What makes purpose more than a message on the wall?

In this episode, Richard speaks with Jeff Grass, CEO of HUNGRY Marketplace, about building a purpose-driven marketplace, pivoting quickly when reality changes, and the CEO evolution required when the founder has to stop jumping into the middle of every problem.

HUNGRY's model is not just corporate catering with a nicer story. The platform is designed to improve outcomes for chefs, clients, communities and the team. Independent chefs get a stronger entrepreneurial path, clients get better variety and reliability, communities receive meals, and the business builds culture around a wider definition of value.

For CEO leadership and scaling culture, this episode shows why purpose becomes commercially powerful when it changes the business model itself. It also shows the founder's next constraint: as the company expands, Jeff has to protect strategic time, empower the team and resist the pull of being needed in every operational issue.

You'll learn:

• Why purpose has to affect the value proposition, not just the language
• How marketplace design can create wins for multiple stakeholder groups
• Why positivity matters in a startup culture without becoming denial
• How a failed first model taught Jeff to pivot faster with investors
• Why the CEO bottleneck often appears as the desire to jump in and solve everything

Resources mentioned:

• HUNGRY Marketplace: https://tryhungry.com/

---

BONUS RESOURCE – ACCOUNTABILITY CHARTER

Turn your leadership team into a strategic growth engine, without micromanaging or drama. Download and implement the Accountability Charter today.

https://xquadrant.com/go/accountability/

---

GO DOWN THE XQUADRANT RABBIT HOLE

📧 The Leverage Letter

https://xquadrant.com/letter

📒 The 10X Reckoning

https://xquadrant.com/reckoning/

📕 Making TIME For Strategy

https://xquadrant.com/time/

🎧 The Defining Move Podcast

https://xquadrant.com/podcast/

---

NEW SHOW BRAND & FORMAT

This episode was released as part of The Impact Multiplier CEO Podcast. We’ve now rebranded the show to The Defining Move, and upgraded the format.

The Defining Move is a podcast about CEO leadership for scaling businesses, and the CEO transformation that drives the next level of growth.

Check out our newest episodes, in which Richard Medcalf hands one of the world's most accomplished leaders a fictional defining move, already made, that changes the trajectory of their business.

You’ll learn from how they think and how they lead when the stakes rise. And you’ll discover the hidden sources of leadership leverage that take them to their next level, and will take you to yours.

https://xquadrant.com/podcast

Can a purpose brand win against multinationals without asking customers to buy charity?

In this episode, Richard speaks with David Simnick, CEO of Soapbox, about mission-led consumer products, everyday philanthropy, hiring for ownership and the strategic leadership required to compete on the customer's real buying criteria.

Soapbox learned the hard way that mission alone does not win the shelf. Customers came looking for excellent shampoo, conditioner or soap, not a donation pitch. The breakthrough was to make the product strong enough to beat larger competitors first, then let the give-back mission become the repeat driver and deeper reason to stay loyal.

For CEO leadership for scaling businesses, this is a practical lesson in purpose without preaching. Impact scales when the offer is good enough to win on its own merits and the business keeps sharpening focus, team ownership and the founder's role as it grows.

You'll learn:

• Why consumer brands cannot rely on mission as the first reason to buy
• How Soapbox turned soap and hygiene education into a measurable impact model
• Why the give-back story became the repeat driver rather than the shelf opener
• How David hires for people who can own mistakes and learn quickly
• The three CEO jobs David uses to stay focused: capital, vision and who is on the boat

Resources mentioned:

• Soapbox: https://soapbox.co/
• Soapbox email: [email protected]
• Discount code mentioned in the episode: impact multiplier
• David Simnick is on LinkedIn and Instagram.

---

BONUS RESOURCE – ACCOUNTABILITY CHARTER

Turn your leadership team into a strategic growth engine, without micromanaging or drama. Download and implement the Accountability Charter today.

https://xquadrant.com/go/accountability/

---

GO DOWN THE XQUADRANT RABBIT HOLE

📧 The Leverage Letter

https://xquadrant.com/letter

📒 The 10X Reckoning

https://xquadrant.com/reckoning/

📕 Making TIME For Strategy

https://xquadrant.com/time/

🎧 The Defining Move Podcast

https://xquadrant.com/podcast/

---

NEW SHOW BRAND & FORMAT

This episode was released as part of The Impact Multiplier CEO Podcast. We’ve now rebranded the show to The Defining Move, and upgraded the format.

The Defining Move is a podcast about CEO leadership for scaling businesses, and the CEO transformation that drives the next level of growth.

Check out our newest episodes, in which Richard Medcalf hands one of the world's most accomplished leaders a fictional defining move, already made, that changes the trajectory of their business.

You’ll learn from how they think and how they lead when the stakes rise. And you’ll discover the hidden sources of leadership leverage that take them to their next level, and will take you to yours.

https://xquadrant.com/podcast

Can servant leadership go too far and start hurting the business it is meant to serve?

In this episode, Richard speaks with Aaron Cruikshank, CEO of CTRS, about radical transparency, life-changing employment, market intelligence and the painful leadership lesson behind his line that servant leadership "bit me on the ass".

Aaron built his agency with a deep commitment to treating people better than the employers he saw exploit workers earlier in life. But a difficult year taught him that serving employees cannot mean abandoning the needs of the CEO, the owner or the company itself. The real work is building a culture where people are treated well, understand the business reality and pull together around the mission.

For CEO leadership for scaling businesses, this episode is about the boundary between care and overextension. It is also a reminder that transparency can create trust when people understand the sacrifices being made, the numbers behind the business and the role they play in helping the company move forward.

You'll learn:

• Why servant leadership can become distorted when the leader's needs disappear from the equation
• How radical transparency helped Aaron's team face a difficult business period together
• Why market intelligence starts with looking outside the company before making strategic decisions
• How CTRS uses pro bono work to multiply impact through nonprofits
• Why Aaron's next leadership shift is removing himself as the linchpin, especially in sales

Resources mentioned:

• CTRS: https://www.ctrs.co/
• Aaron Cruikshank is on LinkedIn.

---

BONUS RESOURCE – ACCOUNTABILITY CHARTER

Turn your leadership team into a strategic growth engine, without micromanaging or drama. Download and implement the Accountability Charter today.

https://xquadrant.com/go/accountability/

---

GO DOWN THE XQUADRANT RABBIT HOLE

📧 The Leverage Letter

https://xquadrant.com/letter

📒 The 10X Reckoning

https://xquadrant.com/reckoning/

📕 Making TIME For Strategy

https://xquadrant.com/time/

🎧 The Defining Move Podcast

https://xquadrant.com/podcast/

---

NEW SHOW BRAND & FORMAT

This episode was released as part of The Impact Multiplier CEO Podcast. We’ve now rebranded the show to The Defining Move, and upgraded the format.

The Defining Move is a podcast about CEO leadership for scaling businesses, and the CEO transformation that drives the next level of growth.

Check out our newest episodes, in which Richard Medcalf hands one of the world's most accomplished leaders a fictional defining move, already made, that changes the trajectory of their business.

You’ll learn from how they think and how they lead when the stakes rise. And you’ll discover the hidden sources of leadership leverage that take them to their next level, and will take you to yours.

https://xquadrant.com/podcast

What if the problem is not your people, but the game your organisation has taught them to play?

In this episode, Richard speaks with Mark Poppenborg, CEO of Intrinsify, about why leaders should stop trying to change individuals and start changing the context that shapes behaviour.

Mark's central provocation is that you can only respect people fully when you stop blaming their character for behaviour produced by the system. Targets, policies, budgets, approval rules, job titles and management rituals all teach people what to optimise for. If those rules reward internal compliance over customer value, no amount of motivational training will create real change.

For CEO transformation and scaling culture, this episode is a practical challenge to the machine view of organisations. If you want ownership, innovation or better customer outcomes, start with a real business problem, create a protected safe-haven project and change the playing field where new behaviour can emerge.

You'll learn:

• Why context shapes behaviour more powerfully than personality in larger organisations
• How management systems can accidentally create the disengagement they are trying to fix
• Why change work should start with a real business problem, not a vague transformation concept
• How safe-haven projects protect new behaviour while the old system pushes back
• Why simplifying or removing management practices can create more value than adding another rule

Resources mentioned:

• Intrinsify: https://intrinsify.com/
• Mark Poppenborg is easy to find online under his name.

---

BONUS RESOURCE – ACCOUNTABILITY CHARTER

Turn your leadership team into a strategic growth engine, without micromanaging or drama. Download and implement the Accountability Charter today.

https://xquadrant.com/go/accountability/

---

GO DOWN THE XQUADRANT RABBIT HOLE

📧 The Leverage Letter

https://xquadrant.com/letter

📒 The 10X Reckoning

https://xquadrant.com/reckoning/

📕 Making TIME For Strategy

https://xquadrant.com/time/

🎧 The Defining Move Podcast

https://xquadrant.com/podcast/

---

NEW SHOW BRAND & FORMAT

This episode was released as part of The Impact Multiplier CEO Podcast. We’ve now rebranded the show to The Defining Move, and upgraded the format.

The Defining Move is a podcast about CEO leadership for scaling businesses, and the CEO transformation that drives the next level of growth.

Check out our newest episodes, in which Richard Medcalf hands one of the world's most accomplished leaders a fictional defining move, already made, that changes the trajectory of their business.

You’ll learn from how they think and how they lead when the stakes rise. And you’ll discover the hidden sources of leadership leverage that take them to their next level, and will take you to yours.

https://xquadrant.com/podcast

How do you build a learning platform that helps young people think differently instead of trapping them inside the same personalised bubbles?

In this episode, Richard speaks with Sahra-Josephine Hjorth, CEO of CanopyLAB, about trusted learning spaces, accidental entrepreneurship, scaling through partners and the leadership work of staying true to your values under pressure.

Sahra-Josephine saw that civil society had been left behind as young people's learning and identity formation moved online. Rather than becoming the content expert on every topic, she built a platform where NGOs and educators could bring trusted knowledge to young people, teachers and communities at scale.

For strategic leadership and CEO leadership for scaling businesses, this episode is about building the platform layer that lets others create impact. It also shows the cost of fast growth: during the pandemic, CanopyLAB had to shift from outbound sales to inbound demand, onboard hundreds of customers, support teachers and learn which opportunities were worth pursuing.

You'll learn:

• Why trusted learning spaces matter when young people are surrounded by algorithmic content
• How CanopyLAB created a win-win-win between NGOs, teachers and learners
• What changed when the pandemic forced the business into an inbound growth model
• Why scaling fast requires sharper choices about which customers deserve human support
• How Sahra-Josephine thinks about mistakes, perfectionism and values under pressure

Resources mentioned:

• CanopyLAB: https://www.canopylab.com/
• Sahra-Josephine Hjorth is on Instagram.

---

BONUS RESOURCE – ACCOUNTABILITY CHARTER

Turn your leadership team into a strategic growth engine, without micromanaging or drama. Download and implement the Accountability Charter today.

https://xquadrant.com/go/accountability/

---

GO DOWN THE XQUADRANT RABBIT HOLE

📧 The Leverage Letter

https://xquadrant.com/letter

📒 The 10X Reckoning

https://xquadrant.com/reckoning/

📕 Making TIME For Strategy

https://xquadrant.com/time/

🎧 The Defining Move Podcast

https://xquadrant.com/podcast/

---

NEW SHOW BRAND & FORMAT

This episode was released as part of The Impact Multiplier CEO Podcast. We’ve now rebranded the show to The Defining Move, and upgraded the format.

The Defining Move is a podcast about CEO leadership for scaling businesses, and the CEO transformation that drives the next level of growth.

Check out our newest episodes, in which Richard Medcalf hands one of the world's most accomplished leaders a fictional defining move, already made, that changes the trajectory of their business.

You’ll learn from how they think and how they lead when the stakes rise. And you’ll discover the hidden sources of leadership leverage that take them to their next level, and will take you to yours.

https://xquadrant.com/podcast

What breaks first when your impact ambition moves from impressive progress to 10X scale?

In this episode, Richard speaks with Sebastian DiGrande, CEO of Plastic Credit Exchange, about bending the curve on plastic waste, building trust in an impact marketplace and the CEO leadership required when the technology is only part of the challenge.

PCX is trying to accelerate a circular economy where no plastic ends up in nature. The platform connects companies and individuals with verified plastic-waste diversion projects through a transparent marketplace and blockchain registry. But Sebastian is clear that the harder work is not simply the platform. It is awareness, trust, high-status participation, regulation and the human relationships that make adoption spread.

For CEO leadership for scaling businesses, this episode is about the move from building infrastructure to activating an ecosystem. When the mission is bigger than the company, the question becomes: what conversation, partnership or visible commitment could change the adoption curve?

You'll learn:

• How PCX turns plastic-waste diversion into a transparent marketplace
• Why trust and verification matter in impact markets
• What changes when a mission moves from 100,000 tonnes toward million-tonne ambition
• Why the CEO's job becomes ecosystem influence when adoption is harder than technology
• How to use the one-conversation question to identify a leverage point for scale

Resources mentioned:

• PCX Markets: https://www.pcxmarkets.com/

---

BONUS RESOURCE – ACCOUNTABILITY CHARTER

Turn your leadership team into a strategic growth engine, without micromanaging or drama. Download and implement the Accountability Charter today.

https://xquadrant.com/go/accountability/

---

GO DOWN THE XQUADRANT RABBIT HOLE

📧 The Leverage Letter

https://xquadrant.com/letter

📒 The 10X Reckoning

https://xquadrant.com/reckoning/

📕 Making TIME For Strategy

https://xquadrant.com/time/

🎧 The Defining Move Podcast

https://xquadrant.com/podcast/

---

NEW SHOW BRAND & FORMAT

This episode was released as part of The Impact Multiplier CEO Podcast. We’ve now rebranded the show to The Defining Move, and upgraded the format.

The Defining Move is a podcast about CEO leadership for scaling businesses, and the CEO transformation that drives the next level of growth.

Check out our newest episodes, in which Richard Medcalf hands one of the world's most accomplished leaders a fictional defining move, already made, that changes the trajectory of their business.

You’ll learn from how they think and how they lead when the stakes rise. And you’ll discover the hidden sources of leadership leverage that take them to their next level, and will take you to yours.

https://xquadrant.com/podcast

What if the most powerful route to impact is not leaving a conservative industry, but redesigning its business model from the inside?

In this episode, Richard speaks with Randell Leach, CEO of Beneficial State Bank, about finance, community prosperity, environmental responsibility and the leadership practices that help him show up with clarity.

Randell's story is not a generic purpose-in-business story. It is about recognising that banking is already a leverage point: deposits, lending, payments and capital allocation shape what becomes possible in a community. Beneficial State Bank was designed from the start to optimise for people, planet and profit, with governance, ownership and culture aligned around that triple bottom line.

For CEO leadership and vision execution, this episode asks a deeper question: what would happen if the default settings of an industry changed? In banking, a different model can shift credit access, affordable housing, environmental outcomes and community wealth through capital rails that already exist.

You'll learn:

• Why Randell's failed startup helped him find the intersection of finance, people and nature
• How a bank can act as a social intermediary rather than an extractor
• Why serving low-income communities requires first-principles design, not predatory economics
• How governance, ownership and B Corp commitments help protect the model
• Why Randell uses rapid self-assessment to understand what energy he is bringing into each moment

Resources mentioned:

• Beneficial State Bank: https://www.beneficialstatebank.com/

---

BONUS RESOURCE – ACCOUNTABILITY CHARTER

Turn your leadership team into a strategic growth engine, without micromanaging or drama. Download and implement the Accountability Charter today.

https://xquadrant.com/go/accountability/

---

GO DOWN THE XQUADRANT RABBIT HOLE

📧 The Leverage Letter

https://xquadrant.com/letter

📒 The 10X Reckoning

https://xquadrant.com/reckoning/

📕 Making TIME For Strategy

https://xquadrant.com/time/

🎧 The Defining Move Podcast

https://xquadrant.com/podcast/

---

NEW SHOW BRAND & FORMAT

This episode was released as part of The Impact Multiplier CEO Podcast. We’ve now rebranded the show to The Defining Move, and upgraded the format.

The Defining Move is a podcast about CEO leadership for scaling businesses, and the CEO transformation that drives the next level of growth.

Check out our newest episodes, in which Richard Medcalf hands one of the world's most accomplished leaders a fictional defining move, already made, that changes the trajectory of their business.

You’ll learn from how they think and how they lead when the stakes rise. And you’ll discover the hidden sources of leadership leverage that take them to their next level, and will take you to yours.

https://xquadrant.com/podcast

What if the real test of CEO transformation is not whether you can build a valuable company, but whether that value changes the lives of the people who helped create it?

In this episode, Richard speaks with Kerry Siggins, CEO of StoneAge Tools, about the personal and organisational shift behind her mission to create 1000 millionaires through employee ownership.

Kerry's story starts with a painful rock-bottom moment and becomes a lesson in ownership, accountability and scaling culture. StoneAge is not just trying to grow a manufacturing and technology business. It is trying to prove that capitalism can distribute wealth more fairly when employees are trusted to think and act like owners.

For scaling founders and CEOs, this is a powerful case study in Leadership Leverage. If everything depends on the CEO's energy, care and personal galvanising, the business eventually hits a ceiling. Kerry's challenge is to build the executive team, operating model and ownership culture that can scale care without her being in every room.

You'll learn:

• Why employee ownership only works when accountability culture is already strong
• How Kerry thinks about the difference between structural ownership and an ownership mindset
• The hiring questions she uses to test whether people take responsibility or deflect blame
• Why a big strategic pivot failed when the go-to-market model was too broad
• What it takes for a CEO to move from fixer and galvaniser to builder of a team that can scale the mission

The standout idea: wealth creation becomes more powerful when the people creating the value have a real stake in the outcome.

Resources mentioned:

• Kerry Siggins: http://kerrysiggins.com/
• StoneAge Holdings: http://stoneageholdings.com/

---

BONUS RESOURCE – ACCOUNTABILITY CHARTER

Turn your leadership team into a strategic growth engine, without micromanaging or drama. Download and implement the Accountability Charter today.

https://xquadrant.com/go/accountability/

---

GO DOWN THE XQUADRANT RABBIT HOLE

📧 The Leverage Letter

https://xquadrant.com/letter

📒 The 10X Reckoning

https://xquadrant.com/reckoning/

📕 Making TIME For Strategy

https://xquadrant.com/time/

🎧 The Defining Move Podcast

https://xquadrant.com/podcast/

---

NEW SHOW BRAND & FORMAT

This episode was released as part of The Impact Multiplier CEO Podcast. We’ve now rebranded the show to The Defining Move, and upgraded the format.

The Defining Move is a podcast about CEO leadership for scaling businesses, and the CEO transformation that drives the next level of growth.

Check out our newest episodes, in which Richard Medcalf hands one of the world's most accomplished leaders a fictional defining move, already made, that changes the trajectory of their business.

You’ll learn from how they think and how they lead when the stakes rise. And you’ll discover the hidden sources of leadership leverage that take them to their next level, and will take you to yours.

https://xquadrant.com/podcast

What changes when love is not a soft value on the wall, but a real CEO leadership principle?

In this episode, Richard speaks with Alper Utku, CEO of Amsterdam Tech, about building a new-generation university that links education, employment and leadership development.

Alper's work is built around a practical impact problem: young people need skills, identity and a pathway into meaningful work. But his deeper leadership argument is more provocative. He believes business can use power in service of love, and that impact-led organisations need both connection and decisive action if they want to change systems at scale.

For scaling founders and CEOs, this conversation is about Strategic Leadership in a regulated, slow-moving sector. Alper did not wait for the traditional university model to modernise itself. He built a different ecosystem around jobs, skills and personal growth, then worked through the constraints of regulation, funding and institutional resistance.

You'll learn:

• Why impact can keep a CEO moving when a normal business opportunity would not be enough
• How Amsterdam Tech challenges traditional assumptions about teachers, campuses and assessment
• Why love and power both matter in leadership, and why the order matters
• How to think about system change when the legacy model is protected by regulation
• What CEOs can learn from education about building people, not just capability

The standout idea: love in business becomes practical when it shapes what the organisation is willing to build, challenge and endure.

Resources mentioned:

• Alper Utku on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alperutku/
• Amsterdam Tech: https://amsterdam.tech/

---

BONUS RESOURCE – ACCOUNTABILITY CHARTER

Turn your leadership team into a strategic growth engine, without micromanaging or drama. Download and implement the Accountability Charter today.

https://xquadrant.com/go/accountability/

---

GO DOWN THE XQUADRANT RABBIT HOLE

📧 The Leverage Letter

https://xquadrant.com/letter

📒 The 10X Reckoning

https://xquadrant.com/reckoning/

📕 Making TIME For Strategy

https://xquadrant.com/time/

🎧 The Defining Move Podcast

https://xquadrant.com/podcast/

---

NEW SHOW BRAND & FORMAT

This episode was released as part of The Impact Multiplier CEO Podcast. We’ve now rebranded the show to The Defining Move, and upgraded the format.

The Defining Move is a podcast about CEO leadership for scaling businesses, and the CEO transformation that drives the next level of growth.

Check out our newest episodes, in which Richard Medcalf hands one of the world's most accomplished leaders a fictional defining move, already made, that changes the trajectory of their business.

You’ll learn from how they think and how they lead when the stakes rise. And you’ll discover the hidden sources of leadership leverage that take them to their next level, and will take you to yours.

https://xquadrant.com/podcast

How do you keep purpose alive when your company is growing fast and your team is distributed across the world?

In this episode, Richard speaks with Brad Stevens, CEO of Outsource Access, about building a 500-person offshore virtual services firm with purpose embedded into the operating rhythm.

Brad's work is a useful scaling culture case study because purpose is not treated as a slogan. It shows up in employee questions, quarterly initiatives, social impact commitments and the way the organisation thinks about opportunity for people in the Philippines.

For anyone thinking seriously about CEO leadership for scaling businesses, the core issue is familiar: culture can feel strong when the company is small and founder-led, then weaken as layers, locations and complexity increase. Brad's answer is to turn purpose into repeated practices, so people keep translating it into tangible action as the business grows.

You'll learn:

• How Brad built Outsource Access as a force-for-good business from the start
• The framework he uses to keep purpose connected to daily work
• The quarterly question that turns employee purpose into concrete initiatives
• Why mental expansion matters when a CEO wants to multiply impact
• How a distributed workforce can still carry a shared mission with clarity

The standout idea: purpose survives scale when it becomes a management practice, not just a founder belief.

Resources mentioned:

• Outsource Access: http://outsourceaccess.com/
• Brad Stevens on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradstevens44/
• Email [email protected] with "multiplier" in the subject line
• 10X is Easier Than 2X review: https://xquadrant.com/10x-is-easier-than-2x-dan-sullivan-benjamin-hardy/

---

BONUS RESOURCE – ACCOUNTABILITY CHARTER

Turn your leadership team into a strategic growth engine, without micromanaging or drama. Download and implement the Accountability Charter today.

https://xquadrant.com/go/accountability/

---

GO DOWN THE XQUADRANT RABBIT HOLE

📧 The Leverage Letter

https://xquadrant.com/letter

📒 The 10X Reckoning

https://xquadrant.com/reckoning/

📕 Making TIME For Strategy

https://xquadrant.com/time/

🎧 The Defining Move Podcast

https://xquadrant.com/podcast/

---

NEW SHOW BRAND & FORMAT

This episode was released as part of The Impact Multiplier CEO Podcast. We’ve now rebranded the show to The Defining Move, and upgraded the format.

The Defining Move is a podcast about CEO leadership for scaling businesses, and the CEO transformation that drives the next level of growth.

Check out our newest episodes, in which Richard Medcalf hands one of the world's most accomplished leaders a fictional defining move, already made, that changes the trajectory of their business.

You’ll learn from how they think and how they lead when the stakes rise. And you’ll discover the hidden sources of leadership leverage that take them to their next level, and will take you to yours.

https://xquadrant.com/podcast