote teams rooted in trust, and how small, strategic process bets can drive sustainable growth.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scharish/ Website: https://Flairesoftware.com

This episode's partner is MRPeasy. Link to sign up: https://try.mrpeasy.com/rzhgcr9jcov5

Ideal for companies with 10 - 200 employees

MRPeasy is a seriously powerful yet easy-to-use manufacturing software. It gives you everything you need to manage your manufacturing and distribution.

In this episode of the Breakfast Leadership Show, Michael sits down with Mike Goldman to challenge the status quo of performance management. Traditional reviews often disengage employees and hinder organizational progress. Instead, Mike shares why leaders must focus on people growth as the true driver of profit.

They dive into the concept of “high-performance math” — showing that investing in top performers yields the greatest returns. Too often, leaders spend energy on underperformers while high performers walk away due to toxic culture or poor management.

Mike also introduces his simple talent management framework, designed to replace outdated annual reviews with ongoing coaching, accountability, and development. His insights, drawn from his latest book, stress the importance of making tough calls, avoiding mediocrity, and building an environment where employees actually look forward to work.

A must-listen for leaders ready to transform how they grow and retain talent.

https://StrengthOfTalent.com

Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-better-leadership-team-show/id1670173291

Website: https://www.mike-goldman.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mikegoldmancoach

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mgoldman10/

Michael and Mick explored why active listening is at the core of great leadership. Rather than listening just to reply, they emphasized listening to truly understand — making people feel seen and valued. Mick shared a recent insight from the “experience revolution,” where 75% of client satisfaction is based on how people feel, not just on what gets done. Together, they highlighted how leaders can build stronger teams by asking questions like, “What are you proud of that we may not be recognizing?”

Michael reflected on his personal loyalty to certain hotels, often choosing them over more convenient options. He compared this to sports stadiums and entertainment venues that deliver unforgettable experiences, inspiring loyalty that defies logic. Mick expanded on this concept of “loyalty beyond reason,” sharing lessons from global stadium designers who helped shape experiences for the World Cup and Olympics.

Michael shared how he and his wife prioritize experiences over material goods, recognizing that memories last far longer than products like appliances or smartphones. Experiences spark creativity, curiosity, and joy, and he explained how leaders who design meaningful client experiences not only enrich their work but also strengthen long-term relationships and outcomes.

Mick reframed the common idea of “work-life balance” into a broader vision of life integration. He encouraged leaders to step away from rigid linear thinking and embrace space for creativity and lateral ideas. With finite time, he advised finding mentors who offer honest feedback and guidance. Michael echoed these insights, noting that harmony — not balance — is what allows people to thrive personally and professionally.

The conversation turned to resilience and growth under pressure. Michael stressed the importance of focusing on what can be controlled — mindset, habits, and health — while Mick used his “orange juice” analogy to illustrate that how we respond to challenges reveals our preparation. Both agreed that being challenged is vital to staying relevant and avoiding stagnation, especially when surrounded by people who care enough to push us forward.

To close, Michael and Mick discussed ways listeners can continue learning from Mick’s work through his Instagram, LinkedIn, and website. The conversation underscored how leadership rooted in listening, loyalty, and life integration can transform both personal growth and organizational success.

Website: https://www.2blimitless.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mick-todd-a887b313/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/2blimitless/?hl=en

Supporting Underrepresented and Mission-Driven Entrepreneurs with Kate

On this episode of the Breakfast Leadership Show, I welcome Kate, a Silicon Valley CEO, coach, and venture capitalist. She has dedicated her career to supporting underrepresented and mission-driven founders who bring unique perspectives and innovative solutions to their communities.

We discuss the motivations that drive entrepreneurs in healthcare, AI, and climate tech, and how clarifying purpose is key to long-term impact. Kate also shares strategies for navigating toxic and fear-based leadership environments, offering a practical toolkit built from 30 years of experience. Together, we explore how leaders can resist hierarchical pressures, build resilience, and thrive without sacrificing values.

Kate’s new book, Unbreakable, will be released on October 28, and provides guidance for professionals facing toxic leadership cultures.

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Kate (she/they) is a CEO coach, venture capitalist, and author based in Silicon Valley. She is dedicated to helping leaders unlock agency and navigate challenges with clarity, strategy, and hope. Through her work, she creates meaningful connections and empowers people, whether readers, clients, or peers, to move through difficult realities with resilience and grace.

Her expertise in fear-based leadership comes from her own lived experience and was sharpened through years in high-performance environments such as startups, private equity, management consulting, and big tech. Kate’s mission is to remind those facing bullies or fear-driven systems that they are not alone, and that their power runs deeper than they realize.

Kate works primarily with mission-driven, underrepresented startup CEOs who want to grow businesses that are not only profitable but also human-centered. Her writing, spanning nonfiction and comedy, equips people with the skills to thrive while inviting the world to feel more connected, warm, and authentically human.

Outside of her professional work, Kate expresses her creativity through writing music and comedy specials, exploring the Bay Area food culture, and spending time with her service dog, Annie.

website: https://www.katelowry.com/

New book: Unbreakable

• https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FR1G981Y/ref=sr_1_2?
• https://www.amazon.com/Unbreakable-Thrive-Under-Fear-Based-Leaders-ebook/dp/B0FQ71FW72/ref=sr_1_1

• https://www.instagram.com/kateunbreakablelowry/
• https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61579366067469
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherinejlowry/

Bronson discussed his journey to financial freedom through real estate investing, highlighting his transition from single-family homes to larger multifamily properties and other assets like oil and gas. He emphasized the importance of passive income and shared insights from his book "Fire Yourself," which provides a framework for investors to achieve financial independence. Michael agreed with Bronson's perspective, noting that real estate remains a stable investment due to the enduring need for housing, and they discussed the challenges and opportunities in various investment strategies.

Michael and Bronson discussed the advantages of investing in multifamily properties over single-family homes, highlighting the steady and predictable income stream they provide. They emphasized the importance of diversifying revenue streams to mitigate market risks and the need to consider the value of one's time when managing properties. Bronson noted that while some people enjoy the hands-on aspect of property management, others may prefer time freedom, and he stressed that no investment is truly passive.

Bronson and Michael discussed the importance of understanding investment risks and the value of having both mentors and peers in the investing community. Bronson emphasized the significance of educating oneself about investments and the benefits of joining mastermind groups to share experiences and learn from others' successes and failures. He also mentioned his book "Fire Yourself" as a guide for high net worth individuals looking to start investing.

Bronson discussed his upcoming book "Rich Brain," which explores how wealthy individuals change their mindset to achieve financial success, challenging the common belief that most wealth is inherited. He shared that 86% of millionaires are self-made and highlighted the importance of mindset and personal development in achieving wealth. Bronson also mentioned that he is rewriting the book to expand on the topic and plans to release it in 2025.

The conversation concluded with Bronson offering a free guide on his top investments for 2025, which listeners can access by texting "cash flow" to

Website: https://bronsonequity.com/home-bronson-equity/

Unlocking Business Growth: Overcoming Common Obstacles," explores various challenges that can hinder a business's progress. It identifies self-doubt as a significant internal barrier for entrepreneurs, emphasizing the importance of confidence. The document also highlights the negative impact of outdated and inefficient processes, advocating for digitalization and operational audits to improve organization.

It stresses the necessity of innovation to differentiate products and services in the market and underscores the critical importance of meeting customer expectations and delivering on promises to maintain client loyalty.

Finally, the text points to a business's insignificance or lack of relevance as a potential growth impediment, suggesting a renewed focus on passion and market differentiation.

Link to source: What's Holding Your Business Back?

In this episode, we explore a surprising but powerful signal of workplace burnout: the 8.9% surge in energy drink consumption. While many view this as just another consumer trend, the data reveals something deeper: employees are increasingly turning to stimulants to combat chronic fatigue, mounting stress, and relentless workloads.

We unpack how this reliance on quick energy fixes creates a dangerous cycle. Energy drinks may mask exhaustion in the short term, but they erode long-term health, disrupt sleep, and prevent recovery. Instead of addressing the systemic roots of burnout, organizations risk normalizing a culture where artificial energy becomes a substitute for balance and rest.

The conversation calls on leaders to look beyond the symptom: rising energy drink use, and confront the causes: poor work design, excessive demands, and lack of recovery time. True prevention lies in redesigning work for sustainability, fostering a culture that prioritizes rest, and supporting employee mental health. By doing so, we can break the cycle and reduce the need for artificial boosts.

Get help to address your burnout: https://FreeFromBurnout.com

Do you work in a toxic workplace? Find out how to change that: https://Community.BreakfastLeadership.com

Source article: https://www.breakfastleadership.com/blog/when-energy-drinks-spike-by-89-what-it-truly-reflects-about-burnout-in-our-workforce