How to Series:
The CEO Filter: The Discipline of Strategic Trade-Offs
with Kristen McGill
Growth doesn’t stall due to lack of opportunity. It stalls because everything feels urgent.
When everything is a priority, nothing is a priority.
As companies gain traction, founders face more options than ever: new markets, features, hires, partnerships, and investor expectations. At this stage, the CEO’s role shifts. Success is no longer about doing more. It’s about deciding better.
Strategy is not just choosing what to pursue — it’s choosing what to say no to. Every yes consumes focus, capital, and team energy. Without deliberate trade-offs, momentum slows and execution fragments.
In this interactive session, we’ll explore:
The different types of growth companies pursue — and the trade-offs each requires
How to evaluate opportunities through a clear CEO-level filter
What happens when trade-offs are avoided instead of being chosen
How to maintain alignment and morale when priorities shift
Participants will leave with a simple, practical decision framework they can use immediately with their leadership team to evaluate opportunities, protect focus, and ensure growth compounds instead of scatters.
Register Now
May 6, 2026
12:00PM MST / 2:00PM EST
Sign Up
Scaling requires subtraction before addition.
As a founder, you are no longer just the chief problem solver — you are the chief prioritizer.
The discipline of strategic trade-offs is what separates reactive leadership from scalable leadership.
This session will challenge the instinct to pursue every promising opportunity and instead help you build the muscle of intentional constraint.
Because sustainable growth isn’t built on ambition alone — it’s built on focus, clarity, and the courage to choose.
About the Speaker
Kristen McGill
Fractional COO & Executive Coaching, Kristin McGill Consulting
Kristen is a strategic operational leader that helps ambitious organizations scale without breaking culture. She brings deep operator experience from her time as COO at an HR tech company where she built the operational foundation to scale 40x in revenue, grow from 8 to 200 employees, and raise $70M+ over six years.
Today, Kristen partners with leaders standing at the edge of their next evolution—those ready to turn momentum into maturity. As a fractional COO, she works with mission-driven, for-profit companies to turn audacious visions into scalable, repeatable growth. Her approach combines a rare blend of proven frameworks (Scaling Up, EOS), financial discipline as a CPA, and deep operational and HR expertise.
Kristen is also an ICF-trained Executive Coach, working with leaders who need a confidential sounding board. She helps founders and leaders gain clarity, navigate complexity, and build confidence grounded in her belief that leadership doesn't have to feel lonely and leaders are stronger when they don't carry it all alone. As a mom, she brings empathy and realism to her work fueled by her commitment to a future where leaders don’t have to choose between ambition and what matters most.
Connect with Kristin on LinkedIn.
PREVIOUS
A Founder's Guide to Non-Dilutive Funding
WITH BRETT THALMANN AND ARTHUR LAM