The 60 Second Podcast
Big insights. One question. 60 seconds.
Hosted by TEDx speaker and 3X founder Matt McCoy, this podcast delivers fast, punchy interviews with the world’s top leaders — from billion-dollar CEOs to bold startup founders.
Each episode asks one powerful question to uncover the mindset, tactics, or story behind game-changing success — all in under a minute.
Perfect for ambitious listeners who want real answers, really fast.
The 60 Second Podcast
Stephen Segal – Chief Executive Officer, Iris Construction Management Inc.
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What does great leadership really look like when everything is going wrong?
In this episode of The 60 Second Podcast, Matt McCoy sits down with Stephen Segal, Chief Executive Officer of Iris Construction Management Inc., to discuss the biggest leadership lesson from his career. After scaling a business from $10 million to $100 million in just 20 months, Stephen faced a major liquidity crisis that tested every relationship around him.
He shares why adversity - not success - is the true measure of character, and how the people who stand by you during difficult times reveal more than those who celebrate your wins.
00:00 – Leadership Under Pressure
Matt McCoy: What's the number one leadership lesson you've learned in your career?
Stephen Segal: Well, it's interesting, and I think it comes down to the fact that you can really understand people and understand challenges, not when you're being successful, but when you're under the hardest points of challenges.
So we had a situation where we had grown the company very rapidly, from $10 million a year to $100 million a year in almost 20 months through acquisition and organic growth.
And right after that, we ran into a liquidity crisis.
During that crisis, it's really when we saw the character of people. People that we thought were supportive perhaps weren't as supportive, while others you least expected rose above what you thought they were.
It was actually a very rewarding experience in many ways because we saw the true nature of people.
The good news is the vast majority of people were incredibly helpful and collaborative, even when they themselves were under pressure.
Employees were worried about their jobs. Suppliers were worried about getting paid. Lenders were under strain as well.
It was amazing to see how many people still remained supportive throughout that process.
The lesson is this: judge people by how they react when you're under pressure—not just by how they behave when you're successful.
