Hybrid is dead, and Corporate America is shoving people back into cubicles whether they like it or not. This episode tears into the new wave of hardline return‑to‑office mandates, the power games behind them, and what this means for talent, cities, and company culture.

• RTO isn’t about culture; it’s about execs who don’t know how to manage people they can’t see and leases they can’t get out of.
• Workers have largely complied, on paper, while mentally checking out, and engagement is tanking as mandates ramp up.
• RTO has quietly become a layoff tool: force attrition, skip severance, and blame “team cohesion.”
• The federal government’s own hardline in‑person push gives every private‑sector CEO cover to crack down.

If you’re getting dragged back to a badge reader and a beige cubicle, this episode says the quiet part out loud.

Acquisition season is in full swing: Josh and Mike dig into the latest corporate feeding frenzy, where startups get swallowed whole and innovation is more often killed than scaled. Who gets rich, who gets steamrolled, and why most “exits” don’t look anything like the pitch deck.

• Why “exit” isn’t always a win… and who pays the price
• Post-acquisition culture clash: founders vs. the suits.
• When M&A creates value and when it’s a graveyard for good ideas.
• Case studies: Amazon, Google, Stripe, and the latest private equity machinations.

You might sell your way out, but will anything you built actually survive? Find out—this week, the truth hurts.

The axe has finally fallen: Josh and Mike break down the extinction-level event in middle management, why the ‘layer cake’ is collapsing, and what that means for real operators, talent, and strategy.

• Middle management: necessary glue or useless bureaucracy?
• Why companies are gutting the layer, and what’s replacing it.
• Tech, AI, and the myth of “self-managing” teams.
• Winners, losers, and wild restructures in 2025.

If you’re a VP who adds more meetings than value, update your résumé. This episode spares no one.

This week, Josh and Mike go for the throat of the consulting industrial complex—where ex-bankers and MBAs reinvent the obvious for seven figures, while gig workers keep the engine running for scraps. They expose how companies buy advice they never use, and what it really means to ‘hustle’ in 2026.

• Corporate consulting: value creation or value extraction?
• Gig economy exploitation and innovation
• Why “management advice” rarely fixes broken companies
• Case studies: smart consultants, dumb clients

If you ever paid McKinsey six figures for a thirty-slide ‘deck,’ this episode will feel personal—listen and learn.

Josh and Mike torch the empty promises, genuine wins, and major hypocrisies of the corporate DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) industrial complex. From performative virtue-signaling to real programs that actually move the needle, they go deep on the ROI—and landmines—of building a diverse business.

• DEI: Real impact vs performative fluff
• Corporate hypocrisy—who walks the talk, who just talks
• Why diversity makes good business sense (beyond PR)
• The backlash: culture wars, lawsuits, and cynicism

DEI is either your company’s superpower or its smokescreen—this episode peels back both. Listen or stay clueless.

This episode, Josh and Mike drop-kick the “we’re a family” platitudes and dig into startup culture’s real power—or toxicity. They expose why ping pong tables and perky values are usually window dressing, how toxic workplaces spiral, and the truth behind the mantra “culture eats strategy for breakfast.” Hear the war stories, spot the red flags, and get the raw truth on building—or surviving—a company where culture isn’t just a catchphrase.

• What startup “culture” really means (and what it doesn’t)
• How founder values shape company destiny
• The deadly myths, the honest mess, and the must-have warning signs
• True stories of great and toxic cultures

Tips for spotting red flags (before you sign or invest)

The pressure is real: runway is just math until the bottom drops out and all that’s left is founder hustle, instinct, and killer timing. Josh and Mike tear into the fantasy that cash cures all — exposing what really keeps companies afloat when the market turns. This is a masterclass in pivots, creative survival, capital discipline, and recognizing when war chests just become bonfires. Real talk, real war stories, and battle-tested advice for outlasting the next storm.

• Why raising more doesn’t mean you’ll make it
• How founders win (or lose) when the gravy train stops
• Tactical pivots and creative survival strategies
• The difference between smart burn and wasted spend
• Why runway isn’t everything, and what actually is

Josh and Mike rip the cover off startup infighting — boardroom betrayals, toxic investors, and founders stabbing each other in the back. From hostile takeovers and power grabs to VCs turning helpful advice into sabotage, this episode lays out why so many promising companies crash and burn behind closed doors.

• Real founder scars: war stories about investor demands, backstabbing board members, and partners gone rogue.
• How so-called ‘strategic guidance’ from investors can torpedo trust, creativity, and team morale.
• Current examples: investor-founder feuds spiraling into company implosions, CEOs forced out by politics and poison pills.
• Survival guide: how to spot a toxic partner, cut losses, and build a startup that doesn’t self-destruct at the table.

Grab a drink. It’s going to get nasty, and fun.