The Christine Spray Show

Ep016: US Military to the Boardroom with Chuck Drobny

In this episode, David talks to Chuck Drobny, CEO of GlobaLogix here in Houston, Texas. Chuck has an interesting background starting with this time at the US Military Academy at West Point, and then for the next five years as an officer in the U.S. Army. Through his time at West Point and in the Army, he learned many lessons about leadership. In this interview, Chuck discusses the lessons he learned in his long, varied career and the advice he would give his 25-year-old self. LINKS Show Notes [https://www.christinespray.com/016] Be a Guest [https://www.christinespray.com/contact] About Strategic Catalyst [https://www.strategiccatalystinc.com/] About GlobaLogix [https://globlx.com/about-us/#1635977201751-c816fd08-3dd0] GUEST [https://assets.fireside.fm/file/fireside-images/podcasts/images/c/ce7373c8-0860-456c-88d1-3fbd5546fb70/guests/5/5d554b87-1fef-4bd1-9668-8ccbc7d6a730/avatar_small.jpg?v=0] Chuck Drobny About Chuck [http://www.christinespray.com/guests/chuck-drobny]

Ep015: Creating Relationships & Honoring Commitments with John Bonner

In this episode, we are joined by John Bonner, president of First Continental Investment Company in Houston, Texas. Dave and John discuss John's background and the story behind him forming his company 28 years ago. John's company provides financing to residential land developers and home buildings. Although it may seem like a commodity business, especially with the unprecedented liquidity in the lending markets, it turns out he is not in a commodity business. Rather, John's business relies on relationships, repeat business, and being committed to honoring the commitments that he and the company make. John also talked about his own personal and professional development and why Vistage international plays such a critical role in that endeavor. LINKS Show Notes [https://www.christinespray.com/015] Be a Guest [https://www.christinespray.com/contact] About Strategic Catalyst [https://www.strategiccatalystinc.com/] About First Continental Investment [https://www.firstcontinental.com/about/] GUEST [https://assets.fireside.fm/file/fireside-images/podcasts/images/c/ce7373c8-0860-456c-88d1-3fbd5546fb70/guests/a/a677d2c6-5130-4517-b5c5-45123820a173/avatar_thumb.jpg] John Bonner About John [http://www.christinespray.com/guests/john-bonner] Special Guest: John Bonner.

Ep014: Growing as One with Tom Ballou

On this episode, our guest host David Spray talks to Tom Ballou, CEO of Ballou Fire Systems, a company headquartered in Houston, Texas, that serves commercial customers with their fire detection and suppression needs. Tom acquired the business less than seven years ago and has led the company to a 10 X growth in both revenue and head count. He has a servant leader approach that really shines through in this interview and although the 10 X growth is impressive, what might be even more impressive is that they grew the head count by 15 times without ever advertising a single position. This is due to a tremendous culture that Tom calls “done as one” that describes how the company aspires to work as a single team across all departments, allowing them to grow as one. This episode will especially be useful to entrepreneurs who are forming or transforming their company cultures to not only benefit their employees, but their companies as a whole. LINKS Show Notes [https://www.christinespray.com/014] Be a Guest [https://www.christinespray.com/contact] About Strategic Catalyst [https://www.strategiccatalystinc.com/] About Ballou Fire Systems [https://balloufiresystems.com/about/] GUEST [https://assets.fireside.fm/file/fireside-images/podcasts/images/c/ce7373c8-0860-456c-88d1-3fbd5546fb70/guests/f/f180d7e7-afeb-4391-9f3c-62cef8374488/avatar_thumb.jpg] Tom Ballou About Tom [http://www.christinespray.com/guests/tom-ballou] Special Guest: Tom Ballou.

Ep013: Achieving and Managing Rapid Growth with Dylan Schrader

Today our guest host David Spray talks to Dylan Schrader, the COO of Ledge Loungers, a fast growing high end outdoor and pool product manufacturing company in Houston, Texas. Ledge Loungers has grown 50 times since Dylan joined the company seven years ago. Dave and Dylan talk about the pros and cons of that rapid growth and the hidden opportunities in that growth challenge. They also drill down into some of the most innovative products they have and what make them so unique. Much of the company's new product ideas result from being close to and listening to their customers. If you are a fast growing organization, or if you ever wondered what it would be like to be a part of a company growing more than 100% annually, this episode has some great insights for you. LINKS Show Notes [https://www.christinespray.com/013] Be a Guest [https://www.christinespray.com/contact] About Strategic Catalyst [https://www.strategiccatalystinc.com/] About Ledge Loungers [https://ledgeloungers.com/media/] GUEST [https://assets.fireside.fm/file/fireside-images/podcasts/images/c/ce7373c8-0860-456c-88d1-3fbd5546fb70/guests/c/c62586d7-18bd-4df7-a171-479b1b9fed14/avatar_thumb.jpg] Dylan Schrader About Dylan [http://www.christinespray.com/guests/dylan-schrader] Special Guest: Dylan Schrader.

Ep012: Becoming The World's Best with Art Saxby

In this episode, our guest host, David Spray, speaks with Art Saxby; the founder and CEO of Chief Outsiders, which is a nationwide consulting firm with more than 100 fractional Chief Marketing Officers. In just 13 years, Art has grown the firm to over 100 CMOs who have served more than 1400 businesses. We discussed the challenges and the hidden opportunities they encountered and we also learned about the advice he would give his 25-year-old self. If you are a CEO of a 10 million to $300 million company and have ambitions that seem to be greater than your team's interests and desires, or if you desire to grow a professional service business at 30% annually or more, then this is a great episode for you and you'll find Art's story to be deeply inspiring. LINKS Show Notes [https://www.christinespray.com/012] Be a Guest [https://www.christinespray.com/contact] About Strategic Catalyst [https://www.strategiccatalystinc.com/] About Chief Outsiders [https://www.chiefoutsiders.com/our-core-values] GUEST [https://assets.fireside.fm/file/fireside-images/podcasts/images/c/ce7373c8-0860-456c-88d1-3fbd5546fb70/guests/a/a55530e2-861e-458e-b13b-e68a48fa107b/avatar_thumb.jpg] Art Saxby About Art [http://www.christinespray.com/guests/art-saxby] Special Guest: Art Saxby.