Justin talks with Ronnie Doumitt, founder of Answering the Call , about the moment a fellow officer’s tragedy changed his life and launched his mission. After twenty years in law enforcement, Ronnie now leads a nonprofit that steps in when first responders face a crisis. It provides emergency financial support and community care when systems fall short. He shares powerful stories of the origin of the organization, and how Kansas City shows up in big ways for those who serve and protect....
Jul 03, 2025•53 min•Ep. 112
Justin talks with Tully McCoy, President and CEO of Great Plains Trust, about how clients are the epicenter of their respective businesses. McCoy walks listeners through what to look for in a wealth management firm and how his industry has less to do with finances and more with understanding a client’s psychology and relationship with money.
May 20, 2025•53 min•Ep. 111
Justin sits down with Casey Wright, President at Chief of Staff , for an honest and wide-ranging conversation. Wright reflects on the whirlwind of preparing to open a new facility just as the COVID-19 lockdown hit, the unexpected detour that took him on a cross-country road trip, and how he navigated personal and professional loss. It’s a raw, reflective episode about resilience, leadership in uncertain times, and the moments that shape us.
May 06, 2025•48 min•Ep. 110
Women’s sports have always had a diverse audience. In this episode, Justin chats with Amber Cox, COO and General Manager of the Indiana Fever . The two discuss the recent surge of momentum in women’s sports, specifically the WNBA, scenario planning in the draft, and, of course, Caitlin Clark, plus so much more.
Apr 22, 2025•42 min•Ep. 109
In this episode, Justin sits down with Ron Hill , Co-Founder, Conscious Leadership Guide and Managing Partner of Conscious Leaders Quest, a holistic business consulting service that focuses on psychological safety in the workplace and doing interiority work as a leader.
Apr 08, 2025•57 min•Ep. 108
In this episode, Justin sits down with Brian Morris, President and Managing Partner of Leadercast—a local powerhouse transforming leadership training and coaching. Brian opens up about his career journey, from the world of athletics to leading a movement that shapes better leaders. He also shares personal stories about family life, including the surprise arrival of twins that brought his kid count to six and how those experiences shaped his approach to leadership.
Mar 25, 2025•46 min•Ep. 107
In this episode, Justin chats with Will General, Marketing Director for the Nashville Stars, the team aiming to become MLB’s first franchise named after a Negro Leagues club. Will shares his journey from corporate America to leading a brand that’s catching considerable attention—including from Jelly Roll. Tune in to explore the Stars' mission, baseball history, and what’s next.
Mar 11, 2025•51 min•Ep. 106
In this episode, we welcome the Chief Marketing Officer and host of the Radical Candor podcast, Amy Sandler, to Give a Damn! She and Justin break down the notorious book by Kim Scott, and they both have implemented its teachings as a rubric for their leadership journeys and tools for leaders to build trust within their teams.
Feb 25, 2025•56 min•Ep. 105
In this episode, Justin welcomes longtime friend and Owner of First Source Auto , JD Glover. They discuss his humble beginnings as an entrepreneur and his growth of a human-first business, where he aims to help his team build fantastic careers. After all, people are the new currency.
Feb 11, 2025•44 min•Ep. 104
In this episode, Justin speaks with Tucker Graves, CEO of Pineapple Academy, a company that strives to help employers engage with their deskless workforce through education. Graves shares with listeners his family lineage of entrepreneurship and what it means to have a “beach ball” mentality in the workplace.
Jan 28, 2025•57 min•Ep. 103
In this episode, Justin is joined by Mark Mears, author, founder, and Chief Growth Officer for LEAF Growth Ventures, LLC. Mark shares with listeners how he got his start in integrated marketing and the vital role that mentorship has played in his career.
Jan 14, 2025•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 102
Find out what was and wasn’t on our 2024 Bingo card. It’s time for a year in review. Justin ends the year with the amazing Racheal Burnett, COO + Partner of Guild Collective, as they walk listeners through their goals for this year and the next.
Dec 17, 2024•49 min•Ep. 101
We are officially 100 episodes in! Thank you to everyone who has continued to support our podcast; it shows that you, too, Give a Damn. In this episode, Justin is again joined by local leadership coach Brad Hill in front of a live audience. We invited special guests to our living room for Harvesting Change, a gathering of ideas, connections, and encouragement as a leader. Hill walks listeners through the acronym C.A.V.E., which stands for clarity, authenticity, vulnerability, and empathy—all tra...
Dec 10, 2024•34 min•Ep. 100
In this episode, Teresa Carey, founder and leadership coach of PerformancePointe, Inc., shares her lifelong passion for helping others and the transformative power of leadership coaching. She discusses her book The Way to Wisdom: A Leader's Weekly Guide, offering practical insights for personalized leadership development.
Nov 26, 2024•54 min•Ep. 99
Justin chats with Jeff Pelaccio, host of The Corporate Couch and President of Pelaccio & Partners, about leading with integrity by helping others grow in their careers. Jeff shares insights from his transition out of IT and lessons from interviewing over 100 guests, including Seth Godin.
Nov 19, 2024•57 min•Ep. 98
This episode is for our listeners on the journey to a healthier lifestyle. Justin chats with Julie Buttell, Owner, CEO, and Senior Physical Therapist of Empower Physical Therapy & Performance , about what it means to live a healthy life and the steps one can start taking today to get there.
Nov 12, 2024•53 min•Ep. 97
In this episode, Justin talks with keynote speaker and author Alan Stein Jr. about his journey from a student teacher to a top basketball performance coach, working with legends like Kevin Durant and Kobe Bryant. Alan shares insights from his career and how they’ve shaped his approach to life and leadership.
Oct 29, 2024•45 min•Ep. 96
In this episode of Give A Damn, Justin talks with Mark Josey, Co-Founder & CEO of the Kansas City Pioneers. They explore Mark's path to entrepreneurship, the importance of being present, and how he built his own table in the esports industry while staying true to a human-first approach.
Sep 10, 2024•1 hr•Ep. 95
In this episode, Justin chats with Jill Hathaway, the Regional Director of the Missouri Small Business Development Center at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, about entrepreneurship and getting yourself out of the pit.
Sep 09, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 94
In this episode, Justin sits down with Brad Hill, a local leadership coach and friend of Guild Collective. Things get real in this episode as Brad talks listeners through his upbringing and passion for training leaders, showing his prowess for establishing and maintaining meaningful relationships and the art of vulnerability.
Aug 13, 2024•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 93
Join host Justin Ricklefs as he sits down with Trisha Allenbrand, CEO of Spaces Incorporated, in this candid episode. From breaking barriers as a woman in leadership to her passion for equestrian life, discover her inspiring journey and learn why she truly gives a damn.
Jul 30, 2024•36 min•Ep. 92
Join Founder and CEO of Guild Collective Justin Ricklefs for Give A Damn, a podcast featuring Kansas City leaders and changemakers. Each episode features conversations with leaders who grow what matters most: the humans of their organizations and the impact of the good they bring to the world. Give A Damn podcast is a Guild Collective production. Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/fe77a/vacation-collective License code: KIPIMPG4H6VCZXKS...
Jul 23, 2024•11 min
Andy Rieger, president of J. Rieger & Co., shares with us what it was like bringing a KC-based family business back to life even when he didn't want to. Ninety-five years after it closed, J. Rieger & Co. is a globally distributed distillery rooted in legacy but built for what's to come. Tune in for what started as a trip into a restaurant to fulfill a promise Andy made to his dad and turned into the building of an empathetic, curious, and experience-driven brand....
Oct 12, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 91
Cody Isabel finds purpose in helping others find happiness and intention in their own lives. He's the developer of My Companion, an AI Trauma app that teaches trauma survivors practical neuroscience and psychology tools to improve their mental health. His love for the human body started in middle school and led him to study Cognitive Behavioral Neuroscience at Simpson College. Cody has always used his knowledge to help others understand highly complicated concepts, starting with teaching classma...
Sep 28, 2023•1 hr 34 min•Ep. 90
Scott Horstmann shares his journey on hiring for heart, accountability, and the type of leadership that wells up inside a person. Scott owns Christian Brothers Roofing and has broken his own business coaching rules when it comes to hiring family. His family-operated business offers its customers more than integrity but a level of service Scott and his team will never leave to chance. You’ll love this authentic story of a shoe salesman who made his way to entrepreneurship.
Sep 19, 2023•1 hr 39 min•Ep. 89
Stan Hays loves barbecue, feeding people, helping in times of need. His organization, Operation BBQ Relief, has fed over 10 million meals to people in need in their nearly 12 years of existence. When disaster strikes, they are quite often the first organization into town, bringing meals (incredible, comfort type meals) to people who need it most. Those who have been decimated and discouraged. It's an incredibly brave organization that we loved learning about, and are so excited to see where they...
May 11, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 88
Max Malldorf is a German national who fell in love with America as a foreign exchange student. He's now a master brewer at POG brewery south of Kansas City. He is candid about how discomfort has been a vehicle for change in his life, and we were honored to hear his story.
Apr 21, 2023•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 87
Josh Cress is a therapist and founder of Ampersand Counseling in Liberty, MO. Our conversation goes quickly into the vulnerable, discussing his journey "inward" toward self-awareness. It's a treacherous but rewarding road that many men and women have traveled (particularly since Covid disrupted life as we know it in March of 2020). Josh is a brilliant, empathetic, and vulnerable man, and fellow Swiftie. We hope you find the conversation helpful on your own journey. His practice's website is: htt...
Mar 24, 2023•54 min•Ep. 86
Author, leader, thinker, and man of deep care and humility - Brent Beshore shares his story with us this week, and we could not be more grateful to hear his heart. Brent shares, among other things, what it's like to walk through pride and into humility, his opinions on "health bros" and their bad takes on ice baths, and many other lessons he's learned along the way.
Mar 16, 2023•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 85
Trent Raines is a partner at Collected Living, where he has taken his love of building and brought it into the workplace for this incredible design firm. Throughout his career, Trent consciously has pursued work that makes him come alive. And like any empathetic leader, this road has been a journey of self-awareness and self-discovery. And we are so honored to hear his story.
Mar 09, 2023•58 min•Ep. 84
