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Parshat Shelach - Geoffrey Stern with Rabbi Adam Mintz, visit with Rav Abraham Isaac Kook, Rabbi Yitz Greenberg and listen to a live recording or Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach.  We explore what the story of the Biblical Scouts teaches us about whining, Jewish Power, Jewish Nationalism, Zionism, Jewish Renewal, love and respect for authority? So gird your loins and take a deep breath as we Get Guts. Sefaria Source Sheet: www.sefaria.org/sheets/327812 Transcript: Geoffrey Welcome, everybody, to Madlik, our weekly disruptive Torah, four o'clock Eastern Time on clubhouse and later published as a podcast. If you do listen to this as a podcast and you want to like us or give us some stars, that would be well appreciated. Today, we are going to discuss, the following narrative.  Picture the Jewish people in the desert coming out of Egypt. They're getting close to the border with the promised land, literally the land that was promised to them. And they sent out 12 either spies or scouts to scout the land. And there's one scout from each tribe and they're instructed to go to the country (Numbers, Chapter 13 and 14) to determine whether it's strong or weak, few or many.  Are the people that dwell in there, good or bad are the towns they live in open or fortified. Is the soil rich or poor? Is it wooded or not? Really a total fact-finding mission.  And the story recounts how they get there. And it's harvest festival and they harvest some grapes that have become almost iconic in terms of how large they were. And then they lodge their report "and ten of them say, we came to the land you sent to us. It does indeed flow with milk and honey. And this is its food." And they showed them the grapes. However, and here's the however, the people who inhabit the country are powerful and the cities are fortified and very large. Moreover, we saw anakites (giants) and they go on as they're talking. The other two was Joshua and a guy named Caleb, and he hushed the people before Moses and he said, let's just go up. We shall gain possession of it. So Joshua and Caleb were enthusiastic about going ahead to the Promised Land. But they continued speaking and they said we cannot attack that people for it is stronger than we. It is one that devours its settlers, Eretz ochelwet yoshveha... a land that literally eats its inhabitants and then they go back and they say the final punch line and it says, and we looked like grasshoppers to ourselves and so we must have looked to them. And ultimately the story ends with obviously God being extremely upset. Here is a people that he took the trouble of redeeming from slavery to freedom, and it ultimately is mired in a slavery; exile mentality. And can't make the switch. And they want to go back to Egypt. They would rather be taken care of and be slaves. And this story ends with God saying, let me get rid of them all, right, now and Moses, I will take you and Joshua and Caleb and the believers into the land. And Moses convinces him not to do that and God forgives them. And the language that he uses to forgive them is the penultimate forgiveness verses of the Torah that we use on Yom Kippur. And ultimately, that whole generation is to die out and a new generation is to come into the land. So I'm going to stop right here and ask you, Rabbi Adam and anyone else who wants to participate, what is the takeaway from this story at even the most superficial level? Adam There is so much. Thank you, Geoffrey, for the for the introduction and for just kind of the background of the story, You know, at least one piece of the take away is that you need to trust. You need to trust in God and you need to trust in ourselves that the mistake that the people, the Jews made the desert was you know, there were a lot of different ways to understand the report of the spies, but they chose the way that it was the most scary, the most intimidating. They didn't trust in themselves. They didn't trust in God. And that's what got them in trouble. So I think the first lesson is a lesson about trust. Geoffrey  And faith and confidence Adam Trust and faith I'm putting together correct That's my first take away Geoffrey But of course, to move you forward, there is that kind of telling comment where they said they didn't say we'd looked like grasshoppers to them. They said we looked like grasshoppers to ourselves, and we must have looked like grasshoppers to them, too. What is that add? Adam That means that if you're insecure, then, you know, that's your downfall. If you think that your grasshoppers, then other people can pick that up in a minute. And they saw themselves as being weak. And the minute they saw themselves as being weak, they were weak and they'll be able to take advantage of them. Geoffrey So it's really as much about faith in God as it is about faith in oneself.  Self-esteem. Adam Right. And I'm a big believer that this story is not only about faith in God, it's about faith in oneself. Geoffrey So to raise the bar a little bit, the midrash seems to have the consensus that this took place on a very perspicuous day in the Jewish calendar. It took place on Tisha B'Av and it's recounted Tisha B'av, as you probably all know, is the day the greatest calamity in the history of the Jewish people occurred.  When the temple was destroyed.  According to tradition, both temples were destroyed on the same day. And the midrash and the Mishnah gives a long list of other calamities that either foreshadowed or followed afterwards. But this took place on Tisha B'aV.  And the Midrash says that when the people cried after hearing the report from the scouts, the Midrash says it was a Bechi Shel Chinam... It was an unjustified crying... a whining if you will. And because they cried, the Jewish people in the desert cried for no good reason. They would be destined to cry for good reason for the rest of the generations. And those of you who know Jewish tradition about Tisha B'av, cannot fail to hear in the bechi Shel Chinam...  this crying for no reason, an echo of the traditional reason that the temple was destroyed. And that was because of sinat chinam.... of hatred that was unjustified .... person to person. So what do you make of this counterpoint between these two various reasons for the beginning of all the calamities of the Jewish people beginning at that moment and both using this unjustified emotion? Adam  Let's take that midrash, that Midrash that you quote, Geoffrey, that you cried for no reason. Great phrase... you whine because you whine, I'm going to give you a reason to really cry. What does that mean? What that means is that we need to take a certain amount of responsibility. And if we're going to whine, God is going to give us a reason to whine. We can't whine, we need to be strong, and we need to have courage. We need to have faith in ourselves and in God. And if we can't do that, then God is going to punish us. He's going to give us a reason to cry. I think that's such a strong idea. Geoffrey And then all that is true. But I want to set it up as a counterpoint to "sinat Chinam". to blaming the destruction of the temple on the sins of the Jews. And what I'd love to do is to paint a picture that was inspired to me by Rav Abraham Yitzhak Kook, the first chief rabbi of the State of Israel, who actually took this midrash of baseless crying. And remember, this is an ultra-orthodox rabbi who breaks with the rest of the ultra-orthodox who believe that it is not up to man, it is not up to us to fabricate of faith and to take our land and to take the initiative. And he says, no, absolutely not that it is it is ours and it is our responsibility not to be small, but to be great. And this baseless whining, if you will, was the core of not only the narrative that we're reading about this Shabbat in this parsha, but is the core of the narrative of exile, of diminution, of oppression of the Jewish people through the ages. And I think if you add on to that context, part of that context is that the Jewish tradition for 2000 years of exile said that the Jewish people were exiled because they did something wrong. And this was something that was begun by the Jews, themselves in the prophets, Jeremiah and others, but clearly something that was literally embraced by the non-Jews who said if you are stateless, you must be deserving of this punishment. And so, in a sense, this baseless whining, this baseless diminution of yourself, I think is a counterpoint. And I don't want to focus less on the sin of hatred one against another and more on the fact of it's a sin that's keeping us away and that somehow or other we have to do something, maybe go to synagogue and pray, as opposed to taking our future into our hands and doing what Joshua and Caleb said, which is let's get up and go and take this land. Do you see that counterpoint Rabbi? Adam [That's a very interesting counterpoint. And I think that that's really the lesson of the whole scary counterpoint is the lesson. Right? Geoffrey I think so. I think so. It's one also of sadness and joy and so Rav Kook, when he describes this, he describes it in the context of we should be rejoicing on Tisha B'av, because one day Tisha B'av is going to be the happiest day. And that day will happen when we take our fate into our own hands. Adam I want to know what that means, taking fate into our own hands. What does that mean to you? Geoffrey So I'd like to move forward to answer that question to another theologian who's actually still alive, named Yitz Greenberg. And Yitz Greenberg talks about the Third Era of Judaism. And he actually describes that before the Holocaust, we lived in a world where we were waiting for divine redemption, and we were trying to make ourselves purer so that we would deserve divine redemption. And he says after the Holocaust, many people would want to talk about the "hester Panim", the fact that God's divine presence was hidden. And he says that's the wrong syntax. He talks about after the Holocaust we now have to talk about "was man missing" and that man now has to take into his or her own hands their future. That's his takeaway from the absence of God, which is the positive flip side of that, which is the ultimate responsibility for the presence of man. Adam What do you make of that? Let me turn it back to you, Geoffrey. What do you think about Yitz Greenberg's comment? Geoffrey Well, I agree with him very much. And when I kind of felt it in my gut because I truly believe that the renaissance of the Jewish people and the revival of the state of Israel is not simply like the meraglim, the scouts, a story, an episode. I think it is the essence of the culmination of Jewish history. And so I try to make sense of it in terms of the arc of Jewish history. And actually, Greenberg talks in terms of what happened after the Holocaust, in terms of the UN and human rights and national movements and all that. He makes the context even larger. But it really does speak to me and it speaks to me in a sense that is core to who I am as a proud Jew. So it really does resonate. Adam It's a great I think it's a fantastic argument by Itz Greenberg. And maybe what makes it the most powerful is it is kind of surprising you wouldn't have expected it. Geoffrey In terms of who Yitz Greenberg is as an Orthodox Jew, Adam correct, Geoffrey I mean, I think in a sense what we're talking about is not something that we're kind of creating out of nothing. The truth is that Ralph Kook and especially but also Yitz Greenberg coming out of an ultra-orthodox background, saw it. They saw the real tension between the Judaism of the galut... of the exile and a new Judaism born after the ashes, so to speak, and the revival of the Jewish nationalist dream. It lived itself out, in other words. And I also came from a very ultra-orthodox background. And these are things that you study, and you learn.  They're very much alive. This this sense of you talk about trust. It's a different type of trust and faith. It's a faith that God will take care of us. God will provide the answer. And it's ultimately one that I think I really do. I feel like I have to reject. And it's not almost a nostalgic old faith as opposed to a new one.  it's a new faith that has an emphasis and an imperative to it. Adam Yeah. That that idea of a new thing I think is very, very powerful. And that's really what Yitz Greenberg is talking about, is that we have to create for ourselves a new faith and that new faith is a faith that requires a tremendous amount of strength and courage. Can you imagine creating a new a new faith? Well, something that's so counter to everything that we were bought up with in our very orthodox backgrounds, isn't it? Geoffrey Well, I mean, you know, we listen to whether it's the song of the parting of the sea where we say lo b'bekochi, that it is not with our power, not with our might, that we will survive, but only through God. And Greenberg has an amazing quote that is a variation on something I believe Santayana said, and its "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. But absolute powerlessness corrupts the most". And I think what he was saying here is the powerlessness .... the lack of willingness to accept one's own fate, to accept power, to be a victim, to be a martyr, to play that role is really antithetical to the world and the renewal of Judaism and the state of Israel that we see. And I think it comes up in our discussions today, and I'm not preaching to anyone. I'm preaching to myself here. You know, as we see the discussion about Israel, especially in the last month, rive up and we feel, do we have to stand up for it or do we have to? What is the right balance between empathizing with the poor people in Gaza and the Palestinians and their national dream and ours? And I think that part of what this message told me this week as I studied it and as I read it, is you can care for other people, but you first have to care for yourself. You have to be in touch and understand your national dream before you can embrace someone else's national dream. You have to respect yourself. You can't be a grasshopper or a cockroach. That was the message I took away. And literally I was on the fence in terms of...  Let this pass and do we really need to to stick up for ourselves and and make a scene and the take away from this parsha is that, you know, if not us, who then? Adam Do you think that we all have to share the same dream? Geoffrey No, no, absolutely not, and I think, if I hear you correctly, you know, would we ever want to totally lose the message of a Jeremiah who says if bad things happen to you, you need to be introspective and you need to look to see what you can do better with your life, both morally, ethically and spiritually? I hope we never lose that. But certainly when it goes to the extreme, when  bad things happen to good people, it must be good people's fault. And we have to check on Mezuzahs. I think it is is a sickness. And I do believe we have to be comfortable in saying, damn it, we deserve a full life, too, and we deserve to live out our national and lifelong [national aspiration]. I was at a wedding earlier this week and I couldn't but stop to listen to all the words about one day we will be dancing in the streets of Jerusalem and the broken glass over Jerusalem. And I said to myself, we've been doing this for two thousand years. This is not a political statement. This is who we are. We are those scouts. We are that generation outside of the promised land. And we've got to fight for it.  We'll be respected. I think this was one of the messages of the Zionists, and it's only partially borne out... We'll be respected when we respect ourselves and when we stand on our own two feet and when we have our own army and we have our own language. Adam Yeah, I mean, that was you know, that was the lesson of the state of Israel that we have to believe in ourselves if we're going to have our own state. If we don't believe in ourselves, then we don't have a chance. It's not that people have to believe in us. We have to believe in ourselves. I mean, that's really nice, Geoffrey because what you're really in this week of the elections and everything, in Israel and they make a government. And what you're really saying is that it's not about people believing in us. It's about us believing in ourselves. Geoffrey And then I think it's like they always say, "Ve'ahavta l"rayacha Kwemocha" , love your neighbor as yourself. I really do believe that we can we are better when we respect ourselves. And it's trite, but I think it's true. I'd like to go on to another thought leader who is not normally considered a thought leader. He's thought of more as the Singing Rabbi. His name is Shlomo Carlebach. And a few years ago, I came across a recording of him talking about just this parsha. So I'm going to try something new on Madlik Clubhouse. And since it is an audio only platform, I'm going to try to play Shlomo Carlebach...  I'm going to invite him, so to speak, on to clubhouse. And I think you'll all be as excited as I am to see the personal direction that he takes this into, because we've been talking a lot about nationalism and movements and he goes in a different direction that I think relates more to Jewish renewal. So let's see if I can get this to work. Speaker Shlomo Carlebach  I just want to give you a little vitamin pill and strength, everybody talking about the Meraglim so much and I'm sure it sunk into you. Anybody who comes back from Israel and tells anything bad about Israel, tell them, my dear brother, the spies destroyed Israel and they didn't lie it's true. Moshe Rabenu says to Yehoshua (Joshua) "God should give you strength not to listen to them. Now, listen to this. Who are the miraglim? The miraglim were the biggest Rebbes of the world 10 big Rebbes. Just imagine yourself, little schmendrick, like you and I. We're going on a mission ... 10 big rabbis. And Yeshua was mamash a pupil of Moshe Rabbenu. The most humble person in the world. Right. All the rabbis sit there, and they say, listen, I want you to know they tell each other it's a bad scene to go to Israel, forget it "A land that eats it's people" don't go there. Do you know, according to the Torah, the majority decides? The Torah! You ask a yid, Torah... right? I want you to know, friends, thousands of Jews would have stayed alive if they would have not listened to a lot of rabbis. I know a Yid in Williamsburg. He lived somewhere, had a wife and 12 children, 1937. He asked a Rebbe: "Should I go to Israel?" He says: "God forbid, Israel is not frum" . He would have had his wife and 12 children. You know why Yehusha is the one to conquer Israel? Because Moshe Rabbenu gave them strength not to listen to anybody. Have enough guts! if the Ribono shel olam shines something into me, that's it. I want you to know there is prophecy .. Eretz Yisrael is deeper than prophecy. Prophecy means I know what's happening. What will happen tomorrow. I know which gilgil (re-incarnation) I am in. It's all cute. It's not what I need to know? The greatest light of Eretz Yisrael is to have enough guts to listen to the deepest depths of my heart, the deepest, deepest depts of my heart. My friends, I bless you and me. If you and I want to conquer Israel, want to make our way to the Holy Land, make our way into Yiddishkite, let's have the guts not to listen to anybody. I want you to know something else. The saddest thing in the world is... I want you to know everybody when they get married, they built their Eretz Yisrael. The Huppah is their Jerusalem. I want you to know, you know, the walking to the Huppah, it's like Avraham Avenu, is walking in Eretz Yisrael. The standing under the Huppah is like Yerushalyim, As it says: Omdos Hayu Ragalenu Yerusalim..." I bless you, friends. Whenever you find your soulmate, please don't ask anybody. Conquer your Eretz Yisrael! Just listen to the inside of the inside. Listen to the great rabbi ... the Mraglim... you know what they said they felt like cockroaches and mamash a giant. Right? I thought you're the greatest rabbi in the world. You afraid? Yeah. To the truth. Jacob teitz, this is my Rebbe? I don't want a Rebbe who's afraid. I don't a Rebbe who's afraid of anything in the world. I need a rebbe who's not afraid. And you know something in exile. It's a cute Rebbe'la. He's afraid of this one. Afraid of this one .. in Exile you can make it. You can even make to receive manna from heaven. Eretz Yisrael, No! Friends, I Bless you to have guts. inside. Inside, inside, inside. When you find your soul mate, just do it. Friends, I tell you something. If you would have asked all the Rebbes. Should we make a little ruach here, a little get-together. They would have asked how big is the mechitza, where do you get the meat. And who is Gedalia, who is Noami? Who is Meyer? Forget me, I'm treif anyway. Hash V'shalom... you're not permitted to do it! and the meantime, Baruch HaShem, Gedalia had the privilege of bringing together 100's of thousands of people. OK friends, Good Shabbos Good Yontov and I bless you to make it to Eretz Yisrael this summer. Don't ask questions, just go Good Shabbos Good Yom tov. Geoffrey Yeah. So had you heard that before? Adam That was amazing. Geoffrey Thank you. I was I was blown away. And by the way, it's edited. He also talks about women learning Torah and he says, are we going to ask a rebbe if we can study Torah? Women can study Torah. It really bridges the divide to the personal, personal, spiritual growth, and it bridges the divide to renewal of Judaism. And I was just blown away by it. So I. I just today came from a funeral of a Holocaust survivor. And her name is Esther Pederseil, and she was ninety-five and she had guts. And if we're talking about guts, I think that we have to definitely reference people like her who are survivors, they're not victims, they're survivors. And when her children spoke, they talked about her love of fashion and style, and they said that was her. That was her not.... Not her revenge, but her way of living. She wanted to live her life to the fullest and as much as she could she, showed that she was in the camp of Joshua and Caleb. And I just think that the lesson is really universal at the end of the day, it's a lesson for us personally. It's a lesson for every people who want to renew their future and get to their promised land. But it's certainly a lesson for us. And I think we should never whine, and we should only choose to conquer what we can conquer and to think highly of ourselves Adam And to listen only to ourselves, not to listen to others. What a powerful idea. Geoffrey Yeah, I, I when he kept on saying over and over again, I don't need a rebbe who's afraid, I mean  it was very powerful. And he touched thousands, tens of thousands of people with his music but also with the message of renewal and renewal Judaism. And as you said before, what our promised land is, is open to interpretation. But I think the message that one has to grab that and to actively aspire and engage. That is a universal truth. Adam Couldn't agree more. That was beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing that. Geoffrey OK, well, Shabbat shalom, everybody. Adam  Shabbat Shalom everybody. Looking forward to next week.    

In part 2 of our study of the doctrine of man, we look at the great height that mankind fell from with Adam's first sin in the Garden of Eden. What was the nature of Adam's sin- Why did all of mankind fall with Adam- What is left of the image of God in unredeemed man after the fall- These are some of the questions we will study in this session.

Adam Feit is the Head Strength and Sport Psychology Coach at Precision Nutrition, world's largest online coaching and certification software company. He has a tremendous background in strength and conditioning, nutrition and coaching, and began his journey in the field as a coach in his undergraduate days. From there, he gained more experience and exposure in the field through other coaching internships and placements in many places across the country. Eventually, Adam went on to become a Co-Founder and Director of Reach Your Potential Training, where he trained hundreds of youth athletes, and worked with numerous colleges and institutions. Adam recently completed his PhD in Sport and Exercise Psychology, and works full time as a consultant for colleges and part time as a strength and conditioning coach at Springfield College.    In this episode hosted by Steve Leo, Adam shares more about his journey to where he is today, starting in 2006. He also explains how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted how he runs his business and the impacts he sees on the industry as a whole. Adam also has some business advice for new coaches trying to get to the next level, and insights about pricing and managing expectations. He shares more about nutrition and tips for working with younger athletes in this insightful interview as well. Tune in to find out more.   Key Takeaways: [:33] Steve Leo introduces his guest for this episode - Adam Feit. [1:35] Adam shares a bit about his background. [7:44] How has COVID-19 changed how Adam runs his business? [11:39] What are some of the impacts of having to adapt to living in a pandemic? [15:52] What are some of the biggest differences Adam has noticed in the strength and conditioning coaching arena since he started? [19:14] How has Adam dealt with balancing parents demands and the needs or abilities of youth athletes? [23:04] What is some of Adam's advice for people who are trying to take their independent small business to the next level in these times? [28:54] This podcast is being sponsored by VertiMax. [29:40] Adam shares more how to create better clients and manage expectations. [34:58] How does Adam deal with pricing in his business? [40:47] What is Precision Nutrition and how is it relevant to younger athletes? [46:03] What are some of the pros and cons of working with younger athletes? [51:23] What advice would Adam give parents who need to help their children make some behavioral changes? [57:25] Find out more about Adam and the work he does via social media or email.   Mentioned in This Episode: VertiMax VertiMax on Facebook VertiMax on Instagram VertiMax on YouTube VertiMax on LinkedIn Steve Leo Steve Leo on Instagram Adam Feit Adam Feit on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook Email Adam Feit Precision Nutrition Reach Your Potential Training StreamYard Crucial Conversations, by Al Switzler, Joseph Grenny, and Ron McMillan   Tweetables: "I feel bad for everybody that's going through this time because they're not getting the ideal coaching situation." - Adam   "I've found that education is now more paramount, it's more bountiful and convenient. Anybody can learn at any time, and coaches can now use that to leverage the opportunities they have." - Adam   "What can I offer that can be very multi-faceted?" - Adam   "The flexibility comes not just in the price, but how you're going to deliver the programs. That's going to set up some interesting opportunities for revenue." - Ada

Adam: Alright, hi! I'm Adam, and I'm with Jin today, and we're talking about your home country, Nepal.Jin: Yes, that's right.Adam: Very cool. I know that the Himalayas and even Mt. Everest is in Nepal, which is amazing. What else can you tell us about the geography of your country?Jin: Yeah, well actually, when people think about Nepal, they just talk about the mountains, but then there are actually three regions. There is the mountain region, and then there is another hilly region, and then the Terai region, so then in the Terai region, the earth, like the surface is really flat, and that's where people grow crops. That's where like we get all the grains from, and then there is the hilly region, which is in the middle part Nepal, and that's where I am from, the capital, Kathmandu, and it's like, the temperature is really good there because it's not really hot, not really cold. Ah, in the Terai region it's really hot, but in the hilly region, like it's perfect, and then there's the Himalayas, where it's super cold, and that's where there are like a lot of mountains, which divides us from China.Adam: So in the south it's kind of the farming area?Jin: Yeah, in the south, yeah, like everyone's ... the main job is farming.Adam: That's next to India?Jin: India, yeah.Adam: What kind of farming do they do in Nepal in the south?Jin: They usually grow rice there, and since the land is so fertile, there a like a lot of vegetables, rice, and like a lot of fruits. Everything that grows in hot temperatures.Adam: Oh, so you have a lot of fruits in Nepal?Jin: Yeah, we do. We have a lot of fruits, like of different kinds, like I told you, since it's cold, hot and moderate as well, so like we get fruits from all different places and it's amazing.Adam: Yeah, that's really cool. I didn't know Nepal had so many different climates in one country.Jin: Yeah, for a small country, it's a lot, I know.Adam: Well, thank you so much for telling us about Nepal today.Jin: You're welcome. You can ask me anytime.

Adam: Hi Sarah.Sarah: Hi.Adam: Today we're talking about bucket list. Things you want to do before you die. Do you have anything?Sarah: Actually, no. I don't have a bucket list. And the reason why is because I've already done or I'm currently doing the things that I want to do. In addition, I like to live in the now, so like the present, like what's happening. So I really don't think of the distant futurevery much, just like what's in front of me.For example, I'm going to Singapore soon, in about 10 days. And I'm really looking forward to that and the new adventure and things that I'll get to do there.Adam: What sort of things do you have in mind to explore in Singapore?Sarah: First of all, swing dancing. My favorite kind of dance currently is Lindy hop swing dancing. And Singapore is one of the places in Asia that has several swing dance meet-up groups. So I look forward to dancing several of the nights while I'm there, but also trying all of the delicious food and just exploring a country that I've never been to.Adam: Wow, great. What are some of the things that you have wanted to do in the past that you have accomplished already?Sarah: I think living in foreign countries. I've already lived in two foreign countries and I plan on living in foreign countries probably the rest of my life. So that's a big one. And I think just everyday things, like finishing college and getting two master's degrees and being able to support myself. It's all things that are important to me.Adam: Yeah. Those are really great things. What are your two degrees in?Sarah: My first degree is in teaching English to speakers of other languages. This degree allows me to be able to live in other countries and to teach English. And then my other degree is in global studies. So it's like an inter-cultural degree where I learned about different cultures and religions.Adam: That's really great. Have you ever eaten anything exotic or had any really interesting experiences that most people might not have had when you're traveling to these different places and fulfilling your goals?Sarah: I've definitely eaten a lot of different things, most of which I'm not really sure what a lot of it was. The strangest probably – jellyfish, maybe. I'd also gotten a chance to ride a lot of different animals. I've ridden a camel, donkey, horse, elephant, and even an ostrich. So that's pretty exciting.Adam: Yeah. That's really interesting. Have you done any other extreme activities?Sarah: Yeah. I've been skydiving before. I've been volcano boarding. I'm trying to think what else I have done. I haven't been bungee jumping. I think that's probably one of the only ones that I haven't done as of right now. But I really have no desire to do that one, so.Adam: Wow. That's great. You've lived a good life.

Adam: Hi Sarah.Sarah: Hi.Adam: Today we're talking about do-overs. So if you had a time machine and you could go back to your college years, is there anything that you might change or do differently?Sarah: I really wish that I would have had the chance to study abroad. I chose the wrong major initially. I was a nursing major for two years, and worked really hard at a major I was really bad at. And then after two years, I switched schools and switched majors. And because of that, I had so many credits to take that I couldn't study abroad or do really any extra classes that were fun.Adam: Hmm, that must have been challenging. Where would you have liked to study abroad?Sarah: Really, anywhere. I've always loved to travel, so I would have been open to going anywhere.Adam: So you said you studied nursing, what would you have studied otherwise?Sarah: Well, I first went into nursing because everyone since I was really little told me that I would be a good nurse. So I thought it was my calling in life. And then after taking lots and lots of science classes, which I'm really bad at, I decided to switch majors to education. And then I ended up liking that major, so I'm really happy that I switched.Adam: Was there any other major that you would find interesting that you might study if you went back or you're satisfied with education?Sarah: I'm glad I did education because I really liked that work wise. But if I had to go with things that I'm interested in, I probably would have been some sort of art major. Both of my siblings are artists, so it kind of runs in the family a little bit.Adam: What kind of art do you like?Sarah: Mainly dance, but I also was really into music growing up, so musical instruments and singing.Adam: So, do you have any friends that were interested in art or dance that you had in those times?Sarah: Not really. No, actually.Adam: Do you wish that if you were in a group of people that like the similar things that you might have pursued different interests.Sarah: Hmm, definitely. I wish I would have done more with dance. I was a ballerina for 12 years. And I gave up on that when I was 14. So I got to the level where I either had to train professionally to do that for a job or stay in a class where the younger girls would keep moving up. And so at that time, I quit.And although I don't wish I was still doing ballet, I wish I would continued some kind of dance.Adam: Interesting.Adam: So Sarah, any funny haircuts or anything like that?Sarah: Actually, yes. One week before I moved away to college, I cut my hair boy-short. And then after that, like during my first semester, I'd dyed it all different shades of red. And my hair has actually been pretty much every link and every natural-ish color.Adam: Wow. How did your friends and family respond to your red hair?Sarah: My mom didn't like it so much. She thought I was going to die like a natural red color, but it was more of fuchsia red color. So she didn't like it very much. But my friends and like siblings understood because I've always been very different and didn't really care what other people thought about how I looked.Adam: How long did you like it?Sarah: For a while until I wanted change. I love change, so I'd always switch it to something else.Adam: Well, that's great. Thanks, Sarah.

Paul has a lot to say about the resurrection. How is death destroyed? What does the resurrection have to do with Adam? What will people be like when they are raised? And what does “Bad company ruining good morals” have to do with this? Erick and Daniel discuss it all. Have a listen! 1517 Podcast Network HWSS Livestream Signup Chad Bird’s New Book 1517 YouTube Donate

Danielle and Adam cover a lot of different conversations in this episode that just happened to flow really freely. What happened when Danielle planned an overnight date night for the two of them but then got angry with Adam? What did Adam reveal about why he was being so short-tempered and irritable all week? What did they do on their date night that they have never done before? How does Danielle react to a new secret that Adam reveals? If you've been feeling disconnected from your partner due to the pandemic and all the stresses right now, you will definitely relate to this fun but sometimes serious episode. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

If you’re looking for insights into the trends of the eCommerce industry, look no further than Adam Rose, the Chief Talent Officer, of eCommerce Placement. Adam has had a long career as a recruiter, including the last decade at eCommerce Placement, the company he founded to focus on the industry he believed was the future. That bet has paid off, and as the eCommerce industry has grown and changed, Adam has been in the middle of it all. What are the skills eCommerce based businesses are looking for? Where are eCommerce leaders focusing their attention and investing in growth? How is consumer behavior leading the shifts we’re seeing in the industry and how can those working in the industry be successful using analysis of that behavior? Which industries and companies are emerging as big-time players in the eCommerce landscape? Adam has the answers to all of those questions, and he shared them with us on this episode of Up Next in Commerce.   3 Takeaways: Ecommerce offers positions of the future, and right now very few colleges are offering programs that prepare students for them. Those who want to get into the industry need to be lifelong learners and seek out new knowledge Consumer behavior has completely changed, and industries are seeing a shift that they thought they would have years to prepare for, happen in just a few months. That has led to a movement to build Ecommerce teams quicker than ever before CPG companies are starting to heavily invest in Ecommerce, which presents an opportunity for people who want to work in Ecommerce the ability to work in a newly-entrepreneurial environment but with more resources For an in-depth look at this episode, check out the full transcript below. Quotes have been edited for clarity and length. --- Up Next in Commerce is brought to you by Salesforce Commerce Cloud. Respond quickly to changing customer needs with flexible Ecommerce connected to marketing, sales, and service. Deliver intelligent commerce experiences your customers can trust, across every channel. Together, we’re ready for what’s next in commerce. Learn more at salesforce.com/commerce --- Transcript: Stephanie: Hey everyone. Welcome back to Up Next in Commerce. This is your host, Stephanie Postals. And today I have Adam Rose on the show. How's it going? Adam: It's going great. Thank you. Really happy to be here. Stephanie: Yeah, I'm really excited to have you here too. Tell me how did you first get involved in the world of e-commerce? What led you to create this company? Adam: Yeah. So eCommerce Placement, we are a leading e-commerce recruitment firm and what we do is we work with online retailers, e-commerce technology companies, really anyone that touches upon e-commerce. And we're recruiting across the full spectrum of e-commerce functional areas. So that's leadership roles, strategy and management, digital marketing across the whole channels, site merchandising, operations, analytics, logistics and fulfillment, creative technology, the entire gamut. And we've been doing this for 10 years and e-commerce as you know has been growing year after year. So we're just very fortunate to be in this space and one that's really interesting. Adam: Yeah. So, well I've actually been in recruitment my entire career. It is all I know and all I can do. But I went to school and I have a bachelor's degree from Rutgers in psychology and realized I didn't really want to be a psychologist, but I minored in labor and employment relations, which is essentially HR. And that got me into thinking about recruitment or HR as a career. And I ended up getting my masters in HR manager at Rutgers as well. And when I got out of school, I started in more of a generalist HR role at a financial services company doing benefits and compensation and recruitment. And the recruitment piece is what I really liked and decided that's what I wanted to stick with. So I was doing recruitment for several different financial services companies and then a little bit of pharmaceutical as well. And it wasn't until I landed a corporate recruiting position at Borderfree that I got into e-commerce. And Borderfree was a startup e-commerce software as a service company. Adam: And what they did was they allowed US-based online retailers to sell their products overseas to international customers seamlessly. Just like if they were here within the US, yes. And we had about 50 employees at the time when I joined and I grew that company to about 350 before it was sold to Pitney Bowes, much larger organization. Yes, but it was there that I saw that e-commerce was a really hot industry, that folks were still figuring it out. It was a really cool industry if you're an entrepreneur, if you like startup environments, which I did, very different from financial services and pharmaceutical. And I saw that there was a huge need for e-commerce specific recruiting agencies out there. We were working with some of the larger recruitment firms that were just very generalists. They didn't focus in e-commerce, but they were trying to help us regardless. Adam: And I saw that they just didn't have a good understanding of what we did, the types of candidates that we needed, where they'd be coming from, what they'll be doing. And after a while I said to myself that I could do that. I see what these agency recruiters are doing on their end and honestly it seems better than what I'm doing on the corporate side because they're not having to deal with a lot of the paperwork that I have to do, a lot of the internal struggles that I have. And they were doing the best part of recruiting, in my opinion, which is just proactively going out there and sourcing top talent. And that's what got me into recruiting in the first place and got me excited about it. I think it's one of the most strategic parts of business is bringing in the right talent, without that talent that your business may not be so successful. So that's really what got me thinking about making the switch and 10 years later I'm really glad that I did. Adam: And what we're really good at right now is just the fact that over the past 10 years, we've built this huge e-commerce talent network. We have our proprietary database of candidates, we utilize LinkedIn where we have a huge network and following there. And that's a differentiator that a lot of other recruitment firms don't have. And we're also building very longterm relationships with prospective candidates, following them throughout their career. Just being there for them, regardless of whether or not we have opportunities for them in providing advice around their resume, around their career goals and that playing the longterm game is, in this business, I think very important. Stephanie: Cool. Yeah, that's exciting. So how do you vet talent? Because it seems like, at least when I was at Google Day's interview questions were kind of hard to rely on because people would get through and you'd be like, "How did you get here? You definitely don't belong here." So what are some good tips that you could give to other e-commerce brands who are looking to hire? What kind of interview questions or tactics or strategies do you do to vet candidates to make sure that they're the right fit for the company and actually have the knowledge that's needed? Adam: Yeah. So the first thing is that the company itself really has to have a good idea of what their needs are. And that's our job too, is working with them initially to make sure that we're all on the same page. And a lot of times our clients don't even have job descriptions created. And then we have to work with them directly to create that job description and make sure that everything's buttoned up so that when we are going out there and trying to identify the right candidate and speaking with them, we have really good sense of what they're looking for. And I'm talking to them about what their day to day job looks like, the responsibilities, where these people should be coming from and what their soft skills are needed for these positions, everything. And then we go out there and we take a look and do some research to what similar companies, what are some of the competitors out there that maybe we should be tapping into? Adam: Job titles may differ between organizations too. So we'll make a list of all the different job titles that could potentially match this position. And then we'll do an extensive search on that end. And then once we get them on the phone, it's really just conversational. We don't do very hard hitting questions. Our goal is just to make sure that A, the candidate is interested, that this would be something that they could potentially see themselves doing in the future and that they also have the right skillset for it. And that comes out during a conversation when you're just asking them, tell me a bit about your experience. Walk through your background with me. Do you have experience on this side of the business? And if not, is that something that you think you could tackle in your next role? So it's really just getting to know the person. Adam: And then what we do is we send a summary of their experience, their resume, their compensation expectations over to the client and they decide from there whether or not they think this person might be the right fit and they'll get them on the phone and usually to do an initial phone interview and go from there. But what we aim to do is really focus on quality over quantity. There are a lot of recruitment firms out there that kind of give us a bad rap by sending over 100 candidates for a position and- Stephanie: These people I Googled and they're looking for work on LinkedIn. Adam: Exactly, exactly. And hoping that one of them sticks and they're just throwing them at the wall. But we don't do that. We send over three, four, maybe five candidates and these are all people that we feel you would at least benefit from by getting on a call with them. And our resume to hire ratio is insanely high. Our interview to hire ratio's insanely high and we're really proud of that. Stephanie: That's awesome. So are there any skills that these e-commerce company companies specifically are looking for that are hard to kind of find right now? Like there was a shortage and people who knew... engineers always refer to engineers out here, is there a skill where all the companies want this right now and if you had the skill you would get scooped up but I can't find it. Adam: You're totally right about engineering. Any technology position is incredibly valuable right now for e-commerce organizations. And that's everything from engineering to product management, which is a really interesting field for a lot of people to get into that really makes this business strategy and technology that I try to steer people into because they're always needed. Stephanie: And that's not actually a career path that you're told about in the early days. I know I heard about product management, I'm like, "What does that actually mean?" And then, well you kind of should be a little bit technical and you should also have a strategic hat on when you're thinking, I'm like, "I've never heard of this when I came out of college. Why not?" Adam: That's right, that's right. These are roles that people really just fall into. And that's across all of e-commerce. There are very few colleges out there that offer any type of program in e-commerce. So when you get a degree in marketing, you may not be thinking about e-commerce marketing. It's a very vast field and that's just an example. So these are positions of the future that I try to steer new grads into or those that are looking to make a career change because this is an incredible field. But getting back to your question, our hottest positions right now are anything related to Amazon. Companies are really doubling down on their Amazon business, whether it be a marketing or sales, channel management, Amazon is huge. It's the elephant in the room, right? So- Stephanie: It seems obvious, but when I hear that I'm like, "Oh, I wouldn't think about hiring for a role specifically focused on Amazon," but it makes. Adam: Yeah, Amazon, other marketplaces, retailer.com channels. If you're a brand or manufacturer of products that are sold on Overstock, Wayfair, Zulily, you need to manage your online sales strategy and execution on those sites. So there are roles that are specifically focused on doing that as opposed to their direct to consumer channel off their own website. It's a very vast and complex e-commerce industry. Stephanie: Yeah. No, that's really interesting. How would someone develop skills for an Amazon specific role? It seems like you would have to maybe be a seller on Amazon and to know all the ins and outs. You would actually have to have been there, done that to be able to help another company? Adam: Yeah. So, yes. And part of what we get tasked to do is go out there and find individuals that have very relevant skill sets that can come in day one and hit the ground running. And that's what we're good at. But when I advise people on how to get that experience, you have to start small. You have to take on additional responsibilities. If you're in a direct to consumer role right now and you're specialist, start taking on more general generalist responsibilities, start dipping your feet into Amazon and just start asking questions and learn because this is the future and this is how you grow in your e-commerce career. E-commerce is really cross-functional. You need to work across all different departments. Across marketing and merchandising and promotions and fulfillment in no matter what role you're in. And you're going to have to deal with e-commerce metrics and web analytics in almost every role that you're in. Adam: So that's another question I get for individuals that are looking to get into e-commerce and they don't know how to do it and they don't know how to differentiate themselves. Maybe they've been working on the retail side, the retail brick and mortar side, and they're seeing everything that's going on now and they're like, "Oh, Adam, I really want to get into e-commerce. How do I differentiate myself? What do I do to get my foot in the door?" And one of the things I always recommend is get certified in Google Analytics. It's free. Google, they allow you to do this on their site. They have a program. And that's something that is incredibly important for you to know. Almost every company uses Google Analytics in some way even if they do have a more sophisticated web analytics software and it's free and you can put it on your resume and it's great to talk about during interviews. So things like that and I think are really important. Stephanie: Got it. Well, how do you see the industry changing? Seems like e-commerce, of course, is changing really quickly and when I think about having... I mean, I love Google, I work there. But I think having Google Analytics as a certification, what's next? Because I know at least on our side, when it comes to marketing campaigns and things like that, Google Analytics isn't somewhere that we utilize anyways even if we're not e-commerce. But I'm thinking about what's coming next after that? What are the next platforms or tools or technologies or focus areas maybe that would come after that that someone could dive deep into along with Google Analytics because they are a force used by everyone in the industry too. Adam: Yeah, no, it's a good question. And there are new platforms coming out all the time. There are platforms that are getting acquired left and right. There are tons of different marketing technologies out there, whether they're related to paid search or email marketing. What I find is that companies, for the most part, don't really care what you have experienced in as long as you have some sort of experience in these technologies because you can pick it up. It doesn't take a genius to figure these out, but it does take someone that has a digital mindset or somebody that really could tackle the complexities of these different programs. Adam: But if you've mastered one, it's really not that hard to master others. So yes, there are new platforms and new technologies coming out all the time and you really should do your best to update your skillset. But from my perspective, companies, in terms of what they're requiring, you don't need to have experience across all of these different tools. Which is good because how are you going to get your hands on Adobe Analytics if your company is not using it? It's very difficult, right? So I think it's important to demonstrate your ability to learn these new programs first and foremost. Stephanie: Yeah, completely agree. That's what we look for when... whenever I'm going through the hiring process here, I look for more of like, do you have the ability to learn something and you have experience showing that you've tried new things and learn new things. You don't have to know exactly how to use Adobe Audition, but could you pick it up because you've tried it? A different tool or something. Adam: Yes. Yeah, it's a bit of a balance and sometimes a bit of a fight when we're working with our clients and they want skill sets that are so specific and experience that is very specific to what they're doing currently. Where it's like, "Hey, do you really need that or can this person learn that?" And then they start thinking about it and we come to a bit of a compromise there. Stephanie: Yep. Cool. So I'm sure with all the companies that come to you for hiring right now, you might be seeing a different trend. Whether maybe it's online grocery picking up and people asking you for help there. What industries do you see growing the fastest right now with everything going on? Adam: Yeah. You're totally right and online grocery is huge right now and these are industries that were just novel, they were new. Online alcohol delivery, very new and that has been accelerated during these current times. And you look at pet food, you look at children's toys, you look at home improvement, furniture. These are areas that are doing very well. Consumer health and beauty. We're working with clients that are in these spaces right now that they're e-commerce volume is where they wanted it to be a year from now, but they haven't hired accordingly because who knew? And they're scrambling and that's very common right now. But they know that things are going to continue to spike even after everything's back to normal and digital transformation is going to be accelerated more so than ever before. Adam: There's going to be increasingly heavy investments in e-commerce and omni-channel. So we're still in a really good spot. Everything is still really new. E-commerce as a whole is surprisingly a very small percentage of overall revenue for a lot of retailers and every point that jumps up is a lot for these companies and we're going to continue to see that. So think about online furniture where consumer behavior has just completely changed where in the past people wouldn't do it. They wanted to go to a store and sit on a couch or try out a bed and now you don't need to do that. People are way more comfortable shopping online for these types of products without ever seeing it, without ever feeling it in person. And we're going to see that across many industries at this point. Stephanie: Yeah, I agree. Do you think things will stay the same post pandemic because some things I'm thinking like furniture anyways, I would still want to try out and sit, whereas beds, I'm pretty used to buying a mattress and being able to send it back. But furniture, a lot of companies, anyways, you can't just send it. Are there certain industries that you think will kind of go through a dip period again after everything calms down and then maybe ramp back up or you just think everything's going to stay elevated at where it's at now? Adam: Well, some of the elevation right now is severely elevated just because of everything that's going on so we'll see a dip for sure. But overall across the board I do think e-commerce activity is going to remain... the volume is just going to be extremely high. And to your point with wanting to shop for a couch but still sit on it, yes. But companies are getting way better at returns, making that an easy process and deliveries. Consumers are demanding faster and faster and they're expecting faster and faster deliveries and companies are really working on that. And there are a lot of vendors out there that are 3PLs and similar to that are supporting them in getting those items up to these customers as fast as possible. And you're going to see an increase in online volume just due to the fact that it's becoming much easier. The barriers are breaking down. Stephanie: Yeah, I agree. I just wanted to order something off Amazon, and I saw now that you don't have to bring a box back, you just bring it back to the UPS store and will ship it out with no box. And I'm like, "Oh, this is awesome." Because that is actually what has held me up from returning things is not being able to find a box and being lazy. But I can definitely see a lot of industry's changing and making that return process a lot more seamless. So then I will feel comfortable buying furniture or other things like that. Adam: That's right. Stephanie: Yeah. Very cool. So do you see any technological patterns or trends coming down the pipe that you're excited about because of this? Because I'm sure the underlying tech will have to change for a lot of these companies who, like you said, they weren't expecting this this year. They're maybe expecting a year, even five years down the line. Adam: Yeah, I'm a bit of a technology nerd, especially consumer technology, just personally. And what had really excited me prior to the pandemic was everything that was going on in regard to augmented reality and virtual reality and e-commerce. That was another field that was kind of teetering. We didn't know if it was going to be successful. We didn't know if that was going to be adopted. But now with people not going into stores as much, it makes a lot of sense. If you want to see what your beauty product looks like on you without even going into a store and you are able to do that just by holding your phone up. That is amazing. You can see your different hair colors, you can, going back to furniture, you can place that furniture in your room using your phone without even going into a store to see it. So there's a lot of really neat things that they can do on that AR, VR side that can make customers a lot more comfortable shopping online than ever before. Stephanie: Yeah, no, no. That's a really exciting space right now. Have you seen companies embracing that now? Companies who were not embracing it before actually starting to think about embracing it now? Because it still feels like a field that feels a little bit hard to break into right now, because it's like, "What tech do I need? How do I get started?" Adam: It is very, very new. And I think that most companies that are thinking about it are mostly in just the very early development stage where they're talking about it. They're putting in into some strategic plans, but still need to work out the kinks. There are very few companies that do it right, right now, but I it's I think an interesting field to watch. Stephanie: I'm still trying to think about too how the difference between how a company can use AR versus VR. Because VR feels easier to me because you're in that world and things don't have to be perfect. AR still has to be perfect. So I'm trying to think about, at least when we were trying to get things to work on Google maps in an AR version and it was really hard. I mean, it was snowing in Zurich and then the whole time the app would go down and some will change a piece of a building and put a sign on it and then the localization would be wrong and then it'd go down again. So I'm trying to think about which one would come first or maybe at the same time. Adam: So it's certainly not perfect and the technology is getting better every year. VR is very expensive. You need to have a complete headset and there are not a lot of freestanding headsets either. So it needs to be connected to a computer as far as I'm aware. AR is a lot easier. You can utilize your smartphone and the technology is a little bit more limiting, but it does allow you to do a lot more with it. So I think companies are probably better off investing in augmented reality to start seeing how that grows because consumer adoption of virtual reality headsets, it's just not there yet. But everybody has a smartphone. Stephanie: Yeah, I agree. And I think I just saw maybe Magic Leap, I mean, other than having to lay off a bunch of people, they're shifting to enterprises now and they're not focusing on consumers. They're also wondering if there's going to be a hiccup there with the companies who were producing the big headsets that were more expensive if they're going to be there after all of this. Adam: Yeah. For consumers, I'm not really sure. But other industries, for the medical field, I can imagine Magic Leap being huge, right? So there's a lot of potential there and we'll see how it grows on the consumer side. Stephanie: Got it. Are there any industries in e-commerce that you're most excited about right now other than the ones that are popping up now. But before all this started, are there industries that you were focused in on? Adam: So it's interesting. When we first started, our business was very much comprised of fashion apparel companies, consumer electronics companies. It wasn't until the past two, three years that CPG companies started investing very heavily in e-commerce. They were a little bit late to the game and they realized it. They started figuring out e-commerce and we're talking food and beverage companies, we're talking consumer health companies. And it's very exciting times for them where they're figuring out direct to consumer, they're figuring out marketplace, they're figuring out retailer.com and did they have very large complex businesses. Adam: A lot of these are very omni-channel too where they have stores and they're incorporating their mobile application into their omni-channel strategy. So we're working with a ton of these and I think that the opportunity there is really interesting as they really focus more on the customer journey as well. That they can the customer... if you're going into a store, you don't really have the ability to customize an experience for that customer as they walk into a store and look at your product on the physical shelf but on a digital shelf you can do that. So there's a lot of opportunity there for emerging CPG companies to provide a really interesting customer journey to their experience that they otherwise couldn't. Adam: And that is beneficial if your product is a subscription based, right? How do you maintain loyalty in a subscription environment? How do you differentiate yourself from a lot of other CPG brands out there? Maybe even ones that compete on price. So these companies are really trying to figure it out and hiring very large e-commerce teams to do so. So for us it's been a lot of fun working with them and for candidates, it's if you want to work in a very entrepreneurial startup like environment, but still for a very large company that has a ton of resources to make it successful, CPG is the way to go. Stephanie: That's the most fun when you have resources to actually try something [inaudible 00:29:03]. Adam: Yeah, yeah. A little less risky, but still you get the benefits of that startup environment. Stephanie: Yeah, no, that's fine. Are there any companies that you either hear your clients looking to as leaders to watch or that you advise them like, Hey, you should check out maybe this company because they're a leader with this, this and this. Is there anyone that we should look to either mimic or follow? Adam: Everybody wants to be the next cool startup in e-commerce. And everyone's like, we want to be the next Casper. We want to be the next- Stephanie: Dollar Shave Club. Adam: Dollar Shave Club or Harry's or whatever it might be. But this is where you have to level set with early stage startups and entrepreneurs. They think many times that they're going to be able to acquire top talent just because their idea is so cool. And that's often not the case and they're oftentimes looking to pay them more heavy on the equity side than base compensation. And they think that because of their idea's so cool that people are going to see the potential on this and that's going to be okay for them. The truth is that's not the case. That if you're an early stage startup or an entrepreneur, you have to pay market rates. You just do. That's the only way to be competitive. If you want top talent in the marketplace, you're going to have to do that on top of providing equity. So we have to level set sometimes and make sure that they understand that and it's a challenge, but you're talking about their baby when you do that but that's just what we see in the marketplace. Stephanie: Yeah. Very cool. Have you seen salaries grow over the past 10 years when it comes to what people are willing to pay e-commerce talent? Adam: Yeah. Yeah. E-commerce it pays well, it does because this is a huge revenue area for companies. They have a lot at stake here and these are roles that are highly specialized and there's not a huge talent market out there. If you want to remain competitive, you have to pay highly competitive rates. So companies know this, they get it, they understand it. We work with companies that are based outside of major cities, but for their e-commerce talent, they really want to pay city rates, city market rates just to remain competitive and for not just acquisition but for retention too. They don't want them jumping to another company. And this is going to be a significant factor going forward too with all these companies investing heavily in e-commerce and e-commerce teams growing and every company looking to hire e-commerce talent, how do you remain competitive? Adam: And that is, first and foremost in my opinion, compensation. And then companies are going to have to start thinking about remote or flexible work arrangements because this is what everybody wants. People reach out to me daily asking me if we have remote opportunities. This was before everything happened. And now I think that this is going to be front and center in people's minds and on their wishlist going forward and companies are either going to need to adjust to this or be okay with losing out on top talent. Stephanie: Yeah. And I think this might've been a good forcing function to get those companies to a place where they feel more comfortable as long as they see good results. A lot of people have been working from home now, I could see some companies seeing bad results and some seeing good ones so it all depends. Adam: I'd hate for them just to base it on this time right now because it is such an unprecedented time that people are... their kids are home. It is very difficult to get things done and have to figure out how to work remotely maybe when they haven't in the past. And it's just a very unique environment right now. Test it when everyone's back at work and things are a bit back to normal. That I think would be the true test. Stephanie: Yeah. Have you seen any of your clients adapting quickly to try and create good work from home type opportunities where maybe they're like, "Okay, I'm going to shift that job req to be remote now instead?" Or are they a little bit slower with that? Adam: Yeah. So certainly a lot of our clients have said, "This is the final straw. These roles are going to be remote. Don't worry about having people work in house for this or onsite." But what's happening now is that everything is remote where candidates are being interviewed over the phone and over Zoom. They're being hired over Zoom. They are getting onboarded over Zoom. They're going through orientation over Zoom. So everything is virtual and it's a learning curve for everybody. It's a learning curve for these companies. It's a learning curve for candidates. I've had candidates that had to do presentations, interview presentations over Zoom, and that's very unique and different and- Stephanie: Awkward. Adam: Very awkward. There are a lot of new challenges there. Stephanie: It's like, "Are you laughing over there? Oh, it's just frozen. Okay. Oh, awkward." Adam: Yes, yes, exactly. Exactly. So we're all figuring this out at the same time. And I think that in a more normal environment that companies will see that this is the future, you can't stop it. Stephanie: All right, so towards the end of the interview here we do this thing called a lightning round sponsored by Salesforce Commerce Cloud. It's where you can quickly answer whatever comes to mind and you have one minute and you have about five questions here. Adam: Okay. Stephanie: Are you ready Adam? Adam: I am ready. Stephanie: Okay, I'll start with the easier ones first and then we'll have a harder one last. All right. Since we were talking with you and our producer Hillary, that it's lunchtime for you guys. What's up next for lunch? Adam: Oh. So I am a big granola fan and I will eat granola for every meal of the day. And that's what I will probably hit up for lunch. Stephanie: Yum. I haven't heard your stomach rumbling yet so amazing. What's up next on your Netflix or Hulu queue? Adam: Interesting. I have had Ozark on there the new season for a long time. I just have not had the opportunity to watch it. But that is a really interesting show and I've been looking forward to it. Stephanie: Awesome. I see our producer, Hillary is in my dock right now in all caps saying, "I love granola too." That's good. Adam: I'm glad. Stephanie: That is a fan favorite. What's up next in your travel destinations? When you are allowed to travel? Adam: Oh man. I can't wait to get out of the house, first and foremost. But assuming we can get out this summer, Maine has been our favorite destination for summer trips. We go to Portland, Maine. Love it there. The restaurants are fantastic. It's on the water, there tons of parks to go to. We bring our kids, our dogs and the whole family goes and just they have a great time. So I'm hoping to still get there at some point. Stephanie: Awesome. Yeah, it sounds really pretty. What's up next on your reading list or podcast list other than this podcast or [inaudible 00:37:46]? Adam: So my favorite podcast probably have to be How I built This with Guy Raz. So I listened to that pretty religiously and I love hearing the stories of these entrepreneurs and how they get started and what they did to scale and the challenges that they did face. And one of my favorite questions that Guy likes to ask is how much of your success can be attributed to luck? And surprisingly, almost everybody says a lot. And I find that just a really interesting. And, again, we talked about being in the right place at the right time and I think that's really interesting. Of course, you make your own luck by getting yourself out there and working hard but the luck is certainly is a big factor. Stephanie: Oh yeah, completely agree. A lot of the reason we're here is because of luck for sure. And timing and being like, "Oh, glad that happened when it did, because if not, we might not be at this company right now." Adam: That's right, that's right. Stephanie: So completely agree. All right. The harder question. In your opinion, what's up next for e-commerce pros? Adam: For individuals in e-commerce? Stephanie: Yeah. Adam: What's up next? I think that we're going to be seeing a lot of activity, a lot of companies doubling down on e-commerce like I mentioned. And what they're going to be looking for are people that can understand the entire e-commerce ecosystem and that may be everything from retail, brick and mortar to omni-channel to direct e-commerce. Companies are going to look for people that can integrate their strategies and everything is becoming more integrated. There may not be different channels anymore. They're all blending together. So for people that understand the business, that is going to be critical for these companies, and that's where you should be really focusing on your skillset. If you're a specialist right now, start learning outside of your box and start thinking about the business and how it operates and how everything ties together, because that's what's going to be most important. Stephanie: Love it. Great answer. All right. Thanks so much for coming on the show, Adam. This is fun. Adam: Is great. It's a pleasure. Thank you so much.

If Survivor showed anything last week, it's that you don't mess with the RobFather. Fresh off of a thrilling tribal council where Rob had the Sele tribe dump their bags to see who had the idol, how will Sele be able to rebound following the boot of Danni to Extinction Island? With Old School seemingly running the show on Sele, could there be an uprising of the New Schoolers led by Adam? What will happen when one half of cops r us has his own richard hatch moment with a shark? What chaos is abound on Extinction Island? Discuss all of this and more Wednesday night as Jim Early and Missyae Productions present another edition of the Missyae Podcast: Survivor Winners at War Recap Show! Call in at (657) 383-1308 and get your thoughts in on this week's show!

In this episode Seth, Chris, and Omar get a chance to sit down and talk To Pete about his new book "How to read the Bible.." and have a very fun conversation exploring some tough questions or challenges around reading the Bible. Chris gets saved, and Seth bust into spontaneous worship as a result. It was a blast!... Oh and Omar smoked a LOT of weed.  Pete Enns is an American Biblical scholar and theologian. He has also written several books including:  The Evolution of Adam: What the Bible Does and Doesn't Say About Human Origins The Bible Tells Me So: Why Defending Scripture Has Made Us Unable To Read It The Sin of Certainty: Why God Desires Our Trust More Than Our "Correct" Beliefs How the Bible Actually Works   In this interview, Pete also suggested Bradley Jersak's book Her Gates Will Never Be Shut Music for the episode was written by Dan Koch, and can be found on his website: dankoch.net  Support for the podcast comes from listeners like you. Visit Podbean.com/fadetograypodcast to join the crew who help to keep the network on air.  Check out everything we have to offer on our network at: FadeToGrayPodcast.com  

Looking at Romans 5, 6, 7, 8 and briefly at the rest of of Romans. I explored these questions: What did we inherit from Adam? (What was/is "Original Sin"?) The Early Church differed from Augustine regarding this question. Who is Paul talking about in Romans 7 - himself and believers? Again, the Early Church had one view and Augustine introduced, or shall we say "invented" another view that the Reformers followed. Does the NT consider us "sinners" as Christians? These are extremely important issues and tragically, many Protestants have followed "traditions" for their answers. Martin Luther, was the originator of the concept of the Saint/Sinner dual identity. This message takes on these "traditions of men" and calls us back to the Biblical, Apostolic understandings.

In this episode of Quah (Q & A), Sal, Adam & Justin answer Pump Head questions about how and when should one use “cheat” reps, how to adapt workouts to fit a physical job, avoiding sex or masturbation at least 5 days before a competition to keep testosterone high, and whether regular chiropractic adjustments help with improving mobility.   Adam and family take an unplanned trip to their favorite spot. (6:06) Sal and Jessica take a hike to the Pinnacles. (9:02) Catrina outfitting her companies' new gym space using PRx + the guys' favorite way to workout. (11:06) Comparing the macro profile of regular almonds to Skinny Dipped almonds. (15:52) Settling an old debate between Sal and Adam: What is the greatest cinematic picture of all time? (18:15) Why do we focus so heavily on high cholesterol in medicine? (21:35) Mind Pump Recommends ‘The Mind, Explained' on Netflix. (28:45)   A white couple gives birth to an Asian daughter after alleged fertility clinic mix-up. (35:36)   #Quah question #1 – How and when should you use cheat reps? (39:04) #Quah question #2 – I have a fairly high labored intensive job that involves a lot of bending and lifting in front of me. How should I adapt my workout to fit my activity? Should I focus on pressing movements to counter the pulling I do at work? Or should I just stick to a balanced routine? (46:12) #Quah question #3 – As a collegiate track and field athlete one of my coaches told us not to have sex or masturbate at least 5 days before a competition, because it would keep our testosterone high which would help us perform better. Is there truth to this? (52:35) #Quah question #4 – What are your thoughts on chiropractors? Do regular adjustments help with improving mobility? (56:32)   People Mentioned Jim Kwik (@jimkwik)  Instagram Justin Brink DC (@dr.justinbrink)  Instagram Dr. Jordan Shallow D.C (@the_muscle_doc)  Instagram   Related Links/Products Mentioned September Promotion: MAPS Starter ½ off!! **Code “STARTER50” at checkout** Visit Vuori Clothing for an exclusive offer for Mind Pump listeners! Visit PRx Performance for an exclusive offer for Mind Pump listeners! **Code “mindpump” at checkout** Visit Skinny Dipped for an exclusive offer for Mind Pump listeners! **Code “mindpump” at checkout** LDL-C does not cause cardiovascular disease: a comprehensive review of the current literature The Mind, Explained | Netflix Official Site Mind Pump TV - YouTube Check out Mind Pump Live to get tickets for their next live event! How to manage your mental health | Leon Taylor | TEDxClapham White couple gives birth to Asian daughter after alleged fertility clinic mix-up The ONLY Way You Should Be Doing Dumbbell Bicep Curls! MAPS Fitness Products Mind Pump Free  

Is theistic evolution theologically viable? Why is it important that there is a historical Adam? What does the entrance of sin and death have to do with science? Did God create everything good? Join James and Drey as they discuss theology and science as it relates to the creation of the world!

What did it mean that when it says that Eve is a helper for Adam? What did Jesus mean when He referred to the Holy Spirit as the Helper? The answer to both of these questions are tied together and something that we can begin to enjoy in our lives today. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/losingmyreligion/message

Are you tempted by things you want but don't need? Why is no repentance forthcoming from Adam? What was God's purpose in creating Adam and Eve? How did God feel when Adam and Eve ate the fruit? Jeremiah 2:13. God wants to be pursued. God was underestimated by Adam and Eve. What does God have as a vision and dream for your life? Anyone who loves has a desire to receive love from the object of their love. Colossians 1: 15-17, 19. Do you seek God's opinion before you make decisions?   Photo by Eric Ward on Unsplash Dr. David Levy Podcasts on:iTuneshttps://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/dr-david-levy-gods-wisdom-freshly-revealed/id1403541244?mt=2 Google Playhttps://play.google.com/music/m/Itnylngdsghg425rjbhhcfzfw2y?t=Dr_David_Levy_-_Gods_Wisdom_Freshly_Revealed Websitewww.DrDLevy.com YouTube Channelhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCK7aq4WGV71EkeEWnAkVunQ

Why is the entire human race considered guilty because of the sin of Adam? What do we learn by comparing Adam and Jesus?

Do you ever find yourself reading the Bible and coming away going..."wait! what does this mean?"? Me too; which is why I'm so happy to release this weeks conversation with Pete Enns on How The Bible Actually Works*... Guest Bio: Peter Enns (Ph.D. Harvard University) is Abram S. Clemens professor of Biblical Studies at Eastern University. He has taught undergraduate, seminary, and doctoral courses at numerous other schools, including Princeton Theological Seminary, Harvard Divinity School, and Temple University. Pete speaks and writes regularly to diverse audiences about the intersection of the ancient setting of Bible and contemporary Christian faith. He is a frequent contributor to journals and encyclopedias, and has written, edited, and contributed to nearly 20 books, including The Sin of Certainty: Why God Desires Our Trust More than Our “Correct” Beliefs; The Bible Tells Me So: Why Defending Scripture Has Made Us Unable to Read It, Inspiration and Incarnation: Evangelicals and the Problem of the Old Testament, and The Evolution of Adam: What the Bible Does and Doesn’t Say about Human Origins. Enns resides in suburban Philadelphia with his wife Susan. His popular blog, The Bible for Normal People, can be found at peteenns.com. Music for this episode is from Matt Tipton featuring tracks from his newest release called Blessed King.  Tracks Include:  I Will Comfort You, Romans V, Thanks Be To God, Blessed King You can also find selections from all our episodes on our Spotify Playlist.  What are you waiting for; consider becoming a Patreon supporter of the show. You'll have access to many perks as well as guaranteeing the future of these conversations; even $1/Month goes so far as this show is 100% listener supported.  https://www.patreon.com/canisaythisatchurch

Following our get to know your hosts episode we thought it would be interesting to find out a little more about each other so we each devised 3 secret questions to ask the other. The questions asked... Adams questions to Tom: How do you maintain your network of contacts? Do you have a 2 year, 5 year and 10 year plan specific to property? Can you give us advice on marketing?                   Toms questions to Adam: What advice would you give yourself on your first day of work knowing what you know now? If you quit your job, had no commitments and £100,000 landed in your account what would you do? What is the worst piece of advice you have ever received.                 For more from the Property Investors Podcast follow us on twitter/instagram @PodcastProperty or join our community on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/propertyinvestorspodcast Contact us: hello@propertyinvestorspodcast.com (mailto:hello@propertyinvestorspodcast.com) visit us http://www.propertyinvestorspodcast.com  

How did Allah create Adam? What is the definition of Iman? What does it mean that the Quran is the Word of Allah?

My guest today is Pete Enns. Dr. Peter Enns (PhD, Harvard University) is Abram S. Clemens professor of Biblical Studies at Eastern University, St. Davids, PA. He has taught courses at several other institutions including Harvard University, Fuller Theological Seminary, and Princeton Theological Seminary. Enns is a frequent contributor to journals and encyclopedias, and is the author of several books, including, The Bible Tells Me So: Why Defending Scripture Has Made Us Unable to Read It (HarperOne), The Bible and the Believer: How to Read the Bible Critically and Religiously (with Marc Brettler and Daniel Harrington, Oxford University Press), Inspiration and Incarnation: Evangelicals and The Problem of the Old Testament (Baker), and The Evolution of Adam: What the Bible Does and Doesn't Say about Human Origins (Baker). Special Guest: Pete Enns.

Welcome to the first episode of the People Helping People Podcast, where we're going to talk to people involved in social change, developing cultural ties, and cool projects that are making a difference. For this first episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Mikela Thomas, the diversity liaison at Cheshire Elementary School, about culture and diversity. The Olentangy school district in Ohio has a diversity liaison for each school – and she has used her position to put together an impressive annual cultural festival. She shared her story – how and why she developed the program in her school, how she moved around growing up and experienced diversity in her own life and shared stories how diversity has affected students in her school – and how they've been able to break down barriers. From my experience, diversity and travel go hand in hand. The more we learn about culture by interacting with people and opening up and sharing our stories, the more accepting and tolerant we become. It's the first step to combatting xenophobia and developing stronger ties around the world, which in turn leads to more peaceful relationships and people working together in collaboration. Read Full Transcript Adam: And today we are going to talk about diversity and culture. Kayla has and the cultural liaison in Cheshire elementary school and three years ago she started a cultural festival to celebrate culture and diversity in the school. So we're going to talk about how she came up with this a little bit about what she's found in diversity and how she's helped spread awareness, help children understand that their diversity is okay and overcome cultural barriers. [00:00:41] You started this three years ago. [00:00:42] Mikela: Yes. [00:00:43] Adam: What was the inspiration for that? [00:00:45] Mikela: So, um, our district actually is just trying to build that inclusive climate, that culture of community. So we actually have diversity liaison supposition that was created and in every single building. So I believe we have 2324 schools in our district and every single building, elementary, all the way up to high school has a diversity liaison in that position. [00:01:09] And at that school. And so basically I took on that role. I was like, you know, being the only African American teacher at the school, actually there's only two minority teachers in the whole building. Oh, wow. You know, I just wanted to make sure to bring that awareness of diversity here. As soon as I found out that that was like a position that was coming up and I was like, Oh, I'm on it. [00:01:30] And there was no [00:01:31] Adam: position. [00:01:32] Mikela: So, so as a diversity liaison, we are responsible for providing professional development to the staff about identity inclusion, awareness, you know, different things. We also have a student diversity group, and so my diversity group was called the wild cards because our school theme is wondering, imagining learning, discovering which stands. [00:01:51] That's our wild. And the card stands for children, advocates, respecting differences. And so I teach the kids that if you're a wild car, like in the game, you know, have that car that has all the colors on it and it's a wild card. It just changes the whole game, changes everything. So I wanted them to feel like empowering them to be an advocate and making changes in our world if they see injustices and things like that. [00:02:13] So our club meets twice a month. So far this year we've done so much. We had a student come in and he has type one diabetes and he did a whole presentation on what that is, and he's still a normal kid like everyone else, but there's some extra steps he has to go through to prepare for the day and, but it just empowered him because now people aren't like, well, where are you going? [00:02:32] Why do you have to keep going to the nurse? You know, like can actually teach them about what's going on. We had Joanie, Callum.

How did Allah create Adam? What is the definition of Iman? What does it mean that the Quran is the Word of Allah?

Download the mp3 file. In this episode, we discuss the advantages that are available to small and medium size manufacturing companies because of their innate ability to make quick marketing decisions and relatively quick strategic or tactical changes. Adam is a practitioner who has proven this idea as a marketing manager working with and marketing to manufacturers. Guest: Adam Robinson, Marketing Manager at Cerasis Highlights: The reason that SMB manufacturers have an advantage is, simply, there is less bureaucracy and fewer people to approve content. You can also spread the word internally faster and easier. Take advantage of this difference. [6:00] LinkedIn Groups are a great place to share your message, knowledge or expertise with a target audience.  Choose a group and share knowledge. Ask a question and post answers. [11:00] Action Items - build a content plan to create content that your audience wants to consume; distribute content on a regular schedule; get the sales team and leadership involved with your content marketing strategy and execution. [14:30] Adam shares ideas how to get over the perception that marketing is a servant to sales. Show sales that marketing can be a powerful force to help sales achieve their goals. [20:00] Real life case study featuring Covington Aircraft and an image-oriented content marketing strategy. [22:00] The people in your target audience love experts. You can win in your market by becoming an expert in a subject that your audience cares about. [26:30] When you talk to manufacturing leadership about the role marketing can play in the business, talk about business fundamentals and answer their question "what's in it for me?" [29:15] Interview Questions: Question 1 –  First question, why is there an opportunity in this day and age for smaller manufacturers to compete and even overtake larger direct competitors? Question 2 –  Could you share a few specifics for our manufacturing marketing listeners out there. What are 3 to 5 action items they can take right away to begin taking advantage of the opportunity? Question 3 –  Could you share a real-life example where you were able to help a company achieve an advantage yourself by using this type of strategy and associated tactics? Question 4 – This all sounds great and I bet a lot of our listeners are really excited. But, the reality is, they can’t or won’t invest in marketing whether it’s new people or outsourcing. Usually, because the leadership won’t get on board.  What advice could you offer folks who find themselves in this situation? Challenge Question – Send in your own challenge question! This week our challenge question comes from a plastics manufacturer in Upstate New York. Here it is. “We’re a mid-size injection molding company and we’re having a tough time competing with the low-price production out of China. We keep getting underbid and I can’t reduce my prices any lower than the already are. I read your book (The New Way to Market for Manufacturing) and I’m interested in how I can grow by sharing expertise and not pitching our service. My concern is that it might take up to a year to start seeing results. Is that true? Is there a way to get faster results?” The fact is that it will take some time to establish yourself and your company as an expert. But, the sooner you get started, the sooner you will gain that expert position. Advertising and sponsoring content can help speed up the results. There are a couple of tactics where you can get faster results. Educational webinars are great for quick lead generation. eNewsletters are another tactic that can show relatively quick results. Takeaways: Be human. People want to deal with people. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. Put it out there. hbspt.cta.load(2789653, '069e1b82-e384-4684-aff7-ab60a00695f0', {});   Transcript: Bruce McDuffee: Welcome to Manufacturing Marketing Matters, a podcast produced by the Manufacturing Marketing Institute, the center of excellence for manufacturing marketers. I'm Bruce McDuffee. Thank you for listening Hello, manufacturing marketers. Say, if you like the ideas and the strategy and the tactics we talk about here on the podcast, consider signing up for our free New Way to Market phone consultation with me. It's about 30 minutes long. We learn about each other and our businesses. I'll share a couple of fresh, innovative ideas specifically for your company. Just go to mmmatters.com/contact and fill out that form, and we'll set it up. Now, on to the show. Our guest expert today is Adam Robinson. Adam is the marketing manager at Cerasis. Welcome, Adam. Adam Robinson: Thank you for having me, Bruce. Pleasure to be here. Bruce McDuffee: Yeah. It's great to have you on the podcast today. I'm looking forward to our discussion. Folks, today, our topic, it's about the big opportunity for small and medium-sized manufacturers. What's that opportunity, you may be wondering. Well, the fact that smaller companies and medium companies can be more agile. This can be reflected immediately in their ability to leverage modern digital marketing strategy and tactics. There may be days where you're out there feeling like the big guys, just, they have all the money and all the power, and all the resources, and they just dominate that market place. That can be true to some extent, but today, small and medium guys have an advantage. A small company can reach the same customers, same prospects that the big guys can, not for a lot of money. Today, we're going to discuss the why and the how. Before we get into the interview, Adam, would you please introduce yourself to the audience with a little bit about your expertise and experience around the idea that agility can be a huge advantage for small and medium-sized businesses. Adam Robinson: Yeah. Sure. My name is Adam Robinson, like you said earlier. I work here at Cerasis, a third party logistics company as the director of marketing. I've worked in sales and marketing since I graduated from college in 2003, so for about 14 years. I've worked in digital marketing for about 10 years. If you've been in digital marketing for 10 years, that pretty much makes you an industry veteran because a lot of those practices have not been around. I mean, one of the first things that I did was work at a startup and instantly saw the value of digital practices by implementing an online form to take away the fax paper registration. It allowed us to decrease time for our customers to sign up, and we found that that was the biggest paying point. I really started to see how digital things, things that were less cost-intensive, less paper, if you will, improved process and helped you connect with your customers a lot quickly. Those fundamentals, back in 2004 when I did that with that company are no different than today. Just like you eluded to small companies can really take on the big guys because they have the ability to use something like digital marketing to reach them. Really found a passion for helping businesses in digital marketing, really got into social media in 2010, especially in LinkedIn. I think what I really was attracted to was goal-oriented marketing. When people told me, "Adam," when I first worked at a social media agency about eight years ago, "We want to achieve this. We could then develop strategies and use very inexpensive tools to go out and accomplish those goals." We do that today here at Cerasis. We use digital marketing to compete with the big guys. We are not the largest 3PL in the game, but I guarantee you, if you Google search anything around what we do in the way of logistics or transportation management, we're out there beating the big guys. We continue to get a lot of good leads, and we've been growing our business. It's a lot of fun to see results when you put it into play and it just keeps getting better and better. As you go after that, you have a lot more fun doing it.   Bruce McDuffee: Great. Thanks for that background. I pronounced the company name wrong? I said Cerasis, but it's Cerasis?   Adam Robinson: Yeah, that's interesting. It's a challenge. Phonetically, and about 100% of the time, people do say Cerasis because I think phonetically, that's exactly how you should say it. One of the biggest challenges we had was name recognition and people saying it correctly. I think we're always going to have that challenge, but more people know about our name more than ever. I'm happy that people are just saying it, no matter how they say it. Our sales people love now when they call up people are like, "I've heard of Cerasis." We quickly say, "Well, it's Cerasis." They're like, "I don't really care, because that means you've heard of us."   Bruce McDuffee: That's a great way to look at it. Adam, you have a lot of experience with digital marketing. I would say you're probably a pioneer. If you've been doing digital marketing for 10 years, you're a pioneer. Even more important, you're a practitioner.   Adam Robinson: Yeah, I do it every day.   Bruce McDuffee: Yeah, and that ... who's had success. Folks out there listening, Adam's not just set talking theory or ideas here, he's done it, he's proven it. This is going to be good content. First, let's get some context. Adam, a lot of our listeners are manufacturers and marketers working for manufacturers. A lot of them struggle to use modern marketing and digital marketing strategies, you know, things like SEO, even email marketing, paper-click, or content marketing. It's hard. It's hard to compete with the big guys when it comes to resources, people, and money. They don't have a lot of slack. They don't have time to step back and reassess and revamp their whole machine. Of course, they know about the tactics, they want to use them, and that's where we want to start.   The first question, why is there an opportunity in this day and age for smaller and medium-sized manufacturers to compete, and even overtake larger direct competitors? Why is that?   Adam Robinson: The easiest answer is you have less bureaucracy, and therefore you have less people to convince within your organization that digital marketing is valuable. Imagine if you were to go to a company and tried to execute new programs, or get content approved by a myriad of layers. In my years of doing this, I would say that the number one reason that marketers fail to get digital marketing off the ground is the inability to explain the value of digital marketing and blogs, and Tweeting, and sharing on Facebook to your bosses. Now, in a big company, imagine having to go to your boss, and his boss having to go to his boss, or his boss going to his boss to convince them to even get started.   Secondly, as you start to put content out into the wild, and people start to engage with it, and let's say someone disagrees with what you've written. Imagine the CEO sending you an email saying, "What is this all about?" Then, 18 other bosses piling on top of you? It's called "Paralysis by analysis." I think we're all familiar with that. That happens a lot.   I say, but the next big advantage, however, in a small organization, or small company, is that you have the ability to touch every single department a lot more quickly than a huge organization. At the heart of good content marketing is simply telling the story of your company, telling your potential customers, and your readers what makes you different, informing them and educating them on the things that your company is already an expert on. I guarantee you that at a small or mid-sized manufacturer, you know the exact person who's machining your product. You know the subject matter experts by name. You may have known them for years. As simple as this is, you just have to sit in front of them and ask them, "What do you hear out there in the marketplace? What are your challenges? What do you think our customers would like to be educated about that is also a value proposition for our company?"   For example, when I first came to Cerasis, the first thing I did, and I recommend any marketer do this, is I sat down with the leadership, and every department head, and then every single employee afterwards. I gave them all the exact same five to 10 questions. I said, "What do you think the goals of the company are? Who do you think our target audience is? What do you think they're going to care about? What's your value to this company, or to a customer, when they become a customer?"   If you sit down ... say you have 30 to 50 people in your organization, and you ask those same 30 to 50 people those questions, and you write them down or record them ... You can go back and review those notes, but just even psychologically, when you're done with that process, in your brain, you have already heard 50 versions of what the company needs to market. You get a very big picture of that. Then you go, "All right. I've already got a million ideas for content that I can start putting together, because I know all these subject matter experts' thoughts, needs, and desires, and what they think the customer wants to hear."   You can then put all that together and start creating content. Guess what you've already done, you've already gotten buy-in from every single one of those people, because you're telling their story. You're not telling your story, or what you think as a marketer. If you get siloed in what you think about, and you start applying all of these digital marketing ... "I need to do these tactical things because I'll write an SEO article. I need to construct it this way." Well then you're not really doing what people want to read. Human beings need to be brought to the forefront of content marketing. If you're creating content that your subject matter experts inside have said that they might read, well I guarantee you, the target audience is going to want to read that. Guess what, Google's not going to think you're trying to game their system and their algorithm. They're going to go, "They're creating good content for human beings," and they're going to favor you in the long-run.   Bruce McDuffee: I think what you're saying here, as far as reason it's easier for small and medium companies, there's a couple of reasons. One is you don't have to deal with bureaucracy, and you probably have access to the leadership, so you can talk to them about it, get their buy-in. One of the things, though, Adam, is do you think there's a big reason because of the modern way we get information? Mean, 20, 30 years ago, you had to have a lot of money to get your message out, because it was TV, radio, print. Now, a small guy can get out a better message than a big guy because of the internet and social media. Yeah, sometimes you'll still have to pay, but it's more of a level playing field. How does that play into the advantage?   Adam Robinson: Yeah, that's right. I mean, you can go in and you can install WordPress on to your website. A WordPress is just a simple content management system. There's a number of content management systems out there. You start publishing your content. You can establish your own social media platforms. For example, in a manufacturing community. I know it because I live and breathe it, been doing it for five straight years, but there are hundreds of LinkedIn groups. Unlike places like Facebook, or Twitter ... not that those don't have value. I'll talk a little bit about those two platforms specifically. A place like LinkedIn, you don't have to build followers for people to start seeing your content when you join LinkedIn groups. You're already joining a built in community where as soon as you post a discussion, you're reaching potentially tens of thousands, to hundreds of thousands of professionals around a single relevant idea.   If you're a manufacturer who's manufacturing oil and gas products, there's an oil and gas group of 200,000 people. If you build content that educates and informs those people, where they actually want to read it, and you've powered it through interviews from subject matter experts within your organization, you're going to start seeing in your own analytics and your own traffic people from the oil and gas industry come to your website. If you construct those with good calls-to-action, and it's easy for people to get in touch with you, then an interesting thing starts to happen, they start getting in touch with you, you start to generate that magic currency that your boss wants to see, and that's a lead, right? A qualified lead.   I think that's why it's such a level playing field. Anybody can do that. It requires zero money to have a LinkedIn account, zero money to join a group, except for your time and a little bit of research using a search function.   Bruce McDuffee: You've had good success with LinkedIn groups then, growing your business through that type of sharing?   Adam Robinson: Yeah, absolutely. It does take a little bit of your time. For example two and a half years ago, there was a LinkedIn group API. There were a number of social media management tools that allowed you to more easily distribute your content into specific groups. Now, they've taken away that API because of spam abuse. There are a few people out there who make it worse for us good guys, who are really trying to create content that engages and informs. LinkedIn took away that API. That's fine. I'm okay with that, because I'm disciplined to record all the names of my groups, to put them into categories in a spreadsheet. If I create a piece of content that talks about the application of the internet of things as it applies to the manufacturing community, I'm only going to put that group discussion into those groups where that might be relevant. Oh yeah, I'm also not just going post a link, I'm going to ask a question around that idea to try and engage the audience. I'm also not just going to post my content, I'm going to be an active member of that community.   When you ask your own questions that don't include a link to your content, or you engage and provide thoughtful insight to someone else's discussion, and you do that with discipline over time, you better believe that when you post content and links to your blog or to your website, it'll be not seen as spam, or not adding value to the community, it will be seen as, "Hey, that's old Bob. He always likes to start discussions, and he's an active poster, but he also likes to give me thoughts on my stuff." The managers, the other members, they really value that community-driven aspect. By joining LinkedIn groups, you're already tapping into existing communities without you having to build them yourself, unlike Facebook and Twitter.   Bruce McDuffee: That's a great tip. Let's dig into it a little more, some specifics, Adam. For our manufacturing marketing listeners out there, maybe you could say three to five action items they could take right away to start getting advantage about this opportunity we're talking about.   Adam Robinson: Sure. I think a big tactic that I would apply is to, especially when you're creating content, is to build yourself a content plan that is backed by categories. Those categories should be driven primarily by what your target audience might want to read. If we go back to the oil and gas industry, and we think about all the decision makers in the oil and gas industry of your specific product, and you're going to know that best, and I recommend you determine that beforehand, but I'm sure you know that already. You might say that they're interested in X, Y and Z, and so you want to record those categories beforehand, and you want to make sure that you write a good amount of those different types of categories.   If I take it back to Cerasis, for example, our target audience are North American industrial manufacturers and distributors, primarily in the automotive aftermarket industry. Now, in the manufacturing side of things, there are a number of things that manufacturers care about. For example, technology in manufacturing, or the internet of things, or reshoring, because we serve the United States market, and reshoring or taking warehouses from abroad, bringing them back to the USA, is a big idea.   Now, we've gotten flack from some people who just don't get it, and they go, "Why are you writing about reshoring when you're a transportation, management, and logistics company?" I say, "Well, I'm writing about that because I may not care about that for my business, but I guarantee you, the manufacturing executive, who will ultimately make the decision on our product, does care about that. For him or her to become aware of us, I need to reach them with that content, so wherever, it be a LinkedIn group, a LinkedIn profile post, a LinkedIn company page post, a Tweet, a search engine result on a search engine page, I need them to go, "That's interesting to me."   We become a hub of information for those people, but I can't write about those things unless I do my work of recording the categories of the things that my target audience might care about. That requires a little bit of research to put those categories down.   Another tactic that I would give somebody, especially when it applies to content marketing distribution, is that you have to distribute your content. One of the things that I always say is ... I kind of ... a little twist on content is king, right? Content is king. You have to have the currency by which to entice your target audience to come back and speak to you, the goods, the where's. That's the content. If you're not distributing that ... and this is where I say content is king, and distribution rules the land. If you're not distributing that content regularly in Twitter, or in these LinkedIn groups that are relevant, then no one's going to see it. Before you have the big payoff, which we'll talk about in a little bit, search engine optimization, as you're creating this content, you have to start getting people to engage with your content, to come back and leave comments. Don't forget about social media distribution.   The third tactic I would employ is, there's a sales element to any marketer, right? There's always going to be a sales executive in this. You have to get them involved in your vision and mission for your marketing. You cannot operate in a silo. There can be no walls between you and your sales manager, as a marketer, because that content that you're creating is chuck full of juicy nuggets that are great things to send to a prospect. That's how you sell today. I guarantee you that in the sales process, there will be a problem as you're talking to your target audience, that if you've done your categories right, and you've listened to what your target audience wants from your internal interviews with your subject matter experts, there's going to be something that you've written that can be put in the sales person's email, or in the sales person's conversation that will empower them to create a more relevant conversation with that sales prospect. If your marketing strategy, and the consultative, informed, educated approach that you have in that content marketing strategy doesn't align in that sales process, it's going to be broken.   Don't just look at it as just generating leads, look at it as truly empowering your sales staff with really good content and information that will help them continue to peel back the layers it takes to close a deal.   Bruce McDuffee: This is challenging, because you know as well as I do, Adam, a lot of manufacturing companies have a long history, maybe 50, 80 years where sales rules. There's also, on top of that, many times with manufacturers, there's an internal cultural perception that marketing is setting up trade shows and placing adds, and maybe editing the webpages. To marketers I talk to, and manufacturing, they know, they get it, everything we've been saying, but to get over that hurdle is so important. I want to emphasize to that audience, you've got to get that alignment, like Adam was saying. You've got to show them how powerful marketing can be. Any tips on how they could do that, Adam? I mean, how does a marketer get over that hurdle?   Adam Robinson: Be explicit in your intentions, and clearly state that I am here as a marketer, to support your mission of being successful. I am completely bought in to your sales approach. Any good sales manager today, I think, would say, "Hey, my goal is to further the sales process, and I need collateral sometimes to do that," or "I need something that I can share to them that will make them think," or "Gosh, I have not been able to reengage this prospect. They're just not returning my calls. They're not returning my emails." I go, "Hey, have you tried sending them this blog post instead of, "I haven't heard from you lately," or leaving the 14th voicemail.   Sales is going from a tactical approach, just like marketing was for a while, to a very strategic, nuanced approach that requires a lot of context. When you create content, and you can point to thought leadership pieces, or that somebody picked up your publication, then that empowers sales to be more successful. My sales manager always calls me Oz, right? Like the Wizard of Oz. I'm the man behind the curtain for him, because I don't want to be the superstar. I think marketers, for a really long time, have tried to be the superstar, but we aren't. I think we're the fuel that powers the engine of sales. The more aligned you are to be explicit with your vision and your mission, that it's just ... We're just a part of their successful, then I think you get that buy-in.   Bruce McDuffee: Good. I think that's great advice. Let's talk about a real life example, Adam. Can you share with our audience a real life example where you were able to get a company into a position to take advantage of ... with their agility, to take advantage of this type of strategy and these types of tactics?   Adam Robinson: Yeah. I've helped a lot of companies breakthrough where ... I think when I do help companies, they never want to stop, because they may have had hesitations at first of putting themselves out there. For example, I had this client back in the day that I still keep in touch with called, ["Cubbington 00:22:03] Aircraft." They sold turbine aircraft engines, and maintained turbine aircraft engines a specific engine made by Pratt & Whitney called, "The PT6A." It powers a lot of turboprop engines. They also serviced the agriculture aviation market, and they did the old [Warbird 00:22:21] Radial engines, as well, the R-985, and the R-1340. They were looking to reach pilots who piloted those aircrafts and needed that engine maintained, of if they wanted to buy a new engine, they could sell that, and they needed to reach fleet managers.   There are a number of competitors in this space, but I think a lot of those engine guys, they're kind of like ... Think of a car shop. Imagine a car shop sitting there going, "All right, guys. We know this social media and this content is pretty important for us to do, but we have no idea how to do it." With them, we knew that they wanted to reach these pilots, and what we've found in our research is that these pilots have been asking people around the company ... They're very social in nature by what they do. Pilots love talking shot to each other about airplanes. They love showing pictures of each other, and so we've developed a strategy. It was very image-oriented, and we got them on Instagram ... There are 139 aircraft that had these engines that they support. Therefore, we said, "Okay, if the pilots care about the aircraft, but they are powered by these engines, if they're pilots of these aircraft, then they're going to need somebody to help them with the engines in order to keep it flying."   We said, "All right. We could sit here and talk about how to fix an engine, the ins and outs of the details of the engine, but at the end of the day, pilots might know about that. When you take your car in to get fixed, do you want to sit there and have your mechanic talk about how he fixed the engine, or do you want him to talk about maybe what you care about, and that he got the engine fixed?" All you care about is getting the engine fixed. You don't really care about the ins and outs of how it happened.   A lot of companies, they want to talk about how you do things. There's some aspect to that, but if that's all you're talking about, your audience is going to tune out. We started talking about the aircraft. We shared images of the aircraft. We talked about the history of those aircraft, but we always mentioned, "Oh yeah, they're powered by these engines. Oh yeah ..." at the end, with a call-to-action of any piece of content. "Book an appointment, so we can take care of that engine for you." We made it about the pilot community around those 139 aircraft. If you go on Instagram and you look up Cubbington Aircraft, they're at almost 20,000 Instagram followers, they have people liking their post. When you Google search the history of any of those aircraft, guess who's number one on Google?   It's less about the company, and more about the target audience. We just did that by following the process of interview the subject matter of expertise, people inside. Keep the target audience in mind, and create content that mirrors their real life behavior. Then, don't forget to ask for the business with a call-to-action.   Bruce McDuffee: Really, it comes down to what [inaudible 00:25:04] to mind, my mind is it comes down to knowing your audience, knowing their pain or ... Like the description you just gave, knowing their passion. When you know that, you share a content, relevant content, it's going to work, it's going to engage. It's really important. I mean, how many manufacturers out there are sharing content about features of their product and their boring stuff like accuracy, or speed? Audience doesn't care, right?   Adam Robinson: No, they don't. If you become a thought leader, right? Let's go back to the car mechanic as an example. If a car mechanic takes care of my problem that I came in for, but then at the end of the day, he also said, "Hey, Adam, I fixed your broken carburetor, but there's a line from the carburetor to this part ..." Forgive me, I don't know car engines too well, that's why I hire people. If he tells me, "Hey, the carburetor is all fixed, but I just wanted to inform you that if you continue to drive 97 miles an hour, it's going to put pressure on your transmission because this carburetor still needs to be broken in, and that could happen."   Every time I go to this mechanic, or every time he sends me an email reminder, he's given me information about my car and how I can do things to make it run better, and how if it gets worse, I need to make sure I call him. Well, first of all, he's staying top of mind with me. Second of all, he's building trust with education. People love experts. They love experts. They want to hear what makes you good, what makes you so smart, and you're talking about things that are relative to me and that I care about. When I have a problem, or I need something, or I'm looking to finally hire, I'm going to go to that company.   That's kind of the vision that we have a Cerasis. We think of ourselves in the marketing side of things, at least, and the sales process, much more as a publication than a company blog. We look at ourselves much more as a community, the manufacturing and distribution community at large, than we do as just trying to market to people. You have to really believe your own vision of that. You can't just be doing it because, "I'm in marketing. I'm tasked with this. My goal is to drive awareness. My goal is to drive leads." I'm not saying that's not what you're trying to do. Of course, that's your goal. You're driven by a vision of truly caring about creating a community, built and underlined by passion of your target audience.   Bruce McDuffee: Good. Makes sense. I imagine at this point in the podcast, there's probably some folks out there saying to themselves, "Well, this all sounds great." They're probably a little excited about it, and they want to do some of these things we're talking about to get the awareness, and the credibility, and the positioning as an expert, but the reality is they can't, or don't want to invest in marketing as a function, and with whether it's people or budget. Usually, it goes back to what we talked about earlier, that the leadership won't get on board. If a guy out there or a girl out there listening today, has a boss or a VP sales, whoever it is, that just doesn't understand it, what can they do today to start the conversation rolling?   Adam Robinson: You know, that's a really good question. I don't think you're going to be well served saying, "We really got to be Tweeting. We really got to be doing these tactical things." For example, my bosses, when they hired me, they hired a bunch ... The company never marketed before. They interviewed a whole bunch of people who were probably looking at doing more traditional things like newspaper ads, and magazine ads, and a bunch of trade shows, and those kinds of things. I came in, and I think I got the job because I didn't focus on necessarily, "We're going to be Tweeting or distributing in LinkedIn groups." I focused on the value and the outcome of what this could do, or what the purpose of it is." I became more strategic.   Just because we're using new tools for marketing, content marketing, social media, digital marketing, retargeting and advertising through digital means or email marketing, doesn't mean that a business owner who is an entrepreneur at heart, can't understand marketing and business fundamentals. You have to keep it fundamental. You have to tell them the purpose of why we're engaging in digital marketing. It's as simple as this, "Hey, boss, you told me your goal for the company was to grow by twenty million. Okay, great. You told me your marketing goals was to increase our brand awareness, and we hope that you can generate more inbound leads and more people coming to us instead of our sales reps having to cold call. Well, that's fantastic. I've developed a plan that is both going to benefit us in the short-term and the long-term. In the short-term, we're going to make sure we continue to reach this target audience."   You have to speak in those fundamental languages, and those fundamental words that people can understand. When you start coming out there with industry jargon, maybe they understand it, but what it the value of search engine optimization, right? What is the value of that long-term payoff? What is the value of going into these LinkedIn groups? If your boss asked those questions, you have to be willing to answer those fundamental questions.   "Well, I'm going to go into LinkedIn groups because this oil and gas group has 200,000 people, and I'm going to be able to reach a potential of 200,000 decision makers with our content that educates them. Boss, you and I both know that people love experts, and they want to be educated. I want to make us look like the authority, so that when they think of somebody to help them out with oil and gas manufacturing product, they're going to think of us. Oh yeah, while we're putting out this content that they're going to trust and engage with in the short term as we distribute that to get their eyeballs on it, I'm going to be doing search engine optimization tactics." The boss goes, "What the heck did you just say to me?"   I say, "Okay, boss, all that really means is, when's the last time you went to Google.com to search for a product or service. I guarantee you he goes, "This morning." I'm like, "Exactly, because you're searching for an answer. We're going to create content that answers our target audience's questions, whether it's about X, Y, or Z they care about, or even the things that we specifically do. Well, boss, it's going to take a long time. Search engine take a while for you to build up authority, and we just don't have it yet. In the short term, we're going to be doing these tactical things to bring eyeballs and awareness to us of our target audience." Speak in their language. Don't go too jargony with it, and focus on value.   Bruce McDuffee: Exactly. The boss is asking himself, "What's in it for me" when he's interviewing you or asking you these questions. Tell him what's in it for him, just like Adam just explained. Good. That brings us to the next part of the show, Adam, which is the challenge question. Folks out there listening, send in your question, keep them coming, email them to me bruce@mmmatters.com, or go to the website, and just find the menu for podcast challenge, fill out the form, send them in. I'll pose the question to one of our guest experts.   Today, our question comes from a plastics manufacturers in upstate New York. By the way, they're usually anonymous, or white-labeled like this. Here's the question, Adam, "We're a mid-sized injection molding company. We're having a tough time competing with the low price production out of China. We keep getting underbid, and I can't reduce my prices any lower than they already are. I read your book, the New Way to Market for Manufacturing, and I'm interested in how I can grow by sharing my expertise, and not pitching our service. My concern is that it might take up to a year to start seeing results. Is that true? Is there a way to get fast results? What do you think, Adam? What would you advise?   Adam Robinson: Sure. I think there's a couple of key parts to that question, three parts that I'm going to specifically address. You talk about low price, and the worry of China displacing you, because everybody's so cost-centric. That's true. That's reality. That happens. I think I would tell that person, "I bet you tell your sales people to focus on value." You said it yourself, expertise, you want to show them your expertise. If you've heard everything that we said today in this podcast, you know one thing that I think is important, that people still want to do business with people, and that you have to show your expertise. You have the expertise and the value, so create that content plan and start creating content with that.   Now, I'm not here to promise that the moment you start creating that content, that you're going to start getting leads and new customers, because that's not reality, and you have to set that expectation with yourself, because if you master some of these things and you start creating content and distributing in these things like LinkedIn groups, or you start building up your Twitter followers, it's going to take a while before people start building trust in your expertise. You don't just come out of the womb as an expert, you build that trust with whatever community you are, but every single day you don't do that, is a day wasted to start building it, so I would say don't be hesitant to start.   Now, after a while, if you continue to create content that human beings and your target audience actually care about, and you make sure that you're doing some really good on-page search engine optimization practices, and frankly that's just making sure that every piece of content you write is centered around a pretty centralized idea, Google will start [inaudible 00:34:34] your content, and start putting you in search engines. That might take a year to pay off, it depends on your market and your niche, and how well people are receiving your content, or sharing it or picking it up on other sites, those always super charge your search engine results.   What can you do in the short-term? Well, you can always advertise in social media and sponsor your content. You can always start distributing it into those groups, and that will help, but it's amazing that what Facebook ads and LinkedIn sponsored updates can do for you. It's also amazing that you can take possibly an email prospect list, or maybe you went to a trade show and you gathered email marketing, or emails from people that you talk to. You can give it for like constant contact that is as cheap as, I think, $79 a month. As you grow your list, that price increases, but you can email people any new content that you put out there. That's a good way to get people back to your website. I would say, you have to make sure that when you're targeting with these ads, or email marketing, that you want to make sure that it's relevant. When you're gathering email addresses, or anything like that, you want to make sure that you categorize them properly.   If you're talking like for example at Cerasis, I probably wouldn't email something regarding to how the internet of things affects manufacturing companies to my distribution lists, my distribution companies list, people who are distributors. You want to make sure that matches up. Do your due diligence whenever you're advertising to set your targeting to the appropriate people. Those are some short-term things that you can do, advertise, social media distribution, and email marketing to power that content that you're creating.   I think a lot of people often waste the effort that they put into one blog by publishing it and moving in. They forget to distribute it more than once. They forget to advertise it. They forget to use it in the sales process. They forget to blast it out through email marketing. Work that content until the search engine results start coming in. That is going to take anywhere from 90 to more days before you start seeing that traffic.   Bruce McDuffee: Okay. Good answer. Thanks, Adam. My two cents would be yes, it does take time to position your brand or your company as a go-to expert, as it takes time to get that top of mind awareness and that credibility in the market place, and you do that just like you're starting out asking the question about sharing expertise. Find that paying point that's common among your target audience, create content that addresses the paying point. That gets you to that position. Yes, that can take six months to a year.   However, there are a couple of tactics, just like Adam mentioned, a couple of tactics where you can get pretty fast results. One of them is, I've found is very effective for getting your qualified lead list, is an educational webinar. Create a webinar that shares expertise about that paying point, because people have to register for a webinar, they give you their information. If you have a pretty good sized internal data base, you could probably get a few hundred people right off just from that database, people who have forgotten about you, perhaps.   The second way to get quick results is set up an E-newsletter that also shares content. For the questioner, note that I didn't say anything about pitching that product, because that's not going to work, right, Adam?   Adam Robinson: Bruce, you probably get Cerasis' newsletter every day when we put out a piece of new content.   Bruce McDuffee: Yeah. It's good stuff. Absolutely. It's like we've been saying all day, if you put out relevant, helpful, useful information, your audience is going to like it, and they're going to start associating that with you and your brand. Then, when the day comes around and they're ready to buy, you're going to get the call.   Adam Robinson: You know what, when we go to conferences with UPS, FedEx, right, these are name-brand companies, multi-billion dollar companies, I can't tell you .... The greatest feeling in the world is when their VP's come up to you and go, "How many people do you have working in your marketing department, because every time we Google anything in this industry, Cerasis is beating us. Why are you beating us? You guys must have just a whole bunch of marketing budget and a whole bunch of people." I said, "Now, up until last April, it was just me." This is possible with one person. The reality is that you just have to put everything you can into it and hustle it, and you can compete with the big guys. There's no greater feeling than to look at a guy from a company who's worth a billion more dollars than your company, and you eat them for lunch when it comes to search engine optimization.   Bruce McDuffee: There you go. It's doable, folks. It is doable.   Adam Robinson: Absolutely. Just Google freight class, and see who shows up when it comes to freight class. That's all I'm saying.   Bruce McDuffee: Well, Adam, to close out, do you have ... I always ask our guest experts to share one or two actionable takeaways. Is there one or two takeaways you'd like to leave with our audience? It could be a summary of something we've talked about, or a couple of nuggets they can do right away. What do you have for us?   Adam Robinson: When it comes to starting or venturing content and social media marketing, or trying to improve a program that you've already launched, I would say just don't stress yourself out too much. What I mean by that is just be human. Think of yourself in human terms. Remind yourself that although this is the internet, that more than ever, people want to connect with other people, that people want to read information that brings them value, so give that to them, and don't be afraid to give that to them. Don't be afraid to make mistakes either. That's what's great about all of this, is that you have analytics at the back end of all of this stuff. When I did this type of content, how many people responded in social media? Did this drive enough lead? Let the data be your guide, and don't be afraid to put it out there.   I've got to tell you, we write a blog post every day. We have a lot of planning in that content plan to achieve that. A lot of people go, "Well, how do you do that?" I go, "Because sometimes, I don't have a blog post for that day," but sometimes when I just kind of write out a post and put it out there in the world, I could tell you five times out of ten, those posts that I didn't plan, that I just wrote passionately, thinking about my target audience to give them what they wanted, those are the best performing posts that I always have, because it's devoid of paralysis by analysis, and it's full of passion. Just don't be afraid to put yourself out there, and meet your expectations, or don't meet them, but use the data to continue to improve.   Bruce McDuffee: Great takeaway. Thanks. Finally, Adam, anything you'd like to share with our audience about yourself or your company?   Adam Robinson: Well, myself, I absolutely love this stuff. I think you will too if you just put the passion behind it, you'll never work a day in your life. I never feel like I'm working, so I have the best job at my company. Speaking of my company, I'm really honored to be able to tell their story. I'm very lucky to have not to have convinced my bosses that this is important, they gave me that full autonomy. I know not everybody has that, but if you just simply are on the same page with your leadership, and you can get them to realize that there is value to this, and then you start to do it, and you prove it with your results, then it's going to be a fun experience.   Cerasis is such a great company to think that way. They built one of the first web-based transportation management systems before Google was even a company, back in 1997. They've not been afraid to innovate and put themselves out there. It's an extension to me. I feel a duty to my owners to tell their story. There's nothing more fun in the world. I'm completely blessed to be doing it as a job.   Bruce McDuffee: Adam, thank you so much for being a guest today on Manufacturing Marketing Matters.   Adam Robinson: Thanks for having me, Bruce. I enjoyed it.   Bruce McDuffee: That was Adam Robinson, marketing manager at Cerasis. For more information about Adam and Cerasis, visit the Guest Bio page, and see the show notes at mmmatters.com. If you like what we're talking about and other things we share in the podcast, and you want to take advantage of this type of opportunity in your market, at MMI, here we can help you. Take that first step. Go to the Contact page and we'll set up a free 30-minute consultation.   Thanks for listening to Manufacturing Marketing Matters. If you find this podcast helpful and useful, please subscribe at iTunes or Stitcher.com. You can download this episode on mmmatters, and get the show notes, and learn more about the podcast at mmmatters.com. I'm Bruce McDuffee, now let's go out and advance the practice of market and manufacturing today.  

Summary: The lads talk about Thanksgiving and of course with it being the semester midterm break, the Zombie Game is back! How will you survive? Oh and this midterm break is going to be a bit longer than usual. Thw WYM Crew will be back December 1st! In the Studio: Dan Ken Critter Cocktail du Jour: Bourbon Spiked Hot Apple Cider -4 cups apple cider -1 cinnamon stick -1 tablespoon orange juice -3 whole cloves -1 star anise -Bourbon To make the hot cider: Place the apple cider, cinnamon stick, orange juice, cloves and star anise in a small pot and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer for 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat and strain into a pitcher. To make the drink: -In glass add 2 oz bourbon and 1 cup of the cider mix. -Garnish with an orange slice and stick of cinnamon. Drink the delicious apple pie tasting boozey concoction! Quote du Jour: Doofer - Hey look at this. Do you think I will look good in this? Like with the this, with the mid drift and the thing. Dave - No, no. You need to more of something more. Something to accentuate your curves more. Adam - WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON HERE?! Dave - What's your problem? Adam - What's my problem? Where do I fucking start? My bra is rubbing me raw. I have a fat ass. And I have twisted my ankle three times today. Dave - Why are you wearing heels? We are in college. No ones wearing heels. Doofer - Heels are out man. Last year. Hello? Adam - Dude they make my legs look slimmer. I HAVE A FAT ASS! Adam / Adina, Dave / Daisy, and Doofer / Roberta - Sorority Boys Intro/Outro music from Haggis Rampant’s new album, “Burly!” Links: Facebook – www.facebook.com/wympodcast Twitter – twitter.com/wymshow – @wymshow iTunes – itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/watch…d1065059804?mt=2 Sound Cloud –@watchyourmouthpodcast Stitcher – www.stitcher.com/podcast/watch-your-mouth-podcast Spreaker – www.spreaker.com/show/watch-your-mouth-podcast Merchandise – www.cafepress.com/wymmerch

In a 24 hour period there were terrorist attacks in Baghdad, Beirut and Paris by suicide bombers and shooters in what are being attributed to the work of ISIS terrorists. The world is reeling. Countries are debating closing their borders to refugees, communities are dealing with the strains of fear, and we are all left with hard questions. What is going on? What are we going to do about it? What do we do when peace eludes us? And in this episode, listeners weigh in with questions of their own. LISTENER QUESTIONS FROM FACEBOOK   Well, i do have a couple questions in regards to the paris tragedy. First... would you condone the waterboarding of 5 people if it were to prevent a terrorist attack like Paris? Second, If someone was caught for a terrorist attack on a scale of this size, does the death penalty get enacted? Third,,, With the refugees from Syria being a pipeline for terrorists to move into locations, do you stop the syrian refugees from coming in to places, or do you develop another solution. Perhaps set up a temporary refugee camp in an isolated area? Perhaps greenland? Is it fair to jeopardize our own country by exposing ourselves to a known terrorist threat? Sorry if these questions seem harsh, but i know that people are going to be responding to these events in a variety of ways. -Tommy What do you feel is the best way to discourage the xenophobia that results from terrorist attacks like these? Also, the go-to response seems to be retaliation. As followers of Christ, do you feel this is an acceptable response? -Ross What are the costs of non violent response? How do we react in ways that both engage the pain and suffering of the victims while acknowledging the imago dei, even in those branded our "enemies?" -Adam What are your thoughts on the French cartoonist asking people to stop praying for Paris? In situations like these are some forms of compassion or empathy inferior to others? -Mia RELEVANT LINKS Beirut, Baghdad and Paris: how 24 hours of Isis terror unfolded around the world (article) How to Break a Terrorist (book) Bush Directly Authorized Use Of Waterboarding, Still Rejects 'Torture' Classification In New Book (article) Believe Me, It’s Torture (article about voluntary waterboarding of reporter) Kafka Comes to America (book) Shunning refugees is no answer to terror (article) Why Syrian refugee passport found at Paris attack scene must be treated with caution (article)On Paris (Culturemakers article) Xenophobia – Nothing to Fear but Everyone – 030 (irenicast episode) Muslims Against Terrorism (website) Words matter in ‘ISIS’ war, so use ‘Daesh’ (article) Beyond Jihad (excerpt) Paris: You Don’t Want to Read This (Peter Van Buren article) Why ISIS Attacked Paris (article) Ethics (Bonhoeffer book) Paris & Peace (Storied Theology article) What I Discovered From Interviewing Imprisoned ISIS Fighters (article) Charlie Hebdo cartoonist doesn’t want you to pray for Paris (article) Letter From Birmingham City Jail (excerpts) Beirut, Baghdad, Paris and selective grief (article) Dunbar’s Number (wikipedia article) Russell Brand Has The Solution To Terrorism. Everyone Needs To Hear This. (youtube video) Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence (book) THANK YOU Thank you to Mike Golin for our intro and outro music.  Check out his band Soulwise. WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU Thank you for supporting the podcast!  Your ratings, reviews and feedback are not only encouraging to us personally, but they help others find the show.  If you appreciate the content we provide please rate, review and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes and Stitcher.   Join our conversations on faith and culture by interacting with us through the following links:   Read Us on our blog An Irenicon Email Us at podcast@irenicast.com Follow Us on Twitter and Google+ Like Us on Facebook Listen to Us on iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud and TuneIn Speak to Us on our Feedback Page Love Us

Expisode 300 – Coach Andrew Kastor and much frivolity… (Audio: link) [audio:http://www.RunRunLive.com/PodcastEpisodes/epi4300.mp3] Link epi4300.mp3 Intro: Hello my friends and welcome to episode 300 of the RunRunLive podcast.  For those of you who have been friends for a bit you’ll realize that this is a necessary departure from our standard format to celebrate our Tri-centennial.  For those of you who may be new to our little endurance sports journal, well you’ll just have to figure it out by listening to some of the other shows.   Thanks you to Tony for the marathon prayer intro.  Tony does a regular segment called Tony’s Trials on the Marathon Talk UK Podcast (link).  One of our executive editors, Alex form the UK got permission from them for us to use it.  Marathon Talk UK -> All about running. A weekly podcast dedicated to keeping you on the inside track to successful running. Presented by Martin Yelling and Tom Williams Tony Audenshaw - Tony's Trials I’m guessing we are going to go long today, so you’d better schedule a long run or ride or whatever for this one.  I’ve invited some of my friends to submit audios and I’m going to be completely frivolous and indiscrete with too many musical interludes.  Just sit back and let it wash over you like a wave of warm molasses.  Chill out.  No rules for this one.  It’s going to be a long show and the format is going to be different than usual, but you want to hang around until the end because the ASICS team has asked me to give some shoes away and I’ll set up the contest in the show outro.  Everybody likes free shoes.   It’s been a long run, huh?  We’ve seen births and deaths and marriages and divorces.  The cycle of life.  For everything there is a season and you’ve certainly ornamented my life for the better through these many seasons.   In today’s 300th official episode I’m going to talk about community at some point and this strange and wonderful long distance relationship we all share wrapped around our sports.  I may tell a zombie story, for the Halloween season, just for fun.   I’ve gathered up some guest commentary for you to enjoy, if for no other reason than to quiet the voices in your head.  But, Fear not! We are going to wrap all the frivolity around a great interview with coach Andrew Kastor who I met through the ASICS NYC marathon Editor’s Choice boondoggle, I mean ‘program’.  I really enjoyed talking to Andrew about altitude training and geeking out on training topics in general.   It’s a great running-content-rich interview and I feel I’m doing it a disservice by sandwiching it into all this 300th episode frooforal.  Nothing significantly new in my training.  I’m feeling fairly strong.  I got a nice 2:30 long run in over the weekend that was significant in that I was able to maintain my HR and pace consistently throughout without power failure.  Too many of my long runs over the summer ended with a death march – so I think that’s progress.   I’m still trying to find my racing speed.  Maybe it’s gone for good.  I appear to be healthy, so maybe I’m just entering a new phase of slowness.  It really doesn’t matter because either way I’m going to get up every day and throw myself at my workouts as part of my balance.   With the MCM and NYC coming up in couple weeks on back to back weekends my plan is not to race them but instead try to walk away healthy.  Then we can throw in a targeted cycle for either a mid-winter race or a spring race.  I’m looking at some shorter stuff too to fill the gaps.   Looking forward to some grand adventures with new and old friends alike.  So…my friends, bear with me as we take off our shirts and dance on the tables today, throwing all rigor and caution to the wind, because, hey, we’re among friends, and friends take the time to celebrate their accomplishments.   On with the show!  Steve Runner What can you say about Steve that hasn’t been said?  He’s the five-star General of running podcasts – a landmark – a fixture – a guiding light for all of us.  And, even though I know he doesn’t listen to my show he caught on to the zombie theme and submitted a slickly produced mini-episode.  Brilliant as always.  Katy Thereux It always warms my heart when I hear from women who listen to the show and get something out of it.  Katy sent me this very nice missive.  Apparently we resonate in some way through the universal mastermind.  That’s one of the dynamics of the digital world – your ideas can slip free of the physical and resonate with like minds in the ether.  Section One The Sleepless in Seattle Effect - http://runrunlive.com/sleepless-in-seattle-effect Music -> Bombskare –“I’m so Happy!” Carlos I’ve been listening to Carlos and watching him run through his beloved Pacific Northwest Mountains and forest for many years.  I would have never had the opportunity to know Carlos if it wasn’t for being part of the online running community.  He’s always got the Grateful Dead playing in the background.  It seems like an idyllic life to me, running in the forest and listening to the dead.  How could it get any better?  Ann Brennan So sometimes in the digital world you get to meet actual crazy people.  I’ve had the great pleasure of meeting Ann and her husband and kids and I’ve learned a lot from her trials and resiliency and openness.   If everything goes right I’ll get to eat dinner at her place with the Miles to end Prostate cancer team before the Marine Corp Marathon.  The world is a better place with Ann’s life force.   Steve Chopper Steve was one of the original running podcasters with his high quality show “A mile with me” I always aspired to be as professional as Steve.  His first shows were works of art, like BBC documentaries.  I’ve met Steve in the flesh and broken bread with him.  When we met we immediately bonded and of course we ran and raced each other like kids in the schoolyard.  Featured Interview Coach Andrew Kastor http://www.coachkastor.com/about/ About The Coach Andrew started his running career in the early 1990’s, at the young age of 14, when he competed in cross county, track and road racing while attending Fountain Valley High School in Southern California. He then went on to pursue a degree in Exercise Physiology (B.S. 2000) from Adams State University in Alamosa, Colorado. While in college, Andrew’s commitment to the sport of running continued to grow, as he competed in cross-country and track, specializing in the middle-distance events. Post-graduation, Andrew moved to Mammoth Lakes, California, where he created and coached a non-profit running club called the High Sierra Striders. He is now the head coach for the ASICS Mammoth Track Club and the LA Road Runners. Andrew currently resides in Mammoth Lakes with his wife Deena (Olympic Marathon bronze medalist and American Record holder in the marathon and half-marathon) and their daughter, Piper Bloom. Music Big D and the Kid’s Table – “Myself” Duane Hespell Comment:  Obviously I caught Duane on a good day.  I think he was just waiting for a chance to bust out with some creative audio.  He went all extra-mile on me.  That’s another fun thing about our community – you discover people’s hidden talents! Thanks Duane.   Maryro Mendez comment I’ve been having conversations with this young lady for a long time but I seldom hear her voice!  Wow! What an amazing voice!  I can die happy now.  We made a bet one time when we both had marathons on the same weekend. I happened to have a decent race so I won!  I don’t care so much about the lobster dinner but I am happy to have made a friend that I’m grateful for.   Section Two:  Zombie Apocalypse - http://runrunlive.com/zombie-apocalypse-300-act-one Peter Herridge I first got to know Peter through Phedipidations as he and Steve traded philosophical arguments.  Peter is a thoughtful man and I enjoy listening to him turn big thoughts over in his head and look at them in a fresh, learned and interesting way.  I’d never get that chance if it wasn’t for joining this community and my life would be poorer for it.  Eddie and Adam: What does it sound like when two long lost friends get together after a long absence and start drinking craft beer?  I guess this bit from Eddie and Adam answers that question.  I’ve spent time with both these guys and can confirm that when they’re not addled on homebrew they’re both way smarter than I am.  I’m hoping someday my association with them rubs off and I graduate to a better person because of it.  Outro:  Drag your tired body out of the mud.  Push back the ravenous hoards.  Celebrate! We’ve come to a milestone.  We’ve survived.  We’ve grown. We’ve run, we’ve run some more and maybe we’ve even lived a little.  I hope to keep that streak alive.  Frankly, I’m not sure what the show format is going to be going forward but I will do what I can to fill the void, to light a candle, to shine my feeble light into the dark and murky corners and find forgotten or unnoticed treasures, to weave into the tapestry of our mutual, digital experience.   ASICS Gel Kayano 21 NYC Shoe Give Away! Go here & post a comment to win some shoes -> http://runrunlive.com/asics-gel-kayano-21-nyc-shoe-give-away My friends at ASICS America want me to give away a pair of NYC GEL-Kayano 21.  These are $160 shoes.   I’ve never run in them (although I’m up to 5 different pairs of shoes that I’m testing to run NYC in ).  They are decribed on the ASICS website as follow.  The new GEL-Kayano® 21 NYC special edition was made for the 2014 TCS New York City Marathon and is updated with nothing but the best in ASICS technical innovation, featuring the next generation of FluidRide™ and an Ortholite X-40 sockliner for the lightest and most luxuriously stable ride yet. Mild to moderate overpronators will run the streets of New York City in secure comfort, thanks to the new uniquely designed FluidFit™ upper and Heel Clutching System™. So, it sounds like a light stability shoe.  If that sounds like something you want I’ve set up a post on my website at RunRunLive.com and all you have to do is go register.   We’ll pick a winner on NYC race weekend.  Just make sure you give a real email address when you’re posting or we won’t be able to find you!  So my friends, as hard as it is to find the time to slap a show together every couple weeks, I really do enjoy it.  If it wasn’t for the RunRunLive Podcast to keep me occupied I clearly would have written a best-selling novel by now, and then I would have sold the rights to Hollywood, gone out there, hooked up with the drugs, the alcohol and starlets with questionable morals. I would have gotten divorced, and I’d be sleeping in my own filth in a West Hollywood gutter right now...so you’ve saved me from all that.  I am almost done with my MarathonBQ book.  15 chapters in.  I had a couple people raise their hands for editing and I sent them drafts, but never heard from them again…  It took longer than a month but I wouldn’t have gotten it done at all if I hadn’t challenged myself.  I’ll edit and polish it up and do a launch in the next couple months.   Here’s an actual value added tip that I heard a couple weeks ago.  When you work on a creative process the emotional energy and momentum is shaped like a ‘U’.  When you first start you are all excited and full of energy and you make progress quickly, like the straight side of the ‘U’.   Then when you get part way through you start to realize all the things that need to be worked out and you get mired down.  You start going sideways into distracting offshoot.  You lose your momentum and your excitement for the project.  This is the bent part at the bottom of the ‘U’.   It is here that many people give up on their creative projects.  It becomes work and the light at the end of the tunnel seems so far away.  This is where experience helps.  You might say this phase of the creative project is similar to ‘the dark place’ that I talk about in training cycles.   You have to put your head down, soldier on and push through.   Then as you approach the end of the creative project everything start to coalesce.  It all starts coming together.  Everything becomes clear and it is joyous again as you wrap things up and birth the finished product.  This is the other straight side of the ‘U’.   Remember the ‘U’ process and it will help you stick to your path when things get hard.  It’s been close to 2 years since we rolled out version 3.0 of the RunRunLive podcast.  As always you can find me on Gmail or most social networks as CYKTRussell.  All of my slightly bent U-shaped projects are available at my website RunRunLive.com.   And you know what?   I’ll see you out there.  Music: Tim Armstrong – “Hold on”  Music in this show (All from Music Alley and Podsafe!)  The High Fidelics – “Spy_Smasher” The High Fidelics – “Mondo Rondo” The Vibro-tones – “Nova Express” The Vanes – “Bad Mea or Good Cheese” Benuts – Turn off your radio” The Fighting Cocks – “No Candy” The Fashionistas – Keep it underground” Big D and the Kid’s Table – “Myself” 20 Riverside – “Throwin it down beside the sea” Unsteady – “Tokyo” Bombskare –“I’m so Happy!” Tim Armstrong – “Hold on”  

Adam Bryant - Don't you wish you could get inside the minds of the top CEO's in the world to learn the secrets of their success? That's exactly what our guest this week has done. Adam is the author of Quick and Nimble; Lessons from Leading CEOs on How to Create a Culture of Innovation. His book is a summation of many of the lessons and anecdotes he has learned through hundreds of interviews with top CEO's as part of his Corner Office' series in The New York Times. Prior to working at The New York Times, Adam was a senior writer and business editor at Newsweek magazine. "The best CEO's don't have all the right answers, they have all the right questions." -Adam Bryant Quotes from Adam: What we learn in this episode: Are CEO's born leaders or do they pick it up along the way? How do CEO's lead inside their company as opposed to within their industry? What qualities do CEO's have that explains why they get promoted all the way to the corner office? Resources: Quick and Nimble; Lessons from Leading CEOs on How to Create a Culture of Innovation http://adambryantbooks.com/ Corner Office' series in The New York Times Twitter: @nytcorneroffice