381 | Sam Goodner | Like Clockwork: Run Your Business with Swiss Army Precision

The Greatness Machine

Darius Mirshahzadeh

Entrepreneurship, Education, Business

5.0 • 135 Ratings

🗓️ 24 September 2025

⏱️ 69 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

What separates companies that stall from those that scale? In this episode of The Greatness Machine, Darius sits down with Sam Goodner, entrepreneur, author of “Like Clockwork: Run Your Business with Swiss Army Precision,” and former CEO of Catapult Systems, one of the fastest growing tech consulting firms in the U.S. Sam shares decades of wisdom from building and scaling businesses, breaking down the systems and disciplines that drive sustainable growth. From creating clarity across your organization to codifying best practices and delegating decision-making, Sam explains how leaders can step out of the weeds and empower their teams to thrive. He also reveals the number one barrier he has overcome on his own path to greatness and how mastering the use of time is key to building the life you want. In this episode, Darius and Sam will discuss: (00:00) Introduction and Background (02:51) Sam Goodner's Entrepreneurial Journey (05:47) The Importance of Military Service (11:33) The Swiss Army Experience and Its Impact (17:20) Transitioning to Entrepreneurship (22:59) Building Successful Partnerships (28:44) Acquisition Strategies and Insights (34:40) Writing the Book: “Like Clockwork” (40:24) Execution and Business Growth (46:13) Creating a Culture of Accountability (51:41) Final Thoughts and Greatness Question Sam Goodner is a serial entrepreneur, angel investor, and mentor recognized for turning bold ideas into thriving businesses. A dual citizen of Switzerland and the U.S., his career spans from serving as a Swiss Army mountain infantry officer to being named an Inc. 500 CEO and Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year. He founded Catapult Systems in 1993, growing it into the world’s top Microsoft Systems Integrator before its 2013 acquisition, and later built and sold multiple tech ventures. As president and chief strategy officer of FlashParking, he helped scale the startup into a billion-dollar global leader. Today, Sam devotes his time to advising and mentoring entrepreneurs while pursuing his passion for lifelong learning and global exploration. Sponsored by: Brevo: Head over to brevo.com/greatness and use the code greatness to get 50% off Starter and Business Plans for the first 3 months of an annual subscription. Indeed: Get a $75 sponsored job credit to boost your job's visibility at Indeed.com/darius. Shopify: Start your $1/month trial at Shopify.com/greatness. Connect with Sam: Website: https://samgoodner.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samgoodner/ Book: https://www.amazon.com/Like-Clockwork-Business-Swiss-Precision/dp/B0FLQK1Y8S Connect with Darius: Website: https://therealdarius.com/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dariusmirshahzadeh/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/imthedarius/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Thegreatnessmachine Book: The Core Value Equation https://www.amazon.com/Core-Value-Equation-Framework-Limitless/dp/1544506708 Write a review for The Greatness Machine using this link: https://ratethispodcast.com/spreadinggreatness. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Why are businesses like HelloVet choosing Apple products and services?
0:04.8	So we started the business two years ago.
0:07.2	We had a few people who were used to PCs and this was their first foray into Macs.
0:12.5	But it's been super smooth getting everyone onto those devices and everyone seems really, really happy.
0:18.0	Find out how Mac can help you run and grow your business at Apple.com forward slash hellovette.
0:26.0	Hi, this is Ava from Vanta.
0:28.9	In today's digital world, compliance regulations are changing constantly.
0:33.4	An earning customer trust has never mattered more.
0:36.2	Vanta helps companies get compliant fast and stay secure,
0:39.7	with the most advanced AI automation and continuous monitoring out there.
0:43.7	So whether you're a startup going for your first stock two or ISO-27,001,
0:47.8	or a growing enterprise managing vendor risk,
0:50.4	Banta makes it quick, easy and scalable.
0:52.7	And I'm not to say that because I work here.
0:54.6	Get started today at banta.com.
0:56.9	Love gang, welcome to The Greatness Machine.
0:58.5	I'm your host Darius from Shazday.
0:59.8	I'm so pumped to have you here with me.
1:01.3	And listen, the greatness machine were about two things.
1:04.2	Number one, people were living their passions.
1:06.4	And number two, those who are creating greatness in the world
1:09.0	and doing both of these things despite the odds against them. Each episode, we're going to feature interviews with game changers, business leaders, telling us their origin stories, what made them tick, what got them to where they are now. Why? So it can help you step into your greatness within your life, your business, and your career. Occasionally, you might hear a few solo episodes from myself more, as I say, as I leverage my 20 years of entrepreneurship as a CEO and founder to help you grow and level up in your journey to scale your life and your business. So, come be a fly on the wall, enjoy the conversation, and I'm stoked to have you hear with me. Guys, well, today's episode, the greatest for Shamrio, Starius Mashazi and boy, do we have a special guest. Sam Goodner is in the house. What's up, my brother? My friend Darius, man, how are you doing? Man, we were off air, guys. We were just talking about this. And I'm like, I'm like, he just caught me after Burning Man and three days in Vegas. So I'm doing pretty damn good. I'm surprised you're awake today. Dude, you know what? So I was with my forum and I was like, hey, we have to like plan that like, I like the, and I was the day chair and I'm like, okay, night one, we go big and night two, we go not big. And how that play out for you? Uh, dude, I'm actually, dude, I'm telling, it was embarrassing. It actually worked, but I'm going to tell you what we did in night two, which my forum's going to hate me. Actually, how only thing I could do is form confidential. Let's just say we ended up doing something that was like, like I was made fun of for later. It was like, like it was like it was, yeah, it was not like, it was not, like, I, it's something you do with your kids, with, like, with like young kids. So, like, like, it was there like, seriously, this is, this is like bucket list? I was like, hey, I took a chance. All right, I'll tell you what I did. We saw the,
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