Success Story with Scott D. Clary
Published on Oct 15, 2025, 8:03:08 PM
Total time: 01:06:23
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Lew Frankfort is an American business executive who grew Coach from $6 million in sales to a $5 billion global brand during his 35-year tenure. Joining Coach in 1979, he became CEO and Chairman, taking the company public in 2000 and pioneering the "accessible luxury" market segment. Named multiple times to Barron's "World's Most Respected CEOs" and Institutional Investor's "Best CEOs in America," he retired in 2014 and co-founded Benvolio Group, investing in early-stage consumer brands.
➡️ Show Links
https://www.instagram.com/lewfrankfort/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lew-frankfort/
➡️ Podcast Sponsors
Hubspot - https://hubspot.com/
ShipStation - https://www.shipstation.com/ (Code: SuccessStory)
Square - https://square.com/go/success
SurveyMonkey - https://www.surveymonkey.com/scott
Monarch Money - https://www.monarchmoney.com (Code: Success)
Claude - https://claude.ai/success
Incogni - https://incogni.com/success (Code: Success)
Think Big, Buy Small Podcast - https://link.chtbl.com/B2cH36AX?sid=SuccessStory
NetSuite — https://netsuite.com/scottclary/
Indeed - https://indeed.com/clary
➡️ Talking Points
00:00 – Intro
01:22 – Why Lew Started Writing After Retiring
04:37 – Thriving Under Pressure
07:45 – Finding Your Career North Star
10:17 – The Danger of Being “Too Principled”
15:29 – Lew’s Path Into Leadership
20:28 – What Great Leadership Looks Like
21:37 – Sponsor Break
24:37 – Carrying the Coach Legacy Forward
34:00 – The Power of Magic & Logic
44:01 – Sponsor Break
46:53 – Balancing Intuition and Strategy
50:05 – What Drives Lew Today
54:44 – Opening Up About the Dark Side of Leadership
59:36 – The Role of Fear in Success
1:02:42 – Advice to His 20-Year-Old Self
1:04:23 – The Big Idea Behind His New Book
1:05:12 – The Lesson He Wants to Leave His Kids
Welcome to the Success Story Podcast, hosted by entrepreneur, business executive, author, educator & speaker, Scott D. Clary (@scottdclary). On this podcast, you'll find interviews, Q&A, keynote presentations & conversations on sales, marketing, business, startups and entrepreneurship. Scott will discuss some of the lessons he's learned over his own career, as well as have candid interviews with execs, celebrities, notable figures and politicians. All who have achieved success through both wins and losses, to learn more about their life, their ideas and insights. He sits down with leaders and mentors and unpacks their story to help pass those lessons onto others through both experiences and tactical strategy for business professionals, entrepreneurs and everyone in between. To get more of the Success Story podcast, go to www.successstorypodcast.com.