People Powered Profitability: Why the “Soft Skills” Are the Hard Skills (with Billy Goldberg)
Chris Jarvis opens Be the Giraffe with a reminder of why the giraffe metaphor matters: the giraffe evolved to be more vulnerable, but that vulnerability is exactly what gives it a higher vantage point—seeing what others can’t and reaching what others won’t. In this episode, Chris sits down with his longtime friend Billy Goldberg of The Buckeye Group, and together they unpack a leadership truth that’s hiding in plain sight:
If you want better performance, more revenue, and stronger retention… the fastest path isn’t more tech. It’s better people leadership.
Billy has helped companies increase revenue by millions—sometimes tens of millions—by improving the way leaders lead and the way teams work together. And the core idea behind his work is simple, but it’s not easy:
Organizations don’t fail because they lack talent. They struggle because they don’t know how to align, develop, and empower that talent.
The “Dream Job” That Became a Warning Sign
Billy’s story starts somewhere most people would call “made it.”
He moved from Ohio to California, landed a coveted role in entertainment, and became an agent at William Morris (now WME), representing TV writers, directors, and production companies. The perks were real—premieres, access, glitz, the whole dream.
But inside the machine, Billy noticed something that eventually changed his entire trajectory:
People were promoted for being good at producing results—not for being good at leading humans.
Young professionals were hired at 22, 23, 24… became strong performers… then climbed the ladder without ever learning how to manage, communicate, or build culture. And Billy felt it every day.
He wasn’t miserable because the work was “hard.”
He was miserable because the environment made it hard to be the best version of himself.
At 30, after nearly a decade invested in that path, Billy hit the moment many people fear most:
“This isn’t for me.”
And that’s where the episode gets real—because Chris calls out the thing so many listeners are wrestling with:
“I’ve come this far.”
“I’m making too much to leave.”
“What if I start over and it doesn’t work?”
That’s the sunk-cost trap. And Billy didn’t escape it by having a perfect plan.
He escaped it by choosing motion.
The Leap: Betting on Yourself (Even Without a Map)
Billy describes his shift as a “Jerry Maguire moment”—the decision to leave behind a career he spent years building and step into the unknown.
When Chris asks how he did it, Billy gives two answers that hit like a hammer:
Overthinking is bad for the team.
If you run every worst-case scenario and try to guarantee certainty, you’ll never move.
There’s no better investment than yourself.
If you’re going to place a bet, place it on you.
From 30 to 40, Billy tried multiple industries and roles. Some worked. Some didn’t. But the through-line was consistent:
He kept moving forward until he found his “highest and best use.”
That phrase becomes a recurring theme—not just for Billy personally, but for the organizations he now helps.
The Discovery: Businesses Succeed “In Spite of Themselves”
One of the most powerful segments of the conversation is when Billy explains what he began to see across companies:
There are organizations that are profitable… but chaotic. Successful… but exhausting. Growing… but fragile.
They’re winning, but not efficiently—and not sustainably.
And the reason, Billy says, is almost never strategy.
It’s structure.
It’s what he calls the internal architecture of a company:
Decision-making architecture: Who decides what, and how?
Communication pathways: How information actually flows (not how it’s supposed to)
Authority distribution: Where power really lives in the org
Conflict resolution: How tension gets handled—or avoided
Values alignment: Whether values are real or just wall decor
Energy flow: The “feel” of the business—momentum or friction
These are the “soft skills” companies ignore… and then wonder why performance breaks.
Billy’s perspective is blunt:
The soft skills are the hard skills. They’re hard because most leaders were never trained in them. And they’re hard because they’re the things that actually move the needle.
People Powered Profitability: The Buckeye Group Method
Billy founded The Buckeye Group in 2009—during one of the worst economic periods in modern history.
And instead of waiting for conditions to improve, he focused on what he actually needed:
“I didn’t need the economy to work with me. I needed a few clients.”
What started as business development (helping companies build new revenue pathways) evolved into something deeper.
Billy realized his real calling wasn’t just helping companies grow.
It was helping them build the internal leadership and culture needed to sustain growth.
That evolved into his proprietary approach:
People Powered Profitability
A leadership and organizational framework built on a simple premise:
When people work better together, profits follow.
The Diagnostic That Changes Everything
Billy explains that the Buckeye approach begins with a two-day diagnostic. In those two days, they evaluate the six core elements of the organization (decision-making, communication, authority, conflict, values, energy) and look for what Billy calls the three cultural pillars:
1) Integrity
Not “morality”—but structural resilience.
Can your culture withstand pressure? Trauma? Market shifts? A rogue employee? A major customer issue?
2) Alignment
Are values lived—or just posted?
Is there congruence between how you treat employees and how you expect employees to treat customers?
3) Transparency
Do people actually tell the truth internally?
Are teams clear about what’s happening, why decisions are being made, and what matters most?
Chris adds a striking observation from his own work with companies:
When you survey employees and ask basic questions like “Who are our customers?” or “What makes us different?”… it’s shocking how rarely the answers match.
That misalignment doesn’t just create confusion.
It creates drag.
Hiring: Why Most Companies Get It Backwards
The hiring segment is where the episode becomes immediately practical.
Billy and Chris both point to a common business pattern:
We hire people based on what they’ve done… and fire them based on who they are.
Resumes tell you experience.
They don’t tell you character, chemistry, motivation, or values.
Billy’s recommendation flips the traditional approach:
Define the role properly (before hiring).
Don’t assume you know the “position” you need—define how it interacts with the company, how decisions flow, who it touches, and what success looks like.
Define the kind of human you need.
Then layer in skillset and experience.
Billy uses a sports analogy: draft athletes, not position players.
You can train skills. You can’t train desire, chemistry, or character.
And when companies get crystal clear on who they are, what they do, and how they operate?
Hiring becomes faster and better.
Because the right people opt in, and the wrong people opt out.
Leadership That Actually Works: Ask Better Questions
One of the easiest takeaways from this episode is also one of the most overlooked:
The questions you ask determine the depth of your relationships—and the clarity of your culture.
Billy shares questions that open people up quickly:
“What are you working on these days that’s exciting you?”
“What drew you to do what you do?”
“Why are you in this industry?”
“Why do you get up and go to work every day?”
“What inspires you?”
He emphasizes something leaders often forget:
Most people are happy to answer these questions… because they almost never get asked.
And when Billy works with CEOs, he doesn’t start with the resume.
He starts with the life story—major events that shaped how they lead, what they fear, what they value, and how they make decisions.
Because leadership isn’t just tactics.
It’s psychology.
The Two Green Beret Lessons Every Business Needs
Late in the episode, Billy shares two lessons from Green Berets that hit hard in a business context:
1) Pull up the 13th chair
A 19-year-old sergeant walked into a Special Forces strategy session just to deliver lunch. He saw something on the whiteboard the leaders didn’t—because he had been “boots on the ground” in that environment for 90 days.
Instead of shutting him down, they pulled up a chair.
The lesson: Great leaders don’t protect ego. They protect outcomes.
2) The After Action Report
Special forces teams regularly ask:
What worked?
What didn’t?
What should we replicate?
What do we need to stop doing?
How can we communicate better next time?
Billy’s point is simple:
Businesses move fast… and skip reflection… and then repeat the same mistakes.
The Real Takeaway: Culture Is Caught, Not Taught
If you only remember one line from this episode, it might be the one Billy repeats twice:
Culture is not taught. It’s caught.
You can write values in a handbook.
You can hang them on the wall.
You can even print them on mugs.
But culture is built by what leadership tolerates—and what leadership models.
Billy’s closing advice is clear:
“Be the kind of leader you want your people to be.
Treat your organization the way you want your organization to treat your customers.”
That’s the giraffe perspective.
Not just seeing further… but leading higher.
About Billy Goldberg and The Buckeye Group
Billy Goldberg is the founder of The Buckeye Group, where he helps lower middle-market companies improve profitability by transforming leadership, culture, and organizational structure through People Powered Profitability.
Who he works with most:
Companies doing $25M–$100M in revenue
Teams typically 12–200 employees
Billy’s focus is helping organizations build environments where people thrive, leaders lead well, and results follow.