Follow for daily Insights to live a longer, healthier life

Over the past decade, I’ve scaled revenue and client success at three SaaS companies from $3M to $50M+ ARR, delivering 110%+ net revenue retention and top 10% NPS scores (65+).

Today, we help recruiting agency owners & Principals ($5M–$20M billings, 5–20 recruiters) land new clients from LinkedIn by becoming a trusted authority in their market. 

Our clients are busy business owners. They don’t want to be “content creators.” 

They want done-for-you exec content that lands new clients. That’s what we do.

In the past 12 months, we’ve generated $5M+ in client billings from LinkedIn by positioning recruiting agency owners as the go-to authorities in their markets.

Our methodology:
→ Revenue Growth Engine - a 3-step system perfected with 40+ founders & recruiting agencies
→ Content strategy that generates demand for contingent and retained searches (not just likes)
→ Strategic outreach to initiate conversations with your ideal clients
→ All requiring just 1.5 hours per week from busy Principals and owners

Our results:
→ 40+ owners and Principals served
→ $5M+ in client billings generated from inbound leads via LinkedIn
→ 8+ qualified inquiries per month within 90 days (average client result)
→ Doubling client pipelines in under 6 months
→ Clients include 7 and 8-figure recruiting agencies commanding $75K+ fees and securing multi-search mandates

And we're just getting started!

We help recruiting business owners who are:
→ Tired of building trust from scratch and ready for clients who arrive pre-sold
→ Reliant on a referral pipeline that has plateaued and feels unpredictable
→ Ready to turn decades of expertise into an inbound client pipeline

Ready to turn LinkedIn into your #1 growth channel?
→ Book a 25-minute strategy call: 

https://calendly.com/rohan-karunakaran-mbww/1-1-strategy-call

Rohan Karunakaran

I sat down with LinkedIn’s first Chief HR Officer, Steve Cadigan, to share a few early lessons from his time at LinkedIn - well before it became the iconic company we know today.

Two moments from the early days stuck with me:

1// The “Obama validation” moment

When President Obama visited LinkedIn’s campus in 2011, signups jumped from 1 new member/second → 2 new members/second the very next day.

2// The “IPO perception shift” moment

On the day LinkedIn went public, membership doubled again - not because of a new product feature… but because of market validation. 

Big takeaway for founders/operators: 

Trust compounds. And visibility and perception can accelerate adoption as much as  product. In both earlier and mature stages of growth. 

Follow for the full episode dropping Friday !

CEO at Frontier | Podcast host at Founder-Led 🎙️

LinkedIn's first Chief HR Officer, Steve Cadigan, dropped this insight during our conversation and I keep coming back to it:

The companies winning right now aren’t the ones with the most resources or experience. 

They’re the ones who’ve learned to get out of their own way.

Two shifts he’s seeing:

1// Command-and-control is breaking

The most valuable companies are being built by smaller, faster, less hierarchical teams, where decisions happen close to the work, not at the top of the org chart.

2// Tenure is being replaced by 'rate of learning'

The strongest organizations are optimizing for rate of learning -  bringing in people who challenge legacy thinking and make better decisions faster.

AI is the obvious catalyst here. When the cost of intelligence and experimenting drops and the pace of change spikes, the advantage shifts to orgs that can adapt fastest.

Tesla is a clear example. Worth more than Toyota, Ford, GM, and Hyundai combined.

Not because they have more experience. Because investors believe they can out-innovate the incumbents.

Full episode in the comments below 👇

Just reviewed a recruiter's LinkedIn profile.

$150M org. 7,000+ employees. EY Entrepreneur of the Year.

Her content? Mostly podcast promos and company updates.

Great for brand awareness. But ineffective at building deeper trust, familiarity, and consideration with potential clients. 

This is the gap I keep seeing with search firm owners. 

Incredible operators. Hundreds of placements. Decades of pattern recognition.

But their content stays surface-level and could be written by anyone else. 

The stuff that would make a CEO or hiring manager stop scrolling:

- How you assess leadership talent differently  
- Why most retained searches stall at the same point 
- What separates firms that fill in 45 days vs. 120+

That’s the stuff that builds authority between conversations.

Educational content does something brand content can't - it makes a prospect feel understood before you've ever spoken. 

You want to 'get in their head' with how specifically you speak to the issues they're facing and how you'd solve them. 

Especially in exec search, where your average retainer is $100K+, arriving pre-trusted changes the sales cycle.

It's the difference between a 5-call trust tour and a 1-call close.

Most firms are sitting on decades of placement insight that never leaves the founder's brain. 

HUGE miss IMO. 

If you run a search firm and want to turn what you already know into inbound demand — DM me. Happy to share what we’re seeing work.

We're taught to chase achievement.

No one teaches us how to expand consciousness.

I came across this 2x2 and it stuck with me because it maps the relationship between the two - and how they reinforce each other.

And by consciousness, I mean self-awareness - the degree to which we’re awake to our patterns, motivations, and deeper purpose.

→ Playing the game - low agency, low consciousness. Running default scripts.

→ Winning the game - high agency, low consciousness Achievement driven by ego or fear.

→ Escaping the game - high consciousness, low agency. Insightful… but not impactful.

→ Evolving the game - high agency, high consciousness. Aligned and effective.

In my own life, breaking points - a stressful work environment and a relationship ending - forced an upgrade in consciousness

For some it's burnout, financial pressure, or a health scare - the universe giving us a shake toward a more joyful and aligned path. If we choose to listen. 

A disruption that asks: Is this actually aligned?

“Evolving the game” became a useful decision filter for me:

• Work with people I genuinely respect and enjoy
• Choose a lane that feels energizing, not draining
• Work in my 'zone of genius', delegate the rest where possible

Also, the path isn’t linear. For me, business stability came first. Consciousness expanded later.

Only then did I have the courage to step into the unknown and choose more aligned work.

Others may begin highly self-aware - and later build agency through action.

It's also easy to drift between quadrants. Staying in the “Evolving the Game” mindset isn’t automatic - it requires regular practice and commitment. 

Curious - does this framework resonate with you? Where do you see yourself on the map?

Helping Leaders Ignite Change Through Inner Growth 🌱

There are truly two ways to live in 2025:

1. Striving endlessly for more. Feeling separate & disconnected.
2. Living fully in the present. Aware of our shared connection.

Most live stuck in the first.

Inevitably leading to stress, burnout, and a sense that something’s missing.

The bigger problem?

This way of living doesn’t just drain your energy, it costs you the deeper joys of life:

- A clear & peaceful mind.
- Meaningful relationships.
- A deep sense of fulfillment.

The truth?

You don’t have to sacrifice well-being for success.

Life doesn’t need to feel like a constant grind.

Your way forward:

Live (and lead) with presence, connection, and intention.

My goal is to help leaders and organizations:

- Embrace the present moment to lead with clarity & connection.
- Build emotional intelligence for stronger relationships.
- Shift focus from individual goals to shared progress.

The future belongs to those who lead with the heart, inspiring collective growth over individual ambition.

--

I am a husband, father and co-creator.

For 15+ years, I have been building tech companies and supporting leaders to:

- Improve lives
- Extend quality time
- Foster positive change

My deepest purpose in life is to touch and improve as many lives as possible.

To achieve this, I share everything I know and continue to learn over time.

It's up to you to decide how to use this knowledge to help others.

If you ever want to work with me, my door is open.

If not, take what you learn and pay it forward. 

We are all in this together!

Marco Franzoni

If you're not expanding in your role, you're contracting.

But contraction wears a friendly mask.

Consistency.
It looks like loyalty.
Being the reliable one.

I told myself the same story once.

"Now isn't the right time."
"I should be grateful."
"Growth will come if I wait."

While I waited:

A colleague took a stretch project I avoided.

A junior asked braver questions and got noticed.

An external hire shaped the direction I wanted.

If the system doesn’t stretch you,
it slowly trains you to stay small.

Careers don’t stall from lack of effort.
They stall from lack of intention.

Growth looks different than promotions.

Saying yes before you feel ready. 
Building leverage, not just output.  
Finding mentors, not just managers.  

Pause and reflect:

- What’s the last skill you learned that actually changed your output?

- Who actively challenged your growth in the last 90 days?

- What capabilities are you building for what comes next?

If those answers feel vague, that’s not security.

That’s inertia.

And inertia is decline with better PR.

The biggest career risk isn’t moving too fast.

It’s getting comfortable for too long.

If nothing shifts, where will you be a year from now?

Growth doesn’t require approval.


♻️ Please repost to promote intentional growth over comfort.
🙂 Follow Marco Franzoni for more.

Mindful Leadership Advocate | Helping leaders live & lead in the moment | Father, Husband, & 7x Founder | Follow for practical advice to thrive in work and life 🌱

If your job makes you shrink to belong,  
you’re in the wrong room.  
If you feel yourself getting smaller, it’s rarely a skill issue. 
It’s a culture signal.  

The wrong environment doesn’t just limit you.  
It reshapes how you see yourself.  

Here’s how you know:  

❌ You feel relief when certain leaders aren’t around  

❌ You hesitate before sharing bold ideas  

❌ You edit your values to fit the room  

And slowly, your confidence erodes.  

The right team doesn’t need you smaller.  

Ask yourself:  

↳ Do conversations expand your thinking?  

↳ Can you challenge the status quo safely?  

↳ Does feedback stretch you — not silence you?  

You are not the issue.
You may just be in the wrong system.  

Two paths forward:  

Elevate the culture.  
Or exit the room.  

Don’t adapt to spaces that drains you.

Choose the people who expand your courage, clarity, and capacity.

Align with those who elevate the bar, not dilute it.

Because you’re here to excel, not endure. 

Stand where you can grow.  


♻️ Please repost to promote braver workplaces.  
🙂 Follow Marco Franzoni for more.

Remote work is still fighting old ghosts.

Here’s what no one wants to admit:

Remote work didn’t break culture.
It just exposed which cultures were never real.

Here’s what’s actually true:

1. Accountability  
↳ Assumption: Without eyes, effort fades  
↳ Reality: Ownership grows when trust replaces control  

2. Communication  
↳ Assumption: More calls mean more alignment  
↳ Reality: Better writing beats endless talking  

3. Collaboration  
↳ Assumption: Distance kills teamwork  
↳ Reality: Clarity and trust amplify it  

4. Leadership  
↳ Assumption: You can’t lead without proximity  
↳ Reality: You lead through presence, not presence in the room  

5. Boundaries  
↳ Assumption: Remote work blurs life and work  
↳ Reality: Conscious design creates balance — not buildings  

6. Motivation  
↳ Assumption: People need constant supervision  
↳ Reality: Autonomy fuels purpose better than pressure ever could  

7. Innovation  
↳ Assumption: Creativity happens only in shared spaces  
↳ Reality: It thrives when minds get breathing room  

Remote work didn’t erode performance.  
It revealed where performance was performative.

And that truth still makes many uncomfortable.

What myth about remote work do you still hear leaders repeat?


♻️ Please repost to help more leaders build trust-based cultures.  
🙂 Follow Marco Franzoni for more.

If you have to shrink to belong,

you’re in the wrong environment.

It’s not a confidence problem, it’s a context problem.

Because the wrong room
can turn power into doubt.

Here’s how subtle cultures erode you:

❌ You over-edit your words because honesty feels unsafe

❌ You slow your momentum because excellence draws friction

❌ You dim your standards to avoid outshining the room

And slowly, you lose touch with who you were.

Healthy environments don’t require self-censorship.

Here’s a quick leader check:

↳ Do people elevate your ideas or water them down?

↳ Can you bring tension with care — without fallout?

↳ Do your strengths spark collaboration or insecurity?

You’re not the issue.
The environment is.

And you always have two options:

Transform the culture.
Or find a room that can hold your full range.

Don’t spend your life adapting to spaces that drain you.

Choose people who refine your edge and expand your thinking.

Find environments that value your strengths, not compete with them.

You were made to grow.
Not to collapse inward.

💬 Who in your life expands your potential?
Tag them. Let them know.


♻️ Please repost to promote cultures that help people rise. 
🙂 Follow Marco Franzoni for more.

Failure won’t stop you.

Doubt will.

It kills momentum before ideas get a chance to grow.

And it locks you into habits like:
- Waiting for the “right time”
- Planning instead of executing
- Measuring yourself instead of creating

Clarity follows action, not the other way around.

Here are 3 simple shifts to break free:

1. Start messy
↳ Progress beats perfection every time
↳ Momentum is the real confidence builder

2. Borrow from your past wins
↳ Remember moments you thought you’d fail but didn’t
↳ Use that proof to fuel your next move

3. Trade comparison for curiosity
↳ Others aren’t benchmarks—they’re teachers
↳ Ask “What can I learn here?” instead

Confidence isn’t something you begin with.
You build it by taking action.

Start before you feel ready—
because someone less prepared is already moving on your idea.


♻️ Please repost to promote courage over doubt.
🙂 Follow Marco Franzoni for more.

Your title alone doesn’t make you a leader.

How you respond when pressure rises does.

After years of supporting leaders,
I’ve seen the same pattern repeat:

People will endure tight timelines and imperfect systems.

But one thing they won’t ignore:

A leader who checks out.

5 ways leaders unknowingly drive their best people away:

❌ Making everything urgent 
↳ Constant pressure turns motivated people into exhausted ones.

❌ Avoiding hard conversations 
↳ Silence creates confusion that top talent won’t tolerate.

❌ Treating presence as optional 
↳ When leaders are mentally absent, trust erodes fast.

❌ Solving every problem for the team 
↳ It steals ownership and crushes initiative.

❌ Celebrating outcomes but ignoring effort 
↳ High achievers want their process seen, not just results.

How to keep your best people:

✅ Protect deep-work time 
↳ Focus is fuel. Guard it like a strategic asset.

✅ Give autonomy with clarity 
↳ Define the “what,” let them co-design the “how.”

✅ Celebrate learning, not just wins 
↳ Growth becomes a shared identity, not a performance test.

Choose to be the leader who lifts others higher.

Because top performers don’t just leave jobs.
They leave leaders who stopped truly seeing them.


♻️ Please reshare to promote healthier leadership. 
🙂 Follow Marco Franzoni for more.

It’s time we retire the term soft skills.

They drive hard results.

These traits aren’t optional anymore,
They’re the edge in an AI-powered world,
And they’re what top teams quietly reward.

If you want to future-proof your career, build these 12 capabilities:

1. Systems Awareness
↳See how your work impacts the whole.
Optimize the process, not just tasks.

2. Deep Listening
↳Listen to understand, not to reply.
People feel the difference instantly.

3. Self-Regulation
↳Slow your breath before big moments.
Calm is contagious in tense rooms.

4. Decisive Thinking
↳Make informed calls with 70% data.
Momentum beats perfection.

5. Courageous Candor
↳Say the honest thing with care.
Trust grows in hard conversations.

6. Energy Management
↳Protect your focus like an asset.
What drains you drains the team.

7. Strategic Patience
↳Think long term in short-term chaos.
Compounding beats reacting.

8. Accountability
↳Own outcomes, not excuses.
Leaders go first here.

9. Boundary Setting
↳Say no to protect what matters.
Clarity prevents resentment.

10. Curiosity
↳Ask better questions.
Innovation begins there.

11. Positive Framing
↳Reframe problems as design inputs.
Constraints spark creativity.

12. Consistency
↳Small daily standards.
They build reputations quietly.

Which of these do you see missing most in teams today?


♻️ Please repost to promote human-centered leadership.
🙂 Follow Marco Franzoni for more.

12 mindsets strong leaders practice,

And every one can be trained:

1. Energy Stewardship: "Protect the source"
↳They guard sleep, focus, and recovery

2. Discipline: "Show up anyway"
↳They honor the process, not their mood

3. Self-Awareness: "Notice before reacting"
↳They regulate stress before it spreads

4. Systems Thinking: "Fix the process"
↳They build engines, not heroic sprints

5. Service: "It’s not about me"
↳They measure success by impact, not ego

6. Listening: "Seek to understand"
↳They create safety before solutions

7. Clarity: "Why does this matter?"
↳They start with purpose, then act

8. Courage: "Say the hard thing"
↳They choose honesty over comfort

9. Decisiveness: "Progress over perfection"
↳They move with 70% clarity

10. Patience: "Think in decades"
↳They trade quick wins for lasting value

11. Accountability: "Close the loop"
↳They finish what they start

12. Adaptation: "Shift without drama"
↳They adjust fast when reality changes

You don’t need all 12 at once.

Even seasoned leaders wobble.

Pick one.

Train it daily.

Character compounds.

Results follow.

Which one feels most alive for you?


♻️ Please repost to promote conscious leadership.
🙂 Follow Marco Franzoni for more.

"I accepted a stronger offer."

Translation: I found a leader who sees me.

I’ve supported many leaders through exits.

The truth is rarely in the headline.

Behind next step or new challenge is a quieter signal:

They don’t feel significant.

Nobody appreciates.

Their effort feels invisible.
Their growth feels stalled.
Their voice feels small.

If you want your best people to stay:

↳ Ask what energizes them
↳ Admit when you’re wrong
↳ Remove obstacles quietly
↳ Model calm under pressure
↳ Coach their strengths weekly
↳ Invest in their learning path
↳ Create safety for hard truths
↳ Give them ownership, not tasks
↳ Challenge them to think bigger
↳ Protect their focus from noise
↳ Clarify what winning looks like
↳ Connect their work to a mission
↳ Celebrate progress, not just results

You can’t buy commitment.

You build it through trust, and belief in their potential.

Become the leader you wish you had.


♻️ Please repost to promote human-centered leadership.
🙂 Follow Marco Franzoni for more.

taplio

The Battle

Rohan Karunakaran

Marco Franzoni

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreRohan Karunakaran's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreMarco Franzoni's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Rohan Karunakaran

Marco Franzoni

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Rohan Karunakaran's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreMarco Franzoni's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreRohan Karunakaran's LinkedIn Performance