Show notes
Feeling the pressure to scale but terrified of losing your best people, or watching team morale dissolve as your business grows?
This episode, guest host Sivana Brewer gets real with Isaac Tobelen, current CMO at Springs Rejuvenation and seasoned COO, on the inside challenges of recruiting, retaining, and motivating talent in rapid-growth settings. Isaac shares proven systems for hiring culture-aligned operators, the brutal mistakes that cost him top performers, and how “Innovation Day” became a surprising game-changer for agency culture.
If you want actionable tactics to build a resilient team and avoid silent exits, listen now, not later. Your next big hire, retention strategy, or culture upgrade may hinge on these lessons. Tune in for exclusive, hard-won insights that most COOs only learn the hard way.
Timestamped Highlights
[00:00] – The “quiet risk” that nearly cratered Isaac’s agency and why losing one key player can trigger a domino effect
[03:08] – Rewiring direct response marketing for an unexpected industry and scaling it to $1.2M/month
[08:59] – Why competitors keep stealing Isaac’s ads, but can’t touch his team’s execution
[11:08] – The secret overlap of visionary CEO and practical COO—why it worked for Isaac and Ashton
[13:49] – How teaching people “how to think” crushed micromanagement and burnout
[15:02] – The counterintuitive hiring process that filters for real values (not just resume skills)
[24:29] – Unconventional interview tactics, homework, and the non-negotiables that reveal true fit
[32:00] – “Innovation Day” revealed – How letting teams fail forward built trust and inspired breakthrough creativity
[38:11] – Isaac’s 2 biggest mistakes: concentrated risk and a disastrous acquisition—what he’d do differently
[52:44] – Is AI really changing everything? Isaac’s blunt take on what’s hype, what actually matters, and why talent must upskill now
About the Guest
Isaac Tobelen is the Chief Marketing Officer at Springs Rejuvenation, a leader in stem cell and exosome therapy. Previously, he was COO at Hemon Media, where he scaled the agency to $500K/month in 18 months, managed $36M+ ad budgets, and built high-performing teams from scratch. Isaac is known for his systems thinking, rapid operational scale, and real-world people development.
🔗 LinkedIn | Website
Mentioned Resources
- Frank Kern (Mass Control)
- ClickUp
- Asana
- Jim Collins (“flywheel” concept)
- EOS – Entrepreneurial Operating System
About the Co-Host
Sivana Brewer is a Fractional COO for Remote Teams and former COO at Closers.io, where she helped scale the company to multiple eight figures and built over 500+ sales teams in just 2.5 years. She specializes in leadership development, remote operations, and systems that empower teams to grow sustainably.
🔗 Connect with Sivana on LinkedIn
Important Links
- Connect with Cameron: Website | LinkedIn
- Explore the COO Alliance - The World’s Leading Community for Seconds in Command
- Get Cameron’s book: Second in Command: Unleash the Power of Your COO Book
- Take Cameron’s leadership course: Invest In Your Leaders Online Course (Use promo code PODCAST10 before the end of the month for 10% off)
- Chat or video call with AI Cameron via Delphi
The Second in Command Podcast is an original production hosted by Cameron Herold and co-hosted by Sivana Brewer. Brought to you by COO Alliance. Production and editing by Podcast Your Brand.
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