Sam Carpenter
Author and entrepreneur
Sam Carpenter is an author and entrepreneur who founded the telephone answering service Centratel. He wrote Work the System, on making more and working less.
1 summary 15 min of listening
About Sam Carpenter
Sam Carpenter grew up in upstate New York and spent four decades in Bend, Oregon. He now lives in rural southeast Kentucky with his wife, Diana. His career has included forestry, surveying, journalism and publishing, as well as consulting and telecommunications, with project engineering and construction management also on the list. He is the founder and president of Centratel, a telephone answering service still headquartered in Bend, which he has run for 41 years. Work the System: The Simple Mechanics of Making More and Working Less first appeared in 2008 and reached its fifth edition in May 2025. His second book, The Systems Mindset: Managing the Machinery of Your Life, came out in May 2016. Away from work, he enjoys mountaineering, skiing, cycling, reading and travel. He also goes rucking (hiking with a loaded pack) with Diana and their two hounds in the Kentucky wilderness.