Tuesday Mar 03, 2026

From Extreme Triathlon to Executive Coach: The 5 People Who Changed My Life: Welcome, Bill Zeeb

S04 EP08 Bill Zeeb

What happens when a Lean Six Sigma leader, stakeholder-centred executive coach, and extreme endurance athlete reflects on the 5 most influential people in his life?

In this episode of People Are Everything, Julia Duthie speaks with Bill Zeeb (based near Geneva, Switzerland/France) about the people who shaped his life and work — from mastering process improvement and leadership measurement, to the power of coaching, human development, and the mindset shift that comes with life’s hardest challenges.

Bill shares:

The mentor who shaped his Lean Six Sigma mastery and leadership training of 2,000+ leaders
The coaching influence of Marshall Goldsmith and the “no growth, no pay” approach
The leadership framework work of Bob Anderson and Bill Adams (Leadership Circle)
The lived impact of being supported by his wife Jordan, especially through health challenges
Funny moments (Maggie the dog!) plus a surprising “million dollar note” offer…

This is a conversation about growth, accountability, energy, and living on purpose — and why the people around us change everything.

The 5 most influential people Bill names

Renée (Lawrence Renée) French – Bill’s key influence in Lean Six Sigma, apprenticeship, and human-centred leadership.
Marshall Goldsmith – stakeholder-centred coaching, “pay it forward,” measurable behaviour change, and “did I do my best to…” daily questions.
Bob Anderson – leadership stages (reactive → creative → integral → unity), Unity Academy, and deep development work.
Bill Adams – scaling leadership measurement and systems through Leadership Circle; community-building across Europe.
Jordan (Bill’s wife) – life partner through light/dark, shared coaching world, and a grounded counterbalance (plus training girls to say “no”).

This is a conversation about growth, accountability, energy, and living on purpose — and why the people around us change everything.