The StArt Show — Season 1, Episode 1: The Jump
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Season 1, Episode 1: The Jump
Just as his daughter took her first breath, he realised he couldn’t take one more.
Fifteen years into a successful corporate career—well-paid, on the rise, with a master’s degree in the mail and a record bonus on the horizon—something no longer fit.
Not the workload.
The misalignment.
Being measured in fragments… instead of being seen in full.
In this opening episode of The StArt Show, Werner Schmidt shares the moment that set everything in motion: walking away from certainty into the unknown, not because he had a plan—but because staying was costing more.
This episode explores:
why high performers burn out in environments that only recognise part of their contribution
how “add-on culture” quietly erodes even the strongest professionals
the hidden cost of misalignment—for individuals and for organisations
IF THIS IS YOU —
capable, committed, but quietly running out of space…
you may not be the problem.
IF YOU ARE LEADING SOMEONE LIKE THIS —
you may not be seeing your strongest people clearly…
not because you don’t care, but because the system doesn’t show you what matters.
This is not a story about burnout.
It’s about what burnout reveals…
and what becomes possible when something finally shifts.
You don’t have to jump the cliff.
But you do have to see what it’s costing you not to.
#BetterPerformance
#BetterWellbeing
#BetterCoffeeConversations
Just as his daughter took her first breath, he realised he couldn’t take one more.
Fifteen years into a successful corporate career—well-paid, on the rise, with a master’s degree in the mail and a record bonus on the horizon—something no longer fit.
Not the workload.
The misalignment.
Being measured in fragments… instead of being seen in full.
In this opening episode of The StArt Show, Werner Schmidt shares the moment that set everything in motion: walking away from certainty into the unknown, not because he had a plan—but because staying was costing more.
This episode explores:
why high performers burn out in environments that only recognise part of their contribution
how “add-on culture” quietly erodes even the strongest professionals
the hidden cost of misalignment—for individuals and for organisations
IF THIS IS YOU —
capable, committed, but quietly running out of space…
you may not be the problem.
IF YOU ARE LEADING SOMEONE LIKE THIS —
you may not be seeing your strongest people clearly…
not because you don’t care, but because the system doesn’t show you what matters.
This is not a story about burnout.
It’s about what burnout reveals…
and what becomes possible when something finally shifts.
You don’t have to jump the cliff.
But you do have to see what it’s costing you not to.
#BetterPerformance
#BetterWellbeing
#BetterCoffeeConversations
Chapters
- 00:00 — Her First Breath, My Internal Scream. The moment his daughter arrives, and something breaks inside.
- 00:18 — Episode 1: The Jump. Welcome to The StArt Show.
- 00:38 — Success on Paper, Burnout Underneath. Well-paid, rising, master’s degree, bonus ahead… and still done.
- 00:57 — Measured in Fragments. The self-built performance framework and the system that ignored it.
- 01:20 — Add-On Culture. When top performers keep getting more added, without being fully seen.
- 01:56 — The One Who Saw Me. The industrial psychologist enters, and something shifts.
- 02:31 — The Final Straw. The boardroom moment that makes the resignation inevitable.
- 02:56 — Zero Income, No Title, No Plan. The resignation, the forfeited bonus, the cliff-jump.
- 03:21 — What Burnout Revealed. Not just workload, but chronic misalignment.
- 03:54 — High Performance in the Wrong Shape. How unseen contribution becomes friction, then burnout.
- 04:16 — If This Is You / If You Lead Someone Like This. A message for the top performer and the leader watching.
- 04:52 — Notice Before Change. Where is energy leaking? Where is contribution unseen?
- 05:15 — The Cost of Staying. You don’t have to jump, but you do need to see the cost.
- 05:45 — Closing. Follow the Saint of the Arts...
