Meet Brendan Schneider

We were lucky to catch up with Brendan Schneider recently and have shared our conversation below.

Brendan, first a big thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and insights with us today. I’m sure many of our readers will benefit from your wisdom, and one of the areas where we think your insight might be most helpful is related to imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is holding so many people back from reaching their true and highest potential and so we’d love to hear about your journey and how you overcame imposter syndrome.

To be honest, I don’t think I’ve overcome imposter syndrome, and I’m not sure I ever will completely. It’s more of a constant tension that ebbs and flows throughout my career. There are still moments when I walk into a room and think, ‘Do I really belong here?’ or ‘Am I qualified to speak on this topic?’

What’s changed is how I manage those feelings. When those doubts creep in, I focus on working hard and preparing evern more. I research thoroughly before presentations, practice my talking points, and remind myself of past successes and experiences.

I’ve also found that being transparent about what I know and don’t know actually builds credibility. If someone asks me a question I can’t answer, I’ll say, ‘That’s a great question. I don’t know, but I’ll find out and get back to you.’ This approach has been liberating – I don’t have to pretend to know everything.

Ultimately, I’ve come to see imposter syndrome not as something to eliminate but as a sign that I’m challenging myself and growing. If I never felt out of my depth, I’d probably be playing it too safe. So while I haven’t conquered it, I’ve learned to work with it rather than let it work against me.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I’m the founder and CEO of SchneiderB Media, a digital marketing agency focused exclusively on helping schools attract and enroll more students. What started as a necessity during the 2008 recession—when I faced declining enrollment numbers as a Director of Admission and Financial Aid—has evolved into my life’s work and passion.

Recently, I’ve been focused on helping K12 schools navigate the integration of AI into their marketing efforts. Since ChatGPT launched in late 2022, the marketing landscape has changed dramatically, and I’m passionate about ensuring schools don’t get left behind.

I’ve also founded The MarCom Society, a community for Marketing and Communication professionals at K12 schools to learn and grow together.

Finally, I published my first book, School Marketing The Right Way, in January of 2025 to help schools with their marketing efforts. It’s the book that I wish existed when I began to market my school.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Being on time/Reliability
One skill that’s been important throughout my career is reliability, particularly when it comes to punctuality. Being on time demonstrates respect for others and builds trust. I’ve found that people are much more willing to collaborate with and recommend someone they can count on to deliver, whether showing up for a meeting on time or completing projects by deadline.
Advice
For those early in their career, make punctuality non-negotiable. Plan to arrive 10-15 minutes early for everything. Use digital tools to manage your calendar and set reminders. But also understand that reliability goes beyond just showing up; it’s about consistently meeting commitments. When you say you’ll do something, do it, and do it when you said you would.

Present-moment focus
The ability to focus fully on what’s in front of me has been transformative in my work. In a world of constant distractions and multitasking, giving complete attention to the task at hand produces dramatically better results.
Advice
Develop your capacity for present-moment focus through deliberate practice. Start by setting aside distraction-free blocks, even just 25 minutes, where you put away your phone and close unnecessary tabs. Use techniques like the Pomodoro method to build your focus muscle. In meetings, practice active listening instead of thinking about what you’ll say next.

Willingness to ask for help and embrace mistakes
Perhaps the most powerful skill I’ve developed is the willingness to ask for help and view mistakes as learning opportunities rather than failures. Early in my career, I sometimes hesitated to admit when I didn’t know something, fearing it would undermine my credibility. I’ve since learned that the opposite is true, acknowledging knowledge gaps and seeking guidance demonstrates confidence and a commitment to growth. Similarly, treating mistakes as valuable feedback rather than personal failures has accelerated my learning and resilience.
Advice
Start cultivating a growth mindset early. When you don’t know something, say so directly and ask thoughtful questions. Build a network of mentors and peers you can turn to, and offer your help generously in return. When you make mistakes, and you will, resist the urge to hide them or make excuses. Instead, own them, extract the lesson, and share what you’ve learned with others.

Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?

The book that has played a significant role in my professional development is ‘Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity’ by David Allen.

Allen’s methodology is so powerful that it’s not just about checking items off a to-do list; it’s a system for managing the flow of work and life. The most valuable insight I gained was creating a ‘trusted system’ outside of my mind. By capturing tasks, ideas, and commitments in a reliable external system, I’ve been able to keep mental bandwidth for doing the work rather than just remembering it.

This approach transformed my productivity in three significant ways:
First, it helped me create a sustainable organizational system that works with, rather than against, my natural thinking patterns. Allen’s process of capturing, clarifying, organizing, reflecting, and engaging gave me a framework to manage both the small daily tasks and larger strategic projects without dropping balls.
Second, it allowed me to achieve what Allen calls ‘mind like water’—that state of relaxed control where you’re fully present with whatever you’re doing because you’re confident everything else is captured in your system. This present-moment focus dramatically improved the quality of my work and, surprisingly, my creativity.
Finally, the GTD methodology taught me to make decisions about my work based on context, energy level, and priorities rather than just reacting to the loudest demands. This has been invaluable in consistently moving forward on what matters most.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.schneiderb.com/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanschneider/
• Twitter: https://x.com/schneiderb
• Other: https://marcomsociety.org/