The Gen Z COO Who Actually Gets It with Sam Goldberg

The Gen Z COO Who Actually Gets It with Sam Goldberg

From Blue-Collar BS by Brad Herda and Steve Doyle

May 15, 2026 · 31 min · Episode 205

About this episode

Sam Goldberg shares his journey from intern to COO of his family's business, discussing the challenges and changes he implemented.

Sam Goldberg swore he'd never work at the family business. A high school internship building packaging machines at Econocorp proved him wrong. What started as a summer job on the assembly floor turned into a passion that led him from intern to COO of the 60-year-old company his dad owns. The intern-to-COO path wasn't handed to him despite being the owner's son. Sam's dad made it clear: "I can get you in the door, but I can't help you once I get you in the door." That shop floor time earned him credibility. Family businesses come with unique challenges. Sam and his dad learned to filter feedback through other leaders to keep professional conflicts from bleeding into their personal relationship and avoid creating awkward workplace dynamics. Since becoming COO, Sam tackled the outdated facility that looked time-warped into the 1980s. He implemented 5S to clean up a production floor where you couldn't walk without running into something, renovated office spaces, and brought in EOS implementation. Now they hold quarterly town halls where everyone on the team has a voice - including assembly workers telling engineers their designs are a nightmare to build. Sam noticed the average…

People in this episode

Hosts: Brad Herda, Steve Doyle

Guest: Sam Goldberg

Topics covered

  • family business
  • leadership
  • Gen Z
  • internship
  • workplace dynamics

Keywords

  • Gen Z
  • COO
  • family business
  • internship
  • 5S
  • workplace culture
  • employee engagement

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Econocorp

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