We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kelli Vrla. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kelli below.

Hi Kelli, thanks for joining us today. How did you scale up? What were the strategies, tactics, meaningful moments, twists/turns, obstacles, mistakes along the way? The world needs to hear more realistic, actionable stories about this critical part of the business building journey. Tell us your scaling up story – bring us along so we can understand what it was like making the decisions you had, implementing the strategies/tactics etc.

“If eye rolls burned calories, some teams would be in peak condition.”

That line gets a laugh. Then a pause. Then the truth hits.
Because I’ve been in those rooms—and I didn’t start on big stages. I started with a spark.

I’ve always been a lifelong learner. A total motivational speaker junkie. I devoured content from anyone who could make life better, easier, smarter. And it worked. So I thought—why not me?

At the time, I was in broadcast radio, selling promotions and airtime. I loved helping clients grow their business. One day, I told my sales manager I wanted to attend a Brian Tracy Leadership Retreat—and I wanted him to pay for it.
He said yes. One condition.
Come back and teach the team.
Deal.
That moment flipped the switch.

I still remember watching the room as I shared what I learned. Lightbulbs. Nods. Energy. It hit me—this is it. This is what I’m meant to do.

Shortly after, I was training teams outside my industry. I joined the National Speakers Association. Then came a nudge from the Universe—a seminar company brought me on as a contractor.

Here’s the gritty part: $250 a day , 21 days a month, Nonstop travel , Back-to-back stages
Not glamorous. But priceless.

I looked at it as getting paid to learn my craft. I became a Road Warrior for Professional Development. One month I gave 24 workshops in 31 days in the UK.

That season built everything. Reps. Range. Resilience. And a realization:
“Don’t chase busy. Build traction. Culture moves when people know what to do next.”

At first, I was a generalist. I said yes to everything. Then came the turning point.

I picked a lane. Culture. I became known as a Culture Reset Strategist. That focus changed the game. “Clarity scales. Cute doesn’t. Turn ideas into tools people can use right away.”

I stopped delivering content—and started building systems.

• Toolkits instead of takeaways
• Scorecards instead of summaries
• Playbooks instead of pep talks

“Engagement isn’t an event. It’s a system. Run it daily or watch it drift.”

That’s when scale showed up.
Clients didn’t just want a speech. They wanted the engine behind it. Not everything worked.

• I said yes too often
• I underpriced early
• I confused busy with growth

But each misstep sharpened the model.

“If your team isn’t smiling on the way in, no strategy will save you on the way out.”

That became my north star.

Today, scale looks like this:

• Ideas that travel without me
• Tools teams use daily
• Language leaders can repeat

“Tap in. Tune in. Turn on. That’s how you flip a culture from drained to dialed in.”
No overnight success. Just years of reps, refinement, and making the work usable.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m a Culture Reset Strategist and Founder of ENGAGE YOUniversity—and I help organizations pass The Smile Test™.

Simple question:
Do people smile when they walk toward your organization… or when they leave it?

That question drives my work.

For 30+ years, I’ve helped leaders tackle: Disengagement, Constant change , High stress, low connection, Quiet quitting—and even quiet cracking. I don’t just deliver talks. I build traction.

• Equip leaders with tools they can use immediately
• Translate culture into measurable actions
• Create systems that stick

My framework, The OPA Factor™, helps teams:
• Optimize what’s working
• Personalize how they lead
• Actualize results

Built on four pillars:
• Ethos (trust)
• Logos (clarity)
• Pathos (connection)
• Laffos (humor)

What sets me apart? Meaty content. Festive delivery. Real tools.
People laugh. Then they lean in. Then they act.

What I’m most proud of:
• Watching leaders flip the culture switch in real time
• Seeing teams go from drained to dialed in
• Hearing, “We used this the next day—and it worked.”

I’ve spent 25+ years on the road, logging millions of miles, bringing this work to organizations worldwide.

The mission is simple:
Help people do more than show up.
Help them light up.
Because when culture clicks—everything else moves faster.

I help people boost resilience and put traction into al the distraction with keynotes, coaching, retreats, staff skill building workshops (onsite and online), as well as reinforcing podcasts, interviews, audio and video tips. My 4 publications include: “Ready, Set, Engage: How to Tap In, Tune In, and Turn On Your Workforce,” “Hit the Reset Button: Prevent Burnout and Quiet Quitting!”, “The Smile Test: Create the Culture No One Wants to Leave!” and ” The OPA Factor: Boost Your Organization’s Passion and Alignment.”

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

LEADER FIELD GUIDE
Make it Clear. Make it Human. Make it Repeatable.
Kelli Vrla, CSP | The Smile Test™ | The OPA Factor™

START HERE
Ask: Do people smile when they see you…or look for exits?
Do: “Team—quick gut check. What would make today smoother?”

DAILY LEADERSHIP MOVES
Clarify priorities :“Top 3 today: A, B, C. Ignore the rest.”

Kill confusion: “Here’s the goal, owner, and deadline—questions before we start?”

Connect first: “I appreciate the effort—can we tweak one thing?”

Recognize fast : “Shoutout to Mia—great client save. That’s the standard.”

Simplify the work: “We’re cutting this to 3 steps. Do these.”

RUN A SIMPLE SYSTEM

10-min huddle: “One win. One priority. One blocker.”

3–5 metrics: “We track conversion rate, not just calls.”

Weekly follow-up: “What moved? What stalled? What’s next?”

Engagement isn’t an event. It’s a system. Winning Mindset: “Great work. Done well. With Others. Every Day”-David Zinger

OPA IN ACTION:

Ethos (Trust) : “We said Friday updates—here’s mine.”

Logos (Clarity): “By 3 PM, send a one-page draft.”

Pathos (Connection): “What’s getting in your way today?”

Laffos (Humor) : “If eye rolls show up, we missed something—let’s fix it.”

AVOID THE TRAPS

Stop rewarding busy : “What result did we move today?”

Stop over-talking: “One sentence: what’s the outcome?”

Stop delaying tough convos: “Let’s address this now—quick and clear.”

Stop one-and-done training: “Let’s practice that twice before we go-live.”

MONDAY ACTION PLAN

Pick one behavior : “Faster client response.”

Model it: “I’m replying within 30 minutes.”

Coach it daily: “End of day: what worked, what to tweak?”

Measure it: “Track response time.”

Celebrate it: “Bell ring—under 2 hours!”

QUICK RESET (5 MINUTES)

What’s one win?:
What’s today’s priority?
Where are you stuck?
Who needs help?
Close: “What will make you smile walking out today?”

STICKY REMINDERS

*Clarity beats charisma.
*Don’t chase busy. Build traction.
*If they can’t use it by Monday, it’s noise.
*Connection before correction.
*No reps, no results.
*Speed builds trust.

CTA
Does your organization pass The Smile Test™?
Let’s find out.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

My Half Ironman Story of Resilience
A Half Ironman is 70.3 miles in one day, by one person, with no car. When I moved to Boulder, Colorado, my friends asked what elite sport I did. I said, “None.” They said, “You can’t live in this zip code without one.” So I chose triathlons. Mostly because the word itself sounded like a dare. I just had to tri.
I thought I knew what resilience meant. Then I signed up for a Half Ironman.
My goal was simple: finish. But I had three rules. I had to finish strong, standing. (No dramatic crawling across the line.) And I had to finish smiling.

But the real story was the road there. A solid year’s worth of running, biking, swimming. Rinse. Repeat.
Training took over my life. On weekends, nobody asked, “What are you doing?” They asked, “How many miles are you doing?” I had to build up to 2-mile swims, 50-plus-mile rides, and long runs that tested every ounce of my will.

Then, one month before the race, I pushed too hard and got an overuse injury. My trainer gave me two choices: get huge doses of cortisone and limp through the race, with no promise I’d ever use that leg the same way again, or postpone until next year.
That was brutal. I chose to wait.
So yes, I trained all over again for another year.

Fast forward to Palm Springs Ironman race. Race day started at dark-thirty with an 2 mile open-water swim. Then came a 56-mile bike ride. Then a 13.1 mile half marathon. All in one day. Again: no car. The swim I could handle. Frankly, fat floats. The biking and running? That was another story.

And there were other little joys. Like squeezing my Greek hips into a wetsuit so tight it took a full support team. I had people pulling, pushing, stuffing, and zipping me in like I was Thanksgiving dinner in neoprene.
Then a man wrote my race number on my arm and said, “You know why we do this?” I said, “No.” He said, “So if you don’t make it, we can identify the body.” I asked, “Have you ever thought about motivational speaking?” He said, “No.” I said, “Good. Because you’d suck at it.”

When you come out of the water, volunteers called “strippers” help peel off your wetsuit. Not that kind. One volunteer grabbed my zipper, and I popped out of that suit like a can of biscuits. I still remember the look on his face. I’m fairly sure he still suffers from post-traumatic spandex syndrome.

The bike was tough riding into a 15 mph headwind. Before I turned into it, I was blown sideways across the road and had to fight to keep the bike straight. Onto the run about three miles in, one leg started to cramp. I knew if I stopped to walk at the water stations, I might never get going again. So for the first time in my life, I ran the full 13.1 miles without my usual walk-run strategy.

To keep myself going, I sang. Loudly to keep my rhythm: “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy.”
Then Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Suddenly a whole group of runners around me joined in: “ Thunderbolts and lightening, very, very frightening—Galileo! Galileo! Figaro! Magnificooooooooooo!”
It was sweaty. It was absurd. It was glorious.

And yes, I finished exactly as I had hoped: strong, standing, and smiling.

When they put that medal around my neck, I realized I had been moving for eight straight hours. I could have flown to London in that amount of time. But instead, I had done this hard, crazy, wonderful thing. I learned a few golden nuggets on this resilience quest: Spandex is a privilege, not a right! One size may fit all, but all may not fit IN!

That race also taught me something I never forgot: we can dig far deeper than we think. We can do hard things. We can keep going when it would be easier to quit.

And on tough days, I still come back to those three words: Strong. Standing. Smiling.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.kelliv.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kelliopa/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheOpaFactor/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellivrla/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@KelliVrla-EngageYou
• Other: Vimeo Clips: https://vimeo.com/user62527762

  Blinq: Contact vcard: https://s1.blinq.me/VHnkLs8KkkEiqaDgWssB

Image Credits

1 credit photo: Blue stage , white/black jacket: Paul D. deBerjeois