Building Dreams | George Sandmann on Strategic Capacity and Impactful Communities

Building Dreams | George Sandmann on Strategic Capacity and Impactful Communities

What if the biggest threat to your clients' life work isn't a bad market — it's a business that simply won't survive due diligence? George Sandmann, founder and CEO of GrowthDrive, has spent decades building companies, crashing a few into the side of the mountain, and coming out the other side with a clear-eyed mission: help financial advisors equip the private businesses they serve to grow, scale, and actually succeed at transition. George is an attorney, a data geek, a passionate entrepreneur — and a self-described addict when it comes to helping people win. In this conversation, we unpack the staggering statistics behind business exits, introduce the concept of "strategic capacity," and explore why community, culture, and human connection are the real engines behind GrowthDrive's growth. Episode Highlights * 19 out of 20 businesses do not qualify to successfully complete an M&A transaction as currently run — and 75% of owners who do sell end up regretting it (per the Exit Planning Institute) * There is approximately $10 trillion worth of businesses that need to transition, but only $2 trillion in available capital — making it literally market-impossible for everyone to sell to a third party * George's "Clarity" technology platform helps business owners see exactly where they stand vs. best-in-class, and calculates a predicted transaction price — not just a value * Strategic capacity is the true north star: a business's ability to predictably and sustainably grow free cash flow * GrowthDrive operates as a "tiny giant" — just two core team members, with a dedicated offshore dev team and a self-sustaining advisor community that provides peer-to-peer support * Culture isn't ping pong tables and pizza Fridays — it's the outward manifestation of what a business actually believes and how it operates * Brand is the story. When that story is right, it doesn't just fix marketing — it rallies the team and transforms culture * AI is accelerating a hunger for human connection, which is a massive advantage for relational B2B service providers * GrowthDrive now grows almost entirely through referrals, having shifted away from traditional webinar and outbound marketing models Chapters 0:00 – Intro & Meet George Sandmann 1:14 – Meet George Sandmann (pre-interview debrief with Holland) 4:38 – Human Opening Question 4:38 – From Law to Startups 5:30 – Mission & Market Data 9:31 – Advisor Model Explained 9:51 – Entrepreneurial Addiction 11:41 – Community Builder Role 12:48 – Clarity Tech Platform 14:47 – Exit Planning Hard Truths 17:55 – Who Should Call GrowthDrive 21:27 – Client Relationship Story 25:10 – Scaling High Touch Service 31:26 – Tiny Giant Team Model 34:21 – Brand Growth Basics 35:48 – GrowthDrive's Brand Story Evolution 36:30 – Strategic Capacity Category 37:45 – Culture Drives Brand 39:48 – StoryBrand & the Rallying Cry 41:47 – Attracting A-Players 42:48 – Scaling Culture Principles 44:48 – Marketing Shift & Referrals 47:23 – Human Moments in B2B 49:08 – Marketing Budgets & AI 51:33 – Behind the Brand Quiz 54:05 – Last Thing That Made You Laugh 58:44 – Legacy & Closing Resources Mentioned * GrowthDrive [https://www.growth-drive.com/] * The Growth Driving Advisor: Proven Strategies for Leading Businesses from Stuck to Best in Class [https://a.co/d/07l5dR5b] by George Sandmann * Call Sign Chaos [https://a.co/d/0iNxx4C6] by General Jim Mattis * Can I Borrow Your Car? [https://a.co/d/00fLKe8F] by Mike Garrison The CEO’s Heart for Service is a production of Brand3. If you’re a B2B service provider who delivers exceptional service but struggles to get your marketing to connect with the right people, find us at brand3.net [http://brand3.net]. And sign up for our Brand3 Newsletter that only sends marketing insights worthy of your inbox - genuinely helpful stuff for the road ahead.  The CEO’s Heart for Service is also supported by Forge Podcast Company, a turnkey production solution for using podcasts to reach a wider audience, win new clients, and grow. Find them at forgepodcast.co [http://forgepodcast.co]

Preserving the Human Connection in Tech with Grant Eckstrom of Succurri

When everything is moving towards automation and AI in tech, is the human connection even considered? Grant Ekstrom, Managing Partner at Succurri Managed IT and Cybersecurity Services, has built a business around that exact question. An engineer by DNA and instinct, Grant co-founded Succurri with his brother — born from a conversation over a couple bottles of wine in Hawaii — and has since navigated the very real tensions of scaling a service business without losing the human core that makes it work. From referrals drying up post-COVID to learning a costly lesson about marketing the hard way, Grant gets refreshingly honest about where they've stumbled, what they've figured out, and why he still believes that face-to-face conversations over a drink will always outperform a Zoom call when it comes to building real trust. Highlights * Grant always wanted to be an electrical engineer — and unlike most, he actually ended up doing it. He traces that back to his grandfather, a structural engineer who taught at UCLA, and a childhood full of RadioShack kits and soldering burns on his desk. * Succurri was born out of a family conversation: Grant and his brother each had their own MSPs and their dad asked why they were solving the same problems separately. The answer became a company. * Grant and his brother are described as "yin and yang to the utmost extreme" — and that complementary partnership has been central to how Succurri has scaled. * On service: "It's about having honest conversations — getting to the truth whether they like it or not. It's almost like parenting." * Grant coined the term "impact zones" for those inflection points in growth where the team hits a wall and has to retool. He admits they still hit them — but get better at spotting them faster. * After COVID, referrals dried up — not because service had declined, but because the human interaction that fueled them had stopped. That wake-up call launched a serious sales and marketing overhaul. * The biggest marketing shift for Succurri: moving from talking about IT to talking about outcomes and business impact. When they stopped speaking engineer and started speaking to ownership-level concerns, things started to stick. * Grant pushed back on niche-only thinking: Succurri serves roughly nine industries and intentionally cross-pollinates solutions across them. * He's a proponent of bringing in outside help — both peer groups like Vistage and third-party marketing expertise — and he says the painful way he learned this should serve as a shortcut for others. * Matt introduced the StoryBrand Framework as the strategic lens Succurri has been applying: make the client the hero, not the company. * Grant is a believer in white-glove service to a fault — and says their low client churn is proof that honesty, even when uncomfortable, builds lasting trust. Chapters 0:00 — Introduction 2:21 — Meet Grant Ekstrom 3:28 — Growing Up Engineer 4:32 — RadioShack Tinkering Days 6:23 — Succurri Origin Story 8:43 — Why MSPs Join Forces 10:26 — Family Partnership and Delegation 11:28 — Defining Service and Honesty 13:17 — Scaling Through Impact Zones 18:09 — Finding CEO Community Support 20:32 — Brand Story and Marketing Shift 24:54 — Niche Versus Broad 27:40 — Sell Outcomes Not Tech 28:35 — Human Trust Building 30:03 — Referrals Dried Up 33:05 — Finding Marketing Voice 34:58 — StoryBrand Perspective 38:00 — White Glove Service 40:09 — Hard Truth Conversations 43:03 — Behind The Brand 43:35 — Rapid Fire Answers 48:22 — Wrap Up & Links Resources Mentioned * Succurri Managed IT and Cybersecurity Services [https://succurri.com/] * EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) [https://www.eosworldwide.com/] — Referenced as a methodology Succurri has drawn from, though they have not formally implemented it * Vistage [https://www.vistage.com/] — CEO peer group Grant has joined for outside perspective and community support The CEO’s Heart for Service is a production of Brand3. If you’re a B2B service provider who delivers exceptional service but struggles to get your marketing to connect with the right people, find us at brand3.net [http://brand3.net]. And sign up for our Brand3 Newsletter that only sends marketing insights worthy of your inbox - genuinely helpful stuff for the road ahead.  The CEO’s Heart for Service is also supported by Forge Podcast Company, a turnkey production solution for using podcasts to reach a wider audience, win new clients, and grow. Find them at forgepodcast.co [http://forgepodcast.co]

Letting Our Customers Lead the Way with Adam Pattisall

What does it look like when customers are the ones driving your growth — not the other way around? That's exactly the story Adam Pattisall, CEO of IncrediTek and iTekFED, brings to this episode of CEO's Heart for Service. Adam built IncrediTech from literally one person working out of the bed of a pickup truck to a company of 80+ people — without investors, a board, or outside backing. His secret? Stay nimble, only take on what you can afford to lose, and let the customer set the direction. From keeping a Coast Guard station online during Hurricane Sandy to having clients ask him to grow so they wouldn't lose him, Adam's story is a masterclass in customer-first, integrity-driven growth in the telecommunications and IT infrastructure space. HIGHLIGHTS * Adam started IncrediTek working alone out of the bed of his pickup truck, with a spool of cable and a clear vision: build something you own, without owing anyone * The company originally planned to cap at 11 employees — customers are the reason it grew to 80+ * IncrediTek has been 100% bootstrapped since day one — no investors, no board, no bank reporting * For 15–16 years, nearly 99% of revenue came from a single customer, and that customer kept asking them to grow and diversify * The Hurricane Sandy story: an IncrediTek team member, Rick Zimmerman, went by boat to a flooded island to keep a Coast Guard station's communications alive — and won a major Verizon award for it * Exceptional service means anticipating client needs before the crisis hits, not just reacting to it * Hiring isn't about technical knowledge — it's about finding people who have a passion for solving problems * Adam's business philosophy: "I don't get involved in anything I can't afford to lose" * Staying ahead of technology by 18–24 months is what keeps IncrediTek in demand — they go wherever the "bleeding edge" work is * The future of the company? Wherever the customers want it to go CHAPTERS 1:03 – Growing Up Dreams 2:31 – Early Hustle Mindset 3:35 – Sarah's First Job 4:05 – What IncrediTek Does 5:35 – Why Start IncrediTek 6:11 – Heart for Service 7:29 – Hurricane Sandy Story 8:20 – Scaling with Values 9:10 – Bootstrapped Growth Rules 11:40 – Customers Drove Expansion 13:50 – Passing Culture to Team 14:30 – Hiring Problem Solvers 16:20 – Customer First Choice 18:00 – Truth Telling Sales 19:15 – Brand Story Strategy 21:30 – Experience Over Marketing 24:10 – Staying Ahead of Tech 25:45 – Owning the Narrative 29:00 – Handling Spilled Milk 31:00 – Tech Change Surprise 33:15 – Future Led by Clients 36:00 – Vision Through Action 39:00 – Behind the Brand 40:00 – Rapid Fire Questions 46:50 – Success and Gratitude 49:15 – Where to Find Them RESOURCES MENTIONED * IncrediTek [https://www.increditek.com/] — Adam Pattisall's IT infrastructure company The CEO’s Heart for Service is a production of Brand3. If you’re a B2B service provider who delivers exceptional service but struggles to get your marketing to connect with the right people, find us at brand3.net [http://brand3.net]. And sign up for our Brand3 Newsletter that only sends marketing insights worthy of your inbox - genuinely helpful stuff for the road ahead.  The CEO’s Heart for Service is also supported by Forge Podcast Company, a turnkey production solution for using podcasts to reach a wider audience, win new clients, and grow. Find them at forgepodcast.co [http://forgepodcast.co]

The Power of Authentic Resonance in Business Growth with Macy Robison

What if the reason your thought leadership isn't landing has nothing to do with your ideas — and everything to do with the way you're wired to share them? Macy Robison, founder of the Resonant Thought Leader Conservatory, has spent years behind the scenes launching New York Times bestsellers, building massive platforms for other thought leaders, and serving as senior director of StoryBrand's certification program. But somewhere along the way, she kept hitting the same wall — brilliant experts stuck not because they lacked ideas, but because they were forcing themselves through someone else's playbook. What she built to solve that problem is unlike anything else out there. Rooted in the science of sound and resonance, her proprietary Resonance Compass framework starts with a free diagnostic — the Resonant Thought Leader Archetype Assessment — to pinpoint exactly how you are wired to communicate, lead, and build. From there, it becomes about amplification, not volume. About sending a clearer signal, not shouting louder. The difference, as she explains it, is the same difference between pushing a random piano key and the one that makes a snare drum vibrate across the room. We talk about the journey of creating a brand new framework from scratch, the challenge of scaling something deeply personal, and how she stays grounded in her own voice even when comparison tries to throw her off. If you're a B2B founder who knows you have something valuable to say but can't figure out how to say it in a way that sounds like you, this conversation is for you. Highlights * Macy shares the personal frustration that sparked the creation of the Resonance Compass — and why copying other people's strategies kept failing her * The piano-and-snare-drum illustration that explains why resonance is measurable, not subjective * Why the answer isn't getting louder — it's sending a cleaner signal to the right people * How the Resonant Thought Leader Archetype Assessment works, the 10 archetypes explained, and what Matt discovered about himself when he took it * The difference between being expression-led, experience-led, insight-led, and embodiment-led as a thought leader * The voice lesson moment that revealed a three-step framework hiding inside her own client work * Why she started by personally sending Loom videos to every single assessment taker — and what that taught her before she could scale * The Taylor Swift and Chappell Roan examples that show how staying unapologetically yourself is the actual amplification strategy * The hardest part of growing: comparison, and how a theater audition story reframes it completely * Macy's definition of success — and the school benefit concert that still runs without her Chapters 0:00 — Special Episode Intro 1:19 — Why Authenticity Matters 3:16 — Meet Macy Robison 3:25 — StoryBrand and Theater Roots 5:36 — Macy Bio and Big Promise 7:50 — The Aha Behind Resonance 12:37 — Why This Was Missing 16:19 — How the Assessment Works 20:24 — Finding Your Voice in Practice 24:30 — The 10 Archetypes Explained 29:03 — Scaling a New Service 32:05 — Amplify Without Getting Loud 33:25 — Sound Design for Your Message 35:25 — Artists Who Scale Authentically 35:19 — Trust and Humanity in B2B 36:31 — Unearthing Your Hidden IP 38:14 — From Patterns to a Framework 39:58 — Simple Reps Before Scaling 41:24 — Staying Grounded Amid Comparison 44:13 — Behind the Brand Rapid Fire 48:57 — Defining Success and Lasting Impact 51:29 — Closing Thanks and Where to Find Her Resources Mentioned * Resonant Thought Leader Conservatory [https://macyrobison.com/] * Own Your Impact Podcast on Apple [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/own-your-impact/id1807445068] or Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/0W1caAtNj7ZFFeEw6KkR11] * Resonant Thought Leader Archetype Assessment [https://assessment.thoughtleaderarchetype.com/]  The CEO’s Heart for Service is a production of Brand3. If you’re a B2B service provider who delivers exceptional service but struggles to get your marketing to connect with the right people, find us at brand3.net [http://brand3.net]. And sign up for our Brand3 Newsletter that only sends marketing insights worthy of your inbox - genuinely helpful stuff for the road ahead.  The CEO’s Heart for Service is also supported by Forge Podcast Company, a turnkey production solution for using podcasts to reach a wider audience, win new clients, and grow. Find them at forgepodcast.co [http://forgepodcast.co]

Unleashing Potential | The Everett Chamber Transformation with Wendy Poischbeg

What does it actually take to build a thriving chamber of commerce from absolute zero — no staff, no members, not even a pad of paper — in under 18 months? Wendy Poischbeg did exactly that, scaling the Greater Everett Chamber of Commerce to 300 members in a year and a half by doing something deceptively simple: listening. Wendy, CEO of the Greater Everett Chamber, joins co-hosts Matt Wolfe and Sarah Pattisall of Brand3 to share how she resurrected a chamber that had been missing from Everett for 15 years — and why she built it completely differently this time. From curating member experiences inspired by the book Unreasonable Hospitality, to deploying AI to run lean, to quietly supporting Everett's Hispanic business community during a turbulent political climate, Wendy reveals what it looks like to lead with heart, hustle, and a hype-person mentality. Highlights * Wendy path to become a rock star — and trained in a prestigious Seattle girl choir before reality (and Boeing) intervened * The Greater Everett Chamber launched January 1, 2025, starting from absolute ground zero — no assets, no EIN, not even office supplies * 300 members in 18 months, 55+ events in year one, on track for 80 events in year two * The chamber was rebuilt intentionally as "not your grandpa's chamber" — with AI tools, streamlined automation, and yes, a DJ at events * Wendy drew leadership inspiration from Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara, applying fine-dining service principles to chamber membership * Member feedback drives everything: surveys, CRM-tracked pain points, and in-person business visits shape every program and workshop * Permitting is the #1 barrier to business growth in Everett — the chamber is actively advocating for AI-assisted permitting reform at the state level * The ambassador program launched 6 months ahead of schedule when membership hit 150 — volunteers are rewarded, never charged * AI tools (ChatGPT, Claude) helped Wendy accomplish in one week what used to take a month, from nonprofit filing to contract drafting * The chamber does quiet, behind-the-scenes work to support Everett's Hispanic business community, including a private health district licensing event to help food cart operators get licensed safely * Wendy's personal "why" (discovered through Simon Sinek's framework): amplifying and promoting others is what makes her thrive Chapters 0:31 — Welcome & Episode Preview 2:12 — Meet Wendy Poischbeg 3:31 — From Aspiring Rock Star to Chamber CEO 6:14 — The History Behind the Greater Everett Chamber 9:56 — Unreasonable Hospitality & the Member Experience Philosophy 12:29 — Curating Experiences, Not Just Events 13:58 — How Wendy Gathers & Acts on Member Feedback 17:34 — Advocacy: The Chamber as a Policy Voice 19:53 — Growth by the Numbers: 300 Members in 18 Months 22:15 — The Chamber's Four Pillars 25:05 — Everett's Transformation: The Marina & South Everett 27:31 — Scaling Without Losing the Human Touch 28:51 — Challenges of Rapid Growth & the Ambassador Program 31:45 — How AI Is Running the Chamber (And Disrupting the Legal Industry) 33:47 — Supporting Everett's Hispanic Business Community 37:42 — Creativity as a Business Strategy (FIFA 2026 & Beyond) 40:30 — Wendy's Coffee Shop Origin Story 42:49 — The Story the Chamber Tells: Be Engaged to Get Value 47:57 — The Heart Behind the Hype Person: Rapid-Fire Q&A 54:39 — Wendy's "Why" (Simon Sinek & the Two-Hour Couch Conversation) Resources Mentioned * Greater Everett Chamber of Commerce — everettchamber.org [https://www.everettchamber.org/] * Unreasonable Hospitality [https://www.unreasonablehospitality.com/] by Will Guidara * Start With Why [https://simonsinek.com/books/start-with-why] by Simon Sinek * Economic Alliance Snohomish County [https://www.economicalliancesc.org/] — regional economic development organization that preceded and now complements the chamber The CEO’s Heart for Service is a production of Brand3. If you’re a B2B service provider who delivers exceptional service but struggles to get your marketing to connect with the right people, find us at brand3.net [http://brand3.net]. And sign up for our Brand3 Newsletter that only sends marketing insights worthy of your inbox - genuinely helpful stuff for the road ahead.  The CEO’s Heart for Service is also supported by Forge Podcast Company, a turnkey production solution for using podcasts to reach a wider audience, win new clients, and grow. Find them at forgepodcast.co [http://forgepodcast.co]