In this episode of CEO Growth Talks, host Pete Hayes sits down with Ben Bertram, Owner of Fiberglass Solutions, to explore his bold leap into business ownership—without a safety net.

Ben shares how he and his wife acquired a gritty, industrial business and scaled it rapidly through operational excellence, customer responsiveness, and eventually, strategic marketing support from Chief Outsiders.

From building cheese brine tanks to overcoming a growth plateau, this is a candid look at entrepreneurial grit, risk-taking, and building the foundation for scalable success.

Mike Clarke, CEO of Hanto + Clarke General Contractors, LLC, turned a family startup into a fast-growing enterprise by combining EOS discipline with data-driven, fractional marketing expertise.

Join us for our next CEO Growth Talks episode where Mike joins host Pete Hayes to unpack the strategy behind his company's explosive scaling journey.

In this crucial episode of CEO Growth Talks, host Pete Hayes sits down with Loretta Stagnitto, founder of Stagnitto Leadership Associates, to discuss the critical importance of intentionally developing your organization's next layer of leaders. They explore why the "how" of leadership—not just the "what"—is the key skill gap and how a targeted coaching methodology can transform your management team.

What You'll Learn:

✅ The Mid-Level Burnout: Why the intermediary layer between the C-suite and individual contributors is the most common place for failure and burnout.

✅ The "How" is the Gap: The danger of promoting great engineers or managers without training them in the soft skills necessary for senior leadership (e.g., managing stakeholders, giving feedback, and delegation).

✅ The I Know System (Assess, Act, Achieve): Loretta's proven methodology for building self-awareness, identifying blind spots, and creating an intentional plan for development.

✅ The Power of Systemic Coaching: How to improve organizational effectiveness by helping peers and cross-functional teams communicate better and manage their collective capacity.

✅ Avoiding the Wait-and-See Trap: Why many leaders wait too long before investing in coaching, often missing the opportunity to course-correct before a talented individual fails.

This conversation provides actionable insights for any CEO or C-Suite executive looking to build a strong succession plan and a resilient organization that can move fast by leading better.