The Business Leader's Legacy Podcast

Build a Firm That Outlasts You: David Martin on Legacy | The Business Leader’s Legacy Podcast

Chris Bruner — Tue, 20 Oct 2026 14:00:00 GMT

What happens to a business built on relationships when its founder is ready to step back? David Martin has worked in brand strategy since the mid-1980s, and he is now building a firm that can last beyond him. Hear how he keeps his expertise fresh and why he wants a legacy that goes beyond ego.

David Martin is the founder and president of Catalyst Branding. He spent more than a decade as president and CEO of Interbrand North America, where he helped build deeper, long-term client partnerships instead of one-off projects.

What you’ll hear

Why expertise has a shelf life, and how to keep yours fresh in a fast-changing business
How a virtual network of senior partners helps a small firm move fast and keep fees fair
How to build your next-generation network when your best relationships are retiring
How to use AI as a learning tool by checking one LLM against the others, and why professional judgment still sets leaders apart
How to use a tough year to capture your best thinking and plan a firm that outlasts its founder

Connect with David Martin
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-john-martin-csuite-advisory
Website: https://catalystbranding.com

About Chris
Chris Bruner is the CEO and Founder of Simple AI Solutions, based in El Cajon, CA. He helps small and mid-sized businesses bring in more clients and spend less time on busywork using AI plus human systems. His background is in healthcare operations and process improvement, with an MBA, an MS in Management, and a Six Sigma Green Belt.

About the show
The Business Leader’s Legacy Podcast goes behind the scenes with business leaders to uncover their vision, strategies, and the challenges they’ve faced along the way.

Connect with Chris
Website: https://www.simpleaisolutions.org
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisbrunersimpleaisolutions/
Podcast LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-business-leaders-legacy-podcast/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@The-Business-Leaders-Legacy

If this one hit home, subscribe and share it with a leader who is thinking about what comes next.
#BrandStrategy #BusinessLegacy #SuccessionPlanning #SmallBusinessLeadership

Sales Systems That Last: Keith Bradt on Fractional Sales | The Business Leader’s Legacy Podcast

Chris Bruner — Thu, 15 Oct 2026 14:00:00 GMT

A new sales hire brings in a burst of business, then it flattens out around month eight. Keith Bradt has watched that happen for 20 years, and he built his firm to fix the sales process behind it.

Keith is the Owner and Sales Development Director of Kallan Sales Development in East Rochester, New York. He started out in applications and design engineering, moved up through technical sales and sales leadership, and now helps engineering-based manufacturers and founder-led businesses build sales systems that keep working after he walks away.

What you’ll hear:

Why a new sales hire’s book of business usually plateaus within six to eight months
Why your sales reps are the last people who should be cold calling
How to pick AI and sales tools when a new one shows up every week, starting with knowing your own sales process
Why an engineer had to rethink how he sells his own fractional sales business, and why strategic partners now matter more than knocking on doors
How flipping your messaging from services to problems helps buyers see the result
What it means to leave a client’s team better than you found it

Connect with Keith:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keithbradt
Website: https://kallansalesdev.com

About Chris:
Chris Bruner is the CEO and Founder of Simple AI Solutions, based in El Cajon, CA. He helps small and mid-sized businesses bring in more clients and spend less time on busywork using AI plus human systems. His background is in healthcare operations and process improvement, with an MBA, an MS in Management, and a Six Sigma Green Belt.

About the show:
The Business Leader’s Legacy Podcast goes behind the scenes with business leaders to uncover their vision, strategies, and the challenges they’ve faced along the way.

Connect with Chris:
Website: https://www.simpleaisolutions.org
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisbrunersimpleaisolutions/
Podcast on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-business-leaders-legacy-podcast/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@The-Business-Leaders-Legacy

Timestamps:
0:57 From engineer to sales leader, and why Keith started Kallan
4:51 Why he’d rather help a team execute than hand out advice
9:47 Your highest-dollar asset doing the lowest-value work
11:39 Process first, then the AI tool
13:08 What’s working: fractional sales operations
14:57 “Do as I say, not as I do”: selling his own business
18:57 Staying small on purpose and flipping his message
23:57 The legacy Keith wants to leave

If this one helped, subscribe and share it with a founder who’s still carrying the sales load alone.

#SalesProcess #FractionalSales #ManufacturingSales #SalesOperations #FounderLed

Why Trust Wins the Deal: Dave Loomis on Voice of Customer | The Business Leader’s Legacy Podcast

Chris Bruner — Tue, 13 Oct 2026 14:00:00 GMT

Dave Loomis has done more than 10,000 customer interviews, and one pattern keeps showing up. When a big deal is close, buyers pick the person they know, like, and trust.

Dave is the founder and president of Loomis Marketing, a B2B consultancy that uses voice-of-customer research to help companies understand what their customers are trying to accomplish. He’s also the author of Customer Outsight, a book on exactly how he runs those interviews.

What you’ll hear:

How to put the customer first so they win, and you sell more because of it
How to stay current on AI in marketing without freezing up at all the options
Why personal relationships matter more as sales tools get louder
Why the best sales connection starts with questions, before your talking points
How Dave sorted 15 years of projects to find the focus that pays off
Why you don’t have to wait for permission to be a leader

Connect with Dave:
Website: https://www.loomismarketing.com
Book: https://customeroutsight.com (also on Amazon under David Mayo Loomis)
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidloomis

About Chris:
Chris Bruner is the CEO and Founder of Simple AI Solutions, based in El Cajon, CA. He helps small and mid-sized businesses bring in more clients and spend less time on busywork using AI plus human systems. His background is in healthcare and process improvement, with an MBA, an MS in Management, and a Six Sigma Green Belt.

About the show:
The Business Leader’s Legacy Podcast goes behind the scenes with business leaders to uncover their vision, strategies, and the challenges they’ve faced along the way.

Connect with Chris:
https://www.simpleaisolutions.org
https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisbrunersimpleaisolutions/
https://www.youtube.com/@The-Business-Leaders-Legacy

Timestamps:
0:00 Meet Dave Loomis and Loomis Marketing
3:04 The curious kid who became a customer interviewer
6:08 AI, sales spam, and staying current
9:41 Why relationships still win million-dollar contracts
14:03 The Good to Great exercise that sharpened his focus
20:29 Choosing sustainable over bigger, plus nonprofit work
26:11 A Stone Age story about listening
29:24 It’s never too early to be a leader

If this one helped, subscribe and share it with a business owner who’s trying to grow the right way.

#VoiceOfCustomer #B2BMarketing #CustomerResearch #SalesRelationships #BusinessLeadership

Build Your Business Backwards: Daniel Feiman on Succession | The Business Leader's Legacy Podcast

Chris Bruner — Thu, 08 Oct 2026 14:00:00 GMT

Most business owners are stuck on the hamster wheel. They're surviving, but they're not thriving. Daniel Feiman has spent 30 years helping them get off it by starting at the finish line and working backward.

Daniel is the Managing Director of Build It Backwards, a consulting and training firm in Redondo Beach, CA that just celebrated its 30th anniversary. He's a Certified Management Consultant, a former commercial banker of almost 20 years, and the author of four books on strategy, succession planning, and leadership. He has worked in 31 countries on four continents.

What you'll hear:

Why his first business, handmade skateboards, went bust at age 12
The difference between succession planning for your company and transition planning for you
What happened when one client grew to two-thirds of his revenue, and the rule he follows now
How he rewrote his training programs for virtual delivery when COVID grounded his travel
How a self-described late adopter is testing AI carefully, without becoming a slave to it
Why finding and training the right people is his biggest growth challenge this year

Connect with Daniel:
Website: https://www.builditbackwards.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielfeimanbuilditbackwards1

About Chris:
Chris Bruner is the CEO and Founder of Simple AI Solutions, based in El Cajon, CA. He helps small and mid-sized businesses bring in more clients and spend less time on busywork using AI plus human systems. His background is in healthcare and process improvement, with an MBA, an MS in Management, and a Six Sigma Green Belt.

About the show:
The Business Leader's Legacy Podcast goes behind the scenes with business leaders to uncover their vision, strategies, and the challenges they've faced along the way.

Timestamps:
00:00 Welcome and introduction
00:59 The skateboard business that cost $11 to sell for $10
03:05 Getting clients off the hamster wheel
06:38 Succession planning vs. transition planning
09:09 When one client was two-thirds of the business
10:47 The COVID pivot that saved Build It Backwards
12:09 A late adopter's careful approach to AI
15:36 A fifth book and the search for the right people
19:00 The legacy Daniel wants to leave

If this conversation helped you think about where your business is headed, subscribe and share it with a business owner who needs to hear it.

#SuccessionPlanning #ExitPlanning #StrategicPlanning #SmallBusinessGrowth

Solve It Once, Solve It Forever: Coltrane Kubo on AI | The Business Leader's Legacy Podcast

Chris Bruner — Tue, 06 Oct 2026 14:00:00 GMT

What if every repetitive problem in your business could be solved once, permanently, instead of just patched for now? Coltrane Kubo, co-founder of the AI automation agency Aidgentic, explains why that one shift changed how he builds AI systems for founder-led businesses.

Coltrane Kubo is the co-founder of Aidgentic, an AI automation and AI agent agency that helps founder-led businesses, career coaches, real estate agents, and fractional operators put AI to work without needing to become technical themselves.

What you'll hear:

The "light bulb moment" that took Coltrane from a 50-hour workweek to building his own AI automation agency
Why Coltrane believes AI can finally solve problems "permanently" instead of just patching them
How he's teaching non-technical founders to build their own AI agents, including a "chief of staff" agent that manages your inbox and calendar
The honest challenge behind selling AI: separating real results from "hope and hype"
Why partnerships and free AI education are at the center of Aidgentic's next stage of growth
The legacy Coltrane hopes to leave in an industry full of AI skepticism

Connect with Coltrane: https://www.linkedin.com/in/coltrane-kubo | coltrane@aidgentic.com

About Chris Bruner:

Chris Bruner is the CEO and Founder of Simple AI Solutions, based in El Cajon, CA. He helps small and mid-sized businesses bring in more clients and spend less time on busywork using AI plus human systems. His background is in healthcare and process improvement, with an MBA, an MS in Management, and a Six Sigma Green Belt.

About the show:

The Business Leader's Legacy Podcast goes behind the scenes with business leaders to uncover their vision, strategies, and the challenges they've faced along the way.

Connect with Chris:

Website: https://www.simpleaisolutions.org

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

Podcast LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-business-leaders-legacy-podcast/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@The-Business-Leaders-Legacy

Timestamps:

0:00 - Meet Coltrane Kubo, co-founder of Aidgentic

0:57 - The night a 50-hour workweek sparked a business

2:52 - Why Coltrane believes AI solves problems "permanently"

4:46 - Teaching founders to build their own AI chief of staff

7:25 - Where Aidgentic is seeing the most growth right now

10:27 - The real challenge behind selling AI: hope vs. hype

12:59 - Coltrane's next 6 to 12 months for Aidgentic

18:02 - The legacy Coltrane wants AI to leave behind

Thanks for listening. Subscribe and leave a review so more leaders like Coltrane can find the show.

#AIAutomation #FounderLedBusiness #AILiteracy #SmallBusinessAI

Building a Second You: Katrina Purcell on AI and Scaling | The Business Leader's Legacy Podcast

Chris Bruner — Thu, 01 Oct 2026 13:00:00 GMT

What happens when your business grows so fast that you become the thing holding it back? Katrina Purcell tripled her client list this year. Then she noticed the problem: every meeting, every decision, and every project still ran through her.

Katrina is the founder of her own growth operations consultancy. She works with seed to Series C tech startups and nonprofits, helping them build the systems they need to scale. She calls herself the fixer, the person you call when a project is stuck. She also hosts Managed Chaos, a podcast of 15-minute episodes on scaling and growing a business.

What you'll hear:

Why AI can't help a business that hasn't written down its own processes
How she trained an AI agent on her own decision-making so her clients' teams could keep moving while she took a vacation
The client she liked and still let go, and why saying no to money kept her business on mission
Why starting a business to own your schedule usually means owning less of it at first
Her plan to double the business with a steady team instead of doing every project herself
Her legacy picture: one rock tossed in the water, and ripples across many businesses

Connect with Katrina:
Website: https://katrinapurcell.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katrina-purcell

About the show:
The Business Leader's Legacy Podcast goes behind the scenes with business leaders to uncover their vision, strategies, and the challenges they've faced along the way.

Connect with Chris:
Website: https://www.simpleaisolutions.org
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisbrunersimpleaisolutions/
Podcast LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-business-leaders-legacy-podcast/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@The-Business-Leaders-Legacy

Timestamps:
00:00 Welcome and introduction
01:25 From bleeping cuss words on live TV to chief of staff
03:38 Why everyone said "just call Katrina"
05:22 The AI problem nobody talks about: undocumented processes
07:11 Tripling the client list in one year
08:39 Letting go of a client she liked
11:03 "I'm the bottleneck"
16:42 Building a second Katrina with AI
20:10 Legacy: the rock and the ripples

If this conversation helped you, subscribe and share it with a business owner who's trying to grow without burning out.

#GrowthOperations #StartupOperations #AIForBusiness #Solopreneur

Build Trust, Not Quotas: Rebecca Landriault on Medspa Growth | The Business Leader's Legacy Podcast

Chris Bruner — Tue, 29 Sep 2026 16:00:00 GMT

Most medspa owners are great clinicians who were never taught how to run a business. And the people giving them advice usually have a sales quota to hit.

Rebecca Landriault is the CEO of Apex Aesthetic Consulting, a coaching firm for medspa and plastic surgery owners. She spent about 20 years in aesthetics as an esthetician, laser tech, practice owner, and medical device sales rep before starting Apex two years ago. Chris and Rebecca talk about what she saw from every side of the industry, and what she's building now.

What you'll hear:

Why so many medspa owners buy equipment they don't need
How a solo practice can use an AI receptionist to stop losing new leads
Why patients who research on TikTok and AI search are harder to consult with
The lesson that turned her expertise into a real business
How she plans to grow past being the only person clients can call
The legacy she wants to leave: the most trusted firm, not the biggest

Connect with Rebecca:
Website: https://www.apexaestheticconsulting.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-landriault-8b0a7b62

About the show:
The Business Leader's Legacy Podcast goes behind the scenes with business leaders to uncover their vision, strategies, and the challenges they've faced along the way.

Connect with Chris:
https://www.simpleaisolutions.org
https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisbrunersimpleaisolutions/
https://www.youtube.com/@The-Business-Leaders-Legacy

Timestamps:

00:00 Welcome and Rebecca's 20-year path through aesthetics
04:28 Great clinicians who were never taught the business side
05:43 When every advisor in the room has a quota
09:02 AI receptionists and the new tech in medspas
15:49 Growing a consulting business on referrals alone
19:02 Leaving corporate sales and learning to sell yourself
21:34 Scaling past being the only one clients can call
26:54 The legacy question

If this one helped, subscribe and send it to a practice owner who needs to hear it.

#MedspaBusiness #AestheticPractice #MedspaConsulting #PracticeGrowth #SmallBusinessGrowth

Out of the Ashes: How Chris Cervantes Found His Calling | The Business Leader's Legacy Podcast

Chris Bruner — Wed, 23 Sep 2026 17:00:00 GMT

In 2017, Chris Cervantes watched a fire tear through his own home. He had spent his whole career in disaster recovery, and even he found the process confusing. That moment stayed with him. Years later, when fires swept through Malibu, the Palisades, and Altadena, he saw people left without an advocate — and he decided to be one. That's how Disaster Restoration Consulting (DRC) was born. Today, Chris and his team step in as the owner's representative when hotels, hospitals, and other commercial properties face major disasters, coordinating the contractors and the insurance company so owners can get back to running their business. The lesson he carries: when someone is having their worst day, slowing down and communicating clearly is the most caring thing you can offer.

What you'll hear:

How a fire at his own house planted the seed for a new business
Why respect as a leader has to be earned, not claimed — and the boss who taught him that
How "bringing calm to the chaos" became DRC's real secret sauce
What AI is changing in insurance claims — and what it can't replace
Why qualified doesn't always mean right, and the strength it takes to move on
Why slow, steady growth protects the boutique feel clients trust

About Chris Bruner:
Chris Bruner is the CEO and founder of Simple AI Solutions, an AI agency in El Cajon, California, that helps small and mid-sized businesses grow through lead generation and automation. He's a husband and father who believes business is about people first.

About The Business Leader's Legacy Podcast:
The show where we go behind the scenes with business leaders to uncover their vision, strategies, and the challenges they've faced along the way.

Connect with Chris Cervantes:
Website: https://disaster-consult.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-cervantes-15625b18
Email: support@disaster-consult.com
Based in La Verne, California

Connect with Chris Bruner:
Website: https://www.simpleaisolutions.org
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisbrunersimpleaisolutions/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@The-Business-Leaders-Legacy

Timestamps:
00:46 – Welcome to the show
01:50 – From asbestos abatement to the top of a company
03:48 – The fire that changed everything
06:18 – "I will never call myself a servant leader"
09:27 – What AI can and can't replace
13:46 – Bringing calm to the chaos
20:47 – When qualified isn't the right fit
24:07 – Choosing slow, steady growth
29:15 – The legacy he wants to leave

#BusinessLeadership #ServantLeadership #DisasterRecovery #CommercialRestoration #InsuranceClaims #SmallBusinessGrowth #Entrepreneurship

The Business Leader's Legacy Podcast: Austin Calam

Chris Bruner — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 15:30:00 GMT

What happens when a creative director builds an entire business philosophy around identity instead of imitation? Austin Calam, Creative Director at Malibu Creative, joins the show to unpack how his agency helps businesses discover what makes them truly unique — and why that clarity, not another marketing tactic, is what actually creates momentum.

Austin shares how a decade in film production, starting with backyard videos and a Windows Movie Maker crash course, eventually led him to lead the creative team behind work for brands like the NHL and Chick-fil-A. He opens up about the season Malibu Creative tried to be everything to everyone, the friction that created, and the decision to narrow their focus to a few core services instead. He also walks through how his team is building a sales training system rooted in each person's real strengths and values, so recommending a solution never feels like a pitch.

Along the way, Austin talks through how Malibu Creative uses AI-generated pitch decks to align creative vision early in a project, what it means to "drink your own Kool-Aid" as an agency, and the legacy he hopes to leave — more business leaders walking in their true identity.

Connect with Austin:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/austincalam/
Website: malibucreative.net.

If this conversation encourages you, hit subscribe — we'd love to have you back for the next one.

The Business Leader's Legacy Podcast: Darren Lawson

Chris Bruner — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 20:22:24 GMT

What if the biggest obstacle standing between your company and its next level of growth isn't strategy or funding — it's the way your people actually talk to each other?

In this conversation, Chris sits down with Dr. Darren Lawson, a 36-year veteran of organizational communication and founder of Paradox Communication Consulting. Darren has spent his career diagnosing why teams break down — working across manufacturing, healthcare, logistics, and education to help leaders turn disconnected messaging into aligned, high-performing cultures. He describes his role almost like a doctor: coming in, running the diagnostics, and helping organizations heal the communication gaps that quietly drain trust and performance.

Darren and Chris dig into why communication is finally being recognized as an operational competency — not just a "soft skill" — and unpack the paradox of AI in the workplace: the more we lean on technology, the more human connection, presence, and trust actually matter. Darren also shares what's ahead for his fractional communication leadership model, the challenge of scaling personalized work, and a beautifully simple picture of legacy involving three tennis balls that you won't forget anytime soon.

If you lead people, this one will change how you think about the invisible structure holding your organization together.

Darren Lawson's Contact
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrenlawson/
Website: https://www.theparadoxway.com/

Give it a listen, and if it speaks to you, hit subscribe — there's a lot more where this came from.

The Business Leader's Legacy Podcast: Alan Melton

Chris Bruner — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 16:00:00 GMT

What if the hardest chapters of your childhood turned out to be the training ground for the business — and the legacy — you'd eventually build? That's exactly what happened for Alan Melton, founder of Small Business Coach Associates, who turned childhood trauma into a coaching business that has helped more than 1,100 owners generate over $337 million in combined revenue growth.

Alan opens up about losing his mother as a young child, being taken in by a church family as a teenager, and how personal development and faith rewired the trajectory of his life. He and Chris dig into how small business coaching is evolving in the age of AI search engines, why SEO strategy matters more than ever for getting discovered by Google and LLMs alike, and the real story behind a website relaunch that nearly tanked his traffic overnight — and the technical SEO fix that turned it around.

You'll also hear how Alan diversified his lead generation with social media, referrals, and AI-powered outreach, why customer retention is the backbone of sustainable business growth, and what "kingdom building" means to a coach whose mission goes far beyond the bottom line.

Alan Melton: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alanmelton/

If Alan's story of resilience, faith, and entrepreneurship encourages you even a little, do us a favor and hit subscribe — there's a lot more where this came from.

The Business Leader's Legacy Podcast: Brett Myles

Chris Bruner — Fri, 12 Jun 2026 14:00:00 GMT

What if the reason your leadership development isn't working is because it was designed to inform — not transform?

Brett Myles spent over 16 years in ministry before founding LeadWell in 2023, and everything he learned about people in that season is now shaping the way he serves leaders and organizations in the business world. As a certified coach through Giant Worldwide, Brett helps teams install a Leadership Operating System — a human-centered, measurable framework built around self-awareness, trust, and real cultural change that actually lasts.

In this conversation, Brett breaks down why one-day seminars and book studies rarely stick, how the path to a high-performing team starts with understanding yourself and others, and why his approach leans into analog tools and face-to-face connection — even as AI reshapes the leadership development space.

We also dig into the challenges of solopreneurship, Brett's vision for a local leadership collective in Austin, and what it really looks like to scale a people-first business without losing what makes it work.

If your team keeps hitting the same walls, this episode is worth your time.

Find Brett: @BrettMyles on LinkedIn — letsleadwell.com

Subscribe so you don't miss conversations like this one.

The Business Leader's Legacy Podcast: Cristin Smith

Chris Bruner — Thu, 11 Jun 2026 14:00:00 GMT

What if the scariest moment of your life became the foundation for something that could change healthcare forever?

Cristin Smith, founder and CEO of Saffron & Sage, was in her mid-20s — no major health history, never even broken a bone — when doctors discovered four rapidly growing tumors in her neck and thyroid. The medical consensus? Surgery and pharmaceutical dependency for life. But nobody could explain why. So she walked away from that answer, spent a year assembling her own integrative medical team, and set out to heal herself. In doing so, she found her calling.

In this conversation, Cristin shares how she built Saffron & Sage — a thriving integrative health clinic in San Diego's Mission Hills — into a multi-vertical business spanning functional medicine, acupuncture, an on-site herbal pharmacy, handcrafted clean skincare, and corporate wellness programs serving companies like Google and Intuit. We dig into why she's cautious about healthcare trends, why peptide therapy is one she fully stands behind, the systemic challenges facing holistic healthcare today, and her bold vision for redirecting employer healthcare dollars toward truly preventative, integrative care.

If you've ever wanted to understand what it really means to treat the whole person — not just the symptom — this one will stretch the way you think.

Cristin Smith: @cristindsmith on LinkedIn | @saffronandsagesandiego on Instagram

Subscribe so you don't miss what's coming next — you won't regret it.

The Business Leader's Legacy Podcast: Michael A. Campbell

Chris Bruner — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 14:00:00 GMT

What if the way we've been hiring is fundamentally broken — and the fix is simpler than we think? Michael A. Campbell is on a mission to replace the guesswork in hiring with something far more powerful: proof.

Michael is the founder and CEO of SignalVerified, a platform helping organizations move from gut-feel hiring to evidence-based decisions — verifying not just what candidates claim, but how they actually think, solve problems, and communicate. After 20+ years leading global teams at Intel and Lenovo (including over a decade living and working in Tokyo), Michael walked away from the corporate ladder to build something that matters.

In this conversation, Michael breaks down the real cost of a bad hire (it's higher than most leaders think), why the rise of AI is making resumes less trustworthy than ever, and how SignalVerified's "define, do, verify" framework is helping companies find their next gem based on evidence — not assumptions. He also gets real about the founder's dilemma: when to say yes, when to say no, and how to stay focused when every new conversation pulls you in a different direction.

If you're navigating talent acquisition, skills-based hiring, or the challenge of building something meaningful from scratch, this one is for you.

Topics include: evidence-based hiring, skills-first recruiting, hiring risk, early talent acquisition, and purpose-driven entrepreneurship.

Guest: Dr. Michael A. Campbell on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drmichaelcampbell/

If this episode added value, subscribe and share it with a business leader in your life who needs to hear it.

The Business Leader's Legacy Podcast: Paty Araiza

Chris Bruner — Fri, 29 May 2026 14:00:00 GMT

What happens when a founder finally admits they can't do it all — and what gets unlocked on the other side of that decision? That's just one of the powerful threads running through this conversation with Paty Araiza, founder and CEO of Sales Career Lab.

Paty's résumé reads like a masterclass in sales experience — from building a 75-person sales team from scratch in a single year, to generating $15 million in revenue, coaching over 100 sales professionals, and eventually launching her own consulting practice out of San Diego. But what makes her story worth listening to isn't just the numbers. It's the honesty.

In this conversation, Paty and I dig into what it really takes to build a scalable sales organization as a founder, why so many early hires fail (hint: it's usually a systems problem, not a people problem), and how AI is quietly enabling a new generation of solopreneurs to punch well above their weight. We also get real about the challenge of letting go — whether that's handing off tasks, trusting a marketing agency, or finally stopping yourself from spending the whole day in LinkedIn DMs.

Paty's mission — empowering others to reach their full potential — comes through in everything she does, and her vision for the legacy she wants to leave is one of the most grounded, human answers I've heard on this show.

If you're a founder navigating sales strategy, fractional leadership, or just trying to build something that lasts, this one's for you.

Guest: Patricia Araiza on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patricia-araiza/

If this conversation added value, subscribe so you never miss an episode!

The Business Leader's Legacy Podcast: Brian Wygle

Chris Bruner — Mon, 25 May 2026 14:00:00 GMT

Forty years of fixing companies. Thousands of light bulb moments. One simple mission: leave every person better than you found them.

Brian Wygle is the owner of Help For My Company, and he has spent four decades doing what most business consultants only talk about — actually fixing the root problems that hold businesses back. From his early days in finance helping companies get funded, to forming his own investment banking firm, to now running a fully virtual consulting practice, Brian has seen it all. And his perspective is refreshingly honest.

In this conversation, Brian breaks down why so many business owners pursue excellence in their product but completely neglect the business underneath it. He shares his Four E's of Leadership — Envision, Equip, Empower, Encourage — and the powerful framework of "what people" versus "why people" that reframes how you build and lead a team. He also gets real about the challenges of change management, the crowded consulting space, and the honest truth about how AI can help — and where it still falls short.

Brian's go-to quote from Einstein says it better than anything: you can't fix a problem using the same thinking that created it. That one idea runs through everything in this episode.

Whether you're scaling, struggling, or somewhere in between, this one is worth your time.

Guest: Brian Wygle — find him at HelpForMyCompany.com and on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianwygle/

If this conversation added value to your journey, subscribe so you never miss an episode. 🙏

The Business Leader's Legacy Podcast: Michael Burroughs

Chris Bruner — Fri, 22 May 2026 14:00:00 GMT

Thirty to fifty percent of executives hired from the outside fail within 18 months. That's not a typo — and Michael Burroughs has spent decades figuring out exactly why, and exactly how to fix it.

Michael is the President of Burroughs International, Senior Partner and Practice Leader at Shear Velocity, and the author of Before Onboarding: How to Integrate New Leaders for Quick and Sustained Results. He brings a rare blend of experience — from commanding Army medical units and leading organizational development for Fortune 500 companies, to over two decades as an executive recruiter and coach — and what he's built around new leader integration is unlike anything else in the search industry.

In this conversation, Michael breaks down the real, often-overlooked cost of a failed executive hire (think search fees, signing bonuses, lost talent, missed revenue), why the old "sink or swim" mentality is quietly killing organizations, and how his proven 90-day integration process acts as a force multiplier for companies that want their new leaders hitting the ground running. He also shares how Shear Velocity is using AI to modernize business development — and why leadership will always be a deeply human endeavor, no matter how smart the technology gets.

If you lead people, hire people, or you are the new person walking through the door, this one's for you.

Michael Burroughs on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelkburroughs/

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The Business Leader's Legacy Podcast: Simon Stillwell

Chris Bruner — Tue, 19 May 2026 17:36:25 GMT

Most businesses aren't failing because of a bad product or a bad team — they're failing because no one ever built the foundation. Simon Stillwell has spent 30 years in sales, sat on eight company boards, and has watched this play out over and over again.

Simon is the co-founder of Libra Partners Solutions, a B2B sales consulting firm based in Boston that helps small and mid-sized businesses break through revenue plateaus and build sales engines that actually scale. He's not a theory guy — he's walked into companies on the verge of being stuck and helped them grow revenue by over 60% in a single year.

In this conversation, Simon breaks down his proven 4P Framework — People, Product, Process, and Price — and explains why so many founder-led sales teams hit a wall the moment they try to hire their first salesperson. He gets honest about the AI disruption happening in B2B sales right now, the difference between using AI as a "spam cannon" versus a real strategic asset, and why the businesses thriving today are the ones focused on growing sustainably and profitably — not just chasing new logos.

Simon also shares something that stuck with me: "In order to have good friends, first of all, you have to be one." Simple. True. And it says a lot about the kind of person he is.

Whether you're scaling a sales team, stuck in founder-led selling, or trying to figure out where AI fits into your revenue strategy — this one's for you.

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The Business Leader's Legacy Podcast: Joe Furlong

Chris Bruner — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 07:51:41 GMT

What if reviewing a loan file didn’t take four hours… but one?In this episode of the Business Leader’s Legacy Podcast, I sit down with Joe Furlong, President & CEO of AiCR, to unpack how AI is transforming document processing in the mortgage and finance world.Joe has spent more than 30 years in banking, lending, and risk — and what started as a simple idea to reduce manual review time turned into one of the most complex and powerful AI document intelligence platforms I’ve seen.We dive into:• How AiCR reads, classifies, and extracts thousands of data points in seconds• Why confidence scoring is critical when using AI in high-stakes industries• The real future of loan fulfillment (hint: 6–8 people may become 1–2)• Why AI won’t eliminate jobs — it will reallocate them• How overcoming technical challenges made the platform stronger• And Joe’s bold vision of making “Acre” a verbOne of my favorite moments? Joe sharing how leadership is about navigating the rollercoaster — sucking it up on the hard days and pushing forward for your team.If you're a business leader thinking about automation, AI infrastructure, or scaling intelligently, this episode will challenge how you think about efficiency and the future of work.Subscribe for more conversations with leaders building businesses that last. 🚀

The Business Leader's Legacy Podcast: Oliver Anwar

Chris Bruner — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 16:00:00 GMT

🚀 Unlock the Code to Excellence – Health, Leadership & AI for Busy Executives

In this episode of The Business Leader’s Legacy Podcast, I sit down with Oliver Anwar, founder of Elite Performance, to discuss how executives and entrepreneurs can optimize their health, energy, and focus — without sacrificing their careers.

Oliver shares his journey from the corporate grind to building a wellness company that helps leaders:

✅ Achieve peak health through personalized, science-backed programs

✅ Use data and advanced testing to create sustainable results

✅ Leverage AI behind the scenes to save time and scale efficiency

✅ Build a legacy by embodying excellence in work, relationships, and health

Whether you’re leading a team, growing a business, or just striving to be your best self, this conversation is full of actionable insights and inspiration.

🎧 Listen now & don’t miss it!

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The Business Leader's Legacy Podcast: Teddy Savage

Chris Bruner — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 21:43:07 GMT

What if your biggest growth problem isn’t your strategy… but your clarity?In this episode of the Business Leader’s Legacy Podcast, I sit down with Teddy Savage, Founder of The Cultivation Effect, to unpack what truly drives sustainable success inside organizations.Teddy shares his powerful philosophy: success and failure should never be a surprise — they are always a byproduct of the systems, patterns, and leadership structures in place. We dive into why most companies misdiagnose their real problems, how friction becomes erosion when left unchecked, and why no leader is above change.We also explore the role of AI in today’s organizations — and why tools without clarity can accelerate you in the wrong direction.If you care about building resilient teams, strengthening culture, and creating sustainable growth instead of seasonal wins, this conversation will challenge how you think about leadership.Subscribe for more conversations with leaders who are building businesses that last.

The Business Leader's Legacy Podcast: Ryan Yockey

Chris Bruner — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 16:55:00 GMT

What happens when a multi-billion-dollar executive walks away from corporate life to build something of his own?

In this episode of the Business Leaders Legacy Podcast, I sit down with Ryan Yockey, founder of Growth Code, to unpack his journey from scaling massive companies to helping founders and executives build leverage, clarity, and true freedom.

Ryan shares how thinking in systems—not hustle—unlocks sustainable growth. We talk about building a brand in today’s AI-driven world, why small audiences can generate massive revenue, and the real challenge most high-performers face when they decide to step out on their own.

If you’re an ambitious founder, executive, or creator who feels the ceiling getting lower… this conversation will challenge how you think about growth, leverage, and legacy.

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