Podcasts about Differentiator

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  

Chuck and Chris review 6 recent Journal of Hand Surgery articles with a variety of topics.  Tune in and see below.1) Arends GR, van Kooij YE, Stern BZ, Hovius SER, Wouters RM; Hand-Wrist Study Group; de Ridder WA. Understanding Why Certain Patients With Hand and Wrist Conditions Are Dissatisfied Despite Achieving Their Expressed Personal Improvement Goals Anchored at Satisfaction: A Qualitative Study. J Hand Surg Am. 2026 Jun;51(6):687-697. doi: 10.1016/j.jhsa.2025.12.009. Epub 2026 Jan 29. PMID: 41609542.2) Lee SH, Kim MB, Lee YH. Surgical Management of Delayed Mallet Finger Fractures Using Combined Two-Extension Block Kirschner Wire and Dorsal Counterforce Techniques. J Hand Surg Am. 2026 May;51(5):555-563. doi: 10.1016/j.jhsa.2025.12.019. Epub 2026 Jan 29. PMID: 41609545.3) Lunasin RM, Capell W, Kaufman KR, Shin AY. Rethinking Muscle Testing: Dynamic EMG Studies of Elbow Positioning as a Differentiator of Pronator Teres and Quadratus Functions. J Hand Surg Am. 2026 Apr;51(4):437.e1-437.e8. doi: 10.1016/j.jhsa.2025.09.013. Epub 2025 Oct 29. PMID: 41159989.4) Morisaki S, Yoshii K, Tsuchida S, Oda R, Takahashi K. Comparison of Manual Tie and Knotless Suture Anchor Techniques in Arthroscopic Transosseous Foveal Repair of the Triangular Fibrocartilage Complex. J Hand Surg Am. 2026 May;51(5):503-510. doi: 10.1016/j.jhsa.2026.01.021. Epub 2026 Mar 4. PMID: 41778936.5) Mwangi J, Henriquez AR, Varney CR, Yu R, Kim JK, Baker RL Jr, Pidgeon T, Hammert WC. Suture-Button Suspensionplasty Does Not Provide a Sustained Functional Advantage Over Ligament Reconstruction and Tendon Interposition for Thumb Carpometacarpal Arthritis. J Hand Surg Am. 2026 Jun;51(6):623-630. doi: 10.1016/j.jhsa.2026.02.019. Epub 2026 Apr 3. PMID: 41934451.6) Surke C, Del Rosario PA, Huntington LS, Ek ETH, Tham SK, Ackland D. Fracture Fixation in an Unstable Scaphoid Fracture Model: A Biomechanical Comparison of Double Screw Osteosynthesis With Two Common Bone Graft and Fixation Techniques. J Hand Surg Am. 2026 Apr;51(4):391.e1-391.e8. doi: 10.1016/j.jhsa.2025.09.007. Epub 2025 Oct 25. PMID: 41137815.See www.practicelink.com/theupperhand for more information from our partner on job search and career opportunities.The Upper Hand Podcast is sponsored by Checkpoint Surgical, a provider of innovative solutions for peripheral serve surgery. To learn more, visit https://checkpointsurgical.com/.As always, thanks to @iampetermartin for the amazing introduction and concluding music.For additional links, the catalog.  Please see https://www.ortho.wustl.edu/content/Podcast-Listings/8280/The-Upper-Hand-Podcast.aspx

We sat down with Richard Lavina, Co-Founder and CEO at Taxfyle, to learn how his firm provides RIAs with the infrastructure to incorporate tax preparation services into their business. Richard discusses how offering tax services can help advisors scale, retain clients, and differentiate their practices.

What if the very thing that made you a great lawyer is the thing preventing you from building a great firm? On this special mashup episode of The Game Changing Attorney Podcast, Michael Mogill sits down with Justin Chopin of Chopin Law Firm, Alex Limontes of Hurst Limontes LLC, Lawrence LeBrocq of Garces, Grabler & LeBrocq, and Charlyn Ho of Rikka Law Group. Together, they share how they stopped trading time for dollars and built scalable, multimillion-dollar firms on their own terms. From ego checks and data-driven marketing to AI adoption and community-first branding, these law firm owners reveal the mindset shifts and systems that set them apart. Here's what you'll learn: Why removing yourself from day-to-day operations is the fastest path to firm growth How data-driven marketing and strategic community activation outperform gut-feeling ad spend What proactive AI adoption looks like (and why firms that ignore it risk extinction) (00:00:00) Introduction (00:02:44) Justin Chopin: Betting on Yourself and Building a Firm from Scratch (00:09:38) Growing Through Leadership, Hiring, and Team Culture (00:18:45) Leading Through Crisis and Investing in Your People (00:29:42) Alex Lamontes: Building a Mission-Driven Brand (00:42:10) Scaling with Data, Partnerships, and Community Impact (00:56:31) Lawrence LeBrock: From Trial Lawyer to CEO (01:07:35) Creating a High-Performance Culture Through Accountability (01:13:26) Embracing AI and Leading Organizational Change (01:20:36) Charlyn Ho: Building an AI-First Law Firm (01:35:26) The Future of Legal Innovation and Entrepreneurship (01:45:44) Final Thoughts and Takeaways ---- Links & Resources: Justin Chopin, Chopin Law Firm Alex Limontes, Hurst Limontes LLC Lawrence LeBrocq, Garces, Grabler & LeBrocq Charlyn Ho, Rikka Law Group ---- Learn what sustainable growth can look like for your firm at crispcoach.com. ---- Do you love this podcast and want to see more game changing content? Subscribe to our YouTube channel. ---- Past guests on The Game Changing Attorney Podcast include David Goggins, John Morgan, Alex Hormozi, Randi McGinn, Kim Scott, Chris Voss, Kevin O'Leary, Laura Wasser, John Maxwell, Mark Lanier, Robert Greene, and many more. ---- If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like: 477. Mike Brown - The Nitty Gritty of AI 431. Rory Baden - Branding Secrets Your Firm Needs to Scale 451. Firm of the Year Winners - Growth Secrets From the Best of the Best

My guest this week is Billy Potter, now CEO of Snellings Walters, and we spend this episode on "the Switch," his firm's process for moving employers from fully insured to self-funded. Billy explains why he thinks it has almost nothing to do with insurance and everything to do with changing who a business trusts to lead them.We get into why "does that make sense?" is the worst question in sales, why he asks prospects "where did I lose you?" instead, and why he believes most deals aren't lost on product, they're lost on communication. Billy breaks down how Culture Index reshaped how his firm hires, trains, and sells, why he tells skeptical prospects out loud that they shouldn't believe a word of his pitch, and why price-driven clients are usually being trained that way by their own consultant.If your presentation is technically correct but you keep losing deals anyway, this is the episode. Tune in."People don't buy what's best for them. They buy what they understand the fastest." - Billy PotterThank you to our 2026 sponsors!ParetoHealth: ParetoHealth empowers midsize employers with a long-term solution to reduce volatility and lower overall health benefits costs. Visit https://www.paretohealth.com/fully-insured-vs-self-funding-with-paretohealth-spencer-podcast/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=SelfFundedwSpencer to learn more.Samaritan Fund: A program that connects those who need help to the support they need. We are proud to offer the Samaritan Fund Program. Visit SamaritanFundProgram.com to learn more.Vālenz Health: We're Vālenz Health, your partner in improving health literacy, reducing plan spend, and delivering high-value healthcare. Visit ValenzHealth.com to learn more.Imagine360: Imagine360 helps self-funded employers save on healthcare with smarter health plans. Cut expenses by 20-30% with custom solutions. Contact us today at Imagine360.com.Chapters:(00:00:00) Intro: Grace, Truth, and Growth(00:03:19) Culture Index and Why It Blew Spencer's Mind(00:04:33) Billy's Background: Rugby, Sun Life, and a Borrowed ID(00:08:13) Partner vs. Vendor: Why "Supplier" Is a Dirty Word(00:12:52) What Drew Him to the Consulting Side(00:14:34) The Peanut Butter Fight and the Valley of Despair(00:16:19) Advice for Young Producers: Dream Big, Get Rejected(00:19:44) Spencer's Story: The Nursery Floor and Three Cases in a Morning(00:24:49) Becoming CEO and Learning to Manage His Emotions(00:29:08) Why He Loves Building Other People Up(00:30:44) EOS and Smoking Out the Real Issue(00:32:20) How Culture Index Runs Through the Whole Business(00:35:06) The Switch: Changing Who Gets to Lead(00:39:44) His First Big Sale: Telling a Client to Go Talk to Their Agent(00:43:02) "Billy Potter Is Gonna Mess Up, and I'll Be There"(00:45:44) Win and Lose the Same Way: The Anthony Russo Lesson(00:50:20) Why 83% of Employees Don't Understand Their Own Plan(00:53:17) The Fifth-Grade-Level Rule and Why Insurance Loves Jargon(00:56:31) "Where Did I Lose You?" and Other Pivot Questions(00:58:12) The Last Slide: "You Don't Believe Anything We Just Told You"(01:01:14) The "Oh, Damn It" Moment and Who's Really at Fault(01:03:37) Where Self-Funding Is Headed(01:05:11) AI, Robot Surgeons, and the Future of White-Collar Jobs(01:12:27) The Chick-fil-A Standard: Hospitality as a Differentiator(01:14:49) Retaining Our Humanity in an AI World(01:17:07) Closing ThoughtsKey Links for Social:@SelfFunded on YouTube for video versions of the podcast and much more - https://www.youtube.com/@SelfFundedListen/watch on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/1TjmrMrkIj0qSmlwAIevKA?si=068a389925474f02Listen on Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/self-funded-with-spencer/id1566182286Follow Spencer on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencer-smith-self-funded/Follow Spencer on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/selffundedwithspencer/

My guest this week is Billy Potter, now CEO of Snellings Walters, and we spend this episode on "the Switch," his firm's process for moving employers from fully insured to self-funded. Billy explains why he thinks it has almost nothing to do with insurance and everything to do with changing who a business trusts to lead them.We get into why "does that make sense?" is the worst question in sales, why he asks prospects "where did I lose you?" instead, and why he believes most deals aren't lost on product, they're lost on communication. Billy breaks down how Culture Index reshaped how his firm hires, trains, and sells, why he tells skeptical prospects out loud that they shouldn't believe a word of his pitch, and why price-driven clients are usually being trained that way by their own consultant.If your presentation is technically correct but you keep losing deals anyway, this is the episode. Tune in."People don't buy what's best for them. They buy what they understand the fastest." - Billy PotterThank you to our 2026 sponsors!ParetoHealth: ParetoHealth empowers midsize employers with a long-term solution to reduce volatility and lower overall health benefits costs. Visit https://www.paretohealth.com/fully-insured-vs-self-funding-with-paretohealth-spencer-podcast/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=SelfFundedwSpencer to learn more.Samaritan Fund: A program that connects those who need help to the support they need. We are proud to offer the Samaritan Fund Program. Visit SamaritanFundProgram.com to learn more.Vālenz Health: We're Vālenz Health, your partner in improving health literacy, reducing plan spend, and delivering high-value healthcare. Visit ValenzHealth.com to learn more.Imagine360: Imagine360 helps self-funded employers save on healthcare with smarter health plans. Cut expenses by 20-30% with custom solutions. Contact us today at Imagine360.com.Chapters:(00:00:00) Intro: Grace, Truth, and Growth(00:03:19) Culture Index and Why It Blew Spencer's Mind(00:04:33) Billy's Background: Rugby, Sun Life, and a Borrowed ID(00:08:13) Partner vs. Vendor: Why "Supplier" Is a Dirty Word(00:12:52) What Drew Him to the Consulting Side(00:14:34) The Peanut Butter Fight and the Valley of Despair(00:16:19) Advice for Young Producers: Dream Big, Get Rejected(00:19:44) Spencer's Story: The Nursery Floor and Three Cases in a Morning(00:24:49) Becoming CEO and Learning to Manage His Emotions(00:29:08) Why He Loves Building Other People Up(00:30:44) EOS and Smoking Out the Real Issue(00:32:20) How Culture Index Runs Through the Whole Business(00:35:06) The Switch: Changing Who Gets to Lead(00:39:44) His First Big Sale: Telling a Client to Go Talk to Their Agent(00:43:02) "Billy Potter Is Gonna Mess Up, and I'll Be There"(00:45:44) Win and Lose the Same Way: The Anthony Russo Lesson(00:50:20) Why 83% of Employees Don't Understand Their Own Plan(00:53:17) The Fifth-Grade-Level Rule and Why Insurance Loves Jargon(00:56:31) "Where Did I Lose You?" and Other Pivot Questions(00:58:12) The Last Slide: "You Don't Believe Anything We Just Told You"(01:01:14) The "Oh, Damn It" Moment and Who's Really at Fault(01:03:37) Where Self-Funding Is Headed(01:05:11) AI, Robot Surgeons, and the Future of White-Collar Jobs(01:12:27) The Chick-fil-A Standard: Hospitality as a Differentiator(01:14:49) Retaining Our Humanity in an AI World(01:17:07) Closing ThoughtsKey Links for Social:@SelfFunded on YouTube for video versions of the podcast and much more - https://www.youtube.com/@SelfFundedListen/watch on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/1TjmrMrkIj0qSmlwAIevKA?si=068a389925474f02Listen on Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/self-funded-with-spencer/id1566182286Follow Spencer on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencer-smith-self-funded/Follow Spencer on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/selffundedwithspencer/

As UCaaS platforms become increasingly commoditized, Akixi says service providers can rebuild differentiation, customer value and revenue by connecting analytics, CRM, recording and AI into one experience. By Doug Green “Fragmentation doesn't just cost service providers on renewal—it knocks their ability to win business too.” UCaaS was once one of the communications industry's clearest growth stories. Today, however, many service providers are facing slower growth, tighter margins and declining revenue per seat as the major platforms become increasingly similar in their core capabilities. In this Technology Reseller News podcast, Andrew Cantle, Chief Revenue Officer at Akixi, explains why the next competitive opportunity is no longer the underlying communications platform alone. It is the connected experience that service providers and MSPs can build around it. Akixi began as a provider of real-time communications analytics. The company has since expanded its portfolio to include CRM integrations, call recording, AI-powered call scoring and sentiment analysis. These capabilities are brought together in the Akixi CX Suite, a value-added services layer designed to sit above platforms including BroadWorks, Webex and Microsoft Teams. Cantle says service providers are experiencing two pressures at the same time. Customer expectations are moving beyond basic reliability, while revenue per user continues to erode. The major UCaaS platforms now perform the fundamentals well, making it harder for providers to charge a premium based on the platform itself. That leaves providers looking for differentiation in the services surrounding the platform. Yet many are still managing separate vendors, dashboards and logins for analytics, recording, CRM integration and other capabilities. The result can be a fragmented customer experience and an equally fragmented sales story. At renewal, that fragmentation can push the conversation back toward price. A customer may value the individual services, but without a connected view of the business impact, the provider has little protection against a cheaper competitor. The same problem can hurt new sales when solution engineers must switch among multiple systems to demonstrate what is supposed to be one solution. AI is accelerating the shift. Capabilities that recently appeared advanced are quickly becoming expected. Akixi uses AI to analyze and score calls, evaluate sentiment and review far more customer interactions than a manager could assess manually. Instead of sampling a small number of calls, organizations can examine nearly every interaction and identify patterns in near real time. Cantle also points to compliance as an increasingly important use case, including for smaller businesses. AI can help organizations locate key statements, identify when specific terms were used and create a clearer evidence trail across call recordings, analytics and CRM records. Capabilities that were once affordable only to large enterprises are now becoming accessible to SMB customers through their service providers. Success, Cantle says, means giving customers direct visibility into measurable business outcomes—not simply adding another reporting layer. A connected experience can reveal productivity gains, staffing needs, coaching opportunities, agent performance, cost optimization and compliance evidence in one place. For service providers, the benefits extend beyond customer experience. Consolidating several value-added services under one vendor can simplify procurement, product management, training and support. It can also make it easier to develop a coherent proposition that sales teams can demonstrate and customers can understand. The larger message is that service providers remain well positioned because they already own trusted customer relationships. Those that connect their value-added services, demonstrate measurable outcomes and move beyond disconnected point solutions may be better able to protect renewals, win new business and rebuild average revenue per user. Listen to the podcast to learn why Akixi believes connected experience is becoming the new differentiator for UCaaS providers, MSPs and their customers. Learn more: https://www.akixi.com/

With James Woodfall, Communication and Behavior Specialist, Raise Your EI As AI makes expertise more accessible, what becomes an advisor's true advantage? EI expert James Woodfall explains why authentic human connection may be the one thing technology can't replicate. In Summary As artificial intelligence reshapes how information is delivered, financial advisors are being challenged to rethink what truly differentiates their value. Mindy Diamond sits down with James Woodfall, a former wealth management business owner turned emotional intelligence expert and founder of Raise Your EI, to explore why emotional intelligence may become one of the profession's greatest competitive advantages. Together, they discuss how rapport, curiosity, and authentic human connection influence trust, referrals, leadership, and client loyalty and why those skills can be developed just like technical expertise. The conversation also examines the difference between AI's “synthetic empathy” and the authentic relationships clients continue to value—and why that distinction matters to financial advisors now more than ever.   The Storyline For decades, advisors have built successful businesses by combining technical expertise with thoughtful financial guidance. But as AI makes information more accessible and planning tools more sophisticated, expertise alone is becoming less of a differentiator. James Woodfall believes the future belongs to advisors who master something technology cannot authentically replicate: human connection. Drawing on his experience as both a former wealth management firm owner and a specialist in communication and behavioral science, James explains why emotional intelligence isn't simply a “soft skill.” It's a business skill that affects nearly every aspect of an advisory practice—from building trust and earning referrals to leading teams and helping clients make difficult decisions. Mindy and James explore why asking better questions matters more than having better answers, how curiosity creates stronger relationships than scripts ever can, and why advisors who create memorable client experiences may find themselves even more valuable in an increasingly automated world. The conversation ultimately reframes AI not as a replacement for advisors, but as a catalyst forcing the profession to rediscover the uniquely human qualities clients have valued all along.   Topics Covered Emotional intelligence as a business skill Building trust through rapport and curiosity Authentic empathy vs. synthetic AI empathy The psychology behind client decision-making Why referrals are rooted in emotional outcomes Coaching advisors to improve communication Leadership and emotional intelligence AI's impact on advisor differentiation Creating premium client experiences Future-proofing advisory businesses > Download a transcript of this episode… Listen and Learn Highlights for Advisors Why do better questions lead to better financial advice? (6:10) James explains why financial planning is only as good as the conversations that precede it—and why understanding a client's fears and aspirations leads to better outcomes than simply gathering financial facts. How does emotional intelligence translate into business growth? (15:30) Rapport isn't simply about making clients feel comfortable. James discusses why advisors who build trust quickly tend to earn more referrals and become significantly more referable. Can emotional intelligence actually be learned? (37:05) Contrary to popular belief, emotional intelligence isn't an innate personality trait. James explains why it is a trainable skill and how advisors can intentionally improve it throughout their careers. What makes authentic empathy different from AI? (39:10) One of the episode's most compelling discussions explores the difference between AI's ability to simulate empathy and the authentic emotional connection that develops between two people. Why should advisors think more about experience than efficiency? (45:10) Clients don't always pay more for information. Often, they pay more for confidence, judgment, reassurance, and the experience of working with someone they trust. Will AI replace advisors or elevate the best ones? (46:55) James shares why he believes AI is more likely to automate routine work while making relationship-centered advisors even more valuable. Key Takeaways Emotional intelligence is a measurable business capability—not simply a personality trait. Stronger client relationships begin with curiosity rather than advice. Advisors who solve emotional concerns make it easier for clients to recommend than advisors who simply deliver technical expertise. AI may replicate information, but authentic trust remains distinctly human. Premium advisory relationships will increasingly be defined by the experience clients receive—not just the answers they're given. Emotional intelligence improves leadership, client retention, referrals, and advisor well-being. The firms that embrace both technology and human connection will likely be best positioned for the future. https://youtu.be/xlQMQm6mqtc Quotable Moments “Rapport building is one of the foundational things for trust building.” “It's not real empathy. It's synthetic empathy.” “If all of our decisions were made on price, Ferrari wouldn't have a business.” “The advisors who create authentic human connection may be the ones who remain untouchable.” FAQs What is emotional intelligence, and why does it matter for financial advisors? James defines emotional intelligence as the ability to recognize, understand, and influence emotions in ourselves and others. For advisors, those skills strengthen communication, trust, leadership, and client relationships. Can emotional intelligence actually be developed? Yes. Unlike IQ, emotional intelligence can be improved through intentional practice, feedback, coaching, and greater self-awareness. Why do referrals have so much to do with emotional intelligence? Clients often remember and recommend how an advisor made them feel more than the technical work performed. Solving emotional concerns creates stories clients naturally share with others. What does James mean by “synthetic empathy”? AI can recognize language patterns and respond empathetically, but it doesn't genuinely experience human emotion. James argues that authentic empathy remains one of an advisor's greatest competitive advantages. How should advisors think about AI? Rather than viewing AI solely as a competitor, advisors should use it to improve efficiency while investing more time in conversations, judgment, and relationships that technology cannot fully replace. What is the biggest mindset shift advisors should make? Stop viewing emotional intelligence as a soft skill. Treat it as a business skill that directly influences growth, leadership, client loyalty, and long-term differentiation. James defines emotional intelligence as the ability to recognize, understand, and influence emotions in ourselves and others. For advisors, those skills strengthen communication, trust, leadership, and client relationships. Yes. Unlike IQ, emotional intelligence can be improved through intentional practice, feedback, coaching, and greater self-awareness. Clients often remember and recommend how an advisor made them feel more than the technical work performed. Solving emotional concerns creates stories clients naturally share with others. AI can recognize language patterns and respond empathetically, but it doesn't genuinely experience human emotion. James argues that authentic empathy remains one of an advisor's greatest competitive advantages. Rather than viewing AI solely as a competitor, advisors should use it to improve efficiency while investing more time in conversations, judgment, and relationships that technology cannot fully replace. Stop viewing emotional intelligence as a soft skill. Treat it as a business skill that directly influences growth, leadership, client loyalty, and long-term differentiation. Related Resources Why AI Matters Now: Filling the Estate Planning Gap with Wealth.com The Paradox of Choice Traps Successful Advisors Freedom vs. Familiarity: Is It Worth Disrupting Comfort for Something That Might Be Better? Guest Bio James Woodfall, founder of Raise Your EI, is a former financial planner who now advises financial services and firms on how they can leverage emotional intelligence (EI) to improve individual and organizational performance. He is the co-author, with Cliff Lansley, of “The Heart of Finance,” which teaches finance professionals to develop the emotional intelligence needed to build effective and profitable client relationships. NOTE: The views and opinions expressed by the guests on this podcast are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Diamond Consultants. Neither Diamond Consultants nor the guests on this podcast are compensated in any way for their participation. View the transcript of this episode… Emotional Intelligence: The “Untouchable” Differentiator in an AI World A conversation with Mindy Diamond and James Woodfall, Communication and Behavior Specialist at Raise Your EI.      Mindy Diamond: Welcome to the latest episode of our podcast series for financial advisors. Today’s episode is Emotional Intelligence: The “Untouchable” Differentiator in an AI World. It’s a conversation with James Woodfall, Communication and Behavior Specialist from Raise Your EI. I’m Mindy Diamond, and this is the Diamond Podcast for Financial Advisors. At Diamond Consultants, we help elite advisors identify the right environment for their businesses to thrive, whether that’s at a wirehouse, boutique, or independent firm. With nearly three decades of experience, we’ve guided thousands of advisors and represented more than a quarter of a trillion dollars in assets transitioned. And each year, one in four advisors managing a billion dollars or more who change firms are our clients. Our process is education driven and based on building relationships, starting as your strategic partner well before you’re even thinking of a move. To schedule a confidential conversation, call us at (908) 879-1002. Wondering why advisors change firms and where they’re headed? Are transition deals going up or down? Those very questions and more inspired us to create our Annual Advisor Transition Report. It’s the award-winning, data-driven resource designed for advisors that connects the dots between the motivations around movement and the firm’s appetite for top talent. Arm yourself with the knowledge you need to make smart decisions. Download your copy at diamond-consultants.com/transitionreport. For years, advisors have competed on expertise, the ability to solve problems, deliver answers, and provide guidance clients couldn’t easily find on their own. But today, those answers are becoming easier to access via artificial intelligence and tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity. AI can generate planning ideas, summarize complex topics, and answer questions in seconds. As the technology continues to improve, it raises an important question. If information becomes increasingly commoditized, what will clients continue to value most? My guest today, James Woodfall, is the Founder of the training firm, Raise Your EI, and a former wealth management business owner. James now helps advisors, leaders, and organizations strengthen the communication and behavioral skills that drive trust, influence, and performance. Skills rooted in emotional intelligence or EI, something that AI cannot authentically replicate. What’s interesting about James’s perspective is that he doesn’t view emotional intelligence as a soft skill. He views it as a business skill, one that impacts how advisors build rapport, earn referrals, lead teams, deepen client relationships, and ultimately differentiate themselves in an increasingly competitive marketplace that includes human and machine-driven advice. Our conversation explores why rapport is the foundation of trust, how emotional intelligence can be developed like any other professional skill, and why advisors who learn to create authentic human connection may be best positioned to thrive alongside AI, not compete against it. Or as James puts it, remain untouchable in the face of a changing world. Because while technology may continue to reshape how advice is delivered, the experience of being understood, trusted, and guided by another human being remains remarkably difficult to replicate. So, let’s get to it. James, thank you for joining me today, especially coming all the way from the UK. I’m grateful. James Woodfall: Thanks for having me on. Mindy Diamond: So, let’s start at the beginning. You’re a different kind of guest for us, and a topic that is near and dear to my heart because I’m always all about emotional intelligence and EQ, but it’s a topic that sometimes can feel a little squishy to some folks. So, tell us a little bit about your background and really how you got into the world of wealth management. James Woodfall: I got into wealth management probably was by accident while I was, I think about 19 years old. I got a job at a bank because I was living with different jobs and it was the first company that would take me. So I ended up working in a bank as a cashier in a branch. And then after a series of different career moves, I ended up running my own wealth management firm for about nine years, which I sold about three and a half years ago. Around the time that I was selling it, I did my first master’s degree in communication and behavior analysis, and that’s when I started taking a bit of a deep dive into understanding emotional intelligence and behavior and communication. But really, I started that journey before I sold my wealth management company, and really the goal was, how can I become a better financial advisor to my clients by having a better understanding of their psychology behavior around money so that I could communicate with them more effectively, help them build their plans? So I had a bit of a… like a lot of people I speak to in wealth management, they fell into it. Mindy Diamond: So, a lot to unpack there and I’m fascinated by your story. Tell us a little bit about how you began to use or leverage emotional intelligence. You say you got into it or were fascinated by it because it was a way of helping your clients. So, talk to us a little bit about that. How did you begin to see the impact long before you started this business? James Woodfall: So going back a couple of steps to that. When I started the business, it was very transactional. You’d sit down with the client, you find out about what sort of assets they have, what type of plans they have already, and you look for gaps where you can optimize things, or there was a product which they need which you didn’t have. But I moved away from that type of service to a financial planning led service. So, where actually before we get talking about, well, how do we structure your world? We spend a lot of time building a plan in cashflow modeling software. So the one that I used was over at a company called Voyant, and effectively I build a cashflow plan for the clients, which would map out based on assumptions of what age they would reach financial independence. And then that then would then move on to, how to we optimize your holdings? Now what occurred to me pretty quickly in offering that service is that the outputs from that type of exercise are only as good as the inputs. So you’re really relying on the client to be able to come up with the answers to the questions that you ask them to make the financial plan work. And in my experience, quite a lot of the time you sit down with these people and you ask them, “Imagine you’re retired, what does an ideal week look like for you?” So, what I realized is actually I was asking clients a lot of questions which no one had ever asked them before, such as, “If you go retire, imagine you’re retired tomorrow, what does your idea week look like?” Very rarely do we get asked that day-to-day, especially not from friends, family members, certainly. So I went off and actually did a diploma in coaching because I thought initially I want to become better at actually getting people to think about the future and think about plans. And in doing that, I ended up wanting to take a bit of a deeper dive into understanding behavior at a higher level. So that led me on to getting my masters. Impacts on clients though is that I became, and me as well, is that I became a far better listener first. So I listened first, I stopped making so many assumptions as I found I had about people. And really, I think that changed the dynamic in terms of me constant, I suppose, dictating to people about what they should be doing. So of course that’s what a good advisor does, isn’t it, is advice. You switch around into actually making sure you’ve got a deep understanding of people’s hopes, fears, goals, dreams, and then ultimately, you can help them better in terms of optimizing their financial plans and wealth. Mindy Diamond: Yeah. 100% of what you just said speaks to me in a big way, because that is 100% our philosophy. Most recruiters, I don’t mean it disparagingly, but most recruiters in general are pretty transactional. They see a hammer, they see a nail. So, a recruiter sees a financial advisor and he’s a means to an end to making a deal to a transaction. And our whole approach from day one was never about seeing you, financial advisor, as a transaction, but rather first and foremost, wanting to understand what’s important to you. And we get told all the time that we were asking questions that nobody ever asked them before. And I want to unpack it more, because I love what you’re saying. The goal as far as I see it is not just to ask a bunch of questions nobody asked before, but it’s to ask questions as a means to an end, to start out by asking questions that make somebody comfortable that tell them that you care about them. Then it’s about asking questions that they’ve never been asked before because the answers to a question like, “How do you see yourself behaving in retirement,” has everything to do with how much money they’ll need to retire. So, one informs the other. In our world asking somebody, “What are the things that spark you and what are the things that really don’t? And what will you do with this information?” And all those sorts of questions are questions many people had never been asked before, especially if somebody was looking at them as a transaction. And yet, it’s what deepens relationships, it’s what creates trust, and it’s what allows you to identify me as a recruiter, identify the best solution or the best opportunity for someone. So, do you agree with that? Is there anything that I’m off about? James Woodfall: No, that’s exactly the point. I think I’m asking better questions as a wealth manager talking to your client. Because ultimately this is, I suppose, one of the things which comes from understanding emotional intelligence, is that for most of us, we make decisions in motion first and then we justify with logic and reasoning, which is basically back to from. If I was to start with logical reasoning and then expect people to make a buying decision. And so a lot of the time, especially with things like retirement savings, for example, because it’s in the future, it’s over there, especially if it’s 10, 20 years away, people think, “Well, why will I give up so much money a month now for something which is so far in the future that I can’t comprehend it yet?” But if you start reigning the questions in a way which gets to kind of the… Really what you want to uncover is, if you wake up at 3:00 in the morning and you can’t get back to sleep, what’s on your mind? Because if you can uncover that emotion that fits all that kind of pain or problem, then you deal with emotion first and logic second. Mindy Diamond: And it tells you what you need to solve for, right? James Woodfall: Exactly, yeah. Mindy Diamond: If what keeps me up is I’m worried I’m going to outlive my money, and you know that’s your true north in terms of how you begin to tackle that they’re thinking about the future, they want you to focus on the long term. Right? Is that what you get from that? What’s the typical answer you get to that question, that one in particular? James Woodfall: For retirement planning, it’s usually clusters around. “Well, I’m not sure I’m making the right decision. There’s lots of options that are complicated. But really, actually, am I going to have enough money? Am I going to run out?” Because it’s the big question, isn’t it? How long are you going to live and how much are you going to need? Mindy Diamond: Right. As I was preparing for this interview, I think I know the answer because I’m a person that lives in this world that believes fully in, I don’t have a degree in behavioral finance but I’m big on emotional intelligence, connecting, developing trust, and that I don’t have any right to sell anybody anything or suggest anything unless I’ve connected on an interpersonal level. But I don’t know that everybody believes that. So help us, our listeners to understand, why does this matter to financial advisors? So, I’m going to give you two examples. I’m a younger advisor that has, say, five to 10 years in the business, say $100 million or 100 million pounds under management and is looking to really build a business. How and why does the concept of emotional intelligence, of EI, matter to me? And then I’m going to ask you the same question again with respect to someone who manages a billion dollars or a billion pounds. How and why does it matter? James Woodfall: Yeah. I think probably a starting point is, let’s just clear up I suppose in definitions so that we understand what we’re talking about when we say emotional intelligence, it’s an EQ. Because I suppose let’s think about, let’s call EQ the measurement, and emotional intelligence is the concept. So the definition of emotional intelligence is it’s an ability, and it’s this ability to understand and influence emotions in ourselves and others. So within ourselves, can we perceive and understand our own emotions? What turns them on? What triggers them? Can we do something about that? Can we recognize it, manage it in the right context, or either initiate our emotions in the right context? And can we do that when we’re talking to other people? So, are we good at perceiving people’s emotions within different contexts, and are we good at influencing and utilizing that information to help us communicate more effectively? So, these are skills which requires regard within those two roles to make you effective. And so, one of the things that we’ve learned from probably 30 years of people studying emotion intelligence is that if emotion is involved within the job role, emotional intelligence correlates with job performance and has a meaningful impact on the difference between an average and a big performer. So regardless of whether it’s one of the two scenarios that you’ve said, performance improvements are always on the table. But one of the things which tends to happen as you move from, say, up in terms of the money that you’re managing is the stakes get higher. So quite often, you actually need a much far higher degree of self-management, a higher degree of self-awareness, a higher degree of ability to perceive emotions in others, and to be able to communicate with influence. Because quite often as you are dealing with clients who are more affluent, there’s a correlation between actually the skills that your clients have and the skills that they expect you to have as an advisor. So the higher you go up that sort of ladder in terms of value, the more effective you need to be. So that’s where that EQ measurement. If you had to sit down and do an EQ assessment, for example, you need to be scoring way above average the higher up you go. Mindy Diamond: How will somebody begin to notice that developing the emotional intelligence muscle, developing the quantity of EQ, how will that begin to show up and impact their business? James Woodfall: There’s a couple of ways, and I think it really does show up in self-awareness and self-management and awareness and understanding of others. So one of the things which will show up in terms of that awareness and understanding of others is, can you build trusted relationships quickly? So like those skills that we were talking about before about asking better questions and listening, especially the first time you meet a new prospective client, if you can really turn your ears on and get very, very curious about the person that you’re talking to, rapport building is one of the foundational things for trust building. And really, if you get rapport building right, one of the goals should be to find common ground early, because the minute that you can build a connection with people and you start uncovering things that you’ve got in common, it starts signaling to people that actually you’re someone who is like them, on their side, and that they’re someone that you can trust. Now people who get this right, they tend to close more clients and they tend to gain more referrals or recommendations to other clients. And when I used to run my business, referrals was the largest source of new clients. Every single year, all the other different marketing streams, they didn’t produce anything near referrals. And I think back to that, if you look back to the kind of retirement example, if you can really get an answer to that question of, you wake up at 3:00 AM, what’s on your mind, what’s up when you’re getting back to sleep? If you can uncover that and solve that, for a client, it’s far easier to articulate that to a friend than it is for them to explain the technicalities of what you did with their retirement savings. But it’s easier to articulate, “You should absolutely go and see James. We were worried about whether we’re saving enough, he solved that, it’s brilliant, you need to go and see him.” That’s what I mean, is that they’re able to articulate the emotional outcome. Mindy Diamond: Even though what we’re talking about here is someone making the case that strengthening one’s emotional intelligence will make you a better advisor, easier to say that, sounds logical. But you’re connecting it to, you’re saying that someone who actually gets this right, gets it better, is going to create more of an instant rapport rooted in trust, and likely grow their business because it makes them more referable. And those are things that certainly every young advisor wants, but every advisor wants. So, let me switch the tables a second. I get why a young advisor with 100 million wants to get to a billion, why this is really important. They want to do everything they can to really make themselves the most referable. But let’s take the advisor that’s on the back nine that has been doing this 30 years, manages a billion and a half of pounds, dollars in assets under management, is growing by referrals and it’s an organic referral stream. It’s a business that feeds itself. So, while everybody always needs to be in business development mode, they feel like they’ve cracked the code, they’ve got it covered. How and why does this concept impact a senior advisor, someone with a much bigger, more robust book of business? James Woodfall: Yeah, it’s interesting. So if we take a bit of a step back and look at a bit about what some of the research says about the impacts of emotional intelligence, there have been some studies done within financial services about the impact of your training on business outcomes. So there was a study done probably around about between 2000 and 2004 with Ameriprise, and they brought their agents through a year-long emotional intelligence development program. And it was interesting, they measured at the beginning of the program EQ, what someone’s EQ score was, but they measured things like health, anger, trade anger. So, how often were people experiencing anger, stress, and burnout. So they’re measuring all sorts of things other than EQ just to see what the impact of EQ training was. Now EQ scores went up, sales went up, I think on average of about 24% across four cohorts. But things like stress, burnout, health outcomes, perceived health outcomes, people are asked to rate, how would you rate your health, that went up. Experience of anger went down because people become better at managing it. So as you look at the kind of example that you described, I would say that as someone who’s in that stage of the career where they may not have the capacity to take on more clients. So just think, well, actually, I don’t want an uplift of 20%, 24% in sales because I might not process that. But one of the things which I suppose the EI research shows actually is that it impacts your quality of life. And there is finding which is quite common in research, is that actually EI scores correlate with age. So as we go through life and we have sort of ups, downs, highs, lows, and we learn from those. We learn from our emotional experience, and that’s hypothesis, is it feeds into our EQ score. So you’ve probably got people at that later stage of their career who actually probably have had experience which has developed their emotional intelligence. They’ve got mature standing, which means that they might not necessarily need to go out and find new clients. They’ve got experience, which has helped them develop client relationships, but they might want to take a step back at quality of life. If they’re experiencing stress, burnout, pressure, EQ can help absolutely with all of those. The other thing which is quite common as well is that if they’re playing any sort of leadership part within that business now, let’s say if they’re a business owner, EQ absolutely is key for leadership performance. So making sure that you’re building a team of people around you, you can help you develop the business. And actually, EI and leadership’s one of the biggest areas where research has been focused. But I think one of the other things I’ve got to say is that we’ve all got blind spots. It doesn’t matter where we are in life, we’ve all got things that I suppose that we could be better at. And actually shining a lens on those and improving our self-awareness is something that you can develop at all stages. Mindy Diamond: A lot of people in our industry, whether it be a recruiter or an advisor themselves, believe that efficiency or being most effective and efficient is the true north. And that to ask what may fee like unnecessary or ancillary questions that don’t directly get to help me to figure out what your asset allocation is so that I can grow your portfolio, may feel ancillary. And so, is that one of the most common objections you get when somebody, say, comes to you and they’re thinking about retaining you and they’re wondering what the benefit is? James Woodfall: Well, I think the people in firms I tend to talk to, there’s a couple of common things that are coming to mind now. One is pressure around fees. So, how can I make sure I’m articulating my value in a time where clients are more informed, they can go on AI and they come to meetings prepared with answers, and they’re challenging back around the value that advisors can provide. So getting back, I suppose, and the answer is funnily enough, is actually if you’ve designed your service around a proposition which makes yourself easy to replace by someone else who can do it for the same or cheaper price with a promise of better performance, or even in the years coming, a robo-advisor, it’s going to be challenging to retain and grow clients. But I’m not particularly worried about AI. The other types of firms that come to me is to say, “Look, we’ve identified actually that we need to think differently about our business model, what we do and who we serve, because it’s going to be easier than it’s ever been for clients to come up to do some of these things themselves.” But absolutely what is untouchable, I think, is this ability to create a human connection, to sit down and discuss a range of different options. “Do I do X, do I do Y? What are the trade-offs if I choose that over that?” And to uncover those things which, as I said, really keep people up at night and solve for them. I think it’s going to be quite hard to replicate that digitally. Mindy Diamond: So I want to get to a end that you hit the nail on the head, and I want to delve deeper into it. Whatever the advisor is looking for, they may not worry about pressure around fees, they may not be kept up at night. They have a practice or a business that’s worked well all these years and is growing organically and it’s more than good enough. But anybody who isn’t concerned about the potential impact of AI on their business and whether they’re a financial advisor or recruiter or anybody else, is living under a rock. So, the goal for everyone should be to make yourself untouchable. And you hit it on the head, it’s the ability to create human connection. So, I want to ask you something. It occurs to me, you talk a lot about learning to ask the right questions. In some cases, the questions that a client never been asked before makes sense to me. But I think the real skill, I mean, I imagine anybody can teach you a list of questions to ask. The real skill comes in is knowing what to do with that information. So, let’s assume that someone says an advisor says you ask that smart question, “What keeps you up at night? What do you think about at 3:00 AM?” Pressure around fees. I find people, clients asking me, prospects asking me all the time what sort of value I can add, whether it be in the land of AI or competitively, whatever it is, pressure around fees. What do you do? So you’ve asked the smart question, but what do you teach? What do you do with that information? James Woodfall: It’s a mindset, I think, because having just say a list of questions I don’t think is really helpful to any advisor when you’re training them. And yet I find I do get people who, okay, say, “Well, look, what questions should we ask? Have you got a list of questions that you would ask?” I hold back giving those out because I think that, well, that’s what I would say. It’s not necessarily going to land the same way if you say it. The mindset I’m trying to teach advisor is to adopt a curious mindset. So not asking questions for question’s sake, but if I’m talking to someone, what I want to do is I want to understand, how are you thinking? How do you see the problem? What assumptions are you making? What things do you believe which maybe don’t line up with how things are in reality, or goals, objectives, or whatever it is. So I’m trying to understand how you think, and that requires not asking questions off a list of great questions to ask, comes off of understanding the format for that, is utilizing the open questions to gather information, to check assumptions that might sit behind them, because actually understanding those assumptions is really, really useful. And to then summarize and play back to someone that you’re talking to so that you can demonstrate that you’re listening and you deeply understand them, and being able to summarize and be able to succinctly put their words into a, “Well, what do we do next about this?” Mindy Diamond: Yeah, and, why does it matter? I love that because what I always say is it’s art, not science. AI could give you a list of, if I put in the topic of emotional intelligence and give me a list of 10 smart questions to ask relative to X. One of the questions I would ask someone from an emotional perspective that demonstrates I have strong emotional perspective relative to pressure around fees, AI could spit out the questions. But I think you’re 100% right. The real key is being a good listener and meeting someone where they are. And it’s not about a prescribed or canned list of questions that demonstrate you have strong emotional intelligence. It’s much more about asking the right next question, saying the right thing, the validating statement afterwards. And not as a means to an end, not as a means to a transaction, not as just a way of checking the box, I have emotional intelligence, but really because demonstrating that you deeply care. And I like what you said, the notion of a changed mindset. Do people get that right away? I guess what I’m asking is, financial advisors, while smart ones who are looking to make themselves untouchable by AI will get that concept. They’re looking to differentiate themselves and they’re looking to hone the skills that AI can’t bring to the table. But at the same time, financial advisors are number oriented and goal oriented. And so, how long does it typically take to begin to see, or how do you paint the picture about getting from here to there, connecting the dots between strengthening changing your mindset, strengthening your emotional intelligence, and seeing more results? James Woodfall: Well, look, it’s about behavior change, isn’t it? Like any kind of behavior change, there has to be a few things at play. One is that you have to have a good understanding of where you are right now, what things that you are good at, but what things you need to work on. And then effectively the things you need to work on, you need a plan of how you’re going to work on them. So I think commonly how you develop these kind of relational skills is that you need to be able to get close to, what does the goal look like? Where am I headed? If I get this right, what’s it going to look like? And then you need to have a plan to get from A to B. And actually part of that plan has to be built around good feedback. And I was quite lucky where during my career, I worked for two large banks before I started my firm. And I had really, really good training from managers that I worked with, almost on a monthly basis would come and sit in my client meetings and then feedback to me about what I could have done better. And so actually, if you’re going to really commit to developing, I suppose relational skills and becoming more emotionally intelligent, you need help from someone within your firm or externally to come in and actually observe you by trying out new things and giving you feedback. Now of course, you could do some of that yourself if you’re doing a virtual meeting, you could hit record, play it back, be your own analyst. But quite often we can’t see that ourselves, but if you’ve got say a third party, they can watch you in action. Quite quickly they can hone in and say, “Well, actually, you could have asked a different question here, or actually if you’d phrased that like this, you might’ve got a bit more information, or the client closed down when you ask that question.” So actually then, you start to create that behavior change. So feedback I think is one thing, but actually aligning it with really, values, I think. So, one of the things that I suppose is quite important for behavior change is that we are motivated to do things where we strongly believe it’s the right thing to do. So, I think which is why it can be quite difficult for a firm to bring in with a team of advisors and say, “Well, we’re going to roll out emotional intelligence training,” because you’ll get some of us go, “This is brilliant.” Mindy Diamond: Eye roll. I would imagine eye roll is the… It can be a lot of the response, right? James Woodfall: You get a lot of resistance, because some people see it as a criticism of just saying, “Well, actually I’m good at that. I don’t need training in that, thank you very much.” Mindy Diamond: And because if efficiency in getting to a goal is the true north, I mean, I think the mindset shift you’re talking about is going from believing that getting to the goal by just asking the right numbers and dealing in data, changing that from it’s about building a relationship, which ultimately will impact the amount you manage and how you grow and how you connect and all of that stuff. But for people that are goal-oriented, linear in their thinking, I imagine this can be not just felt as a criticism but hard to embrace. James Woodfall: Oh, yeah, no. I think we view the brain as kind of a black box. I do get people I speak to, they go, “Mental health isn’t real. And all of this is psychobabble,” but from the people that I’ve had feedback from, and this is even for people I haven’t trained. I wrote a book about 18 months ago about the topic which talks about emotion intelligence within the 5X context. I’ve had people contact me on LinkedIn and say, “Look, I read your book. I’ve been following your content for a while. I’ve put some of the ideas to work, and I’m now getting my manager and their manager contact me and saying, ‘What are you doing differently?’” Because all of a sudden they’re opening up conversations with clients that they couldn’t before, doing business with clients where they couldn’t before. And all it is that this kind of focus on the client, the relationship, building that connection, and all of a sudden you start seeing that convert into more sales opportunities. Mindy Diamond: Yes and more yes, because that’s always been our philosophy, my philosophy from starting the business and our philosophy, and I couldn’t agree with you more. You articulated it probably as did, I got to it instinctively. You have research behind it, etc. By the way, for our listeners, we will link your book in the notes for this episode if anybody’s interested in buying it. But you hit the nail on the head, so, or you took the words out of my mouth in terms of next question. Who are your clients? Are they individual advisors? Are they independent RIAs? Are they Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch? And what kind of work do you do for them? James Woodfall: So, I do, there’s probably two parts to my business. One is the consulting training part, which is going into firms, typically firms that were the owner managed typically, where the owner either is still advising or has a big impact on other behaviors of the advice team that’s underneath them. And really, I work on a consultancy basis. So rather than going and just provide EI training, what I do is effectively start with understanding the business. So exactly as I’ve been talking to you about, the process I used to follow as an advisor, it’s the same process I follow when I’m working with practices, is I want to find out what’s going well in the business. Where are the blockers, what’s not going so well? And I’m a social science researcher. So I’d want to spend some time in the business actually doing a bit of a deep dive and maybe speaking to the team while the owner’s not in the room and finding out a bit about how they’re seeing things. Because ultimately, what that will do is it allows me to look at thematically extracting what types of training interventions might move the needle within the business. And then I put that onto a report for businesses and say, “Look, this is what I think we should be doing.” Some of that might be me working one-to-one, doing that coaching, observing, training with particular people in the business who have been highlighted as requiring development, or it might be group training, might be taking the whole teams through a training program. And then following up, helping build those development plans, and then being there supporting with the one-to-ones as they bed in that behavior change. So, that’s one part of the business. The other part of the business is working for the larger firms. I’ve done a bit of work for Fidelity this year and last year, and they’re looking to hire me as an authority expert on the topic to put together training programs that go out to the advisors that they work with. So, there’s the two aspects, like an external speaker trainer that’s brought in by some of the larger companies. And then the other one is a bit more hands-on, applying not only the science but my experience of having been there and run a business. Mindy Diamond: Right. So are the big firms like… So you mentioned Fidelity, are the wirehouses, Merrill, Morgan, UBS, Wells Fargo, are they embracing this? Are the big banks embracing it, or is this largely in the RIA space right now? James Woodfall: In the UK, there’s been a huge kind of interest in emotional intelligence, behavioral finance, relational skills. And actually, a lot of the kind of people who require influential in the UK are actually based in the US. And so, I think there’s a good bit of crossover. We’ve got good people who are specialists in looking at the retirement piece from a retirement transition about, how do you support people through what is a profound psychological transition? So, I think the RIAs are really interested in it as a topic. Then we’ve got the larger institutions are interested in it either as the RIAs are clients of theirs and they want to be seen to providing thought leadership to the RIAs and helping them develop these skills. But also, we’ve got some quite large companies in the UK now here, like the banks, for example, the banks or the whole exited the advice market in around about 2012, 2013, and then this year they’re starting to come back. So they’ve had 15 years nearly out of the market and they’re coming back because they’re just wanting an opportunity for face-to-face advice. So, I think actually it’s a hot topic now and I think all segments of the market are looking at, how do they develop non-technical skills to help them succeed in the future? Mindy Diamond: Can someone who was not born with strong EQ, can they learn this? James Woodfall: Absolutely. One of the interesting things about EQ is it’s not like IQ, for example. IQ is our a sort of cognitive ability. There was some good research that was done probably about, I think 2016, which looked at, do you remember all this sort of brain training apps like, if you do Sudoku, do you get smarter? You get better at Sudoku, but it doesn’t translate into performance on another. You don’t get better at crosswords from doing Sudoku, for example. So, IQs are pretty much fixed and there’s not a lot we can do about that. But EQ has been shown to be a trainable ability. So regardless of where you are now, if you understand your strengths and weaknesses and put a plan together for improvement, everyone has the ability to improve their EQ. And it’s not like personality, for example, where it’s quite hard to shift the dial. Let’s say if you’re quite strongly introverted and you find social situations difficult, if you just took that approach and said, “Well, look, can we make you extremely extroverted?” The answer would be, well, probably not. But EQ absolutely helps that person because noticing that you feel uncomfortable in, say, a networking situation if you have to do that professionally, having the tools in the bag to manage that feeling and throw yourself into the experience, that’s EQ in action. So, it doesn’t matter your baseline of where you are, EQ can have a big impact on your ability to perform across a range of different contexts, home, work, with friends. Mindy Diamond: Yeah. Let’s talk about your comment that EQ or strong emotional intelligence is what can make an advisor untouchable by AI. And I assume the premise being that, I can’t replace a human relationship. It may be able to come up with the questions, but at least for today it lacks the ability to know what to do with that information and to create the human connection. Talk to me more about that. How and why is that? I mean, is that part of why people are coming to you, because they’re worried about AI encroaching on their business? James Woodfall: Where we are at the moment is actually AI… Let’s look at healthcare for a second. Chatbots in healthcare have actually been outperforming humans in some respects. So there’s a type of therapy called cognitive behavior therapy, that’s been run with AI agents and patients. And as researchers to show that actually, disclosure has increased when patients are speaking to a chatbot because cognitive behavior therapy is like it’s guided, is a method, it’s a methodology to it. But disclosure increases and this theory behind that is is that people open up more when they don’t feel like they’re being judged by another person. So that’s interesting, because that saying to us, “Well, actually, people are trusting AI agents with very, very personal information, and people are already getting that feeling of empathy with AI agents.” Because if you tell an AI agent something deeply personal and it says, “That must have been really difficult for you,” for example. Mindy Diamond: Yeah, it does that well. Wonderful feedback about how great you are or what a smart question you just asked. James Woodfall: Yeah, but it’s synthetic, it’s not real empathy, it’s synthetic empathy. Whilst we might feel actually we get that feeling that we’re being understood, it’s not real. And I think the advisor’s edge is, look, I think where we might end up with this is that if you take a step back and you do this kind of exercise of what’s my ideal client, the ideal client is, I think, now is someone who is still time poor. So yes, an AI agent might be able to interview you, build a financial plan, but do you really want to spend the time doing that or do you have any inclination to do that? No. Well, that’s a perfect client who would hire an advisor. They value human relationships. Obviously when we do get AI entering the advisor market, it’s going to be at a lower price point. So actually, we’re now talking about a difference between experience. So the experience of being with an advisor comes at a premium. So that experience is going to be what people are going to pay additional value for. So, it’s the experience of dealing with a human. It’s the experience of dealing with a human who can talk them through complex information and options, help them understand their thinking and apply judgment, connect with those emotional things. But there’s a whole range of information that we get when we’re talking face-to-face, which AI doesn’t have access to. So back to that retirement example, if we say, “Well, man, I’ve modeled your plan. If we do X, Y, and Z, you’re not going to run out of money when you retire. You’re going to be okay.” And then the person, usually what they do is they sigh with relief, which is actually the emotion of joy, relief is actually happiness. So that sigh of relief and the softening of muscle tension in the body that you see when you’re face-to-face with another person, AI can’t, doesn’t get that data. Mindy Diamond: And how powerful is that? So, why does that matter? If I say, “I have X, I need Y. I have X number of years until I retire. Will I have enough money to retire the way I want to?” AI can spit that answer out faster than any financial advisor and come back hopefully saying, “Yes,” they’ll know that I will experience relief and joy because I’ll write back saying, “Great news.” It’ll say, “Yes, that is fabulous news.” It’ll tell me why I’m relieved and all that sort of stuff. So, why does that matter? James Woodfall: I think fundamentally, it comes back to trust. For those people who can get that quick answer, they’ll go, “Yeah, that’s great.” But there’ll be some people who go, “Yeah, fine. I’ll take that answer at face value.” There’ll be other people who go, “Well, what if you made a mistake?” Quite interesting that actually, people will get the same answer from a human advisor and they’ll trust it more. And I think one of those things is because we’re wired for connection, so when empathy develops, it’s quite interesting. Something which you see in young children, for example, is when we develop at the very early stage, probably about three or four years old, before children have learned to self-regulate their emotions, you see emotional contagion in groups of children happen quite rapidly. You get one child who say gets a toy taken away from them and starts crying, and then all the other children at the same age in the nursery start crying. Now, none of those other ones are crying because they’re sad. They’re crying because we have these things called mirror neurons, which means we pick up and mirror the emotional state of people around us. So, you actually get an experience of shared feeling and especially if you’ve got strong rapport, strong relationship, you actually share emotions of the people around you. Now, of course, as we grow out of that developmental stage, we learn this ability to understand that actually what we’re feeling isn’t happening to us, it’s happening to someone else. But have you ever been around… My favorite example for this is, if my wife has had a bad day at work because she comes home and starts slamming the door and banging cupboards, why I start to feel anger, because it’s rubbing off, it’s in the room. So, it’s this shared understanding that I think is where the value is. And so absolutely the answer might be faster and quicker, but for some clients they value that experience of having that answer delivered by someone who understands them. Mindy Diamond: And I think, so the point is that there will be clients or prospects that will value the efficiency of AI, that don’t necessarily need the face-to-face, that don’t necessarily… They just want the answer. They want the answers to the test, they don’t care how you got there. But what you’re talking about is finding the clients that really value the human connection. And if that’s what in fact is going to make advisors untouchable, then they need to make sure that they really strengthen this skill. James Woodfall: It’s not just the answer, but it’s the whole experience that’s wrapped around that. So actually last year, and my wife took me to a restaurant and we had a lovely, lovely meal. And on the menu there was this cup of coffee and the beans were like one of the rarest beans in the world. They’re the ones that get eaten by this little animal with the jungle in it, poops them out, and then the beans get roasted. But it was about 40 pounds for this cup of coffee and I thought, well, I’m going to have that. But that’s the experience, isn’t it? I could get a cup of coffee at McDonald’s, but actually the experience of this, something which is rare, exclusive, delivered in an amazing environment, that’s what you’re paying for. So, you’ve got to remember that actually if experience dictates a lot of what we value as well. So because if all of our decisions were made on price, Ferrari wouldn’t have a business because everyone would just be buying the cheapest car that does the job. You’re going to think advisors that are going to operating in this space, well, they need to think about the whole package, as in the experience that the plan that’s delivered, and the advice. Mindy Diamond: But it speaks to the notion of any advisor that isn’t thinking about AI’s impact on his business and how to reshape or rewire the business, even just rewiring the value proposition, retooling their value proposition, how they explain their value and what they do needs to change because they’re competing not only with the advisor that sits next to them or down the hall, but they’re competing with AI. How about as AI, as you see AI develop? So fast-forward five years, you and I are talking about where AI is today, but AI is, God knows where it’ll be five years from now. So, how do you foresee, do you still foresee the advisor being untouchable if they get this right, five or 10 years from now? James Woodfall: I don’t think it’s financial advice that’s unique with this, because I think it’s any profession where at the moment human judgment and understanding are valued. Healthcare, for example, same thing, doctors follow consultancy process. You’ve got this like tax, legal, a whole range of professions which are all grappling on the same problem. So I think in five years time, I think the answer is, is that we just don’t know what AI will look like. But certainly in the moment, if you track what Claude are doing with code work, and what Perplexity is doing with its skills and add-ons, a lot of it is actually at the moment geared up to freeing up the advisor’s time so that they can spend more time with clients. So, I think at the moment this sort of trend is looking like AI companies want to support advisors to be way more efficient so that they can deal with more clients. But in five years time, who knows? I think probably one of the biggest leaps that will happen is when AI is no longer working from, say, just a transcript. If it gets out to that kind of chat where you can actually interact with an AI agent like you and I are talking, I think that’s going to provide a different experience, because then you’re moving it from, as I said, that kind of structure where somebody is stuck there tapping away at keyboard, having a conversation with a chatbot, effectively, to actually having a conversation with an embodied agent with a face, gestures, a voice. That I think will start to change things a little bit. Mindy Diamond: Yeah. Well, it will be an interesting future, for sure. This has been a fascinating conversation. I really enjoyed it, and thank you so much for sharing so graciously. Is there anything to wrap up that I didn’t ask you, that you would want an advisor to know about this concept or anything you’re thinking about? James Woodfall: I think we’ve taken a broad sweep and then a deep dive into certain areas. I think really probably have to get started. I think probably one of the… I mean, you mentioned obviously I’ve got a book that you share the links to, which is fantastic. Audiobook is available to that as well on Spotify or wherever audiobooks are listed. I think there’s a lot of good advice in that about how to get started. So, I think for people who are looking at covering that next step of, what do we do, it’d be, yeah, pick up a book and have a bit of a deep dive. If you want to skip the book and come straight to having a conversation with me, then I write a weekly email, which goes out once a week, which is just one topic. So very much like we’ve been talking today, I share ideas on that once a week, or on LinkedIn, I’m around on LinkedIn as well. Mindy Diamond: Good. Well, we will link all of it so everyone knows how to find you. Thank you again for being so gracious. Love the topic, love the work that you’re doing, love that there’s a need for it, and can’t wait to see where you go from here. James Woodfall: Brilliant. No, I enjoyed it. Thank you. Mindy Diamond: Thank you. As a financial advisor, you hold yourself to the highest standards of integrity, honesty, and credibility. You are successful because you take your professional responsibility seriously, and are dedicated to your clients. But are you living your best business life? Are your goals aligned with your firms or could a better option exist? Should I Stay or Should I Go? Is a book written with you in mind? It’s a self-guided journey that walks you through the key steps that we take with our advisor clients. This strategic thought process and roadmap to professional self-discovery is designed to help you ask the right questions and think critically and objectively, whether you’re considering change or not. Learn how to get your copy at diamond-consultants.com/thebook. Emotional Intelligence: The “Untouchable” Differentiator in an AI World A conversation with Mindy Diamond and James Woodfall, Communication and Behavior Specialist at Raise Your EI.      Mindy Diamond: Welcome to the latest episode of our podcast series for financial advisors. Today’s episode is Emotional Intelligence: The “Untouchable” Differentiator in an AI World. It’s a conversation with James Woodfall, Communication and Behavior Specialist from Raise Your EI. I’m Mindy Diamond, and this is the Diamond Podcast for Financial Advisors. At Diamond Consultants, we help elite advisors identify the right environment for their businesses to thrive, whether that’s at a wirehouse, boutique, or independent firm. With nearly three decades of experience, we’ve guided thousands of advisors and represented more than a quarter of a trillion dollars in assets transitioned. And each year, one in four advisors managing a billion dollars or more who change firms are our clients. Our process is education driven and based on building relationships, starting as your strategic partner well before you’re even thinking of a move. To schedule a confidential conversation, call us at (908) 879-1002. Wondering why advisors change firms and where they’re headed? Are transition deals going up or down? Those very questions and more inspired us to create our Annual Advisor Transition Report. It’s the award-winning, data-driven resource designed for advisors that connects the dots between the motivations around movement and the firm’s appetite for top talent. Arm yourself with the knowledge you need to make smart decisions. Download your copy at diamond-consultants.com/transitionreport. For years, advisors have competed on expertise, the ability to solve problems, deliver answers, and provide guidance clients couldn’t easily find on their own. But today, those answers are becoming easier to access via artificial intelligence and tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity. AI can generate planning ideas, summarize complex topics, and answer questions in seconds. As the technology continues to improve, it raises an important question. If information becomes increasingly commoditized, what will clients continue to value most? My guest today, James Woodfall, is the Founder of the training firm, Raise Your EI, and a former wealth management business owner. James now helps advisors, leaders, and organizations strengthen the communication and behavioral skills that drive trust, influence, and performance. Skills rooted in emotional intelligence or EI, something that AI cannot authentically replicate. What’s interesting about James’s perspective is that he doesn’t view emotional intelligence as a soft skill. He views it as a business skill, one that impacts how advisors build rapport, earn referrals, lead teams, deepen client relationships, and ultimately differentiate themselves in an increasingly competitive marketplace that includes human and machine-driven advice. Our conversation explores why rapport is the foundation of trust, how emotional intelligence can be developed like any other professional skill, and why advis

Imagine a world where AI is not just a tool but a partner that elevates human judgment, responsibility, and ethics. That's exactly what Helena Almeida, VP of Ethics at ADP, reveals in this electrifying episode, a true call to action for every HR leader and business executive. Dive into the real talk about AI governance, responsible use, and how to stay human in a tech-driven world. Your organization's future depends on it.  In This Episode:  Helena Almeida's journey from litigator to AI ethics pioneer.  The human side of AI: trust, hallucinations, and accountability.  How responsible AI standards are shaped by legal and ethical boundaries.  Practical advice for HR leaders: leveraging AI without losing the human touch.  The critical role of friction in HR processes to ensure fairness and accuracy.  Why AI isn't a replacement but an enhancer — and the importance of smart design.  Navigating complex legal landscapes: pay transparency, union rules, and cross-state regulations.  How business leaders without tech backgrounds can champion responsible AI.  The future of HR workflows with AI: rethinking old processes and embracing healthy friction.  What “responsible AI” really looks like for your organization.  Timestamps: 00:00 - Welcome to the bold new era of AI in HR 02:00 - Helena's transition from litigation to AI ethics leadership 04:00 - The myth of AI without human oversight 07:00 - Hallucinations in AI and how to manage trust 09:30 - Balancing AI accuracy with human judgment 12:00 - Ensuring data integrity in AI-driven HR systems 15:00 - Managing variations in employment law with AI 18:00 - The challenge of complex, multi-layered HR rules 21:00 - Standards for responsible AI: high stakes decisions 24:00 - The importance of skilled designers and human oversight 27:00 - The impact of automation on HR talent and friction 30:00 - How business leaders can lead AI governance without technical expertise 33:00 - Rethinking HR workflows for AI integration 36:00 - Healthy friction: the secret to responsible AI in HR 38:00 - Final thoughts: humans and AI working together for better workplaces Resources & Links:  ADP  Helena Almeida - LinkedIn  Responsible AI Guidelines  Book: "Human + Machine" by H. Simmons  Connect with Helena Almeida:  LinkedIn  Twitter  Final Call: The future of HR is human. The future of AI is responsible. You have the power to shape both. Listen now — and be bold enough to lead with integrity, insight, and purpose. 

Everyone wants to jump straight to keywords. I get it—it feels productive! But skipping the prep work first is one of the biggest SEO mistakes I see.In this episode, I'm breaking down exactly how to get started with SEO the right way—including the 3 questions you have to answer before you touch a single keyword. This is literally the order of operations I walk people through in the SEO Sprint!Whether you're brand new to SEO or you've tried it before and it didn't stick, this one's for you.→ Join the next SEO Sprint (starts June 22): https://brittanyherzberg.com/5-day-seo-sprint-intensive → Keysearch (*affiliate link): https://keysearch.co/?via=copybyb→ Get the full show notes here: https://brittanyherzberg.com/blog/how-to-get-started-with-seo-the-right-way——

Most independent consultants think differentiation means a sharper niche, a cleaner methodology, or better positioning.It doesn't.The consultants landing more work aren't winning because of their pitch or their network.They're winning before the proposal gets written.If you're like most consultants, you think the real evaluation happens when you submit the proposal. It doesn't. Buyers are already deciding in the conversation, before a scope ever gets drafted.In this episode, Melisa breaks down what consulting buyers are actually weighing when they choose which consultant or consulting firm to engage.You'll learn- the mistake most consultants make about differentiation, - how corporate buyers actually decide who to engage, and - four specific ways to use your consulting skills inside the sales process so buyers choose you first.The proposal is a formality.The decision happens long before that.You already have the skills (even if you don't realize it). This episode shows you how to use them before a proposal ever gets drafted.  Timestamps for Key Moments:[00:01] Why clients choose certain consultants over others and what prompted this episode[00:03] Why responsiveness is a baseline and what actually sets you apart beyond that[00:05] Companion resource: the consulting proposal template from the IC Toolkit[00:06] The mistake consultants make when thinking about differentiation[00:10] How B2B buyers actually decide who to engage[00:13] Why the proposal is a formality and what wins the work before it[00:15] Example 1: The stakeholder question and why it helps the buyer, not just you[00:18] Example 2: The restraint advantage and why showing everything you can do often loses the work[00:23] Example 3: The success clarity test and how to find the real reason a buyer needs you[00:27] Example 4: Process ownership and how to lead the decision instead of following the buyer's lead[00:31] Steps to put this episode into actionResources Mentioned:Companion Resource: Download the Consulting Proposal Template from Melisa's IC Toolkit: www.ICtoolkit.comFull Show Notes https://shownotes.melisaliberman.com/episode-273Want More?Melisa's Books, Planners & Journals: https://linktr.ee/melisalibermanGet Melisa's Book: https://www.melisaliberman.com/bookVisit Melisa's Website: https://www.melisaliberman.com/Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melisa-libermanWant help achieving your consulting business goals? Melisa can help. Click here for more on coaching tailored to you as an independent consulting business owner.

Cindy Esliger addresses the uncomfortable truth that technical competence is really only the price of admission in today's workplace, not advancement, especially for women navigating male-dominated industries. We tend to believe that keeping our heads down and producing excellent work will naturally lead to advancement, but Cindy explains why career growth depends just as much on communication, relationship building, emotional intelligence, and political savvy. She discusses the double bind women face when developing these skills and why waiting for technical excellence alone to be recognized can quietly stall a career. As organizations evolve faster than ever, technical expertise without strong people skills can leave us stuck in individual contributor roles while others move into leadership. Cindy breaks down four common problems women often face in this environment: 1. The invisibility trap, 2. The likability penalty, 3. The catch-up cycle, and 4. The promotion pitfall. She also highlights six warning signs that career growth may be blocked, including avoiding office politics, staying too long in the same role, and struggling to communicate accomplishments in business terms instead of technical details. Cindy shares six practical strategies that focus on what we can control: 1. Start future-proofing your career now, 2. Be intentional about projecting both confidence and competence, 3. Develop soft skills with the same rigor as technical skills, 4. Think globally and stay ahead of change, 5. Prepare for transition before a promotion happens, and 6. Take inventory regularly and stay proactive about development. The workplace increasingly rewards people who can combine technical expertise with interpersonal skills. Cindy reminds us that these skills can be learned and that developing them creates more options and long-term career resilience.  Resources discussed in this episode: Guide to Future-Proofing Your Career Astronomic Audio Confidence Collective — Contact Cindy Esliger  Career Confidence Coaching: website | instagram | facebook | linkedin | email Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

God's Truth is the Differentiator in the hostile world that hates and rejects truth. Nevertheless, the Church in this hostility has been Set Apart By The Truth.

"I'm not a techy person, Brittany." I heard this SO many times recently—on coaching calls, in DMs, everywhere! And every single time, I want to shake them (lovingly

In a world of relentless choice and technological acceleration, the brands that win are not the ones with the most features or the lowest price. They are the ones that make people feel alive.In this podcast, Sophie Devonshire, Chief Executive of The Marketing Society, is joined by Katie Burke, Global Lead for Life Trends at Accenture Song, and Lisa Johnstone, Director of Priority, Loyalty and Rewards at Virgin Media O2, to explore three of the most compelling trends from the Life Trends 2026 report, Accenture Song's global study of human behaviour in a rapidly changing world.This year's trends are anchored in the hero's journey: challenge, change, and transformation. And for marketing leaders, the implications are significant.We explore Human Journeys, and how AI is reshaping the moments of discovery and decision-making that matter most to customers, including what zero-click experiences mean for brand visibility and relevance. We look at Good Vibrations, and why joy, play, and real-world connection are becoming serious commercial differentiators, and how the most effective brands enable culture rather than chase it. And we examine Coming of Age, and why age is no longer the right organising principle for marketers, and what to reach for instead.With 77% of people expecting brands to help them feel joy and wellbeing, the pressure on marketing leaders to make the case for emotional brand-building has never been greater. This episode explores what life-centricity really means in practice, and how to take that argument into the boardroom.Read the full Life Trends 2026 report: https://www.accenture.com/us-en/insights/song/accenture-life-trends-2026

In this episode, hosts David Millili and Steve Carran sit down with Maura Zambarano, President of Mattress Concierge, for an honest and wide-ranging conversation about entrepreneurship, resilience, and the evolving role of sleep in hospitality.From a lightning-round icebreaker revealing Maura's calm-inducing superpower to a deeply personal story of unexpectedly taking over a company after tragedy, this episode explores how life experience, adaptability, and customer obsession can shape leadership in powerful ways.Maura shares her unconventional journey—from studying economics at Colorado State after a last-minute major switch, to grassroots sales launching a sauce business out of a converted Airstream, to building a career in senior living and ultimately stepping into the hospitality world through Mattress Concierge. She also dives into what makes boutique hospitality unique and why sleep has become one of the most overlooked yet critical components of the guest experience.The conversation highlights how boutique hotels are redefining comfort, why mattresses are a strategic investment rather than just a cost, and how personalization and wellness trends are shaping the future of hotel stays.In this episode you'll discover: How Maura Zambarano unexpectedly became President of Mattress Concierge and rebuilt a company from the ground up  Why sleep is one of the most undervalued drivers of guest satisfaction in hospitality  What boutique hotels are getting right (and wrong) about the guest experience  The future of personalized sleep experiences in hotels, from pillow menus to wellness-focused rooms  Why durability and design matter more than ever when selecting hotel mattresses Watch the FULL EPISODE on YouTube: https://youtu.be/2OX8QmpMmIw This episode is sponsored by Mattress Concierge: https://www.mattressconcierge.com/Links:Maura on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maura-zambarano-95403911/Mattress Concierge: https://www.mattressconcierge.com/ For full show notes head to: https://themodernhotelier.com/episode/275Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-..Join the conversation on today's episode on The Modern Hotelier LinkedIn pageConnect with Steve and David:Steve: https://www.linkedin.com/in/%F0%9F%8E...David: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-mil.

In This Episode Why staffing firms with bundled benefits plans are accidentally forcing workers to overpay, or opt out entirely, and how unbundling changes everything Employees who elect benefits stay on contract assignments four to five weeks longer  What the collapse of a major benefits provider in early 2025 revealed about how dangerously fragile most staffing benefits programs actually are Why Carl Stecker built a full prescription drug platform delivering medications to entire families for under $7 a week, and what pharmacy closures in major U.S. cities made that more urgent than anyone expected How an AI-powered predictive enrollment system is flipping traditional insurance logic upside down by telling workers what NOT to buy   Expect to Learn Most staffing firms spend enormous energy chasing client retention while leaving candidate retention almost entirely to chance. This episode exposes exactly what that blind spot is costing them. Carl Stecker breaks down the mechanics of a benefits model built specifically for high-turnover industries, one where the design itself keeps workers engaged, covered, and on the job longer. By the end of this conversation, you'll never think about benefits as a checkbox again. You'll see them as one of the sharpest competitive weapons a staffing firm can carry into the market.   Timestamps and Key Moments [00:01] – Benefits: Bigger Than You Think [02:41] – Bundled Plans Are Broken [05:22] – Finding a Stable Provider [07:59] – The 40% Nobody's Serving [10:22] – Power Back to the Candidate [12:17] – AI Meets Enrollment [16:17] – Benefits as a Differentiator [18:13] – 4–5 Extra Weeks of Retention [20:03] – Candidates Are Your Inventory [23:30] – FreeRx: $12 a Week Coverage [25:38] – What Top Firms Do Differently [28:05] – Why Drug Prices Are So High [31:52] – The Pharmacy Desert Problem [33:37] – About Benefits in a Card [34:59] – Rapid Fire Round   About the Guest Carl Stecker has spent more than three decades solving a problem most of the staffing industry didn't know it had: benefits designed for the wrong kind of worker, priced for the wrong kind of market, and built on a model that punishes turnover instead of surviving it. As the founder and CEO of Benefits in a Card and FreeRx, he pioneered weekly coverage cycles, two-year rate guarantees, and most recently, a prescription drug platform delivering medications to entire families for under $7 a week. His perspective is rare because it sits exactly at the intersection of insurance economics, staffing operations, and frontline worker welfare — and after 34 years in the trenches, he has the data and the scar tissue to back it up.   About the Host Brad Bialy is a trusted voice and highly sought-after speaker in the staffing and recruiting industry, known for helping firms grow through integrated marketing, sales, and recruiting strategies. With over 13 years at Haley Marketing and a proven track record guiding hundreds of firms, Brad brings deep expertise and a fresh, actionable perspective to every engagement. He's the host of Take the Stage and InSights, two of the staffing industry's leading podcasts with more than 2,000 downloads.   Sponsors and Offers Heard Book a 30-minute business and marketing consultation with host, Brad Bialy: https://bit.ly/Bialy30  

Every B2B product is starting to look the same. Features are converging, AI is making it easier to ship software overnight, and the noise on LinkedIn has never been louder. So what actually sets a brand apart?David Walsh, three-time founder and CEO of Limelight, joins me to break down why brand, personality, and creator-led marketing are becoming the only real competitive advantages in B2B. We get into the rise of micro-creators, the authenticity debate around AI-generated content, and why most companies are leaving influencer marketing on the table. Highlights:(00:00) Meet David Walsh(01:18) Limelight's evolution and biggest lessons (04:45) How LinkedIn content has shifted (05:30) The rise of micro and niche creators (07:00) LLM visibility and the new shelf life of content (10:15) Why brand is the only moat left (12:30) Employee advocacy as the starting point (17:00) What's actually performing on LinkedIn (18:30) Can you be authentic and still use AI? (21:00) How to define authenticity in content (24:30) Vibe coding a SaaS product in 45 minutes (28:30) What's next for LimelightResources:Hear more from me in the Stop the Scroll Newsletter: https://briannadoe.substack.com/Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianna-doe/ Follow David on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-walsh-limelight/Check out Limelight's website: https://www.limelighthq.com 

What if your company's biggest untapped competitive advantage isn't technology or talent, but well-being? In this episode, Brandon Laws sits down with Dr. Jennifer Posa, an organizational psychologist with 30 years of experience building well-being strategies inside some of the world's most demanding organizations, including Mayo Clinic, Johnson & Johnson, and the CIA. Jennifer shares her bold 2026 predictions for the workplace, explains why most well-being programs fail before they start, and reveals what it actually takes to build a strategy that drives real business results. From psychological contracts to the AI culture crisis brewing right now, this conversation is packed with insights that HR leaders, executives, and people managers can't afford to miss. If you care about the future of your workplace and who's going to be left standing after the next wave of disruption, this episode is essential listening. Key Timestamps [00:01] – Introduction & Jennifer's Unique Background Brandon introduces Dr. Jennifer Posa and her remarkable 30-year career in well-being at high-performing organizations including Mayo Clinic, Johnson & Johnson, and the CIA. [00:55] – When Well-Being Became a Strategy, Not a Perk Jennifer shares the personal and professional turning points that revealed well-being isn't just a "nice to have"—it's backed by decades of research showing measurable improvements in business outcomes. [03:03] – Lessons from the CIA: Well-Being in High-Stakes Environments What does well-being look like when the stakes couldn't be higher? Jennifer unpacks three powerful lessons from her role as Chief Well-Being Officer at the CIA, starting with the critical insight that well-being is individual—not prescriptive. [07:25] – Proactive vs. Reactive: The Well-Being Gap Most Employers Miss Brandon and Jennifer discuss why so many organizations wait for burnout, turnover, and absenteeism before taking action—and what a truly proactive approach looks like when it's embedded at the C-suite level. [08:27] – Prediction #1: Accountability Is the Differentiator in 2026 Jennifer's first 2026 prediction: organizations that hold themselves accountable for employee pain points will win. She breaks down what accountability actually looks like—hint: it's a business strategy, not a wellness app. [13:32] – How to Find the Real Pain Points (Not the Ones You Assume) Jennifer reveals her research-first approach—why she leads with qualitative focus groups before any survey, and how asking "what matters most to you?" unlocks a well-being strategy grounded in truth, not assumption. [17:59] – Prediction #2: Strategic Employee Relationships Drive Exceptional Growth Jennifer introduces the concept of the "psychological contract" and explains why every decision an employer makes right now is either building or breaking that unspoken agreement with their workforce. [21:32] – Scaling the Personal: Well-Being Across 140,000 Employees at J&J How do you make well-being feel personal inside an organization with 140,000 employees across 77 countries—during a global pandemic? Jennifer shares how J&J humanized their strategy at scale. [27:26] – Prediction #3: AI Is a Cultural Issue, Not Just a Technology Issue Jennifer's most provocative prediction: organizations that fail to address the human side of AI adoption will fracture their culture from the inside out. She explains why AI integration is one of the biggest C-suite conversations of our time. [31:45] – How to Prepare Your Workforce for an AI-Driven World Jennifer offers a practical framework for thinking about AI and humans as collaborative partners—and introduces the concept of "performance tradecraft" to help employees build the brain skills needed to thrive amid rapid change. [36:49] – Where to Connect with Dr. Jennifer Posa Brandon wraps up the conversation and Jennifer shares how listeners can follow her work, access her insights, and continue the conversation. A QUICK GLIMPSE INTO OUR PODCAST Podcast: Transform Your Workplace, sponsored by Xenium HR Host: Brandon Laws In Brandon's own words: "The Transform Your Workplace podcast is your go-to source for the latest workplace trends, big ideas, and time-tested methods straight from the mouths of industry experts and respected thought-leaders." About Xenium HR Xenium HR is on a mission to transform workplaces by providing expert outsourced HR and payroll services for small and medium-sized businesses. With a people-first approach, Xenium helps organizations create thriving work environments where employees feel valued and supported. From navigating compliance to enhancing workplace culture, Xenium offers tailored solutions that empower growth and simplify HR. Whether managing employee relations, payroll processing, or implementing impactful training programs, Xenium is the trusted partner businesses rely on to elevate their workplace experience. Discover how Xenium can transform your workplace: Learn more Connect with Brandon Laws: LinkedIn | Instagram | About Connect with Xenium HR: Website | LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube

At some point in every career—often at mid-career or halftime of life—we pause and ask a simple but powerful question: What's next? Many professionals today have tremendous experience, skills, and wisdom, yet they also feel uncertainty as technology, especially artificial intelligence, reshapes the way we create and work. I've asked myself the same question I hear from others: How do I use AI without losing my voice or the value of my experience, especially as a creative? The truth is that AI isn't just another tech trend—it can become a creative partner. When used thoughtfully, even basic AI tools can help you expand ideas, refine your message, repurpose content, and bring new projects to life faster than ever before. The key insight is this: AI doesn't replace your creativity—it amplifies it. In today's episode, we'll explore how creativity with AI can help fuel your next big chapter. Full article here: https://GoalsForYourLife.com/creativity-with-ai YouTube Video of this show: https://youtu.be/YkPP06Sld34   Get POWER OF AFTER BOOK HERE: https://amzn.to/3GpEGlJ  Make sure you're getting all our podcast updates and articles! Get them here: https://goalsforyourlife.com/newsletter  Resources with tools and guidance for mid-career individuals, professionals & those at the halftime of life seeking growth and fulfillment: http://HalftimeSuccess.com Chapters 0:00 Introduction to the Power of After 2:10 The Fear and Potential of AI in Mid-Career 4:45 Experience as the Foundation for AI 7:30 Refining Your Voice and Polishing Ideas 10:15 Mining Outtakes and Repurposing Content 13:00 Visualizing Ideas with AI Image Tools 16:00 Brainstorming New Angles and Perspectives 19:15 Organizing Your Creative Systems 22:00 Why Human Insight is the Differentiator 24:30 Applying AI to Your Next Chapter 25:50 Final Encouragement and Resources#ai #creativity #careertransition #midlife #innovation  

Vishal Verma's family office has been operating out of Silicon Valley for over thirty years. His father arrived from India in 1977 with eight dollars in his pocket, worked as a rocket scientist, and eventually became an entrepreneur and venture capitalist. The family formalized their office in the late nineties with early LP positions in Sequoia Fund IX and Kleiner Perkins. Today Vishal manages a portfolio split across twenty-one venture capital firms and twenty-eight direct co-investments in generational companies including Anthropic, Wiz, Stripe, and xAI.In this episode, Prashant and Vishal go deep on how a thirty-year family office actually thinks about venture capital — the vintage strategy, the concentration framework, the Anthropic bet, and why most of what you hear about the first mover advantage is wrong.⭐ Sponsored by Podcast10x - Podcasting agency for VCs - https://podcast10x.comWe talk about -– The family origin story: $8 at the border to Silicon Valley– Portfolio construction: 70/30 public to private– The vintage strategy: why you have to be at every party– Three concentrations reshaping the VC ecosystem– The Anthropic investment at $18B valuation– AI vs crypto: behavioral change is everything– Bigger funds not returning DPI is hogwash– Emerging managers: what actually earns a check– DPI reality and the IPO bottleneck– Why family offices exist and what banks can't doTimestamps:(00:00) -Preview(01:40) - Introduction to Vishal Verma and His Family's VC Legacy(03:39) - The Family Office Origin Story: From India to Silicon Valley(06:57) - Challenges and Triumphs of Early Indian-American Entrepreneurs(08:56) - Why the Indian-American Community Thrives: Hard Work, Education, and Family(10:22) - Portfolio Construction and the First Investment in Sequoia(14:15) - The Rationale Behind a 30% Allocation to Venture Capital(17:22) - How Shorter Fundraising Cycles Have Changed LP Strategy(22:25) - The Differentiator for Top-Tier VC Funds(24:34) - Understanding the "Concentration" of Returns, Capital, and Founders in VC(28:08) - Do Bigger Funds Actually Lead to Shrinking Returns?(30:17) - The "Mafias" of Silicon Valley and Their Role in Deal Flow(32:32) - The Investment Thesis for Anthropic at an $18B Valuation(36:55) - AI vs. Crypto: The Critical Difference of Behavioral Change(39:15) - First-Mover vs. Best-to-Market: Lessons from Tech History(40:32) - The Reality of Stretched DPI and Liquidity Challenges(41:35) - The Rise of "Megacorns" and the Upcoming IPO Wave(44:34) - AI Investing: When Does Conviction Become Overexposure?(48:38) - Public Market Strategy: A Tech-Heavy Portfolio(52:50) - ConclusionLinks:Edgewood Ventures - https://www.edgewoodvp.com/Connect with Vishal Verma - https://www.linkedin.com/in/vishal-verma-551327Connect with Prashant: https://linkedin.com/in/choubeysahabSubscribe to VC10X newsletter - ⁠https://vc10x.beehiiv.com⁠Subscribe on YouTube - ⁠https://youtube.com/@VC10X ⁠Subscribe on Apple Podcasts - ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/vc10x-investing-venture-capital-asset-management-private/id1632806986⁠Subscribe on Spotify - ⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/7F7KEhXNhTx1bKTBFgzv3k?si=WgQ4ozMiQJ-6nowj6wBgqQ⁠VC10X website - ⁠https://vc10x.com

The role of the software engineer is shifting from execution to orchestration, and it's happening faster than most of us realize. Dennis Vink, Principal Consultant at Xebia, breaks down how he approaches code modernization with AI, why fundamentals and system design matter more now than ever, and what the engineering role is actually becoming.In this episode, we cover:Why you need to mature your old codebase before you can migrate away from itHow to prove feature parity between legacy and modern systemsWhy vibe coding without architecture knowledge gives you zero controlThe shift from execution-focused engineering to orchestrationWhy Dennis worries about the next generation of engineersWhether you're sitting on legacy code at work or wondering how your role as an engineer is evolving, this conversation will make you think about where you need to invest your time next.Timestamps:00:00:00 - Intro00:00:51 - Dennis's Early AI Engineering Assignments00:02:23 - Side Projects: Reviving a 20-Year-Old Game in Rust00:04:36 - Why Vibe Coding Without Fundamentals Fails00:05:15 - The Fundamentals You Need for Code Migration00:06:45 - Proving Feature Parity with Automated Testing00:08:12 - Writing Tests First as Risk Mitigation00:10:13 - How Much Should You Care About Code Structure?00:11:18 - Migrating in Small Pieces of Value00:12:26 - Will Engineers Still Find Fulfillment in Building?00:14:01 - How to Actually Start Side Projects (ADHD Brain)00:15:34 - Why Pivoting Is No Longer Painful00:16:12 - Prompting as the New Bottleneck00:17:23 - Parallelizing Work Across Projects00:19:08 - Why System Design Is the #1 Audience Demand00:20:19 - AI as a Differentiator for Strong Architects00:21:11 - Why the New Generation Should Worry00:23:01 - Are Bootcamps Still Worth It?00:25:15 - The Shift from Collaboration to Business Understanding00:27:56 - Infrastructure as a Core Competency Bet00:30:15 - Deterministic vs Non-Deterministic Code Generation00:32:16 - Can This Approach Scale to Million-Line Codebases?00:34:20 - Why a Finger-Snap Migration Would Scare You00:37:01 - Where to Start with Your Own Legacy Codebase00:38:43 - Which Languages Do AI Models Struggle With?00:40:24 - Building Around Hallucination with Scaffolding00:42:30 - Spec-Driven Development as the Future Way of Working00:43:30 - Turning a Non-Technical Colleague into a "Developer" in an Hour00:46:21 - When the House Is on Fire, That's When You Need Real EngineersProjects we discussed:Agent designer - hurozo.com Game project - Zorlore.com (https://github.com/zorlore/)Vibe coded solar system simulation - spacehaste.com #SoftwareEngineering #SystemDesign #AIEngineering

In a world that's accelerating with AI, market volatility, and global complexity, it's easy to feel overwhelmed or even paralysed. As leaders and experts, we often accept this as the cost of doing business. But what if there was a better way? What if you could install a new "operating system" for your mind that provides stability, clarity, and composure, no matter what's happening around you?This week, I speak with Angus Nelson, an executive and leadership strategist and author of 'The Neuro-Resilient Leader'. Angus introduces a powerful framework for navigating the pressures of modern leadership, not by chasing external goals, but by building a solid internal infrastructure. We explore why the only true differentiator in the age of AI is our humanity and how to stop self-sabotage by upgrading the "software" that runs our lives.Here are three key things we discussed:✳️ The C3 Protocol - A simple yet profound framework for leadership stability, focusing on Clarity (your mindset and beliefs), Capacity (your body's emotional and neurological state), and Composure (your resulting behaviours).✳️ Your Brain as a Supercomputer - The idea that your brain operates on the data you feed it. To change your outcomes-from your relationships to your revenue-you must first consciously change your inputs.✳️ The Success Trap - Why we often struggle with feelings of unworthiness both before and after achieving our goals, and how these feelings are programmed into our "operating system".Finally, Angus shares three actions you can take to begin building your own internal operating system for a world at speed.✳️ Practise Meditation - Use guided meditation to defrag your mental "supercomputer" and create space for clarity.✳️ Curate Your Circle - Intentionally put yourself in rooms where you are challenged and pulled up by others. As Angus says, "Go find someone where you are the dumbest, poorest person in the room and they don't make you feel that way."✳️ Listen to Your Intuition - The real work isn't in adding another task to your to-do list. The doing you need to do is in the "be-ing". The power you're looking for, you already possess.Apple Podcast Timestamps:(01:52) The Neuro-Resilient Leader: An Operating System for a World at Speed(05:05) The C3 Protocol: Clarity, Capacity, and Composure(10:31) Humanity as the Differentiator in the Age of AI(15:45) Moving from External Validation to an Expansive State(22:50) The Success Trap: Do I Deserve This?(26:14) The Toolbox: How to Upgrade Your Mental Operating System(37:54) Three Amplifiers for Personal ExpansionGet a free copy of the book : freebook.vip----Get your copy of my Personal Brand Business BlueprintIt's the FREE roadmap to starting, scaling or just fixing your expert business.www.amplifyme.agency/roadmap----Subscribe to my Youtube!! Follow on Instagram and Twitter @bobgentleJoin the Amplify Insiders Facebook Community : www.amplifyme.agency/insidersPlease take a second to rate this show in Apple Podcasts. ❤ It will mean a lot to me.

Most retreat leaders focus on the itinerary. But what makes guests come back year after year isn't the schedule - it's the culture. In this episode, Shannon is joined by leadership expert and culture strategist Nathan Jamail (whom she is biased to say is amazing) to break down how retreat leaders can intentionally build culture instead of just planning programming. They discuss: How culture impacts everything  How to create loyalty beyond a single event Alumni communities that actually stay engaged Setting customer experience standards Why some retreats create raving fans - and others don't If you want recurring revenue, repeat guests, and long-term brand equity, this episode will shift how you think about your retreat business. Recorded in our new studio space in Austin - and available on YouTube as well. What You'll Learn Why itinerary doesn't equal experience The role leadership energy plays in culture How to design belonging - not just activities How to turn one-time guests into long-term community The operational standards behind unforgettable retreats Key Takeaways Culture is what people feel, not what's printed on the schedule. Loyalty is built intentionally, not accidentally. Clear standards create consistency and trust. Raving fans are the result of alignment and leadership - not luck. Retreat businesses that scale focus on community, not just events. Watch on YouTube This episode was recorded in our new Austin studio space. You can now watch the full conversation on YouTube. Subscribe:  Learn more about Nathan: https://nathanjamail.com/ Join Nathan and Shannon at the Forum: https://luxuryinbusinessretreats.mykajabi.com/retreat-industry-forum The Retreat Leaders Podcast Resources and Links: Learn to Host Retreats Join our private Facebook Group Top 5 Marketing Tools Free Guide Get your legal docs for retreats Join Shannon in Denver at the Retreat Industry Forum  Join our LinkedIn Group Apply to be a guest on our show   Thanks for tuning into the Retreat Leaders Podcast. Remember to subscribe for more insightful episodes, and visit our website for additional resources. Let's create a vibrant retreat community together! Subscribe:  Apple Podcast | Google Podcast | Spotify _____ TIMESTAMPS Defining Culture in Organizations (00:02:04) Nathan explains what culture means, using energy, attitudes, beliefs, and the thermostat analogy. Mandating Culture & Event Laws (00:03:00) Discussion on the importance of setting clear cultural expectations and event "laws" for retreats. Authenticity & Alignment in Retreats (00:04:43) Shannon and Nathan discuss the need for alignment between retreat leaders and attendees, especially for international retreats. The Dangers of Misalignment (00:05:47) Exploring how misaligned guests can negatively impact the retreat atmosphere and culture. Marketing to the Right People (00:07:13) Emphasizing the importance of targeted marketing and being clear about who the retreat is and isn't for. Gratitude and Team Culture (00:08:25) Lighthearted discussion about gratitude within their team, referencing team members Josh, Lily, and Sharon. The Cost of Keeping Misaligned People (00:09:12) Nathan explains why keeping misaligned people (for fear of loss) damages culture in both business and retreats. Quality Over Quantity: Pricing & Numbers (00:10:21) Debate on charging more for fewer, better-aligned attendees versus filling retreats with anyone. Hiring & Team Alignment (00:15:04) Common mistakes in hiring misaligned team members and the impact on guest experience. The Airport Test & Culture Fit (00:13:57) Nathan introduces the "airport test" as a way to assess cultural fit among team members and guests. Sacrificing Culture in Tough Decisions (00:14:33) How leaders often sacrifice culture first when making difficult choices, and the consequences. Setting the Tone: Messaging & Boundaries (00:18:09) Shannon shares practical ways to set cultural expectations from marketing to the retreat's opening night. The Ted Lasso Theory: Be Curious, Not Judgmental (00:20:03) Nathan references Ted Lasso to illustrate the value of curiosity and non-judgment in building culture. Energy as a Differentiator (00:21:37) Discussion on how the energy and culture you create is more memorable than content or location. Closing & Invitation to Future Events (00:22:18) Shannon and Nathan wrap up, reflect on past recordings, and invite listeners to join their upcoming event. Outro & Call to Action (00:23:54) Podcast outro with reminders to subscribe, review, and access free resources.

The traditional focus on supply chain efficiency has created brittle networks that break under modern volatility and shifting global trade consensus. Optilogic provides an AI‑native platform for supply chain design, where autonomous agents build models, generate scenarios, and evaluate network tradeoffs. In this episode, Don Hicks, CEO at Optilogic, unpacks why enterprise leaders must run supply chain planning and design as parallel, symbiotic processes to move beyond current network constraints and build for long-term resilience. The discussion outlines a framework for using AI to automate routine tactical decisions while leveraging human-led what-if simulations to architect future-state competitive advantages. This episode is sponsored by Optilogic. Learn how brands work with Emerj and other Emerj Media options at emerj.com/partner 

Here’s a question that cuts to the heart of what makes sales hard: What do you do when your commodity is identical to every competitor’s, the buyer knows it, and the only lever they want to pull is price? That’s the challenge Ash from Chennai, India brought to me on a recent Ask Jeb episode. Ash works as a trader importing textile goods from Asian manufacturers and selling them into Spanish-speaking markets in South America and Spain. No proprietary product. No unique features. Pure commodity, all the way down. And yet Ash is holding customers. Getting repeat orders. Building relationships across borders and languages. He just needed a framework to understand why it was working and how to make it work even harder. The Trap Every Commodity Salesperson Falls Into When everything looks the same, most salespeople default to one of two bad moves: race to the bottom on price, or get paralyzed trying to explain a value they can’t articulate. Here is the brutal truth. Your buyer already knows the product is a commodity. They know they could go direct to the factory and cut you out entirely. They are not confused about that. What they are evaluating is whether the risk and hassle of cutting you out is worth the savings. Your job is to make sure the answer is always no. That requires you to stop thinking about what your product does and start thinking about what YOU do. Three Reasons Customers Keep Buying From Ash When I asked Ash why his good customers keep coming back, he gave me three answers that every salesperson in a commodity business needs to write down. You make it easy. Ash speaks Spanish. His customers speak Spanish. If they go direct to a Chinese or Vietnamese factory, they face language barriers, cultural friction, and communication breakdowns. Ash eliminates all of that. Business people will pay for less hassle. Time is money, and you are saving them both. You are someone they like and trust. Ash follows up. He wishes customers a happy New Year. He remembers what matters to them. That is not fluff. That is relationship equity that compounds over time. When customers feel like they can trust you, when a familiar voice picks up the phone, they do not want to start over with a stranger. You reduce financial risk. In Ash’s business, buyers put down a 20% deposit, sometimes a hundred thousand dollars or more, and pay the balance when the container arrives. The nightmare scenario is that container showing up full of the wrong product. Ash’s company has been operating for over 20 years. They do what they say they are going to do. That longevity is not just a stat. It is a security blanket. The Power of the Micro Story Knowing your value is half the battle. Being able to articulate it when a buyer pushes back on price is the other half. Here is what I told Ash: You need stories. Not case studies. Not bullet points. Short, vivid, real stories that make the risk of cutting you out feel tangible. Something like this: “I get it. You could go directly to the factory and save ten percent. Some of my customers tried that before working with me. One of them got a container full of product that was not what they ordered. It cost them more than they saved, and they had no one local, no one they trusted, to help them fix it. That is why they work with me now.” That story is doing three things at once. It validates the buyer’s instinct to compare prices. It quantifies the real cost of the cheaper alternative. And it positions you as the solution to a problem they have not had yet but definitely do not want. If you are newer to sales and do not have your own stories yet, go talk to your senior teammates. Read industry articles. Find examples of what goes wrong when buyers skip the middleman. Then make those stories part of your standard value conversation. Not Every Buyer Is Your Buyer This is the part that stings a little, but it is important. Some buyers are going to push back on your margins until the conversation goes nowhere. They will tell you the price they need, and if you cannot hit it, they will walk. That is okay. What they are telling you is that they do not value what you bring to the table. They want the cheapest option, and that is a legitimate business decision. They are just not your customer. Your job is not to convert every skeptic. Your job is to keep your pipeline full and find the buyers who genuinely value ease, safety, and responsiveness. Those are the ones who become long-term accounts. Those are the ones who, two or three years in, cannot imagine buying from anyone else. Ash is already doing this well. He has visited customers in Mexico, Colombia, and Spain. He has done office meetings and factory tours. When a customer says yes to a visit, they are telling you something: you matter to us. That is what I call an engagement test, and Ash is passing it. Your Value, Packaged Simply In commodity sales, your pitch does not need to be complicated. It needs to be consistent. Here is how I would frame it every time a buyer pushes back: I make this easy for you. I am responsive. And your money is safe with me. Then back each of those up with a story. That is the whole game. Not features. Not specs. You. When you are tired and ready to wrap up the day, remember this: the prospecting you do today pays you for the next three months. Pick up the phone and make one more call. The buyers who value what you do are out there. Go find them. Want to take this to the next level in person? Join Sales Gravy at one of our live events, where we work with sales professionals and leaders to build the skills, mindset, and habits that drive elite performance. See all upcoming events at salesgravy.com/live.

I recently had a long conversation with a very successful professional. He's 58 years old. Highly educated. Respected in his field. Financially sophisticated — in fact, his job depends on understanding money. If you looked at his résumé, you would assume he was completely set for life. He wasn't. A couple of bad investments. Some concentration risk. A few decisions that looked reasonable at the time. And suddenly he's essentially back at ground zero — trying to start a new business at 58. This story is far more common than people realize. The Dangerous Assumption is that many successful professionals assume they'll be fine. Doctors. Lawyers. Executives. Entrepreneurs. They make high incomes. They understand finance. They know about markets and interest rates and diversification. They focus on their career. They focus on income. They even focus on investing. What they don't focus on is their own financial future with the same intensity they focus on their profession. There's a difference. Being financially literate is not the same thing as being financially intentional. Especially when you assume you always have more time. The Good News at 58 is that he still has time. A lot of time. For entrepreneurs especially, it doesn't take 25 years to rebuild. It can take five. There's a quote often attributed to Bill Gates: “Most people overestimate what they can accomplish in one year and underestimate what they can accomplish in five.” That quote is brutally accurate. In one year, starting a business feels overwhelming. Progress feels slow. Revenue is inconsistent. Doubt creeps in. But five years? Five years of focused effort, smart strategy, capital discipline, and experience compounded? That can change your entire financial trajectory. I've Seen This Movie Before. I have a very good friend who was worth over $40 million in his early 30s during the real estate boom. Then 2008 happened. The real estate debacle didn't just dent him — it wiped him out. For years, he struggled. Pride gone. Lifestyle reset. Just trying to survive. Most people would have mentally retired at that point. They would have blamed the market, blamed the system, blamed bad luck. But about six or seven years ago, he found his rhythm again. New strategy. New focus. New discipline. Today, he's worth over $60 million. I get that's not normal. But it proves something important. It Doesn't Take a Lifetime. The examples I just gave are extreme. Most people don't lose $40 million. Most people aren't rebuilding at 58. But the principle is universal: It doesn't take a lifetime to secure your future. It takes a focused season. A defined period where you are intensely clear about your objective. A stretch where: • You work harder than you're comfortable with • You manage risk better than you used to • You stop assuming income equals security • You align your decisions with a specific financial target for the future There's another quote I love: “The harder you work, the luckier you get.” Luck isn't random. It compounds around preparation, visibility, and persistence. When you are laser-focused on a financial goal, you start seeing opportunities others miss. You make better introductions. You ask sharper questions. You move faster when something makes sense. And over time, it looks like “luck.” The story of the 58-year-old professional isn't a warning about markets. It's a warning about complacency. Success in your profession does not automatically translate into security in your future. Income is not wealth. Financial literacy is not financial strategy. And intelligence does not eliminate risk. But here's the good news. If you're in your 40s or 50s and feel behind — you're not done. If you made a bad investment — you're not finished. If you took a hit — that's not your final chapter. You may just be at the beginning of your five-year season. The key is focus. Direct yourself to a destination you can visualize. That's the only way you will get there. Because in the end, securing your future rarely requires a lifetime of perfection. It requires a concentrated period of intensity. And the sooner you decide to enter that season — the sooner your next five years will start compounding in your favor. There is no one who knows this reality more than this week's guest on Wealth Formula, Rod Khleif . Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qogQNGbK9wk Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/549-youre-successful-until-youre-not-with-rod-khleif/id718416620?i=1000753860685 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7mTzyRJxjnkeiVFGCXfOni 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 Dwell Formula Podcast. Coming to you from Montecito, California, I wanna remind you that there is a website associated with this podcast called wealthformula.com. That’s where you go if you wanna. Become, uh, more, uh, involved with this community, including our accredited investor club, AKA investor club, uh, very easy to join. It’s free. All you do is you get onboarded and you see lots of, uh, potential deal flow that you wouldn’t otherwise see again, that is wealthformula.com. Simply click on investor club and get onboarded. Now, as for today’s show, I had a, uh, a long conversation with a very successful professional, recently 58, highly educated, respected, financially sophisticated, in fact, in the money business. Uh, and if you look at his resume, you would assume he was completely set for life, but he wasn’t. A couple of bad investments, some concentration risk. A few decisions that looked reasonable at the time, and suddenly he’s back pretty much to ground zero trying to figure out what to do, and he’s thinking about starting a new business or maybe buying a business. Well, that got me thinking because the reality is this story is far more common than people realize, and I actually hear it fair amount. Right? Many successful professionals assume they’re gonna be fine. Doctors, lawyers, executives, entrepreneurs, making high incomes. Maybe they understand finance, they know about markets, interest rates and diversification in theory. But here’s the trap. You focus on your career. You focus on income. What they don’t focus on is their own financial future with the same intensity. They focus on the profession, and that’s. The difference, right? The issue is that being financially literate is not the same thing as being financially intentional. Now, I actually hate that word because it’s a very, uh, uh, neo agey word intentional. But in this case, I will use it because that it’s very, it’s very appropriate. But here’s the good news, even at 58, right, you still have time. You have a lot of time for, especially for entrepreneurs, it doesn’t take 25 years to rebuild. It can take five. And there’s this quote, um, it’s often attributed to Bill Gates, who, who’s been in the news lately for a lot of other stuff, but this is a good quote. He says, most people overestimate what they can accomplish in one year and underestimate what they can accomplish in five. And that quote is so true. I will, it’s incredibly powerful and it’s very, very useful to think about and. Put in the back of your mind because in a year, like you’re saying, you’re starting a business, it’s gonna feel overwhelming. You may lose money, you know, slow progress, revenue, inconsistent five years, you know, with focused effort and you know, good strategy and discipline. The financial trajectory of your life could completely change over that five years. In fact, I will say that with my first business that I ever started, that is absolutely what happened. I was just pretty much outta residency, didn’t have any money, and within five years I was rocking and rolling. You know, it was a, it was, you know, it wasn’t worth, you know, hundreds of millions of dollars. But I, I, I was, I was doing way better. If you look over five years, it’s an incredible trajectory. And it’s not just me. I mean, there’s guys who’ve done it more extreme ways. I talk about this friend, a lot of times he was worth like 30 or $40 million in his early thirties, and then 2008 happened. It didn’t just kinda dent him, it wiped him out, and for years he struggled. Lifestyle kind of reset a little bit, just trying to survive. You know, there’s this saying in business that the key to su success in business is to stick around long enough until you get lucky again. Well, sometimes that’s true. And a lot of people might have, uh, kind of mentally retired at that point. But the reality is he stuck with it. He rebuilt about six or seven years. He was kind of sideways, then another six or seven years, new focus, new discipline, and today worth 60 million bucks. Now, that’s not normal, right? But it does provide, uh, it does, it does kind of provide an important point. It doesn’t take a lifetime always. Now most people don’t lose $40 million, and most people aren’t rebuilding necessarily from zero at 58, but the principle really is universal. It doesn’t take a lifetime to secure your future. It takes a focus season to find period where you’re intensely clear about your objective. It’s a stretch where you work harder than you’re comfortable with, and maybe it’s not fun to do that in your fifties or sixties. You manage risk better than you used to. You stop assuming income equals security. You align your decisions with a specific financial target. You know what, there’s a another line I love, another quote, and I don’t know where this one comes. I, I, I think it was some hockey coach of mine way back. It’s that the harder you work, the luckier you get. The thing is that luck isn’t random, right? It compounds. Around preparation and visibility and persistence. And when you’re laser focused on a financial goal, you’re gonna start seeing opportunities that are out there that others might miss. You’re gonna make, you know, better introductions, ask sharp questions. You move faster when something makes sense, and over time it starts to look like luck. I think the real lesson, um, about the situation that people get into, like this person I was talking about is. That it, it’s not a warning about markets per se, although markets have a lot to do with it. It’s a warning about complacency. You know, success in your profession does not automatically translate into security in your future. You know, income as you know, is not really wealth and financial literacy is not financial strategy. Although literacy is really, really important. You gotta have a strategy. And you can be really, really smart and not eliminate, you know, or mitigate risk enough. So if you’re in your forties or fifties and feel behind, you’re not done. Okay? You made a bad investment, you’re not finished. If you took a hit, I’ve taken plenty of heads, especially the last few years. It’s not your final chapter. You may just be looking at the beginning of your next five year season. And the key is focus clear goals, define targets, discipline, action. The sooner you decide to enter that season, the sooner your next five years will start compounding in your favor. Man, I gotta tell you, this is a, an ongoing story I hear a lot about, so again, think about that Bill Gates quote, you, you know, people tend to way overestimate what they can do in a year. Grossly underestimate what they could do in five. Anyway. There’s no one who knows this better than my guest on this week’s Wealth Formula podcast. Rod Cleef. Many of you already know him. We’ll have that conversation 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’ve 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 investment. 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 wealthformulabanking.com. Welcome back to the show everyone. Today my guest on Wealth Formula podcast is Rod Thief. He’s a real estate investor, author, and mentor with decades of experience in multifamily investing. Uh, he’s built and sold hundreds of millions, uh, in, in apartment assets and teaches thousands of investors through coaching masterclasses and his life. Uh, lifetime Cash Flow Academy. Uh, rod, how you doing? Good, brother. Good to see you, my friend. Let’s review, but you know a little bit about you, your background. Sure. You know, uh, sure. We have an interesting story. Okay, well I’m a Dutch immigrant, you know, think wooden shoes and windmills. I immigrated to this country, uh, when I was six years old with my brother Albert, my mother’s cia. Um, and we ended up in Denver, Colorado. Uh, struggled initially. Really struggled actually. And, and I remember, uh, wearing hand me down clothes all the way through junior high school until I finally lied about my age when I was 14 ’cause I was tall and said I was 15 so I could flip burgers at Burger King. You know, and I’m sure you’ve got listeners that had it harder than I did, but I knew I wanted more. And luckily my mom had an incredible work ethic and so she babysat kids so we’d have enough money to eat. And with her babysitting money, she was an entrepreneur and invested in real estate. Um, and her first real estate acquisition was the house right across the street from us. When I was 14, she paid about $30,000. And then when I was 17, she told me she’d made $20,000 in her sleep. It had gone up in value. And I’m like, what? Forget college. I’m getting into real estate. So I. Went and got my real estate broker’s license right when I turned 18, which you could do back then with education. Now they got, they got smart you, they need some, you need some experience. But, uh, I was a broker. I was smart enough to go work for a broker. But, um, you know, my first year in real estate I made about eight grand. My second year, maybe 10 grand, but my third year I made over a hundred thousand dollars, which back in 1980 was some pretty decent money. And so what happened between year two and year three? Uh, the 10 x my income was what? What happens? I met a, a guy, he was a broker. I was working for actually, it taught me about the importance of mindset and psychology and how really 80 to 90% of your success in anything is just that your mindset and psychology. So fast forward to today, I’ve, I’ve owned over 2000 houses that I’ve rented long term. I own thousands of apartments now, and I’m also buying senior housing now, which I’m excited about. And you know, in 2006, my net worth went up $17 million while I slept. And you might say, wow. I said, wow, I got a head so big I could barely fit it through a door. And I thought I was a real estate God. And you know, when that happens, God of the universe will give you a nice little SmackDown. Well, that was 2008. I conservatively lost $50 million in 2008 and nine. What I’m known for talking about on my podcast, which I’m blessed to say at this point’s, the largest, uh, commercial real estate podcast really in the world at this point is, and, and the reason being is I spend time talking about mindset. You know, people don’t remember what you said, but they remember how you make him feel. And I do little clips every week called Own Your Power, their motivational clips. And, and I think that’s the reason it’s been so well received. But, uh, you know, I’m known for talking about the. Mindset it took to have 50 million to lose in the first place. And you know, maybe more importantly, the mindset it took to recover from losing it. But, uh, you know, I’d love to, we can chat about that if you like, or I’d love to talk about the state. Yeah. Whatever you It’s a, it’s, I think it’s appropriate to talk about that right now, rod. I mean, I think Okay. You know, in this, in this market with what we had, you know, um, you know, there’s been a, there’s been a lot of pain in multifamily and Yeah. You know, it’s, you know, you and I have talked about this before where. Part of success is, is trying to recognize particular situations. Um, you know, you talk about Warren Buffet and how Warren Buffet says be greedy, when others are fearful and all that, that’s great, but it’s really hard to do. Right? And so help us understand like, sure. You know, uh, how, how do you, how do you do that? Sure. How did you go and how bad did it get? Well, I lost 50 million. I lost $50 million, so it got pretty freaking bad. Okay. I call ’em seminars. That was an expensive seminar. Yeah. Yeah. And very little, uh, so it was, it was ugly. It was ugly, but. It was, it’s, I, I’ll be, I’ll be candid. The strategies I’ll share very briefly here, the strategies, I’ll share the same strategies you would use to get started. Okay. You know, if, if you know you need to do something, and we talked about this, uh, uh, before we started recording, you know, the. With ai, a lot of jobs are going away. You know, if you heard of Elon Musk on, on Joe Rogan’s last epi episode, or the last interview he did with Joe Rogan, you know, he said any job in front of a computer is pretty much gonna be gone like lightning, like a year or two. I mean that fast. It’s crazy. And so, you know, and even, you know, surgeons are, are, are, are gonna be replaced by robotics and, and on and on and you know, and I think there’s gonna be it professionals, uh, you know, there’s gonna be a lot of. Pain for the people that don’t proactively, you know, reinvent themselves, start thinking about what they’re gonna do to reinvent themselves. Maybe it’s an ai, maybe you’ll learn ai, but, but you better think about it now or if you’re in one of these positions. So when the shoe drops, you’re ready because. Uh, there’s a lot of opportunity. I mean, there’s 10,000 people a day turning 65 in this country. You could buy businesses, um, you know, uh, I’m in, I’m, I’m excited about senior housing. They need beds, you know, and, and there’s a huge shortage of beds, but, so there’s a lot of opportunity, but you better pick something if you’re in one of these fields and get busy starting to study it and learn it, and do it on the side so that when the shoe drops, you’re ready. That’s, I don’t wanna scare you, but I just wanna open your eyes. To that fact. But so how, how I recovered from losing $50 million again, is the same strategy I would tell you to use to get started. And it’s first thing, it starts with goals. You gotta figure out what it is you want. ’cause how do you get anything if you don’t know what it is? Because with the goals you create a burning desire or a hunger and you’ve gotta have that to push through fear and limiting beliefs and so on and so forth. And, um. You know, I, I, that’s, if you come to one of my bootcamps, I do a virtual bootcamp every couple of months. It’s two days. I don’t sell anything there. And I’ll tell you later how you can come for 47 bucks. So it’s no excuse. But, but the first thing we do is goal setting on steroids, uh, because you’ve got, again, you’ve gotta create that hunger. Now, I’ll, I’ll say this to you, if you have no interest in, in, uh, learning what I teach. At my link tree, I did my goal setting workshop. It’s an hour. There’s a guide you can download if you go to rodslinks.com or text the word links if you’re driving, uh, to 7, 2, 3, 4, 5 at the bottom. My, is my goal setting workshop. And you know, here’s the thing, buck, people spend more time planning a freaking birthday party than they do designing their lives. Doing your goals is designing your life. So you know, if, if, uh, if you haven’t done ’em in a while, go to Rods, links, go at the bottom. There’s my workshop, there’s a guide. You can download ’em. Not gonna try to sell you anything. Spend an hour with me. Have your spouse do it. Have your kids do it if they’re over 10 years old, and design their lives. So again, it starts with goals. So that’s the first thing I did was reassociate with my goals. Then the second piece is you gotta make a decision. And I don’t mean dip your toe in the water. I don’t mean one foot in, one foot out. I mean, you decide it’s done. Okay. The Latin root for the word decision means to cut off. If you’re gonna attack the island, you burn your ships ’cause you’re taking their ships home. That’s a decision. And, and that’s what I did. I said, okay, enough, quit feeling sorry for yourself. Pick yourself up and go make something happen. And that’s, that’s what I did back then when I lost everything. But it’s the same thing again. If you’re, if you’re in a job and you’re. You’re just not where you want to be. So we make that decision and then you gotta take the first step, uh, you know, buck. And that’s, that’s pretty much it. You know, Dr. Martin Luther King said, you take that first step in faith, the next step will be revealed. And you know, LA Sue said the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. But, you know, in our business and, and, and the investors that we deal with and, and the, you know. Uh, active investors and, and, and passive both, as many of ’em are very analytical and you know who you are. If that’s you and I love you, you’re some of the most successful students that I have and successful people in our businesses. However, I also know how you have to check off every single box before you make a move, and you can’t do that here. Okay? You’ve got to, you’ve got to recognize that you’ve gotta have enough faith. To get started, you know, you can go all the way across the United States at night with your headlight only seeing 50 feet in front of you. And, you know, you can make it, you know, other people have done it before you, you know, there’s a, there’s a, there’s a, a road. And, uh, it’s the same way. You may have some obstacles, but, uh, it’s the same way with this business or really any business. But you, you, you’ve got to take that first step. And, you know, a, a lot of people fear failure, and I’m gonna tell you, don’t fear failure. Fear being in the same place you are right now, a year or two from now, unless you absolutely freak. Love where you are right now. Fear, fear, regret. That’s what I would fear if I were you. I, I, there was this nurse in Australia, a hospice nurse, uh, and her name was Bronny Ware. She asked patients when, who were about to die, if they had any regrets, and she wrote a book about it as a national bestseller. Something like The Five Regrets of Dying. You know what the number on regret was? It was Living the, not Living the Life I could have lived living someone else’s life, not doing what I know. I’m capable of fear that don’t fear failure, you know? Well, the next piece is fear and limiting beliefs. So fear, you know, every successful person have has fear. Now we, we, we, entrepreneurs call it stress, but it’s fear. And, you know, action mitigates fear. You wanna mitigate fear, take action. Go do something. If I’m, if I’m laying in bed at night, it’s three in the clock in the freaking morning and something stresses me out again, stress is fear. That’s what we achievers call stress. Uh, it’s fear. Uh, and, and, um. If something wakes me up and I’m stressed about it, I literally will get outta bed and just go write down some notes. I used to have a pen with an electrical pen that drove my ex-wife crazy and I’d, I’d write notes sometimes fill up pages of notes in bed so that I’m taking some action so I can go back to sleep. So there’s a, there’s a very simple example of it, but anytime that I am fearful about something, I take massive action towards it. Just, just taking steps, doing things. That will mitigate it. And it’s just how it works. So, I mean, it’s, it’s, it’s as simple as that buck. I mean, you just have to do some things. Towards that fear now. Now, the other thing is, if you don’t take action, the fear expands. So that’s the, uh, uh, that’s the antithesis there. So, so you, you need to take action because that’ll, that’ll mitigate it. The, the next piece really is limiting beliefs. You know, when I immigrated this country, I didn’t speak English. I got thrown into school, found out what bullies were for the first time. So I got my butt kicked occasionally, hadn’t learned how to fight back, and then my mom, this is the prop, sent me to school in these wooden shoes. And these are the actual wooden shoes. We found them. When we put her in senior house, senior living in, and these leather shorts, the Germans wear for October Fest, I had to wear that to school. And of course that was crack cocaine for the fricking bully. So I got my ass kicked again. And don’t wooden shoes, rod Or, or those, yeah. Yeah. Wooden shoes. Wooden shoes. Yeah. These are from Holland, man. That’s where I was born. Yeah. My mom. Proud Dutch woman. Yeah. This is, they’re wood. They’re real wood. The farmers still wear these things, uh, ’cause they’re good to go through mud, but they’re crack cocaine for bullies. Okay? And so, yeah, you know, uh, I, I, I got my butt kicked again and, and I came up with this belief system that I wasn’t good enough. I used to ask myself, how can I show them I’m good enough? And a lot of people have these limiting belief systems. I’m not good enough. I’m not courageous enough. I’m not strong enough. I’m not old enough. I’m not young enough. Here’s the thing to remember. There’s a reason the acronym for Belief Systems is BS because 99% of them are bs, but we believe they’re real. I mean, I used to be afraid to raise my hand in front of 10 kids in a classroom, and because of fear of rejection, now I speak in front of thousands of people a year, usually in flip-flops. Okay, so you know, you can mitigate this. So if you’re aware of one of these. Limiting beliefs, BS belief systems, drag it out into the daylight. Look at it with your adult rational mind. You’ll recognize that it’s BS and it will dissipate. But you gotta, you gotta think about it consciously and it’ll, it’ll go away. Um, the, the next piece is focus. Um, you know, focus really is power and whatever we focus on gets bigger, both positive or negative. Okay? So it’s very important that you focus on what you want, not what you don’t want. I’ll get, people call me and say, how do I get outta my student loan debt? I’m like, wrong question. How do you make so much money? The debt’s irrelevant, is the question you need to be asking. They asked Mother Theresa if she was anti-war. She said, no, I’m pro peace. I mean, you get it, right? And, and so, and in fact, I’ll give you another example. So I, I, my podcast is over, I believe, over 30 million downloads, which doesn’t sound like a lot in our social media world, but in, in the podcasting space, it’s not bad. But I listened to two podcasts, Joe Rogan and Tim Ferris. I try to get both sides of the aisle. I’m definitely on, on one side. Uh, but, but, um. They get, and the reason I bring that up is they get about 30 million a week, you know, but that big podcast. But, but, um, on, on Tim Ferriss’ show, he interviews the best of the best in the world. You know, the best athletes like Michael Phelps, NFL players and NFL players, NBA players, actors like Hugh Jackman, ed Norton, Jamie Fox, Arnold billionaires like Ray Dalio, heads of the biggest companies on the planet like Zuckerberg. And he deconstructs their success. It’s very intelligent conversation. I mean, I, I love listening to it. I started to hear a pattern, uh, they almost all meditate. What does meditation enhance? Focus, right? So focus is a really important piece of, of, of success. And just a couple more. One is playing, the next one is playing to your strengths. You know, when, when you, when you go to reinvent yourself or if you’re struggling, you know, or, or gonna start something. Play to your strengths and hire a align or partner for your weaknesses. Like in our world, you know, there’s lots of different hats you can wear. It’s a team sport. You could be the person that finds the deals and analyzes them. If you’re analytical, you could be the mouthpiece like me or you, and you’re, you know, raising money, talking to brokers and, and getting the word out. You could be the. You know, the um, asset manager, if you’ve got some project management experience, construction experience, there’s lots of different hats you can wear, but you wanna play to your strengths. Your strengths are your greatest assets. Don’t try to maximize your fears. You’re gonna get much further. Like I said, if you hire aligner partner for your weaknesses, you know, some of the most successful. Um, partnerships I see in the business are an analytical, introverted person with an extroverted, outgoing person. I mean, that’s a match made in heaven in our business. ’cause our business is primarily empirical. You ask the right questions, uh, and, and you get the numbers right. You know, it’s kind of hard to make a big mistake. Um, and so. You know, just make sure you’re playing to your strengths and when you’re playing to your strengths, you’re gonna have passion and passion’s required to influence people. Right? ’cause you love what you do, so you’re passionate about it. So again, real heavy duty argument to play to your strengths. Yeah, I think the last piece, the last piece is, is peer group. Um, you know, who you hang out with is who you become. You’ve heard it, you’ve heard it before. So if you’re gonna get into something, get around people that are doing it. Like my Warrior Coaching program, I’m, I’m gonna brag. I, I, like I said, they own 300,000 multifamily units that we know of. I’m, I, it’s, we’re counting, uh, we know it’s close to 300,000. We’re at like 275,000 or something. I know there’s a lot we’re missing. And, you know, tons of senior housing, tons of self storage, tons of industrial flex space, um, retail mixed use, you name it. Uh, mobile home parks, and. Almost all of those deals were done between warriors, between my students. So you know, ha, who you hang out with is who you become. You know, if you show me your three best friends, I’ll show you who you are in your relationships, your happiness, your health, and definitely your finances. But see, so many people default to a peer group they went to school with or they work with, and those people with their own fears or limiting beliefs might hold you back, you know, afraid of losing you, afraid of feeling less than if you succeed. And sometimes it’s family. I’m gonna tell you, love your family, but proactively choose your peers. Right? You know, and when I was losing everything in 2008 and oh nine, I was in Tony Robbins Platinum Partnership and there were people there that were killing it in that crash, uh, you know, thriving. And they’re like, get up, you puss. 50 million Schmill. Go make something happen. That’s who you wanna be around, not only while you’re building, but certainly when the proverbial stuff hits the fan, right? Uh, so anyway. I, that those are, those are some of the big pieces. Yeah. Well, that, I mean, that’s, let, let’s talk a little bit about the, the business that you’re in. Um, you know, you’re, you’re heavily involved with real estate. Obviously these, uh, mindset things are a great place to start. Now you go out there, let’s talk about where the market actually is and what you’re seeing in this market right now. Does your represent opportunity to you? There’s a ton of opportunity because there’s a ton of people in trouble, sadly. Right. Okay. A lot, a lot of people got adjustable bridge debt. You know, these rates have gone through the moon. I’ll give you a small example. We were looking at a small asset in San Antonio where I’ve got some assets and I. And there, the lender reserve payment that this guy had to pay to prepare for a refinance went from 8,000 a month to 80,000 a month. Do you think that’s painful? Right. And you know, and, and when you’ve got a multi tens of millions of dollar loan on a property and the interest rates adjust several points, you’re done. And, and so that’s just on the interest rate piece. Uh, mentioning my SEC attorney had six foreclosures in one day, apartment complexes, uh, clients, new clients that came to him, he told me like three weeks ago. So who knows how many since then. But you know, there’s a lot of deals and trouble and it’s sad. It’s very sad. But, uh, that’s just one piece is the loans. Uh, the expenses have gone through the thick and roof. I mean, I’ve got maintenance supervisor that’s making $40 an hour at this point, which is crazy. Uh, you know, I, I teach at my bootcamps. Uh, I used to teach a 50% expense ratio. That’s what you want to have. Now I teach 60% ’cause they’ve gone up that much. And so, you know, there’s a lot of pain in the market. But with crisis comes opportunity. There’s incredible deals. I’ve got a a, a 200 unit asset in San Antonio. Um. That is on a lake, and right next door is a 300 unit, 300 plus unit asset. Um, it’s sold the 300 units sold for 43 million in 21 or 22. It’s, it’s with the bank, it’s down to 28 million now. And I’m not even interested unless it gets to 24, unless the rates drop significantly. And so 43 to 24. So that’s what’s out there right now. And di I think you just bought a, a deal at like a 40% discount, didn’t you? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And here’s the thing, which is what I wanted to get into as well, and I I just bring, bring people’s attention to it, is that these times in history don’t happen that frequently. Right? Right. And it, and it’s interesting what the, the last multiple, uh, opportunities we’ve, we’ve, we’ve capitalized on, they have been all these situations where it’s a debt problem, right? It’s, it’s an asset that’s performing fine. But someone’s got a month, uh, to go and they just need to get out. They’re gonna lose all their equity, their debts due. Um, yeah, their debts do, there’s like this, this wall of debt, like, I think it’s like a trillion dollars of debt due by the end of this year. So what we’re seeing is, you know, the last several opportunities, 30 to 40% discounts on basis, uh, compared to just two or three years ago. And I think the challenges for investors is that like. In the background, those of us who’ve been through the pain are still feeling the pain and you feel very gun shy about it, right? Yeah. Yeah. Um, and you also start thinking, well, 30 to 40% discounts. Uh, you know, this, this is, this sounds very scary, but in, in reality, I, I’m trying to get people to understand that, that those discounts only last for so long, right? I mean, that if you look at like the, the debt. That’s out there. Most of that really bad debt washes away at the end of this year. At 2026. Yeah. After that, like those 30 to 40% discounts that like people are hearing so often, they’re not gonna be there anymore. No, that’s, and what I, and what I hate to see is people wait two or three years from now and all of a sudden there’s a frothy market and everybody’s jumping on the bwa. ’cause that’s what they always do. That’s not, you wanna be a net seller in that market. That’s right. And, and you know, it’s like you mentioned Warren Buffet’s famous quote, be greedy when others are fearful and fearful when they’re greedy. And, and so right now they’re fearful, which is making harder to raise money. And I’m, I’m having the same conversations. It’s like, Hey, if there was ever a time, it’s right now and now. Now the key, now the key. Differentiator or key factor is it’s all about cash flow. You know, like I said, that that deal at 43 is down to 28. 28 still doesn’t make sense for me. So it’s all about cash flow. And so, you know, I wrote a bestselling book. I’ll brag about, hang on, I’ll show it here. It’s called How to Create Lifetime Cash Flow through Multifamily Properties. The reason I bring this up is the subtitle is The New Rules of Real Estate Investing IE The new rules is it’s all about cash flow. I don’t, you know, I can brag about what you, you know, the discounts you can buy a property for, but it, it’s all about the numbers. It’s got a pencil, it, so cash flow is king. Um, so would you agree with that? Oh, a hundred percent. No. The interesting thing is though, that like, that’s a, that’s actually in real estate. That’s a principle I think a lot of people had, and I think what ends up happening is when the market gets frothy, you kind of skip that step, right? Because then what you’re, then what happens is that the market becomes so competitive that you’re trying to project, okay, I can get this from here to here and I can make it cash flow pretty quickly. And that’s when it gets dangerous, right? Yeah, yeah. Because listen, when Mark, when, when, when rates were, were as low as they were, you could do that. Now what? As soon as they started accelerating, well then you just got behind and, and you, you couldn’t catch up. And that’s kind of what happened. No, that’s it. And the expenses. Yeah. Yeah. They, the business about this market though, and maybe you can get some perspective on this, is what happens. You’ve experienced multiple real estate cycles and one of the opportunities that real estate investors have had throughout the decades is investing in a market where interest rates start to fall. What happens? Well, what happens is, is, is, is, is values As values go up, you know, and here’s the other thing, you know, uh, uh, with inflation, inflation’s not going away. And when you buy a property, the debt’s locked unless you do the adjustable rate thing. But if, if you get a normal, a normal mortgage. The, the rent, the debt is locked, but your, your interest, your rents are gonna continue to climb here. They’re going up, they’re gonna keep going up. And, you know, and, and of course the value of, of what we do is based on a multiple of the net income, the NOI, the net operating income. So any increase of the rents is gonna go to the bottom line. And, and so your values are gonna go up. So again, incredible opportunity to get into this real estate now. With the debasement of the US currency, with with, with all the money they’re printing and everything else, you’re, you’re seeing incredible rises in, in hard assets like gold, silver, of course, we saw a crash in Bitcoin ’cause it’s ethereal, it’s air, but, but real estate, uh, is, is you look at it over, over, you know, 50 years and, and it only goes one direction. It has some dips, but it continues to go one direction. And, and so, you know, I, I love real estate. I always have and. And, and always will. And so, you know, that’s why I teach it, you know, I do, I teach multi and I now teach multiple asset classes. I just taught multifamily for a long time, but now I teach pretty much every asset class and I’m, yeah. So what’s, uh, housing too? Yeah. Tell us a little bit about senior housing and um, yeah, what you’re doing there. I, I, I’ve only purchased one assisted living facility so far, but my students, my God, I can’t even count how many assisted living facilities and memory care units they have. But I, I’m, I’m gearing up. I have a whole team doing it. Uh, we’re cold calling and, and, and the, the, the out, the goal is. Is, uh, uh, 12 units in the next 18, I’m sorry, 12 separate facilities in the next 18 months. And we’re growing up to do that. Uh, we’ve got a ton of interest. And here’s the, here’s the reason why they call it the silver tsunami. There’s, there’s six, 10,000 people a day turning 65, and it goes forever. And it seems like forever. I mean like literally a over a decade and. And again, um, you know, those people. Uh, so there’s a lot of opportunity with that. There’s an opportunity to buy businesses as well. A lot of ’em wanna retire and own businesses, so there’s an opportunity there. But, but, um, in senior housing, there’s, there’s a huge shortage of beds. And, and I’m quite candidly, I’m not sure we’re gonna be able to match the need in the shortage of beds, but there’s a huge shortage of beds and, and so, um, you know, and to build new. The about the least you can build a place for is $200,000 a bed. Well, there are facilities that got crushed by COVID where you can buy. Facilities for sub a hundred dollars a bed. So there’s, there’s a, there’s an opportunity there that we’re capitalizing on. It’s very exciting. Uh, that won’t be around there a lot of, is there a lot of competition from, you know, big money institutions, that kind of thing in this space that are sort of pushing prices up? Because I would think if they would have to, yeah. Yeah. I would think they would have the same sort of thesis overall. So the larger facilities, yes. The, you know, I, I’m not doing the, the 200 bed facilities, you know, I’m in the 50 to a hundred range, you know, uh, kind of the mom and pop range as it were. Uh, and. So, at least to start, I mean, at some point I’ll compete with the larger ones, but we’re starting there and, and there’s just an incredible opportunity to, to get to, and the returns are fantastic. I mean, we’re seeing 15% cash on cash, 25% IRR, realistically not BS returns. And so, you know, it’s very exciting, honestly. And, and, and, and, and again, it’s got legs. It’s not going anywhere. It’s not like one of these things that’s cyclical. There’s, there’s the, these people are retiring. They’ve impacted everything from Pampers diapers to suburbia, and they’re gonna impact, you know, senior housing in a big way. So, um, you know, it’s, it’s that, that’s exciting. Yeah. I got crushed by that wave in 2008. I got crushed by that wave. I’m surfing this wave. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Good for you. So tell us, you know, a little bit more about how people can get involved. It sounds like you got a lot going on there. So tell us about Well, I, I, I teach, you know, I teach this stuff. I have, I’ve had, I dunno, upwards of 20,000 people attend my bootcamps by the way. Really never had a complaint except that the breaks are too short. ’cause I, I packed three days into two days, but I teach this business and soup to nuts, how to find deals, how to pick a market, how to pick a team, how to underwrite them, how to finance them, how to raise all the money for them, on and on. And so if you go to Rods. links.com. That’s my link tree. That’s where my goal setting workshop is. If you want to do your goals, do it there. But, uh, if you come to my bootcamp, that’s the first thing we do. Uh, ’cause I, I need to have you get very focused on what you want. But, um, you know, it’s two days of training. I don’t sell anything and you can come for $47. So tell me your excuse. Okay? And the bonus, the bonuses are thousands of dollars. You get my deal evaluator software, my document library. You get all this stuff. And you know, and candidly, if you come to the bootcamp and. On Monday, you decide it wasn’t worth it, you didn’t love it. I don’t mean like it, I mean, love it. I’ll give you your 47 bucks back. It’s never happened, but it’s first time for everything. So, yeah, no, I, I, I love what I do. It comes out and what I do, and I, I spend time on mindset too, because again, that’s 80 to 90% of it. That’s why my students are so freaking successful. They actually do it. Um, and so. I, I, I really love it, and that’s where I’ll continue to do it. So I’m, I’m doing one of these virtual events pretty much every month and a half. I’ve got one coming up, I don’t know when this’ll air. I’ve got one coming up in March, March 7th and eighth, and there’ll be one, you know, 60, 45, 60 days after that. So, yeah. Fantastic. Rod, thanks so much for being on the show today. Oh, I appreciate it. I appreciate it. Uh, thank you. And, and again, it’s Rod’s links or text links to 7 2 3 4 5. Matt, thanks. Thanks for having me on. Buck, it’s great to see you again. 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 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 off 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 concepts 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. We talked about a lot of things, but I think the mindset step is really important. So if you’re one of those people. Who is worried about, you know, a time in your life right now, or that that things aren’t going well? Things can turn around really quickly. You just gotta have some, you know, you gotta have the right mindset. You gotta have the right goals. That’s it for me this week on Wealth Formula Podcast. This is Buck Joffrey sign now. If you wanna learn more, you can now get free access to our in-depth personal finance course featuring industry leaders like Tom Wheel Wright and Ken McElroy. Visit wealthformularoadmap.com.

You've recognized the moment. You've aligned. You've inserted value. You've supported others. Now it's time to elevate.In this final part of the R.A.I.S.E. framework, I'm challenging you to stop leaving your growth up to interpretation. Silence inhibits opportunity. If you don't anchor your value and raise your hand, someone else will. Elevate is about understanding your differentiator, naming your ROI, and making it easier for others to see where you belong. You'll walk away clear on how to advocate for yourself in a way that feels intentional, not self-serving.In this episode, I'll cover:Clarify what makes you uniquely valuable and why it mattersRaise your hand for opportunities before they pass you byFrame self-advocacy as ownership, not ego_____________________

Standing out in a crowded legal market requires more than competence. It requires intentional client experience. In episode 606 of the Lawyerist Podcast, Zack Glaser talks with Patrick Patino about redefining professionalism and building a law firm people actually want to work with.  Patrick shares how he walked away from a successful bankruptcy practice to experiment with a more human-centered model focused on connection, accessibility, and community. They examine why most firms look and feel the same, how experience shapes client loyalty, and why fear-based marketing quietly undermines trust.  If you are questioning the traditional law firm playbook, this episode offers concrete ways to attract better clients, clarify your positioning, and design a firm that fits both your values and your market.  Links from the episode: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-newfangled-lawyer/id1699645225 Listen to our previous episodes on Client Experience & Law Firm Differentiation.  #603 – Turn Expertise into Clients: Building Authority That AI Recognizes, with Karin Conroy Apple | Spotify | LTN  #600 – Designing a Law Firm You Actually Want to Run, with Stephanie Everett Apple | Spotify | LTN  #575 – From Overwhelmed Lawyer to Strategic Law Firm Owner, with Chad Fox Apple | Spotify | LTN  #559 – The Imitation Trap: Lessons from 15 Years of Top Law Firm Websites, with Conroy Creative Counsel Apple | Spotify | LTN Have thoughts about today's episode? Join the conversation on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and X!  If today's podcast resonates with you and you haven't read The Small Firm Roadmap Revisited yet, get the first chapter right now for free! Looking for help beyond the book? See if our coaching community is right for you.  Access more resources from Lawyerist at lawyerist.com.    Chapters / Timestamps:   00:00 – Introduction  01:15 – Discipline Is Boring Until Results Show Up  07:05 – Meet Patrick Patino  09:30 – Rethinking Professionalism  11:15 – High Five Legal and the Bankruptcy Experiment  13:30 – Fear Based Marketing vs. Levity  16:10 – Meeting Clients Where They Are  18:45 – Community Over Sales Pitches  20:50 – The Copycat Law Firm Problem  23:30 – Experience Is the Differentiator  26:05 – The Crumbl Cookie Model of Law  28:40 – Scaling Culture with the Pod Model  31:15 – Talking With Clients, Not At Them  34:00 – Collaboration Over Control  36:20 – Define Your Ideal Client for Real  38:45 – Solo and Small Firm Advantage  41:20 – What It Means to Be Newfangled 

Why do some law firms scale effortlessly while others stay stuck even when they're getting the same advice? In Episode 251, Paul sits down with Brooke Lively, founder of Scaling Law and a fractional CFO turned EOS Implementer exclusively for law firms. Brooke shares how her data-driven analysis uncovered a surprising pattern: performance differences weren't about intelligence, strategy, or effort they were about execution. That discovery led her deep into the Entrepreneurs Operating System (EOS) and ultimately into building a national community helping law firms implement structure, delegation, and predictive metrics to scale sustainably. This conversation dives into delegation, decision-making paralysis, predictive data, and the emotional difficulty of "letting go of the vine." For law firm owners and entrepreneurs alike, this episode is a masterclass in systems thinking, leadership maturity, and building a business that can grow beyond the founder.   Timestamps 00:00:00 – Introduction 00:01:19 – What Is Scaling Law 00:02:00 – The Three Performance Buckets 00:03:24 – Discovering EOS as the Differentiator 00:07:33 – Letting Go of the Vine 00:11:06 – Killing Off the Hero Complex 00:12:20 – Bad Habits That Keep Firms Stuck 00:15:43 – Rewiring the Expert Mindset 00:19:17 – Self-Audit Questions for Law Firm Owners 00:21:14 – Identifying the Right Predictive Data 00:23:20 – Eyeballs to Cash Explained 00:24:33 – Where to Start Episode Resources Discover how Brooke Lively helps law firms implement EOS, eliminate bottlenecks, and build predictable growth systems: https://scalinglaw.com Legacy Podcast: For more information about the Legacy Podcast and its co-hosts, visit https://businesslegacypodcast.com Leave a Review: If you enjoyed the episode, leave a review and rating on your preferred podcast platform. For more information: Visit https://businesslegacypodcast.com to access the show notes and additional resources on the episode.

In Episode 354 of UNSCRIPTED, we explore how QuidelOrtho transformed field service from a cost center into a strategic business differentiator. Matt Tice, VP of Global Services, shares six practical strategies for driving customer retention, gaining executive leadership buy-in, aligning KPIs with customer expectations, strengthening frontline leadership, and leveraging AI to elevate the customer experience.If you're a service leader looking to reposition service as a growth engine, not just a post-sale function, this episode delivers actionable insights you can apply immediately.

Our guest in this episode is Ashley Faus, a marketer, writer, and speaker who specializes in Human-Centered Marketing. Ashley is passionate about helping brands connect problems with solutions through authentic, lived experiences. Ashley joined me to discuss why human imperfection is becoming a premium asset and how we can navigate the skill gaps created by AI.Key points discussed include:* The critical need to preserve “101 level” learning opportunities for junior marketers to ensure future mastery.* Why “lived experience” and context allow humans to out-perform AI in nuanced tasks like planning and connecting.* How “imperfection,” like the “Gen Z shake” or a bakery box, builds more trust than AI-generated perfection.Listen to the podcast to find out more.Innovabiz Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Show Notes from this episode with Ashley FausIt was a genuine privilege to welcome Ashley Faus to the Innovabuzz podcast for a conversation that felt less like an interview and more like a masterclass in human connection. Ashley, a marketer, writer, and speaker, joined us to unpack the concept of Human-Centered Marketing. We dove straight into the deep end, exploring a question that has been on my mind lately: what happens to trust and judgment when AI can generate almost anything on demand? Ashley's take is refreshing. She believes that while AI is a powerful tool, it lacks “lived experience,” and that is where our true value as humans lies.We started by discussing a potential crisis in skill development. Ashley framed this brilliantly using a university analogy. She explained that she got to where she is today - solving complex “801 level” problems - by spending years slogging through the “101 and 201 level” work. Her concern is that if we enthusiastically hand off all that junior-level work to AI, we deny the next generation the opportunity to learn through doing. It is a powerful reminder that the “grunt work” is often the training ground for mastery. If we outsource the learning process, we risk creating a future workforce that lacks the critical thinking skills to spot when the AI is hallucinating.The Party Planning Test: Why Context is KingI loved Ashley's practical examples of where AI falls short. She shared a hilarious story about using AI to plan a party. It calculated she needed 200 beers for 50 people, completely ignoring the wine and the non-drinkers! A human host knows intuitively that cold weather affects beer consumption or that half their friends prefer wine. AI doesn't have that context. It can crunch numbers, but it can't “read the room” before the party has even started.This lack of nuance extends to our personal lives too. Ashley noted that asking AI to plan a date night is futile because it doesn't know you had Thai food for lunch or that you have leftover spaghetti in the fridge. Humans thrive on these subtle, unspoken details. We build relationships by sharing these small, messy, lived experiences. When we try to strip that away for the sake of efficiency, we lose the very thing that makes connection meaningful.The rest of these show notes continue for paid subscribers, where we dive into the specific human skills, like contextual curiosity and critical vetting, that Ashley believes are the only true antidote to the “efficiency trap.”If you're looking for a thoughtful, human-centered take on how we build the next generation of leaders in an automated world, I'd love you to join the inner circle. It's where we explore the unpolished insights that keep our human edge sharp.Maybe they'll sharpen yours too.The Uncanny Valley and the “Gen Z Shake”One of the most fascinating parts of our chat was about the “uncanny valley,” that unsettling feeling when something is too perfect. We talked about how polished content, like a perfectly lit video or a flawless photo of a playground with no children, can feel eerie. Ashley pointed out the rise of the “Gen Z shake,” where creators intentionally leave in the fumble of setting up the camera. That lack of polish signals: “I am a real person, not a bot.”It turns out we are naturally skeptical of perfection. Ashley shared a story about her baking. She noticed that when she brought homemade cupcakes in a flimsy cardboard bakery box, people assumed they were store-bought and raved about them. When she brought them in a sturdy plastic tupperware, the reaction was muted. Even more telling, people on LinkedIn trusted a “good enough” photo of the cupcakes more than a technically perfect one. The perfect photo felt fake, even though it was, indeed, real. The imperfect one felt real. In a world of AI-generated flawlessness, our human imperfections are becoming our premium asset.Trust, Logic, and AuthenticityWe wrapped up by looking at the “Trust Triangle” of Logic, Authenticity, and Empathy. Ashley argues that AI can mimic logic, but it fails hard on authenticity and empathy. Authenticity isn't just about being honest; it is about showing the messy work of how you got there. It is about the “blooper reel” at the end of the video that proves you are not just reading a script.So, where do we go from here? Ashley believes the most important skill we can develop is skepticism, or perhaps, a skeptical curiosity. We need to pause, ask questions, and verify. We need to seek out real human conversations to keep us grounded. As Ashley so beautifully put it, the antidote to the noise of AI is simply more human relationships.In Summary:Ashley Faus reminds us that in a world racing toward automation, the things that make us “inefficient” - our stories, our context, and our imperfections - are actually our greatest strengths. By embracing our lived experience and staying curious, we can use tools like AI without losing the human connection that makes business, and life, worth doing.The Buzz - Our Innovation RoundHere are Ashley's answers to the questions of our innovation round. Listen to the conversation to get the full scoop.* Innovative AI with Human connection – Use AI as a persona simulator, prompting it to behave like your specific audience to test how your messaging and taglines truly land.* Best AI integration example – Debate with the AI by taking both sides of an argument yourself, using it to poke holes in your logic so you can better understand diverse viewpoints.* Differentiate with Connection – Cultivate a healthy dose of skepticism and curiosity, taking time to verify sources and think deeply rather than accepting AI-generated content at face value.ActionCall a friend, sibling, or someone you haven't spoken to in a while and have a real conversation. Get coffee or just talk on the phone to reconnect with the human experience.Reach OutYou can reach out and thank Ashley on LinkedIn, where she spends her time creating content and continuing the conversation in the comments and DMs.Links:* Website - Ashley Faus* LinkedInCool Things About Ashley* The Multihyphenate Performer: By day Ashley is a marketer, writer, and speaker; by night she steps into the roles of singer, actor, and fitness enthusiast, bringing stagecraft, discipline, and emotional nuance into how she communicates and leads.* The Generational Interpreter: Ashley acts as a bridge between boomers, Gen X, millennials, Gen Z, and Gen Alpha, explaining how each group learned to trust or question information and what that means for AI literacy and deepfakes.* The Job-Change Realist: Rather than buying into “AI will take all the jobs,” Ashley argues that humans tend to raise expectations instead of eliminating work, using examples like the internet and home appliances to show how roles shift rather than disappear.* The Imperfect-Photo Purist: From mosque ceilings in Istanbul to campaigns like “Visit Vienna, Not #Vienna,” Ashley consistently chooses personally meaningful, imperfect photos and experiences over “perfect” or AI‑generated images, reflecting her belief that real stories beat polished surfaces.VideoThanks for reading Innovabiz Substack! This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit innovabiz.substack.com/subscribe

AI is transforming cybersecurity for better and for worse, with Irish organisations now operating on the front line of this AI-driven threat landscape. AI technology is now embedded on both sides, enabling threat actors to launch highly sophisticated attacks at the click of a button, while helping defenders to detect and respond at machine speed. From automated phishing campaigns to self-adapted malware, AI is accelerating the speed and the scale of cybercrime across Ireland's digital economy. To keep pace, regional organisations are deploying equally advanced AI-driven security solutions, including Arctic Wolf's Aurora Platform, which delivers AI-powered detection and response at scale. But technology alone isn't enough for full protection. Unlike threat actors, Irish businesses must operate within strict legal, regulatory and ethical constraints. They cannot move as freely or illicitly as their adversaries, leaving even the most advanced AI systems constrained. As this technological warfare continues, it's people, processes and security culture that will determine the outcome of cyber incidents. For channel partners, recognising this shift is critical. Long-term value no longer comes from transactional product resale, but from delivering continuous protection, advisory-led services and measurable security outcomes. Arctic Wolf is driving this change across the Irish channel ecosystem through its AI-enabled managed detection and response (MDR) services, it's 24/7 concierge security model and its stronger-together partner approach which sees it work side-by-side with local resellers to help them build scalable, services-led security practices. Threat landscape escalation and the human factor Ransomware remains the dominant threat across Ireland and the wider UK&I region, with ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) platforms dramatically lowering the barrier to entry for less-skilled attackers. At the same time, AI-powered phishing, deepfake fraud and self-adapting malware are becoming mainstream tools for cybercriminals. Supply chain vulnerabilities and third-party risk are also rising sharply, exposing organisations across industry. For resellers in the region, the growth in attack sophistication is driving demand for always-on monitoring, rapid incident response and third-party risk management services, accelerating the shift toward managed security offerings. Compounding this is the persistent human threat. Low phishing awareness, the rapid adoption of ungoverned AI tools and simple user error continue to play a role in some of the most damaging breaches. Even in highly regulated and technologically mature environments, the human layer remains the most exploited. Arctic Wolf research shows that nearly two-thirds of IT managers admit to having clicked on a phishing link themselves, proving cyber risk isn't confined to junior staff or non-technical users – it's a universal issue. This is why developing a strong, trust-based security culture is as vital as deploying tools. Employees must feel confident in recognising suspicious activity and empowered to report it quickly, without fear of blame. This openness can be the difference between containing an incident quickly or having an entire operation shut down. While Arctic Wolf's platform analyses over nine trillion security events a week, it is the company's 24/7 human-led SOC and concierge security teams that are transforming insight into action for Irish customers and partners, helping prioritise risk, contain active threats and strengthen their security posture. For resellers, this means they can deliver enterprise-grade security operations without having to build or staff their own SOC. Why this matters to the channel For channel partners in the UK&I, this technological evolution marks a shift away from transactional-based resale towards high-value, recurring managed security and advisory services. Customers want products, but also guidance, visibility and assurance in an increa...

Information is everywhere, which means it no longer separates you from your competitors. In this episode of The Next Level Podcast, Jeremy Miner sits down with Icon Becker, founder of Klevr Events, a global events company that has fulfilled over 100 events, served thousands of attendees, and generated over $11M for clients from the stage. Icon breaks down why experience has become the only real value add left in modern business, how small details can cost companies massive opportunities, and why live, in-person connection builds trust faster than content ever can. This conversation is for entrepreneurs, operators, and leaders who want to stand out, build real loyalty, and create experiences that customers remember long after the transaction ends. Chapters: (00:00) Introduction(03:35) The PB&J Moment That Changed Icon's Perspective(05:44) How The Pandemic Forced A Complete Business Pivot(12:28) Experience, Trust, and The Collapse of Online Credibility(15:12) Compressing Years of Trust Into a 3-Day Experience(16:28) What Steve Jobs Understood About Experience(24:52) The Near-Death Moment That Changed How Icon Takes RiskWhat part of your customer or client experience would you improve first if you wanted to stand out instantly? Got a question about sales, persuasion, or objection handling? Text me directly: +1-480-481-6755Join the 7th Level University: https://whop.com/discover/7thlevel/Join the waitlist for the Ask Jeremy 7q.AI : https://7q.ai/waitlistThe exact NEPQ script I used to earn $2.4M/year as a W-2 sales rep: https://nepqtraining.com/smv-yt-splt-opt-orgPrefer to understand the psychology behind NEPQ first? Grab The New Model of Selling: Selling to an Unsellable Generation on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1636980112Book a call with my team: https://7thlevelhq.com/book-demo/Connect with Jeremy MinerYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jeremeyminerInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeremyleeminer/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremyleeminer/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jeremy.miner.52Connect with Icon Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iconicbecker/ Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/iconicbecker/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@IconicBecker/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iconicbecker/ Website: https://www.klevr.events/

When rooms, tech, and amenities start to feel the same, hotels lean on food and beverage to differentiate — and that's the focus of this episode of #NoVacancyNews, recorded during ALIS. I'm joined by Phil Colicchio and Trip Schneck of Colicchio Consulting, talking from Los Angeles while I deal with snow back home. We talk about the pressure hoteliers feel around food and beverage right now — rising costs, operational stress, and the need to make restaurants work financially without turning them into generic hotel outlets. What stood out to me is how directly they connect F&B to experience. Hotels use tableside service, presentation, fire, buyouts, and flexible programming to give guests a reason to choose one property over another. We cover:

Today, we'll help you find a differentiator powerful enough that it can support your business. We'll talk through what a differentiator actually allows you to do, five prompts to help you uncover and test one for your business, and Brian's favorite current differentiator - Popup Bagels. TackleboxPopup Bagels 00:00 Tacklebox00:33 Differentiator intro04:00 What do you hire a differentiator to do?05:44 The Attention Pie09:03 Smooth Jazz09:28 Popup Bagels16:30 Five Prompts for Your Differentiator

Follow The ThunderCast on social media so you never miss an episode or a ticket giveaway!! ThunderCast.Online Instagram Tik Tok Threads Twitter Facebook YouTube   The ThunderCast is brought to you each week by Leasure Oliver PLLC. Please remember, if you are ever the victim of a car wreck, contact Leasure Oliver PLLC at 304carwreck.com Jason and Matt are local attorneys proudly serving West Virginia, Kentucky, & Ohio. Like them on Facebook as well.   5 Things Every Herd Fan Needs To Know This Week is sponsored by Ignite Link, The Tri-State's Premier IT Management Team.  Contact Ignite Link for all of your business' IT and media consulting needs at (304)908-9424 or online at: Website Facebook Twitter   Learn how you or your business can be a part of The Thunder Trust Follow The Thunder Trust on all Social Media Outlets Instagram Twitter Facebook   Join the Big Green for as little as $5/Month, so you can take advantage of all of the money saving Herd Perks that come along with membership, in addition to from providing critical scholarship funding for our Herd Athletes.     ALWAYS buy your tickets to ALL Marshall Home Games, Away Games, Tournaments, & Bowl Games at HerdZone.com or by calling 800-The-Herd   Sign your kids up for The Thundering Herd Kids Club and let's build a new era of passionate Herd Fans!!   We'll see you around The Joan...

In this episode, we introduce a leadership skill that will be your #1 differentiator in 2026.

Your podcast already has a differentiator. The question is whether listeners feel it. Today, we're evaluating the podcast “Better Call Daddy,” and we explore how small production choices either support or bury what makes a show stand out in the crowd.  We talk about intros, pacing, framing, and clarity, and how these details shape the experience for someone pressing play for the first time. We reflect on what helps a differentiator land clearly, where it gets lost, and how subtle edits can make a show feel more focused and inviting. If you enjoy refining your craft, this episode offers a thoughtful way to listen back to your own work and ensure that what sets your podcast apart is clearly coming through.Episode Highlights: [03:05] Breaking news in podcasting[07:39] First impressions of Better Call Daddy[13:34] Discussion of the Better Call Daddy intro[24:23] Branding and cover art analysis[27:27] Podcast titles and overall branding discussion[30:35] Audience engagement and show structure[32:33] SEO considerations and naming challenges[38:51] Managing long-form interviews with celebrities [54:27] Final takeaways: clarity, editing choices, and protecting emotional impactLinks & Resources: Join The Empowered Podcasting Facebook Group:www.facebook.com/groups/empoweredpodcasting⁠Empowered Podcasting Conference Course with Recordings: https://ironickmedia.com/courses/epc2025/Call Her Daddy: https://pod.link/1525296416/episode/YmV0dGVyY2FsbGRhZGR5LnBvZGJlYW4uY29tL2IxZDgzMDdlLTViZTktMzcyNS04ZjJhLWQyNmEwYjE5N2NhZgApplication To Submit Your Show For Evaluation: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc8-Xv6O6lrNPcPJwj3N0Z5Osdl-5kHGz_PiAU45U57S-XgoA/viewform?usp=headerRemember to rate, follow, share, and review our podcast. Your support helps us grow and bring valuable content to the podcasting community.Join us LIVE every weekday morning at 7 am ET (US) on ⁠Clubhouse⁠: ⁠⁠⁠ https://www.clubhouse.com/house/empowered-podcasting-e6nlrk0w⁠⁠Or Join us on Chatter: https://preview.chattersocial.io/group/98a69881-f328-4eae-bf3c-9b0bb741481dLive on YouTube: ⁠https://youtube.com/@marcronick⁠Brought to you by⁠ ⁠iRonickMedia.com⁠⁠ Please note that some links may be affiliate links, which support the hosts of the PMC. Thank you!--- Send in your mailbag question at:⁠ https://www.podpage.com/pmc/contact/⁠ or ⁠marc@ironickmedia.com⁠Want to be a guest on The Podcasting Morning Chat? Send me a message on PodMatch, here: ⁠https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1729879899384520035bad21b⁠

A modern sales enablement strategy isn't about more activity - it's about better preparation. In this episode of B2B Sales Trends, we explore why preparation has become the true differentiator in B2B selling and enterprise sales strategy. In this conversation, host Harry Kendlbacher sits down with Gena Dakos, a seasoned sales enablement leader, to unpack how high-quality outreach, customer empathy, and thoughtful preparation help sellers stand out in a noisy, AI-driven market. From executive discovery to enterprise-scale deals, this episode reframes enablement as confidence, clarity, and credibility - not just training.

#310 Category Creation | In this episode, Dave Gerhardt digs in with Josh Lowman, Founder & CEO of Gold Front, to unpack what “category creation” actually takes, why most companies get it wrong, and how the best brands win by owning a spot in the customer's mind. They get into the four real paths to category leadership, the trap of “fake” category design, why vibe and soul still beat spreadsheets, and how personal development quietly powers great marketing. If you're building a B2B brand and trying to stand out in a market that feels painfully same-same, this one hits exactly where you're stuck.Timestamps(00:00) - – Dave's Intro (03:22) - – Why Category Creation Got So Noisy (07:40) - – The Real Goal: Becoming Irreplaceable (12:26) - – How Customers Actually Form Categories (16:55) - – The Four Paths to Category Leadership (23:13) - – The Trap of “Fake” Category Design (28:56) - – Product Reality vs. Marketing Narrative (35:32) - – Why Vibe, Soul, and Taste Still Win (41:46) - – Community as a Differentiator (46:23) - – Josh on Therapy, Mindset, and Creative Clarity (52:15) - – Final Takeaways for B2B Marketers Join 50,0000 people who get our Exit Five Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletterLearn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/***Today's episode is brought to you by Knak.Email (in my humble opinion) is the still the greatest marketing channel of all-time.It's the only way you can truly “own” your audience.But when it comes to building the emails - if you've ever tried building an email in an enterprise marketing automation platform, you know how painful it can be. Templates are too rigid, editing code can break things and the whole process just takes forever. That's why we love Knak here at Exit Five. Knak a no-code email platform that makes it easy to create on-brand, high-performing emails - without the bottlenecks.Frustrated by clunky email builders? You need Knak.Tired of ‘hoping' the email you sent looks good across all devices? Just test in Knak first.Big team making it hard to collaborate and get approvals? Definitely Knak.And the best part? Everything takes a fraction of the time.See Knak in action at knak.com/exit-five. Or just let them know you heard about Knak on Exit Five.***Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production.They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast.Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest.Visit hatch.fm to learn more

If your first meeting doesn't stand out… neither will you, as told by Lee Salz.

Step inside a conversation on the art and architecture of AI transformation. Vedran Karamani, Group Data Analytics & Agentic AI – CDAIO at Alghanim Industries, shares how he's embedding intelligence across one of the Middle East's largest conglomerates. He breaks down what it takes to make AI approachable in the boardroom, why data literacy is now a business imperative, and how to balance innovation with operational reality. Discover how Vedran is redefining the role of data, technology, and human insight in shaping the next generation of enterprise transformation.Key Moments:From Deterministic to Probabilistic Thinking (10:19): Vedran explains how today's AI shifts decision-making from predictable, rules-based systems to adaptive, probabilistic ones. He shares how leaders must learn to balance control with flexibility to build trust in AI's potential while managing its unpredictability.AI Literacy in the Boardroom (12:55): Vedran emphasizes that real transformation begins with leadership understanding. He shares how he uses storytelling and analogies to educate executives on AI fundamentals, turning abstract concepts like “deterministic vs. probabilistic” into relatable, actionable insights.The Readiness Factor (17:29): Not every business is equally prepared for AI. Vedran breaks down the difference between change management and change readiness, urging leaders to assess cultural alignment, technical infrastructure, and data maturity before diving into transformation.Data as the Differentiator (25:15): Vedran argues that as algorithms become commoditized, competitive advantage will come from the quality and context of a company's data. He outlines how clean, well-modeled, and contextualized data will form the backbone of any successful AI strategy.The Middle East's AI Momentum (32:05): Vedran highlights how ambition, experimentation, and government investment are fueling rapid AI growth across the Middle East. He contrasts this energy with slower-moving Western markets, suggesting the region's “learn fast” mindset could shape the future of global innovation.Key Quotes:"Today, no business has an excuse not to be data-driven.” - Vedran Karamani“ With today's AI, we are almost unleashing this immense power that's very probabilistic… We need to learn how to coexist with that and how to leverage it for the greatest benefit of our businesses.” - Vedran Karamani“ If you want to stand the chance to have AI help you transform your business, you better get your data to a certain standard for that to be even possible.” - Vedran KaramaniMentionsDemis Hassabis, CEO of DeepMind TechnologiesGuest Bio With over two decades at the forefront of Data Analytics and AI leadership, Vedran Karamani charted a path of innovation across global landscapes, from the dynamic markets of the Middle East to the dynamic tech hubs of North America. Guiding multi-million-dollar portfolios, Vedran pioneered disruptive solutions, propelling sectors like Aviation, Retail, Telecom, Defense, Oil & Gas, Digital, Logistics, and Education into the future.Renowned for his collaborative leadership approach, Vedran empowered diverse teams to navigate challenges with agility, fostering an environment of continuous growth and individual excellence. From concept to execution, he's led the charge in delivering game-changing strategies, business cases, and prototypes, ensuring organizations stay ahead in today's rapidly evolving landscape. Hear more from Cindi Howson here. Sponsored by ThoughtSpot.

Band teacher to NFL coach: Coach Jill Gagliardi breaks down her incredible journey from the classroom to coaching DBs with the Las Vegas Raiders. We talk mindset, game film, earning respect in a male-dominated space, and why every great coach is also a mentor, strategist, and culture builder.This one's about leadership, legacy, and showing up with confidence - even when you're the only one in the room who looks like you. Coach Jill Gagliardi is currently with the NJ HS Lawrenceville Prep, and has also coached with the NFL Las Vegas Raiders 00:00 Intro with Avaan!!06:18 How Music and the NFL entered her life. 12:30 Pop Warner Advocate for yourself17:40 Evaluating and honing in Talent as a Coach19:00 Coaching with an Elite HS + NFL Team28:20 Brian Urlacher gets love as the QB of Da Bears Defense29:00 Film Tape and Strategies That Work35:00 Let's break down a Play37:28 Unique Voice in a Common Room45:00 Short History of the NFL46:00 National Coalition of Minority Football Coaches48:00 Executive Decision-Making: Sports + IRL56:00 Mindset is the Differentiator 1:05:49 Green Bay Packers-loving Security Guard (Booo!!)1:07:21 Legacy1:11:00 Make people ‘Feel' RelevantThis episode is part of the ‘Prof P' series on the WhiskeyHue Stream. Recorded in part for my Fordham Gabelli students.Please Rate, Review, Subscribe and Share with a Friend!Means a lot to us - thank YOU! For more info on: 1. Venture, Tech, Sports and Investing, visit: ⁠⁠Atul Prashar's - Venture Capitalist⁠2. LinkedIN: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠AtulPrashar ⁠3. Learn Venture Capital Investing for less than a dinner inNYC: “VC: IdeationThrough Execution”: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://tinyurl.com/APsVCCourse⁠⁠⁠

Learn a simple, repeatable framework for crafting an effective sales pitch that connects, communicates value, and inspires action. Show Notes Page: https://www.thehowofbusiness.com/585-crafting-your-sales-pitch/ Crafting an effective sales pitch isn't about being slick or persuasive - it's about clarity, empathy, and storytelling. In this episode, host Henry Lopez breaks down how small business owners can build a compelling sales pitch using a customer-centered approach inspired in part by Donald Miller's book Building a StoryBrand. Henry explains that every great sales pitch starts with understanding your audience (your ideal client or avatar), defining their problem, and showing how your solution helps them win. You will learn six core elements of every great pitch: Audience, Problem, Solution, Differentiator, Proof, and Call to Action.  Then, Henry walks through a five-step process that will help you craft and use an effective sales pitch for your small business. Drawing insights from past guests like Andy Paul, Carole Mahoney, and Ryan Dohrn, Henry shows that clarity and empathy consistently outperform clever slogans and aggressive selling. Whether you're refining your elevator pitch, rewriting your website copy, or preparing for a formal sales presentation, this episode gives you the structure to tell your business story with confidence and authenticity.” This episode is hosted by Henry Lopez. The How of Business podcast focuses on helping you start, run, grow and exit your small business. The How of Business is a top-rated podcast for small business owners and entrepreneurs. Find the best podcast, small business coaching, resources and trusted service partners for small business owners and entrepreneurs at our website https://TheHowOfBusiness.com

Every producer in this industry, from the rookie to the top all-star, gets the exact same 24 hours in a day. It's the ultimate equalizer. Yet, most waste this invaluable resource on outdated training, get bogged down in service work, and lack the discipline to focus on what actually drives growth. They treat time as something that just happens, not as their most critical asset.The top 1% understand that how you manage your time is the #1 differentiator between mediocrity and massive success. In this episode, I'll give you the game plan for how elite producers leverage time at every stage of their career. This isn't about working more hours; it's a new framework for using your time to build an unbeatable competitive advantage.▶▶ Sign Up For Your Free Discovery Callhttps://calendly.com/aneary/strategy-sessionKEY MOMENTS(00:00:00) Time Management: The #1 Differentiator in Sales (00:05:46) The New Producer's Time Advantage (00:09:04) The Validated Producer's Productivity Game Plan (00:13:49) The All-Star's Framework for Buying Back TimeCONNECT WITH ANDY NEARY

Lee shares insights on transforming traditional sales methods into client-centric consultations, talks about his new book, 'The First Meeting Differentiator', the importance of personalization in sales interactions, provides actionable strategies, and much more!

Episode 97 addresses one of Mike's hot-button topics:  structuring and conducting effective early-stage sales calls. As he often bemoans when leading workshops, salespeople have to work so stinking hard today to secure an initial meeting with a target prospect, and then they show up and miss the mark by conducting completely ineffective meetings. If your (or your team's) sales calls could use a boost, dive into this compelling interview with sales differentiation expert, Lee Salz, who crafted a fantastic resource titled “The First Meeting Differentiator.”  Lee doesn't hold back, declaring that traditional discovery meetings must die because buyers no longer tolerate one-sided sales interrogations that serve the seller and provide no value to them!  After listening you'll understand why Mike boldly declared in his front cover endorsement, “I cannot think of a salesperson, regardless of tenure or industry, who wouldn't experience a transformative breakthrough from implementing the powerful approach outlined in The First Meeting Differentiator!”  Here's to more effective first meetings and to MORE NEW SALES!   RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: The First Meeting Differentiator ___________________________________________ This episode is sponsored by Pursuit Sales Solutions. If you are looking for help adding A-player talent to your team, contact Mike's friends at pursuitsalessolutions.com/weinberg

In this episode of the Move the Ball podcast, host Jen Garrett kicks off a brand-new two-part solo series, The Power Performance Series: Energy, Focus & Execution at the Executive Level. Part 1, titled Energy Intelligence, explores how high-performing executives manage their energy—not just their time—to lead with clarity, endurance, and impact. Jen breaks down the four dimensions of energy—mental, emotional, physical, and environmental—and shares practical strategies, client stories, and executive insights to help you avoid burnout, sharpen your decision-making, and create sustainable momentum. Whether you’re leading teams, navigating high-pressure environments, or striving to elevate your performance, this episode shows you how to harness your energy as the true driver of executive success. Episode Highlights: Energy Intelligence as a Differentiator [4:18]Jen explains that energy intelligence—recognizing, protecting, and directing your personal energy—is what separates top leaders from the rest. The Five Energy Zones [8:02]The episode breaks down mental, emotional, physical, and environmental energy, with actionable advice for optimizing each zone. Burnout Prevention is Strategy, Not Self-Care [18:25]Jen reframes burnout prevention as a strategic system, not just self-care, emphasizing the importance of early warning signs and energy audits. Leadership Energy is Contagious [19:53]The energy you bring as a leader sets the tone for your team and environment—be intentional about the energy you transfer. IT'S TIME TO SHOW UP WITH CONFIDENCE, MAKE AN IMPACT, AND MOVE THE BALL:

In today's episode, Lisa Fine speaks with Susan Cooper, Vice President of Regulatory Compliance Programs and Global Data Protection Officer at Meta, discussing her approach to compliance in the technology sector.  Susan discusses the path that led her to her current role, which is unique as her team is embedded within Meta's product organization. Being part of the product development team allows compliance to work hand-in-hand with product development through their risk review process, which assesses privacy, security, content safety, and financial risks in a centralized process for over 1,400 products per month.  It is part of their processes. Susan also discusses how Meta utilizes “privacy-aware infrastructure,” embedding compliance requirements into standardized, reusable code components that can be used throughout the organization. She also provides some advice for compliance professionals, particularly those who are interested in technology companies, including: Learn to speak “tech” if you want to work in tech compliance. Get to know your stakeholders and their concerns; Keep a growth mindset – be willing to ask questions and learn constantly; and Embrace AI and automation tools to scale your work and keep learning about these tools.