Podcasts about CenturyLink

Explosive demand for artificial intelligence, cloud services, and low-latency connectivity is reshaping the landscape for data center construction in the U.S. With hyperscalers and enterprises alike racing to deploy infrastructure closer to end users, new builds are increasingly challenged by the need for high-capacity power, complex permitting, and skilled labor. According to CBRE, U.S. data center inventory grew by 26% in 2023, and capacity constraints are expected to continue as AI-related workloads surge through 2025.So, what does it take to get a data center online today, and what's keeping many projects from starting?This episode of Pro AV Today dives into that question with Syed Hussain, Senior Director of Business Development and Strategic Partnerships at Dycom Industries, a nationwide telecom construction company. Host Ben Thomas speaks with Syed on-site at Connected America 2025 about fiber, power, cooling, and why planning for edge deployments starts years in advance.Key Topics Covered:Power and cooling are the primary constraints: While fiber placement can be complex, the bigger bottlenecks are finding enough energy and keeping chips cool at scale.Permitting remains a challenge: Running fiber often requires routing through railways, tribal lands, and other restricted areas, adding time and risk to already tight deployment windows.Planning is everything: From chip supply to project sequencing, organizations entering the data center construction space need to plan years to execute effectively.Syed Hussain is a seasoned telecom infrastructure executive with over 25 years of experience in engineering, network planning, construction, and operations. He has led large-scale fiber and broadband deployment projects across the U.S., overseeing multi-million-dollar capital budgets and teams of directors, managers, and technical staff at companies like Comcast, CenturyLink, and now Dycom Industries. His expertise spans strategic planning, municipal permitting, vendor coordination, and leadership development, with a consistent track record of delivering high-impact network builds on time and within budget.

Explosive demand for artificial intelligence, cloud services, and low-latency connectivity is reshaping the landscape for data center construction in the U.S. With hyperscalers and enterprises alike racing to deploy infrastructure closer to end users, new builds are increasingly challenged by the need for high-capacity power, complex permitting, and skilled labor. According to CBRE, U.S. data center inventory grew by 26% in 2023, and capacity constraints are expected to continue as AI-related workloads surge through 2025.So, what does it take to get a data center online today, and what's keeping many projects from starting?This episode of Pro AV Today dives into that question with Syed Hussain, Senior Director of Business Development and Strategic Partnerships at Dycom Industries, a nationwide telecom construction company. Host Ben Thomas speaks with Syed on-site at Connected America 2025 about fiber, power, cooling, and why planning for edge deployments starts years in advance.Key Topics Covered:Power and cooling are the primary constraints: While fiber placement can be complex, the bigger bottlenecks are finding enough energy and keeping chips cool at scale.Permitting remains a challenge: Running fiber often requires routing through railways, tribal lands, and other restricted areas, adding time and risk to already tight deployment windows.Planning is everything: From chip supply to project sequencing, organizations entering the data center construction space need to plan years to execute effectively.Syed Hussain is a seasoned telecom infrastructure executive with over 25 years of experience in engineering, network planning, construction, and operations. He has led large-scale fiber and broadband deployment projects across the U.S., overseeing multi-million-dollar capital budgets and teams of directors, managers, and technical staff at companies like Comcast, CenturyLink, and now Dycom Industries. His expertise spans strategic planning, municipal permitting, vendor coordination, and leadership development, with a consistent track record of delivering high-impact network builds on time and within budget.

Monica Williams (MBA 2013) is a people-centric strategist that has spent the last 15 years designing both equitable and high-performing workplaces. But her work didn't start there. She made the transition to the people side of the business from, of all places, the accounting field. Monica's career has taken her from spreadsheets to organizational heartbeats, as she's led large-scale people efforts at both CenturyLink and the Denver Airport. In this episode, Monica shares more about what makes people-centric strategies successful, how transferable skills helped her discover her passion and how to stay centered in challenging times. Table of contents • 1:03 Designing equitable workplace cultures • 2:03 How non-managers can create inclusive cultures • 3:01 Monica's path from accounting to diversity • 5:47 How inclusive cultures lead to better business outcomes • 7:12 Monica's decision to pursue an Executive MBA • 9:09 Challenges and strategies at Denver International Airport • 12:26 Identifying and addressing performative equity efforts • 18:32 Staying centered in challenging times

Leave feedback!Today I am speaking with Sean Robb, Technical Product Lead at Flow. Based out of St. Louis, Sean's journey into Web3 started with his background in computer engineering, where he worked on flight control systems before moving into roles at CenturyLink and MasterCard. At Dapper Labs, he helped shape the Dapper Wallet during the NBA Top Shot craze, driving the evolution of consumer-facing applications in Web3. Now at Flow, Sean is pushing the envelope in blockchain scalability and user experience, especially with recent upgrades like Crescendo and its EVM compatibility. We explore Sean's unique perspective on Web3's consumer applications, digital scarcity, and the role of AI in decentralized ecosystems.Show Notes and TranscriptsThe GRTiQ Podcast takes listeners inside web3 and The Graph (GRT) by interviewing members of the ecosystem.  Please help support this project and build the community by subscribing and leaving a review.Twitter: GRT_iQwww.GRTiQ.com

Why you should listenDiscover how to effectively use LinkedIn to generate leads and engage potential clients, leveraging John's proven techniques.Learn how to balance onshore and offshore teams to maximize efficiency and service delivery in your Salesforce practice.Explore the benefits of the 360 Salesforce Mastermind, designed to help Salesforce partners bridge the gap between technical skills and business acumen.Are you a Salesforce partner feeling overwhelmed by lead generation and seeking guidance from someone who understands your unique challenges? In this episode, I sit down with John Ewoniuk, founder of Peak360 IT and creator of the 360 Salesforce Mastermind. John shares his extensive experience in the Salesforce ecosystem, focusing on actionable strategies for leveraging LinkedIn to generate leads and the importance of effective team management.John emphasizes the value of community and collaboration through his mastermind, aimed at helping Salesforce partners enhance their business skills and overcome common hurdles in client acquisition. Tune in for insights that can transform your approach to sales and marketing in the Salesforce landscape.About Jon EwoniukJon Ewoniuk is the Founder of Peak360 IT, a Salesforce SI Partner, and The 360 Salesforce Mastermind. With 25 years of experience in enterprise IT, software engineering, and data services, Jon has specialized in helping businesses optimize their Salesforce implementations and integrate complex cloud and on-premises technologies. His expertise extends across multiple industries, including telecom, healthcare, and finance, where he has led global software development teams and delivered strategic technology solutions.Jon's leadership has guided organizations through Salesforce transformations, addressing challenges such as technical debt and process automation. Previously, he held IT leadership roles at Kaiser Permanente and CenturyLink, where he oversaw large-scale software projects and developed integrated solutions. Jon founded The 360 Salesforce Mastermind after recognizing that many Salesforce consultants and SI partners possess technical skills but face challenges in building a business—struggling with areas like marketing, lead generation, client acquisition, and scaling. The Mastermind is designed to bridge that gap, providing insights and resources to help these professionals succeed beyond the technical scope. He holds a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of North Dakota and is passionate about mentoring the next generation of IT leaders.Resources and LinksPeak360it.comJon's LinkedIn profileThe 360 Salesforce MastermindBook a call with JonPrevious episode: 578 - Win More Deals with Live Proposal ReviewsCheck out more episodes of The Paul Higgins ShowThe Tech Consultant's RoadmapJoin our newsletter

On this week's episode, we discuss what it's like being a homeowner. Aaron is PISSED about CenturyLink's service. We also get into the Mount Rushmore of smells. And end with our normal segments! That and much, much more on today's podcast! Follow us on all of our social medias to keep up to date! Instagram: ⁠@thefairlyoddasians⁠ Tik Tok: ⁠@thefairlyoddasians⁠ Twitter: ⁠@fairlyoddasians⁠

In this eye-opening episode of Exploit Brokers, your host Lauro dives deep into the recent cyberattacks that have compromised major U.S. telecommunications networks. Chinese state-sponsored hackers, known as Salt Typhoon, have exploited a 30-year-old backdoor mandated by U.S. law, targeting giants like AT&T, Lumen (formerly CenturyLink), and Verizon. Drawing inspiration from Friedrich Nietzsche's quote: "He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster... when you gaze long into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you." We explore how attempts to control and monitor can sometimes backfire, creating vulnerabilities that malicious actors can exploit. If you find this content valuable, please like, subscribe, and hit the bell notification icon to stay updated. For our listeners on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, please leave a review and follow us—it greatly helps in reaching more people. Join the conversation and let's navigate the complexities of cybersecurity together! Relevant Hashtags: #Cybersecurity #ChineseHackers #VoltTyphoon #TelecomSecurity #InternetBackdoor #CALEA #DataBreach #CyberThreats #DigitalPrivacy #Encryption #LawfulSurveillance #TechNews #ExplorerBrokers #AT&T #Verizon #Lumen #TechCrunch #WallStreetJournal #Nietzsche #CyberWarfare #StayInformed

Cybersecurity is an ever-evolving field that requires continuous learning, adaptability, and a deep understanding of both the technological landscape and human behavior. Today's guest, Dave Mahon, a seasoned cybersecurity expert with extensive experience in both the private and public sectors, shares his journey from the FBI to leading global cybersecurity efforts in the corporate world.Dave Mahon served as a Senior Advisor for Deloitte, where he was instrumental in developing and executing strategies to safeguard information, technologies, and data. Prior to Deloitte, he was the Global Chief Security Officer for CenturyLink, now Lumen Technologies, and also served as a Special Agent for the FBI, focusing on federal crimes involving cyber threats, terrorism, and more. In this episode, Dave discusses the critical thinking skills he developed over his 20-year career in the FBI and how he applied them in the private sector to tackle emerging cybersecurity challenges.Host Barry O'Reilly invites Dave to explore his career journey, the lessons he learned, and the importance of mentorship, team building, and strategic thinking in cybersecurity. The conversation delves into the nuances of transitioning from public service to corporate leadership, the evolving nature of cyber threats, and how businesses can better prepare for future challenges.Key Takeaways:The Importance of Adaptability in Cybersecurity: As technology and business models evolve, so do the tactics of adversaries. Cybersecurity professionals must continuously adapt to stay ahead.Holistic Approach to Cybersecurity: Successful cybersecurity strategies involve not just technical defenses but also understanding the motivations and methods of adversaries.Mentorship and Leadership: Effective leadership in cybersecurity requires understanding the diverse skills and motivations of team members, providing the right guidance, and fostering a culture of continuous learning.Corporate Culture and Cybersecurity: Transitioning from the public to the private sector requires understanding corporate dynamics, including ROI and business objectives, to effectively integrate security measures.Additional Insights:FBI Experience: Dave's early career in the FBI instilled in him a deep understanding of critical thinking, investigation, and a life of purpose, which he has carried throughout his professional journey.Adapting to Corporate Culture: Moving from a black-and-white, rules-based environment in the FBI to the nuanced world of corporate security presented unique challenges, particularly in understanding business motivations and the need for clear ROI in security investments.The Future of Cybersecurity: As organizations move to cloud-based infrastructures and remote work environments, the strategies of cyber adversaries will continue to evolve, requiring constant vigilance and innovation from cybersecurity professionals.Episode Highlights00:00 - Introduction to the episode.00:02:47 - Dave's early life and influences"There's a couple of key parts of everybody's life... because it starts to set the foundation for how you think about your life going forward and how you're going to make the decisions."00:03:58 -...

Drawing on her diverse experiences as an award-winning theatre director, producer, and former Second City improv teacher, Meredith understands the striking parallels between nightly stage performances and daily client presentations. More than a decade on, Meredith Grundei has empowered thousands of individuals and organizations globally to reach new heights of career growth and success. She's worked with clients including industry leaders like Merck, Amazon AWS, MERCER, CenturyLink, Google, and many others. Find out more about Jeff ⁠⁠⁠https://jgsalespro.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Connect with Jeff on LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffgoldbergsalescoach/

Mark Kershaw dives deep into discussions around veteran mental health, military experiences, and his documentary 'Tribal'. A passionate advocate for veterans' mental health and a creator of the documentary 'Tribal', Mark has a unique perspective on the importance of destigmatizing mental health struggles, addressing the rise of suicide rates among service members and fostering a sense of community among veterans. The episode provides eye-opening insights for both veterans and civilians and encourages open conversations about often-taboo topics like trauma and societal integration after service. It is a must-listen for anyone interested in understanding the experiences of veterans, the obstacles they face in society, and the steps we can take to support them appropriately. 00:00 Introduction to Mark Kershaw 07:31 Discussion on documentary 'Tribal' 37:54 Integrating back into society post-service 46:20 Mental health in the military and the importance of speaking up Links & Resources Veteran Suicide & Crisis Line: Dial 988, then press 1 Follow Tribal on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tribaldocumentary Follow Tribal on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tribal_documentary Follow Mark Kershaw on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-kershaw-99997392/ Tribal Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZo1NvrEhQY&t=32s Watch Tribal on Prime: https://bit.ly/3tnta3Q Watch Tribal on AppleTV: https://bit.ly/3tllOOp Watch Tribal on Google Play: https://bit.ly/3Rudynl Watch Tribal on Vudu: https://bit.ly/3GQYQBY Watch Tribal on Vimeo: https://bit.ly/48nKFQD Tribal is also available on the following providers in their VOD offerings: Dish, DirecTV, Comcast, Spectrum, Charter, Cox, Verizon Fios, Frontier, Suddenlink, Mediacom, Century Link, Google Fiber, + smaller affiliates, and available for rental in libraries with the hoopla service. Transcript View the transcript for this episode.

I didn't spank Lion last night. We got home from his appointment around 6 and then I had to make dinner while he showered. That brings us to today. We've been waiting for a Century Link tech to set up a DSL line for us. When the internet went out The post He'll Get Spanked Eventually appeared first on Male Chastity Journal.

Technology has opened doors in so many industries and enabled us to do so many things we couldn't even imagine in the past. At the same time, we've made things more complicated for ourselves, creating systems that don't always talk to each other and languages we don't understand. On this edition of Out to Lunch, two lunch guests who are helping break through the clutter, with products and services that are enabling our tech systems to work for us more effectively - and helping businesses better communicate their messaging. John Morello, is Chief Technology Officer of Gutsy, a tech firm that has come up with a better way to help companies protect themselves against cyberthreat. More specifically, Gutsy uses process mining – and we'll get into that in a minute – to ensure that the various cybersecurity systems a complex organization has in place are talking to one another and doing what they're supposed to be doing. If John's name is familiar to you, it may be because he was a guest on Out to Lunch in 2019, when he was running Twistlock, a tech firm that developed cloud-based cybersecurity solutions. In the years since then, John and his partners in Twistlock have grown that company, attracted new investors, and created the spinoff, Gutsy, to address a need they identified running Twistolock. John is a 14-year veteran of Microsoft, who lives in Baton Rouge and is also a master diver and very active in coastal conservation.  Kenny Nguyencis founder and CEO of Three Sixty Eight, a Baton Rouge-based creative and strategic media agency that focuses on branding, marketing and advertising with a high tech, high energy super creative approach. The company's origins date back to 2011, when Kenny and his friend were still students at LSU and started Big Fish Presentations, which specialized in public speaking and presentation services. In 2016, it merged with another local firm to form 368. In the years since, it has grown to include clients that include CenturyLink, McGraw-Hill Education, GE and Pepsi.  Out to Lunch is recorded live over lunch at Mansurs On the Boulevard. You can find photos from this show by Brian Newton at itsbatonrouge.la.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Listen as we revisit this special episode where we talk with Telarus Co-Founder Patrick Oborn. We talk about his winding path to founding Telarus, then get into key strategies he has seen partners embody that truly 3x, 4x, or even 10x their sales and their business. You won't want to miss the first of many sales tips and strategies! Can you believe that we're already at 100 episodes? While we go and ramp up and get ready for season three, we're gonna take you back, listen to some of the great moments in these past episodes. So stay tuned as we take you back to season one and two. (upbeat music) Hey everybody, welcome. We are back here with a special episode with a special guest, long time listener, first time caller, really important person, chief product officer and co-founder of Telarus Patrick Oborn, PKO, welcome. Thank you so much for having me, Josh. Like you said, long time listener, love this podcast. It's amongst one of my favorites. I'm not saying that just because you're here right now, but because it's the literal truth. You do a very good job of bringing on people that can deliver information that helps people's businesses. So congratulations on a very successful podcast, my friend, season two, I believe. Pushing season three here real close and too many more successful seasons. I think if you continue to do the job you're doing, you're not only gonna keep growing this thing in terms of quality of content, but in terms of audience and everything else. So I'm star struck to be here with you and thanks for having me, Josh. – Love it, man. Thanks for giving me a job. This is gonna be fun. (laughing) – You kinda deserve it. – All right, we're talking, special episode here. We usually have these three part tracks where we talk about perspective on the technology, a supplier and then really get the partners purview on it. Today we're talking about how to 10X sales. We get a lot of these questions from partners, a lot of tips, a lot of tricks. I feel like we could pack this into 50 episodes, right? And who knows, we might. But today we're gonna boil it down from your perspective. We're gonna run through some of the normal stuff, but then we're gonna spice it up with some of your input, which I'd love because you've got so much passion and energy and good stuff to share in this. So as we always do, when we kick these off, let's talk about your background, your path to starting Telarus And I wanna hear anything good and anything bad and anything I don't already know. – Fantastic, well, when I was growing up as a teenager, my dad owned his own business. He was a part of a three-way partnership. It was called OTA Physical Therapy, Oborn Trackman Astin. They had 15 locations across Southern California and they had a really, really nice business. He later on in development of the business, he kind of got out of sorts with his partners and stuff. And basically he was telling me, “Patrick, whatever you do, don't start your own company. “It's a pain, it's a hassle, there's stress. “The employees are always the first to get paid. “The business owners always the last to get paid. “There's risk and God forbid, “something doesn't go right with your partners. “It's a total train wreck. “So just go to college, get a good job, “save up for retirement, live a good life.” That was his advice to me. So I did that thing. I went to college, I studied, I was a math and engineer geek. I had interned a few summers in my dad's physical therapy offices. So when I went to college, I kind of thought I was going pre-med or something like that, because both my parents are physical therapists. My wife is a physical therapist. So surrounded by physical therapy, rehab, hips, knee replacements. I thought maybe I'll be an orthopedic surgeon, I'll fix people up and then send them to physical therapy. So I want to be a orthopedic surgeon. But as I interned with my dad, I realized that people didn't want to pay their bills. They put me in the collections department. It was fantastic calling people, letting them know, “Hey, this is not covered by insurance. “You need to pay this.” And I was like, “I really want to go into an industry “where I can use my talents, “where I can guarantee I'm going to get paid.” Not necessarily a lot of guarantees in healthcare if you're going to do all this work and half the people are going to stiff you. So I went to my counselor at Brigham Young University where I did my undergraduate. And I said, “What's the major “that I can make the most money at, secure money, “where I can apply my talents like math, physics, “that kind of stuff?” And she said, “Chemical or electrical engineering?” And I said, “I am really bad at chemistry. “Let's do electrical engineering.” Not even really knowing what electrical engineering was. Long story short, I got a master's degree in computer chip design. So I went back to California where I'm from and I got a job at TRW Space and Defense, now Northrop Grumman, designing classified communication computer chips. Right? Sounds good. Now how the heck did we get into telecoms? Like we got to start closing the loop here pretty quick. Honestly, I was very disappointed when I came out of college and I learned how much money I was gonna make. Not that the starting salary was bad. It was decent, but the velocity at which I would grow my paycheck, right? Raises, promotions, was incredibly slow. And my manager sat me down one day. I said, “Patrick, you seem like you're a young man “full of ambition. “You need to lower and temper your expectations “a little bit and have patience. “Have patience. “You're gonna be the manager one day, “but man, you gotta, it might take 10 years.” And I'm like, “I don't have 10 years.” What are words that entrepreneurs don't want to hear? Slow down. But I did know as an entrepreneur just quite yet. And so in order to make more money, I did everything I could at work and I found that I was, I don't wanna do my own home, but I was pretty smart. I was top of my class. And it wasn't that I understood stuff more than other people. I just understood it at a faster velocity. Right, 100%. I just got it quick. So I got my work done in short order and one day I went to my boss and I said, “Hey boss, I don't have anything to do. “Like I've finished this project. “You gave me six months to do in four months.” So what did I do for there two months? And they said, “Well, we can't give you another project “just yet. “Just look busy.” (laughs) So during my look busy time, I started teaching myself how to code. Unfortunately, I opted to the math and physics routes of all the electives at BYU. I should have in retrospect done a lot more computer science, but I didn't. So I bought myself SQL for dummies, HTML for dummies. I read it, started throwing up some websites. And then as soon as I started throwing up websites, I started to get really interested in internet marketing. Like how do I get people to those websites? Once I get them, how do I convert them into customers? And so that's what I started to do. And I started a website called CheapRates.com. It's still there today, but we took it down. It's just too hard to maintain. But I realized that out of the airfare and the home security systems and the cellular and everything else that I sold, long distance, calling cards, callback, dial around, OnePlus, all of that stuff, toll free, it paid residual income. And so that's the first time that the telecom, the residual income light went off in my head. And I said, “Hold on a minute.” So I started to really focus all my efforts on driving traffic to those products. The company that captured my traffic and converted it into dollars for me, a couple months later, actually reached out to me and gave me an unsolicited offer to come and code their whole website. And I said, “Yes, under one condition.” And that is that I get to keep my agency. Do not make me walk away for my agency, or I'm not gonna take this job. And they said, “Fine, you can keep your agency that was earning some good money.” So I took the job. I started working at home way back in the 1990s, 1998. Started working at home and it was fantastic. I'll never forget the day where I told my parents I was gonna quit my job that I had spent six years studying for, got security clearances for, and I was gonna work for this internet company. – Yeah, what is this internet thing? – The interwebs, man, the interwebs. Yeah, it was a crazy time. So it was really early on. And the thing that captured my imagination was trying to find information that was floating out there and consolidate it into one place that people could access that. And that's really still the essence of Telarus that I'll talk a little more about. But compartmentalizing information, consolidating that information into one consumable place carried, and still does today, a ton of value. And so we did that and then they were really focused on residential. One day I raised my hand, I said, “Boss, this residential thing ain't gonna work out forever.” Reading the tea leaves doesn't take an expert to see that long distance is going to flat rate, or just you pay a fixed amount and you just get it as part of your wireless plans. And so I suggested to my boss one day, hey, why don't we open a commercial division where we can leverage all of these affiliate relationships we have out there to drive commercial telecom and internet leads as opposed to just residential. So yeah, so I have my background in residential. I built all their backend systems. I said, “Let's do this.” And my boss politely said, “That sounds like a great idea, but we're not doing that.” (laughs) – Oh. – And I said, “Okay.” I said, “But how about this? What if I start my own company and we build it up and we federate our two companies together and I'll be the business division of your company and you can maintain the residential division of your company.” And they said, “Fine, but don't expect us to invest any money in it. If you want to do this on your own dime, then let's go forward.” So my next call was to my best friend growing up, Adam Edwards, and I said, “Hey, Adam, I have a business opportunity for you, my friend. I think we can really make some inroads here.” And he said, “Really, what are we gonna do?” I said, “We're gonna sell commercial telecom and long distance.” – Yeah, there it is. – And he laughed because he was an auditor at KPMG and then later on a controller of a startup tech company. And he's like, “Commercial telecom? What the hell is that?” (laughs) I said, “Bro, it pays residual.” He said, “I'm in.” – Yes. – Done. – Solid matter. – So yeah, so we, my first, my second question to him was, how much money do you have in your savings account? Because we're gonna need it. – Any good pitch deals. – I've been saving up, you've been saving up. And he said, “I have 70 grand on my account.” And I said, “Dude, I have 60 grand on my account.” And we did the math and figured out what our burn rate was. If we could eliminate all of our expenses, we could survive 19 months and give it a go. So we started coding and working hard. Adam just was out, just trying to sell anything he could sell. And I was coding and trying to consolidate information so that I could have a system to plug into that network. Well, that system became Geoquote. That system became the Telarus Agent Back Office. That system became all of those things that we needed to work with that company. And so while we got started into an area that was really new to us, we really had a competitive advantage coming in. Because I knew that once we had the system built, it would instantly show up on thousands, upon thousands of websites on day one. – Where was that moment? Where was that moment in there? Was it that moment of when you realized, oh my gosh, we got something special here. What was that turning point for you? – It really came when they said no. And I saw it clear as day. It's like, I'm telling you, you're gonna be in a car accident. You need new tires. I'm telling you, it's gonna happen. And they're like, we don't believe you. And I'm like, all right, I'm not gonna be part of the accident. I'm gonna remove myself and build another vehicle that has those nice tires on it. So I knew that would be big. I knew that people would want more internet. And so people always ask me, what's the vision of a founder of a company? Well, really, in retrospect, the last 20 years, it looks like we made most of the right turns. We made most of the right choices. But in reality, we could really only see one or two year out. So we knew that at the time, A, people were gonna want more internet. B, they're gonna wanna know how much it costs. And C, they're gonna wanna know where it's available. Because even back then, the availability was much, much worse than it is now. You could be on one street and have a great internet. On the other street, you're on DSL and dial up. It was awful. And so figuring out those problems and figuring out how to consolidate that information in one place so that the people that worked with us could have a competitive advantage. They could be faster, they could be more knowledgeable, they could be more efficient in their sales motion. And consolidating that into one easy to use software platform. And so it's really funny if you look at the TSBs that are out there,Telarus is not started by people who are in the business who just morphed out and just kept growing it, right? We were from outside of the business coming into this space. And the things that really jumped off the page to us were all of the inefficiencies that existed. All the things that maybe if you grew up here, you just accept as normal because that's how they always are. We came in and those things stuck out to us like a sore thumb. It was like, okay, let me get this straight. You don't know what you're selling. You don't know where you're selling it. You don't know how much you're charging and you don't know how much commission you're gonna make on the backend. Like how does anybody function in this business? – And you're going, guys, I've figured this out. The answer is right here. We could do something great. – And so yeah, so we didn't come here for the technology. We came here for the opportunity to organize information. And that's what I think a lot of people don't see when they look at this channel itself. And especially when they look at Telarus I mean, your job Josh as a sales engineer is to organize information through experiences, through trainings, through interactions. And then take that information and to be able to push it back out into a very proprietary, very valuable information stream, very valuable advice. Say based on my experience, which is a lot. Based off my training, which is a lot. I mean, CISSP, AWS certified. I mean, you've gone through all those things, right? Plus you add on top of that the frosting, which is actual real world interactions with customers. The information that you have organized in your brain is really more important than anything that we could offer here at Telarus And so figuring out a way to compartmentalize and consolidate that information is really what we're here today. And this is an area that I think a lot of partners miss out on. I think that in this business, just like we kind of changed the paradigm a little bit, right from let's just get out there and hustle our network and just get them to order their stuff through us. That was version 1.0. Version 1.0 was a network marketing, let's be honest, right? Like it was order that, you know, CenturyLink circuit through me and I'll get paid and it'll be great. But they really weren't adding value at any stage of that interaction. – All right, we're gonna, I wanna come back to adding value. – Yes, sir. – I wanna start with motivation. – Yes. – So we're gonna get, I know you've got some really good unique strategies that we're gonna talk about of how to add value, how to 10 exit, all of those things. – Real fast, can I finish that story? – All right, go ahead. – So when I told my parents I was leaving, they mocked me. They thought it was a dumb decision, right? With, you know, kids, sometimes they've got these grandiose things. My parents didn't understand internet and they didn't understand residual income. They didn't understand any of those two things. So when I started working on it, my first check came from my first affiliate company. And my dad was like, wow, you've been working all of your free time, your total side hustle, all of it, on that damn computer he called it. Working on that damn computer all day. You're not coming down to eat with us. You're not hanging out with us. You're on that damn computer all the time. And I got a check in the mail. And my dad actually said, hey, Cheryl, come here. Patrick just got a check from his little internet business. – How much? – Patrick open it up. How much is it? $18 and 58 cents. He was like, wow. He goes, son, I knew you were smart, but this is like genius level. Do you spend all that time and effort? I said, but dad, it's gonna be $18 and 58 cents plus the commission I earned last month, plus the commercial I earned this month, plus the commission I'm gonna earn next month. He didn't understand that. He literally told me, you would have been better off to spend that time at McDonald's because you would have made 10 times more money. And so every time we had a Telarus partner summit back when he was alive, I would invite him. And every time when Adam started his big pitch and everyone's in the barroom, I would just whisper to him, McDonald's. And he knew what I was talking about. – That's all right. That's awesome. I've not heard that story. That's great. – That is the story. – All right. All right, well, while you're crushing it with motivation, I wanna keep on that theme. So you've had a lot of, I mean, besides obviously being part of founding this, driving it to what it is now, but you've had some great personal motivation, right? You're running 800 miles a day. All these awesome things that you've done, these 100 milers, but I'm just kinda curious for the partners. What are one to two, whatever lessons that you've learned personally, professionally, in all these crazy accomplishments that you have that are helpful, you think, to motivate the partners, to push it to the next level, to do the things that we're about to share secrets on with them? – I think one of the things that I suffered from, especially early on, was imposter syndrome. Adam and I showed up at Channel Partners Show. Our company was four or five years old. We had a brand new business model, which was really tool-based, online-based. It wasn't human network-based, so to speak. It wasn't multi-level market-based. It was based on a couple of key things, and people told us, “You're just gonna, you're gonna commoditize the market. You gotta sell our products on value.” And I'm like, “People don't really care what value your product is. They care what the capabilities are. They care what you're gonna charge. They're gonna care how you support it, how you install it.” That's what they're gonna care about. They're not gonna care about the quote-unquote value that you keep referencing. And so talking to a supplier, talking to a partner about a business they know a lot about, and kind of telling them they're not wrong, but maybe they're misinformed, or maybe they just don't see the vision, the total vision of what it could be, that was hard, because how do you build your credibility when you're new at something? And so that's something where we really struggled. And even today, sometimes, I get up on stage, and I have those doubts in the back of my mind, like imposter syndrome. You're getting up, you're talking about cloud, you're talking about security. Dude, you started creating a website that compared long distance minutes rates. How are you qualified to be here speaking? And the same thing with, you alluded to, the ultra endurance running. For a long time, I just tried it, thought it'd be a healthy habit, wanted to go see nature and everything else, and I was just happy to be there. I was happy to be back of the pack in the middle of the pack, and I didn't really see myself as an endurance athlete. I saw myself as a weekend warrior that's just out there trying to give it a go, right? And then I hired a coach two years ago. I said, “Look, Patrick, if you want to stay in the middle of the pack, that's great, but if you want to push the envelope a little bit and see what you're capable of before you're 80 years old, right, because you're not getting any younger, like take it serious.” And so I hired a coach, and he changed my diet around, he changed my workouts around, and it was a lot harder. It took a lot more discipline, but I started seeing actual results when I thought I plateaued, and so I busted through that plateau. Things started happening, and this year, right after partner summit, ironically, the day after partner summit, all those nights with no sleep and stuff, I went and I ran 100K Ultra, the Kachinomosa 100K, and I won, first place overall, not like first place age group. And I was like, and once that happened, every race I show up to, I think I look around, I go, “I'm gonna beat you, I'm gonna beat you, I should at least finish top five in this race.” I have that confidence now that I never had until I put in some work and I saw a little bit of success. And once that success hit, it's like putting the key in the door lock, and it just unlocked. And so same thing with business, and there wasn't that crystal clear moment in the tellerus, it was just a gradual, people started coming to us, they started asking us for more advice, asking us for more information, asking us for more tools. And the great thing about the residual business is it creates more money the month before than the month before. And so we had the luxury of having money to invest and figure out how to get better. And eventually, I call it, it's the very unsexy, planting a tree and growing it. And eventually, your tree's gonna be strong enough to support a hammock, to support some weight. You don't really know when that moment is until you actually tie the hammock up and test it out. And now I think tellerus really got to that point when we combined with your company, Carry Your Sales Josh, because we were kind of stuck, we were not stuck, but we were following that same online model for 12 years, 13, 14 years, right? And we were really missing out on the enterprise deals, we were missing out on the big lumen deals, we were missing out on the big contact center deals. And we realized, hey, if we're gonna play in this space, we either need to get better, or we need to go buy the talent that we need to plug those holes. And you guys just stuck out like a sore thumb. I mean, it was just like the obvious match. We were transactional and automated. You guys were not automated, you guys staffed and built for expertise in different areas. And we like, that's gonna be the perfect marriage. And so, but again, like I said, we see the road, it's like, there's a fog out there, right? We can see maybe 500 meters, a thousand meters at a time. We can't see 50 miles out. But I think as long as we know where we're going eventually, the exact tact we take, the exact road we take to get there is a little less relevant. I mean, it's very relevant and impactful now, but if you know where this train is headed, if you know you need to go west and you're headed east, like red flag, right? But if you are headed west and you're going northwest and you're gonna meander back to the west and you don't know exactly where the road goes, man, that's what you wanna be on. And so that's really what we've done. We get credit a lot for being visionaries and getting this company to where it is now. But in reality, it was take it one mile at a time and listen to your partners. Listen to the people that are on the front freaking lines of battle, right? And listen to them, listen to what their customers need, because at the end of the day, this whole industry exists to help the customers consume technology the way they want to consume it. So it's, so yeah, it's a long road. – Good stuff, I love that. Let's talk about the first step here. Let's baseline it, right? I mean, you think about who's listening to this potentially. This could be partners that have sold a specific technology in cloud, but maybe didn't venture into contact center or vice versa, or maybe somebody that is thinking about doing this that is at a current affiliate marketing company and going, wait a minute, I've got all these relationships, I could come do this, right? Step one, right? People understanding our world as it exists. Some people still don't even know that it exists. Some people think direct sales is the only way, or I go buy my gear from a certain gear company, and that's it, and that's the only way. So what, of the partners that you have seen, be very effective in communicating their value to a prospect. Let's say it's a new prospect. What's the, what is that pitch? What's the strategy? What have you seen really work well in that part of it? – I think that is a fantastic question. It's an area where everybody needs to figure out what their value is. And what I like to tell people, I said, look, you know that you're doing something right when the customer thinks of you as a part of their team, not a sales rep, right? Direct reps are out there all the time. You cannot have your customers pigeonhole you into that direct rep plug. Like that's not, that's not your hole. That's not what you do, right? You are a part of their team to advise. Now, how is, how is advising a thing? How can advising be valuable, especially to customers in many cases that don't think they need your advice, right? You have to make it crystal clear as an advisor that you are a technology broker. Ah, rewind. You are not a technology broker. Why'd I say that? Because most people like nod in their heads, right? Do, no, no, that's a no. You are not a technology broker. No, you are. You're a technology information broker, right? Because as you talked about on prior podcasts, especially insecurity cloud, IT managed services, where, why are our companies having a hard time staffing, right? Because these people are incredibly expensive. It doesn't make sense to have a credibly expensive person limited to just your company. They get bored. Like they're not, they're not exposed to all the technologies that they want to be exposed to. And ultimately, where do these people end up? They end up at our suppliers. They, the suppliers are, and our suppliers are multiplying and replenishing the earth, right? There's over 400 now and growing because there's more suppliers coming in on the consulting side. I mean, there's so many different areas of technology that require consultants. So that's where all the talent is. So, so how do customers match up all of the things they're working on with all of the talent that's out there, right? You need information, you need case studies, you need people who have, have maybe tried that consultant before and put in a review about that consultant. Kind of like, you know, any type of review board. You have to take all the information that's out there about the capabilities as a supplier, which are, are numerous, right? The quality of the suppliers that are numerous and work with somebody like Telarus, right? Where we vet each of these suppliers. We make sure that they are quality, right? You will never be embarrassed by putting one of these people in front of your customers, but also giving you the tools and information you need so that you can be that broker of information of who can do it, who can do it well, who can do it on time, who can do it on budget, right? And really help our customers augment because right now every customer, every business is a technology company, right? When you're battling for customers, when you're out there battling for market share, when you're out there sometimes battling for survival or battling the regulating authorities or battling whoever they're in battles, right? And you know by virtue of being the information broker, who can help them in which instance. So if a partner can communicate clearly enough to their customer, I am a technology information broker. I can give you, remember this pitch, I can give you information that you cannot find in Google. – I love it. – I can give you information that you cannot find in Forrester. I can give you information you cannot find in Gartner, right? That is why you need me, right? Because I will help you make the decisions that make sense for your business, to keep you in budget and help your projects progress, everything else. But more importantly, I can help you, Mr. Customer, be an all star because I'm on your team and you get credit for being my boss. I'm just funneling information to you. I'm funneling a list of suppliers that you need to talk to, the questions you need to ask them, the things that you need to vet your technology world. So each customer out there has so many projects, so many needs. Some of them are technological, some of them are human resource staffing and other resource related issues. Some of them are budget, some of them are legal, the customers out there, they face so many of those things. And so if a person can convince a customer, I need to be a part of your team because I bring information you cannot find anywhere else, that is the pitch. And I think a lot of people still get pigeonholed into the sales rep, pigeonholed into the, go get me a quote, right? These are things that Google, like there's plenty of technology out there that they can do some of these things. So I think that's where people miss. And combine that with the imposter syndrome and it's like, well, am I really a technology information? – That's crazy. – Like they don't believe it. They look in the mirror and tell yourself. – What's the worst thing that happens, right? If the worst thing that happens when you ask these is if you get a no, great. Let me move on and stop wasting time with a customer that I don't need to. You brought up a really good point. If you can get past the imposter syndrome thing, I looked back at three or four of the really large deals that we've done that have tibbered up and have grown and grown and grown. And we've sold multiple products to through one two man shop partners. They all started out as, yeah, I don't really think that we need you. We kind of manage all of this in house. I mean, you guys seem nice. I appreciate you being here, but we've really got this. You know, that kind of standoffish IT team. And we've taken those accounts and because of the partners willingness to do exactly what you just mentioned, sell more, sell more, sell more. And it was an eye opening moment for me that we had earlier this year. We were sitting down with an enterprise customer that we've been selling to this partner for three, four years. And it was a business review. He brought his whole team in. And this is the guy that's been there signing the contract, signing the LOAs that is the sole purchaser that we thought knew us, knew the partner really, really well. He was like, hey, I got just one quick question. How do you guys get paid? And we're going, you're asking, he's asking. – It's because you're doing consulting level work that people typically bill for. – Four years into the relationship. That tells me how much of a bang up job and how much value there is if we get it right and get the recipe communicated. So I love that. – Yeah, and there's a caveat to that too. There's coming in too hot. Coming in like, I know everything. I'm gonna help you, everything else. And you're telling someone that they need help that probably doesn't think they need help. So you have to temper it with, hey, let's start out small. Just like you said, I mean, that's the key. Start out small, find a beach head and expand from there. If you come in, spill in all the stuff that you can do, and I'm your security guy, and I'm your cloud guy, and I'm your everything guy, people are like, whoa, timeout. You just sold me some voice a couple years ago, and now all of a sudden, you're everything, technology. So people have to understand what that is, but if they can just start with the basic concept of technology information brokerage, I'm your conduit to people that can do certain things for you, they can do them well, because we have a collective experience that we're putting into our recommendation engine. – Yeah, and you've got a really good point. Play the long game. – Yes. – This is not a short term. These trees take time to grow. Play the long game, and I think you'll add a ton of value into that relationship. It will pan out, because to your point, we're in a weird economic time where these people are pressed, these customers are pressed to do more with the same or less resources, and we're seeing a lot of those conversations. We were already seeing them before this weird economic climate, because it was just hard to find people. Now, people are getting squeezed out at some of these companies, and so they have this tech that is sunken in. They may or may not be ready to buy new tech. They might, but they also just need help in maintaining and managing and building and best architecture, design, all of those things. We're seeing all those conversations right now. Yeah, it's a great point you bring up. – Yeah, and technology's a really interesting space, and it's really a space that's not so much driven by technology, ironically enough. It's driven by human resources, and as soon as people start to understand that, as soon as our partners start to understand that, it's how do you connect your customers with the resources that they need that they may not be able to maintain in-house anymore? That the days of having all your resources in-house, probably long gone. We're talking legal, we're talking accounting, we're talking everything except your core business now, almost needs to be out of house. – And you bring up, it's funny, you bring up resources. That's my next question. – Hey. – So, my next question is, again, this is about how to help people improve their close rate, and with that, obviously, we have to overcome difficult things and have conversations we might not be comfortable with. But I think sometimes, now that we've grown and scaled so much, there is a lot of resources here, right? We've got everything from engineering to advanced solutions to partner support, commission, all of this stuff. If you look again back at your snapshot of partners that are successful, is there an underutilized resource? Is it one resource? Is it a lot of resources? At Telarus what do you see partners that are underutilizing? If you could say, gosh, I wish you guys would just use this more. – So, I have a two-part answer to that question. First, I want to talk about just stuff that doesn't have anything to do with Telarus It's just the bedside manner of the partner and how they are communicating with the customer. So, when you go in and start to engage with a customer, you need to find a problem that they have that they don't know about. That's key number one. So, I talked to a partner the other day, and they had just signed, coincidentally, a large physical therapy firm. So, and this is how the conversation went. Mr. Customer, we need to talk about your unified communication platform. Mr. Customer said, no, we just have put in a new phone system and we're good and we've got 19 locations and I'm in constant contact with my IT guys. They give me the thumbs up. And most agents will be like, okay, well, I guess, let's talk about security. No, no, what the agent did very smartly, he texted their main number. Hey, is it okay if I come in tomorrow for an appointment? Do you have any open spots in the afternoon? And guess what happened? That text came back as undeliverables. – Wah, wah, wah. – Right? And so, he's like, look, your competitors can accept text appointments from their customers. You cannot. And the customer didn't believe that the agent. The customer's like, that's wrong. They've been telling me this works because he's the CEO, right? So, he's not necessarily the tech guy. I said, and the agent said, pull out your phone and text your biggest physical therapy location, your biggest office. Text them if you can come tomorrow for an appointment. And his bounced as well. And the CEO was like, pissed. He's like, and the agent said, congratulations, you can't communicate with over half of your potential patient, your customer base, right? So, it was, again, illustrating a problem they didn't know they have. And every company has one. Every company has one. You may call their call center and sit on hold for 10 minutes, right? That means they either have a workforce optimization problem, they have a queuing problem, they have something. Something is off, or they haven't put AI in front of it so they can eliminate 70% of the calls that could be self-serviced, right? So, there's always something there. So, if our agents can understand how to figure out what that problem is. Second thing is understanding the resources at Telarus because being part of being a technology information broker is understanding what problems could potentially exist over here and what solutions you can marry them up to and match them up to. So, understanding the different types of engineers that Telarus has that we can bring in, the different types of tools. Maybe you're not ready for an engineer yet, maybe you just wanna go through a quick security assessment, right? Just ask them a couple questions about their GDPR compliance or PCI. I was on the phone personally with a customer the other day who wanted to have a security conversation but the agent was definitely terrified. He's like, “I've never had a security conversation. “I'm suffering from imposter syndrome right now. “I would really appreciate it if you would just use the tool, “use the Telarus assessment tool “and guide the customer through it so I can hear, right? “And I can hear what it's like “and then I can do all the assessments on my own after that.” So, I said, “Fine, let's go.” And I started talking to the customer. Instantly the customer entered into a defensive posture. He thought I was like, “Why are you asking me all these questions?” I said, “Listen, listen, I'm your defense attorney. “I can't defend you, I can't help you.” Or like a doctor, “I can't help you “if you're not honest with your physical condition right now. “If you lie about symptoms or things that are going wrong, “I can't treat it and worse, “I may misdiagnose you with something “because you didn't give me all of the symptoms that you had.” So, I said, “Listen, in the spirit of just openness, “just be transparent. “This is not gonna go to your boss. “This is not gonna impact your job rating “or your pay or your promotion or anything like that. “Just be as honest as you can “and we're gonna give you an assessment “and you can choose which part of the assessment “you wanna run upstream “or which part you just wanna use your own, whatever.” So, we went through and I said, some of the questions like, “Do you have a sock and sim?” And he's like, “Uh, I know we need to do that. “And I'm trying to get one in by the end of the year. “Can we assist you?” He's like, “Yeah, that would be okay.” And then we got through another question. I'm like, “You are a medical facility. “Are you HIPAA compliant?” Because I think we are. I'm like, “Okay, well, let's put you.” I said, “You process credit cards and co-pays. “Are you PCI compliant?” Yeah, I don't know. Patrick, I'm the IT guy. Is PCI my job? So, it wasn't even a technology question. I was like, “Who's responsible for this type of question?” I said, “Yeah, you run the firewalls, you run the network.” That's the information that carries the credit card data. Yes, it's you. But don't worry, we have access to people that can come and help you get PCI compliance so that your job's not at risk. So, your company's not at risk for losing their PCI compliance and once you lose PCI compliance, guess what, buddy? No more credit cards for you. So, that could impact your business pretty big time that you can't collect credit cards at the point of when the patient's at. So, it was a combination of technology, knowing the things that I was gonna bring in, knowing the things that we could connect that customer to, but it was also understanding the mindset of the customer, right? It's not shoving all this stuff down your customer's throat. It's having honest conversations with them. It's simple things like building trust with them and getting them to open up to you. Because once they open up to you, then you can really do your job. Then you can really have the opportunity to connect them to the engineering and all the other resources that Telerus has to offer. And one of the biggest values that we have relationships with lots of suppliers, but it's not just the relationship itself, it's understanding the quality of that supplier, understanding how they perform in the real world, right? And that's information that your customers are never gonna know. Hey, they're never gonna find all the suppliers that are out there, because quite frankly, a lot of them come to us, Josh, because they're terrible at marketing. Their technology's awesome. Help me sell our own stuff, please. Their engineer is awesome, right? But they can't sell their own story. They can't, their website's awful, but man, their product is awesome. So that's really where we're coming in, but it all starts with the customer engagement, from the Challenger sales model. The customer engagement with the sales rep column is over 50% of the whole entire sales interaction satisfaction, right? So it's understanding what your customer's fears are, it's understanding how your customer's paid, understanding that the person you're talking to may not be the decision maker, but he may wanna raise from the decision maker, or it's understanding all of those politics and all the nuance in addition to the technology. And that's really where our industry, that's our whole job. Our whole job is to make people look good, make good decisions in a way that is so non-transactional. – You bring up a great point. I wanna throw two things in there. One, it's simple, and you wouldn't think that it would be so effective, but I love when we use, and partners use the word augment. Because all of the great deals, most of the things that we come into, people are, you know, it's a body language thing, people are, wait a minute, is this person trying to push me out, blah, blah, blah. Augment is a huge thing. You brought up another great point of where, make no assumptions when you go into this. I love your strategy on, and I've seen it be really effective on, figure out what their competitors are doing. Are you aware that you can't do this, and are you aware that your competitors are, right? Leverage that kind of intelligence. Coming in, cold calling them, emailing them with no unique information in the customer's eyes, they're hard to get and understand that value. No, but I have this value, I have all this great stuff I can tell you about. But you've gotta find that hook right at the beginning. I'm gonna throw out, and I really should get royalties on this book, but I don't, but it's such a great book, I still throw it out, and it's only like 15 bucks on Amazon. There's a great book out there called Power Questions by Andrew Sobol. It's a really simple read, big yellow cover, you can get it on Amazon. But I think what it does, it's a bunch of situations. And it comes from a guy with a financial analyst background. So you know, it's in a sales role, but it's not exactly our role, but the idea is the same. Don't just walk in with an agenda of what you think needs to happen. Because what the book talks about is it says, here's what happens in a scenario of this sales rep that walked in and said, “Hey, Mr. Customer, I'm real excited, I wanna talk to you about, you know, improving your customers that aren't paying by, you know, three to 15%, right? We're gonna help you recoup those costs in the, you know, in the physical therapy, right? When you're sending out those bills, but we're gonna help you get them paid.” Thinking that's the agenda that you wanna come in, you think that's what they're gonna go. Versus if you don't have that information, and if you come in and you say, “Hey, Mr. Customer, listen, I would love to talk to you about helping improve some of these, you know, three to 15%, I think we can get some of your pays down, some of your payers responding quicker.” But is that an area that you wanna cover? Is that the key initiatives that you got focused on? Or kind of given some of the changes that are happening right now, is there other things, other big business initiatives or technology initiatives that you need to solve? I just stop and listen. That was a huge eye-opening book. I love some of the things in that. It just helps us think differently. And I think you gave a great story of the examples of when partners do that. We see a lot of great things happen. And that's how you get in, and you three X, you five X that sale, because you find all these things that nobody knew were there and nobody knew you could help them with. – Yeah, especially now. I mean, a lot of the technology decisions aren't even made by the technology decision makers, right? They're made by other departments. They're made by the board of directors who said, we will be cybersecurity resilient. We will pass our audits. We will get our cyber insurance policy together so that the interests of the shareholders are protected. We didn't talk about carbon black. We didn't talk about technology. We just said the company needs to do these things. And so if you can get the people you're talking to to cough those up because you're asking those right questions, they got to figure out what are their initiatives. They got to figure out what do they want to be when they grow up. They got to figure out if they're in offensive or defensive mode right now due to the economy. Are they growing their number of locations? Are they just trying to hold on to the ones they have and really lower costs or just kind of weather the storm? Like you have to figure those things out in advance because, or at least ask those questions and find out what those things are because those will lead down into so many little technology conversations. But if you start with a technology conversation, there's a one in 10 chance that you're gonna be off. – Great stuff. All right. I don't think we have a crystal ball here anywhere that I can see, but if we look into Patrick's crystal ball, – Yes. – You gave a great point that I think it's hard to look out in the beginning, right? When you were building this thing out to look out really far. And given the rate of change and how crazy fast everything changes right now, I still, I certainly agree. It's hard to look out. But if you look out, let's say just look out a year, look out maybe two years max. What's your perspective on what the future looks like, the changes, the technology, anything strategy wise that you see anybody shifting that's gonna be more effective or different or just anything you wanna put out there to be aware of as we wrap this up? – Yeah, that's a great question. My simple answer is this. When you look out into the technology landscape and you figure all of the different things that your customers are gonna have to take into consideration, right? It's not just connectivity to the internet. It's not just how they're gonna communicate with their customers. It's not just how they're gonna advertise. It's not how they use social media. It's everything, right? And as Telarus grows, more and more of those people that are what we call the digital workspace, those digital workspace infrastructure providers, they're coming to us and saying, “Hey, you guys have built this phenomenal distribution system, sell my widgets.” And so widgets are we talking about? What more can be put in there? We have AI companies are great. They're like, “Hey, can we get in there and help you fast track some of those phone calls or scan through some of your files to pull out information faster, workflow or work process automation?” That is a huge one. People are coming in saying, “Hey, you need a call center in India or Philippines. We can connect you with that.” So there's BPO, there's point of sale. You're already talking to the company that runs millions of dollars of POS transactions. Why aren't you getting your 3% of that or whatever? So you're gonna see more and more technologies coming in here, which means you have to either A, become expert in more and more technologies, which is brain busting, right? A lot of people feel like they're maxed out as there is with one or two technology swim lanes. Or two, partner with the TSP that has the capability to not only go and vet those suppliers, but organize the information of their performance so that you can then be the technology information broker and take that information back to your customers. So there's almost no part of their digital workspace or digital workplace that you can't help them with. And so their needs are not only growing, but our capabilities are growing and they're growing fast. And so keeping up with that is hard. I mean, you look at the Telarus Supplier Management Department in and of itself. I mean, they've got divisions now. They've got people that specialize in certain providers and certain service categories. It's a lot. And then from my perspective on the product side, we're going through and we're creating SKUs. We're creating individual categories of every product, every product, even down to the OEM level of everything that we have access to. And Josh, it's tens of thousands of SKUs. And growing is probably gonna get into the hundreds of thousands of SKUs. And so how does a person keep track of that? You just have to partner with somebody like aTelarus that is dedicated to finding those relationships and really systematizing those in a way that you can easily pull information out and be the hero to your customer. There's no way on the planet your customers are gonna have access to all of the information that they're gonna need to figure out which POS goes to which network, goes to which SD-WAN, it goes to which firewall provider, which puts them in compliance with X number of compliance for North America, for their industry. And it's all a connected chain. And the chain is getting bigger, it's getting more complicated, but that creates opportunity for our partners to be more valuable. And so I see more providers, I see more providers in more areas, and I see more opportunities for us to, again, going back to the very first thing I said, to centralize all that information in one spot that customers can't get access to, but our partners can. – Beautiful stuff, okay. Patrick, I feel like– – Did I mention flying cars? I forgot to fly cars. – Yeah, I was coming, we're selling cars. Hey, I know we joke about that, but why not? We're selling charging stations, we can do that, we can get your pay on that. – Let's go. Oh my gosh, charging stations and video surveillance. – We're inking in there for sure. All right. – There's literally nothing we can't sell. As long as our partners focus on creating their own value in their customers' mind, if their customers are thinking that they are part of their technology team, that's your product. And companies like us will figure out what to put in store shelves, so we'll go out and work with our upstream providers and make sure that you have everything on that shelf that you need to service that customer. – Good stuff, okay. I'm questioned out, Patrick, man, I appreciate you coming on, I appreciate you doing this. Lots of good nuggets in there, lots of just motivation, inspiration, and then some strategies. So excited to do this, we will have to have you back on for more of these, I feel like we could talk for about three hours on this topic, but thanks again, man, appreciate you coming on. – And thanks for having a tremendous podcast, tremendously successful, interesting, and keep up the fantastic work, Josh. I love Next Level BizTech, you're doing an awesome job. – Appreciate it, kudos, man. All right, everybody, that wraps us up for this week. I'm your host, Josh Lupresto SVP of Sales Engineering, and this has been Next Level BizTech. Next Level BizTech has been a production of Telarus Studio 19. Please visit www.telarus.com for more information.

Can you believe we've made it to episode 100 already? Jump in with us as we wrap our series on Business Blueprints: Lessons from Leaders with Telarus Chief Commercial Officer, Richard Murray. We take some jumps back into Richard's career and history, along with where our paths first intersect. Richard gives some great advice about successes, struggles, hiring, dedication, and more. He covers all the great things anyone out there building a business will inevitably go through. Don't miss Episode 100 as we wrap up Season 2! Lupresto Telarus Hey, everybody. Welcome back. We are wrapping up our very special episodes here. This is actually episode 100. We've made it this far and we're still chugging along. Thanks for listening. Today on we've got Mr. Richard Murray, Chief Commercial Officer at Telarus Richard, welcome on, man. Thank you. I'm honored to be number 100. I feel special. Well, you better make it good then. No pressure. Okay. We always kick this off. We talk about backgrounds. So tell us, I've known you a long time, so I'm going to pretend that I don't know this, but for anybody that doesn't know your background, tell us where it all started. What's this? Is it a windy path? Is it a straight path? How did you get here? Pretty windy. Multiple different areas of ins and outs. I've been in the channel 21 years though, so I mean, I would say any introduction of my background needs to start with I married my high school sweetheart. We've been together 27 years and most of what I've been able to accomplish has been because she's been patient and believed in a lot of the weird things that we'll probably talk about today. From a career development and you know, just that path, I always thought I'd be an attorney like in high school. I did debate and you know, I just was always geared towards being an attorney. I worked for a law office to get through college and somewhere in there, I was, I ended up being their bookkeeper and office manager and I had to make the decision for their internet service and back then it was DSL, but that was my first exposure to this world. And so then when I saw a job posting for then US West to be a sales and marketing intern, it was my senior year of college and I applied. I mean, I was making seven and a quarter at the law office. Killing it. So just about anything would have been a raise. Got that job and so my job at US West, which became Quest while I was there, which is now Lumen, was to research, competitive research, which I didn't obviously know then, but would set me up perfectly for the channel multiple years later. I would get anytime US West would lose a deal to XO on PRIs, we would gather the pricing on that and we ended up actually using my data, my research to change the tariff in Utah for PRIs. Like back then it was $1,800 for a PRI. But probably the funnest part of that is I actually got to use my student ID. I would go into the public utilities commission and they would just let me right into the back room, open their file cabinets for all of the companies that were filing to start providing services that would be competitive to US West. And I wrote a, I would like open the folder, I would read about electric light wave level three and then I'd write a SWOT analysis on each one of them and I used it both for work and for my senior project. I picture you like, I picture this being very covert and like. Yeah, it was my student ID, not my employee ID that got me in there. Yeah, so I don't know that it was, you know, pushing the boundaries or anything, but it was definitely let's be a student here, not an employee. So, you know, just doing that research and analyzing all of the different companies, I think served me very well later on is as I got into the channel. Fast forwarding real quick, they got acquired and I just felt like I was, they just kept extending my position and I didn't really have a boss. I would go in every day, say hello to Joe Branch who still works for Telarus. She was at Carrier Sales that we'll get into. So I've known Joe for, you know, gosh, 20 plus years. Yeah, 27 years, 26. I'd say hi to Joe, check my email and go home. And I just found myself getting into bad habits. So I left, went and worked for a wireless ISP, which back then was like so unique. Line of sight internet. They had the 10 meg download hybrid modem, which was unreal. Unreal tech. They went bankrupt trying to build the DSL infrastructure. So I went to XO and was carrying a bag as a sales rep. And, you know, they were a good company for the time until they overextended and they got to where they had to declare bankruptcy. You know, for time's sake, I will only share that it became a pivotal moment for me because they told us to go present this financial debt to all of our customers around. This is why we're not going bankrupt. We have Carl Icahn as our backer. We're not going bankrupt. So I go and do that, that dog and pony show for the customers I was proposing. And then we declared bankruptcy. And I'm a 20 something year old kid, 24 or something like that, and had a CFO for a major company call me and tell me he's never going to buy for me ever again. Didn't matter where I went, question my integrity. I was like, all right, I am not cut up for this. I am not sales. And in the course of that bankruptcy, a ton of direct reps that I worked with that are now incredible partners in the community, you know, some of our top sales sales reps all left and became partners for, you know, in many cases for a company called Carrier Sales. And that's where you and I met much later, a decade later than that. And so Blake Darling, one of our top partners, he and I were the same hiring class at XO. I used to build his proposals because he was great at cold calling. I was not. And I would do the proposals and Excel work. He got me an interview. They didn't even look at my resume, sat down with Glad Hill and he said, you're hired. Sounds like Glido. And, you know, so I think, you know, making 40 grand a year, losing, you know, a good commission job, but it was steady. And then I just worked second jobs to hold it together there for a few years. So that's the core of the background. Love it. And that's where our path kind of came together was Glad Hill's startup was another company that I was there. And we were all maybe 10 or 15 employees altogether, shared office space. So walk us through then, take that back, away, you know, on how did we get to kind of where we're at now for anybody that doesn't know the history that transpired from then to 2023? Yeah. So I had, you know, I started as general manager, but it was, it was three employees when I joined. And so pretty quickly, I was able to, to get on a profit sharing agreement, which, you know, meant that, Hey, I might make an extra two grand. It was just so small at the time, but we kept building, kept growing. One of the, fast forward a little bit, one of the partners left, we had to spin out our century link business. I think it was still quest at the time I became part owner of that company and was running that while was general manager of the other side as we continue to grow. Now it's just the one partner. And he was investing in your company and the place you were working at and taking all the carrier sales profits to go fund that. Sorry about that. And so we were just really kind of floating. I mean, we were growing, but it was just sheer, you know, hard work, determination, 80 hour weeks kind of thing. I mean, I was doing everything from quoting to commissions. I was writing the checks, all of it. And so we were growing in spite of ourselves while he was funding over here. At the same time, I was on a profit sharing agreement, and I just kept saving that money. Had the opportunity to acquire a couple other little smaller companies that the founders of carrier sales didn't want to do. I took it to them first. They didn't want it. And so I figured out a way to do it. Over time, just got to where I was able to own a little bit more of the company. And then I got to a point where they kept telling me that, hey, you're going to own all of carrier sales. We know that this is yours. I mean, he got to where he was just looking at tax returns, right? It wasn't, he didn't even know the quarterly's. It was tax return time. He'd, oh, great. Thank you. And I just said, look, I'll give you a year's notice. I'm done just kind of treading water here. I want to grow. I want to do something. I'm still very young at that time. And I said, so I'll go take the CenturyLink business and go grow that. Honestly, in the back of my mind was maybe I'll take it to Telarus and go grow it there. But that woke him up to the fact that, okay, it was time. And so we came up with what was a fair price. And that was when I called you. You had left the sister company and were out doing tech support for something. Yeah. The biotech company down in Salt Lake. Yeah. And so, yeah, I gave you a call and convinced you to come over. I hope we'll get into that story a little bit later, but so I won't go too far into it. Let's get into it right now. Because the next part is about kind of insights for entrepreneurs and kind of looking beyond. I remember this phone call like it was yesterday. And I've told the story a number of times where, to your point, yes, I'd left the startup had kind of never really started up. And so I went and got what I thought was this awesome job at this biotech company down in Salt Lake. And I got this call. I think it had been all of three weeks. And I absolutely hated where I had gone and didn't realize I kind of loved what I did before getting into this telco and cloud and all of this stuff, all of this space. And I think you called me up and said, hey, you know, we should have talked more when you left. I got big plans. I'm going to buy the guy out, buy the old guy out, come back and, you know, be the first person I hire after this transaction. And I said, okay, and you may be an offer on the weekend. And I walked in the other place on a Monday and I think quit on the spot. And then we started Tuesday. That was 2013. That's how I remember the story at least. Hopefully that's Sacker, because I've told that story quite a few times. I have some fill ins that I thought about. You know, I remember having a number in mind, right, and going to you. I feel like it was 55K. I apologize for talking numbers, but I feel like it was 55 and you're like, oh, I need it to be 65. And I like, I remember, because it was just a different time. I remember going home and talking to my wife about, hey, I know we had planned on upgrading the minivan, but I got to get Josh here. That's going to take the 5K to get it done. I don't remember. I'm probably off on the numbers, but I remember some level of, it wasn't negotiation as much as it was just, okay, this is what I can do. And you're like, okay, I've got to pay the bills. And so we figured it out. I love it. We'll come back to that more. I want to talk about a lesson that this is about building relationships, right? The goal of this track, right, these special last three episodes as we get to episode 100 here is about helping our partners have some insight into things that they're going to go through, things that as they go to build their business, problems, successes, I think hearing from leadership at Telarus, I think this stuff is incredibly valuable. So I want to talk about cultivating relationships. You know, you've cultivated, obviously, a lot of relationships in the channel, you've been in the channel 20 plus years with the suppliers, with the partners. Can you share with us what I would call the R Murray philosophy on building and maintaining key relationships? The R Murray. Look, I'll start with acknowledging everybody's different in their approach. Mine, I think, is unique. And that's been helpful for me, for the company, I think, for, you know, extended to our advisors and partners. I think at its core is you have to care about other success. And so, you know, whether you're dealing with a partner in my specific role now, and for the last 20 years, I really do care that the suppliers I'm working with are successful as well. Yes, I want to win. I want to negotiate and do well, but I can't, you know, get a supplier to pay me 50%, knowing that it's going to bankrupt them or have an unprofitable channel. I care about them growing and succeeding. No, I don't, I don't carry a quota. I don't care about quotas anymore. But at the end of the day, if I've got a channel manager that I cared about, I'm going to do what I can to help them succeed. But you can't fake it. You can't fake that you care about somebody. You either do or you don't. And there are, look, there are suppliers over the years that I've not cared about. And I don't fake it either. So I do think you have to care. I think the other element of is just how you communicate with them. Because you care. And, you know, there's a supplier, I found this out, probably it had been around for a couple of years. There's a very prominent supplier that we do a lot with. And a lot of that, the core leadership from a decade to five years ago is all left. And they're all other companies now. And one of them told me that that internally, as a team, they had actually started using the phrase that you've been married. And I'm like, okay, I hope that's not awful. Please explain that to me. He said, no, basically, it's just it's a it was their shorthand for you've been politely told that you suck. And so my approach to build a relationship, especially with suppliers is, look, I sit on a lot of advisory councils. And I work really hard to be prepared for those. There's a reality I get dumber every day in terms of the delivery of a service. But we have an incredible team that lives and experiences that all the time. And so gather all of that information. And then I'm not going to go to an advisory council and not tell the truth. That doesn't help them get better. If I don't care about them, then I'm probably either not at the advisory council, or maybe I won't be as forthright. But if I care about the supplier, about the people there, I'm going to hammer them with details and data and go at it. But I'm going to do it in a nice polite way, because that's how I try to do it. That has legs. That gives them something they can take to their peers, their leadership, and go do something actionable with it. Yeah, no, it's good. All right, let's talk about insights, some insights for the partners out there, right? Obviously, the partners, they're entrepreneurs, they're out there thriving and growing. But you've got this diverse experience. What critical advice would you offer these partners that are out there? What do they need to succeed in today's market? A couple. I think one ties into the relationships, as well as just for our partners, is don't burn bridges, right? There are a lot of people out there that will burn a bridge. Let's say there's a channel manager that does you bad at supplier X, and you don't care about that supplier so much, so you just shout them down, or you do something that hurts the relationship. They're going to end up with another supplier. And if you've burnt that bridge, they're not going to help you there. I mean, that applies to hopefully the suppliers that are listening to this too, is my wife knows that in this world, you do not burn the bridges. Like, I'll tell her stories of somebody doing something stupid. She's like, they don't know the lesson, you don't burn bridges. This is a family, this is a tight community. Everybody knows everybody. So you've got to be cautious about that. I think beyond that, though, just in terms of thinking about your business, you've got to know what you're good at, what are you special at, and then bring in others to fill in the gaps. There's a reality of why I reached out to you. I knew I wasn't as technical as I was going to need to be for the new coming services. And so I brought in others. And I think, you know, many partners are world class at what they do. And I've seen many bring in teams around them, but others just stay, you know, this is what I do. And they don't bring in others or they're hesitant to even reach out to you and your team to help fill in their gaps. They just ignore and pretend that that side doesn't exist. And I don't think you can do that in this world. I think you've got to bring people in to help you do that. And look, sometimes that's hard. Sometimes that means you've got to have honest reflection and just be brutally honest with yourself around, “Yeah, I'm not very good at that.” Or, “Hey, I'm okay with a lot of things. I'm a good generalist, but I'm not exceptional at everything. And so, you know, where can I bring in exceptional people around me to move forward faster?” Yeah, it's a good point, too. And I think that's one of the biggest life lessons you've taught me along the way is, I know you're going to read something, I know somebody's going to say something, and you're going to hear something, and you're going to want to react this way. Don't. Just pause. It's okay to react. It's okay to have emotion. But to your point, this is a small community. Everybody needs everybody. That person tomorrow you might need to employ them. They might be your boss or somewhere in the middle of that. And you burn a bridge in this space. It's not great. And I think that is such a huge lesson for everybody to take note of. Whether that's customer impacting or supplier or whatever it is, I just huge double down on that lesson. I love that one. That's part of the armory approach, right? I don't think people understand. I think internally in my mind, like in here, I'm a raging lunatic sometimes. The emotion is there. I've just learned to shield it and harness it and bring it out in a more impactful way. Fair. Let's talk about vision. You've seen this industry evolve, and to your point, you've always been looking out here, right? When it might look like this right now, you're looking out here. If you look at that right now, what would you tell the partners? Maybe I'm a partner that's come in and maybe I've never sold any of this stuff before and I want to be a partner. Maybe I'm a partner that I've just been selling one thing and I'm listening to this podcast, kind of learning how to move into other technology areas. What future trends would you tell our partners to be aware of and then how do you feel we're helping them prepare for that? Well, first of all, I think as I looked at the list of all the different topics that you've covered, I mean, those are all the emerging technologies. First of all, just reflect on where this industry is awesome, number one. What other industry can you say started in, when I came in, it was long distance, and now we're talking about AI and everything in between. There's a reality if you're new to the market, you're new to the agency model and even tying it into our previous conversation. You can't do it all. You can't know every technology. Focus on what you're good at, which is in most cases, you're good at relationships, which then means bring in others to help have the technical conversations. Now, obviously, that's what Telarus is focused on doing. I think our entire conversation to partners has been, how do we help you grow your business? Over time, that has evolved on what that looks like. We've tried to bring in extra resources. In the early years, it was you just helping the guys that had only sold network, you would go out on appointments or jump on phone calls to, back then, it was like the early days of contact center. How do we help you have that conversation? So, if you're new there, we don't know what technology is going to be here in three years. In five years, that we're going to be able to sell. But I do know that we're heavily focused on continually staying in front of that, just like we were when we painted towards contact center. No one had a contact center channel when you came on. We built that together with NICE and then with Five9 and Genesis, they saw what was going, they came in. I think the same thing's happening with AI. Many of our suppliers are plugging AI into what they do. We're signing many AI suppliers, but we don't know what AI is going to be driving and what it's going to be capable of in two or three years. So, we have people that are focused on that and will continue to build around it. Good. All right. So, let's look back at your journey. What do you feel some of these pivotal moments or decisions that really shaped your path going from being an employee to a business owner and now chief commercial officer? Yeah, so many. I look back at that time or at my journey, I think back in some of the difficult times of Carousels. I can't tell you how many times I almost left. This is frustrating. We're not growing the way that I want. We're not keeping up with Intellis. All of these things, I'm not making enough money. I had a second job for the first decade of this. I was doing books for the law office that I talked about in the opening forever. And so, I chose to stay and to build something. That obviously was a pivotal or multiple pivotal times of making that choice. And that was just because I believed in what we were doing. I didn't like the results of where we were, but I believed in what the core was overall. And I think along the way, something that's been helpful for me that I've tried to talk to others about is whether it's your business or not, you're a leader or not, treat it like you are. Treat it like your business. And I think because I did, it made it so eventually. Took longer than I wanted it to. But I never treated that as an eight to five. And I think now as a larger employer, you have to be kind of careful. And I can't go tell my employees, “Hey, you need to put in 80 hours a week to do your job.” I can't do that. But in a podcast and with partners, I can say, “Look, if you're working for a partner, you're working for a company, your job is eight to five.” And I know you and I have talked about this. Your career is everything you do after. And most of anything good that I've ever accomplished for Carousel's, Telarus, has been after hours off to the site, whether it's me staying up all night, working weekends, building a new process, building a spreadsheet, building something that allowed us to move it forward. Those weren't done during the core times. And it was that extra sweat equity that helped propel me and others forward. I love it. Act like an owner. All right, let's talk about mentorship. One of the things that I think I've learned along the way has been how critical it's arguably one of the most rewarding, but it's arguably at the same token, one of the hardest things you ever do, which is I think the hiring process. So my question is a little bit about mentorship. I want to get into what do you find rewarding into that process, because I think our partners are going to go through this. We talk about some of them are solo preneuers that don't have a desire to hire, and they lean on us for a ton of resources, which we absolutely love. And then some say, “You know what? I want to bring one or two of those resources in-house.” So if we flash back, you and I had worked together in this in the beginning, but I was a recovering car mechanic that had stumbled into technology. You clearly saw something that maybe I didn't think that I didn't know I was capable of. So as you kind of reflect back on that, you had a vision that others maybe didn't have. So how do you look at that mentorship, picking talent? How do you advise on that? Oh, so many pieces of this. First of all, I would say I never set out to be a mentor. I don't view myself in that light. I don't feel like I'm so wise or so smart or I've accomplished anything that I'm in a position to tell people what to do or to help. But yet I've been sought out to tell people what to do and to help. And so I've tried to embrace it. I mean, there's an element of it where there's a big part of it. It's just me trying to give back. I've had great mentors. I've had people that have helped and embrace and teach me things. And I think you need multiple mentors in your life at different stages of where you are. And many of my early mentors, I would now consider more friends. It's not that I don't still learn from them, but the size of our company is now at the size of where they were. And so they're probably not teaching me company stuff as much. But gosh, I look at, from a pay it back standpoint, I consider Rick Deller a mentor. He may not know this, but I remember I felt like Carousel's was doing pretty good and Rick and I would help negotiate. We would work together to negotiate some of the contracts back then, particularly CenturyLink where Carousel's was very, very strong. And I remember kind of doing it, hey, what's next stage? What should I be doing? And he asked me, well, what's your revenue at? And I felt like, hey, we're doing good enough. I'm now confident enough. I'll tell you what it is. And I'm not positive on the number, but I believe it was 38 million. And he kind of, he didn't really do this, but as I reflect back, he kind of patted me on top of that. He said, that's cute. But I remember him telling me, remember, when you get to 50 million, then things start to change. And so get ready for this. You've got to start thinking about scale and all of these other things that start now. I mean, we're so many multiples past that. It's kind of funny to reflect back to that time. But, you know, anytime I could take the opportunity with a partner with somebody on a supplier and have future looking conversations, give them perspective that they don't have, then I'm happy to do it. In terms of identifying talent and then, you know, being a mentor in that. I'm a big believer in books as mentors in some cases, but I am also very cautious to not over index to any one book. There are, however, a couple that I think have been super impactful for me. One is a book that I have a case in my office called Love is the Killer app. And, you know, the core principle of that is just take care of others, even if that means introducing others together in a way that doesn't benefit you. And the universe has a way of taking care of you and all of that. And so I've always tried to live and follow that. First is a principle. Second is I actually never read his book. I still have it, but I remember his speech. And it's a gentleman by the name of Harvey McKay. Now, most people don't know who Harvey McKay is, but where he spoke was at the same place that Tony Robbins spoke. Like Tony Robbins was on stage, and then I think Harvey came on. It doesn't matter the order, but so he was a big deal at the time. And the only thing I remember from him was, was talking about how back, you know, he was older at the time. I don't even know if cell phones were that prominent. I mean, they were round, but not prominent. He would write hit if he saw something in somebody, a hotel clerk, a waitress, he would write his personal number on the back of his business card, hand it to him, say, if you're ever looking for a job, please give me a call. And the core of that is he was always looking for it in people. And I think, you know, to embarrass you a little bit, if I can, I just felt like there was that there was it. And, you know, to try to specify what it looks like, I think it comes in multiple forms. I mean, yes, you have to have capacity. There has to be the capacity to do good. But for me, it's drive. It's, you know, what I saw in you, what I've always seen in you is a desire to continue to learn, to challenge yourself, to never be, you know, okay with where I am today, it's where do I need to be in the future. And in some cases, that's meant not always, you know, awesome conversations between the two of us over the years, to say, what lack I, right. And I remember one in particular. I hope it's okay that I know. Oh, I know you're going. Sure. Bring it up. Well, maybe I do it. I remember one where it was kind of like, Hey, I want to do more. I want to make more money. And I can't remember what you asked for. I just remember you asked for something. I'm like, you're not quite ready for that. I believe it was, I'd like to take over the company when you're ready. And you were like, maybe not yet. I'm going to be around a little bit. But here's what I loved. I loved the question and the desire that was in there. You were treating it as your own. You wanted it to be your own. And the reality is we've all grown so much that we've actually, we're all, you and I are doing way more now and at a level now than what we ever thought of then, because we were a small company, right? But I do remember the question. What I more remember is thinking about my answer and what that almost challenging conversation brought us to was it helped me identify opportunities to put in your path to go help round you out. So I don't remember the exact timing, but somewhere along the way, we had the opportunity to acquire a small VAR. And this was when VARs were, we were still trying to figure out how VARs fit into the partner community, into the, why weren't they coming over the residual? And so we bought it and I basically handed you the business unit. And I said, okay, learn P&Ls, learn balance sheets, you deal with the drama, you get to make the overriding decisions. And we were just kind of the managing company for that bar. They were still running off on their own. But I've got to imagine you learned a thousand lessons. Tons. I don't know that I could even spelt P&L before that. But yeah, I think, you know, for partners that are listening, I just think it's, you're right, I think you painted a good picture, identify, and then give others an opportunity to figure out where they may not even know that they have skills yet. Well, I didn't, you know, I didn't know, first of all, I didn't know that I wasn't rounded out. So being self-aware is important. But, you know, you could have spun that one of two ways. You could have said, no, sorry, go away. Or you could have gone the way that you did, which is, hey, you know what? All right, cool. Let's help get you more rounded out on the business side. And yeah, I learned so much, so much in those years that now obviously that's benefited me to be able to help here at a much more dramatic scale. So I think it's made you a better boss. I mean, your team loves working for you. I think it gave you, you know, different perspectives that has benefited both of us. Love it. Awesome stuff. Let's talk about personal growth. Let's talk about development. So how do you, focuses for you of how you stay growing and innovative in your role, right? I mean, I feel like we're in an industry that is just innovating every hour, right? And we've got to stay in tune, is this next thing down the road, the next greatest thing, and we're just going to miss out if we don't get it. So help us understand how you stay innovative, how should partners stay innovative, and any thought leaders or anything, any resources that you want to throw out. Yeah, I mean, I think we covered a big part of it with mentors. I mean, there's a reality now that Telarus, at the size that we are, there's not many mentors in our industry that I can now go to and go say, help me. You know, there are mentors maybe outside of the industry, people that have done other large, you know, industries that have rolled up and things like that, that can give me perspective. But in the absence of that, I think that partners should be, I'm a big lover of podcasts, yours and others. Adam and I have both kind of fallen into a podcast called the founders podcast, that he and I will, you know, I will listen to usually on a weekend, I'll listen to three or four, like, you know, Saturday listening kind of thing. And then he and I, I'll tell him, hey, this was a great one, go listen to it, and then we'll compare notes. And so it's almost learning, you know, gosh, one of them like was Mark Twain. And what can you learn from Mark Twain's life that then and apply it and I promise you there is there's always applicability, you know, whether it's a Steve Jobs and all of those things. I think there are, whether it's books, podcasts, whatever, there's just information that if you're continually challenging yourself from outside, then working to apply it into our realm, which is super unique, what we do is super unique. My family still doesn't know. Nobody knows what we do. But there's applicability and all those other. Yeah, there's parallels, right? These guys are going to go through struggles of building things and how what what what are the nuggets that you can pull from that? So good, good stuff. All right, final couple thoughts here. I want to talk. Let's you know, you've obviously been critical, and I'm forever grateful of how you've helped shape my life. But you know, also our, our company and the channel if you if you fast forward 10 plus years, and then you snap back and look at, you know, what, what's the legacy that you want to say, I did that or I impacted this or I helped here? Is there anything that you want to call out? Oh, you know, my mind goes to Steve, I think is Steve Jobs quote, you can you can't connect the can't connect the dots forward, you know, connect the dots backwards. So it's it's hard to predict what I'll see in 10 years from from where the time I am now. But what I hope my you know, what I've left in this channel is, you know, I close partner summit every year, Adam, Adam opens, he does the big state of the business and everything and I close it. And for me, I'm not good at seeing things I don't believe in. I either don't say something or I I just it's just out there. It's got to be genuine for me. And so I hope that, you know, that my my messages of gratitude to the community as a whole gratitude to the partners, gratitude to suppliers and my message of and trying to create a community in the channel that to me, you know, this is a three legged stool, we absolutely need partners for us to succeed. But I believe that tell us and even our competitors play a role in their success. And then we need the suppliers there. And so, you know, I, I hope that, you know, our many of your listeners type a sales rep partners, they're wired and I love them for it. They're wired to think they are the reason they're successful. And they are. But it's all of us together that makes us more successful. I'm hyper competitive, I always want to win, but I don't want others to lose. I just want to be that much better. And, and so I hope as a, you know, as a channel, we we all drive more towards that. Well said. All right, final thoughts here. Let's talk about some advice for partners. So we've talked a lot about mentorship about business building and about hiring and, you know, strife and all of these things that happen. Take all that in consideration, as you've helped partners and all these different people shape their course in life, their trajectory, their business. Any final advice there for the audience for those partners that are listening or maybe even considering being partners? You know, a lot of partners will ask, Hey, what are the others doing to be successful? And I think it's the wrong question. I think, you know, if I look at myself and what I would tell partners to strive to do, you're most successful when you're 100% yourself. And, and what makes you unique and what you're what you're exceptional at. And I mean, I've already talked about bringing in others to fill in the gaps. But the more we water ourselves down by trying to do things that we're not special at, I think it slows down our speed. And, and it's you're going to ebb and flow, right? Comfort is in the middle. Comfort is just kind of floating along in the middle, but success is out on the edge. And so when we're on the edge, we're doing what we do uniquely. That that's, you know, a lesson I've had to learn over and over in my life, because you see a little success, you float in the middle, you float comfort for a little while. And then you kick yourself and you say, Oh, I want to go drive for something. Well, what's that next thing? And so, again, it takes being reflective on where you are, it takes being honest with yourself. Can I think there's an element you have to be honest with your inner circle about where you are with that as well. I mentioned my wife at the beginning of that there's times I've not been a great father and husband. You know, my I've told this story in other venues. I missed a good chunk of my son's baby food stage. And she was patient. I didn't even know I missed it until my third kid came along. And I kind of said to my wife, Hey, did Sam skip? I mean, he's six, five. He's a huge kid, right? Yeah. Did he skip straight from mushy food to solid? She's like, No, you just weren't here. Ouch. So balance is important, you say? Well, balance in time, right? There are times you've got to just roll up your sleeves and go be it. But what I learned over the years was to be more communicative with my wife around where I was at that stage. So for example, look, some of the hardest times in my career have been, I'm going to go acquire a company. I can't tell you how many times I put my house on the line to go get to where we are. And hey, this deal is going to take three months. It'll take me a month to negotiate it, get it done, another couple of months to get it going. And I would just tell her, I'm going to suck for a little while. And I'm sorry, but at least she knew what the path was and what the goal was and what, you know, the timeline on it. She knew I wasn't just purposefully being a jerk. It's good stuff. There's so many life lessons in here. I'm questioned out. Richard, thanks for all you've done, all you've done for me, all you've done for the community, the partners,Telarus and everybody, but especially thanks for coming on and helping us wrap up Episode 100. Excellent. Thank you. Happy to be here. All right, everybody, that wraps us up for today. I'm your host, Josh Lupresto SVP of Sales Engineering at Telarus Richard Murray, Chief Commercial Officer. Until next time, this has been Business Blueprints, Lessons for Leaders. Telarus

On November 20, 1974, a significant legal event unfolded in the United States with the Department of Justice filing its final antitrust suit against the American Telephone & Telegraph Company (AT&T), marking a pivotal moment in U.S. antitrust history. This lawsuit, United States v. AT&T, stemmed from suspicions in the 1970s by the Federal Communications Commission that AT&T was using monopoly profits from its Western Electric subsidiary to subsidize the costs of its network, an action contrary to U.S. antitrust law. The case, taken over by Judge Harold H. Greene of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in 1978, culminated in a significant settlement in 1982 through a consent decree between AT&T and the Department of Justice.This settlement led to the 1982 Bell System divestiture, breaking up the old AT&T into seven regional Bell operating companies (RBOCs) and a much smaller new AT&T. This decision not only altered the telecommunications landscape but also set a precedent for antitrust actions in the United States. However, the long-term effects of this landmark case saw a gradual re-consolidation in the industry. By the early 2000s, several of the regional Bell operating companies began to merge. For example:* NYNEX was acquired by Bell Atlantic in 1996, which later became part of Verizon Communications.* Pacific Telesis and Ameritech were acquired by SBC (formerly Southwestern Bell Corporation) in 1997 and 1999, respectively, and ultimately became part of AT&T Inc.* Bell Atlantic merged with GTE in 2000 to form Verizon Communications.* Southwestern Bell Corporation, after rebranding as SBC Communications, acquired AT&T Corporation in 2005 and subsequently renamed itself AT&T Inc., completing a significant reversal of the original divestiture.* BellSouth was also acquired by AT&T Inc. in 2006.* US West was acquired by Qwest in 2000, which was later acquired by CenturyLink (now Lumen Technologies) in 2011.The post-divestiture era saw a surge in competition in the long-distance telecommunications market, with companies like Sprint and MCI emerging as significant players. However, the eventual re-consolidation under giants like AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications indicates a return to a more concentrated industry structure, albeit not to the same monopoly status that AT&T held before 1984.This historic case and its aftermath are a testament to the dynamic nature of antitrust law and its impact on shaping industries. The initial breakup spurred competition and innovation, but the subsequent re-consolidation raises questions about the lasting effectiveness of such antitrust interventions in rapidly evolving sectors like telecommunications.In Wisconsin, a pivotal legal battle is underway regarding the state's electoral map and the power to modify election laws. The state, known for its extremely close presidential elections, faces a dispute over its legislative districts, which critics argue are gerrymandered to favor Republicans. This gerrymandering allegedly creates a significant GOP advantage in a state that is otherwise politically evenly divided.Democrats are pushing for these district lines to be redrawn before the next elections, citing that the current maps create unequal voter classes and violate state law requiring contiguous districts. The Wisconsin Supreme Court previously upheld the existing maps in 2021, emphasizing minimal changes. This decision solidified the GOP's advantage, established in 2011, in both the state Senate and Assembly districts.The controversy extends beyond redistricting to broader electoral policies. Governor Tony Evers, a Democrat, has vetoed over two dozen election-related bills proposed by the Republican-controlled state legislature, including those aiming to tighten absentee ballot rules and modify the nonpartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission. Additionally, there have been efforts to remove the state's nonpartisan elections commissioner and disputes over voting rules.The case, Clarke v. Wisconsin Elections Comm'n, is set for oral argument and revolves around whether the GOP-favored maps violate the state's separation of powers and whether parts of towns and cities outside districts breach state law. The outcome could mandate the creation of new district lines, impacting future elections in this critical swing state.America's Tightest Swing State Goes to Court for Election PowerDonald Trump's lawyers are set to challenge a gag order in a federal appeals court, which restricts Trump from commenting on certain individuals involved in a criminal case accusing him of trying to illegally overturn his 2020 election defeat. Imposed by U.S. Judge Tanya Chutkan, the order aims to prevent witness influence and threats against officials. Trump, eyeing the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, has criticized the order as a free speech infringement. The order permits criticism of the Justice Department but bars targeting prosecutors, court staff, and potential witnesses. The case, involving charges of conspiring to interfere with the 2020 presidential election results, is scheduled for trial in March 2024. Trump, who has pleaded not guilty, faces similar charges in three other criminal cases.US appeals court to consider Trump gag order in election subversion case | ReutersIn a recent trial in Missouri, Bayer was ordered to pay $1.56 billion in damages related to its Roundup weedkiller. The jury found Bayer's Monsanto business liable for negligence, design defects, and failing to warn about Roundup's dangers. Three plaintiffs, diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and one spouse were awarded substantial compensatory and punitive damages. This verdict follows a series of court losses for Bayer, intensifying shareholder pressure to revise its legal approach. Despite Bayer's insistence on Roundup's safety, backed by studies and recent EU approvals, the company faces about 50,000 pending claims and has previously settled thousands of similar cases.Bayer ordered to pay $1.56 billion in latest US trial loss over Roundup weedkiller | ReutersElon Musk, CEO of X (formerly known as Twitter), threatened legal action against Media Matters and others, accusing them of misrepresenting his platform and damaging its advertising revenue. This follows a series of ad suspensions by major companies like IBM and Disney, due to ads appearing alongside antisemitic content on X. Musk's endorsement of an antisemitic post on X drew criticism, including from the White House. Media Matters labeled Musk a "bully" for his lawsuit threat. This controversy comes amid increasing antisemitism in the U.S. and Musk's history of threatened legal actions, such as against the Anti-Defamation League, which he hasn't pursued.Elon Musk, under fire, threatens lawsuit against media watchdog | Reuters Get full access to Minimum Competence - Daily Legal News Podcast at www.minimumcomp.com/subscribe

Ever found yourself arguing about a spiky creature while rumbling through the Everglades in a Jeep? That's exactly where Wicks and I found ourselves with Patricia. As Wicks donned the mantle of protector, an innocuous caterpillar spurred a lively debate about its potential toxicity. Turns out, even in the wild, we can't escape the allure of misinformation. Does solitude always have to be a downer? Wicks and I say no! In this episode, we're breaking down how solo activities can still be a blast, from creating your own concerts to devouring a DVD collection during a hurricane-induced Internet blackout (I'm looking at you, CenturyLink!). Speaking of DVDs, who knew you can find them at Dollar Stores? It's all about recognizing the importance of reliable sources of information and entertainment. Ever felt torn between accepting or rejecting someone who annoys you? Join us as we delve into the entertaining dynamics of social acceptance and rejection through the tales of Reggie and Wendy's. Before we sign off, I've got a request for you: If you've got something to say, don't keep it to yourself! Whether it's love, hate, or something in between, let us know in the comments or by sending a video or email. Don't forget: emotions and facts are different beasts and should be treated as such. Let's keep the conversation going, folks!Support the showTiktok : https://www.tiktok.com/@omgitswicks?i...Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/omgitswicks/Facebook :https://www.facebook.com/omgitswicks239

Kate Johnson is based in Denver in her role as Lumen Technologies CEO and president, but she has been spending a lot of time in the Seattle area recently, and not just because one of the local stadiums bears the company's name. Johnson sees the Seattle region an ideal test bed and proving ground for Lumen's offerings, including consumer and business broadband, voice, and data services. Yes, it helps that she has a home here, as a holdover from her prior role as Microsoft's U.S. president. But beyond that, she cites the region's importance as a major U.S. tech hub, the home of the biggest cloud platforms, a strong community of tech companies, and tech-savvy families who understand the appeal of fiber internet service. "The market is growing, and we are well-positioned to serve it," she said. "I've been spending time making sure we're making the appropriate investments, that I'm understanding our opportunities, and that we're capitalizing on them." It's part of a broader effort by Johnson and her team to reinvent the publicly traded telecommunications company, which was formed by the combination of Level 3 Communications and CenturyLink in 2017 and rebranded as Lumen in 2020. Johnson was named Lumen CEO a year ago and took over the role in November 2022. Educated as an engineer, with past experience at companies including Oracle, Red Hat, and Deloitte, Johnson is one of 53 female CEOs of Fortune 500 companies. She is charged with sparking new growth at a company that reported a net loss of $1.5 billion last year, after special charges, on revenue of $17.5 billion, down 11% year-over-year. In a recent podcast interview at Seattle's Lumen Field, she discussed topics including: The evolution of the telecommunications industry and the need to reinvent the classic telecom business model amid the rapid increase in data and the rise of generative artificial intelligence. Her ongoing efforts to change Lumen's culture, including an unusual series of internal meetings that have been ultimately constructive but initially unsettling for some longtime employees and executives.  Her tenure at Microsoft, and her recent experiences using Microsoft 365 Copilot as part of her work. Lumen has been one of the companies piloting Microsoft's corporate AI tools prior to their broader release in November. Audio editing by Curt Milton. Hosted by Todd Bishop.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Data Center Frontier editors Matt Vincent and David Chernicoff recently caught up with Cyxtera's Field CTO Holland Barry on the occasion of Cyxtera and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) announcing a new collaboration to help simplify customers' hybrid IT strategies. Cyxtera is now leveraging HPE's GreenLake edge-to-cloud platform to support an enterprise bare metal platform. The podcast discussion extends to how Cyxtera is presently focused on supporting AI workloads in data centers and collaborating with HPE to offer a multi-hybrid cloud strategy. Barry revealed during the podcast that Cyxtera already supports 70 kilowatt racks in 18 markets, and is discussing expanded deployments with its customers and partners. Barry added that many present customers are considering moving to private cloud platforms, due to rising public cloud costs and unexpected fees. Barry said, "My function here at Cyxtera deals largely with the technologies that we both implement internally and also that we deploy within the data centers themselves to make sure that experience of being in the data center colo facility is seamless, feels as much like cloud as it can in terms of the provisioning of services, how we bill for things, things like that." He added, "Generally speaking, I'm a technologist at heart and I just want to make sure that what we're building is what's useful for the market to consume." Here's a list of key points discussed on the podcast: 2:01 - Barry talks about Cyxtera's vision for supporting AI workloads in data centers, including cooling technologies, network speed, power designs, and accommodating adjacencies with edge and public cloud platforms. 4:18 - DCF's Chernicoff asks if Cyxtera will offer 70 kilowatt racks a la Digital Realty. Barry explains that Cyxtera already supports this capacity in 18 of its markets, and is in active discussions with customers and partners over an expansion. 5:40 - Barry discusses how Cyxtera's collaboration with HPE addresses rising cloud costs and furthers a multi-hybrid cloud strategy, including Cyxtera's new enterprise bare metal platform and options for opex financing models. 7:53 - Use cases for customers moving to the HPE GreenLake solution via Cyxtera are discussed, including repatriating cloud workloads and tech refreshes. 15:03 - Asked about the convergence of cloud and hybrid IT strategies, Barry says that Cyxtera views themselves as part of such transformations and says the provider is up front with its customers about what workloads are best suited for their platform. The trend of recalibrating workloads from the public cloud to data centers for better cost management is also discussed. 18:22 - Barry expounds on how egress fees and other unexpected costs can lead to a "death by 1000 cuts" situation for public cloud users, driving them to consider private cloud options 19:57 - Barry observes that many customers are realizing the costs of the public cloud and considering moving to a private cloud solution, and emphasizes the importance of Cyxtera making this transition as easy as possible through technology choices and partnerships. 21:57 - Barry comments on the new Cyxtera partnership with HPE in the context of providing choices and solutions to make moving customer workloads to their venue as easy as possible, with the goal of building a multi-hybrid cloud reality in the future. Background on Cyxtera Cyxtera Technologies operates a global network of 60 data centers, supports 2,300 customers, and had $746 million in revenue in 2022. The company was formed in 2016 when Medina Capital, led by former Terremark CEO Manuel Medina, teamed with investors including BC Partners to buy the data center portfolio of CenturyLink for $2.15 billion. It was at that time one of several data center players seeking to build a colocation business atop a portfolio of data centers spun off by telecom companies. This April, Data Center Frontier's Rich Miller reported that Cyxtera Technologies was reportedly fielding interest from suitors as it sought to reduce its debt load. Data Center Dynamics at that time shared that Cyxtera was exploring options for a sale or capital raise, citing a Bloomberg story that said private equity suitors were studying the company's operations. Shares of Cyxtera had fallen sharply in value during that timeframe and were trading at 31 cents a share at one point, giving the company a market capitalization of about $55 million, a far cry from the $3.4 billion valuation placed on the company when it went public in 2021 through a merger with Starboard Value Acquisition Corp. In May, as shares of Cyxtera fell to new lows, DCF reported lenders for the company said they would provide the colocation provider with $50 million in new funding, allowing it more time to arrange a sale or line up new capital. In June, the colocation provider filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. After working for months to find a buyer or reduce its debt load, the company decided it would now restructure through a pre-packaged bankruptcy. The Chapter 11 filing was part of an arrangement with its lenders, who retained the right to gain a controlling equity interest in the company under terms of a restructuring agreement. At the time of the bankruptcy filing, some of the company's lenders committed to provide $200 million in financing to enable Cyxtera to continue operating as it restructures. "Cyxtera expects to use the Chapter 11 process to strengthen the company's financial position, meaningfully deleverage its balance sheet and facilitate the business's long-term success," the company said in a press release." More details have been made available on Cyxtera's restructuring web site. Cyxtera subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, Germany and Singapore are not included in the bankruptcy case, which was filed in New Jersey. Dgtl Infra's Mary Zhang has done significant recent reporting over the summer on the story of Cyxtera's existing lease rejections in wake of the bankruptcy filing, as well as charting the company's timeline extension for its bankruptcy-led sale process into late September. In his June reporting on Cyxtera's bankruptcy filing, DCF's Miller noted that: "Since Cyxtera leases many of its data centers, Cyxtera's Chapter 11 filing creates a potential challenge for its landlords. Cyxtera leases space in 15 facilities operated by Digital Realty, representing $61.5 million in annual revenue, or about 1.7 percent of Digital's annual revenue. It also leases space in 6 data centers owned by Digital Core REIT, a Singapore-based public company sponsored by Digital Realty. That includes two sites in Los Angeles, three in Silicon Valley and one in Frankfurt. The $16.3 million in annual rent from Cyxtera represents 22.3 percent of revenue for Digital Core REIT. A bankruptcy filing provides debtors with the opportunity to reject leases to reduce their real estate costs. In its press release, Cyxtera noted that it "is continuing to evaluate its data center footprint, consistent with its commitment to optimizing operations." An August report from Bloomberg stated that Cyxtera had drawn interest for its assets from multiple parties, including Brookfield Infrastructure Partners and Digital Realty Trust Inc., according to people with knowledge of the situation. as reported by Bloomberg's Reshmi Basu. In a recent email to this editor regarding Cyxtera, DCF's Miller opined further: "The key questions for Cyxtera are really all about the bankruptcy outcome, and where that stands. The future could be very different for Cyxtera depending who the winning bidder is and whether they would reject leases. For example, Digital Realty is reported to be one of the bidders. That makes sense, as Cyxtera leases 12 facilities from them and DLR has a vested interest in protecting that income. But if Digital wins the auction, do they keep leasing space in Cyxtera's many non-Digital sites? Or do they reject those leases and consolidate? The auction winner will guide future strategy for Cyxtera. And it could be very different if it's a private equity firm vs. a strategic buyer like Digital Realty." On August 7, concurrent with its business update for Q2, Cyxtera announced that it had reached a key milestone in its Chapter 11 process by filing a proposed plan of reorganization with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey, and said it had reached an agreement with its lenders to optimize the company's capital structure and reduce its pre-filing funded debt by more than $950 million. In its Q2 update, the company said it had delivered solid growth in total revenue, recurring revenue, core revenue and transaction adjusted EBITDA. Cyxtera's August 7 press release added that negotiations around the company's sale alternative remained active. According to a press release, the proposed reorganization plan is supported by certain of Cyxtera's lenders who collectively hold over two-thirds of the company's outstanding first lien debt, and are parties to Cyxtera's previously announced restructuring support agreement. The company said the proposed plan provides flexibility for the company to pursue a balance sheet recapitalization or a sale of the business. Cyxtera noted that if the plan is approved and a recapitalization is consummated, the lenders have committed to support a holistic restructuring of the company's balance sheet. Such a restructuring would eliminate more than $950 million of Cyxtera's pre-filing debt and provide the company with enhanced financial flexibility to invest in its business for the benefit of its customers and partners. For Q2 of 2023, Cyxtera said its total revenue increased by $14.9 million, or 8.1% YoY, to $199.0 million in the second quarter of 2023. On a constant currency basis, the company's total revenue increased by $15.1 million, or 8.2% YoY. Recurring revenue increased by $15.8 million, or 9.1% YoY, to $190.0 million in the second quarter. Cyxtera added that its core revenue increased by $17.4 million, or 10.3% YoY, to $186.2 million in the second quarter. Finally, the company said its transaction Adjusted EBITDA increased by $6.4 million, or 10.7%, to $66.4 million and increased by $6.5 million, or 10.9% YoY, on a constant currency basis, in the second quarter. Carlos Sagasta, Cyxtera's Chief Financial Officer, said, “We are pleased to have delivered another quarter of solid growth across the business, underscoring the strength of our offering and the value we create for our global customers. We expect to continue building on this momentum as we successfully complete the process to strengthen our financial position for the long term.” The press release added that in either a recapitalization or sale scenario, the company remains on track to emerge from the court-supervised process no later than the fall of this year. The company said it had received multiple qualified bids to date. Final bids from interested parties in the sale process were originally due on August 18, a deadline which came and went. An auction slated for August 30 was also cancelled. Nelson Fonseca, Cyxtera's Chief Executive Officer, commented, “We continue to make important progress in our court-supervised process, while demonstrating solid performance across our business. Filing this plan with the support of our lenders provides us a path to emerge in a significantly stronger financial position.” Here are links to some recent DCF articles on Cyxtera: Colocation Provider Cyxtera Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Cyxtera Gets $50 Million Funding, More Time to Seek a Buyer As Stock Price Slumps, Cyxtera Reportedly Mulling Capital Raise or Sale Cyxtera Goes Public as Starboard SPAC Acquisition Closes Cyxtera to Go Public Through $3.4 Billion Merger With Starboard SPAC

We close out our season previews at the last possible moment, taking a long look around the Big Ten.Also, I apologize for some funkiness in this audio, which shows up primarily as some pauses between me and Ryan speaking, as well as a few moments of cross-talk. I tried my best to get most of them in the edit, but I'm sure I missed a few. My internet went down Tuesday morning, and I installed a new system on Wednesday that allowed us to record, but did so with a pretty bad Zoom connection. I have a mesh extender on the way, and it shouldn't be a problem again moving forward (fingers crossed).Flipping The Field is presented by Meet At Midfield and Homefield Apparel. Use code KICKOFF to get 50 percent off your first payment for a monthly/semi-annual/annual subscription to Meet at Midfield.If you like the show, please tell a friend and leave a five-star review. If you want to keep up to date with the show, subscribe on your podcasting app of choice and follow the show on Twitter at FieldFlipping.If you have a question you'd like answered on the show, send us a DM on the show's Twitter account.

Timestamps: 0:00 The Lenovo Legion Go 1:17 CenturyLink is Leaving Customers Without Internet 2:44 India's Successful Moon Mission 3:46 Solidworks4:25 QUICK BITS INTRO 4:31 Whitehat Hackers Hit Hack at Spyware 5:10 Apple's iPad Pro Plans 5:49 Google Wants Satellite SOS 6:32 The End of the Asus Zenfone? 7:08 Maxsun's 5-fan 4090 News Sources https://lmg.gg/uMrYd

This is a recap of the top 10 posts on Hacker News on August 4th, 2023.This podcast was generated by wondercraft.ai(00:36): (next Rich)Original post: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37000562&utm_source=wondercraft_ai(02:22): Comcast, CenturyLink fail to derail Utah community-owned gigabit fiber networkOriginal post: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37001369&utm_source=wondercraft_ai(04:23): Most promoted and blocked domains among Kagi Search usersOriginal post: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37006082&utm_source=wondercraft_ai(05:57): Pay no attention to the USB port behind the “no USB” stickerOriginal post: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37006705&utm_source=wondercraft_ai(07:32): LK-99 is an online sensation but replication efforts fall shortOriginal post: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37001837&utm_source=wondercraft_ai(09:28): Remote work requires communicating more, but less frequentlyOriginal post: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37000981&utm_source=wondercraft_ai(11:07): Non-determinism in GPT-4 is caused by Sparse MoEOriginal post: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37006224&utm_source=wondercraft_ai(13:14): Reduction of sulfur emissions from ships may be causing rising sea temperaturesOriginal post: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37008034&utm_source=wondercraft_ai(14:59): Mozilla VPN: CVE-2023-4104: vpndaemon wrongly implements Polkit authenticationOriginal post: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36997067&utm_source=wondercraft_ai(16:47): Ocean Heat Record BrokenOriginal post: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36997834&utm_source=wondercraft_aiThis is a third-party project, independent from HN and YC. Text and audio generated using AI, by wondercraft.ai. Create your own studio quality podcast with text as the only input in seconds at app.wondercraft.ai. Issues or feedback? We'd love to hear from you: team@wondercraft.ai

We have a scam alert to the point where we need to double down on our emphasis with securing your electronic payments, especially with debit cards. Also we are talking about Century Link troubleshooting and ticketing, comparing CCleaner and Privazer, Windows 10 upgrades, backing up your data and more! We take your texts and calls on this Saturday 

1. Love and MoneyKim emphasizes that money is not inherently evil, despite the baggage and negative stories people may have around it due to lack of conversation and openness about it in their childhood and family settings.Kim emphasizes that money is not inherently evil, but rather greed is the problem. She also notes that money reveals more of who you already are, which is important for listeners to understand because it can make everything else seem easier in the conversation.2. Self-Concept and ResponsibilityKim Curtis mentions that her mother's priority for her children was to ensure they received an education, as it was something that could never be taken away, which was important to her because it was something that had happened to her mother.3. Money and Natural Money LawKim Curtis emphasized that money is looking for you and it's important to bring this idea to the world, which was discussed as a paradigm shift in the green room. She also mentioned her interest in this topic and encouraged everyone to let this idea land.Kim Curtis explains that there are two laws of money, the human-made laws which are linear and goal-oriented, and the other law which is finding the money that is looking for you, which she had to uncover starting with a red ticket and the gift of love.Who is Kim Curtis?Kim Curtis is a nationally recognized wealth management advisor and speaker. As President and CEO of Wealth Legacy Institute, her groundbreaking work in developing a highly personal client-centric planning model was recognized in the Journal of Practical Estate Planning, winning the Editor's Choice award. This model is the cornerstone of her firm's holistic and highly successful approach to integrated wealth management, The Planning for LIFE Experience™.Kim has attained numerous professional designations and been recognized by the financial planning industry as having achieved the highest level of competence and expertise. Kim is a bestselling author of Money Secrets: Keys to Smart Investing published by Financial Literacy Press. Kim has spoken on leadership, negotiations, and finance to organizations such as West Point, Oracle, EPA, University of Colorado Hospital, Comcast, Level 3, CenturyLink, OtterBox, Johnson & Johnson, AAUW, amongst others. She has been profiled on NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, CW as well as the Wall Street Journal.How to Connect with Kim?Web: www.wealthlegacyinstitute.com/FB: www.facebook.com/WealthLegacyInstituteIG: www.instagram.com/happinessdoesntretire/LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/kimberlylcurtisYouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCfYVRFXtjFYN-AoRuKt0mYwTwitter: https://twitter.com/KimCurtisLegacy----------------How to Connect with Dr. Vic?beacons.ai/drvicmanzoIf you are ready to elevate your business, mindset, consciousness level, and overall life experience, let's chat!www.CallWithDrVic.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jeff Barber, VP of Global Data Centers at Bloom Energy, tackles the topic of transforming the way data centers power their facilities and how Bloom Energy offers a more reliable, sustainable and predictable power solution.Tune in now to learn why Bloom's solution has been deployed by the likes of Nxtra, Teledata, CenturyLink, Equinix, and, most recently, AWS

Mimi Carter has taken a career in politics, nonprofits, and agency to create a new normal in consulting that marries purpose with profit. She has a deep background in both nonprofit and corporate comms, as well as the ability to scale projects, work with teams and drive to goal when it comes to client mission. She has run and reorganized the PR and digital communications offices of some of the largest nonprofits in DC, such as The Corcoran Gallery of Art, The Epilepsy Foundation of America, and others, but as a PR agency leader, has also led the nonprofit and corporate accounts for organizations like The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, Mastercard Foundation, CenturyLink and more. Her favorite projects involve making the complex clear, the unseen seen, and creating campaigns that create value among stakeholders and shareholders, both emotionally and financially. But best of all, she's a super-connector. She runs a network of 6000 people called DC Communicators, which continues to attract some of the most influential names in both nonprofit and for-profit comms - from Politico, Illy, and the WNBA to the Red Cross, United Nations, and The Guggenheim. Her favorite topics are purpose and impact communications to create a sense of belonging with the reality of profit. Learn more about Mimi here Shout-out: Today's Diversity Leader Shout-out goes to Lisa Borders Independent Director | “Enlightened” Podcast Host | Strategic Advisor | Keynote Speaker | DEI Advocate | Former WNBA President Music: Vente by Mamá Patxanga is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License Amor Y Felicidad by SONGO 21 is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 International License --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/si-suite/message

You know we're not done complaining about the internet — we've definitely got some quality issues here in Southern Nevada, especially for the price. Yesterday, we talked about how two companies, Cox and CenturyLink, got their stranglehold on the Las Vegas broadband market, and why treating the internet like a publicly-owned utility might be the answer — even though municipal internet is actually illegal in Nevada. Today, we get another take: Dayvid sits down with Brian Mitchell, Director of the NV Office of Science, Innovation & Technology. Brian oversees High Speed Nevada, a new initiative that just got $55 million in federal funding. Brian talks about his solutions for better broadband in Nevada, but also says that municipal networks might not be the panacea they're touted as. Join the broadband conversation: OSIT wants your input! You can complete this form to join the process as a community partner. You can also take a speed test here to help OSIT see how fast internet speeds are in different parts of the state. And you can also submit a challenge to the FCC's map of speeds at your address here. How do you feel about your internet service in Las Vegas? Leave us a voicemail (702-514-0719) or a comment on social media: We're @CityCastVegas on Twitter and Instagram. Love what you hear? Get even more Vegas news, events and commentary when you sign up for our brilliant morning newsletter at lasvegas.citycast.fm/newsletter! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Look, it's no secret that the internet options in Las Vegas aren't great. We pay more than the rest of the country for slower speeds, and it's worse if you're in lower-income and less white parts of town. But why?? How did we get here? Today, Dayvid talks with Sean Gonsalves, senior reporter, editor and researcher at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, who explains how Cox and CenturyLink established control here (hint: there's a state law involved) and why treating the internet like a locally-owned utility could make all the difference. Don't miss out on tomorrow's episode, too: We're talking with a Nevada state official about the big federal money headed our way for broadband investment — and why he doesn't necessarily think that locally-owned municipal broadband is the answer. What's your internet like in Southern Nevada? Got any good stories, gripes, or ideas? Leave us a voicemail at 702-514-0719. Or leave us a comment on social media @CityCastVegas on Twitter and Instagram. Want more Vegas news? Make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter at lasvegas.citycast.fm/newsletter! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today Joeri is joined by Carol Carpenter.Carol is the CMO of Unity where she leads brand and creative, comms, customer insight, community, and more. Prior to joining Unity, she was the CMO of VMware where she led the transformation of the company from license software to subscription and SaaS. Carol has led teams in large and small companies, including Google, ElasticBox (sold to CenturyLink), Trend Micro, and Apple. Unity is the world's leading platform for creating and growing interactive, real-time 3D content. Our platform provides a comprehensive set of software solutions to create, run, and grow interactive, real-time 2D and 3D content for mobile phones, tablets, PCs, consoles, and augmented and virtual reality devices. We serve customers of all sizes, at every stage of maturity, from individual creators to large enterprisesThis episode was recorded through a StreamYard call on December 8, 2022.You find the show notes here:  https://webdrie.net/what-opportunities-does-the-metaverse-present-for-businesses--with-carol-carpenter PS: Did you already hear about our my new CMO Stories NFT? Be sure check it out and learn about the benefits you get

Adam and John podcast by candlelight as the overlords of CenturyLink keep them in the dark. This is their story.

On this episode of Banking on KC, Harry S. Campbell, a business executive, speaker and author joins host Kelly Scanlon to discuss the keys to the three levels of Get Real Leadership: leading yourself, leading people and leading your business. Harry S. Campbell is a senior executive with a strong record of success over three decades, including president for two Fortune 500 companies, co-owner of an award-winning small business and CEO/board member of an Internet start-up. He has driven exceptional people and business results in organizations of 25 to 3,500 employees in a broad range of industries—from consumer-packaged goods to telecom to sports marketing to digital media. Harry is known as an identifier, a developer and a motivator of exceptional talent at all levels of the organization. Campbell's views on leadership and business management were forged at Procter & Gamble, where he worked in brand management on notable products such as Crest, Pepto-Bismol and Metamucil. While with P&G, Campbell was hand-picked to be a founding member of the P&G/Wal-Mart Customer Team based in Fayetteville, Arkansas. In 1992, he moved from consumer-packaged goods to the telecom sector when he joined Sprint, where he served in several leadership roles before being appointed president of the multibillion dollar Consumer Long Distance unit in 2002. His final role with Sprint was leading the Emerging and Mid-Markets business unit. From 2005-2009, Campbell led the Consumer Markets division at Embarq, a spin-off from Sprint, and now known as CenturyLink. As president of the Consumer Markets division, he was responsible for nearly half of Embarq's annual revenue and an organization of 3,000 employees. His group provided marketing, sales, service and operational support for a full line of communication and entertainment services to 4 million residential customers in 18 states. Campbell's other senior management experiences spanned two distinctly different small businesses. He was president/CEO (and member of the board) of uclick, a digital syndication company that packaged and distributed branded content, comics and word games on the Web. It represents more than 110 features such as Garfield, Dear Abby, FoxTrot and Doonesbury. He was also co-owner/EVP of a sports marketing agency recognized as the 1998 Business of the Year by the Kansas City Chamber of Commerce. Campbell recently retired after five years as the CEO of Durrie Vision, a world-class refractive eye surgery center, to focus on maximizing his charitable donations via speaking and writing books, including “Get-Real Leadership,” “Get-Real Culture,” and “Get-Real Mindset.” Campbell holds a bachelor's degree in East Asian history and economics from Vanderbilt University  and an MBA with a concentration in marketing from Indiana University's Kelley Graduate School of Business. He is active in several local charities and serves on the board of Head for the Cure, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to raising money to help cure brain cancer. Country Club Bank – Member FDIC 

Here are the things to expect in the episode:Why are women less likely to have money than men?What are the 2 laws of money?How does E plus R equal O work?What are the 7 steps to follow to acquire wealth?And much more! About Kim:Kim's story is fascinating: from living with a divorced mom on food stamps, later on having two degrees in law and finance and now having an extraordinary life. Kim is a nationally recognized wealth management advisor, speaker, president, and CEO of Wealth Legacy Institute.She is proud to have created a firm where she can truly put her clients first, bringing the alignment she needs to feel true joy in her work.For Kim, how you deal with money says a lot about how you deal with life, and she's passionate about helping her clients find a balance.Kim has attained numerous professional designations and has been recognized by the financial planning industry as having achieved the highest level of competence and expertise.Kim is a bestselling author of Money Secrets: Keys to Smart Investing and Retirement Sectes, published by Financial Literacy Press.Kim has spoken on leadership, negotiations, and finance to organizations such as West Point, Oracle, EPA, University of Colorado Hospital, Comcast, Level 3, Century Link, OtterBox, Johnson & Johnson, and AAUW, amongst others.She has been profiled on NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, CW, and The Wall Street Journal. Connect with Kim Curtis!Website: https://www.wealthlegacyinstitute.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WealthLegacyInstituteInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/happinessdoesntretire/Twitter: https://twitter.com/WLILegacy  |  https://twitter.com/KimCurtisLegacyLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberlylcurtis/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfYVRFXtjFYN-AoRuKt0mYwFreebie for the listeners: https://financialliteracypress.com/ Connect with Wendi Bergin!Website: https://joyfullyprepared.com/Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/joyfulprepInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/joyfulprepper/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/selfreliantmoms/Container Gardening Course: https://www.joyfulprepcontainergarden.com

We all have a relationship with money, but whether that's a good relationship is another matter. How can we get more comfortable with our finances? How can we change the way we think about money? We spoke with Kim Curtis, a wealth management advisor, about where our relationship with money stems from... and how to give it an update for the better. Kim Curtis is a nationally recognized wealth management advisor, speaker, president, and CEO of Wealth Legacy Institute. She is a bestselling author of Money Secrets: Keys to Smart Investing, published by Financial Literacy Press, and Retirement Secrets. Her groundbreaking work in developing a highly personal client-centric planning model was recognized in the Journal of Practical Estate Planning, winning the Editor's Choice award. Kim has spoken on leadership, negotiations, and finance to organizations such as West Point, Oracle, EPA, University of Colorado Hospital, Comcast, Level 3, CenturyLink, OtterBox, Johnson & Johnson, and AAUW, amongst others. She has been profiled on NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, CW, and The Wall Street Journal.Read more at petite2queen.com/relationship-with-money-insideSupport the show

TalkingHeadz is an interview format series featuring the movers and shakers of enterprise communications - we also have great guests.  In this episode, we check in with Sid Rao, the  GM of Amazon Chime SDK. I fondly remember Biba, a WebRTC video/messaging startup . There was a lot of excitement over WebRTC about ten years ago. Biba was acquired by Amazon and relaunched as the Amazon Chime app in 2017. Chime was a lot like Webex and Zoom, but worked entirely in a browser. Both Vonage and CenturyLink (now Lumen) were early resellers of the meeting application.  The app worked well, but wasn't a bit hit. Vonage moved to its own video solution, and CenturyLink turned to apps such as Zoom and Teams. AWS discovered that its customers were more interested in Chime's underlying WebRTC than the meeting app. Amazon created WebRTC APIs,  effectively making WebRTC a service rather than a tech stack. This model was a better fit for AWS, so at its reInvent conference in 2018, AWS launched the Chime SDK.  Then came the pandemic and a boom in most things video. AWS customers and partners used Chime to create all kinds of solutions. K-12 education, for example, needed video for remote education.  Chime obliged, and did so with simple hardware requirements for end users. Blackboard presented its success story at reInvent 2021. As for the original Chime app, it's been getting better thanks to new capabilities of the Chime SDK. The Chime app isn't particular popular,, nor marketed. It does well within Amazon, both as an internal meeting and chat app and with many of AWS's large customers. 

Shame , the beginning of wealth?Money consciousness and education a path of enlightenment?The power of someone believing in yourself.Did you know that Money is looking for you ?Did you know that How you do Money is how you do life ?That Joy is the compounding effect of abundance?The neuroscience of money, and last but not leastDid you know money is an act of self respect and love?Kim Curtis is a nationally recognized wealth management advisor, speaker, president, and CEO of Wealth Legacy Institute. She is proud to have created a firm where she can truly put her clients first, bringing the alignment she needs to feel true joy in her work. For Kim, how you deal with money says a lot about how you deal with life, and she's passionate about helping her clients find a balance.Kim is a bestselling author of Money Secrets: Keys to Smart Investing, published by Financial Literacy Press. Kim has spoken on leadership, negotiations, and finance to organizations such as West Point, Oracle, EPA, University of Colorado Hospital, Comcast, Level 3, CenturyLink, OtterBox, Johnson & Johnson, and AAUW, amongst others. She has been profiled on NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, CW, and The Wall Street Journal.If you want to learn more about Kim, we invite you to visit her social media:- Website: https://www.wealthlegacyinstitute.com/- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WealthLegacyInstitute- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/happinessdoesntretire/Visit https://delaflorteachings.com/faith to receive the “21 Days of Faith in Action Course” as our gift to you.Podcast sponsored by Delaflor Teachings International and produced by Asynd Media.

How soon is too soon for Christmas? Will Century Link ever do their job and get Stephen's internet back up? Is Anthony a confused, heartbroken mess? Yes. But, let's have fun anyway! In this one, we do our best to roll with some absurd technical issues, thanks to the One-Two punch of Hurricane Ian and Century Link, and avoid talking about the elephant on Anthony's chest for another week. We discuss the ongoing battle between Christmas People and Halloween People, share an awesome indie comic that is currently on Kickstarter, and celebrate some small victories! Thank you all for hanging out with us and giving our show a chance! It's definitely going to be a weird time for a while, but we've had dark eras before, and we know that we'll get through it. Thank you for being here and being a part of this colony.

Owner of Blaze Cuts, Chris Blaze, joined the show to share some of his story. He detailed growing up as the only male (youngest child) in his family, being spoiled, becoming a sneaker head, his short stint in college, two homecoming queens (one black, one white) at his high school, how he ended up in the military, retiring from Century Link, taking over the shop, J. Prince getting his haircut and not tipping, plus much more. MooreSubstance@gmail.com

Hey everyone! We're back with another in-person conversation where we cover our absolutely hatred of one particular internet provider, Anthony's decision to skip an important part of the printing process, the many accomplishments of the month despite everything, and more hatred of that particular internet provider. It's Century Link. We hate them, until our demands our met! I'm not sure how I feel about starting with a cold open, but it's kind of fun to switch it up occasionally! Thank you so much for showing up for us throughout all of this, your support truly means everything! Please remember to subscribe to the channel if you haven't already, we are so close to our goal and every single subscriber helps! You can find Critically Stupid, the D&D podcast featuring Anthony: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCD1soKjcW9BxFwEiNeqoD8w Support us and get bonus episodes and more at Patreon!: https://www.patreon.com/wehaveissuespodcast Read Play It Again: https://www.amazon.com/Play-Again-Anthony-LaFauci-ebook/dp/B09JM45VYP/ You can find us: https://www.facebook.com/groups/wehaveissuespodcast https://www.twitter.com/wehaveissuespod https://www.twitter.com/anthonylafauci https://www.twitter.com/steviewildcard

Triangle Telephone Cooperative (TTC) is a company owned by its members. The cooperative was incorporated on March 24, 1953 in Havre, Montana by rural residents of Central Montana. In 1994, TTC purchased 13 exchanges from US West (now CenturyLink) and […]

In this unusual Nomad Futurist podcast, Nabeel and Phil chat with Rob Shanahan whose phenomenal journey as a rock and roll photographer, drummer, and keynote speaker shines a light on the importance of being oneself, having an open heart, and fearlessly connecting with others in the pursuit of one's dreams. Shanahan grew up in Minnesota where he got his first drum kit at age 10 and his first camera at age 13.After obtaining a degree in accounting and finance, he decided to go for broke and loaded up a van with his drums and photography equipment and headed for LA in the late 80s. He hit the ground running doing headshots for musicians, actors, and real estate agents. Many become friends who opened doors. This included an introduction to Paiste Cymbals, where he was invited to photograph a huge roster of drummers. He considered this “a golden ticket,” allowing him to shoot A-List drummers like Alex Van Halen, Stewart Copeland, and Sheila E. One thing led to another. Sheila E. had been on the road with Ringo Starr and introduced Shanahan who was invited to join the tour as a photographer. “…. his publicist called and said, Ringo wants to know if you want to jump on tour and start doing photos. Of course, you don't check your schedule. You say yes!” . Shanahan ultimately became Ringo's personal photographer. Ringo wrote the foreword for Shanahan's first book of photography, VOLUME 1 which highlights many rock legends. In addition to his technical prowess, Shanahan, who is a humble fan and great listener, has the rare ability to make his subjects feel comfortable and capture the essence of a personality.  “I'm very open. I love people. I love photographing people. I love connecting with people.” Some of Shanahan's music connections led him to the technology world. He was introduced to a VP at CenturyLink who was so captivated by his story that he was asked to deliver a keynote presentation for the company. “…It was a life changing moment…. telling the story on stage, sharing the rock and roll photos and bringing people along on the ride was extremely rewarding!” The talk was such a success that Shanahan has become a sought-after speaker in the tech space. Audiences are inspired by his extraordinary stories and passion, coupled with his positivity and humility.  Nurturing his own positivity has been a lifelong practice. “30 years ago, I took it upon myself to make health and fitness one of the top priorities of my life…I cut all the negative stuff out.” His advice to the young: “Be yourself. Stay true to your heart. Find your passion.” His parting words for those who are further along in their journeys: “Never look back. The past has happened. You can't change it. You can't alter it. Everything is forward…moving forward.” Rob Shanahan's photographs have appeared in numerous international ad campaigns, galleries, records, books, and magazines around the globe. He is also embracing his new gig as a keynote speaker, getting rave reviews, and looking forward to many more events.     VOLUME 1 is his first published collection of music photographs, with foreword by Ringo Starr. This acclaimed collection is a who's who of music icons and is sure to please both photography and music fans alike, with 100% 5-Star reviews across all platforms.    Shanahan has also appeared nationwide on many TV and radio shows and has been a guest on dozens of podcasts. He also produced and hosted a podcast series for Guitar Center Foundation, and for 8x8 in the IP tech industry.  ​  Since 1993, Shanahan has been drumming with the Hollywood Stones, the premier Rolling Stones tribute band. His sensitivities as a musician have made him the first call photographer for many of the world's top artists.    He lives in Venice, California, with his wife, daughter, and two cool Bengal...

Kim Curtis is a nationally recognized wealth management advisor and speaker.After Kim's parents got divorced, Kim's mom was left in a tough situation which necessitated that Kim got subsidized school lunches. Imagine the shame of being a young girl having to slip the cafeteria aid the red ticket which indicated that her family didn't have the money.We talk about how she went from this, to then getting student loans for law school, and promptly defaulted on them. Of course, her upbringing would lead her to not know how to manage her money. She was checked out, overwhelmed, and didn't know what to do.But miraculously, an anonymous donor paid a $1000 payment on her loan account, and that was the sign that Kim needed. Her gift made Kim stop and realize the untrue story she had been telling herself—that money was scarce, and she didn't deserve it.Thanks to that gift, Kim became conscious of her internal money talk and began to take her desire for money and the anxiety that surrounded it more seriously. Slowly, she began to believe in her ability to earn and manage money, and, in the process, the fear, anxiety, inaction, blame, and guilt she had around money slowly evaporated. She realized that she was being supported and endeavored to get right with her life and her money story. She first went to law school, then moved into the world of financial planning.She then had an epiphany moment where she saw that many in this industry are just 'sales people' for the products they are selling instead of being a fiduciary for the clients they are helping. That disconnect lead her to quit her job and then start her own firm.We talk about money being connected to lifestyle and impact. We also talk about her journey and how she got into alignment after feeling so disconnect with the work.Kim Curtis is a nationally recognized wealth management advisor and speaker. As President and CEO of Wealth Legacy Institute, her groundbreaking work in developing a highly personal client-centric planning model was recognized in the Journal of Practical Estate Planning, winning the Editor's Choice award. This model is the cornerstone of her firm's holistic and highly successful approach to integrated wealth management, The Planning for LIFE Experience-.Kim has attained numerous professional designations and been recognized by the financial planning industry as having achieved the highest level of competence and expertise. Kim is a bestselling author of Money Secrets: Keys to Smart Investing, published by Financial Literacy Press. Kim has spoken on leadership, negotiations, and finance to organizations such as West Point, Oracle, EPA, University of Colorado Hospital, Comcast, Level 3, CenturyLink, OtterBox, Johnson & Johnson, AAUW, amongst others. She has been profiled on NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, CW, and the Wall Street Journal.Get in touch with Kim Curtis to learn how you can live the retirement life that you imagine >> https://www.wealthlegacyinstitute.com/FREE Gift: Retirement Secrets WorkbookThis 90+ page workbook will help you create a plan to live a happier, healthier, and more purposeful life in retirement>> https://financialliteracypress.com Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode the guys talk birds and which kind they would prefer straight from a listener question, Listeners can submit questions at rookntidas,com

Gadget planned obsolescence and e-waste, apps for writing books, how to play PC games on Mac, streaming home movies to friends and family, problems connecting modems to routers, customizable keyboards on Android, 2023 solar eclipse in the US, smart speaker recommendations, and more of your calls. Plus, conversations with Sam Abuelsamid about EV tax credits, Chris Marquardt on OpenAI's DALL·E 2, and Rod Pyle with NASA's Haughton-Mars Project. Citing danger of 'ink spills' Epson programs end of life for some printers Electronics are built with death dates. Let's not keep them a secret. Bill Gates: We're on the Verge of a Remarkable Moment for Congress and the Country French Scientist's Photo of 'Distant Star' Was Actually Chorizo How to play Stray and other PC games on Mac Sam Abuelsamid talks about EV tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act  Microsoft Word alternatives for writing books and novels 'Cancel Culture' and social media How to stream and share home videos Chris Marquardt shows off OpenAI's DALL·E 2, an AI system that can create realistic images and art from a description in natural language. Problems connecting CenturyLink fiber modem to a home router Android keyboard apps and custom keyboard layouts 2023's solar eclipse in the United States Rod Pyle calls in from the Arctic Circle to talk about NASA's Haughton-Mars Project Smart speaker suggestions for the home theater Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Sam Abuelsamid, Chris Marquardt, and Rod Pyle Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit Show notes and links for this episode are available at: https://twit.tv/shows/the-tech-guy/episodes/1916 Download or subscribe to this show at: https://twit.tv/shows/the-tech-guy Sponsor: itpro.tv/twit promo code TWIT30

Gadget planned obsolescence and e-waste, apps for writing books, how to play PC games on Mac, streaming home movies to friends and family, problems connecting modems to routers, customizable keyboards on Android, 2023 solar eclipse in the US, smart speaker recommendations, and more of your calls. Plus, conversations with Sam Abuelsamid about EV tax credits, Chris Marquardt on OpenAI's DALL·E 2, and Rod Pyle with NASA's Haughton-Mars Project. Citing danger of 'ink spills' Epson programs end of life for some printers Electronics are built with death dates. Let's not keep them a secret. Bill Gates: We're on the Verge of a Remarkable Moment for Congress and the Country French Scientist's Photo of 'Distant Star' Was Actually Chorizo How to play Stray and other PC games on Mac Sam Abuelsamid talks about EV tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act  Microsoft Word alternatives for writing books and novels 'Cancel Culture' and social media How to stream and share home videos Chris Marquardt shows off OpenAI's DALL·E 2, an AI system that can create realistic images and art from a description in natural language. Problems connecting CenturyLink fiber modem to a home router Android keyboard apps and custom keyboard layouts 2023's solar eclipse in the United States Rod Pyle calls in from the Arctic Circle to talk about NASA's Haughton-Mars Project Smart speaker suggestions for the home theater Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Sam Abuelsamid, Chris Marquardt, and Rod Pyle Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit Show notes and links for this episode are available at: https://twit.tv/shows/the-tech-guy/episodes/1916 Download or subscribe to this show at: https://twit.tv/shows/all-twittv-shows Sponsor: itpro.tv/twit promo code TWIT30

Gadget planned obsolescence and e-waste, apps for writing books, how to play PC games on Mac, streaming home movies to friends and family, problems connecting modems to routers, customizable keyboards on Android, 2023 solar eclipse in the US, smart speaker recommendations, and more of your calls. Plus, conversations with Sam Abuelsamid about EV tax credits, Chris Marquardt on OpenAI's DALL·E 2, and Rod Pyle with NASA's Haughton-Mars Project. Citing danger of 'ink spills' Epson programs end of life for some printers Electronics are built with death dates. Let's not keep them a secret. Bill Gates: We're on the Verge of a Remarkable Moment for Congress and the Country French Scientist's Photo of 'Distant Star' Was Actually Chorizo How to play Stray and other PC games on Mac Sam Abuelsamid talks about EV tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act  Microsoft Word alternatives for writing books and novels 'Cancel Culture' and social media How to stream and share home videos Chris Marquardt shows off OpenAI's DALL·E 2, an AI system that can create realistic images and art from a description in natural language. Problems connecting CenturyLink fiber modem to a home router Android keyboard apps and custom keyboard layouts 2023's solar eclipse in the United States Rod Pyle calls in from the Arctic Circle to talk about NASA's Haughton-Mars Project Smart speaker suggestions for the home theater Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Sam Abuelsamid, Chris Marquardt, and Rod Pyle Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit Show notes and links for this episode are available at: https://twit.tv/shows/the-tech-guy/episodes/1916 Download or subscribe to this show at: https://twit.tv/shows/total-leo Sponsor: itpro.tv/twit promo code TWIT30

Gadget planned obsolescence and e-waste, apps for writing books, how to play PC games on Mac, streaming home movies to friends and family, problems connecting modems to routers, customizable keyboards on Android, 2023 solar eclipse in the US, smart speaker recommendations, and more of your calls. Plus, conversations with Sam Abuelsamid about EV tax credits, Chris Marquardt on OpenAI's DALL·E 2, and Rod Pyle with NASA's Haughton-Mars Project. Citing danger of 'ink spills' Epson programs end of life for some printers Electronics are built with death dates. Let's not keep them a secret. Bill Gates: We're on the Verge of a Remarkable Moment for Congress and the Country French Scientist's Photo of 'Distant Star' Was Actually Chorizo How to play Stray and other PC games on Mac Sam Abuelsamid talks about EV tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act  Microsoft Word alternatives for writing books and novels 'Cancel Culture' and social media How to stream and share home videos Chris Marquardt shows off OpenAI's DALL·E 2, an AI system that can create realistic images and art from a description in natural language. Problems connecting CenturyLink fiber modem to a home router Android keyboard apps and custom keyboard layouts 2023's solar eclipse in the United States Rod Pyle calls in from the Arctic Circle to talk about NASA's Haughton-Mars Project Smart speaker suggestions for the home theater Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Sam Abuelsamid, Chris Marquardt, and Rod Pyle Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit Show notes and links for this episode are available at: https://twit.tv/shows/the-tech-guy/episodes/1916 Download or subscribe to this show at: https://twit.tv/shows/the-tech-guy Sponsor: itpro.tv/twit promo code TWIT30

Gadget planned obsolescence and e-waste, apps for writing books, how to play PC games on Mac, streaming home movies to friends and family, problems connecting modems to routers, customizable keyboards on Android, 2023 solar eclipse in the US, smart speaker recommendations, and more of your calls. Plus, conversations with Sam Abuelsamid about EV tax credits, Chris Marquardt on OpenAI's DALL·E 2, and Rod Pyle with NASA's Haughton-Mars Project. Citing danger of 'ink spills' Epson programs end of life for some printers Electronics are built with death dates. Let's not keep them a secret. Bill Gates: We're on the Verge of a Remarkable Moment for Congress and the Country French Scientist's Photo of 'Distant Star' Was Actually Chorizo How to play Stray and other PC games on Mac Sam Abuelsamid talks about EV tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act  Microsoft Word alternatives for writing books and novels 'Cancel Culture' and social media How to stream and share home videos Chris Marquardt shows off OpenAI's DALL·E 2, an AI system that can create realistic images and art from a description in natural language. Problems connecting CenturyLink fiber modem to a home router Android keyboard apps and custom keyboard layouts 2023's solar eclipse in the United States Rod Pyle calls in from the Arctic Circle to talk about NASA's Haughton-Mars Project Smart speaker suggestions for the home theater Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Sam Abuelsamid, Chris Marquardt, and Rod Pyle Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit Show notes and links for this episode are available at: https://twit.tv/shows/the-tech-guy/episodes/1916 Download or subscribe to this show at: https://twit.tv/shows/all-twittv-shows Sponsor: itpro.tv/twit promo code TWIT30

This week, Roger interviews Kim Curtis, President and CEO of Wealth Legacy Institute and author of Amazon best seller, ‘Money Secrets: Keys to Smart Investing'. Kim is highly regarded in the financial planning industry and was recognized by the Journal of Practical Estate Planning. They talk about what wealth management entails and the role wealth managers as well as accountants play in planning the financial aspect of their clients lives and getting them ready for retirement. They also discuss ‘The Law of 72' and having a healthy relationship with money among many other topics. Your Host: Roger Knecht, president of Universal Accounting Center Guest Name: Kim Curtis Kim Curtis is a nationally recognized wealth management advisor and speaker. As President and CEO of Wealth Legacy Institute, her groundbreaking work in developing a highly personal client-centric planning model was recognized in the Journal of Practical Estate Planning, winning the Editor's Choice award. This model is the cornerstone of her firm's holistic and highly successful approach to integrated wealth management, The Planning for LIFE Experience™. Kim has attained numerous professional designations and been recognized by the financial planning industry as having achieved the highest level of competence and expertise. Kim is a bestselling author of Money Secrets: Keys to Smart Investing, published by Financial Literacy Press. Kim has spoken on leadership, negotiations, and finance to organizations such as West Point, Oracle, EPA, University of Colorado Hospital, Comcast, Level 3, CenturyLink, OtterBox, Johnson & Johnson, AAUW, amongst others. She has been profiled on NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, CW, and the Wall Street Journal. Sponsors: Universal Accounting Center Helping accounting professionals confidently and competently offer quality accounting services to get paid what they are worth.   Offers: Click on the following links to get offers Retirement Secrets: Keys to Retiring Happy, Healthy & Free Money Secrets: Keys to Smart Investing Aging Parents Checklist   Get a FREE copy of these booksall accounting professionals should use to work on their business and become profitable.  This is a must-have addition to every accountant's library to provide quality CFO & Advisory services as a Profit & Growth Expert today: “in the BLACK, nine principles to make your business profitable” – e-book “Red to BLACK in 30 days – A small business accountant's guide to QUICK turnarounds” – the how-to-guide e-book for accounting professionals For Additional FREE Resources for accounting professionals check out this collection HERE!   Be sure to join us for GrowCon, the LIVE event for accounting professionals to work ON their business. This is a conference you don't want to miss.   Remember this, Accounting Success IS Universal. Listen to our next episode and be sure to subscribe.   Also, let us know what you think of the podcast and please share any suggestions you may have.  We look forward to your input: Podcast Feedback   For more information on how you can apply these principles in your business please visit us at www.universalaccountingschool.com or call us at 801.265.3777

Today's guest, Lucas Carlson, was CEO of AppFog, and now works as CTO of LEADx. He's had plenty of experience building up companies and even seeing them through to acquisition. Today, he dives into some fascinating topics, including what happens when large companies ghost small startups during the acquisition process. He says it's not something that makes the headlines, but it's something that happens all too often. Building Other People's Dreams Lucas has been a computer programmer since he was in middle school in 1996. He can still remember writing his first HTML website and getting hooked. Lucas continued to build websites through high school, and he knew then it was what he wanted to do. Wanting to broaden his horizons, Lucas went to college for physics. After that, he went right back to computers, building startups for other people. People would come to him with their ideas, and he would take the idea through the early stages, sometimes all the way through to an exit. One project he worked on, Measure Map, was later bought by Google. Another success was Mog, a music streaming service. Lucas helped to grow that from an idea to millions of users. He says it was exciting, taking something from inception to mass adoption. Shortly after Lucas left, the company was sold to Beats. Left In A Lurch The story leading up to the sale of AppFog to CenturyLink has never been told publicly before, but Lucas thinks it holds a valuable lesson. Lucas was able to raise $10million for AppFog, but as they grew rapidly, so did their need for more funds. Unfortunately, just as they went out to raise more capital, the market had just dried up. Lucas decided instead to reach out to strategic partners and ask them if they'd like to invest. People were very excited to get involved. Things were going great until one company said, why don't we just acquire you. Lucas brought the idea to his board, who said he should go for it. When Lucas asked if they should get an investment banker involved and shop around, the board told him he should just take the deal. Looking back, Lucas wishes he would've pushed the idea more. Anyway, everything had been agreed on, and everything was in order, but just weeks before closing, the acquiring company ghosted Lucas. When he finally got through to them, they said they didn't hit their earnings and that their stock had fallen 25%, and they weren't in a position to go through with the deal. This left Lucas between a rock and a hard place, almost having to close down his company. Lucas ended up laying off staff and hiring an investment banker. This is when they came across CenturyLink and a deal was made. What Lucas Is Working On Now Lucas is right back where he belongs, as a CTO. He says he feels most comfortable handling the tech side, while someone else handles the business side. He's co-founded LEADx, an AI-powered coaching platform. To check it out, visit www.leadx.org. If you'd like to hear more of Lucas's story, he's written several books, including Finding success In Failure. -- The Exit—Presented By Flippa: A 30-minute podcast featuring expert entrepreneurs who have been there and done it. The Exit talks to operators who have bought and sold a business. You'll learn how they did it, why they did it, and get exposure to the world of exits, a world occupied by a small few, but accessible to many. To listen to the podcast or get daily listing updates, click on flippa.com/the-exit-podcast/

HIGHLIGHTSThe role of a Product OwnerLeadership factor in Product OwnershipDifference of Product Ownership and Product ManagementThe setup in Pivotal and CenturylinkThe importance of updating versions and modelsThe leadership style needed in Product OwnershipBuilding a relationship with the teamHow to build relationships with the engineering teamManaging and sourcing backlog itemsBest practices for decomposing and refining backlogsBest practices for continuous improvementBest approach for prioritizationBest practices for product life cycleRichard's advice to new product ownersQUOTESRichard: "Because look, if it wasn't for agile, I don't think you need the idea of a product owner, if we were shipping every three years. Those were the old days, I was in those projects, those big waterfall projects where you did requirements for nine months, it coded for a few months, and you did a bunch of integration testing for twice as long.”Vivek: “It's a very demanding job. It's a really rewarding job in a minute, you know, you have to be technical. There's a lot of elements of leadership, prioritization, which is so important.”Richard: "A product owner needs to still be sitting there, readily talking to customers, readily talking to your internal teams, they care about your product, and regularly talking to engineers.”Richard: "There's gonna be different paradigms. I think the important thing is who's going to make sure that you don't add a lot of friction between; what are we trying to accomplish? And how does that get broken into work that engineers can work on? As long as you don't add friction to that and mess up that process I don't care what you call people.”Richard: "And so as a product owner, product manager, I have to be really good at identifying good data sources, adding telemetry to code, and knowing how to find some signal in the noise, because I can just get drowned in data points.”Richard: “A good product owner leads through influence. They don't have direct authority. They don't have a management staff of people, the engineers don't report to them. No, but you are leading, often by showing that you have their back.”Richard: “I learned quickly, especially with a few folks who were a little more grouchy, that I have to prove I've done the work first.”Richard: “If you want a good relationship with engineers, show you care about their thing, and genuinely.”Richard: “Yeah, I mean, arguably, some of the best parts of DevOps of Agile have these ideas that you should first of all be hiring people who are never satisfied and not in the sort of like, they're psycho. So we're just always mad about stuff. But like you people who don't just settle in go and like, good enough and good enough.”Richard: “Sometimes your priority is stabilizing it, sometimes your priority is growing something else. Sometimes your priority is maybe just finding a new market. So I think that's the awesome, fun part of this job is that there's no single sort of Product Strategy for each person. But you have to stop, observe your landscape, talk to stakeholders, understand your corporate priorities, and then reflect that in your backlog.”Richard: “But you know, hey, look, a good product owner says no, a lot. A good product owner does not say yes, all the time. That is a bad product owner, right? Because you should be saying no, you should be retiring features, retiring products when necessary. So first half, you have to think of the end sometimes.”Richard: “ Are you a learner? Are you someone who's going to come in here and invest in the relationship, you're not gonna, you're gonna have some courage, and you're gonna have an opinion. And I want to hear your point of view. And you're not just a yes person who comes in and says yes to everybody, or, you know, you're going to come in with an opinion, you're going to be observant, you're going to listen.”Learn more about Laxmi in the link below:Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seroter/Twitter: @rseroterWebsite:  https://www.seroter.com

On this episode of Building Local Power, host Jess Del Fiacco is joined by Ry Marcattilio-McCracken and Sean Gonsalves, Senior Researchers with ILSR's Community Broadband initiative, as well as Christopher Ali, an Associate Professor in the Department of Media Studies at the University of Virginia. Christopher discusses his new book Farm Fresh Broadband: The Politics of Rural Connectivity and recent news in the broadband policy space. Highlights of the conversation include: The communities Christopher visited while writing his book, and some of the local success stories he heard. Why the concept of “rural” deserves a more nuanced definition than it is usually afforded. How high quality, affordable broadband access can revitalize rural economic development in direct and indirect ways. Where (and why) federal efforts to improve rural broadband infrastructure have fallen short, and how local solutions have shown the way forward. “Cooperatives to me are the unsung heroes of broadband, particularly in rural communities. They operate… on a different mindset, because they are not driven by quarterly profit returns to investors and shareholders. They can take a much longer view in terms of return on investment. I also think that because they're local, the accountability is different. I mean, when you run into folks in the grocery store or walking your dog down the street, that level of accountability, when someone says, ‘Hey, why don't I have broadband yet?' Or ‘Why has my Internet been out for two days?' Or ‘Why is my bill so high?' That level of accountability is so different that you don't see with Comcast or Charter, or Verizon, AT&T, Century Link. I mean, that's accountability from afar. This local accountability, and community service mindset of the cooperative, has been so important. And I think this is why we're seeing so many… electric cooperatives move into broadband, willing to take that long-term return on investment.”   Related Resources Farm Fresh Broadband by Christopher Ali Broadband Infrastructure Bill: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly by Sean Gonsalves Transcript Jess Del Fiacco: Hello, and welcome to Building Local Power, a podcast dedicated to thought provoking conversations about how we can challenge corporate monopolies and expand the power of people to shape their own future. I'm Jess Del Fiacco, the host of Building Local Power, and communications manager here at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. For more than 45 years, ILSR has worked to build thriving, equitable communities where power, wealth, and accountability remain in local hands. And hello, today I am joined by my colleagues, Ry Marcattilio-McCracken, and Sean Gonsalves who are senior researchers with LSR's community broadband team. Welcome to the show guys. Sean Gonsalves: Thanks for having us. Ry Marcattilio-…: Thanks Jess, good to be here. Jess Del Fiacco: And Sean has been on the show before, but Ry is this your Building Local Power debut? Ry Marcattilio-…: It is, yep. Jess Del Fiacco: Very exciting. All right. That means we have to haze you just a little bit. And we are joined by Christopher Ali, who is an associate professor in the department of media studies at the university of Virginia. Welcome to the show, Chris. Christopher Ali: Thank you so much. Great to be here. Jess Del Fiacco: Listeners might remember you from an episode you were on earlier this year, where we did mention that you would have a book coming out in a little while, and the book is now here, it's called Farm Fresh Broadband: The Politics of Rural Connectivity, which is very exciting. And I think we can just start there. So do you want to talk a little bit about the writing process for this book? How did you approach doing the research for it? Who did you talk to? Christopher Ali: Yeah, so this is a book about five years in the making. And when I started it, I mean, I think everyone on this podcast and probably all of the listeners know that when you...