Things Go Sideways

KiKi L'Italien

When life, leadership, or the world go sideways, certainty doesn't show up on schedule. Things Go Sideways is a podcast for the middle of it — the part where the plan has cracked, but nothing new has fully formed yet. Each episode is a slow, honest conversation with someone living through change: a career ending, an identity shifting, a sense that what used to work no longer fits. We don't rush to lessons or tidy conclusions. We stay with what's real long enough to notice what's true. Hosted by KiKi L'Italien, Things Go Sideways is not pitching you advice, motivation, or transformation content. This podcast is bringing you orientation. A place to make sense of uncertainty without pretending you already know what comes next. (Because most of the time, we don't — and that's not a failure.) This podcast exists to help people stay present long enough to learn when certainty is gone.

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  1. 2월 16일

    Lifting the Rug on Avoidance, Grief, and the Cost of 'I've Got This' – Sherry Budziak

    Sherry Whitaker Budziak is known as the helper, the fixer, the leader who can walk into a messy situation and make it workable — until life handed her a year where the disruptions didn't stop: the unexpected loss of her husband, more loss soon after, and a chain of emergencies that made "keeping it together" feel non-negotiable. In this conversation, Sherry shares the moment her "I've got this" identity finally cracked — right before a speaking engagement she'd done a hundred times. We talk about what happens when your strengths stop working, how fear quietly shrinks your world, and why naming the thing everyone steps around is often the first honest move toward real change. You'll also hear the origin story of "The Rug"—a metaphor that became a framework and two books: Jules Moves the Rug (for kids) and RUG: How to Move What You're Tripping Over and Lead with H.E.A.R.T. (for leaders). It's a surprisingly human way for teams (and families) to talk about what's been hiding in plain sight. Why Listen to This Episode Now? A lot of teams are tripping over the same issues and calling it "busy." This episode helps you name the rug, lift the edge, and stop managing around what everyone can already feel. If you've been living in 'waiting for the next bad thing,' Sherry's story will give you a steadier foothold. HIGHLIGHTS 00:00 – Welcome to Things Go Sideways (no quick fixes, real reckoning) 01:23 – "What sideways moment could Sherry possibly have?" 02:04 – The year everything piled on: loss, disruption after disruption 03:10 – The breaking point: "I can't do this" before a talk she'd normally crush 04:44 – "I don't have time for therapy": when support is offered and refused 05:30 – A first step outward: joining Judi Holler's Speaker School 06:20 – The fear pattern: waiting for the next bad thing 06:50 – Mindset work with Tim Shurr and "One Belief Away" 07:57 – Why her message got clearer (and deeper) after what she endured 08:39 – People, process, culture, tech—and why the human part is the hard part 10:37 – The Rug origin story: "Why don't you move the rug?" 11:40 – The culture issue underneath: needing permission for everything 12:25 – Naming the "rug" gives teams lighter language to face hard truths 13:32 – Why a children's book (and why that choice matters) 14:30 – The story of Jules: lifting the rug and finding what's underneath 15:59 – What's next: "The Rug Party," mastermind, AI accelerator, book push 18:28 – Making meaning after loss: finding a reason, without pretending it's neat 19:10 – "I had a rug": the cost of being the reliable one 20:24 – Closing: one small step forward, and why that's enough Resources Jules Moves the Rug — Sherry Whitaker Budziak (Bookshop): https://bookshop.org/p/books/jules-moves-the-rug-sherry-whitaker-budziak/23463546?ean=9781963732269&next=t RUG: How to Move What You're Tripping Over and Lead with H.E.A.R.T. — Sherry Whitaker Budziak & Kevin G. Ordonez (Hardcover, Feb 1, 2026): https://a.co/d/0bBLySO8 About the Things Go Sideways Podcast When life or leadership goes sideways, the story's just getting interesting. Things Go Sideways with KiKi L'Italien features honest conversations with leaders, creators, and changemakers navigating disruption, uncertainty, and identity shifts. Each episode explores trust, resilience, and what it means to stay human when certainty breaks down. New episodes share real stories about rebuilding agency and meaning without rushing to quick-fixes, spiritual bypassing, or pretending clarity comes easy. Listen & Subscribe Libsyn RSS Feed: https://feeds.libsyn.com/597715/rss Libsyn Podcast Page: https://sites.libsyn.com/597715/site Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0AToVdda4omlLpG9KpQ0Hj Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/things-go-sideways/id1849510232 Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/87fc90ea-455c-443d-a24f-bd3bccc2e764/things-go-sideways Audible: https://www.audible.com/podcast/Things-Go-Sideways/B0G59XM2XY Join the Community Things Go Sideways Book Club: https://bookclubs.com/clubs/6100919/join/4db79195 YouTube Playlist (Full Episodes): https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRiPZ_HubKQpcbMaCYtlJN9D6qTv4tOrb LinkedIn Company Page: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/things-go-sideways/

    22분
  2. 2월 9일

    When Leadership Loses Credibility and Values Meet Reality — Simon Mont

    What happens when leadership, systems, or roles you trusted stop making sense—and you can't think or perform your way through it? In this episode, KiKi L'Italien speaks with Simon Mont about identity collapse, moral injury, and how to stay oriented and human when values collide with reality. Why this episode now: When trust in leadership and institutions feels fragile, many people are left questioning who to listen to and how to stay grounded. This episode offers a steady, human conversation about values, identity, and orientation—without rushing to answers or asking listeners to harden in response. Timestamps 00:00 — When values meet reality in leadership 02:05 — The breakdown you can't think your way out of 07:15 — When systems cause harm while trying to help 11:45 — Losing the savior identity 16:55 — Why new identities can become another trap 22:50 — Staying oriented without certainty 28:55 — Gratitude, beauty, and grounding beyond success 41:20 — What to hear when things are quietly unraveling Guest Resources Simon Mont — Website: https://www.harmonize.work/ Article: Power of Wholeness in the Workplace https://medium.com/harmonize/power-of-wholeness-in-the-workplace-561659b18d70 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-mont-a8b442104/ Podcast Resources — Things Go Sideways Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/things-go-sideways/id1849510232 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0AToVdda4omlLpG9KpQ0Hj Libsyn Page: https://sites.libsyn.com/597715/site RSS Feed: https://feeds.libsyn.com/597715/rss YouTube Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRiPZ_HubKQpcbMaCYtlJN9D6qTv4tOrb Book Club: https://bookclubs.com/clubs/6100919/join/4db79195 Share Your Sideways Story: https://forms.gle/UcccE9eJBSfEc9UN9 Schedule an Interview: https://calendly.com/kiki-interview/podcast-interview

    45분

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When life, leadership, or the world go sideways, certainty doesn't show up on schedule. Things Go Sideways is a podcast for the middle of it — the part where the plan has cracked, but nothing new has fully formed yet. Each episode is a slow, honest conversation with someone living through change: a career ending, an identity shifting, a sense that what used to work no longer fits. We don't rush to lessons or tidy conclusions. We stay with what's real long enough to notice what's true. Hosted by KiKi L'Italien, Things Go Sideways is not pitching you advice, motivation, or transformation content. This podcast is bringing you orientation. A place to make sense of uncertainty without pretending you already know what comes next. (Because most of the time, we don't — and that's not a failure.) This podcast exists to help people stay present long enough to learn when certainty is gone.