About Podcast
This Episode is Sponsored By:
As schools rush to digitize, the tactile tools that anchor memory and understanding are disappearing and that gap is exactly what Gary Nickol, COO of PSS (originally Presentation System South), has spent 25 years fixing. Gary leads a company that pairs hardware and curriculum to restore visual, hands-on learning across K–12 supporting over 2,400 education partners in 30+ states while scaling the business from regional player to a national contender.
In this episode Gary walks through the practical choices behind that growth: the three-part product suite (Poster Maker, Magic Cutter, and the manual Koolam laminator), a content engine staffed by advanced-degree educators, and an operations mindset that he sums up as “I make it go” alongside the CEO’s “you make it grow.” He explains how PSS moved from top-down decision-making to extreme ownership clear role bones, autonomy, a “mistakes are welcome” culture, and a people-first pledge (1% of profits, product, and time) and why that human-centered shift unlocked innovation and capacity during aggressive expansion.
Key Takeaways:
- How to combine physical tools and standards-aligned content to boost retention and classroom impact.
- Why the COO’s role is the “glue” that fills gaps between strategy and daily execution.
- Concrete steps to replace a top-down model with autonomous ownership and faster iteration.
- Practical lessons from doubling headcount during a pandemic and planning for 45–50% annual growth.
- How low-tech, high-utility products (print → cut → laminate) can save teachers time and money while increasing student engagement.
Join us with Gary for a pragmatic conversation about rebuilding the tactile side of education one poster, one cutout, and one laminated lesson at a time.
- Clarify Vision and Roles : Learn the distinct responsibilities of visionaries and integrators in leadership.
- Set Quarterly Rocks : Learn to define and prioritize 90-day goals for organizational focus.
- Run Effective Meetings : Learn to apply the Level 10 format to maintain progress and resolve issues weekly.
- Use Scorecards for Accountability : Learn to track metrics to monitor performance and drive results.
- Document and Follow Processes : Learn to build consistency and culture through documented operational workflows.
Special Guest: Gary Nickol, COO – PSS
Location: Mooresville, NC USA
Air Date: Sept. 19, 2021
Websites:
- PSS: the official website of PSS, a company offering a variety of visual aid and communications tools that complement learning objectives set by K-12 educators.
- Magic Cutter: a PSS product that enables high-quality, on-demand printing of various shapes. Bring the custom-designed pieces you need for origami projects, puzzles, bulletin boards, games, and more to life.
- Poster Maker: a PSS product that offers high-quality, on-demand printing of large, colorful posters.
- Cool Lam: a PSS product offering a unique, low-tech solution for laminating different sized visual aids, no electricity or heat required!
- Salesforce’s 1% Pledge: Salesforce’s 1-1-1 philanthropic model that “…invites all entrepreneurs and their companies to commit important resources (product, time, and resources) to support integrating philanthropy into their business from an early stage.” The idea is to inspire early-stage corporate philanthropy by committing to pledging one or more of the following: 1% of equity, 1% of time, 1% of product, and 1% of profit to support nonprofits in local communities.
Books:
- What the Heck is EOS?: A Complete Guide for Employees in Companies Running on EOS: a book co-authored by Gino Wickman and Tom Bouwer.
- Principle-Centered Leadership: a book by Stephen Covey.
- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: a book by Stephen Covey.
- No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention: a book co-authored by Reed Hastings (Co-Founder & CEO of Netflix) and Erin Meyer.
- Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don’t: a book by Simon Sinek.
- The 4 Disciplines of Execution: Achieving Your Wildly Important Goals: a book co-authored by Chris McChesney, Sean Covey, and Jim Huling.
Professional Organizations:
- COO Forum: an international organization dedicated to Chief Operating Offers. The COO Forum is “a private and confidential member network featuring: member profiles and contributions, extensive library of business information, calendar chapter meetings, industry forums, chat feature, and private chapter networks.”
Related Video: How to Conduct a Remote Brainstorming Session with Thinksmart Whiteboard App featuring Joseph Powell
Related Video: How to Improve a Kitting Process for Your D-I-Y Product – Sebastian & Melanie Flores
- Writer, Producer & Host: Alicia Butler Pierre
- Podcast Editor: Olanrewaju Adeyemo
- Video Editor: Gladys Jimenez
- Transcription: Outsource Global
- Show Notes: Hashim Tale
- Sponsors: HubSpot, ThinkSmart Whiteboard
More About Guest, Gary Nickol:
Gary Nickol is the Chief Operating Officer (COO) for PSS in the Charlotte, NC Area. PSS serves the K12 Education Market by creating meaningful and effective learning experiences for students through our physical solutions including educational content. Gary’s been with PSS for approximately five years. He started out leading PSS’ sales and marketing departments and transitioned to his latest role as COO role two years ago.Over the past year, PSS has scaled from a 14-person organization to currently 25 and there’s an aggressive growth plan to grow 40% a year for the next five years. Together, Gary and other PSS leaders have put a lot of energy toward creating a culture of employee empowerment, replacing the previous centralized, top-down culture with one that promotes leading with context and decentralization. Outside of utilizing technology to improve operational processes, decentralizing and individual ownership/empowerment is a key to creating PSS as a scalable company.
More About Host, Alicia Butler Pierre:
Alicia Butler Pierre is the Founder & CEO of Equilibria, Inc. Her career in operations began over 20 years ago while working as an engineer in various chemical plants and oil refineries. She invented the Kasennu™ framework for business infrastructure and authored, Behind the Façade: How to Structure Company Operations for Sustainable Success. It is the world’s first published book on business infrastructure for small businesses. Alicia hosts the weekly Business Infrastructure podcast with a global audience across 53 countries. More About Sponsor, HubSpot:
HubSpot offers a full platform of marketing, sales, customer service, and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software — plus the methodology, resources, and support — to help businesses. Their CRM platform is powered by the same database, so everyone in your organization — Marketing, Sales, Service & Operations — is working off the same system of record. This allows for a smoother handoff between teams and results in a more delightful experience for your customers. More About Sponsor, ThinkSmart Whiteboard:
Thinksmart Whiteboard is a Windows App that turns your Tablet PC into a shared whiteboard. It allows you to create a whiteboard on your computer screen, then allows other people to write onto your whiteboard, even if they are in another location! Learn more.