What made you successful will not hold for what’s coming, especially in AI era.


You have a vision.
You’ve built success through capability, resilience, and determination.

And yet, you want a more meaningful impact, wider influence, more peace in leading business and organizaton towards the future.

Pressure builds.
Clarity fades.
Momentum or growth slows.
Doubts creep in.
And fulfillment feels just out of reach.

You are at a leadership inflection point 
— where your inner expansion as human will determine what becomes possible & how you lead the future of your organization and business.

I partner with visionary CEOs and executives at inflection points in their leadership — moments where pressure builds, teams plateau, and the old way of leading no longer works.

I help leaders to evolve who they are, how they lead, navigate uncertainities and shape legacy impact.

Through my signature process, leaders expand their presence, elevate their energy, and become trusted, magnetic forces who shape culture, inspire change, and scale with coherence — not pressure.

Because in the new era, the future is shaped by those who are more human, more present,  and more aligned from within.
----------------------------

With 15 years inside global and Fortune 500 environments, and over a decade in transformational leadership work (incl ICF PCC), I translated what most leaders never access into a proprietary approach — integrating neuroscience, energy, body awareness, executive coaching, and transformational leadership through Extraordinary Leadership™.

I’ve partnered with leaders across industries including Maersk, Abbott, Chanel, IKEA, Roche, Microsoft, and GE, and I’m known for my presence and transformational depth.

If you sence there’s more available - this is your next move.
Book a private consultation.
https://calendly.com/dagmaraasbreuk/30-min-consultation


Book me for your leadership events, summits, leadership team off-sites.
https://calendly.com/dagmaraasbreuk/30-min-consultation

Dagmara Asbreuk

You’re not losing your edge.

You’re in an environment that can’t hold it.

Because even the most capable executives will start shrinking in the wrong system.

Not because you’re not strong enough.
But because the space around you is built for comfort… not evolution.

The right environment expands your leadership.
The wrong one slowly erodes it.

10 signs you’ve outgrown the place (or it’s misaligned):

1. You feel drained more than energized.
 Even when you’re “doing well.”

2. You hear constant excuses instead of commitment.
 “We can’t.” “It’s not possible.” “That won’t work here.”

3. You’re shrinking your goals and expectations.
 Not because you want less - because you’re tired of pushing.

4. You’re constantly convincing others to see potential.
 You’re selling vision instead of leading it.

5. You feel like the only one driving change.
 And it’s exhausting.

6. The organization isn’t truly willing to change.
 They want improvement… without transformation.

7. You feel like you’re going backwards.
 More effort. Less impact.

8. Your standards are treated as “too much.”
 Instead of being respected.

9. You don’t feel safe telling the full truth.
 So you filter, soften, hold back.

10. You feel yourself shrinking instead of expanding.
 And deep down… you know it’s not you.

Your brilliance doesn’t need more proving.
It needs the right environment.

Because the right room doesn’t just value your results.
It amplifies your leadership.

Leadership Partner to visionary CEOs & Executives | Guiding you to lead with inner authority, magnetic presence, legacy impact to build future ready organization | Keynote Speaker | Founder | Podcast host

Culture isn’t a slogan.

It’s a driver of business performance.

The challenge:
leaders try to “build culture” through policies, perks, or programs.

While culture is actually created in the moments that matter most:
✅ how you lead
✅ how you listen
✅ what you tolerate
✅ what you reward
✅ what you normalize under pressure

🎧 In the latest episode of the Extraordinary Leadership Podcast, I sat down with Emma Davies - Founder of Evolve People Network and Evolve Hub, and a People & Culture leader with 20+ years across the UAE and KSA.

We unpack what truly creates a culture that fuels success - not in theory, but in real organizations moving at speed.

In this conversation, we explore:
• why presence beats policy
• why “open door” often means the opposite and what real accessibility looks like
• how to spot culture in seconds (and why surveys don’t always tell the truth)
• psychological safety as a performance strategy - not a soft perk
• why pay rises don’t automatically improve culture (and what actually does)
• the HR–leader partnership dynamic that makes or breaks companies

This episode will recalibrate how you think about performance, trust, and leadership impact.

🎧 Listen here: https://lnkd.in/ekhcSyUX

Question for you:
What’s one leadership move that resulted in better culture and performance?

Strategy & action alone do not create momentum.

It's the source beneath them.

“Be consistent.”
“Do not give up.”
“Continue, results will come.”

This advice isn’t wrong.
It’s incomplete.

High-level leaders usually don’t struggle with discipline or effort.

What they miss is something deeper:
Awareness of the real source of results.
Beneath strategy.
Beneath determination.
Beneath action.

- Your identity.
- Your beliefs.
- Your state.

Most leaders never go here.
Yet this is where performance, change, and momentum are actually shaped.

Because very often, the source of strategy and action is not clarity or alignment, but:
• Pressure
• Lack
• Proving
• Fear
• Nervous-system survival
• Exhaustion disguised as ambition

These drivers don’t create momentum.
They create resistance.
Friction.
Stuckness.

So when things aren’t working, the answer is rarely:
- more effort.
- more pushing.
- more strategy.

The most strategic move is often the opposite.

Slow down.
Recalibrate internally - before recalibrating strategy or team.

When outcomes aren’t landing, something deeper is usually asking to shift:
– A belief
– An identity edge
– A subconscious limit
– A suppressed emotion
– A body that doesn’t feel safe to expand
– A vision you’ve outgrown

Recalibrate here, and momentum follows.
Traction returns.
Movement becomes natural again.

So yes - be consistent.
Yes - don’t give up.

But first, recalibrate the inner drivers of leadership success.

Because when you shift internally, the external world responds fast.

Sometimes it’s the same actions.
With a different state.
Creating entirely different results.

👉 Where do you sense it’s time to recalibrate from the inside?

Most culture work focuses on behavior and values.

Important.
And incomplete.

Because culture isn’t only what people do.
It’s what people feel the moment they enter the room.

Culture is an energetic operating system.
An invisible field.

You sense it before anyone speaks.
Before meetings start.
Before data confirms it.

And here’s what most leaders underestimate:
That field is shaped - consciously or unconsciously - not just by what leaders do, but by the internal state leaders operate from.

Neuroscience explains this through mirror neurons.
Humans subconsciously attune to the emotional and physiological state of others.

In simple terms:
people don’t hear leaders, they feel leaders.

Which means this:
Your internal state shapes the dynamics, behaviors, and performance of your organization.

A calm, grounded leader creates psychological safety - without trying.
A stressed, reactive leader creates tension - without noticing.

This is nervous-system leadership.

And this is what I see consistently shifts when leaders change the source:
– Behavior changes without being managed
– Conversations soften without losing clarity
– Accountability strengthens without fear
– Performance increases without burnout

Because culture doesn’t need to be forced, when leadership is internally aligned.

The real question isn’t: “How do I motivate people?”

It’s: “What internal state am I transmitting every day - already?”
That’s the layer that changes everything.

-> If you want to go deeper into leading from your highest state - this is the episode to watch: https://lnkd.in/eZiVvvhh

-> If you’re ready to elevate the signal you’re sending, shape culture from the inside out and lead from a grounded, calm, confident, and coherent state - let’s have a conversation about what will support that shift.

You don’t need a survey to know if your culture is strong.

You feel it the moment you walk in.

The energy.
The pace.
The way people look at each other before they speak.

After years of working in corporate and with CEOs and leadership teams, I’ve learned this:
the strongest cultures are sensed long before they’re measured.

Surveys confirm.
Attunement reveals.

This carousel breaks down 5 signals before any data, dashboards, or engagement scores enter the room.

If you’re a leader preparing your organization for the future, this matters.
Because culture isn’t built through initiatives.

It’s built through presence, safety, and how leadership shows up - every day.

Swipe through.

Then ask yourself one question:
What does your culture communicate the moment someone enters your space?

5 Signs Your Culture Is Strong

Culture isn’t a transaction.

It’s your leadership in action.

Money rises do not buy it.
And I fully agree with what Emma Davies said in our last conversation.

Yes, paying beneath market won’t fuel engagement.
But even strong compensation won’t create trust, ownership, or collaboration.

Thriving culture and performance rise on psychological safety + trust + authentic presence + growth opportunities.

If you want a thriving culture, here are 10 moves you will need:
✅ Set/co-create the vision + priorities (people can’t perform in confusion)
✅ Ask for input and actually listen
✅ Address issues early (don’t let them grow)
✅ Recognize & appreciate effort - not only results (be specific)
✅ Give real ownership, not just tasks
✅ Create space for honest conversations (psychological safety matters)
✅ Model the standards you expect from others
✅ Show up human and vulnerable, not invincible
✅ Find out what people truly want (what drives them, what they care about)
✅ Create growth opportunities that match it (so they can evolve and stay engaged)
✅ Protect wellbeing + energy (rest, boundaries, sustainable pace)

For that, developing coaching abilities, strengthening emotional intelligence, mastering your state/energy and mindset will be key for you as a leader.

These were true game changers for me.

It’s what helps you move from being an expert…
to become the catalyst and multiplier - for people, performance, and culture.

That’s why when I partner with executives, we work on all of it - the inner leadership and the practical skills that build thriving culture fueling performance.

Because culture isn’t bought.
It’s built.
And what matters most is how you lead.

More on topic of thriving culture in this episode: https://lnkd.in/ekhcSyUX

AI accelerates efficiency and execution.

Human evolution shapes the future of leadership.

Yesterday, I was invited to participate a Singularity University event in Dubai, on exponential mindset & AI driven leadership.

My favorite was speech of John Sanei the futurist who  put one simple truth in the spotlight:

AI will replace intellectual intelligence.
Where we need to evolve is as humans.

Underlying the need to adapt by evolving From within - awareness, perception, EQ and being.


From the lens of my work, I see 3 key areas where leaders must evolve now to stay relevant for the future that unfold very fast:

1. State mastery
Your mind & body determines how you think, decide, and lead under pressure & what culture dynamic you shape.
A coherent state creates clarity, trust, safety & flow.
A survival state creates tunnel vision, stress & chaos.
Aligning & elevating your state is number one leadership superpower.


2. Identity & belief evolution
You don’t see the world as it is - you see it as you are, through the inner filters.
Your identity and belief system shape your perception, choices, leadership capacity.
Most leaders are running unaware on old conditioned program.
Evolving it expands what becomes possible for you, organization, business.

3. Intuition & inner wisdom
Data informs, but intuition decides.
In an AI-shaped world, accessing deeper inner knowing becomes the ultimate human advantage.
From here best strategies & unique approaches will come.

So the future isn’t about knowing more.
It’s about leading from a more evolved inner self.

And its already here and happening at speed.

So the question is:
are you evolving to be on the forefront?

Thank you Varun Malik & Matthieu Bonelli for inviting me to this relevant conversation shaping the future of business and humanity.

Gratitude is not a mindset trick.

It's a state that determines how you lead.

Your brain follows what you focus on.
Your energy follows your focus.

Neuroscience shows: 
gratitude strengthens new neural pathways that help you notice what you already have - instead of staying on autopilot, scanning for lack.

Gratitude activates presence.
It supports emotional regulation, resilience, and wellbeing & psychological safety.

And in challenging moments?
Gratitude is often the first place to return to.

In leadership, that matters.
Because your decisions…
your energy…
your presence…
are shaped by what you repeatedly focus on.

Today, my gratitude looked like this:
✨ Activating the gratitude state through an energetic activation designed by me (one of many inside the Extraordinary Leadership App for State & Embodiment mastery)

🦷 A kindness from the receptionist and wisdom from the doctor. Plus, learning something new.

🌊 Coffee, sunlight, and ocean waves.

💎 And gratitude anchored at home - fragrance + beauty in my office.

Gratitude is a leadership decision.

Choose it daily - especially when things feel intense.

Because what you focus on becomes what you lead from.

What are you grateful for today?

Our closest relationships are never separate from our leadership.

They quietly influence how we decide, regulate ourselves, and show up.
Often beneath the surface.

In many ways, a family is an organization.
And partners are the leadership team.

The relational dynamic between partners shapes the wider system -  including children, culture, and emotional climate.

Cultivating this relationship is one of the most important areas of my own life.

I value friendship, connection, shared purpose, and shared values with my life’s partner.

What strengthened our partnership most was evolving from within, on both sides.

☑️ Understanding and valuing our differences.
☑️ Learning to manage and reduce triggers.
☑️ Growing emotional maturity together.
☑️ Freeing from past conditioned beliefs, memories, traumas.

And creating intentional time together, 
outside of family chores.

I’m not a personal relationship coach.

But some of my clients move through profound life phases that unfold alongside our core partnership.

And these moments inevitably influence their leadership, clarity, and capacity.

With care, I want to share two resources I often recommend when it comes to closest partner relationships:

1. The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work
 — John Gottman

If you want to strengthen your relationship in a practical, research-backed way, this is foundational.

The principles focus on:
➝  Building deep friendship
➝  Managing conflict without damage
➝  Creating shared meaning
➝  Protecting respect and emotional safety

Clear. Grounded. Timeless.
And helpful in challenging common myths that quietly erode connection.

2. Conscious Uncoupling
 — Katherine Woodward Thomas

If you are separating or divorcing, this book offers a radically different orientation.

It supports:
➝  Ending a relationship without destruction
➝  Taking responsibility without self-blame
➝  Extracting wisdom rather than carrying residue
➝  Creating a clean emotional future - for yourself and others involved

Both books center consciousness, choice, and maturity.
Whether you are staying together or parting ways.

I trust this share will serve you or someone close to you.

Feel free to pass it on to leaders and friends who may need it now.

Your organization and business can’t outgrow you.

When pressure rises, complexity grows and AI challenges your relevance - strategy is not the first place to look into.

Elevating who you are and how you lead - is.
Because your impact & business results depend on your inner architecture.

Here is how it works:
→ Your state determines your leadership capacity - shaping decision quality, execution speed, and culture under pressure.
→ Your identity shapes your authority - what you tolerate, how you operate, size of your vision and how decisively you move when it matters.
→ Your beliefs define your strategic range & possibilities-  and whether growth feels constrained or inevitable.
→ Your energy creates organizational leverage - influencing momentum, performance, and how people respond to you.
→ Your ability to access intuition stabilizes leadership under pressure & uncertainty - enabling decisions that are fast, aligned, and sustainable.

Mastering mind, emotions, and inner state, changing beliefs & expanding your identity is real leadership work.

And in a world where AI replaces IQ, who you are becomes the competitive advantage.

This is the real work I support my clients with.

So they lead with inner authority, magnetic presence, and create legacy impact - while shaping future-ready organizations.

So they don’t just stay relevant - they set the direction.

Helping Founders Break the $10M Ceiling | Strategy, Cash Flow & Leadership Systems | Scaling CFO

I help founders simplify scaling.

You started your business. You pushed past $1M. Now you're stuck somewhere between $3M and $10M, working harder than ever but not moving faster.

The problem isn't effort. It's complexity.

Too many priorities competing for attention. Financials that don't tell you what to do next. A team that still needs you for everything. Growth that feels like grinding instead of building.
I fix that.

I'm Cruz Gamboa, founder of Ascend Growth Ventures. I combine Scaling Up methodology with CFO-level financial clarity to help founders cut through the noise and scale with confidence.

Before this, I spent 25 years in corporate finance - including Regional CFO at GE and strategic finance leadership at GE Capital. I've seen what works at scale. Now I bring that to founders building something that matters.

I work best with CEOs in professional services, coaching, SaaS, and service-based businesses who are ready to scale profitably without burning out.

One conversation can change your trajectory: calendly.com/cruzagamboa/call-with-cruz-ascend-30min

Cruz Gamboa

Scaling isn’t about being nice.
It’s about being clean.

Clean with roles.
Clean with standards.
Clean with truth.

You don’t fire people.
You outgrow misalignment.

As the Netflix CEO puts it:

“If I wouldn’t fight to keep you, I owe you honesty—and a generous exit.”

Not because someone failed.
But because one of three things is true:
•	The role evolved faster than the person
•	The seat was wrong from the start
•	The bar moved—and the company didn’t move it back

High-performing companies don’t drag this out.
They decide early and act with dignity.

No drama.
No ego.
No moral stories.

Just:
•	Radical clarity
•	Respectful exits
•	Fair severance
•	Clean energy left behind

Dragging misalignment is the real cruelty.
Clarity is the kindness.

Scaling isn’t loyalty to individuals.
It’s loyalty to the mission, the team, and the future.

Right people.
Right seats.
Right standards.

And when someone no longer fits?
You don’t shame them.
You set them free.

If you want to scale, stop managing discomfort.
Start architecting teams.

Managers hesitate.
Leaders make room.

#scalingup #founders #growth #ceo

Most businesses don’t fail because they’re bad.

They fail because they’re trying to be someone else.

Burger King copied McDonald’s for 30 years.
Same audience.
Same positioning.
Same “family-friendly” nonsense.

And they kept losing.

Because you can’t beat the market leader
by playing their game better than them.

By 2004, Burger King was dying.
So they asked the only question that actually matters:

“Who is already buying from us?”

Not who they *wanted*.
Not who looked good in presentations.

The truth.

The answer?
Men aged 18–34.
Heavy fast-food users.
People who came back again and again.

And those customers didn’t want:

➡️ Safe
➡️ Cute
➡️ Corporate

They wanted:

➡️ Flame-grilled food
➡️ Control
➡️ Edge
➡️ Personality

So Burger King stopped pretending.

They brought back “Have It Your Way.”
Not as a slogan.
As a strategy.

They built everything around that one customer.

Marketing got bold.
Messaging got raw.
Campaigns got polarizing.

Subservient Chicken.
Whopper Freakout.

Not for everyone.
Exactly the point.

What happened next?

Same-store sales jumped.
Franchises grew.
And net income increased 2860% in three years.

That’s not a pivot.
That’s a resurrection.

Burger King didn’t beat McDonald’s.

They sidestepped them.

McDonald’s owned families.
Burger King owned young men who wanted control.

Different customer.
Different lane.
No direct competition.

Here’s the real lesson:

If you try to serve everyone,
you get ignored by everyone.

The fastest way to grow isn’t copying the leader.

It’s finding the customer they don’t care about
and building obsessively for them.

Specific beats broad.
Always.

#ceo #founder #growth

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Most businesses don’t fail from lack of effort.

They fail from listening to themselves instead of the market.

Dunkin didn’t pivot loudly.

They pivoted quietly by watching what people kept paying for. 

Then they let the data rewrite their identity.

That’s the real upgrade:
✅ Feelings → Facts
✅ Ego → Evidence
✅ deas → Income that repeats

The market is always talking.

Your sales are the language.

So here’s the uncomfortable check:
What do people come back for again and again?

And are you building more of that… or still pitching what you’re emotionally attached to?
#scalingup #CEO #founder #growth

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cruzgamboadrive

patagonia-solar-llc

Your First Product Is Not Your Last

Bill Gates could have flown First Class every day or flown on his own plane, even as a billionaire, 

But he chose to fly Economy until around 1997.

Why?

Because it wasn’t worth the money.

Same plane.
Same arrival time.
5× the cost for a tiny upgrade.

That’s how smart people think about scale.

Most people make money and immediately upgrade their lifestyle.

Smart operators upgrade what makes money.

More spending doesn’t equal more growth.
It usually equals more noise.

When you’re scaling, ask one question:
👉 Does this change the outcome?

If it doesn’t:
Cut it.

A fancy office doesn’t increase revenue.
A luxury car doesn’t improve execution.
Premium tools don’t fix broken systems.

Wealth has one real job:
Buy back your time.

Once you have enough, the goal isn’t more stuff.
It’s fewer constraints.

Less distraction.
More focus.
More leverage.

Scale isn’t about looking successful.
It’s about building something that works without you.

That’s real wealth.
#scalingup #ceo #growth #founder

He was 78 years old
…when he launched a vodka brand
…with no distillery
…in an industry that laughed at him

Sidney Frank.
The man behind Grey Goose.

No product breakthrough.
No secret formula.
No startup hype.

Just one insight most people missed:
People don’t buy vodka. They buy status.

Sidney didn’t make better vodka.
He made a better story.

France on the label.
Luxury in the bottle design.
A price so high it forced belief.

While others chased volume,
he chased perception.

He didn’t market to the masses.
He placed Grey Goose in elite bars first.
When bartenders poured it,
the world followed.

He moved slowly.
Protected exclusivity.
Ignored trends.

8 years later:
➡ Grey Goose became the default “premium vodka”
➡ Competitors copied the look
➡ Bacardi paid $2.3 BILLION

No overnight success.
Just disciplined positioning.

Lesson most builders miss:
Innovation gets attention.
Positioning creates power.

Experience didn’t slow him down.
It sharpened him.

Long vision.
Clear narrative.
Unshakeable belief.

#founders #scalingup #businessstrategy #longtermthinking

The first $5M? Brutal.
The next $5M? Still hard.
After $10M? Growth accelerates.

Here’s the scaling truth Kevin O’Leary calls out:

The first $5M is about survival. You’re learning how to deploy capital, take smart risks, and build systems that work. 

Most entrepreneurs quit here.

The next $5M? 

Execution matters. You’ve survived the grind, learned what works, and can now scale with confidence. Decisions compound. Efficiency improves. Strategy becomes your edge.

Beyond $10M? You’re playing a different game. Capital works for you, not the other way around. Systems, processes, and disciplined execution create leverage.

Lesson: 

Wealth and business scales the same way. 

Master the first phase. 
Build discipline. 
Then scale.
#scalingup #founder #growth #ceo

Most people think Starbucks’ rewards program is about free coffee.

It isn’t.

It’s about cash flow.

Starbucks Rewards is not a loyalty perk.
It’s a prepaid deposit system.

When a customer loads money into the app, Starbucks gets paid before any coffee is made.
Accounting-wise, that money sits as deferred revenue.

But operationally?
It’s usable cash.

That’s the move.

Instead of waiting for daily transactions, Starbucks created a system where millions of customers fund operations in advance.

No interest.
No bank fees.
No dilution.
No debt.

Every preload improves:
✅ Working capital
✅ Liquidity
✅ Balance sheet strength

And Starbucks holds that cash until the customer redeems it.

Some never do.

Unused balances.
Forgotten cards.
Abandoned apps.

That “breakage” flows straight to profit.

Multiply this behavior across ~29 million users and you don’t have a rewards program anymore.

You have a deposit base.

This is why Starbucks scales so efficiently:
▶ Stores expand faster
▶ Cash flow stays predictable
▶ Capital stress stays low

They didn’t out-market competitors.
They re-engineered when money moves.

The lesson:-

Growth isn’t always about selling more.
Sometimes it’s about getting paid earlier.

Starbucks didn’t build loyalty.
They built a financial engine and wrapped it in a green apron.#ceo #scalingup #growth #ceo #founder

Most companies scale faster by cutting people.
Publix scaled stronger by owning the opposite.

95 years. Zero layoffs.
Not luck. Not culture posters.
A Scaling Up system done right.

➡ Promote from within
➡ Clear succession planning
➡ Everyone thinks like an owner
➡ Leaders built, not bought
➡ Long-term value over short-term savings

When people own the outcome, execution compounds.
When leadership is grown internally, trust scales.

This isn’t a feel-good story.
This strategy may not be your strategy. 
For Publix, It’s a people strategy that beat Walmart.

You have to find what it's true for your company. 

Scale isn’t about size.
It’s about who owns the results.

#scalingup #growth #CEO

No Layoffs?

ADIDAS LOST €1.5 BILLION.
NOT TO NIKE.
NOT TO THE MARKET.
BUT TO ITS OWN BUREAUCRACY.

January 2023:
Dead Yeezy stock.
First loss since 1992.
Slow teams. Scared decisions. Broken speed.

9 months later?
Profitable. Faster. Sharper. Beating Nike.

The turnaround wasn’t magic.
It was leadership.

One CEO did 3 things most companies avoid:
→ Cut layers
→ Killed approvals
→ Simplified what already worked

No hype.
No noise.
Just speed, clarity, and conviction.

Big lesson:
You don’t lose because you’re small.
You lose because you’re slow.

Sometimes the fix isn’t more strategy.
It’s less nonsense.

#scalingup #CEO #founders #growth

ADIDAS Story

He didn’t fail for 10 years.
The market just wasn’t ready yet.

Hwang Dong-Hyuk sold his $675 laptop to buy food.
Lived with his grandmother.
Got rejected for a decade.

Studios said:

➡️ Too weird
➡️ Too violent
➡️ Not commercial
➡️ Too complex

Same script.
Same idea.
Same “no”.

Here’s the part most people miss 👇

This wasn’t a talent problem.
It was a timing + distribution problem.

He had the product early.
The market came late.

In 2018, Netflix expands globally.
Needs bold, non-safe content.
Needs local stories with global emotion.

One exec reads the script and says:
“This is exactly what we need.”

$21.4M invested.
Zero marketing push.
No homepage love.

Result?

✓ #1 in 94 countries
✓ 1.65B viewing hours
✓ $900M+ value created
✓ Best ROI in Netflix history

Scaling lesson most founders ignore:

Great ideas don’t die.
They wait.

If you’re early:
Don’t dilute the vision to get small yeses.
Build proof elsewhere.
Survive long enough to meet the right platform.

Scaling isn’t about changing your idea.

It’s about finding the right leverage.

One right distributor > 1,000 wrong pitches.

Ten years of “weird”
became a global empire.

Sometimes the world just isn’t ready yet.

Stay in the game long enough… and it will be.
#scalingup #founderstories #growth #CEO

The World Isnt Ready

Growth without cash flow is just noise. 📉
Dives deeper into why founders who master cash strategy scale faster, stay resilient, and win long term.

Full Cash Is King podcast episode premiering Friday 🚀

🔔 Turn on notifications so you don’t miss the next clips—and the full conversation.

👉 Set your reminder & watch the premiere here:
https://lnkd.in/eBnXhnie

#CashIsKing #DevinSizemore #PodcastShorts #BusinessPodcast
#CashFlowManagement #ScalingBusiness #FounderMindset
#SustainableGrowth #WealthStrategy #EntrepreneurLife
#YouTubePremiere #PodcastReels

GIANTS don’t fall overnight.
They fall one comfortable decision at a time.

They built the category.
Owned the market.
Had money, talent, and trust.

Then they did one thing wrong 👇
They stopped adapting.

Motorola. 
Intel. 
Netscape. 
Borders.

Not stupid.
Not unlucky.
Just late.

The market doesn’t punish failure.
It punishes complacency.

Scroll through this carousel if you want a reminder of one brutal truth:
➡️ Past success is not future security.
➡️ Comfort is more dangerous than competition.
➡️ If you’re not improving, someone else is preparing to replace you.

Stay hungry.
Or become a case study.
#SCALINGUP #CEO #FOUNDER #GROWTH

CRITICAL MISTAKES

Most people don’t need a new year.

They need a new operating system.

2026 won’t reward louder marketing, more hustle, or more tools.
It will reward founders who build clarity early and compound it fast.

What I’m seeing with founders between $3M–$10M is consistent:
• When financial visibility improves, decisions slow down in the right way
• Leadership shifts from reactive to intentional
• Teams stop guessing and start executing
• Growth becomes calmer, not heavier

Breakthroughs rarely come from doing more.
They come from removing noise and tightening the system.
That’s the mindset I’m taking into 2026.

Less chaos. More leverage. Fewer moves. Better ones.

If you’re also thinking about how you want to operate differently next year, I wrote a short piece on what actually creates momentum at this stage.

DM me or write "2026", and I will share the memo I wrote for my clients and friends with you.

#ceo #founder #scalingup

He refused to touch a $1.50 hot dog, and it helped build a ~$250B business.

Jim Sinegal.
Costco co-founder.

Inflation hit.
Costs rose.
Wall Street pushed the obvious move:

“Raise prices.”

Jim’s response was blunt:

“If you raise the price of the hot dog, you’re done.”

No slides.
No consultants.
No narrative gymnastics.

Just a rule.

So Costco did what most companies won’t:

They redesigned the system.
* Built their own production capacity
* Reduced supplier dependency
* Ruthlessly simplified SKUs
* Absorbed costs where trust mattered most

Instead of passing pain to customers, they owned it.

While others:
→ Blamed inflation
→ Shrunk products
→ Optimized short-term margins

Costco:
→ Held the line on iconic prices
→ Added ~5M new member households
→ Sustained ~92% renewal rates
→ Scaled to ~$250B in annual revenue

Here’s the part most founders miss:

They weren’t protecting a hot dog.

They were protecting trust.

And trust compounds faster than margins ever will.

Most companies raise prices to survive.
Strong companies redesign economics so prices don’t have to.

Boring moves.
Brutal discipline.
Unfair long-term advantage.

So what’s the one price, promise, or principle in your business that you refuse to break, no matter the pressure?

#scalingup #founders #leadership #pricing #ceo

In 1997, Jeff Bezos was stressed for all the right reasons.

Amazon was losing money.
Online retail wasn’t proven.
Most investors thought he was wrong.

Here’s the part people miss:

Stress doesn’t come from working hard.
It comes from knowing what to do and not doing it.

So Bezos acted.
Packed boxes himself.
Made the calls.
Shipped anyway.

No fancy office.
A door for a desk.
A Honda Accord in the parking lot.

Fast forward to amazon have $2.6 TRILLION market cap.

Lessons for founders:

▶️ Action kills anxiety
▶️ Clarity is earned through execution
▶️ Fancy setups don’t build big companies
▶️ Ignore opinions, obey the math
▶️ The long game compounds quietly

If something is stressing you out right now,
it’s probably your to-do list calling you out.

#scalingup #founder #ceo #growth

If everything is a priority, nothing scales.

That’s why most companies don’t stall from lack of ideas.
They stall from lack of focus.

The Power of One fixes that brutally fast.

Here’s the rule:

At every level of the business, there is ONE thing that matters more than everything else.

Not a vision board.
Not 12 KPIs.
One outcome that moves the needle now.

Company:
→ One #1 priority for the quarter that makes growth unavoidable.

Leaders:
→ One measurable result they own. No hiding. No excuses.

Teams:
→ One clear objective that directly supports the company's priority.

Individuals:
→ One commitment that, if done daily, makes execution inevitable.

Why this works (and why most won’t do it):

➡️ Focus beats intelligence
➡️ Clarity beats motivation
➡️ Ownership beats meetings
➡️ Execution beats strategy decks

Scaling isn’t about adding more people, more tools, or more plans.

It’s about removing everything that doesn’t matter
until what’s left cannot fail.

That’s the Power of One.

What is the one thing in your business that is calling for your full dedicated attention?

What are the things you are willing to pause so that you can fix it and remove the constraint?

#scaling #founders #growth #ceo

This is Why Companies Fail

Most founders do not have a growth problem.

They have a strategy stacking problem.

That is what the 7 Strata of Strategy solves.

It is a framework created by Verne Harnish to force clarity on the 7 layers that actually drive scale, profitability, and differentiation.

Not vision statements.
 Not buzzwords.
 Real strategic leverage.

What is the 7 Strata?

A practical checklist for building a strategy that compounds.

It answers one question:

“Why should the right customer choose you, pay you more, and stay longer?”

When to use it

Use the 7 Strata when:
• Revenue has stalled between $3M to $10M
 • Sales feels harder than it should
 • Margins are thin
 • Marketing sounds generic
 • The team cannot clearly explain why you win
 • You are scaling but complexity is rising faster than profit

It is especially powerful during:
• Annual planning
 • Strategy resets
 • Go-to-market changes
 • Repositioning
 • Pre-scale phase

What each Stratum means

Words You Own
 The category in the customer’s mind.
 If you do not define it, the market will.

Sandbox
 Who you serve and where you win.
 Focus creates power.

Brand Promise
 The measurable result customers can expect.

Brand Promise Guarantee
 How you reduce risk and increase trust.

Differentiating Activities (3 to 5)
 What you do differently that competitors cannot easily copy.

X-Factor
 Your 10x to 100x structural advantage.
 Process, data, network, cost, or ecosystem.

Profit per X + BHAG
 Your economic engine and long-term target.

This is where strategy meets money.

Why 7 Strata?

Because advantage is layered.

Most companies operate with 2 or 3 layers.

Strong companies stack all 7.

Each layer multiplies the others:

Positioning
 → Focus
 → Trust
 → Differentiation
 → Structural advantage
 → Profit engine
 → Long-term dominance

Miss one, and growth leaks.

The founder truth

If your strategy cannot be explained on one page, it cannot scale.

Clarity is not a branding exercise.
 It is a profit lever.

If you are operating between $3M to $10M and growth feels heavier every year, your next breakthrough is probably not more hustle.

It is a sharper stack.

If you want, I can share the worksheet I use with founders to map this in under 60 minutes.

Just DM SEVEN

#scaling #growth #CEO #founder

Cash flow isn’t optional—it’s the #1 rule behind sustainable business growth 💸
In this episode, Devin Sizemore breaks down how smart cash strategy fuels scale, stability, and long-term success.

Full podcast episode premiering 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗝𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟮𝟯𝗿𝗱 𝗮𝘁 𝟳𝗔𝗠 𝗘𝗦𝗧 🚀

🔔 Turn on notifications so you don’t miss the next reels and the full episode.

👉 Set your reminder & watch the premiere here:
https://lnkd.in/eBnXhnie

#CashIsKing #DevinSizemore #BusinessPodcast #PodcastReels
#CashFlow #EntrepreneurMindset #ScalingBusiness #FounderTalk
#SustainableGrowth #WealthStrategy #StartupGrowth

Most founders brag about revenue.

That’s a mistake.

I’ve seen companies doing millions a year…
and the owner is still stressed, still stuck, still one bad month away from panic.

Why?

Because revenue doesn’t buy freedom.
Profit does.

More revenue without profit just gives you:

• More people
• More complexity
• More risk
• Same lifestyle

That’s not growth.
That’s leverage working against you.

Here’s the truth:

Growth does not start with selling more.
It starts with a profitable system.

There are only 3 levers that matter:

1. Price – Are you charging what it’s worth?

2. Volume – Are these the right customers?

3. Cost – Are you efficient without breaking delivery?

Everything else is noise.

Fix those three, and profit shows up.

Profit gives you:

➡️ Margin for mistakes
➡️ Proof the model works
➡️ Room to breathe

Profit turns into cash.

Cash pays the team.
Cash pays you.
Cash funds growth without stress.

Then you reinvest:
Better people.
Better systems.
Better clients.

That feeds the engine.

The engine creates more profit.

And now growth funds itself.

Stop asking:
❌ “How do we get more revenue?”

Start asking:
✅ “How do we make this system more profitable?”

Revenue is movement.
Profit is power.

If your business feels fragile, it’s because it is.

Fix the system.
The money follows.

Are you focused on more revenues or more profit in your business?  What would your business look like if you had more profit with the same amount of revenue?

#scalingup #growth #Ceo #founder

The Real Reason Teams Don’t Execute!

Most businesses don’t have a strategy problem.
They have a focus problem.

Everyone is busy.
Everyone is “working hard.”
And somehow… nothing meaningful gets finished.

That’s exactly what Rocks fix.

Rocks are the 3–5 outcomes that MUST get done in the next 90 days for the business to move forward.

Not tasks.
Not habits.
Not “stay consistent.”

Outcomes.

If you complete these Rocks, the quarter is a win.
If you don’t, the quarter failed, no matter how busy everyone was.

Why Rocks are non-negotiable:

Most teams run on to-do lists.
To-do lists reward activity, not progress.

Rocks:

➡️ Force leadership to choose what actually matters
➡️ Eliminate distraction disguised as “work”
➡️ Create alignment across teams
➡️ Make execution visible and measurable

If a company has more than 5 priorities, it has zero priorities.

How to implement Rocks the right way (no shortcuts):

1️⃣ Limit them aggressively
3–5 Rocks per quarter.
More than that means you’re avoiding hard decisions.

2️⃣ One Rock = One Owner
If two people own it, no one owns it.
Ownership creates accountability.

3️⃣ Write Rocks as finish lines
Bad Rock: “Improve marketing”
Good Rock: “Generate 500 qualified leads by March 31”

If it’s not measurable, it’s not a Rock.

4️⃣ Review weekly, not quarterly
Rocks die in companies that “set and forget.”
Weekly check-ins expose excuses early.

5️⃣ Protect Rocks from urgency
If a task doesn’t move a Rock forward,
it’s noise, no matter how loud it sounds.

Execution doesn’t fail because people are lazy.
It fails because leaders refuse to choose.

Scaling starts when focus becomes a discipline.

Are you ready to implement the same operating system Fortune 500 companies have used for decades, and today’s fastest-scaling founders rely on to grow?

DM CLARITY, lets talk about what's going on in your company.

#scalingup #CEO #growth #founder

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