Explore every episode of the podcast The Program Podcast

A conversation with Rear Admiral Jamie Sands, Commander Naval Special Warfare, and Walter Dittmar, Force Command Master Chief Naval Special Warfare, on purpose-driven leadership, being a great teammate, and how to develop a culture of accountability.

Mac and Omri discuss the concept of "how we do anything is how we do everything" and how we can use it to grow our culture by developing great habits and training opportunities.

Mac and Omri discuss the concept of suffering as it pertains to growth and its importance in personal and team development.

Mac and Omri discuss the importance of being a great teammate for team cohesion and long-term success.

Mac and Omri discuss consistency and its role in building trust and developing great habits.

Mac and Omri discuss being demanding, not demeaning, and how it pertains to "taking care of our teamamtes".

Join Kap as he speaks with former Marine and CEO of Crunch Fitness, Jim Rowley as they discuss the importance of physical fitness, work/life balance and finding joy.

Mac and Omri discuss the difference between motivation and volition and how to set goals for yourself and your team.

Greg Cronin is a 36-year coaching veteran of the American Hockey League (AHL), NCAA, and USA Hockey. He is now the Head Coach of the NHL Anaheim Ducks. Join Kap and Coach Cronin as they discuss wounded sheep, leading a professional sports organization, and how both relate to leading any team.

Mac and Omri discuss the concept of taking 100% responsibility and the choices we get to make when faced with challenges.

Coach Casey D'Annolfo is the Head Coach of the Tufts University Men's Lacrosse Program, the 2024 Division III National Champions.

In this episode, Mac and Omri discuss the concept of hard vs. challenging and the importance of seeking challenges as individuals and teams.

Coach Rick Jones is the current Special Assistant to the Head Coach at The University of Missouri Football Program. He is known for being the Oklahoma and Arkansas 18-time Football Coach of the Year, the National Federation of High Schools National Football Coach of the Year, and the 2018 American Football Coaches Association Power of Influence National Coach of the Year,

Mac and Omri discuss Hard work, Doing One More, and the Compound Effect. What they mean for our teams and how to work on them as individuals.

Mac and Omri discuss some of the most common issues we come across regarding the selection and development of team Captains.

Mac and Omri discuss some of the most common issues we come across regarding the selection and development of team Captains.

Admiral Sandy Stosz (USCG) is the first woman to command an icebreaker on the Great Lakes and to lead a U.S. Armed Forces service academy, the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, where she was responsible for developing and educating a corps of 1,000 cadets. Newsweek’s “The Daily Beast” named her as one of “150 Women Who Shake the World.” She is the author of “Breaking Ice & Breaking Glass. Leading in Unchartered Waters.”

After receiving feedback on the "Transfer Portal" episode, Mac and Omri discuss "Managing Talent."

Mac and Omri discuss the NCAA transfer portal, how to use it to your advantage as a coach, and how to view it as an athlete.

Jamey joins Brady to discuss fundamentals – what they are, why they are important, and how they apply to any organization aspiring to be world-class.

Fred is an executive coach and advisor on leadership and culture. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley. He is the founder and president of the Conscious Business Center. Fred is the founder of Axialent, a global consulting company that delivered leadership programs to more than 15,000 executives at, to name a few, Microsoft, Yahoo!, Google, Cisco, General Motors, Chrysler, Shell, Unilever, Coca-Cola, and Citibank.

In In In 2018, Fred accepted a position as Vice President at Google, advising the CEO's office on leadership and culture. During the same year, he partnered with Tecnológico de Monterrey to create the Center of Conscious Leadership. Previously, he was Vice President of executive development at LinkedIn.

He is the author of the trilogy Metamanagement (2001), The Meaning Revolution (2018) and the book that we will be discussing today, Conscious Business (2006).

Today, Mac and Kyle S.  discuss Humility.

Kyle is a Police Sergeant with over 20 years of Law Enforcement experience, much of it as a S.W.A.T. operator and Team Leader. He is a long-time Brazilian Jujitsu practitioner and is passionate about leadership and personal development.

Mac & Cole discuss ways to address and attack complacency on that team.

In this episode, Mac & Sam discuss the importance of setting the example.

Chris Warner, a leadership educator, and author of “High-Altitude Leadership,” which I strongly recommend to our audience. He is a keynote speaker, Emmy-nominated film-maker, and entrepreneur. The Marylander founded Earth Treks, a chain of climbing gyms that is now one of the largest in the nation, serving more than 1 million customers per year.

Kap sits down with JR Butler.

JR co-founded Shift Group in 2022 and serves as its CEO. Shift helps companies find top-quality candidates by connecting athletes and veterans with career opportunities. https://www.shiftgroup.io/

Eric and Brady discuss the "back brief."

The back brief is an effective communication tool that all Program teammates challenge our clients to implement. It is a highly useful but utterly underutilized tool to ensure team transparency, clarity, and alignment.

Brady & Jamey discuss the debrief.

A debrief should occur at the end of any operation, where an organization discusses who and what went well and who and what needs to improve. It is the single best way an organization improves. And typically, it fails to occur.

Kap sits down with Nancy Frates. Nancy is an advocate and thought leader in the ALS community and the mother of Pete Frates, the inspiration of and the man who helped the Ice Bucket Challenge become a global phenomenon. Nancy’s Ted Talk has amassed over 1 million views on Ted.com, Nancy works closely with organizations that support and provide care to those living with the condition, and is an ALS advisor to various pharmaceutical companies.

Kap sits down with his son, Axel.

"I asked Axel to join me because I wanted to hear how I am doing as a teammate and leader from, along with his Mom and sister, my most important teammate."

Welcome to The Program's new Corporate short-form podcast, The Debrief.

Kap sits down with Brady; they discuss "A leader's greatest mistake."

Program Founder and CEO, Eric Kapitulik discusses “Effective Communication” with Naval Aviator and Program Corporate Lead Instructor, Brady Turnage.

Eric Kapitulik, The Program Founder and CEO, sits down to speak with Coach Rand Pecknold, Head Coach of Quinnipiac Men’s Ice Hockey, the 2023 NCAA Men’s Champion.

The Program Principal and Lead Instructor, Jake MacDonald, sits down with Eric Kapitulik, CEO and Founder, to discuss Physical, Mental, and Emotional Toughness on Mt. Everest and how to apply those same lessons learned in the world's highest altitudes to our daily lives.

https://theprogram.org/our-team/

https://theprogram.org/letters-on-leadership/

Kap & Sam sit down to discuss Sam's life as portrayed in section 5 of The Program Book "No Excuses."

Mac & Omri discuss the development of leaders/captains on a team.

Omri & Sam discuss excuses, how to combat them, and how Sam rates his days to ensure he stays on the attack.

Omri & Mac discuss emotional toughness in the third episode of a three-part series on toughness.

Mac & Omri discuss mental mistakes, and how to develop mental toughness. 

Omri and Mac discuss toughness. 

https://theprogram.org/our-team/

Operation Spartan Shield

Situation:

You are operating in 2 man sniper/spotter teams near Karbala, Iraq. Intel has identified an IED-making factory inside the city. The exact location is unknown

Mission

Two-man sniper teams will insert covertly at various points in the city. When locating the target, teams will neutralize with precision fire or air assets. Expect resistance. Teams will extract via hello at SAR 2. Don't be late.

Executed as a two-person team

Insert

4 Rounds

Sideline to Sideline Plank Push

11 Warfighters

Actions on Obj

Teammate 1

101 yd burpee broad jump

Teammate 2

5 rounds

10 Kaiser Belt Squats @ 1.25 BW

20 KB Swings

Switch when both partners are done

Extract

202 yd teammate carry (buddy drag, fireman carry, etc., Switch as needed)

Escape and Evade

If any team finishes more than 10 mins behind, lead team

101 yd low crawl w/ sandbag

* For the Plank Push, we used a 2×8. 2 teammates get in the bear crawl position with their hands on the Plank and push it across the field. Sideline to sideline = 53 Yds

You can sub regular barbell squats w BW on the bar for Kaiser Belt Squats

Mac & DJ Dolan discuss The Power of Gratitude 

Mac & Omri discuss three common phrases we hear from coaches that we believe to be misconceptions. 

In this episode, Kap hosts; Rob Hale, co-founder and President of Granite Telecommunications, LLC, a communications company headquartered in Quincy, Massachusetts. Established in 2002, Granite has grown rapidly and consistently and now supplies over 1.75 million business lines, has annual revenues exceeding $1.7 billion, and employs over 2,300 people. He is an owner of The NBA's Boston Celtics and owner of the Boston Cannons pro lacrosse team. 

In this episode, Omri Rachmut & Jake "Mac" MacDonald discuss standards and how they help shape our team's culture. 

Jake “Mac” MacDonald graduated in 2000 with a degree in English from Tufts University, where he was a four-year starter and Captain of the Varsity Football team. After graduating, Jake was commissioned as an Officer in the United States Marine Corps. While on active duty, Mac completed two combat tours to Iraq as a Light Reconnaissance Platoon Commander. He continued to serve his country as a Major in the Marine Corps Reserve and deployed to Afghanistan as a Scout Sniper Platoon Commander. Mac has received multiple awards for combat valor as well as a Purple Heart after being wounded in action. Mac is now a Lead Instructor and Principal at The Program, as well as the co-author of The Program: Lessons From Elite Military Units for Creating and Sustaining High-Performance Leaders and Teams.

Jake "Mac" MacDonald and Omri Rachmut discuss accountability. What it means, how to create a culture of it, and what are some of the best ways to develop it.

Coach Reilly has coached Connecticut High School basketball for the past 27 years, 22 of them at state powerhouse East Catholic in Manchester CT. During that time, he has amassed a career win-loss record of 428-208. His teams have won 4 State Championships; in 2014, 2016, 2019, and this past season in 2022. 

Jamey joined the United States Marine Corps at the age of 17 and was a member of the elite

special forces team DET 1. During his time with the USMC, he participated in five combat

deployments on either a two-man sniper team or as part of a 40-man raid team. He is a skydiving

Jumpmaster and qualified in High-Altitude Low-Opening (HALO) skydives, and has served as a

Combative Diver, Explosive Instructor, Breacher, Ranger, USMC Martial Arts Instructor

Trainer, and a USMC Scout Sniper. James has competed in numerous road races, including

multiple ultra marathons that were 50 miles in length. 

Kap, sits down with Rana el Kaliouby, an Egyptian-American scientist, entrepreneur, investor, author, and an AI thought leader on a mission to humanize technology before it dehumanizes us. She is the Deputy CEO at Smart Eye and formerly, Co-Founder and CEO of Affectiva, an MIT spin-off and category defining AI company. She is an executive fellow at the Harvard Business School where she teaches about AI and startups. Her bestselling memoir, Girl Decoded: A Scientist’s Quest to Reclaim Our Humanity by Bringing Emotional Intelligence to Technology follows her journey, growing up in the Middle East and moving to the United States to become an entrepreneur and Emotion AI pioneer. Rana has a track record of translating technology innovations into products that address massive market needs including in market research, automotive, health, robotics and education. Rana serves on the Boston Steering Committee for All Raise, supporting female founders and funders. She is a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) where she serves on YPO's New England board and is a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader. Rana is a venture partner of the MIT Media Lab E14 Fund, a Trustee at the Mass Technology Leadership Council and at the American University in Cairo. A TED speaker, and co-host of a PBS NOVA series on AI, Rana has been recognized on Fortune’s 40 Under 40 list and as one of Forbes' Top 50 Women in Tech. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge and a Post Doctorate from MIT.

Sami Jo Small is a Canadian former ice hockey goaltender. As a member of the Canadian national team, she was a three-time Olympic medalist and four-time World Championship medalist. In this episode Kap and Sami, discuss her journey as an elite level athlete as portrayed in her book "The Role I played".