The Partnership Playbook: Lead with Clarity, Create Leverage & Reclaim Time

What do you do as a CEO when two opposite decisions are both right — and choosing only one puts your business at risk? In this episode of The Partnership Playbook , Phil Hayes-St Clair breaks down how to build the paradox leadership muscle — the capacity to think clearly, decide confidently, and coach teams effectively when contradictions are real and unavoidable. You’ll learn: How to recognize an...

Can your partnerships actually scale—or are they just good intentions? Many leaders confuse volume for value and "partner" for "vendor." But as David Johnson, CEO of Vervent, explains— real partnership is a strategic lever for growth and resilience , not just a nice-to-have. In this deep-dive episode, you’ll learn: A proven 3-part framework to identify and grow strategic partnerships Why integrity...

My thoughts on leading in light of the devastating events at Bondi Beach in Australia on 14 December 2025. Learn more at philhsc.com

Are you building partnerships that actually work or just deals that eventually die? Damon Lembi , CEO of Learnit, shares 30+ years of lessons from growing a 2-million-learner business and surviving the dot-com bust. In this episode:  Learn the “Ideal” framework to pressure-test any partnership Discover the biggest growth mistake Damon made—and how he’d fix it Reframe training as your most pow...

Are you leading from presence or from a body that’s in quiet panic while you hold the room together? Most CEOs underestimate the emotional load of leadership. This episode reframes emotional steadiness as an executive skill, not a personality trait, and gives you the tools to build it. In this episode, you’ll learn how to: Use breath, grounding, and cognitive tools to regulate your emotional state...

What would happen to your company’s growth engine if GTM, Product and Partnerships finally spoke the same language? Most companies struggle because their core functions operate on different maps, different clocks, and different definitions of success. This episode gives GTM leaders the clarity and structure to unify the business, restore operational calm, and accelerate growth and leadership matur...

What happens when you treat partnerships like internal rituals not just external deals? In this episode, JobAdder CEO Martin Herbst shares how to lead with trust, simplify strategy, and build partnerships that actually scale. Here’s what you’ll learn: Why internal partnerships must come before external ones How to avoid complexity and accelerate value in partner deals The discipline of saying “no”...

What happens to growth when your business scales faster than the leaders running it? Every CEO eventually feels it: managers who were strong at 10 people struggle at 30, directors quietly absorb pressure they don’t want to reveal, and culture begins to crack under the weight of rising expectations. Leadership doesn’t automatically scale just because the company does and ignoring that gap slows gro...

What if slowing growth isn’t a market issue but a system issue inside your GTM motion? This episode breaks down the four symptoms slowing your revenue momentum and gives you simple, practical ways to regain clarity, control, and confidence. Build a pipeline based on truth, not hope Remove buyer risk faster than you add value Use partners to restore momentum and accelerate growth Your next level of...

What if your biggest growth unlock was… gratitude? In this episode, David Homan shares how relationship orchestration, not transactions, is the core ingredient to partnership growth. You’ll learn:  How to turn relationships into non-linear growth engines A 5-principle framework that outperforms traditional networking The biggest mistake people make after saying thank you (and how to fix it)...

What if your leadership effectiveness had less to do with discipline… and everything to do with how well you manage your energy? When energy drops, CEOs don’t just feel tired — they lose clarity, emotional steadiness, strategic judgment, and the ability to lead partnership-driven growth with intention. Make sharper, calmer decisions by aligning your physiology with the outcomes you expect Build a...

What if the biggest threat to your company’s growth isn’t bad decisions — but slow ones? Every CEO knows the drag created when decisions stall. That gap between information and action quietly erodes trust, slows execution, and creates cultural drag. In this episode, Phil unpacks Jeff Bezos’s decision framework — refined in conversation with Adam Grant — and shows how increasing your decision veloc...

How I deliver value to you starts today. New episodes Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. More from Phil Hayes-St Clair: Subscribe to the Wednesday Partnership Newsletter (and get immediate access to my Frameworks Vault) Find me on LinkedIn The Partnership Playbook is the podcast for leaders who want to grow with clarity, create leverage through partnerships, and lead their teams with meaning. Each ep...

What if your next big growth opportunity is a new relationship? Too many founders chase transactions and miss out on the power of long-term partnerships. In this episode, Scott Kelly, investor and media collaborator, reveals how he vets founders, why “trust but verify” matters, and the subtle language that separates good deals from bad ones. You’ll walk away with: A simple heuristic for evaluating...

What if the way you run meetings is quietly capping your global growth? In this episode, discover how Rumi.ai founder Ramsey Pryor is rewriting the go-to-market playbook through partnerships and AI-driven meeting memory. You’ll learn: Why “brand doesn’t travel” — and what founders can do before launching abroad. How to turn meeting chaos into a recall system that powers decision-making. The true m...

Are your suppliers helping you grow or just filling orders? If you're treating vendors like fixed-line costs instead of future-shaping partners, you're holding back growth, agility, and margin. In this episode, you’ll discover: How to assess your current supplier relationships across 12 critical partnership elements The 3 maturity levels—Baseline, Growth, and Strategic—and what shifts each one unl...

Why do some partnerships crumble over small issues while others grow stronger from them? In this episode you’ll learn: The 4-step framework to repair any partnership issue without blame or confusion How to prevent small missteps from derailing big opportunities Why system fixes— not apologies —are your fastest path to partnership growth Listen now to turn a miss into momentum—and make your partner...

What if the key to partnership-driven growth isn't strategy—but curiosity ? Whether you're leading a team, selling under pressure, or building a movement, this episode with Ryan Hawk will flip your assumptions. From his journey through sports, sales, podcasting, and publishing, Ryan unpacks how commitment, standards, and relationships drive real results. In this episode, you'll learn: Why your cur...

Struggling to turn freelancer hires into real growth outcomes? Learn how to craft a brief and milestone system that aligns external talent with your growth agenda. Discover how to vet freelancers like you vet partners —beyond cost and platform badge. Get the framework to manage freelancer engagements as high‑velocity experiments , so you scale faster and smarter.  Ready to turn your freelance...

What makes a partnership actually work? Too many companies chase logos, launch press releases, and declare “partner-first”—only to find out later it didn’t move the needle. Adrienne Coburn shares how to build partnerships that fuel growth, not just optics. In this episode, you’ll learn: How to structure partnerships around mutual tension and trust Why internal selling is ongoing , and how to do it...

Why do some partnerships fall flat even after a perfect pitch? In this episode, Rob Matzkin shares the overlooked truths behind sustainable growth through partnerships and you’ll learn: Why transparency—not just incentives—drives referral success How to identify red flags in stalled partnerships before they fail The unscalable dinner party tactic that created 2,000+ meaningful connections Whether...

What if the key to game-changing partnerships isn’t strategy but emotional mastery? Too many founders enter negotiations armed with data and ambition but unprepared for emotional dynamics that make or break deals. In this episode you’ll learn: Renita Kalhorn's practical system (FAST) to anticipate emotional landmines in deals How to reframe “practice” as the most underused leadership advantage A h...

What if the secret to growth isn’t the big deal you land today—but the 1% details you master daily? In this episode, we unpack: Why “sweating the small stuff” builds compounding cultural excellence How delayed gratification drives stronger, more sustainable partnerships The rituals Flight Story uses to scale teams and partnerships with a growth mindset Listen in to learn how to reframe partnership...

Ever feel like your deals were solid—until they weren’t? When Q4 slips, it’s rarely the market’s fault. It’s often the quiet habits inside leadership routines that go unnoticed. In this episode you’ll learn how to: Replace wishful thinking with probability-driven strategy Stop pushing pressure and start enforcing process Treat December as the launchpad for Q1 growth through high-value partnerships...

Are you building a business and wondering if raising money is the only path to growth? Yale's Matt Gira joins Phil Hayes-St Clair to challenge the hype around venture capital and unpack how bootstrapped founders are hitting $250K without external funding. You'll learn: Why $250K in revenue is a critical milestone—and how to get there. How to avoid the prestige trap and build real traction. The ove...