On this episode of The Corvus Effect®, I sat down with Anna Wondany, fractional CEO, fractional CMO, founder of Advanced Digital, and a leader supporting fractional professionals through Hey CMO. Anna shares how a career spanning startups, corporate environments, acquisitions, and marketing leadership eventually led her to fractional work after a merger fell apart and a difficult employment dispute made returning to another company feel like the wrong path.

Anna breaks down what it really takes to build a sustainable fractional career, including embracing the identity, pricing for value, staying confident through uncertainty, continuously building a pipeline, and setting clear expectations so strategy does not turn into endless execution and scope creep. We also get into why specialization matters as the fractional market becomes more crowded and why the strongest engagements are built around solving meaningful, complex business problems.

Along the way, we talk about auditing systems, programs, campaigns, and people, having difficult conversations when the wrong people are in the wrong roles, and balancing formal authority with influence. Anna also explains why AI is not taking everybody’s job, why marketers still need judgment and strategy, and how Hey CMO uses AI as an ally to help fractional leaders work more effectively instead of replacing them.

We also get into self-worth, professional freedom, work-life balance, and the confidence that comes from building a career on your own terms. Anna shares the advice she would give her younger self after a major setback: do not fear the unknown, trust your instincts, believe in yourself, keep solving problems, and keep moving forward.

Chapters:
0:00 Coming up
1:03 Introducing Anna Wondany
02:29 How Anna Was Pushed Into Fractional Work
06:19 Getting Back Up After a Career Setback
08:00 Fully Embracing the Fractional Identity
09:41 Building Self-Confidence as a Fractional
11:16 Lessons From Anna’s Fractional Journey
13:37 How Hey CMO Helps Fractionals Stand Out
15:25 What Fractionals Get Wrong About Positioning
17:25 The Reality of Fractional Stability
20:49 Growing as a Fractional in the AI Era
24:14 Managing the Wrong People in the Wrong Seats
25:40 Authority vs. Influence in Fractional Leadership
27:45 Choosing the Right Clients and Problems to Solve
29:23 What Businesses Get Right and Wrong About AI
31:39 AI as an Ally, Not the Competition
32:48 Building a Career Around Output, Impact, and Fulfillment
34:52 Advice to a Younger Anna Wondany
35:51 How to Connect With Anna Wondany and Hey CMO
37:15 Final Advice for Fractional Leaders

The Corvus Effect® is what happens when a service business stops depending on its founder. If the business runs on you, you’re the bottleneck, you can’t take a real vacation, and it couldn’t be sold without you. This channel is about changing that.

▶ Work with Corvus: https://calendly.com/corvus-solutions/30-minute-chat
▶ Take the Vacation Test: https://corvussolutions.co/vacation-test.html
▶ Website: https://corvussolutions.co
▶ Contact: contact@corvussolutions.co

Hosted by Scott Raven, Business Operations Architect at Corvus Solutions.

#TheCorvusEffect #FounderLed #OwnerDependency

On this episode of The Corvus Effect®, I sat down with Chris Gray, a clinical psychologist turned consumer behavior expert, to explore how psychology can help brands influence people without crossing into manipulation. Drawing on decades of experience, Chris explains why getting someone to buy once is much easier than earning lasting trust, and why that trust matters more over time.

We get into psychological reactance, empathy, curiosity, and intellectual humility, and why marketers have to keep learning instead of assuming they already understand their customers. Chris also explains how bracketing can help us recognize our own biases and approach customers with fresher eyes.

Along the way, we talk about attention, why disruption can win a split second but relevance is what gives that attention meaning, and how consistency across the customer journey builds familiarity and affinity.

We also get into resilient relationships, mindfulness, building the business while building yourself, and the growing importance of critical thinking in an AI-driven world.

Chapters:
0:00 Coming up
1:05 Introducing Chris Gray
02:37 Why People Buy
03:09 Why Manipulation Backfires
04:25 Psychology Beyond Marketing Tricks
08:46 Understanding Customers More Deeply
10:09 Empathy as a Lifelong Practice
11:44 Bracketing Biases for Better Insight
14:23 When Founder Bias Helps or Hurts
17:04 Why Attention Comes First
19:11 Disruption vs. Relevance
25:32 Building Resilient Relationships
26:34 The Five Fs Framework
29:18 Building the Business and Yourself
31:46 Mindfulness and Staying Curious
33:59 Critical Thinking in an AI World
35:27 How to Connect With Chris Gray

The Corvus Effect® is what happens when a service business stops depending on its founder. If the business runs on you, you’re the bottleneck, you can’t take a real vacation, and it couldn’t be sold without you. This channel is about changing that.

▶ Work with Corvus: https://calendly.com/corvus-solutions/30-minute-chat
▶ Take the Vacation Test: https://corvussolutions.co/vacation-test.html
▶ Website: https://corvussolutions.co
▶ Contact: contact@corvussolutions.co

Hosted by Scott Raven, Business Operations Architect at Corvus Solutions.

#TheCorvusEffect #FounderLed #OwnerDependency

On this episode of The Corvus Effect®, I sat down with Betsy Hamm, growth strategist, brand builder, keynote speaker, and founder of Lifted Studio. With more than 25 years across hospitality, entertainment, and franchising, Betsy reflects on helping Duck Donuts scale from roughly 20 locations to nearly 200 after joining the company in 2016.

Betsy breaks down what fast-growing founder-led businesses need before they can scale: clear goals, stronger systems, defined roles, disciplined priorities, and a leadership team capable of keeping everyone aligned. She also shares what changed when Duck Donuts moved from founder-led ownership to private equity during the COVID era, and how communication and credibility helped her lead through pressure from multiple directions.

Along the way, we get into Betsy’s transition into fractional work through Lifted Studio, why meaningful impact takes longer than a quick project, and how founders can become bottlenecks when their companies outgrow the team that originally got them there. We also talk about why the people required at 20 locations may not be the same people needed at 100, and why strong leaders have to balance accountability with trust, relationships, and emotional intelligence.

Chapters:
0:00 Coming up
1:04 Introducing Betsy Hamm
02:33 Scaling Duck Donuts From 20 to 200
03:35 Building the Foundation for Growth
06:02 Balancing Growth and Financial Responsibility
07:18 Founder-Led vs. Private Equity
09:04 Leading Through COVID and Supply Chain Pressure
10:49 Keeping Teams Motivated During Crisis
13:41 Keeping Your Identity Beyond the Job
17:24 Why Betsy Hamm Chose Fractional Work
20:19 Why Real Business Impact Takes Time
22:23 Building Credibility With Founders
25:24 Prioritizing What Matters Most
27:44 Why Scaling Changes the Team
29:18 The Leadership Double Bind
31:20 People Skills Make or Break Leaders
34:09 A Message to Betsy Hamm's Daughters
35:39 How to Connect With Betsy Hamm
35:57 Final Advice for Growing Businesses

The Corvus Effect® is what happens when a service business stops depending on its founder. If the business runs on you, you’re the bottleneck, you can’t take a real vacation, and it couldn’t be sold without you. This channel is about changing that.

▶ Work with Corvus: https://calendly.com/corvus-solutions/30-minute-chat
▶ Take the Vacation Test: https://corvussolutions.co/vacation-test.html
▶ Website: https://corvussolutions.co
▶ Contact: contact@corvussolutions.co

Hosted by Scott Raven, Business Operations Architect at Corvus Solutions.

#TheCorvusEffect #FounderLed #OwnerDependency