CEOs On Leading Strategy Through Uncertainty
May 16, 2025
“The best athletes in the world are the ones who are reinventing their swing or reevaluating their diet or leveraging technology to unlock their bodies’ potential and understand what they’re capable of doing,” said Angela Ruggiero in this episode of Corporate Competitor Podcast. “And I would say the same thing is true of business leaders. We’re all terrified at one point or another, but I have found the best way to manage your fear is in preparation. When you don’t take shortcuts in preparation… when you don’t cheat yourself or your team, you feel you’re going through life doing the best you can, so even if you don’t succeed here or there, it’s actually a pretty good feeling.”
Ruggiero has had more than her share of life success. At Harvard, she won the Patty Kazmaier Award, which is the Heisman trophy of hockey, and went on to enjoy four trips to the Olympic medal stand before hanging up her skates to serve on the International Olympic Committee Executive Board, and co-found the Sports Innovation Lab, a data-driven market research firm.
Her business acumen is so thorough that she’s been appointed the Chief Strategy Officer for the Los Angeles 2028 Candidature Committee, which is vying to host the 2028 Olympics.
In this podcast, Ruggiero contends that successful athletes and business leaders, alike, are constantly pitting their courage against their fear, and she offers several experience-tested ways for “controlling the controllables” to ensure you and your team never leave the “field of play” without having given 100 percent.
Have a listen!
YOU WILL LEARN:
5:00 How to treat your business like an athlete treats their body.
13:00 How to turn discomfort into growth.
22:00 Angela’s leadership ingredients.
24:00 How to be vulnerable in a corporate environment.
30:00 The key to confidence in the workplace.
Check out the full Corporate Competitor Podcast interview archive and subscribe to new episodes.
Chief Executive Group exists to improve the performance of U.S. CEOs, senior executives and public-company directors, helping you grow your companies, build your communities and strengthen society. Learn more at chiefexecutivegroup.com.
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