Netflix DIDN'T Kill Blockbuster w/ Former CEO Jim Keyes (LST #169)

Learn Speak Teach Episode #169 with former 7-Eleven and Blockbuster CEO Jim Keyes on the Real Business Connections Podcast.

Most people think Netflix killed Blockbuster. Jim Keyes says the real story is bigger than that.

In this episode, Ben Albert sits down with Jim Keyes to talk about leadership, reinvention, education, and what really happened inside Blockbuster during the 2008 financial crisis.

Jim shares how he went from growing up poor in a three-room shack with no running water to leading two Fortune 500 companies. He also explains why his new book, Education Is Freedom, is about more than school. It is about knowledge, perspective, opportunity, and changing the direction of your life.

They talk about Jim’s time leading 7-Eleven, what Blockbuster taught him about timing and change, and how leaders decide when to protect the core business versus when to reinvent it.

If you’ve ever wondered why Blockbuster really failed, how education creates freedom, or what it takes to lead through crisis, this episode will give you a different perspective.

Timestamps:

[00:00] Trailer + Intro

[01:15] Snoop Dogg, MrBeast, and Education Is Freedom

[05:19] From No Running Water to Fortune 500 CEO

[11:27] The Teachers Who Believed in Jim

[14:02] Saying Yes to Opportunity