I recently went one-on-one with Martha Brown, former CEO of Tipperary Sales. Martha is the author of the upcoming book It’s On You: Empowerment for Leaders Seeking the Highest Level of Personal Satisfaction and Corporate Success.

Adam: Thanks again for taking the time to share your advice. First things first, though, I am sure readers would love to learn more about you. How did you get here? What experiences, failures, setbacks, or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth?

Martha: I got to CEO through working literally every job within my family firm. It helped tremendously in creating an extensive understanding of not just what those jobs entailed but their association with the greater whole. As I rose in the ranks, I also kept with me the critical nature of each person and the roles they fulfilled – and more than that – the value of those people. They worked hard, with intention, and played an important part of the overall company’s success. Now this growth and rise didn’t come without costs, there were jobs I ultimately did enjoy more than others, and some I was just better at than others, which I stayed curious about. I then found Predictive Index – a behavioral assessment tool. Learning how we are naturally wired helped me put all the pieces in the puzzle together. I was led to champion this tool throughout my company, which increased retention and dropped turnover. Ultimately finding the right people for the right positions makes everyone much more fulfilled! 

Adam: What were the key steps to growing and scaling your business?

Martha: We wanted to grow but weren’t sure how and in what direction. In the early 1990’s we made the decision to create a better, more professional platform for our company. We took a deep dive into our org chart, plotted out markets we could grow into, and set ourselves up with a solid foundation from a personnel and process standpoint, to prepare for when those markets would open up for us. We tried me as sales manager – not a great fit! – and started the quest to find the right person for that seat on our bus. Once we found them, the fiscal growth was quick due to the time we spent on operational strength. I know of most companies who actually do this in reverse and they aren’t able to properly capitalize on the rise in revenue as well. Sometimes you have to work on the boring stuff first, to build your house on a firm foundation. 

Adam: What do you believe are the defining qualities of an effective leader?

Martha: To work on our own EQ – Emotional Quotient – first, so we can work with our teams, clients, and communities with compassion and insight. I’ve worked with enough people over my tenure to know that most people are quite uncomfortable getting to that deeply human level within themselves, much less with others. If we can go within and have frank conversations with ourselves, and start treating ourselves with more kindness, we can do that with others. Not everyone wants to participate in that, but the ones that are open will grow and shine, and that’s great for everyone. Other qualities that a positively effective leader possess are courage, mental maturity, resilience, and determination. Business is hard. People can be difficult. Not every day is sunny. Invest in these elements to give yourself and your teams a definite edge. 

Adam: How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level?

Martha: Read as much as possible, write as much as possible, avail yourself to other leaders – find mentors and follow role models. Find a peer group of other professionals, such as Vistage Global, and get vulnerable. And repeat! There is no expiration date for our own growth and development. My father was in his 70’s when he taught himself to use a computer and also started developing his own writing skills for our entire family genealogy. The tomes and knowledge were a tremendous gift, but what I gained more from his work was seeing him adapt and learn at his age. Stay curious, never give up. Life is for the living!

Adam: What are your three best tips applicable to entrepreneurs, executives, and civic leaders?

Martha: I have met very few people who absolutely LOVE networking, but networking is a tremendous opportunity to meet, learn, and grow, as well as share your knowledge and experience with others. Great friendships can also develop while networking, and those true ones are mutually beneficial as we continue down life’s roads. 

Adam: What is your best advice on building, leading, and managing teams?

Martha: Remember when you were on a team once, being led or managed. What did you like? What didn’t you like? If you could have changed anything, what would you have? Take learnings from your best managers or leaders and definitely from your worst. Remember that we usually only remember how we were treated, how we were seen or not seen, so use those experiences to inform your leadership to the better. If you weren’t treated well, don’t mimic that behavior, change it, for yourself and your team. 

Adam: What are your best tips on the topics of sales, marketing, and branding?

Martha: I believe in all of this very strongly. It all starts with your Mission, Vision, and Values, and is supported by your Culture, which are all intentionally created, whether you know it or not! So be intentional and start at this very beginning. What does your company do? How does it do it? Brand from there, market from that branding, and sell to support your Mission. I’ve met a few business owners who started with an idea and things quickly rose from there, which is very exciting and captivating, but they didn’t build an intentional base for their business, so their Mission was unknown, and their Culture floundered, the branding was misunderstood and the sales started to drop. You must invest time, thought, and energy into knowing who you are, then how you want to do business first. When you build it well, the rest is sort-of easy and definitely the fun parts. 

Adam: What do you hope readers take away from your new book? 

Martha: I hope they will be encouraged at every turn, to go within to do the deep work, then to lead from that place of authenticity and vulnerability. Our teams deserve us being our best selves, so we can help them lean into their best selves. My prayer is that every person who reads my books will take away at least one thing that not just paid for the book, but also helped them launch something even more successful in their own life and company. 

Adam: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received?

Martha: To make the most important thing the most important thing. We run around some days reactively, spending more time putting out fires than going deep to get to the root of problems and fixing them permanently. When we stop and focus on what is really the issue, we can make tremendous headway. Change is scary, but it is non-stop, so why not embrace it and do the work necessary to capitalize on what we soon will start to recognize as opportunities and not obstacles. 

Adam: Is there anything else you would like to share?

Martha: Just an encouragement to fellow strivers. Stay strong and don’t give up! Tomorrow the sun will rise and we get yet another opportunity to do good in the world. Go be awesome!


Adam Mendler is an entrepreneur, writer, speaker, educator, and nationally recognized authority on leadership. Adam is the creator and host of the business and leadership podcast Thirty Minute Mentors, where he goes one-on-one with America's most successful people - Fortune 500 CEOs, founders of household name companies, Hall of Fame and Olympic gold medal-winning athletes, political and military leaders - for intimate half-hour conversations each week. A top leadership speaker, Adam draws upon his insights building and leading businesses and interviewing hundreds of America's top leaders as a top keynote speaker to businesses, universities, and non-profit organizations. Adam has written extensively on leadership and related topics, having authored over 70 articles published in major media outlets including Forbes, Inc. and HuffPost, and has conducted more than 500 one on one interviews with America’s top leaders through his collective media projects. Adam teaches graduate-level courses on leadership at UCLA and is an advisor to numerous companies and leaders. A Los Angeles native, Adam is a lifelong Angels fan and an avid backgammon player.

Follow Adam on Instagram and Twitter at @adammendler and on LinkedIn and listen and subscribe to Thirty Minute Mentors on your favorite podcasting app.