Podcast · Business

Badass Softie

by Dr. J.J. Peterson · English · Business

A Badass Softie is unapologetically ambitious and leads with heart. Ambitious and kind. Fun and driven. Powerful and deeply human. Badass Softie, hosted by Dr. J.J. Peterson, is a podcast that challenges the false choice leaders are too often given: be strong or be compassionate. The world does

New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 33 min
Latest: 12 Oct 2026
Language: English

Latest episode

12 Oct 2026 · 33 min

What If Your Job Is to Create More Magic? | Will Guidara

What if part of your job is to create more magic? After attending Will Guidara's Welcome Conference in New York, Dr. J.J. Peterson found himself returning to a conversation that had already changed how he thinks about work, creativity, and the people around him. Listening again, he discovered new meaning in an idea that sounds simple but can be surprisingly difficult to practice: making ordinary moments extraordinary. Will Guidara, bestselling author of Unreasonable Hospitality, helped turn Eleven Madison Park into the number one restaurant in the world by caring as much about how people…

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Earlier episodes 29 most recent

E60 · 5 Oct 2026 · 35 min
Some Answers Only Come After You Start | Jill Pickering
You have an idea you keep coming back to. A book you want to write. A podcast you want to start. A business, creative project, or next chapter you can see yourself pursuing. But starting means finding out what happens when the idea leaves your head. What if it isn’t as good as you thought? What if nobody wants it? What if you don’t know exactly what you’re doing yet? Jill Pickering has spent more than 20 years making creative work as a musician, songwriter, producer, podcaster, and author, including touring with Kelly Clarkson. She’s also learned that you can’t answer every question about an…
E59 · 28 Sep 2026 · 42 min
When Good Communication Isn’t Creating Connection
We have more language for healthy communication, boundaries, and emotions than ever before. So why can our relationships still leave us feeling so disconnected? Dr. Lee Long believes part of the problem may be where we put our attention. When a conversation becomes difficult, we often focus on finding the right words to get the other person to understand, respond differently, or change. We may genuinely believe we’re trying to communicate better, without realizing how much energy we’re putting into managing the outcome. Dr. J.J. Peterson and Lee explore what changes when we bring some of…
E58 · 21 Sep 2026 · 35 min
Let AI Make Room for What Only You Can Do
AI can write, research, organize, automate, and produce at a scale that would have been impossible for most people a few years ago. But Dan Cumberland thinks the more interesting question is what all of that frees you up to do. As AI takes on more of the execution, it can create room to go deeper—to spend more time on the ideas that are working, the problems worth solving, and the decisions that need your experience and judgment. It can also force a bigger question: If technology can perform more of the tasks you associate with your work, where do you bring the most value? Dan and Dr. J.J.…
E57 · 14 Sep 2026 · 20 min
What Can You Do When You Can’t Fix It?
What do you do when a problem is so big that anything you could possibly do feels insignificant? On September 11, 2001, Dr. J.J. Peterson was thousands of miles from home, volunteering with a medical clinic in a rural village in the Dominican Republic. With almost no information and no way to change what was happening back home, someone in his group finally asked a simple question: “What can we do?” Twenty-five years later, J.J. still comes back to that question when the suffering in the world feels too big to hold, much less fix. He reflects on the difference between control and agency,…
E56 · 7 Sep 2026 · 27 min
When Changing the Plan Feels Like Failure
You’re used to being the person who follows through. So when plans change, it can feel personal. Dr. J.J. Peterson had just celebrated a year of Badass Softie without missing an episode. Then interviews moved, a new client required unexpected travel, his daughter left for college, and suddenly the plan he had been following no longer fit his life. Instead of simply adjusting, JJ found himself wondering if he was dropping the ball. But changing the plan isn’t the same as giving up on what matters. JJ explores why ambitious people can be so quick to judge themselves when circumstances change,…
E55 · 31 Aug 2026 · 31 min
Staying Grounded When Things Get Hard
Something will eventually not go according to plan. Maybe a project doesn’t turn out the way you hoped, a difficult conversation catches you off guard, or life takes you in a direction you didn’t expect. You can’t control all of it, but you can get better at what happens next. Dr. J.J. Peterson talks with wellbeing educator, author, and Self-Care Sensei Jan Raeder about how knowing yourself can help you stay grounded when things get hard—and respond with more intention when they do. Drawing from positive psychology, behavioral change research, and 30 years in martial arts, Jan offers a…
E54 · 24 Aug 2026 · 30 min
Courage Is Something You Practice
A year ago, Dr. J.J. Peterson launched Badass Softie with a lot of questions. What if nobody listened? What if it went nowhere? And maybe the hardest one: Who am I to do this? A year later, the fear wasn't the thing that disappeared. J.J. changed. After a year of conversations about ambition, vulnerability, leadership, visibility, work, and what it means to stay human while doing big things, one idea keeps rising to the surface: courage isn't something you either have or you don't. It's something you practice. Sometimes courage means moving forward. Sometimes it means changing the plan,…
E53 · 17 Aug 2026 · 40 min
Are You Being Kind—or Just Avoiding Conflict?
It’s easy to tell yourself you’re being kind when you decide not to say the hard thing. You don’t want to hurt someone, create tension, or turn a small problem into a bigger one. But what if avoiding the conversation isn’t actually kindness? Matt Turner learned that putting people first sometimes means making people uncomfortable. After growing Clownfish Events into a multimillion-dollar company recognized as one of the UK’s best places to work, he built a culture where employees practiced giving honest feedback—even when that meant telling the person running the company what was difficult…
E52 · 10 Aug 2026 · 26 min
The 3 Marketing Emails Every Business Needs
Ever spend more time deciding what to write than actually writing it? If marketing feels harder than it should, the problem may not be your writing. You may simply be asking the wrong question. Dr. J.J. Peterson remembers sitting down every week to write emails and wondering what to say. Everything changed when he stopped asking, "What should I write?" and started asking, "What does this email need to do?" Dr. J.J. Peterson closes out this marketing series by sharing three email frameworks you can return to again and again. Each one has a different job, helping move a customer forward at a…
E51 · 3 Aug 2026 · 37 min
Stop Marketing Like Everyone Is a Stranger
If your marketing feels exhausting, you're not imagining it. Every week there's another platform to learn, another algorithm to understand, and another tactic promising to help you reach more people. But what if the problem isn't that you need more attention? What if it's that you're acting as though every customer relationship starts at zero? Marketing strategist Raj Lulla believes we've been taught to chase strangers while overlooking the people who already know us, trust us, and want to see us succeed. In this conversation with Dr. J.J. Peterson, he challenges the assumption that growth…
E50 · 27 Jul 2026 · 42 min
The Best Marketing Isn't About You
The best marketing isn't about getting people to notice you. It's about helping the right people recognize themselves in what you have to say. Too often, business owners treat marketing like a performance—trying to sound more professional, more polished, or more like everyone else. But the more you edit yourself out of your message, the harder it becomes for the people you were meant to serve to connect with you. In this episode, Dr. J.J. Peterson talks with StoryBrand guide and former Broadway actor Matt Wolfe about why your voice matters, how to stop performing, and why the most effective…
E49 · 20 Jul 2026 · 29 min
The Hardest Marketing Decision You'll Ever Make
What if the biggest reason your marketing isn't working has nothing to do with your website, your social media, or your messaging? What if it's the decision you've been avoiding? After spending more than two decades helping global brands like Nike and Adidas tell clearer stories, Kris Jones made a surprising move—she narrowed her own business to focus on one specific audience. That decision didn't make her business smaller. It made her message unforgettable. In this episode, Kris joins Dr. J.J. Peterson to explore why the hardest marketing decision isn't choosing another platform or creating…
E48 · 13 Jul 2026 · 22 min
Why Customers Don't Remember Your Business
Your company probably doesn't have a differentiation problem. It has a memory problem. Dr. J.J. Peterson kicks off a new marketing series by exploring one of the biggest misconceptions he encounters in strategy sessions. Most businesses believe they need to stand out from the competition. In reality, many simply haven't decided what they want customers to remember. Using research from psychology, a famous farmers market experiment, and examples from some of the world's most recognizable brands, J.J. explains why saying more often makes your message weaker—and why clarity is one of the most…
E47 · 6 Jul 2026 · 18 min
The Leaders Who Take the Biggest Risks Aren't Fearless
Some leaders seem willing to make impossible decisions. They change careers. Walk away from security. Speak uncomfortable truths. Bet on themselves when success is anything but certain. What if courage isn't what makes those decisions possible? Dr. J.J. Peterson explores a childhood moment that completely changed the way he understood risk, independence, and the people who quietly give us the confidence to become who we're meant to be. It's a story about fathers, belonging, and one surprising realization that shaped every bold decision that followed. What This Explores Why courage may have…
E46 · 29 Jun 2026 · 36 min
Why We Perform Instead of Telling the Truth
Most people don't set out to become performers. But over time, it's easy to trade pieces of ourselves for approval, success, certainty, or the version of us we think other people want to see. Dr. J.J. Peterson sits down with author and book coach Ally Fallon for a conversation about authenticity, ambition, and the courage it takes to tell yourself the truth. Together, they explore why so many people lose touch with their own voice while chasing external validation, how performance can quietly replace authenticity, and what it means to trust yourself when the rewards aren't immediate. Ally…
E45 · 22 Jun 2026 · 31 min
What Happens When Everything Becomes Practical
What if the moments that change someone's day are the ones we almost talk ourselves out of? The compliment we never give. The thank you we never send. The invitation we never make. The extra effort we decide isn't necessary. In this conversation, Dr. J.J. Peterson sits down with bestselling author and hospitality expert Will Guidara, author of Unreasonable Hospitality, to explore a simple idea that has the power to change how we lead, work, and live: Never let a gracious impulse pass. From a brief conversation with a catering team that still talks about the experience years later to creating…
E44 · 15 Jun 2026 · 37 min
Maybe Consistency Isn't The Goal
Melissa Greene spent years as a member of the Grammy-nominated Christian music group Avalon before becoming a pastor, speaker, writer, and advocate. But along the way, life began challenging some of the beliefs she had always held—and forcing her to confront an uncomfortable truth: Growth doesn't happen by staying the same. Melissa joins Dr. J.J. Peterson to explore what happens when certainty starts to crack, why changing your mind can feel so threatening, and how curiosity, compassion, and life experience can reshape the way we see ourselves and others. While faith and theology are part of…
E43 · 8 Jun 2026 · 33 min
Failure Doesn't Always Mean You're Wrong
What happens when the strategy stops working, but the mission still matters? Dr. J.J. Peterson sits down with entrepreneur, author, and Copper founder Allison Trowbridge for a conversation about leadership, adaptation, and the difference between staying committed to a mission and staying attached to a plan. Over the course of building Copper, Allison faced investor rejections, major pivots, layoffs, and moments when continuing forward seemed impossible. Yet through every version of the company, one thing remained unchanged: the people she set out to serve. The result is a powerful leadership…
E42 · 1 Jun 2026 · 41 min
What If You Had Nothing To Prove?
What if the pressure you're carrying isn't coming from your workload, your business, or the world around you? What if it's coming from the belief that you still have something to prove? Dr. J.J. Peterson sits down with leadership coach and author Angus Nelson to explore why so many ambitious leaders feel exhausted, stuck, and disconnected from themselves despite achieving the very things they once thought would bring confidence and peace. Together, they unpack the hidden stories that drive our decisions, the permission we're constantly seeking from other people, and how chronic stress keeps…
E41 · 25 May 2026 · 44 min
People Experience You Before They Hear You
Many leaders want their work to speak for itself. But whether we like it or not, people start forming opinions about us long before we ever say a word. Dr. J.J. Peterson and stylist and brand strategist Toi Sweeney explore the tension between authenticity and intention — and why showing up thoughtfully doesn’t have to mean hiding who you are. Together, they unpack why presence shapes trust, how color and clothing influence perception, and why the things we often try hardest to tone down about ourselves may actually be the clearest signal of who we are. Because leadership isn’t just…
E40 · 18 May 2026 · 36 min
Why Great Businesses Still Get Overlooked
Some businesses do exceptional work and still struggle to stand out. In this conversation, Dr. J.J. Peterson sits down with Julie Firth and Sonya Whittam, founders of Story22, to explore the hidden gap between the value a business delivers and the way customers actually experience it. They talk about why so many growing companies accidentally start blending into the market, how businesses outgrow their messaging without realizing it, and why thoughtful customer experience has become one of the strongest competitive advantages a leader can build. The conversation also explores the connection…
E39 · 11 May 2026 · 38 min
You Don’t Have to Perform to Be Seen
You can know your work helps people and still feel weird promoting yourself.The pressure to stay visible, market yourself online, and constantly talk about what you do can quickly start to feel performative, especially for leaders who care deeply about authenticity.In this episode, Dr. J.J. Peterson sits down with Heather Adams to talk about why so many thoughtful leaders struggle with visibility, and how to grow your influence without losing yourself in the process.After decades of helping authors, founders, and entrepreneurs build their platforms, Heather has seen how easy it is for people…
E38 · 4 May 2026 · 36 min
Maybe You Don’t Need More Discipline
What if the problem isn’t discipline — but understanding how your brain actually works? In this conversation, Dr. JJ Peterson sits down with licensed therapist and co-host of the Something Shiny ADHD Podcast, Isabelle Richards, to explore how ADHD, neurodivergence, and what Isabelle calls being “neuro-spicy” can shape the way people lead, make decisions, manage pressure, and move through the world. Together, they unpack the difference between self-discipline and self-awareness — and why many leaders spend years trying to force themselves into systems that don’t actually fit how they think or…
E37 · 27 Apr 2026 · 28 min
Why Some Experiences Stay With You
Most experiences don’t stay with you. You go to a conference, an event, a workshop, and within a few days, most of it is gone. Not because it wasn’t good, but nothing made it stick. Dr. J.J. Peterson sits down with Matt Ford, experiential marketing expert behind activations for Adidas, Cartoon Network, and HGTV, to talk about the part most leaders overlook: what actually makes an experience stick. They get into why small details often carry more weight than big production budgets, how core memories form, and why most experiences lose their impact right when people walk out the door. What…
E36 · 20 Apr 2026 · 37 min
How to Succeed Without Losing Yourself (What No One Tells You)
What happens when you get what you wanted and it doesn’t fix what you thought it would? You can spend years working toward something, only to realize it doesn’t feel the way you expected. In this episode, Dr. J.J. Peterson sits down with Al Andrews, founder of Porter’s Call, to talk about what success actually does to people—and why it doesn’t always bring the fulfillment we expect. After decades of working with artists at every level, Al has seen the patterns of how success can isolate, identity can drift, and how easy it is to lose yourself while building something big. They explore what…
E35 · 13 Apr 2026 · 29 min
Why Selling Feels Uncomfortable for So Many Leaders
Selling shouldn’t feel like pressure, persuasion, or pretending to be someone you’re not. But for a lot of leaders, it does. In this episode, Dr. J.J. Peterson sits down with Bob Burg, co-author of The Go-Giver, to unpack why so many people feel uncomfortable with sales—and how a simple shift in perspective can change everything. They explore what happens when you stop trying to “get” the sale and start focusing on creating value, building trust, and actually helping the person in front of you. Because the problem isn’t selling, it’s how we’ve been taught to think about it. What This…
E34 · 6 Apr 2026 · 22 min
Why Your Message Isn’t Landing (Yet)
So many leaders feel like they’re saying the right things… and still not being heard. They create content. They follow the strategies. They build what they’ve been told will work.And yet—something doesn’t land. In this conversation, Dr. J.J. Peterson sits down with Macy Robison, a strategist behind the resonant thought leadership system, to explore why that disconnect happens—and what to do about it. Macy has spent years helping experts, authors, and entrepreneurs translate their ideas into messaging that actually resonates. Not by teaching them to be louder or more polished—but by helping…
E33 · 30 Mar 2026 · 28 min
Why Great Leaders Don’t Try to Eliminate Tension
Dr. J.J. Peterson sits down with designer, strategist, and storyteller Justin Ahrens to explore a part of leadership most people try to avoid: tension. There’s a natural pull to resolve things quickly—to choose a side, simplify the path, or chase clarity. But some of the most meaningful leadership doesn’t come from eliminating tension. It comes from learning how to stay present inside it. This conversation moves through the reality of holding competing priorities at the same time—the weight of doing meaningful work while navigating everyday responsibilities, the balance between ambition and…
E32 · 23 Mar 2026 · 20 min
What You Don’t Notice Matters More Than You Think
There are things happening right in front of us that we can’t see. Not because we’re ignoring them. Not because we don’t care. But because our experience has never required us to notice them. Dr. JJ Peterson explores how two people can look at the same situation, care about the same outcome, and still walk away with completely different conclusions—not because one of them is wrong, but because they’re standing in a different place. Drawing on standpoint theory and real-world examples, Dr. JJ Peterson unpacks how lived experience shapes what feels normal, what feels like a problem, and what…

About Badass Softie

Badass Softie is a English business podcast from Dr. J.J. Peterson. Melo plays each episode straight from the publisher's own feed — no ads added, no account needed — and remembers where you stopped, in this browser only.

Publisher: Dr. J.J. Peterson
Language: English
Category: Business
New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 33 min
Latest episode: 12 Oct 2026
Feed: RSS — paste into any podcast app
Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1838054087

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