Building a business that doesn’t depend on you isn’t about grinding harder — it’s about learning to trust your people, lead with vulnerability, and build a culture that can stand on its own.

In this conversation with longtime entrepreneur and EOS implementer Calvin Smith, we dig into what really holds business owners back: fear, control, burnout, and the belief that “no one will ever care as much as I do.” Calvin shares lessons from 20+ years of entrepreneurship — the wins, the mistakes, the dumb tax — and how leaders can finally break the cycle of doing everything themselves.

We talk about building trust, creating alignment, getting honest about your own limitations, and how systems and processes (done right) actually create freedom rather than restrict it. If you’re tired of carrying the whole business on your back, this episode shows a better path forward.

👉 Want a team that’s engaged, accountable, and capable of running the day-to-day?

Visit https://www.trustbuiltsolutions.com/

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⏱️ Chapters

00:00 — Why Trust Starts With the Leader

01:00 — Corporate vs. Entrepreneurship Mindset

02:30 — The Passion Problem: Why Entrepreneurs Burn Out

03:45 — Defining Your Personal “Why” Before You Build Your Business

05:10 — When Your Team’s Why Doesn’t Match Yours

06:40 — The Power of Vulnerable Leadership (A Story That Changed Everything)

08:00 — Why Trust Backfires When You Hold Too Tightly

10:45 — Culture Reality Check: Are You Living What You Say You Value?

12:05 — Hiring People Who Actually Care About the Work

14:10 — The 90-Day Culture Pulse: Keeping Your Team Aligned

17:00 — Commitment, Discipline, and Trusting Yourself First

18:40 — How Your Personal Life Mirrors Your Business Performance

23:00 — Letting Go as You Scale: Why Leaders Must Evolve

33:00 — Systems & Processes: Why They Create Freedom (Not Rigidity)

41:00 — The Horror Story of an Owner-Dependent Business

45:00 — How to Help Employees See That Their Work Matters

48:00 — The Books That Changed Calvin’s Leadership Journey

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Connect with Calvin

💻 https://www.linkedin.com/in/calvin-smith/

🌐 https://calvinsmith.co/

Stress doesn't just wear you down. It silently erodes trust, engagement, and team performance.

In this episode of The TrustBuilt Podcast, Alan sits down with Eliz Greene, stress researcher, author, and resilience expert, to unpack why so many small business owners feel constant pressure and what that stress is really doing to their teams.

Together, Alan and Eliz break down the science behind stress, why your brain shuts down under pressure, and simple, practical steps to regain control, reduce cortisol, and make better decisions.

If you’re a business owner drowning in responsibility, struggling with turnover, or trying to build a team that truly steps up, this conversation offers a roadmap to relief.

👉 Want a team that runs the business with you — not one that drains you? Learn more at https://www.trustbuiltsolutions.com/

⏱️ Chapters

01:10 – Eliz Greene’s Backstory: A Life-Changing Heart Attack

02:52 – Parenting Twins & Early Lessons in Stress

06:05 – What Stress Really Is (and Why It Builds Up)

07:40 – The Physical Side of Stress: Cortisol & Health Risks

08:58 – Recognizing Your Body’s Stress Signals

11:04 – Why We Crave Control (and Why It Backfires)

12:52 – A Simple System: What Can I Control? What’s Possible?

15:30 – How to Physically Reduce Stress in the Moment

17:49 – Making the Unpredictable More Predictable

19:48 – Leaders Letting Go: Discipline vs. Rigidity

24:02 – The Power of Feeling Seen and Valued at Work

29:27 – Stress, Turnover, and Why People Really Quit

42:34 – Eliz’s One Message to Every Leader

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Connect with Eliz

🌐https://elizgreene.com/

💻https://www.linkedin.com/in/theelizgreene/

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What happens when a once-thriving company culture starts to slip?

Chief People Officer Steve Blair knows firsthand what it takes to rebuild trust, re-engage employees, and restore a sense of ownership in fast-growing organizations.

In this episode, Steve joins host Alan Bennett to talk about:

• The real cost of culture drift and disengagement

• Why employee surveys—when done right—can be the most powerful trust-building tool in your organization

• How to identify culture creators, keepers, and consumers (and what to do when the ratio gets out of balance)

• How vulnerability and consistency are the two key ingredients of authentic leadership

Whether you’re leading a team of 10 or 100, this episode offers a clear path to creating a culture where people want to stay, contribute, and grow.

👉 Ready to build a team that runs with you, not just for you?

Visit https://www.trustbuiltsolutions.com/ to learn more about building systems and teams that scale through trust.

02:00 – Rebuilding Culture After It’s Been Lost

03:30 – The Real Cost of Turnover and Disengagement

06:00 – How Growth Changes Culture (and How to Keep It Healthy)

08:00 – Culture Creators, Keepers, and Consumers

11:00 – How to Spot and Support Culture Keepers

13:00 – The Simple Framework to Measure Engagement and Trust

14:00 – W.A.L.A. Method: Wonder, Ask, Listen, Act

18:00 – The Flywheel That Builds Organizational Trust

20:00 – What Trust Really Means: Consistency + Vulnerability

22:00 – Creating Safe Feedback Loops That Build Engagement

25:00 – The Role of Recognition and Care in Employee Growth

30:00 – Giving Feedback That Builds Instead of Breaks

34:00 – The Power of “Buy-In Based” Feedback

38:00 – Coaching the What vs. the How

40:00 – Using Assessments Responsibly to Strengthen Teams

44:00 – Steve’s Top 3 Books on Leadership and Growth

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Connect with Steve

💻 https://www.linkedin.com/in/blairsteve/

🌐 https://www.fulcrumcollective.com/