Podcasts about as todd

Climate change is affecting the ecosystems that support life and everything we depend on. The United Nations declared 2021 to 2030 the ‘Decade of Ecosystem Restoration', and there is a global effort to restore ecosystems and the many benefits they provide, from enhancing food security and safe water to biodiversity. In this episode, we're talking about the Pacific Region and how Engineering With Nature can learn from and add value to innovative ecosystem restoration, conservation, disaster management efforts, and infrastructure development. Our guests are Todd Bridges, Senior Research Scientist for Environmental Science with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and National Lead for EWN; Anita van Breda, Senior Director, Environment and Disaster Management, World Wildlife Fund; and William Glamore, Associate Professor and Principal Research Fellow at the Water Research Laboratory, UNSW Sydney, Australia.   EWN can learn many lessons from the Pacific region in terms of its size, scale, and its diversity in nature and cultures. In the Pacific alone, there are about 25,000 islands. The Pacific Ocean covers 32% of the total surface area of the earth. The 11 Pacific Island countries that are members of the World Bank have a combined population of 2.3 million spread over 15% of the Earth's surface. Pacific Island nations are facing critical challenges from climate change and sea level rise.   The Pacific and Indian Oceans together cover almost half the surface area of the earth. If you add Asia, which is the largest continent, most of the world is in the Pacific and Asian region. Australia itself is a huge island continent. As Will points out, the coastline of one Australian state is equivalent to the entire U.S. East and West Coasts combined! It's a land of extremes with searing heat, long droughts broken up by major floods, and waves of cold Antarctic blasts. Climate change is further compounding these effects, and the impacts are being felt through massive coral bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef, disastrous wildfires along the East Coast, and other large-scale climate effects.   As Anita notes, “The Pacific people have a strong attachment to land, not just as an economic commodity, but as a strong tie to their history and culture, their sense of who they are as a people. This presents a unique opportunity to use natural and nature-based features and the services they provide for local communities.” She adds, “Nature is such a fundamental part of who we are as people. Even at the smallest scale of the individual household level, it is a powerful thing. We should include that when we think about tackling big, systemic problems at landscape-level scale.”   As Todd describes it, “There's tremendous diversity in context physically, but also culturally, that dwarfs the landscape and cultural diversity we have in North America or even in Europe. So how do we, consistent with Engineering With Nature, follow Mother Nature's lead in composing solutions for these challenges rather than trying to impose and control Mother Nature with completely artificial solutions?”   Will notes that when Europeans settled Australasia and the Pacific, they applied a Eurocentric, one-size-fits-all view of the world. “Today I sit at the same desk as people who, 50 or 60 years ago, built the traditional dams, dykes, levees and canals. Now I'm trying to de-engineer those structures and make them more effectively engineered with nature.” He describes his early work as a PhD student faced with the challenge of acidic floodplains and how nature-based solutions were needed to solve the problem at scale. While this initial research helped solve the acid problem, he also quickly realized that it provided co-benefits of improved water quality, reduced flood risk, increased aquaculture, and blue carbon habitat. In this podcast, Will describes how his EcoEng team has grown this research from small test sites to huge scale creation projects and how he is now trying to create a wetland-based economy for the future.   Anita's work at the World Wildlife Fund often has her thinking about how she and her team of environmental scientists can work more successfully with engineers like Will, as well as with humanitarian organizations like the Red Cross and others. Her key objectives “are to better understand each other's perspectives, timing, and goals, and to train the next generation of practitioners to be able to better work together by breaking down our institutional silos so they can address a really challenging future together”.   As we wrap up Part 1, Todd notes that the value of taking what has been learned in the Pacific Region and applying it more broadly must focus on addressing not only the challenges faced by the islands, but also the connection between people and nature and how important nature is to people and people are to nature. “If we respect Mother Nature, I think she will respect us back, and we will find solutions to many of these very tangled and difficult challenges that we confront around the world.” Related Links:  EWN Website ERDC Website Todd Bridges at LinkedIn Todd Bridges at EWN Anita van Breda at LinkedIn Anita van Breda at World Wildlife Fund William Glamore at LinkedIn William Glamore's Publications on Google Scholar William Glamore at UNSW Water Research Laboratory   EWN NNBF Guidelines Project Environment and Disaster Management Webpage UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration An Introduction to the Global Sand Crisis The Flood Green Guide Podcast Series Natural and Nature-Based Flood Management: A Green Guide Nature-Based Solutions for Water-Related Disasters   Tomago Wetland Restoration Project (Australia) Big Swamp Restoration Project (Australia) Oyster Reef Restoration Project (Australia) Climate Change and Estuaries Coastal Wetlands Can Be Saved From Sea Level Rise by Recreating Past Tidal Regimes

From flood risk to extreme drought and wildfire, California is feeling the brunt of climate change impacts and is, by necessity, at the forefront of climate change innovation. In this episode, we're talking about the unique challenges of managing California's precious water resources and about a new collaboration between the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) and Engineering With Nature®. Our guests are Dr. Todd Bridges, Senior Research Scientist for Environmental Science with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and National Lead for EWN, and Kris Tjernell, Deputy Director, Integrated Watershed Management for the California Department of Water Resources. The goal of the collaboration on EWN is to advance opportunities for truly integrated solutions to water resource challenges.    California is exceptional in many ways, from its population of over 40 million people; to its size as the third largest state at over 160,000 square miles; to its economy, the largest in the United States at over $3 trillion. It is also the leading agricultural state in the US in terms of total agricultural sales and 8 million acres of irrigated land. California is also a land of extremes with its diverse landscapes and communities, and with the breadth of challenges it faces – from droughts and floods, to heat waves and wildfires – which strain the State's systems. This complexity makes presents a unique set of challenges.   As stewards of the state's water resources, DWR is responsible for delivering water to over 27 million Californians while supporting flood management in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys and the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta that flows out through the San Francisco Bay. Managing flood risk for agricultural lands, small communities, and larger urban centers is a top priority.   The San Joaquin Basin, for example, has unique flood management challenges exacerbated by the effects of climate change, with more precipitation coming in the form of rainstorms and less from snow. Traditional strategies of flood management in California included: straightening the river systems; building taller, more armored levees; and building bigger reservoirs. The question is not how to add-on to these, but as Kris notes, “how to engineer with nature to solve those challenges in ways that work for our communities and the ecosystem together”.   The partnership between DWR and EWN is intended to do that – to leverage the natural systems to produce more sustainable outcomes. As Todd notes, “by applying EWN approach, we want to find innovative engineering solutions to flooding or drought, or wildfires, that make use of natural systems to produce sustainable, resilient solutions that create more diversified economic, natural, and social value. That's what we're seeking – to be able to solve those challenges in ways that work for our communities and for the ecosystem together. That is what's really exciting to me.”   Bringing people in California communities into these projects so they can experience them and see the holistic benefits of an EWN approach is a key focus for this partnership. As Kris notes, part of the effort of DWR and EWN is to figure out a way “to tap into the human desire and joy to live within a natural environment. The feeling of walking into a local urban park. The joy of driving towards Yosemite and seeing the valley open up in front of you. Seeing what John Muir saw back in the day.” The challenge, Kris says, is “how do we paint this landscape that gets interest, invigorates the conversation that allows us to think beyond the traditional approaches to flood management and water resource management.” Todd agrees, emphasizing the integration of engineering and natural systems to produce broad value: “The economic utility of a project is one lens through which you can assess the value of a project. Importantly, there's also the environmental value and the social value that comes from connecting people with diverse backgrounds to the land and to what it provides. Projects that produce economic, natural and social value at the same time are the ones we want to collaborate on.” Related Links:  EWN Website ERDC Website Todd Bridges at LinkedIn Todd Bridges at EWN Kris Tjernell at LinkedIn Kris Tjernell at California Department of Water Resources San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge Pedro Fages expeditions to the San Joaquin Valley John Muir Trail The Moth Snowstorm  

In this episode of B2B Nation, we talk to Todd Grossman, CEO of Talkwalker Americas, about how brands can effectively track the conversations that matter to them on social media. This space used to be called social media analytics, then it was called social media listening. Today, it’s often described as “conversational intelligence,” and it delivers a detailed analysis of what is being said about a brand across social media platforms. As Todd explains, Talkwalker’s technology can analyze social media platforms, podcasts, blogs and more. Its reporting goes deeper than vanity metrics like shares and likes. It includes details on who is taking part in online conversations and analyzes the sentiment of the discussion. We also talk about the future of social media and social audio, the disinformation problem and Todd’s favorite productivity tools. Episode Guide 3:22: How social media monitoring evolved into conversational intelligence 5:04: Examples of conversational intelligence in action 7:39: The type of reporting that conversational intelligence delivers 9:15: Battling disinformation on social media during the pandemic 11:42: The effects of disinformation and toxicity on social media 13:57: How do social audio and Clubhouse fit in? 15:30: What will be the popular social media conversations one year from now? 16:49: What are Todd’s favorite tools and applications?

In 2020, natural hazards like storms, floods, droughts, and wildfires caused more than $200 billion in damage worldwide and the death of 8,000 people. Since 1980, there have been 285 weather and climate-related disasters in the United States alone that have produced at least $1 billion in damage. In this two-part episode, we’re talking with Dr. Todd Bridges, Senior Research Scientist for Environmental Science with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and National Lead for Engineering With Nature®, and Dr. Brenden Jongman, Senior Disaster Risk Management Specialist with the World Bank’s Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR). Todd and Brenden discuss the World Bank’s approach to using natural infrastructure solutions to address some of the most pressing climate change challenges and the synergies with Engineering With Nature’s approach of using innovative natural and nature-based solutions. The World Bank’s increasing support in this area has recently been recognized by the World Resources Institute as one of their top outcomes of 2020 in their work with key partners.   The World Economic Forum estimates that by midcentury, $100 trillion dollars will be invested in infrastructure worldwide. In its role as an international financier, the World Bank’s overall objective is to end extreme poverty and build shared prosperity around the world. Climate change and natural hazards are strongly linked to poverty as the poor are often the most vulnerable. As Brenden notes, often a single natural disaster can push a family below the poverty line. The World Bank estimates that climate change will push an additional 100 million people globally into poverty in the coming years. As Todd and Brenden discuss, natural infrastructure is an important part of the solution to addressing multiple hazards, including those intensified by climate change, and creating community resilience. Natural infrastructure often has significant benefits over traditional concrete and rock infrastructure. Building a coastal park to provide flood risk management benefits can also create jobs and recreation opportunities, reduce heat island effects, provide trees that absorb carbon and contribute to achieving climate change targets, and provide much needed opportunities for nature experiences in urban settings.   The World Bank is making an estimated $1 billion in annual investments in projects applying nature-based solutions—a 20% increase since 2018. Their guidance, Integrating Green and Gray: Creating Next Generation Infrastructure and Implementing Nature-Based Flood Protection: Principles and Implementation Guidance, emphasizes the need to consider both conventional engineering and nature-based solutions in a more systematic way. They have been applying that approach in projects around the world for over a decade. The World Bank’s Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) Community of Practice, and internal knowledge hub, was established in 2017 with support from the GFDRR. This year, the World Bank and GFDRR will launch a dedicated Global Program on NBS for Climate Resilience, to further scale up the knowledge, investments, and partnerships on NBS across the World Bank’s global activities.   As examples, Brenden talks about his experience in Madagascar and Mozambique. Madagascar is experiencing rapid, unplanned urbanization in a floodplain that is prone to more frequent and more extreme flooding due to climate change. In Mozambique in 2019, the rapidly growing coastal city of Beira faced one of the worst cyclones to hit the African continent. The World Bank’s work with the government of Mozambique on various initiatives, including development of one of the largest urban parks on the African continent, is strengthening the city’s resilience.   Todd reinforced the need for integrating conventional and nature-based engineering, noting the challenges that we're experiencing are very complex and really call for a diversified set of solutions that we can draw together and combine. We’ve just got to develop new, innovative solutions.     In Part 2 of this episode, we continue our discussion. Coping with environmental and climate crises in a normal year is one thing, but the past year as the world has been responding to COVID-19 has been unprecedented. Todd and Brenden discuss the opportunity for nature-based solutions to support post-pandemic recovery efforts. And they discuss the importance of the natural infrastructure guidelines their organizations have been working on to help policy- and decision-makers, project managers, and communities think differently about the role and value of nature-based solutions.     Related Links:  EWN Website ERDC Website Todd Bridges at LinkedIn Todd Bridges at EWN Brenden Jongman at LinkedIn     GFDRR website Shock Waves: Managing the Impacts of Climate Change on Poverty – Background Papers Integrating Green and Gray: Creating Next Generation Infrastructure Implementing nature-based flood protection: principles and implementation guidance Leveraging nature-based solution for resilience (YouTube) What if we could use nature to prevent disasters? Factsheet on NBS portfolio Flagship report on NBS Nature-based solutions: a cost-effective approach for disaster risk and water resource management   Upscaling nature-based flood protection in Mozambique's cities: lessons learnt from Beira NY Times: Mozambique looks beyond Cyclone Idai to better protection in the future Blue barriers: a nature-based solution to build resilience Urban planning and nature-based solutions, keys for reducing flood risk in Panama Restoring a long-lost relationship with Rio Bogotá    

Achieving financial freedom requires having the right mindset about money. Having found his own financial freedom at the age of 35, financial coach ‘Tightwad’ Todd Miller knows how to safeguard and grow wealth. Today we speak with Todd to hear his insights on preparing for your financial freedom. After sharing how he went from the corporate world to becoming an investor, Todd unpacks how he helps his clients to become financially independent. From curtailing your expenses and raising your financial awareness to shifting your perspective on what’s important in life, we touch on the key aspects of effective wealth management. We discuss the small actionable steps that you can take to set and stick to budgets while also diving into debates around saving versus investing. Later, we talk about communities that can help you build your wealth, along with questions that you need to be able to answer and that can guide you in creating investing goals. We wrap up our conversation by hearing Todd’s book recommendation, what he’s most proud of, and the top key to his success. As Todd explains, your path to financial freedom starts now. Join us for Todd’s expert advice on taking your first step. Key Points From This Episode:We introduce financial coach Todd Miller.Todd shares details about his journey to financial freedom.How Todd discovered and then learned about real estate investing.What Todd does to help his clients grow their wealth.Hear what goes into planning for your financial freedom. Exploring the mindset shift that’s needed to attain financial freedom.Advice on budgeting and holding yourself accountable.We ask Todd how long it takes to secure financial freedom.Debates around saving versus investing.Why you should act now to ensure a stress-free retirement.The questions that every investor needs to ask themself.Todd’s top book, what he’s most proud of, and his number one key to success.Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:Todd Miller on LinkedInTightwad ToddDave RamseyPersonal Capital MintChooseFIYour Money or Your Life on Amazon

Today I am very pleased to introduce to you Todd Toback and share with you his success story. Todd is originally from Michigan and he moved to San Diego, California at an early age and he started working for Pfizer pharmaceuticals. As this was his first job out of college, he credits this first job as the roots of his sales training. After a few years working at Pfizer, his mentor and manager Derrick hired a new sales person for more than what Todd was being paid. As Todd found out from his colleague about this, he went to Derrick and ask for the pay raise. As you all know that it's not how corporate world works. It was his dissatisfaction out of this that lead to a new action. While leaving from work, he stopped at the Barnes & Nobel book store and picked up the book- Multiple Streams of Income by Robert Allen. After reading this book, Todd was on fire. He started looking for motivated sellers by going to the county court house and getting the data to start hand writing the letters to them. After few days he received his first call from the seller and bought his first property and made the exact amount Todd was asking for raise from his company which he made in just few days. Fast forward a couple of years, he quit his job and jumped full time investing into Real Estate. Todd Toback has 19 years of real estate experience specializing in acquiring real estate assets below market value. He has flipped over 1000+ Single Family residences, duplexes, triplexes, and other types of property. During his tenure as a real estate investor, he has held a small portfolio of single-family homes, multi-units, mobile home parks, and has extensive experience in lease negotiation. Todd is the creator of the #1 Single Family Acquisition Training in the country, The No Limits Sales System. This training focuses on the 3 Pillars of making it BIG: acquiring property directly from sellers while learning the mindset, skills, and habits to make it happen. He has trained solopreneurs and large teams to double and then double profits again just by making a few small tweaks. He is an expert in teaching others the art of talking to motivated sellers. Also, he is the Pioneer of the coaching program, Next Level Wholesaling, teaching solopreneurs how to break free of the bondage of "the one man show". He trains other entrepreneurs how to build highly effective teams that produce revenue, how to purchase income producing real estate, and how to build long term wealth while drastically decreasing their working hours. After spending a short time with Todd's training, you won't ever want to do business the old way again. His passion lies in seeing other people grow, changing the way they play the game and ultimately, their lives forever. To connect with Todd, visit https://nolimitsrealestateinvesting.com/ To learn more, listen to the full interview.

As the world emerges from the COVID 19 pandemic, infrastructure will play a key role in helping economies around the world recover. The World Economic Forum estimates $100 trillion dollars will be committed to infrastructure projects in the next thirty years. In Season 2 of the Engineering With Nature® Podcast, we’ll explore the important role EWN will play in expanding and diversifying the value of that infrastructure.   Season 2 kicks off with an announcement by Dr. Todd Bridges, Senior Research Scientist for Environmental Science with the US Army Corps of Engineers and national lead for Engineering With Nature®. Mobile District is joining EWN as the fourth EWN Proving Ground. As Todd notes, Mobile District has been doing Engineering With Nature before it was called that. He introduces our guests, Justin McDonald, Coastal Resiliency Program Manager, and Elizabeth Godsey, Coastal Engineering Technical lead, as “EWN superstars.”   Over the past two decades, Mobile District’s innovative technical teams have worked collaboratively with sister agencies in state and federal government and with people who live in the communities where the work is being done. These collaborations are creating impressive solutions, including innovative work to protect and restore barrier islands. Justin and Elizabeth believe becoming an EWN Proving Ground is a great opportunity to share lessons learned and to showcase the work Mobile District has been doing with their partners in Mississippi, Alabama, and the Florida Panhandle.      In Episode 1 we discuss two large-scale island-restoration projects that demonstrate the power of collaboration and cutting-edge science and engineering. Deer Island is a multi-phase initiative where beneficial use of dredge material is being used to repair and restore the island and to create marsh habitat. Restoration of the southern shoreline used dredge material from the navigation channel to create marsh habitat and a recreational area for local kayakers – a cost-effective beneficial use of the dredge material that produced significant environmental and social benefits. Work on the southeastern end of Deer Island will create another 400 acres of emergent island.   Justin and Elizabeth share Mobile District’s work at Ship Island—another critical barrier island—which had a 3.5-mile-wide breach from hurricanes Camille and Katrina. The team and their construction partners placed nearly 19 million cubic yards of sand to restore the islands and the sediment transport system. Justin talks about the importance of sourcing the right size and color of sand to support sea turtle nesting. Experts from a number of agencies collaborated to make this effort successful.   Coastal islands are important natural features that protect the mainland and provide multiple benefits to coastal systems and communities. As Elizabeth discusses, “These islands serve as our frontline of defense. We have a diverse coastline that encompasses more than 375 miles of shoreline from the St. Mark's river in Florida at the east all the way to the Pearl River in Mississippi. It was important to start looking at a system-wide approach.”    Mobile District has a long history and impressive experience working collaboratively to develop innovative solutions to restore critical barrier islands. Todd emphasized that “collaboration is a multisector need and requirement for success. It's government working across government; it's government working with the private sector and with industry. It's all of us working with the nonprofit sector and everybody working with communities to deliver projects that they need. It takes all of us working together.”   Related Links: EWN Website ERDC Website Todd Bridges at LinkedIn Todd Bridges at EWN USACE Mobile District Justin McDonald at LinkedIn Elizabeth Godsey at LinkedIn EWN Atlas Deer Island Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration Project Ship Island Restoration  

The Engineering With Nature® Podcast Season 2 launches March 17, and we’re pretty excited about the lineup. Host, Sarah Thorne, recently talked with Todd Bridges, Lead Engineering With Nature, US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), about the upcoming season. His bottom line: “the future is right and the future is bright for EWN. It is the right direction for infrastructure and the timing is ideal.” Why now? The World Economic Forum recently estimated that that by mid-century, $100 trillion dollars will be invested in infrastructure around the world. As Todd notes, the challenge is how to deliver the most value for that investment and how EWN can expand and diversify the value produced. Join us and our guests as we discuss climate change, coastal resilience, flood risk management, and the need to adapt to a range of changing conditions in the natural world. We’ll be talking with leaders from USACE, scientists and project managers, and diverse experts from national and international agencies, public and not-for-profit organizations, and academia about their visions for engineering with nature and innovative approaches incorporating natural and nature- based solutions to address these challenges. We’ll have conversations about new partnerships and multi-disciplinary collaborations that are creating innovative infrastructure solutions. And we’ll launch two important publications -- EWN Atlas II and the International Natural and Nature-Based Features Guidelines – and talk with some of the contributors whose work is helping advance EWN through some truly remarkable solutions applying nature-based approaches to tough infrastructure challenges. Our round table conversations will demonstrate the power of collaboration and hopefully inspire our listeners to think about and engage in developing innovative solutions that will create better, more sustainable and resilient communities. JOIN THE CONVERSATION. Go to the EWN website www.engineeringwithnature.org or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN. SUBSCRIBE. SHARE. Related Links: EWN Website ERDC Website Todd Bridges at LinkedIn Todd Bridges at EWN

The Future of Work with Todd Cherches    In Season One of Talking Talent, David and Angela discussed The Future of Work. That conversation focused on the changing nature of work and the impact that change will have on education, the role of cities, our political systems and what capabilities will be prized and those that will have less importance. David and Angela promised that this would just be the start of a series of conversations that would continue in Season Two, with guests who would bring insight about specific aspects of not only how work is changing but how it will change society and us. Spoiler alert! Since that episode in Season One we have been living with a global pandemic. Businesses and other organizations that wanted and needed function have taken actions that have accelerated our race to that future state of work. This new episode features guest Todd Cherches. Todd Cherches is the CEO and the co-founder of BigBlueGumball, which is a New York City based management and leadership consulting, training and executive coaching firm. In addition, he's a TEDx speaker and a two-time award winning adjunct professor of leadership at the NYU School of Professional Studies. And he's a lecturer on leadership at Columbia University. He is also the author of the recently released book, VisuaLeadership, Leveraging the Power of Visual Thinking, in Leadership and in Life.  According to Todd, we've been talking about a “Vuca” world for  years -  Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous. However, because of the pandemic, everything's gotten expedited by at least five years. So the things that we have been slowly, methodically planning and talking about are now here. Specifically people working from home and leveraging technology and video and living on Zoom or similar platforms. All of those things that seemed wildly futuristic when we saw them in cartoons such as robots, artificial intelligence, all of these things are here now. In a VUCA world leaders need to do the opposite. So what does the idea of “opposite” evoke? The opposite of volatile is calm. As Todd says, “In a world of volatility as leaders, we need to create a sense of calmness. Now, we may be in panic mode, there's a sense of urgency, we don't know what's going on. But how do we calm people down? Because there's a difference between urgency and panic.” Listen in to hear more of Todd’s ideas as he also talks about how being a Visual Leader will help leaders lead more effectively now ans in the future.. WEBSITE: www.toddcherches.com TEDx TALK: “The Power of Visual Thinking” BOOK: VisuaLeadership: Leveraging the Power of Visual Thinking in Leadership and in Life (Post Hill Press/Simon & Schuster, May 2020)

As Todd mentions in the show, here is the link for your penny bottle of Dry Farm Wines: dryfarmwines.com/coachtara Today, after 15 years in the wine business, his life is dedicated to educating and helping people make better choices about food, nutrition, and how they think about consuming alcohol. As the founder of Dry Farm Wines, a writer, speaker, and a leader in the organic/Natural Wine movement, he has widely educated communities on conscious consumption. Todd is deeply passionate about bringing people together to share love and laughter through Natural Wine. Todd is a self described biohacker who practices daily meditation, Wim Hof breathing, cold thermogenesis, a ketogenic diet, and daily 22 hour intermittent fasting. He is also a frequent speaker on topics including ketogenic lifestyle, meditation, and the Dry Farm Wines unique company culture. His entire team gathers each morning for a meditation and gratitude practice. Built on a foundation of honesty and peace, Dry Farm Wines has seen remarkable growth in the last three years, making it one of the fastest-growing private companies in the U.S., without any debt or investors. Dry Farm Wines is endorsed by many leading U.S. health influencers including Mark Sisson, Dave Asprey, Ben Greenfield, Robb Wolf, Wellness Mama, Dr. Dominic D’Agostino, and Chalene Johnson, to name a few. Todd has also been the featured guest on many of these influencers’ podcasts. Dry Farm Wines is the official wine sponsor for many of the leading health and performance conferences worldwide, sharing over 12,000 bottles each year. Such events include Paleof(x), Joe Polish’s Genius Network Conference, LowCarbUSA, Health Optimization Summit, Metabolic Health Summit, and JJ Virgin’s Mindshare Summits. Dry Farm Wines sources pure Natural Wines and lab tests them to ensure each bottle is sugar free (0-0.15g per glass), lower in sulfites, and lower in alcohol (under 12.5% alc/vol). The wines are friendly to low carb, Paleo, ketogenic, and low sugar diets. Dry Farm Wines is dedicated to supporting small natural growers, currently sourcing from 600 family farmers who preserve 87,000 acres of organic vineyards and save 1.4 billion gallons of water annually by not irrigating their vines. They vet each grower’s practice and support those who focus on regenerative farming, biodiversity, hand harvesting, and the absence of industrial additives. Dry Farm Wines is proud to be the largest Natural Wine merchant in the world, bringing awareness to Natural Wine consumption and supporting farmers who honor the soil. Learn more and snag your penny bottle through this link: dryfarmwines.com/coachtara Upgraded Formulas - Inside Out Health Podcast Special Offers: Click HERE for the Upgraded Formulas Hair Test Kit Special Offer Click HERE for the Upgraded Formulas Main Site & Get 10% OFF Everything with Coupon Code: COACHTARA Ready to enhance your metabolism? Learn about my Keto In & Out system HERE. Want one on one coaching? Learn more about it HERE.

In this episode of the Engineering With Nature® Podcast, our guests are Dr. Brian Bledsoe, Director of the Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems (IRIS) at the University of Georgia, and Dr. Todd Bridges, Senior Research Scientist for Environmental Science, with the US Army Corps of Engineers, and founder and national lead of the Engineering With Nature initiative and the sponsor of this podcast.  They discuss a new partnership – the Network for Engineering With Nature (N-EWN). Its focus is promoting the development of new practice and fostering the drive, passion and expertise for delivering nature-based solutions for infrastructure in the next generation of scientists, engineers, business leaders, and decision makers.   IRIS and Engineering With Nature (EWN) have a lot in common. IRIS’s vision is to unite the conventional ‘gray’ infrastructure with ‘green’ or natural infrastructure to deliver a broader array of benefits, all the time, for people and society. In the past, infrastructure development was almost exclusively driven by engineering expertise. The progression now underway in infrastructure development combines environmental and social expertise and practices with engineering, providing a multidisciplinary approach to collaboration, outreach, communication, and solution development. IRIS has effectively bridged the divide between different disciplinary perspectives – engineers, ecologists, social scientists, public health practitioners, landscape architects, lawyers and policy experts – by, as Brian says, being open and humble and coming together to find equitable and sustainable solutions to 21st century infrastructure problems.   Reciprocal visits by individuals and groups from the University of Georgia and the Army Corps’ Engineer Research and Development Center quickly established that the two organizations were on the same page and the conditions were set for developing the N-EWN, which launched October 16. N-EWN is a partnership focusing on two major components: research and education. Research is needed to integrate engineering practice with natural systems, while also actively engaging practitioners and the communities that are going receive and benefit from future infrastructure. Infusing EWN principles and approaches into professional training and education will support the development of professional engineers, for example, within the Army Corps of Engineers, the private sector, as well as the development of future engineers, ecologists and social scientists, through new courses and curricula.   As Todd and Brian discuss, current research activities within the N-EWN fall into four areas: Developing rigorous engineering methods, standards and guidelines for planning, design, construction, finance and engagement; Making the value case for Engineering With Nature projects and natural infrastructure that recognizes a broader set of benefits; Rigorously monitoring these projects to improve understanding and consistency in how these systems perform over time; and Engaging with communities and working with people to develop policies that enable deployment of natural infrastructure.    When asked why this connection between academia and the Army Corps is so critical now, Todd was emphatic:   “Because we seek a revolution. The Army Corps of Engineers began as an institution to support a revolution in the year 1775. That revolution was a different one of course, but that was the start of the Army Corps of Engineers. Today in 2020, we have a revolution ongoing within the Army Corps of Engineers to revolutionize how we deliver Civil Works – infrastructure, water infrastructure – for the United States. To power this revolution, you've got to bring collaborators into that revolution and a particularly powerful collaboration is the combination of academia with a government research and engineering enterprise – working hand in hand with Brian and his colleagues and academia on the same projects, advancing our capability to produce these outcomes.”   Both Brian and Todd believe the opportunity in the 21st century is tremendous – to create infrastructure that supports a whole range and variety of value and benefits for communities, the environment, and the economy. N-EWN will work to prepare the engineers, ecologists and social scientists of the future and to advance our capabilities to deliver these infrastructure solutions.  In reflecting on the opportunities for Engineering With Nature in the future, Todd adapted a line from a popular song in the 1980s: “The future’s so bright, you gotta wear shades.”     Related Links: EWN Website ERDC Website Brian Bledsoe at UGA University of Georgia, Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems Todd Bridges at LinkedIn Todd Bridges at EWN  

Welcome to Finance and Fury, the Say What Wednesday edition. This week the question comes from Todd. “Hi Louis, I just saw Steve Forbes talking about how Gross Output (GO) is going to replace Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as a measure of how well the economy is going? I was wondering if you agree with Steve on GO? I had heard in the past that GDP was not perfect, but had been used because it was the best option available. Are there problems with GO that will also cause problems when trying to use this measurement to judge the health of an economy? Love to hear your thoughts?" Thanks for the question Todd – is an important question – So in this episode – we will look at if the replacement of GDP with GO is a step in the right direction – to be upfront - its replacement isn’t a perfect solution as an economic measurements – but there is nothing that is perfect when talking about economics –as Economist Thomas Sowell says - “There are no solutions, there are only trade-offs; and you try to get the best trade-off you can get, that's all you can hope for.” As we cannot achieve a perfect outcome – we will look at if GO a better trade off to measure economic output when compared to GDP   First – go through the basics of GO and compare this to GDP In economics, gross output (GO) is the measure of total economic activity in the production of new goods and services It is a much broader measure of the economy than gross domestic product (GDP) GDP is limited mainly to final output (finished goods and services) that are consumed in the economy – not total output Most people are familiar with GDP – or at least have probably heard it mentioned – even though it might not have much bearing to their own lives – But indirectly it does – as it is the standard for what economists and policy makers focus on when looking at economic growth and deciding what policy responses to make – there is an increasing focus on it – especially now as it is the measurement of a recession Looking back – Following the Bretton Woods conferencein 1944 - Both GDP and GNP became the standard measure of economic growth that was implemented -   But it has its limitations – and this comes back to the reason why it is used - simplicity – relatively easy to measure – at it takes the net results of economic output – but because it is simple – it is a flawed way to look at economic output Covered the issue with Government stats earlier in the year – episode was called “How accurate are economic statistics and do they really matter in our daily lives?” If a computer is sold – then the end result is what is measured – minus all the components that went into making it – so those companies that produce processors or RAM for a computer aren’t included – as these are component parts of the final product – the final product and the component parts can often blur between one another – If your CPU breaks down and you buy a new component – then this isn’t added to GDP – even though it is technically an increase in economic output If this computer is then resold later by a business such as cash converters – it isn’t counted as part of GDP as it is not new output – even though it is an economic transaction GDP ignores other sections of economic output – these areas are known as the informal economy – making up about 60% of economic activity as an estimate – they aren’t included as it is hard to track down and these activities are normally not included in GDP figures GNP is a little more complete than GDP figures – adds the component of Z of net foreign income – so if you have a company that operates internationally – it counts the net balance of foreign income from operating internationally – while it might seem more complete – it is even more flawed – as it is influenced by the exchange rates and the health of other nations – performance of other nations may not be indicative of the performance of the domestic country that GNP is accounting for But GO is equal to the value of an economy’s net output – which is the measure of GDP plus that of intermediate consumption Conceptually - intermediate consumption is equal to the amount of the difference between gross output– normally measured by the total sales value in an economy and net output (which is GDP) So in other words – rather than taking the net output of the economy – you can take the total sales revenue of companies as the Gross Output – very simplistic way to think about it – but that is the general gist of the concept As an example – take the US economy - total intermediate consumption represents about 43% of the gross output of an economy – so this means that if GDP was $1 – GO would be $1.76 When looking at the actual figures – gross output in the United States is estimated to be $37.2 trillion, compared to $21.1 trillion for GDP The Australia economy generates an estimated $3.8 trillion in output – GDP is estimated to be about $2 trillion dollars – so this means the intermediate consumption is about 47% of Gross output intermediate consumption is essentially an expand on the accounting flowwhich consists of the total monetary value of goods and services consumed or used up as inputs in production by companies that are the input components that get the GDP figure – but are ignored by GDP – This can include all forms of raw materials, services and various other operating expenses that go towards the outputs of the final products – in essence – the CPU, RAM and components that go towards the final product of the computer are counted by GO Due to this - GDP ignores the business to business sales – as it measures the value add of the final product – doesn’t include the component consumption from business to business transaction – but measures the final output So GDP ignores in most cases and depending on the nation – almost half of economic activity which is business to business But some economists go further when looking at GO – whilst they emphasize that GO can be used as an important macroeconomic tool – they also focus on gross output-by-industry - can be better when understanding about the economic workings of a nation – as well as the inner-workings between industries and not just the aggregate GO Helps to explore which industries within a nation provide the better economic activity It is starting to emerge that economists regard GO and GDP as complementary aggregate measures of the economy. Many analysts view GO as a more comprehensive way to analyse the economy and the business cycle. As Gross output [GO] is the natural measure of the production sector, while GDP measure the final output of the economy But the issue is still that GDP (which is still the gold standard) ignores most of the business to business economic output – so it makes it look like consumer spending makes up the majority of the economy – Hence – there is a secondary focus on both Business investment and Government spending Now – Government spending is pretty much the same in both GO and GDP in a nominal dollar figure – however GDP does under represent the important of business economic activity The intermediate goods or services used in production within an economy when accounted for really show that businesses play a vital role in economic activity – through focusing on GDP – it ignores this and hence policy is made with consumers at the forefront – demand side economics - Through focusing on GO - we can see that business investment and entrepreneurship and not consumer spending are a more important catalysts for economic growth As Steve Forbes says – the consumer spending is the effect, not the cause, of prosperity But what good will focusing more on GO rather than GDP do? First it will allow economists to better see how the economy ticks – that businesses and entrepreneurship are as important as consumer spending – however - but to what end will this actually affect economic policy? It is far easier to give hand outs than it is to unwind 60+ years of economic thinking and policy – to skew the economy to a business friendly environment – a lot of policy makers and government economists think that the same demand side policies that they think work on consumers will also work on businesses – handouts – corporate welfare or things like cash boosters – or write offs on assets purchases – but this requires more legislation and now less I wouldn’t want government or economists to get more involved into this side of the economy than they already have been – less is more when it comes to trying to boost the economy – However – over time the focus on GO could help to refocus economic thinking – in that the business sector is more important than the government or consumer spending when it comes to the real health of the economy – As the focus on GDP puts an overweight focus on consumption – resulted in demand side economics – theory that majority of economic growth comes from consumer spending – so the focus of the economic models has been to boost the spending by consumers- Why not – the aim is to get the best statistical outcome – however – the same approach could be employed with GO – to get the best statistical outcome through still focusing on demand side thinking but applying this to the business sector But what matters to the individuals – is a better standard of living – the creation of new businesses – which comes from supply side thinking – this is what helps the individual Lower costs of goods and services due to higher levels of supply – with more businesses to compete – this helps to drive economic growth The supply is ignored due to the way GDP is reflected in the statistical interpretation However – using the same economic thinking for GO can result in more corporate welfare which disproportionately benefits the largest companies – which has the potential to further monopolises the markets As Todd said - GDP is not perfect – and has been used because it was the easiest option available. When looking at GO as a replacement – It is probably a step in the right direction when understanding how economic functions truly occur – and refocusing more on business activity as a vital sector of the economy and not just consumer spending – whether it will be a replacement for GPD – I think it will be used as a supplementary tool – only been measured since the 90s – takes time for economists to switch thinking But my view on this – economists and especially policy makers should butt out of the economy – their theories do little good when put into practice – the economy is a complex creature – and the best ways to affect it go beyond what statistics can represent – as stats show a picture but not the optimal policy Economists can measure it if they want – and they can measure it in any way they want – but similar to GDP – measuring GO is still going to likely result in imperfect policy (or another improper trade-off) due to the way the data is collected Think about anu Government stat - So many people and transactions to keep track of – relies on data collection – Relies on surveys and naturally has sampling errors – Inflation– survey of respondents in their purchases in the basket of goods – non-response and sampling 8,000 households out of the 8.5m households in Australia – 0.094% This is how it is done though - and state there is a 95% confidence interval – the issue is there is not a great way of measuring these statistics – too many people – too much variation – but monetary and fiscal policy makers need this data to make their decisions – But the specialised knowledge of a roomful of specialists is always going to be wrong – Humans are the best at deciding what is right – millions of people involved in voluntary interactions to maximise their own financial situation is better than a handful of policy makers trying to decide what is on their behalf – trying to jam a square peg through a circular hole – even toddlers can get this right – but the economy is not a circular hole example of a highway – adams story – the construction of the bridge adds to GDP = but living standards probably not maximised- people still running across the highway There may be good that comes from a new focus on GO – and that is that the perception that demand side economics is the way to go in the future may shift towards a more supply style of thinking – but I don’t think that Governments and policy makers want to reduce their power over the economy – so it may just lead to additional policies on top of demand side – where governments get more involved in trying to force economic growth through additional policies on businesses - so there may be some bad outcomes for this – Additional corporate welfare at the top end – economists and policy makers may look at GO and say that most of the growth comes from Amazon – so Amazon should get tax cuts or additional corporate welfare – which could further monopolise the market – This is only speculation – but the very focus on GDP has lead to the need an ever expanding money supply to help boost aggregate demand - Probably do a follow up episode to this – read a interesting study done in relation to GDP focus and the almost perfect correlation to the money supply in the nominal GDP growth – come back to this in a future episode In summary – as Steve Forbes said - Consumer spending can be the affect – not the cause of prosperity – You can give people money – but if there is no supply – then they have nothing to spend it on and hence no economic output And GO is probably a step in the right direction when it comes to understanding the economy – but if it is used as a stat to form policy – it could lead to some orders of consequence that hurt and not help the economy Thank you for listening to today's episode. If you want to get in contact you can do so here: http://financeandfury.com.au/contact/

In this episode of Distance Makes the HeART Grow Fonder I chat with Cali based country music star, Todd Stanford. Tune in to learn how he is connecting with fans during the quarantine through his new songwriter interview series.  In the series, listeners learn the stories behind some of Todd Stanford Country's most beloved songs!   About my guest: Todd Stanford is a California based contemporary country artist. His recent rests include the NASCAR AC 400 in Fontana and the Double Trouble Wine Room in Santa Clarita. Todd's performances are fun and entertaining for both lovers of country music and newcomers to the country music scene. Every member of the band is a tried-and-true professional dedicated to making sure that everyone in the house has a good time. Sets include up-tempo foot- tappin' tunes and heart-felt romantic ballads that audiences love. Todd's down-to-earth character can be heard on each of the tracks of his albums and in his live performances. As Todd puts it: "Growin’ up in Small Town USA laid the foundation for who I am today - I wouldn’t trade it for anything." Todd Stanford’s latest album Can’t Blame Me For Tryin’ is available now on all major streamers including Apple Music, Google Play and Amazon Music. www.toddstanford.com  IG and Facebook @Toddstanfordcountry

Welcome to Season 9, Episode 31, of the ParentingAces Podcast! Lisa Stone of ParentingAces speaks with Coach Todd Widom about what's happening in the world of Junior Tennis Development and Competition in Florida during the pandemic. Todd and I also dive into Junior Golf as well. Todd's oldest son, age 6, has been competing in Junior Golf events for about a year now, and Todd shares his insights on what Junior Tennis can learn from his son's sport of choice. As Todd shares, golf is a game in which the players have extreme respect both for the sport as well as for their fellow competitors. Maybe this recent quote by Rory McIlroy says it best: "At the end of the day, golf is a game of integrity and I never try to get away with anything out there. I'd rather be on the wrong end of the rules rather than on the right end because as golfers, that's just what we believe." A good lesson for Junior Tennis Players to learn! For more information on Todd and his training program, visit https://twtennis.com. You can reach him on Facebook and Instagram @toddwidom_tennis. As always, a big thank you to Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our intro and outro music this season. You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you’re interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the ParentingAces website. If you haven’t already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces by clicking here

Todd has returned and chosen his #9pick!! As Todd so eloquently pointed out his picks have all seemed to follow the same route of Glen not knowing the band or artist and I attempt to compartmentalize the pick and shove it into a category known as "Sonic : Modern Rock Radio" . MGMT has had a strange career that has followed a 'reverse climax' style trajectory...this album was HUGE and its crazy to think it was their debut!! ***** Todd bio : Award-winning Todd Anstett has brought the world 'VRS - Be Kind, Rewatch'. He is also a meteorologist located in East Coast Canada. A slightly younger perspective on the show leanings to more of a modern rock presentation.

If you are up to your eyes in paint, tiles and taps – or even better, just looking through the brochures as you prepare the domestic make-over you can’t put off any longer – you could do worse than listen to this week’s podcast. We’ve Zoomed in on interior designer Stephanie Bungard to discover the easiest and most effective way to make your apartment look fresh and inviting. For instance, do you know what colours are popular these days because they are calming? And if you’re looking to freshen up the place for rent or sale – or just to make it a nicer space to live in – how you can supplement the paint job with new tapware in the kitchen and bathroom. Design questions In an enlightening and entertaining chat, Steff answers such questions as: What are the latest trends in apartment interior design?What’s the easiest way to make a small space look bigger?In a renovation, where should you spend more – kitchen or bathroom?Feature walls – in or out?Sliding doors on wardrobes are great space savers – but what if you don’t want giant mirrors in your bedroom?What are the biggest and/or most common mistakes apartment owners make regarding interiors?What are the trendy new colours for apartments?What are good alternatives to tiles in bathrooms (all that grout!)?Timber, tile or carpet on floors? Any tips for investors who will be renting out or selling their flats? Todd waltzes in Before that, Sue and Jimmy talk about the case that came to light when Todd McKenney contacted us to say he wanted to help a pensioner who’s in danger of losing his dog. As this story explains, 81-year-old Colin Marshall firmly believed he was entitled to take his pet greyhound into his new home  in an apartment block, only for the owners corporation to change its by-laws after he had moved in. Is that a rule made retrospectively?  And if it is, does it hold water? Is there any difference between that and, say, a new rule banning barbecues on balconies when someone has bought one under the old by-laws? Obviously, the answer to the latter is “yes” as a pet is a member of the family as Bu is, in this case.  As Todd is the Ambassador of the Greyhoud Adoption program, he’s “waltzed in” to offer support and advice. Rents up and down Then we get into the ups and downs of the rental market which has some revealing twists and turns in terms of where rents have actually gone up while most others have gone down The cover of Mary Trump's book from Politico online magazine And Sue’s “Hey Martha” looks at the new book by Donald Trump’s niece. With a Ph.D. in psychology, Mary Trump is far from your average disgruntled family member. The book’s subtitle, “How my family created the world’s most dangerous man,” gives you a hint of its general thrust. You can read more about it in this Politico feature. Listen here If you haven’t already done so you can subscribe to this podcast, completely free, on Apple podcasts, Google podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher or your favourite podcatcher. If the link doesn’t take you straight there, just search for Flat Chat Wrap, click on subscribe, and you’ll get this podcast every week without even trying. And please give us a rating or review … it all helps to keep us going.

Jared McClain is an attorney with a non-profit in Washington called NCLA - the New Civil Liberties Alliance. NCLA has sued the federal government over how the enhanced federal unemployment benefits under the Covid bailout have been denied to people with criminal pasts. As Todd and Jared talk through the nature of the government's regulations, a familiar story of abuse of power unfolds. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode you’ll learn about:Maximizing your timeHow you’re going to be found by your customersConsistency of personal branding and professional brandingDifferent methods of reaching out to clients“It's actually through the struggles that we all go through, that we grow, and that we become better, learn more, build relationships and make (our)  life more fulfilling.”Building long term relationships with others starts with oneself. As Todd puts it,“The more you become self-aware of who you are, the better you're able to build those long term relationships with others.... taking lots of assessments, getting feedback from other people by yourself and really understanding who you are and getting unambiguously clear is the path to building long term relationships with others.” 

As Todd switches into "work from home" mode in response to the pandemic, he taps into the expertise of his two favorite freelancers and WFH experts: Abby and Eric. They discuss tips not only to help you be productive, but also stay sane. If you want even more info, both of them have recently (and independently) written articles on this topic as well: One from Abby: http://www.abbyhersey.com/journal/2020/3/17/working-from-home-for-the-first-time-tips-and-tricks-to-keep-you-productive-and-sane One from Eric: https://erichersey.com/working-from-home-tips-from-a-five-year-pro/ Those links will lead you to their respective websites, where they have tons of other fun and information for you. Speaking of fun, check out https://www.coloryourownadventure.com/ for a coloring page a day! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/todd8/message

Had such a fun time talking to Todd Widom, a former ATP Tour player who also played at the University of Miami. Todd is currently teaching a select group of juniors in Broward County, Florida. As Todd explains on this episode, his teaching of these select juniors is not to be described as a tennis academy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Season 9, Episode 10, of the ParentingAces Podcast! We finally have Coach Todd Widom back to discuss the junior coach's role in the college recruiting process. As Todd has discussed previously on the pod, several of his players have gone on to play very high level college tennis. One of his recent students, Ronnie Hohmann, is in his freshman year at LSU and playing at the top of the singles lineup. What, exactly, is the junior coach's role in helping players and their families choose a college tennis program? How much influence and input should the junior coach have? These are the questions we tackle in this week's show. To reach Todd Widom, visit his website here or email him at todd@twtennis.com. You can also find him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.  As always, a big thank you to Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our NEW intro and outro music this season. You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you're interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.  If you're so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the ParentingAces website. If you haven't already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces – we have 4 options for you – by clicking here.  

As Todd gets ready to embark upon his new podcast adventure (the Dungeon Community College podcast), he chats with his brother/webmaster about how Eric Hersey gets it done! Since I'm putting links in the show notes (for once), I'll go ahead and link to the other website we reference, abbyhersey.com, illustrator for the TodCast cover art and all of the art and design elements of all of my web presences. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/todd8/message

As Todd left his house to go deer spotting he told his wife he'd be back around noon what happened next would change his family life forever

In this episode, your hosts Jason and Todd talk about the early Christmas present we as the Crossfit community are getting… the first-ever, and will probably never happen again the Second open of the year. I’ll wait while you clap and applause, and the screams of excitement … Nope, none? That I thought. But thank you so much, Dave, for this present that just keeps on giving. As Todd puts it “It’s the most wonder terrible time of the year”. This episode is meant to help Box owners to give you ideas how to not only run the open at your box also how to keep everyone on that high for the second time this year.  You’ll hear some story whereby it’s gotten out of hand, and a little be crazy. But also why it’s important for your members and crossfit community to be part of the worldwide competition, we all know 99% of people doing it are not going to the games or  Sacutional? The guys will explain. Todd uses the open in a slightly different way that he frames open, which as has been super successful. At the end of the day, it’s part of the culture that we as Crossfiter just do the open, it creates memories and it’s really a time we all push ourselves hard. Check out the extra content about this episode on besthouroftheirday.com Rate/subscribe in Apple Podcasts! Find us on Instagram: @besthouroftheirday + @thejasonackerman Check out our website - besthouroftheirday.com - to learn more about our private coaches development group. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/jason-ackerman/support

Caution, this episode WILL INSPIRE YOU. Our guest this week is Todd McDonald of Energy Atlantica. He and Erica talk about the importance of having a business with a purpose. As Todd explains, it is not only good for your soul, it is good for the bottom line, and especially for attracting and keeping the best talent for your company. Todd and Energy Atlantica launched a charitable organization called Give To Live, and why did they launch it? You will just have to listen and find out. Enjoy!! #ElevateYourExpectations

As the internet penetrates our everyday lives, it has become an expectation for any business to have a website. That is also true when it comes to real estate. Todd Heitner of Apartment Investor Pro and Done Deal Website discusses the importance of a website when you are out there trying to buy and sell real estate. With so many information online, creating one may sound simple, but don’t be fooled because while there are so many things you can do right with it, the same also goes for the things that could go wrong. As Todd digs deep into the intricacies of it, he explains how you can set one up on your own – from your domain name to SEO. Learn how to go beyond what is expected of your website as Todd shares other things you can do on the backend.

Change is great. You go first. That's the first thing I thought about when Todd said, "Everybody wants to grow, but no one wants to change." That quote came from Todd Hockenberry's book, Inbound Organization: How to Build and Strengthen Your Company’s Future Using Inbound Principles. What does this have to do with helping sells? Everything. The entire philosophy of inbound marketing is based on the premise of being helpful...producing helpful and educational marketing that gives value first, educates people, and draws people in. But inbound is not just about marketing. Or even sales. As Todd talks about on the show, what if you marketing and sales teams are practicing educational and helpful inbound marketing and selling techniques, but then customers sign up and the rest of the organization (think customer success, legal, support teams) do not? Easy, you start to lose trust with customers and might even lose their business. The entire organization must learn to embrace inbound principles. "How?" You might ask.  Todd gives one good example. What if a legal team could ask themselves, "How could we make our terms and conditions easy for customers to understand and useful enough that customers would want to sign them?" This can happen. With the right attitude and the right organizational culture that embraces a helpful approach to all customer interactions.  This is how organizations can change, do something new, in order to find new customers and create new markets.  Learn more about Todd Hockenberry: His book: https://www.amazon.com/Inbound-Selling-Change-Match-People/dp/1119473411/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=inbound+organization&qid=1560274575&s=gateway&sr=8-4 His website: https://www.top-line-results.com/ On Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/toddhockenberry/ We write about all of our podcasts! Check out the full posts and learn what we learn from our guests at helpingsells.com.  Thanks so much for listening! If you like this episode, please subscribe to “Helping Sells Radio" and rate and review wherever you get your podcasts: Apple Podcasts Stitcher Spotify Follow us on Social Media: ServiceRocket YouTube Twitter Facebook Linkedin Instagram Bill Cushard Twitter Linkedin Instagram   Tell us what you think of Helping Sells Radio We'd love it if you'd: Write a review where ever you get your podcasts. Tweet us using the hashtag #HelpingSells. Comment below. Thank you for listening to the show. Get on the email list at helpingsells.substack.com

Theo’s guest, Todd, talks about the crutch of denial, the importance of staying humble, and the cold truth that recovering addicts just might have to work harder than other people to make a life for themselves.As Todd says, ‘The bigger the dream, the harder the grind.’

Mindset is so powerful! In this episode Jesse talks with his dear friend, Todd Duitsman. He is a real estate agent with Keller Williams in Marysville, WA. In 2014 he was on a family vacation in Hawaii when an accident happened and he became a quadriplegic. As Todd tells his story, it is clear that he has a winning mindset with his extreme positive attitude and outlook on life. He always wins! Todd is passionate about helping others who are physically challenged. He has a goal to do 24 speaking engagements this year. If you are interested in reaching out to Todd please contact him at Todd.tbi@gmail.com or 425-343-5040.We hope you find inspiration and enjoy this episode- Tune in to listen:

Many Technical difficulties on this one. Join our new hero, Indiana Tusc as he searches for the golden mic in the deep amazonian forests. to his dismay, as soon as he retrieves this precious artifact, Karl Westberg comes to reap benefits. As Todd teams up with Tusc, see if they can take back what is probably rightfully theirs.

It's not every day you meet someone with a driving passion that fuels them daily. Todd Watts is an individual who is determined to further his education in all things land. He got his start by studying ponds and fisheries management for the last 20 years. Todd has devoted countless hours to learning about fisheries from fluffy to dense cover all way down to the daily needs of largemouth bass. Several years ago, Todd was able to purchase a property and construct the pond he has dreamed of for all these years. This lake is named Lake Mickey and saying it is special is an understatement. The design, construction, stocking rate, and the supplemental feeding program is all top-notch! We discuss all these topics and much more this week. This is exciting for us as we share new topics and ways to recreate on the land. As Todd explains, it is not far fetched to believe that the Ohio state record largemouth bass may come from this pond in the coming years considering the management plan and guidance it is under. We hope you enjoy the new content and explanation of the different systems and similarities between land management and fisheries management. Enjoy.Learn.Share! #ForLoveoftheLand

It's not every day you meet someone with a driving passion that fuels them daily. Todd Watts is an individual who is determined to further his education in all things land. He got his start by studying ponds and fisheries management for the last 20 years. Todd has devoted countless hours to learning about fisheries from fluffy to dense cover all way down to the daily needs of largemouth bass. Several years ago, Todd was able to purchase a property and construct the pond he has dreamed of for all these years. This lake is named Lake Mickey and saying it is special is an understatement. The design, construction, stocking rate, and the supplemental feeding program is all top-notch! We discuss all these topics and much more this week. This is exciting for us as we share new topics and ways to recreate on the land. As Todd explains, it is not far fetched to believe that the Ohio state record largemouth bass may come from this pond in the coming years considering the management plan and guidance it is under. We hope you enjoy the new content and explanation of the different systems and similarities between land management and fisheries management. Enjoy.Learn.Share! #ForLoveoftheLand

As Todd and Joe prepare for Christmas, I’m sure we talked about other stuff, we also talked about the final movie in the Soon to be Named Movie Club Project thing. I really need to write these descriptions closer to the recording of the show. If you want to help the show, be sure to […] The post Longbox Heroes After Dark Episode 213: Porch Pirates appeared first on Longbox Heroes.

n today's episode of The Sales Evangelist, I talk to Todd Earwood about the adage that we need not reinvent the wheel, but Todd is doing just that. Todd famously cold-called the CEO of a billion dollar company for 43 straight days until he finally got the interview, and then the job. He began his career in software. It wasn't until he was making the rounds to thank investors for the success of his latest software endeavor that he realized that marketing was his real niche.   As Todd explains it, one of the investors simply asked Todd what his future plans were, which seemed like such a silly question at the question. Software was all he had ever done. But the investor went on to say that marketing and sales were really the special skills he saw in Todd. Todd reluctantly agreed and MoneyPath began.  [00:54] Clear the path to purchases through quality marketing AtMoneyPath, Todd and his group of marketers ‘clear the path to purchases.' It is their tagline because they are dedicated to helping sales. In the marketing world of pretty pictures and shiny objects, the reality is that without the lifeblood of qualified leads coming into the sales team, good things are not going to happen. Budgets will be cut and people will lose their jobs. But if you can master the marketing side of things, then the company grows. Everybody is happy and everybody wins. In the software environment, Todd was willing to experiment and fail. He looked beyond the traditional social channels, the paid media and the heavy use of emails. To begin, Todd and his team did an email research project where they opted into the funnels of the top 300 SAS software companies to see what those companies would do with a cold lead. The number one email topic returned to Todd's team was about content. The second topic was webinars and that is when things really began to change. Now instead of writing six blog posts a week, Todd and his team create one great webinar every 15 days. Before long, they had created a massive educational series with more and more content. Reinventing the webinar to keep listeners engaged The old model is clearly broken because nobody really gets excited about ‘this week's webinar'. People sign up but they don't attend. Todd and his team wanted to change that. [03:38] There is a poor functionality with the current webinar system. It fails to keep the listeners engaged. Even when the topic sounds interesting, we never get around to actually listening to it, or to listening to it wholeheartedly. Todd realized that the engagement model needed to change. It needed to become interesting and engaging. There is just too much information and too many ways to deliver it. As a marketer, you are vying for the attention of the clients so you have to do something different. As Todd explains, unless you hire Kevin Hart or Adele, it is too hard for one person to carry 30-60-90 minutes of content. So at Webinar Works, they always have at least two speakers: a host and a thought leader. Bringing in leads The host facilitates all the basics and keeps it moving. The host will almost immediately facilitate a poll to grab people's attention and get them actively participating with the webinar. Todd has seen up to 60% of the attendees join in because their webinars break the expectation of ‘another crappy webinar' from the very start. The thought leader for each webinar is the expert on the subject. They aren't there to read their own bio or tell the listeners how great they are. The thought leaders are there to educate and to share their wisdom. [06:44] The ultimate purpose of the webinar, aside from providing information to the listeners, is to obtain information from those listeners at the end in the form of a segmentation poll which generates qualified, high intent leads. This could be something as simple as asking the listeners to select the one issue addressed in the webinar that best fits their organization. With that information, the sales rep now has a tracking mechanism that tells him which listeners actually listened to the entire webinar, as well as which listeners requested assistance. That is way better than cold calling 2,000 people. [10:21] Leads delivered by the webinar The Webinar was interesting but I want to do more research. This is not a hot lead. It is a cool lead that needs some nurturing before it goes to the sales team. I really enjoyed the webinar but I need to refer any decision to my colleague. With this response, the sales rep knows the problem is there and the interest is there but that more research is needed to move into the right part of the organization. I want to learn more! This is the hot lead button that should be flagged as a real person with interest. [11:11] Beginning of the sales process The live webinar event may be over but the sales work is not done. As a marketer, Todd can help you divide that 42-minute webinar into three or five smaller clips so when a listener has a problem or a question, you will be able to easily find and deliver the information they need. [14:43] There is certainly a lot of preparation that goes into creating a webinar. Decide where you want to insert the polls. If you are creating content that educates the prospects and making statements that they haven't heard before, you should expect and plan for questions. Your content should drive the questions, and those questions will increase engagement. [17:10] People will register for a webinar with a good hook. Choose three to five points and dedicate 10-12 minutes to present each point.   Know what problem you want to solve and walk the listener through that scenario.   Present listeners with the options they need to solve that problem. If you do it right, the listener will naturally determine, for themselves, that you have the answer he needs. [18:54] Webinar trends and tactics As far as the words people use - webinar vs masterclass, Todd has seen a trend in that most blog posts titles tie directly to a webinar.  For example, ‘Top Five Ways to Do X' or ‘Old Method vs New Method'. Todd believes that the content should appeal to a narrow persona so that it draws only those people that will benefit from the content of your webinar. Webinars can break through all the noise and the clutter that other marketing is trying to do. Speak to your listeners as individuals and tailor your tactics to their needs. "Webinar Model" episode resources Check out WebinarWorks.io/salesevangelist for free resources, to grade yourself against great webinars and to find out if Webinar Works is a good fit for you. This episode is brought to you in part by prospect.io, a powerful sales automation platform that allows you to build highly personalized, cold email campaigns. To learn more, go to prospect.io/tse. It will help you with your outbound to expand your outreach and it allows you to set it and forget it. Your prospecting will never ever be the same. We'll use prospect.io in the upcoming semester of TSE Hustler's League to focus on prospecting. We'll give you insights and tools that will help you gain new customers. In addition, we'll provide training and strategies that you can implement today to ensure constant flow in your pipeline. TSE Hustler's League Check out our new semester of The Sales Evangelist Hustler's League. We're taking applications for the semester beginning in January, and we can only take a limited number of people. This episode is also brought to you in part by Maximizer CRM, personalized CRM that gives you the confidence to improve your business and increase profits. To get a demonstration of maximizer, go to the sales evangelists.com/maximizer. Click on the link to get a free demo of what Maximizer CRM can do for you. It integrates your marketing campaign as well as your CRM, and it works whether you're a small organization or a large one. I hope you enjoyed the show today as much as I did. If so, please consider leaving us a rating on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or wherever you consume this content and share it with someone else who might benefit from our message. It helps others find our message and improves our visibility. If you haven't already done so, subscribe to the podcast so you won't miss a single episode, and share with your friends! Audio provided by Free SFX and Bensound.

Welcome to Inbound2Grow, the podcast for leaders who want to grow better and become inbound organizations. In our inaugural episode, Todd and Dan talk about who they are, why they wrote Inbound Organization, and why everyone wants to grow but no one wants to change. Show Notes [0:40] Todd and Dan introduce themselves From HubSpot to patents, Todd and Dan have a lot of experience in the world of marketing and sales. [6:58] The Inbound Organization origin story “What do you mean you don’t have a culture code?” and “How do you run a company in 2018 without an MSPOT?” Speaking together at a tool and die event in southern California, Todd and Dan saw that there was a lot of room in the world of business for a better understand and implementation of inbound principles to make a big impact on success.   As Todd sold inbound as a methodology to c-suite executives, Dan had been working the problem of sales acceptance of inbound as an insider at HubSpot. Together they saw the same disconnect between marketing utilizing inbound tactics and limited success because of a failure of the greater organization to make changes that reflected the modern buyer. So, the idea of writing the Inbound Organization was born. [13:34] Dan’s Rant Short and sweet, Dan thinks everyone should buy and read Inbound Organization. [14:02] Todd’s Truth Everyone wants to grow. No one wants to change. Everyone wants to grow their business, but modern buyers demand more from companies. Unfortunately, a desire for growth doesn’t always translate into a willingness to make real changes to your business, culture, or mindset. [15:04] Three Takeaways The three takeaways from this episode are: Check out inboundorganization.com to find free resources, upcoming events, our press kit, and HubSpot partner resources Take the Inbound Organization Assessment (https://www.inboundorganization.com/inbound-organization-assessment) Sign up to receive new episode updates either through our blog  (https://www.inboundorganization.com/inbound2grow) or through your favorite podcast service! Links www.inboundorganization.com www.top-line-results.com www.hubspot.com  Connect with Us Connect with Dan: Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | Google+ Connect with Todd: Twitter | LinkedIn | YouTube | Facebook | Instagram | Google+

Show Links The Day They Invented Offices Episode Transcript TODD WERTH: Hi, I'm Todd Werth, the CEO and one of the founders of Infinite Red, and I'm located in a very sunny Las Vegas, Nevada. KEN MILLER: I'm Ken Miller, I'm CTO of Infinite Red, and I am based in the east bay, the bay area. JAMON HOLMGREN: I'm Jamon Holmgren, and I am just north of Portland, Oregon in Washington state in Vancouver, Washington, and I am the Chief Operating Officer here at Infinite Red. CHRIS MARTIN: Excellent, so let's start with just defining from each of your perspectives what remote work is. JAMON: For me, a lot of people think remote work is like working in your spare bedroom, or something like that. Which it often is, it can be. But remote work is really more about the ability to be able to do your work at full capacity kind of in a place other than one centralized office. A lot of companies are built around having an office in an office building. I had a company like that before, where everybody is in physical proximity. But remote work is about being elsewhere, and distributed. TODD: Remote work is not, as Jamon said, working from home. Although, I work from my studio here in my house in Las Vegas. Really remote work is working on whatever you're particularly working on at this time in the most efficient place that is efficient for you. For example, some of our team members work in co-location places, because they enjoy being around other people. They work maybe in coffee shop, or that kind of stuff. Personally, I need pretty quiet environment. KEN: I would actually shift the rhetorical frame around this slightly, and say that for us, work needs to happen someplace where you have the resources you need. And what we're calling remote work is just an acknowledgement that for certain kinds of work, a growing segment that I would say is kind of centered around the tech industry, where being next to the people you're working with physically just doesn't matter. Not that it can't be helpful, but that it's no longer required. To the point that we have started referring to non-remote work as commute work. JAMON: Yeah, I love that term. KEN: Meaning instead of saying well there's this normal kind of work where you drive into an office, which we've come to accept as normal. And recognizing that that's actually a phenomenon that's less than 100 years old. It's saying that like there is this thing that developed when you have a car, and before that, the train, where you could live some place that's relatively far away from where you work. Move yourself physically into that office during the day, and then move yourself physically back. And we're saying let's move the office out to where the people are, instead of moving the people to where the office is. That's really the core for me, right? That it's more to do with do you have the resources you need? Meaning do you have a good internet connection, do you have someplace quiet to work that is conducive to the way that you think? And less about where your body is. JAMON: Ken's exactly right. And what we found is that people sort of gravitate to where they work best. One of the things that's a little challenging is this perception that people just kind of slack off, and things like that. But really, people want to work efficiently. They want to find a place where they feel comfortable, like Todd said before, it's quiet. It's not a lot of interruptions. CHRIS:So when Infinite Red started out, was it a remote company to a certain degree? TODD: Yes. JAMON: No. TODD: Yes. KEN: It depends on where you start counting. It depends on which of us you're asking- TODD: Yeah, because- KEN: Because we were two companies before we started. TODD: Yes, there was Jamon's company, which he ran for 10 years. They were not remote. Infinite Red, the previous Infinite Red before the merge, and we became the new Infinite Red, we started out as 100% remote company on purpose, and our intention was to remain that way for the life of the company. JAMON: Yeah, and it was kind of an interesting transition for us. Because we were not remote for sure, and we were all working in an office here in Vancouver, Washington. It was right about the time that I met Todd, and I don't remember exactly to be honest, whether it was influence from Infinite Red that kind of moved us toward remote, or whether we were ... I know that I had some employees asking about it already, so that was certainly a factor. But the other Infinite Red, the original Infinite Red being a model was really helpful to us, for ClearSight, because Todd and I shared a lot of information, and he would tell me about things that he was passionate about, and one of them was obviously remote work. And we were able to start transitioning that way, and by the time the merger happened, we were pretty much all remote, except for me. Because I was building a home, and living with my in-laws. So I didn't really have a great spot to work, so I ended up staying in the office for another year. TODD: Yep. Ken and I originally discussed, I've worked throughout my 20 years of being a software engineer, I've worked in the office full-time. I've worked partially remote, and I've worked 100% remote. I personally feel that in the office full-time, or 100% remote are the two superior options. I don't like the hybrid view for many reasons. So we were very specifically going to be 100% not 99, not 98%, but 100% remote for everyone for all time. KEN: I feel like I should mention something ironic, which actually proves the point a little bit, which is that as we speak, I am in the same room as Todd, which is in his house, and we are here because it's my daughter's spring break, and we just decided to come and visit. But as far as the team is concerned, there's zero difference. They don't care, it doesn't matter, the only hassle is that we had to set up fancy microphones set up in order to make this work. Right? Which kind of proves the point, right? Which is that when everybody's in their own room, there's actually a lot of things are much simpler. Yes. We don't discount the benefits that can come from being in the same room sometimes, it's just we don't value it so highly that we're willing to sacrifice everything else on that altar, which is what tends to end up happening in commute-oriented companies. JAMON: Ken wrote a really great article on our blog, The Day They Invented Offices. It's a hypothetical conversation between a real estate developer, and a knowledge worker, like an engineer. KEN: It's satire. JAMON: And it talks about a world where basically if offices were not invented, people worked remotely by default. But the real estate developer's trying to convince the knowledge worker that they need to change to a commute company. And all of the benefits that that would entail, and all of the costs as well. TODD: Yeah, it's interesting, because when you do that thought experiment, you realize how ridiculous it would be to go from default remote working situation into a commute working situation, because you'd have to build trillions of dollars worth of infrastructure to make it work. So it was fascinating. I do want to say one thing, Ken mentioned that he was sitting in my office, which he is. I feel him breathing down my neck at the moment. Even if, and we actually have a physical office in Vancouver, Washington, which is in the Portland area. Very few people go there. KEN: It's a mailbox with a couple chairs attached. TODD: But sometimes people will go there and work, and anyone on the team is welcome to do that. Or Ken is in a situation. But we have a basic rule where even if you're physically next to someone, we still work the same way. Meaning we don't have a meeting where Ken and I are talking to each other in person, and everyone ... All the remote people are second class citizens where they're not seeing our conversation. We're looking at each other, and we're making body motion, that kind of stuff. So we still work as if we're remote, even if we're physically in the same location. CHRIS: That's really interesting too, I mean what kind of discipline goes into keeping things where everyone can be a part of it, not just defaulting to that person to person conversation when you're in the same room? TODD: I'm in charge of discipline. We tried writing things on the chalkboard many times, it did not work. Detention seemed a little juvenile. So we went to the old classic of cat of nine tails. KEN: Keelhauling. JAMON: Yes. KEN: Yeah. As an escalation. TODD: To answer your question seriously, which I have difficulty doing, there are a lot of difficulties. Fundamentally, they come from the fact that a lot of people have not only never experienced remote work, have never seen it. We're too many generations removed from the 1800's, when almost everyone worked at their house, basically, and their house was downtown. Your parents didn't work that way, your grandparents didn't work ... they've never seen it in existence. So they really don't know how it works. Not only they don't know how it works, their family definitely doesn't know how it works. And probably the number one problem we have is family, and friends, local family and friends not respecting that the person's actually working. One of the tricks I tell people, and it works pretty well, is just tell your family member that your boss is getting mad at you, or your boss wants you to do something. Because even if you're remote, everyone understands the boss. And just throw me under the bus, it's totally fine, and that seems to work. But that's part of the biggest challenge, is family not respecting your space. JAMON: I think Todd touched on something really important, and that's that this is actually not that new. That was the default way to work. People didn't commute to work. They worked on a farm. KEN: Maybe they walked down the street, but in most cases, not. JAMON: This idea that we have gigantic super highways, and huge transit systems and stuff, just to move people from one location that they could work to another location that they could work for no apparent other reason, it's a little bit mind boggling. Now I understand, I understand why it came to be. Remote tools, which we're not going to talk about much in this episode, but remote tools have not historically been that great, and the experience has been pretty bad. But that's changing, it very much is changing. TODD: The industrial revolution when people started working at factories, and started commuting, and the transportation revolution that facilitated a lot of that. Most of human history, work was not separated from life. Their work life didn't make sense, because you're either relaxing and drinking lemonade, or you're making dinner, or you're sweeping your house, or you're pulling out the potatoes in your backyard, if you're a farmer. The reason we have work life balance now, is because work can be fairly distressing, and you need a break from it. But typically back then, let's say you're a blacksmith, your shop would be on main street, and your house would be behind your shop, or above your shop. So your children would live within feet of where you worked, and where your spouse worked. Whether your spouse worked in the home, or did other things. So your children would eat all your meals with you, they would go to school, school is probably pretty close if they were older. If they were younger, they would eat your meals with you. They'd be around your work, they would see work going on all the time. It just wouldn't be work, it would just be normal, for instance, if you're done with your particular task today, and there's a customer coming in who wants something built for their wagon at two, you might hang out with your children, do some housework, or just play games, or whatever. And then when your customer comes in, you go into the shop, and you service that customer. The industrial revolution made it where adults had to start to pretend to work so they didn't get in trouble. JAMON: So my six year old daughter had an assignment at school, and one of the questions was where does your parent or guardian go to work? And she wrote, "The gym." Because to her, that's when I left the house, was to go work out at the gym. TODD: That's so awesome. KEN: The phenomenon that you're talking about Todd, where the industrial revolution began this process where people started working out of the home, there was a really good reason for that, which is that it was the beginning of humans having to collaborate in a large scale way on bigger problems than they had had in the past, right? Before that, the only place where you would see really large scale collaboration like that would have been I suppose- JAMON: Warfare? KEN: What? JAMON: Warfare? KEN: Warfare, yeah. That's the place where people would leave the house, and collaborate in large numbers, that was really it. JAMON: Yeah. KEN: Maybe large farms, I don't know, you could kind of consider that. But culminating in the 20th century, where that was the norm for people to go and collaborate in relatively large numbers some place away from their home. It enabled them to solve problems that you couldn't solve without involving that many people. And of course, we don't want to give that up, and so that's what the modern remote telecommuting company does, is it creates this new kind of collaboration layer, and we've been very deliberate about how we construct that. And I think that's one of the places where companies that kind of dabble with remote tend to fall down, which is that they have all these inherited ways of collaborating that you do when you're in an office together, and some of them don't work anymore. You can't just tap your coworker on the shoulder, you can't just go and like sit next to their screen. You can't all pile into an office on an impromptu basis. So you have to reconstruct habits, technologies, whatever, that can replace those things, and augment them. And we think that, overall, you end up with a better result having gone through that effort of being deliberate about that. And that in a generation, no one will think about these things anymore, because they will simply be the inherited defaults that people who work in an office together enjoy today. And we sometimes meet in person, right? Once a year we get the whole team together, the executive team comes together more often than that. It's not that we don't value that, but we think of it is as a luxury. TODD: Well, it's not necessarily a luxury perhaps, it's important socialization. So Ken and I actually discussed, we went over a pros and cons, like what's good about working in an office? Or in a cubicle, or in hell? What's good about that? Well, you're around other people, and every answer we came up with that was good was all social. It had nothing to do with actually producing any kind of work product. And I basically tell people I commute to socialize, as opposed to commuting to work. So instead of commuting to work five days a week, and socializing one of those days in the office at an office party or something, I work remotely, and I commute to the office party once a week. Not our office, but just local friends, and that kind of stuff. JAMON: It's kind of a funny thing, but yeah, you want to hang out with your friends, not necessarily just with your coworkers. And that may sound kind of weird, and the environment we are now, where often you do make friends with coworkers, and that's all great. But your social life can be something that is a little more deliberate outside of work. KEN: It's not like we discount the social value of people working together in an office, like I enjoyed that when I did it. But I think you're seeing with the rise of WeWork, and similar places, like just in the last five years I've seen the number of co-working facilities explode. And I think that that's part of the same trend, which is that you can have that experience without having to drive for an hour each way, every day. TODD: Yeah. One of our team members, Darin Wilson, he works every day out of a co-location place, and he walks for 10 minutes to the co-location area. That for him is the most efficient, he enjoys that, and that works out well. It's a great example of what works for one person doesn't work for others. I would not like that personally. I also don't like listening to music when I work, other people do. When you remote work, if you like to listen to death metal at extremely high volumes, well have at it. It's great, it's wonderful. KEN: Just turn it off before you get on Zoom please. TODD: Yes. So one of the things I think we shouldn't overlook is some of the great benefits of working say in a cubicle. I would probably estimate 99% of all the funny videos, cool things you find on the internet, were created by extremely bored people sitting in a gray cube. I call them employee fattening pins. So the zombies will appreciate this lifestyle. Not that I dislike commute working, I hope I haven't given off that vibe. JAMON: Not at all. CHRIS: How does remote work make a more engaged worker? JAMON: You know, you have to work at it. There isn't just this appearance of working, right? The only thing that really surfaces is what you actually do, not what it looks like you're doing in your cubicle, right? And because of that, the only way to tell that you are working is to actually work. TODD: Well to actually produce work product, to be more specific. KEN: Yes. JAMON: Actually produce work product, exactly. And we go to great lengths to try to not tie work specifically to time. Because while an eight hour work day is pretty normal, and generally okay, if there are ways to accomplish your work more efficiently, you should be rewarded for that, and not penalized for that by having to sit in your seat for another two hours. It's more about stripping away the appearance of work, and turning to the actual product. TODD: One of our team members moved from Reno, Nevada, to San Diego, California. She moved over a weekend, Friday she worked, and Monday she worked. From the team's perspective, absolutely nothing had changed. Although, she moved I don't know how many miles that is. Hundreds, tens of miles. So that kind of stuff is uber cool. One of our new team members said, "I'm going to New York for a week, can I still work?" And I said, "I assume you can still work in New York. I haven't been there in a few years, but I imagine they still allow that." Turns out they do. Strangely. So I'll tell you a personal story of mine. After I eat at lunch, I don't know if it's my digestive system, or whatever, it sucks the energy out of me so bad. When I worked in a smaller place where people trusted me, I would just kind of take a little nap in my chair. When I worked for bigger companies where such things were frowned upon, I would sit there for two hours from say 1 o'clock to 3 o'clock, trying my best to keep my eyes open pretending to work, and sort of reading Facebook. It's just stupid, and I did that when I was 34 years old. It's just stupid to have adults behave in this way, it really is. JAMON: Yeah, we don't look at that as some sort of a weakness. TODD: Nowadays, I did made a little bit of fun, that's fine. I really enjoy the siesta. I'll go take literally an hour nap after I eat, and then I come back refreshed, and I get lots of work done. And I tell people, I'm going to take siesta, there's no shame in that whatsoever. JAMON: And I think that's important, when the CEO's doing it, it kind of gives people permission to work in the way that is most efficient for them. TODD: Exactly. I personally believe it's super important to have 100% of people remote. The CEO on down. A lot of companies out there that claim to be remote, they're partially remote, and that's fine. I'm glad it works for them. But when you're CEO, and your other executive team have to use all the same tools, remote tools and everything that everyone does, it's not fair, but it's true. Those tools get a lot better. It's true. So if you have the CO sitting in an office, and they don't have to experience the horribleness that is a poly comm conference call, then it's never going to improve. CHRIS: What are some of the common misconceptions of remote work that you often have to explain, or even defend? TODD: Oh, there's lots. One, you're not really working. That's the biggest thing. Two is that you're probably doing your laundry, playing video games, and other such things that people imagine. Those are the kinds of- KEN: Sometimes you are, I'll get to that. TODD: Well sure, sometimes you are and that's fine. But the biggest one if you're at home, people can bother you. Like my mother, which I love very much, she's funny. She comes to visit, and I've worked remote off and on for a long time, so she should understand this by now. But she'll be like, she'll come in and talk to me. And she'll say, "Oh I know you're working," and I have a separate office, so it's very apparent that you're walking into my office. And she goes, "I know you're working so that's fine. Finish your work up, and then we'll talk in an hour or so." And I'm like, "Mom, remember," my mom's retired. I go, "Remember when you worked? You had to go there for eight hours? It was like from 9 AM to 5 PM? It's the same for me, it's not exactly the hours, but it's not like one hour." And so bless her heart, she's going to give me an hour to get my work done, and then we can talk about whatever she wants to talk about. KEN: I think one of the misconceptions that's not a misconception is that it can tend to blur your work time and your personal time. Then one of the things that people say that they like about having a commute and an office to go is that their work time is over there, and their personal time is over here. And I wish I could say that that's not an issue with remote work. It is kind of an issue for the reasons that Todd mentions. Right, it takes a certain amount of discipline to set that boundary. I'm going to make the case that that's not a problem. It is a problem if you hate your work. If you need to like recover from the boiler room that is your work, or the boredom room, or whatever it is that makes your work uncomfortable. That is a problem. I think of this as a feature of remote work, and it echoes what Todd said about it needing to be the CEO on down. Because if it is the CEO on down, the CEO is going to have the same problems that you are. Right? The three of us have the same pressure about when does work begin and end? Are we kind of always working, are we never working? What is that boundary? And it forces the company to either become a good enough place to work that people want to work, and they're not bothered by the fact that it kind of mixes in with their personal life, or die. Like as the evolutionary pressure on the remote work niche, is that you have to be good communicators. You have to be respectful, and you have more ways that you can be respectful, because you're not having to share as much space with people. You don't have fights over what people put in the damn refrigerator. You don't have fights over who's playing what music, and who put up what offensive poster, or all of these things that come when you're forced into this little box together. TODD: The one I really miss is when someone leaves the company, and everyone kind of looks at each other and says, "Is two minutes too soon to go raid everything out of their office?" KEN: Yeah. TODD: And you see these 50 year old people scrambling around like the hunger games, trying to get the better stapler. KEN: The chair, it's always the chairs and monitors. Those are the real prizes. TODD: Yes, and I've worked for places, like I like a very nice monitor. And I always bring my own, because companies never provide that, typically. I've been told, "Oh, we can't have that because if you have a big monitor, other people will be jealous, and so you can't have that." And I'm like, "Well, okay, I'm going to have it. So either this conversation's escalating, or you have a wonderful lunch." JAMON: I think that's something really insightful about this that we'll probably touch on a lot in our podcast, but that is that we're purposely putting these constraints on ourselves that require that we become a better company. That we become a better, we continue to work on culture. We don't have the easy outs that many companies do. And people will look at that and say, "Well, but you can't do that easy out thing that we all do." And we say, "Exactly, we have to do it differently, we have to do it better. We have to work on it." Remote tools are terrible, exactly. We have to go find better remote tools, we have to work on that. Those constraints are good. They're very good. They're healthy. There's something that forces us to continue to innovate, and to self reflect, and look at how we work. I mean the blurring of the lines between personal and work as Ken said, I totally agree. It's about loving your work. And it brings up some positives too, I mean I just spent two weeks in California. We're not at the stage right now where I necessarily want to take two weeks completely offline. I still want to be somewhat available for Todd and Ken. But I was able to be on Slack on my phone at various times. Let's say waiting in line at Disneyland, or something like that. And that may sound terrible to some people, but it wasn't a big deal to me. It was totally fine, and I loved that I could actually take two weeks for my family to be away, and enjoying the sun, which we don't get a lot of here. KEN: In a way, it also makes your vacations more enjoyable, if you know that you're not coming back to two weeks of email. JAMON: Exactly. KEN: Or things that have fallen apart, or who knows, right, where ... yeah. TODD: I love that spin, that's fantastic. JAMON: I don't see it as spin- KEN: Not for me, anyway. I think some people might not feel that way. JAMON: I understand that. KEN: Yeah. JAMON: A lot of people don't, and I am speaking personally here. This is not for everybody, some people totally on the uninstall Slack when they go on vacation, that's fine. For me though, I was on the plane, and I was basically archiving a bunch of emails, and I get into work this morning, and I could hit the ground running, and I'm good to go. What is the real cost of totally disconnecting? The real cost would have been I couldn't take two weeks. I couldn't be away that long. That's what it would have been. I was able to benefit from that, you may only see the downsides, but there's positives there. KEN: And to be clear, this is how it is for us as founders. Right? When it comes to our employees, we pretty much encourage them to mute, or uninstall Slack while they're away. JAMON: That's right, that's right. KEN: They don't have as much need to be sort of always on that we do. Yeah, but for us, it's actually ... I mean from my point of view, it's a benefit. JAMON: But even that, we have some employees that want to travel, and they want to be gone for a couple months. Three months, even. Taking a three month vacation, that's pretty tough, that's pretty tough to do. So with some of them, they may work in the early mornings, or they may work in the late evenings to coincide with their time zone, and then they can be out on a trip for three months. So they are able to continue to be productive during that time. KEN: And that's a perk that Google cannot match, period. That is just something that you cannot do if you work for Google. TODD: Yeah, screw you Google. KEN: Or whomever, right? Any of these companies that expect a physical presence. TODD: We're coming for you, Google. KEN: The point is, so we have one person who doesn't have a permanent home. Right? He moves around pursuing his hobbies, and makes it work. We have other employees who have done exactly what Jamon has said, and they've gone on extended workcations, right? Where they're able to get their work done, and they have the experience of frankly, actually living in another country, as opposed to just being a tourist. And we have high standards for how they get their work done while they're doing that, but because we've had to develop standards that really measure people's impact rather than their face time, it works. TODD: Copyright Apple. KEN: There was a space, you couldn't really hear it when I said it- TODD: Space? JAMON: Face. TODD: Face. KEN: So there was a face, space time. Yeah, right, anyway. TODD: Yeah, we talked about people who want to take longer physical trips around, whether it's around the US, around the world, what not, the benefits. But there's a benefit for another set of people, and I would probably consider myself in that group, as well as some of our other team members, and that's people who choose to live rurally. JAMON: Yes. TODD: We have one person who lives really rurally, and he has a lot of land and stuff, and he can have the lifestyle that he enjoys, and still have a very productive and successful career. Myself, I do live in Las Vegas, but I live in rural Las Vegas. I have a little bit of land. It allows me to live in this way, when I used to have to live in San Francisco, which I enjoyed for a long time, but as I got older I wanted to go back to living on the land and stuff. So for people who want to live rurally, or not just the typical urban or suburban lifestyle, it's fantastic. CHRIS: So when it comes to the client experience of working with a 100% remote company, how do they respond to this way of work? TODD: That's a great question, Chris. Various ways depending on the client. Some clients, that's the way they work, and they love it. Like they see us kindred spirits, that's the way they like to work. Other clients especially if maybe they're more enterprise city type clients and stuff, maybe aren't as familiar with it. We kind of insist on it to be honest, even if the client's local to some or many of our employees, our team. And we just explain it, and we are very articulate in the way we describe how we work. And sometimes they have to have a little faith in us, but after they work through our process, they probably never seen a remote company that works well. I think our company works as well as I've seen. We work with a few companies who are both I think do a good job like we do. A lot of them do not, and I'm very proud to say that quite a few customers who maybe have part-time remote work started opting our procedures, which is a fantastic compliment, and it makes me proud. Because we do spend a huge amount of time thinking about this stuff, and working on it. JAMON: That's actually more common than you think, that we influence our clients in the way that they work. TODD: Can you expand on that Jamon? JAMON: When clients come in, and they experience the Infinite Red way of working, and they see the thought and care that we put into it, and how we're all kind of bought into it, and how we also iterate on it, because it's an ongoing process. We don't have it perfect yet, we're continuing to work on it. They see that things get done, that it can be done well, and that they have the flexibility that remote work affords. It's a pretty neat thing to see them working the way that we love to work. TODD: I don't want to digress, but we use Slack quite a bit for chat communication, that sort of thing. We use email next to nothing. But we have a channel we call rollcall, and the channel is very simple. It's just kind of describe where you are, and if you're working or not. It's analogous to walking in the office and saying, "Good morning everyone, gosh my back hurts, I've been at the gym." And it works really, really well, because it's not forced on people, and people really enjoy the back and forth. So let me just go through this morning's rollcall. One of our team members signed on at 3 AM, and then she went out for breakfast at 6 o'clock. Other people started signing in, one person signed in. It said they laptop issues that they fixed, they explained why. People gave some reactions. Other people just signed in, I said, "Good morning." One person said, "Short break," this is at 9 AM, "Picking up the car from the mechanic." We won't have exactly specific times people have to be working, or available, we want people to be so many hours a day where they can coordinate with other people, have meetings, have work sessions, that kind of stuff. But it's not uncommon people say, "My daughter's having a recital, I'm going to leave after lunch, I'll be back and probably work some this evening." No client meetings, no one's being impacted by that, great, we all give him thumbs up, we say, "Hope it goes well." No one asked if they can do that, no one says, "Hey Todd, can I go to that?" And then around lunchtime, everyone says they're lunching. They might talk about what they ate, some sort of friendly conversation, and you just kind of get a feeling of your team going about their day. And I will finish this long story up by saying it's kind of fascinating. So one of the people I work a lot with is Gant Laborde, who lives in New Orleans. And we work a lot during the day. And when he comes and visits me physically, or I go to New Orleans and visit him, it doesn't feel like I'm visiting a friend I haven't seen in a while. There isn't a lot of chat about how things have been going, it's nice to see you again. Because I've seen him every day for hours, and I just saw him this morning. And by see him, I mean interacted with him either in a video call, or on Slack, or whatever. It doesn't feel like I'm just finally meeting him, it's like we're just continuing what we were doing this morning, it's just we happen to physically be in the same space. It's very interesting phenomena. JAMON: I find it kind of flabbergasting in a way that companies would care about someone taking a break, or going to pickup their daughter, or having to go pickup the car from the mechanic. TODD: Lazy leadership. JAMON: That's exactly right. TODD: I recommend if you're a lazy ... for the lazy leaders out there, or the bad leaders, yeah, don't do remote work. Stick with cubicles, make the cubicles as comfortable as possible to get the worst employees so the rest come to us. KEN: It's probably worth talking about people for whom it wouldn't be a good fit. Obviously there's still plenty of jobs out there where physical presence is implicitly required. Anybody who works in retail, anybody who works with their hands, has to actually physically manipulate things. I think our point has always been that there's just not as many of those as people think. And to be honest, I suspect that over the next 20, 30 years, as robotics and telepresence, and that sort of thing start to really come into their own, that even those sorts of jobs will start to diminish. You already have that even with like medical, the medical field, legal field, things that used to be sort of a high, high physical presence will become more low physical presence. TODD: Surgeons right now are doing surgery with a DaVinci system, both physically, and I think they can do it remotely now. Like they're standing next to it typically, but I think they can do it remotely at the moment. JAMON: What's kind of funny about that is my dad owned an excavation company, and he was one of the first people to get a cell phone, because for him, everything was remote. Like he had to be remote, because he was driving his dump truck to the job site, he had to be there working, and he had to do his office work, because he was like the only guy. He didn't have an office, he didn't have someone handling the paperwork, he had to create invoices on the fly and stuff. So in some ways, some of those blue collar jobs had some of these things figured out way before we did. TODD: That's actually a super interesting point. Logistic companies, or shipping, truck drivers and stuff. They've had to deal with this, I don't know how old you all are out there in listening land, but if you remember Nextel phones, with the automatic walkie talkie feature- JAMON: Totally. TODD: They're useful, very useful. Kind of like an analog Slack, really. So yeah, it's fascinating. A lot of the so called blue collar work has had to deal with this for a very long time. KEN: And it's worth mentioning that even for the core of jobs that will always be physical in person, if you took every office out there that didn't need to be an office, and you converted that to a remote job where people can live anywhere, the reduction in pressure on the real estate market, on the transportation system that would ensue, would make life better for everybody. TODD: Right. KEN: Right? The people who have to commute can commute, because I mean you have this phenomenon as cities grow, where they'll build a new highway, and for five, 10 years if you're lucky, things are great. Because there's all this extra capacity, but what happens in the meantime, is that further down that highway, developers start cramming new houses in, because suddenly it's a doable commute. And then within that five, 10, maybe 20 years, it's back to the way it was, maybe worse than it was, because now there's even more people trying to cram into this road. But if you just snap your fingers, and moved all of those offices out so that that knowledge workers, the people who are working with their brains, and with words, and with digital images, and that sort of thing. And they all scatter to the winds, and live where they want to live, and not in Fremont, or wherever it is that they're living to commute to San Francisco. I feel like, right, maybe like I don't think I've ever seen a study like this, but it seems like it would stand to reason at least that the pressure on transportation would reduce to the point that everybody's quality of life would improve. I don't know, we'll see I guess. JAMON: Yeah, even when you look at something like a dentist office, which is probably extremely resistant to this sort of thing, there's just the robotics are not there yet. And maybe even if they were the trust isn't there yet, with the general public. But how many other people are in that office that don't need to be drilling on teeth? They could be elsewhere. And you're exactly right, the infrastructure, and it's actually kind of happening in some ways. You look at some of the high rises in downtown Portland and stuff, people are coming and living in the city because they want to live in the city, and not because it's next to their office. And a lot of these offices are now being converted into apartments and condos, and being kind of near offices, where you can work from your house. And what would cities look like if every job that could be remote was remote? KEN: I mean yeah, can you imagine a world where the city center is the bedroom community, right? JAMON: Right. TODD: That would be awesome. KEN: Where people live because they want to be next to the cultural opportunities in the city. And the minority of people who actually have to physically work at some job in the city, can live next to their work, because there's just more housing, because like much less of the city is taken over by the kind of white collar workplaces that have been traditional for city centers. TODD: That's actually really interesting to think about. KEN: Yeah. TODD: I imagine somewhere in hell, there is an eight hour bumper to bumper commute, and you're not in a car, but you're literally in a cubicle with a steering wheel. CHRIS: One of the things that I want to go back and touch on is this idea of leadership, and how remote work isn't for the lazy leader. So let me ask the question of the three of you, how has being 100% remote made you a better leader? JAMON: Well, I can speak to my experience going from ClearSight not being remote to being remote. I'm kind of in some ways a forceful personality. I'm kind of a person who likes to move fast, and bring everybody along with him. And in an office, there's actually a sort of almost like a physical component to that. Like the leader's right there, and he's enthusiastic about something. He's moving fast, and he's doing his thing, and he's talking about it where everybody can hear. When I look back at it now, that was sort of lazy leadership. It was. It wasn't necessarily the type of leadership that was people coming along because they were enthusiastic about it, it was more that they were just kind of following the force of nature that was moving that direction. Now that I'm remote, I don't have those physical cues, verbal cues, things like that, to bring everybody along. And it requires a lot more thought and planning around how to get people on board with concepts, and how to get people moving in the right direction. It's a really interesting thing, and it's not something I've totally figured out yet, but it's something I'm moving toward. KEN: I would say that it has forced me to be more explicit about expectations, since you don't have this inherited set of defaults. You have to say, "This is what we expect from you." It's not, "We expect you to come in the office at nine," it's, "You need to be available to clients during an agreed upon window," for example. Or as we had mentioned before, "Here's our productivity benchmark, and this is what we're looking at." You might have to develop some of those in any kind of company, and you should. But our setup, it exposes any fault lines in your expectations, and you have to address them. As Todd said, like if you want to be a lazy leader, don't do it. TODD: I would pile on what Ken said, you have to be able to measure what people, their work output, their work product. That is not easy, even in industries where it's obvious what their work product is. Say they paint paintings, you can see that they painted a painting. That is probably the most challenging thing, and then there's the emotional part. Where if you can't measure their work product, and you can't see them sitting in a seat, you're just going to have to have faith in them, and get over yourself worrying about it. But it is challenging to make sure that you have a semi-accurate view of who's actually being efficient, and who's not. And just not 100% thing. JAMON: That's more on the management side of things. Leadership side of things too is difficult, because getting people to see a vision is much easier when you can just say, "Okay," kind of the Michael Scott thing. "Everybody in the conference room in five minutes." That's a very different thing than what we do. TODD: I think it's challenging, but to be honest, I'm not staying awake at night worrying about those challenges. I find them fairly straightforward, you just have to put effort into it. Keep on walking down that road, and I think it works out really well to be honest. It's not a big deal to me. JAMON: You just have to strike the right balance. TODD: There was a tweet last week where basically it said, "During any meeting, you don't have to listen, just at one point you have to comment and say, 'I think the solution to this problem is just striking the right balance', and then everyone in the meeting nods, and you were involved." KEN: Because it's always true. JAMON: It's always true. TODD: Yes, so that's a running joke here at Infinite Red, where in the meeting at some point someone says, "We just need to strike the right balance." We all laugh. CHRIS: Looking into the future, do you see more and more companies adopting remote work? TODD: It's one of our missions, our side missions as a company, to make it more. It's probably other than software engineering, and software design, which is obviously our main focus of our company. Other than that, probably the number one thing that we're interested in promoting in the world is remote work. So I hope the answer is, it's more I don't know, I'm sure Ken and Jamon have some good insight in what they predict. JAMON: I think that one of the factors that will influence this is I look at my kids, like generation Z. And they don't know what it's like not to be connected, and they don't know what it's like not to be able to just talk to their cousin via FaceTime, no space, and who lives in South Carolina. This is normal to them, this is a normal thing to them, this is a normal way to live and to work. Well, they don't really work, but just to do things. KEN: We'll fix that. JAMON: Obviously for my kids, they're around remote work all the time. But it is a way of life, and I think that you'll also see other things like there are more ways to learn online, versus going to a university and sitting in a classroom. There are plenty of other opportunities for them to get used to this way of doing life. And I think that will have an impact. It may not be moving as quickly as we would like, we would like to see a lot more industries move into being remote work for a variety of reasons. But I think that that is a factor. KEN: I will echo that and say that both my wife and I work from home. And my daughter makes the same face when you say that some people have to like drive to a special place, as when you say that you used to have to come to the TV at a particular time to watch your show. Right? But even before the generational shift, I think it is happening more and more. Ironically, Silicon Valley, which should be at the vanguard of this, is one of the most resistant to the idea. I think that's partly because they've had so much money flowing through, that they've been able to afford the enormous luxury of moving everybody to this expensive place, and then putting them in an expensive office. And to be honest, for a company that is chasing a multi billion dollar idea, and trying to beat their competitors over the next six months, there's a case to be made for doing that. But I think way, way more of those companies think that they are doing that than actually are. JAMON: I actually have a question for you Ken, do you think that this will ... you know you said Silicon Valley is resistant to this, and that's a very location based geo fence there. Do you think that the revolution of remote work will happen irrespective of where people are located, but maybe in a different cohort? A different type of people will bring remote work to the forefront more so than a specific place. Let's say for example Detroit, or something, decided it all of a sudden is all remote. That's probably less likely to happen then- KEN: I think that that's one of the key pieces of this, is like it's like it's creating it's own virtual location. That there's a set of people who don't have the same relationship with place, and that sounds really pretentious kind of. But like they just don't think about physical locations in the same way. The cost aspect of it has caused it to grow in more cost sensitive industries than venture backed startups. And it's not that they don't have those, but I think it's also a certain amount of bias on the part of the venture capitalists themselves, and the kind of people that appeal to them. This is my guess, they will crack eventually. TODD: Having worked in Silicon Valley for 20 years, I do love Silicon Valley, and love San Francisco for sure. But when it comes to remote work, they have an inherent bias against it, because when you endure the heavy cost of relocating to Silicon Valley, and you've got your foot into that door, and you're part of that community, anything that would diminish the rewards from that suffering diminishes you. In other words, it's wonderful being there as an engineer. Everyone you meet is engineers, they're all working on interesting projects. There's a real benefit, I think there's other cities too. Especially some secondary cities like Portland, Oregon, or- KEN: Seattle. TODD: Seattle yeah, and Texas. KEN: Austin. TODD: Thank you. Austin, Texas. I think these are up and coming and stuff. And there's still benefits socially to it, but I think a lot of times they resist it because it diminishes their specialness in many ways. JAMON: Yeah. TODD: And really when we started Infinite Red, and we decided that this will be a remote company forever, and that this is my third and hopefully last company I build, it allowed me to move back to my home state of Nevada without worrying about my career, and that is an incredibly powerful thing.

As Todd walks us through the end of Acts 28, he encourages us that we—today, 2,000 years later—are living out the mission of the entire book of Acts: the gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel is alive and well, and there is nothing that can stop it. Do you have a saving faith, and are you on mission today?

As Todd walks us through the end of Acts 28, he encourages us that we—today, 2,000 years later—are living out the mission of the entire book of Acts: the gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel is alive and well, and there is nothing that can stop it. Do you have a saving faith, and are you on mission today?

As Todd walks us through the end of Acts 28, he encourages us that we—today, 2,000 years later—are living out the mission of the entire book of Acts: the gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel is alive and well, and there is nothing that can stop it. Do you have a saving faith, and are you on mission today?

As Todd walks us through the end of Acts 28, he encourages us that we—today, 2,000 years later—are living out the mission of the entire book of Acts: the gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel is alive and well, and there is nothing that can stop it. Do you have a saving faith, and are you on mission today?

As Todd walks us through the beginning of Acts 28, there are multiple lessons about kindness and leadership that we can learn from Paul by how he handled being shipwrecked on the island of Malta. It’s been said that kindness is the language the deaf can hear and the blind can see. Have you ever responded to the extraordinary kindness of Christ?

As Todd walks us through the beginning of Acts 28, there are multiple lessons about kindness and leadership that we can learn from Paul by how he handled being shipwrecked on the island of Malta. It’s been said that kindness is the language the deaf can hear and the blind can see. Have you ever responded to the extraordinary kindness of Christ?

As Todd walks us through the beginning of Acts 28, there are multiple lessons about kindness and leadership that we can learn from Paul by how he handled being shipwrecked on the island of Malta. It’s been said that kindness is the language the deaf can hear and the blind can see. Have you ever responded to the extraordinary kindness of Christ?

As Todd walks us through the beginning of Acts 28, there are multiple lessons about kindness and leadership that we can learn from Paul by how he handled being shipwrecked on the island of Malta. It’s been said that kindness is the language the deaf can hear and the blind can see. Have you ever responded to the extraordinary kindness of Christ?

As Todd and I wrap up this series, we examine the practical limitations of our court system and why it can contribute to a long divorce process.  We also discuss some alternatives to a final trial that can give parties alternative options to having a Judge decide their fate.

I had the great privilege to be asked to teach some masters degree students at Theaterakademie August Everding in Munich, Germany recently. I had a splendid time! The three students I worked with all had ambitious, figurative projects which they had been working on for some weeks when I arrived for my five day stint there. Daniel Riedl had made a full-size figure leaning out of a bath and was in the final sculpting stages preparing to make ready for moulding. Julian Hutcheson had just moulded his sculpt of a male torso, and in the week we mixed and cast out the silicone in the chosen flesh tone (Moldstar 20 from Smooth-On). Caterina Veronesi had sculpted a scale figure of herself which will be cast in silicone and was also in the final sculpting stages and preparing to make the mould. We had a great group chat to discuss how things work there, the education system (It's a free, government paid education which requires an extensive interview process which is a completely different model to the business-style version most makeup education systems work to) and the expected quality of work such a system produces. One great project they had was to take classic roman marble sculptures and create realistic portrait busts based on them. This was a great project as it revealed the licence artists took to portray an idealised version of someone who perhaps would really have been a good deal less attractive in reality - the photoshop of it's day. By studying the people depicted, discrepencies between reported ages and health reveal how much the idealised versions deviated from reality. Pic: The original marble bust (left)and lifelike interpretation by Julian Hutcheson (right). We also chat about how important beer is, making your own silicone wig blocks, using Monster Clay in a cold environment as well as the re-emerging point of the unavoidable trinity in all creative endeavours: “Good – Quick – Cheap...Pick two because you can’t have all three“. Dividing up large appliances Michael Pennington got in touch through our email (stuartandtodd@gmail.com) with a question about how best to know where one should divide up appliance sculpts to break them down into smaller pieces. As Todd points out, much of this is a hangover from foam latex and the shrinkage which was inevitable with that material. Silicone howver has none of these shrinkage issues, so we don't always need to divide it in the same way. That said, there are often good reasons to make a large appliance makeup into smaller, more manageable pieces. The most logical place to do this is where the sculpture is at it's thinnest, and to try and keep edges in easier-to-hide areas where possible, such as where there is naturally a crease or shadow. This was covered in more detail in a post from a while back, 'Floating Pieces' where you will also find a workbook with lots of in-depth information:  -------------------------------------------------- 'Cheap Cheap Cheap' shouldn't be 'Shit Shit Shit' Whenever we do a video tutorial, I can guarantee that someone will want to do it for less money. This is of course an inevitable occurance, as it is quite sensible to not spend money you don't need to. However, there does come a point where substitutuing can become so obsessive that eventually the end result can just look like a pile of crap. I do a wax scar, someone wants to make their own wax becasue it's too expensive. If I had a makeup using good wishes and exhaled air, someone somewhere would want to economise on that somehow. (I know of people who have made their own wax, but if you don't put a dollar value on your time or you seriously have a great idea to improve it then fine - but to me wax IS the cheaper and quicker way compared to sculpting, moulding and casting an appliance!) Whilst it is true that skill will 'work well with anything', I can assure you top pro makeup kits do not have packs of cured meats and jam instead of makeup products to use on their screen talent. If mashed banana looks just right for fat, or pus or brains then fantatsic. Just don't extend that to 'I'll never need to buy another makeup product again'. Once you've seen outsandingmakeup work done firsthand, then your priorities change. You decide instead of trying to do something as quick and cheap as possible, you would rather try and do something as good as possible. Like that trinity of choices above, pick two and decide which you would rather have in your portfolio. Latex is a material that often gets used in colleges because it is cheap and easy to get. Howver, it requires more skill to paint it to appear like real skin than silicone appliances, so there is always a trade off. We would encourage you to get good at using cheap materials on a small scale, and then gradually scale up as you improve. Beware clickbait and attention grabbing use of foodstuffs - if there was a way of not buying makeup then we can assure you working professionals would be the first in line at the grocery store! Jam may be fine for a kids halloween party, but it won't do you any favours in a working portfolio. Till next time. Stuart & Todd  

What happens when the Opera Populaire's legendary Phantom and the man known as Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street, start killing people simultaneously in a Paris that is now under the steely-eyed watch of the miserable but constantly rules-enforcing Inspector Javert? Why, the most musical episode of Smash Fiction in history, of course! As Todd and the Phantom attempt to avoid the investigative attentions of the good inspector (well, the lawful neutral inspector, at least), all the SmashFic hosts break into song, at least one of them raps, the long-lost Musical Round returns, and Rafael Medina is here, so some of it actually sounds good! Will the Phantom leave one last chronology-muddling rose on his enemy's grave, or will Sweeney Todd have a brand new flavor of pie to sell in Mrs. Lovett's shop? And how much singing is there in this episode, really? (Hint: So much. There's so much singing.)

As Todd preaches on Acts 23 and 24, he reminds us through the historical, not mythical, life of Paul that God is still alive and working through normal people that know and love Him.

As Todd preaches on Acts 23 and 24, he reminds us through the historical, not mythical, life of Paul that God is still alive and working through normal people that know and love Him.

As Todd preaches on Acts 23 and 24, he reminds us through the historical, not mythical, life of Paul that God is still alive and working through normal people that know and love Him.

As Todd preaches on Acts 23 and 24, he reminds us through the historical, not mythical, life of Paul that God is still alive and working through normal people that know and love Him.

Being an agency owner can feel isolating and lonely. But it can be a whole lot better when you hear from others in the same boat.  So, check out the stories of not one but two super successful agency owners as we cover everything from overcoming their biggest challenges, to increasing prices and growing their teams. In this episode, we’ll cover: Overcoming the pipeline problem. 4 tips on increasing prices. What agency role to hire for first. What to do about a weak link on your team. I could not be more excited to share this episode with you because it’s my first three-way! :) Today’s show guests are two digital agency owners Zach Williams, of Venveo, and Todd Earwood, of Money Path Marketing. These guys have been super successful - Todd’s agency doubled their business in 4 months and Zach’s did 4X revenue in one year, so listen close! They’re here to talk about the similarities and differences in their journeys as agency owners, as well as share some golden nuggets of wisdom and inspiration. Overcoming the Pipeline Problem One of the biggest challenges as an agency owner is continuing to find new clients and sell, while serving your existing clients. Both guys agree, it like it’s a vicious cycle! You’re a marketing agency, but there’s never enough time to practice what you preach… You work hard on your own marketing to attract new clients, then you get busy with them and end up neglecting your own marketing, so when those projects dry up you end up scrambling to procure new clients again… and the cycle repeat itself over and over. The solution? Todd and Zach both say defining a specialization and positioning the agency to a specific audience greatly helped their pipeline problems. Todd said it made a major impact on business when he identified and communicated: who they are, the market they serve, and what they stand for. 4 Tips on Increasing Prices Are you charging enough? Zach says he didn’t fully understand the value his agency was providing to their clients… in some cases it was up to 100X! They were under valuing services  by not charging enough. 1- Measure and quantify value Chances are, you’re not charging enough! Clients should see a 10X return on their investment working with you. So, the key is to work backwards to determine the value of your work and divide by 10. One of the best ways to determine value is to understand their 3 I’s - issue, impact and importance. Once you know what a project is worth the client, you can better estimate it’s value. 2- Ask the right questions upfront. As Todd said, there’s nothing worse that estimating a project at $50,000 only to find out the client was prepared to spend triple. So you’ve got to ask all the right questions to qualify your client, scope the project and determine what the outcome is worth to them.   You can’t fully understand the scope of a project without all the right information. You have to gather as much information as possible from your client so you can fully understand what they need or rather, what they think they need and how you can help. Here are some of the questions you should ask new clients to determine value. 3- Sell outcomes and ROI. A lot of agencies try to sell based on their portfolio and what they’ve done for others. Zach adds says past work can very subjective but outcomes and ROI are concrete evidence of value. It’s so much easier to sell on black and white facts. 4- Report and remind often. Clients usually have short term memory, right? They tend to forget where they started and have a hard time remembering or realizing the value your agency provided.  Todd says it’s super important to report results to clients regularly. Help them remember where they were and where they are now so they can realize your value. Do this often and in person, rather than just via email. Data reporting can be your secret weapon to growing your revenue. When to Hire (and Fire) for Your Growing Agency What Role to Hire for First? In the early stages of agency growth, it’s hard to know when and who to hire first. Most owners want to get out of the account management and project management work… how did Zach and Todd do it? Zach says he’s horrible with process and he knows it. Know your strengths and He knew right away that he needed to hire someone who was process driven and his first hire was a Project Manager. Todd agrees, and says it’s important for the owner to know their own skillset then hire what’s missing. His first hires were specialists and he learned the hard way that he needed people to own the accounts. It’s hard to give up that control but when you do it can be oddly refreshing. As Todd put it, “there’s pleasure in knowing people pay our firm money and I don’t have to personally work with them.” Recognizing a Weak Link on Your Team Hiring is hard - firing is even harder. That’s why they say: hire slow, fire fast. Growing from 0-5 employees is different than 5-10 and 10-20… When your team is small each person needs to be nimble. As your agency grows, the people who got on board early have to adapt to the changing environment. As an owner you have to recognize the employees who cannot make the future journey and grow with you. There are ones who will be dead weight, so you’ve got to make decisions about them quickly. Todd says, in those cases he sees two choices:  confront the issue and coach up -or- coach out.

At the risk being accused of hyperbole, this is one of the most powerful episodes of the OPP yet.    The ever passionate Todd White (Dry Farm Wines) reveals his Profit and Peace Manifesto: how focusing on gratitude and abundance rather than financial results has helped Dry Farm Wines build the fastest growing club in the world - one that features 6 hour work days, daily team meditations and affirmations, and 100X growth last year. (We don't even mention wine until the 37 min mark.)   I visited the Dry Farm Wines team in Napa Valley to participate in their daily pre-work ritual of meditation, affirmation and gratitude. What I experienced was beyond my expectations.   The transformative power of their energy, light, and love revealed much about their success as individuals and as a team. Todd shares how we can build these habits into our lives along with the deeper impact of living in a world filled with love and support.   As Todd reminds us, "Darkness cannot exist in the presence of light. Likewise, our doubts and fears cannot exist in a world of love, gratitude and abundance."   We explore practical ways to implement these concepts, along with minimalism, creating rockstars, setting boundaries between work and personal life, and leaning into - or striving for - a particular goal is the last thing you want to do.   Replace expectation with appreciation and you'll find peace.   Tune in - and share this episode with your friends, family, and co-workers (I dare you!) to create this fail-proof family environment in your community.      

As Todd brings 1 Peter to a close, he shares 7 things we need to know about an adversary who seeks to destroy us. This enemy is powerful but greater is He who is in us and gives us the ability to fight sin.

As Todd brings 1 Peter to a close, he shares 7 things we need to know about an adversary who seeks to destroy us. This enemy is powerful but greater is He who is in us and gives us the ability to fight sin.

As Todd brings 1 Peter to a close, he shares 7 things we need to know about an adversary who seeks to destroy us. This enemy is powerful but greater is He who is in us and gives us the ability to fight sin.

.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; height: auto; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; } Why are sewer inspections so important for your house? I've brought in a professional inspector to explain why the $200 inspections could save you tens of thousands of dollars.Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home searchSelling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Price EvaluationToday I wanted to take a moment to tell you about why it's important to do a sewer scope or inspection on a property. I've brought in an expert in Todd Vecchio of Sound Sewer Inspection to help me explain the process.A sewer inspection is an important part of the house you're buying that you can't see, Todd says, and can have a value from $50,000 to $75,000. It's the one part of the house that has a very substantial value that you can't see.“A sewer inspector will put a camera into the system's pipes, like a colonoscopy for the house.”A sewer inspector will put a camera into the system's pipes, like a colonoscopy for the house. The camera will travel every inch of the pipes, from where it leaves the house all the way to the street. You want to be sure the system doesn't have any cracks, breaks, or root intrusions. Root intrusions can be a big problem here in Seattle.As Todd says, it's a really good $200 insurance policy to make sure you don't have a $30,000 problem out in the street. Along with the inspection, you'll get the video and a thorough report so that you get the total picture. If you're interested in learning more or you have questions about sewer inspections for Todd, you can give him a call at (206) 619-9990 or email him at todd@soundswerinspection.com.If you have any real estate questions for me or you're thinking about buying or selling a home in the Seattle area, don't hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I would love to work with you!

Victorian England produced some spectacularly bloody and murderous literature. Some was written and published, some began as the stuff of urban legend before being translated for the stage or to the cheap and popular ‘penny dreadful’ magazines that were filled with stories of the macabre, the sensational, the bloody, the mysterious. Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes mysteries landed somewhere in between. And gruesome tales like that of Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett, they were retold in increasingly outrageous and shocking ways. Continuing the trend of transforming gruesome Victorian potboilers into new forms of entertainment, two of the best tales from this era are currently running at two different Sonoma County theaters. Baskerville—running for one more weekend at Spreckels Performing Arts Center—is Ken Ludwig’s ultra-spoofy take on Arthur Conan Doyle’s Hound of the Baskervilles, one of Sherlock Holmes most popular adventures. Directed by David Yen, who demonstrates an obvious affection for Monty Python and the Airplane films, Baskerville follows Holmes and Watson—played by Stephen Cannon and Chris Schloemp, respectively—as they take on the case of a wealthy man killed on the moors by a mysterious beast. As written by Ludwig, the play is jam-packed with pratfalls, outrageous accents, crazy characters, and silly walks. Yen stages such stuff brilliantly, and adds a number of wacky bits of his own, including a massive cloud of machine-made fog that seems to have a mind of its own. Trust me, if you sit in the front row, you’re gonna get fogged. The cast of five is mostly excellent. Though Cannon’s ultra-dry delivery as Holmes reads as lifeless and unfunny much of the time, the rest of the cast is a brisk and bouncy delight. Especially Larry Williams, excelling in an array of wildly over-the-top roles. Watching him tumble down stairs is a hilarious hoot. Kim Williams and Zane Walters do exceptional work as well, playing numerous potential murderers and/or victims. The best performance in the show, though—thanks to Williams’ utter commitment to the moment—is from the floppy stuffed-animal appearing as the mysterious Hound itself. Rarely has an inanimate object been funnier. If only “Sweeney Todd,” now p;aying at the Raven Theater in Healdsburg, had had same level of energy. Though featuring one of the best orchestras I’ve ever heard in the North Bay—with expert musical direction from Lucas Sherman—Stephen Sodheim’s spirited, darkly fun tale of murder and cannibalism feels disappointingly stiff and dour. Directed by Carl Hamilton—who delivered one of 2015’s best shows in All My Sons—this Sweeney is dealt a mortal blow by stiff and constricted, overly presentational staging that, despite several nice visual touches—I loved the falling red fabric when key characters die—often feels flat and frozen. A bit more melodramatic vitality and dynamism is called for in this kind of show. IT might be dark and bloody, but it should also be larger-than-life, over the top, melodramatic … and maybe even fun. As Todd, Matt Witthaus cuts a fine figure, and reveals a powerful singing voice—put this man in more musicals—but the dark intensity of presence for which Witthaus has become known is rarely capitalized on in this production. Far more lively and on-the-mark is Tika Moon as the pie-making Mrs. Lovett, balancing her characters’ dark humor and comic tragedy with masterful ingenuity. The Raven’s Sweeney Todd certainly has its moments. Too bad it doesn’t have more of them. 'Sweeney Todd’ runs Friday–Sunday through October 9 at the Raven Performing Arts Center. www.raventheater.org ‘Baskerville’ runs Thursday–Sunday through October 4 at Spreckels Performing Arts Center. www.spreckelsonline.com

Todd Brockdorf is the best selling author of the business self-help book "Better than Average: Excelling in a Mediocre World".  Through consulting and speaking, he works with organizations, leaders, and frustrated business professionals to stand out from the crowd. He will offer the listeners tips to help them stand out from the crowd in their personal, social and professional lives to achieve success. As Todd says, "We don't have to stick out to stand out." Check out his website at www.toddbrockdorf.com and his blog at www.betterthanaverageblog.com. You can also find him on facebook/toddbrockdorf, Linkedin/in/toddbrockdorf and Twitter @betterthanav.  

I always learn something when I interview authors, but in this chat with Todd H. Weir I learned something startling: I’m a monist. What is more, you may be a monist too and not even know it. Do you believe that there is really only one kind of stuff and that everything we observe–and our powers of observation themselves–are made of that stuff? If so, you’re a monist. But what kind? As Todd explains, the history of monism is not monistic: since its birth in the nineteenth century, there have been multiple monisms (which, you must admit, is a diverting irony). You can read about many of them in Monism: Science, Philosophy, Religion, and the History of a Worldview (Palgrave, 2012), the edited volume Todd and I discuss in the interview. Despite their differences, all the monisms were radical, for they implied that there was no God and that religion was essentially an evolved superstition. This being so, monism was always controversial. It still is. Stephen J. Gould didn’t like it, but his colleague E.O. Wilson and most of the “New Atheists” do. Listen in and see where you stand. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I always learn something when I interview authors, but in this chat with Todd H. Weir I learned something startling: I’m a monist. What is more, you may be a monist too and not even know it. Do you believe that there is really only one kind of stuff and that everything we observe–and our powers of observation themselves–are made of that stuff? If so, you’re a monist. But what kind? As Todd explains, the history of monism is not monistic: since its birth in the nineteenth century, there have been multiple monisms (which, you must admit, is a diverting irony). You can read about many of them in Monism: Science, Philosophy, Religion, and the History of a Worldview (Palgrave, 2012), the edited volume Todd and I discuss in the interview. Despite their differences, all the monisms were radical, for they implied that there was no God and that religion was essentially an evolved superstition. This being so, monism was always controversial. It still is. Stephen J. Gould didn’t like it, but his colleague E.O. Wilson and most of the “New Atheists” do. Listen in and see where you stand. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I always learn something when I interview authors, but in this chat with Todd H. Weir I learned something startling: I’m a monist. What is more, you may be a monist too and not even know it. Do you believe that there is really only one kind of stuff and that everything we observe–and our powers of observation themselves–are made of that stuff? If so, you’re a monist. But what kind? As Todd explains, the history of monism is not monistic: since its birth in the nineteenth century, there have been multiple monisms (which, you must admit, is a diverting irony). You can read about many of them in Monism: Science, Philosophy, Religion, and the History of a Worldview (Palgrave, 2012), the edited volume Todd and I discuss in the interview. Despite their differences, all the monisms were radical, for they implied that there was no God and that religion was essentially an evolved superstition. This being so, monism was always controversial. It still is. Stephen J. Gould didn’t like it, but his colleague E.O. Wilson and most of the “New Atheists” do. Listen in and see where you stand. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I always learn something when I interview authors, but in this chat with Todd H. Weir I learned something startling: I’m a monist. What is more, you may be a monist too and not even know it. Do you believe that there is really only one kind of stuff and that everything we observe–and our powers of observation themselves–are made of that stuff? If so, you’re a monist. But what kind? As Todd explains, the history of monism is not monistic: since its birth in the nineteenth century, there have been multiple monisms (which, you must admit, is a diverting irony). You can read about many of them in Monism: Science, Philosophy, Religion, and the History of a Worldview (Palgrave, 2012), the edited volume Todd and I discuss in the interview. Despite their differences, all the monisms were radical, for they implied that there was no God and that religion was essentially an evolved superstition. This being so, monism was always controversial. It still is. Stephen J. Gould didn’t like it, but his colleague E.O. Wilson and most of the “New Atheists” do. Listen in and see where you stand. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I always learn something when I interview authors, but in this chat with Todd H. Weir I learned something startling: I’m a monist. What is more, you may be a monist too and not even know it. Do you believe that there is really only one kind of stuff and that everything we observe–and our powers of observation themselves–are made of that stuff? If so, you’re a monist. But what kind? As Todd explains, the history of monism is not monistic: since its birth in the nineteenth century, there have been multiple monisms (which, you must admit, is a diverting irony). You can read about many of them in Monism: Science, Philosophy, Religion, and the History of a Worldview (Palgrave, 2012), the edited volume Todd and I discuss in the interview. Despite their differences, all the monisms were radical, for they implied that there was no God and that religion was essentially an evolved superstition. This being so, monism was always controversial. It still is. Stephen J. Gould didn’t like it, but his colleague E.O. Wilson and most of the “New Atheists” do. Listen in and see where you stand. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I always learn something when I interview authors, but in this chat with Todd H. Weir I learned something startling: I’m a monist. What is more, you may be a monist too and not even know it. Do you believe that there is really only one kind of stuff and that everything we observe–and our powers of observation themselves–are made of that stuff? If so, you’re a monist. But what kind? As Todd explains, the history of monism is not monistic: since its birth in the nineteenth century, there have been multiple monisms (which, you must admit, is a diverting irony). You can read about many of them in Monism: Science, Philosophy, Religion, and the History of a Worldview (Palgrave, 2012), the edited volume Todd and I discuss in the interview. Despite their differences, all the monisms were radical, for they implied that there was no God and that religion was essentially an evolved superstition. This being so, monism was always controversial. It still is. Stephen J. Gould didn’t like it, but his colleague E.O. Wilson and most of the “New Atheists” do. Listen in and see where you stand. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When sports fans list the greatest games, they talk about close contests, outstanding performances, and dramatic finishes. Think of game six of the 1975 World Series between the Red Sox and the Reds, or Boston College’s 47-45 win over the University of Miami in 1984, capped by Doug Flutie’s miraculous touchdown pass. But when sports historians draw up their lists of the greatest games, they point to contests that had significant influence on the development of a sport yet might have been one-sided or unremarkable in their action. Take, for example, the 1958 NFL championship between the Baltimore Colts and New York Giants, which inaugurated professional football’s popularity in the United States. Although close and dramatic, the game was not a show of high-quality play. Likewise, one of the most important matches in soccer history, Hungary’s 1953 victory over England, which signaled the end of English dominance in world football, was a 6-3 drubbing. But the exhibition between the Montreal Canadiens and the Soviet Red Army team on New Year’s Eve 1975 meets all the requirements of a great game: legendary players, closely matched teams, sensational action, a nail-biting finish, and a lasting influence on the evolution of hockey. In his book The Greatest Game: The Montreal Canadiens, the Red Army, and the Night That Saved Hockey (McClelland & Stewart, 2010), Todd Denault approaches this famous game from all sides. It was, on the one hand, a single contest between the two best teams in the world, pitting players like Ken Dryden and Guy Lafleur against their Russian equals, Vladislav Tretiak and Valeri Kharlamov. But far more than that, this was a demonstration of hockey at its most spectacular, coming at a time when the professional game, as played in the NHL, was in danger of sinking into thuggery. As Todd states in the book and the interview, this game, and the Canadiens’ subsequent Stanley Cup win, pointed the way to NHL hockey of the 1980s and today: a sport of speed and strength that combines the Canadian and European styles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When sports fans list the greatest games, they talk about close contests, outstanding performances, and dramatic finishes. Think of game six of the 1975 World Series between the Red Sox and the Reds, or Boston College’s 47-45 win over the University of Miami in 1984, capped by Doug Flutie’s miraculous touchdown pass. But when sports historians draw up their lists of the greatest games, they point to contests that had significant influence on the development of a sport yet might have been one-sided or unremarkable in their action. Take, for example, the 1958 NFL championship between the Baltimore Colts and New York Giants, which inaugurated professional football’s popularity in the United States. Although close and dramatic, the game was not a show of high-quality play. Likewise, one of the most important matches in soccer history, Hungary’s 1953 victory over England, which signaled the end of English dominance in world football, was a 6-3 drubbing. But the exhibition between the Montreal Canadiens and the Soviet Red Army team on New Year’s Eve 1975 meets all the requirements of a great game: legendary players, closely matched teams, sensational action, a nail-biting finish, and a lasting influence on the evolution of hockey. In his book The Greatest Game: The Montreal Canadiens, the Red Army, and the Night That Saved Hockey (McClelland & Stewart, 2010), Todd Denault approaches this famous game from all sides. It was, on the one hand, a single contest between the two best teams in the world, pitting players like Ken Dryden and Guy Lafleur against their Russian equals, Vladislav Tretiak and Valeri Kharlamov. But far more than that, this was a demonstration of hockey at its most spectacular, coming at a time when the professional game, as played in the NHL, was in danger of sinking into thuggery. As Todd states in the book and the interview, this game, and the Canadiens’ subsequent Stanley Cup win, pointed the way to NHL hockey of the 1980s and today: a sport of speed and strength that combines the Canadian and European styles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices