In this episode, Coach Kav sits down with Sam Caucci, the founder and CEO of 1Huddle, to dismantle one of the most uncomfortable truths in business today we’ve made competition a dirty word.

From the locker room to the boardroom, they uncover how elite performance isn’t built on talent or luck, but on trust, accountability, and relentless competition. Sam reveals the philosophy behind turning work into a competitive sport, and why most companies fail to train their people the way great coaches train their athletes.

This isn’t just a conversation about business. It’s about the psychology of winning, the ethics of selling, and why every leader must learn to coach not manage.

Because somewhere along the way, we stopped keeping score. And when that happened, we stopped growing.

Takeaways

Competition isn’t toxic it’s the oxygen of progress. We’ve sanitized ambition, but true growth comes from friction and challenge. Great teams are built on trust, not talent. “Would they throw down for you in a bar fight?” That’s the real test of loyalty.

Selling is service, not manipulation. The best salespeople don’t convince they clarify. They help people see what’s right for them. Businesses don’t fail from lack of talent. They fail from lack of standards. Elite organizations operate in performance mode, not protection mode. Coaching is leadership at its highest level. Managers tell you what to do. Leaders show you how. Coaches make you want to do it. Timestamp

00:00 – 05:30 | The Lost Art of Being a Teammate Why loyalty, trust, and accountability are disappearing from modern culture.

05:30 – 12:00 | How Competition Builds Character Why internal and external competition are essential to mastery.

12:00 – 18:00 | Sales as Service How the best salespeople lead with empathy, not pressure.

18:00 – 25:00 | Protection. Preparation. Performance. The three stages every organization lives in — and why most never reach the third.

25:00 – 32:00 | The Cost of Wasted Talent Why quiet quitting and job hugging aren’t the problem — leadership is.

32:00 – 38:00 | Turning Work Into a Game The science of gamification and how it rewires motivation.

38:00 – 45:00 | Manager. Leader. Coach. The three personas inside every organization — and how to evolve between them.

45:00 – 53:00 | Autonomy. Belonging. Competence. The ABCs of building culture, performance, and purpose.

53:00 – 56:00 | The Hidden Tax of Leadership Neglect Why not investing in people costs more than you think.

56:00 – End | The Return of the Competitor A final reflection on reclaiming the will to win — in sport, business, and life.