The Cort Brady Podcast

As founders, we often fall into the trap of overcorrecting—from giving too much slack, to suddenly clamping down and micromanaging when things go wrong. I’ve lived that cycle, and it nearly burned me out.

In this episode, I’ll show you how I finally broke free and doubled my team’s performance—without hype speeches, new hires, or becoming a micromanager.

We’ll walk through the 3 steps that changed everything:

Align – how to create “swing” across your team with simple rhythms and over-communication.

Inputs = Outputs – how to help your team focus on the right levers to create real results.

Give Everyone a Number – the simplest, highest-ROI move you can make to increase performance by 40%.

If you’re ready to get out of the weeds and watch your team thrive, this episode is your blueprint.

I hit a point where I was lying in the shower, curled up in the fetal position, feeling like my company was crushing me. I was exhausted, overwhelmed, and asking myself, “Am I enough?”

In this episode, I share what came after that moment—and how the questions we ask ourselves as founders can either bury us or set us free. I unpack a powerful quote from Marianne Williamson, and the advice I now give to the version of me that was breaking under the pressure.

This is about the shift from “Am I enough?” to “How can I serve?” And how that one shift can change everything.

I share the story of how my CEO nearly quit in week one… and how I almost blew it. I dive into the systems I now use to make sure every hire has a clear path to success:

How to turn a scorecard into a scoreboard

Why mentorship beats micromanagement

The power of Month 1, 2, and 3 reviews

Why great teams recruit themselves

And when it’s time to fire—even if it’s uncomfortable

This is how you build a team of A players… and stop turnover before it starts.

You found a rockstar candidate… now what?

In this episode, I walk through the second-to-last step in the 5-part recruiting process that helped me go from hiring 13% A-players to 92%—selling. Not just pitching, but positioning your company as the rocket ship top talent wants to ride.

You’ll learn:

Why vision and posture matter more than perks

How to flip the script and ask the right questions

What Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory reveals about what actually makes people stay

And when to walk away, even from an A-player

The best people have options. Here’s how to make sure they choose you—without giving away the farm.

Too many founders lose confidence in hiring because they’ve been burned before. What starts as a “promising candidate” turns into another expensive mistake—and it starts to feel like hiring is just a roll of the dice.

In this episode, I walk you through the exact hiring process I’ve used to build high-performing teams—one that filters out the wolves in sheep’s clothing and surfaces only the true A-players. From resume screening to video submissions, competency tests to deep-dive interviews, you’ll learn how to create a system that separates the heck yeahs from the no’s—quickly and clearly.

If you want to build a team that frees you up—this is how you find the people who make that possible.

Most founders wait until they need to hire—then settle for “good enough” because their pipeline is dry. In this episode, I walk you through Sourcing, the second step in my 5S hiring method, and the one that took me from hiring 13% A-players to 92%.

You'll learn how to:

Define your Ideal Employee Profile

Turn current employees into recruiters

Leverage new hires for warm referrals

Work with international recruiting firms

And how to use platforms like LinkedIn and Instagram without getting buried in noise

Plus, I’ll share the mindset shift that’ll change how you hire forever—and the real reason Chick-fil-A has a longer waitlist than Harvard.

Whether you’re hiring now or not, the goal is the same: always be recruiting.

In this episode of The Cort Brady Podcast, I share one of the hardest leadership lessons I’ve ever learned—how hiring the right person for the wrong role nearly cost me everything.

I walk you through the real story of hiring my dream candidate—someone who looked perfect on paper, had glowing references, and wanted to help take my company to the next level. Two years later, I had to let him go. Why? Because I skipped one critical step: clarity.

I reveal the #1 reason founders make mis-hires and introduce the first “S” in my 5-part hiring framework: the Scorecard. This is how I went from hiring 13% A-players to 92%.

You’ll learn a simple 3-step process to get crystal clear on exactly who you need in any role—from defining the “job to be done” to setting measurable outcomes and identifying the specific skill sets and values needed to win.

Whether you're hiring your next assistant or your next COO, this episode will change how you approach team building forever.

What’s the one thing that separates winning businesses from struggling ones? A player density.

In this episode, I break down the hiring framework that took me from recruiting just 13% A-players to 92%, transforming my company and giving me the freedom I was chasing.

You’ll learn:

✅ The biggest hiring mistake most CEOs make

✅ Why C-players are killing your business (and how to fix it)

✅ My 5-step hiring framework (Scorecard, Source, Select, Sell, Sync)

If you want to build a team that runs your company better than you do, this episode is for you.

In this episode I break down the single question that transformed my business—and my life.

Like many founders, I started by doing everything—from recruiting and managing to onboarding, customer escalations, and even taking out the trash. I thought I was being a servant leader, but in reality, I was stuck in the weeds, drowning in execution while neglecting the two things that truly drive a company forward: strategy and culture.

Then I discovered the power of asking ‘Who, not How’—a shift that allowed me to scale from 0 to 80 employees while working less, not more. In this episode, I share:

✅ Why Wright’s Law proves delegation is a competitive advantage

✅ The two types of employees—and why one is worth 10x more

✅ How refusing to outsource the right things keeps you trapped

✅ The CEO’s real job once a business model is proven

This is the secret to stepping out of your business while still owning it. Your freedom starts with elevating your people.

🔔 Subscribe and stay tuned for upcoming episodes where we dive deeper into hiring A-players, building alignment, and shifting from management to coaching.

In this episode I dive into one of the toughest challenges of building a business that can thrive without you—navigating the complexities of co-founder relationships.

I share my own journey, from bootstrapping a company to 80 employees, and the difficult lessons learned while scaling with a co-founder. We’ll talk about what happens when values misalign, when radical candor isn’t enough, and when you find yourself stuck between staying with your partner or splitting ways.

You’ll hear about:

✅ Why people are both your greatest asset and your biggest liability

✅ The hard reality of putting in metrics and accountability

✅ When to let go of someone—even when it’s painful

✅ How to get clear on your values and make tough trade-offs

If you're growing fast, wrestling with people decisions, or trying to step out of the daily grind—this episode is for you.