Build Without Chaos

Colleen Goepfert

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Business
Updated Biweekly

Build Without Chaos is hosted by Colleen Goepfert, a tech executive and GTM leader. Each episode features candid conversations with founders, executives, public figures, and change makers about building with clarity, scaling without burnout, and navigating change with resilience. No playbooks. No posturing. Just sharp perspective, quiet authority, and the truth behind what it takes to build in a way that lasts.

Jul 19

The Human Behind a Leader | Jerry Colonna, CEO & Co-Founder of Reboot

Leadership conversations often focus on strategy, growth, and execution. This one starts somewhere else. In this episode of Build Without Chaos, I sit down with Jerry Colonna, CEO and Co-Founder of Reboot, executive coach, author, and former venture capitalist, to explore the human side of leadership. Together we discuss what building a company reveals about the people building it, why hypergrowth can amplify both our strengths and our blind spots, and why sustainable leadership begins long before managing teams or scaling organizations. We also explore: Why better humans make better leadersThe hidden cost of hypergrowthCan you remain healthy inside a toxic environment? Why self-awareness is a leadership skillWhat "doing the work" actually meansThe role curiosity plays in personal growthHow organizational chaos often begins with human behaviorWhat AI makes even more important about being human If you've ever questioned what success is asking of you, this conversation is for you. About Jerry Colonna Jerry Colonna is the CEO and Co-Founder of Reboot, an executive coach, author of Reboot and Reunion, and former venture capitalist. For decades, he has worked alongside founders and executives helping them navigate leadership, purpose, and personal transformation. Subscribe to Build Without Chaos for conversations on leadership, organizational design, and building sustainable high-growth companies.
Jun 23

Why High Growth Companies Mistake Performance for Leadership

About This Episode: In this solo episode of Build Without Chaos, Colleen Goepfert explores a common pattern in high-growth companies: promoting people based on performance rather than leadership capability. As organizations scale, urgency often outpaces leadership development. High performers become managers, but many are never given the training, support, or structure needed to lead effectively. The result is often inconsistent management, burnout, misalignment, and cultures that normalize chaos. Inspired by a recent conversation with Danny Speros, this episode examines why performance and leadership are different skill sets, and what organizations need to reward if they want sustainable growth. What Talk About: • Why high performers are often promoted into leadership roles • The difference between execution and leadership • How urgency cultures reinforce the wrong behaviors • Why burnout and misalignment become normalized • What companies can do to build stronger leadership systems Connect: Website: buildwithoutchaos.com Colleen Goepfert: linkedin.com/in/colleengoepfert
May 12

After Urgency: How Leadership Evolves with Danny Speros

This episode marks the start of Season 2 of Build Without Chaos, focused on what happens after urgency stops being a sustainable operating model. In this episode, Colleen Goepfert talks with Danny Speros from Automation Anywhere about what leadership looks like once urgency is no longer driving the pace of the business. Danny has spent his career inside high-growth environments navigating scale, shifting priorities, and the gap between internal reality and external narrative. In this conversation, he shares what leaders have to unlearn after operating in constant urgency and what it takes to rebuild clarity without losing momentum. This episode explores how pressure reshapes decision-making, why sustained urgency breaks teams over time, and how leadership evolves when growth is no longer driven by speed alone. What We Discuss: The hidden cost of operating in constant urgencyWhy “everything is important” leads to long-term burnoutThe shift from risk-taking to security in today’s marketWhat leaders have to unlearn as they growThe gap between internal reality and external company narrativeHow to prioritize effectively in chaotic environmentsWhy This Episode Resonates: This episode is for operators, leaders, and executives navigating the transition out of high-growth intensity into a more sustainable phase of building. If you’ve experienced the strain of constant urgency or are rethinking how to lead in today’s environment, this conversation offers a grounded perspective on what actually holds up over time. Connect: Website: buildwithoutchaos.com Colleen Goepfert: linkedin.com/in/colleengoepfert Danny Speros: linkedin.com/in/dannysperos
Jan 27

When the Playbook Doesn't Apply

In this episode of Build Without Chaos, Colleen Goepfert talks with Emily Jordan from Midi about what it takes to scale in a category where trust is fragile and standard growth playbooks fall short. Emily stepped into Midi at a moment when the women’s health market was loud, emotionally charged, and moving fast. Rather than defaulting to familiar B2B or B2C tactics, she made deliberate choices around pace, credibility, and restraint. Those decisions shaped how Midi grew, protected trust, and built momentum without sacrificing care. This conversation explores what happens when judgment matters more than tactics and when knowing what not to scale is just as important as knowing how to grow. What We Discuss: • Why traditional growth playbooks did not apply in this category • Trust as a constraint to scale, not a byproduct of it • Choosing credibility over speed in emotionally charged markets• Founder-led storytelling versus paid scale • Slowing growth intentionally to protect clinical quality• Leading mission-driven and market-driven teams at the same time • Letting go of perfectionism in high growth environments Why This Episode Matters: This episode is for operators, marketing leaders, founders, and executives building in complex or high-stakes categories where getting it wrong can do real damage. If you are navigating growth without a clear template or questioning whether the usual rules apply, this conversation offers perspective grounded in experience, not theory. Connect: Website: buildwithoutchaos.com Colleen Goepfert: linkedin.com/in/colleengoepfert Emily Jordan: linkedin.com/in/emilyjordangargas-mba/
12/31/2025

Calm is Not Slow

Calm is often mistaken for hesitation, especially in high pressure, high growth environments where urgency is rewarded and speed is treated as performance. In this solo episode, Colleen examines why that framing is wrong. Drawing from real operating experience, she explains how urgency culture quietly erodes trust, decision quality, and long term momentum, and why calm leadership is not the absence of pressure but the discipline that allows pressure to be useful. This is not a case study or a how to.It is a reframing of what serious leadership looks like now. In this episode: Why urgency is often confused with effectiveness How speed without clarity creates noise, not momentum What breaks when everything is treated as critical Why calm is becoming the leadership standard, not an alternative style Calm is not slow.It is how leaders handle complexity at scale.
11/18/2025

Order in the Storm: How Leaders Create Clarity in Chaos with Ivo van den Brand

In this episode of Build Without Chaos, Colleen Goepfert sits down with Ivo van den Brand, former Global CMO of Too Good To Go, to explore how leaders bring clarity and structure to a fast-scaling, mission driven organization. Ivo led marketing across 17 countries and more than 160 marketers. He shares what it took to create alignment, focus, and operational excellence inside a team that was growing fast and feeling the strain. What We Discuss:• Creating order inside a decentralized, emotionally invested culture• How to restructure without losing trust• Vulnerability as a leadership advantage• Managing the internal voice and reframing imposter syndrome• Keeping teams focused during constant transition Connect with Colleen:buildwithoutchaos.comlinkedin.com/in/colleengoepfert Connect with Ivo:linkedin.com/in/ivovandenbrand
10/26/2025

The Operators Who Opt Out - with Andrew Garrihy, Global CMO turned CMO Coach

Some leaders chase scale. Others redefine it. Colleen Goepfert sits with Andrew Garrihy, who served as Global CMO at four major companies before stepping away from the executive track to focus on coaching and conscious leadership. This conversation explores what happens when operators stop optimizing for velocity and start building for longevity — in business, leadership, and life. In this episode, we talk with Andrew Garrihy — The CMO Coach, an international marketing leader and executive coach who helps CMOs lead with clarity, confidence, and courage. Learn more at The CMO Coach.
09/30/2025

The Take Down and the Step Back: Power, Perspective, and Living Beyond Work

What really happens when women leaders rise to the top? Shannon Nutter joins host Colleen Goepfert on Build Without Chaos to share insights from her upcoming book, drawn from candid interviews with dozens of executives. Together, they explore how power and scrutiny collide in leadership, what it means to face “the take down,” and why awareness of organizational dynamics reshapes influence. This episode is about women in leadership, navigating career pivots, and making time for what actually matters.

Inspiring

10/28/2025

loveleeeee

Consistently inspired by the guests fresh perspectives. The host effortlessly keeps the conversation moving.

Build Without Chaos is hosted by Colleen Goepfert, a tech executive and GTM leader. Each episode features candid conversations with founders, executives, public figures, and change makers about building with clarity, scaling without burnout, and navigating change with resilience. No playbooks. No posturing. Just sharp perspective, quiet authority, and the truth behind what it takes to build in a way that lasts.

Creator

Colleen Goepfert
Years Active

2025 - 2026
Episodes

15
Rating

Explicit
Copyright

© Colleen Goepfert
Show Website

Build Without Chaos