Turning Life's Hard Knocks into a Coaching Legacy with Bill McDevitt | Ep 93

In this episode of Scaling the Gap, host Madeleine MacRae sits down with Bill McDevitt, founder of Top of the World Coaching. Bill shares his incredible journey from a 12-year-old paper boy learning business basics to a seasoned McDonald's executive, and finally to a small business coach dedicated to empowering leaders. His story is not a straight line but a series of peaks and valleys, including a profound personal loss that reshaped his timeline but not his resolve.

Bill opens up about the foundational principles that guide his work: Empathy, Flexibility, and Self-Awareness, and his "Three P" philosophy: People, Performance, Profit. He reveals why the key to growth is training others to make you obsolete and how a broken window from his childhood taught him a lesson in honesty that shaped his entire career. This conversation is a masterclass in building a meaningful legacy, both in business and in life.

If you’ve ever wondered how to build a business that outlives you or how to lead with humility and heart, this conversation is for you.

Key Takeaways

• How a childhood paper route taught foundational business and integrity lessons.
• Why teaching your team to replace you is the ultimate leadership strategy.
• How to apply the "Three P" principle (People, Performance, Profit) for sustainable growth.
• The importance of navigating life's inevitable "peaks and valleys" with resilience.
• How to define success as a journey of legacy-building, not a destination.
• Why empathy, flexibility, and self-awareness are non-negotiable for modern leaders.
• Bill's personal "success algorithm" that focuses on lasting impressions and family.

In This Episode

• [00:00] Introduction to Bill McDevitt
• [03:04] The power of leadership duplication
• [07:29] People, performance, and profit principle
• [09:17] Lessons in honesty and accountability
• [13:04] Navigating peaks, valleys, and life’s unexpected turns
• [14:40] Launching Top of the World Coaching
• [15:31] Embracing flexibility and agility in business
• [17:59] Identity, humility, and learning from others
• [19:23] Foundations of Bill’s coaching practice
• [20:16] Defining success and legacy
• [26:53] Final takeaways and how to connect with Bill

Notable Quotes

• [03:53] "The only way you can move on to the next thing is if you teach somebody what I taught you."— Bill McDevitt
• [07:41] "If you get the right people, train the right people, coach the right people, they're going to perform better. And when you get that high-performing team out there, then you're going to naturally turn profit."— Bill McDevitt
• [13:26] "If you want to hear a laugh from above, make a plan."— Bill McDevitt
• [12:38] “The right thing to do is very rarely the easy thing to do, but it always has such an extreme payoff."— Bill McDevitt
• [20:28] "Success to me is not a destination. It is a journey, and it's a journey that you're creating your legacy."— Bill McDevitt
• [24:32] "I want to leave a meaningful, lasting impression... The leader is setting up the culture. And this culture that you're setting up will be here long after you're gone."— Bill McDevitt

Our Guest

Bill McDevitt is the founder of Top of the World Coaching, a coaching practice dedicated to helping small business owners and leaders scale their impact without sacrificing their values. With a decades-long career that began at McDonald's and spanned corporate leadership, Bill brings a wealth of real-world experience centered on his core principles of People, Performance, and Profit. He is passionate about empowering leaders to build lasting cultures and legacies.

Resources and Links

Bill McDevitt

• Top of the World Coaching - https://totwcoaching.com/
• Email - bmcdevitt@totwcoaching.com
• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/billmcdevitt-top-of-the-world-coaching

Madeleine MacRae

• Website - https://mmmacrae.com/making-changes-training-motivating/
• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/macraemadeleine
• Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/madeleine.macrae/
• Book – The Tenacious Pursuit of Peace: Where to Go When Success Isn’t Enough