Ever wonder what happens when the COO who scaled a company to $100 million realizes he was the problem?
In this episode, Cameron sits down with Mike Wood, COO of Jarrett Companies, who joined a $2 million Nashville construction firm and helped grow it into seven companies doing over $100 million.
They get into the machinery behind that growth: meetings from 6 to 9 a.m., five days a week, a double check on everybody in the building, and profit sharing that turns leaders into owners. Then it goes deeper. Mike opens up about learning to read at 25, the misery that followed his biggest turnaround, and the million-dollar flood where taking full ownership changed his entire team.
If the noise in your head is louder than the problems on your desk, this conversation is your way out. Listen now.
Sponsored by:
STS Capital – A global M&A advisory firm helping entrepreneurs achieve maximum value when selling their business, with a focus on strategic buyers and life-changing exits.
Learn more: https://stscapital.com
Timestamped Highlights
05:30 - Two million to one hundred million: why Mike had to keep replacing himself, over and over
07:38 - Meetings from 6 to 9 a.m., five days a week: the double check habit that ended repeat mistakes
13:16 - The six out of ten rule: why waiting two months on a problem employee costs you everything
15:51 - How to create safety before a hard conversation, so people can actually hear you
18:41 - The science of angry leadership: cortisol, the default mode network, and why exploding makes you dumber
23:26 - More money, happy family, great job, and the most miserable he had ever been: the fish tank moment
24:30 - Learning to read at 25: how a rare form of dyslexia wrote the negative script in Mike's head
30:28 - "This flood is my fault": the $1 million claim that became a masterclass in taking ownership
34:32 - What owners do when nobody is watching, and why every person in the building needs a double check
42:10 - Inside Learn to Love Being You: removing identities, forgiveness, and rewriting the stories that haunt us
About the Guest
Mike Wood is the COO of Jarrett Companies, a Nashville-based commercial construction group spanning site work, paving, concrete, fire protection, and mechanical services. Since joining as an estimator and project manager, he has helped grow the business from $2 million to more than $100 million in revenue across seven companies, including a fire protection company later sold to a private equity firm. Mike is also the founder of Learn to Love Being You, a 10-week program that helps people quiet anxiety and self-doubt through the same inner work that transformed his own leadership.
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Important Links
The Second in Command Podcast is an original production hosted by Cameron Herold. Brought to you by COO Alliance. Production and editing by Podcast Your Brand.
Sponsored by:
STS Capital – A global M&A advisory firm helping entrepreneurs achieve maximum value when selling their business, with a focus on strategic buyers and life-changing exits.
Learn more: https://stscapital.com
