Impact Moments

Amy Morin grew a construction company from $0 to $40 million and exited it after 22 years. Then she bought and turned around a fly fishing resort in Montana, exited that one too, went to graduate school, and became an EOS implementer. By every outside measure she had done it right. And yet, she will tell you she got the most important part wrong. In this conversation with Christine Watts and Kris Snyder, Amy walks through the exit-planning concept she ran headlong past the first time around: the three legs of the stool. She had business readiness in spades. She had no plan for financial readiness or personal readiness, and that gap reshaped what came next for her family. Amy now combines EOS implementation with work as a Certified Exit Planning Advisor, helping owners build companies that are valuable to sell and lives that are ready for what comes after.Key topics:The three legs of the exit-planning stool, and why business readiness alone is not enoughWhy 75% of owners regret selling their business one year laterHow identity loss shows up after an exit, especially for the founder who built the thingGoing to market through connectors with a real reason to connect, not just an introThe cost of ego, and what Amy would tell her younger selfAbout Amy Morin:Amy is an EOS implementer and Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA). She previously built and exited a $40M construction company and ran a fly fishing resort in Montana. She also hosts the Exit Velocity podcast (formerly the Mastery Partners Podcast).Connect with Amy: LinkedInMentioned in this episode:Multipliers by Liz WisemanStart With Why by Simon SinekExit Velocity podcast (hosted by Amy)Value Acceleration Methodology (Walking to Destiny by Christopher Snyder)Exit Planning Institute (EPI) and the CEPA designationConnect & Subscribe:Subscribe to the 90xEOS newsletter: ninety.io/impact-momentsRead the 90xEOS blog: ninety.io/eos/blogConnect with Kris: LinkedInConnect with Christine: LinkedInTry Ninety free: bit.ly/3Q99NXrImpact Moments is produced by ninety. Learn more at ninety.io.🔗 Check out our episodes on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@90xEOS🔗 Learn more about Ninety: https://www.ninety.io 

After 13 years as an EOS implementer and nearly 950 sessions, Jim Wardlaw picked up David Hawkins' book on the map of consciousness and found a framework that reframed everything he thought he knew about leadership teams. Hawkins places courage at the midpoint of human emotional states, calling it the line between negative and positive. Jim started seeing that line everywhere in his work: the teams that muster the courage to face hard truths consistently come out stronger, while the teams that stay below the line stay stuck in anxiety, politics, and avoidance. In this episode, Jim shares how that insight changed his approach to facilitation, tells the story of a single moment of vulnerability that transformed an entire leadership team, and explains why he believes AI is a bridge to better human thinking, not a replacement for it.Key topics:How Jim met Gino Wickman before EOS existedDavid Hawkins' map of consciousness and the courage line at 200The three questions exercise that broke a senior executive and transformed a team overnight"Give me the 20% that's real": a conflict resolution technique from Hank O'DonnellWhy AI might be a stepping stone to higher human cognition, not a threatAbout Jim Wardlaw:Jim is an EOS Expert Implementer based in Western New York with about 125 implementations and 950 sessions under his belt. He started as an ad agency owner in East Lansing, Michigan, where Gino Wickman was his first implementer. After selling the agency, he earned a master's in Creativity and Organizational Change Management from the Center for Applied Imagination at Buffalo State, the oldest organization in the world focused on creative problem-solving. He is currently writing a book called Entropy exploring the relationship between AI and human imagination. He can be reached at [email protected] or [email protected].🔗 Check out our episodes on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@90xEOS🔗 Learn more about Ninety: https://www.ninety.io 

EOS® works at the leadership level. But what happens when it reaches the people doing the work every day?In this episode of Impact Moments, Jared Stein breaks down what changes when EOS® is fully embedded across the organization, not just at the top. We cover: The real impact of a visible Scorecard  Why earlier issue-solving changes everything  How Level 10 Meetings® drive clarity without control If your team is still sending problems uphill, this episode will show you what it takes to build true ownership at every level.🔗 Check out our episodes on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@90xEOS🔗 Learn more about Ninety: https://www.ninety.io 

Kevin Stoller built Kay-Twelve into a 16-year school furniture business, but the real turning point came when he sat alone in a conference room, filled out an accountability chart, and realized every single seat had his name in it. In this conversation with Christine Watts and Kris Snyder, Kevin talks about what it took to let go, why finding the right integrator is a journey (not a one-time hire), and how discovering his company's mission in a fourth-grade classroom changed everything. He walked in to deliver furniture and walked out knowing that Kay-Twelve was not about selling stuff. It was about transforming how students learn. That realization led Kevin to start the Education Leaders Organization and build FASCO, a student-centered operating system that brings EOS principles into schools. He also shares the marketing campaign he probably wishes he could take back.Key topics:The accountability chart moment: every seat had his name in itFinding the mission in a fourth-grade classroom that changed everythingWhy finding the right integrator is a journey, not a destinationBuilding FASCO: an EOS-style operating system for school districtsThe morning routine that starts with 50 free throws and a podcast at 5:30 AMAbout Kevin Stoller:Kevin is the founder of Kay-Twelve (KAY-12) and the Education Leaders Organization, where he is building FASCO.Connect with Kevin: LinkedInConnect & Subscribe:Subscribe to the 90xEOS newsletter: ninety.io/impact-momentsRead the 90xEOS blog: ninety.io/eos/blogConnect with Kris: LinkedInConnect with Christine: LinkedInTry Ninety free: bit.ly/3Q99NXrImpact Moments is produced by ninety. Learn more at ninety.io.🔗 Check out our episodes on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@90xEOS🔗 Learn more about Ninety: https://www.ninety.io 

T.J. Gliha and his partners acquired a wealth management firm that served professional golfers and grew it from $250 million in assets under management to over $1.4 billion in four years, going from 4 employees to 26. But the moment that changed everything for Journey Wealth was not a number. It was a client sitting across from T.J., freshly off his third private equity exit, with more money than he would ever need, who was miserable. His health was failing, his relationships were broken, and T.J. realized that managing a balance sheet was not enough. That conversation led Journey Wealth to build an entire wellness offering alongside their financial services: executive life coaching, precision healthcare, family counseling, nutrition, and fitness. In this episode, T.J. talks about the comedy of trying to self-implement EOS, why being too nice to your partners will hold the business back, and how he learned to fire clients who were not the right fit. He also shares why he believes employees are the number one asset, not the clients.Key topics:The client conversation that turned a financial firm into a wellness companySelf-implementing EOS as a comedy show, and what changed when they got seriousBeing too nice to each other: why uncomfortable conversations are the unlockFiring a client who was a friend, and why it made the relationship stronger"No entrepreneur goes undefeated": building resilience into the cultureAbout T.J. Gliha:T.J. is the president and CEO of Journey Wealth, an independent RIA and full-service wealth planning firm in Cleveland, Ohio.Website: journey-wealth.com903 Collective: 903collective.comConnect & Subscribe:Subscribe to the 90xEOS newsletter: ninety.io/impact-momentsRead the 90xEOS blog: ninety.io/eos/blogConnect with Kris: LinkedInConnect with Christine: LinkedInTry Ninety free: bit.ly/3Q99NXrImpact Moments is produced by ninety. Learn more at ninety.io.🔗 Check out our episodes on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@90xEOS🔗 Learn more about Ninety: https://www.ninety.io 

Mark Abbott is the founder and CEO of Ninety, the platform powering this podcast. He was EOS Implementer number 33 back when there were only a handful of coaches in the community. He has spent decades obsessing over vision, culture, and what it takes to build companies that last. So when he looked around his own company last year and realized the culture had drifted, it hit hard.In this episode, Mark opens up about one of the most difficult years in Ninety’s history. The company had grown fast, maybe too fast. Leaders were over-indexing on taking care of their teams instead of doing what was right for the company. People were quietly sitting on work they did not need to do and not escalating it. And when it came time to make hard decisions, the first attempt did not go the way Mark would have done it. He let it happen anyway. And he has regretted it ever since.We dig into:How Mark discovered EOS in 2010 and became implementer number 33Why vision and culture are the foundation of everything elseThe two co-founders in Naples who were ready to break up until one conversation changed everythingLeadership changes on the ones and threes, and why good people still end up in the wrong seatsThe three levels that matter for senior leadership: ego development, time span capacity, and levels of thinkingWhat “succeed or escalate” means and why it became a mantra at NinetyThe difference between the first reduction in force and the second, and why founder mode mattersHis three biggest mistakes: the first RIF, the Paddle/Stripe decision, and the new commercial modelMark also shares the moment he told Christine, vulnerably, that he was not happy with the culture of his own company. For someone who has built his career around helping others get culture right, that admission carries weight.If you are a founder wondering whether you have let things drift too far, or a leader trying to figure out when to step back in and when to let go, this one is for you.🔗 Check out our episodes on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@90xEOS🔗 Learn more about Ninety: https://www.ninety.io 

Kevin von Keyserling built a consulting company called Certified Security Solutions and transformed it into Keyfactor, a multi-billion dollar cybersecurity unicorn. Then he walked away from his operating role, got recruited by a local VC firm, and decided to do it all over again with a healthcare supply chain startup called ReadySet Surgical. But this time, things did not go as planned. In this conversation with Christine Watts and Kris Snyder, Kevin shares the moment he sat in a quarterly review and said what no one else on his leadership team would say out loud: "It's an F." Every metric missed. Every objective failed. Some things were outside their control, but most of it was not. What followed was a comprehensive reset. Three direct reports left. A board member walked. But 18 months later, the company is growing over 50% year over year with a sustainable go-to-market and the right people in the right seats.Key topics:Transforming two different companies from consulting to SaaS, and the culture shift each timeThe first F quarter: owning collective failure instead of blaming salesMoving from tribal knowledge to systemic knowledge using EOS and Ninety throughout the entire companySkipping validation and burning cash on a go-to-market that was not readyBalancing empathy and results: lessons from the Elon Musk biographyAbout Kevin von Keyserling:Kevin is the CEO of ReadySet Surgical, a supply chain management software company connecting hospitals with medical equipment manufacturers. Previously, he built Keyfactor into a multi-billion dollar cybersecurity company.Connect with Kevin: [email protected] in this episode:Keyfactor (formerly Certified Security Solutions)ReadySet SurgicalElon Musk biography by Walter IsaacsonNorth Coast VenturesConnect & Subscribe:Subscribe to the 90xEOS newsletter: ninety.io/impact-momentsRead the 90xEOS blog: ninety.io/eos/blogConnect with Kris: LinkedInConnect with Christine: LinkedInTry Ninety free: bit.ly/3Q99NXrImpact Moments is produced by ninety. Learn more at ninety.io.🔗 Check out our episodes on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@90xEOS🔗 Learn more about Ninety: https://www.ninety.io 

Mike Minard bootstrapped Delta Media Group into a SaaS company serving 40,000 active users in residential real estate. After two decades of building it, he stepped away. Not because the business was struggling, but because he was burnt out. What followed was a two-year stretch where the company more than doubled in revenue, but lost its way on product, support, and culture. When Mike sat in a quarterly meeting and heard excuses instead of answers, he knew he had to come back in and blow it up. In this conversation with Christine Watts and Kris Snyder, Mike talks about what it looked like to fire an entire support department for core value violations, halt sales to fix internal operations, and rebuild the company he had spent 20 years creating. He also shares why he believes AI adoption has to come from the top, and why the developers on X are more useful than the company press releases.Key topics:Stepping away from a bootstrapped SaaS company after 20 years, and the cost of not watching the metricsFiring an entire department for core value violations, and what the leadership team did nextThe difference between chasing revenue and protecting product in a SaaS businessWhy AI adoption has to be led from the top, and how one developer realized he didn't actually know AIDaily standups over weekly meetings when the business moves fast enough that 24 hours feels like a weekAbout Mike Minard:Mike is the CEO and founder of Delta Media Group, a SaaS platform serving 40,000 active users in residential real estate with CRM, digital marketing, and website solutions.Connect with Mike: X/TwitterMentioned in this episode:VistageEOS / Entrepreneurial Operating SystemThe Federalist PapersPeople Architects and "The Gift of Being Fired" by Meg (upcoming book)Connect & Subscribe:Subscribe to the 90xEOS newsletter: ninety.io/impact-momentsRead the 90xEOS blog: ninety.io/eos/blogConnect with Kris: LinkedInConnect with Christine: LinkedInTry Ninety free: bit.ly/3Q99NXrImpact Moments is produced by ninety. Learn more at ninety.io.🔗 Check out our episodes on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@90xEOS🔗 Learn more about Ninety: https://www.ninety.io 

Kevin Woeste left a career in financial trading to buy into his wife's family business, a third-generation land surveying company in Ohio called McSteen. He spent the first four and a half years trying to do everything himself: field work, drafting, managing. He hated it. He and his wife Molly set a five-year deadline, and with six months left, they were ready to walk away. The unlock was realizing Kevin was in the wrong seat. Once he moved into a visionary role, everything changed. In this conversation with Christine Watts and Kris Snyder, Kevin talks about what it took to stop doing the work and start giving it away: handing rocks to his leadership team, watching them execute at a level he never could, and learning to be okay when they do it differently than he would. He also shares the story of firing a top performer who didn't fit the culture, the whiteboard session that created an entirely new revenue model, and why he believes you can't lead well if you don't sleep well.Key topics:Why Kevin nearly walked away from a 55-year family business, and how finding the right seat saved itGiving your team the power to fail, and why that is where they grow as leadersThe "brilliant jerk": when your most productive person is your biggest cultural problemHow one EOS session turned a whiteboard sketch into a new revenue stream (Preferred Partnership Program)Sleep, deep work, and showing up as the best version of yourself every dayAbout Kevin Woeste:Kevin is the CEO of McSteen Land Surveyors, a third-generation family business covering all 88 counties in Ohio. He is also the CTO and co-founder of 1MC Solutions, a software company for surveyors.Connect with Kevin: LinkedInMentioned in this episode:Edward Lowe Foundation and the Burton D. Morgan FoundationScalarator programColby assessment (Kevin is a 7373)Dan Sullivan and Unique AbilityDeep Work by Cal NewportAtomic Habits by James ClearScaling Up by Verne HarnishConnect & Subscribe:Subscribe to the 90xEOS newsletter: ninety.io/impact-momentsRead the 90xEOS blog: ninety.io/eos/blogConnect with Kris: LinkedInConnect with Christine: LinkedInTry Ninety free: bit.ly/3Q99NXrImpact Moments is produced by ninety. Learn more at ninety.io.🔗 Check out our episodes on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@90xEOS🔗 Learn more about Ninety: https://www.ninety.io 

Welcome to Impact Moments Powered by Ninety. Hosts Kris Snyder and Christine Watts kick off this new series by sharing why, after 8 years working together and helping 17,000+ companies run on EOS, they're finally putting these stories out into the world.This podcast is about the breakthrough moments: the aha's that land hard, the light bulbs that change everything, and the ripple effects that follow. We'll sit down with entrepreneurs, integrators, EOS Implementers, and partners who've been in the trenches. Because the struggle is real, but you don't have to go through it alone.Subscribe to join the journey. More guests, more stories, more impact. Coming soon.🔗 Check out our episodes on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@90xEOS🔗 Learn more about Ninety: https://www.ninety.io