Podcasts about companies

Another call with Peter Wilson discussing Homelessness, Parking fines, phone tracking, AI and lots more Join my PodFather Podcast Coaching Community https://www.skool.com/podfather/about Start Your Own SKOOL Communityhttps://www.skool.com/signup?ref=c72a37fe832f49c584d7984db9e54b71  #commonlaw #natural law #sovereignity About my Guest:Ex Royal Navy gunner and armourer, turned professional fighter. Owned and ran own martial arts gym for about 30 years. Always been aware of something not being right in the world, went deep into it after losing over £1million of property in 1 week including own home. So been up and been down even living in a car for a while with his wife Janine and 4 dogs. ---Awakening Podcast Social Media / Coaching My Other Podcasts  ⁠⁠⁠https://roycoughlan.com/⁠⁠------------------What we Discussed: 00:00 Introduction01:40 Update from his Trips06:00 The homelessness in the USA08:50 The homelessness is Planned11:20 Getting stuck in Dublin for 1 week12:25 Not allowing the Homelessness to sleep14:17 The Banks are becoming Landlords keeping properties they repossess 16:00 Margaret Thatcher the Baby Milk Snatcher 17:05 The Irish Presidental Elections18:25 Voting & Protests rarely work20:45 Requesting your Data from Supermarkets24:15 Not all companies protect their AI25:30 Ai can be used for advancemen t28:00 To run Ai effectively29:10 They Built their own Ai to not lie30:30 The Ai keeps prompting you to keep you engaged37:00 A hidden Agenda with Ai39:45 The plan for his App43:15 Relevant or Non Relevant Land50:40 Road Traffic Act an Tring to Read a Public Parking Sign55:30 Some Common Law or Sovereign Groups are not helping people59:30 Spraying Toxins on some flights1:02:05 I am already part of the Digital ID1:03:15 Locals in China did not know about Credit Score1:04:12 American in Russia saying how nice it was1:08:00 Wearing a Private and Public Hat1:09:00 All Crypto Exchanges ask for lots of details to get you validated1:12:25 When you get out of the System they stop you opening a Bank account.1:15:40 Phones tracking when switched off1:18:00 Take the Sovereignity responsibilty yourself1:20:55 Not knowing anyone where the Council Stopped chasing Council Tax1:23:05 Changing the Gas or Electricity Meter1:29:30 Be a few moves ahead of the debtors1:36:00 Companies that spam constant e-mails 1:38:20 How I got Spammers to StopHow to Contact Peter:  https://www.skool.com/check-mate-the-matrix-2832/about?ref=f30a0a71fea743aa8f9b8fb632d6129c https://www.claimyourstrawman.com/ https://linktr.ee/PeterWilsonReturnToDemocracy ------------------------------More about the Awakening Podcast:All Episodes can be found at www.awakeningpodcast.orgAwakening Podcast Social Media / Coaching My Other Podcasts  ⁠⁠⁠https://roycoughlan.com/⁠⁠ Our Facebook Group can be found at https://www.facebook.com/royawakening #checkmatethematrix #ucc #peterwilson #unions #parkingfines

Software companies are in trouble. Or at least their stocks are. Salesforce is down 25%, and Intuit is down 31%, after startup Anthropic released a new tool sparking fear among investors that software companies are in danger of becoming obsolete. We'll learn more. Then, all kinds of cryptocurrencies are cratering in value, and we'll hear what it's like to be a small business in an anemic job market.

Software companies are in trouble. Or at least their stocks are. Salesforce is down 25%, and Intuit is down 31%, after startup Anthropic released a new tool sparking fear among investors that software companies are in danger of becoming obsolete. We'll learn more. Then, all kinds of cryptocurrencies are cratering in value, and we'll hear what it's like to be a small business in an anemic job market.

#thePOZcast is proudly brought to you by Fountain - the leading enterprise platform for workforce management. Our platform enables companies to support their frontline workers from job application to departure. Fountain elevates the hiring, management, and retention of frontline workers at scale.To learn more, please visit: https://www.fountain.com/?utm_source=shrm-2024&utm_medium=event&utm_campaign=shrm-2024-podcast-adam-posner.Thanks for listening, and please follow us on Insta @NHPTalent and www.youtube.com/thePOZcastFor all episodes, please check out www.thePOZcast.com  Takeaways- Jason Walker's journey into HR was influenced by his dyslexia and strong people skills.- Empathy is crucial in HR, especially for those who have faced challenges.- AI has disrupted traditional job searching methods, making networking more important.- Job seekers need to adopt a warrior mentality to compete in the current market.- Companies are hesitant to hire due to uncertainty about future needs.- AI tools can help streamline hiring processes but may lead to a competitive environment.- Job hugging reflects employees' fears of job security and market instability.- Hybrid work models present challenges for employee engagement and development.- HR leaders must focus on maintaining culture and employee appreciation during tough times.- Fractional HR services provide cost-effective solutions for companies needing specialized support. Chapters00:00 Introduction to Jason Walker and ThriveHR Consulting02:32 Jason's Journey into HR and Empathy Development05:01 The Changing Talent Landscape and AI's Impact11:14 The AI War: Job Seekers vs Employers12:18 Positive Uses of AI in Hiring Processes18:45 Understanding Job Hugging in Today's Market20:47 The Hybrid Work Model: Pros and Cons23:42 Culture, Burnout, and Compliance Risks in HR27:02 Practical AI Adoption in HR32:37 Fractional HR: A Growing Demand37:47 Actionable Advice for Job Seekers40:42 Optimism in the HR Landscape  

How do you sleep warm in different situations? Is it better to eat the cost of a hotel, or should you just sleep in the back of your vehicle? Companies are now sponsoring thru-hikes of the major long trails. How can you get sponsored? And do we really live on stolen land?Head over to Outdoor Vitals and join the OV 100 Mile Challenge: https://alnk.to/bPg5BoQ

Creative approval workflows create bottlenecks that slow teams down. Christine Royston, CMO at Wrike, explains how AI-powered orchestration eliminates manual handoffs in marketing operations. Her team automated approval routing with role-based permissions and built integrated review systems that keep all feedback centralized within their workflow management platform.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Pepsi is slashing prices for some of its most popular brands, some by 15%. The company said it has spent the past year listening to consumer feedback. Nah. What happened is always what happens in this economy and why there is no breakout inflation. Companies that do raise prices end up sacrificing volumes because their customers can't afford to pay more. Eurodollar University's Money & Macro Analysis----------------------------------------------------------------Eurodollar University LIVE — February 2026, President's Day WeekendSmall group. Intimate setting. Direct access to experts you won't get anywhere else. Only a few VIP slots remain.Sign up here: https://eurodollar-university.com/event-home-page----------------------------------------------------------------PepsiCo to cut prices of Lay's, Doritos as consumers push backhttps://www.reuters.com/sustainability/sustainable-finance-reporting/pepsico-tops-quarterly-revenue-estimates-resilient-demand-sodas-2026-02-03/After Years of Increases, PepsiCo Pledges to Cut Prices on Snackshttps://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/03/business/pepsi-doritos-cheetos-prices.htmlhttps://www.eurodollar.universityTwitter: https://twitter.com/JeffSnider_EDU

Feb 5, 2026: Are software vendors in trouble? Why are employees suddenly complying with return-to-office mandates? And what happens when leaders are afraid to ask their own teams for feedback? In today's episode of Future-Ready Today, we unpack five stories that together reveal a major reset happening inside organizations: Why Workday is cutting jobs — and what falling enterprise software stocks (including ServiceNow) signal about how AI is disrupting traditional SaaS business models. New data showing workers backing down on return-to-office demands as employers reclaim leverage. A leadership study revealing that senior executives want feedback — but fear appearing weak if they ask. Layoffs surging to the highest January level since 2009, driven in part by restructuring at UPS following shifts in volume from Amazon. And research from Bain & Company showing a massive disconnect between leaders who think change is working and employees who say it isn't.  

Jake Hall is back on Content Marketing Engineered for a deep dive into what actually works on LinkedIn for industrial brands. We break down best practices for approaching LinkedIn not just as a company page, but through your spokespeople and employees, too. We also dig into the evolving role of influencers in the marketing mix and what it really takes to build successful, authentic influencer partnerships in manufacturing and engineering.  In this episode, Jake Hall, aka the Manufacturing Millennial discusses the evolving landscape of content marketing, particularly focusing on the importance of LinkedIn as a platform for authentic engagement. He shares insights on effective content creation strategies, the role of influencers in the industrial sector, and the necessity of maintaining authenticity in a world increasingly dominated by AI-generated content. The conversation emphasizes the need for marketers to adapt their strategies to foster genuine connections with their audience while leveraging the unique advantages of social media platforms.Key TakeawaysLinkedIn is still a powerful platform for industrial marketing in 2026.Authenticity is crucial in content creation.Engagement is more important than clicks.Influencers can help brands reach new audiences.Posting consistently builds trust with your audience.AI should be a tool, not the core of your strategy.Content should tell a story and address real problems.Influencer marketing is evolving and should be embraced an another marketing tool.Companies need to empower employees to share authentic content.ResourcesConnect with Jake on LinkedInConnect with Wendy on LinkedInLearn more about the Manufacturing MillenialRelated Episode: Trade Show Tips with Jake HallRelated Episode: 2026 Marketing Trends: The Power of a Strong Differentiated StrategyRegister for the Industrial Marketing Summit

In this special episode of the Experience Strategy Podcast, Joe Pine shares with Dave and Aransas background about the book!  To celebrate the release of his new book, The Transformation Economy. The conversation traces the book's origins from the final two chapters of The Experience Economy, explores why the world is finally ready for this idea, and unpacks key frameworks — including encapsulation (preparation, reflection, and integration) — that make experiences truly transformative. The trio also discusses the role of AI in enabling transformation, why businesses must foster human flourishing, and who stands to benefit most from reading the book. Key Topics Why now for The Transformation Economy? Joe waited over 25 years because "the world wasn't ready" and he "didn't know enough." Research through Stone Mantle's collaboratives, the World Experience Organization, and post-COVID shifts toward meaningful experiences signaled the time had come. Catalysts for transformation. The most prevalent catalyst is trauma — illness, loss, job changes, retirement. These disruptions create the conditions where people seek to see, do, and be differently. The four spheres of human flourishing: Health & well-being Wealth & prosperity Knowledge & wisdom Purpose & meaning Encapsulation — the essential framework (Chapter 4): To turn a memorable experience into a transformative one, you need three layers around the core experience: preparation (priming beforehand), reflection (making meaning afterward — which retroactively increases the value of the experience), and integration (sustaining change over time). The business model problem. Most companies get paid for the event, not the outcome. Shifting to outcome-based pricing — as McKinsey is doing with AI projects — aligns incentives with lasting transformation. AI as a transformation enabler. AI makes the hardest parts of delivering transformation (especially ongoing integration and support) dramatically more accessible and affordable. Who Should Read This Book? Companies in education, finance, health, and well-being Any business focused on improving the lives of families and individuals The creator economy — creators already doing transformation work who need frameworks to do it well and realize its full value Notable Quotes "The entire raison d'être of business is to foster human flourishing." — Joe Pine "Reflection retroactively increases the value of the experience." — Joe Pine "If you don't do it, it's just lazy." — Aransas Savas, on using available technology to encapsulate experiences Mentioned in This Episode The Transformation Economy by Joe Pine The Experience Economy by Joe Pine & Jim Gilmore Stone Mantel's Experience Strategy Collaboratives The World Experience Organization (founded by James Wallman) Arrival 360 Conference Daniel Kahneman's experiencing self vs. remembering self McKinsey's outcome-based AI pricing model Podcast Sponsors: Learn more about Stone Mantel https://www.stonemantel.co Sign up for the Experience Strategist Substack here: https://theexperiencestrategist.substack.com

This week on the Boxoffice podcast, co-hosts Daniel Loria, Rebecca Pahle, and Chad Kennerk discuss the opening weekend of 20th Century Studios' Send Help along with Iron Lung and the Amazon/MGM Studios' documentary Melania. Then in the feature segment, Rebecca speaks with Proctor Companies' Michael Giacinto about the evolution of dine-in cinema, highlighting the company's recent renovation of Alamo Drafthouse's Mountain View, California location. Give us your feedback on our podcast by accessing this survey: https://forms.gle/CcuvaXCEpgPLQ6d18 

Welcome to another episode of Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different, featuring the legendary Ray Wang. In this memorable conversation, Christopher and Ray dive deep into the latest developments shaping the world of technology, business, and careers. From dissecting recent tech earnings from giants like Apple, Meta, Tesla and Microsoft to sharing insights from Davos and contemplating the implications of AI for the future of work and entrepreneurship. This episode delivers high-caliber analysis and practical takeaways for anyone navigating today’s rapidly evolving landscape. You're listening to Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different. We are the real dialogue podcast for people with a different mind. So get your mind in a different place, and hey ho, let's go. Lessons from Davos and the New Economic Realities Returning from a bustling Davos, Ray Wang shares his observations on how global leaders and executives are tackling an era defined by uncertainty, rapid technology adoption and a relentless pursuit of efficiency. One of Ray's core takeaways is the prevailing theme of “margin compression,” where even the world's largest corporations are working harder than ever just to achieve modest growth. Companies are now measured by their ability to scale exponentially, as illustrated by India's ISRO launching rockets at a fraction of NASA's cost, fundamentally altering competitive dynamics across industries. Ray explains that the rise of AI turbocharges this transformation by opening up “infinite possibilities.” Companies no longer just compete on physical or financial assets, but on their ability to harness vast data resources, quickly innovate and make sharp strategic choices about what problems to solve—and, crucially, what not to do. Privacy challenges, especially for companies like Apple, arise in this new era, making it difficult to deliver world-class AI solutions while maintaining rigorous data protection standards. Both Christopher and Ray emphasize that managing growth, inflation and investment are more complex than ever, with the U.S. outpacing much of the world in GDP growth, yet operating in a global environment rife with policy and market uncertainties. AI, Tech Earnings, and the Rise of the New IPO Era The conversation pivots to the massive investment and exuberance surrounding generative AI and tech infrastructure. Ray points out that while there are fears about overbuilding capacity or creating a circular funding loop among AI companies, there is still significant real opportunity. The current phase has seen enormous capital pour into building data centers and scalable AI platforms. Landmark IPOs from OpenAI, Databricks and others are expected to reshape the tech landscape. Despite market fluctuations and some outsized reactions to earnings, the fundamentals for big tech remain robust. Companies like Apple have solidified their status as luxury brands, even as others like Tesla and Meta retool and pivot to sustain long-term relevance and unlock new revenue streams such as robotics and energy. At the structural level, venture capital itself is in flux. Many VC firms have become indistinguishable from private equity, constrained both by too much and too little available capital relative to the demands of today's tech startups. The gap between small angel, family office, or solo GP funds and the mega funds has widened so much that the “middle” has all but disappeared. It is now entirely possible for one-person companies, through the leverage of AI and autonomous agents, to achieve scale and revenues previously thought impossible. Ray predicts it is likely we will see a single founder build a billion-dollar annual revenue company within the next five years, echoing the democratization and disruption that generative AI promises. Building Legendary Companies and Careers in the Age of AI Christopher and Ray close their discussion by exploring what all these rapid changes mean for leaders and individuals. For CEOs and entrepreneurs, the formula for thriving is clear but audacious. Leaders must design their companies to be fully autonomous and authentic, constantly reinventing their business as if they were attempting to disrupt themselves. Boards need to be stacked with people who grasp the new fundamentals: margin compression, exponential scale, and infinite possibilities brought by AI. Combining domain expertise with technical agility is more critical than ever, as the fusion of seasoned judgment and lightning-fast, innovative execution is where breakthroughs occur. On a personal level, Ray stresses that knowledge and execution are becoming commodities, rapidly automated by advances in AI. To stay relevant, individuals must become “macro analysts,” adept at synthesizing big ideas and patterns, deeply immersed in experimenting with new technologies and surrounded by others who are passionate about their own crafts. The traditional playbooks for career building, education, and even family strategies are being rewritten in real-time. The U.S. faces global competition for talent and innovation, and entrepreneurial energy is no longer confined to Silicon Valley or New York. The nature of immigration, investment and even educational choices must be reconsidered for new generations. In a world where the location and structure of opportunity are shifting, only those who embrace change, foster diverse collaborations and pursue purpose will continue to define the next era of legendary achievement. As both Christopher and Ray reflect, living and leading like Rob Burgess—embracing boldness, curiosity and authenticity—remains the path to being truly legendary in this rapidly changing world. To hear more from Ray Wang and his updates on the world of Tech and AI, download and listen to this episode. Bio R “Ray” Wang (pronounced WAHNG) is the Founder, Chairman, and Principal Analyst of Silicon Valley based Constellation Research Inc. He co-hosts DisrupTV, a weekly enterprise tech and leadership webcast that averages 50,000 views per episode and authors a business strategy and technology blog that has received millions of page views per month.  Wang also serves as a non-resident Senior Fellow at The Atlantic Council's GeoTech Center. Since 2003, Ray has delivered thousands of live and virtual keynotes around the world that are inspiring and legendary. Wang has spoken at almost every major tech conference. His ground-breaking bestselling book on digital transformation, Disrupting Digital Business, was published by Harvard Business Review Press in 2015.  Ray's new book about Digital Giants and the future of business titled, Everybody Wants to Rule the World will be released July 2021 by Harper Collins Leadership. Wang is well quoted and frequently interviewed in media outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, Fox Business News, CNBC, Yahoo Finance, Cheddar, CGTN America, Bloomberg, Tech Crunch, ZDNet, Forbes, and Fortune.  He is one of the top technology analysts in the world. Links Follow Ray Wang! Website | Twitter | LinkedIn | Constellation Research | DisrupTV We hope you enjoyed this episode of Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different™! Christopher loves hearing from his listeners. Feel free to email him, connect on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and subscribe on Apple Podcast / Spotify!

WORST DAY EVER for SILVER Cold Snap in Florida – Massive Critter Drop New Fed Chair named Pausing on space PLUS we are now on Spotify and Amazon Music/Podcasts! Click HERE for Show Notes and Links DHUnplugged is now streaming live - with listener chat. Click on link on the right sidebar. Love the Show? Then how about a Donation? Follow John C. Dvorak on Twitter Follow Andrew Horowitz on Twitter Interactive Brokers  Warm-Up - WORST DAY EVER for SILVER - Cold Snap in Florida - Massive Critter Drop - New Fed Chair named - Pausing on space Markets - Bitcoin plunges - Crypto "winter" - Deep dive into January economic results - USD rises from multi-month low - EM still powered ahead - ELON - PT Barnum move Cold Snap - On February 1, 2026, Florida faced a significant drop in temperatures, reaching a record low of 24°F (-4°C) in Orlando. This marked the lowest temperature recorded in February since 1923. - Iguanas dropping from tress all over the streets - Iguanas can survive temperatures down to the mid-40s Fahrenheit (around 7°C) by entering a "cold-stunned" state, where they appear dead but are just temporarily paralyzed and immobile; however, prolonged exposure to temperatures in the 30s and 40s, especially below freezing, can be lethal, particularly for smaller individuals, leading to tissue damage and organ failure. - They get sluggish below 50°F (10°C) and fall from trees as they lose grip. - The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) issued Executive Order 26-03 on Friday, allowing residents to collect and surrender cold-stunned green iguanas without a permit during an unprecedented cold weather event. Right on Schedule - Remember we talked about how the Nat Gas price was going to reverse, just as quickly as it spikeed? - Nat gas down 25% today - down about 28% from recent high - Still about 50% higher than it was before the spike. THIS! - Nvidia Corp. Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang said the company's proposed $100 billion investment in OpenAI  was “never a commitment” and that the company would consider any funding rounds “one at a time.” - “It was never a commitment,” Huang told reporters in Taipei on Sunday. “They invited us to invest up to $100 billion and of course, we were, we were very happy and honored that they invited us, but we will invest one step at a time.” Then Oracle announced that it will do a fundraiser in the form of equity and debt - needs to fund more datacenter build-out. - What happened to the OpenAI $300 Billion committment? - Or is the money that NVDA "committed to OpenAi, that they must have committed to Orcle, not a committment - GIGANTIC CIRCLE JERK Fungus - -Interesting - Did you know? Botrytis cinerea, a fungus causing grey mold, affects grapes by causing bunch rot, ruining fruit in high humidity. - While it often destroys crops, specific dry, warm conditions can transform it into "noble rot," concentrating sugars and creating high-value dessert wines (e.g., Sauternes, Tokaji) with honeyed, raisin-like, and apricot flavors. January Economic Review Employment — Job growth was nearly flat in December, with 50,000 new jobs added and earlier months revised lower. — Unemployment dipped slightly to 4.4%, but it's still higher than it was a year ago. — Long-term unemployment didn't change and remains high, and the labor force participation rate slipped to 62.4%. — Average hourly earnings rose 0.3% in December and are up 3.8% over the past year. — Weekly jobless claims stayed close to last year's levels, showing a labor market that is cooling but not weakening sharply. FOMC / Interest Rates — The Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged at 3.50%–3.75%. — Most policymakers agreed the economy continues to grow at a solid pace, though job gains are slowing and inflation remains above target. — Two committee members supported a small rate cut, but the majority preferred to wait. - Fed Chair Powell: Clearly, a weakening labor market calls for cutting. A stronger labor market says that rates are in a good place. It isn't anyone's base case right now that the next move will be a rate hike. - The economy has once again surprised us with its strength. Consumer spending numbers overall are good, and it looks like growth overall is on a solid footing. - Upside risks to inflation and downside risks to employment have diminished, but hard to say they are fully in balance. We think our policy is in a good place. - Overall, it's a stronger forecast since the Fed's last meeting. Haven't made any decisions about future meetings, but the economy is growing at a solid pace, the unemployment rate is broadly stable and inflation remains somewhat elevated, so we will be looking to our goal variables and letting the data light the way for us. - Most of the overrun in goods prices is from tariffs. We think tariffs are likely to move through, and be a one-time price increase. - Dissent: Miran and Waller (Miran is a admin shill and Waller wanted job as Fed Chair) GDP & Federal Budget — Economic growth remained strong in Q3 2025, with GDP rising at an annualized 4.4% driven by strong spending, higher exports, and reduced imports due to tariffs. — Investment was mixed, with business spending increasing while housing activity declined. — The federal deficit for December rose to $145 billion, though the fiscal year-to-date deficit is slightly smaller than last year. Inflation & Consumer Spending — Personal income and consumer spending rose moderately in October and November. — Inflation, measured by the PCE index, increased 0.2% in both months and roughly 2.7% year-over-year. — The Consumer Price Index rose 0.3% in December, with shelter, food, and energy all contributing. — Producer prices also increased, though 2025 producer inflation slowed compared to 2024. Housing — Existing home sales rose in December, but the number of homes for sale is still low. — Prices dipped a bit from November but remain higher than they were a year ago. — New-home sales in October were steady compared with the prior month but much higher than last year. — New-home prices fell compared to 2024, though they are still high relative to long-term norms. Manufacturing — Industrial production rose 0.4% in December and was up 2.0% for the year. — Manufacturing output increased, while mining activity declined and utility output jumped. — Durable goods orders grew sharply in November, driven by a big increase in transportation equipment, pointing to strong demand in key industries. Imports & Exports — Import and export prices rose slightly through November 2025. — The goods trade deficit widened in November because exports fell while imports increased. — For the year so far, both exports and imports are running above 2024 levels, though the overall trade deficit remains larger. Consumer Confidence — Consumer confidence fell sharply in January after improving in December. — Both views of current conditions and expectations for the future weakened, with expectations dropping well below the level that often signals recession risk. Earnings — Roughly one-third of S&P 500 companies have reported Q4 earnings, and overall results are strong. — 75% of companies have beaten EPS estimates, though this is slightly below long-term averages. Revenue beats remain solid at 65%. — Companies are reporting earnings 9.1% above estimates, which is well above the 5-and 10-year surprise averages. — The S&P 500 is on track for 11.9% year-over-year earnings growth, marking the 5th straight quarter of double-digit earnings growth. — Eight of eleven sectors are showing positive year-over-year earnings growth, led by Information Technology, Industrials, and Communication Services. — The Health Care sector shows the largest earnings declines among lagging categories. — The forward 12-month P/E ratio sits at ~22.2, elevated relative to 5-and 10-year averages, signaling continued optimism despite tariff and cost concerns. — FactSet also notes the S&P 500 is reporting a record-high net profit margin of 13.2%, the highest since 2009. INTERACTIVE BROKERS Check this out and find out more at: http://www.interactivebrokers.com/   S3XY No More - Tesla is ending production of the Model S sedan and Model X crossover by the end of Q2 2026 to focus on autonomous technology and humanoid robots (Optimus). - Do we have any idea with the TAM for either of these are? - Huge assumptions that Robotaxi will be a bug part of the global transportation. But, what if it isn't? - Unproven being built, taking out the proven - investors were not too happy about this...Stock was down after earnings showed continued sluggish EV sales and BIG Capex for Robotaxi refit, robots and chip manufacturing. But... - Friday - not to allow TESLA stock to move down tooo much. - With SpaceEx looking for an IPO in June - valuations have moved from $800B to 1.5T supposedly. - Now there is discussion of merging in xAI and possibly Tesla - Tesla shares dropped after earnings FED CHAIR PICK - Drumroll: Kevin Warsh - Seems like a good pick from the aspect of experience and ability - Deficit reducer? - More hawkish than market expected? - Announce Friday after several leaks in the morning And then... - Silver futures plummeted 31.4% to settle at $78.53, marking its worst day since March 1980. -It was down 35% during the day - the worst daily plunge ever on record. - It was the worst decline since the March 1980 Hunt Brothers crash. - The sharp moves down were initially triggered by reports of Warsh's nomination. - However, they gained steam in afternoon U.S. trading as investors who piled into the metals raced to book profits.- USD Spiked higher - Gold was down 10% - GOLD saw a drop of 10% to the close - 12% intraday - this was also a record - Bitcoin is down 25% from its recent level 2 weeks ago - ALL BEING BLAMED ON THE FED CHAIR PICK -- QUESTION - Will Trump back-peddle this OR talk to supporters in congress or tell them not to confirm him if markets continue to act squirrely? Fed Statement and Rates - Fed out with statement - no change on rates - Changes: Inflation up, employment steady, economy strong - Does not bode for much in the way of cuts - probably on hold though end of Powell term Apple Earnings - Apple reported blowout first-quarter earnings on Thursday, and predicted growth of as much as 16% in the current quarter, matching the period that just ended. - Sales could be even better, Apple said, if the company just secure enough chips to meet its customers' iPhone demands. - The company reported $42.1 billion in net income, or $2.84 per share, versus $36.33 billion, or $2.40 per share, in the year-ago period. - Apple saw particularly strong results in China, including Taiwan and Hong Kong. Sales in the region surged 38% during the quarter to $25.53 billion. - “The constraints that we have are driven by the availability of the advanced nodes that our SoCs are produced on, and at this time, we're seeing less flexibility in supply chain than normal,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said. - Stock up slightly - no great moves.... Blue Origin - Blue Origin will pause tourist flights to space for “no less than two years” to prioritize development of its moon lander and other lunar technologies. - The decision reflects Blue Origin's commitment to the nation's goal of returning to the Moon and establishing a permanent, sustained lunar presence. - The pause in tourist flights grounds the company's reusable New Shepard rocket, which has sent more than 90 people to the edge of space and back to experience brief periods of weightlessness. - Datacenters on the Moon? (sounds like a Pink Floyd album)     Love the Show? Then how about a Donation? ANNOUNCING THE WINNER OF THE THE CLOSEST TO THE PIN CUP 2025 Winners will be getting great stuff like the new "OFFICIAL" DHUnplugged Shirt!     FED AND CRYPTO LIMERICKS   See this week's stock picks HERE Follow John C. Dvorak on Twitter Follow Andrew Horowitz on Twitter

Feb 4, 2026: In this episode of Future-Ready Today, I explore a fundamental shift in the workplace: the transition from a task economy to a trust economy. As artificial intelligence moves from "future tech" to "daily tool," the basic mechanics of how we hire, manage, and let go of people are under intense pressure. We aren't just dealing with new software; we're dealing with a breakdown in identity and accountability. I dive deep into five stories shaping this week's headlines: The Deepfake Candidate: Why identity verification is becoming the most critical new skill in HR. California's Algorithmic Guardrails: The new legislative push to ensure humans—not code—remain responsible for firing decisions. The "Job Apocalypse" Debate: Analyzing Ben Horowitz's take on why new work emerges even as old categories vanish. The $818 Billion Admin Tax: How poorly designed organizations are drowning in emails, and why AI might be the only way out. The AI Layoff Script: Why "technology made us do it" is becoming the new corporate excuse, and how leaders can maintain credibility during transitions. The Bottom Line: The future of work won't be won by the companies with the most AI. It will be won by the companies that use technology to remove "administrative garbage" while doubling down on human accountability.

Today, while the software-as-a-service disruption concern has been roiling for quite some time for many companies, yesterday's market action saw a massive new acceleration in the negative focus on companies that face a risk from AI disruption as new agentic AI applications come on board - some of them names that had escaped negative attention before. We look at a number of these names, other key moves in equities, the latest pressure on crypto and whether it can be stopped and macro and FX and more. Today's pod hosted by Saxo Global Head of Macro Strategy John J. Hardy. Two or three times per week, you will also find links discussed on the podcast and a chart-of-the-day over at the John J. Hardy substack. Read daily in-depth market updates from the Saxo Market Call and the Saxo Strategy Team here. Please reach out to us at marketcall@saxobank.com for feedback and questions. Click here to open an account with Saxo. Intro and outro music by AShamaluevMusic DISCLAIMER This content is marketing material. Trading financial instruments carries risks. Always ensure that you understand these risks before trading. This material does not contain investment advice or an encouragement to invest in a particular manner. Historic performance is not a guarantee of future results. The instrument(s) referenced in this content may be issued by a partner, from whom Saxo Bank A/S receives promotional fees, payment or retrocessions. While Saxo may receive compensation from these partnerships, all content is created with the aim of providing clients with valuable information and options.

Here is a FAQ Video on the Courses: https://youtu.be/0F7imrzjXWs Here is a deep dive into which course is best for you: https://youtu.be/JM_jgS8M-iU https://www.b2bRevenue.com - Get Your Free E-Book on How Companies make Decisions. FAQ: 1 YEAR ACCESS, PAY MONTHLY OR ANNUALLY NOT A SUBSCRIPTION OFFICE HOURS EVERY  OTHER WEEK VIA ZOOM. 1 HOUR GROUP Q&A. UNLIMITED 1-ON-1'S  ARE FREE AS LONG AS THEY CAN BE SHARED IN THE COURSE. 1-ON-1 ARE FULL ACCESS ON DAY ONE - NOTHING IS GATED OR TIME RELEASED. ALL CONTENT IS VIDEO BASED AND SELF PACED I RECOMMEND TAKE COURSE ONCE WITHOUT NOTES OR APPLYING IT SO YOU UNDERSTAND THE BIG PICTURE FIRST. THEN TAKE AND APPLY IT STEP BY STEP. YOU START WHEN YOU WANT AND GO AS FAST OR SLOW AS NEEDED.   Email me additional questions: briangburns@me.com     — SAMPLE EMAIL TO EXPENSE THE COURSE MGR,   I have been listening to the brutal truth about sales podcast for X months and it speaks to the issues we face.   They currently offer a course that includes video instruction, group Q&A and One-on-One coaching. I'm committed to my own personal development and would like your help in expensing the course.   It would pay for itself if I closed only one new deal of $X value.   Please let me know by Friday if I can move forward with this 1 year course.   Thanks, ME Here are some student interviews from the courses:      ———————————————————————————————————— Audible 30 day Free Trial: http://www.audibletrial.com/BrutalTruth             Listen to The Sales Questions PodCast: https://itun.es/i67d3Ry     Listen to The B2B Revenue Leadership Show: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/b2b-revenue-leadership-show/id1174976428?mt=2     Twitter: @briangburns LinkedIn: Brian G. Burns Facebook: Brian Burns YouTube: Brian Burns SALES PODCAST  

Remember when Facebook was fun and Google actually worked? Cory Doctorow coined a term for what went wrong, and he's here to explain how we fight back.Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1280What We Discuss with Cory Doctorow:"Enshittification" is Cory Doctorow's term for how platforms decay. First they're good to users, then they abuse users to serve business customers, then they abuse everyone to claw back value for themselves. Facebook, Amazon, and Google all followed this playbook — and policy makers let it happen."Switching costs" are a deliberate policy choice, not an inevitability. Companies jack up the friction of leaving their platforms through design and lobbying, but regulations like phone number portability prove we can legislate friction down when we choose to.The Digital Millennium Copyright Act criminalizes fixing things you own. Security researchers who expose corporate sabotage — like the Polish train company bricking locomotives to extort customers — face harsher legal consequences than actual pirates."Algorithmic wage discrimination" is surveillance capitalism's newest trick. Apps like Uber track how desperate workers are and pay them less accordingly — the more rides you accept, the lower your future offers, turning desperation into a permanent wage ceiling.You can fight back by supporting interoperability and making strategic choices. Use alternative services (like Kagi for search), follow advocates like the Electronic Frontier Foundation (eff.org), and remember: every time you demand the right to own what you buy, you're pushing back against enshittification.And much more...And if you're still game to support us, please leave a review here — even one sentence helps! Sign up for Six-Minute Networking — our free networking and relationship development mini course — at jordanharbinger.com/course!Subscribe to our once-a-week Wee Bit Wiser newsletter today and start filling your Wednesdays with wisdom!Do you even Reddit, bro? Join us at r/JordanHarbinger!This Episode Is Brought To You By Our Fine Sponsors: Article: Visit article.com/jordan for $50 off your first purchase of $100 or moreBetterHelp: 10% off first month: betterhelp.com/jordanBombas: Go to bombas.com/jordan to get 20% off your first orderButcherBox: Free protein for a year + $20 off first box: butcherbox.com/jordanHomes.com: Find your home: homes.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

PREVIEW FOR LATER TODAY Guest: Elizabeth Peek. Peek analyzes lingering inflation, noting consumer resistance to price hikes and hope that AI productivity will help companies improve margins without increasing costs further.JANUARY 1931

Who is getting disintermediated when AI enters the gaming race? And where does a shakeup in the c-suite leave a new value stock? In today's episode of Motley Fool Money, host Emily Flippen is joined by analysts Jason Hall and Loren Horst to discuss: - PayPal's surprise CEO change, and whether a single-digit earnings multiple is an opportunity or a warning sign - Alphabet's Project Genie demo and what the concept of “prompt-to-play” could mean for the gaming industry - Roblox's push into premium advertising and whether or not the brand retains a moat Companies discussed: PYPL, KSPI, RBLX, U, GOOGL, MSFT Host: Emily Flippen, Jason Hall, Loren Horst Producer: Anand Chokkavelu Engineer: Dan Boyd Disclosure: Advertisements are sponsored content and provided for informational purposes only. The Motley Fool and its affiliates (collectively, “TMF”) do not endorse, recommend, or verify the accuracy or completeness of the statements made within advertisements. TMF is not involved in the offer, sale, or solicitation of any securities advertised herein and makes no representations regarding the suitability, or risks associated with any investment opportunity presented. Investors should conduct their own due diligence and consult with legal, tax, and financial advisors before making any investment decisions. TMF assumes no responsibility for any losses or damages arising from this advertisement. We're committed to transparency: All personal opinions in advertisements from Fools are their own. The product advertised in this episode was loaned to TMF and was returned after a test period or the product advertised in this episode was purchased by TMF. Advertiser has paid for the sponsorship of this episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Alicia Lyttle. SUMMARY OF THE ALICIA LYTTLE INTERVIEW From “Money Making Conversations Master Class” with Rushion McDonald [ 1. Purpose of the Interview The purpose of this interview was to: Showcase Alicia Lyttle, CEO and co‑founder of Air Innovations, known widely as the “Queen of AI.” [ Educate small business owners, entrepreneurs, and nonprofits on how to leverage AI for growth. Highlight her mission to empower the African American community to not only keep up with AI—but lead in it. [ Demonstrate how AI tools can transform operations, content creation, finances, and productivity in minutes instead of months. Inspire listeners through her entrepreneurial journey, professional pivots, and personal resilience. 2. High-Level Summary Alicia Lyttle returns to the show two years after her last appearance, now positioned at the forefront of the global AI movement. She explains how her work has shifted from annual summits to monthly AI Business Summits, teaching tens of thousands of entrepreneurs how to use AI hands‑on for content, marketing, operations, and scaling. She breaks down how simple tools—such as NotebookLM, ChatGPT, Jasper, Gemini, and HeyGen—can turn a single piece of content into newsletters, PowerPoints, videos, study guides, and more. She stresses that AI is now accessible, especially with free versions like ChatGPT. Alicia also shares her origin story in AI, beginning with a 15‑year‑old speaker at Walmart Tech Live describing IBM Watson. This sparked her fascination and ultimately led her to pivot her entire company toward full-time AI training and consulting by 2022—despite skepticism from her peers. She details the massive growth of her brand, including 21,000+ live summit attendees and explosive social media expansion. The interview also addresses AI’s role in finance, healthcare, government, job disruption, and how individuals can future‑proof themselves. Her personal story of overcoming a restrictive ex-husband who told her she would “never speak again” underscores her powerful message: no one should silence your gifts. Now she speaks to thousands, leads major events, and helps others build new careers in AI. 3. Key Takeaways A. AI Is Evolving Fast—and So Must We AI is changing so quickly that entrepreneurs cannot afford to wait for annual updates. This is why Alicia shifted to monthly training summits. People need ongoing education to stay competitive. B. Hands‑On AI Education Is the Key Alicia doesn’t just lecture—she walks participants through real demonstrations: Uploading YouTube links Creating summaries Generating emails, mind maps, PowerPoints, quizzes, videos, and more…all from a single input. Her approach eliminates fear and teaches entrepreneurs how to use AI immediately. C. Accessibility Has Changed the Game The release of ChatGPT, especially the free version, democratized AI. Before that, tools like IBM Watson were too complex and expensive. Now anyone with a laptop and internet connection can build websites, write content, or automate business flows in minutes. [ D. The African American Community Must Lead—Not Follow Alicia emphasizes that historically, Black communities have been “last in line” in tech innovation, but this AI era presents a once‑in‑a‑generation opportunity to jump ahead.She sees it as her mission to speak everywhere Black entrepreneurs are to ensure they seize this moment. E. AI Will Replace Tasks—But People Can Future‑Proof Themselves Jobs are already shifting. Companies are laying off non–AI‑literate employees.Alicia urges people to: Become AI‑fluent Join AI committees at work Pursue certification Use AI to become their company’s internal expert “There’s no maybe—you have to learn AI,” she warns. F. AI is Transforming Every Sector: Finance, Healthcare, Government She provides insights on… AI receptionists (“Monica” and “Leslie”) that boost customer interaction to 92% Financial analysis using secure ChatGPT setups AI mental health companions Government calls for national AI leadership G. Alicia Monetizes Through Education, Certification & Consulting Her business model includes: Free monthly summits Paid masterclasses Corporate consulting AI certifications Live Atlanta workshops She teaches others to become AI consultants too. H. Her Personal Triumph Story Inspires Thousands A powerful moment is when she recounts her ex-husband saying: “There’s only one quarterback on a team—and you will never speak again.”Yet today, 1,200+ people attend her live events, and tens of thousands join her virtual trainings. Her success proves resilience and purpose overcome adversity. 4. Key Quotes On AI Opportunity “Never has there been a better time in history to start, build, or scale a business than right now.” On Training Entrepreneurs “Open your laptops… use the same prompt I use. See what results you get.” On the Power of AI Tools “You can take one episode and repurpose it into all these different content ways.” On Pivoting Her Entire Company “In 2022, I said we’re closing this business and going all in on AI.” On Being Black in Tech “My mission is to make sure our community is not left behind—but ahead of the curve.” On Personal Resilience “You will be speaking on the best stages… people will come to see you.”(A friend’s response after she was told she’d “never speak again.”) On Future-Proofing Careers “Those using AI will replace you. You have to learn how to leverage AI.” On AI as a Human-First Technology “AI plus human intelligence—that’s what takes things to the next level.” #SHMS #STRAW #BESTSupport the show: https://www.steveharveyfm.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Alicia Lyttle. SUMMARY OF THE ALICIA LYTTLE INTERVIEW From “Money Making Conversations Master Class” with Rushion McDonald [ 1. Purpose of the Interview The purpose of this interview was to: Showcase Alicia Lyttle, CEO and co‑founder of Air Innovations, known widely as the “Queen of AI.” [ Educate small business owners, entrepreneurs, and nonprofits on how to leverage AI for growth. Highlight her mission to empower the African American community to not only keep up with AI—but lead in it. [ Demonstrate how AI tools can transform operations, content creation, finances, and productivity in minutes instead of months. Inspire listeners through her entrepreneurial journey, professional pivots, and personal resilience. 2. High-Level Summary Alicia Lyttle returns to the show two years after her last appearance, now positioned at the forefront of the global AI movement. She explains how her work has shifted from annual summits to monthly AI Business Summits, teaching tens of thousands of entrepreneurs how to use AI hands‑on for content, marketing, operations, and scaling. She breaks down how simple tools—such as NotebookLM, ChatGPT, Jasper, Gemini, and HeyGen—can turn a single piece of content into newsletters, PowerPoints, videos, study guides, and more. She stresses that AI is now accessible, especially with free versions like ChatGPT. Alicia also shares her origin story in AI, beginning with a 15‑year‑old speaker at Walmart Tech Live describing IBM Watson. This sparked her fascination and ultimately led her to pivot her entire company toward full-time AI training and consulting by 2022—despite skepticism from her peers. She details the massive growth of her brand, including 21,000+ live summit attendees and explosive social media expansion. The interview also addresses AI’s role in finance, healthcare, government, job disruption, and how individuals can future‑proof themselves. Her personal story of overcoming a restrictive ex-husband who told her she would “never speak again” underscores her powerful message: no one should silence your gifts. Now she speaks to thousands, leads major events, and helps others build new careers in AI. 3. Key Takeaways A. AI Is Evolving Fast—and So Must We AI is changing so quickly that entrepreneurs cannot afford to wait for annual updates. This is why Alicia shifted to monthly training summits. People need ongoing education to stay competitive. B. Hands‑On AI Education Is the Key Alicia doesn’t just lecture—she walks participants through real demonstrations: Uploading YouTube links Creating summaries Generating emails, mind maps, PowerPoints, quizzes, videos, and more…all from a single input. Her approach eliminates fear and teaches entrepreneurs how to use AI immediately. C. Accessibility Has Changed the Game The release of ChatGPT, especially the free version, democratized AI. Before that, tools like IBM Watson were too complex and expensive. Now anyone with a laptop and internet connection can build websites, write content, or automate business flows in minutes. [ D. The African American Community Must Lead—Not Follow Alicia emphasizes that historically, Black communities have been “last in line” in tech innovation, but this AI era presents a once‑in‑a‑generation opportunity to jump ahead.She sees it as her mission to speak everywhere Black entrepreneurs are to ensure they seize this moment. E. AI Will Replace Tasks—But People Can Future‑Proof Themselves Jobs are already shifting. Companies are laying off non–AI‑literate employees.Alicia urges people to: Become AI‑fluent Join AI committees at work Pursue certification Use AI to become their company’s internal expert “There’s no maybe—you have to learn AI,” she warns. F. AI is Transforming Every Sector: Finance, Healthcare, Government She provides insights on… AI receptionists (“Monica” and “Leslie”) that boost customer interaction to 92% Financial analysis using secure ChatGPT setups AI mental health companions Government calls for national AI leadership G. Alicia Monetizes Through Education, Certification & Consulting Her business model includes: Free monthly summits Paid masterclasses Corporate consulting AI certifications Live Atlanta workshops She teaches others to become AI consultants too. H. Her Personal Triumph Story Inspires Thousands A powerful moment is when she recounts her ex-husband saying: “There’s only one quarterback on a team—and you will never speak again.”Yet today, 1,200+ people attend her live events, and tens of thousands join her virtual trainings. Her success proves resilience and purpose overcome adversity. 4. Key Quotes On AI Opportunity “Never has there been a better time in history to start, build, or scale a business than right now.” On Training Entrepreneurs “Open your laptops… use the same prompt I use. See what results you get.” On the Power of AI Tools “You can take one episode and repurpose it into all these different content ways.” On Pivoting Her Entire Company “In 2022, I said we’re closing this business and going all in on AI.” On Being Black in Tech “My mission is to make sure our community is not left behind—but ahead of the curve.” On Personal Resilience “You will be speaking on the best stages… people will come to see you.”(A friend’s response after she was told she’d “never speak again.”) On Future-Proofing Careers “Those using AI will replace you. You have to learn how to leverage AI.” On AI as a Human-First Technology “AI plus human intelligence—that’s what takes things to the next level.” #SHMS #STRAW #BESTSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week's episode of Wealth Formula features an interview with Claudia Sahm, and I want to share a quick takeaway before you listen — because she's often misunderstood in the headlines. First, a quick explanation of the Sahm Rule, in plain English. The rule looks at unemployment and asks a very simple question:Has the unemployment rate started rising meaningfully from its recent low? Specifically, if the three-month average unemployment rate rises by 0.5% or more above its lowest level over the past year, the Sahm Rule is triggered. Historically, that has happened early in every U.S. recession since World War II. That's why it gets cited so much. And to be clear — it's cited a lot. The Sahm Rule is tracked by the Federal Reserve, Treasury economists, Wall Street banks, macro funds, and economic research shops globally. When it triggers, it shows up everywhere. That's not by accident. Claudia built one of the cleanest early-warning indicators we have. But here's the part that often gets lost. The Sahm Rule is not a market-timing tool and it's not a prediction machine. Claudia emphasized this repeatedly. It was designed as a policy signal — a way to say, “Hey, if unemployment is rising this fast, waiting too long to respond makes things worse.” In other words, it's a call to action for policymakers, not a command for investors to panic. What makes this cycle unusual — and why talking to Claudia directly was so helpful — is what's actually driving the data. We're not seeing mass layoffs. Layoffs remain low by historical standards. What we're seeing instead is very weak hiring. Companies aren't firing people — they're just not expanding. That distinction matters. And this is where I think the big picture comes in — not just for understanding the economy, but for investing in general. When you step back, the big picture includes a government with massive debt loads that needs interest rates to come down over time. It includes fiscal pressures that make prolonged high rates politically and economically painful. And it includes the reality that if the current Fed leadership won't ease fast enough, future leadership will. History tells us that governments eventually get the monetary conditions they need — even if it takes time, even if it takes new appointments, and even if it takes a shift toward a more dovish Federal Reserve. That doesn't mean reckless money printing tomorrow. But it does mean that structurally high rates are unlikely to be permanent. And when you combine that with investing, the question becomes less about this month's headline and more about what's positioned to benefit when the environment normalizes. That's why I continue to focus on real assets that are already deeply discounted — things like multifamily real estate — assets that were repriced brutally during the rate shock, but still sit at the center of a growing, rent-dependent economy. This conversation with Claudia reinforced something I've been talking about for a long time:The biggest investing mistakes usually happen when people zoom in too far and forget to zoom back out. I've made this mistake myself. If you want a thoughtful, non-sensational, data-driven discussion about where we actually are in this cycle — and what the indicators really mean — I think you'll get a lot out of this episode. Transcript Disclaimer: This transcript was generated by AI and may not be 100% accurate. If you notice any errors or corrections, please email us at phil@wealthformula.com. Welcome everybody. This is Buck Joffrey with the Well Formula Podcast coming to you from Montecito, California. Before we begin today, I wanna remind you, uh, listen, we’re back in, uh, back in the saddle in here in, uh, 2026. I know it’s takes some time to get used to it, but we’re, gosh, we’re at the end of the month actually by the time this plays. I think we’re in February. It’s time again to start thinking about investing. And so if you are interested in potentially using this year, which I believe and which many believe to potentially be the last year, uh, big discounts, uh, in real estate and, uh, various other types of offerings. Make sure. To sign up for the Accredit Investor group, our investor club, as we call it wealthformula.com. You do need to be an accredit investor and then you get onboarded. An accredit investor is just defined by who you are. If you make over $300,000 per year filing jointly, or 200 by yourself, every reasonable expectation to do so in the future. Or you have a net worth of a million dollars outta your personal, outside of your personal residence, you’re an accredit investor. Congratulations. Join the club wealthformula.com. Interesting podcast. Today we have, uh, Claudia Sahm She’s a Big Deal, Claudia Sahm. You may recognize that last name som, for this som rule. And what is a som rule in plain English. You actually have heard of the som rule multiple times from other economists who’ve been on the show. The som rule looks at unemployment. And asks a very simple question. Now, has the unemployment rate started rising meaningfully from its recent low? So specifically, if the three month average unemployment rate rises 0.5% or more above its lowest level, over the past year, this som rule is triggered. Now, historically, that has happened early in every US recession since the World War ii. That’s why it gets cited so much. It gets cited a lot. By the way, the sum rule is tracked by the Fed treasury economists, wall Street Banks, macro funds, economic research shops globally, and when it triggers, it shows up everywhere, and that’s not by accident. Uh, Claudia has built one of the cleanest early warning indicators we have, but here’s the part that often gets lost. The som rule is not a market timing tool, and it’s not a prediction machine. Claudia, uh, emphasized that repeatedly. It was designed as a policy signal, a way to say, Hey, if unemployment’s rising this fast, wait, waiting too long to respond makes things worse. In other words, it’s call to action for policy makers, not a command for investors to panic per se. So what makes this cycle unusual and why talking to Claudia directly was so helpful? Well, it’s what’s actually driving the data. We’re not seeing mass layoffs. Layoffs remain low by historical standards. Um, what we’re seeing instead is very weak. Hiring companies aren’t firing people, they’re just not expanding, and that distinction matters. This is where the big picture comes in, not just for understanding the economy. For investing in general and when you step back, the big picture includes a government with massive debt loads that need interest rates to come down over time. It includes fiscal pressures that make prolonged high rates politically and economically painful. I’ve mentioned this before and it includes the reality that have to fed, fed, uh, if the current Fed leadership won’t ease fast enough. I am likely the case that future leadership appointed by. Donald Trump himself, uh, will, so history tells us that governments eventually get the monetary conditions they need, even if it takes time, even if it takes new appointments. And even if it takes a shift towards a more dovish federal reserve. Uh, that doesn’t mean, uh, reckless money printing tomorrow, but it does mean that structurally. High interest rates are unlikely to be permanent. Okay? And when you combine that with investing, the question becomes less about this month’s headline and more about what’s positioned to benefit when the environment normalizes. Okay? That’s really, really important, and that’s why I continue to focus on things like real estate, right? Real estate is currently. Not for long, in my opinion, but deeply discounted things like multifamily real estate, um, that were repriced brutally during the rate shot, uh, but are still at the center of a growing and, and rent dependent economy. And again, uh, this conversation with Claudia reinforced something that I’ve been talking about a long time, which is the biggest investing mistakes usually happen when people zoom in too far and forget to zoom back out. I’ve made that mistake myself. I am not immune. I have made lots of mistakes, and that’s one of them. So this is a great conversation. Hopefully you’ll enjoy it, especially if you want a thoughtful, nons sensational data-driven discussion. Where we are actually at in this cycle and what these indicators really mean. I think you’ll get a lot of this episode and we will have this conversation for you right after these messages. Wealth formula banking is an ingenious concept powered by whole life insurance, but instead of acting just as a safety net. The strategy supercharges your investments. First, you create a personal financial reservoir that grows at a compounding interest rate much higher than any bank savings account. As your money accumulates, you borrow from your own bank to invest in other cash flowing investments. Here’s the key. Even though you borrowed money at a simple interest rate, your insurance company keeps. Paying you compound interest on that money even though you’ve borrowed it at result, you make money in two places at the same time. That’s why your investments get supercharged. This isn’t a new technique. It’s a refined strategy used by some of the wealthiest families in history, and it uses century old rock solid insurance companies as its backbone. Turbocharge your investments. Visit Wealthformulabanking.com. Again, that’s wealth formula banking.com. Welcome back to the show, everyone. Today my guest on Wealth Formula podcast is Dr. Claudia Sahm. Uh, she’s an American, uh, macroeconomic expert, uh, known for her work, uh, on monetary and fiscal policy and real-time economic indicators. She developed this som rule, which I think, uh, people have mentioned on this show before, so this is a great opportunity to talk to her about that. Uh, it’s a widely, uh, followed recession signal based on unemployment. She’s also a former Federal Reserve economist and senior policy advisor in government. Um, so welcome, uh, Dr. Sahm. Great. Happy to be here. Thank you. Well, let’s, let’s kind of start out with this som rule because, uh, you know, it’s funny, we, we have had a few different people, uh, at various times bring up the SOM rule, and I think one had actually said that it was triggered, but I don’t don’t think it was at any rate, let’s, let’s start with that. What is the som rule? Lemme start with why is there a som rule, and then we’ll then we’ll get to specifically what the, what the rule is itself. So when I started out on the project, it wasn’t so much about. Calling a recession, like there are some really fancy technical ways that economists like look at the tea leaves and the data and either try to forecast a recession, which is incredibly hard, or even just say we’re in a recession in real time. So like that’s a useful endeavor. But what actually was behind the development of my recession indicator was more of a call to action. How do we develop policies that, that the Congress can put into place very quickly if a recession comes? So these kind of what are referred to as automatic stabilizers, so they’re decided upon ahead of time, but then you do need a trigger that says a recession is here. So now that enhance the unemployment benefits, send out the stimulus checks, whatever it is that we kind of have as our typical tools that are used in recessions, we could have those ready to go as kind of guardrails. Then like you, you turn the policy on. So that was really my emphasis was on how do we do better policy and recessions, get the support out quickly. ’cause that’s the best chance of kind of stabilizing the situation. And then it’s like, well it was in a, it was in a policy volume that they asked for, like a really concrete proposal. So if I’m gonna say an automatic stabilizer, I need to have a proposal for what a trigger could be. So that’s really where the som rule came. So I think it is important. It’s definitely important to me to, I always remember like what the kind of reason for it’s sure. Now that also guided what the indicator itself looks like. So again, it was gonna be in, in fiscal policy. It needs to be simple, it needs to be something that we track it and it needs to, I felt it was important that it capture the reason that we. Fight recessions, why there’s such a bad, uh, you know, outcome. And so it looks at the, the unemployment rate. I use the national unemployment rate, take a three month average. ’cause we wanna smooth out, like there’s bumps and wiggles in the data from month to month. So you kind of, you know, three month average. One way to smooth it out. So you take that series of three month averages, you look at the current value, you compare to the lowest value over the prior 12 months, if you’ve seen an increase of a half, a percentage point or more. Which is really pretty modest, but half a percentage point or more. Historically, we have been in the early months of a recession, so it’s not a forecast. It’s supposed to be like we’re in it. Let’s go. It’s an empirical pattern. It’s one that’s worked in the United States. It reflects kind of our labor market institutions, the way unemployment rate moves and recessions. It historically is the case that once you get past a certain threshold of increased unemployment rate, it tends to build on itself. And in a typical recession, we see increases of. Two, three or more percentage points in the unemployment rate. Uh, so that’s, that’s what the summer rule is. And in fact, it did trigger in the summer of 2024. At that time I had said like, look around, we are not in a recession. GP is still expanding. Job creation is still happening. We don’t see the other hallmarks of a recession. And pointed to the fact that we’d had a very disrupted labor market after the pandemic in particular. You know, there had been a lot of immigration at that point. The unemployment rate is the total number of unemployed. So people who don’t have a job but are actively looking for one out of the labor force, right? And so these people that have to either be employed or looking for jobs, and so we actually saw from the pandemic. Both with the pandemic and then later with the surge and now the reversal in immigration. We’ve seen a lot of movement in the, in the labor force, which makes unemployment rate a little tricky to interpret. And then I’d also argue, we saw early in the pandemic, the unemployment rate dropped very rapidly. We even had labor shortages. So in some ways unemployment rate rising and it has risen over. I mean, it continued to rise last year in 2025. A lot of that’s also normalization. We’d had a very low unemployment rate. So I think the, the pandemic recession has a lot of features that were very unusual. We’ll talk probably more about the labor market continued to be kind of unusual. So the, you know, the somal was not the only recession indicator to fall flat on its face in the cycle. Um, but I think it’s still a useful, useful guide and I, and. You know, even if it’s not a recession, the, the unemployment rate is a full percentage point above, its low in 2023. So, I mean, that, that could, that could be a reason for policymakers to respond, even if it’s not responding to a recession. Right. That was the first time that it, that triggered and, and actually didn’t. End up in a recession, right? There’s some back in the 1950s, earlier, but it’s, it’s the first time where there’ve been some false positives in the past or, or near false positives. Like in 2003. It was kind of close, uh, is like the unemployment rate rises a little bit and then it falls back down. What we saw after it triggered in 2024 is it stabilized. Then last year it continued to rise. So this the pattern that we’ve seen since the pandemic of rapid recovery dropping unemployment rate and then it’s like gradually rising and yet has risen a full percentage point that you go all the way back in the post World War II period. We don’t see anything that looks like that. So that is a very unusual. Paris. So something’s more is going on in the labor market than just our typical business cycle, boom, bust, recession type dynamics. So what is that? What is the thing that’s happening that’s unusual right now in the labor market? Right? So the thing that is driving the unemployment rate up, I think this is a good lesson, a reminder to all of us. It’s not about layoffs. The rate of layoffs in the United States is really quite low. You look at unemployment insurance claims, they’re also quite low. What’s been pushing the unemployment rate up over the last two and a half years has been a very low rate of hiring and, and it’s, and it is something that over time will at least gradually put upward pressure on the unemployment rate and frankly. Until hiring picks up and we really don’t have many signs of it. Even as we enter 2026 unemployment rate’s gonna probably keep drifting up ’cause we’re not keeping job creation’s, not keeping up with, you know, people coming into the, into the labor market and, and that what’s, I think the puzzle right now is that hiring has been very low. But what we’ve seen in terms of consumer spending, business investment, so the kind of the big pieces of GDP, they’ve really held up pretty well, so. Business. It’s not, again, not that recession of the customers have disappeared. And so we’re not hiring, or we may even be firing workers. The customers are there for the businesses, but they’re choosing in this environment not to add, uh, to their payrolls. And that’s slowly pushing up down point rate. Yeah. Um, you know, it, it’s interesting what you’re, you’re talking about, but essentially you’re, people aren’t getting fired. They’re just, when they retire or leave, they’re just not replacing those. Individuals, you know, makes me think a little bit about what’s going on in the big, you know, in the tech push with artificial intelligence and that kind of thing, and increased in efficiency. Certainly you see that in the larger companies like Amazon and all that, where they’re just becoming massively more productive and cutting expenses essentially by, you know, using tech. Do you think that this is sort of an early indication, potentially of that kind of movement? So it. It’s possible, but I think we’re at the very front end of AI disrupting the labor market. This low hiring rate that we’ve talked about. You see this across all kinds of industries, including ones that don’t show high levels of AI adoption, and frankly, a AI adoption is pretty low. I mean, there are some sectors like tech and increasingly finance and some professional services have higher adoption rates. Uh, but in terms of it being able to explain the low hiring. I think it’s pretty tough ’cause the low hiring is such a, such a broad based, um, phenomenon. Now, AI might be, I think, indirectly contributing in that one of, one of the hypotheses about why, um, businesses have been, uh, not hiring despite, you know, economic activity. Continuing to push ahead could be that there’s a lot of uncertainty. Now there is a long list that we could draw of, of factors that might be causing businesses to be uncertain and hesitant to add to their payrolls. Uh, a lot of times you talk about things with tariffs or, you know, economic policy, regulations changing, you know, so there’s a lot going on there. But it could also be, there’s a lot of uncertainty about what this technology means for the future. Maybe you don’t need to bring on more workers because your ability to kind of use and adapt this technologies coming online. And so like that could be part of it. I think there’s another piece, you know, we have a lot of discussion about ai, but I do think that there’s, there could be a, a technology angle to this that’s, that is. Not in the AI technologies, but maybe just some of the more basic kind of automation is again, right after, you know, the, the pandemic recession as we came out of a, you know, very rapid recovery, uh, there was, there was a lot of hiring or that, ’cause businesses had done a lot of firing and they needed to bring back workers really rapidly and we actually had a period of labor shortages. There were workers moving around a lot and there were, that also put a lot of pressure on some employers, particularly in service sector, to automate more ’cause they just couldn’t get the workers, so they needed to bring technology. Online to help, you know, fill the gap. And over time, you know, businesses though, they haven’t done as much hiring, they have been firing. So the workers, they have longer tenures, have more experience, they’re probably more productive. So maybe businesses can kind of, you know, get away with not doing more hiring. ’cause the people they have there can kind of keep up with it. Um, and they’ve done some more automation. I don’t think those are sustainable. I think we’re going to need to see hiring pickup in terms of, of staying with, um, you know, as expanding, uh, demand from customers. But I won’t pretend to know what AI means for the future of the labor force. Right. So like there could be, I think that’s a big conversation about we’re headed, where we’re headed. I think it’s probably a pretty small slice of explaining. Where we’re at right now. You know, it’s interesting because obviously there was a lot of concerns about rising inflation, and particularly in the context of, you know, tariffs and, and among those types of things that were, were, um, coming down the pipe. And as it turns out, inflation seems to be coming down. How do you explain that from where you sit? Because it, it, it seems sort of to contradict a lot of what, you know, many economists believe to be likely. So when thinking about the effects of tariffs on inflation and this, this idea that it didn’t end up being as much of a factors we had really feared, uh, you know, a year ago. I think there’s a few things to keep in mind. One, the announced tariffs, uh. Didn’t come to pass fully. Right? So there’s a big difference between some of the, the, the initial announcements, whether it was on Liberation Day, April 2nd, or the initial kind of retaliation tit for tat with China, where we ended up with some triple digit, uh, tariff numbers. Those didn’t end up being where we, we ended now tariff, the effect of tariff rate. Is much higher than it was before. Right. Uh, president Trump came into office for the second time, so like, I don’t wanna minimize the, the, the increase in tariffs and the US government collected about $200 billion last year in, in additional tariffs. But there is a, there’s a good bit of daylight between what was announced and where we actually ended up. Businesses also proved very capable of trying to avoid those tariffs and not in like a. Illegal kind of way of avoiding them, but, but using inventories like trying to get ahead of them. We know the tariffs are tariffs. There’s been some evidence that, that it’s businesses are gonna start passing on the tariff cost increase when it’s actually tied to the inventories that they’re putting out in front of customers. And for some of our goods, like say apparel or things that have long seasons or come from, you know, all across the world, it actually takes quite a bit of time from the inventories being what actually shows up in front of customers. So there’s been the ability to. Kind of get around the tariffs ’cause they were rolling in. And so do be smart in terms of your inventories. And then it just takes time for those inventories to be, you know, um, to come down. Mm-hmm. By, there’s been several studies at this place, at this point that, that demonstrate that the, the tariffs, the cost of the tariffs is coming into the us. So the, it’s always the importer that pays the tariff, like literally writes the check to the US government. But it’s possible that the foreign producer could say, reduce their prices on what they’re, you know, paying or what they’re asking to be paid for that, uh, imported good. And then that would be a way of the foreign producer sharing the cost of the tariff. But everything that we see from the M Court data suggests that a very small fraction, probably less than 10%. Of the total tariff burden is being born by, at least at this point, born by the foreign producers. So it’s coming into the us. It’s sitting with either US businesses that are importing the goods or have the goods at some point in their, you know, in their supply chains and, and with us customers, the consumers we have, we’ve seen. I think you can really look at the inflation data. You can see the goods prices, which often are kind of a drag on inflation that they did turn around. They’re, they’re putting upward pressure on inflation. It’s not massive. It doesn’t explain all of these, you know, 200 billion in tariff costs, but then it is, it’s sitting with businesses. The effects still, it’s still just not that long enough to really understand. You know what, what the implications. It’s possible. I, I think that’s true with any, with any big policy change. Like it doesn’t happen overnight. I think that’s one thing that a lot of, a lot of economic models that, like, they’re, they’re very sensitive, right? Like as soon as a policy change happens, the models will kind of tell us something pretty dramatic in terms of adjustments. But this last year was a reminder, like when there’s, when there’s a big cost, there’s gonna be a lot of attempts to adjust around it to try to minimize that cost and then. It takes time, like in the real world, like the interactions are much more complex. You know, inventory lags all of the, like, it takes time to move its way through. So I think we’re not done with the pass through. I think we’ll probably still see more come to consumers, but businesses could decide to bear that cost. They, they could, you know, with profit margins. I mean some of, some of the inflationary environment in the pandemic did allow. There were very broad base increases in prices. You did see some companies be profitable from that because it was, there was a, you know, some of the costs were more targeted, but the, you know, the, the price increases were broad. So it could be a time where businesses see that, you know, consumers are more price sensitive now than they were in 21, 20 21, 20 22, so they’re not passing as much on it. Could be that that’s part of where. Like the cost businesses are dealing with that cost by maybe doing less hiring as opposed to passing it on to consumers. Uh, you know, they could be taking a hit with their profits. They, you know, so like, it doesn’t have to go all the way through to consumers. There are different levers that can be pulled. I do think we’ll still see some pass through in the, in probably the first half of this year, and that’s assuming that our whole tariff regime. Sit still, right? It looks like once again we might be, uh, increasing those tariffs, but, um, so yeah, I think it’s just tracing, you know, the tariffs through the system is really complicated. And one last thing I’ll say about the tariffs is they’re not just tariffs on goods that go to consumers. These tariffs have been broad enough that we’re also taring imported goods that are used by our manufacturers used for our, by our businesses in their production. So then it can take a really long time for that to end up with the, you know, the end customer could be a business to start with, and then it moves its way down. So I think these are just, you know, the costs are real. We can see the tariffs have been collected, the costs are there. We can see in the import data, there haven’t been import price data, there haven’t been a lot of adjustments by the foreign suppliers. So then it’s just a question of, we have these costs. Where did the cost go? I believe the last GEP was 4.3% and, uh, inflation was around 2.6, 2.7, or at least core. You’ve obviously, uh, worked at the Fed. Um, give us a sense of the situation that the Fed is trying to figure out here. Like what do they do with these numbers and, you know, all of the issues that surround them. The work at the Fed, I mean, it, it’s laser focused on the, the response, the mandates that the Fed has. So with maximum employment and price stability and with maximum employment, that’s not something that can be easily defined. It’s not like it’s a particular unemployment rate, it’s not a particular payroll number. But I mean, broadly speaking, it’s, you know, do, are, you know, the people who wanna work, are they working? In such a way that it’s not putting pressure on inflation, right? Like labor shortages that end up with wage increases that just, you know, end up with inflation. Like that would be a situation where the Fed would actually want to kind of help restrain some of the. Uh, employment growth. And we, we saw that in this cycle. I mean, the Fed raised rates a lot in 2022 and 2023. Uh, so that’s the maximum employment on the stable prices. The Fed has set a target of the 2%, uh, year over year PCE inflation. So a little different than the CPI inflation, but very much related. And, and it’s one, I mean, that’s, that’s the goal, right? And it, uh. So it starts with those two pieces and, and what’s been, I think what’s been challenging in say the last year as the Fed was, you know, trying to figure out what it was gonna do with interest rates was the fact that it, there was pressure on both sides of the mandate. Mm-hmm. Um, and not necessarily the, well, I mean, inflation itself has, was above the 2%. It continues to be above the 2%. Target has been. Since 2021. Now the Fed’s policy doesn’t have a look back, but I mean, they do worry that the longer inflation stays closer to three than two businesses. Consumers are gonna start to kind of embed three into their actions, their expectations. Then you kind of get stuck there. So like that, that both, you know, they were missing on the inflation mandate and there were, there were concerns that the, that we might see inflation get stuck above the mandate and the way you dislodge it if it gets stuck. Could end up risking a recession, right? So the Fed doesn’t want that to happen. So that’s a real concern. But then on the employment side, you know, we started out talking about the small rule, the rising unemployment rate. We’ve seen the unemployment rate rising. And then last year in particular, it wasn’t just the unemployment rate rising, we saw job creation just really take a leg down. Um. Some of that probably is less immigration population aging, so less supply of workers, which isn’t something the Fed would react to. ’cause that, I mean, if you don’t have as many people that wanna work, you don’t need to create as many jobs. But the unemployment rate was rising, so it’s clear, like there just wasn’t, there wasn’t enough job creation to keep up with, um, the workers who were there, uh, to work. And, and there was a concern that this could, could spiral out. Those small increased unemployment rate that, that very low level of job creation. And frankly, if you look at, I mean the, I mean, we have multiple months and probably more after revisions of declines in payroll employment. Mm-hmm. Like if you looked at the labor market data, you’d be like, aren’t we in a recession or like on the edge of one? Again, that’s not where we’re at, but it, it certainly gave that, that risk. Things could be slowing down. And, and the, the last piece that was really important in the Fed’s decisions was where, where’s the federal funds rate? Where are the interest rate, the policy interest rate they control? And it was still relatively high. For, for recent history, right. Not in the long history of the Fed, but mm-hmm. And so, like the Fed had raised, they’d raised interest rates quite aggressively to fight the inflation in 2022. They’d very gradually lowered it. Some was taken out in 2023 because made some pro, made quite a bit of progress on inflation in, or in 2024, they lowered the rates in 2025, the 75 basis points of cuts that the Fed did. It was out of concern. Of the labor market unraveling a risk, not a, not saying, hey, the labor market is unraveling, but saying the risk that the downside risk to employment are larger and more worrisome than the upside risk to inflation. So this inflation getting stuck, is that still the case as a going into 2026 here? So, you know, even, even last year we saw, we listened to Fed officials, there’s quite a bit of disagreement. Because it was a tough situation to read. There are some Fed officials that were more focused on inflation, some that were more focused on the employment side. Uh, and it really was just a matter of kind of reading the economy and trying to figure out this, a very unusual situation, like where, where was this headed? What did the Fed need to do? In the end, the consensus on the Fed was to do the rate cuts, kind of front load them. They talked a lot about it as insurance. They’re taking out insurance against the labor market deteriorating. And I think with that approach, in all likelihood, and there’s been certainly signaling of this, that when they meet at the end of January, it’ll, they’re unlikely to move again. That this is, this will be an opportunity to hold steady, be patient the Fed has, has taken out their restriction. So they don’t have the higher rates, so they’ve pulled rates down. We also know that early this year there’s various kinds of fiscal support that are coming online or tax cuts to households and to businesses that should give a little extra lift, uh, to the economy. So I think it’s a period of the Fed waiting to see what the effects of their policy changes are, seeing what the effects of the fiscal policy with the expectation this will be enough to stabilize the labor market. Even help get it back on track and really what the Fed would like. I mean, we’ll see what they get, but they’d really like the next cut to be a good news cut. Like inflation. Oh look, it’s moving back down again. We’re making clear progress back to 2%. I think that’s probably gonna take maybe even till the middle of this year to build that case. A strong case for the disinflation. Mm-hmm. But that’s, that’s what they would, would like to do. But they’re gonna keep an eye on the labor market. But nothing we’ve seen in the most recent data suggests that they gotta get moving like that. There’s some, you know, real pressure building. Um, in fact, the labor market looks a little bit better probably than when they met in December and inflation. Showing some signs of progress, but it, it’s pretty bumpy in terms of, there’s a lot of noise in the data at the moment. You mentioned, um, the Fed’s mandate and you know, certainly that’s something, um, that, uh, you know, that, that we know the Fed looks at these unemployment numbers that look at inflation. I’m curious though, that there’s, you know, there is this push and pull with the treasury. In particular, you know, looking at the amount of, of, of, of bonds that need to be refinanced, that kind of thing. I mean, presumably that’s one of the reasons why the Trump administration is pushing so hard, uh, on the Fed to reduce, um, you know, to reduce rates so that you know, this sovereign debt can be refinanced at a, something a little bit more palatable. How much of that actually. I know it’s not supposed to play a part in the Federal Reserve’s actions, but in reality is there, is there that kind of, you know, thinking that, you know, they have to, they, they may try to play ball a little bit with the, with the situation, with the debt. Yeah. There, the, the Fed is not playing ball right now with the administration. Uh, but, but there have been, there have been times in our past. So during World War II, there was an explicit cooperation between the Fed and the Treasury. The Fed kept interest rates low. Both the federal funds rates, so the short term interest rates, they also did, uh, some purchases of longer term to help keep longer term rates down. Right. So I mean, the, the Fed really, they, their policy was oriented exactly on this objective, keeping the borrowing cost of the US government low because it was financing the war effort. So, so there have been times where the Fed has cooperated with treasury. Now, when they came out of World War ii. What happened is, you know, treasury wants to keep interest rates low. This is good for, you know, the economy, good for growth, but it was, it really was creating a lot of inflationary pressures and it took until the early 1950s for the Fed to kind of regain its kind of operational independence from treasury and then go back to pursuing, you know, inflation as a key goal. And then also in the late seventies and maximum employment was added as an explicit goal. So we’re in a place now where. It’s employment, it’s inflation, it, there was quite, um, I mean, president Trump and some other officials have been, you know, very open about saying rates should be low to help with the deficit, with funding the gov. So like, it’s, it’s been in the discussion in the air. But that’s not, that’s not a mandate that Congress has given the Fed. That’s not what they’re pursuing. It does, you know, but things can change at the Fed. We’re gonna see a change in leadership this year with a new Fed chair. Um, the Fed always, I mean, Congress created the Federal Reserve. It’s changed its abilities, its responsibilities over time. I don’t wanna say that we’ll never get back to a place where the Fed thinks about. Its effect on the deficit. I mean, they’re watching it, they know, right? They’re tracking all these aspects of the economy. But in terms of what’s driving the Fed’s decisions about what the, the federal funds rate should be, that’s not part of the calculus right now. Yeah. Um, you know, another, just another question is for clarity. You know, the, the, um, officially right now there’s, there’s no quantitative easing. However, there is. Uh, you know, I’ve been reading, uh, about even, I think even today, there was a, a fair amount of liquidity, uh, being injected in by the Fed. Can you, for people who don’t understand the mechanics of this and what the difference in terminology is, can you explain to us maybe what the difference is between quantitative easing and what’s being done right now? So just as for context, where quantitative easing even came from. So if we go back to the global financial crisis in 2008, the Federal Reserve, in response to that recession, pulled the federal funds rate all the way to zero. Cut rates to zero And as sure many of us remember that that recession was a very deep and long recession. So, and the unemployment rate was, you know, 10% and inflation was not a problem. So the, the Fed would want in that environment to do more to support the economy. But when the federal funds rate is at zero, that’s, its, that has been its primary tool. Well, that’s, that’s. Stepped out. So then as a question of, well, what else could we do to help support the economy? And, and there, there were. Different possibilities. Uh, some European central banks looked at, you know, they actually did negative interest rates or tried to pull their policy rates, and that’s not what the US did. What was done was to do purchases of, uh, treasuries. Uh, there’s also been purchases of mortgage backed securities, and this is where the Fed is. I mean, and, and they’re creating reserves. So the fed, I guess, secretary, uh. Treasury doesn’t refer to it as magic money. Um, you know, they create reserves and then they’re going out and they’re buying tr so they’re pushing that liquidity, that demand into markets. And if you’re, if there’s a lot more demand for treasuries, well, the price of the treasuries will go up. The yield comes down. Interest rates go down. Yep. Interest rates go down. So they. They were, the Fed wanted to support the economy more. That was the tool that they used to do it. So when, when the Fed talks about quantitative easing, it’s not just the tool, the asset purchases, it’s also the intent, right? They wouldn’t do quantitative easing right now. ’cause if the Fed thought they really need to stimulate the economy more, they’ve still got like. More than three percentage points they could cut from the federal funds rate. Like if the issue were right now, we need to like get the economy going, they’re gonna like cut the funds rate and do it that way. They wouldn’t be pur like purchasing assets, purchasing treasuries to do that. But what what happened is between the global financial crisis, the Great recession, so all the asset purchases done then. There was some, some runoff of the balance sheet, but then again, in the pandemic there were a lot of asset purchases. Uh, the Fed has a really big balance sheet, and it has, uh, it, it kind of changes the way that the Fed can even just move around the federal funds rate. Like, I don’t wanna get too much into the, the technicals, but it’s, it’s just, you know, when the Fed says, well, we wanna lower the, the funds rate to 3.5%. In the old days, they could kind of do, you know, with the bank reserves and they could like, make these small purchases and it would, it would make that stick. Now with, there’s, uh, banks have a lot of reserves, so they’re not as responsive. And so just to kind of, there’s like the, the technical, the tools, the Fed has to just make it happen. In terms of operationally, it means that they have to do some purchases now and then they call their, I mean the new name they have for these are reserve management. Purchases. So it’s really about operations. It’s not about, but it does mean they’re purchasing assets. So if you’re just focused on like the Fed’s purchasing assets, they’re putting liquidity into the system. Yes, they are doing that, but it’s not with the intent to kind of push the economy to run harder. It’s just enough liquidity to keep. The federal funds rate stable at the level that they wanted to be at, to just make sure that all these operations are short in the very short term lending markets amongst banks, that it’s all kind of working as mm-hmm. As it should be. So it’s more about operations and it’s about stimulus policy. Right. A lot of our, um, a lot of our listeners are real estate owners, investors, and they’re, you know, they think about, um. Mortgage rates and that kind of thing. There was recently a, a pretty significant, well, I don’t know how significant it really was. I think it was about, was it maybe $250 billion worth of mortgage backed securities purchased by Fannie Mae. Um, that ca can you talk about the purpose of that and really the, you know, what kind of effect that would actually, we could actually expect from that. It’s certainly been, I mean it’s, it is clear. You know, we talked about one reason that the administration would want interest rates down. It’d be like financing the deficit. Right. Another reason that very much pulls into kind of the affordability debate is we want interest rates lower, one of them lower for consumers. Now the White House has put a lot of pressure on the Fed for them to lower rates even faster than they have. Has not played ball with that. But then the Fed has lowered its rates. The Feds rates are very short term rates, and the federal funds rate is like an overnight rate with between banks. Right. So it, and it has an effect on, you know. Credit card rates, short term rates, but it’s not one, it, it has an effect, but it’s really not like driving necessarily 30 year mortgage rates or you know, some of the longer term rates. There’s a lot of other factors that go into that, and so in this kind of, you know, push for lower mortgage rates. Pushing on the Fed is not the only lever to pull, right? The administration has other levers that they could potentially pull, um, in trying to influence mortgage rates. Now, there, I’d argue the administration’s tools here, like the, the $200 billion, Fannie and Freddie purchase that you mentioned. That really is about trying to reduce the spread. Between mortgages and treasuries. So in some ways it sounds similar, like, oh, fed and Franny, which are, you know, GSEs. So part, part of the, you know, government right now, at least they were privatized during the global financial crisis. You think, oh, they’re going out and purchasing this Sounds a lot like the Fed going out and purchasing. There are there, there’s some parallels, but we need to remember, Fannie and Freddie don’t create money. The Fed, when they start, when they start the process of their quantitative easing, they’re creating reserves like they’re actually creating liquidity and money supply. Fannie and Freddie have authorization to be able to make these purchases, but they’re not like the fed. They’re not creating reserves, but they can, so I don’t wanna think about them like bringing down the whole set of interest rates, but they can affect this spread between mortgages and say treasuries. Right? And so, because again, if you’re, if the. If the GSEs are going out, they’re purchasing mortgage backed securities, well that’s increasing demand for those, and that can push down the rates, that can like squeeze that spread. And, and while the announcement has been made, you know, I mean they’re, they’re in the early stages of putting that in place, but we even on the announcements, saw a response in financial markets and you’re seeing some movement down, uh, in mortgage rates now. It was. Pretty modest, right? And, and 200 billion while, you know, not nothing, uh, really pales in comparison to like the scale of say, the quantitative easing that the Fed did. Um, and there are probably other, but the, you know, the administration’s not done. It doesn’t necessarily have to be that Fannie and Freddie do more purchases. The the spread between mortgage rates and treasuries is pretty substantial. There’s other places where, you know, the fees that go into getting a mortgage are quite a bit larger than they were before the, the global financial crisis. So maybe they go in and try to chip away at the fees and, you know, so there’s, there’s different levers. And I fully expect, and I think we’re gonna get some announcements here again soon on the White Houses. Housing affordability agenda. So there may be other, other ways that they’re trying to, uh, influence, uh, the mortgage spreads. But that’s, that’s what that is all about. And it, it should have, and it looks like, you know, it’s having some effect in terms of bringing rates down, but it likely, it’d be modest, like in the 10 basis points, maybe 20 if they ramp up the program some. But like, it, you know, it’s, it, it, you know, every, every bit counts. But this is not a. Uh, this won’t be enough to, you know, move rates down, dramatic mortgage rates down dramatically, uh, when you, when you look at the economy. Um, and I, I, I think just, you know, one last question. I mean, I just in terms of, you know, the people listening to this are. They’re, they’re people, you know, with jobs and who are trying to invest their money, and they’re trying to, you know, build long-term wealth, but they’re, you know, everybody’s worried about what’s happening with the economy. What, what, what do you think, like, just as, um, um, you know, perspective for people to understand or try to have some framework for how to look at what’s going on in the economy. How they should judge it. Like what would you suggest, like just for mom and pop investors trying to, what is happening with the economy? I’m not an economist. What, what are the, what are the things that you think they should consider studying up on, looking into a little bit? One challenge for a lot of investors, I mean, frankly, it’s, it’s been a challenge that I try to deal with too. Uh, we’re, we’re in an environment where there’s just. There’s so much news coming out of DC uh, with the White House and policies and the Fed, and you know, I mean, like, there’s just, there’s a lot. The headlines are big. And like I talked about with the tariffs, we had like really big tariff announcements. The really scary numbers were, and then it like dialed back and then we pushed through it and it’s like, and it’s this remembering that, um. There’s always a tendency to have this idea that the, the president really runs the economy. I mean, that’s not just about this administration. That’s like a longstanding, you know, the president gets, uh, blame or credit for the economy when really, right. Like we have a over 33, $30 trillion economy, hundreds of millions of workers, tens of millions of businesses. Like this is not about one administration. And so we always need to be careful about. Putting too much weight on the policies coming out of dc. Uh, and you know, last year if you really just listened to all the, you know, we’re cutting immigration, we’re raising tariffs, we’re doing, you know, all, there’s a lot of uncertainty in Doge. Well then you might have missed, like, there’s a bunch of AI investment happening and we’ve got a lot of growth in the economy and while consumers are still pretty resilient, so you, it’s kind of like. Tuning down the volume, some coming out of Washington, especially the like every twist and turn. Uh, and then kind of focusing in on the fundamentals. I will say, you know, you don’t wanna turn down DC too far because we, we do have some like big picture events that could play out over many years. Right. So kind of keeping an eye on it, but for the long game. As opposed to reacting to every twist and turn, every policy announcement, because a lot of this clearly is more of a negotiation than it is like, we’re gonna actually do this. So, you know, as investors, you don’t wanna get whipped around by the latest headline, but you also can’t put your head in the sand. Like you gotta kind of try and find a way to pull the signal out of the noise. And it is really. It’s really hard. Yeah. Like this has been a challenging time and the, the US economy’s been doing things that are not typical. We talked about some of the things with the labor market and we are running some policy experiments that haven’t been run in a long time, so things could change pretty dramatically. But I think it’s just trying to absorb the information, not get too wound up about it, but like also keep an eye on like what’s good for long-term growth. Yeah. Because it’s good for long-term productivity. Thank you so much Dr. Sahm. It’s uh, it’s been a pleasure talking to you on, uh, wealth Formula Podcast today. Great. Thank you so much. You make a lot of money but are still worried about retirement. Maybe you didn’t start earning until your thirties. Now you’re trying to catch up. Meanwhile, you’ve got a mortgage, a private school to pay for, and you feel like you’re getting further and further behind. Now, good news, if you need to catch up on retirement, check out a program put out by some of the oldest and most prestigious life insurance companies in the world. It’s called Wealth Accelerator, and it can help you amplify your returns quickly, protect your money from creditors, and provide financial protection to your family if something happens to you. The concept. Here are used by some of the wealthiest families in the world, and there’s no reason why they can’t be used by you. Check it out for yourself by going to wealthformulabanking.com. Welcome back to the show everyone. Hope you enjoyed it. It was Claudia Sahm. She is, uh, she’s a very, very smart lady. And, uh, just a reminder, if you have not done so, uh, I, I don’t frequently ask to do, do this, but, uh, make sure you give the show. Five stars and a positive review because that’s how we’re getting, you know, really high quality people like Claudia on the show, I’ve been around for a long time. It helps that the show is, you know, like over a decade old and all that stuff too. But, uh, anything you can do to support would be very helpful. And also one more reminder, uh, if you have not done so and you weren’t a credit investor, make sure you sign up for that investor club. At Wealth formula.com. That’s it for me. This week on Wealth Formula Podcast. This is about Joffrey signing out. If you wanna learn more, you can now get free access to our in-depth personal finance course featuring industry leaders like Tom Wheelwright and Ken m. Visit wealthformularoadmap.com.

Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Alicia Lyttle. SUMMARY OF THE ALICIA LYTTLE INTERVIEW From “Money Making Conversations Master Class” with Rushion McDonald [ 1. Purpose of the Interview The purpose of this interview was to: Showcase Alicia Lyttle, CEO and co‑founder of Air Innovations, known widely as the “Queen of AI.” [ Educate small business owners, entrepreneurs, and nonprofits on how to leverage AI for growth. Highlight her mission to empower the African American community to not only keep up with AI—but lead in it. [ Demonstrate how AI tools can transform operations, content creation, finances, and productivity in minutes instead of months. Inspire listeners through her entrepreneurial journey, professional pivots, and personal resilience. 2. High-Level Summary Alicia Lyttle returns to the show two years after her last appearance, now positioned at the forefront of the global AI movement. She explains how her work has shifted from annual summits to monthly AI Business Summits, teaching tens of thousands of entrepreneurs how to use AI hands‑on for content, marketing, operations, and scaling. She breaks down how simple tools—such as NotebookLM, ChatGPT, Jasper, Gemini, and HeyGen—can turn a single piece of content into newsletters, PowerPoints, videos, study guides, and more. She stresses that AI is now accessible, especially with free versions like ChatGPT. Alicia also shares her origin story in AI, beginning with a 15‑year‑old speaker at Walmart Tech Live describing IBM Watson. This sparked her fascination and ultimately led her to pivot her entire company toward full-time AI training and consulting by 2022—despite skepticism from her peers. She details the massive growth of her brand, including 21,000+ live summit attendees and explosive social media expansion. The interview also addresses AI’s role in finance, healthcare, government, job disruption, and how individuals can future‑proof themselves. Her personal story of overcoming a restrictive ex-husband who told her she would “never speak again” underscores her powerful message: no one should silence your gifts. Now she speaks to thousands, leads major events, and helps others build new careers in AI. 3. Key Takeaways A. AI Is Evolving Fast—and So Must We AI is changing so quickly that entrepreneurs cannot afford to wait for annual updates. This is why Alicia shifted to monthly training summits. People need ongoing education to stay competitive. B. Hands‑On AI Education Is the Key Alicia doesn’t just lecture—she walks participants through real demonstrations: Uploading YouTube links Creating summaries Generating emails, mind maps, PowerPoints, quizzes, videos, and more…all from a single input. Her approach eliminates fear and teaches entrepreneurs how to use AI immediately. C. Accessibility Has Changed the Game The release of ChatGPT, especially the free version, democratized AI. Before that, tools like IBM Watson were too complex and expensive. Now anyone with a laptop and internet connection can build websites, write content, or automate business flows in minutes. [ D. The African American Community Must Lead—Not Follow Alicia emphasizes that historically, Black communities have been “last in line” in tech innovation, but this AI era presents a once‑in‑a‑generation opportunity to jump ahead.She sees it as her mission to speak everywhere Black entrepreneurs are to ensure they seize this moment. E. AI Will Replace Tasks—But People Can Future‑Proof Themselves Jobs are already shifting. Companies are laying off non–AI‑literate employees.Alicia urges people to: Become AI‑fluent Join AI committees at work Pursue certification Use AI to become their company’s internal expert “There’s no maybe—you have to learn AI,” she warns. F. AI is Transforming Every Sector: Finance, Healthcare, Government She provides insights on… AI receptionists (“Monica” and “Leslie”) that boost customer interaction to 92% Financial analysis using secure ChatGPT setups AI mental health companions Government calls for national AI leadership G. Alicia Monetizes Through Education, Certification & Consulting Her business model includes: Free monthly summits Paid masterclasses Corporate consulting AI certifications Live Atlanta workshops She teaches others to become AI consultants too. H. Her Personal Triumph Story Inspires Thousands A powerful moment is when she recounts her ex-husband saying: “There’s only one quarterback on a team—and you will never speak again.”Yet today, 1,200+ people attend her live events, and tens of thousands join her virtual trainings. Her success proves resilience and purpose overcome adversity. 4. Key Quotes On AI Opportunity “Never has there been a better time in history to start, build, or scale a business than right now.” On Training Entrepreneurs “Open your laptops… use the same prompt I use. See what results you get.” On the Power of AI Tools “You can take one episode and repurpose it into all these different content ways.” On Pivoting Her Entire Company “In 2022, I said we’re closing this business and going all in on AI.” On Being Black in Tech “My mission is to make sure our community is not left behind—but ahead of the curve.” On Personal Resilience “You will be speaking on the best stages… people will come to see you.”(A friend’s response after she was told she’d “never speak again.”) On Future-Proofing Careers “Those using AI will replace you. You have to learn how to leverage AI.” On AI as a Human-First Technology “AI plus human intelligence—that’s what takes things to the next level.” #SHMS #STRAW #BESTSteve Harvey Morning Show Online: http://www.steveharveyfm.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you enjoyed the podcast, please review it in Apple Podcasts. Reviews are incredibly important for rankings on Apple Podcasts. My staff and I read each and every one.If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to email me directly at steven@BuWit.com. The BuWit Family of Companies include: https://BuWit.comhttps://offers2owners.comhttps://landinvestors.comhttps://landacademy.comhttps://landpin.comhttps://parcelfact.comhttps://countywise.comhttps://deedperfect.comhttps://ownersdata.comhttps://houseacademy.comI would like to think it's entertaining and informative and, in the end, profitable. And finally, don't forget to subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts.

Turning Customer Experience into Customer Transformation  Shep interviews Joseph Pine, best-selling author of Experience Economy, speaker, and cofounder of Strategic Horizons LLP. He talks about his new book, The Transformation Economy, and how businesses can go beyond creating memorable experiences to guiding customers through meaningful transformations that help them achieve their aspirations.  This episode of Amazing Business Radio with Shep Hyken answers the following questions and more:    What is the transformation economy?  What is the difference between selling a product and creating a transformative customer experience?  How can businesses guide customers to achieve their personal or professional aspirations?  What are the benefits of customizing experiences to meet individual customer needs?  What elements contribute to a robust customer experience?  Top Takeaways:    The transformation economy is about how companies can help customers change. It is about how your business can help them achieve their aspirations.   Businesses create more value when they focus on selling the end rather than the means. Go beyond selling products and services to understanding why customers buy and use that knowledge to help them reach their goals and achieve their aspirations.  Transformation is not a one-size-fits-all. It must begin with truly understanding where the customer is starting (from) and where your customers aspire to end up (to). Carefully identify the customer's current situation, needs, and aspirations to tailor experiences that produce meaningful outcomes for them.  Sell transformation, not just products. For example, people don't buy a treadmill because they want the equipment. They want to be healthier, have more stamina, or feel better about themselves. Whether you're selling a physical product, a service, or something else, shift your mindset to the customer's desired result.   In both B2B and B2C, businesses should become trusted partners, not just vendors. That means understanding clients' deeper goals and helping them achieve success, even if it occasionally means recommending solutions outside what you sell. The focus is on the customer's outcome, not just the transaction.  In the transformation economy, companies should charge for what customers value most: outcomes. Companies are moving away from pricing based on time, materials, or products. It is focused on results.  Transformative change for customers doesn't come from a single transaction. It spans the entire journey, including the preparation before the event, reflection afterwards, and ongoing integration into daily life.  Plus, Shep and Joe share insights from The Transformation Economy and discuss companies that are putting customer transformations first. Tune in!  Quote:   "Transformations are built on top of experiences. We change through the experiences that we have. "    About:    Joseph Pine is a bestselling author, speaker, and cofounder of Strategic Horizons LLP, celebrated for guiding Fortune 500 companies and innovative startups alike. He is the author of The Experience Economy, Mass Customization, and Infinite Possibility.  Shep Hyken is a customer service and experience expert, New York Times bestselling author, award-winning keynote speaker, and host of Amazing Business Radio.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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"There is value in being able to articulate the qualitative value of sustainability…And yes, obviously revenues can be attached to that, but obviously just the opportunity to open up new markets more broadly and innovate…There's the risk and compliance component, which tend to be more easy to actually quantify. And then there's the brand reputation…So you can make the case qualitatively in any of those three areas…There's this movement from morality to materiality now that CFOs are involved…We actually take that all the way to the financial statements, to the balance sheet, to the profit and loss statement, and identify those specific line items where there could be savings or synergies or increases." Maura Hodge on Electric Ladies Podcast   Companies have to focus on long-term value and returns, and a recent report by KPMG found that 88% of them say sustainability creates both. They also see it as a competitive advantage. Why? Listen to Maura Hodge, Chief Sustainability Officer of global management consulting and accounting firm KPMG in this enlightening conversation with Electric Ladies Podcast host Joan Michelson.   You'll hear about: ●        How companies see sustainability as a competitive advantage. ●        How sustainability and ESG initiatives drive return on investment and long-term value. ●        Why CFO's are on board with ESG, as both a risk mitigation and revenue driver. ●        What companies can do to make progress themselves. ●        Plus, career advice, such as:   "My experience has been looking for those opportunities of new area growth, innovation. Of course, there's risk. There's going to be risk when you move into those areas…I actually pivoted and started working with venture capital backed life sciences companies…then I got to come back to sustainability after that. …I think keeping your eyes open, keeping your ears open, developing your network, and being willing to make those changes and taking those pivots in your career will pay off….(And) the way that you get ahead is actually sometimes by taking two steps back. And so, it's more of a step up, plateau, then maybe take a step down and then start moving up again. And that's how you kind of break into the next level." Maura Hodge on Electric Ladies Podcast   Read Joan's Forbes article on Maura's panel at the Workiva conference here, and her Joan's other Forbes articles here.   You'll also like: ·       Business Leaders Bridging the Climate Gap – Joan's panel at The Earth Day Women's Summit 2025 with four top business leaders. ·       Sustainable Business Is Good Business – Tensie Whelan, Founding Director, NYU  Stern School of Sustainable Business. ·        Leveraging AI for Sustainability – Mandi McReynolds, VP of External Affairs & Chief Sustainability Office at Workiva ·       The Politics of Climate & Energy – with Congresswoman Chrissy Houlahan, Co-Chair, Bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus ·       6 Ways Sustainability Can Help Businesses Navigate Tough Times and Drive Growth – From Workiva, KPMG and NYU   Subscribe to our newsletter to receive our podcasts, blog, events and special coaching offers.   Thanks for subscribing on Apple Podcasts or iHeartRadio and leaving us a review! Follow us on Twitter @joanmichelson

In "Home Delivery World: The Future of Fulfillment", Joe Lynch and John Beasley, General Manager of Home Delivery World, discuss he critical strategies and emerging technologies redefining the high-stakes journey from the warehouse to the consumer's front door. About John Beasley John Beasley, General Manager of Home Delivery World, has been part of the HDW team since 2021. With over 8 years in the events world, his goal is to bring innovation to the event and foster a community where attendees can make meaningful connections and drive their businesses forward. His background in sales, business development, partnerships combined with a degree in Operations Management with a specialization in Supply Chain Management has come full circle and has been instrumental in building Home Delivery World into the most important last-mile event in North America. About Terrapinn Terrapinn events have been sparking ideas, innovations and relationships that transform business for over 30 years. Using our global footprint, we bring innovators, disrupters and change agents together, discussing and demonstrating the technology, strategies and personalities that are changing the way the world does business. Home Delivery World is Terrapinn's premiere event in America and HDW is the leading event redefining the future of ecommerce logistics and supply chain strategy across North America. The event continues to be the go-to platform for big-box retailers, DTC shippers, grocers, manufacturers, and ecommerce brands seeking innovation and transformation in the last-mile. Key Takeaways: Home Delivery World: The Future of Fulfillment In "Home Delivery World: The Future of Fulfillment", Joe Lynch and John Beasley, General Manager of Home Delivery World, discuss he critical strategies and emerging technologies redefining the high-stakes journey from the warehouse to the consumer's front door. Laser Focus on the "Final Mile": Unlike general supply chain events like Manifest (which Joe calls the "Super Bowl of logistics"), HDW is a niche, specialized event. It focuses specifically on the journey from the warehouse to the consumer. If your business revolves around B2C delivery, middle-mile logistics, or white-glove service, this is the dedicated "world" for those specific challenges. The Delivery Team as a Brand Extension: A critical takeaway from the interview is that the delivery person is often the only physical point of contact a customer has with a brand. Whether they are a third-party contractor or a direct employee, their behavior—from wearing shoe covers to their attitude at the doorstep—can either solidify customer loyalty or ruin a multi-thousand dollar purchase in the "last 50 feet." Rapid Evolution of Delivery Technology: The "Future of Fulfillment" isn't just a buzzword; it's actively being deployed. The podcast highlights the shift from experimental to practical use of: Drones: Solving issues like "porch pirates" by delivering to backyards. Robotics & Autonomous Vans: Navigating the transition from diesel to electric and automated fleets. Inventory AI: Managing complex stock levels across multiple social commerce channels like TikTok and Instagram. Logistics as a Competitive Business Strategy: Logistics is no longer just a back-office cost; for ecommerce companies, it can represent up to 20% of revenue. The interview emphasizes that "free shipping" is a strategic business choice, not a logistical reality. Companies must attend these events to find regional carriers that offer better rates or services than national giants like UPS or FedEx. Managing Consumer Expectations: Unlike B2B deliveries, home consumers are not industry pros; they have extreme expectations and often want products almost the moment they hit "order." This necessitates a shift from traditional bulk shipping toward highly strategic inventory placement to ensure seamless same-day or next-day delivery. The Rise of Big & Bulky White-Glove Service: Fulfillment is moving beyond small parcels. A significant portion of HDW is dedicated to "Big and Bulky" items (like Pelotons, sofas, or outdoor fireplaces). These require specialized equipment—such as pallets with handheld brakes for steep driveways—and specialized services like in-home assembly, which are becoming major revenue drivers for retailers like Wayfair. Education Through a Diverse Ecosystem: The event serves as a massive "live classroom" where 200+ industry leaders from brands like Wayfair, Ulta Beauty, and Albertsons share what worked and what failed. It bridges the gap between massive "big dogs" (JB Hunt, Maersk, Amazon) and three-year-old startups, fostering a community where the most important connections happen between the shippers and the solution providers. Learn More About Home Delivery World: The Future of Fulfillment John Beasley | Linkedin HDW | Linkedin HDW HDW: Register Here HDW Agenda OneRail's Winning Strategy for Final Mile with Bill Catania Drone Delivery is Here with Tom Walker The Logistics of Logistics Podcast If you enjoy the podcast, please leave a positive review, subscribe, and share it with your friends and colleagues. The Logistics of Logistics Podcast: Google, Apple, Castbox, Spotify, Stitcher, PlayerFM, Tunein, Podbean, Owltail, Libsyn, Overcast Check out The Logistics of Logistics on Youtube  

Big pharma and biotech take the earnings stage this week with reports from Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLNY) and Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO) leading the lineup. Will they help the industry once again outperform AI champ NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA), as the industry did in 2025? Karl Thiel, Tom King, and Tim Beyers discuss: - Slow rolling chaos at FDA and its effects on drug approvals. - How to think about risk when investing in biotech. - Earnings predictions for Lilly and Novo as well as a review of results from DNA researcher Twist Bioscience (NASDAQ: TWST). Don't wait! Be sure to get to your local bookstore and pick up a copy of David's Gardner's new book — Rule Breaker Investing: How to Pick the Best Stocks of the Future and Build Lasting Wealth. It's on shelves now; get it before it's gone! Companies discussed: RGNX, LLY, NVO, TWST Host: Tim Beyers Guests: Karl Thiel, Tom King Producer: Anand Chokkavelu Engineer: Dan Boyd Disclosure: Advertisements are sponsored content and provided for informational purposes only. The Motley Fool and its affiliates (collectively, “TMF”) do not endorse, recommend, or verify the accuracy or completeness of the statements made within advertisements. TMF is not involved in the offer, sale, or solicitation of any securities advertised herein and makes no representations regarding the suitability, or risks associated with any investment opportunity presented. Investors should conduct their own due diligence and consult with legal, tax, and financial advisors before making any investment decisions. TMF assumes no responsibility for any losses or damages arising from this advertisement. We're committed to transparency: All personal opinions in advertisements from Fools are their own. The product advertised in this episode was loaned to TMF and was returned after a test period or the product advertised in this episode was purchased by TMF. Advertiser has paid for the sponsorship of this episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Capitalism may be heading toward an “event horizon,” where a handful of firms become so entrenched they're effectively the last companies standing. We break down the four “Infinity Gauntlet” pillars: intelligence, energy, capital, and labor. And why collapsing costs in AI and robotics could make abundance, and monopolies, the default outcome. From Google's data + compute flywheel to the Tesla/SpaceX/xAI convergence and even space-based energy/data centers, we map the new battlefield and what it means for building a future-proof portfolio (not investment advice). Josh Kale https://x.com/JoshKale  ------

It's YOUR time to #EdUp with Dr. Edward Bush, President, Cosumnes River CollegeIn this episode, President Series #442, powered by ⁠⁠⁠Ellucian⁠⁠⁠, & sponsored by the 2026 InsightsEDU Conference in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, February 17-19,YOUR cohost is Dr. Bernard A. Polnariev, Vice President for Administrative Services, UCNJYOUR host is ⁠⁠Dr. Joe SallustioHow does a 15,000 student California community college become an Aspen Prize finalist twice while transfer students perform 20 points ahead of peers at selective universities?Why do Takeda, Amgen & the Navy base now pay for students to attend & request custom bachelor's degrees in bio manufacturing & applied cybersecurity to fill over 750 unfilled nationwide jobs?What does authentic relationship building mean for higher education's future when technology matters but connections with local economies & communities ultimately sustain institutional relevance?Listen in to #EdUpThank YOU so much for tuning in. Join us on the next episode for YOUR time to EdUp!Connect with YOUR EdUp Team - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Elvin Freytes⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Dr. Joe Sallustio⁠⁠⁠⁠● Join YOUR EdUp community at The EdUp ExperienceWe make education YOUR business!P.S. Want to get early, ad-free access & exclusive leadership content to help support the show? Become an #EdUp Premium Member today!

Here is a FAQ Video on the Courses: https://youtu.be/0F7imrzjXWs Here is a deep dive into which course is best for you: https://youtu.be/JM_jgS8M-iU https://www.b2bRevenue.com - Get Your Free E-Book on How Companies make Decisions. FAQ: 1 YEAR ACCESS, PAY MONTHLY OR ANNUALLY NOT A SUBSCRIPTION OFFICE HOURS EVERY  OTHER WEEK VIA ZOOM. 1 HOUR GROUP Q&A. UNLIMITED 1-ON-1'S  ARE FREE AS LONG AS THEY CAN BE SHARED IN THE COURSE. 1-ON-1 ARE FULL ACCESS ON DAY ONE - NOTHING IS GATED OR TIME RELEASED. ALL CONTENT IS VIDEO BASED AND SELF PACED I RECOMMEND TAKE COURSE ONCE WITHOUT NOTES OR APPLYING IT SO YOU UNDERSTAND THE BIG PICTURE FIRST. THEN TAKE AND APPLY IT STEP BY STEP. YOU START WHEN YOU WANT AND GO AS FAST OR SLOW AS NEEDED.   Email me additional questions: briangburns@me.com     — SAMPLE EMAIL TO EXPENSE THE COURSE MGR,   I have been listening to the brutal truth about sales podcast for X months and it speaks to the issues we face.   They currently offer a course that includes video instruction, group Q&A and One-on-One coaching. I'm committed to my own personal development and would like your help in expensing the course.   It would pay for itself if I closed only one new deal of $X value.   Please let me know by Friday if I can move forward with this 1 year course.   Thanks, ME Here are some student interviews from the courses:      ———————————————————————————————————— Audible 30 day Free Trial: http://www.audibletrial.com/BrutalTruth             Listen to The Sales Questions PodCast: https://itun.es/i67d3Ry     Listen to The B2B Revenue Leadership Show: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/b2b-revenue-leadership-show/id1174976428?mt=2     Twitter: @briangburns LinkedIn: Brian G. Burns Facebook: Brian Burns YouTube: Brian Burns SALES PODCAST  

On this week's Game Deflators podcast episode, John and Ryan are back with a packed lineup of gaming chatter, industry hot takes, and a double dose of Highguard discourse. The episode kicks off with fresh gaming updates as the guys break down what they've been playing, what's caught their attention. From there, they dive into Highguard's rocky reception, comparing its early reviews to other notoriously low‑rated titles. Is the criticism fair, or is this another case of the internet dog‑piling a new release? The conversation then shifts to censorship in gaming, with Nintendo's recent decision to censor Dispatch taking center stage. John and Ryan break down why this move feels out of step with the company's own history, especially considering similar or even more provocative titles that previously launched on Nintendo platforms without edits. They explore what might be driving this sudden change and whether it signals a new, less predictable approach to content approval going forward. Next, the duo speculates on Switch 2 pricing, weighing hardware rumors, and market trends. They also turn their attention to the future of PlayStation 6, discussing delays, shifting expectations, and what Sony needs to do to regain momentum. Finally, the guys return to Highguard for a full hero shooter review and critique, breaking down gameplay, design choices, and whether the title has the potential to grow—or if it's destined to fade fast. 00:00 Introduction to the Game Deflators Podcast 03:12 3D Printing Adventures and New Gear 06:03 Gaming Updates: Plucky Squire and Feedback 09:11 Voice Acting in Games: A Discussion 12:14 The Impact of AI in Gaming Voiceovers 15:12 Speedrunning and Community Dynamics 18:04 High Guard and Game Reception 21:10 Censorship in Gaming: Nintendo's Decisions 26:57 Nintendo's Innuendos and the Switch 2 Price Predictions 33:16 The Future of PlayStation: Delays and Expectations 44:08 Highguard: A Hero Shooter Review and Critique   Find us on TheGameDeflators.com Twitter - www.twitter.com/GameDeflators Facebook - www.facebook.com/TheGameDeflators Instagram - www.instagram.com/thegamedeflators   The views and opinions expressed on this channel are solely those of the author. The content within these recordings are property of their respective Designers, Writers, Creators, Owners, Organizations, Companies and Producers. Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted. Permission for intro and outro music provided by Matthew Huffaker http://www.youtube.com/user/teknoaxe 2_25_18

Stop losing the AI revenue multiplier game. Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://theultimatepartner.com/ebook-subscribe/ Check Out UPX: https://theultimatepartner.com/experience/ In this episode, Jay McBain reveals why focusing solely on consumer AI hype is a massive mistake that causes businesses to miss the real opportunity: the 99% of business data currently sitting in cold storage. We discuss the critical shift toward “Agentic AI” and integrations, where the real money lies for partners—moving from a standard transaction to a $3 to $7 multiplier effect. Jay also issues a stark warning about the “book of failure” waiting for companies that refuse to adopt a platform mindset, explaining why you can’t hire your way out of the talent shortage and must embrace the seven-partner ecosystem to survive the next decade. https://youtu.be/RXRJW027Qz8 https://youtu.be/RXRJW027Qz8 Key Takeaways Partners can unlock a $3 to $7 multiplier on every dollar of Microsoft revenue by focusing on the full customer journey. 99% of the world’s business data is not yet trained into models, representing the massive “Agentic AI” opportunity. The talent shortage is forcing end customers to outsource because they cannot compete with hyperscalers for AI skills. Integration is now the number one buying criteria for modern customers, necessitating a platform approach. We are overestimating the AI change in two years but vastly underestimating the transformation coming in ten years. Your visible pipeline may be less than 10% of your total addressable market because you aren’t seeing the 28 moments before a sale. If you're ready to lead through change, elevate your business, and achieve extraordinary outcomes through the power of partnership—this is your community. At Ultimate Partner® we want leaders like you to join us in the Ultimate Partner Experience – where transformation begins. Key Tags Agentic AI, AI Multiplier, Cold Storage Data, Business Integration, Jay McBain, Platform Economy, Ecosystem Strategy, Managed Services, Co-selling, Hyperscaler Partnerships, Talent Shortage, Magnificent Seven, Digital Transformation, 28 Moments, AI Governance. Transcript: [00:00:00] Jay McBain: And getting from one to two to $3 a multiplier. So if Microsoft wins a hundred thousand dollars, I win $300,000 at 75% margin. And a sticky customer that’s gonna continue to enrich every 30 days forever. [00:00:16] Vince Menzione: I want to double click here. You talked about ag agentic technology and ai. I just wanna go back in on this. [00:00:21] Vince Menzione: So where is the money? Where’s the real money for the partners that are, that are participating? Microsoft? We’ll talk to Microsoft about Frontier Firm in a little while, but is it on advisory? Is it on build? Is it on managed services or ongoing optimization? Of the, of the stack. Where, where is it? [00:00:36] Jay McBain: Yeah. All the above. [00:00:37] Vince Menzione: All of the above. [00:00:38] Jay McBain: So Microsoft is famous for, you know, $8 and 45 cents of multiplier. We’ve written probably three dozen of these reports. Just this year. So whether you’re in a cyber platform, whether you’re in a hyperscaler platform, big SaaS platform, the first thing the CEO does when they get on CNBC or they get, uh, on their keynote in Vegas is say, Hey, you know, you can make $7 and 5 cents. [00:01:01] Jay McBain: You can make $7 and 13 cents, and here’s where it’s. This percentage of it is in consulting advisory. This percentage is in design and architecture, implementation, integration, managed services. This is how much, it’s a small little slice in procurement. If you wanna resell, that’s fine, but here is the opportunity and there’s no customer on the planet that’s gonna outsource seven to one. [00:01:23] Vince Menzione: Right? [00:01:23] Jay McBain: You know, it’s not advisable that anyone hands over the keys. You have to have some insourced talent Absolutely. To keep the thing running. But what would’ve been in the past, maybe one to one, or you know, two to one, is quickly becoming three to one to say that I can’t find, as an end customer, the AI talent to do this. [00:01:43] Jay McBain: I can’t find the cyber talent. I can’t find the infrastructure talent. I, I can’t find the talent. Even if I did, I can’t compete with these magnificent seven. I can’t compete with these big partners in terms of what they can pay. So now my ability, and now a younger buyer, majority buyer, now being a millennial loves a team sport. [00:02:02] Jay McBain: So they don’t mind this outsourcing of talent where they need it, and that’s why there’s seven partners around the table. But in this multiplier effect, the biggest opportunity for partners is not a specific skill or not a specific part of the journey. It’s actually understanding this multiplier and better serving the customer. [00:02:20] Jay McBain: Through before, during, and after the transaction and getting from one to two to $3 a multiplier. So if Microsoft wins a hundred thousand dollars, I win $300,000 at 75% margin. And a sticky customer that’s gonna continue to enrich every 30 days forever. [00:02:38] Vince Menzione: I love that. Uh, we can talk all day about ai. There’s a couple things specifically though, but what is the one missed? [00:02:45] Vince Menzione: Conception that partners have about Agen, AI’s impact on go-to market? [00:02:50] Jay McBain: Well, the misconception I can broadly at this point is that all of the hype cycle in the first, you know, two to three years of build out has been all consumer. [00:02:58] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:02:59] Jay McBain: So, Nvidia being the richest company and you know, Elon Musk becoming the richest person and all the changes that are happening and you know, how, how the world’s mostly it’s a consumer story. [00:03:08] Vince Menzione: It is. [00:03:09] Jay McBain: You know, Chachi PT became the fastest growing product in history. And you know, to the point of having 850 million, you know, daily users. Crazy. You know, just in a couple of years we’ve all changed our behavior from going to do a search and getting a bunch of links and then clicking the links to try to find the answer to answer first. [00:03:25] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:03:26] Jay McBain: And you start to think now through the business side of it, 99% of world’s business data has yet to be trained or tuned into models. 83% of it sits in cold storage at the edge. So I, I always tell the story. I mean, probably the most likely story in our industry is when you get your flight canceled and now you’ve got this chat bot [00:03:45] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:03:45] Jay McBain: You know, that comes and cancels your flight and is very empathetic, you know, feels really bad for you, but it can’t do anything. [00:03:52] Vince Menzione: No. [00:03:53] Jay McBain: So what I would like as a consumer when you do that, is to go download my 53 years of flying and understand what kind of flyer I am. ’cause I could be the, you know, we’re sorry we canceled your flight. [00:04:05] Jay McBain: We’ve already got a Marriott night for you and an Uber waiting at the curb and we’ll have you back here at 5:00 AM for the next available flight. Or you happen to be like me. We’re gonna get you on a flight. You gotta run across the airport. But we got a flight, you know, waiting to go and that’ll get you about six hours away from your home and your kids. [00:04:24] Jay McBain: We already have a hertz rental waiting. Yeah. And you’re gonna drive that six hours, but you’re gonna be home, you know, to take your kids to school tomorrow. Exactly. So that’s the business data. And that goes to finance, that goes to pharmaceutical. I mean, it goes into every industry, but if that chat bot got access to the business data and being able to act on a richer set of data about you personally, and then became AG agentic. [00:04:46] Jay McBain: Again, I don’t want to go to Marriott. I don’t wanna go to Uber. I don’t wanna go to Hertz. There’s a thousand permutations in a canceled flight and I, and I, you know, wanna notify my family and there’s so many things going on that age Agentic work becomes everything, which I love it, by the way, in our partnership term is called integrations. [00:05:03] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:05:04] Jay McBain: Our buyers now in integration, first buyer, it’s their number one criteria and every company thinking through their adjacencies. Including technology companies have to be the most integrated of their set of competitors. [00:05:17] Vince Menzione: So we need to get this part right. [00:05:19] Jay McBain: We have to get this part right. [00:05:20] Vince Menzione: What do you think, what do you think the time horizon is for that? [00:05:23] Vince Menzione: When are we gonna, when are we gonna see that chat bot that comes back and says, Jay, I’ve rebooked your flight. I’ve got the Hertz rental car ready for you. I’ve notified Michelle and the kids, and here you go. [00:05:33] Jay McBain: Yeah. Well for me that’s a 10 year horizon. [00:05:36] Vince Menzione: Okay. [00:05:37] Jay McBain: I mean, the biggest problem is no airline right now. [00:05:39] Jay McBain: No company right now wants to open up their cold storage and, you know, forklift it up into. You know, a consumer level, large language model. Yeah. So the security isn’t set yet. The governance, the compliance, the risk, all the different things. Nobody wants to be first, uh, in, in that area. So we’re running little pilots. [00:05:59] Jay McBain: The pilots, you know, aren’t converting into production at the level we want. But that, that, that goes back to the Bill Gates quote. You know, we tended to overestimate what would happen in two years. Two years, but we’re absolutely underestimating what’s gonna happen in 10. [00:06:12] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:06:13] Jay McBain: This has been the fastest growing industry for 50. [00:06:15] Jay McBain: It’s going to be for the next 10 guaranteed, but probably for the next 20 to 50 as well. And, and this is that stage of how do you start to make these integrations? If you go to the platform slide, this is the, you know, I, I tried to think through the, what would the book read when, when 53% of companies that we know and love today fail. [00:06:36] Jay McBain: Somebody writes the book, you know, they invented the thing that killed them or they, you know, as mismanagement or whatever, it’s, you know, the book always starts, you blame the CEO for the first chapter. You blame the board fiduciary responsibility in the second chapter, but now you got like eight more chapters to write. [00:06:51] Jay McBain: I think the answer is here. [00:06:53] Vince Menzione: I [00:06:53] Jay McBain: agree. Winning in the AI era is platforms. Big platforms working with other platforms up on the upper right, the integrations. Yep. That’s the number one criteria. It’s the airline working with all the different pieces. It’s the real estate agent working with all the different pieces the bank working with. [00:07:11] Jay McBain: All our lives all become interconnected, and these agents start working side doors and back doors on our behalf. Before we ever know we need them before the flight’s even canceled. [00:07:20] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:07:21] Jay McBain: And then the seven partnerships, the services and channel partnerships. If you’re in cybersecurity, 91.6% of it goes through the channel. [00:07:30] Jay McBain: That’s how it’s transacted. You need channel partnerships, but you also need partnerships with the other six partners around the table. You’re not just gonna win without one reseller. You are gonna have to build the other partnerships. So to get to the two or three, that’s the services and channels you have to win In alliances, this is a big part of ultimate partnerships. [00:07:47] Vince Menzione: Yes. [00:07:47] Jay McBain: Is winning with the hyperscalers, winning with the SaaS companies, winning on these marketplaces, winning with the big cyber platforms, distribution platforms. These bigger platforms are starting to take shape and this is what they look like working well. And you could compete tooth and nail in the morning. [00:08:03] Jay McBain: And be best friends by the afternoon. [00:08:04] Vince Menzione: Your frenemies. [00:08:05] Jay McBain: Your frenemies. Yeah. And then finally it all comes to go to market. You got these 28 moments before a sale and somebody is earning and winning those moments. And in the majority of cases, you’re never gonna see these moments. And that’s why your pipeline is less than half of your TAM and maybe less than 10% of your tam. [00:08:23] Jay McBain: ’cause you just don’t have visibility to where your buyers are. But the more partners, the seven partners that you connect to. You’re gonna start to see them and the more technology and more agentic technology that you connect, you don’t want humans filling out deal registration forms. You don’t want humans calling other humans. [00:08:40] Jay McBain: You want all of this being shared. The more of this you do in go to market, the co-selling, the co-marketing, co-innovation, all of this comes together. This is the rest of the book. If the companies today in every industry aren’t driving a platform in their own industry. They’re going to probably fail. [00:08:58] Vince Menzione: Absolutely. You know, we talk about situational awareness in an account. You talk about the seven seats at the table. The customer is talking to all these companies. You may not know about it. You think you’re, you’re dominant in the account, and they’re relying on all these decision makers that I think you said 6.3 is the actual number, right? [00:09:13] Vince Menzione: Yeah. Uh, analysis wise, how many. Organizations are part of that trusted group. You need to go influence all of those. You need to build the co-develop co, co-create with those organizations as well. And you need to be thinking about the whole ecosystem. This ties into this conversation about the decade of the ecosystem. [00:09:30] Vince Menzione: You know, you’ve been talking about it since 2020, maybe a little bit before. I think you might’ve even in this podcast studio. It might have been one of the first times we talked about the decade of the ecosystem. It really feels like this is the moment that all of this comes together. Maybe this slide defines why organizations need to think ecosystem and not vendor channel, if you [00:09:49] Jay McBain: agree. [00:09:50] Jay McBain: Yeah. And there’s a couple of, you know, companies and more than a couple that kind of have this slide posted in the CEO’s office. [00:09:58] Vince Menzione: Yeah. Should be. [00:09:59] Jay McBain: Every [00:09:59] Vince Menzione: CEO should be, and uh, every CEO should see this. The Ultimate Partner Winter Retreat is gonna be here in the Boca Studio. This is the third year that we’re gonna be here in Boca. [00:10:10] Vince Menzione: This is always a favorite of our community members, our executive members, our sponsors and speakers. We’ll all be here in the studio, which is a really intimate. Setting, we can see upwards of 40, 50 people. Uh, we’ll be hosting an incredible dinner at the Boca Resort overlooking the golf course. That’s an incredible property. [00:10:32] Vince Menzione: And, uh, we’d love to have you join us. Thank you for being part of the ultimate Partner community, and I hope to see you this year at one of our events. Thank you.

Guest: Michael Toth. The segment focuses on California's strategy to empower the Attorney General to sue fossil fuel companies for rising insurance premiums. Toth argues these lawsuits are politically motivated and legally weak, noting that even insurance companies refuse to sue because attributing specific damages or deaths to corporate emissions is factually difficult.UNDATED

Guest: Michael Toth. Toth of the Civitas Institute warns against new "climate superfund" legislation in states like New York, which seeks to retroactively tax fossil fuel companies for global warming. He characterizes these funds as unconstitutional attempts to regulate global emissions at the state level, arguing they will function as slush funds that drive up energy costs.1903 SANTA BARBARA

Brad Lea, Tom, and Brandon break down a viral leadership story about turning around a failing brand. When new leadership faces internal resistance, do you listen, fire, or prove them wrong? A raw conversation on confidence, respect, feedback, and earning authority as a leader.

Apple does a big acquisition. OpenAI is racing to IPO. Elon might just merge all his companies into one. Google's Project Genie is the latest thing that will make you say, gee, AI can do that?! And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Apple buys Israeli start-up Q.AI for close to $2bn in race to build AI devices (FT) OpenAI Plans Fourth-Quarter IPO in Race to Beat Anthropic to Market (WSJ) SpaceX in merger talks with other Musk companies ahead of IPO (Reuters) Elon Musk's SpaceX Said to Consider Merger With Tesla or xAI (Bloomberg) Google's AI helped me make bad Nintendo knockoffs (The Verge) Moltbot Gets Another New Name, OpenClaw, And Triggers Security Fears And Scams (Forbes) Weekend Longread: To avoid accusations of AI cheating, college students are turning to AI (NBCNews) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Have you ever looked at your marketing spend and thought, where the heck did that money go? If so, you are not alone. If your marketing feels like you're throwing cash into a bonfire, you're not broken, you're not behind. You're just missing the engine that makes everything work.>>> Here are 4 ways we can help you reach your revenue goals faster...#1 Unlock the full potential of your marketing engine. We'll provide you and your team with the direction, insights, and tools necessary to excel in the complex landscape of modern marketing. - Marketing Advisor On Call#2 Discover the marketing strategies & tactics that will guide your next quarter and unlock explosive growth in 90 minutes. - Quick-Start Marketing Strategy Game Plan#3 Discover a tailor-made strategy for unprecedented growth to transform your marketing in 30 days. - Unlock Your Growth Opportunities#4 If you need guidance on the most effective direction for your marketing, then schedule a call with us today! - Get Your Free Discovery Call Now

For more thoughts, clips, and updates, follow Avetis Antaplyan on Instagram: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/avetisantaplyan⁠In this episode of The Tech Leader's Playbook, Avetis Antaplyan dives headfirst into the trust crisis disrupting hiring across tech and go-to-market roles. Drawing from conversations with both hiring managers and top-tier candidates, Avetis unpacks the growing disconnect: why talented people are being ghosted while keyword-stuffed, AI-generated resumes get through the door—and often, no one shows up.As the founder of HIRECLOUT, Avetis offers a blunt assessment of the current system: hiring isn't broken because of AI—it's been broken for years. AI simply exposed how fragile the trust and signal layers already were. In this candid solo episode, he outlines why resumes no longer reflect real value, how signal degradation is warping candidate pools, and what needs to change for hiring to scale with integrity.From the dangers of synthetic candidates to the myth of "clean" resumes, this episode is packed with pattern recognition strategies, hard truths for founders and recruiters, and a blueprint for using AI as a tool—not a replacement—for judgment. If you're building or hiring in tech, this is essential listening.TakeawaysThe hiring process is failing both qualified candidates and frustrated hiring managers.AI didn't break hiring—it revealed how broken trust and signal layers already were.Top talent is being filtered out by systems that prioritize keywords over capability.Many resumes that look impressive on paper are either exaggerated or AI-generated.Clean, keyword-rich resumes often come from average performers—not real builders.Bulk applications and synthetic candidates are crowding out authentic applicants.Trust—not automation—will be the next real hiring moat.Hiring systems that prioritize volume over intent end up scaling noise, not quality.Companies need to refocus AI to handle speed and prep, while humans manage judgment.Silence from recruiters often reflects broken systems, not a candidate's lack of value.Founders who can't distinguish real operators from fake ones aren't ready to scale.The solution lies in a hybrid model: real interviews, verified networks, and contextual judgment.Chapters00:00 Intro: Why this solo episode matters now00:53 The hiring paradox: Both sides feel broken01:47 It's not a talent issue—it's a signal and trust breakdown02:27 The candidate opt-out: when frustration becomes exit03:15 Why AI struggles to recognize real tech and GTM careers04:40 The hiring irony: real people get ghosted, fake ones get interviews06:13 When volume replaces intent: how systems reward the wrong behavior07:04 Resume inflation and red flags recruiters often miss08:30 The model that works: AI for speed, humans for judgment09:25 Scaling incompetence: the danger of removing humans too early10:05 Trust as a competitive advantage in hiring11:10 How HIRECLOUT filters for real vs fake candidates12:30 Final thoughts: the future of hiring is human-centricResources and Links:⁠⁠https://www.hireclout.com⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.podcast.hireclout.com⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/hirefasthireright⁠

THIS WEEK is packed! Pokemon, Shrek, Smart Plan, and maybe a new theme?? LEGO keeps us on our toes, in Crocs no less (BLAH!) But, we have a lot to catch up on this week so stick around for this week's Bricking LEGO News!FOLLOW my YouTube channel: Back 2 BrickSet Review: 31212 The Milky Way GalaxyRebrickable Review: Radiator Springs Racers Ride Vehicle by __tm31__Smart Play LanguageSauron's HelmetLegoland Castle2x Insiders PointsClassic airplaneStar Wars Smart Play setsDC-3 aircraftCrocs setNew theme??Restaurants of the worldNinajgo Dark IslandWorld Cup Trophy lovePokemon rumorsPenguins in LoveFebruary shopping list100 years of Winnie the PoohBotanical spring setsup-scale AstronautLondon busOrigin of the Smart Brick - YouTubevalentine's day make-and-takeFerrari F2004 & Michael SchumacherShrek!Pokemon big boxFootall (soccer) ball setworking LEGO switch pro controllerLEGO store upgradeBye bye DREAMZZzWorking LEGO typewriter - YouTubeThank you, Patrons! - Bellefonte Bricks Studio, Jimmy Tucker, David, Paul Snellen, Lee Jackson, Pop's Block Shop, Steve Miles, David Support the showSee some of the designs I've built - REBRICKABLE.COMHead over to Back2brick.com for links to the latest LEGO set discounts!Support the podcast through our affiliate links AND join the Back 2 Brick Patreon!Have a question? Want to be a guest? Send me a message!backtobrick@gmail.comBack 2 Brick Podcast is not an affiliate nor endorsed by the LEGO Group.LEGO, the LEGO logo, the Minifigure, and the Brick and Knob configurations are trademarks of the LEGO Group of Companies. ©2025 The LEGO Group.

My guest today is ⁠Gokul Rajaram⁠, Founding Partner at Marathon Management. Gokul is one of the most prolific product builders and investors of the last twenty years. He has built the core ad and product businesses at Google, Facebook, Square, and DoorDash, working at each company during its most formative scaling periods. Alongside his operating career, Gokul has invested in more than 700 companies, giving him an unusually broad view into how products are built and scaled. This conversation is about how product building is changing with AI. We discuss the one thing Gokul believes is truly future-proof in AI, why companies like Zendesk and Slack are more exposed than Salesforce or NetSuite, and the only sources of defensibility.  We also talk about everything Gokul has learned from helping build the most important ads businesses, including the only three ways an ad business can make money, how those constraints shape product decisions, and what consumer behavior change threatens every major platform. Gokul shares lessons from working closely with Larry and Sergey, Mark Zuckerberg, Jack Dorsey, and Tony Xu. Please enjoy my conversation with Gokul Rajaram. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.  ----- This episode is brought to you by⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Ramp⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Ramp's mission is to help companies manage their spend in a way that reduces expenses and frees up time for teams to work on more valuable projects. Go to⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠ramp.com/invest⁠⁠ to sign up for free and get a $250 welcome bonus. ----- This episode is brought to you by⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Vanta⁠. Trusted by thousands of businesses, Vanta continuously monitors your security posture and streamlines audits so you can win enterprise deals and build customer trust without the traditional overhead. Visit ⁠vanta.com/invest⁠.  ----- This episode is brought to you by ⁠Rogo⁠. Rogo is an AI-powered platform that automates accounts payable workflows, enabling finance teams to process invoices faster and with greater accuracy. Learn more at ⁠Rogo.ai/invest⁠. ----- This episode is brought to you by⁠ ⁠WorkOS⁠⁠. WorkOS is a developer platform that enables SaaS companies to quickly add enterprise features to their applications. Visit⁠ ⁠WorkOS.com⁠⁠ to transform your application into an enterprise-ready solution in minutes, not months. ----- This episode is brought to you by⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Ridgeline⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Ridgeline has built a complete, real-time, modern operating system for investment managers. It handles trading, portfolio management, compliance, customer reporting, and much more through an all-in-one real-time cloud platform. Visit⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ridgelineapps.com⁠. ----- Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://thepodcastconsultant.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠). Timestamps (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like The Best (00:00:53) Meet Gokul Rajaram (00:02:05) How Product Development is Changing with AI (00:07:32) Philosophy of Product Management (00:10:19) What is Future-Proof in AI Era (00:11:25) Building AI Applications Today (00:15:03) Systems of Record vs Agent Companies (00:16:58) Which Legacy Software Companies Are Most Exposed (00:22:15) Stickiness in the AI Era (00:24:10) Learning from Larry Page and Sergey Brin (00:28:15) Learning from Mark Zuckerberg (00:31:31) Learning from Jack Dorsey (00:35:40) The Art of Great Product Design (00:36:49) Weekly CEO Communication (00:40:27) Three Ways to Succeed in Advertising (00:44:27) What Should Scare Major Ad Platforms (00:48:24) North Star Metrics (00:50:09) Self-Serve Products (00:54:50) Careers in the AI Era (00:59:03) Stay Long Enough to Have Impact (01:00:10) Founder Authenticity and Superpowers (01:02:21) Navigating the Idea Maze (01:03:42) Role of Boards (01:06:31) Excellence in Customer Acquisition  (01:09:11) The Kindest Thing 

Are you tired of feeling trapped in the chaos of scaling, with too many projects and not enough clarity on what actually drives growth? In this episode, host Cameron Herold sits down with Josh Post, COO of Cabochon Group and longtime COO Alliance member, for an emotionally raw, practical conversation about breaking out of operational overwhelm.Josh reveals how he went from reluctant family business leader to proven integrator, leading turnarounds, managing conflict, and creating systems real teams can actually use. From delegating all the right things to mastering financial fluency, you'll get the strategies and truth bombs most COOs wish they had known at the start.If you're hungry to escape burnout and unlock your next level as a second-in-command, listen now to avoid the expensive mistakes nearly everyone makes while scaling. This episode delivers unfiltered wisdom you won't find anywhere else, and the urgency to take action before chaos catches up with you.Timestamped Highlights[00:00] – Why most owners don't know how their business really makes money (and what to do about it)[03:25] – The journey from accidental entrepreneur to turning around failing operations[06:00] – Exclusive lessons learned surviving and thriving inside – a family business[10:19] – How Josh navigated a tense partner buyout and instantly simplified everything[13:46] – Choosing the right leadership roles: birth order, strengths, and painful missteps[16:09] – The only books and frameworks that actually moved the needle (and why “just-in-time learning” beats old-school reading habits)[20:22] – From swinging hammers to overseeing finance – demystifying numbers when you're not a CPA[26:42] – Weekly pulse meetings, candid conflict, and the real CEO-COO dance[29:04] – How fractional COO work revealed the true bottlenecks in small business growth[33:13] – The most costly mistake COOs make (and how Josh trains owners to finally be “all in”)About the GuestJosh Post is an industry-recognized Business Turnaround Expert and Fractional Chief Operating Officer who specializes in business recovery, optimization, and rapid growth. Between his position as a COO with The Cabochon Group of Companies and his work as an Independent Expert, he manages a diverse portfolio of over $57 Million spanning several industries.From streamlining operations and accounting to marketing and even acquisition, The Cabochon Group of Companies is the ultimate business support hub where businesses can access a unified strategy from a single source of seasoned professionals that provide a comprehensive, integrated experience.As a Fractional COO and Business Advisor Josh leverages his expertise to provide businesses with targeted, one-on-one guidance on the critical challenges threatening operations. Through resources like his signature business assessment, the Business MRI, he's able to hone in on the root issues, tailoring strategies that work.He credits the COO Alliance for helping him to overcome imposter syndrome, teaching him how to harness his strengths as a Galvanizer and Enabler to drive execution and momentum at scale.

AGENDA: 03:36 Brex Acquisition by Capital One for $5.15BN 10:54 Does Brex's Acquisition Help or Hurt Ramp? 16:28 TikTok Deal Completed: Who Won & Who Lost: Analysis 19:30 Anthropic Inference Costs Higher Than Expected 37:50 Open Evidence Raises at $12BN from Thrive and DST 53:56 Wealthront IPO Disaster: Is $1.5BN IPO Too Small? 01:07:27 Salesforce Wins $5BN Army Contract: The Last Laugh for SaaS  

January 29, 2026: Today a series of stories made it impossible to ignore how fast work is changing. Meta says AI now allows one employee to do the work of entire teams. Engineers at Anthropic and OpenAI say AI writes nearly 100% of their code. Amazon and Dow announced thousands of job cuts as they restructure for efficiency. And at the same time, companies are hiring storytellers to help cut through the growing flood of AI-generated content. In this episode of Future Ready Today, I connect the dots across these developments and explain what they reveal about shrinking teams, disappearing roles, changing career paths, and the rising importance of human skills in an AI-driven world. These aren't isolated headlines — they're signals of a deeper shift in how companies are redesigning work right now. I break down what's actually happening inside organizations, share the data behind these changes, and offer a futurist lens on what this all means for leaders, employees, and anyone trying to stay future ready.

Equipment financing scams target busy entrepreneurs who need tools and machinery to grow. The most dangerous scheme? Companies advertising impossibly low rates, then demanding upfront fees before securing actual approval. Contracts contain hidden clauses making these payments "non-refundable" when real terms arrive much worse, or never materialize. Other red flags include automatic lease renewals requiring cancellation within narrow windows (miss it and pay another full year), deposit schemes where companies simply disappear, and interim rent manipulation, adding phantom months to your bill. Protect yourself: Never pay significant fees before final approval. Verify companies through BBB ratings and complaint searches. Read every contract clause about renewals and refunds. Ask when the lender gets paid—legitimate companies earn commissions only upon successful financing delivery. Work with lenders who have dealer referrals and established reputations. If rates seem unbelievable or pressure tactics emerge, walk away. Your business deserves transparent financing partners, not predatory traps. Robert Misheloff

This week, Chris and I dive deep into a question we've been getting a lot since our town hall event with Sarah Swain, Rebecca Matthews, and Elisa Kitz (which had almost 2,000 registrants!): Why are permanent tax shelters considered an asset class?   I'll be honest—this was a concept that completely confused me until about 4-5 years ago. I grew up being taught that insurance is an expense, never an investment. But understanding how certain life insurance policies can provide liquidity, tax advantages, and long-term value has been game-changing for our family—both personally and professionally. In this episode, we break down: The difference between whole life and universal life insurance Why insurance should be the foundation of your financial house (not just the pretty stuff on top) How permanent policies build cash value you can borrow from tax-free Why getting insured young matters more than you think The connection between your health records and insurance premiums This might feel like a big topic to grasp, but stick with us. We're here to help you understand what you weren't taught growing up.   Timestamps & Chapters [2:53 - 4:33] Why This Topic Matters Now Questions coming in about permanent tax shelters as an asset class How life insurance can offer protection AND build long-term value Jenn's journey from seeing insurance as an expense to understanding it as an investment [4:33 - 7:00] What Are Permanent Tax Shelters? Two types: Whole life and universal life insurance How they differ from term insurance (which is like "rent") Why these policies are structured differently for every person [7:00 - 10:20] Whole Life vs. Universal Life Whole life: Invested through the insurance company, pays dividends, safer/more conservative Universal life: Invested through markets, higher growth potential Companies we work with have been paying dividends for over 100 years [10:20 - 13:20] The Trust Factor Why people are hesitant to invest (lack of education, past bad experiences) Importance of transparency: where money goes, how returns work, paperwork to back it up Finding advisors who customize to YOUR needs, not just sell hot products [13:20 - 17:00] The Foundation Analogy Chris's building background: insurance is like the foundation of a house TFSAs, RRSPs, FHSAs are the "pretty stuff" on top If the foundation isn't solid, everything collapses when markets slip Different types of insurance: life, critical illness, disability [17:00 - 20:20] Why We Have Different Policies Individual needs vs. family goals Whole life for lending money back to yourself Universal life for stronger growth through market investments [20:20 - 23:40] Term vs. Permanent Insurance Explained Term insurance: Pay for protection for 10, 20, 30 years—when it expires, you're done (or renew at a much higher rate) Example: $75/month at age 30 becomes $500/month at age 65 Permanent insurance: Pay for a set period (often ~20 years), then you're covered for life [23:40 - 26:40] Health & Insurance Qualification Medical Insurance Bureau (MIB) has access to ALL your medical records Even minor things (like getting imaging for headaches) can flag you and increase premiums Jenn's story: Great health rating, lower premium Chris's story: One seizure from paintball at 21 flagged him for years [26:40 - 30:00] The Integrity Factor Insurance companies will test for things like nicotine in your hair if you claim to be a non-smoker Lying on applications can void your entire policy Smokers can requalify as non-smokers after 12 months nicotine-free and cut premiums in half [30:00 - 35:20] Why We're Talking About This Jenn's perspective: Health and wealth are connected Financial stress impacts health; lack of finances prevents getting health support The gap in what we weren't taught as adults, parents, business owners Teaching preparedness so people know what questions to ask [35:20 - 40:00] How Permanent Policies Build Cash Value Example: $100/month → $25 to insurance, $75 to investment Money grows tax-free inside the policy You can borrow from it with minimal or zero tax (depending on timing) Compare to RRSPs: 100% taxed at withdrawal at your marginal rate Insurance companies are great at saving from taxation; investment companies are great at making money—permanent policies combine both [40:00 - 43:00] The Self-Lending Strategy Build cash value you can borrow from tax-free or with greatly reduced tax Use for home repairs, helping kids, investments, etc. You can put in $300-500/month—insurance still only costs $25, rest goes to your investment fund [43:00 - 46:00] Inflation & Long-Term Planning Average Canadian couple needs $2.5-3 million to retire comfortably Inflation designed to be ~2.5% annually Example: Bag of milk was $2-3 twenty years ago, now $6-9, will be $20 in the future If you're only making 2.5% interest, you're just keeping up with buying power—not growing wealth Importance of reviewing statements together as a couple (even when uncomfortable)     Key Highlights & Takeaways ✅ Insurance as Foundation, Not Expense: Permanent life insurance should be viewed as the foundation of your financial house—not a bill, but an investment that protects everything else you build on top. ✅ Two Types of Permanent Policies: Whole Life: Conservative, dividend-based, great for self-lending Universal Life: Market-invested, higher growth potential ✅ Tax Advantages: Money grows tax-free inside permanent policies, and you can borrow from your cash value with minimal or zero tax (unlike RRSPs, which are 100% taxed at withdrawal). ✅ Get Insured Young: Health changes, medical records, and age all impact premiums. The younger and healthier you are when you get insured, the better your rates—and they're locked in for life. ✅ The MIB Knows Everything: The Medical Insurance Bureau has access to all your medical records. Even minor health events (like imaging for headaches) can flag you and increase premiums. ✅ Inflation is Real: The average Canadian couple will need $2.5-3 million to retire comfortably. If your money is only growing at 2.5%, you're just keeping up with inflation—not building wealth. ✅ Self-Lending Strategy: Permanent policies allow you to build a "personal bank" you can borrow from for major expenses, investments, or helping family—without traditional loan approval processes. ✅ Transparency Matters: Any advisor should be able to explain exactly where your money is going, how returns work, and provide full paperwork. If they can't, walk away. ✅ Health & Wealth Are Connected: Financial stress impacts your health, and lack of finances prevents you from getting the health support you need. They're not separate—they're intertwined.   Let's dive in! Thank you for joining us today. If you could rate, review & subscribe, it would mean the world to me! While you're at it, take a screenshot and tag me @jennpike to share on Instagram – I'll re-share that baby out to the community & once a month I'll be doing a draw from those re-shares and send the winner something special! Click here to listen: Apple Podcasts – CLICK HERESpotify – CLICK HERE Free Resources: Free Perimenopause Support Guide | jennpike.com/perimenopausesupport Free Blood Work Guide | jennpike.com/bloodworkguide The Simplicity Sessions Podcast | jennpike.com/podcast Get 20% on thewalkingpad.com using code "JENNPIKE20" Get discounts at happybumco.com using code "JENNPIKE" *code doesn't apply with Black Friday sale* Programs: Ignite: Your 8-Week Body Transformation Program | https://jennpike.com/ignite The Peri & Menopause Project  - Join the Waitlist | jennpike.com/theperimenopauseproject Synced Virtual Fitness Studio | jennpike.com/synced Services: Work With Jenn | https://jennpike.com/work-with-jenn/ Functional Testing | jennpike.com/testing-packages Business Mentorship | The Audacious Woman Mentorship:  jennpike.com/theaudaciouswoman Connect with Jenn: Instagram | @jennpike Facebook | @thesimplicityproject YouTube | Simplicity TV Website | The Simplicity Project Inc. Connect with Chris: Instagram | @chrisborsellino Finance Discovery Session | Book Here Have a question? Send it over to hello@jennpike.com and I'll do my best to share helpful insights, thoughts and advice.

France's decision to discontinue American collaboration platforms such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams for government use—replacing them with the domestically developed Vizio platform—signals a shift toward digital sovereignty and data control within regulated jurisdictions. This move, formalized as part of France's Suite Numerique and to be implemented by 2027, highlights the increasing fragmentation of technology policy where national governments assert authority over platform selection and sensitive data handling. The development underscores operational risk for MSPs and IT service providers as assumptions of technology homogeneity across regions become unreliable.Supporting these shifts, South Korea enacted the world's first comprehensive AI legislation, requiring mandatory labeling of AI-generated content and risk assessments for high-impact systems, such as those in hiring and healthcare. According to the transcript, 98% of AI startups in South Korea report they are not prepared for compliance. Both developments reveal a pattern: early regulatory efforts tend to produce vague requirements, unclear enforcement, and real operational complexity. Providers operating in multiple jurisdictions must now anticipate compliance fragmentation and increased overhead as regulatory regimes diverge.Additional analysis focused on the continued evolution of the managed services stack, particularly through the lens of AI and workflow automation. Companies like Thrive are investing in enterprise platforms that embed AI-driven reasoning within workflow tools, shifting coordination away from traditional PSA ticketing systems. Meanwhile, integrations such as Quark Cyber with ScalePad's Lifecycle Manager X, and new partnerships between ServiceNow, TeamViewer, Anthropic, and OpenAI, illustrate a market splitting between providers focused on standardization and those managing more complex, enterprise-like environments. Microsoft's financial results further highlighted this trend, with record capital expenditure on AI infrastructure and increased reliance on proprietary chips to reduce dependency on external vendors like Nvidia and OpenAI.For MSPs, these developments raise practical governance and accountability questions. Shifts in regulatory authority and technology platforms create increased risk exposure for providers that do not proactively manage cross-jurisdictional compliance and secure defaults. Vendors are tightening control over platforms as AI becomes central to product architecture, often prioritizing internal risk management over shared upside with partners. Providers that fail to enforce robust data governance, understand cost drift, or plan for architectural lock-in are positioned less as strategic advisors and more as absorbers of client and vendor risk.Four things to know today00:00 France's Platform Ban and South Korea's AI Law Show Regulation Catching Up to Technology04:23 AI Is Reshaping the MSP Tool Stack as Thrive, ServiceNow, and ScalePad Take Different Paths07:37 Microsoft's SMTP AUTH Delay and CISA's AI Slip Show the Risk of Optional Security ControlsAND10:26 Earnings Show Microsoft Turning AI From Feature to Infrastructure as Partner Risk GrowsSponsored by: TimeZest 

Bob Zimmerman of Behind the Black explains Blue Origin and SpaceX next missions, previewing upcoming launches and milestones as both companies push forward with ambitious spaceflight development programs.1952

Get free marketing videos from Donald Miller every week at:  https://WeeklySoundbite.com/   Companies love to talk about themselves—how they started, what they value, what makes them different. But your story isn't what sells. In fact, it could be what's holding you back. When your pitch, your website, or your brand story starts with you, your potential customers tune out fast. Why? Because they're not looking for a hero. They're looking for help. And if you don't lead with their problem, they'll find someone else who does. So how do you tell your story in a way that actually connects, converts, and grows your business?   In this episode, Donald Miller unpacks why most businesses fumble their messaging when they lead with their own story, and shows you how to do it right. You'll learn the real purpose of your company's story, exactly when to tell it, and the simple storytelling formula that turns your backstory into a trust-building, revenue-driving asset. If you've ever wondered how to make your origin story matter, this episode shows you exactly how.     --   Click HERE to get in-person help creating your marketing at the next available StoryBrand Your Business LIVE event!   Click HERE to find a StoryBrand certified marketing coach to help you grow your business!   Learn how to make your marketing and messaging work using a proven framework in the updated book, Building a StoryBrand 2.0. Order it now on Amazon  or wherever you buy books!