Bruce Eckfeldt | Strategic Business Coach

INC.500 CEO TO STRATEGIC BUSINESS COACH

Strategic Coach to CEOs and Leadership Teams Seeking Predictable Growth | Inc 500 Founder & CEO | Inc. Author | Podcast Host | Retreat Facilitator

View fullsize Growth happens at the edge of discomfort. It's in those moments when you step out of your comfort zone and into the unknown, that learning truly begins. Whether it's tackling a tough conversation, taking a business risk, or literally climbing a mou
View fullsize Ratholes vs. Rabbit Holes: Know the Difference If you’ve led intense discussions with leadership teams, you know the danger of ratholes and rabbit holes. They sound alike, but they derail progress in very different ways. Ratholes: It’s
View fullsize Big shout out to Tom Conlon for the amazing Clash LP! 🎶 It's the perfect addition to my vinyl collection, and it’s been so much fun connecting with clients and others in my network over a shared love for music—especially vinyl records.
View fullsize It Doesn’t Have to Be Lonely at the Top CEOs often say it’s lonely at the top, but it doesn’t have to be. The truth is, you just need to look in new and different places. It’s lonely because the decisions you make and the pl
View fullsize Want to Build Trust? Ask for Help. Most people think trust is built by offering help, but they’ve got it backward. Here’s the reality: Trust is built by asking for help, not just giving it. Why? Because asking for help is an act of vu
View fullsize If You’re Lonely at the Top as a CEO, It’s Your Fault I get it. Being a CEO is isolating. There are challenges you can't discuss with your leadership team, employees, or even your partner. Friends? They might not fully grasp the weight
View fullsize Strategy is a team sport. To build the best plans, you need the insights and perspectives of your leadership team and others in the business. Here’s why: Diverse perspectives lead to better plans. No one has all the answers—engaging wi
View fullsize Want to Move Fast? Keep Things Light. 🏃‍♂️‍➡️ In business, speed is everything. Just like backpacking, where every item you carry needs to be carefully considered and justified, the same goes for business strategy. Here’s what I mean
View fullsize How Are You Doing as a CEO? If you don’t know, you’re probably not doing as well as you think. Great CEOs always know how they’re performing. Why? Because they’re continuously asking for and receiving critical feedback: Fro
View fullsize Want to Build Psychological Safety? Have your senior team call you out in public. Here’s why: when your people see your senior team openly challenging you, they learn it’s okay to speak truth to power. They know they can call out their
View fullsize Why I Love Solving Hard Puzzles—and Why You Should Too Leadership is often about navigating messy, complex problems that don't have obvious solutions. Here's the reality: Most decisions aren't grand moves but small, incremental changes. Clari
View fullsize Will coach for vinyl. 🎶 Here’s the deal: I’m offering you a 30-minute, 1-on-1 business coaching session. We can dive into whatever challenge you're facing—hiring or firing decisions, resolving conflict on your leadership team, pre
View fullsize Your values are not fixed. Every company has a set of "DNA possibilities." While you can’t be anything you want, you do have a lot of choice. The key? Choose which values to emphasize and which to suppress, depending on the situation
View fullsize One of the keys to success is getting up *really* early. In climbing, you want to hit the mountain before first light. It gives you maximum time to tackle challenges, adjust for obstacles, and avoid bad weather that rolls in by mid-morning. Busines
View fullsize There’s a lot of randomness in business. The trick is figuring out when you're good and when you're just lucky. Not all bad outcomes come from bad decisions, and not all good outcomes stem from good decisions. The real challenge is learning to
View fullsize Dear CEO: It’s Time to Get Out of the Office If you’re focused on internal issues, you’re missing the real action—out in the market. Customers, competitors, and trends are always changing. If you’re not ahead of it, you
View fullsize The reason your leadership team isn't making the best decisions? They're not arguing enough. Too often, leadership teams try to "play nice." Nobody wants to rock the boat. But here’s the problem: when everyone avoids conflict, criti
View fullsize I stopped doing annual planning years ago. It just didn’t work. Instead, we focus on updating our three-year plan every year, adding four new quarters while revising the rest of the plan. Why? Because if you wait until November or December to
View fullsize Even coaches need coaches. It’s impossible to see what you’re doing wrong without external feedback. My golf swing is a perfect example. I work with a swing coach at a high-tech studio, surrounded by cameras and ball flight trackers. W
View fullsize How often do we get the chance to truly disconnect from the world and immerse ourselves in nature? Last year, I had the incredible experience of taking my two sons fly fishing in remote Alaska. It was an adventure unlike any other. Traveling deep

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Coaching Certifications

  • Certified Scaling Up Coach

  • Certified 3HAG/Metronomics Coach

  • Lean/Agile and SCRUM Coach

  • Predictive Index (PI) Certified Consultant

  • FRC Certified Flow Coach

Expertise Highlights

  • Strategic Planning and Roadmapping

  • Lean/Agile Software and Development

  • Leadership Team Development/Coaching

  • Multinational and Virtual/Distributed Teams

  • Social Sector and B-Corp Organizations

Career Highlights

  • 5X Inc 5000/500 Award Founder/CEO

  • Two degrees in Architecture from McGill University in Montreal

  • Entrepreneurs’ Organization leadership over a decade

  • Inc.com author weekly contributor since 2017

  • Podcast Founder and Host

Industry Experiences and Focus

  • Professional Services and Consulting

  • Software Development and SAS Products

  • Education and Learning Services

  • Financial Services and Technologies

  • Real Estate Development and Management

  • Creative/Design Services and Fashion

  • Cannabis/Hemp/CBD Products/Services

“One of the primary jobs of every CEO is to drive the strategic planning process, ensuring the company has defined an effective differentiated market position that is communicated throughout the organization.”

Connect with me on LinkedIn

  • 200+ Inc.com articles posted

  • Over 26K connections

  • Regular content on Leadership and Business Strategy

  • 50+ recommendations

My Purpose

Empowering leaders with the tools and insights they need to transform their vision into actionable strategies, embrace bold innovations, and guide their businesses towards sustainable and predictable success.

Let’s Book a Call!

Let’s talk more about your business, your business goals and challenges, and how we can break through them together.

Inspired Leadership

My experience as a Founder and Inc. 500 CEO gives me firsthand knowledge of the pressures of leadership and allows me to uniquely understand and personally connect with other leaders

Adventurous Spirit

My personal value of adventure, along with a history of setting big, audacious goals and pushing limits, makes adventure a core value. It's about leveraging risks, venturing into the unknown.

Architectural Mindset

Rooted in my background as an architect, I approach every challenge with precision and accuracy, crafting innovative blueprints with elegant solutions that have meaning and purpose.

Strategic Innovation

As a reflection of my ability to apply abstract design thinking to business strategy, I value time-tested, proven business principles that drive innovative solutions pushing boundaries.

Disciplined Execution

As a founder and CEO, I understand the importance of actionable insights. While I am a strategist at heart, I value practical and actionable strategies that move the business forward.

System Thinking

I apply a Systems Thinking approach to business strategy and growth, seeing every decision as part of a more extensive interconnected network of actions and decisions that impact and drive each other.

The foundation of any high-performance team is the web of individual relationships. A team composed of individuals who know each other as people, appreciate their unique strengths and weaknesses and know about each other's personal histories and lived experiences will have the connective tissue in place to weather any storm.

My Journey

School of Architecture, McGill University

Studying architecture taught me design thinking and how to solve complex problems with elegant solutions while meeting functional and programmatic requirements.

Product Strategist and Engagement Manager

Leveraging my design skills I transitioned to product design and digital business strategy working with companies such as Motorola, WebMD, Pfizer, and Prada.

Founder and CEO

In 2003, I founded a Lean/Agile software development agency that worked with dozens of mid-market companies on major system integration and core business applications. We listed the firm on the Inc 500/5000 list five years in a row, and I sold the company in 2013.

Fractional CEO/COO Executive

After selling my company, I worked with several high-growth companies as a fractional/interim CEO and COO, working on business strategy, building out leadership teams, and developing innovative products and services.

Certified ScalingUp and Metronomics/3HAG Coach

In 2017, I became a certified ScalingUp strategic coach, and in 2018, I became a certified Metronomics/3HAG coach.

Predictive Index & Flow Research Collective

I also joined Predictive Index as a certified consultant. And in 2023, I completed two coaching programs with the Flow Research Collective. I hold several other certifications in Lean/Agile, coaching, project management, and organizational development.

Founder and Host of Multiple Podcasts

In 2019, I launched Scaling Up Service, a podcast focused on growing service businesses. I also launched Thinking Outside the Bud, which focuses on the cannabis industry. And in 2022, I partnered with a venture capital firm to focus on the emerging psychedelic industry. In 2023 I recorded my 1000th episode and all three podcasts are leaders in their industries.

Partner/Advisor, Director of Programming at
Wilder Retreats

In 2023, I joined Wilder Retreats as an advisor and lead programming and facilitation services. I work with clients to develop program objectives and agendas, I facilitate meetings and workshops, and I develop curriculum focused on team building, leadership development, and strategic planning.

Professional Highlights

After graduating from McGill University in Montreal with two degrees in Architecture, Bruce transitioned to digital product development early in his career, where he worked as a product strategy consultant for companies such as WebMD, Prada, the Department of Defense, and Motorola. In 2003, he founded Cyrus Innovation, one of the first Lean/Agile consulting firms, and worked with companies such as Boeing, Kaplan Test Prep, Simon & Schuster, Eze Software, and The New York Times on product development and Lean/Agile transformation initiatives. Cyrus was an Inc 5000 honoree for five years in a row and placed #241 on the Inc 500 in 2009.

Bruce has been a member of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization since 2007 and has served in many chapters and regional leadership positions including Learning, Forum, and Accelerator. Bruce has served as the US East Regional Forum Expert and the US East Regional Accelerator Expert.

Personal Highlights

Born in Philadelphia, Bruce and his family moved to Minnesota when he was four. Growing up in Minnesota fueled his love for nature and the outdoors. As an athlete throughout high school and college, Bruce competed in rowing, cross-country skiing, biathlon (shooting and skiing), and triathlon. He completed his first of four marathons at age 19, and completed an Ironman triathlon in 2003.

Outside of competitive sports, Bruce has climbed to the top of Kilimanjaro, dove the Coral Sea off Australia, and hiked the Tour du Mont Blanc. He’s traveled extensively and has visited six of the seven continents. Bruce is also an avid freshwater and saltwater fly fisherman. He is a father of four and lives in New York City.