The CEO's Heart for Service | Scaling Business Without Compromise cover art

The CEO's Heart for Service | Scaling Business Without Compromise

The CEO's Heart for Service | Scaling Business Without Compromise

Written by: Matt Wolfe
Listen for free

There's a tension every B2B service leader navigates: How do you scale without compromising your client experience and the core values behind it? When your clients depend on you for high-stakes services like finance, technology, or strategy, that question carries real weight. The CEO's Heart for Service is where accomplished B2B CEOs and consultants share hard-won insights on walking that tightrope. Join hosts from Brand3 B2B Growth Marketing for conversations that deliver peer insights, field-tested strategies, and a holistic view of scaling premium services with integrity.2026 Brand3 Economics Leadership Management & Leadership
Episodes
  • AI Forward, People First: Embracing Technology with Dr. Steven and Suzy Kirch

    AI Forward, People First: Embracing Technology with Dr. Steven and Suzy Kirch
    Oct 12 2026
    What if the most powerful thing about AI isn't how fast it works, but how much time it gives you back to be more human?That question sits at the heart of this conversation with Dr. Steven Kirch and Suzy Coconato-Kirch, the father-daughter team behind Profit Minds, an AI consultancy helping small to mid-size businesses and nonprofits implement AI practically, safely, and ethically. Their mantra — "AI forward, people first" — runs through every part of the discussion, from how they guide reluctant adopters past fear and overwhelm, to the decision framework they use to help organizations figure out where AI belongs (and where it doesn't), to the deeply human reason they do this work in the first place.Steve brings decades of experience as a physicist and business coach, while Suzy entered AI through a circuitous path from mathematics to natural language processing. Together they help clients compress five days of drudgery into three and spend the reclaimed time on the things that actually matter — building relationships, coaching teams, and showing up as humans in a world increasingly saturated with automated content.Whether you've been using AI for years, are just beginning to explore it, or have been holding off because the whole thing feels intimidating, this conversation offers something valuable: a practical, grounded, and refreshingly human-centered approach to making AI work for you — not the other way around.HighlightsThe "AI forward, people first" philosophy: why putting AI first means people can't be, and how Profit Minds keeps the human at the center of every implementationSteve's early chemistry experiments with repurposed Procter & Gamble lab glassware — and how a frustrating chemistry class pushed him toward physicsSuzy's unexpected path from physics to math to natural language processing, sparked by her dad asking one simple questionWhy Profit Minds recommends starting with the task you hate doing most, not the most interesting AI use caseThe "turtle sandbox" approach to AI: play, experiment, and don't worry about picking the perfect platform before you beginHow AI can serve as a sparring partner that constructively argues with you, not just a yes-machineSteve's key insight: the real lever in AI isn't doing more faster — it's doing different things and doing them better, including spending more time being humanThe Tom's Shoes model for nonprofits: when a corporation buys a seat, Profit Minds gifts an equivalent seat to a nonprofitThe Gratitude Network story: how four staff members went through the program and came out feeling like they'd added two more people to the teamThe AI Decision Framework: a tiered evaluation covering data security, brand risk, employee impact, ROI, and feasibility — resulting in AI-driven, human-driven, or hybrid recommendationsSuzy's "campfire save" workflow and "idea log" system for managing AI conversations and staying focusedSteve's detailed ChatGPT consultation about buying a home in a flood zone — a real-world example of AI as a research and decision-making partnerSuzy's candid discussion of imposter syndrome and the ongoing journey to feel like she belongsThe Profit Minds BHAG: enabling access to AI for everyone, regardless of economic statusChapters0:00 — Today's Guests4:13 — Human First5:23 — Steve the Early Scientist8:10 — Suzy's Path Into AI12:35 — What Profit Minds Does16:11 — Where to Start With AI20:41 — Playful Approach and Policies24:26 — Time Savings: Be More Human29:05 — Ethics, Sparring Partner, and Nonprofits33:25 — Growth Challenges and Buyer Journey41:28 — AI Decision Framework43:58 — Human, AI, and Hybrid Outcomes45:22 — Selling AI Through Story47:30 — Listening First, Consulting49:32 — Behind the Brand Quiz50:48 — Personal AI Workflows54:59 — Karaoke and Laughs59:06 — Getaways and Memories1:07:19 — Success and Imposter Syndrome1:10:08 — Where to ConnectResources MentionedProfit Minds AI Decision FrameworkProfit Minds PodcastScale Beyond ReferralsThe CEO’s Heart for Service is a production of Brand3. If you’re a B2B service provider who delivers exceptional service but struggles to get your marketing to connect with the right people, find us at brand3.net. And sign up for our Brand3 Newsletter that only sends marketing insights worthy of your inbox - genuinely helpful stuff for the road ahead. The CEO’s Heart for Service is also supported by Forge Podcast Company, a turnkey production solution for using podcasts to reach a wider audience, win new clients, and grow. Find them at forgepodcast.co
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 14 mins
  • FiduciWho?: Understanding True Client Relationships with Leonard Raskin

    FiduciWho?: Understanding True Client Relationships with Leonard Raskin
    Oct 5 2026
    Would you rather transfer your values or your money to your children? That question — and the decades of real-life experience behind it — sits at the heart of our conversation with Leonard Raskin, President and CEO of Raskin Global and author of "Fiduci Who?" Leonard has spent 40 years building a fee-based financial consulting firm that refuses to choose between scale and soul. From his childhood dream of owning an NHL hockey team to becoming a trusted advisor who sits with families in hospice, at weddings, and around their kitchen tables, Leonard shares why the best marketing strategy he ever had was simply showing up as a human — at crab feasts, on the radio, through a podcast, and even as a cartoon version of himself on LinkedIn. If you've ever felt pressure to niche down, 10X your business, or run Google ads when what you actually want is to build deep, lasting relationships with people you'd invite to dinner, Leonard's story will make you feel a whole lot better about trusting your gut.HighlightsLeonard's childhood dream of playing in the NHL — and how he ended up owning a (very small) piece of the New York Rangers anyway through publicly traded stock in Madison Square Garden NetworkWhat it means to be a true fiduciary: looking at a client's entire financial world from first dollar of cash flow to wealth transfer, rather than calling yourself a fiduciary for only the slice you touchWhy Leonard rejected the advice to niche down, and how he built a referral-driven practice by focusing on the kind of humans he serves best instead of an industry specialtyThe "dinner test": Are the people you're targeting in your marketing people you would want to invite over to your home for dinner? And have you given yourself permission to make that a true qualifier for who you take on as a client?How an annual crab feast for 500+ households became one of the most effective (and organic) client acquisition events in the firm — without ever talking businessThe early-career rejection of traditional financial sales tactics, and why Leonard refused to join charities as a thinly veiled prospecting strategyBuilding a book and podcast flywheel: how a guest on someone else's podcast introduced Leonard to Paperback Expert, which ghostwrote and published "Fiduci Who?" and launched the Fiduci Who podcastCartoon Leonard: turning podcast clips into animated social media content with a Hawaiian-shirt-wearing avatar — and why it works better than any blog post ever couldThe question Leonard asks every new client: "What's enough?" — and how defining success on your own terms changes everything about how you run your businessBehind the Brand rapid-fire answers: favorite karaoke song, the smell of his mother's chicken soup, reliving a 14-hour heart surgery, and three words his loved ones would use to describe himChapters0:00 — Today's Guest5:13 — Hockey Dreams to CEO8:08 — What Raskin Global Does12:41 — Service Model and Values14:53 — Clients Become Family19:07 — Scaling Without 10X23:50 — Defining Success27:24 — Ideal Clients and Dinner Test32:21 — Crab Feast as Marketing36:47 — Early Career Lessons42:24 — Referral-Driven Niche43:08 — Marketing That Works43:34 — Book and Podcast Flywheel45:10 — Service Audit and Outreach47:22 — Why Keep Showing Up49:10 — Human Marketing Wins50:35 — Cartoon Clips on Social52:59 — Trust and Fit Matters56:47 — Scaling Human Connection58:29 — Behind the Brand Qs1:07:05 — Defining Real Success1:10:47 — How to Reach Leonard1:12:14 — Scale Beyond ReferralsResources Mentioned"Fiduci Who?"raskinglobal.comFiduci Who Podcast Paperback ExpertScale Beyond ReferralsStoryBrand The CEO’s Heart for Service is a production of Brand3. If you’re a B2B service provider who delivers exceptional service but struggles to get your marketing to connect with the right people, find us at brand3.net. And sign up for our Brand3 Newsletter that only sends marketing insights worthy of your inbox - genuinely helpful stuff for the road ahead. The CEO’s Heart for Service is also supported by Forge Podcast Company, a turnkey production solution for using podcasts to reach a wider audience, win new clients, and grow. Find them at forgepodcast.co
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 14 mins
  • The Future of Protection: Holistic Security with Jessica Robinson

    The Future of Protection: Holistic Security with Jessica Robinson
    Sep 28 2026

    What if everything you thought you knew about keeping your team safe was only scratching the surface? We tend to think of security as firewalls, access badges, and maybe an active shooter protocol — but what about the emotional, psychological, and spiritual safety of the people who give so much of their lives to your organization?


    Jessica Robinson, Executive Officer of PurePoint International, joins us to reshape your entire paradigm of what it means to protect a team. Her approach — holistic security — goes far beyond cybersecurity as usual, encompassing digital, physical, emotional, psychological, spiritual, and environmental dimensions of safety. We explore her remarkable origin story (the call to protect showed up at age five), the vision that came to her during a pilgrimage in Nepal, why the balance of feminine and masculine energy is central to real security, and why leading from a higher level of consciousness isn't optional for the next 25 years. Whether you lead a nonprofit, a social justice organization, a political office, or any team of people you care about — this conversation will change how you think about your duty of care.


    Highlights


    • Jessica knew security was her calling as early as age five — from Carmen Sandiego to the safety patrol to reading every Nancy Drew book in the school library
    • A near-death experience during a pilgrimage in Nepal led to the founding of PurePoint International in 2012
    • Holistic security is like holistic medicine — it blends digital, physical, emotional, psychological, spiritual, and environmental security into one framework
    • The work is especially vital for communities carrying the greatest risk: social justice organizations, religious minorities, first-time public office candidates, reproductive health organizations, and immigration organizations
    • PurePoint's approach is co-creative and collaborative rather than top-down — clients help shape the process
    • COVID in 2020 and global events in 2024 both sparked waves of increased consciousness around holistic safety — and the next wave may come around 2028
    • Jessica is pursuing a PhD to build the academic foundation for holistic security as a new field — there is currently no scholarship on this topic
    • The vision: an entire generation of leaders 25 years from now who practice holistic security at every level, from community organizations to the United Nations


    Chapters


    0:00 — Introduction

    2:00 — Meet Jessica Robinson

    3:21 — Childhood Call to Protect

    5:21 — Life Shaping Security Lens

    10:07 — PurePoint Origin Story

    13:57 — Defining Holistic Security

    16:04 — Feminine and Masculine Balance

    19:48 — Who Needs This Most

    22:57 — How Engagements Work

    25:15 — Measuring Service Success

    27:14 — Scaling Without Losing Values

    30:22 — PhD Vision and Scale

    31:42 — Holistic Security Clicks

    34:06 — Evolving the Story

    37:00 — Client Experience Shift

    40:53 — Co-Creative Security

    42:23 — Why This Matters Now

    46:44 — Behind the Brand Quiz

    53:16 — Defining Real Success

    55:27 — How to Connect


    Resources Mentioned


    • PurePoint International
    • Scale Beyond Referrals
    • StoryBrand


    The CEO’s Heart for Service is a production of Brand3. If you’re a B2B service provider who delivers exceptional service but struggles to get your marketing to connect with the right people, find us at brand3.net. And sign up for our Brand3 Newsletter that only sends marketing insights worthy of your inbox - genuinely helpful stuff for the road ahead.


    The CEO’s Heart for Service is also supported by Forge Podcast Company, a turnkey production solution for using podcasts to reach a wider audience, win new clients, and grow. Find them at forgepodcast.co
    Show More Show Less
    59 mins
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1
No reviews yet