Dwayne J. Clark is the founder of Áegis Living, known for building a hospitality-first approach to senior care and a culture-led operating system. In this conversation, he shares the “black box” method he used to turn rejected ideas into real differentiation—and how purpose, community, and people practices became his growth engine.

This episode is a practical playbook for leaders who want durable scale: how to hire your weaknesses, build a tribe, and codify culture into repeatable systems.

In this episode, you’ll learn:
•Why “embracing failure” is a strategy advantage—and how to mine it for opportunity
•The “black box” process for testing ideas and finding true points of difference
•How to build culture as retention, brand, and execution leverage
•What it takes to hire your weaknesses (and when ownership backfires)
•How to lead with head, heart, and guts—situationally

Dwayne J. Clark: https://dwaynejclark.com
Áegis Living: https://www.aegisliving.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dwaynejclark

Thanks for listening! This episode is brought to you by Kaihan Krippendorff of Outthinker Networks.

Brett Hickey is the Founder and CEO of Star Mountain Capital, a multi-billion-dollar private investment firm focused on the U.S. lower middle market. Over more than two decades, Brett has built a specialized platform spanning private equity, private credit, and secondaries—backed by a clear philosophy: align incentives like owners, run strategy through probabilities, and build value where markets are fragmented and overlooked. He’s also made 500+ placements into private companies, giving him rare pattern recognition on what actually helps businesses scale.

In this conversation, Brett breaks down how to spot opportunity in big, fragmented markets, why a probability-driven approach beats certainty-driven planning, and what has to change when strategy can no longer live inside one leader’s head. If you’re a founder or operator trying to grow from “founder-led intuition” to durable scale—through structure, talent, incentives, and clear execution—this episode is a practical playbook.

Brett on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bhickey/
Star Mountain Capital: https://starmountaincapital.com/

In this episode, you’ll learn:
•A checklist for identifying opportunity in fragmented markets before they’re obvious.
•What probability-driven strategy looks like in practice—and how it reshapes risk decisions.
•Why “your customer’s customer” matters for long-term durability and downside protection.
•The strategic foundations to move from $5M to $50M EBITDA: plan clarity, metrics, leadership, board, talent.
•How to design incentives and ownership so employees think like owners—at every level.

00:00 Introduction and Personal Investment Philosophy

00:36 Welcome to the Strategy at Scale Podcast

00:55 Introducing Brett Hickey and Star Mountain Capital

01:45 Brett Hickey's Career and Investment Insights

03:58 Understanding Market Opportunities and Risks

06:47 Investment Strategies and Market Analysis

10:13 The Importance of Differentiation and Competitive Advantage

19:56 Star Mountain's Unique Approach and Employee Ownership

25:36 Overcoming Challenges on Wall Street

26:44 Aligning Interests for Success

27:19 Navigating COVID-19 as a Team

28:11 Structuring Equity and Performance Metrics

30:49 Comprehensive Business Solutions

37:50 Strategic Agility and Talent Development

43:31 Resources for Entrepreneurs

46:20 Conclusion and Contact Information

Thanks for listening! This episode is brought to you by Kaihan Krippendorff of Outthinker Networks.

Steven Gaffney is a leadership advisor and author who helps teams perform under pressure through honest communication, change management, and practical leadership tools. Having advised leaders across Fortune 500 companies as well as government and military teams, Steven has seen firsthand that strategy doesn’t fail because teams lack intelligence—it fails because they operate in the wrong “mood,” leave critical things unsaid, and confuse facts with the stories they tell themselves about those facts. His latest book, Unconditional Power, lays out a practical framework for moving teams from reaction mode to execution mode—especially when information is incomplete and the pressure to move fast is real.

In this conversation, Steven breaks down the three morale states that determine whether teams take action or stall, why hidden disagreement is more dangerous than open conflict, and how leaders can create real alignment after debate (without requiring artificial consensus). If you’re a founder, executive, or operator responsible for guiding strategy through uncertainty and human dynamics, this episode gives you a repeatable playbook for making better decisions, faster—with your team fully committed.

👉 Learn more about Steven and connect: https://stevengaffney.com/

👉 Connect with Steven on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevengaffney/

👉 Contact for a free chapter of Unconditional Power: https://justbehonest.com

In this episode, you’ll learn:

•The three morale states—powerless, conditionally powerful, and unconditionally powerful—and how each one shapes execution.

•How to separate what you notice (facts) from what you imagine (assumptions) to prevent meetings from running on stories.

•A simple “T-chart” method to resolve disagreements quickly and move forward with clarity.

•Why “getting the unsaid said” is the fastest way to fix trust, alignment, and performance breakdowns.

•How great leaders build accountability through commitment—so teams stop complying and start owning the mission.

00:00 Introduction to Leadership and Learning

00:59 Introducing Steven Gaffney

01:19 Fundamentals of High Performing Teams

03:01 Diving into Unconditional Power

03:52 The Importance of Mood and Morale

04:25 Three Moods of Morale

07:01 Taking Action in Uncertainty

13:10 Distinguishing Facts from Stories

18:09 Leadership Gravitational Pull

21:00 Leadership Team Dynamics

22:11 The Importance of Honest Communication

23:23 Getting the Unsaid Said

25:29 Balancing Authenticity and Mission

30:54 Creating Accountability and Commitment

34:24 Scaling Leadership Principles

37:04 Connecting and Learning More

Thanks for listening! This episode is brought to you by Kaihan Krippendorff of Outthinker Networks.