The Corporate Couch: Work Stories I Only Tell My Friends – Details, episodes & analysis

In this wild and wisdom-packed episode, Jeff sits down with Frankie Russo (see his bio below) - serial entrepreneur, bestselling author, and the man behind the “Love Your Weird” movement - to explore how authenticity, imagination, and generosity fuel extraordinary growth.

Frankie shares the deeply personal story of overcoming drug and alcohol addiction in his 20s and how that journey shaped the visionary leader he is today. From building a tech company that grew 60X in just three years (and was later acquired by a Fortune 500 firm) to his viral TEDx Talk on AI and the Future of Work (over 1.1 million views), Frankie’s insights are raw, real, and radically useful.

We talk about what it means to create a workplace where everyone’s genius comes out, why most organizations stifle innovation, and how a little weirdness might be the missing link to your next breakthrough. Oh—and yes, you’ll finally find out what the hell a “Donkey Barbeque” is.

If you’re tired of the same old corporate playbook, this conversation will shake things up in the best way possible.

Watch Frankie’s TEDx Talk: AI and the Future of Work

 

This episode is brought to you by... Ever wished your company updates could be less "quarterly earnings report" and more "late-night talk show"? At Pelaccio & Partners, we're revolutionizing internal communications with podcasts that employees actually want to listen to. Imagine podcast episodes that make your employees laugh while staying informed. Our founder Jeff Pelaccio doesn't just create podcasts; he creates conversations that break through the noise. Whether you're a growing startup or a massive corporation, we turn your company's story into audio gold. Leadership becomes human. Remote teams feel connected. Your message cuts through the clutter. Jeff is happy to share his insights on podcasting with you. You can contact him via LinkedIn or schedule a Zoom call via this link - 15-minute call with Jeff.   About Frankie: ​Frankie Russo​ (Website) is a visionary in authenticity, imagination, and growth. An entrepreneur with a proven track record for using innovative methods to unlock rapid growth. Russo has led multiple companies to remarkable growth, landing on the Inc. 500/5000 list 8 years in a row, including 60X growth in three years of his tech company 360ia, leading to an acquisition by a Fortune 500 company.​ Organizations that Russo has collaborated with who have embraced his “Love Your Weird” movement were able to adapt, innovate, and grow through massive uncertainty and change. In his latest work, Russo shares the critical unlocks for driving unprecedented and continuous growth by leading with authenticity, imagination, and generosity.​ He is the author of two best-selling books and a sought-after speaker known for transforming organizational cultures and inspiring individual and corporate growth. His keynote experiences are tailored, experiential, and full of actionable insights for fostering a culture of authenticity, imagination, and collaboration to unlock breakthrough results and extraordinary transformation and growth. Frankie’s highest calling is his family, and he happily lives with his wife and six children in Louisiana.

In Part III of our special series with Rick Mathes (see his bio below), co-founder of Align Pain Solutions, we shift the conversation to athletes and high performers who may not be in chronic pain, but want to stay that way. Rick discusses the often-overlooked role posture plays in maximizing performance and preventing injuries, even for those in peak physical condition. He shares insights from his work with an NBA player and explains how his postural therapy approach can help athletes maintain symmetry, improve movement efficiency, and extend their careers. Whether you're a weekend warrior or a seasoned pro, this episode is a must-listen for anyone who wants to keep their edge.

 

Special Offers for our Listeners:

• A free 30-minute consultation with Align Pain Solutions
• $25 off a single visit
• $100 off an 8- or 16-visit package.

Learn more and book a free session at Align Pain Solutions​ (you can also visit their YouTube Channel for examples of their therapy -YouTube).

 

About Rick:

Rick Mathes is the co-founder and owner of Align Pain Solutions, a postural therapy clinic based in Austin, Texas. Together with his former wife Teresa, Rick practices the ​Egoscue method, pioneered by Peter ​Egoscue in the 1970s.​ Rick's journey into postural therapy began after a life-changing car accident in 1992. At age 31, he suffered a severe collision on Interstate 10 outside Tucson, breaking his back in five places. After two years of intensive physical therapy, doctors told him he would never return to activities like tennis or hiking (and most likely be in a wheelchair in several years). Unwilling to accept this prognosis, Rick spent six years searching for alternatives as his pain worsened to debilitating levels.​ When a neurosurgeon recommended spinal fusion surgery, Rick discovered the​ Egoscue Method and began treatment at ​Egoscue's clinic in San Diego. Within three to four months, Rick experienced remarkable improvement, returning to playing tennis at a 4.5 level without pain.​ This transformative experience inspired Rick and Teresa to change careers and open Align Pain Solutions. Their practice focuses on correcting posture through gentle exercises rather than treating symptoms, helping clients with chronic or acute pain issues who haven't found relief through conventional therapies. Rick's approach emphasizes repositioning the body to achieve postural balance, enabling muscles to function properly without manipulation, drugs, or surgery.  

In this Special Edition of The Corporate Couch, I sit down with Rick Mathes (see his bio below), co-founder of Align Pain Solutions, to discuss his transformative journey from debilitating back pain to pain-free living through postural therapy. After surviving a life-altering car accident that left him with five spinal fractures, Rick was told he would never play tennis or hike again. Refusing to accept that prognosis, he discovered the Egoscue Method—a revolutionary approach to correcting posture and eliminating pain without drugs, surgery, or manipulation.

We cover: ✅ Rick’s incredible recovery journey and why he rejected spinal fusion surgery. ✅ How postural therapy differs from chiropractic care, physical therapy, and other treatments. ✅ Why pain isn’t always caused by injury—but by how your body is positioned. ✅ The simple, corrective exercises that can help relieve chronic pain and increase mobility. ✅ How Align Pain Solutions helps people reclaim their movement, strength, and quality of life—no matter where they live.

I’m not just the host today—I’m also a client of Align Pain Solutions, and I’ve personally experienced the benefits of postural therapy. If you’ve struggled with chronic pain or want to improve your mobility and flexibility, this episode is a must-listen!

Special Offers for our Listeners: 🆓 Free 30-minute consultation with Align Pain Solutions 💲 $25 off a single visit 💲 $100 off an 8- or 16-visit package

📌 Learn more and book a free session at Align Pain Solutions

🎧 Tune in now to discover how small postural changes can lead to big pain relief and greater mobility!

 

Rick's Bio:

Rick Mathes is the co-founder and owner of Align Pain Solutions, a postural therapy clinic based in Austin, Texas. Together with his former wife Teresa, Rick practices the ​Egoscue method, pioneered by Peter ​Egoscue in the 1970s. Rick's journey into postural therapy began after a life-changing car accident in 1992. At age 31, he suffered a severe collision on Interstate 10 outside Tucson, breaking his back in five places. After two years of intensive physical therapy, doctors told him he would never return to activities like tennis or hiking (and most likely be in a wheelchair in several years). Unwilling to accept this prognosis, Rick spent six years searching for alternatives as his pain worsened to debilitating levels. When a neurosurgeon recommended spinal fusion surgery, Rick discovered the​ Egoscue Method and began treatment at ​Egoscue's clinic in San Diego. Within three to four months, Rick experienced remarkable improvement, returning to playing tennis at a 4.5 level without pain. This transformative experience inspired Rick and Teresa to change careers and open Align Pain Solutions. Their practice focuses on correcting posture through gentle exercises rather than treating symptoms, helping clients with chronic or acute pain issues who haven't found relief through conventional therapies. Rick's approach emphasizes repositioning the body to achieve postural balance, enabling muscles to function properly without manipulation, drugs, or surgery.  

Jennifer Rome describes herself as on a mission to make a positive impact on all she crosses paths with.  She serves as a mortgage advisor for Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation and is the co-founder and president of a local non-profit called The Giving Professional KC.  She is a mother to two incredible young men and is proud to be a Kansas City native.  

In 2019 and 2020, her world was turned upside-down and she had to quickly make choices on how she would rebuild.  She was finalizing an extremely tumultuous divorce, when she would encounter a life-threatening health crisis and then lost her job due Covid, just before closing on the purchase of her new home.  Essentially, she and her boys were displaced from everything they knew with limited ability to rebuild.  

But Jennifer is not one to succumb to crisis and knew her mindset and the small choices she made each day would lead her and her boys to a new life. 

And she is not stopping there.  Instead, she is using her experiences to connect with others and to give back to those whose hardships are great.  

Her goal is to be a voice of inspiration for anyone who needs the courage of another to overcome their heartache and their hardship.  

Upcoming projects include a podcast and a book.  Although neither yet has a release date, she is one to watch.  She is particularly interested in human stories and the power that sharing offers us on our journey to live profound lives,  

And in her words, “At the end of my life, I intend to look back and say "Yes, I lived! And, yes, I made a difference for the people in my life! And if I am lucky, I will leave a legacy!".

 

Our conversation will make you laugh and cry but you will leave inspired by hearing Jennifer's story. Please enjoy!

​In this episode, we explore Pamela Norton's journey as an American entrepreneur and visionary who believes in the interdependence of business and social impact. Join us as we delve into her groundbreaking work at Borsetta and TitleChain, where she utilizes blockchain, AI, and micro-electronic chip solutions to revolutionize the digital asset and Intellectual Property landscape. Learn how Pamela's disruptive innovation and cheerful futurism are shaping the economic Web3 growth and increasing liquidity while eliminating manual valuation operations by 90%. Throughout her illustrious career, Pamela has built world-class technology solutions, high-performing product development teams, and fruitful partnerships with clients, resulting in multi-million-dollar bottom-line growth. 

Pamela talks about "failing forward" and how difficult it was for a female CEO during the "Dot.Com" boom to get funding while PE firms were lending money to companies like sockpuppet.com. We talk about how she should have died on 9/11 as she would have been in the World Trade Center that day but she was ousted by the company that had acquired her start-up and the repercussions of that experience took a toll on her physically, mentally, and emotionally.

  This conversation with Pamela is fascinating on so many levels. Please enjoy!   You can learn more about Pamela and her company at:   http://www.titlechain.world

 

 

Henning ​​Schwinum is a creative and results-driven global founder and executive with extensive domestic and international experience in Sales, Supply Chain, and General Management, both in a corporate and entrepreneurial setting. He​nning launched Vendux in 2019 as the matchmaker, the agency for fractional and interim sales leadership. And almost four years later, Vendux is the only matchmaker focusing on CRO, CSO, or VP of Sales roles, representing North America's largest community of Sales Leaders.​ For more information, you can visit https://www.vendux.org/.   Please enjoy my conversation with Henning!

Amy Bradshaw recently joined Capitol Bridge, LLC, and is the company’s Chief Financial Officer. In her role. Amy is responsible for scaling the organization’s financial and accounting infrastructure to support the growth of the overall company.

Before joining Capitol Bridge, Amy worked with technology and services companies to evolve the accounting and finance functions. She has experience building strong teams and implementing new systems and processes to enable growth. Amy is a strong leader passionate about developing her team members and finding creative solutions to challenging situations.

Amy graduated summa cum laude from Miami University with bachelor's degrees in Manufacturing Engineering and Accounting. She also earned a Master of Business Administration from the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. Amy is an active member of her community and currently serves on the non-profit boards of Cornerstones of Care, BraCoutureKC, and the Kansas City chapter of Financial Executives International.

 

Please enjoy my great conversation with Amy!

Mark Mears is a #1 Best Selling author, keynote speaker, consultant, and visionary business leader. He has a significant track record of building shareholder value—driving innovation and profitable growth among world-class, high-profile brands such as PepsiCo/Pizza Hut, McDonald’s, Frito-Lay, JCPenney, NBCUniversal, and The Cheesecake Factory. Today, Mark serves as Chief Growth Officer for LEAF Growth Ventures, LLC—a consulting firm inspiring individuals, teams, and organizations to find purpose in fulfilling their true growth potential while making a positive, lasting difference in the world. Mark has just released his new book, The Purposeful Growth Revolution: 4 Ways to Grow from Leader to Legacy Builder. Mark is also a member of the Senior Leader Network within Conscious Capitalism, Inc., a global organization whose mission he shares: Elevating Humanity Through Business. In doing so, his goal is to put the “Human” back in Human Resources. For more information, please visit https://www.MarkAMears.com or connect with Mark on LinkedIn at Mark's LinkedIn profile   It's a great conversation with Mark...Please enjoy!  

​Valerie Jennings is CEO of Jennings​  Social Media & MarTech (JSMM​ - ​https://jsmmtech.com.​), which she founded in 2003 and has grown into a highly competitive ​Martech agency. The agency specializes in paid media, SEO, content strategy, and influencer marketing, working with clients in the automotive industry, transportation, ​logistics, healthcare, beauty, financial services, travel and tourism, technology, ​and ​home services. ​She presented at the 2023 Midwest Digital Marketing Conference in St. Louis and​ ​has earned awards and honors from the Stevie Awards, FOLIO, AMBIT, and others for her entrepreneurship, industry leadership, and excellence. Valerie remains a leader in the industry and is involved in the community, speaking at conferences, moderating and participating in digital panels, and speaking to community groups. ​She advocates for numerous charities, giving back to non-profits, including those focused on animal welfare, children and families, women, ​​and girls. Valerie invests her time mentoring women and entrepreneurs and is highly engaged in the AI community. A cornerstone of her agency continues to be fostering a positive community through education, technology, and career development. Please enjoy my conversation with Valerie!  

​Lisa Seim has traded and sold treasury products for various financial institutions in Austria, Germany, and NYC in the mid-80s and 90s. In July 2011, she realized the markets were lost and stuck between the new regulatory mandates of Dodd-Frank regulatory reform and coming to terms with the fact that legacy technologies had little capacity to handle the new regulatory environment. Transparency and managing risk became at the top of everyone’s list. Lisa decided to establish Strategic Exchanges to help financial firms navigate through this new and very difficult path. She now steers financial institutions towards innovative solutions that will help them adhere to the new regulatory mandates. Lisa Seim presently engages over seventeen different firms that address various issues on the way trades are executed, processed, reported, and settled within the framework of the new regulatory mandates. Her consortium members currently comprise data, research, and analytics companies, aggregation services and applications, trade surveillance systems, clearing house services, legal services around financial technology applications, collateral and liquidity management systems along with lightweight, web-based portfolio management solutions. Through roundtable discussions, Lisa’s consortium members provide the latest tools to address the mandates as they are enacted. Lisa completed the equivalent of a master's degree in International Law & Finance in Vienna, Austria, and continues to stay on top of the global regulatory mandates and their impact on the financial industry.     Please enjoy my conversation with my junior high and high school friend, Lisa Seim!