Shift & Thrive: CEO Insights on Driving Change

What does it take to rebuild trust in an organization where most employees are disengaged? In this episode of Shift & Thrive, host Natalie Nathanson talks with Bree Katulak, President and CFO of RenoSys and host of the Unstoppable You podcast, about leading transformation in manufacturing and industrial businesses. A CPA by training, Bree shares how quarterly town halls, fireside chats, and a constant presence on the plant floor lifted employee engagement by 800 basis points and cut turnover from 65% to 15% at Polygon. She also covers reorganizing engineering into sales after pressure-testing the plan with her YPO forum, leading with curiosity instead of alarm when KPIs dip, walking away from unprofitable customers, and setting priorities across people, go-to-market strategy, and technology in her current role.

Takeaways:
Earn employee trust by staying visible and following up on every open question within a set timeframe.
When someone pushes back on change, take it offline and ask what is driving it before deciding if they are a fit.
Test major org changes with a peer group of CEOs and ask them to challenge every angle before you announce.
When a KPI dips, ask questions from curiosity before stepping in, because early intervention can create stress across your team.
Tie incentive plans to the metrics that drive valuation so employees share in the results they help create.
Define which customers are not a fit, since every yes uses capacity you need for better ones.
Decide which strategic priorities you are pausing and make that list visible so your team stays focused on what matters now.

Quote of the Show:
  •  “I may have good ideas, but working together as a group can make them way better, and it'll help get the buy-in, and we'll actually move faster.” - Bree Katulak

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This show is sponsored by Magnetude Consulting, bringing you the thinking-Power of a Growth Consultancy and the Getting-It-Done Power of a full-service B2B Marketing Agency. 
Learn more at: https://www.magnetudeconsulting.com 

Creators and Guests

Host
Natalie Nathanson
Guest
Bree Katulak
Producer
Erica Weser

What is Shift & Thrive: CEO Insights on Driving Change?

In today’s business world change is the only constant, and mastering transformation is the ultimate key to success. Welcome to Shift & Thrive!

Each week, Host Natalie Nathanson will bring you conversations with CEOs, who delve into how they successfully drove critical change in their organization.

This show is sponsored by Magnetude Consulting, bringing you the thinking power of a Growth Consultancy and the Getting-It-Done Power of a full-service B2B Marketing Agency.

S&T _ Bree Katulak
===

Intro: [00:00:00] In today's business world, change is the only constant, and mastering transformation is the ultimate key to success. Welcome to Shift and Thrive. I'm your host, Natalie Nathanson.

Each week we'll bring you conversations with CEOs who delve into how they successfully drove critical change in their organization. This show is sponsored by Magnitude Consulting, bringing you the thinking power of a growth consult. And the getting it done, power of a full service B2B marketing agency.

Natalie Nathanson: am very

excited to speak with today's guest. She is a transformational business leader who has spent her career helping organizations navigate growth,

operational

change, and cultural transformation. She started her career as a CPA and quickly discovered her passion

for complex transactions in M&A, ultimately building stronger businesses, which led her from corporate

finance

into executive [00:01:00] leadership.

She's led major turnarounds in manufacturing

and industrial organizations, helping transform operations, strengthen company culture, and build high-performing teams through trust, accountability and disciplined execution.

Today, she

is leading the next phase

of growth at Renesis,

while also being

the host of the

Unstoppable You

podcast, where she explores

leadership,

identity, and what success really

means for high achievers.

She is the president

and

CFO of Renesis. Bree Cadilac, welcome to the show

Bree Katulak: Thank you so much,

Natalie. I'm looking forward to the conversation today.

Natalie Nathanson: Thank you. I

am as well.

And I know

you've spent

much of your

career stepping into organizations and roles at inflection points

when significant change was needed. Uh, so I wanted to talk a bit about, uh, your time at Polygon, which I know included, uh,

some, you know, cultural transformation in the organization- and, and a bit broader. So I'd love to talk about what that experience taught you about what it takes to kind of

lead a [00:02:00] successful transformation, and maybe to start us

off and set

the stage, talk about what was

the dynamic at Polygon and kinda what made it clear that meaningful change was needed.

Bree Katulak: Yes. Um, so when I first started at Polygon, it,

I started as the CFO,

um, and this was my first run

in that position. And when I came in,

I

think, um,

there was a lot of opportunity for cultural advancements. They were owned by a family office and still are today, which is really more patient capital, so not the typical PE firm tur- turn

and burn kind of mentality.

But

first and foremost, what

we realized

when I

stepped in

was

the lack of data that was

meaningful to know which levers to pull to really drive the valuation upward. So

we really started

focusing on what are the most meaningful

KPIs

that really align with the

manufacturing framework

of SQPDC, and starting with safety [00:03:00] and

quality and going

through those.

Um, I think the most

impactful change that we had

on the organization was focusing on that people pillar and really changing the culture. So

when I first started, um, we were taking employee

engagement surveys, which I think are very important

to understand

what's meaningful to your employee base, and we were an actively disengaged

culture.

And, um, that was just something

that didn't sit well with me. And I would say having newly stepped

into an executive

level role, it was

a very big learning opportunity for me to learn

how to communicate

to over 250 people so that they hear you, um, and

that everyone hears and

takes messages very differently.

So

that was important. Starting quarterly town halls and producing transparency in what our priorities are as

an organization and

why we're focusing on these

things. And then helping people understand that,

yes, provide us

the feedback so that we have

the [00:04:00] data, but we can't make changes

at

the flip of a switch.

It's going to take time, and we had to earn that trust. And over the course of my four years there, both as CFO and

transitioning into president and CEO,

we were able to gain that trust and make very meaningful, impactful,

uh, changes that the employees benefited from, and I can go

through

some of those if you'd like to hear it.

But by the time I left, we had improved the employee engagement score

by 800 basis

points, and

we were an

engaged workforce.

Turnover had went from 65% when I had started

down to 15%, and we were ver- very

proud of those statistics. Um,

Another

thing that we

focused on from an operational standpoint was really

looking at

the spaghetti diagram of the flow

of product through the plant

floor.

And

I think this also

helped on culture, but really driving improvements in

capacity and decreasing our costs

as an

organization.

So [00:05:00] we had typically been

a, a company that the

product would be in one portion of the plant floor,

then

have

to move

to the front,

then

have

to go back to the middle of the plant, and

obviously that's inefficient. So what we did was we went to more of a work cell mentality,

rearranged the entire plant floor, and removed two miles

worth of walking for

an individual being an employee, and the product and

wait time.

So cellular manufacturing

is what we set up, and

we went from

four employees having to touch a product throughout the process down to one, which

obviously

allowed for a

lot of cost savings and

capacity gains in the process

Natalie Nathanson: Yeah, yeah. It sounds like a number of changes both

kind of the,

the softer side, so to speak- as well as, uh, operationally.

Uh, I do

wanna talk a

bit more about kind of that trust-building because

I think, you know, any- anytime you're changing the culture,

that's obviously very critical.

And I know, um, uh, [00:06:00] some- sometimes it can be hard to kind of regain trust, uh, when folks don't have it.

So can you talk a little bit about what were some of those things,

uh, that

Bree Katulak: Absolutely.

Absolutely. So I know

this may sound simple, um, and almost like how did this

actually change anything?

but honestly, me

going and

walking the plant floor

multiple times a day, and we

were a, a 24/5

operation, so

making

sure I was present not only

at first shift, but that I was

coming in

regularly, um, to second shift and even third shift.

Um, I wanted

to meet

the employees where

they were. So when we did town halls, we only had two buildings in the

same town,

so

it was beneficial from that standpoint that we weren't multi-site all across either the nation or

the world. But we,

we held

town halls at

third shift, first shift,

and second shift to make sure everyone heard

the same message, but in person from the executive leadership team.

And we always

opened it

up for [00:07:00] Q&A, and

maybe

we didn't have all

the answers right then

and there, but we

committed to following up with them

within the week. Um, I wouldn't say that immediately

gained all of the trust, but I think as we

continued and never gave up on those quarterly

town halls, we never

missed one, that, that was huge.

Then another thing that I implemented was after...

a couple

weeks after

the town hall,

we would do fireside chats. So on each shift,

I would open up a

fireside chat that was limited to 10 employees from both facilities,

and they had more intimate time to... with me directly. N- no one

else was in the room.

Managers were encouraged to not attend these meetings, but

I could

have separate conversations with them so that they could

really ask

me whatever they wanted to ask, and I would give

them the honest answers.

And if

I didn't have

the answer in the moment, I committed

to following up

with them.

But just

continuing down

that path.

And I mean, [00:08:00] again, trust isn't built overnight. I wish it was. It would

be a

lot easier. But seeing the consistency

over the course of those

four years

I think is really what ultimately drove that

trust

Natalie Nathanson: Yeah,

Yeah.

I, I think that's so important,

like the accessibility, the face time, creating that comfortable

environment.

Um, and I know,

you know, not

everyone responds to change

at the same pace, and some folks might be kinda

skeptical.

Uh, others might be more resistant

and in my experience, like not everyone

kinda can, can make the leap or is ultimately kind of the fit

in the culture that,

that you're trying to build.

Um, wondering if there

was any kind

of friction

there, and if there was,

I don't

know, any need

to distinguish

between people that

just needed

more time to kinda trust the change and kinda trust what

was taking place versus those who were

maybe kind of hindering progress.

Bree Katulak: Yeah. I mean, absolutely.

Um,

there are always...

You

can't please everyone, and even though

you're trying to

do the right [00:09:00] thing, it doesn't always land well with everyone. Um, I

think it was really good, even some of the naysayers or the people that weren't embracing the

change as much as we

had hoped, they were--

they trusted us enough that they spoke out in the town halls.

And there was

one instance where an individual said

something that maybe wasn't the most

professional,

but I think we responded in

a way that we didn't punish the individual in

a

public setting.

But we took it offline, had a separate conversation

with them, and said, "What's really at

the root of your comment and

why you're resistant to this change?"

And

ultimately

he,

he gave

a very open and honest answer and complained, and

we were able to get

to the root

of the problem and then

ultimately get

him to go in the direction of like, "Okay, I'll,

I'll

trust you and I'll see how it goes, but please be open to my feedback if the changes aren't going the way you think

they are

sitting in an office."[00:10:00]

And I thought that was good

to at least hear him out. Um, and ultimately, he ended up being a fan, and he

was a longtime employee and he

had seen a lot of

different leaders

throughout the course of his tenure.

So

h- he

was a little bit more resistant to the trust and to the change. There were some individuals that ultimately opted out.

They, they didn't

agree with

the growth that we were seeking as an organization, um, and they wanted

something a little

bit more they could come in and just

kind of

be

the status quo

and leave,

and we were

demanding excellence at that time. And that's okay

too, because honestly,

it needs to be a mutual arrangement and we all need to

be on the same page.

Natalie Nathanson: Right. And to your point, you can't please everyone,

and you need to make

sure it's the right fit,

uh- on both sides.

Bree Katulak: Mm-hmm.

Natalie Nathanson: I'd love

to talk

a bit about your leadership style, and I know

you describe

yourself as very relationship-driven but also that that shifted

for you,

uh, over the years. So

can you

talk

a little bit about how

your leadership style has evolved as your responsibilities [00:11:00] have grown?

Bree Katulak: Absolutely. So I mean, I would say

I'm absolutely

a servant leader, and I think

that has pros and cons, right? Because I've always been the

type of person that am- I'm 100% willing to roll up my sleeves

and help out

or take

over if needed, um, because someone is struggling or we're

butting up against a deadline.

Um, I think that has helped me in

certain areas

because it's helped me gain

trust. Like I w- am- I

was willing

to go out on

the plant floor

and do a

specific task on

the assembly line because I knew we had a big order

that we had to get out. That

was gaining trust. However, it

takes me away

from focusing on the business and what

is the growth strategy and what

are the relationships that are key to building in order

to achieve that.

So it comes

good and bad. Um-

I, I am very relational

in that I

like to make sure

I earn

the trust, make sure the team understands the

vision and how we're going

to get there, and

that we're a team working towards it together. [00:12:00] But

as I've risen through the ranks, I have realized the importance of the data and that you have clean data and metrics that everyone understands how

their work

ultimately

drives the result of those metrics.

So I think that's

probably been the biggest learning. I think

I operated more on

anecdotes earlier on in

my career, and relationships, and being able

to work through others. Um, but

then as

I evolved and grew

in my leadership and in my title as well, going more to,

okay, we need to see the trends in the data.

We need to validate that the data we're getting is not garbage and it's complete and accurate

and reliable every time. And

ultimately, that's

what's driven everything. And then making sure

everyone

shares in the

riches, right? So having a compensation plan that ties to the metrics that are driving

the performance and increase in valuation,

I think

was

also critical, and it also helped build trust because it-- they knew [00:13:00] they were getting some

of the reward from all of the hard work they were doing,

not just the

executive team sitting back at the offices

Natalie Nathanson: Yeah. I think those

incentives and kind of compensation

structures can be so powerful. They can

also be very hard to get just right and not create- unintended consequences. Um, I'm curious if you have any, uh,

examples or stories that come to mind

of kind of the... taking that data-driven approach and kind

of what

that unlocked for you or somebody on, on your team.

Bree Katulak: Yeah. Um, absolutely. I'm, I'm trying to

think of

the most impactful one, but I think

the, the

most eye-opening for me throughout my time at Polygon specifically was looking at the

sales data and KPIs. So

understanding

the velocity in which opportunities were

moving

through the pipeline, what

may be causing them to stall, and identifying how to get to a yes or no as [00:14:00] quickly as possible. Because ultimately, we were

a

highly engineered composite product, so

the sales cycle, depending on the product line,

could be anywhere from six months to three years, depending on which, which segment of the business it was in.

So

getting to that yes or

no as quickly

as possible

was our number one concern,

and then also the sheer volume.

Making sure we had a balance in our pipeline

of the short-term, medium-term,

and long-term wins was critical,

And

then, um, really, really focusing on a no is okay. Not every customer is a

great customer.

We need to make sure it's profitable and driving us in the direction where we ultimately want to go.

Natalie Nathanson: Yeah. And

I'll come back

to a couple of those

themes 'cause you

just shared, uh,

lots of,

lots of great things. Uh, I'm curious to ask, like, how

you know when a, a KPI is telling you

it's time for you to step in personally versus maybe

put more focus

on something by kinda holding [00:15:00] another leader accountable?

And I'll share that, you know,

this is something I've been kind of actively working through for myself.

I, at

the beginning of this year,

expanded my leadership team. Uh, you know, my role shifted a bit in, in doing that. Um,

so I, I see

less, I'm involved in a bit less of kinda some of

the things that I've held onto for,

for many years.

Um, and so it's something I'm constantly kinda asking

myself. Um, so- kinda how do you look at kinda w- when to get involved and when

to kinda just stay kinda on the side but just monitor?

Bree Katulak: I love this question because I'm sure

if

some of my former teammates hear this,

um,

they

will tell you I

have definitely evolved

throughout my time over the last

five years

in this. I would say I always,

um... So first of all, let

me back

up. Polygon had

both weekly and monthly

metrics that

we were monitoring,

and we always monitored, um, monitored them on a rolling 12-month basis. And I would always look at the [00:16:00] trends, but- Historically speaking, I would act too quickly,

And as

soon as I saw a downward

tick, I

would

immediately go to that

member of

the executive

team and say, "What is our plan to make sure that

it continues upward next time?" And

I think I would get involved a little too early. At over time,

and I started seeing the reaction and stress almost that

I was causing on the organization,

I learned that I

needed to trust my team a

little bit, ask questions,

but coming more from a state of genuine curiosity

as opposed

to the,

the roof is on

fire, what are we going to do?

So I think that was

the biggest learning

for me, honestly. Because, um, taking that

curious approach and

just asking questions and finding out

what the team is doing, what hardships are they running into, and then determining, making that

decision of, okay, do I need to step in or no, they have it handled, but there are gonna

be bumps in

the [00:17:00] road, and I as a leader need to understand that

Natalie Nathanson: Well, that makes so

much sense.

And before we move off of kind

of the overall theme

of transformation, I know something

you and I had spoken about, uh, previously

was kind of around changes that required,

like, real courage

to push through

And maybe you know, that

happens when we're

doing things that

are maybe a bit unconventional.

Um, there

was a example

you had shared about kind of breaking down a long-standing organizational silo and what that did. Can you talk about kind of what was going on and kind of what gave you the conviction to make that

Bree Katulak: Mm-hmm.

Two departments, um,

were having constant friction in, in the sales process.

So it was...

again, I said

we're a highly engineered

composite component both in industrial and

medical device, and sales and engineering had typically

been

under separate executive leadership.

And

I saw that this was

a constant problem, and

no matter how much I would

essentially [00:18:00] encourage and guide the two departments to have meetings, they just...

They weren't getting there

on their own.

So through

a lot of

conversations and asking people's opinions in both groups, plus in operations too

because it all ultimately flows to them, the decision was made to do a

complete company reorganization in which

engineering was moved into the sales group. Um, we had

a separate R&D department, but really that application engineering design group moved into sales.

And

I was very nervous

at first because sales personalities

and engineering personalities can be very different.

But

ultimately, at

the end of the day it provided the clarity and alignment that

was

needed, and I'm really happy

that I didn't let the,

the fear of the unknown with personality differences take over

and ultimately pursuing what was right.

It did take

a decent

[00:19:00] amount of time just from

a communication plan

standpoint and making sure everyone bought in before

the change was announced,

but ultimately

it was the right thing for the

organization and it caused a decrease

in stress and

increased optimization on the process flow. So

I was excited that we took that step

Natalie Nathanson: I'm

curious

to hear what was going on for you at the point where

you were

kind of

deciding to do this. Like,

were you

exploring kind of

different ideas and

this was the one you went forward with? Uh, kinda

how quickly did that happen? Talk to

me about- kinda what was going on for you.

Bree Katulak: I

think, um, it...

the whole process from the

inception of the idea

of a reorganization to when I actually

pulled

the trigger was

probably six months.

And, um, so I'm

in a networking group called Young

Presidents Organization,

or YPO, and we have forums,

and our

forum has

eight people, and we meet

monthly and work through business issues.

And I think I

got made fun of a lot for this one,

but I had those huge [00:20:00] Post-it Notes which a, with a bunch

of little Post-it Notes,

and I was

constantly moving positions around and weighing

the pros

and cons of what the changes would mean for the organization. And ultimately, I was like,

"Enough is enough.

I need to get

other perspectives from highly respected business leaders," and I, I took my proposed plan

and I was like, "Act like you're my board of directors. Challenge

me in every angle that you can see, because I wanna make sure this is the right thing to do." And at the end of the day,

we worked through probably the

30th org design that I had come up with,

but I could defend everything to them, and they were coming at me from

leading their own businesses and

organizations as

well.

So I think not being afraid

to get input

from other highly respected leaders is, is a really good thing, but at the same time, taking everyone's opinion, filtering out what is meaningful to you and based on your experience in the [00:21:00] organization is so critical. But I'm, I'm so grateful for the other high im-

impact leaders that I was surrounding myself

with.

Natalie Nathanson: Yeah, I'll echo that. I mean, I'm a member of Entrepreneurs'

Organization- uh, EO, and it's

kind of very similarly minded, and there's nothing

like having kind of a, a group of folks that, uh, are kind of unbiased in, uh, kind of the, in a way that,

like, the leadership team in

the organization or investors

or whatnot can't be.

Um- and I like, uh, you know,

your approach of trying to poke holes and make sure you can defend

it, and I'm sure that gave you, you know, the confidence to, to bring it in the right way.

Bree Katulak: Absolutely.

Natalie Nathanson: I, I know hindsight is 20/20, and we always say- "Oh, I would have done this differently

kinda knowing what

I know now."

Um, are there, other things that, uh, you would have approached differently

just, again, knowing what you

know now?

Bree Katulak: Absolutely. Um, I think in, especially when I first

joined the

[00:22:00] organization, I think I came in,

um, not as open-minded as I

should have been, and thinking,

"Oh,

all this needs

to change, and I know the right way

to make

the change," so

I just wanted to plow through without getting

other people's

input and,

and opinions.

Um, I

learned very quickly that that was not gonna be the right way to influence

the organization, especially

as I wanted

to expand my role outside of just

accounting and finance, and get more into operations and sales and engineering.

So, um, really just kind of eating a little

bit of

humble pie and realizing I may have good ideas, but

working together as a group can make them

way better, and it'll help get the buy-in, and we'll actually move faster.

So those are some things that I've really

taken away

along my career and really

try

to check myself

constantly on if I'm doing the right

thing and getting the right

people in the room to get that [00:23:00] buy-in and to get their opinions on what the best

path forward would

be.

Natalie Nathanson: Hey, this is Natalie, your Shift and Thrive host. After chatting with lots of CEOs, one thing is crystal clear. Leveling up your company means having a killer Go-to-market strategy. That's what my crew at Magnitude Consulting does every day. If you're trying to step up your marketing game, whether it's strategizing, accelerating your pipeline, expanding into new markets, or getting into AI and automation, let's talk.

No pitch, no pressure. Just good conversation. Visit shift and thrive podcast.com/natalie to schedule a time. Can't wait to connect.

I know that transition from kind of CFO to

kind of CEO can be a big

one. I'm curious if there are any areas that surprised you, uh, kind of parts of

the business that you've had kind of more interest than you expected or kind of bigger

learning curve, uh- kind of for better or worse.

Bree Katulak: I

think I was [00:24:00] surprised at how much I love and wanted

to lean into operations. Um, I

had never been on a plant floor

daily. Um, I had from my auditing days at Ernst & Young from, like, doing inventory

counts

and stuff

like that, but how much I loved

the flow

of material throughout the plant floor and

understanding capacity and how that ultimately helps drive costs down, I

think that was, that was the most

exciting part for

me.

I think

the highest learning

curve was the commercial side, understanding

the sales process and

what metrics really mattered and how important it is to the business. Because I can say as a CFO all day long,

we're gonna double in

revenue over the next five

to seven years, but unless we have the right sales and marketing plan and pipeline to

be able to do it, it's a pipe dream.

So I think that was the steepest

learning curve, but the area [00:25:00] that I leaned

into the most because I realized

the importance when you wanna grow

your business.

Natalie Nathanson: Yeah.

Um,

and I know

you talked a bit earlier, uh, about

kind of looking at, you know, the, the margins and profitability of different customers.

So I'm presuming that might have had something kind of some involvement

as you were kind of diving into the, the commercial and

go-to-market side. Uh, what were some of the learnings out

of, out of that, uh, part of the work?

Bree Katulak: Yeah. Um, I think the sheer volume of customers that we had in

the beginning was

eye-opening. So

again, as, as you're beginning and as

you're starting out, and I know

I'm not saying anything new, I've heard

this in a

variety of scaling conferences, you're willing to say yes to

everything, right?

Uh, because you need to bring revenue in the door, you need to be able to pay your bills, pay your vendors, et cetera.

Um, but as you really develop your niche in the market,

it's important

to understand that not all

customers are a good customer. Saying

yes to something [00:26:00] is really saying no to something else,

and making sure you're optimizing

the, the operational side of the business because the number of changeovers that we were going through on the plant floor was

becoming incredibly disruptive to operations. So we identified like a... We drew a

line in

the sa- sand on

the

customer list

and said, "Anything below this volume simply doesn't

make sense

unless we're able to double

the prices." So

it's not like we ever fired customers or anything like that, but just

identifying what didn't make

sense for our operation, especially as we were continuing to grow,

and being okay walking away from

some deals.

So it, it was not an

easy thing for everyone to gravitate towards. Um, but at

the end of the day, we were

able to get there and start to see the uptick from a capacity standpoint and less fire drills or hot jobs out on the plant floor.

Natalie Nathanson: Yeah.

It is

such a hard thing to navigate, but [00:27:00] ultimately it does strengthen organizations, and I think a lot of these

discussions around

kinda

who is

our ideal, uh, client,

like

sometimes that's treated as like where does, where does the sales team have relationships or- a marketing exercise

for, for purely for marketing campaigns rather than

really like this

company-wide resource allocation decision and

all the downstream impact,

uh, that that has.

So, uh, bringing it back

to

some of the

things we were talking about earlier, like

I'm sure that required

a lot

of conviction on

your part, uh,

being data-driven

to help,

uh, make that point.

Um- and, and then the numbers,

uh, you know, patience for the

numbers to, to

show the

benefit of that.

Bree Katulak: Right.

It did. And I mean,

it wasn't that we got that project accomplished in the first

try either. That one actually took four separate tries in order

to execute on. So persistence, consistency, in message is key, and then ultimately coming down to what we've been trying isn't working.

So how are we going to think

differently in order

[00:28:00] to achieve the goal that we're, we're seeking ultimately?

Natalie Nathanson: I wanna bring us, uh, a

bit into present day and talk about your,

uh, role at Renesis, and I,

uh, believe

you were brought in at

a point where

the business is kind of ready for its next stage

of growth.

So- uh, as you've gotten into the role, can you talk

about, you know, what

that's been like

coming in and how you're

thinking about the, any transformations the company needs to go through?

Bree Katulak: Absolutely. Um, I think you're right. They, um, had been at a

period

of stagnant activity.

Um,

so they'd hit a plateau, which is common at

certain levels in an organization.

And, um, the owner was

like, "You know, we're really at a point where

we want

to scale the organization." Um, and I was like, "That is a challenge I would

love

to take on."

So

any time I come in, um, at first, I, I really do want to learn the organization.

I want to learn

the people, and

the processes and the

systems.

So I took

the first 60 days to really absorb as much

as I possibly could throughout the organization.[00:29:00]

and the place I like to start

at first, and what I, I learned from Polygon, is the people pillar of the business is the most important. If your employees are treated well and fairly, the rest comes,

right? The rest will follow.

I firmly believe that. So looking at that, doing market analysis on compensation,

making sure

everyone is being compensated

fairly from a

total compensation, so not just your base wages, but also incentive plans, benefit packages, et cetera,

um, that's first

and

foremost in

my line of sight.

And then employee

engagement surveys, and really hearing from

the employee population what matters most

to them

to develop a roadmap over the next three to five years

on how we can start layering in

the things that matter the most to them, knowing

that not everything is

always possible

but that we're

focusing on the things that are going to make

the biggest

impact on

the employees.

Then, um, [00:30:00] simultaneously I should say, because

it's not like I'm

doing only

one thing at a

time, but understanding that go-to-market strategy is critical.

understanding that we're not just going to be throwing

spaghetti at

the wall and seeing

what st-

sticks, but having a

very targeted approach for our ideal markets, our ideal clients, and, um, how we can give them the highest quality product or

installation at any given point

in time.

Those are my first two areas that I

absolutely want to

focus on.

Then

next, now what we're starting to

plan out is the technology roadmap. And when I

say that, I'm talking about our internal tech stack and what we're looking at so that

we

have

the most reliable data

we can possibly have, and we can access it with ease.

So right now, we have a lot of manual

processes, and that's okay, but as we want

to grow and scale, we're going to need to be able to have that data

at our

fingertips

all the

time without multiple points of data entry.

Natalie Nathanson: I think

find- [00:31:00] figuring out kind of what has to change kind of first, what can wait is- uh, challenging. You seem very

kind of

clear in kind

of what those priorities

are. I'm wondering if there are any areas that you are choosing not

to spend your time on, um, and

kind of how you hold yourself to that.

Bree Katulak: Yes. I think that's a great

question because I don't know if it's coming across

in my personality or not, but

I'm the type

of person that I want to

do everything right now.

So getting the discipline

in place, um, to have that

level of focus is something I

honestly

have to think about consciously every single day and week. Um, so we run EOS, and that's how

I've really,

uh, been able

to level set on that standpoint, knowing that

our go-to-market strategy, compensation philosophy, and new product development are the highest areas

that I

wanna focus on.

Um, something

that I have had to, I know

needs attention, but

have had [00:32:00] to actively put on pause right now is, um, optimizing our project management function and scheduling flow. So making

sure that the crews that

we have

across the country have a schedule

that is

optimized for

their travel so that we're not having crews zigzag across the country, but working across

the country or the

region as it's appropriate and their skill set allows.

So that's something that I've had to

put on hold,

but again, in my mind I'm

like, "Oh, I need to work on that."

But

it's

like, okay, it's on the

parking lot.

I can

see it on the

parking lot on my wall. I

know it's okay. It can wait.

Natalie Nathanson: Yep. Yeah, I think having that deliberate, uh,

place- for it,

like you said, you

can visually see it.

It's not,

You're not gonna

forget it. The team's not- forgetting it.

Uh, but only so many hours in the day and can't spread

efforts too thin, right?

Bree Katulak: exactly. Exactly.

Natalie Nathanson: I wanna hear a

little bit more

about

you,

Bri, um, and maybe go a bit further into your

[00:33:00] history and, uh, hear

a little

bit about kinda

who, who were you as a child and what from

those early years, uh, do you think, like,

has shaped, uh,

who you became as a, as a leader?

Bree Katulak: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I was always someone that was striving for what's next and what can I achieve, and I'm- I've always

been super competitive. So a funny story from college, I, uh, joined an int-

or an intramural soccer team,

uh, because my roommate asked me to join, and I was actually asked not to come

to the second game because

I was a little

too competitive for an intramural league.

So that's a

little bit about the true Brie. But, um, I

was always very creative, so I created this massive library system in my parents' living room and created like put, little... taped in little cards

back when we had to

stamp at the library. Um, and I think it's interesting. The reason why

I tell that story,

is everyone has said throughout my career that I was a, not the stereotypical accountant, and I always gravitated more towards

[00:34:00] the large transactions like

M&A or debt

recapitalization or something

along those lines and never really felt

fulfilled from the

daily grind of accounting.

Um, and ultimately, I think that's what led me to

more of

the president

CEO role because I do, I do like

that bigger

strategy. I like creating, whether it's

a new process or whether

it's

a new go-to-market strategy, but I like also seeing that increase

in valuation, knowing that we're doing the best

we possibly can for our shareholders or owners. Um,

and

it's kind of funny that I went into

accounting thinking that I didn't like-- I didn't wanna talk

to people and

I didn't like

to write,

and now that's

where my passion

lies. I like getting the message out to our employee group. I

obviously started a podcast, and

I'm hoping to make an impact on other high-achieving individuals

in the workforce. Um,

So it's, it's been a journey, but I, I think it's interesting that I [00:35:00] chose a career that really went against the grain of who

I was as a child with creativity.

Natalie Nathanson: Yeah. It is so interesting, like what we carry forth

from like what's- intrinsic

to us from childhood and what, uh, what shifts. Like, I can share, like I

was painfully shy as

a child.

so- like my, my family now

seeing like

the right podcast and

running a business and all of these things s- similar

to what you

were just saying

for different reasons, um, is

not something they expected. Uh, but I was that child that

used to play office and would set

up kind of like a- ... a fake business. And, uh, it

took a little bit of meandering before I reached that point in my career. My mom said she always

knew I, I always

knew you'd

end up in business and entrepreneurship, uh, but she, uh, somehow wanted me to figure that out on my own.

Bree Katulak: Yeah. I love hearing that story.

Natalie Nathanson: Brie, I love to

end conversations by asking, uh, guests, uh, about advice that they've been given that still shapes them. So

is there kind of a top piece or pieces of advice, uh, [00:36:00] that

y- you've gotten, whether business

or personal,

uh, that still

impacts you today?

Bree Katulak: The one that comes to mind the most is

always

take the call. Um, I've always been someone that was a natural networker and always wanted to build those relationships, but I know I can

get so

busy and bogged down

in what I'm doing in an organization or with my family that I'm like, "Ugh, I don't, I don't

want to take that call.

I can't, I can't spend

the time to do it." But

I think over the

course of

my career, some of the calls that I initially

thought,

"Oh,

this isn't gonna be worth

my time,"

they were some of the best

conversations that have driven

either business value or personal value in my

growth

and development.

So I just highly encourage people

to be more adventurous with reaching out and taking the call, even

if

you don't initially see what the outcome or benefit could

be

Natalie Nathanson: [00:37:00] Yeah.

I love that. And as

you were sharing that, I

kind of, my mind ran

through a few of those of my

own. So I

think that's so true, and

especially in today's

environment where it's so easy to kind of be moving

too fast

or kind of be stuck

in front of our computer,

uh, to remember that,

you know, those relationships and conversations,

uh, can lead us in unexpected places.

Bree Katulak: Yes, absolutely.

Natalie Nathanson: Uh, and as we wrap up today's conversation,

can you let listeners know, uh, where they can reach you if they wanna get in touch?

Bree Katulak: Yes,

absolutely.

Um, so on

LinkedIn,

I'm Bree Katulak, and that's

K-A-T-U-L-A-K. I would love to connect

with you. And then also on,

um, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube,

Unstoppable You comes out every other week on Thursday mornings. So I would

love

for you to check out some of the episodes

and give us a rating if you don't mind.

Natalie Nathanson: Wonderful. Thank you. And, uh, I will say

the podcast

very much, uh, aligns

nicely with some of the themes we

talk about on this show. so I would

encourage our listeners [00:38:00] to, to check it out. Um,

thank you so much for this, Bree. I loved

the conversation.

Bree Katulak: Thank

you. I really

appreciate you

having me on.

Natalie Nathanson: Yeah, it was my pleasure.

and there's so much that I could pull out

of

what I love

from what we

talked about. But

I think especially hearing, uh, kind of talking

about transformation as both kind of the operational challenge

and the human one and,

right, putting in better systems

and KPIs and all of that,

but

kind of the people side of

leadership and finding that right balance, which, uh, appreciate all the things that you, uh, shared around that.

So thank you.

Bree Katulak: Absolutely.

You're welcome.

Natalie Nathanson: Uh, and thank you

as well to everybody listening.

If today's conversation

sparked something

for you, and

I'm sure that it did, please pass

this along to another leader

in your network. We know that insights like this

fuel fresh thinking

and help

all of us drive real transformation both in our

businesses and in ourselves.

So thank you again, Bree,

and this has been another wonderful conversation on Shift and Thrive.

I'll see you all next time.

Outro: [00:39:00] That's a wrap for this week's episode. For show notes and more visit Shift and thrive podcast.com. A special thank you to our sponsor, magnitude Consulting, bringing you the thinking power of a growth consultancy and the getting it done Power of a full service marketing agency to help B2B companies fuel their growth.

For more information on magnitude and to get your complimentary transformation readiness assessment, visit magnitude consulting.com/. Get ready. Thank you so much for listening. We'll see you next week.