From Crayola Exec to Bestselling Author: Peter H. Christian on Leadership, Failure, and Reinvention
The Mike Litton Experience
Mike Litton
5.0 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 9 July 2025
⏱️ 49 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this powerful episode of The Mike Litton Experience, we sit down with Peter H. Christian—former executive at Crayola, acclaimed consultant, and author of two insightful books: “What About the Vermin Problem?” and “Influences and Influencers”. With over 40 years of leadership experience across powerhouse companies like Crayola and Air Products, Peter shares jaw-dropping behind-the-scenes stories, pivotal career moments, and the real reason he walked away from a job others would kill for.
Whether you’re an aspiring entrepreneur, a seasoned executive, or someone looking for inspiration during a life pivot, Peter’s journey from engineer to author and business leader is a masterclass in resilience, strategy, and paying it forward.
Key Takeaways:
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How Peter turned a corporate firing into a six-figure consulting business (and got hired back by Crayola!)
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The one decision that changed his entire career path
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The shocking truth behind a toothbrush factory’s “vermin problem”
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How influential mentors shaped his leadership style—and how you can become one too
Check out Peter’s books:
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What About the Vermin Problem?
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Influences and Influencers
Subscribe for more raw, honest conversations with industry leaders and game-changers. Hit the bell so you never miss an episode!
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | And it was really odd if I can just tell the story real quickly. |
| 0:04.1 | Of course. |
| 0:04.4 | Of course. |
| 0:05.0 | People still don't believe it. |
| 0:06.2 | Okay. |
| 0:06.5 | That's what we do. |
| 0:07.3 | We tell stories here. |
| 0:08.6 | Especially in today's day and age because, you know, you get a notice and they show, |
| 0:12.8 | show you out the door and you got 10 minutes to get your stuff and all that stuff. |
| 0:16.6 | Yeah. But the boss that I worked for, like I said, I kind of knew that my day was going to come where they were going to say, you know, it's time for you to leave. |
| 0:25.6 | Okay. |
| 0:26.0 | Then when I started my own consulting company, they hired us and we did consulting work for them. |
| 0:31.3 | So how many people get fired, get three months on the job, get severance, get hired as a consultant, get their |
| 0:39.2 | company hired as a consultant, get, um, you know, motions in their honor. Yeah. I said, so people, |
| 0:47.3 | I tell them this and they go, oh, here's, you're making this up, right? It was still close where I could |
| 0:52.6 | get back on the weekends to see my girlfriend, who's now my wife. So that had a big impact on it. Who is it, right? It was still close where I could get back on the weekends to see my girlfriend, |
| 0:55.0 | who's now my wife, so that had a big impact on it. Who was at Rutgers? Right. Yes, who was |
| 1:00.4 | that still at Rutgers? Yes. That's a little bit of a draw just so we're clear. There you go. Yes. |
| 1:07.2 | Because I also had, I had been accepted at Penn State. |
| 1:19.6 | I had a free ride to go through Penn State and then turn them down to go to Lehigh, which didn't make my parents totally happy. |
| 1:21.3 | You could be the smartest person in the world. |
| 1:22.5 | You don't know everything. |
... |
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