Episode 26: Scaling What Matters with Trent Morano

📍 Recorded at Power Design HQ in St. Petersburg, FL

What happens to culture when a company grows from hundreds to thousands of employees?

In this episode of Create A Place, I sit down with Trent Morano, Senior Vice President at Power Design, to talk about leadership, growth, and what it really takes to scale without losing the people, values, and culture that made the company successful in the first place.

From hiring for attitude over aptitude to building systems that reinforce trust, accountability, and connection, Trent shares how Power Design has intentionally protected a strong people-first culture while continuing to grow across the country.

Our conversation also explores leadership accessibility, field and office alignment, and how workplace design can support collaboration, transparency, performance, and belonging at scale.

Recorded inside Power Design’s St. Petersburg headquarters [where CREATE+CO has designed multiple spaces across the campus] this episode offers a thoughtful look at how leadership and environment work together to shape culture over time. Trent and I also serve together on the board for the CoreNet Global Tampa Chapter.

In this conversation, we get into:

• Scaling leadership from 300 to 3,000+ employees
• Hiring for long-term potential and cultural fit
• Protecting culture during rapid growth
• Supporting field and office connection
• Leadership accessibility and transparency
• Workplace design as a tool for collaboration and performance
• Why culture is built through action, not statements on a wall

🎙️ At the heart of it all, culture isn’t just something you talk about...it’s something people feel.

Connect with Trent ::
- LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/ttursi31/
- PowerDesign : https://www.powerdesigninc.us/
- Project Photos : https://www.createandcompany.com/powerdesignhq

Connect with KY ::
👊🏼 LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristinayorkofficial/
📐 Design : https://www.createandcompany.com  
🎙️ Podcast : https://createaplace.net  
📺 YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/@CREATEAPLACE
🎧 Apple : https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/create-a-place/id1779942208
🎧 Spotify : https://open.spotify.com/show/7fIVCgnR433sniYRvrRwNZ?si=b77e418c27524bc4
🎧Podbean : https://createaplace.podbean.com