The Compass Podcast
Simplify, Lead & Grow.
Conversations with owners, operators, and executives building businesses that perform without losing the people inside them. Hosted by Steve Kopecky.
From the boardroom to the operating floor.
Want to be a guest?
If you are an owner, operator, or executive whose organization has a story worth studying, we would like to hear from you. Complete the nomination form and set a short meeting to discuss the possibility with Compass Performance.
Latest · Season 1, Episode 14
Chad Ritterbusch
Owner, TRG Marketing
How a lean marketing function earns its budget in a mid-market company.
What guests say
Most interviews ask what we achieved. Steve asked how the system produced it — and I left with language for something I had never been able to explain to my own leadership team.
Manufacturing ownerSeason 1 guest Forty-five minutes, questions in advance, no promotion. It felt less like a podcast and more like a working session I would have paid for.
Managing partner, professional servicesSeason 1 guest Every nomination gets read. The ones that turn into episodes are almost always leaders who rebuilt something under pressure and can show the mechanics.
Compass Performance teamGuest selection
The show
Every guest is running the same experiment: how do you keep a business human as it scales?
The Compass Podcast is an editorial property of Compass Performance — not a second version of the Compass Operating System. Steve sits down with leaders across manufacturing, professional services, health care, technology, and creative studios, and every conversation examines the same five questions.
- 01What reality did the leader have to face?
- 02What did the organization simplify?
- 03How did leadership have to change?
- 04Where did durable growth come from?
- 05What must the organization keep learning?
Episode library
14 conversations, newest first.
Filter by the Compass discipline each conversation illustrates.
Showing 6 of 6 LEAD episodes.
S1 · Ep. 12
Ken Vandervest
Co-Founder, Lisbon Creek Systems
How a solutions-first culture differentiates a technical integrator.
CultureDifferentiation
S1 · Ep. 10
Mike Domitrz
President, The Center for Respect
How a mission born from tragedy became a leadership standard.
PurposeLeadership
S1 · Ep. 09
Dwayne Marks
Founder, President & CEO, Black Orchid Research
How to turn analysis into decisions leaders will actually make.
Data scienceStorytelling
S1 · Ep. 07
Tim Gerritsen
COO, Lost Boys Interactive
How a creative studio scales without losing the craft.
OperationsCreative studios
S1 · Ep. 03
Matt Guse
Owner & President, MRS Machining
How a garage start-up became a 55-employee advanced manufacturer.
ManufacturingAutomation
S1 · Ep. 01
Mandi Lococo
Owner, Gramoll & Associates (American Family Insurance)
How a second-generation owner chose slow, deliberate growth.
SuccessionCulture
The throughline
Every conversation maps back to one architecture — five disciplines, one operating system.
Episode updates
Get each new episode in your inbox.
One short email when a new conversation goes live — the guest, the problem they faced, and the discipline it maps to. No sequences, no drip campaigns. Unsubscribe whenever you like.
The next step
Know a leader whose experience is worth studying?
We are always looking for owners and operators who have rebuilt something real.