In this concise 7‑minute interview, Professor Pete Alexander talks with business consultant Claire Chandler about her work helping strong companies become market leaders. Chandler explains her mission to get leaders out of their own heads, enabling them to scale with fewer bottlenecks and develop what she calls “profitable confidence” or swagger. She highlights the surprisingly supportive network of fellow consultants, despite expectations of a cut‑throat industry. Chandler advises companies to look farther down the road rather than focus on immediate firefighting, especially in the context of COVID‑19, emphasizing the importance of a long‑term strategic horizon. She stresses that leaders must achieve clarity on why they lead, fostering self‑awareness and authenticity, which she claims puts them 80 % of the way to building a successful company. Chandler recommends disaster‑recovery and security expert Dave Wiener as a valuable peer. She shares a brief anecdote about her first paid job as a teaching assistant at Acorn Nursery School in Plainfield, New Jersey, and directs listeners to her website, clairechandler.net, for free resources and consultation opportunities.
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This is Professor Pete Alexander with the Winning at Business and Life podcast, where business leaders share their insights. It is 6 questions in 7 minutes because successful business leaders are busy and rarely have more time to spare. So let's get to it. Question number 1: In a few sentences, please tell me who you are and what you do.
Great. So my name is Claire Chandler, and I work with strong companies to help them become the strongest businesses in their market niche. And I do that in a couple of ways, primarily by helping the leaders of those companies get out of their own way, primarily by helping them get out of their own head so that they can scale their businesses with fewer growing pains and performance bottlenecks. And ultimately, the goal is showing them the path to profitable confidence, or as I like to call it, swagger.
Hmm, I like that. Claire, it's so great to have you on the show. Question number 2: What's the best thing about working in your industry?
You know, it's, it's been a pleasant surprise going out on my own as a consultant/solopreneur. I fully expected this business to be quite cutthroat. I came from corporate America, which is, you know, kind of dog-eat-dog. And I have been so pleasantly surprised to see what an amazing supportive network of, you know, fellow consultants who play in the same space, you know, so willing and generous, you know, in terms of giving their time and guidance and connections. So it's been a wonderful surprise.
Oh, that's great to hear. Question number 3: I have a fictitious book with all the answers for business. What chapter would you think most companies should read?
I would say the first one they should cut to is how to look farther down the road rather than down at your feet.
I like that. You want to expand a little bit about that?
Sure. You know, I often see, especially in the era that we are in with COVID-19, kind of not playing well in sandbox alongside of us, that a lot of companies have sort of gotten out of their longer-term strategic mindset and are focused almost exclusively on firefighting. And it's an important lesson to remember at any time in your evolution, but especially amidst a global pandemic like we are in, to, you know, the way to grow and the way to lead your people is by keeping a firm focus on the horizon, not on the next patch of sidewalk in front of you.
Very sage advice. Thank you. Question number 4: Other than the generic work harder, have a great attitude, and care for customers, what insight would you like to give to other business leaders?
Oh, that's a great question. You know, for me, it's all about clarity. So I would say that leaders need to get really, really dialed in on the biggest stumbling block for leaders. So getting dialed in on what makes a lot of leaders fail, which is they don't understand why they're leading. And that sounds very simplistic and it sounds kind of common sense, but you'd be surprised how many leaders I talk to who kind of pull up short when I say to them, why are you in the position that you're in? And so once they kind of get, grounded in that, in their own why, they then take it a step further. They kind of build on their self-awareness, their authenticity, not seeing their leadership as a role or as a character that they play, but truly being authentic to who they are, why they're leading, and where they're trying to get to. And those are really the kind of the basic building blocks to growing a successful, successful company. And, you know, in my experience and the clients that I work with especially, if you know what you're trying to do and why that matters, you're 80% of the way there to building a successful, strong company.
It goes back to what I've heard before, the if you understand your why, everything else falls in place. So am I assuming that's pretty much in the same, same thought that you're talking about?
100%.
That's great. Thank you so much. Question number 5: What other business leader like yourself would you like to acknowledge and invite to be on my podcast?
So one of the, you know, I mentioned earlier that one of the great things about this industry is that it's such a supportive network of amazing, amazing professionals. And one of the people I've had the great opportunity to meet virtually is a gentleman by the name of Dave Wiener. He's on the West Coast of the US. I'm on the East Coast. And we are connected through LinkedIn, as a lot of us do, you know, these days. And he is a— first of all, he's a veteran, so he has my huge respect right out of the gate. But he works with companies on disaster recovery, you know, security, safety of employees, you know, that goes beyond just your traditional health and safety, but really helping companies companies bulletproof their business from a security and a safety standpoint. And he's just a great, you know, human being. So I would highly recommend him.
Great. I'll reach out to Dave. Thank you so much for that referral. And our final question, question number 6, please tell me about your first job.
My first job before I was even in high school was to be a teaching assistant, loftier title than the job really was, at Acorn Nursery School in my home hometown of Plainfield, New Jersey. So yeah, that was my, that was my very first paid gig.
And Acorn must be a common name for nurseries because my kids went to Acorn Nursery as well.
There you go. Yeah, there you go.
Well, Claire, thank you so much for being on the show. How could people find you?
They can find me by going to my website, clairechandler.net. There's a bunch of free resources on there. And if anyone wants to set up some time to chat with me, no, no cost, no obligation. There are some variety of ways for them to do that.
Perfect. This is Professor Pete Alexander with the Winning at Business and Life podcast. Thanks for listening.
