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The Action Catalyst

Overtime with Outland: Dave Mortensen, Episodes 497 and 498

26 Jan 2026

Transcription

Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?

3.878 - 4.699 Adam Outland

Hi, listeners.

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Chapter 2: What is the main focus of Dave Mortensen's brands?

4.759 - 31.455 Adam Outland

This is your Overtime with Outland, episodes 497 and 498 with Dave Mortensen, president and co-founder of self-esteem brands now called Purpose Brands, which includes wellness and fitness brands like Anytime Fitness, Orange Theory, The Bar Method, and more. We interviewed Dave Mortensen's partner, Chuck Runyon, years ago and had a new opportunity to interview Dave, and it was fantastic.

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31.435 - 41.967 Adam Outland

here are just a few things that we took away. Number one, don't focus on making the right decisions all the time. Just focus on making a decision and then making it right.

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Chapter 3: How can decision-making impact leadership effectiveness?

42.508 - 53.961 Adam Outland

Dave and his longtime business partner, Chuck Runyon, do this all the time. Chuck often has the big idea, they move ahead, and then Dave dives into the weeds on how to make it work in the smoothest way possible.

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54.381 - 65.253 Dave Mortensen

They both know their roles, but most importantly, they are always moving forward. They're not bogged down by indecision, and they also never say, I told you so, if the other person miscalculates.

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Chapter 4: What strategies does Dave Mortensen use for hiring talent?

65.494 - 70.079 Dave Mortensen

There's no egos, no looking back, just moving ahead and making it right where you can.

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71.12 - 75.244 Adam Outland

Number two, a great leader is also a great recruiter.

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Chapter 5: What does Dave Mortensen define as true perfection in business?

75.725 - 89.762 Adam Outland

Dave gives way too much info on hiring and nurturing talent to share it all here, but in a nutshell, he sees his role as bringing leaders who are experts and then getting them to play in the sandbox together. And he gets them from anywhere.

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Chapter 6: Why is it important to embrace ambiguity in professional settings?

90.022 - 113.004 Adam Outland

He always lets people know he's always hiring because you never know who's looking to make a move. And most importantly, if you've got the chance to hire great talent, make a place for them, even if they don't fit nicely into an existing role. You want to build the best team possible and fussing over titles isn't part of building a great team. Number three, perfection is growth in advancement.

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113.024 - 132.026 Adam Outland

This echoes back to point number one. To Dave, the definition of perfection is growing while advancing overall. Maybe certain specific processes could be more efficient or bring in more revenue, but is the company as a whole growing Purpose Brands for the past 20 years has had growth year over year. More stores open every year than the year before.

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132.587 - 155.058 Adam Outland

Dave says when you get caught up in perfection, you get hung up on the little details that don't matter. Or you spin your wheels and never advance at all. If you're growing and you're advancing, it's perfect enough. And finally, you've got to live in the gray, both personally and professionally. As Dave puts it, no good answer is black or white. All the answers are in the middle, in the gray.

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155.559 - 174.724 Adam Outland

It's harder to decipher because you have to hear things you don't necessarily agree with. But if you're willing to listen to both sides and collaborate, you'll get a lot more done. Push too hard on one side, you'll alienate employees and customers and end up in a place where you've burned your culture, the business isn't flourishing, and you're left wondering what happened.

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174.704 - 186.081 Adam Outland

And that's not great for a long-term strategy. For these insights and many more, check out the full interview across Action Catalyst episodes 497 and 498 with Dave Mortensen.

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