Podcasts about Afia

In this second episode of KWM's FS Reg Room Podcast, host Nathan Hodge is joined by KWM Technology law Partners Cheng Lim and Bryony Evans to explore the dynamic world of generative AI and its potential to revolutionise the financial services industry. The discussion covers use cases, adoption trends, and the potential long-term effects of AI technology, including soon-to-be-released research from Sapere and KWM for AFIA on the economic and associated benefits of Gen AI implementation in the finance industry. The experts explore the misconceptions surrounding AI, the barriers to its implementation, the regulatory landscape that governs its use and important considerations for any reform. Tune in to discover how generative AI is reshaping the industry and the steps organisations can take to harness its potential while managing associated risks. 

Is the plant-based meat boom going bust? Despite early excitement and big investments, some brands are in the midst of turbulent times and an uncertain future. The hosts weigh in. Plus, Babak Bina, co-founder of BCB3 Hospitality Group, shares how a deep commitment to guest experience and a love for cultural cuisine helped him develop some of the city's most acclaimed restaurants. Show notes: 0:45: Head South. Point (Coffee) Break. Big Names, Live. A Beyond Meati Problem. Dink-Tinis & More. –  The hosts recap Taste Radio's vibrant Austin meetup and share red hot news in the business of RTD coffee. They also highlight recently announced founders and operators that will be speaking at BevNET Live Summer 2025, including Kurt Seidensticker of Vital Proteins and Melvin Landis of Olipop. The hosts riff on the stunning downfall of plant-based meat company Meati as well as another poor quarter for Beyond and analyze the broader implications for the alt-meat space. Ray gets everyone's attention with a collaboration between The Botanist Gin and Prince, which have teamed up to serve “pickleball cocktails,” before John and Mike break out lemonade-flavored potato chips and a goat milk “lamb skewer” chocolate bar. Jacqui chats about an avocado-based tea, and Ray showcases new meat sticks from The New Primal and Archer.  29:09: Babak Bina, Co-Founder, BCB3 Hospitality Group – A towering presence in Boston's culinary scene for nearly four decades, Babak is a renowned restaurateur whose influence stretches far beyond the dining room. Known for his unwavering focus on hospitality and a bold commitment to innovative, globally inspired cuisine, he has helped shape the city's food culture in lasting ways. In this episode, Babak shares insights into how he educates diners without alienating them, why pushing a city's culinary boundaries matters, and what it takes to craft experiences that go well beyond just great food. He also discusses his philosophy of leading by example – whether it's mopping the floor or bussing a table – and how culture starts at the top. Brands in this episode: Wundereggs, Super Coffee, Afia, Better Sour, Nebula Snacks, NUFS, Jolene, Vital Proteins, Olipop, Polar, Meati, Beyond, Impossible, The Botanist, Essentia, Utz, Alex's Lemonade Stand, New Primal, Archer, Kesssho, Avsome, HOP WTR

L'éducation spirituelle selon Cheikhoul Khadim (Par Serigne Afia Ahmad NIANG) - copyright Magal Qasida 2025

No “Estadão Analisa” desta terça-feira, 08, Carlos Andreazza comenta sobre falas do presidente Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva que relativizou o efeito, sobre o Brasil, das medidas do presidente dos EUA, Donald Trump, que vêm assombrando os mercados com o temor de recessão mundial e afirmou que o País continuará crescendo. “Mesmo (o presidente dos EUA, Donald) Trump falando o que ele quer falar, o País está seguro hoje porque nós temos um colchão de US$ 350 bilhões, que dá ao Brasil e ao (ministro da Fazenda) Fernando Haddad uma certa tranquilidade”, disse, nesta segunda-feira, 7, na cerimônia de anúncio de investimentos e contratações do Mercado Livre em Cajamar, na Grande São Paulo. Lula destacou ainda que, antes de assumir a presidência pela primeira vez, em 2003, o Brasil estava “quebrado” e devia ao Fundo Monetário Internacional (FMI). Ele voltou a expressar o desejo de impulsionar a indústria automobilística. “Quando nós deixamos o governo em 2010, a indústria automobilística vendeu 3,6 milhões de carros. Eu voltei 15 anos depois, e a indústria automobilística estava vendendo 2 milhões de carros a menos. E agora já recuperou e queremos terminar o mandato vendendo o mesmo que vendia em 2010″, afirmou. Leia mais: https://www.estadao.com.br/economia/lula-quero-pais-classe-media-tem-gente-que-acha-queremos-comer-carne-segunda/ Apresentado pelo colunista Carlos Andreazza, programa diário no canal do Estadão no YouTube trará uma curadoria dos temas mais relevantes do noticiário, deixando de lado o que é espuma, para se aprofundar no que é relevante. Assine por R$1,90/mês e tenha acesso ilimitado ao conteúdo do Estadão. Acesse: https://bit.ly/oferta-estadao O 'Estadão Analisa' é transmitido ao vivo de segunda a sexta-feira, às 7h, no Youtube e redes sociais do Estadão. E depois, fica disponível no Spotify, Deezer, Apple Podcasts, Google podcasts, ou no agregador de podcasts de sua preferência. Apresentação: Carlos AndreazzaEdição/Pós-produção: Jefferson PerlebergCoordenação: Gabriel Pinheiro e Everton OliveiraSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Este devocional, intitulado “Ferro afia ferro”, reflete sobre Provérbios 27:17, focando na importância de amizades verdadeiras que, como o ferro afia o ferro, nos desafiam e nos levam a crescer espiritualmente. O autor compartilha um testemunho pessoal sobre a sua jornada de isolamento para a abertura a amizades significativas, após realizar o devocional. O texto enfatiza a importância de escolher amigos que falam a verdade, mesmo que isso cause desconforto, pois demonstram amor e preocupação genuínos. Finalmente, o autor encoraja os espectadores a compartilharem seus próprios testemunhos e a se inscreverem no canal da igreja.Curta, compartilhe e inscreva-se para ficar atualizado com os nossos conteúdos!Para saber mais sobre nossa igreja:Site: https://igrejaprojeto4.com.br/Faça seu pedido de Oração: https://igrejaprojeto4.com.br/pedidosFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/p4church/Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/igrejaprojeto4/Podcast:  https://igrejaprojeto4.com.br/p4cast/Youtube:  https://www.youtube.com/@IgrejaProjeto4Culto online todos os domingos no YouTube!

O novo ID.EVERY1 deverá ser lançado em 2027 e terá um preço indicativo de 20 mil euros na AlemanhaSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

AFIA President and CEO Constance Cullman shares insights on the potential impacts of Trump's executive orders, trade relations with Mexico and Canada, and evolving sustainability initiatives in the feed industry.

I'm an Uber driver in US – Afia Schwarzenegger confirms

Rajaie Batniji, MD, PhD, Afia Asamoah, JD, and Sanjay Basu, MD, PhD, cofounders of Waymark, join Vineeta Agarwala, MD, PhD, a16z Bio + Health general partner, to discuss their transformative approach to Medicaid care delivery. This episode dives into their rising risk signal prediction framework, where cutting-edge machine learning predicts patient needs and enables community-based care teams to reduce preventable ER visits and improve health outcomes at scale. The team recently published their real-world results—including a 23% reduction in unnecessary acute care—in the New England Journal of Medicine Catalyst.Additional resources:Supporting Rising-Risk Medicaid Patients Through Early Intervention, NEJM CatalystThe Body Economic: Why Austerity Kills, by David Stuckler and Sanjay Basu

After publicly criticising the Ashanti King, Otumfuo Nana Osei Tutu II, journalist Afia Pokua had to apologise following a strict traditional protocol. BBC Africa's Daniel Dadzie explains how royal apologies work in Ghana, and why Afia didn't get a pardon. Plus, how to say 'I'm sorry' in Urdu, Russian, Korean, Chinese and Tajiki - and why some people in Hong Kong feel taxi drivers owe them an apology, with Martin Yip from BBC Chinese.Produced by Caroline Ferguson, Alice Gioia and Hannah Dean.(Photo: Faranak Amidi. Credit: Tricia Yourkevich.)

This episode is part of Pear VC's series on Medicaid, covering the basics that founders need to know to build innovations that support communities in need. Today, we're excited to get to know Afia Asamoah and Dr. Sanjay Basu. Afia is the Head of Legal and People and Sanjay is the Head of Clinical of Waymark, a value-based primary care enabler for Medicaid.   Founded in 2021, Waymark has raised $87M in funding to date from investors such as Lux Capital, CVS Health Ventures, Andreesen Horowitz and NEA. The company is pioneering in the healthcare space by offering tech-enabled, community-based services to Medicaid beneficiaries, ensuring they receive top-notch care and support. In this episode, we learn about Waymark's differentiated, research-backed, care model for Medicaid and a thoughtful approach to cost-effectiveness that is consistent with the interests of low-income patients.

Efia Odo Vs Sista Afia..Vawulence --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ksspod/support

I'm Mark Reed Edwards. Welcome back to Confessions of a Marketer. This week, we have Ben Afia, who describes himself as a consultant, speaker, and author who's had his fill of cold corporate organizations treating their employees and customers like robots. So his mission is to make businesses more human. And to that end, he has a new book out called The Human Business: How to Love Your Customers So They Love You Back (https://benafia.com/book). I've known Ben probably for about 15 years. We've worked together and he's been on this podcast a number of times. Transcript Ben, it's great to have you back. Ben Afia: Thank you very much for having me on, Mark. It's a pleasure. Mark Reed-Edwards: For those people out in the audience who don't know you, could you just sketch out your career history and how you came to write this book that I'm holding in my hands? Ben Afia: So I started specializing in language at Boots, the chemist in the UK. In that role, I was working in brand strategy. And looking in particular at the voice of the brand and managing copywriting across the business. But I got made redundant about 20 years ago, decided it was time to go solo with a new baby on the way and about to move house, it was the perfect time to start a business. And so it turned out to be so my Boots colleagues went off to various places and encouraged me into companies like Eon, Barclays, Legal and General, and so my freelance career went from there. And I started as a copywriter specializing in brand tone of voice. But clients very quickly were asking me to extend that. So we were looking at the language and this is the language that people might be using in the marketing team, writing communications, but also the language in customer service and throughout the business, indeed. And so we were asked to train people in writing skills, but also in spoken empathy skills. So when the contact center people are on the phone with customers, they are speaking and then confirming things in writing. So that started to extend the work that we were doing. And very quickly, I realized that really what we were doing was change. So I started looking, this is probably 15, 16 years ago when we first worked together, probably thinking about how do we help this change to stick? How do we get the right behaviors throughout an organization? And for me, the change really stems from the brand, from the brand strategy, your vision, purpose, values, behaviors. It's all an extension of the behavior on the front line. So that all of these things join up. And I ended up realizing that really I was working on three things. I was looking at the culture or the employee experience. I was looking at the brand or the brand strategy. And I was also looking at the customer experience. So that's what I ended up trying to pull together in my book because I just needed to organize that thinking in a way that might make sense to the companies that I was working with. And the insight that had come to me was that. Unless you align your culture and your brand, you can't possibly give the experience to customers that you hope. Or that they hope to receive because you end up promising through your marketing, things that you can't deliver through your service. And the only way to join those up is to align culture and brand. Mark Reed-Edwards: And there's nothing more disappointing than to see some kind of marketing campaign that says, you know, our store is a great place to visit. And you go there and there's a disconnect between what you see in their marketing and what you experience. And so what you do is you kind of connect those two. Ben Afia: Totally. A few years ago, I was running a workshop. I had 40 customer service people and the company, who will remain nameless for the moment, had just launched their new brand strategy. So they had a new strapline, a new campaign, and this had gone public. So I had 40 people in customer service in this workshop. And I said, what do you think of your exciting new strategy? 40 faces just looked at me blankly. Nobody bothered to brief them. And this is the disconnect I'm talking about. You know, if you're going to send messages out to your customers, the first people they're going to talk to in your stores, in customer service, they need to know all about it. They need to be briefed. They need to be trained. They need to be ready to deliver that service, to deliver that promise. Mark Reed-Edwards: Many companies think of the brand as just a visual thing, right? So, we redesigned the website, we have a new logo. And maybe a new strap line or something, and maybe some new brand language, but that's kind of where it ends. And it's a top down procedure. I know when you and I worked together, I think about 15 years ago, that project, the verbal identity, tone of voice, rose out of us doing a revamp of the way the company looked. And it became really evident that we needed to not just put a lick of paint on things, but to actually reengineer the way we talk to employees, the way employees talk to customers and partners and so forth. And that's when we called you in and it was maybe the most effective part of the brand revamp that we did because we had to go and enlist people. When you ask people to talk differently, to use different language, you have to train them and you have to engage with them. And that's what we ended up doing. And I think maybe that's why that brand was more successful than it would have been otherwise. Ben Afia: I think that's right because what happens when you ask people to talk differently or write differently is you're actually encouraging different behavior. Because really the speech is only a reflection of the underlying behavior. So the way I think about this is, and the way that I encourage change now is by recruiting a team of champions from throughout the business. So for example, I worked with Aldermore Bank in the UK, the mortgage business. They felt that they were delivering good service and their brokers and their customers were saying so, but they were getting complaints when they confirmed things in writing. And so by recruiting a team of champions, somebody representing every team in the customer journey, we were able to hear from the whole organization and sense and make the connections throughout the customer journey. So from every touch point, every point of contact a customer experiences with the company, we can affect those and we can connect them up and align them. And what very quickly happens when you recruit this team of champions is they make connections and it reveals for them that there are problems in the process, that things aren't quite lining up in the process. But of course this gives them the opportunity to fix it. So this is what I mean by changing behavior. It's the behavior of the organization, the systems and the processes. It's about redesigning them. So that rather than just trying to rewrite letters, which is, I suppose, what you might perceive a rebrand to do. In fact, what we're doing is we're changing the systems, the processes, and therefore the culture. So to me, brand is absolutely, brand is the organization. I think Seth Godin said, "Marketing is everything a customer experiences." Well, a customer experience is everything that you do. So we are all responsible for marketing. We are all responsible for the brand it runs throughout our organization. It's as much the responsibility of the legal team as the branding team. Operations, compliance, you know, whoever, are all making decisions that affect things that customers experience. So all of those people, we have to involve them. Mark Reed-Edwards: Yeah, I mean the back end, how you sign up customers, how you sign up partners, the language you use in your contracts there are obviously some bits of language that you have to use. But you can make your contracts a bit more friendly. You can make the experience for the partner portal more friendly and have it match the experience you say people have with your company rather than just having what you say and what you do be separate things. It's integrating that brand because you know, as you say, the customer, or the partner, or, you know, the person off the street who just comes on your website, experiences the entire thing. They don't just experience your About Us page. You know? Ben Afia: No. And actually I was speaking to the chief exec of Aldermore Bank, who is now at Nationwide in the UK, last week. And he said that really it's about making the connection between the business's strategy and the frontline. And that's the thing that I think a lot of executive teams struggle to do. How do you help people on the frontline to understand the direction and adopt the values and behaviors that you're hoping to encourage? And there's often a big gap. Sometimes you can go to some of the big consultancies and they give you PowerPoint decks of strategy and cultural frameworks. But they don't help you to implement it. They don't help you to drive it through the business and help everyone absorb and feel ownership for that behavior. So that's where I really focus: taking the strategy and translating that into things that people on the front line will understand, and therefore the messages will get out to customers and you get that consistency between strategy and execution to use a bit more jargon. Mark Reed-Edwards: It's a real thing. That's, that's what's so amazing about it. You know, when you train or when you enlist those frontline workers, even earlier in the process, you know, to get their opinion on certain things, it pays dividends. It's not wasted effort. But it can be hard to do. So I kind of want to go through the three parts of your book. And it's broken up into create your employee experience, build a better brand strategy, and energize your customer experience. Before we get into that, did you structure this in kind of a linear fashion? So you need to create your employee experience, and then once you've done that, you can build a better brand strategy and then energize your customer experience? Or can this happen in any order? And then we can dig into the three parts. Ben Afia: Yeah, it's a great question. And the model took a lot of thought actually, and months and months toing and froing. And I remember discussing it with a strategist friend of mine who said, "It's in the wrong order. Surely you start with the customer." And he's right, of course, we do start with the customer. So where might the symptoms show up? Where might the problems occur that this might be a solution to? Well, it will tend to be in customer service. So it will be at the last stage, the last section of the book and the model because your symptoms might be you're getting complaints or escalated complaints to the chief exec are on the rise. It might be that your sales are falling. It might be that your customer attention is dropping or your loyalty measures. So it's going to be at the customer end that you're feeling the pain because those things ultimately have an impact on your cost base and your profitability. So that's when you're going to feel the pain. And often a company will go, "Clearly we need to sort out our customer letters." And they'll see that as a customer letter project. I absolutely believe in starting where the pain is because I find, you know, this can be quite an involved process. It can take some time and it needs some commitment of time, money and leadership. So we need to build the business case internally in order to be able to. You know, get permission to do this work. So I tend to start where there's pain and work to solve that, to have a, to find some quick wins, you know, fairly rapidly, but the reason the model is laid out in that, in, in that order is because the source of knowledge, the source of intelligence within the organization is your people. I genuinely believe that most answers are already within your people. So if we start with the cultural, the employee experience, we are doing what I think of as exploring times that we've been at our best in the past. And this is an approach called "appreciative inquiry" that I've been using for probably the last 10, 12 years. And when we explore these stories of times we've been at our best --and we do this in interviews, in workshops--we find that people have a huge amount in common. It's fantastic team building, but it also gives us brilliant stories that give us evidence for how the organization is at its best. And from these stories, we then have a sense of the values, the behaviors, the things that we valued in common from these best past experiences, and that gives us a fantastic platform to make any change that we need. So I use this exploration to develop all elements of brand strategy because it gives us evidence. It gives us truth from within the organization. But if we're looking to refresh. Anything around the customer experience. So the letters, the emails, the web pages --anything around the customer journey, again, if we start from what we like at our best, then whatever we create at the customer experience end is going to be authentic. It's going to match the organization's ability to deliver. This is coming back to this point about making the promise and being able to deliver on it. So that's the reason these are in the order. Start with understanding what you're like at your best. That's your culture. Express that in your brand, and then you get onto the experience and making that human connection with customers. Mark Reed-Edwards: There was a CEO of HCL Technologies back in 2010, published a book called "Employees First, Customers Second, turning conventional management upside down." His name was Vineet Nair. And it was kind of a startling idea to put your employees first, but it worked very well for them. And it seems like that's what you're doing here. So let's look at part one of your book, Create Your Employee Experience, and you divided it into six parts. Can you just briefly go through how that works? Ben Afia: Absolutely. So we've got I guess within employee experience, we've got five elements. So your heartbeat, alignment, values and behaviors and engagement. So what I mean by heartbeat is feeling the beating heart of the organization. So this is the process I've just described: understanding what you're like at your best, getting people telling these stories of times that they've been at their best at work. Through this, you hear things that give you really genuine language that you can then use to develop your values, your behaviors. Quite often, I mean, in businesses, I'm sure your listeners will recognize, you know, when you see values posters on the walls and these really generic corporate words, you know, they're just on the walls, aren't they? They're not the actual behavior that's going on through the organization. So for me, for this, stuff to work, you need to get to something really genuine and different. And that's what the heartbeat is about. It's feeling the pulse of the organization. And when people tell you those stories, you get really human language coming through and that language gives us clues as to the sorts of words that we can use for our values and behaviors. And that makes it a down to earth, practical, authentic framework. The second step is alignment, and that's about aligning leadership. So when I start a project now, rather than say, starting in operations or marketing to look at a specific problem, I try and encourage the organization to align the people director, brand director, and operations director from the start and then take the message to the wider leadership, because we are absolutely talking about the culture throughout the organization. So the whole of the exec team needs to be involved and your leadership team. The next stages are turning those stories of times we've been at our best into values that feel really authentic. And then a behavior framework, and this is very different from a competency framework, which should be banished now, I think competency is about measuring people for progression. Whereas for me, behavior is about encouraging the behavior that we want to see that stems from our values. So the values and the behaviors are kind of the guiding lights, if you like. And of course, every organization has values. Sometimes they have behavior frameworks. Certainly the larger organizations I work with tend to, but quite often the values feel a bit flat. And so these stories of times we've been into our best are brilliant for bringing these to life and giving more color to them. And what that does for people on the frontline is it helps them to connect with them. And to feel that they're true, because in my experience, training people, you know, people won't change behavior unless they believe that this is the reality that they live within. And then the last stage is engaging the rest of the organization. And again, appreciative inquiry helps us to do that, to reach out throughout the organization. And as you were saying a moment ago, getting everybody on board and engaged in the change. For me, it's about encouraging people across the organization to feel like they're in partnership in creating the kind of organization that they love to work with, love to work for, and to be a part of that process. So that's the first step employee experience. Mark Reed-Edwards: Yeah, and the way you describe it, it provides a perfect kind of launching point or foundation for the second part, which is Build a Better Brand Strategy, because you've enlisted the employees. And they're, they're then invested in it. They're part of it. They're not just told, "Oh, here's the new brand." Ben Afia: Totally. We talked about brand being deep throughout the organization. My view is very strongly that brand is everybody's responsibility. We all own brand. We all are part of the brand. We all contribute to the brand, even though we may not have the job title. So if we start from within, from the employee experience that then yet mobilizes the organization. So then when you create your brand strategy, which I guess is the marketing jargon, isn't it for, I guess, a series of decisions about: Who are we trying to speak to? That's our audience. Why do we exist in the world? What do we set out to do? That's our purpose. How do we want people to think of us when we're not in the room? That's positioning. How do we express that? So that's our personality or identity. And then only at the end of that comes voice, the tone of voice of that expression, and this is, I suppose, a slightly different take on brand strategy. All the big agencies have got their fancy models, haven't they? I can remember when I was at Boots, actually, we had a brand funnel and the brand funnel had pillars and I was. I'm still to this day, I mean, this is over 20 years... Mark Reed-Edwards: Mixded metaphors, huh? Ben Afia: Yeah. If you're going to use a model, you know, if you're gonna use something visual to help people grasp an idea, don't mix those metaphors. Mark Reed-Edwards: Yeah. Ben Afia: And there were just so many words that seemed almost disconnected in a way. So this is why these stories at times were our best, are so important because that gives us the language to tie all of these things together. So the audience bit is about understanding who we're trying to speak to and we need insights. You know, classical marketing is to gather insight on the market and create a product or service to fulfill a need that we've identified. But if we do that alone, often we end up ignoring the culture that has to deliver. That products or service. So that's why we start from within for me. And then the other elements slot into place as you need them. So I suppose there's three sections to the model and these 15 segments, actually, each of them has a chapter in the book and they are all projects that clients have asked me to do for them at some time in the past. So this is all based on work that I've done for clients. But no one company needs all of these 15 things. They might need one thing or they might need three or four. So the idea behind the model is that we can pick and choose. We could acknowledge the things that already exist within the organization. You know, I mentioned values in the last bit. Most organizations have values. Sometimes they want to refresh them. So we might need, we might be able to leave the values alone for now, or we might want to refresh them, check that they still resonate and create stories to bring them to life. So there's nuance to this. It's not saying you have to do all these 15 things by any means. And, and quite often, if your pain is in the customer experience end and it's your touch points, it's your customer letters, for example, you might go, "Well, actually under the brand strategy section, the place to focus is the tone of voice. You know, if we've got our positioning nailed and we've got our personality down, it might just need expressing in tone of voice. So we just pick the bits that we need. Mark Reed-Edwards: So let's talk about customer experience. You create the employee experience, you build a better brand strategy, and you've got a foundation for the customer experience. I love, I don't know whether you intended it to be funny, but the journey, "What are you putting your customers through?" kind of made me chuckle. You know, because sometimes the journey that, that companies put their customers through is, is not, it may be intentionally, but usually unintentionally painful. There's something in that journey. And I think we referenced it earlier, you know, maybe it's the contract, maybe it's the portal you have to sign up for and you don't get the email or the email that you get back is unclear. There are a lot of bumps in the journey that Often arise because, well, you know, one group builds the portal and another group writes the copy and then there's someone else who comes in and does the visual and they're not talking to each other or the technology is outdated and, you know, they feel like they're stuck with it. There's all kinds of reasons that that happened. But nonetheless, it affects that customer journey and it's the first item under "Energize your Customer Experience." So can you tell me about that? Ben Afia: It's something that larger companies tend to spend quite a lot of time and effort working on because they are quite complex. But as companies are, you know, startups to scale ups, it can be a bit more patchy. Because as organizations grow, they tend to become inwardly focused. We tend to focus on the problems and the issues that we're solving internally, and you end up getting this level of conversation that's quite inwardly focused. And this is normal. I think this is just human. And in fact, when, when I was growing my business 10 years ago and I had five employees and 20 freelancers, we spent a lot of time talking about how we were working internally as a team and we could have been spending more time focusing on our customers. So every organization goes through this. It's something to do with growth. And so for me, the journey is about understanding what's going on for your customers and then matching their expectations, their needs. And that can be really difficult because within the organization, we're inwardly focused, but we're also technical experts. We know our subject matter and we have what Steven Pinker calls "the curse of knowledge." I think he uses the analogy of a brick wall. So when we start in our professions and we're at the basics, let's say we've just left university or, you know, we start as a junior marketing role and learning the basics of marketing . The lower bricks of a brick wall are those fundamental areas of knowledge. And then as we become more experienced, we lay more layers of bricks and this, this wall goes higher and higher and higher and higher. And as we become more and more expert, our focus is on the top rows of bricks of knowledge. And we lose sight of the bricks at the bottom. We're no longer conscious of them. They're propping up our expertise, but we're not conscious of that level of knowledge. The thing is that our customers are at that lower level of knowledge and we're at this higher level. And so the language and the framing that we use in, within the organization is at an expert level, but our customers experience it at a non expert level. So for me, it's a level of translation. It's: how do we look at this journey from the perspective of customers so that we experience it through their eyes? And that's really quite challenging actually. It's quite difficult. I'm just starting work with a startup and they're growing rapidly and they haven't gone through this journey mapping process yet. And this is going to be my first job. I'm joining as head of CX and the first task is to map the current journey that customers go through to understand how customers are feeling at the moment, at each point, at each touch point, and then the second part of this, this journey. Section of my model, empathy is about defining how we want customers to feel at each point. So you can map the journey and then say how we would like customers to feel only when you've decided how you want customers to feel. And I also talk in the book about we want, you know, what do we want them to think and what do we want them to do? But to me, those things are quite obvious. It's the empathy part. How do we want people to feel that in business we so often miss out on? And because of this internal focus, we just lose sight of how customers could be feeling and how they really are. So we map the journey, we work at how we want them to feel. The third stage is then to refresh all our touch points. So we can look at the advertising, all of the marketing material, the website, all the FAQs, the signup, the letters, the emails, so the whole process. In a complex business, you have lots and lots of communications, especially in a service business. And which is where a lot of my experiences is in. But refreshing all of those touch points is crucial for (A.) making customers happy, (B.) encouraging them to come back and buy more from us , (C.) to refer their friends. And this is how we grow a business, isn't it? We win customers, we keep them coming back and we get them to refer their friends. So this is where the benefits come through and lead to profitability. And then the last two stages are training and coaching, which is about how we then embed that within the organization. So for me, it's about training people in the written skills, in the spoken skills, in other skills that lead to customer experience. But the coaching one is maybe unusual. And for me, this is about developing a coaching culture. So most organizations in their customer service will have a QA or quality assurance framework, and that'll be quite legalistic in its tone. And this is how you're measuring people on those calls. And that can be quite debilitating actually, because the language can be quite fierce. So for me, I'm trying to encourage a coaching style where rather than pure measurement, we are trying to encourage people and encourage the right behavior and free themselves to be more themselves at work, to give more of themselves, to the business and the companies, to help them feel safe, encouraged, supported, and to thrive. And only that way, and you see how we come full circle from the employee experience, only that way, do you have happy people who can do more and that gives you happy customers who buy more. Mark Reed-Edwards: It makes a lot of sense, doesn't it? I mean, it just seems logical to me. There's one word that you used, and it's, it's the heading for one of the, one of the parts in here is empathy. And that has to be genuine. Ben Afia: Absolutely, I think you can only deliver this through your staff, through your people and people who don't feel genuinely cared for, can't care for your customers. So you're absolutely right. You can't show empathy unless you feel it. And you're not feeling if you're shut down, if you're in flight and fight response, if you're feeling threatened all the time and measured against legalistic frameworks. So it's about creating an environment where people thrive and pass that thriving on to customers. I mean, it's a cliche. But Apple, I think, are the masters of this. When you go into an Apple store or when you're on customer, onto customer service on the phone it sometimes feels like you're the only person in the world. Mark Reed-Edwards: Hmm. Ben Afia: So that person in that moment, and how often does that happen in customer experience? It's, it's incredibly rare. But I remember the chief exec of Timpson's, which is a chain of key cutters and cobblers in the UK, which has quite a strong ethical stance and recruits a lot of people out of prisons because they believe in giving people a second chance. And I can't quite remember the whole interview, but one thing that struck me was that the staff's happiness was absolutely paramount because, and it's the manager's job to make sure that the store managers are happy, because if they're not happy, customers aren't going to be happy. And it sounds counterintuitive. You know, if you talk to a chief finance officer about staff happiness, they might look at you with bemusement. But Timpsons was saying that the stores led by the happiest people deliver in the most profit. Mark Reed-Edwards: Yeah. Ben Afia: And that just seems astonishing to me. Mark Reed-Edwards: Well, but it makes sense. You get a feel for a store or a business. I had an executive I worked with now 30 something years ago and he made a startling statement, he said, we should all have fun. And I thought, really, you know, you're supposed to have fun at work? But he was right, you know, why would you want to go into work unless you were having fun, unless you were enjoying what you were doing, the people you worked with and the work you did and that it has meaning, having a genuine smile on your face. And I remember that John Lennon quote, attributed to him, that sincerity is important--once you've got that faked, you're all set. You really can't fake it. You can't really fake empathy. You can't really fake elements of your brand because the truth will be known when the customers experience you. Ben Afia: Absolutely. I've been looking for some services just recently, some coaching services. And I've been looking at companies that have been suggested to me. And in this particular space, there are companies where they don't give you the names of any human beings in the organization. So this is an organization that's offering coaching, but they're not giving you the faces and the names of human beings. Mark Reed-Edwards: Yeah. Ben Afia: I then found another organization and all of the staff have got photos and bios on the website. And there are videos, you can hear them talk. I was like, I'm buying from this company. Mark Reed-Edwards: Yeah. Well, they've got a face. They've got names. They've got a personality, right? And I've experienced the same things with some clients . When you go to their website and it's a people business, a consulting business. And you don't see any names or photos of people, you just see, here's what we do, like it or lump it, you know. You need some personality in this world because that's what can distinguish you. Ben Afia: Maybe I'm just skeptical, but when I see websites like that with, with no humans, I'm immediately thinking the shareholders are just grooming that business for sale. Mark Reed-Edwards: Yeah, right. Yeah. Ben Afia: They're all, they're all commercial and no heart. And why would I buy from a company like that? Mark Reed-Edwards: Yeah, yeah. Ben Afia: It makes no sense. Mark Reed-Edwards: But the funny thing is that put some names and faces on there and you're going to sell the business probably for a higher multiple. Ben Afia: Exactly. Totally. Mark Reed-Edwards: Well, Ben, this was great. Can people go to Amazon and get this book, or benafia.com, what's the best way to pick it up? Ben Afia: Yeah. So on my website, yeah, benafia.com/book (https://benafia.com/book) is where you find the book and you can get a free chapter to get a sense for it. And on Amazon, if you just Google Ben Afia, and Afia is A-F-I-A, my name should come up. It's in the UK, in the US, across the world, and it's available now in paperback and Kindle. I still have to upload the hardback. Mark Reed-Edwards: Yeah, wonderful. Well, Ben, thanks so much for joining me. This has been a great discussion. Ben Afia: Thanks for having me on. Always a pleasure, Mark. Mark Reed-Edwards: We'll see you on the next Confessions of a Marketer.

Your host, Sri Chellappa, talks with the Author, Speaker, and Advisor, Ben Afia. Ben emphasizes that a strong alignment between brand and culture is essential for delivering a consistent and authentic customer experience. When employees understand and embody the brand values, it translates into every interaction they have with customers, creating a cohesive and trustworthy brand image. Your brand is a promise to your customers, setting expectations about the experience they will have with your company. Your organizational culture is how you deliver on that promise, encompassing the behaviors, attitudes, and values of your employees.Aligning brand and culture not only enhances customer experience but also boosts employee engagement. When employees feel connected to the brand, they are more motivated and committed to their work. A well-aligned brand and culture ensures that customers receive a consistent and positive experience, leading to higher satisfaction and loyalty. Employees who resonate with the brand values are more likely to be engaged, productive, and loyal to the organization.To learn more about Ben's work, click HERE and HERE.Think you'd be a great guest on the show? Apply HERE.Want to learn more about Sri's work at Engagedly? Check out his website at https://engagedly.com/.

Efia Leatham is a best-selling author, impact speaker, minister, and transformational leader dedicated to helping others heal from childhood trauma. Through her various platforms, including her award-winning Canadian jewelry company, Kingdom Beads, and her broadcast "Throne Tuesdays with Afia," she shares insights from her life and books, such as "Frame Your Day, Frame Your Life for Victory in 60 Seconds," which focuses on mindset transformation. Leatham emphasizes the importance of doing the inner work to heal from childhood trauma, acknowledging that it requires digging deep and facing buried emotions, a process she continues to navigate herself. She believes that although healing is an ongoing journey fraught with discomfort, it ultimately leads to wisdom, resilience, and hope, underscoring the crucial role of community support in this transformative process. Key takeaways  - Social connection is crucial in building resilience and hope within a community. - Supporting one another during challenging times leads to post traumatic wisdom. - Addressing past traumas and doing healing work is crucial for personal growth and well-being. - Self-care and recognizing burnout is essential in coaching and mentoring roles. - Makini's podcast serves as a therapeutic outlet for both guests and listeners. - Compartmentalization and emotional processing are essential in dealing with trauma. - Engaging in conversations on the podcast provides a form of therapy for both Makini and listeners.   Stay connected with Efia online Website Instagram Facebook   Stay connected with us online: MakiniSmith.com Legacy Leavers Media Facebook Instagram Threads Youtube LinkedIn Books Send feedback/questions to info@awalkinmystilettos.com Submit guest suggestions HERE Make a donation to keep the show going!   Podcast music produced by: defnottyrell This episode is brought to you by Herbal Face Food. Since early 2022, Makini has taken her skin back with this natural skincare routine. It's: Vegan Cruelty free Synthetic Fragrance free Paraben free Organic/Wildcrafted Handmade GMP free Ethically Sourced It heals melasma, psoriasis, acne scars, treats deep wrinkles and has cleared up the eczema on Makini's face. Use promo code "Makini20" or "Makini30" for 30% off ALL PLANT facial products.

In this episode, Rose Hamilton, Founder of Compass Rose Ventures, dives into the heartwarming and motivating story of Farrah Moussallati Sibai, Co-founder and President of Afia Foods.  With no background in the food industry, Farrah embarked on a journey driven by personal challenges and a profound desire to make a difference. From humble beginnings at Texas farmers markets to a successful retail launch, her story is a testament to the power of perseverance, strategic thinking, and a commitment to values. Farrah Moussallati Sibai's journey with Afia Foods is more than just a business success story; it's a narrative about overcoming adversity, embracing community, and remaining steadfast to one's values.  Through her experiences, listeners can find inspiration, practical advice, and the motivation to pursue their dreams, no matter the industry or starting point. Join us for another deep dive into the stories of entrepreneurs making a difference in their communities and the world. For more on Afia Foods, visit: https://afiafoods.com/ If you enjoyed this episode, please leave The Story of a Brand a rating and review. Plus, don't forget to follow us on Apple and Spotify.  Your support helps us bring you more content like this! * Today's Sponsors: Compass Rose - Advisor for CPG Brands: https://compassroseventures.com/ramon/ Compass Rose is offering “no-cost” CPG advice exclusively for the Founders and CEOs featured on The Story of a Brand Show and listeners. The calendar is limited, so book your one-on-one call (a $500 Value) with the Compass Rose team today. Visit using our unique link. Shopline - An All-in-One Commerce Solution for Brands: https://www.us.shopline.com/story Shopline is offering a complimentary three-month trial when you schedule a demo. Seamlessly manage multi-channel sales, create user-friendly websites, and drive conversions with targeted marketing. Ready to streamline operations and accelerate your business? Visit our unique link.

Environmental justice scholar Dr. Afia S. Zakiya talks with Tavis as part of our special climate justice series.

On Thursday's AOA, brought to you by Cenex, we start the show with a look at Weekly Export Sales, market action and technical analysis from Brian Splitt with AgMarket.net. In Segment Two, we talk with American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) Vice President of Public Policy and Education, Leah Wilkinson, about the EPA's draft formaldehyde risk evaluation under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for public comment and peer review. We also touch on other AFIA policy issues, Farm Bill and more.   In Segment Three, Engine Technology Forum Executive Director, Allen Schaeffer, joins us to talk about the recent announcement of the U.S. EPA's final rule regarding greenhouse gas emissions standards for heavy-duty vehicles Phase 3. Finally in Segment Four, it is "Invasive Plant Pest and Disease Awareness Month" this April. Kathryn Bronsky, National Policy Manager at USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), joins us to talk about it.

In this episode of the Connected Leadership Gold series, Andy Lopata revisits a crucial topic from April 2023, looking into the rise of artificial intelligence (AI). Andy brings a fresh perspective to the conversation around AI. He questions whether organisations are losing genuine human connections with their customers and stakeholders as they grow in size and complexity. Joining Andy is Ben Afia, a former brand strategist for Boots and an expert in culture, branding and communication. Ben shares insights from his extensive experience, shedding light on the evolving landscape where AI intersects with human interaction. Their conversation touches upon the early stages of AI integration in brands' communication strategies, highlighting both the opportunities and challenges. Ben emphasises the need for AI to reflect the values and behaviours of organisations, cautioning against generic experiences. Andy and Ben consider the delicate balance between control and empowerment in organisations. Drawing from anthropological studies and business models, they explore the challenge of maintaining consistency while allowing room for individuality and discretion. Andy and Ben examine the nuances of leadership, communication, and organisational culture. Andy reflects on his experience in direct sales, emphasising the limitations of scripted communication and the importance of authentic human connection. Ben shares insights on leveraging appreciative inquiry to unlock the potential within organisations, advocating for a coaching-style approach to leadership that empowers individuals and fosters genuine engagement. The discussion then centres on the evolving role of consultants, the need for leaders to prioritise listening and empathy, and the transformative power of coaching cultures within organisations. Andy and Ben underscore the importance of creating environments where individuals feel valued, supported, and empowered to drive meaningful change. Ben emphasises the reciprocal relationship between internal culture and external customer experience, highlighting the vital role of leadership in shaping both. Andy and Ben navigate the complexities of scaling organisations while preserving humanity in communication and relationships. They advocate for clear purpose, values, and behaviours as guiding principles to align teams and foster authentic connections, even in the age of advancing AI. Tune in to this thought-provoking conversation as Andy and Ben offer valuable insights into navigating the evolving landscape of leadership, communication, and human connection in a world increasingly influenced by technology. Connect with Andy Lopata: Website | Instagram | LinkedIn | X/Twitter Youtube Connect with Ben Afia: Website | LinkedIn 

Expo West 2024 remains top of mind for the hosts, who discuss how attendees' perception of innovation and their evaluation of new products has evolved in recent editions of the annual event. They also spoke about how a confluence of global flavors and convenient, clean label foods and beverages is a positive sign for the industry as a whole.  Show notes: 0:35: Cognitive Jamon. Expo Trollin'. Call Congress. MENA-Licious. Taco Bell Coffee? Paneer Pops. - On location in Barcelona, Ray chats about a notable cocktail competition and wonders if functional ham could be good for the city's denizens. John follows up on his Linkedin post about “meaningful innovation” at Expo West, Mike prompts Ray who prompts listeners to call their elected leaders about an often overlooked topic, and the hosts collectively praise the growing accessibility of high quality, culturally-inspired and occasion-based snacks and frozen meals. John can't stop eating a limited-edition line of chips and recalls when Mike accused a brand of using a famous logo on its cans without permission and Jacqui gives props to paneer. Brands in this episode: Torres Brandy, Homiyah, Doosra, Afia, Jimmy Dean, Mason Dixie Foods, Red's, Rudi's, Deep Indian Kitchen, Aahana's, Yaza Labne, Annie's Toum, Better Sour, Ziba Foods, Maazah, Crafty Counter, Fabalish, Sunnie, Kokada, Teddy Grahams, Wanderlish, Bob Evans Farms, Graza, Torres Potato Chips, Uncle Matt's, Milo's, Beekeeper Coffee, Grounded Milkshake, Sach Paneer, Rind Snacks

Portugal is gearing up their preparations for Festival da Canção 2024. As artists look ahead to the national final, which begins on February 24th, Rory speaks to Mila Dores. She is vying to represent Portugal in Malmö with their song “Afia a Língua”. What do you think of our interview with Mila Dores? Do you […] The post TEP Interviews: Mila Dores (Festival da Canção 2024) appeared first on That Eurovision Site.

This episode is dedicated to the late Nana Gladys and Nana Opoku Ware --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/namesoftalkatives/support

Ben Afia is a customer communications expert for the FTSE100.Using culture, branding, and (of course) story to improve customer experience whilst also lowering costs. With clients across many verticals including many in the retail and eCommerce space like Twinings, Morrisons, Ronseal, and Boots.In this episode, we discuss:Embedding storytelling in company cultureThe importance of selecting the right copywritersHow effective briefing can impact creative workDive in:[03:35] Ben shares his storytelling background.[06:18] Clear briefs crucial for effective copywriting.[10:34] Not all writers are versatile for all tasks.[12:54] Case study of mobile network client receiving new brand strategy.[18:54] Customer journey shapes brand perception at every touchpoint.[19:48] A case of complex customer journey purchasing varifocal sunglasses online.[23:02] The culture of everyone in the business bleeds into all processes and affects customer perception of the brand.[24:12] Ben's Insider Tips!Book your free 30min storytelling consultation >>> https://Keepopt.com/revenuegrowthagency ***SURVEY TIME*** Let us know what you think here: https://keepopt.com/survey deadline = 29 Feb 2024****Get all the links and resources we mention & join our email list at https://keepopt.comLove the show? Chloe would love your feedback - leave a review here: https://keepopt.com/review or reply to the episode Q&A on Spotify.Interested in being a Sponsor? go here: https://keepopt.com/sponsor

Australia's fodder association flags a reported increase in hay and fodder fires in recent months, a new study predicts more intense and extended droughts for South Australia, and a group of seasonal workers who claim they were sexually harassed on a South Australian worksite launch a claim against their former employer.

Afia started in 2017 at an Austin area Farmer's Market and moved into retail in 2018 with the H-E-B Quest for Texas' Best program. In the years since, the company has grown to a national brand with 13,000 distribution points and three lines of frozen Mediterranean/Middle Eastern Food.On this episode, Farrah and Yassin Sibai, of Afia, discuss their newly-opened “purpose built” frozen food production space in Taylor, Texas, and what's ahead for the brand.

ABJ Senior Staff Writer Justin Sayers joins Editor Colin Pope to debrief after an action-packed edition of the annual Williamson County Growth Summit. It's clear that the building boom in manufacturing facilities won't slow anytime soon. In fact, it may accelerate, and that could cause infrastructure issues. Case in point: Consumer packaged goods company Afia is currently still on a septic tank because sewage lines haven't been installed.

Recent changes to animal food regulations and how such changes could affect the animal food industry in 2024 are among those topics on the minds of today's animal food facility managers and operation/mill personnel. The big question being, of course, is how these latest regulatory requirements might impact business and the feed industry overall. With us in this episode of Feedstuffs in Focus to talk about the feed education component of the upcoming International Production & Processing Expo (IPPE) and what's on the industry's radar when it comes to regulation and enforcement is Gary Huddleston, Director of Feed Manufacturing and Regulatory Affairs for the American Feed Industry Assn. Among other things, Huddleston is involved in pulling together the Feed Education Program held each year during IPPE in Atlanta. He also is coordinator of AFIA and Feedstuffs Feed Facility of the Year annual awards program. Adding to the excitement, this year's winner in the commercial dry category will be announced during the feed education session on Wednesday morning of IPPE.This episode is brought to you by International Production & Processing Expo, a collaboration of three shows representing the entire chain of protein production and processing. Make your plans today to join the feed, meat and poultry industry in Atlanta, Ga., on Jan. 30-Feb. 1, 2024. To learn more at ippexpo.org. For more information, on this and other topics, we invite you to visit our websites - www.beefmagazine.com, www.Feedstuffs.com,  and www.NationalHogFarmer.com.  

A la marge de l'histoire officielle et des successions dynastiques, l'émirat tumultueux des Ibn Bani Al Afia s'insère entre les Idrissides et les Almoravides, et il nous éclaire sur cette période cruciale.Un récit du professeur Fili.Produit avec le soutien de Maroc Telecom.

In this episode we spoke with Ben Afia, a renowned FTSE100 customer communication expert. Ben discussed his 3 step approach to making your consumer experiences more human so you can turn more customers into loyal fans.   During our chat, Ben shared specific strategies he's helped businesses implement to deeply connect their culture and brand and what they've been able to achieve as a result.

Between the 21st and 23rd of September 2023, Ghanaians took to the streets of Accra in harsh weather conditions, to voice their displeasure against the poor performance and attitude of the government in a peaceful protest dubbed #OccupyJulorbiHouse. Some protesters were illegally arrested by the police which galvanized the movement and brought more people onto the streets. Among the barristers who worked tirelessly to release the protesters was Afia Blue, "a lawyer with a Twitter account". She sat down with Afi and Zuu and shed light on the constitutional right to protest as they dissected the events of an eventful weekend in Ghanaian history. Follow Afia Blue: Twitter: https://www.x.com/af_ia_blue Visit Stay by Plan: https://www.staybyplanpod.com Don't forget to share, rate, follow and subscribe to the podcast! Follow us! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/staybyplanpod Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/staybyplanpod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@staybyplanpod Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/staybyplanpod Share your thoughts with #StayByPlan! Stay By Plan Outros Playlist: https://spoti.fi/3ykpePI Photography by Ellis Trace https://www.instagram.com/spotlightimaging Motion Graphics by Eugene https://www.instagram.com/eugenegyasi_ Intro song produced by: Lil Kwaw --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/staybyplanpod/message

Home health and hospice workers provide care for some of our most vulnerable patients, often in their own homes. This can be a challenging environment, but there are steps that can be taken to ensure the safety of clinical staff. In this episode hosted by Kathy Polasky-Dettling, Vice President of Clinical Strategies at Afia, a SimiTree company, and Melissa Gordon, RN, BSN, MBA, Senior Manager at SimiTree, experts in home care and behavioral health are discussing the unique safety challenges faced by home health and hospice workers, and how to mitigate those risks. Join us for "Empowering Resilience: Supporting Clinical Staff in High-Risk Care." Learn more about the Afia team: https://bit.ly/41SYgfI View our free on-demand webinars on this topic: https://bit.ly/3JVWjIK    Follow us on social media!  LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3AKyKxp  Twitter: https://bit.ly/3LQqemV  Facebook: https://bit.ly/3Lt4goj   Kathy Polasky-Dettling, Vice President of Clinical Strategies  With over 26 years of experience in community mental health centers, Kathy is a consultant specializing in Behavioral and Primary Health Care Integration, as well as Certified Community Behavioral Health Center (CCBHC) planning and implementation. Her expertise lies in developing and managing clinical and integrated health programs, allowing her to provide valuable insights to organizations seeking to improve their behavioral and primary healthcare services. Melissa Gordon, RN, BSN, MBA, Senior Manager at SimiTree   Meet Melissa Gordon, a highly skilled and accomplished healthcare professional with an impressive 30-year track record. As a Registered Nurse (RN) and holder of a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) and a Master of Business Administration (MBA), she has honed her expertise in various aspects of healthcare, particularly in home health, hospice, and private duty care.

Working with high-risk individuals can be challenging, but it's important to stay calm and focused to keep yourself and others safe. We'll share de-escalation techniques, tips for working with difficult clients, and how to report incidents. This episode is hosted by Kathy Polasky-Dettling, Vice President of Clinical Strategies at Afia, a SimiTree company, and Melissa Gordon, RN, BSN, MBA, Senior Manager at SimiTree. Join them to learn how to stay "Calm in Chaos: Safety in Challenging Situations for Community Workforce Safety."    Learn more about the Afia team: https://bit.ly/41SYgfI View our free on-demand webinars on this topic: https://bit.ly/3JVWjIK    Follow us on social media!  LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3AKyKxp  Twitter: https://bit.ly/3LQqemV  Facebook: https://bit.ly/3Lt4goj   Kathy Polasky-Dettling, Vice President of Clinical Strategies  With over 26 years of experience in community mental health centers, Kathy is a consultant specializing in Behavioral and Primary Health Care Integration, as well as Certified Community Behavioral Health Center (CCBHC) planning and implementation. Her expertise lies in developing and managing clinical and integrated health programs, allowing her to provide valuable insights to organizations seeking to improve their behavioral and primary healthcare services. Melissa Gordon, RN, BSN, MBA, Senior Manager at SimiTree   Meet Melissa Gordon, a highly skilled and accomplished healthcare professional with an impressive 30-year track record. As a Registered Nurse (RN) and holder of a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) and a Master of Business Administration (MBA), she has honed her expertise in various aspects of healthcare, particularly in home health, hospice, and private duty care.

Tonight, lie back, relax, and drift off to sleep to part three of the bedtime story; Escape to Sicily. Tonight, when Marco offers to help Afia renovate the home she brought for $1 in the crumbling Sicilian town of Pollina, Afia finds that her life is beginning to feel rather a lot like the magical, whirlwind, romance books she escaped into back home.

Imagine walking in Faria Arsh's shoes for a moment. A devoted mother to a non-verbal, severely autistic daughter, Faria has not only navigated through the labyrinth of special needs parenting but also found innovative methods to simplify their life. In our engaging conversation, Faria opens her heart about her journey with her daughter, Afia, from finding a specialized school, embracing technology for communication to preparing for the changes that puberty brings to a child with autism. The second part of our heart-to-heart with Faria takes you through Afia's life transitions. The shift from picture cards to an iPad to assist in communication, the importance of establishing a strong support network, and meticulously planning even the simplest of daily tasks. But the highlight of our conversation is Faria's ingenious toilet training method, a game-changer for many parents in the special needs community. It's a blend of her personal and professional experiences that formed the foundation of her successful approach, now encapsulated in her book 'Toilet Training for Autistic and Send Children and Adults.'Navigating through life with Afia, Faria has discovered joy in simple things. Despite the challenges of parenting an autistic child, they find happiness in their unique ways. It's a journey that can inspire, educate and offer a fresh perspective on living with autism. So, tune in as we unravel the resilience, dedication, and hope that propels Faria in this journey of love and acceptance.1https://tonymantor.comhttps://Facebook.com/tonymantorhttps://instagram.com/tonymantorhttps://twitter.com/tonymantorhttps://youtube.com/tonymantormusicintro/outro music bed written by T. WildWhy Not Me the World music published by Mantor Music (BMI)

Tonight, lie back, relax, and drift off to sleep to part two of the bedtime story; Escape to Sicily. Tonight re-join Afia in sunny Sicily, as she gets the keys to the dollar home she purchased in the abandoned village of Pollina, in the hopes of building a more relaxing, peaceful life for herself.

Community-based workers are on the frontlines of providing care to some of our most vulnerable populations. In this episode, we discuss the unique safety challenges faced by the community-based workforce, who provide support and services to high-risk individuals or visit individuals' homes. We'll explore how to assess risks, develop safety protocols, and manage challenging situations. Hosted by Kathy Polasky-Dettling, Vice President of Clinical Strategies at Afia, a SimiTree company and Melissa Gordon, RN, BSN, MBA, Senior Manager at SimiTree. Join these experts to learn the "3 ways to prioritize safety for community-based workforce on the frontlines."  Links from this episode:  Learn more about the Afia team: https://bit.ly/41SYgfI View our free on-demand webinars on this topic: https://bit.ly/3JVWjIK Follow us on social media!  LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3AKyKxp Twitter: https://bit.ly/3LQqemV Facebook: https://bit.ly/3Lt4goj Kathy Polasky-Dettling, Vice President of Clinical Strategies With over 26 years of experience in community mental health centers, Kathy is a consultant specializing in Behavioral and Primary Health Care Integration, as well as Certified Community Behavioral Health Center (CCBHC) planning and implementation. Her expertise lies in developing and managing clinical and integrated health programs, allowing her to provide valuable insights to organizations seeking to improve their behavioral and primary health care services.  Melissa Gordon, RN, BSN, MBA, Senior Manager at SimiTree Meet Melissa Gordon, a highly skilled and accomplished healthcare professional with an impressive 30-year track record. As a Registered Nurse (RN) and holder of a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) and a Master of Business Administration (MBA), she has honed her expertise in various aspects of healthcare, particularly in home health, hospice, and private duty care.

Tonight, lie back, relax, and drift off to sleep, as avid reader Afia sets down her books for just long enough to learn that romance, adventure, and much better weather, have been waiting for her in sunny Sicily all along. In part one of this ASMR bedtime story, Afia decides to uproot her London life, and renovate a dollar home in an all-but-abandoned village on the northern coast of Sicily.

This episode features Afia Asamoah, Co-Founder, Head of Legal and People, Corporate Secretary at Waymark & Dr. Sanjay Basu, Co-Founder, Head of Clinical at Waymark. Here, they discuss their backgrounds, what led them to co-found Waymark - “a physician-led public benefit company dedicated to improving access and quality of care for people receiving Medicaid”, and much more.

This special edition of the podcast features actionable insights and advice from interviews with six founders, creators and leaders who joined us on the show during the first half of 2023. Our guests include Tara Bosch, the founder of pioneering better-for-you candy brand SmartSweets; Allison and Stephen Ellsworth, the co-founders of fast-growing prebiotic soda brand Poppi;  Jake Bullock, the co-founder & CEO of cannabis-infused beverage company Cann; Pete Maldonado and Rashid Ali, the co-founders of better-for-you meat snack brand Chomps;  Farrah & Yassin Sibai, the co-founders of Mediterranean-inspired frozen food brand Afia; and culinary icon Padma Lakshmi, an investor in lassi brand Dah!   Show notes: 0:29: Interview: Tara Bosch, Founder, SmartSweets - Let's kick things off with Tara Bosch, the founder of pioneering better-for-you candy brand SmartSweets. In this clip, pulled from an episode published on January 17, Tara spoke about why the brand's early growth strategy was built around “patient urgency,” why the company prioritized a lean business model and highly specific annual objectives and the value of first mover advantage. 10:15: Interview: Allison and Stephen Ellsworth, Co-Founders, Poppi - Next up we have Allison and Stephen Ellsworth, the co-founders of fast-growing prebiotic soda brand Poppi. In a clip pulled from an episode featured on May 30, the Ellsworths spoke about the professionalization of Poppi's organizational structure, the decision to hire a CEO from outside the company, the drivers of the brand's remarkable trial conversion and repeat purchase rates and their perspective on how entrepreneurs can make the greatest positive impact via their brands.  19:45: Interview: Jake Bullock, Co-Founder & CEO, Cann - We keep it going with Jake Bullock, the co-founder & CEO of cannabis-infused beverage company Cann. In this clip, from our episode published on April 25, Jake discussed how Cann sits at the intersection of canna- and sober-curious, why early-stage fundraising is about “finding the one,” and how Cann's commitment to innovative advertising and video-based content has paid off. 31:05: Interview: Pete Maldonado and Rashid Ali, Co-Founders, Chomps - Next we have Pete Maldonado and Rashid Ali, the co-founders of better-for-you meat snack brand Chomps. In the following clip, pulled from an episode published on March 21, the entrepreneurs shared key drivers for the brand's remarkable growth over the past five years, how hiring the right people has given the company a leg up in forecasting supply and demand and how data informs their innovation strategy. 37:58: Interview: Farrah & Yassin Sibai, Co-Founders, Afia - We continue with Farrah & Yassin Sibai, the co-founders of Mediterranean-inspired frozen food brand Afia. In this clip, pulled from an episode aired on June 6, the Sibais explained why they have long relied on self-manufacturing and the effectiveness of influencers, Instacart ads and instant redeemable coupons on driving trial and sales. 46:44: Interview: Padma Lakshmi, Investor, Dah! - Finally, we hear from culinary icon Padma Lakshmi, who is an investor in lassi brand Dah! In the following clip, pulled from an episode published on March 28, Padma spoke about her approach to building interest and awareness for lassi, how the beverage aligns with her advocacy for ethnic cuisine and her criteria for investing in consumer brands. Brands in this episode: SmartSweets, Poppi, Cann, Chomps, Afia, Dah!

Afia is on a hot streak. The Mediterranean-inspired frozen food company recently closed on a $3 million funding round and is on the cusp of opening a new 21,000 sq. ft manufacturing facility capable of producing a half a million falafel balls per day. While Afia's co-founders Farrah and Yassin Sibai are pleased with the brand's development, they remain grounded in their roots. In this episode, the Sibais reflected on the brand's humble origins and highlighted a little black book of family recipes that have been passed down by generations and which serves as the foundation for Afia's products, including falafel, kibbeh and a new line of ready-to-heat entrees. Throughout their six years of business, the Sibais have stayed focused on their vision of creating a brand of nourishing, better-for-you food as a means of empowering consumers seeking healthier options, along with Afia's team, which includes number of Syrian refugees who have fled war in search of a better life for their families. As part of our conversation, the Sibais explained why they have long relied on self-manufacturing, how adversity placed Farrah “in right place at right time,” why brand and product awareness are equally important, the effectiveness of Instacart ads and instant redeemable coupons, and the completion of Afia's Series A funding round. Show notes: 0:46: Farrah & Yassin Sibai, Co-Founders, Afia – Taste Radio editor Ray Latif met with the Sibais at Afia's new production facility in Taylor, Texas where they discussed the company's dramatic increase in capacity, the impact of personal tragedy and the Syrian civil war in the creation of Afia and how they got off the ground with just $20,000 and a business plan. They also recalled long days in the brand's first commercial kitchen which was located in the back of a bar in downtown Austin, and eventual move to their first company-owned plant, learning how to engage with and sell to consumers at local farmers' markets, their big break with Texas-based grocery chain H-E-B and subsequent deals with Sprouts and Whole Foods that brought Afia to stores across the U.S. Later, they discussed their marketing strategy and the effectiveness of influencer campaigns, why they don't invest heavily in data, the development of Afia's line of frozen entrees and why “the validity of the vision” is most important to the brand's investors. Brands in this episode: Afia

Our guest today is Victoria Broehm, senior director of communications at the American Feed Industry Association. AFIA is the world's largest organization devoted exclusively to representing the U.S. animal food industry and its suppliers. That puts AFIA and Victoria right in the middle of a diverse array of ongoing issues and sudden crises.Victoria shares a ton of practical advice on managing issues and responding to crises, including the role that third parties can play in effective response, the importance of a scenario-based approach to crisis communications planning, and the advantages of engaging your entire organization in crisis preparation and response.And listen to the end for a fascinating fact about Victoria and her family to wash it all down. Thank you as always to Jim Cirillo at jimiumgroup.com for our original music and to Rachel Greenberger for our original art. Please send questions to wtswtgt@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter at #wtswtgt.

Join us for a hilarious and entertaining episode of the Kasa Podcast, where we tackle some of the funniest and most thought-provoking questions you've ever heard! Kwadwo and Afia dive into topics that range from personal to political and everything in between in this unscripted and unpredictable episode. With some quick wit and lively banter, we'll have you laughing out loud and thinking deeply at the same time. So don't miss out on the fun, and tune in to the Kasa Podcast now!

On the ground in Anaheim, California, Taste Radio's hosts reflected upon the first two days of an exhilarating Natural Products Expo West 2023 and highlighted standout new brands and products exhibited at the show, along with those featured at the Snaxshot X BevNET and MENA CPG meetups held during the week. Brands in this episode: Senor Mango, Absurd Snacks, Brutal, Casalu, Canneta, Bantu Chocolate, Peepal People, Puuro, Scout Canning, Tempo, Louie Louie, Babos Kitchen, Pocket's Chocolate, Wild Tonic, Rowdy Mermaid, Seacharrones, Chomps, Fishwife, Aura Bora, Mason Dixie Foods, Ziba Foods, Sanzo, Urban Remedy, Little Sesame, Fly By Jing, Rudi's, Chamberlain Coffee, Just Egg, Heyday Canning, Better Sour, Jabin Beverage Co., Afia, Magicdates, Zesty Z, Mazzah Chutney, Aissa Sweets, Mason Dixie Foods, RIND Snacks, The Bad Tea Co., Suckerpunch Gourmet, Greenhouse Juice, Mooski, BioLift, Acid League, Blake's Seed Based

Greetings Village! #DailyAfricanProverbs takes us to #Kenya The proverb says: " An old pot never lacks food remnants." Any seasoned cook knows the value of a good pot. Whether it's a trusty Dutch oven that's been passed down for generations or a well-seasoned cast iron skillet, a good pot can make all the difference in the kitchen. And as the Kenyan proverb suggests, an old pot is even better. That's because an old pot is full of flavor. The longer a pot is used, the more it becomes seasoned with the remnants of previous meals. This gives food cooked in an old pot a richness and depth of flavor that is simply unattainable with new pots. SUBSCRIBE to get Daily African Proverbs and their meaning in your life https://rb.gy/jdavpn ******************************

Anger is a very powerful emotion. It can make us do things that we regret and it can also affect our health. In this episode, we talk about how to control your anger in order to live a happier life. Hey everyone, my name is Simon Javan Okelo and I know anger can be a real problem for a lot of people. It's something that can ruin relationships, careers, and even our health. In this video, we'll talk about some simple techniques on how to control your anger so you can live a happier life. Join us at 6 am PST / 4 pm EAT at Clubhouse and YouTube from Monday to Friday! SUBSCRIBE to get Daily African Proverbs and their meaning in your life https://rb.gy/jdavpn "Because a man has injured your goat, do not go out and kill his bull." is a Kenyan Proverb ******************************

Listen up, there is no such thing as a truly effortless journey. Everything we do in life has a cost, even if that cost is just our time. I'm sure you've heard the saying that You cannot climb to the mountain top without crushing some weeds with your feet. The same applies to our lives. We often hear about people who have seemingly achieved great success with little effort, but what they don't tell you is that it took them years of hard work and dedication to get there. So before you go on your next journey, remember that nothing comes for free and it's going to take some effort on your part. Thanks for listening. Join us at 6 am PST / 4 pm EAT at Clubhouse and YouTube from Monday to Friday! SUBSCRIBE to get Daily African Proverbs and their meaning in your life https://rb.gy/jdavpn "You cannot climb to the mountain top without crushing some weeds with your feet." is a Chad Proverb ******************************

There is a lot of wisdom behind African proverbs, and in this video I'm going to share with you some of my favorite ones. Hey there, my name is Simon Javan Okelo and I want to talk to you about African proverbs. A lot of people don't know this, but Africa has a rich culture with a lot of wisdom that can be found in their proverbs. In this video I'm going to share with you some of my favorite ones. So sit back and enjoy. Join us at 6 am PST / 4 pm EAT at Clubhouse and YouTube from Monday to Friday! SUBSCRIBE to get Daily African Proverbs and their meaning in your life https://rb.gy/jdavpn "The same sun that melts wax is also capable of hardening clay." is a Nigeria Proverb ******************************

In this episode, I'm going to talk about the importance of healing yourself before you can start healing others. Hey there, my name is Simon Javan Okelo and in this video I want to talk about the importance of self-healing. A lot of people make the mistake of trying to help others before they've helped themselves and it just doesn't work. You need to be strong and healed from within if you want to help others. So let's dive in! Join us at 6 am PST / 4 pm EAT at Clubhouse and YouTube from Monday to Friday! SUBSCRIBE to get Daily African Proverbs and their meaning in your life https://rb.gy/jdavpn "Before healing others, heal yourself." is a Gambia Proverb ******************************

Honesty is the best policy. You've probably heard this saying before, and it's true. When you're honest, people know they can trust you. It may be hard in the beginning, but in the end, it's always worth it. I'm going to show you how honesty can help your relationships, your career, and even your health. Stay tuned. Join us at 6 am PST / 4 pm EAT at Clubhouse and YouTube from Monday to Friday! SUBSCRIBE to get Daily African Proverbs and their meaning in your life https://rb.gy/jdavpn "Path of a liar is very short." is a Tanzania Proverb ******************************

Imagine you were gifted a home, in Ghana. It's your motherland, but not the place you grew up in. Would you move? That decision proved to be one of the most challenging ones that Afia had to make. She documented some of the most difficult conversations, honest observations and some self reflection that has us asking- should Afia be telling us all of this? Yes she should, she did- and you should hear it. Today we share with you an episode of the Peabody nominated S***hole Country.