From TV Journalist to Rainmaker and Closer: Dr. Sheila Brooks on 35 Years of Pivoting, Perseverance, and Purpose-Driven Leadership

Scott Ward, host of the HabitStack Podcast, interviews Dr. Sheila Brooks, founder, president, and CEO of SRB Communications, celebrating 35 years in business. Dr. Brooks shares her journey from being the first in her family to attend college to becoming a television journalist and eventually building a full-service marketing and PR firm two blocks from the White House. They discuss the critical pivot that saved her business during the 2008 recession when she transformed from a production-only company to a diversified agency. Dr. Brooks explains why she went back to school for her PhD while running the business. The conversation explores the crucial decision every founder faces between working in versus on the business, why she's still the one closing deals after hiring multiple business development managers, and her current pivot toward global opportunities as federal contracts shift. They also discuss leading through personal tragedy, the power of faith and resilience, building high-performing hybrid teams, and why it's not just who you know but who knows you.