• Why success often hides executive burnout
• Dr. K’s journey from Wall Street success to personal crisis and reinvention
• The leadership cost of perfectionism
• Sleep as a leadership performance advantage
• Emotional regulation and decision quality
• How relationships influence executive performance
• Nutrition and gut health’s impact on mood and cognition
• Movement as a mental and emotional reset tool
• Making decisions your future self will thank you for

The episode asks listeners not just to listen, but to apply what they hear. Below are the exercises and frameworks shared.

Purpose: Understand who lifts or drains your energy.

Step 1: Write down the 9 people you interact with most.

Step 2: Next to each name, mark:

⬆️ Up-Shifter — energizes and supports growth

➡️ Neutral — neither lifts nor drains momentum

⬇️ Down-Shifter — reinforces negative patterns or drains energy

Step 3: Add a third column:
How much access do you actually have to them?

Outcome:
Clarify who to spend more time with and where boundaries or new communities may be needed.

Dr. K outlines five foundations leaders must strengthen.

1. Psychology

Examine the lens through which you see the world.

Ask:

What beliefs serve me?

Which hold me back?

2. Relationships

Your environment shapes your performance.

Ask:

Who influences my thinking and energy daily?

Action:
Increase exposure to growth-minded peers.

3. Nutrition

Gut health influences emotional and cognitive health.

Action:
Increase whole foods and fiber intake.

4. Sleep

Often sacrificed, yet vital for decision-making and emotional regulation.

Action:
Aim to improve sleep quality or add 30 minutes per night.

5. Body Movement

Movement resets mental and emotional states.

Action examples:
• Walking meetings
• Stretch breaks
• Desk movement tools
• Short movement resets during work

When stuck overthinking, ask:

“What does it mean about me if I get this wrong?”

Most decisions are reversible. Progress beats perfection.

Ask:

“What decision today would my future self thank me for?”

Or:

“If nothing changed for 10 years, would I be proud of the result?”

Make one decision this week using this lens.

For leaders with sedentary jobs:

• Use sit-stand desks or walking calls
• Set timers to move
• Take stretch or dance breaks
• Use desk movement tools

Goal: interrupt stagnation and restore energy.

Dr. K leaves listeners with:

“At 90 years old, what would make me say this was a life well lived?”

Make decisions aligned with that answer now.

• CEOs and founders scaling companies under pressure
• Executives carrying decision load alone
• Leaders feeling externally successful but internally exhausted
• Business owners seeking growth without burnout

Dr. Diane Dye
Founder & CEO, People Risk Consulting
https://drdianedye.com
https://peopleriskconsulting.com

Dr. Karthik Ramanan (Dr. K)
Emotional Health Mentor & Author of The Emotionally Healthy You
https://theemotionallyhealthyyou.com

Scaling a business is not just strategy.
It’s sustaining the leader behind the company.

Attend the Brave Business Mastercast in the live studio audience by registering to attend via the pop up at www.peopleriskconsulting.com