The Bill Canady Podcast

Conversations that move business forward.

Real conversations with CEOs, founders, private equity leaders, and operators who’ve created measurable results — the decisions, leadership principles, and strategies behind profitable growth.

About the show

The Bill Canady Podcast features conversations with CEOs, founders, private equity leaders, and business operators who’ve created measurable results. Each episode explores the decisions, leadership principles, and operating strategies behind profitable growth — giving peers practical insights they can apply in their own organizations.

Every episode features accomplished operators sharing practical lessons from real-world leadership. From scaling businesses to navigating transformation, the focus is always on actionable insights that help others succeed.

Recent episodes

New episodes drop regularly. Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, Deezer and everywhere you listen.

The 1000-Day CEO

The 1000-Day CEO is a show for private equity sponsors and the CEO operators who run their portfolio companies. Host Bill Canady of the 80/20 Institute breaks down how value actually gets created inside a portco — finding the number, building the team, and turning the first 1,000 days of a hold into durable EBITDA and a clean exit. Direct, practical, and built for the people accountable for the outcome.

Most companies say they hire for character. Then they let a résumé decide who gets through the door. What talent are they missing?

In EP19 of The 1000-Day CEO, Bill Canady sits down with JR Butler, founder and CEO of Shift Group, to explore how leaders can identify resilience, coachability, curiosity, and team-first drive before a candidate has the credentials to prove it.

A former Holy Cross hockey player and technology sales leader, JR helps athletes and military veterans translate their experience into business careers. He shares what conventional hiring overlooks, why potential still needs coaching, and how first-line leaders shape a team’s performance.

In this conversation:

• Look beyond résumés to uncover character and transferable skills.

• Recognize when a candidate’s strengths can become liabilities.

• Define what a successful hire should accomplish.

• Close the gap between stated culture and employees’ experience.

• Develop critical thinking and communication as AI changes work.

• Build stronger teams through clear expectations and consistent coaching.

For CEOs, founders, and private equity operators, this is a practical conversation about finding overlooked talent and helping it perform.

Connect with JR Butler:

Shift Group: https://www.shiftgroup.io

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jrbutler/

Hosted by Bill Canady | The 80/20 Institute