Scaling isn’t all about having the perfect plan. It’s also about staying steady when nothing goes to plan.
In this conversation, I sit down with Nathan Wardell, the third-generation business leader behind Packserv, one of Australia’s last-standing, locally-owned manufacturers of packaging equipment. From the weight of legacy to the grit it takes to rebuild from scratch, Nathan opens up about the moments that shaped his leadership and how he’s scaled his business by thinking differently.
We dive into the deeply human side of leadership: discipline, patience, and what it means to back yourself when the pressure hits. Nathan also shares how he turned adversity into innovation, why resilience is underrated, and what it looks like to empower a team to think and act like owners.
If you’re a CEO or business owner navigating change, growth, or just the day-to-day madness of running a company, you’ll get a lot out of this one.
In this episode of Stories of Scale with Jonathan Herps, you’ll discover:
- Nathan’s origin story and how commitment to mastery always pays off (01:02)
- Daily habits that build mental toughness (08:28)
- Presence, not perfection, is what really builds trust and longevity in balancing leadership and life (11:24)
- Why resilience paired with diversification is a growth advantage (12:40)
- What keeps great leaders steady when everything else shakes (18:14)
- Why growth is about clarity, consistency, and the courage to stay the course (20:00)
- How embracing the messiness of life can fuel more authentic leadership (21:28)
- How creating a culture of autonomy unlocks scale (23:21)
- The value of resilience and playing the long game in scaling a business (27:48)
Key takeaways for CEOs and business owners:
- Discipline off the field matters. Physical routines and life experiences shape mental resilience.
- Let go of control to lead better. Real leadership means stepping back, not in.
- Don’t wait for perfect market conditions. Adapt your model to meet the moment.
- Train your team to bring solutions, not just problems.
- There’s power in diversification.
This episode will leave you thinking differently about leadership, longevity, and what it means to build a business that not only survives, but evolves.
QUOTES
We tend to find that in different market conditions, different aspects of the business do well. So I can’t speak highly enough for diversification. If there’s another way that you can provide your goods or services, I’d absolutely recommend pursuing that.
It’s literally just a case of speaking with the client, and the answer is never ‘No.’ Every single call you make is a successful call, because it doesn’t really matter whether someone’s looking for a purchase. It doesn’t really matter. There is always an opportunity to be able to be of assistance.
We’re not trying to do a hard sell — ‘This is the one product and the one way we deliver it.’ It’s a soft sell. ‘How can we help you? What is it that you need?’ And we’ll design something that suits.
If you wait for everything to be perfect and the planets to align, it’s just never going to happen. And if you’re waiting for a quiet moment and you can’t find it, well, just embrace the noise.
Find this content on the Scale Up Growth website.