The Freedom to Be Yourself: My Conversation with Amy Bruske of Kolbe Corp episode artwork

EPISODE · Apr 17, 2026 · 58 MIN

The Freedom to Be Yourself: My Conversation with Amy Bruske of Kolbe Corp

from Noob School · host John Sterling, Amy Bruske

Welcome back to Noob School! Today, I’m joined by a very special guest and a longtime friend of the show, Amy Brusky. Amy is the President of Kolbe Corp, and the work her company does is a huge reason reason I was able to grow a tiny company into a massive success.  Years ago, I was a young sales manager struggling to get my team to make cold calls. A consultant named Bill Lee introduced me to the Kolbe Index, and it completely changed my life. It taught me how to stop whining about my team’s performance and start hiring the right kind of people for the job.  In this episode, Amy and I dive deep into why understanding your "doing" mind—your instinctive strengths—is the secret to finding what her stepmother and Kolbe founder Kathy Kolbe called "the freedom to be yourself".  What we’re talking about in this episode:  The Three Parts of the Mind: Why your personality and intelligence only tell half the story, and why your instinctive way of taking action is the missing piece to your success.  Building Your Hiring Avatar: I share my personal "recipe" for hiring, from the local "beer test" to making sure their Kolbe numbers match the role before I even meet them.  Sales Strengths vs. Role Requirements: We discuss why some people are built for high-pressure cold calling while others, like a guy I once hired with high Factfinder numbers, are the only ones who can close a $25 million government deal that takes two years to finish.  Permission to "Procrastinate": If you’re like me and do your best work at the eleventh hour, Amy explains why that’s actually "active procrastination" and how to work with that energy instead of feeling guilty.  Career Wisdom for Your 20s: My advice to young professionals: stop trying to just "get a job" and start figuring out where you add the most value with the least amount of friction.  If you’re a leader trying to get your team right, or if you’re just starting out and want to find a career where the day "flies by," you don't want to miss this conversation.  Take the Kolbe A Index: kolbe.com  Connect with Noob School: Don’t forget to Like and Subscribe so we can keep bringing you these insights to help you reach your full potential!

In this episode of Noob School, I sit down with Amy Bruske, President of Kolbe Corp, to explore how understanding your instinctive strengths—what Kolbe calls your “doing” mind—can transform the way you lead, hire, and work. I share how discovering the Kolbe Index early in my career helped me stop blaming my team and start building the right one, ultimately playing a key role in scaling my business. We break down why success isn’t just about personality or intelligence, but how you naturally take action. From building a hiring “avatar” and matching people to roles, to recognizing different sales strengths and even reframing procrastination as a productive instinct, this conversation is packed with practical insights. Whether you’re leading a team or figuring out your career path, it’s about finding where you create the most value with the least friction—and giving yourself the freedom to be yourself.

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The Freedom to Be Yourself: My Conversation with Amy Bruske of Kolbe Corp

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The Small Business Startup School – Business Notes | Financial Literacy | Retail Psychology – For Professionals & Entrepreneurs The Small Business Startup School Inc. Starting or buying a small business? While personal circumstances may vary, business patterns remain timeless. On The Small Business Startup School, we explore strategies, insights, and practical solutions to help entrepreneurs confidently navigate their journey.Hosted by Ola Williams—a retail entrepreneur, fintech founder, and financial coach with over two decades of experience—this podcast marries financial awareness and retail psychology with optimism to deliver actionable takeaways.Join us to learn, grow, and connect as we uncover the keys to business success.Let’s continue to learn together and be encouraged to keep on connecting! School of Hard Knox Noah J. Chelliah Everyone has a story, join Noah on an audio journey each month as we explore compelling human stories one interview at a time! Business Bootcamp Mike Andes Business Bootcamp Podcast is made for small business owners.My name is Mike Andes. I started college at the age of 13 with full intention of going to medical school. I went to school for an MBA and now I own a landscaping company, an Anytime Fitness gym, and 3 online businesses. I share my highs, lows, and experiences being an entrepreneur. You can learn from my mistakes and identify with the day-to-day struggles of a small business owner.Call in or ask a question online and get concrete advice about your company. If you are looking to START, GROW, OR SAVE your business I want to help you! Learn from business people and seasoned entrepreneurs as they share their personal stories and experiences on the interview portion of the show. WW2 - the Key Questions, answered by Laurence Rees. Laurence Rees A former Head of BBC TV History programmes, Laurence has specialized in writing books and making television documentaries about World War Two, the Nazis and Stalinism for thirty years. He won a BAFTA and a Peabody for his TV series 'The Nazis: A Warning from History' and a British Book Award for his book on Auschwitz, which is also the world's best selling book on this notorious camp. His book 'the Holocaust: A New History' was described by the Times as 'exemplary' and by the Daily Telegraph as 'the best single volume account of the atrocity ever written'. Educated at Oxford University, for several years he was a visiting senior fellow at the London School of Economics, London University. He holds honorary doctorates from the University of Sheffield and the Open University. Professor Robert Service, of Oxford University, described Rees as 'one of the world's experts on the Second World War'. Sir Max Hastings wrote in the Sunday Times, in a review of Laurence Rees' 'World War Two: Behi

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This episode was published on April 17, 2026.

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Welcome back to Noob School! Today, I’m joined by a very special guest and a longtime friend of the show, Amy Brusky. Amy is the President of Kolbe Corp, and the work her company does is a huge reason reason I was able to grow a tiny company into a...

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