# The Hidden Opportunity Most People Never See | Anna Stallman Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/ten-thousand-miles-6909518/the-hidden-opportunity-most-people-never-see-anna-stallman Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/ten-thousand-miles-6909518/the-hidden-opportunity-most-people-never-see-anna-stallman.md Podcast: [Ten Thousand Miles](https://stenobird.com/podcast/ten-thousand-miles-6909518) Published: 2026-06-15T13:16:37+00:00 Episode link: https://youtube.com/watch?v=aEIzQjqYy7s Audio file: https://media.blubrry.com/3729303/content.blubrry.com/3729303/cbr_aEIzQjqYy7s.mp3 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/ten-thousand-miles-6909518/episodes/the-hidden-opportunity-most-people-never-see-anna-stallman Duration seconds: 4089 ## Resource We're back with another episode of Ten Thousand Miles, and today I'm incredibly lucky to sit down with Anna Stallmann, founder of Ascent Strategic Communications. Whether you're a CEO trying to build influence, a founder considering a rebrand, or a professional wondering if you should start a podcast — this episode is for you. CHAPTERS 00:00 Welcome and Introduction to Anna Stallmann 05:00 From the U.S. Senate to the Department of Defense 16:00 Launching Ascent Strategic Communications 19:00 The First 90 Days of Entrepreneurship 26:00 Strategy Over Noise 33:00 Should You Start a Podcast? 40:00 The Rebrand 44:00 People First Leadership 51:00 Personal Brand vs. Company Brand 58:00 Rapid Fire KEY TAKEAWAYS * The most underrated communication move: know your white space — the message only YOU can deliver * Visibility is not influence. Influence is built through trust, discipline, and messengers * "Plans are worthless, but planning is everything." — General Eisenhower * Be famous internally first — with your family, your team, your community * Hard work ethic still builds the best leaders. Fame that is earned lasts * It doesn't matter what you say. It matters what people hear GUEST RESOURCES Ascent Strategic Communications: https://ascentcomms.com/ Book Recommendation: Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath #StrategicCommunications #PersonalBranding #Leadership #Entrepreneurship #TenThousandMilesPodcast #PublicRelations #CEOBranding #WhiteSpace #CommunicationsStrategy #PodcastInterview Please Comment, Like, Share, and Subscribe! Guest: Anna Stallmann ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/ten-thousand-miles-6909518/episodes/the-hidden-opportunity-most-people-never-see-anna-stallman/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/ten-thousand-miles-6909518/the-hidden-opportunity-most-people-never-see-anna-stallman.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.