Episode 218

EP 218: For CEOs Tired of Slow Execution | Build Teams That Act Without You

If you’re leading a $10M–$25M, multi-location, operations-heavy business, you’ve likely felt it: revenue slows down unless you step in and push.

In this episode, Alex D. Tremble sits down with Lara Shackelford, CEO of Hawksmoor.ai, where she architects AI-driven go-to-market systems for enterprise and mid-market companies. With deep experience across Oracle, Microsoft, and high-growth environments, Lara breaks down why most teams fail to act on the signals right in front of them and how that creates hidden bottlenecks at the top.

This conversation focuses on a core issue many operators face: a lack of proactive ownership across teams, leading to slow execution, misalignment, and too many decisions rolling back to the CEO.

You’ll learn:

  • How to get your leaders to own revenue, not just their function
  • Why sales, marketing, and operations must act as one coordinated system
  • How to use real-time signals to trigger action without waiting for direction
  • What it takes to build teams that move faster without constant oversight
  • How better alignment reduces decision fatigue and execution delays

This episode is for you if:

  • You’re still the one pushing revenue forward every week
  • Your teams are smart, but not acting fast enough without you
  • Execution across locations or departments feels uneven

Take the free Executive Leadership Diagnostic here: https://gpsleadership.org/diagnostic/

Listen now to learn how to build a business that moves without everything running through you.

About the Podcast

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The Executive Appeal with Alex D. Tremble
For CEOs of $10M–$25M companies who want to stop being the bottleneck.

About your host

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Alex D. Tremble

Alex D. Tremble is the Founder and CEO of GPS Leadership Solutions, a bestselling author, and an award‑winning executive coach to CEOs of early eight‑figure, multi‑location companies. With a Master’s in Industrial and Organizational Psychology and over a decade of advising Fortune 500 executives, federal leaders, and high‑growth founders, Alex helps CEOs stop being the bottleneck in their own businesses.

Through his Executive 360 Snapshot and 90‑Day CEO Reset programs, Alex uses his TP3™ framework – Trust, Proactivity, Productivity, Profitability – to reveal how CEOs are truly experienced, pinpoint the behaviors that are slowing everything down, and install simple leadership operating systems so their companies can run fast without them in every decision.

He is the author of five leadership books, including "Leadership Sucks! (Sometimes)" and Unlocking the Executive Advantage, and hosts The Executive Appeal, where he interviews CEOs and senior leaders on the real work of leading companies that no longer depend on hero leadership.