What Actually Works in Growth | Ep. 47 w/ Jesse Resnick + Walter Shock (Ei Digital)
Most marketing teams are still trapped in a fake war: brand vs. performance. Jesse Resnick and Walter Shock (Co-Founders of Ei Digital) argue that’s the wrong fight, and that attribution is basically a magician: great at misdirection, terrible at telling the truth.
In this episode, we break down what actually compounds in 2026: building end-to-end systems that connect creative, targeting, measurement, and learning...so your funnel doesn’t just “perform”…it improves.
In this episode, we cover:
- Why treating performance like “just a numbers game” is a fool’s errand (the art + science have to work together)
- The real modern flywheel: data → creative insights → more creative → better algorithmic matching
- Why last-click attribution keeps steering budgets wrong (and why Google often “gets credit” it didn’t earn)
- A real-world test: turning off brand keywords (yes, even with a massive brand) and what actually changed
- How to use Meta as a real-time learning lab with a Minimum Viable Campaign (MVC) instead of “focus group theater”
- The leadership move most teams skip: second-order metrics (because lower-funnel reality can invalidate upper-funnel “wins”)
Connect with Jesse, Walter, and Ei Digital
- Ei Digital: https://eidigital.com/
- Jesse Resnick (LinkedIn): https://www.linkedin.com/in/jesseresnick/
- Walter Shock (LinkedIn): https://www.linkedin.com/in/walter-shock-40486119/
Want help building leadership + growth systems that actually hold up in the real world?
Book a Transition Leadership Foundation Call: https://calendly.com/adamwbarney/foundation-call-20min
Creators and Guests
Host
Adam W. Barney
Adam W. Barney helps transitioning leaders navigate career and leadership inflection points with clarity and momentum. Author of Make Your Own Glass Half Full and creator of EnergyOS. Based in Boston, fueled by family and music.
