Podcasts about Agency

Want ad-free episodes? Subscribe to Forever Strong Insider: https://foreverstrong.supercast.comSelf-doubt holds more people back than lack of skill or intelligence.In this episode, Dr. Gabrielle Lyon sits down with Dr. Shadé Zahrai to explore the science of confidence, self-trust, and peak performance. They break down why confidence comes after action, how self-image shapes success, and the four psychological drivers that determine whether you thrive or stay stuck.You will learn how body language influences perception, why high performers plan for failure, how perfectionism leads to burnout, and the subtle communication habits that undermine credibility. Most importantly, you will discover how to build what Dr. Zahrai calls Big Trust so you can back yourself before you feel ready.If you struggle with overthinking, imposter thoughts, or feeling capable but not fully confident, this conversation will give you practical tools to change how you show up.CHAPTERS00:00 Confidence science: feeling vs appearing00:51 The opposite of self-doubt and why confidence comes after action01:53 Self-trust before confidence03:03 Nonverbal confidence cues: posture, eye contact, smile, pace07:30 Body language feedback loop: posture and recall09:26 Shadé's PhD on self-doubt under pressure12:22 What makes people successful: self-image12:30 Self-image blueprint and why change does not stick14:29 The Four A's: Acceptance, Agency, Autonomy, Adaptability20:26 The self-awareness gap and changing personality traits22:30 Expectation bias and the scar experiment25:54 Self-doubt types: signal vs verdict28:30 Visibility, influence, and the people around you31:16 Which traits are easiest to change35:56 Why capable people still stay stuck40:25 Michael Phelps and visualizing failure recovery42:30 Stop rumination: stimulus control for worry47:45 Self-improvement vs perfectionism vs burnout56:53 The 4 inner deceivers: Judge, Protector, Neglecter, Ringmaster1:11:22 Peak performance and Big Trust1:19:19 Communication habits that kill credibility1:24:18 Stop over-apologizing and reframe emotion1:29:47 Daily habits to build Big Trust and audit your circleThank you to our sponsors: Timeline - Get 35% off a Mitopure subscription at https://www.timeline.com/drlyonBodyHealth - Get 20% off your first order with code LYON20 https://www.bodyhealthaffiliates.com/73L4QL3/7XDN2/Four Sigmatic - Go to http://foursigmatic.com/gabrielle for a free bag of their dark roast ground coffee with a subscription (just pay for shipping & handling).Find Dr. Dr. Shadé Zahrai at: IG: https://www.instagram.com/shadezahrai/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/shadezahrai

In this episode, we explore the rarely recognized power of “seeing the here and now.” Using a memorable scene from Spielberg's Lincoln as a launchpad, we dig into what it really means to rise to those unique, decisive moments that have the potential to alter the trajectory of our organizations, teams, and lives. While it's easy (and comfortable) to stick to established plans and long-term strategies, the real challenge—and opportunity—lies in perceiving the pressing realities and fleeting openings right in front of us.We break down why leaders often miss out: from the tendency to seek only confirming data, to deferring action until it's "more convenient," or sticking with yesterday's plan at the expense of today's opportunities. We discuss how recognizing and responding to converging tensions, personal convictions, and unexpected resources can set you apart as a brave leader who changes the game. Because, as we remind ourselves, the hardest thing isn't to plan, but to see what's possible now—and act on it while the window is open.Five Key Learnings:Not all moments are equal. Some situations are true inflection points that demand we notice and act, not simply follow the plan.Comfort can be a blindfold. We naturally avoid disconfirming evidence and delay hard choices, risking missed opportunities.Look for signs. Tensions you're wrestling with, persistent convictions of conscience, and aligning resources are often signals that something important is at stake.Success can lead to failure. Achieving the wrong goals—because we're ignoring reality—means we can “succeed our way into failure.”Bravery is seeing and contending with reality. The leaders who change things aren't always the ones with the best laid plans; they're the ones who respond bravely to what's real and present.Get full interviews and bonus content for free! Just join the list at DailyCreativePlus.com.Mentioned in this episode:The Brave Habit is available nowMy new book will help you make bravery a habit in your life, your leadership, and your work. Discover how to develop the two qualities that lead to brave action: Optimistic Vision and Agency. Buy The Brave Habit wherever books are sold, or learn more at TheBraveHabit.com.

In this episode, host Travis Chappell sits down with Seth Silvers, founder and CEO of Story On, one of the premier podcast production agencies helping businesses build authority through storytelling. Seth and his team work with top-tier creators and brands—including Alex Hormozi, Leila Hormozi, and Patrick Lencioni—and support numerous Top 100 business podcasts. Seth shares his journey from taking on almost any marketing work he could find to building a premium podcast agency, along with hard-earned lessons on pricing, positioning, and why podcasting is one of the most powerful long-term branding tools available today. On this episode we talk about: How Seth accidentally turned podcasting into a full-time business Using podcasts to build trust and credibility (even without massive downloads) Why most podcasters struggle to monetize—and a better path forward Structuring service offers and pricing without racing to the bottom The future of podcasting: video, branding, and podcasts as a business asset Top 3 Takeaways: Podcasting creates a “transfer of trust.” When people see you show up with quality, they assume you bring that same standard to everything you do. Pricing clarity changes everything. Seth credits implementing ideas from Profit First as a major turning point in getting out of debt and building a sustainable business. Premium clients care more about results than price. Solving higher-level problems for established businesses beats competing on cost every time. Notable Quotes “People see you show up in a quality way, and they transfer that trust to everything else you do.” “If you want us to actually do it for you, it's going to be a premium—but we also have resources for every level.” “Podcasting isn't a quick customer-acquisition tool. It's a multi-channel brand that builds trust over years.” Connect with Seth Silvers: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sethsilvers/ Website: storyon.co Blog: https://storyon.co/blog Travis Makes Money is made possible by HighLevel – the All-In-One Sales & Marketing Platform built for agencies, by an agency. Capture leads, nurture them, and close more deals—all from one powerful platform. Get an extended free trial at gohighlevel.com/travis Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"I kinda told myself I need to take a step back from e-commerce. When I took a step back, e-commerce said no and put me back in."Amer Grozdanic burned out running paid media for brands. The results were good — but never good enough. So he walked away, rebuilt his agency around what he could actually control, and landed clients like MVMT Watches and Billie Eilish without spending a dollar on ads. Today, Praella works with brands up to $400M in revenue, and Amer's seen the same blind spots in almost every store.We dig into the Shopify features most merchants ignore (B2B, Markets, Flows, Collective), why BattlBox's Whatnot channel converts 10X better than TikTok Shop, and the one question you should ask any agency before signing a retainer.SPONSORSSwym - Wishlists, Back in Stock alerts, & moregetswym.com/kurtCleverific - Smart order editing for Shopifycleverific.comZipify - Build high-converting sales funnelszipify.com/KURTLINKSWatch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/J3QTUEVulFcPraella: praella.comAmer on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/amergrozdanicWhatnot: whatnot.comBattlBox: battlbox.comShoplift (A/B testing): shoplift.comIntelligems (A/B testing): intelligems.ioShopify Collective: shopify.com/collectiveShopify B2B: shopify.com/plus/b2bShopify Flow: shopify.com/flowWORK WITH KURTApply for Shopify Helpethercycle.com/applySee Our Resultsethercycle.com/workFree Newsletterkurtelster.comThe Unofficial Shopify Podcast is hosted by Kurt Elster and explores the stories behind successful Shopify stores. Get actionable insights, practical strategies, and proven tactics from entrepreneurs who've built thriving ecommerce businesses.

Judiciary Committee Republicans Subpoena Insurance Providers for Documents About ACA Marketplace Fraud Sen. Banks Asks FDA to Detail Plan for Enforcement Against Certain GLP-1 Compounders HELP Committee Chair Cassidy Requests Details on Cyberbreach HHS Personnel Changes and more...

Kraken: Start met investeren in crypto en ontvang €15 gratis crypto cadeau

For years, Sarah Adams has worked where threat warnings begin, not where they end. She is a targeting officer and global threat advisor with deep expertise in counterterrorism, threat network analysis, and overseas intelligence operations. Sarah served in the Central Intelligence Agency's Counterterrorism Center, as well as in the Near East and Iran Operations Divisions, working complex operations against both state and non-state adversaries. Her deployed field work spans Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia. Across those theaters, her focus has remained consistent: identifying, assessing, and disrupting terrorist networks, hostile state activity, and emerging threats to United States and allied interests. After leaving the CIA, Sarah served as a Senior Advisor to the United States House of Representatives following an executive appointment from the Agency, applying operational experience directly to national security policy, oversight, and accountability. She later led research and development initiatives for the Department of Defense, advancing innovation, tradecraft modernization, and intelligence capabilities with enterprise-level impact. She was deployed to Libya in 2012 and is the co-author of Benghazi: Know Thy Enemy, a cold-case, open-source investigation that identified the al-Qaeda operatives responsible for the attack on the U.S. Mission Compound and CIA Annex in Benghazi. Today, Sarah is the host of The Watch Floor at Vigilance Elite, a podcast focused on emerging threats, global affairs, and homeland security risks for everyday audiences. The Watch Floor delivers need-to-know insights, explaining what matters, why it matters, and what comes next. Shawn and Sarah answer the question - Will Khamenei be ousted as Supreme Leader of Iran by March 31? Follow the market here - https://polymarket.com/event/khamenei-out-as-supreme-leader-of-iran-by-march-31 Shawn Ryan Show Sponsors: Go right now to https://sundaysfordogs.com/SRS50 and get 50% off your first order. Join thousands of parents who trust Fabric to help protect their family—apply today in just minutes at https://meetfabric.com/SHAWN Get firearm security redesigned and save 10% off at StopBoxUSA with code SRS at https://www.stopboxusa.com/SRS #stopboxpod Head to https://factormeals.com/srs50off and use code srs50off to get 50% off your first Factor box plus free breakfast for 1 year (new customers only, with qualifying subscription purchase). Head to https://Superpower.com and use code SRS at checkout for $20 off your membership. Live up to your 100-Year potential. #superpowerpod https://drinkmindfulbev.com Sarah Adams Links: YT - https://www.youtube.com/@thewatchfloor IG - https://www.instagram.com/thewatchfloor X - https://x.com/The_Watch_Floor FB - https://www.facebook.com/people/The-Watch-Floor/61586054787023 TT - https://www.tiktok.com/@thewatchfloor Rumble - https://rumble.com/user/thewatchfloor Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/cw/VigilanceElite Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5how8FZvVZvlhnv58antdG LinkTree - https://tr.ee/qFdF2gcFD_ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dr. Maria Sophocles examines the “bedroom gap,” the disparity in sexual expectations and challenges between men and women in midlife. In this episode, she explains how menopausal hormonal changes, together with psychological and cultural pressures, affect women's sexual agency. Many women internalize norms that prioritize a partner's needs over their own, leading to shame about reduced libido. This conversation is a call to action for women to prioritize their sexual health and engage in honest dialogue to support healthier, more fulfilling relationships.Episode Overview (timestamps are approximate):(0:00) Intro/Teaser(5:00) The Bedroom Gap(10:00) Hormones & The Neiman Marcus to IKEA Transition(14:00) Systemic Estrogen vs. Vaginal & The Cancer Fear(23:00) Hormone Therapy & The Healthy User Bias(26:00) Non-Hormonal Options(32:00) Sex After a Heart Attack(40:00) Sex Span as Health Span(42:00) Why Women Think Sex Is For Men(49:00) Where to Learn About Sex(55:00) How to Talk to Your Partner(1:10:00) Redefining Sex at Any Age(1:13:00) After Party with Dr. StephanieResources mentioned can be found at https://drstephanieestima.com/podcasts/ep456We couldn't do it without our sponsors:KENETIK - You think carefully about how you fuel your body but are you fueling your brain? Learn more about Kenetik and try it for yourself by going to https://drinkkenetik.com/BETTER and use code BETTER for 15% off your purchase.MUSE - Train your nervous system with feedback, the same way you'd train muscles with resistance. If you are ready to unlock your brain's potential, go to https://choosemuse.com/BETTER or use code BETTER at checkout to get started.COZY EARTH - Cozy Earth helps you feel better by keeping your temperature perfect overnight to facilitate deep restorative sleep. Head to https://cozyearth.com and use my code BETTER for up to 20% off.PIQUE LIFE - If you want to redefine your evening ritual and still feel like yourself the next day, you can get 10% off for life. Yes, for life at https://piquelife.com/better ****************************P.S. When you're ready, here are two ways Dr. Stephanie can help you:Subscribe: The Mini Pause — My weekly newsletter packed with the most actionable, evidence-based tools for women 40+ to thrive in midlife.Build Muscle: LIFT — My progressive strength training program designed for women in midlife. Form-focused, joint-friendly, and built for real results. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this solo episode, I reveal the truth most people completely miss about podcasting. The real ROI isn't downloads. It isn't sponsorships. It isn't vanity metrics. It's access. It's trust. It's relationships. It's the ability to sit down with people you admire, build genuine connections, and create opportunities that would have been impossible otherwise. And over time, those relationships compound into something far greater than any single episode. During one of the most challenging financial periods of my life, I felt a tug from God to launch this podcast. It became a way to create meaningful, inspiring conversations with entrepreneurs, and later became something far more powerful. Without intending to, I built a relationship engine that introduced me to clients, strategic partners, great friends, and ultimately helped transform Social Chameleon into the podcast agency it is today. In this episode, I share how long-form conversations accelerate trust faster than any other medium, how podcasting creates proximity to incredible people, and how a single conversation can open doors that alter your trajectory. Drawing from my own journey and the success of influential shows like The Tim Ferriss Show, My First Million, and The Diary of a CEO, I explain how podcasting has quietly become one of the most effective and underutilized business development tools in the world. I also deliver an honest look at why most podcasts never reach their full potential. While starting a podcast has never been easier, sustaining one that creates meaningful impact requires consistency, systems, and the right operational support behind the scenes. Podcasting didn't only grow my business. It rebuilt it.   IN THIS EPISODE: ➡️ Why the true ROI of podcasting has nothing to do with vanity metrics ➡️ How podcasting creates direct access to relationships that lead to new opportunities ➡️ Why long-form conversations build trust faster than any other form of content ➡️ How one conversation can open doors that change the trajectory of a business ➡️ Real-world examples of podcasts that became powerful business and relationship engines ➡️ Why consistency, systems, and a team are the infrastructure of successful podcasts  

How closely have you read your contract with your host agency? Does it have a non-compete clause? How about a detailed plan for termination? In the season seven premiere of Trade Secrets, we’re digging into the fine print that every travel advisor needs to watch out for. We’re joined by Marcie Muensterman, travel advisor, coach and host of the No BS Travel Advisor Podcast, to identify host agency red flags. Welcome back to a brand-new season! Thanks to our friends at Coastline Travel Group for helping us solicit travel advisor questions this season. This episode was sponsored by the Globus family of brands. Further resources Marcie Muensterman On Instagram On Facebook The No BS Travel Advisor Podcast Courses Freebies, including Marcie’s host agency interview questionnaire Mentioned in this episode: WorldVia Travel Network Travel Planners International Nexion Travel Group Need advice? Call our hotline and leave a message: 201-902-2098 Email us: tradesecrets@travelweekly.com Theme song: Sock Hop by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4387-sock-hop License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Most gyms don't have a lead problem — they have a system problem.When marketing, follow-up, and messaging are disconnected, growth becomes inconsistent and unpredictable.Welcome to Gym Marketing Made Simple, the podcast dedicated to cutting through the noise around gym growth. Each episode focuses on practical marketing, sales, and leadership systems that help boutique gyms build steady momentum without relying on guesswork or constant outreach.Episode HighlightsIn this episode, Blake Ruff and Tommy Allen explain why boutique gyms need a complete marketing system that combines paid ads, organic efforts, and strong follow-up. They break down the risks of relying only on referrals or social content and explain how problem-based advertising and fast lead response improve conversions. They also highlights the value of working with experienced agencies that provide clear data and faster testing feedback.Episode OutlineImportance of using multiple marketing channelsLimitations of relying only on referrals and reactivationsCommon failures seen with underperforming marketing agenciesWhy paid ads provide faster feedback and scalabilityThe impact of slow follow-up on lost leadsFixing sales systems before increasing ad spendOrganic reach challenges and algorithm limitationsCreating problem-based ads that resonate with prospectsImportance of testing different ad creatives and copyUsing data to guide marketing decisionsMaintaining professionalism and honest client communicationSetting realistic expectations for gym growthEpisode Chapters00:00 Intro01:00 Setting the Stage: Beyond Referrals & Events02:30 Podcast Intro & Purpose of the Show04:00 Today's Mission: Debunking Agency Myths06:30 Responding to “Why Marketing Agencies Are Failing Gyms”10:00 Lasso's Origin Story & Power of Messaging15:00 Evolution of Gym Marketing & Rise of Competition19:00 Why Work With an Agency vs DIY AdsAction TakenProvide client training on follow-up and sales workflowsTest client-owned images in ad creative and compare performanceReview inbound discovery calls and determine fit after each callConclusionConsistent gym growth comes from alignment between marketing, messaging, and follow-up. When gyms rely on a single channel or ignore speed-to-lead, conversions suffer. A balanced, data-informed system creates more predictable results.CTAListen to the full episode and follow the show for more gym marketing clarity.

Had an AHA or Insight? Share it:Silence may or may not be a conscious decision. Many of us don't choose it deliberately but rather let it develop through small, reasonable choices. We are managing risk, protecting credibility, waiting for the right moment to say the right thing. And then that moment doesn't come and staying quiet becomes our default. It seems to be sensible especially when speaking up puts us in the crosshairs, exposes us to public shaming or cancellation, or creates real personal risk. There are plenty of examples out there when this goes wrong. Why would we take that kind of risk?That's why you remain neutral.You stay professional.You tell yourself it's strategic, temporary, or simply not your place.Over time, that silence becomes the standard. The line between discretion and compliance becomes blurry. What you choose not to say becomes as defining as what you do. Leadership narrows because the cost of speaking starts to feel higher than the cost of staying quiet.In this solo episode of The Business Growth Architect Show: Founders of the Future, I examine silence as a leadership pattern and what it costs us over time—personally, professionally, and systemically.Drawing from history, spiritual principles, business strategy, and of course my own lived experience, I explore boundaries as orientation points rather than avoidance. A boundary that doesn't include a stand isn't a boundary at all.Our systems are under pressure. What you do now matters for your future. Leadership is not about being liked. It's about clarity, integrity, and the willingness to stand when it matters.This conversation stays centered on leader responsibility: how silence becomes complicit, how pressure creates false choices, how polarity is mistaken for extremism, and how values erode incrementally rather than all at once.#agency #speakup #FoundersOfTheFuture  #Leadership #Boundaries #EthicalLeadership Resources Mentioned:Website | LinkedIn | Instagram | YouTube | TikTok | Podcast | Substack_____________________We appreciate you, thank you for listening. Let us know in the comments what resonated in this episode, we want to hear from you. Leave a comment, like, share with one person who needs to hear the message our guest shared. Take our QUIZ and find out what your talent is worth in this market: What's Your Talent Worth (http://WhatsYourTalentWorth.com)Follow us on Instagram:Check us out on Tik Tok: Work With Us

Welcome to another impactful episode of Build a Better Agency! This week, host Drew McLellan sits down with AI strategist and data tinkerer Cade Dannels to demystify the true potential of artificial intelligence for agencies. If you're tired of hearing the same surface-level conversations about AI writing blog posts, buckle up—this conversation digs deeper. Drew McLellan and Cade Dannels break down how agencies can move beyond basic content generation and leverage AI for operational excellence, lead generation, and creating scalable efficiencies that truly impact the bottom line. Cade Dannels shares his journey from automation enthusiast to agency consultant and reveals the untapped goldmine lurking in most agencies: mountains of unstructured data, from transcripts to emails to proposals. You'll learn practical strategies for onboarding AI as you would a new employee, structuring your agency's unique frameworks into these systems, and using time-tracking to identify tasks ready for automation. The episode also covers step-by-step DIY approaches agencies can start today—no massive tech team or budget required. Together, Drew McLellan and Cade Dannels unpack the real-world process of using AI for smarter lead qualification, nurturing, and personalized outreach—without losing that human touch. They address common concerns about errors, model selection, and how to experiment meaningfully as you climb the AI learning curve. You'll also hear creative ways to motivate team engagement and discover actionable prompts and experiments you can implement immediately.   Don't miss this episode if you're ready to stop dabbling in AI and start harnessing its full agency-transforming power. Whether you're an agency owner taking your first experimental steps or already integrating AI but unsure where to go next, this conversation will help you confidently build a roadmap for impactful, ongoing innovation.   A big thank you to our podcast's presenting sponsor, White Label IQ. They're an amazing resource for agencies who want to outsource their design, dev, or PPC work at wholesale prices. Check out their special offer (10 free hours!) for podcast listeners here. What You Will Learn in This Episode: Rethinking agency AI: beyond content creation to business operations   Experimentation as the foundation for AI success in agencies Leveraging your agency's unique data and frameworks to unlock AI's full potential Practical lead generation automation with AI—sourcing, qualifying, and nurturing prospects The importance of "onboarding" AI like a new team member for better, more relevant outputs Humanizing AI-driven outreach through strategic inputs and oversight Start small, experiment broadly, and engage your whole team in AI discovery

Would you like access to our advanced agency training for FREE? https://www.agencymastery360.com/training When Melany Robinson lost 70% of her agency's revenue overnight during COVID, she didn't just "cut costs." She rebuilt her team around trust, ownership, and shared sacrifice and learned why keeping C players is one of the most expensive mistakes agency owners make. This episode is a masterclass in leadership, culture, and making hard decisions without losing your soul. Guest Overview Melany Robinson is the founder of SproutHouse, a 30-person integrated communications agency serving hospitality, real estate, and lifestyle brands. She's led her agency through rebrands, crises, and COVID, emerging stronger, leaner, and clearer on what real team culture actually means. What You'll Learn Why COVID exposed the hidden cracks in most agency team structures The real cost of keeping "C players" during uncertain times How to handle massive revenue loss without destroying trust The mindset shift from "managing people" to leading a team Why retreats, alignment, and shared experiences matter more than perks Key Takeaways You can't afford C players, especially during down cycles Shared sacrifice builds loyalty; secrecy destroys it Letting clients out of contracts can be a long-term growth play Culture isn't words on a wall. It's how people show up under pressure Great leaders give clarity, not control The best teams row in sync or the boat doesn't move Subscribe Apple | Spotify | iHeart Radio Sponsors and Resources This episode is brought to you by Wix Studio: If you're leveling up your team and your client experience, your site builder should keep up too. That's why successful agencies use Wix Studio — built to adapt the way your agency does: AI-powered site mapping, responsive design, flexible workflows, and scalable CMS tools so you spend less on plugins and more on growth. Ready to design faster and smarter? Go to wix.com/studio to get started. What Losing 70% of Revenue Taught One Agency Owner About Leadership Most agency owners agree that culture matters. But culture doesn't show up when revenue is up and clients are easy. It shows up when 70% of your revenue disappears overnight. That's exactly what happened to Melany Robinson, founder of Sprout House, when COVID hit. Hospitality clients vanished. Contracts evaporated. The "we'll figure it out" optimism most agency owners run on suddenly wasn't enough. And here's the part most people won't admit: This is where weak leadership gets exposed. The Myth: "If I Work Hard and Treat Clients Well, Growth Is Guaranteed" Before COVID, Melany believed what a lot of agency owners believe: Do great work. Act with integrity. Revenue will take care of itself. COVID blew that illusion up. Revenue is never guaranteed. Clients don't owe you loyalty. And culture doesn't magically hold when fear enters the room. So instead of hiding behind executive decisions, Melany did something most agency owners are terrified to do: She brought the team into the truth. Radical Transparency Beats Quiet Panic Sprout House told clients they could exit contracts. No penalties. Then Melany sat down with her team and laid out the reality: Revenue was down 70%. Something had to change. The choice wasn't who gets cut. It was how do we survive this together? The team chose shared compensation reductions over layoffs. Some people left. Others stayed. And that's when the real lesson emerged. The Hidden Cost of C Players C players aren't bad people. They just show up for themselves first. In good times, they're invisible and in hard times, they drain energy, margin, and morale. Melany realized something every scaling agency owner eventually learns the hard way: You can't afford C players during down cycles or up cycles. They don't row in sync. They protect their seat instead of the boat. On the contrary, A-players lean in. They sacrifice. They care about the whole. And those people are worth everything. Leadership Isn't Managing. It's Creating Clarity Melany doesn't pretend to be a great "manager." Great agency founders don't micromanage. They cast vision, set expectations, and get out of the way. Clarity isn't being bossy. It's saying: "This is what needs to be done. By this date. I trust you to figure out how." That's how you get leaders, not task-doers. Why Culture Is Built Outside the Office Sprout House invests heavily in retreats and real connection. They take the team horseback riding, snowmobiling, swimming in cenotes, and playing games by the pool. Not strategy decks. Not whiteboards. Why? Because trust isn't built in Zoom meetings. It's built when people see each other as humans instead of roles. And when things get hard, that trust is the difference between fragmentation and resilience. The Agency Owner Reality Check If you're honest, you've probably felt some version of this: You're stuck in fulfillment You're carrying people who aren't carrying their weight Revenue feels fragile You're not paying yourself what you should You know something has to change, but you're avoiding the decision This episode isn't about COVID. It's about leadership. And the uncomfortable truth that scaling requires subtraction before multiplication. The Question Is Simple Who's really in your boat? Because hope isn't a strategy. And C players are more expensive than you think. Do You Want to Transform Your Agency from a Liability to an Asset? Looking to dig deeper into your agency's potential? Check out our Agency Blueprint. Designed for agency owners like you, our Agency Blueprint helps you uncover growth opportunities, tackle obstacles, and craft a customized blueprint for your agency's success.

What makes customers remember your brand instead of scrolling past? Anique Mautner breaks it down to three essentials: relevance, distinction, and clarity. On the Expert Inside Interview podcast, Mautner revealed how brands win by embracing imperfection. She references kintsugi—Japanese pottery repaired with gold—as the perfect metaphor. "Your cracks make you memorable, not your polish," she explains. Her advice for marketers? Stop chasing perfection. AI can generate flawless content, but audiences crave authentic human stories. Listen deeply to your customers, highlight what makes you unique (including your flaws), and communicate with crystal clarity. The brands thriving today aren't the most polished—they're the most genuine. In a world of AI-generated sameness, your authentic imperfections become your competitive edge.

2028 Olympics organizing chair Casey Wasserman is putting his talent agency for sale following the release of emails between him and Ghislaine Maxwell. ICE and Border Patrol agents have vacated the U.S. Coast Guard facility on Terminal Island they’d been using as a base for immigration enforcement. How one man is showing his love for South Central, by picking up one piece of litter at a time. Plus, more. Support The L.A. Report by donating at LAist.com/join and by visiting https://laist.com Visit www.preppi.com/LAist to receive a FREE Preppi Emergency Kit (with any purchase over $100) and be prepared for the next wildfire, earthquake or emergency!Support the show: https://laist.com

Welcome to our last mission to say goodbye to the Agency. It seems fitting that we do this on Valentine’s Day, exactly six years after we started. We’ve gathered a collection of Agents to reminisce about some favourite episodes, provide recommendations for what we should have talked about, and get sentimental about memories of the past 6 years. We are glad you are here to join us on our final love fest to celebrate what was and where you can continue to find us on the Incomparable mission. We love our listeners! Thank you for being Agents of SMOOCH with us. Annette Wierstra with Moisés Chiullán, Kirsten Goruk, Sandra Wong, Kathy Campbell, Shelly Brisbin, Micheline Maynard and James Thomson.

AP correspondent Julie Walker reports on the fallout from the Jeffrey Epstein emails, involving an LA Olympics organizer who also owns a powerhouse talent agency.

Teaser ... Recap: how MAGA's domestic and foreign policy fit together as one project ... MAGA reframed as a response to a felt lack of agency ... AI is about to make that loss of agency universal ... The first technology we're actually transferring agency to ... What Claude Code is doing to Nikita's creative process ... Will people use their free time well — or sit on a couch and inject heroin? ... Why Spanish festival culture might survive AI better than anyone ... Bots on the street, humans in the parlor: the future of online spaces ... Reading a comment and being depressed by both possibilities ...

What if sustainable growth isn't about becoming the biggest player in the market? Agencies triple in size and lose their soul. They chase national footprints and abandon the community relationships that made them valuable. Meanwhile, regional firms with deep roots are building something holding companies can't replicate. In this episode, host Dan Nestle sits down with Jennifer Kaplan, founder and president of Evolve PR and Marketing—Arizona's largest PR firm. Since 2010, Jen has grown to 28 full-time publicists serving more than 140 clients. She's earned Copper Anvil's 2025 Agency of the Year and PR News' Top Women in PR—but the real story is how she built an agency that's simultaneously deeply local and nationally sophisticated. Dan and Jen explore why relationship-driven business is becoming a competitive moat in the AI era, the tension between AI efficiency and human authenticity, and what two decades of agency leadership teaches you about leading through chaos without losing what makes you special. Listen in and hear about... Why local authority often delivers more impact than national vanity coverage Balancing AI tool adoption with authentic client and media relationships Building agency culture through purpose, consistency, and trust The power of niche specialization over broad service sprawl Leadership lessons from 20 years of agency growth—including when to stop trying to do it all Notable Quotes from Jennifer Kaplan "My mom would say that I was born doing pr, and it is something that I love so much because I feel like it's who I am. So when I talk to people, I do say, you know, look at something that isn't just a job." [00:04:07 – 00:04:23] "With any trend, I feel in any business you have to be on it, you have to be aware, but don't lose your identity and don't let it replace things that it shouldn't replace." [00:11:19 – 00:11:34] "You have to be in tune with AI, but I wouldn't let it take the place of so many wonderful things that we can offer as individuals and that are afforded us in, in the world." [00:12:45 – 00:13:02] "Go be you. You know, don't let AI or all the things that are around us take away from who you are and lose who you know what makes you special." [01:04:02 – 01:04:15] Resources and Links Dan Nestle Inquisitive Communications | Website The Trending Communicator | Website Communications Trends from Trending Communicators | Dan Nestle's Substack Dan Nestle | LinkedIn Jennifer Kaplan Evolve PR and Marketing | Website Jennifer Kaplan | LinkedIn Timestamps 0:00:00 Introduction: Rethinking Growth in Communications0:07:44 Importance of Networking, Building Trust, and Relationships0:13:09 Navigating AI's Impact on Communications and Authentic Content0:18:32 Evolve PR's Niche Approach and Building Media Relationships0:24:03 Local vs. National Recognition: Awards, Impact, and Credibility0:31:17 Challenges of Speed and Building Relationships in PR0:36:30 Integrating Traditional and Tech Approaches in PR0:43:38 Measuring Success and the Role of Tools like AI in Agency Work0:45:49 Purpose-Driven Work and Letting Team Guide Agency Culture0:51:01 Agency Values: Neutrality, Team Dynamics, and Audience Focus0:56:12 Leadership Lessons: Don't Try to Do It All, Embrace Mistakes1:04:02 Closing Thoughts: “Go Be You” and Staying Authentic (Notes co-created by Human Dan, Claude, and Castmagic) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Could your profitability improve simply by replacing instinct-driven decisions with clearer financial and operational data?In this episode of The Agency Blueprint podcast, I break down one of the most overlooked reasons agencies struggle to grow: scaling too fast, too blindly, and with too much gut instinct. I explain why many agency owners fall into the trap of hiring quickly, offering too many services, and over-delivering in an attempt to drive results, when in reality, these habits often erode profit, damage systems, and create long-term instability. Don't miss this episode to learn more about how to ground your decisions in financial benchmarks, operational clarity, and incremental improvements. Key Questions: [00:32] Are you scaling too quickly out of instinct rather than insight? [02:27] Are you overwhelming clients with solutions when all they need is one clear, stabilizing action? [05:03] Are you unknowingly scaling chaos by growing a broken delivery system? [09:14] Is over-delivery destroying your margins and setting unrealistic long-term client expectations? [11:56] Are you trying to grow a model that isn't structurally sound yet? What You'll Discover: [01:16] How instinct-driven decision-making leads agencies into chaos, especially as financial stakes grow. [01:53] Why agencies must stop throwing every possible solution at clients when what they need most is a single strategic fix. [03:07] Understanding that scaling isn't about adding more services—it's about identifying which actions create measurable progress. [04:03] A client case study showing how slowing growth and focusing on profitability created transformational results. [05:39] How focusing on profitability over vanity metrics gives agencies greater long-term freedom and optionality. [07:51] The importance of understanding basic financial statements and benchmarks, even for creative founders who dislike numbers. [09:15] How over-delivery damages margins, creates unrealistic client expectations, and ultimately undermines long-term relationships. [10:34] A home-building analogy illustrating why agencies must strengthen their foundation before trying to expand. [11:56] Dangers of scaling prematurely – why many sub–$2M agencies must fix their model before chasing more leads and revenue.

Most small law firm owners hire “marketing agencies” to fix growth… and end up with more software, more dashboards, more coaching calls but the same revenue stress.An ad agency's primary job is simple: generate leads.In this episode, Richard James breaks down:How to choose the right ad agency for your law firmWhy most law firm marketing agencies bolt on unnecessary servicesHow to tell if your law firm needs more leads or better lead conversionWhat law firm owners should track before hiring an ad agencyHow to structure a law firm advertising agency agreement correctly◼️If you want help diagnosing your growth bottlenecks, visit http://thelawfirmsecret.com/ for free tools and resources.

Send a text

Since the last time he was on, a lot has changed. Dagan launched the Nomadic Research podcast out of Dixon, Illinois and went all in on building something of his own. Rural northwest Illinois, limestone bluffs, the Rock River, big whitetails, and just enough distance from Chicago to keep your sanity intact. Not a bad place to build a studio and start the next chapter. Evan and Dagan get into the why behind it. Why Illinois. Why leave a long career. Why step out and start talking publicly after years of working inside one of the largest and most misunderstood organizations in the country. Dagan walks through his background growing up in a Marine family, doing 12 years in the Corps across infantry and reconnaissance billets, then making the jump to the Agency where he and Evan worked together for years. They talk candidly about the difference between the tactical side of the house and where the real strategic decisions get made, the infamous seventh floor, and what it is like to be a small cog inside a 23,000 person machine. There is humor, a few shots at California, some perspective on career pivots, and a real look at professional evolution from Marine to operator to podcaster and business owner. This one is about reinvention, loyalty to where you came from, and figuring out what comes next when you have already done a few lifetimes worth of work. Grab a cup of coffee and settle in.

On the 11 February 2026 Wednesday Night Live show, Stefan Molyneux discusses demoralization, comparing it to a leaf drifting toward a waterfall. He points out problems with cultural distractions, media manipulation, and the decline in family values, while pushing people to consider their own choices and what matters most. He advocates for a group effort to foster resilience amid growing societal despair.GET FREEDOMAIN MERCH! https://shop.freedomain.com/SUBSCRIBE TO ME ON X! https://x.com/StefanMolyneuxFollow me on Youtube! https://www.youtube.com/@freedomain1GET MY NEW BOOK 'PEACEFUL PARENTING', THE INTERACTIVE PEACEFUL PARENTING AI, AND THE FULL AUDIOBOOK!https://peacefulparenting.com/Join the PREMIUM philosophy community on the web for free!Subscribers get 12 HOURS on the "Truth About the French Revolution," multiple interactive multi-lingual philosophy AIs trained on thousands of hours of my material - as well as AIs for Real-Time Relationships, Bitcoin, Peaceful Parenting, and Call-In Shows!You also receive private livestreams, HUNDREDS of exclusive premium shows, early release podcasts, the 22 Part History of Philosophers series and much more!See you soon!https://freedomain.locals.com/support/promo/UPB2025

What if the secret to better training isn't more control—but more choice?In this episode, we explore one of the most powerful shifts in modern dog training: giving dogs agency. Choice-based training is transforming how we teach, focusing on collaboration instead of compliance. From cues like “go sniff” to intentional break times and consent-based handling, we'll unpack how small moments of choice create big breakthroughs in learning.You'll discover why dogs who are given options often learn faster, retain behaviors longer, and build deeper trust with their humans. We'll talk about how offering choice reduces stress, increases engagement, and strengthens the relationship at the heart of training.Because when dogs have choices, they don't just perform—they participate. And that changes everything.Support the showFollow us on social mediaInstagram @BAXTERandBella Facebook @TheOnlinePuppySchool YouTube @BAXTERandBellaSubscribe to our site for FREE weekly training tips! Check out our FREE resources!Join our membership here.

First off, I'm happy to announce Sean has returned! This week, we're talking about a framework can do the work (and produce the results) of a $30,000 per month agency. Make no mistake, this framework includes A.I., but it's not "just" a.i. It turns out the "new tech" works best when you marry it to some "old techniques"​. Spiritual Foundations - Let's talk about Psalm 37:4 Take delight in the Lord, ​ and he will give you the desires of your heart. ​Does this mean that the faithful followers get everything they want? Would truly taking delight in the Lord change your desires? Feature Presentation ​ AI's role in business Where to start with all of this new stuff What can it really do for you? (and, what you must still do for yourself) A simple, modern marketing framework that works for any business AIDA - Attention, interest, desire, action The "infomercial" formula. Cheesy, but effective. How would it work for a coffee shop? What's on tap for next week How You Can Help Subscribe to the show in Apple Podcasts or on Spotify, and give us a rating and review. Make sure you put your real name and website in the text of the review itself. We will definitely mention you on this show. Questions or comments? Connect with Ray on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram Visit Ray's community on Facebook – This is a friendly group of writers, entrepreneurs, and coaches who share ideas and helpful advice.

Adopted at birth, Jenna Wysocki grew up with a strong sense of purpose and family. Now she's approaching birth in a way that's informed, intentional, and fully in charge. Her home birth story is a blue print for reclaiming agency through birth. Connect with the guest: @jennawysocki Grow with us on ⁠IP+⁠! Informed Pregnancy Media presents two all new intimate short-form video series following Garrett and HeHe's real-time pregnancy journeys as they prepare for an empowered birth and postpartum experience. Each episode features weekly updates with personal photos and videos to help bring these raw stories to life, a visually dynamic guide through each mother's emotional and physical experiences. ⁠Watch Growing with Garrett⁠ ⁠Watch Growing with HeHe⁠ Keep up with Dr. Berlin and Informed Pregnancy Media online! ⁠⁠⁠informedpregnancy.com⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠@doctorberlin⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Youtube⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠X⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg, Dani speaks with Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli, the President and CEO of the ONE Campaign. They discuss how the dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development has impacted the African continent, the opportunities this shifting landscape creates for the emergence of African-led solutions, and the innovative women spearheading food and agriculture systems transformation. Plus, hear about the recent extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, severe storm damage in Portugal and Spain causing hundreds of millions of euros in agricultural losses, new recommendations from the World Resources Institute for retailers to help reduce household food waste, and a looming strike at the JBS meatpacking plant in Colorado over alleged inhumane working conditions. Dani also discusses GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy, noting their complex and under-researched impact on people with eating disorders, including both potential benefits and serious risks. While you're listening, subscribe, rate, and review the show; it would mean the world to us to have your feedback. You can listen to "Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg" wherever you consume your podcasts.

Ben Altman is the CEO and Chief Investment Officer of Altman Advisors, a multi-family office he co-founded with his father in 2016 that serves high-net-worth families. The firm provides comprehensive wealth management, financial planning, and legacy planning services. Under Ben's leadership, Altman Advisors has built a multi-generational client base, established a ten-year investment track record, and is pursuing GIPS® certification to uphold global best practices in investment performance reporting. An active member of YPO (Young Presidents' Organization) and EO (Entrepreneurs' Organization), Ben is focused on integrating AI to enhance client service and internal operations. In this episode… What separates financial advisors who consistently thrive from those struggling to keep pace in a rapidly evolving market? How do top advisors build enduring client relationships while navigating volatility, risk, and accelerating technological change? Increasingly, the answer lies at the intersection of legacy thinking, economic discipline, and AI-driven efficiency. Ben Altman, a wealth management expert with multi-generational advisory experience, exemplifies how disciplined investment strategy, rigorous diversification, and thoughtful technology adoption define modern financial advisory success. Drawing on lessons from past market cycles, Ben emphasizes the importance of avoiding concentrated risk. He also highlights the value of leveraging AI tools, such as voice-to-text dictation and context-driven prompting, to streamline workflows and enhance real-time client responsiveness.  In this episode of the Inspired Insider Podcast, Dr. Jeremy Weisz sits down with Ben Altman, CEO and Chief Investment Officer of Altman Advisors, to explore how family legacy, economic strategy, and AI converge in modern wealth management. They discuss how Ben utilizes AI to scale operations and the principles behind proactive client engagement. They also explore practical frameworks for building resilient, long-term relationships that prioritize personalized care, which is essential for trust.

Join us LIVE on February 12th at 1:00 PM CTHow Accountable Is Your Insurance Agency—Really?

Too many insurance producers are playing Pat-A-Cake with their insurance careers. They're not taking seriously the need to focus, to get prepared, to see what works and pivot as needed, etc. They're just wingin' it, throwing mud against the wall to see what sticks. But you don't want to play Pat-A-Cake with your commission check. In this episode, host Charles Specht explains what both producers and agency leaders need to do to get serious about winning in order to build a $1,000,000 or more Book of Business. ---------- PS --->>> The next cohort of the "PERMISSION PRODUCER SCHOOL" will be starting on February 16, 2026. Find out more information by visiting: www.PermissionProducerSchool.com You won't want to miss out on this one! Key Topics: Playing Pat-A-Cake with prospecting, scripting, and career shows up in your commission check Winging it without researching carriers, appetites, and competitors is patty cake business Why prospects say no: you failed to articulate your value compared to your fee Recording yourself prospecting reveals where you lose attention and energy in your script Agency owners can't afford to let producers wing it when hiring costs too much Creating cold call scripts, one-liners, and differentiation statements eliminates amateur behavior What no really means: you haven't helped them understand the value of moving forward yet Tracking social media and email analytics helps dominate your space instead of guessing Permission Producer School teaches how to dominate with broker of record letters and full marketplace exclusivity Reach out to  Charles Specht Visit: Permission Producer School Permission Network Produced by PodSquad.fm

The life of James Van Der Beek is celebrated by his "Dawson's Creek" family. California considers creating its own science agency in response to Trump Administration funding cuts. The VA takes steps towards the creation of a veterans housing hub on the Westside. Plus, more from Morning Edition. Support The L.A. Report by donating at LAist.com/join and by visiting https://laist.comSupport the show: https://laist.com

Too many insurance producers are playing Pat-A-Cake with their insurance careers. They're not taking seriously the need to focus, to get prepared, to see what works and pivot as needed, etc. They're just wingin' it, throwing mud against the wall to see what sticks. But you don't want to play Pat-A-Cake with your commission check. In this episode, host Charles Specht explains what both producers and agency leaders need to do to get serious about winning in order to build a $1,000,000 or more Book of Business. ---------- PS --->>> The next cohort of the "PERMISSION PRODUCER SCHOOL" will be starting on February 16, 2026. Find out more information by visiting: www.PermissionProducerSchool.com You won't want to miss out on this one! Key Topics: Playing Pat-A-Cake with prospecting, scripting, and career shows up in your commission check Winging it without researching carriers, appetites, and competitors is patty cake business Why prospects say no: you failed to articulate your value compared to your fee Recording yourself prospecting reveals where you lose attention and energy in your script Agency owners can't afford to let producers wing it when hiring costs too much Creating cold call scripts, one-liners, and differentiation statements eliminates amateur behavior What no really means: you haven't helped them understand the value of moving forward yet Tracking social media and email analytics helps dominate your space instead of guessing Permission Producer School teaches how to dominate with broker of record letters and full marketplace exclusivity Reach out to  Charles Specht Visit: Permission Producer School Permission Network Produced by PodSquad.fm

Neoborn Caveman delivers a pro-humanity critique of compliance experiments reshaping choices into cages, exposing how banks, parking, and services add friction to analog options through app mandates while presenting digital paths as convenient, warns of inertia leading to total tracking where refusal becomes suspicious, highlights how each reasonable rung builds inescapable infrastructure linking to digital IDs and programmable currency, and urges embracing inconvenience now through cash use and analog insistence to preserve autonomy before alternatives vanish.Key TakeawaysCompliance relies on voluntary inertia.Friction disguises digital mandates.Analog alternatives become burdensome.Normalization expands control scope.Refusal signals wrongdoing in systems.Infrastructure locks in surveillance.Inconvenience preserves future options.Cash maintains independent choices.Awareness breaks gradual entrapment.Humanity requires deliberate resistance.Sound Bites"Have you noticed how we're living through the largest compliance experiment in human history, and most people think they're just getting better customer service?""The world is being reshaped so that certain choices become nearly impossible to make.""Many banks now require app-based authentication for anything beyond basic logins.""Don't have a smartphone? Well, you can visit a branch during business hours—assuming there's still one near you, and assuming you can get there when it's actually open.""It's friction disguised as security. Inconvenience packaged as protection.""Have you tried to park somewhere recently without an app? Tried to access certain government services without downloading something?""Each system, taken individually, seems reasonable. Each one offers an analog alternative. Technically.""But have you noticed how those alternatives work? They're slower. They require extra steps. They make you feel like you're being difficult.""What we're watching is a carefully constructed ladder where each rung seems reasonable in isolation.""Once the infrastructure is fully digital, fully tracked, fully programmable—asking nicely for your freedom back isn't going to cut it."Join the tea house at patreon.com/theneoborncavemanshow —free to enter, real talk, lives, no ads, no algorithms.keywords: compliance experiments, app mandates, analog friction, digital cage, voluntary control, surveillance normalization, digital ids, programmable currency, autonomy loss, resistance inconvenienceHumanity centered satirical takes on the world & news + music - with a marble mouthed host.Free speech marinated in comedy.Supporting Purple Rabbits.Viva los Conejos Morados. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

David C. Baker recently published a fascinating thought experiment about what he’d do if starting an agency from scratch today—and it’s packed with provocative ideas worth serious consideration. His article offers a comprehensive blueprint covering everything from organizational structure to compensation philosophy, and much of it aligns with how Chip and Gini think about building sustainable agencies. But the most interesting conversations happen when smart people disagree, which is why this episode focuses on the handful of points where Chip and Gini see things differently. Not because Baker’s ideas are bad, but because they expose the tension between aspirational agency management and the messy realities of running a business with real budgets, real people, and real client demands. In this episode, Chip and Gini tackle mandatory one-month sabbaticals for every employee, open-book finances published on your website, 360-degree reviews, and incentive compensation structures. They dig into why ideas that sound compelling in theory often create unintended consequences in practice—like how retention-based bonuses can fuel scope creep, or why forced sabbaticals don’t actually solve the single-point-of-failure problem they’re designed to address. The conversation reveals thoughtful nuance on both sides. Gini shares her brutal experience with anonymous feedback that backfired when presented poorly. Chip explains why he sees most performance measurement systems as “performance theater” while still advocating for more financial transparency with teams. They discuss the logistical nightmares of scheduling multiple month-long absences and why backup systems for unexpected departures matter more than planned time off. Throughout, they return to a central theme: what works brilliantly at one stage of growth can be completely wrong at another. The goal isn’t to declare Baker’s ideas right or wrong, but to test assumptions and recognize that even the most well-intentioned frameworks deserve scrutiny before implementation. Key takeaways Chip Griffin: “Really to deal with single points of failure, you need to be able to handle those unexpected absences, right? Someone has a family emergency, someone has a health issue. Those are the kinds of things that you wanna make sure you’ve handled.” Gini Dietrich: “When you’re constantly slacking or texting or calling while on vacation, and we don’t give you a response, it makes people angry. But what I’m trying to do is give you the time off because you deserve it and I want you to come back refreshed and ready to work.” Chip Griffin: “When you have incentive compensation, whether that is commissions or for hitting profit targets, the problem that you run into is people tend to focus on the thing that gets them the commission. It doesn’t mean that it’s good revenue. It doesn’t mean that it’s profitable.” Gini Dietrich: “I subscribe to give ongoing feedback. You get feedback consistently. And when we’re in a meeting and I see something that you did really great or I see something that could use some work, I tell you that immediately.” Turn Ideas Into Action Read Baker’s full article and identify your three favorites. Don’t just focus on the disagreements—pull out the ideas that resonate most with your vision for your agency and commit to implementing one of them this quarter. The value in thought experiments like this isn’t picking sides, but using them to clarify what you actually want to build. Spend 30 minutes reading, then schedule time to test one concept that genuinely excites you. Identify your true single points of failure. List every critical role in your agency, then honestly assess what would happen if that person disappeared tomorrow without warning. Focus on unexpected absences—not planned sabbaticals—because those expose the real vulnerabilities. For each critical role, document who could cover the basics for 1-2 weeks while you figure out a longer-term solution. This takes less than an hour and protects you better than mandatory vacation policies. Replace annual reviews with ongoing feedback. If you currently do annual or 360-degree reviews, shift to giving immediate feedback when you observe something—positive or negative. Make it a two-sentence conversation: “That client presentation was excellent because you anticipated their objections” or “When you miss that deadline without communication, it creates problems for the team.” Save annual conversations for compensation changes and goal-setting, not for dumping a year’s worth of stored-up feedback all at once. Resources David C. Baker’s article If I Started A New Firm, Now Related Starting your own agency Should you force employees to take time off? Setting your agency's PTO, vacation, and leave policies Employee compensation essentials for agencies View Transcript The following is a computer-generated transcript. Please listen to the audio to confirm accuracy. Chip Griffin: Hello, and welcome to another episode of the Agency Leadership Podcast. I’m Chip Griffin. Gini Dietrich: And I’m Gini Dietrich. Chip Griffin: And Gini, we’re going back to a place that we’ve used for inspiration before. And no, I’m not talking about Reddit this time. Oh, I’m, I’m sorry. Dear listeners, this is not one of our Reddit episodes. Gini Dietrich: I, I’m always scared of the Reddit episodes. Chip Griffin: The Reddit episodes are always, they’re interesting. We’ll leave it at that. Gini Dietrich: Yeah. I saw one the other day that I was like, oh boy, okay. In the real world… Chip Griffin: Sometimes I just, I read those posts in the, in the agency subreddit, and I just, I wonder if, if they’re actual, real people posting about real stuff, because some of it just seems so insane that it just couldn’t be real. Gini Dietrich: Yes. And some of it is very junior level entitled frustrations who don’t understand how a business operates. And so some of it you’re just like, Ugh. Okay. Chip Griffin: Yep. But I mean, we were all once those people sort of a little bit Gini Dietrich: Fair, true. Chip Griffin: At one point in time. Gini Dietrich: Yes. So absolutely. Chip Griffin: But that is not what this episode is. We are going to use another source of inspiration for us that we’ve used in the past, and that is David C. Baker. And, in this case, he had a post in his newsletter recently about what he would do if he was starting his own agency today. And it’s a lengthy article that walks through all of the different choices, that he would make strategically and tactically for the business. And there’s a lot of good food for thought in there. It’s, mm-hmm. It’s probably gonna inspire a few additional episodes, down the road as we dig deeper into some of the specific topics there. But, one of the things that I did on LinkedIn was I broke out into four buckets, my perspective on it, and broke it into things that I agree with, things that I agreed to disagree with. It depends because, hey, that’s our motto here, so why not? It does depend. Yes. Yep. And then of course, food for thought. So, there are far too many points for us to cover in a reasonably length podcast episode. So. I figured why not be controversial? Let’s deal with the disagrees that I had on my list and, use that as our jumping off point. And we’ll of course include a link to the article in the show notes that you can go read the full article as well as additional context around what we’re gonna talk about today because there is a lot to, to explore here. Gini Dietrich: And I think the buckets that you, you broke it into are really good. And for the most part I agree with how you’ve compartmentalized them all. But there are some interesting ones on the agree to disagree bucket. So let’s, let’s do that. Let’s start there. Chip Griffin: Alright. Do you have, do you have one that you would like to start with or do you want me to just start calling ones out? Gini Dietrich: Let’s see. Yeah, there’s, well, yes I do. That we require one month annual sabbatical to eliminate single points of failure. Sounds lovely. I would also like a one month sabbatical every year. Chip Griffin: It’s as, as I understood the article, and it is possible, I misunderstood the intent in the article, but as I understood it, he was suggesting that every year, every employee. Gini Dietrich: Everyone. Yes. Chip Griffin: Had to take a full one month sabbatical. Gini Dietrich: Yes. That’s how I read it as well. Chip Griffin: That is, I mean, it’s a nice idea. I think it is highly impractical for most organizations. And look, I think the, stated intent here is truly a good one, which is to avoid those single points of failure, over reliance on any individual team member. Yeah. ’cause this is a giant problem for agencies, honestly, of most sizes until you get to be giant. But it is something that, that you need to be conscious of. I don’t know that you need a full one month sabbatical for every employee every year in order to get there. Gini Dietrich: Yeah, and I mean, truth be told, like if you’re designing in the agency of the future and you’re starting from scratch today, I don’t know how you do that. I mean, to your point, even in a large organization, I don’t know that how, you do that because it costs a lot of money. Not just resources and time, but it costs money to have people out. And so, you know, if you’re a, you’re an agency of three people or you’re an agency of 50 people, or you’re an agency of hundreds of people, it still costs money. And so requiring that I think is a bit too much. And also, I will say that as somebody who has an extraordinary flexible and generous paid time off plan. There are people who take advantage of those things and you have to adjust to that, unfortunately. And I just don’t think it’s realistic. I don’t think it’s something that you could actually do. I don’t think it’s something you could enforce. I think it would be extraordinarily stressful for the person and for their team, even though it might be nice in writing. I don’t think it’s, realistic in practice. Chip Griffin: Well, I, think you, I mean, you, have a number of logistical issues that come into play here in addition to everything else. And particularly because one of the other, tenants in there that I, disagreed with was, that you would require all employees to take four one week vacations. Over the course of the year. So now you’ve, essentially got all employees out for two out of 12 months. Gini Dietrich: Two outta 12 months. Yes. Chip Griffin: And, that is logistically challenging because how do you do this and make sure that you don’t have too much overlap because inevitably there are certain times where people are going to prefer to do this. I mean, absolutely. If you want to take a one month sabbatical, most people are probably gonna want to do that over the summer months. Yes. When perhaps, you know, family members have access to vacation or those sorts of things. Gini Dietrich: Yep. Chip Griffin: Or they may want it end of year around the holidays and those kinds of things. So you, have collisions between people wanting the same time. If, they, can’t get what they want now, they may be frustrated that I gotta, you know, I have to take off a month in February. What good is that gonna do me? I mean, it’s cold, it’s snowy outside. My family can’t take the time off. My significant other won’t go. Like, Gini Dietrich: yeah, Chip Griffin: so what am I just gonna sit around in my house all day for the month. so I think there are some logistical challenges. So I guess what I, this is one of those ones where I’d say the ideal is nice. I’m not sure that it is practical to implement in the vast majority of firms. I would encourage instead that owners look and try to identify single points of failure and make sure that you have backups. Yes, yes. And frankly, those are important, whether you have someone taking a month off or a week off. And my view is that every employee should have a backup who can at least do the, minimum required for that role while they’re out. Particularly if they’re out suddenly, right? Because being able to plan for it. You’ve got a sabbatical, it’s on the calendar, six months ahead of time. You can get some stuff done early, you can push off some deadlines. There’s a lot of things you can do, but really to deal with single points of failure, you need to be able to handle those unexpected absences, right? Someone has a family emergency, someone has a health issue. Gini Dietrich: Yep. Chip Griffin: Someone gets an opportunity to go on a game show, I don’t know, whatever it is, that takes them away suddenly. Those are the kinds of things that you wanna make sure you’ve, handled, with single points of failure. So. Nice idea. I just, I, don’t think it’s practical for most firms. Gini Dietrich: Yeah. And the other thing I’ll say on the single point of failure piece is one of the things that I experience as an agency owner quite often is that my certain members of my team will take time off, but they can’t… They can’t allow themselves to take time off. So they’re constantly checking in and they’re constantly asking for updates and they’re constantly, and so one of the things I do with them is. You know, ensure A, that you have some backup, and B, that when you’re asking for updates or you’re constantly slacking or texting or calling, that we don’t, we don’t give you a response. And, it makes people angry. But what I’m trying to do is A, give you the time off because you deserve it and, I want you to come back refreshed and ready to work. And B, well, I’ll say C. Actually there’s three, three things, B there, nothing’s going to burn down while one person is out because we have backup and we do have places where there is not a single point of entry. And lastly, it’s really demeaning to your team, like it’s demeaning. And even me as the owner sometimes I’m like, well, don’t you trust me to fall to take care of your clients while you’re gone? Like, come on, seriously. Right. That’s how it makes you feel. So I would say that it’s important from a single point of entry perspective as well to ensure that on the opposite side, that the team feels comfortable taking time off, that they don’t feel angst about taking the time off, that they can take the time off, and that the team behind them is, feels empowered and ready and trusted to do the work. Chip Griffin: Spot on. Alright, well there’s, there’s a lot on this list. So let’s move on to, to something different. How about we talk about open book finances, because this is, one that, I, will say that I disagree with an asterisk. So I, what he’s advocating in his piece is open book finances, including public disclosure of finances on the agency’s website. Gini Dietrich: Nope. Chip Griffin: So, and in general, I am not a fan of full open book either internal or external. Gini Dietrich: Nope. Chip Griffin: However, I do believe that most agency owners would be better off being more transparent than they currently are with their teams. That doesn’t mean being complete open book, but it does mean at a minimum, sharing with them more specifically the trends that are going on with the agency. You know, Even if you take actual numbers out, I like to show charts that show the directionality of revenue, the directionality of expenses. You know, so that you can kind of see those mapped up against each other so that as an employee, you start to understand more about the fundamentals of the business. Gini Dietrich: Yep. Chip Griffin: And it starts to make you less surprised when you’re seeing growth and less surprised when you’re seeing, you know, a narrowing of the gap, say, between revenue and expenses. So therefore, profit is shrinking. I, think that there does need to be more communication about that with, as I always say, education. You can never provide numbers, whether that’s percentages or charts or actual numbers to your team without helping them to understand the economics of the business. Because otherwise you’re just giving them numbers that they will interpret however they want. But I do think the smarter you make your team about these things, the better they can help to manage project budgets, the better and more realistic they can be about compensation and bonuses. All of these things, information helps, but not in my view all the way to full open books, either internal and certainly not external. No, definitely not. I don’t see enough upside doing it external. Gini Dietrich: Definitely. I, can’t imagine doing it externally because all that does is open up the, an invitation for your clients to say, well, you don’t really need to be that profitable, so let’s, take some, let’s take a percentage off like the No, no, no, no, no. And I also think, if I read it correct, his article correctly, he was advocating for open book on everyone’s salaries too. And no, I mean, we do salary bands, but you, do not know exactly how much every person makes. That’s not, that does not contribute to any sort of morale building inside a culture. Absolutely not. Chip Griffin: Yeah. I mean, the only thing I will say to that is that, I, agree with you. However, the reality is that most people have a pretty good idea of what everybody else in the business except the owner is making anyway. And perhaps other select senior level people depending on, how your organization is structured. But pretty much all the juniors know what all every other junior makes. They all talk. Gini Dietrich: Well, and that’s why we have salary bands ’cause everybody pretty much makes the same Chip Griffin: right Gini Dietrich: amount. Right? Like they all make the same, but I’m still not publishing it. Chip Griffin: Exactly. And salary bands, you know, protect you. On that. And so, I mean, you could make the, case as long as you have tight salary bans. Gini Dietrich: Yep. Chip Griffin: Disclosure actually isn’t a problem. But you know, I don’t, I think as long as you have salary bands, you don’t need that. Obviously a lot of states are in here in the US are now requiring more disclosure around salary bands and that kind of stuff. So, you know, we’re headed there as an industry one way or the other. but I do think that salary bands are probably sufficient and, we don’t need to share actual salaries with team members. Gini Dietrich: Yeah, I totally agree with that. Chip Griffin: You know, that said, I will say that all of your employees think you make far more than you do. We’ve talked about this before, so there may actually be an upside for, most owners to share what their actual take home is because Gini Dietrich: that like 10 people actually make more than I do. Chip Griffin: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I know a lot of agencies where the owner is making less than team members. Gini Dietrich: Yes. Chip Griffin: Which is wild to me, but. Gini Dietrich: There’s also the upside on that though, if, you’re profitable and you make enough money at the end of the year, you get, you get that. But yes, from a salary perspective. Chip Griffin: Right, right. Alright, how about, 360s? My, one of my pet peeves. I consider it performance theater. I think most KPIs and OKRs and all these things, I think it’s all performance theater. I think it has very little to do with what actual performance outcomes you get from your team. But, 360s, you know, they’ve been popular for a couple of decades now. I don’t understand them. You know, I’ve been in organizations that, have done them. I will confess that, that, you know, at various points in time, my own businesses have experimented with them, and most of the feedback that you get from them is borderline worthless. Because most of it falls into the category of nobody wants to say anything really bad about anything else, it’s, you know, at worst it’s lukewarm. But then of course, you always get the random ones who just, they have an ax to grind Gini Dietrich: Yep. Chip Griffin: And they’re gonna use the 360 Yep. As their way to grind an ax against a colleague. Yep. Or, or another department. Yep. Or whatever. Gini Dietrich: Yep. Chip Griffin: And I, I’ve yet to see any, that actually helps to provide good feedback from the employees to the owner themselves. That’s just, I mean, you can tell people it’s anonymous. You can use an outside advisor to organize it, but people are not gonna put in writing. Even if they think it’s anonymous, any perspective about the owner, it just, it doesn’t happen in, the real world. Gini Dietrich: Yeah. I agree with you. The only time I’ve, and it this happened to me, the only time I’ve seen it be effective is I, early in my agency life, business life, I hired somebody externally to do interviews. It was all anonymous, it was all verbal, nothing was recorded, and people were absolutely brutal. And the way he presented it to me made me so defensive that I couldn’t take even the kernels of feedback that I needed to hear. And there was some in there, but it was so brutal. And he, the way, and he presented it, I, in retrospect, I think he embellished some of it to make me, I, to make it like more jarring and alarming. Because he thought that that would make me wake up and pay attention. And in fact, it had the opposite effect. It was not, not good at all. And then I didn’t feel good about the people I had hired. Because it was, it was brutal. So I agree that, they’re not great. I subscribe to the give feedback, ongoing feedback. And so I don’t do annual reviews, I don’t do 360 reviews. You get feedback consistently. And when we’re in a meeting and I see something that you did really great or I see something that could use some work, I tell you that immediately. When I’m trying, when I want to coach you on something, I do that immediately and I ask my team to do the same with their team. So there’s, we have the ongoing feedback and then the annual review, quote unquote, is, Hey. We met our goals, we did really, really well. Here’s a raise, or you know what? This year was shitty and it sucked. You did your part in trying to make it better. I’m gonna give you a cost of living raise or whatever it happens to be, right? But it’s not a, here’s all the shitty things that your clients say, and here’s all the shitty things that your colleagues say and more about, I, you already know that you’re doing a great job in these areas. You already know that these are areas that need to be worked on, and we just continue to move forward. Chip Griffin: Yeah, I mean, I’ll say from, an owner trying to get, you know, feedback and perspective from the team there. You know, you, I wouldn’t do it through a, you know, a normal 360 review process, but you know, what, you’ve described part of it, I think the, whoever you hired got it right in having, you know, very anonymous conversations with team members. And I think that bringing an outside advisor who has those kinds of conversations, nothing in writing, it’s just it, you know, it’s dialogue back and forth. I do those for my clients from time to time. I’ll be honest, I, you know, I would say it’s maybe 50/50 whether I feel like I’m truly getting candid feedback. Gini Dietrich: Sure. Chip Griffin: from the team members, because usually I don’t have any prior relationship with them, so they don’t know whether they truly can trust me or not. But you know, it’s, I mean, even 50% in most cases is enough to start, you know, pulling some common threads. But the whole, the way you use that information as an outside advisor, the way you present that. Matters a lot. And so you need to really understand how is it gonna land best with the owner that has hired you. And is that by being blunt, is that by sort of internalizing the knowledge and sometimes I’ll just use it in my ongoing conversations to try to steer things. Yes. To address some of that feedback. Sure. Without even explicitly saying, well, Gini Dietrich: yes, Chip Griffin: you know, the whole team said you’re very bad at X, Y, and Z. Gini Dietrich: Brutal. Chip Griffin: But instead, try to find other ways Yes. To, achieve the same outcome, because then the team starts to feel like it was useful to talk with me, and the owner then starts to feel good about the way the team starts to pull together and all that kind of stuff. But it, is, delicate and, I would say that, you know, the, typical 360 process where it tends to be, you know, written survey feedback form type things, I, just, I think that’s, it’s very difficult to see that working in most cases and in my own experience, it has rarely worked out, the way people would like it to. Gini Dietrich: Yeah, totally agree. Chip Griffin: All right. let’s see. We have time probably for at least one more, or maybe just one more here from the list. I don’t know if there’s something that, that jumps out at you that you would like to have, covered. Gini Dietrich: Let me look, let me look. Uh, maybe we can mush board of advisors and direct access to CEO together. Chip Griffin: Sure. Although they’re, well no, because the direct access to CEO is the CEO of the client. Gini Dietrich: Oh, oh, got it, got it, got it. Chip Griffin: So they, they are, they are separate issues. Got it. But I, mean, I think either, either board of advisors, the other one I would throw out there is a possible one is the, tying all, employee comp to have an incentive component. Oh, yeah. I, think either one of those would be good. So I’ll let you pick between board of advisors or employee comp. Gini Dietrich: Employee comp. Chip Griffin: So, this is, this is one of my pet peeves. And I’m sure that David doesn’t know this, and, if he did that… Gini Dietrich: Ha! He wrote it just because he knew it was your pet peeve. Chip Griffin: But, but his argument was that every employee should have at least some of their compensation effectively at risk as part of a, an incentive compensation plan. And I hate this idea. I hate formulaic, incentive-based compensation for virtually all employees. And I’ll be controversial here, it doesn’t really apply to most agencies, but I don’t think it should apply to most sales reps either. Because I think that when you have incentive compensation, whether that is commissions or for hitting profit targets or you know, other things, the problem that you run into is people tend to the extent that they pay attention to it at all. Right? So. You’ve got a couple of risks here. One is that you’re paying people for things they don’t even care about. Right? Right. You know, I mean, I’ve had sales reps they were gonna sell or not sell, and it had nothing to do with the commission they were getting. Gini Dietrich: Fair. Chip Griffin: Now that’s rare. Most sales reps are incented by their commission and, so they will try harder to get it, but what are they doing? They’re, focused on the thing that gets them the commission, which is the actual signature on the contract and the revenue. It doesn’t mean that it’s good revenue. It doesn’t mean that it’s profitable. It doesn’t mean that it’s a good client. It doesn’t mean you can get results for them. It doesn’t mean any of those things. And you’re now creating tension because if you have more than one sales rep, nobody wants to help each other because then they gotta split the commission. And so, but this goes beyond, you know, sales and other ways of doing incentive compensation. You still have, it’s very difficult to craft a plan. Gini Dietrich: Yeah. Chip Griffin: That doesn’t have unintended consequences. Yeah. And particularly when you’re outside of the sales realm, my experience is that most employees are not truly motivated to hit specific targets for their incentive comp. They’re either gonna do a good job or they’re not. And it has nothing to do with you saying if you hit this target, you’ll get a little bit extra. But to the extent that it is, it does have those unintended consequences because now they’re fixated on, I mean, let’s say it’s client retention. So now what if, if you’ve got a client retention target and if you have a client retention over 85%, you get a bonus. Sounds great. Right? Because we’re, retaining clients. Except that what are we doing to retain those clients? Right? Oftentimes that means we’re going to go way down the, rabbit hole of scope creep. Yep. And, we’re just gonna be giving them all sorts of freebies to keep them around. And so those are the things we need to think about. And it’s, why in general, I’m opposed to all forms of incentive comp. Gini Dietrich: Yeah, I agree with you. I mean, one of the things that we do do is we say you can earn up to a certain percentage of your salary in bonus. It’s the end of year bonus. And here are the, gates, like revenue, profitability, all the things. But most of it is not reliant on the individual. Most of it’s reliant on the company as a whole. And so we all have to work together to achieve those goals. And then they sort of know like, okay, well this, this is where we are, so I’m gonna make 90% of that percentage or whatever it happens to be. So they are they are clear about those kinds of things and they tend, because of that, they tend to ask… They tend to be more engaged and ask more strategic questions about work, and they’re more thoughtful about it. But to your point, we don’t reward scope creep. We don’t reward, you know, keeping a client longer than we should. Those kinds of things. Those, like, we take those pieces out. So we, do it based on, we don’t do it commission or incentive based, but we do do it based on a certain percentage of your salary if we meet certain objectives as an organization. Chip Griffin: I mean, that’s better, but I’ll be honest, I still don’t like it. Gini Dietrich: Yeah. It works for us. It’s highly motivating for us. Chip Griffin: And that’s, the thing. I mean, the, as we say at the end of every, episode, it depends. So even these things where Gini Dietrich: mm-hmm. Chip Griffin: You know, we may disagree, you know, where David has different ideas than we do, that doesn’t mean that, that none of them can work in your agency. Right. and I think that it’s, that’s a point that, that he made in a LinkedIn conversation that, that we had, recently as well. You know, some of these may be good ideas, some of them may be bad ideas. Some of them may be good ideas, but you know, wrong place, wrong time or wrong agency, wrong time. And, some of these ideas are good at different stages of the lifecycle of even your own agency. So something that works when you have two employees may not work when you have 20 or 200. Right. And so, you know, I just, I, love articles like this though, because it gives you that food for thought. It makes you think, it makes you, you know, to test your assumptions. You know that I’m a huge, advocate of curiosity generally. And so, you know, making you think about things is helpful. And so hopefully we’ve made you think just as David made us think. And, so we, appreciate that and, we hope that we’ve given you those insights here that may help you think through decisions for your own agency. And of course, you know, check out the full article for many, many more ideas beyond what we were able to cover today. Gini Dietrich: Yeah, absolutely. It was a really good, really good article. Chip Griffin: Absolutely. So thank you all for joining us. That will conclude this episode of the Agency Leadership Podcast. I’m Chip Griffin. Gini Dietrich: I’m Gini Dietrich, Chip Griffin: and it depends.

What is consciousness — and how should biology explain it?In this second conversation with Professor Kevin Mitchell, we examine whether consciousness can be fully accounted for within physics alone — or whether biological organization introduces new levels of explanation.Mitchell develops a non-reductive naturalist framework in which organisms are genuine agents, higher-level causal structures matter, and subjectivity cannot be ignored in any adequate theory of mind.We explore:• What needs explaining when we talk about consciousness• The limits and strengths of physicalist reduction• Weak vs strong emergence• Biological organization as a causal framework• Downward causation and levels of explanation• Organisms as agents rather than passive mechanisms• The role of the conscious subject• Mental causation and explanatory gaps• Teleology in evolutionary systems• Whether artificial systems could instantiate subjectivityTIMESTAMPS:(0:00) – Introduction(0:32) – Kevin's Approach to Consciousness(1:12) – Consciousness and the Requirement of a Subject(3:59) – AI, Functionalism, & Biological Naturalism(7:37) – Embodiment, In-Mindedness & Experiential Bedrock(11:19) – Control Architectures, Attention, and Illusionism(15:21) – Selfhood Perspectives: Jennings, Graziano & Humphrey(19:08) – Temporal Continuity & Brains as Semantic Engines(23:03) – Top-Down Causation and Dynamical Self(27:00) – Levels of Selfhood & Autobiographical Continuity(30:43) – Neuroscience, Psychiatry & Emergent Mental Phenomena(38:15) – Altered Subjectivity & Embodiment in Injury(44:06) – Life, Consciousness, and AI Agents(50:23) – Philosophy, Science & Indeterminacy(56:28) – Neural Noise, Decision-Making & Agency(1:10:48) – Reasons, Choices & Moral Development(1:20:43) – Emergence, Transcendence & First-Person Neuroscience(1:26:50) – Kantian Structures & Perception(1:30:35) – Defining Mind & Relational Perspectives(1:34:52) – Final ThoughtsEPISODE LINKS:- Kevin's Round 1: https://youtu.be/UdlkYGbuD7Q- Kevin's Website: https://www.kjmitchell.com/- Kevin's Blog: http://www.wiringthebrain.com- Kevin's Books: https://tinyurl.com/2p9yjzxr- Kevin's Publications: https://tinyurl.com/mskdpvce- Kevin's Twitter: https://twitter.com/wiringthebrain- Consciousness needs a subject:https://philpapers.org/rec/MITCNA-2- Reframing the free will debate: the universe is not deterministic:https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11229-026-05455-7- Beyond Mechanism—Extending Our Concepts of Causation in Neuroscience:https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/ejn.70064- Undetermined: Free will in real time and through time:https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=10358095- The origins of meaning - from pragmatic control signals to semantic representations:https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/dfkrvCONNECT:- Website: https://mindbodysolution.org - YouTube: https://youtube.com/@mindbodysolution- Podcast: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/mindbodysolution- Twitter: https://twitter.com/drtevinnaidu- Facebook: https://facebook.com/drtevinnaidu - Instagram: https://instagram.com/drtevinnaidu- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/drtevinnaidu- Website: https://tevinnaidu.com=============================Disclaimer: The information provided on this channel is for educational purposes only. The content is shared in the spirit of open discourse and does not constitute, nor does it substitute, professional or medical advice. We do not accept any liability for any loss or damage incurred from you acting or not acting as a result of listening/watching any of our contents. You acknowledge that you use the information provided at your own risk. Listeners/viewers are advised to conduct their own research and consult with their own experts in the respective fields.

What if the key to supporting autism lies in understanding the body's environment as much as the brain itself? In this episode, we explore the powerful intersection of biohacking and autism based on the experience and study of Jackie McMillan as she joins Dr. Tracey Steady Hardcastle for our interview today. Jackie McMillan has autism, and has spent the years since 1976 - a period of dramatic functional gains and losses - figuring out what helps, what hurts, and the science which explains this.  Drawing on a degree in Environmental Studies, two years of premedical training, and many years in complementary health, she demystifies autism recovery, with a particular focus on inexpensive and DIY options for all ages and stages.Here are the highlights of today's episode:00:58 Jackie's Interest in Biohacking07:53 Interventions that Help with Autism and Environmental Toxicity08:56 The Goldilocks Zone09:58 Using a "SMART" System12:53 The Evaluation Process20:02 Optimizing vs Pathologizing Autism24:11 Does Tylenol Cause Autism?27:55 Social Services in CanadaIf you wish to learn more from Jackie McMillan, you may do so from the following channels:YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/jackiethrivesFaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/Thrive.With.AutismGoogle+: https://plus.google.com/+ThriveWithAutismCaLinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/autismrecoveryguide______________________________________________________Keep yourself up to date on The DNA Talks Podcast! Follow our socials below:The DNA Talks Podcast Instagram: @dnatalkspodcastThe DNA Company Instagram: @thednacoThe DNA Company's Official Tiktok Account: @thednaco3Medical Disclaimer: The information provided in this communication is for general informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read here. If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor or 911 immediately.

In this powerful live webinar-style episode of the Insurance Producers Podcast, host Cyrus Jaffery is joined by three elite agency operators — Brian Kutayiah, Mike Pinto, and Brett Young — for an unfiltered conversation on scaling in the real world.Together, these four agency leaders represent over $300 million in written premium. No theory. No “guru” fluff. Just real operators sharing real numbers, real systems, and real lessons learned the hard way.If you're serious about building a high-performing agency and want honest insight from leaders who are actively doing it, this is a conversation you can't afford to miss.This isn't about hype. It's about building something that lasts.

Something is happening behind the scenes in the Nancy Guthrie alleged kidnapping case and most Americans are not hearing about it. Today on Stinchfield, Grant shares what he is being told about the emotional toll this case is taking on investigators. Anger is rising. Disappointment is growing. Resentment between agencies is beginning to boil over as critical decisions are being questioned. There are leakers that are damaging the quest to find a culprit. There is real outrage aimed at whoever leaked that authorities had a person in custody. Now that that person has been released investigators are being needlessly accused of incompetence. People will be detained and set free all the time, the leak is the main problem. Grant breaks down what this internal tension means for the direction of the case, how interagency friction can slow progress, and what the next investigative steps are likely to be. As pressure mounts and the clock keeps ticking, the question becomes whether egos and politics are getting in the way of justice. Support our sponsors https://TheMaverickSystem.com https://GrantLovesGold.com https://www.EnergizedHealth.com/Grant https://www.PatriotMobile.com/Grant https://Twc.Health/Grant use code Grant for 10% off https://VRAInsider.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, we dive deep into the real value of creative work—what we truly get paid for, beyond our time and output. We bring together two insightful thinkers, Rebecca Hinds and Jen Fisher, whose perspectives on meetings and hope transform how we structure our work days and support our teams.We explore why most meetings sabotage productivity and how “visibility bias” tricks us into equating a full calendar with actual progress. Rebecca Hinds (author of Your Best Meeting Ever) challenges us to rethink meetings as products: expensive, important, yet often poorly optimized. She shares actionable strategies like "meeting doomsday" and the "rule of halves" to declutter calendars and refocus collaboration.Shifting gears, we unpack the often-overlooked topic of hope in organizational culture. Jen Fisher (author of Hope Is The Strategy) reframes hope as a strategic, action-oriented process, not just a feel-good slogan. We discuss Gallup's finding that hope ranks higher than trust as what people want most from leaders, and how misaligned incentives erode both hope and well-being, leading to disengagement and burnout.Throughout, we challenge creative pros to rethink their real value—insight, intuition, and emotional logic—and encourage leaders to create environments where these qualities flourish.Five Key Learnings:Insight is Indispensable: Our unique perspectives, intuition, and courage—not just our time or output—are what make us valuable in creative roles.Meetings Need a Reset: Meetings often serve as a status symbol rather than a tool for progress. Treating meetings as products and regularly auditing their purpose and effectiveness can dramatically improve collaboration.Subtract to Add Value: Applying the “rule of halves”—cutting meeting length, attendees, agenda items, or frequency—forces us to focus on what's truly essential and breaks the cycle of addition sickness.Hope Is Strategic, Not Sentimental: Hope is a cognitive, actionable process that drives teams forward. Organizations must foster strategic hope to encourage risk-taking and innovation.Alignment Drives Well-being: Stated values must match incentives and systems. Misalignment between what leaders say and reward creates dissonance, burnout, and disengagement.Get full interviews and bonus content for free! Just join the list at DailyCreativePlus.com.Mentioned in this episode:The Brave Habit is available nowMy new book will help you make bravery a habit in your life, your leadership, and your work. Discover how to develop the two qualities that lead to brave action: Optimistic Vision and Agency. Buy The Brave Habit wherever books are sold, or learn more at TheBraveHabit.com.

When Chuck Sams was sworn in as director of the National Park Service in 2021, he became the first Native American to lead the agency. Sams previously served as a member of the Northwest Power and Conservation Council and as executive director of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation.   Not long after Sams returned to Oregon after leaving the agency last year, the Trump administration fired nearly 1,000 park service employees without warning. The agency lost nearly a quarter of its permanent staff in the following months.  Sams has denounced the loss of institutional knowledge within the National Park Service. He joins us to share his thoughts.

Are you spending time chasing agencies that don't have money—or don't have a reason to buy from you? In this episode, Eric Coffie breaks down how federal spending actually works (appropriations + continuing resolutions) and why understanding where funding is flowing matters more than ever for small businesses. He explains the reality behind "fast" solicitations (2–3 week turnarounds), how Q1 spending pressure creates urgency, and why positioning before opportunities drop is the real advantage. Eric then walks through 8 agency pain points that create immediate opportunity—especially for businesses that can speak directly to mission needs instead of using generic "we do IT / we do construction" language. You'll hear how to use the NDAA and agency research to craft agency-specific capability statements, where to look beyond SAM.gov (IDIQs/task orders), and a practical 4-week action plan to build your target list, align your offerings to real problems, and start getting responses from the right buyers. Key Takeaways: No funding = no new contracts. Track appropriations/CR realities so you know where to focus your limited time and budget. Agencies are struggling to find qualified small businesses and match capabilities to needs—this is your opening to stand out fast. The 8 biggest Agency pain points right now If you want to learn more about the community and to join the webinars go to: https://federalhelpcenter.com/  Website: https://govcongiants.org/  Connect with Encore Funding: http://govcongiants.org/funding

Would you like access to our advanced agency training for FREE? https://www.agencymastery360.com/training Most agency owners talk about selling someday, but very few actually build with that outcome in mind. They stay deeply embedded in delivery, sales, and decision-making, hoping an exit will magically appear later. In this episode, that myth gets dismantled. Today's featured guest, former owner of Dot & Company, shares how she intentionally designed a productized agency that could run without her long before an acquisition was even on the table. After successfully selling Dot & Co to E2M, she reflects on building with exit thinking from day one, how she connected with the right buyers, how she knew it was the right deal, and what genuinely surprised her about the process. Taylor McMaster is the former owner of Dot & Company. She built and sold a productized agency specializing in fractional account management for agencies and successfully exited to E2M after designing the business to operate without her long before the deal was on the table. If you've ever wondered what it actually takes to build an agency you can step away from, and one someone would want to buy, this conversation sets the stage. In this episode, we'll discuss: Making the decision to build a sellable business early on The role that uncloked scale The sales trap Why her exit felt easy Subscribe Apple | Spotify | iHeart Radio Sponsors and Resources E2M Solutions: Today's episode of the Smart Agency Masterclass is sponsored by E2M Solutions, a web design, and development agency that has provided white-label services for the past 10 years to agencies all over the world. Check out e2msolutions.com/smartagency and get 10% off for the first three months of service. How to Build an Agency You Can Sell Many agency owners say they want to sell one day, but are building a business that tells a very different story. They're still on every client call. Still approving every deliverable. Still the only one who can close deals. Still the glue holding everything together. That's not an agency. That's a very stressful job. For her part, Taylor decided early on that she didn't wait until she was exhausted to think about an exit. She designed the business for it. Exit Thinking Changes Everything About a year into building Dot & Co, Taylor made a quiet but powerful decision: "If I want an exit someday, I can't build this like a lifestyle business." That one thought changed how she hired, delegated, and structured the company. Instead of asking, "How do I do this better?" She asked, "How do I make myself unnecessary?" That meant systematically removing herself from every critical lane: Fulfillment People management Operations Admin Finance Not overnight. Not perfectly. But intentionally. The First Hire That Most Agency Owners Avoid Most agency owners start by hiring delivery help. However, there are multiple ways to go about this, especially if you understand where your expertise lies and where someone else could be doing a better job. Taylor hired a people manager early because she knew managing humans was her weakest skill and her biggest future bottleneck. That one hire unlocked scale. Why? Because resource-heavy agencies don't break because of strategy. They break because of people chaos. The Agency Sales Trap and Lesson Learned Like most founders, Taylor stayed in sales for a while. Eventually, she tried to step out and hit friction. Sales slowed. Messaging got inconsistent. Results dipped. For her, the lesson was that founder-led sales works because you know the stories, the nuance, the pain. Her hindsight advice is gold for any agency owner: Get really good at sales first, then teach it or bring in a true closer once the system exists. Too many owners abdicate sales before they've productized it. That's how pipelines dry up and panic hiring begins. Creating an Easy Exit… Because the Work Was Done Early By the time E2M acquired Dot & Co, Taylor had already: taken a 6-month maternity leave, removed herself from day-to-day operations and watched the business continue to grow without her So when the deal closed, there was no scramble. No identity meltdown. No team revolt. Her team was excited. Clients were curious but optimistic. And Taylor was ready. Finding Identity Without Being Trapped By Your Agency Taylor realized something most agency owners avoid: You can love your business without owning it. When your identity isn't trapped inside your agency, you make better decisions. You stop hoarding control. You stop being the bottleneck. You build something that actually has value with or without you. If you're stuck in fulfillment… If your team can't move without you… If you're scared to step back because everything might break… That's not a failure. It's just a sign you've built around you instead of systems. And that's fixable. Do You Want to Transform Your Agency from a Liability to an Asset? Looking to dig deeper into your agency's potential? Check out our Agency Blueprint. Designed for agency owners like you, our Agency Blueprint helps you uncover growth opportunities, tackle obstacles, and craft a customized blueprint for your agency's success.

In this episode, host Rick Watson is joined by Mark Rubin, CEO of Kasama, to cut through the noise of the current agency landscape. Mark brings decades of experience from his time at Lyons Consulting, Precision Design Studios, and Moku Collective to discuss why the "AI Gold Rush" might be a trap and why replatforming your e-commerce site might be a mistake in 2026.In this episode, we discuss:The PE Cycle: Mark's firsthand experience with private equity acquisitions and the "ticking clock" that begins once the checks clear.The AI Trap: Why clients are demanding AI provisions in contracts and how it's creating a "margin pressure" that forces agencies to move from deliverables to results-based models.Hiring in the AI Era: The challenges of vetting developers who use AI tools and why "hiring slow and firing fast" is more important than ever.To Replatform or Not?: Mark's controversial take on why brands should maximize their current tech stacks rather than chasing a "sexy" new platform that may result in a massive internal distraction.

This episode features a highlighted segment from the ROI Centered Care Virtual Summit, produced by Bright Spots Ventures in partnership with TytoCare and the American Telemedicine Association. In this conversation, Eric Glazer sits down with Fernando Carnavali, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Chief of General Internal Medicine at Mount Sinai Health System, to explore how large academic health systems can translate patient experience, diagnostics, and technology innovation into measurable ROI. Rather than focusing on new tools for their own sake, Dr. Carnavali reframes the challenge: how to use existing data, connected devices, and AI-enabled diagnostics to improve the full patient journey, before, during, and after the visit while also supporting a stretched clinical workforce. Drawing on Mount Sinai's real-world operating environment, the conversation explores how experience, communication, and clinical efficiency are increasingly inseparable from financial performance, especially in inpatient and general internal medicine settings. This discussion moves beyond pilot thinking to address what it takes to operationalize innovation at scale inside a complex health system. What you'll learn in this episode: Why patient experience is a longitudinal journey, not a post-visit survey score How Mount Sinai is using technology and diagnostics to strengthen communication, not replace clinicians The role of AI and connected devices in improving both patient and provider experience Why workforce constraints in primary and general internal medicine demand new care models How health systems can focus on what's already within their control to drive ROI Why proving clinical and economic value upfront is essential to scaling innovation About Dr. Fernando Carnavali: Dr. Carnavali is the Chief of the Division of General Internal Medicine for Mount Sinai Morningside and Mount Sinai West (MSM/MSW) and serves as the Medical Director of the Long COVID Satellite Clinic at Mount Sinai Doctors Ansonia (MSD-Ansonia). In this role, Dr. Carnavali oversees a large, complex division with eight outpatient service locations spanning Manhattan's West Side from Harlem to Chelsea. Clinically, he focuses on the treatment and management of chronic illness, with a particular emphasis on Long COVID care. In early 2020, Dr. Carnavali led MSM/MSW's outpatient response to the COVID-19 pandemic, organizing early testing and triage for community patients and serving for eight weeks on the inpatient COVID units—an experience that provided firsthand insight into the impact of SARS-CoV-2 in New York City. In May 2021, he coordinated the launch of the Long COVID Clinic at MSD Ansonia and continues to personally evaluate new and ongoing patients each week. Committed to sharing Mount Sinai's expertise in Long COVID care, Dr. Carnavali has participated in numerous national and international forums, training providers in this emerging field. He has also built a strong media presence, spotlighting both the Ansonia clinic and the Mount Sinai Long COVID program to raise public awareness. Since 2024, he has served as Co-Principal Investigator on a grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and the Department of Health and Human Services titled "Evaluation of Long COVID Care Practices." In addition to Long COVID work, Dr. Carnavali leads outpatient practice transformation initiatives across MSM/MSW and the Mount Sinai Health System, guiding quality improvement teams to enhance patient satisfaction, improve access to care, and explore innovative service models.   Podcast Recommendation: Check out Access Amplified, brought to you by TytoCare and hosted by Joanna Braunold - a podcast about how digital health is helping increase access to care and equity, one innovation at a time. We'll shine a light on what's actually working to make care more accessible and  inclusive. If you're a healthcare leader, an innovator, a policy shaper, or anyone passionate about health equity, this podcast is for you. New episodes drop every two weeks. Follow or subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. https://www.tytocare.com/resources/access-amplified Thank You to Our Episode Partner, TytoCare. TytoCare enables health systems and plans to deliver high-quality remote exams anytime, anywhere. Their FDA-cleared devices and AI-powered diagnostic platform support virtual specialty care, school-based programs, and home health models—reducing unnecessary ED visits and improving patient experience. To learn more, visit tytocare.com. Schedule a Meeting with a Senior Leader at TytoCare: To explore how TytoCare can help your organization expand virtual specialty access and improve care coordination, reach out to jtenzer@brightspotsventures.com  to schedule a meeting. About Bright Spots Ventures: Bright Spots Ventures is a healthcare strategy and engagement company that creates content, communities, and connections to accelerate innovation. We help healthcare leaders discover what's working, and how to scale it. By bringing together health plan, hospital, and solution leaders, we facilitate the exchange of ideas that lead to measurable impact. Through our podcast, executive councils, private events, and go-to-market strategy work, we surface and amplify the "bright spots" in healthcare, proven innovations others can learn from and replicate. At our core, we exist to create trusted relationships that make real progress possible. Visit our website at www.brightspotsinhealthcare.com.  

Hoping Against Hope: Redefining Control, Trust, and Spiritual Alignment with Dr. Dave In this episode, you'll hear: A fresh perspective on hope and its role in mental health How agency, the power to choose, can transform your outlook Tips for navigating anxiety, trust, and spiritual alignment Mathew and Dr. Dave explore the real meaning of hope, inspired by Cortney's decision to remove "hope" from her vocabulary. Dr. Dave deep dives into hope theory, discussing C.R. Snyder's model of agency and pathways, and the importance of recognizing multiple ways forward, even when life feels uncertain. Together, they reveal how surrendering control, focusing on trust, and embracing spiritual alignment (rather than outcome attachment) can offer calm and resilience amid adversity. Drawing from clinical experience and personal reflection, Dr. Dave shares practical strategies for cultivating agency and reframing hope into effective action even when past trauma or life circumstances make change feel impossible. “Trust feels calm and hope feels a little anxious.” Mathew Blades   To get in touch with our podcast, email INFO@Learnfrompeoplewholivedit.com Visit our Guests: Mathew Blades - MathewBlades.com Dr. Anna Marie Frank - https://drannamarie.com Cortney McDermott - https://www.cortneymcdermott.com Dr. Dave - https://www.drdaveaz.com/ Jill McMahon - Jillmcmahoncounseling.com To grab a copy of our 6-Week Wellness course, which is video-led, visit https://a.co/d/0ihE1vaw If you want to use Streamyard to create a podcast like this, use this link: https://streamyard.com/pal/c/4656111098003456

How can collaboration help nonprofits fundraise more effectively—and sustainably?In this episode of Agency for Change, Lyn is joined by Danette O'Connell of the Nonprofit Cooperative and Candace Cody of CauseVox to discuss what nonprofits are facing right now and how stronger connections can drive better fundraising results.They share current fundraising trends, the role of technology and donor engagement, and why collaboration across the sector matters more than ever. The conversation also highlights the upcoming Nonprofit Fundraising Summit, a free virtual event designed to equip nonprofit leaders with practical tools and insights.

Big news. I moved to New York for the next few months. My fiancé and I are renting a spot in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and I've already managed to get lost on the subway twice. Also, my book tour is coming to a close at Patagonia SoHo on February 19th. If you're in New York, come out, I'd love to hang in person. Event details here. Okay, onto our regularly scheduled programming: David Littlejohn is a magician, cold plunge enthusiast, and the founder of Humanaut, a creative agency based in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Under Littlejohn's leadership, Humanaut has executed campaigns for Liquid Death, Organic Valley, Dollar Shave Club, and many other brands that probably live rent-free in your brain. In this episode, Littlejohn and I talked about his love of sleight-of-hand magic, the real job of entrepreneurs, and the benefits of working on nationwide campaigns from a small town like Chattanooga. You can get in touch with him on Instagram and check out Humanaut here. If you dig this podcast, will you please leave a short review on Apple Podcasts? It takes less than 60 seconds and makes a difference when I drop to my knees and beg hard-to-get guests on the show. I read them all. You can watch this podcast on my YouTube channel and join my newsletter on Substack. It's glorious. My first book, ONE LAST QUESTION BEFORE YOU GO, is available to order today. Kyle Thiermann is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. I also take payments in surf wax. Get full access to Kyle Thiermann at thiermann.substack.com/subscribe