Podcasts about beginning it

Start at the Beginning It’s a very good place to start Paul began his ministry in simplicity (1 Cor. 2:2) Tangible lessons are easier to learn (1 Cor. 2:4) Grow in the Spirit Paul moved on to impart wisdom (1 Cor. 2:6) As faith grows, so does spiritual knowledge (1 Cor. 2:10) Dig deeper Have the mind of Christ Speak Spiritual truth that can be understood (1 Cor. 2:13) Live as salt and light (Matt. 5:13-16)

THE WITCHER Season 1 Full-Length commentaries by The Bizzle: Ep. 1 “The End’s Beginning” It’s here! It’s great! Had to do the commentaries! More from The Bizzle: Podcast: www.bizzlecast.com Facebook: facebook.com/bizzlecast Twitch: twitch.tv/thebizzle YouTube: youtube.com/slipkid7 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED by The BizzleCast (Jesse F. Brenner) (C) (2019)

Quality and regulatory professionals in the medical device industry have to deal with a lot. In this episode, Mike Drues of Vascular Sciences shares 15 of his highly effective habits and tips to help you lead your organization. You have an opportunity and obligation to explain the current regulatory structure in the industry - embrace it, don't resist it! SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SHOW INCLUDE: ● Poker Game: Relationship between a company and the FDA is like a poker game; even if someone understands the regulations, doesn't mean they win ● Think Globally: Startups and new companies make the mistake of not considering international regulatory strategies; satisfy needs of various places ● Consider Regulatory from the Beginning: It's never too early to think about regulatory in product development lifecycle; minimize burdens and problems ● Don't Reinvent the Wheel: When it comes to clinical trials, data, and real-world evidence - can they be justified, even if the FDA asks for them? ● Competitive Regulatory Strategy: If you follow in somebody else's footsteps, you'll never go anywhere new ● Don't Just Copy Others: Lots of sheep in medical device industry who take the path of least resistance; not aware of their options ● Know All of Your Options: Know about available options, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of each, to get your medical device on the market ● Don't be Myopic About Risk: All conventional risk approaches are limiting; some aspects of risk are important to consider but not addressed in them ● New is Not Necessarily Your Friend: If you think you're working on a newer, novel device, you're probably not: Regulation? Guidance? Reimbursement? ● Use Label Expansions to Your Advantage: Tempting to bring a product with all the bells and whistles to market, but higher likelihood of being unsuccessful ● Design Your Label Like You Design Your Device: Spend time and money on label design; use all tools available to express your message ● No Submission Should Ever be Rejected: 75% of first-time 510(ks)s are rejected; minimize or eliminate rejections through advanced communication with agency ● Communicate Early and Often with FDA: It's not the FDA's job to tell you what to do; tell, don't ask and lead, don't follow ● Don't Treat FDA or Other Regulatory Agency as Your Enemy: Don't approach agency as beta tester or with minimum done to get it to sign-off on a product ● Don't be the Regulatory Police: Don't tell a company what they can't do, but what they can do; don't let regulation hold you back

Ions the GOAT | Gaming is Just the Beginning | It’s Not That Deep Podcast Episode 17This week, I chat with Justin Fijalkowski or simply Ions, a Polish-Canadian content creator who’s one of the faces of TapX - a gaming-focused YouTube channel with 10M+ views, 85k+ subscribers. Ions is very well-known for setting records in Call of Duty. He emerged into the e-sports world as a graphic designer, signing a deal and eventually becoming part-owner of an organization owning a prominent H1Z1 roster.  We chat about this as well as Ions’ passion for photography and creating content. With a very unique Instagram and UNSPLASH pages, Ions’ was able to build a loyal following with a high level of engagement. Ions and his friends have made a name for themselves by taking photos in abandoned warehouses, construction sites, rooftops, and much more. His shots are really cool and I enjoy them, check him out on his Instagram @ionsthegoat Photo credits: discover.ottawa Please subscribe, share, leave a rating, and contribute to my Patreon Page! Website: ItsNotThatDeepPodcast.comYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/itsnotthatdeeppodcastPatreon: https://patreon.com/itsnotthatdeeppodcast?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=creatorshare Instagram: @ItsNotThatDeepPodcast https://www.instagram.com/itsnotthatdeeppodcast/Facebook: @ItsNotThatDeepPodcast https://www.facebook.com/itsnotthatdeeppodcast/Linkedin: @ItsNotThatDeepPodcast https://ca.linkedin.com/in/deepak-sharma-9a941980Twitter: @notdeeppodcast https://twitter.com/notdeeppodcast

One of the sessions at D365 Saturday Philadelphia this past weekend was "Managing a D365 CE Project" by Jennyfer Hogeland, it was a great session. On one of her slides she described "Definition of Done", and that phrase stuck in my head. Done I don't know about you, but when I hear the word "Done", I assume something has completed. When I am "done" with a meal at a restaurant, they take my plate away, bring me my check, and the wonderful relationship I developed with my server comes to an abrupt conclusion. When the service manager at the car dealership leaves a message on my voicemail that my car is "done", I go down there and get it, and our relationship has concluded, hopefully forever, even though he seemed like a really nice guy. "Done" means something different in the software deployment world. Done times 100 With Agile methodologies, big projects are broken down into smaller parts. Fellow MVP Neil Benson can fill in all the details around this for you, and will probably correct everything I write here. For this post I just want to say, that for each of these smaller parts, there is typically a concept of "Definition of Done". Some people call this "Exit Criteria", which sounds equally terminal. Regardless, if your project gets broken down into 100 parts, you will get to "Done" 100 times. Kind of like when you complete your appetizer, and they take that plate away and put another one in front of you, except it would be a 100 course meal. Done as a Beginning It is not uncommon for a development team to feel they have met the "Definition of Done", only to find that the customer did not understand the definition in the first place. "What do you mean Done? What about xyz...?" It is not that hard to come up with a definition of done that your team understands, it is exponentially harder to come up with one that your customer understands. Their advance agreement is not a reliable signal that they actually understand what they are agreeing to. Why would a customer agree to something they don't understand? Often, it is because they don't want to appear like they don't know what you are talking about. They are content to understand what you mean, after you get there, and then renegotiate if necessary. Done as a Flag in the Ground One of the key advantages to your development team is creating several points along the path where they can plant a flag and say "This thing is done". It should protect both sides from misunderstandings, or at least limit the damage to either party when there are misunderstandings. If we waited until the end of a year-long implementation to say "Done", all of those misunderstandings will be a wave that will wash over everyone involved. Another fellow MVP Gus Gonzales recently did a podcast outlining these very issues using a real world case... case as in law suit. SOWs When engaging an implementation partner, it is quite common to have your discussions conclude with a "Statement of Work". A typical statement of work will attempt to define the deliverables and the costs associated with delivering them. It may have been created pursuant to a list of requirements from the customer, or several pre-sales phone calls or meetings. The lazy SOW says, "We will deliver all of the requirements from your list, which is attached, for $X dollars." A customer who signs off on that is an idiot, and the project is already doomed. A better SOW does not even reference the customer's list, but rather replaces it and covers each aspect, broken into chunks with a "definition of done" for each chunk. But, I would never give a customer one of these either. In fact, we don't give customers SOWs at all. Why SOWs don't work anymore I think SOWs were always a shitty way to create a contractual relationship, but never more so than today. All SOWs are ultimately agreed to at a "point in time". Back in the day, that point remained fairly static throughout the life of the engagement. Not so anymore, not even close. A month after that SOW was memorialized, new features were released that the SOW did not contemplate. Now what, do we continue down the path, or maybe look at whether any of these new features make more sense for one of more aspects of this SOW we are both bound by? If they do, do we both mutually agree to change the scope. Does that change in scope require a change in cost? Are we going to argue over that because you think I have you over a barrel? Am I going to be a dick about that because I actually do have you over a barrel? If we ultimately agree, what are we going to do next month when it happens again? It is little wonder that so many of these relationships turn out sour in the end, or worse, in litigation. Fed Up Several years ago, I got fed up with the broken SOW process. While I never put my foot on a customer's neck, they frequently assumed I was, because I could.  My Dad once told me that, "Leverage always exists, there is no such thing as neutral... who has it at the time, may not be clear". I can certainly recall being on the phone back in the day with customer making all kinds of demands, assuming he had some leverage, when in fact he did not. It is not a good place for the customer to be, and I did not like it either as you may have gathered from my last post. Our Pivot I decided that we were going to take a business risk, by no longer responding with SOWs... or fixed cost agreements. They create an antagonistic relationship from the jump. Our "risk" was whether customers would go along with the idea. We did not invent this idea, but at the time, it was pretty novel in our space, and still is. We developed a two-page agreement, where customers could pre-purchase blocks of time, the larger the block, the lower the rate. What could be done with this "time"? Anything the customer wanted. We also simplified the tiered rate structure into a single blended rate. The whole concept could be digested in about 3 minutes, without the legal department having to look for "gotchas". Many other partners told me that no customer, particularly large ones, would ever move forward on this basis. They were wrong. Since we launched it, we have helped hundreds of customers, including multiple Fortune 500 customers, and the freaking United States Navy. In fact, there as been virtually no resistance at all. Selling Time Blocks I still had many partners not believing that customers would engage this way, being unable to imagine their customers going along. I have also talked to some who said they tried, and had limited success. Compared to our 100% success rate, I decided that this was a sales problem for these partners. I know their customers would go for it, if they presented it the right way. The key point is that every customer who ever did an SOW or "Fixed-price" agreement was not happy with that model either. That trend is getting worse, which can easily be seen by searching for example "Accenture Lawsuit". Not to pick on Accenture, their current woes are just fresh in my mind, but SOWs and Fixed-price agreements are ending in litigation at an alarming rate today. How about instead of going down a path with a high possibility of failure, you instead try something that minimizes the risk to everyone. In our case, the maximum size block a customer can buy at one time is 80 Hours. Why? This means that every week or two, we both get to reassess our relationship. While leverage may still exist, it is more equalized. If you are not happy with us, then you can go another direction, the block was consumed, and we owe each other nothing. On the other hand, if you are a raging asshole, once the block has been consumed, I can say adios. But another thing I have noticed in this arrangement is there is seldom a need for the customer to become a raging asshole. In fact, I don't recall off-hand ever saying Adios to one. Agile-ty This concept dovetails nicely into Agile frameworks also. You can't get much more "Agile" than being able to redirect all energies in a new direction when new features are launched or other realizations are made by the customer along the way. No change-orders to argue over, no hard feelings, the river of effort just flows down whatever tributaries the customer wants it to. Hey, wait a minute "Steve, you seem to be glossing over a huge aspect for partners. Where we make the big money is when we come in way under cost, in your scenario this windfall would not exist!" First, I would say that you need to subtract from your windfalls on the winners, all of your losses on loser projects, and come back to me. If you ever chatted to a gambling addict, all they talk about are the times they won. But, if your winners do vastly outnumber your losers in dollars, then you would be right. This model assumes that your customer will actually get an hour for every hour they purchased. Which, by the way, is a other huge selling point! We obviously generate a margin on each hour sold, but there are no opportunities for a huge windfall with this model. Conversely, it is also impossible to end up upside-down on a project. Since customers pre-pay for the blocks, we also have no account receivable department and zero collection effort. A Win-Win? I think so, if the profitability of your business is dependent on windfalls from winners to offset losses from losers, then moving to this model will help you at least sleep. You can also move from having a few key customers who will sing your praises, to have every customer doing so. This certainly makes getting more customers a lot easier. When your prospect asks for a reference, it feels good to be able to respond with: "Sure, how about every customer we have?". I get that this approach is not for all partners, though I am not sure why. I also get that not all customers will go along, but I have yet to run into one. I am happy to discuss with any partner how we make this work, or any customer who wants to explore it as well.  

Are you trying to figure out how to scale your agency? Do you want some killer agency growth tips? Finding clients can be tough, especially if you don't yet have a salesperson or team in place to land more clients. But, if you play your cards right, you can skip some of the typical growing pains in order to grow and scale faster. In this episode, we'll cover: 3 ways to reel in more new agency clients How to know when to hire a salesperson. #1 way to capture clients in the beginning. Today, I talked with Kirk Deis, co-owner of Treehouse 51 and creator of proprietary software Bugsquasher. Kirk started off building Tumblr sites, ghostwriting, and grinding in the freelance world. Three years ago he finally decided to make the jump from freelancer and started his own agency. Like all new agencies, he learned some tricks along the way, and he credits is business for mentoring him along the way. Today, he shares a ton of great tips for breaking those first barriers. 3 Ways to Reel in More New Agency Clients Wondering the best ways to build trust and authority in the market? Capturing prospects' attention can be tough in the beginning. Here's how you can reel in your ideal clients by building trust and authority. Be a student. Too many new agency owners fall into the trap of trying to leverage themselves as experts. Don't be afraid to ask for help! Connect with mentors, interview experts, retweet or share social posts by others. You don't need to have all the answers, you just need to know where to find them and how to connect to them. All these things help build instant credibility and maybe even score some clients. Connect on social media. Everyone is on social media - use it to find and talk to them! Connect with other agency owners or marketing experts and create some deep, meaningful connections. Find out who's doing it better than you and connect with them. Help first rather than asking for help. These relationships can lead to tons of new opportunities that would not be possible without social media connections. Do free stuff. Don't be afraid to do your first few jobs for free! It's a great way to capture the attention of prospects in your niche and build authority. You will build up a portfolio and be able to ask for testimonials. It's that sort of priceless social proof that lands clients more easily than any paid ad campaign ever could. How to Know When to Hire a Salesperson I get this question a ton. When do you hire your first salesperson? Kirk hired his first salesperson at the $500k mark. But, honestly, it's not about when you hire your salesperson, but how. Most agency owners think they can be the sole salesperson, and there are some that can (like Kirk, for example). But, having a dedicated salesperson is the best way to truly scale as well as fill your pipeline. If you're the founder and owner then it's hard for you to focus solely on sales. That means when you are focused on sales, then sales are great. But when you're pulled into other areas, such as delivery, then sales suffer. If your agency is suffering from big ebbs and flows of sales and the owner is the one handling sales, then it's probably time to hire a salesperson dedicated to that role. Here's the thing. Don't just hire a salesperson and then tell them they have to sell your way. Give them the freedom to sell their way. Here's the trick. Define the outcomes, not the strategy. Maybe start them off with just selling your foot-in-the-door offer, then you could assist with selling the next project. The key is to assist, not dominate the whole process. If you start trying to force salespeople to work within your parameters, you'll end up with a terrible experience. #1 Way to Capture Client's in the Beginning It's less about what you've done and more about how you do it. So don't worry about a solid portfolio, just nail down a great process. You don't have to show off your previous work; you need to explain what sets you apart. Sit your prospect down and tell them why your process is better than your competitors. Do you make websites? What's your process? How is it better than your competitors? Why do your sites convert better than other agencies? If you don't know, figure it out and then point it out to your prospects! Clients want to know why they should choose you. They don't want your secret sauce ~ they just want to know you have one :) That great looking portfolio may get your foot in the door, but your process will convert! Here's the thing about your process, it must be fluid. There's always a better way to do things. Your agency should be that better way. If it is, your prospects will notice, and they will definitely be interested. Looking for a Payroll and HR Solution for your Agency? Payroll and benefits are hard. Especially when you’re a small business. Gusto is making payroll, benefits and HR easy for small businesses. You no longer have to be a big company to get great technology, great benefits and great service to take care of your team. For a limited time, Gusto is offering a deal to Smart Agency Master Class listeners. Check out Gusto.com/agency for 3-months FREE once you run your first payroll with them.

Best of Volatility Views: Back to the Beginning It's a shortened holiday week. So we thought we'd take you back to the primordial ooze days of Volatility Views with the inaugural sneak preview episode from August 2011.

Quality and regulatory professionals in the medical device industry have to deal with a lot. In this episode, Mike Drues of Vascular Sciences shares 15 of his highly effective habits and tips to help you lead your organization. You have an opportunity and obligation to explain the current regulatory structure in the industry - embrace it, don’t resist it! SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SHOW INCLUDE: ● Poker Game: Relationship between a company and the FDA is like a poker game; even if someone understands the regulations, doesn’t mean they win ● Think Globally: Startups and new companies make the mistake of not considering international regulatory strategies; satisfy needs of various places ● Consider Regulatory from the Beginning: It’s never too early to think about regulatory in product development lifecycle; minimize burdens and problems ● Don’t Reinvent the Wheel: When it comes to clinical trials, data, and real-world evidence - can they be justified, even if the FDA asks for them? ● Competitive Regulatory Strategy: If you follow in somebody else’s footsteps, you’ll never go anywhere new ● Don’t Just Copy Others: Lots of sheep in medical device industry who take the path of least resistance; not aware of their options ● Know All of Your Options: Know about available options, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of each, to get your medical device on the market ● Don’t be Myopic About Risk: All conventional risk approaches are limiting; some aspects of risk are important to consider but not addressed in them ● New is Not Necessarily Your Friend: If you think you’re working on a newer, novel device, you’re probably not: Regulation? Guidance? Reimbursement? ● Use Label Expansions to Your Advantage: Tempting to bring a product with all the bells and whistles to market, but higher likelihood of being unsuccessful ● Design Your Label Like You Design Your Device: Spend time and money on label design; use all tools available to express your message ● No Submission Should Ever be Rejected: 75% of first-time 510(ks)s are rejected; minimize or eliminate rejections through advanced communication with agency ● Communicate Early and Often with FDA: It’s not the FDA’s job to tell you what to do; tell, don’t ask and lead, don’t follow ● Don’t Treat FDA or Other Regulatory Agency as Your Enemy: Don’t approach agency as beta tester or with minimum done to get it to sign-off on a product ● Don’t be the Regulatory Police: Don’t tell a company what they can’t do, but what they can do; don’t let regulation hold you back