Fire drills don't scale. Shiny objects don't scale. And hustle — as a strategy — breaks every time the company outgrows the founder's bandwidth.

Anna Baird (Board Member at Madrona, former KPMG Partner, CFO, COO, and CRO) lays out the operating system that replaces hustle with compounding growth.

What you'll learn

The rhythm of the business Build a clear operating rhythm with goals, KPIs, and cadenced reviews. Define strategies per company priority, review weekly and monthly, and use dashboards so CEOs don't micromanage.

The Relationship Bank concept Proactively 'deposit' cross-team relationships so you have trust when you need to say no or ask for help. Your relationships are a bank — make deposits before withdrawals.

How to say no to big-logo custom deals One-off deals consume all resources and create endless 'mouse and cookie' requests. Even tempting single-shot money isn't worth the distraction.

Trust, then verify Give leaders rope and require transparent metrics. Transition people when the company outgrows their competency. Hire slow, fire fast.

Why risk matters more than ever Growth requires stepping outside comfort. Recent conservatism is stalling companies — calculated risks are what move them forward.

Why this matters

Most founders and operators know they need systems, but they don't know what the system actually looks like. This conversation gives you the blueprint — from weekly cadences to the hard decisions about people, focus, and saying no to revenue that doesn't compound.

You'll learn from

Anna Baird Board Member at Madrona, former KPMG Partner, CFO, COO, and CRO. Anna has built operating systems at companies across every stage of growth.

Marcel Santilli Founder and CEO at GrowthX AI.

Jason Gong VP of GTM at GrowthX AI.