The Athletics of Business

About The Athletics of Business

Our Athletics of Business podcast provides leaders with invaluable practical lessons framed by the competitive nature of sport and life. Here we share a mindset built on the foundational belief that the skills and behaviors of high-performing teams, elite athletes, and high-impact coaches are also the key to your business success. This perspective is a direct result of Ed Molitor's experiences—as both a college athlete and a coach—that helped shape his core values: work ethic, positivity, enthusiasm, passion for life, loyalty, and commitment to relentlessly pursuing excellence.

Publisher

Ed Molitor

Category

education · sports

Language

en

Explicit

Yes

First episode

20 Jul 2018

Latest episode

14 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

228 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   14 Oct 2026

   Managing Big Personalities: Turning Individual Talent Into Collective Strength

   Some of the most talented people on a team can also be the most challenging to lead. They bring confidence, intensity, conviction, and a competitive drive that pushes others to perform at a higher level. But those same strengths can create friction, strain relationships, and undermine the culture when they aren't channeled toward a shared purpose. The challenge isn't to make these personalities smaller. It's to help their impact become greater. Few examples illustrate this better than Phil Jackson's leadership of the Chicago Bulls. Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Dennis Rodman were three extraordinary competitors with vastly different personalities, motivations, and needs. Jackson understood that bringing out their best required coaching each player differently while holding everyone accountable to the same mission and standards. That distinction is just as important in business, where leaders must balance individual strengths with the trust, connection, and accountability that sustain team performance. In this solo episode, Ed Molitor draws on his experiences in basketball, recent conversations with business leaders, and five practical coaching lessons to explore how strong personalities can become a team's greatest competitive advantage rather than a threat to its culture. From understanding what motivates individuals and creating space for honest conversations to establishing clear boundaries and protecting shared standards, Ed examines what it takes to turn exceptional talent into collective success. But he also challenges leaders to look inward. Because leading big personalities requires more than understanding others. It demands the self-awareness, composure, and courage to manage our own reactions, confront difficult behaviors, and coach people without diminishing what makes them exceptional. Great leadership isn't about choosing between performance and people. It's about creating the conditions for both to thrive. And that's how connected teams perform and care. ABOUT ED MOLITOR Ed is a coach down to the very smallest molecule of his DNA. Whether he's a husband and father at home or working with a client in the business world, he is an energized, passionate, and near-obsessive coach who is fully invested in showing up with all he's got to help you show up with all you've got. His approach is one that insists on presence. He knows no other way to catalyze change except by getting on the court with you, playing side-by-side, and encouraging you to keep pushing, especially when the going gets tough. In the last 29 years, Ed has developed his leadership skills in both athletics and business. From working as an NCAA Basketball coach at Texas A&M, DePaul NIU, and Lewis University to becoming the Vice President of a national recruiting firm, Ed Molitor has experienced the potential and pitfalls of leadership at every level. As the founder and CEO of The Molitor Group, Ed guided emerging and established leaders across biopharma and biotech to apply the proven lessons of coaching in their pursuit of inspiring and driving their team's performance. Today, he continues to have high impact in leaders and organizations as EVP of Strategy and Coaching Excellence at CoEffex. Through personalized training, workshops, keynote speeches, his writing, and as a podcast host, Ed seeks to empower individuals and their organizations to achieve victory through a focus on transformation, fundamentals, compassion, mental toughness, and vision. Ed graduated from St. Ambrose University with a B.S. in Business Administration and a minor in Economics where he was a member of the Men's Basketball team serving as the co-captain his Senior year. Before St. Ambrose, he studied business at Creighton University where he played on the Men's Basketball teams which included a 1989 MVC Regular Season and Tournament Champions, NCAA Tournament, and a 1990 NIT Tournament. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE Why big personalities can be a game-changer—or a threat to team culture What Phil Jackson teaches us about coaching different personalities toward a shared mission How to build a team-first environment where people challenge ideas and stay connected Why discovering someone's motivating currency is essential to effective coaching How to create space for private truth and challenge behavior without diminishing the person Why clarity, ownership, and defined boundaries give competitive fire somewhere valuable to go How to customize your coaching without compromising team standards Why the first personality you must learn to manage is your own How competitive character helps teams perform at a high level, do things the right way, and care for one another RESOURCES & LINKS Ed Molitor LinkedIn: Ed Molitor Website: coeffex.com (https://coeffex.com/podcast) YouTube Channel: The Athletics of Business (https://coeffex.com/podcast) LinkedIn Article: Don't Shrink the Personality. Expand the Impact. Related Episode Leading with Competitive Character: Building Connected Teams That Perform and Care — featuring Will Lumpkin, Vice President of Sales at Agios Pharmaceuticals EPISODE TIMESTAMPS 00:00 – Why big personalities can be a competitive advantage 01:17 – The leadership challenge: Managing big personalities without compromising culture 02:16 – Ed's memories of Michael Jordan's retirement, return, and the Dennis Rodman trade 06:16 – The opportunities and challenges of leading strong personalities 09:03 – Phil Jackson's approach to coaching Jordan, Pippen, and Rodman 12:54 – Lesson 1: Build a team-first environment 15:31 – Lesson 2: Discover what motivates each individual 17:51 – Lesson 3: Create space for private truth and honest conversations 22:44 – Lesson 4: Define the lanes with clarity, ownership, and boundaries 25:14 – Lesson 5: Protect the standards, especially with your highest performers 29:32 – Why managing your own personality comes first 32:32 – Competitive character: Turning individual talent into collective strength

2. 

   23 Sept 2026

   Built by the Journey: Coaching for Growth, Culture and Impact with Brian Taylor

   Brian Taylor's career was never a straight line. It moved from college basketball to coaching, from building sports camps to pharmaceutical sales, and through roles that continually asked him to stretch beyond what he already knew. Along the way, he learned that growth rarely comes from staying comfortable. It comes from stepping into unfamiliar territory, being willing to fail, and doing the work to become ready for opportunities before they appear. But some of Brian's most important lessons came when the path became much harder. After 11 years with one organization, he realized the people who had once advocated for him were no longer in the room. Eventually, his role was eliminated. It was a painful moment that forced him to rebuild more than his career. He had to rebuild his confidence, rethink how he cultivated relationships, and decide what kind of leader he wanted to become on the other side of adversity. That experience now shows up in the way Brian leads: care deeply for people, build trust before you ask more of them, be clear about expectations, and never lose sight of why it matters. His work with the sickle cell community gave that leadership an even deeper sense of purpose. It became bigger than performance. It became about serving people, advocating for a community, and making sure the team never loses sight of who they are ultimately serving. And through every stage of Brian's journey, there were people who left a lasting mark on the leader he became. Coaches, colleagues, team members, and especially Milt Goggins, a deeply cherished mentor whose guidance and example remain deeply woven into his life and leadership. Their influence is now part of the way Brian leads, develops others, and gives back. Because the journey does more than build us. It gives us something worth passing forward. OUR GUEST Brian Taylor is the Zone Director – Sickle Cell Disease at Agios, where he is responsible for building and leading the company's Sickle Cell Sales team. Brian brings more than 20 years of experience across sales, field force operations, marketing, brand commercialization, and thought leader engagement. Most recently, he served as Thought Leader Engagement Lead for Pfizer's Rare Hematology and Endocrine business unit. Previously, he was a founding member of the Global Blood Therapeutics sales leadership team, where he was first introduced to sickle cell disease and began a six-year commitment to the community. An award-winning leader, Brian is recognized for inspiring teams, executing with discipline, and delivering results in highly competitive markets. He is also respected for his commitment to inclusion, talent development, and meaningful engagement across the sickle cell community. Brian is a graduate of Hampton University, where he was a three-year basketball letterman. He earned a Master of Science in Sport Management from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and completed the Professional Development Program at The Wharton School. Brian lives in Lambertville, New Jersey. Outside of work, he serves on the Board of the United Negro College Fund of New Jersey, mentors young men in Trenton as they prepare for life after sports, and is a proud member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE Why growth often requires stepping beyond what is familiar How breadth and depth of experience prepare you for bigger opportunities How adversity can reshape confidence, relationships, and leadership Why failure, self-awareness, and honest feedback are essential to growth How genuine care earns the trust to coach, challenge, and hold people accountable Why strong leaders build relationships and advocacy before they need them How clear expectations and a shared "why" strengthen culture and performance Why purpose can elevate the way people lead and serve How great mentors shape not only who we become, but what we pass forward RESOURCES & LINKS Brian Taylor LinkedIn: Brian Taylor LinkedIn: Agios Pharmaceuticals X: Agios Pharmaceuticals Website: www.agios.com Sickle Cell Disease Silent damage in sickle cell disease: Hemolysis | Sickle Cell Clues www.sicklecellclues.com Agios' patient resource for learning more about sickle cell disease. Sickle Cell Disease Association of America www.sicklecelldisease.org A great resource to learn more about the disease and the national sickle cell community-based organization. National Alliance of Sickle Cell Centers www.sicklecellcenters.org An alliance of sickle cell centers focused on establishing standards of care, geared more toward providers. Ed Molitor LinkedIn: Ed Molitor Website: coeffex.com YouTube Channel: The Athletics of Business

3. 

   16 Sept 2026

   Find a Way: Resilience, Leadership, and the People Who Shape Us with Merril Hoge

   Former NFL player, longtime ESPN analyst, author, and speaker Merril Hoge joins Ed Molitor on The Athletics of Business to share the mindset behind three words that have shaped his life: Find a Way. From discovering football as a child and covering his bedroom wall with goals, to a devastating childhood accident, an NFL career, and a battle with cancer, Merril shares how preparation, perspective, and action helped him navigate some of the most difficult moments of his life. He also reflects on the people who shaped him along the way—including Walter Payton, Chuck Noll, Tony Dungy, and his own children—and the lessons he carried forward into leadership, coaching, parenting, and business. Throughout the conversation, Merril explains why great leaders model the standards they expect from others, why winning and learning are both part of growth, and why "Find a Way" is not about following someone else's path. It is about taking responsibility for finding your own. OUR GUEST Merril Hoge played in the NFL for 8 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Chicago Bears; he was also a football analyst for ESPN for 21 years Hoge is an inspirational speaker who speaks all over the country, impacting people and companies to grow through self-reflection and taking action to Find Their Way. He is also on the board of the Chuck Noll Foundation for Brain Injury Research and a member of the NFL Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Committee. In 2018, Hoge helped launch Your Call Football and is the author of Find a Way: Three Words That Changed My Life and Brainwashed: The Bad Science Behind CTE and the Plot to Destroy Football. Hoge continues to find new ways to make a positive impact with his mind, heart, and energy. Whether that be through his educational work, advocacy, or motivational engagements, he is a force for positive change and inspiration. He lives in Fort Thomas, Kentucky. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE Why commitment means giving everything you have to the goal in front of you. How "Find a Way" became a mindset for taking action when circumstances feel overwhelming Why finding a way does not mean following someone else's path—it means discovering what works for you Why modeling may be one of the most powerful tools a leader has How a "win or learn" mindset changes the way we respond to setbacks What Chuck Noll, Tony Dungy, and Walter Payton taught Merril about leadership, influence, and character Why parents and coaches should create environments where young people can learn, fail, adjust, and grow How patience and perspective can change the way we lead our children, teams, and ourselves RESOURCES & LINKS Merril Hoge Website: Merril Hoge (For speaking inquiries) LinkedIn: Merril Hoge Twitter/X: Merril Hoge Instagram: merrilhoge Books: Find A Way | Brainwashed (https://merrilhoge.com/brainwashed/) Ed Molitor LinkedIn: Ed Molitor Website: coeffex.com YouTube Channel: The Athletics of Business TIMESTAMPS 00:00 – The mindset behind "Find a Way" 01:54 – Merril Hoge's childhood dream of playing in the NFL 03:44 – Building resilience when others doubt your goals 05:23 – The corkboard that changed Merril's life 07:02 – Why giving everything you have matters 08:30 – Learning from mentors and influences 09:28 – The childhood accident that nearly cost Merril his hand 13:09 – The moment everything changed on the farm 17:49 – Finding a way through cancer and adversity 20:01 – The diagnosis that tested Merril's mindset 21:57 – The words from his daughter that changed everything 23:25 – How Walter Payton shaped Merril's life 28:41 – The responsibility of impacting others 30:51 – The power of visualization and preparation 34:51 – Lessons from youth sports and coaching 37:22 – Why failure is an opportunity to learn 39:17 – The leadership lessons of Chuck Noll 42:14 – The power of leading through example 44:43 – Parenting, patience, and perspective 47:16 – Tony Dungy's influence and leadership lessons 56:37 – Final thoughts and where to connect with Merril Hoge

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