Growth Department

Strong leadership does not start in the boardroom. It starts at home, with the personal systems that create clarity, confidence, and calm. 

Are you taking care of yourself first?

In this episode of the Growth Department podcast, Chelsey Reynolds sits down with financial advisor Jessica Scola, CFP®, to talk about the five personal finance systems every leader needs in place. This conversation is practical, human, and refreshingly shame free. 

Jessica brings her experience as a former Big Four CPA and her lived experience through major life transitions to help leaders simplify their financial lives so they can show up stronger for their teams, families, and futures.

Rather than focusing only on wealth or retirement, this episode walks through the foundational systems that reduce stress, free up mental bandwidth, and support better decision making at work and at home.

What you’ll learn in this episode

• The five essential financial systems that support clear, confident leadership
• Why estate planning and insurance matter at every income level
• How an emergency fund changes the way leaders make decisions
• What an annual financial review should actually include
• How removing shame from money conversations creates momentum and calm

This episode is a must listen for anyone who wants their personal finances to support the life and leadership they are building and maybe has been kicking that can down the road long enough.

Where you can find Jessica:

www.linkedin.com/in/jessicaaikenscola
instagram & facebook: @jessicascola
[email protected]

jessicascola.com

Growth Department slows the conversation down so founders and business leaders can go further, faster.

If this episode helped you think differently, follow the show and share it with someone building alongside you.

Get ready to rethink how you lead, hire, and scale for remote businesses. 

On this episode of the Growth Department podcast, Dennis “DM” Meador returns to share the mindset and systems that helped him grow the Legal Podcast Network to nearly 60 remote team members in under two years.

Dennis is the founder of The Legal Podcast Network and a nationally recognized expert in legal marketing. With more than 25 years of experience helping law firms grow with clarity and credibility, he brings a rare blend of entrepreneurial vision and bold creative strategy. His company helps attorneys build authority-driven podcasts that attract ideal clients and elevate their reputation, and his leadership philosophy reflects the same mix of innovation and simplicity.

You will hear how he builds trust across global teams, why delegation starts with knowing your metrics that matter, and how culture becomes the backbone of a high performing service business. If you are a founder aiming to scale without burning out, this conversation will feel like a reset button.

What you’ll learn in this episode:
• How life flow leadership helps you delegate with confidence
• The simple metrics Dennis uses to unblock departments and grow faster
• Why culture determines whether your customers stick around
• How remote teams can outperform traditional companies
• A fresh way to think about failure by replacing it with lessons

Follow DM here: 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dennismeador/

Legal Podcast Network: https://www.thelegalpodcastnetwork.com/

Growth Department slows the conversation down so founders and business leaders can go further, faster.

If this episode helped you think differently, follow the show and share it with someone building alongside you.

Culture can feel fuzzy and unimportant until it starts to cost you growth, people, and momentum. 

In this episode of the Growth Department podcast, we turn culture into something you can actually design, measure, and manage.

Strategic growth and M&A executive Matthew Person returns to unpack his concept of constrained independence and his Square Management System, a practical way to align structure, strategy, and behavior as you scale. He explains why the best companies are the most aligned, how misalignment quietly builds over years, and what leaders can do right now to create a culture where people know exactly how far they can run with their own ideas.

What you will learn in this episode:

• How constrained independence defines the real culture inside your company
• The four sides of the Square Management System and how they shape alignment
• How to diagnose misalignment using simple, repeatable questions and assessments
• The hidden costs of culture drift and inconsistent standards across departments
• Practical ways any leader or individual contributor can start tightening alignment today
  
  

You will also hear Matthew’s stories from turning around underperforming organizations, why “best place to work” labels can be misleading, and how executives can stop copying other companies and design a system that actually fits their own business. This is a playbook style conversation that will help you see your company with fresh eyes and give you language you can use with your leadership team this week.

About the guest:
Matthew Person is a strategic growth and M&A executive with nearly twenty five years of experience leading operations, GTM strategy, and global integrations. He is the Founder and CEO of Town Square Advisors and the creator of the Square Management System. His forthcoming book, The Culture of Alignment, expands this work into a practical guide for leaders who want to design aligned, scalable companies.

Here are some links we chatted about, including the square!

Matt on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewdperson/

About Square Mgmt System: https://townsquare-advisors.com/services/square-management-system

Growth Department slows the conversation down so founders and business leaders can go further, faster.

If this episode helped you think differently, follow the show and share it with someone building alongside you.

The creative world is evolving fast, and the leaders who know how to blend branding, culture, and strategic thinking are the ones shaping what comes next. 

In this episode of the Growth Department podcast, Chelsey sits down with Jesse Vuona, a multi versed digital creative director and cofounder of Fresh, a boutique agency trusted by brands like Adidas, New Balance, Converse, Panera, Foxwoods, NCAA, and YMCA.

Jesse brings a rare mix of conceptual thinking, visual design, UX expertise, and real world agency experience from his years at Mullen Advertising. He is also a musician with international touring experience, which adds its own spark to the way he approaches creative problem solving. 

What you’ll learn in this episode:

•  Why branding goes far beyond logos
•  How culture shapes the way your brand shows up in the world
•  AI - gloom and doom or exciting future for creatives?
• The new skills creative professionals need in a tech driven era
• How leaders can partner better with internal and external creative teams
• What the future of creative work may look like in the next five to ten years

ALSO- if you're newer to the creative field, Jesse packs in tons of advice for getting started and landing your first job.

You can learn more about Jesse and his team at freshsince2015.com or 

Connect with him on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/jessevuona (if we all friend him, will he start using it?!?)

Growth Department slows the conversation down so founders and business leaders can go further, faster.

If this episode helped you think differently, follow the show and share it with someone building alongside you.

Leaders everywhere are rethinking how they show up for their teams. This conversation with Julia Rock brings clarity to what modern leadership really requires. 

Her philosophy is simple: Leadership isn’t complicated, it’s just hard, and small daily actions create the culture your people feel every day.

In this episode of the Growth Department podcast, Julia shares how clarity, consistency, connection, courage, and celebration shape engaged teams and healthy workplaces. You’ll hear how to spot early signs of burnout, why micromanagement often comes from a leader’s own self-doubt, and how to create a culture where people feel seen, supported, and motivated to do their best work.

What you’ll learn in this episode:
• Why uncomplicated leadership gets better results
• How the five C’s create stronger teams and better culture
• What burnout looks like for both employees and leaders
• How to reset expectations through simple, honest conversations
• Practical steps you can take today to improve your leadership style

About the Guest
Julia C. Rock is a keynote speaker, leadership consultant, and certified executive coach dedicated to uncomplicating leadership and eliminating burnout from the modern workplace. With a rich background as a former senior finance leader in the oil and gas industry, Julia has successfully managed and scaled global teams, navigating and overcoming challenges like burnout, disengagement, and inequality. Her personal journey has empowered her to coach and mentor over 1,000 professionals and leaders in building meaningful and fulfilling careers.

Company Website: https://rockcareer.com/

Speaker Booking Website: https://www.thejuliarock.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-rock/

Substack: https://leaduncomplicated.substack.com/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@_thejuliarock

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thejuliarock/

Growth Department slows the conversation down so founders and business leaders can go further, faster.

If this episode helped you think differently, follow the show and share it with someone building alongside you.

Build faster. Spend less. Keep control. 

In this episode of the Growth Department podcast, Chelsey and no-code expert Xan Hong, founder of Drive Phase Consulting, reveal how founders ship MVPs in weeks, connect tools with APIs, and launch AI agents that act like real team members.

You’ll hear how Xan built his first app to track an ice cream truck with his daughter and how that moment turned into a thriving consulting business helping founders create software without a single line of code. He shares how to think about vendor lock, when to use no-code for internal tools, and where AI fits into the next wave of innovation.

About the Guest
Xan Hong is the founder of Drive Phase Consulting, where he helps companies turn their ideas into real products with no-code tools like Bubble.io, WeWeb, Xano, and Go High Level. As one of the first 100 certified Bubble developers globally, Xan blends technical expertise with practical business strategy to help founders move from concept to launch with speed and confidence.

What you’ll learn in this episode

• How to validate and ship an MVP in a fraction of the time
• When to replace a SaaS tool and when to extend it with APIs
• The real cost math for bringing software in-house with no-code
• Security basics that protect your data and your users
• Where AI-generated code helps and where AI agents create leverage

You can find Xan here:

Website: https://www.drivephase.co
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/drivephaseco
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drivephaseco/

PLUS! If you want to test an outbound sales agent, you can submit your contact info here to test the outbound agent and the agent will call you:  https://marketing.drivephase.co/ai-agent-demo.
Current functionality- schedule an appointment, reschedule an existing appointment, and cancel an existing appointment, questions about Drive Phase Consulting, and then a default agent just takes information to get back to person if relevant.

Growth Department slows the conversation down so founders and business leaders can go further, faster.

If this episode helped you think differently, follow the show and share it with someone building alongside you.

Send us a text

Build faster. Spend less. Keep control. 

In this episode of the Growth Department podcast, Chelsey and no-code expert Xan Hong, founder of Drive Phase Consulting, reveal how founders ship MVPs in weeks, connect tools with APIs, and launch AI agents that act like real team members.

You’ll hear how Xan built his first app to track an ice cream truck with his daughter and how that moment turned into a thriving consulting business helping founders create software without a single line of code. He shares how to think about vendor lock, when to use no-code for internal tools, and where AI fits into the next wave of innovation.

About the Guest
Xan Hong is the founder of Drive Phase Consulting, where he helps companies turn their ideas into real products with no-code tools like Bubble.io, WeWeb, Xano, and Go High Level. As one of the first 100 certified Bubble developers globally, Xan blends technical expertise with practical business strategy to help founders move from concept to launch with speed and confidence.

What you’ll learn in this episode

• How to validate and ship an MVP in a fraction of the time
• When to replace a SaaS tool and when to extend it with APIs
• The real cost math for bringing software in-house with no-code
• Security basics that protect your data and your users
• Where AI-generated code helps and where AI agents create leverage

You can find Xan here:

Website: https://www.drivephase.co
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/drivephaseco
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drivephaseco/

PLUS! If you want to test an outbound sales agent, you can submit your contact info here to test the outbound agent and the agent will call you:  https://marketing.drivephase.co/ai-agent-demo.
Current functionality- schedule an appointment, reschedule an existing appointment, and cancel an existing appointment, questions about Drive Phase Consulting, and then a default agent just takes information to get back to person if relevant.

If you found enjoyed this episode, please consider sharing with a friend and leaving a review so others can find us!
Each week, we interview founders, business leaders, and experts in their field about how to grow a business and the personal growth that comes with the journey. #LetsGrow !

Want to stay in the know with all-things Growth Department?

Here's where you can stay in touch:

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Ethical persuasion is not slick sales tactics or trickery. 

Ethical persuasion is a super power that unlocks how people truly make decisions and how to communicate in ways that feel genuine for everyone involved.

In this episode of the Growth Department podcast, Chelsey Reynolds sits down with Patrick Van Der Burght, a Cialdini Certified Trainer and co-author of How to Hear Yes More Often. Patrick shares the science of ethical persuasion, explaining why most of our decisions come from intuition, not logic, and how you can use these insights to sell, lead, and influence with integrity.

Chelsey and Patrick explore Daniel Kahneman’s groundbreaking research, the seven universal principles of persuasion, and how to inspire action in a way that builds long-term trust. You will come away with a stronger understanding of how to communicate with purpose and authenticity.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

• The difference between persuasion and manipulation
• How “System 1 and System 2” thinking shapes every decision your customers make
• The seven universal principles of persuasion and how to use them ethically
• Why credibility and precision build more trust than hype ever could
• How to create lasting success through ethical influence
  
  

About the Guest

Patrick Van Der Burght is a Cialdini Certified Trainer in Ethical Persuasion, speaker, and co-author of How to Hear YES More Often. With a background in real estate, aviation, retail, and health, he has trained sales teams and executives across industries to communicate with integrity and convert more effectively using the science of human decision-making.

Patrick is a Founding Member of the Cialdini Institute and has been personally endorsed by Dr. Robert Cialdini. Through his company EthicalPersuasion.com.au, he helps individuals and organizations master ethical influence while advocating for young adults to learn these life-changing skills early.

Follow Patrick here:

Website: https://ethicalpersuasion.com.au/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ethicalpersuasion
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-van-der-burght/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ethicalpersuasion/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ethical_persuasion/
Twitter: https://x.com/yesmoreoften
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ethicalpersuasion
Book: https://yesmoreoften.com/

FREE Give-Away: Downloadable e-book (no email required, just download), and/or 7-day Influence Challenge: https://ethicalpersuasion.com.au/free-influence-persuasion/ 

Growth Department slows the conversation down so founders and business leaders can go further, faster.

If this episode helped you think differently, follow the show and share it with someone building alongside you.

Curious about AI but short on time? This episode of the Growth Department podcast gives leaders and operators a plain-English playbook. Chelsey sits down with AI engineering leader and author Sairam Sundaresan to unpack what actually moves the needle. No jargon. Just practical wins you can plug into your business this week.

You will hear how Sairam thinks about AI literacy for leaders, why simple tools beat shiny toys, and where agents fit in. He also shares a 30-minutes-a-day routine to build real capability without hiring a full team. His new book, AI For The Rest Of Us, is packed with hand-drawn illustrations and clear examples. We link it below.

About Sairam Sundaresan

Sairam is one of LinkedIn’s top AI creators and a global thought leader in practical AI adoption. He leads teams building computer vision systems that help machines understand the world, and his work has been featured in Forbes and WIRED. 

Beyond the lab, he’s helping business leaders make sense of AI through his newsletter Gradient Ascent and his new book AI For The Rest Of Us, designed to help non-technical professionals learn AI in plain English.

What you’ll learn in this episode

• A simple way to spot hype versus real value in AI so you invest wisely.
• How to map a workflow and use AI to remove repetitive steps.
• What AI agents are and when they outperform basic chat.
• Smart privacy habits for small teams without enterprise contracts.
• A daily 30-minute practice that compounds into serious leverage.

Follow Sairam:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sairam-sundaresan/

Read AI for the Rest of Us:

https://www.amazon.com/AI-Rest-Us-Illustrated-Introduction/dp/B0F29THNLT

Growth Department slows the conversation down so founders and business leaders can go further, faster.

If this episode helped you think differently, follow the show and share it with someone building alongside you.

Modern buyers are tuning out the cold pitch, so smart founders and sales leaders are changing how they sell.

In this episode of the Growth Department podcast, Chelsey sits down with Joe Candido, founder of Fifth Element Associates and best selling author of Leadership Selling, to explore how sales leaders can ditch outdated tactics and start leading with outcomes that matter.

Joe breaks down why traditional selling is dead, what it means to “sell to leaders,” and how the best sales teams are closing more deals with trust, curiosity, and connection. He also shares how AI can actually improve the human side of selling when used the right way (no slop, please).

If you’ve ever wondered how to transform your sales team from transactional and "dialing for dollars" into a truly relationship-driven team, this one’s for you.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

• How founders can drive results without old-school pitching
• Why relationships outperform cold calls every time
• The four stages of Leadership Selling (and how to apply them)
• How to use AI for smarter prospecting and stronger relationships
• Why top sales teams focus on performance, not just enablement tools
  
  

💡 Subscribe to the Growth Department podcast for more leader-focused conversations that help you grow smarter and lead stronger.

About Joe Candido
Founder, Sales Consultant, and Author of Leadership Selling

Joe leads Fifth Element Associates and Executive Crash Course, helping CEOs, business owners, and sales leaders build high-performing, customer-centric sales organizations. His team has worked across telecommunications, healthcare, and more—driving growth through strategy, leadership, and real-world performance.

Learn more and get the book at www.leadership-selling.com 

Follow Joe on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joe-candido/

Growth Department slows the conversation down so founders and business leaders can go further, faster.

If this episode helped you think differently, follow the show and share it with someone building alongside you.