Episode 601 Operating Systems, Mindsets, and Tools for Business Growth With Chris Hallberg
Show Highlights
The source provides excerpts from “Episode 601 Operating Systems, Mindsets, and Tools for Business Growth With Chris Hallberg” of The SDM Show, hosted by Rob Cairns of Stunning Digital Marketing. The discussion features Cairns and guest Chris Hallberg, the founder of the software go expand, focusing on topics like business, productivity, and digital marketing. A central theme is the importance of mindset and having a structured operating system—such as the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS)—to achieve business success, which Hallberg complements with his background in military leadership and his new software that integrates people tools and Agentive AI. The conversation also touches on the practicalities of Hallberg’s software, including its cost, security, and emphasis on data-driven decisions over subjective feelings to improve team performance and company culture.
Show Notes
In this episode, host Rob Cairns chats with his guest, Chris Hallberg, about his journey from public service to becoming a “business sergeant.” The conversation dives into the importance of mindset, the role of data in business decisions, and Chris’s product, Go Expand.
Meet the Guest: Chris Hallberg
Chris’s background is anything but conventional. He started his career in public service, spending nine years in the Army National Guard military police and nearly seven years in civilian law enforcement (Department of Corrections and a sheriff’s department). These experiences forged his “business sergeant” mindset—a direct, no-nonsense approach to leadership focused on building winning teams and a strong esprit de corps. Chris emphasizes that this isn’t about military command but about leveraging core principles like mission-driven focus and intentionality to achieve success.
The Power of Mindset
Both Rob and Chris are strong proponents of a healthy mindset. They agree that complacency and an unwillingness to evolve can be detrimental in a fast-paced world. Chris compares updating one’s mindset to updating a computer’s operating system (e.g., from Windows 10 to Windows 11). Just as software becomes outdated, a stagnant mindset can leave a person or a business incompatible with a changing environment.
Rob shares a personal anecdote about his “house cleaning expedition,” where he made the difficult decision to remove people from his personal and professional life who were no longer a good fit. This intentionality, he notes, was a crucial step in prioritizing his mental well-being and overall happiness.
Work-Life Balance vs. Work-Life Blend
The conversation touches on the age-old debate of work-life balance. Chris offers a different perspective, suggesting that a work-life blend is often more effective. This concept involves aligning one’s career with their natural abilities and passions, so work doesn’t feel like a chore but rather a complementary part of a person’s life. He uses an example of a salesperson who loves the challenge of closing deals; for them, work and life can naturally flow together.
Chris also reflects on his own journey, admitting that his younger self was in “acquisition mode,” prioritizing financial success at a potential cost to other aspects of his life. He advises listeners to be intentional about their choices, recognizing that life is not a dress rehearsal.
Introducing ‘Go Expand’
Chris developed Go Expand after exiting his successful energy-efficient remodeling business. He observed that many businesses, despite having a strong operating system like the EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System), were still missing a critical component: a tool to seamlessly integrate and track key metrics.
Chris describes Go Expand as a powerful platform that combines three key elements:
- A business operating system (initially modeled after EOS).
- A military sergeant mindset for leadership.
- Technology (including AI) to glue it all together.
The platform provides an objective, data-driven approach to team management.
Key Features and Pricing
- Team Dashboard: Go Expand uses a dashboard with color-coded metrics (green, yellow, and red) to visualize team performance and alignment. This removes subjectivity from performance reviews.
- Data-Driven Decisions: The tool helps managers identify “the right people in the right seats” based on objective data, not just feelings or personal biases. This can help address issues like nepotism or fear of legal action based on an employee’s protected status.
- AI Integration: A key feature is the integration of an “agentic AI” agent. Unlike generative AI (which can be creative but sometimes inaccurate), agentic AI is fact-based and curated with a company’s specific documents and policies. This allows employees to get fast, accurate answers to their questions, freeing up managers and reducing time spent on repetitive tasks.
- Cost: Go Expand offers two versions:
- Essential: Starts at $14 per user and includes the core business operating system and scoring features.
- Elite: Starts at $25 per user and adds people tools, AI, and unlimited personality assessments.
- Minimums: There is a 20-user minimum for the platform, as its power is best realized in a team environment.
- Onboarding: Chris says onboarding is incredibly simple, often taking just about a half hour, with many clients onboarding themselves. The company is even working on an AI bot to automate the migration process.
Chris and Rob discuss the importance of security, with Chris noting that Go Expand is built on Amazon Web Services (AWS) architecture, providing a highly secure and reliable foundation. The conversation also highlights the growing need for businesses to embrace AI to remain competitive, as companies using it gain a significant advantage in efficiency and productivity.
Final Takeaways
Chris ends the episode with a powerful message for business owners: “You have the company you deserve.” He urges leaders to be intentional and proactive in building a great company culture and not to leave success to chance. He recommends three key ingredients for success:
- An operating system (like EOS).
- A strong mindset.
- A tool (like Go Expand) that provides visibility and accountability.
He challenges listeners to ask themselves: “Are you balancing or are you blending?” to find a more fulfilling approach to work and life.
Guest Contact Information:Chris Hallberg can be reached at chris@goexpand.com.
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