Growth Think Tank

Believing you need to improve accountability across your organization is a common thought. However, many times it is seen as hovering. The idea is to improve how you delegate without micro-managing. Our guest is Renzi Stone, CEO of Saxum. Saxum was #4246 on the 2019 Inc 500 list. Renzi begins by sharing his top strategy for optimizing his time, integrating personal and professional time. He even t...

For many, success has a price. CEOs that put all of their energy and time into the work will often wake up one day and wonder what happened to their personal lives. I was one of those people and didn't realize it in my first startup. One thing that CEOs must keep in mind is the importance of planning family time. Today's guest is Jeff Kupietzy, CEO of PowerInbox. PowerInbox ranked on the Inc 500 l...

Every CEO is faced with dozens if not more projects that must be completed. The challenge is choosing the right projects. Not all of them can be done immediately. It is usually a balance of short-term and long-term projects that need to be managed. One way to look at choosing the right projects is to have a standard selection process or a rubric. Our guest is Jeff, co-founder of Digital Have. Digi...

Your calendar is likely the one tool that keeps you organized. If your calendar is not right, you are likely late to meetings and unaware of your commitments. When you manage your calendar better, you feel productive and efficient. This special series on optimizing your time is all about how you can manage your calendar better. Our guest is Erik Huberman, Founder, and CEO of Hawke Media. His compa...

One of the biggest challenges that CEOs face when it comes to optimizing their time is creating white space in their calendar. It seems that no matter what they do, they have people that want to fill in any available time on their calendar with a meeting. Creating white space is really about making time to think. Scheduling back-to-back meeting may seem productive, but the CEO that lacks time to t...

When you spend your time wisely, you are focused on the right things. You can remove distractions from your mind to do the most valuable things. It is a never-ending journey to optimize your time, especially when you are the CEO of a fast-growth company. This video kicks off a new series aimed to help you optimize your time. Gene gives you the context of this series in a way that allows you to opt...

What a year it has been. Instead of looking back at our mistakes, let's look at how you can prepare for the new year. Discover three essential elements to being a stronger and more influential leader who can activate growth this year. When you prepare for the new year the right way, you will meet any challenges you face in the new year. You will also get a bonus treat when I share the uncomfortabl...

Those that have an ownership stake tend to think differently about the work and decisions they have to make. Do you believe that getting employees that think like owners without any real financial ownership is possible? Well, I have seen it happen over and over. In fact, it is one of the most significant driving forces in fast-growth companies. Today's guest is Sam Eitzen, CEO at The Snap Bar. Inc...

Being a servant leader is not new. The big idea is as the CEO; you serve your people. However, you have to understand the servant leadership skills if you want to get all the value you can out of this idea. Today's guest is John Eanes, CEO at Eanes Heating & Air Conditioning. Inc Magazine ranked them #4330 on the 2020 Inc 5000 list. John shares how servant leadership skills have impacted his compa...

Thinking you know it all is the enemy to growth. When you can stay curious, you get to see perspectives. Today's guest is Mitch Greenwald, CEO at Cloudbakers. Inc Magazine ranked them #1174 on the 2019 Inc 5000 list. Cloudbakers is the Google Cloud Premier Partner that will ensure a fast and quality implementation. Mitch gives us a look into why we must stay curious when we want to grow our compan...

Your company has a culture whether or not you intentionally set it. When you define your culture to empower people, you set up the business for long-term success. The essential parts to define your culture are a big part of why a company grows fast. Today's guest is Goddard Abel, CEO at G2. Inc Magazine ranked G2 #408 on the 2020 Inc 5000 list. This company helps B2C and B3b brands provide immersi...

Adapting to the ups and downs of a crazy, fast-paced work environment is all about embracing change. Companies that resist change and make excuses suffer the consequences. The leaders of any organization must embrace change, and they must also encourage growth across the organization. My guest today is Co-CEO and co-founder of Soundstripe. This company was ranked #68 in the 2020 Inc 5000 list. Sou...

People are essential to every business that is growing fast. The heart of leadership is focusing on your people. Your product or service is essential, but scaling quickly requires people to feel like you care about them. Today's guest is Kurt Donnell, CEO at Freestar. Inc Magazine ranked Freestar #1 on the 2019 Inc 5000 list. They were also ranked 36 in the 2020 list. Freestar works with businesse...

Culture is just as essential as your service or product. In fact, I believe that your people should feel like they come first. This is what I call an employee-first culture. Today's guest is Mel Gun, CEO at SYNERGEN Health. Inc Magazine ranked SYNERGEN Health #3906 on the 2020 Inc 5000 list. They have been honored on the Inc 5000 five times. SYNERGEN Health is an end-to-end revenue cycle managemen...

Leaders that invest in employees dare to see a future where their employees are an essential part of the business growth. When you fail to prioritize your employee's development, you may not feel it immediately, but you will see it in the long term. Today's guest is Gregg Cohen, CEO at JWB Real Estate Capital. Inc Magazine ranked JWB Real Estate Capital #1841 on the 2020 Inc 5000 list. They have b...

Most early-stage companies focus on the product or service they are bringing to market. What you sell is essential for sure. However, the fast-growth companies think beyond the business model to the culture alignment. In short, CEOs that I have talked to know the importance of people. Culture alignment is a function of how do the people feel aligned with their work. Do they love it or do it becaus...

Your culture is defined by the way people communicate, work, and behave. The problem is many people believe culture is something you do once. However, the truth is culture is never-ending. Fast-growth companies know the importance of culture. Today's guest is Olin Hyde, CEO of LeadCrunch. His company was ranked #35 on the 2020 Inc 5000 list. LeadCrunch is a leader in AI-based lead generation for B...

Way too many leaders don't understand the importance of leading with core values. After hundreds of interviews with founders and CEOs, I can tell you those creating strong teams are leading to core values. Today's guest is Damon Decrescenz, CEO at The Credit Pros. Inc Magazine ranked The Credit Pros #4626 on the 2020 Inc 5000 list. Damon has to lead them to six consecutive times on the Inc list. W...

Every entrepreneur has faced challenges in their journey. You know the importance of tenacity when growing fast. One hurdle is to get your team members to be tenacious. Today's guest is David Coppins, CEO of IntelyCare. His company was ranked #41 on the 2020 Inc 5000 list. David talks about the importance of tenacity with stories that get you to think about your leadership differently. We look at...

Many high and low-level decisions are on data. Many organizations strive to be data-driven. What does it truly mean for an organization to have a data-driven culture? Today's guest is Ray Lui, Co-Founder at Sprinly, which ranked #113 on the 2020 Inc 5000 list. Sprinly delivers organic plant-based meals. Although profit and revenue goals are important factors for driving business growth, try using...

Being deliberate about culture takes intention, strategy, and a lot of heart. As a result, culture can be sacrificed if leadership is not committed to the vision it takes to be deliberate about culture. Today's guest is John Lincoln, Co-Founder at Ignite Visibility, ranked at #1836 on the 2020 Inc 5000 list. Ignite oversees internet marketing, serving both large national brands and smaller compani...

How has your strategy for company growth been working? How did you pivot plans for company growth during a pandemic? Today's guest is Rick Carlson, CEO at Sharpspring, Inc. Sharpspring, Inc. is a rapidly-growing, highly-rated global provider of affordable marketing automation delivered via a cloud-based Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform. Rick and I discuss avoiding stagnation through efficient...

CEOs often look for ambition within their organization but can overlook the importance of coaching up the ladder. Today's guest is Lawrence Armstrong, Chairman at Ware Malcomb, ranked at #4019 on the 2020 Inc 5000 list. Ware Malcomb provides planning, architecture, interior design, branding, and civil engineering services to commercial real estate and corporate clients. Lawrence has reaped the ben...

Nearly every company has put profit first for decades. However, when they put people first, they see tremendous company growth. Today's guest is Boris Epstein, CEO at Binc. Inc Magazine ranked Binc #3250 on the 2019 Inc 5000 list. This company has been honored on the Inc 5000 list two consecutive times. Binc is a recruiting company that assists entrepreneurs and technology companies with their hir...

Every fast-growth company has a tremendous capacity for adaption. Embracing change is part of their DNA. Today's guest is Zac Paulson, CEO at True IT. Inc Magazine ranked True IT #1057 on the 2019 Inc 5000 list. This company has been honored for three consecutive years as an Inc 5000 company. True IT is a managed IT services and application development company. Zac shares his leadership journey an...