# #096 Cal Riley: Special Ops, Grief, and Why Your Business Needs a Heart

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/smart-friends-2136135/096-cal-riley-special-ops-grief-and-why-your-business-needs-a-heart
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/smart-friends-2136135/096-cal-riley-special-ops-grief-and-why-your-business-needs-a-heart.md
Podcast: [Smart Friends](https://stenobird.com/podcast/smart-friends-2136135)
Published: 2025-09-30T13:33:00+00:00
Episode link: https://www.ejorgenson.com/podcast/
Audio file: https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/traffic.megaphone.fm/SOMC6267656926.mp3
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/smart-friends-2136135/episodes/096-cal-riley-special-ops-grief-and-why-your-business-needs-a-heart
Duration seconds: 3905

## Resource

Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:03:07) - Cal's military background (00:13:59) - Transitioning into a family business (00:19:35) - Implementing EOS (00:25:08) - The journey to compassionate leadership (00:36:16) - Prioritizing self-care and meditation (00:37:19) - Journaling techniques and prompts (00:39:02) - Mental health stigma and therapy (00:40:16) - Daily intentions and successes (00:42:28) - Leadership (00:47:28) - Coaching and team building (00:58:45) - Writing a book (01:03:10) - Resources Links: Scribe — https://scribemedia.com Entrepreneurial Compassion: An Entrepreneur’s Journey Through Combat, Suicide, and the Discovery of Compassionate Leadership - https://amzn.to/4nqH6AK To support the costs of producing this podcast: >> Buy a copy of the Navalmanack: www.navalmanack.com/ >> Buy a copy of The Anthology of Balaji: https://balajianthology.com/ >> Sign up for my online course and community about building your Personal Leverage: https://www.ejorgenson.com/leverage >> Invest in early-stage companies alongside Eric and his partners at Rolling Fun: https://angel.co/v/back/rolling-fun >> Join the free weekly email list at ejorgenson.com/newsletter >> Text the podcast to a friend >> Or at least give the podcast a positive review to help us reach new listeners! We discuss: How military battle drills shaped Cal’s approach to business leadership How EOS changed about his company and personal life Why compassion is both a moral imperative and a business advantage Tactical ways Cal builds emotional awareness into his leadership habits How journaling, meditation, and presence help fuel resilience and clarity Quotes from Cal: "The more compassion I showed my team, the more profit we made. It’s not soft—it’s smart." "They’ll never care how much you know until they know how…

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## Transcript

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