Today, we welcome Dr. Gerald Patnode to the Power Seat. A serial entrepreneur, speaker, former professor and educator, and lifelong mentor to leaders and entrepreneurs across the nation, his career spans marketing, real estate, education, and now fiction writing. From being the first in his family to attend college to building companies with $100 million in annual revenue, we learn what decades of failure, and going against the grain have taught him. We talk about the drive to prove people wrong, why learning never stops, and what really drives success.

This conversation is about entrepreneurial failures outweighing wins, resilience, and keeping the mind curious and active.

Take your seat.

Learn more about Dr. Patnode:

https://grpatnode.com/about-patnode/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/geraldrpatnode/

Episode Chapters:

00:00 Introduction to Dr. Gerald Patnode

00:51 First Company: Initial successes and failures

06:19 Lessons Carried from 1967 until Present Day

08:16 "I used to think asking questions made me look stupid"

09:57 What Drives Success: Passion vs. Person vs. Idea?

12:23 "As an entrepreneur, failure is inevitable."

13:51 Evolving Metrics of Success

14:35 "The largest company I ever had was..."

18:43 Transitioning from Entrepreneur to Banker

19:54 Gut Instinct vs. Data in Decision Making

21:12 Brave Enough to Go Against the Grain

22:48 100th Birthday Party

24:58 What makes a successful entrepreneur?

27:13 The Ongoing Drive to Prove Others Wrong

32:11 Consistent Advice Across Decades of Mentorship

34:30 Current Chapter: Storytelling

38:09 The Story Behind 'The Stirling Defense'

39:52 Favorite Company and Final Thoughts

41:58 Seats of Power Tradition: Our Takeaways and Closing Question