Corey-osity Unleashed
Corey-osity Unleashed
Podcast Description
Corey-osity Unleashed isn’t your typical leadership podcast - no corporate fluff, no HR jargon. Just raw, real, and unfiltered conversations about how we can (and should) treat our people in today’s messy, complex workplaces.
With our guests, we get curious by challenging the norm and questioning the status quo, exploring and unleashing bold new ways to think and act about people and work.
Expect tough truths, honest insights, a few laughs, and maybe even a well-placed swear word or two—because let’s be real, our people deserve better, and our businesses can’t afford to keep getting it wrong
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast focuses on themes such as coaching culture, leadership development, and employee engagement with episodes covering topics like challenging the status quo in coaching, creating high-performing teams, and building trust within organizations.
Corey-osity Unleashed isn’t your typical leadership podcast – no corporate fluff, no HR jargon. Just raw, real, and unfiltered conversations about how we can (and should) treat our people in today’s messy, complex workplaces.
With our guests, we get curious by challenging the norm and questioning the status quo, exploring and unleashing bold new ways to think and act about people and work.
Expect tough truths, honest insights, a few laughs, and maybe even a well-placed swear word or two—because let’s be real, our people deserve better, and our businesses can’t afford to keep getting it wrong
Seek the Good and Celebrate: The Confetti Leadership Model with James Ferguson
What if the secret to a culture people can feel the moment they walk in isn't a budget, a program, or a perfect leader — but a habit anyone can start today?
This week, award-winning culture pioneer and best-selling author James Ferguson joins Debra & Ken Corey to share what 16+ years in hospitality — and a cancer diagnosis that arrived just months after his first book — taught him about leading people. James tells the story most leadership books would never touch: the day he passed out in treatment, his daughter Nora arriving as a ”buzzer-beater” hours later, and the single question that reframed everything — ”Is this happening to me, or for me?”
Then it gets practical. James unpacks his CONFETTI Leadership Model — eight habits for any leader at any level — and we dig into the ones that change teams fastest. Why you should celebrate first downs, not touchdowns. The $40 oven that rebuilt a team's trust. Why saying ”thank you” costs nothing yet almost no one does it. And why real inspiration is built on the hard days, not the best ones.
It's warm, honest, and full of things you can use on Monday morning. Confetti only looks fluffy — underneath, it's a system. Press play and seek the good.
Books and speaking: confetti-man.com | Instagram: @confetticulture | LinkedIn: James Ferguson
KEYWORDS: leadership, company culture, employee recognition, gratitude, vulnerability in leadership, present leadership, trust, active listening, employee engagement, hospitality leadership, servant leadership, psychological safety, James Ferguson, Confetti Culture Playbook, Seek the Good and Celebrate
CHAPTERS:
00:00 Welcome — meet James Ferguson, culture pioneer & author
01:03 James' story: 16 years in hospitality, serving his way up
02:06 First job at the front desk — ”your title gives you nothing to give”
03:21 The mission behind the book: a cancer diagnosis and Seek the Good
03:50 Nora's buzzer-beater birth — ”is it happening to me or for me?”
06:38 Parenting and leadership: becoming a girl dad made him better
07:50 Present, not perfect — why leaders should be vulnerable
11:19 Model it and they'll mirror it: the confetti jacket
12:30 Admitting you don't know turns 1 brain into 11
13:56 The CONFETTI Leadership Model and its 8 principles
15:31 Building an acronym: mission, values, and earning the book
17:08 Nurture Trust: do what you said, listen, then act ($40 oven)
22:14 Active listening vs. being near someone who's talking
22:55 Celebrate Often & Thankfulness: first downs, not touchdowns
27:59 What does ”thank you” cost? Nothing
31:17 Inspire Daily: inspiration is built on the hard days
34:00 The Ben story — leadership from someone who wasn't your boss
36:07 Stay curious: seek the good and celebrate it
39:20 Where to find James
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