In this kickoff episode of a new multi-part series, Scott Landis and Jeff Jacob shift focus from Business Health to Executive Performance—the often-ignored constraint that keeps founders stuck at revenue and leadership ceilings.
This conversation sets the foundation for understanding why the skills that got you to $1–$10M often won’t get you beyond it, and why scaling requires a different way of thinking, leading, and executing through others.
The episode introduces the Seven Traits of a Scalable Founder, which will each be explored in depth in future episodes.
🔍 Key Themes & Takeaways
1. Why Founders Get Stuck
Most founders hit a ceiling not because of effort—but because of outgrown leadership patterns
The transition from entrepreneur to executive is unavoidable for scale
Leadership, not opportunity, is usually the limiting factor
2. The Adolescent Business Analogy
Businesses grow like people: baby → toddler → adolescent → adult
Many $1–$10M businesses have “adult potential” but still think and act like kids
Scaling requires developmental change, not just more tactics
3. Executive Performance as a System
Executive performance cannot be improved in isolation
Vision, leadership, communication, execution, and technology must work together
Pulling the wrong lever at the wrong time creates more friction, not growth
4. Leadership Is Lonely—By Design
Founders often drown in areas they are not gifted in
Even strong teams don’t remove the weight of ultimate responsibility
True leverage comes from partnership, not isolation
🧠 The Seven Traits of a Scalable Founder
Introduced in this episode (with deep dives coming next):
Vision & Strategic Thinking
Leadership Presence & Emotional Maturity
Communication & Alignment
Team Engagement & Culture Building
Execution Through Others
Customer & Stakeholder Stewardship
Technology, Tools & Intelligence Systems
These are the muscles founders must train to move from hustle to freedom.
🧪 Tools Mentioned
TriMetric Quiz (V2) – Measures:
Business Health
Executive Performance
Life Quality
➡️ Take the assessment at TrimetricQuiz.com
🎯 Who This Episode Is For
Founders stuck between success and scalability
Business owners feeling the weight of leadership
Leaders who know something has to change—but aren’t sure what
$1–$10M companies trying to break through the next ceiling
🔜 What’s Next in the Series
Each upcoming episode will focus on one of the seven executive performance traits, with practical insight, real-world examples, and clear indicators of what “good” actually looks like at the executive level.
