The Pivot Dialogues with Dave Schoof

Dave Schoof
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Philosophy

Conversations exploring what it means to navigate uncertainty with wisdom, awareness, and depth. Dave Schoof speaks with leaders, thinkers, and practitioners about consciousness, leadership, meaning, and finding your way when the old maps no longer work.

  1. 2d ago

    Old Alarm or Real Signal?

    This shows up in leadership, but it shows up everywhere else too, especially right now, with so much shifting under all of us at once. Knowing the difference between an old alarm and something real is one of the quieter skills nobody teaches. 

  In this solo episode, Dave shares the story of turning down a job he wanted because a feeling inside him said no, and he read it as a verdict instead of what it actually was. Years later, sent back to the same city, he finally knew what to do with that alarm instead of obeying it. Along the way: a practice for sorting intuition from an old pattern, and why this distinction matters more now than ever, when most of us are navigating several disruptions at once instead of one.   In this episode: The moment a job offer turned into a whole-body no Sorting intuition from pattern, trauma, and an old protector part A practice for telling a real signal from an old alarm What changed the second time disorientation hit Why old, sequential strategies don't work when change is stacked and running in parallel Becoming an inner wilderness guide for your own signals _________________ 🔗 CONNECT WITH DAVE Website: daveschoof.com The Pivot on Substack: https://dschoof.substack.com   Pivot Commons: Join our free community for thoughtful conversations, shared exploration, and practical ways to navigate change and uncertainty. [https://www.skool.com/the-pivot-commons-4650/about?ref=99a271ec9e194ed5a83253bc91a78dc6]   Pivot Lab: A nine-week guided experience for people ready to move beyond old maps and develop new ways of navigating what's next. [ https://www.daveschoof.com/pivot-lab] _________________________  ⏱ CHAPTERS 00:00 — Introduction 02:14 — The call that changed everything 05:14 — Sorting the signal 06:33 — The protector part 07:25 — The raincoat practice 10:18 — Building an anchor on the inside 12:48 — Why this matters more now than ever 14:00 — Old strategies built for one change at a time 15:16 — Old alarm or real signal 15:35 — The inner wilderness guide

    Old Alarm or Real Signal?

  2. Aug 7

    What If Nothing Is Missing? — Steve March on Innate Wholeness and Unfoldment

    What if nothing is missing — and everything it takes to meet this moment is already here? Dave sits down with Steve March, founder of Aletheia and creator of Aletheia Unfolding, for a conversation about a different way of being with ourselves and each other. Steve makes the case that we don't develop into wholeness — wholeness unfolds through us — and that every attempt to fix or improve the self tightens the very knot it hopes to release. They get into the exhaustion of continuous improvement, what it means to attune to life poetically rather than technologically, being designed to thrive in complexity, and why none of us makes sense of the world alone. In this episode: Why self-improvement fails on its own terms Attuning to life poetically vs. technologically Innate wholeness — and what a newborn reveals about it Being designed to thrive in complexity, not just survive it Sense-making as something we do together, never alone About Steve March Steve March is the founder of Aletheia Academy LLC and the creator of Aletheia Unfolding, a post-developmental approach to human transformation. He teaches that we do not develop into wholeness; instead, wholeness unfolds through us and as us. A professional coach since 2000, Steve founded Aletheia in 2013 to work from a recognition that kept sharpening across his practice: every attempt to fix or improve the self tightens the very knot it hopes to release. In Aletheia, reality is not a machine to master but a living poem — and unfolding is not the management of change but the art of participation. Through the Aletheia Coach Training Programs, he mentors coaches, therapists, and guides who want to offer more than self-improvement to clients who are exhausted by it. To learn more about unfoldment — and how to practice it yourself and offer it to clients — visit integralunfoldment.com, where you'll find Steve's writing and his training programs for coaches, therapists, guides, and change agents.   00:00 — What if nothing is missing? 03:13 — Meeting Steve March 07:03 — The tyranny of continuous improvement 12:24 — Innate wholeness: the whole comes first 27:19 — Why self-improvement fails on its own terms 47:09 — Functional freeze, and thriving in complexity 53:59 — Why we don't do this alone 01:07:41 — What if nothing is missing? (the turn) 01:12:34 — Toward a new archetype   ━━ 🔗 CONNECT WITH STEVE Website: https://integralunfoldment.com     🔗 CONNECT WITH DAVE Website: daveschoof.com Substack (essays + The Pivot Newsletter) Field Notes — free five-part reflection series LinkedIn

    What If Nothing Is Missing? — Steve March on Innate Wholeness and Unfoldment

  3. Jul 19

    Stop Trying to Figure Life Out. Start Figuring Yourself In.

    What does real leadership require when the old maps stop working? In this conversation, Dave sits down with leadership expert and coach Andy Cahill to explore the fantasy that someone out there has life figured out, and the alternative Andy offers instead: learning to figure yourself in. They get into why so many of us are pulled toward crisis and quests without meaning to be, what it looks like to drop the change agenda in coaching and in relationships, and how strength and gentleness work together rather than against each other. In this episode: The fantasy that someone else has it figured out Figuring yourself in versus figuring life out How leaders unconsciously create the crises they thrive in The change agenda, and what it costs a coach or a parent Holding strength and gentleness together The micro pause, and why real reflection happens in the moment Book recommendations on embodied cognition and the psychology of environment The Extended Mind: The Power of Thinking Outside the Brain — Annie Murphy Paul The Architecture of Happiness — Alain de Botton __________ Chapter Timestamps ⏱ CHAPTERS 00:00 — Introduction 04:57 — The fantasy of someone having it figured out 05:26 — Figuring yourself in 17:15 — The crisis I was creating 19:20 — The change agenda 33:52 — Strength and gentleness 46:47 — The micro pause 1:13:08 — Book recommendations [00:xx] — Closing question ______   Andy Cahill is a leadership development expert who works with purpose-driven executives and entrepreneurs. Past and current clients include Microsoft, Marriott International, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Patagonia, lululemon athletica, The Obama Foundation, MIT, and a variety of A-to-D series funded startups in the tech and social impact sectors. Andy earned his master’s degree in leadership from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He is a professionally certified coach (PCC) with the International Coaching Foundation, and he is also a Level 2 certified Internal Family Systems practitioner. He is also the host of Wonder Dome, a podcast with a global listenership that explores explores the intersections of philosophy, psychology, science, and spirituality. And his critically acclaimed science-fiction novel Gradient brings a mythic frame to the interplay of human and artificial intelligence, surfacing themes of leadership, cultural adaptation, identity formation, technological innovation, and collective resilience in the face of loss. Website: https://wonderdome.substack.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewjcahill/ 🔗 CONNECT WITH DAVE Website: daveschoof.com The Pivot Newsletter: https://tinyurl.com/4vn8832a Substack: https://dschoof.substack.com Podcast: https://thepivotpodcast.net/?v=zm7s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daveschoof/

    Stop Trying to Figure Life Out. Start Figuring Yourself In.

  4. Jun 28

    What Makes Navigation Possible

    We live in a culture that rewards movement. Answer faster. Decide sooner. Keep going. But movement and navigation aren't the same thing. You can move all day and still become increasingly lost. What actually makes navigation possible isn't a better map, more information, or greater confidence. It's something that happens before any of that. Its orientation. Knowing where you are before deciding where to go. This is a solo episode recorded during an unexpected pause in the south of France — and an inquiry that's been quietly reshaping how I think about The Pivot itself.   🔗 CONNECT WITH DAVE Website: daveschoof.com The Pivot Newsletter: https://tinyurl.com/4vn8832a Substack: https://dschoof.substack.com Podcast: https://thepivotpodcast.net/?v=zm7s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daveschoof/

    What Makes Navigation Possible

  5. Jun 5

    Surviving to Flourishing — and What the Modern World Gets Wrong | with Dr. Rodney King

    Dr. Rodney King has navigated some of the hardest terrain a person can cross — homelessness on the streets of Johannesburg, a health crisis that ended his career, and the disorienting question that follows when everything you've built around yourself falls away: who am I now? He came out the other side not with a framework, but with a direction. As a philosopher, coach, and founder of Coaching Philosophia, Rodney now works with people navigating the meaning crisis — the growing gap between what modern life promises and what it actually delivers. In this conversation, Dave and Rodney get into why the modern world has confused excelling with flourishing. Why the self-help industry is largely a repair mechanism for a broken environment. Why you can be content without being happy. And what it actually looks like to find your way back to something real. This isn't an optimization conversation. It's a return one.   About This Episode Dr. Rodney King is a philosopher, coach, and internationally recognized self-preservation expert. Originally from South Africa, he spent decades as a martial arts coach with programs in 15 countries — working with everyone from Tier One Special Forces operators to airline cabin crew. A health crisis in 2020 ended that chapter and opened a new one. He now lives on the Isle of Man and works under the banner of Coaching Philosophia — bringing lived philosophy, mindfulness, and embodied practice to people navigating uncertainty, reclaiming meaning, and learning to flourish in a world that has largely forgotten how.     What We Explored The modern world has confused excelling with flourishing. Rodney had the car, the house with the right zip code, the global travel. He'll tell you directly that wasn't the best time of his life. The self-help industry is largely a repair mechanism for a broken environment. When the chimp is rocking back and forth in the zoo, the problem isn't the chimp. It's the zoo. We've built an unnatural environment, normalized it, and then told people to optimize their way through it. The meaning crisis is real - and it's structural. We are running ancient hardware in an artificial environment. The evolutionary mismatch between what we're designed for and what modern life asks of us is showing up everywhere. Happiness and contentment are not the same thing. The Western obsession with constant happiness may be doing significant damage. Contentment is something you can actually build. Happiness comes and goes. Vulnerability as a practice — from someone who spent his career in a world where it was seen as weakness. Rodney's move from fighter to philosopher-coach carries real weight here. Viktor Frankl on the streets of Johannesburg. The book ("Man's Search for Meaning" ) Rodney happened to pick up two weeks before becoming homeless — and the passage that kept him going.     A Line Worth Sitting With "Everything the self-help world advocates as solutions are really just solutions to help you slot back into the mainstream and keep the machine going. And I don't think that's good for us." — Dr. Rodney King   🔗 CONNECT WITH RODNEY Search for Sophia bi-monthly calls: https://www.coachingphilosophia.org/searchforsophia Philosophy-inspired coaching: www.coachingphilosophia.org/coaching   🔗 CONNECT WITH DAVE Website: daveschoof.com | Newsletter: https://tinyurl.com/4vn8832a  Substack: https://dschoof.substack.com | Podcast: https://thepivotpodcast.net/?v=zm7s |   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daveschoof/

    Surviving to Flourishing — and What the Modern World Gets Wrong | with Dr. Rodney King

  6. May 18

    When the Signal Breaks Down

    What leadership instrument are you actually navigating with when the information environment breaks down? In this solo episode, Dave Schoof explores one of the most disorienting challenges facing leaders right now: the gap between what the official story says and what people are actually living. Prices move week to week. Markets say one thing while experienced leaders feel something else entirely. And the default response — consume more, find better sources, read more analysis — isn't producing more clarity. The problem isn't the data. It's the instrument. In this episode: Why the most important question right now isn't "which source do I trust?" but "what am I navigating with?" The difference between the information you're working with and the instrument you're running it through What it looks like to navigate from a steadier place — not detached, not checked out, but fully present without being run by the noise A simple 30-second practice you can try right now Why developing your internal instrument is the most practical leadership move available in this moment 🔗 CONNECT WITH DAVE Website: daveschoof.com Newsletter: [The Pivot: From the Map to the Terrain] 🌀 THE PIVOT COMMONS [Pivot Commons link] 🧪 THE PIVOT LAB Six weeks. Small group. Starting soon. [Pivot Lab sign-up link]

    When the Signal Breaks Down

  7. Apr 13

    After the Map: Grief, Regeneration, and a New Way to Lead | Leadership & Consciousness

    What does leadership look like when the old maps stop working — and the social contracts that guided your career have dissolved? In this second conversation with JJ Vega, leadership coach and founder of Art of Unfolding, Dave Schoof goes deeper into the territory most leadership development avoids: grief as a necessary passage, natural cycles as an organizational practice, and the embodied awareness that makes a genuinely different kind of leadership possible. Drawing on William Bridges' transition model and their shared background in somatic and consciousness-informed coaching, Dave and JJ explore what it actually takes to lead well through endings — not just survive them. In this episode: Grief as a leadership skill — why it belongs in the room The neutral zone: what lives between endings and new beginnings Resilience vs. permeability — replacing the wall with a membrane Regenerative leadership: honoring fallow seasons, natural cycles, and rest Embodied awareness as the foundational leadership practice Rewilding the human being — and the organizations we lead Guest: JJ Vega is a leadership coach working at the intersection of the inner world and organizational impact. Together, we cover emergence as a leadership practice, somatic intelligence, edge walkers, the disintegrating success template, and whether the Hero's Journey needs a postmodern update. CONNECT WITH JJ VEGA Website: artofunfolding.org Inside Out Leadership: leadinsideout.io Co-Creation Loft Berlin: co-creation.loft LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/jj-vega/     🔗 CONNECT WITH DAVE Website: daveschoof.com The Pivot Newsletter: [https://tinyurl.com/4vn8832a] Substack: [https://dschoof.substack.com] Podcast: [https://thepivotpodcast.net/?v=zm7s] LinkedIn:  [https://www.linkedin.com/in/daveschoof/ ]

    After the Map: Grief, Regeneration, and a New Way to Lead | Leadership & Consciousness

  8. Mar 20

    When the Map Runs Out — Leading Through the Hormuz Crisis

    Leadership in a crisis nobody's playbook covers — what happens when the map runs out. Three weeks into Operation Epic Fury, the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed and crude above $100 a barrel — this episode covers what's happening inside the people running organizations through it. The financial briefings tell you what's happening to the system. I want to talk about the moment leaders reach for their map and find it doesn't cover where they are. Through the story of a composite leader I call Isabel — a CFO navigating this crisis in real time — I explore what it actually looks like to lead from genuine orientation rather than performed certainty. The difference between managing a situation and actually meeting it. And why the most practical thing in the room right now might be the one nobody's briefing you on. In this episode: Why working harder on the map is producing more noise, not more clarity What paralysis actually is — and why it's information, not weakness The 6 am practice that changed how Isabel showed up in the boardroom The 48-hour decision that changed the outcome What the unthinkable becoming real means for the next decade of leadership ⏱ CHAPTERS 00:00 — Introduction 01:30 — What the briefings aren't covering 04:00 — The moment leaders reach for the map 06:30 — Why working harder on the map stops working 09:00 — What paralysis actually is 12:00 — Meet Isabel 15:30 — Before — how she used to lead 19:00 — This week — leading differently 24:00 — The board call 27:30 — The Stefan moment 30:00 — The 48-hour decision 33:00 — What actually changed 36:00 — What this crisis is really revealing 38:30 — The question worth sitting with   🔗 CONNECT WITH DAVE Website: daveschoof.com The Pivot Newsletter: [https://tinyurl.com/4vn8832a] Substack: [https://dschoof.substack.com] Podcast: [https://thepivotpodcast.net/?v=zm7s] LinkedIn:  [https://www.linkedin.com/in/daveschoof/ ]

    When the Map Runs Out — Leading Through the Hormuz Crisis
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Conversations exploring what it means to navigate uncertainty with wisdom, awareness, and depth. Dave Schoof speaks with leaders, thinkers, and practitioners about consciousness, leadership, meaning, and finding your way when the old maps no longer work.

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