The Playbook On Career and Family: Six CEOs Independently Reached the Same Verdict

In this episode of CEOs & ABCs, Kevin pulls together six conversations he's had with CEOs and CMOs over the past year to answer one question almost none of them answered directly: how do you actually manage a career and a family without one costing the other? Instead of one new interview, this is the chorus, and then the answer that finally clicked once Kevin heard all six side by side. Deena DePhilips, CTO of Red Robin, spent a decade as a self-described "corporate athlete," working eighty-hour weeks and sleeping under her desk, before becoming a parent forced her to rebuild how she worked entirely. Kyle Lacy, CMO of Docebo, doesn't pretend he's solved anything, and says so on camera. Jennifer Prince, who leads commercial strategy for the LA Rams, replaced the word "balance" with "rhythm" after a single moment with her daughter changed how she thought about her career. Anthony Valletta, CEO of Bartaco, runs his calendar like a second job. And Linda Bethea, former CMO of Danone, built her entire leadership philosophy around integration after raising her daughter as a single mom. None of them agreed to sound the same. They just did anyway. Deena calls the term "work-life balance" something she hates saying out loud. Kyle says he doesn't have it, full stop, no fix attached. Jennifer swapped the word for "rhythm." Linda swapped it for "integration." Different companies, different industries, same conclusion, reached without hearing each other say it first. This is a conversation about intentionality, presence, and integration, and why the executives who've actually built something that works stopped trying to balance their lives and started designing them instead. TOP TAKEAWAYS: - Balance implies a fixed point. Rhythm and integration allow for movement, and movement is closer to how real careers and families actually work. - Intentionality means deciding what's non-negotiable before the week starts, not finding time for it after. - Presence isn't complicated, it's just hard. It means giving something up in the moment instead of holding onto everything at once. - Integration isn't a compromise between work and family. Done right, each one makes you better at the other. - Perfection isn't the goal. The goal is staying committed enough to recalibrate when you get it wrong. CHAPTERS: 0:00 — The Claim: Why ""Balance"" Is the Wrong Goal 1:02 — Kevin's Framing: Three Things That Actually Work 1:50 — Real Stories From Boardroom to Bedtime 2:01 — A Decade of Sleeping Under Her Desk 3:44 — The CMO Who Stopped Apologizing 5:33 — The Airport Moment That Changed Everything 7:15 — What Replaces Balance 7:34 — The Calendar System Built Like a Traffic Light 8:45 — Presence in Three Words 10:07 — Why She Puts Her Phone in a Box 10:52 — The Thread: What Six CEOs Agree On 12:58 — Where to Find the Full Conversations FEATURED IN THIS EPISODE: - Jennifer Kattula, CMO, Microsoft Advertising — https://youtu.be/xSBI9XM6CA8 - Deena DePhilips, CTO, Red Robin — https://youtu.be/-yd7sw75hqk - Kyle Lacy, CMO, Docebo — https://youtu.be/tpBVzqI6114 - Jennifer Prince, Commercial Strategy, LA Rams — https://youtu.be/eP7AOjjfp7w - Anthony Valletta, CEO, Bartaco — https://youtu.be/gOTRtqL1g-4 - Linda Bethea, CMO, Danone North America — https://youtu.be/dMvOE1xF0Dw Follow our host Kevin Rice on: LinkedIn: ⁠⁠LinkedIn/KevinMRice⁠⁠ Website: ⁠⁠ceosandabcs.com⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠Instagram/ceosandabcs⁠⁠ Follow the CEOs & ABCs Podcast and stay updated:... Chapters (00:00:00) - How to Build a Balanced Life With a Parent(00:01:02) - Work Life Balance: The Wrong Goal(00:01:50) - Top Execs on Work-Life Balance(00:06:45) - How to Balance Your Career and Family Life(00:08:40) - How to Be More Present With Your Family(00:09:55) - The 3 Rules of Work-Life Integration(00:12:47) - CEO and ABCs: Growing Your Career