• 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

🎯 KEY TAKEAWAYS

✅ "Freaks and Suits": Creative people need protection from business interference

✅ PIE Method: Positive Interactive Energy transforms teams and innovation

✅ Innovation happens through unplanned human conversations

✅ Marketing looks in the rearview mirror—creativity looks forward

✅ Your face is your first communication tool (look in the mirror!)

✅ He-Man generated $4 billion+ because marketing didn't kill it early

✅ Happiness = Gratitude + Positive Attitude + Achievement

💬 POWERFUL QUOTES

"Every problem is an opportunity." - Derek Gable

"The suits have to understand the freaks, and the freaks are children." - Derek

"If you let marketing run a company, it's like looking in the rearview mirror. You know where you've been but you don't know where you're going." - Derek

"It doesn't matter what you want to say, it matters what they want to hear." - Derek

"Work is if there's something else you'd rather be doing. I've never worked." - Derek

"Ruth and Elliot were inspirational leaders—you just loved being there. I couldn't wait to get up in the morning." - Derek

📚 ABOUT DEREK GABLE

Derek Gable is CEO of West Coast Innovations and a toy industry legend. Hired at age 26 from England (where he was "Willy Wonka" inventing chocolate machines at Cadbury's), Derek spent formative years at Mattel working directly with founders Ruth and Elliot Handler. He co-created He-Man and Masters of the Universe (which generated $4 billion in sales), invented the first mechanical real estate lockbox, and has brought 100+ products to market. For 12 years, he ran the Young Entrepreneurs Academy teaching kids 12-20 to build their own companies. He helps young entrepreneurs understand how to innovate using his PIE Method.

📧 CONNECT WITH DEREK GABLE

Email: Connect with Dr. Diane Dye on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/drdianedye

🚀 RESOURCES

📲 CEO Innovation Cohort Application: prc-training-center.peopleriskconsulting.com/masterclass

🏢 Work with Dr. Diane Dye: peopleriskconsulting.com

✔️ WHO THIS IS FOR

Founders protecting innovation teams | CEOs balancing creativity with business | Product leaders fighting bureaucracy | Entrepreneurs learning to innovate | Anyone building something new | Leaders who value human connection over process

EXERCISE FROM THIS EPISODE:

Map your organization: Who are your FREAKS (creative people)? Who are your SUITS (business people)? Who are your HYBRIDS? Are your suits interfering with your freaks' creativity? Are people having real conversations or just emails and meetings?

#Innovation #MattelHistory #Freaks AndSuits #PIEMethod #ProductDevelopment #CreativeLeadership #HeMan #ToyIndustry #Entrepreneurship #DerekGable #DrDianeDye #BraveBusiness #StartupCulture #BusinessStrategy #RuthHandler #ElliotHandler

Music: "The Mountain" by Three Days Grace

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

Attend the next live Brave Business Mastercast: https://bit.ly/bravebusinesspodcast

Apply for the CEO Innovation Cohort: https://prc-training-center.peopleriskconsulting.com/ceo-cohort-application

Get the Critical Opportunity Workbook on Amazon: https://a.co/d/2PNO5z9

Visit People Risk Consulting: https://peopleriskconsulting.com/

Connect with Dr. Diane Dye on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drdianedye

LinkedIn:Connect directly with Shannon Hernandez here → https://www.linkedin.com/in/mshannonhernandez
(She specifically invites people to send a human intro message when connecting.)

Website: Joyful Business Revolution → https://joyfulbusinessrevolution.com

Podcast: Grow Your Business for Good
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/grow-your-business-for-good/id1624020730

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