Most businesses don’t have a people problem. They don’t have a strategy problem. They don’t even have a motivation problem.

They have an operating system problem.

In this episode of the Get Off The Treadmill Podcast, Chuck challenges the common instinct to fix broken businesses with surface-level solutions, new incentives, new org charts, new software, new accountability systems, without addressing the deeper issue underneath.

Because when your foundational operating system is flawed, adding improvements is just putting lipstick on a pig.

Chuck unpacks why so many organizations stay stuck in the Industrial Age model of control, management, and hierarchy, and what it actually takes to transform the core system so people can think, decide, and create value at every level.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re working harder but not getting healthier as a business, this episode will help you diagnose the real issue.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

• Why most “fixes” don’t fix anything
• The difference between optimizing a bad system and transforming it
• How outdated management models keep people disengaged
• What a healthy operating system actually looks like
• Why real transformation starts at the foundation—not the surface

If you’re serious about getting off the treadmill, stop tweaking tactics and start transforming the system that drives everything.

🎧 Listen now and learn why you don’t need more polish, you need a new operating system.

Most business owners stay stuck on the treadmill because they treat every customer the same, pitching harder instead of listening better.

In this episode, Chuck Blakeman welcomes back Valerie Reid, CEO and Founder of Simple Cremation USA, to break down why understanding how your customer thinks matters more than what you’re selling.

Drawing from her experience advising Fortune 100 companies at Deloitte and scaling a national B2B/B2C platform, Valerie shares how slowing down, asking better questions, and abandoning the “dog and pony show” helps business owners build trust, close deals, and make more money in less time.

You’ll learn:

• Why no two customers buy for the same reason
• The two questions that instantly clarify what matters to a buyer
• How listening replaces selling in relationship-based growth
• When saying “this isn’t a fit” actually strengthens your business
• How 3to5 thinking helps you get off the treadmill and serve better

If you’re tired of chasing prospects and ready to build a business around trust, clarity, and real relationships, this episode will change how you approach sales forever.

🎧 Listen now and learn how to stop selling and start serving.

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Valerie Reid is a strategic, results-driven leader with deep experience in business growth, team leadership, and innovation. After spending more than a decade at Deloitte advising Fortune 100 and 500 companies, she founded Simple Cremation USA, a national online platform connecting families with trusted funeral homes. Valerie is passionate about building value, scaling ideas that matter, and helping businesses serve people better.

🔁 Also listen to Valerie’s first appearance on the podcast: Episode 54 – How We Can Stop Hunting Trees by Finding Lumberjacks

The industrial-age workplace is breaking down and that’s good news.

In this episode, Chuck Blakeman introduces the concept of the Participation Age, a new way of working that replaces top-down control with trust, ownership, and shared responsibility. It’s about rehumanizing the workplace by giving everybody their brain back.

This episode kicks off a series exploring what it really takes to build a business where people fully participate, decisions are made where the work happens, and leaders stop managing people and start leading adults.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• What the Participation Age is and why it’s replacing the industrial-age factory system
• The two defining hallmarks of participation-age companies: participation and sharing
• Why imposed hierarchy and traditional management hold businesses back
• The difference between employees and stakeholders and why language matters
• How distributed decision-making leads to better, faster results
• Why mission becomes the boss in modern organizations
• How principles outperform policies, bureaucracy, and rulebooks

If you’re tired of running your business or your career inside a system that treats people like replaceable parts, this episode will challenge everything you’ve been taught about work.

🎧 Listen now and discover how participation-age thinking helps you get off the treadmill and build work that actually works for humans.

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• 🎥 Watch Chuck’s TEDx Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewA2BqbWhUQ
• 📘 Get the book — Rehumanizing the Workplace: Giving Everybody Their Brain Back: https://www.amazon.com/Rehumanizing-Workplace-Giving-Everybody-Their/dp/1734486902

Most business owners avoid hiring for one simple reason: They don’t want to manage people.

In this episode, Chuck sits down with Brandon Rains to challenge that assumption and show why the right hiring process eliminates the need for management altogether.

Brandon shares how he built a thriving estate planning firm with a high-performing team by hiring for culture, beliefs, and talent before skills and experience. Drawing from his years inside the 3to5 Club and real-world hiring success, this conversation reframes hiring as a long-term investment instead of a risky gamble.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why most hiring fails before the first interview even happens
• How hiring for culture first prevents future management headaches
• The difference between people who want a job and people who want meaningful work
• Why resumes and experience often hide the most important indicators
• How a multi-step hiring process causes the wrong candidates to self-select out
• Why starting with trust, not control, changes everything

If you’re tired of micromanaging, constantly fixing mistakes, or feeling trapped by your team, this episode will help you rethink hiring from the ground up and build a business that runs on ownership instead of oversight.

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👤 About Brandon Rains

Brandon Rains is an estate planning attorney who founded his firm in 2016 and has grown it to serve hundreds of clients with a team of attorneys and staff. A longtime member of the 3to5 Club, Brandon focuses on helping families pass on not just financial wealth, but also their stories and values, so inheritances become true blessings for future generations.

📧 Email: brandon@rains-law.com

What if the fastest way to improve productivity, profit, and retention wasn’t tighter control—but giving people their time back?

In this solo episode, Chuck Blakeman challenges the outdated belief that managing time equals managing performance. Drawing from real-world business examples and decades of leadership experience, Chuck explains why autonomy, trust, and outcome-based leadership consistently outperform micromanagement and rigid schedules.

This episode reframes time as one of the most powerful (and misunderstood) leadership tools—and shows how freeing people from unnecessary control unlocks better results for everyone.

In this episode, Chuck explores:

• Why managing time is a losing strategy for modern businesses
• How focusing on outcomes—not hours—drives higher performance
• The hidden cost of supervision, micromanagement, and “seat time”
• Why trust is a measurable business advantage, not a soft skill
• How giving people autonomy increases engagement, retention, and ownership
• What leaders must let go of to build a truly scalable business

If you want people who act like owners instead of employees and a business that grows without burning everyone out this episode will challenge how you think about time, leadership, and results.

🎧 Listen now and discover why giving people their time back may be the smartest business decision you make.

What does it really take to start and grow a business when you don’t have all the answers?

In this energizing conversation, Chuck sits down with Jessica Agopian, founder of 33 Services & Consulting and multi-center Sylvan Learning franchise owner, along with 3to5 Club facilitator Mark Bellestri, to unpack what it means to lead with action instead of anxiety.

Jessica shares how she went from employee to owner, opened her first Sylvan center, expanded to a second location, and continues to scale, all without waiting for perfect conditions. The discussion dives into why momentum matters more than mastery, how systems beat hustle, and why most of business success has far less to do with industry expertise than people think.

Together, Chuck, Jessica, and Mark explore the mindset shift that separates stalled business owners from builders who keep moving forward, especially when things feel uncertain, messy, or unfinished.

If you’ve ever felt stuck waiting to be “ready,” this episode will challenge that thinking and remind you why movement creates clarity, confidence, and growth.

• Why you don’t need everything figured out before you start
• The difference between being a craftsperson and being a business owner
• How systems, culture, and leadership drive scalable growth
• Why execution beats perfection every time
• How confidence is built after action—not before

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Jessica Agopian is the founder of 33 Services & Consulting and a multi-center Sylvan Learning franchise owner. Known for culture-driven growth, community engagement, and connection-based sales, she helps teams thrive while building businesses that scale through systems, not hustle. Jessica is passionate about intentional leadership, strong processes, and creating organizations that change lives.

Connect with Jessica: jessica@sylvaneducation.com

Gratitude may not sound like a business strategy, but science says otherwise.

In this thought-provoking solo episode, Chuck Blakeman takes a purposeful left turn to explore how gratitude directly impacts business performance, leadership effectiveness, and long-term success. Backed by neuroscience and real-world data, Chuck breaks down why emotional intelligence (EQ), not IQ or technical skill, is the true predictor of business success, and how gratitude is one of the fastest ways to grow it.

You’ll learn why:

• 90% of top performers have high EQ—not high IQ
• EQ drives over half of job performance and long-term success
• Gratitude practices measurably improve health, resilience, joy, and income

But here’s the twist:

Chuck explains why traditional gratitude lists don’t actually make us more grateful—and what does work instead.

This episode introduces a powerful, neuroscience-backed gratitude practice focused on receiving gratitude, not just expressing it. Chuck walks you through a simple, repeatable method that can be done in just a few minutes a week and can literally reduce stress, inflammation, threat detection, and burnout while increasing clarity, meaning, and joy.

🎧 Tune in and discover why gratitude isn’t “soft” it’s a serious competitive advantage.

Most business owners don’t lose sales because of pricing, competition, or skill, they lose them because they don’t follow up.

In this powerful and energizing episode, Chuck reconnects with Lynn Whitbeck, CEO of Petite2Queen, host of Claim Your Career Crown, and widely known as the Queen of Joyful Sales, to unpack the real reason follow-up fails and how you can fix it starting today.

Lynn shares the staggering truth:

80% of all sales are made by the 20% of people who follow up. If you’re not in that 20%, you’re giving business to someone else.

Together, Chuck and Lynn dive into:

• How follow-up builds real relationships (not pressure)
• The mindset traps that stop people from reaching out
• What to do when you think “it’s been too long”
• How to deliver value so you never sound pushy
• Lynn’s simple, proven follow-up system that actually gets responses
• Creative follow-up touches that make you stand out (yes… even fax!)
• Why “no” usually means “not right now” — and how to stay top of mind

Chuck and Lynn also share real-life stories of long-term follow-up that turned into major opportunities, reminding us why consistency, recency, and frequency win in sales every time.

If you’ve ever felt awkward, inconsistent, or unsure about following up, this episode gives you a practical, joyful roadmap to do it well and close more clients by genuinely serving them.

Listen now and become part of the 20% who actually win the business.

Get Lynn’s Free Resource: Download her Get More Clients Checklist at petite2queen.com/checklist

New here? Catch Lynn’s first appearance on the podcast: Making Sales Joyful — scroll back and listen!