About Us
Two guys who lived every stage of this, one on the sales floor, one in the coaching room, now handing you the same playbook.
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Our Mission
We built it on a sales floor, in performance reviews, in a coaching relationship that started years before either of us thought about writing a book. Cedric spent 23 years climbing from an entry-level sporting goods associate to EVP of Store Operations at Walmart, responsible for 1.3 million people. Randall was one of his coaches along the way, an ICF-certified executive coach who's spent almost 30 years helping leaders figure out what's actually theirs to fix.
Our Journey So Far
Ten milestones, one from the sales floor and one from the coaching room, that led to the same framework. Scroll through how the two paths actually meet.
Age 4
Cedric started playing at 4 years old. By his teens, he was performing Moonlight Sonata with the Seattle Symphony at Benaroya Hall. It's where the discipline started: thousands of hours of unglamorous practice before anyone ever saw the result. That rhythm shows up everywhere in this framework.
College
Cedric played college athletics at the Division I level, then went overseas to keep competing before stepping into the corporate world. Same lesson as the piano, different instrument: talent gets you in the room, but showing up when no one's watching is what keeps you there.
Sporting Goods
Cedric's first job at Walmart was in sporting goods, wearing a brown vest, selling fishing licenses for $7.50 an hour. Eighteen years later, he was leading Store Operations for the largest retailer in the world. Everything in this framework is written for the person standing exactly where he stood.
Randall's Path
While Cedric was climbing inside Walmart, Randall was spending close to three decades in HR and executive coaching, including work through Korn Ferry supporting EVP and CEO-level leaders. He wasn't studying leadership from the outside. He was in the room for the hardest conversations, again and again.
The Coach Becomes Family
This is where the two paths actually meet. Randall was assigned as one of Cedric's coaches through Korn Ferry. Perspective, accountability, alignment: the same three things this framework is built on are the exact things Cedric experienced firsthand, sitting across from Randall, working through his own version of stuck.
EVP, Store Operations
Cedric reached EVP of Store Operations at Walmart US, responsible for the hearts and minds of 1.3 to 1.4 million associates. Not a title he was handed. A ceiling he broke, more than once, using the same rhythm this framework teaches.
The Holiday Meeting
At a Walmart holiday event, Cedric played Moonlight Sonata from behind a box wrapped like a present. When the box turned around mid-performance, he talked about his journey as a kid learning piano, and the lesson underneath it: the pianist matters, but the conductor, the one who brings every instrument into rhythm together, is the one who makes the whole thing work. That's leadership.
Randall Steps Out
Randall left Korn Ferry to build the InSpirit Institute on his own terms, taking everything he'd learned inside boardrooms and turning it into something built for the person who never gets a boardroom.
Cedric Leaves Walmart
Cedric left Walmart to build what comes next. The climb from the sales floor gave him the proof. Now it was time to hand the framework to somebody else.
Today
Cedric and Randall put it all into one system: Internal Talent × Intentional Time = The IT Factor. The book, Want It. Work It. Win It., launches October 27. The podcast is already recording. The framework is already tested, on a Fortune 1 sales floor and in the coaching room, long before it ever had a name. This is where we are now. What comes next is yours to build with us.
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23 years in retail leadership, rising to EVP of Store Operations at Walmart US, which means he ran store operations for the largest retailer on earth and answered for the performance of 1.3 to 1.4 million associates. Classically trained pianist since age 4, performed with the Seattle Symphony at Benaroya Hall. Former Division I collegiate athlete.
ICF-certified executive coach with almost 30 years in HR and executive coaching, including work through Korn Ferry supporting EVP and CEO-level leaders, which means he's spent three decades in the room where the highest-stakes leadership decisions get made. Founder of the InSpirit Institute.
Together, they're the only pairing in this space where one of them lived the climb and the other coached him through it, as equal co-authors of one shared system.
“I have worked with Cedric and Randall and know them to be outstanding leaders who share a passion for helping people improve. Their book is a terrific resource for re-thinking our patterns and assumptions and increasing our appreciation for learning and doing.”
“Cedric and Randall offer practical lessons and real-life examples that clearly demonstrate what is required for continuous growth. By thoughtfully sharing your own experiences, you illuminate the dedication, support, and intentionality needed to foster meaningful growth in ourselves and in the lives of those we encounter. Whether in faith, family, work, or recreation, this clearly explains that genuine success is found in our willingness to continually learn, improve, and encourage others. Thank you for taking the time to thoughtfully share how we can become all we were created to be.”
“Own Your IT captures a truth every retail leader eventually learns: that the associates closest to the customer are often the ones with the most leadership already in them, just waiting to be developed. Cedric’s own rise from an entry-level job to leading operations for more than a million people is exactly the kind of story that should be required reading inside any organization. This book gives leaders a practical way to invest in that talent instead of just hoping it surfaces on its own.”
“I’ve spent years telling people to ‘Be a coffee bean.’ Encouraging others to change the room instead of letting the room change you. Own Your IT is the operator’s manual for how to do that. Cedric and Randall don’t just tell you to transform, they hand you the framework to make it stick. This book is pure coffee bean energy from cover to cover.”
“Own Your IT offers a refreshing perspective that teaches that lasting success comes from discovering your God-given potential, developing it through disciplined action, and multiplying its impact through leadership and service to others. I appreciate the emphasis on success being measured by how a leader impacts others and investments in those relationships. The book also details the necessity for developing a cadence for leadership with the introduction of the “UP Leadership Model” which is unlike any other model that I have seen. This book is a must read for anyone who desires to better understand why fulfillment goes beyond titles, compensation, and achievement alone. There is true value in living and leading in alignment with your values.”
“Own Your IT highlights the single most important statement that impacts my current position: don’t bring feelings to a fact fight. I’m able to disarm and win the argument without emotion by sticking to the facts.”
“Own Your IT reinforces something I have seen throughout my career: talent matters, but what we do with it matters more. Cedric and Randall offer readers a practical way to think about their strengths and the work required to develop them.”
Your Next Move
