The Man Who Was Fired Becomes the Man to Follow with Steve Preda

Firing The Man

What happens when getting fired becomes the best career move you'll ever make? Steve Preda, founder of SummitOS and host of the Management Blueprint podcast, shares the remarkable story of walking across the street from the bank that just terminated him, opening his own office, and systematically winning back every client his former employer had.
Steve's journey from his "golden cage" of prestigious corporate roles to entrepreneurial freedom offers powerful lessons for anyone feeling trapped in traditional employment. Despite coming from a family of professionals and earning impressive credentials including the rigorous CFA designation, Steve discovered his true calling lay in building businesses and helping others do the same.
The conversation explores the critical distinction between entrepreneurial functions (marketing and innovation) and execution functions (operations) that allow businesses to become truly self-managing. Rather than chasing the myth of passive income, Steve advocates for entrepreneurs to focus their energy on value creation while building systems that handle day-to-day operations. His SummitOS framework, which he describes as "EOS on steroids," provides a customizable, scalable approach that helps business owners harvest low-hanging fruit quickly while building for long-term success.
We dive deep into practical strategies for attracting and retaining top talent, including Steve's three-tiered approach to compensation that evolves as employees demonstrate their value. His insights on defining culture through behaviors rather than abstract ideals and measuring outcomes through function-specific KPIs offer actionable frameworks for listeners at any stage of business growth.
The interview concludes with Steve's powerful formula for entrepreneurial success: desire provides the motivation to overcome challenges, resilience enables bouncing back from inevitable setbacks, and curiosity drives continuous learning and improvement. With these qualities and the right systems in place, entrepreneurs can achieve what Steve calls the ultimate gift: owning your time.
Ready to transform your business into a fast-growing, high-profit, self-managing organization? Discover Steve's frameworks, books, and coaching at summitosco.com or connect with him on LinkedIn.
How to connect with Steve?
Website: https://SummitOS.co
Apple Podcast: https://bit.ly/MBPpodcast
YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/MBPodcastPlaylistYT
LinkedIn Personal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevepreda/
LinkedIn Summit OS: https://www.linkedin.com/company/77938145/admin/feed/posts/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/steveipreda/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stevepreda/
TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@summitos_creator
Twitter: https://twitter.com/StevePredaCom
Amazon: amazon.com/author/stevepreda
Email: [email protected]

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Chapters

1. The Man Who Was Fired Becomes the Man to Follow with Steve Preda (00:00:00)

2. Introduction to Steve Prida (00:01:22)

3. From Golden Cage to Entrepreneurship (00:03:44)

4. Frameworks for Scaling Businesses (00:10:07)

5. Building Self-Managing Companies (00:17:54)

6. Technology and AI in Business Growth (00:23:30)

7. Building and Retaining Winning Teams (00:29:20)

8. Compensation Strategies for Success (00:40:58)

9. Fire Round: Books, Hobbies and Lessons (00:46:17)