Soul Before Scale: Dana Arnold on Building Growth as a System
ABOUT EPISODE
Most agencies hear "growth" and immediately think pipeline. Dana Arnold, Chief Growth Officer at Hiebing, has a different take. And it shows in how Hiebing has operated for over 40 years. In this conversation, Dana lays out what a modern growth function actually looks like when it's built to last. It's a system. A discipline. And yes, part of that system is supposed to be a little boring, because boring means it works even on your craziest days.
Dana and Adam dig into why chasing revenue without checking fit is one of the fastest ways to erode culture, why your positioning is just a hook in the water unless your clients are actually experiencing it every day, and how Hiebing built their identity around two deceptively simple words: speak in data, dream in color. That phrase isn't just a tagline. It's the filter for which clients they pursue, which work they take on, and how transparent they expect a client to be from day one.
They also get into the part most growth conversations skip. The internal health of the agency. Retention. Honest self-assessment. What it actually looks like to sit with your leadership team and ask whether you're delivering on the promise you made when you brought a client on. No ego. Just the truth. If you're building or rethinking your growth function, this one's definitely worth checking out.
GUEST BIO
Dana Arnold is Chief Growth Officer and Partner at Hiebing, a 100% employee-owned independent marketing agency with offices in Madison and Austin. She's been with the agency for 15 years, starting in PR and growing into the role she now holds, which is part strategist, part brand steward, part culture keeper.
At Hiebing, Dana owns the growth system. That means positioning, pipeline health, organic client expansion, and making sure the agency's people are growing alongside the business. She believes growth is a leadership discipline that touches everything from the story you're telling in a pitch to how honestly your leadership team can sit in a difficult conversation.