Podcasts about Embedding

Send us a MessageIn this solo episode of Culture Change RX, Sue Tetzlaff discusses the importance of cycles in healthcare organizations, emphasizing the need for a structured framework and execution systems to achieve long-term improvement and transformation. She highlights how continuous systems and cycles can lead to sustained growth and better results, ultimately strengthening healthcare organizations and their communities.The execution of plans is crucial for organizational improvement and growth.Continuous systems and cycles prevent the need for constant restarting.Regular cycles of goal setting and action planning enhances team performance.Leadership development efforts can be aligned to a continuous learning process.Embedding cycles in systems fosters a culture of continuous progress.Strengthening healthcare organizations strengthens communities.Need help improving the culture, performance, and results of your healthcare organization? If so, let's talk:  https://www.capstoneleadership.net/contact-usAre we connected yet on LinkedIn? https://www.linkedin.com/in/suetetzlaff/13th Annual Healthcare Executive Forum - June 18 (afternoon) and June 19 (morning)High Reliability, Just Culture & Psychological Safety Made Simple focuses on breaking down these critical concepts into practical, actionable strategies tailored for senior leaders in small and rural healthcare settings.

Georgia Voudoulaki is Senior Legal Counsel at Bosch, certified Compliance Officer, and adjunct professor at the University of Applied Sciences in Ludwigsburg and the Cooperative State University of Baden-Württemberg in Germany. In addition to her legal and academic roles, Georgia regularly publishes articles in leading legal journals and magazines, contributing valuable insights to the evolving conversation around compliance, digital innovation, and responsible AI.  References: Georgia Voudoulaki on LinkedIn University of Applied Sciences Ludwigsburg Baden-Wuerttemberg Cooperative State University (DHBW)  

Helen Russell, an early careers specialist, talks about apprenticeships and as well as sharing highlights from the recent UON Employer Connect event. Hear about Helen's business, The Right Track Consultancy, and her views on embedding and developing talent for long-term business success.Open4Business Originally broadcast Tuesday 29th April 2025

Clare Roberts OBE, Founder and CEO at Kids Planet In this episode of M&A Science, Clare Roberts shares her journey of founding Kids Planet and growing it into one of the UK's largest childcare providers with 225 nurseries. She reveals how she balanced organic growth with strategic acquisitions while staying true to her company's values. Clare discusses the importance of culture in M&A, managing seller relationships, and how to maintain operational quality during rapid expansion. If you're scaling a business and want to do it without losing sight of what matters most, this is an episode for you. Things you will learn: How to maintain company culture during rapid M&A growth The benefits of blending organic growth with acquisitions How to build trust with sellers and integrate their teams smoothly Why proactive leadership and transparency are key to successful integrations Episode Chapters [00:01:00] Clare's background and founding story of Kids Planet [00:09:30] Transitioning from private investment to private equity support [00:12:00] Lessons on choosing the right PE partner beyond capital [00:15:00] Sourcing deals and balancing culture fit in acquisitions [00:23:00] Typical deal structures: flexibility with freehold vs. leasehold [00:26:00] Buyer-led M&A: simplifying the process for sellers and prepping for integration [00:29:00] Integration strategy and the role of personalized support [00:32:00] Embedding and maintaining culture in newly acquired businesses [00:37:30] Common challenges post-acquisition and how to solve them [00:43:00] Exploring international expansion and lessons from growing in new markets [00:46:30] Clare's advice for new roll-up strategies and maintaining operational quality [00:49:30] Craziest things seen in M&A and why lifestyle businesses pose risks  

Are you ready for the Employment Rights Bill? What it means for health & safety in 2025 New year, new compliance challenges. The forthcoming Employment Rights Bill is set to reshape the health and safety (H&S) landscape, placing greater legal responsibility on employers to protect their workforce. In this episode, we dive into the major H&S implications of the Bill and what it means for your organisation. From enhanced reporting duties to new employer obligations, our experts break down the legal shifts and share practical strategies to stay compliant and mitigate workplace risks. Key topics include: What's in the Employment Rights Bill: A breakdown of the key H&S-related provisions and what they mean in practice Evolving duty of care: How the new rules change your legal responsibilities toward employees Enhanced H&S reporting: Streamlining compliance through better data and digital reporting tools Proactive risk management: Practical approaches for identifying and managing workplace hazards Building a safety culture: Embedding compliance into everyday operations and workforce behaviour Tech and tools for compliance: How digital solutions can help you meet your obligations more effectively Whether you're a compliance lead, HR manager, or safety officer, this episode will equip you with the knowledge you need to prepare for one of the biggest regulatory changes of 2025.

In this episode of the DMI podcast, host ⁠Will Francis⁠ speaks with ⁠Laura Costello⁠, Head of Sustainability and Planet Services at youth agency ⁠Thinkhouse⁠, as well as Ireland lead at ⁠Purpose Disruptors⁠. Starting with having Ben & Jerry's as her first client, Laura shares her deep understanding of how marketers can embrace sustainability, avoid greenwashing, and build authentic connections with, especially, younger audiences. She explores what B Corp really means, how brands can shift from consumer focus to community impact, and why storytelling is key to driving meaningful change. Laura's top 3 tips:1. Sustainability starts with long-term thinking2. Storytelling should focus on values, not just products3. Avoid greenwashing by collaborating with other teams, including legal-----------ResourcesRead about Greenwashing on the DMI blogWARC - Future of EffectivenessThe Good Life campaignUN Pact for the FutureAdGreenClimate Communications--------Timestamps0:00:51 – What Laura is working on now0:03:51 – The meaning and challenges of B Corp certification0:08:30 – Why youth and sustainability are deeply connected0:11:26 – Embedding sustainability without tokenism0:15:30 – Changing consumer expectations and community building0:22:45 – Creative global campaigns that make an impact0:31:54 – Using social media to promote long-term behavior change0:36:06 – Making climate storytelling specific and relatable0:40:53 – Where to start with sustainability in your business0:44:56 – How to measure effectiveness and real impact0:47:25 – The future of responsible consumption marketing0:50:26 – Laura's career path into climate communications0:52:30 – Lessons learned from the front lines of sustainable marketing-----------------------The Ahead of the Game podcast is brought to you by the Digital Marketing Institute and is available on our ⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠.Check out the DMI's extensive digital marketing library of ebooks, toolkits, webinars, guides, templates, and more! ⁠⁠⁠Join for free today⁠⁠⁠.If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review so others can find us!

Jeff Walter, DPT, NCS, returns to Neuro Navigators to share even more clinical practice tips for clinicians who are both new and experienced with vestibular rehab. Host JJ Mowder-Tinney and Jeff dive into the vestibular management hidden gems that could be the strategies to transform your clinical practice. From alternative benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) assessment techniques to under-recognized treatments for Meniere's disease to emerging treatments for vestibular-related imbalance and falls, you'll walk away with practical tools you can apply immediately. Whether you are a physical or occupational therapy practitioner, this episode is for you. Don't miss this engaging discussion filled with actionable takeaways to enhance your confidence in treating dizziness and balance disorders.Learning ObjectivesAnalyze the evidence regarding optimal management of vestibular disordersApply evidence-based, practical strategies to actionably address the efficient evaluation and treatment of vestibular-related dizzinessSolve patient case scenarios involving frequent falls and disabling vertigo to support participation in instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs), such as community mobility and home managementTimestamps(00:00:00) Welcome(00:00:15) Welcome back, guest Jeff Walter, DPT, NCS(00:00:55) Jeff's background and work at Geisinger Medical Center(00:02:11) Evolution of Jeff's vestibular specialization(00:03:12) Overview: tips for clinicians with foundational vestibular knowledge(00:04:42) Sidelying test: what it is and why to use it(00:06:54) How to perform the sidelying test with exact head positioning cues(00:08:21) Embedding the sidelying test into functional mobility assessments(00:11:55) Splinting the patient's head: comfort and compliance tips(00:13:21) Half Dix-Hallpike: identifying short-arm posterior canal BPPV(00:16:40) Flashlight fixation-blocking: a goggle-free nystagmus test(00:18:11) When to use it and how to prep the patient(00:25:10) Mastoid vibration test: screening for vestibular hypofunction(00:26:00) Interpretation: direction-fixed nystagmus and its implications(00:26:40) When and why to use mastoid vibration (TBI, falls, etc.)(00:34:04) Gentamicin injections: managing Meniere's-related vertigo(00:40:00) Vestibular drop attacks (Tumarkin events): signs and screening tips(00:42:30) Real-life example and how to follow up when falls are unexplained(00:46:00) Vibrotactile belt: a future-forward sensory substitution device(00:47:00) Who it's for, how it works, and early user feedback(00:52:50) Wrapping up: Jeff's top takeaways for novice and experienced physical and occupational therapy practitioners(00:56:25) Superpower time: Jeff's vestibular-themed wishes(00:58:00) Closing remarks and where to listen to Episode 1Resources Mentioned in EpisodeAlonso, S. M., & Caletrío, Á. B. (2024). Clinical Advancements in Skull Vibration-Induced Nystagmus (SVIN) over the Last Two Years: A Literature Review. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 13(23), 7236.Neuro Naviagators is brought to you by Medbridge. If you'd like to earn continuing education credit for listening to this episode and access bonus takeaway handouts, log in to your Medbridge account and navigate to the course where you'll find accreditation details. If applicable, complete the post-course assessment and survey to be eligible for credit. The takeaway handout on Medbridge gives you the key points mentioned in this episode, along with additional resources you can implement into your practice right away.To hear more episodes of Neuro Naviagators, visit https://www.medbridge.com/neuro-navigatorsIf you'd like to subscribe to Medbridge, visit https://www.medbridge.com/pricing/

Fixation on Histology Blog: Enhancing Organoid Research with Histogel-Based Embedding Techniques Based on an Article By: Havnar, C., Holokai, L., Ichikawa, R., Chen, W., Scherl, A., & Shamir, E. R. (2024) Click to read this post.

Lineares Fernsehen ist tot? Von wegen! Auch wenn Streaming boomt, bleibt das klassische TV in Deutschland vorerst Platzhirsch – doch der Druck steigt. In dieser Jubiläumsfolge beleuchtet Lukas Schöne, wie sich die Videonutzung in Deutschland verändert und was das für Anbieter bedeutet. Dafür fasst er zusammen, was beim MEDIENTAGE Event-Special „Future Video“ besprochen wurde. Sophie Pastowski (Deloitte) brachte aktuelle Zahlen mit, Sabine Anger (Paramount) sprach über flexible Bezahlmodelle, und Marco Hellberg (Canal+) plädierte für Partnerschaften, die den Markt insgesamt stärken. Dass bei Kooperationen der Teufel im Detail liegen kann und Zusammenarbeit nicht immer ganz einfach ist, zeigen die Diskussionen um das Thema Embedding. Nach dem Aufreger um eingebettete ARD- und ZDF-Inhalte auf Joyn diskutierten hochkarätige Vertreter:innen von ProSiebenSat.1, ARD, ZDF, BLM und weitere Expert:innen über Rechte, inhaltliche Problemstellungen und die Frage: Wie sieht das duale System der Zukunft aus?

Coach, speaker, and author Patrick Galvin joins Roy to discuss the principles laid out in his recent book The Connector's Way. Patrick's work focuses on the essential role of personal connection and relationship building in our day to day life, our business practices, our sense of success, and more. As co-founder and partner of The Galvanizing Group and author of several books exploring the nuances of social connection and trust building, Patrick helps high-performing companies and individuals achieve greater levels of success in business by strengthening internal and external relationships. Patrick and Roy dig into the many ways to practice relationship building, the pitfalls of networking without connecting, why it pays to be “the keener,” and much more.Highlights from our conversation include:The important distinction between connecting and networking (5:02)Ways in which hybrid/remote work impact connection (7:11)Using Patrick's methods to build trust, engagement, and performance (9:16)Embedding relationship building into company culture and leadership development practices (12:53)The intersection of connection and recruiting (18:52)Balancing work, life, and maintaining strong relationships (20:58)Metrics that leaders can use to track or improve their ability to foster connections (26:36)How Patrick sees technological advances impacting the formation and maintenance of relationships (29:59)Visit HowIHire.com for transcripts and more on this episode.Follow Roy Notowitz and Noto Group Executive Search on LinkedIn for updates and featured career opportunities.Subscribe to How I Hire:AppleSpotifyAmazon

Season 8 continues with a conversation about the new strategic direction at the David Eccles School of Business with a particular focus on student success. Jessica Taverna is the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Programs at the David Eccles School of Business. Frances and Jessica explore the department's comprehensive approach to enhancing the student experience, including new programs, retention strategies, and the importance of developing durable skills such as communication, resilience, and critical thinking. Jessica elaborates on reimagined programs like Business Scholars and Rising Business Leaders, emphasizing the need to create an integrated student experience that prepares students not just for immediate academic success, but for long-term career accomplishments and personal growth.Eccles Business Buzz is a production of the David Eccles School of Business and is produced by University fm.Episode Quotes:Jessica discusses what it means to have student success as the leading strategic priority in the planning process of the Eccles School[03:16] Looking at ways that we can involve students in faculty research. Involve students in the work that our centers and institutes are doing that are impacting the community or in corporate partners, but also have a space for students to be part of that experience. And that's really one of the great ways that we can leverage those things to enhance the student experience.Embedding students in a community[07:37] We really focus on the whole student and we really think about, how do we embed students in a community, which supports them in developing some of these other skills, like resilience, for example, that makes getting through the classes easier? It makes getting to graduation in a timely manner easier if you're also being supported and feeling like a whole person and a well person and someone who belongs to a community. And then that community experience, you're in classes with people, you're joining clubs with people, you're interacting with faculty and staff in workshops and luncheons, that then translates into your network, which I think is the other main thing that we deliver that is key to student success, is this group of people that are going to be, you never know who's going to be that person that's going to help you get that first job or the second job or the internship. [08:43] I think universities and the business school, the programming, both in the classroom and outside, creates this environment where you get embedded in a community and then that community becomes your network.Eccles School addresses the skills gap by equipping students with essential durable skills employers need[06:43] Employers highlighted one of the key challenges with what they're seeing with college grads is a lack of these durable skills. And I really love that term. We're talking about things like communication, interpersonal skills, even things like resilience, a little bit of grit, understanding how to bounce back from challenges, critical thinking, creativity, right? All of these things that we've, again, previously called soft skills, but are really core to life. And I love the term “durable” because I think it signifies, one, these endure through all aspects of your life. This isn't just even about your job. It's also things that you need in personal relationships. And if you're volunteering, other roles that you might have and they endure throughout your life. And so, a university education in a space like the Eccles School is differently positioned to actually do the work of building those kinds of skills in students.Equipping the students with a learning mindset to prepare them for the future.[34:55] I think the most important thing is mindset, and it's a learning mindset. What we need to be doing is helping students understand that at the end of the day, the most important thing is less that you've mastered a specific software tool or specific AI platform or model, but that you understand how these things work in general. Show Links:Jessica Taverna | LinkedInJessica Taverna | Faculty Profile at the David Eccles School of BusinessDavid Eccles School of Business (@ubusiness) | InstagramUndergraduate Scholars ProgramsRising Business LeadersEccles Alumni Network (@ecclesalumni) | Instagram Eccles Experience Magazine

Company culture strategy isn't just important—it is your competitive advantage. In this powerful conversation from Take the Stage, Brad Bialy sits down with Patrick Morin, Partner at Transact Capital, to explore why company culture is more than a part of the business—it is the business. Especially in the highly commoditized staffing industry, culture is the invisible hand that shapes performance, retention, and client trust. Drawing on insights from Bill Taylor (Fast Company) and firsthand experience in M&A and organizational leadership, Patrick breaks down: Why culture defines your brand more than your strategy doc ever will How top-performing firms build cultures of accountability, learning, and responsibility The role of leadership in embedding values into operations, not just words How cultural fit—even for a 12-week assignment—can drastically improve outcomes Why the most disruptive companies hold everyone, even executives, accountable The golden framework for owning, competing, and reaching for business in uncertain times If you've ever felt like your staffing firm lacks a true differentiator—this is the conversation you can't afford to miss.   Chapters and Key Moments: 00:01 – Culture is the strategy: unpacking Bill Taylor's insight 02:15 – Innovation as differentiation in a commoditized staffing world 03:47 – Top-down and grassroots culture development 05:12 – Hiring for cultural fit vs. skills 06:41 – Embedding temps into client culture 08:00 – Necessary evil to trusted advisor 11:28 – Culture of accountability, responsibility & learning 14:57 – A story of accountability—from the maintenance guy up 16:30 – Humility and “I'm sorry” as leadership superpowers 19:28 – Empathy and handwritten notes: the human advantage 24:32 – Own, compete, and reach: a framework for market strategy 28:31 – How to pivot in uncertain markets 30:58 – Optimism for the future of staffing 32:32 – About Transact Capital Partners 36:12 – Advice for new staffing professionals   About the Speakers Brad Bialy is host of Take the Stage and InSights, two of the leading podcast for the staffing industry. He has a deep passion for helping staffing and recruiting firms achieve their business objectives through strategic digital marketing. For over a decade, Brad has developed a proven track record of motivating and educating staffing industry professionals at over 100 industry-specific conferences and webinars. As a visionary leader, Brad has helped guide the comprehensive marketing strategy of more than 300 staffing and recruiting firms. His keen eye for strategy and delivery has resulted in multiple industry award-winning social media campaigns, making him a sought-after expert and speaker in the industry.   Patrick Morin is a partner with Transact Capital Securities, a Richmond, Virginia- based investment banking firm that specializes in mergers and acquisitions of privately-owned companies with enterprise values up to $250MM. Transact specializes in the staffing industry, serving clients in technology, light industrial, marine/stevedoring, skilled labor, hospitality, logistics, financial & administrative, legal, and medical staffing specialties. He was also one of the founding partners of BrightHammer, LLC., a global consultancy engaged by private equity groups, boards of directors, and CEOs to improve the performance of their invested companies. BrightHammer works with select start-ups, growth companies, and turnarounds to stabilize operations and ramp up revenue and employee performance. Prior to his current engagement, he was seven years as Senior Vice President with Cornerstone Realty Income Trust, Inc., a New York Stock Exchange-traded company that owned and operated apartments throughout the US. Before joining Cornerstone, Mr. Morin was with Dale Carnegie Training for five years and was an instructor for almost two decades. He was ranked among the top instructors globally and was a member of the elite Global Delivery Team. While a member of the National Speakers Association, he personally conducted thousands of keynotes and training meetings for businesses, associations, government agencies and community groups. Notable groups he's addressed include: the National Independent Staffing Association, McDonalds, National Association of Women In Construction, NASA, the National Ground Intelligence Center, the DEA, National Apartment Association, and the staffing associations of NY, Wisconsin, New Jersey. Mr. Morin appears on television, radio, and in print (Forbes, CNBC, Crain's) as an authority in his field and wrote a weekly column on sales for the Central Pennsylvania Business Journal and www.lendio.com. He serves on the boards of several local charities including the YMCA and the Franks Foundation. Patrick makes his home in Richmond, Virginia and in chairlifts of ski resorts around the country.

Paul Shrater went from selling a million-dollar Hollywood script to building a multi-business empire that powers product brands for celebrities, creators, and even NASA. His journey is a masterclass in grit, innovation, and scaling smart systems that run without the founder. Through bootstrapping, operational focus, and saying “no” to bad deals — Paul proves you don't need outside money or hype to win big. • Turning rejection from manufacturers into a thriving fulfillment and co-packing company • Bootstrapping his first eComm business from four shelves and a computer • Helping celebrities and influencers turn passion into scalable product brands • Partnering with creators to build legacy income streams beyond their 15 minutes of fame • Navigating the TikTok Shop explosion and how it's threatening Amazon's dominance • Embedding product into entertainment to create viral, high-converting content • Structuring equity partnerships based on value, not just fame • Designing cross-training systems so his businesses run without him • Using cultural awareness and empathy to lead teams more effectively • Shipping fruitcake to space — and turning it into a case study in creative problem solving My Links Host: Tyler Martin , Fractional CFO and Business Coach Having challenges scaling and growing your business? Book a meeting with me: https://calendly.com/tylermartin/strategy Link to show notes: https://thinktyler.com/podcast_episode/hollywood-to-hustle-paul-shrater/ Podcast: ThinkBusinesswithTyler.com  Linkedin  Instagram  YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stendert Krommendam is the chief people and sustainability officer at Ecotone, a leading private equity–backed company in Europe for organic, vegetarian, healthy and fair-trade food. Krommendam, who has built a dynamic career at the intersection of people, sustainability, and business, was formerly an HR leader in Unilever and Ahold Delhaize. In this interview, he discusses his new leadership model that embeds sustainability and systems thinking as core leadership qualities, describing what healthy leadership means in the context of Ecotone's mission of biodiversity. He also shares the leadership qualities he believes are critical for balancing performance, purpose, and sustainability; how he fosters a purpose-driven culture; and his perspective on the balance between long-term sustainability commitments and the growth and profitability expectations that are typical in a PE environment. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this essential episode for maths teachers, we delve into effective GCSE exam preparation and bust some of the biggest myths around assessment with experts Neil and Caroline from OCR Maths. Hosted by the dynamic duo of Tom Rogers and Kathryn Clark, the conversation explores: Embedding exam prep across the academic year Building familiarity with question papers and command words Using examiner reports and OCR's ExamBuilder tool Maximising the impact of mock exams and diagnostic data Making the most of formula sheets The life cycle of an exam paper: how they're written, marked, and graded The real story behind grade boundaries With practical tips, clear insights, and a few laughs along the way, this episode is your maths department's guide to preparing students for success.

Listen now on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube.***Thank you to BioEsol for sponsoring this episode.

In episode 129 of Cybersecurity Where You Are, Sean Atkinson discusses best practices for embedding cybersecurity in project management. Here are some highlights from our episode:01:34. Elements for connecting the dots between cybersecurity risk assessment and project risk assessment03:06. How our conceptualization of a project changes under a zero trust implementation04:02. What security may look like in a Waterfall vs. Agile approach to project management06:26. The importance of resources and stakeholders in managing any project08:34. Scope creep and other challenges of embedding cybersecurity in project management15:45. How continuous monitoring and other best practices can help us to overcome these hurdles25:30. How cybersecurity can inform projects involving generative artificial intelligenceResourcesEpisode 105: Context in Cyber Risk QuantificationQuantitative Risk Analysis: Its Importance and ImplicationsHow Risk Quantification Tests Your Reasonable Cyber DefenseEpisode 44: A Zero Trust Framework Knows No EndHow to Construct a Sustainable GRC Program in 8 StepsEpisode 33: The Shift-Left of IoT Security to VendorsEpisode 120: How Contextual Awareness Drives AI GovernanceIf you have some feedback or an idea for an upcoming episode of Cybersecurity Where You Are, let us know by emailing podcast@cisecurity.org.

In this episode, Amir sits down with Ashley Wines from Carta to dig into what it really means for talent teams to be proactive, not reactive. They unpack the need for talent leaders to embed themselves into the business earlier, how to build trust fast, the importance of internal product roadmaps, and how to handle stakeholder dynamics—especially when you're navigating complex matrix organizations. Whether you're an HRBP, TA leader, or people ops pro, this episode is your blueprint for becoming a strategic talent partner.

In this episode of Inside the Rope, David Clark is joined by Laurence Marshbaum OAM, founder of 10x10 Philanthropy and Community Capital, to explore how wealthy families can embed philanthropy into their legacy. Together, they discuss why more families are establishing Private Ancillary Funds (PAFs) and how strategic giving can sit alongside wealth creation and preservation. Laurence shares his journey from institutional fund management to purpose-driven investing, shedding light on how families can move beyond ad-hoc charitable donations to structured, impactful philanthropy that endures for generations. They discuss how fund managers and sophisticated investors are also stepping in to provide early-stage capital to high-impact, for-purpose organisations—bringing the same rigour they apply to financial markets to the social sector. Whether you're a family considering philanthropy for the first time, or looking to start the conversation, this episode will give you practical insights into how to create lasting social and financial value.

The hospitality industry is facing a leadership crisis. With middle managers leaving, generational shifts, and skill gaps widening, how do we develop future leaders? In this episode, hospitality expert Michelle Pascoe joins Andy to discuss how businesses can turn "just a job" into a fulfilling career path. They explore the impact of generational differences, leadership development, and the power of storytelling in engaging and retaining top talent. Whether you're in hospitality or any other industry, this episode is packed with insights on leadership, career growth, and the importance of human connection. Don't miss this conversation that challenges outdated mindsets and offers practical solutions for building a thriving workforce. ----more---- Key Takeaways Leadership Development Must Start Earlier – The hospitality industry needs to stop treating management as an afterthought. Embedding leadership training from the outset can build stronger career paths.. Generational Differences Can Work in Our Favour – Instead of resisting change, businesses must bridge the generational gap by combining wisdom from seasoned leaders with fresh perspectives from younger employees. Hospitality Isn't Just a Job—It's a Career – The industry has long been seen as a temporary stepping stone. Shifting the narrative towards growth, opportunity, and fulfillment can make it a destination, not a detour. Connection is the Heart of Hospitality – Technology and AI may enhance efficiency, but the human touch remains irreplaceable. Leaders must foster genuine engagement and storytelling to keep teams inspired. ----more---- Key Moments The key moments in this episode are: 0:00:10 – The Leadership Crisis in Hospitality 0:04:37 – Michelle's Background: From a Turkey Farm to Hospitality Leadership 0:06:56 – The Leadership Crisis: Losing Middle Management Post-COVID 0:09:36 – The Consequences of Losing Middle Management 0:12:39 – Why Hospitality's Reputation Is Holding It Back 0:18:30 – Generational Gaps and Leadership Differences 0:31:34 – Building Leadership Pipelines: Why It Needs to Start Earlier 0:37:37 – Why Human Connection Is Still the Heart of Hospitality 0:44:09 – Michelle's Sticky Notes: Three Leadership Tips for Hospitality 0:37:37 – Michelle's Sticky Notes: Three Leadership Tips for Hospitality ----more---- Join The Conversation Find Andy Goram on LinkedIn here Listen to the Podcast on YouTube here Follow the Podcast on Instagram here Follow the Podcast on Twitter here Follow the Podcast on Facebook here Check out the Bizjuicer website here Get a free consultation with Andy here Check out the Bizjuicer blog here Download the podcast here ----more---- Useful Links Follow Michelle Pascoe on LinkedIn here Find Michelle's website here Follow Michelle Pascoe on Instagram here Follow Michelle on Facebook here ----more---- Full Episode Transcript Get the full transcript of the episode here

For more than three decades, trailblazing artist and activist Joyce J. Scott has elevated the creative potential of beadwork as a relevant contemporary art form. Scott uses off-loom, hand-threaded glass beads to create striking figurative sculptures, wall hangings, and jewelry informed by her African American ancestry, the craft traditions of her family (including her mother, renowned quilter Elizabeth T. Scott), and traditional Native American techniques, such as the peyote stitch. Each object that Scott creates is a unique, vibrant, and challenging work of art developed with imagination, wit, and sly humor. Born to sharecroppers in North Carolina who were descendants of enslaved people, Scott's family migrated to Baltimore, Maryland, where the artist was born and raised. Scott hales from a long line of makers with extraordinary craftsmanship adept at pottery, knitting, metalwork, basketry, storytelling, and quilting. It was from her family that the young artist cultivated the astonishing skills and expertise for which she is now renowned, and where she learned to upcycle all materials, repositioning craft as a forceful stage for social commentary and activism. In the 1990s, Scott began working with glass artisans to create blown, pressed, and cast glass that she incorporated into her beaded sculptures. This not only allowed her to increase the scale of her work, but also satisfied her desire to collaborate. In 1992, she was invited to the Pilchuck Glass School, Stanwood, Washington. Continuing her interest in glass, Scott has worked with local Baltimore glassblowers as well as with flameworking pioneer Paul Stankard and other celebrated glass fabricators. In 2012, Goya Contemporary Gallery arranged to have Scott work at Adriano Berengo's celebrated glass studio on the island of Murano in Italy, creating works that were part of the exhibition Glasstress through the Venice Biennale. Scott has worn many hats during her illustrious career: quilter, performance artist, printmaker, sculptor, singer, teacher, textile artist, recording artist, painter, writer, installation artist, and bead artist. Her wide-ranging body of work has crossed styles and mediums, from the most intricate beaded form to large-scale outdoor installation. Whether social or political, the artist's subject matter reflects her narrative of what it means to be Black in America.  Scott continues to live and work in Baltimore, Maryland. She received a BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art and an MFA from Instituto Allende in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Selected solo museum exhibitions include The Baltimore Museum of Art (2024); Seattle Art Museum (2024 – 2025); and Grounds for Sculpture (2018), Trenton, NJ. She is the recipient of myriad commissions, grants, awards, residencies, and prestigious honors including from the National Endowment for the Arts, Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation, Anonymous Was a Woman, American Craft Council, National Living Treasure Award, Lifetime Achievement Award from the Women's Caucus for the Arts, Mary Sawyers Imboden Baker Award, MacArthur Foundation Fellowship (2016), Smithsonian Visionary Artist Award, National Academy of Design Induction, and Moore College Visionary Woman Award, among others. In March of 2024, Scott opened a major 50-year traveling Museum retrospective titled Joyce J. Scott: Walk a Mile in My Dreams co-organized by the Baltimore Museum of Art and Seattle Art Museum. Also in 2024, Scott opened Bearing Witness: A History of Prints by Joyce J Scott at Goya Contemporary Gallery. Her latest exhibition, Joyce J. Scott: Messages, opened at The Chrysler Museum of Art on February 6, 2025 and will run through August 17, 2025 at the Glass Projects Space. This exhibition is organized by Mobilia Gallery, Cambridge, MA. Says Carolyn Swan Needell, the Chrysler Museum's Barry Curator of Glass: “We are thrilled to host this focused traveling exhibition here in Norfolk at the very moment when Scott's brilliant career is being recognized more widely, through a retrospective of her work that is co-organized by the Baltimore Museum of Art and the Seattle Museum of Art.”  In Messages, 34 remarkable beaded works of art spanning the artist's career express contemporary issues and concepts. Included in the show is Scott's recent beaded neckpiece, War, What is it Good For, Absolutely Nothin', Say it Again (2022). A technical feat in peyote stitch, infused with color and texture, this multilayered and intricate beadwork comments on violence in America. Embedding cultural critique within the pleasurable experience of viewing a pristinely crafted object, Scott's work mines history to better understand the present moment. The visual richness of Scott's objects starkly contrasts with the weight of the subject matter that they explore. She says: “I am very interested in raising issues…I skirt the borders between comedy, pathos, delight, and horror. I believe in messing with stereotypes, prodding the viewer to reassess, inciting people to look and then carry something home – even if it's subliminal – that might make a change in them.”   

So the worlds largest online business networking platform has decided to invest in offline networking? LinkedIn's new experience centre, in London is a bit more than just about networking but it's an interesting new development. That plus; Can you simulate the engagement of a LinkedIn™️ post? New profile feature Embedding posts Do screenshots boost a posts reach? Are Russian comment bots infiltrating LinkedIn™️? The LinkedIn™️ DM privacy case has been dropped...but was it baseless? Post of the week

ACH and same-day ACH payments are common in B2B, but the integration of digital banking with private B2B payment networks is a brand-new concept, giving businesses the chance to leverage advanced features from within one single, automated platform. Bottomline's Jessica Cheney explores what incorporating a B2B payments network into digital banking means for businesses.

Translating a journalist's gut instinct into code—is it possible? In Norway, iTromsø—a long-standing regional newspaper known for its investigative journalism and deep local coverage—has found a way.Their AI system, DJINN (Data Journalism Interface for News Gathering and Notification), acts like an experienced beat reporter, scanning hundreds of municipal documents and surfacing the most newsworthy leads. The impact? In their first week using DJINN, summer interns fresh out of journalism school produced five front-page stories—on a beat that usually takes years to master.In this episode of Newsroom Robots, I spoke to Rune Ytreberg and Lars Adrian Giske about iTromsø's structured approach to AI-driven reporting and how they built tools that strengthen their local journalism.Rune leads iTromsø's data journalism lab, where he has been developing AI-driven editorial solutions for 70 local newspapers within the Polaris Media Group since 2020. And Lars is the Head of AI at iTromsø and led the development of DJINN. Since its launch in 2023, 36 newspapers across Norway have adopted DJINN, sourcing documents from nearly half of all Norwegian municipalities.Key topics include:•How a small newsroom built AI tools to strengthen investigative journalism •Why their AI systems are designed for specific beats like urban planning and fisheries, reducing hallucinations and increasing precision.•Embedding editorial expertise in AI development •How their fisheries database flagged irregularities and how their urban planning system transformed local accountability coverage.This is just Part 1 of our deep dive into how iTromsø is using AI to power investigative reporting. In Part 2, Rune and Lars will discuss their latest project: AI-powered research assistants that will proactively surface investigative leads for their journalists.Sign up for the Newsroom Robots newsletter for episode summaries and insights from host Nikita Roy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today, Steve sits down with Duncan Wardle, the former head of innovation and creativity at Disney. Duncan talks to Steve about his current work teaching leaders to embrace creativity and inspire innovation in their teams. He suggests practical ways that leaders can create a more collaborative and fun work culture that will lead to more successful outcomes and enhance their teams' job fulfillment. Key Takeaways: We're all born with creativity, and a great leader can unlock it within people who may have lost it along the way.   Creativity is the ability to have an idea; innovation is the ability to get that idea done.  With AI, we have the opportunity to hand off mundane tasks and give ourselves time to think, be creative, and innovate.  Tune in to hear more about: Why it matters to say “yes, and…” instead of “no, because…”  The impact of AI on creativity and innovation Actions leaders can take to spark more creativity within their organizations Standout Quotes: “I define creativity as the ability to have an idea, and I think we can all do that every day. I define innovation as the ability to get that done. That's the hard part.” - Duncan Wardle  “As leaders, we have responsibilities, we've got quarterly results, we've got bosses, we've got – but if the first two words out of our mouth are ‘no, because,' they're the first two words when somebody comes at us with a new idea, they're not coming back in the door again, and they may have genius next week or next-. Just remind ourselves as leaders, we're not green lighting this idea for execution today. We're merely green housing it together, using ‘Yes, and.' As leaders, if we can use ‘Yes, and' before ‘No, because' you can completely and utterly change your culture.” - Duncan Wardle “Algorithms, and everything that AI will bring to the table, will merge with the human race, creativity, intuition, empathy, imagination, etc, we will merge to become a superhuman race.” - Duncan Wardle Mentioned in this episode: ISF Analyst Insight Podcast Read the transcript of this episode Subscribe to the ISF Podcast wherever you listen to podcasts Connect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter From the Information Security Forum, the leading authority on cyber, information security, and risk management.

In this conversation, Dr. Zero Trust, Anne Saunders, and Jack discuss the complexities of cybersecurity, particularly in the context of IoT and operational technology. They explore the vast attack surface presented by IoT devices, the challenges of securing these devices, and the importance of embedding security into the design of technology. The discussion also touches on regulatory frameworks, investment trends in cybersecurity, and the future of IoT security solutions. Takeaways IoT represents a significant attack surface for cybersecurity. Embedding security into device design is crucial. Data collection from IoT devices poses security risks. Regulatory compliance is becoming more stringent with NIS2. Investment in cybersecurity is often driven by immediate results. The cost of breaches can have a tangible impact on businesses. AI is changing the landscape of cybersecurity discussions. Supply chain security is a critical component of IoT security. Static credentials are a major vulnerability in cybersecurity. A holistic approach to cybersecurity is necessary for effective protection.

In today's conversation Judith Germain speaks to Gary Coulton about harnessing adaptive intelligence. Gary has recently realised that he is neurodivergent, with a "maverick mind" and he explains how this knowledge has helped him understand why he thinks in a certain way. Key Takeaways Adaptive intelligence integrates heart, head, and gut "minds" to make wiser decisions Core human values (e.g. love, trust, honesty) are consistent across cultures when accessed through compassion Self-awareness and aligning with core values is key for leaders and organisations to build trust Neurodivergent traits can be both an asset and challenge for entrepreneurs as companies scale In this conversation Gary discusses how organisations can enable leaders to develop and apply adaptive intelligence, focusing on: Helping employees and customers "fall in love" with the company's products/services by aligning with its values Ensuring leaders model the desired values and behaviors Embedding a system of shared values and accountability within teams and the broader organisation You can find out more about our guest and today's episode in this Maverick Paradox Magazine article here. --- Maverick leadership is all about thinking outside the box and challenging the status quo. It's about having the courage to take risks and the confidence to lead in a way that is authentic and genuine. But amplifying your influence as a leader isn't just about having a strong vision or a big personality. It's also about having the right leadership capability and being able to execute on your ideas and plans. The consequences of not having the right level of influence as a leader can be significant. Without the ability to inspire and motivate others, you may struggle to achieve your goals and make a real impact. How Influential Are you? Take the scorecard at amplifyyourinfluence.scoreapp.com and see.  Catalysing Transformation - 1 min video Judith's book: The Maverick Paradox: The Secret Power Behind Successful Leaders.  Judith's websites:  Judith Germain (mentoring, Speaker, author) - judithgermain.com The Maverick Paradox Magazine - themaverickparadox.com The Maverick Paradox Website - maverickparadox.co.uk Judith's LinkedIn profile is here, her Twitter profile (MaverickMastery) is here, Facebook here and Instagram here.  

Steve Brossman improved conversion rates of appointment setters by showing them how to lift the energy of the prospect about the upcoming appointment set. Tune in to find out about F.L.O.W Selling. Grab a copy of Steve's backpocket guide HERE: https://stevebrossman.com/bpgflowselling

Turning challenges into opportunities is the foundation of every great business. Wiley Jones's journey to entrepreneurship wasn't driven by a dream to start a company—it was a relentless need to solve a problem. As CEO and co-founder of Doss, Wiley turned his background as an electrical engineer into a mission to address inefficiencies he encountered firsthand. Along the way, he discovered that building a company also involves building a team, culture, and vision that scales.In this episode, Wiley shares how he tackles startup growth challenges, from building a culture of accountability and scaling demand generation to balancing personal priorities with professional goals. His insights offer founders practical advice on growing their businesses while staying true to their values.In this episode, you'll learn:Share your vision clearly and often: Regularly communicate your goals and direction to ensure your team understands their role in achieving them. It turns big-picture ideas into actionable steps everyone can contribute to.Empower your team to solve problems: Shift from doing it all yourself to enabling others to take ownership. Build trust, set clear expectations, and guide your team toward shared success to drive sustainable growth.Set clear standards and enforce accountability: Define expectations, follow through, and address gaps quickly. Consistent accountability keeps teams motivated, maintains culture, and keeps progress moving in the right direction.Jump into the conversation:(00:00) Meet Wiley Jones(01:20) How solving a problem led to starting a company(03:00) Problem-driven entrepreneurs versus passion-driven(08:00) Embedding founder values into company culture(10:12) Translating values into actionable behaviors(12:19) The role of incentives in reinforcing company culture(13:36) Why repetition is key to effective leadership(15:22) Challenges of enforcing accountability in larger organizations(20:06) The importance of addressing and resolving conflicts directly(24:05) Balancing speed, accuracy, and collaboration in decision-making(31:35) Evolving leadership styles and building complementary teams(38:47) The challenge of balancing business growth with family life

Katie Cooney, founder of Leap Compliance an expert in quality culture, training and compliance. With extensive experience in MedTech, including roles at Boston Scientific and leading training initiatives globally, Katie is on a mission to ensure that quality is woven into every aspect of organizational culture In this episode, Katie discusses her journey into MedTech and how she transitioned to entrepreneurship with Leap Compliance. We delve into effective training strategies, the importance of leadership in fostering a quality-first mindset and real-world examples of what happens when quality is neglected. Katie also provides actionable advice on building and maintaining a robust quality culture that stands the test of time Timestamps: [00:00:27] The Role of Leadership in Quality Culture [00:02:30] Creating a Mock Production Environment for Training [00:05:22] Building Psychological Safety in Teams [00:07:33] Reducing Over-Assignment in Training Curriculums [00:12:09] Enhancing Training with Contextual E-Learning [00:15:33] The Impact of Neglecting Quality: Case Studies [00:18:10] From Retail to MedTech: Katie's Journey Get in touch with Katie Cooney - https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-cooney-08ab7061/ https://www.leapcompliance.com/ Get in touch with Karandeep Badwal - https://www.linkedin.com/in/karandeepbadwal/ Follow Karandeep on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@KarandeepBadwal Subscribe to the Podcast

In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, I interview Duncan Wardle, former Head of Innovation and Creativity at Disney. Duncan, who played a transformative role at Disney Imagineering, Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm, shares how he fostered a culture of innovation that reshaped the guest experience, resulting in breakthroughs like the Magic Band. As the author of The Imagination Emporium: Creative Recipes for Innovation, Duncan unveils powerful tools for unlocking creativity, tackling challenges, and building "yes, and" cultures in organizations. Today we discussed: [00:00] Opening [00:09] Introduction to Duncan Wardle [01:00] Defining Innovation and Embedding a Culture of Creativity [03:12] Embracing Innate Creativity [04:48] The Future of Employability [09:38] Collaborative Brainstorming Exercise [12:43] Unlocking Creativity through Playfulness and Collaboration [17:01] River of Thinking and Innovation More About Duncan Wardle Duncan Wardle's website - https://theimaginationemporium.com/ Connect with Duncan Wardle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/duncanwardle/ Rate, Review, & Follow If you liked this episode, please rate and review the show. Let us know what you loved most about the episode. Struggling with strategy? Unlock your free AI-powered prompts now and start building a winning strategy today!

Teachers and school leaders often feel like they have to be “everything to everyone”. Not only are educators expected to deliver high-quality instruction in traditional academic areas, they're also expected to provide social-emotional support, vocational training, and everything in between.When it comes to supporting mental health, this can be a tricky ethical line to walk when you're trained as a teacher and not as a clinician. Additionally, school staff are constantly trying to manage their own mental health needs, which is a challenge when the public tends to be unforgiving. That's why I invited Dr. Hayley Watson to episode 198 of De Facto Leaders to talk about how to help teachers support mental health in a way that falls within their scope. Dr. Hayley Watson is the founder and CEO of Open Parachute, a Tier 1 K-12 curriculum program that supports the mental health of students, teachers, and parents. She is also an author and Clinical Psychologist and holds a PhD in school bullying interventions. She has been creating and delivering programs for youth and practitioners across the US, Canada, the UK, and Australia for the past 20 years.In this conversation, we discuss:✅Special education accommodations feel like “extra” work for teachers: Embedding mental health into Tier 1 curriculum solves this problem.✅Why talking about mental health in general education helps educate peers on diverse learning needs.✅Destigmatizing mental health and giving youth the language to talk about self-regulation and self-care. ✅Service delivery models: Why we need BOTH structured, explicit intervention and real-life practice in social-emotional curriculums.You can learn more about Open Parachute and Dr. Watson's mental health curriculum for schools on her website here: https://openparachuteschools.com/Listen to her TEDx talk “Youth Mental Health is not as complicated as we make it out to be” here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVZdMXK4kvk&t=2shttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVZdMXK4kvk&t=2sConnect with Dr. Watson on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-hayley-watson-2b249a16/In this conversation, I mentioned this previous episode: EP 151: Does your system support your policy and your curriculum (with Jalita Johnson) here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-151-does-your-system-support-your-policy-and-your-curriculum-with-jalita-johnson/In this episode, I mention the School of Clinical Leadership, my program that helps related service providers develop a strategic plan for putting executive functioning support in place in collaboration with their school teams. You can learn more about that program here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/clinicalleadership We're thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL's comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers' timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments

In this episode, Carlos Gonzalez de Villaumbrosia interviews Karandeep Anand, President and Chief Product Officer at Brex, one of the fastest-growing fintech companies in the world.Founded in 2017, Brex quickly became the go-to financial services partner for most Silicon Valley startups, with 80% of Y Combinator startups using their platform. This rapid growth led to over $1.2 billion in funding and a $12.3 billion valuation. Brex now serves a wide range of companies, from startups to large enterprises, including over 150 public companies with a combined estimated market cap exceeding $2.9 trillion.Karandeep's impressive career includes 6.5 years at Meta, where he led a team of 3,000 people and served 200M+ businesses globally, and 15 years at Microsoft, heading product management for Azure's application and developer platforms. At Brex, he has been instrumental in transforming the company's Product Management culture and expanding its product into a comprehensive financial platform offering corporate cards, treasury solutions, and software for travel and expenses in one place.In this episode, we explore Brex's evolution from a startup-focused company to serving enterprise customers, the integration of AI in financial products within a highly regulated environment, and the restructuring of product teams for efficiency and innovation. We also discuss Karandeep's unique perspective on product-market fit and the importance of continuous innovation in a rapidly changing market.What you'll learn:Karandeep's approach to evolving Brex from a startup-focused company to serving enterprise customers.How AI is integrated into financial products in a highly regulated environment.Strategies for restructuring product teams to drive efficiency and innovation.The importance of PMs spending more time on customer calls and listening to customers.A third go-to-market motion mixing PLG and SLG: Assisted Product-led growth.Why product-market fit is a journey, not a destination, and the importance of continuous innovation.Key Takeaways:AI Integration: Karandeep highlights the use of AI not just in products, but also to reduce change management costs for customers.Product Team Restructuring: He discusses the transformation of Brex's product team, emphasizing the role of PMs as ""mini-CEOs"" for their product lines.Customer-Centric Approach: Karandeep stresses the importance of PMs being directly involved in sales calls and customer interactions.Continuous Innovation: He argues that product-market fit is not a static goal but a continuous journey in today's rapidly changing market.Go-to-Market Strategy: Karandeep introduces the concept of "assisted PLG" as a hybrid approach between product-led and sales-led growth.Social Links:- Follow our Podcast on Tik Tok here- Follow Product School on LinkedIn here- Join Product School's free events here - Find out more about Product School hereCredits:Host: Carlos Gonzalez de VillaumbrosiaGuest: Karandeep Anand

How can technology and culture drive successful insurance transformation? Aventum is blending innovation and ambition to transform its insurance operations into a tech-enabled powerhouse. Robin Merttens speaks with Hasani Jess, CTO at Aventum Group, about the company's growth, their approach to technology, and the cultural foundation enabling change. With over 650 employees and a tech team of more than 100, Aventum is building solutions to empower brokers, underwriters, and operational teams alike. Key Talking Points: Scaling from 450 to 650 employees while evolving technology and processes. Building an integrated platform to unify data and streamline business functions. Developing bespoke engineering solutions for competitive advantage. Adopting best-of-breed tools to complement in-house technology development. Leveraging AI to triage submissions and extract insights from unstructured data. Operating a dedicated Innovation Lab to explore future-focused technologies. Connecting brokers and underwriters with tailored workbenches and tools. Addressing challenges of legacy systems to enable consistent progress. Embedding a culture of change and innovation across the business. If you like what you're hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use or contact Matthew Grant on LinkedIn. You can also contact Hasani Jess on LinkedIn to start a conversation! Sign up to the InsTech newsletter for a fresh view on the world every Wednesday morning. Continuing Professional Development This InsTech Podcast Episode is accredited by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). By listening, you can claim up to 0.5 hours towards your CPD scheme. By the end of this podcast, you should be able to meet the following Learning Objectives: Define the importance of a culture of change in driving successful insurance transformation. Identify key strategies Aventum employs to address the challenges of legacy systems and enable progress. List the challenges associated with scaling technology teams to support rapid business growth. If your organisation is a member of InsTech and you would like to receive a quarterly summary of the CPD hours you have earned, visit the Episode 334 page of the InsTech website or email cpd@instech.co to let us know you have listened to this podcast. To help us measure the impact of the learning, we would be grateful if you would take a minute to complete a quick feedback survey.

The latest episode of Redefining CyberSecurity on ITSPmagazine featured a thought-provoking discussion about integrating human factors into secure software development. Host Sean Martin was joined by Dr. Kelsey Fulton, Assistant Professor at the Colorado School of Mines, and Julie Haney, a computer scientist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The conversation explored how human-centered approaches can strengthen secure software practices and address challenges in the development process.A Human-Centered Approach to SecurityDr. Fulton shared how her research focuses on the human factors that impact secure software development. Her journey began during her graduate studies at the University of Maryland, where she was introduced to the intersection of human behavior and security in a course that sparked her interest. Her projects, such as investigating the transition from C to Rust programming languages, underscore the complexity of embedding security into the software development lifecycle.The Current State of Secure DevelopmentOne key takeaway from the discussion was the tension between functionality and security in software development. Developers often prioritize getting a product to market quickly, leading to decisions that sideline security considerations. Dr. Fulton noted that while developers typically have good intentions, they often lack the resources, tools, and organizational support necessary to incorporate security effectively.She highlighted the need for a “security by design” approach, which integrates security practices from the earliest stages of development. Embedding security specialists within development teams can create a cultural shift where security becomes a shared responsibility rather than an afterthought.Challenges in Adoption and EducationDr. Fulton's research reveals significant obstacles to adopting secure practices, including the complexity of tools and the lack of comprehensive education for developers. Even advanced tools like static analyzers and fuzzers are underutilized. A major barrier is developers' perception that security is not their responsibility, compounded by tight deadlines and organizational pressures.Additionally, her research into Rust adoption at companies illuminated technical and organizational challenges. Resistance often stems from the cost and complexity of transitioning existing systems, despite Rust's promise of enhanced security and memory safety.The Future of Human-Centered SecurityLooking ahead, Dr. Fulton emphasized the importance of addressing how developers trust and interact with tools like large language models (LLMs) for code generation. Her team is exploring ways to enhance these tools, ensuring they provide secure code suggestions and help developers recognize vulnerabilities.The episode concluded with a call to action for organizations to support research in this area and cultivate a security-first culture. Dr. Fulton underscored the potential of collaborative efforts between researchers, developers, and companies to improve security outcomes.By focusing on human factors and fostering supportive environments, organizations can significantly advance secure software development practices.____________________________Guests: Dr. Kelsey Fulton, Assistant Professor of Computer Science at the Colorado School of MinesWebsite | https://cs.mines.edu/project/fulton-kelsey/Julie Haney, Computer scientist and Human-Centered Cybersecurity Program Lead, National Institute of Standards and Technology [@NISTcyber]On LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/julie-haney-037449119/____________________________Host: Sean Martin, Co-Founder at ITSPmagazine [@ITSPmagazine] and Host of Redefining CyberSecurity Podcast [@RedefiningCyber]On ITSPmagazine | https://www.itspmagazine.com/sean-martin____________________________View This Show's SponsorsImperva | https://itspm.ag/imperva277117988LevelBlue | https://itspm.ag/levelblue266f6cThreatLocker | https://itspm.ag/threatlocker-r974___________________________Watch this and other videos on ITSPmagazine's YouTube ChannelRedefining CyberSecurity Podcast with Sean Martin, CISSP playlist:

Lisen Wirén is a sustainable business leader with over 15 years of industry experience. Her extensive background includes tackling labour migration and human rights issues in South East Asia and advancing sustainability in product design and working with social entrepreneurship. Her leadership led IKEA to win the most sustainable retailer award and a nomination for Wirén for the prestigious Sustainability Manager of the Year award in the Netherlands. Key to her approach is the seamless integration of sustainability into every function and team to reach the set organizational goals. She is based in Helsingborg, Sweden. Pia Heidenmark Cook is a Senior Advisor with Teneo, working with the ESG and Sustainability team to advise clients on how to develop and operationalise sustainability strategies and the implications for reputation strategies. Prior to Teneo, Pia was the Chief Sustainability Officer for IKEA, where she led the development and implementation of the IKEA People and Planet Positive strategy. Her cross-functional team worked closely with the business on developing circular business models (including take back offers, leasing and second hand), launching new sustainable offers (such as selling solar panels across 14 markets) and helping customers to live more sustainable and healthier lives. During this time, IKEA ranked in the top three most sustainable brands and managed to decouple carbon dioxide emissions from its commercial growth across the value chain. Pia and Lisen Join Sustainable Nation to Discuss: Their co-authored book, Embedding Sustainability First steps for companies getting started with sustainability, including engaging stakeholders Tips for incorporating sustainability into each employee's day to day job and tying these actions to sustainability objectives Advice and recommendations for sustainability professionals Pia and Lisen's Final Five Questions Responses: What is one piece of advice you would give other sustainability professionals that might help them in their careers?  Pia: I would start by saying understanding that sustainability and working with sustainability is as much about technical competence to understand the topic and all its facets as it is about change management and understanding how to work with people and change management.  Lisen: This field has become very much about reporting and that's something Pia and I have discussed quite a lot and of course that's very important and that's something that is driving sustainability and is also a wake up call for many businesses. But I would also encourage sustainability managers to try not to get too stuck in that, but to involve other relevant functions to support with the reporting so that they can still keep a strategic focus and lead the sustainability agenda. What we see is that the sustainability leader, manager, CSO, should be orchestrating the change, um, rather than getting too stuck in reporting. What are you most excited about right now in the world of sustainability? That  Pia: That it's becoming more and more mainstream. We're still not doing enough, but most people just know that it's here to stay, it's something we need to deal with. There's  levels of how deep the integration is and how far they come, but people are not questioning that the long-term direction is that companies need to deal with social and environmental issues to stay in business and be relevant.  Lisen: One of the persons that we interview is a designer and she talks about that 80% of the climate footprint sits in the design stage. For me that really triggers something for me to think about the real opportunity that sits within circularity. When designers and product developers and architects and so on, when they are opening up their eyes for the possibilities of circularity and getting excited about the creativity and innovation that that requires, I think there's unlimited possibilities.  What is one book you'd recommend sustainability professionals read?  Pia: I would say a mix of books that paint a picture of 'why' to more CSO handbooks. Books that are more hands-on, painting the picture of the environmental challenges or the social challenges so you build that knowledge, to those where where you get practical, concrete examples from others that have done the work. I think it's a lot about recognizing different situations and learning from them to get tools to keep doing the change journey yourself. I would also recommend one of the many books by Berne Brown about leadership and personal leadership and being your authentic self.  Lisen: I would go for a more action oriented solution-focused book, and that one is called Exponential Climate Solutions by Rebecka Carlsson. She's a Swedish author and she started at Singularity University and focused on different solutions that can have an exponential development. That's a very interesting, practical hands-on book with loads of examples.  What are some of your favorite resources or tools that really help you in your work?  Pia: Talking to people, meeting people, listening to people. Maybe not a lot of newsletters, of course to stay updated, but really the dialogue when you listen and talk to people and learn from them.  Lisen: To compliment that answer, one of the advices or suggestions that we give in the last part of the book is actually to sometimes look at what you need for yourself to keep on going, since this is not a sprint, but it's rather a marathon. You need to be able to last long as a leader, and one tool to do so can also be to sometimes zoom out from negative news and practice basically a news detox, trying to focus on the long-term positive improvements that are happening and that might not be an phone alert. Balance the negative news with some positive long-term development.  Where can our listeners go to learn more about both of you and your book? Embeddingsustainability.com or our LinkedIn pages.  

In this conversation, Krish Palaniappan introduces Weaviate, an open-source vector database, and explores its functionalities compared to traditional databases. The discussion covers the setup and configuration of Weaviate, hands-on coding examples, and the importance of vectorization and embeddings in AI. The conversation also addresses debugging challenges faced during implementation and concludes with a recap of the key points discussed. Takeaways Weaviate is an open-source vector database designed for AI applications. Vector databases differ fundamentally from traditional databases in data retrieval methods. Understanding vector embeddings is crucial for leveraging vector databases effectively. Hands-on coding examples help illustrate the practical use of Weaviate. Python is often preferred for AI-related programming due to its extensive support. Debugging is an essential part of working with new technologies like Weaviate. Vectorization optimizes database operations for modern CPU architectures. Embedding models can encode various types of unstructured data. The conversation emphasizes co-learning and exploration of new technologies. Future discussions may delve deeper into the capabilities of vector databases. Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Weaviate and Vector Databases 06:58 Understanding Vector Databases vs Traditional Databases 12:05 Exploring Weaviate: Setup and Configuration 20:32 Hands-On with Weaviate: Coding and Implementation 34:50 Deep Dive into Vectorization and Embeddings 42:15 Debugging and Troubleshooting Weaviate Code 01:20:40 Recap and Future Directions Purchase course in one of 2 ways: 1. Go to https://getsnowpal.com, and purchase it on the Web 2. On your phone:     (i) If you are an iPhone user, go to http://ios.snowpal.com, and watch the course on the go.     (ii). If you are an Android user, go to http://android.snowpal.com.

You may think shopping online for a car (especially a used car) is overwhelming, even frustrating. But Jim Lyski is trying to change that. As EVP and Chief Growth & Strategy Officer for CarMax, Jim has helped drive the company's AI efforts, which span various touch points and all stages of the buying journey. Listen to get details into how CarMax is: Evolving its value proposition to align with the new needs and expectations of consumers; Investing in chat agents that provide proactive and reactive support to shoppers;Creating opportunities for virtual, high-touch discovery and customization; and Embedding personalization into the entire journey.RELATED LINKSLearn more about CarMaxSee CarMax coverage on Retail TouchPointsDownload the ultimate guide to Gen AI

As the importance of diverse talent has continued to rise, conversations around diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) have remained top of mind for many PeopleOps leads. While much has evolved since 2020, a pivotal year when many organizations made bold commitments to DEI, who has truly followed through? Enter Daniela Herrera an award-winning DEI professional with over 17 years of global experience in talent operations, recruitment, and leadership. Dani offers valuable insights on accountability, actionable steps for implementing DEI, and why HR professionals should look to New York Comic-Con as an unexpected yet powerful example of impactful DEI. In this conversation, Dani explores the essentials of creating belonging, building psychological safety, and ensuring organizational commitments to DEI extend beyond benchmarks. Don't miss this important conversation on what it means to embed DEI everywhere and weave it into all areas of your organization. This podcast episode was produced by Quill.

Join host Majeed Mogharreban as he dives deep into the art and science of subconscious sales with Paul Ross, a renowned sales expert and master of hypnotic language. In this engaging conversation, Paul reveals transformative techniques to influence prospects on a profound level, build trust, and empower them to make confident decisions. From crafting irresistible language to reframing objections, Paul shares insights that can revolutionize your approach to sales and communication. Key Takeaways: The Power of Language in Sales: Words are more than just tools—they shape consciousness, drive behavior, and influence decisions. Effective language can lift prospects out of their autopilot mindset and into a state of openness and trust. Reframing Sales as a Heroic Act: Sales is about guiding prospects to see possibilities they didn't know they deserved. By using subconscious language, you help clients believe in themselves and their decisions. Handling Objections with Hypnotic Language: Objections like “I need to think about it” can be restructured by linking indecision to past negative outcomes and inviting clarity. Use pattern interrupts to create curiosity and redirect focus. Hypnotic Techniques for Influence: Phrases like “before we begin our exploration” create an unconscious relationship of trust and leadership. Embedding suggestions subtly through storytelling can increase focus and engagement. Building Confidence as a Speaker and Seller: Your first sale is to yourself: believe in the urgency, importance, and uniqueness of your message. Avoid being overly slick; vulnerability and authenticity make you relatable and trustworthy. Notable Quotes: “Your words have the power to structure consciousness, shape decisions, and drive behavior.” “Selling isn't slimy—it's heroic. You're guiding someone to see a vision of themselves they didn't think was possible.” “The way you approach a conversation creates permission for deeper engagement.” About Paul Ross: Paul Ross is an internationally recognized sales trainer, master hypnotist, and author of The Subconscious Sales Advantage. His innovative techniques have helped sales professionals and entrepreneurs close millions of dollars in deals by tapping into the power of subconscious influence. Free Gift from Paul: Get a free digital copy of Paul's latest book, The Subconscious Sales Advantage, along with a bonus 10-minute video training on crushing objections.

What are the ethical responsibilities of designers today and what long-term impacts do they need to consider as they design? Who does the label of ‘designer' actually apply to?Scott Doorley and Carissa Carter are designers, writers, and educators. Scott is the Creative Director and Carissa is the Academic Director and an Adjunct Professor at Stanford University's d.school. They are also co-authors of the new book Assembling Tomorrow: A Guide to Designing a Thriving Future from the Stanford d.school.Greg, Scott, and Carissa discuss the evolution and impact of design thinking, the pervasive nature of design in today's world, and the importance of being intentional with design choices. They also highlight key concepts from their book such as the significance of noticing unintended consequences, embracing awkwardness, and understanding the role of constraints in the design process. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*Show Links:Recommended Resources:Stanford D.SchoolNeedfinding for Wicked ProblemsMarc AndreessenUnSILOed Episode 03: Charles O'Reilly IIIGuest Profile:Scott Doorley Stanford D. School ProfileScottDoorley.comScott Doorley LinkedInCarissa Carter Stanford D. School Profilesnowflyzone.comCarissa Carter LinkedInCarissa Carter X ProfileTheir Work:Amazon Author PageAssembling Tomorrow: A Guide to Designing a Thriving Future from the Stanford d.schoolMake Space: How to Set the Stage for Creative CollaborationThe Secret Language of Maps: How to Tell Visual Stories with DataEpisode Quotes:Why embracing imperfection and discomfort is essential in design19:38: [Scott Doorley] The thing about imperfection is, even if you get it right, it's only temporary. If you get it so-called right, something's going to change outside of you that's going to render it not effectual,  in some matter of time. Or you're going to get that right, but you're going to miss something else. I was talking to a guy who teaches here, and he teaches entrepreneurs, and he was saying, “You're going to fail somewhere. It might be at your business, it might be at your family, it might be at your health, but if you're really trying to do something hard, there's going to be failure.” So you just have to get used to it, acknowledge it, and then work with it. You've got to accept it as part of the design because it is.We are all designers03:34:[Carissa Carter] Whether you are a person that designs things, systems, or technologies, whether or not you call yourself a designer in your job title, if you are a part of making things and bringing them into the world, that's design work, and it's really important to pay attention to that.Navigating design in a world of constraints42:03: [Scott Doorley] The idea of transcending constraints is appealing, but what designers are doing is shifting the realm of what they're saying—no, these are the constraints that matter; this other one that we thought mattered doesn't matter. And they're really just hell-bent on figuring out: what is the set of constraints that work?Embedding vision into everyday actions42:03: [Scott Doorley] This ability to go big and go detailed can't be overstated because that's where things start to feel congruent, right? If I say, "Oh, my organization believes in X," but that's not coming through in the way someone's greeted when they come to the door, it's just going to feel off, and it just doesn't feel right. It just doesn't feel good. So that ability to be like, "Okay, not only are we going to have a vision, but we're going to embed it in the day-to-day that we do." You could think of that as parenting. That's sort of how a teacher sets up a classroom. That's clearly how a leader should lead an organization, in my opinion, because then you don't have to talk about the values—they're there. It's a hard thing to do. Frankly, sometimes I'd feel like we're on it. Sometimes I feel like we're missing the mark. It's not a static thing. You have to keep iterating and keep responding to what's going on.

We have a full slate of upcoming events: AI Engineer London, AWS Re:Invent in Las Vegas, and now Latent Space LIVE! at NeurIPS in Vancouver and online. Sign up to join and speak!We are still taking questions for our next big recap episode! Submit questions and messages on Speakpipe here for a chance to appear on the show!We try to stay close to the inference providers as part of our coverage, as our podcasts with Together AI and Replicate will attest: However one of the most notable pull quotes from our very well received Braintrust episode was his opinion that open source model adoption has NOT gone very well and is actually declining in relative market share terms (it is of course increasing in absolute terms):Today's guest, Lin Qiao, would wholly disagree. Her team of Pytorch/GPU experts are wholly dedicated toward helping you serve and finetune the full stack of open source models from Meta and others, across all modalities (Text, Audio, Image, Embedding, Vision-understanding), helping customers like Cursor and Hubspot scale up open source model inference both rapidly and affordably.Fireworks has emerged after its successive funding rounds with top tier VCs as one of the leaders of the Compound AI movement, a term first coined by the Databricks/Mosaic gang at Berkeley AI and adapted as “Composite AI” by Gartner:Replicating o1We are the first podcast to discuss Fireworks' f1, their proprietary replication of OpenAI's o1. This has become a surprisingly hot area of competition in the past week as both Nous Forge and Deepseek r1 have launched competitive models.Full Video PodcastLike and subscribe!Timestamps* 00:00:00 Introductions* 00:02:08 Pre-history of Fireworks and PyTorch at Meta* 00:09:49 Product Strategy: From Framework to Model Library* 00:13:01 Compound AI Concept and Industry Dynamics* 00:20:07 Fireworks' Distributed Inference Engine* 00:22:58 OSS Model Support and Competitive Strategy* 00:29:46 Declarative System Approach in AI* 00:31:00 Can OSS replicate o1?* 00:36:51 Fireworks f1* 00:41:03 Collaboration with Cursor and Speculative Decoding* 00:46:44 Fireworks quantization (and drama around it)* 00:49:38 Pricing Strategy* 00:51:51 Underrated Features of Fireworks Platform* 00:55:17 HiringTranscriptAlessio [00:00:00]: Hey everyone, welcome to the Latent Space Podcast. This is Alessio, partner at CTO at Danceable Partners, and I'm joined by my co-host, Swyx founder, Osmalayar.Swyx [00:00:11]: Hey, and today we're in a very special studio inside the Fireworks office with Lin Qiang, CEO of Fireworks. Welcome. Yeah.Lin [00:00:20]: Oh, you should welcome us.Swyx [00:00:21]: Yeah, welcome. Yeah, thanks for having us. It's unusual to be in the home of a startup, but it's also, I think our relationship is a bit unusual compared to all our normal guests. Definitely.Lin [00:00:34]: Yeah. I'm super excited to talk about very interesting topics in that space with both of you.Swyx [00:00:41]: You just celebrated your two-year anniversary yesterday.Lin [00:00:43]: Yeah, it's quite a crazy journey. We circle around and share all the crazy stories across these two years, and it has been super fun. All the way from we experienced Silicon Valley bank run to we delete some data that shouldn't be deleted operationally. We went through a massive scale where we actually are busy getting capacity to, yeah, we learned to kind of work with it as a team with a lot of brilliant people across different places to join a company. It has really been a fun journey.Alessio [00:01:24]: When you started, did you think the technical stuff will be harder or the bank run and then the people side? I think there's a lot of amazing researchers that want to do companies and it's like the hardest thing is going to be building the product and then you have all these different other things. So, were you surprised by what has been your experience the most?Lin [00:01:42]: Yeah, to be honest with you, my focus has always been on the product side and then after the product goes to market. And I didn't realize the rest has been so complicated, operating a company and so on. But because I don't think about it, I just kind of manage it. So it's done. I think I just somehow don't think about it too much and solve whatever problem coming our way and it worked.Swyx [00:02:08]: So let's, I guess, let's start at the pre-history, the initial history of Fireworks. You ran the PyTorch team at Meta for a number of years and we previously had Sumit Chintal on and I think we were just all very interested in the history of GenEI. Maybe not that many people know how deeply involved Faire and Meta were prior to the current GenEI revolution.Lin [00:02:35]: My background is deep in distributed system, database management system. And I joined Meta from the data side and I saw this tremendous amount of data growth, which cost a lot of money and we're analyzing what's going on. And it's clear that AI is driving all this data generation. So it's a very interesting time because when I joined Meta, Meta is going through ramping down mobile-first, finishing the mobile-first transition and then starting AI-first. And there's a fundamental reason about that sequence because mobile-first gave a full range of user engagement that has never existed before. And all this user engagement generated a lot of data and this data power AI. So then the whole entire industry is also going through, falling through this same transition. When I see, oh, okay, this AI is powering all this data generation and look at where's our AI stack. There's no software, there's no hardware, there's no people, there's no team. I want to dive up there and help this movement. So when I started, it's very interesting industry landscape. There are a lot of AI frameworks. It's a kind of proliferation of AI frameworks happening in the industry. But all the AI frameworks focus on production and they use a very certain way of defining the graph of neural network and then use that to drive the model iteration and productionization. And PyTorch is completely different. So they could also assume that he was the user of his product. And he basically says, researchers face so much pain using existing AI frameworks, this is really hard to use and I'm going to do something different for myself. And that's the origin story of PyTorch. PyTorch actually started as the framework for researchers. They don't care about production at all. And as they grow in terms of adoption, so the interesting part of AI is research is the top of our normal production. There are so many researchers across academic, across industry, they innovate and they put their results out there in open source and that power the downstream productionization. So it's brilliant for MATA to establish PyTorch as a strategy to drive massive adoption in open source because MATA internally is a PyTorch shop. So it creates a flying wheel effect. So that's kind of a strategy behind PyTorch. But when I took on PyTorch, it's kind of at Caspo, MATA established PyTorch as the framework for both research and production. So no one has done that before. And we have to kind of rethink how to architect PyTorch so we can really sustain production workload, the stability, reliability, low latency, all this production concern was never a concern before. Now it's a concern. And we actually have to adjust its design and make it work for both sides. And that took us five years because MATA has so many AI use cases, all the way from ranking recommendation as powering the business top line or as ranking newsfeed, video ranking to site integrity detect bad content automatically using AI to all kinds of effects, translation, image classification, object detection, all this. And also across AI running on the server side, on mobile phones, on AI VR devices, the wide spectrum. So by the time we actually basically managed to support AI across ubiquitous everywhere across MATA. But interestingly, through open source engagement, we work with a lot of companies. It is clear to us like this industry is starting to take on AI first transition. And of course, MATA's hyperscale always go ahead of industry. And it feels like when we start this AI journey at MATA, there's no software, no hardware, no team. For many companies we engage with through PyTorch, we feel the pain. That's the genesis why we feel like, hey, if we create fireworks and support industry going through this transition, it will be a huge amount of impact. Of course, the problem that the industry is facing will not be the same as MATA. MATA is so big, right? So it's kind of skewed towards extreme scale and extreme optimization in the industry will be different. But we feel like we have the technical chop and we've seen a lot. We'll look to kind of drive that. So yeah, so that's how we started.Swyx [00:06:58]: When you and I chatted about the origins of fireworks, it was originally envisioned more as a PyTorch platform, and then later became much more focused on generative AI. Is that fair to say? What was the customer discovery here?Lin [00:07:13]: Right. So I would say our initial blueprint is we should build a PyTorch cloud because a PyTorch library and there's no SaaS platform to enable AI workloads.Swyx [00:07:26]: Even in 2022, it's interesting.Lin [00:07:28]: I would not say absolutely no, but cloud providers have some of those, but it's not first class citizen, right? At 2022, there's still like TensorFlow is massively in production. And this is all pre-gen AI, and PyTorch is kind of getting more and more adoption. But there's no PyTorch-first SaaS platform existing. At the same time, we are also a very pragmatic set of people. We really want to make sure from the get-go, we get really, really close to customers. We understand their use case, we understand their pain points, we understand the value we deliver to them. So we want to take a different approach instead of building a horizontal PyTorch cloud. We want to build a verticalized platform first. And then we talk with many customers. And interestingly, we started the company in September 2022, and in October, November, the OpenAI announced ChatGPT. And then boom, when we talked with many customers, they were like, can you help us work on the JNS aspect? So of course, there are some open source models. It's not as good at that time, but people are already putting a lot of attention there. Then we decided that if we're going to pick a vertical, we're going to pick JNI. The other reason is all JNI models are PyTorch models. So that's another reason. We believe that because of the nature of JNI, it's going to generate a lot of human consumable content. It will drive a lot of consumer, customer-developer-facing application and product innovation. Guaranteed. We're just at the beginning of this. Our prediction is for those kind of applications, the inference is much more important than training because inference scale is proportional to the up-limit award population. And training scale is proportional to the number of researchers. Of course, each training round could be very expensive. Although PyTorch supports both inference and training, we decided to laser focus on inference. So yeah, so that's how we got started. And we launched our public platform August last year. When we launched, it was a single product. It's a distributed inference engine with a simple API, open AI compatible API with many models. We started with LM and then we added a lot of models. Fast forward to now, we are a full platform with multiple product lines. So we love to kind of dive deep into what we offer. But that's a very fun journey in the past two years.Alessio [00:09:49]: What was the transition from you start to focus on PyTorch and people want to understand the framework, get it live. And now say maybe most people that use you don't even really know much about PyTorch at all. You know, they're just trying to consume a model. From a product perspective, like what were some of the decisions early on? Like right in October, November, you were just like, hey, most people just care about the model, not about the framework. We're going to make it super easy or was it more a gradual transition to the model librarySwyx [00:10:16]: you have today?Lin [00:10:17]: Yeah. So our product decision is all based on who is our ICP. And one thing I want to acknowledge here is the generic technology is disruptive. It's very different from AI before GNI. So it's a clear leap forward. Because before GNI, the companies that want to invest in AI, they have to train from scratch. There's no other way. There's no foundation model. It doesn't exist. So that means then to start a team, first hire a team who is capable of crunch data. There's a lot of data to crunch, right? Because training from scratch, you have to prepare a lot of data. And then they need to have GPUs to train, and then you start to manage GPUs. So then it becomes a very complex project. It takes a long time and not many companies can afford it, actually. And the GNI is a very different game right now, because it is a foundation model. So you don't have to train anymore. That makes AI much more accessible as a technology. As an app developer or product manager, even, not a developer, they can interact with GNI models directly. So our goal is to make AI accessible to all app developers and product engineers. That's our goal. So then getting them into the building model doesn't make any sense anymore with this new technology. And then building easy, accessible APIs is the most important. Early on, when we got started, we decided we're going to be open AI compatible. It's just kind of very easy for developers to adopt this new technology, and we will manage the underlying complexity of serving all these models.Swyx [00:11:56]: Yeah, open AI has become the standard. Even as we're recording today, Gemini announced that they have open AI compatible APIs. Interesting. So we just need to drop it all in line, and then we have everyone popping in line.Lin [00:12:09]: That's interesting, because we are working very closely with Meta as one of the partners. Meta, of course, is kind of very generous to donate many very, very strong open source models, expecting more to come. But also they have announced LamaStack, which is basically standardized, the upper level stack built on top of Lama models. So they don't just want to give out models and you figure out what the upper stack is. They instead want to build a community around the stack and build a new standard. I think there's an interesting dynamics in play in the industry right now, when it's more standardized across open AI, because they are kind of creating the top of the funnel, or standardized across Lama, because this is the most used open source model. So I think it's a lot of fun working at this time.Swyx [00:13:01]: I've been a little bit more doubtful on LamaStack, I think you've been more positive. Basically it's just like the meta version of whatever Hugging Face offers, you know, or TensorRT, or BLM, or whatever the open source opportunity is. But to me, it's not clear that just because Meta open sources Lama, that the rest of LamaStack will be adopted. And it's not clear why I should adopt it. So I don't know if you agree.Lin [00:13:27]: It's very early right now. That's why I kind of work very closely with them and give them feedback. The feedback to the meta team is very important. So then they can use that to continue to improve the model and also improve the higher level I think the success of LamaStack heavily depends on the community adoption. And there's no way around it. And I know the meta team would like to kind of work with a broader set of community. But it's very early.Swyx [00:13:52]: One thing that after your Series B, so you raced for Benchmark, and then Sequoia. I remember being close to you for at least your Series B announcements, you started betting heavily on this term of Compound AI. It's not a term that we've covered very much in the podcast, but I think it's definitely getting a lot of adoption from Databricks and Berkeley people and all that. What's your take on Compound AI? Why is it resonating with people?Lin [00:14:16]: Right. So let me give a little bit of context why we even consider that space.Swyx [00:14:22]: Because like pre-Series B, there was no message, and now it's like on your landing page.Lin [00:14:27]: So it's kind of very organic evolution from when we first launched our public platform, we are a single product. We are a distributed inference engine, where we do a lot of innovation, customized KUDA kernels, raw kernel kernels, running on different kinds of hardware, and build distributed disaggregated execution, inference execution, build all kinds of caching. So that is one. So that's kind of one product line, is the fast, most cost-efficient inference platform. Because we wrote PyTorch code, we know we basically have a special PyTorch build for that, together with a custom kernel we wrote. And then we worked with many more customers, we realized, oh, the distributed inference engine, our design is one size fits all. We want to have this inference endpoint, then everyone come in, and no matter what kind of form and shape or workload they have, it will just work for them. So that's great. But the reality is, we realized all customers have different kinds of use cases. The use cases come in all different forms and shapes. And the end result is the data distribution in their inference workload doesn't align with the data distribution in the training data for the model. It's a given, actually. If you think about it, because researchers have to guesstimate what is important, what's not important in preparing data for training. So because of that misalignment, then we leave a lot of quality, latency, cost improvement on the table. So then we're saying, OK, we want to heavily invest in a customization engine. And we actually announced it called FHIR Optimizer. So FHIR Optimizer basically helps users navigate a three-dimensional optimization space across quality, latency, and cost. So it's a three-dimensional curve. And even for one company, for different use cases, they want to land in different spots. So we automate that process for our customers. It's very simple. You have your inference workload. You inject into the optimizer along with the objective function. And then we spit out inference deployment config and the model setup. So it's your customized setup. So that is a completely different product. So that product thinking is one size fits all. And now on top of that, we provide a huge variety of state-of-the-art models, hundreds of them, varying from text to large state-of-the-art English models. That's where we started. And as we talk with many customers, we realize, oh, audio and text are very, very close. Many of our customers start to build assistants, all kinds of assistants using text. And they immediately want to add audio, audio in, audio out. So we support transcription, translation, speech synthesis, text, audio alignment, all different kinds of audio features. It's a big announcement. You should have heard by the time this is out. And the other areas of vision and text are very close with each other. Because a lot of information doesn't live in plain text. A lot of information lives in multimedia format, images, PDFs, screenshots, and many other different formats. So oftentimes to solve a problem, we need to put the vision model first to extract information and then use language model to process and then send out results. So vision is important. We also support vision model, various different kinds of vision models specialized in processing different kinds of source and extraction. And we're also going to have another announcement of a new API endpoint we'll support for people to upload various different kinds of multimedia content and then get the extract very accurate information out and feed that into LM. And of course, we support embedding because embedding is very important for semantic search, for RAG, and all this. And in addition to that, we also support text-to-image, image generation models, text-to-image, image-to-image, and we're adding text-to-video as well in our portfolio. So it's a very comprehensive set of model catalog that built on top of File Optimizer and Distributed Inference Engine. But then we talk with more customers, they solve business use case, and then we realize one model is not sufficient to solve their problem. And it's very clear because one is the model hallucinates. Many customers, when they onboard this JNI journey, they thought this is magical. JNI is going to solve all my problems magically. But then they realize, oh, this model hallucinates. It hallucinates because it's not deterministic, it's probabilistic. So it's designed to always give you an answer, but based on probabilities, so it hallucinates. And that's actually sometimes a feature for creative writing, for example. Sometimes it's a bug because, hey, you don't want to give misinformation. And different models also have different specialties. To solve a problem, you want to ask different special models to kind of decompose your task into multiple small tasks, narrow tasks, and then have an expert model solve that task really well. And of course, the model doesn't have all the information. It has limited knowledge because the training data is finite, not infinite. So the model oftentimes doesn't have real-time information. It doesn't know any proprietary information within the enterprise. It's clear that in order to really build a compiling application on top of JNI, we need a compound AI system. Compound AI system basically is going to have multiple models across modalities, along with APIs, whether it's public APIs, internal proprietary APIs, storage systems, database systems, knowledge to work together to deliver the best answer.Swyx [00:20:07]: Are you going to offer a vector database?Lin [00:20:09]: We actually heavily partner with several big vector database providers. Which is your favorite? They are all great in different ways. But it's public information, like MongoDB is our investor. And we have been working closely with them for a while.Alessio [00:20:26]: When you say distributed inference engine, what do you mean exactly? Because when I hear your explanation, it's almost like you're centralizing a lot of the decisions through the Fireworks platform on the quality and whatnot. What do you mean distributed? It's like you have GPUs in a lot of different clusters, so you're sharding the inference across the same model.Lin [00:20:45]: So first of all, we run across multiple GPUs. But the way we distribute across multiple GPUs is unique. We don't distribute the whole model monolithically across multiple GPUs. We chop them into pieces and scale them completely differently based on what's the bottleneck. We also are distributed across regions. We have been running in North America, EMEA, and Asia. We have regional affinity to applications because latency is extremely important. We are also doing global load balancing because a lot of applications there, they quickly scale to global population. And then at that scale, different content wakes up at a different time. And you want to kind of load balancing across. So all the way, and we also have, we manage various different kinds of hardware skew from different hardware vendors. And different hardware design is best for different types of workload, whether it's long context, short context, long generation. So all these different types of workload is best fitted for different kinds of hardware skew. And then we can even distribute across different hardware for a workload. So the distribution actually is all around in the full stack.Swyx [00:22:02]: At some point, we'll show on the YouTube, the image that Ray, I think, has been working on with all the different modalities that you offer. To me, it's basically you offer the open source version of everything that OpenAI typically offers. I don't think there is. Actually, if you do text to video, you will be a superset of what OpenAI offers because they don't have Sora. Is that Mochi, by the way? Mochi. Mochi, right?Lin [00:22:27]: Mochi. And there are a few others. I will say, the interesting thing is, I think we're betting on the open source community is going to proliferate. This is literally what we're seeing. And there's amazing video generation companies. There is amazing audio companies. Like cross-border, the innovation is off the chart, and we are building on top of that. I think that's the advantage we have compared with a closed source company.Swyx [00:22:58]: I think I want to restate the value proposition of Fireworks for people who are comparing you versus a raw GPU provider like a RunPod or Lambda or anything like those, which is like you create the developer experience layer and you also make it easily scalable or serverless or as an endpoint. And then, I think for some models, you have custom kernels, but not all models.Lin [00:23:25]: Almost for all models. For all large language models, all your models, and the VRMs. Almost for all models we serve.Swyx [00:23:35]: And so that is called Fire Attention. I don't remember the speed numbers, but apparently much better than VLM, especially on a concurrency basis.Lin [00:23:44]: So Fire Attention is specific mostly for language models, but for other modalities, we'll also have a customized kernel.Swyx [00:23:51]: And I think the typical challenge for people is understanding that has value, and then there are other people who are also offering open-source models. Your mode is your ability to offer a good experience for all these customers. But if your existence is entirely reliant on people releasing nice open-source models, other people can also do the same thing.Lin [00:24:14]: So I would say we build on top of open-source model foundation. So that's the kind of foundation we build on top of. But we look at the value prop from the lens of application developers and product engineers. So they want to create new UX. So what's happening in the industry right now is people are thinking about a completely new way of designing products. And I'm talking to so many founders, it's just mind-blowing. They help me understand existing way of doing PowerPoint, existing way of coding, existing way of managing customer service. It's actually putting a box in our head. For example, PowerPoint. So PowerPoint generation is we always need to think about how to fit into my storytelling into this format of slide one after another. And I'm going to juggle through design together with what story to tell. But the most important thing is what's our storytelling lines, right? And why don't we create a space that is not limited to any format? And those kind of new product UX design combined with automated content generation through Gen AI is the new thing that many founders are doing. What are the challenges they're facing? Let's go from there. One is, again, because a lot of products built on top of Gen AI, they are consumer-personal developer facing, and they require interactive experience. It's just a kind of product experience we all get used to. And our desire is to actually get faster and faster interaction. Otherwise, nobody wants to spend time, right? And then that requires low latency. And the other thing is the nature of consumer-personal developer facing is your audience is very big. You want to scale up to product market fit quickly. But if you lose money at a small scale, you're going to bankrupt quickly. So it's actually a big contrast. I actually have product market fit, but when I scale, I scale out of my business. So that's kind of a very funny way to think about it. So then having low latency and low cost is essential for those new applications and products to survive and really become a generation company. So that's the design point for our distributed inference engine and the file optimizer. File optimizer, you can think about that as a feedback loop. The more you feed your inference workload to our inference engine, the more we help you improve quality, lower latency further, lower your cost. It basically becomes better. And we automate that because we don't want you as an app developer or product engineer to think about how to figure out all these low-level details. It's impossible because you're not trained to do that at all. You should kind of keep your focus on the product innovation. And then the compound AI, we actually feel a lot of pain as the app developers, engineers, there are so many models. Every week, there's at least a new model coming out.Swyx [00:27:09]: Tencent had a giant model this week. Yeah, yeah.Lin [00:27:13]: I saw that. I saw that.Swyx [00:27:15]: It's like $500 billion.Lin [00:27:18]: So they're like, should I keep chasing this or should I forget about it? And which model should I pick to solve what kind of sub-problem? How do I even decompose my problem into those smaller problems and fit the model into it? I have no idea. And then there are two ways to think about this design. I think I talked about that in the past. One is imperative, as in you figure out how to do it. You give developer tools to dictate how to do it. Or you build a declarative system where a developer tells what they want to do, not how. So these are completely two different designs. So the analogy I want to draw is, in the data world, the database management system is a declarative system because people use database, use SQL. SQL is a way you say, what do you want to extract out of a database? What kind of result do you want? But you don't figure out which node is going to, how many nodes you're going to run on top of, how you redefine your disk, which index you use, which project. You don't need to worry about any of those. And database management system will figure out, generate a new best plan, and execute on that. So database is declarative. And it makes it super easy. You just learn SQL, which is learn a semantic meaning of SQL, and you can use it. Imperative side is there are a lot of ETL pipelines. And people design this DAG system with triggers, with actions, and you dictate exactly what to do. And if it fails, then how to recover. So that's an imperative system. We have seen a range of systems in the ecosystem go different ways. I think there's value of both. There's value of both. I don't think one is going to subsume the other. But we are leaning more into the philosophy of the declarative system. Because from the lens of app developer and product engineer, that would be easiest for them to integrate.Swyx [00:29:07]: I understand that's also why PyTorch won as well, right? This is one of the reasons. Ease of use.Lin [00:29:14]: Focus on ease of use, and then let the system take on the hard challenges and complexities. So we follow, we extend that thinking into current system design. So another announcement is we will also announce our next declarative system is going to appear as a model that has extremely high quality. And this model is inspired by Owen's announcement for OpenAI. You should see that by the time we announce this or soon.Alessio [00:29:46]: Trained by you.Lin [00:29:47]: Yes.Alessio [00:29:48]: Is this the first model that you trained? It's not the first.Lin [00:29:52]: We actually have trained a model called FireFunction. It's a function calling model. It's our first step into compound AI system. Because function calling model can dispatch a request into multiple APIs. We have pre-baked set of APIs the model learned. You can also add additional APIs through the configuration to let model dispatch accordingly. So we have a very high quality function calling model that's already released. We have actually three versions. The latest version is very high quality. But now we take a further step that you don't even need to use function calling model. You use our new model we're going to release. It will solve a lot of problems approaching very high OpenAI quality. So I'm very excited about that.Swyx [00:30:41]: Do you have any benchmarks yet?Lin [00:30:43]: We have a benchmark. We're going to release it hopefully next week. We just put our model to LMSYS and people are guessing. Is this the next Gemini model or a MADIS model? People are guessing. That's very interesting. We're watching the Reddit discussion right now.Swyx [00:31:00]: I have to ask more questions about this. When OpenAI released o1, a lot of people asked about whether or not it's a single model or whether it's a chain of models. Noam and basically everyone on the Strawberry team was very insistent that what they did for reinforcement learning, chain of thought, cannot be replicated by a whole bunch of open source model calls. Do you think that that is wrong? Have you done the same amount of work on RL as they have or was it a different direction?Lin [00:31:29]: I think they take a very specific approach where the caliber of team is very high. So I do think they are the domain expert in doing the things they are doing. I don't think there's only one way to achieve the same goal. We're on the same direction in the sense that the quality scaling law is shifting from training to inference. For that, I fully agree with them. But we're taking a completely different approach to the problem. All of that is because, of course, we didn't train the model from scratch. All of that is because we built on the show of giants. The current model available we have access to is getting better and better. The future trend is the gap between the open source model and the co-source model. It's just going to shrink to the point there's not much difference. And then we're on the same level field. That's why I think our early investment in inference and all the work we do around balancing across quality, latency, and cost pay off because we have accumulated a lot of experience and that empowers us to release this new model that is approaching open-ended quality.Alessio [00:32:39]: I guess the question is, what do you think the gap to catch up will be? Because I think everybody agrees with open source models eventually will catch up. And I think with 4, then with Lama 3.2, 3.1, 4.5b, we close the gap. And then 0.1 just reopened the gap so much and it's unclear. Obviously, you're saying your model will have...Swyx [00:32:57]: We're closing that gap.Alessio [00:32:58]: But you think in the future, it's going to be months?Lin [00:33:02]: So here's the thing that's happened. There's public benchmark. It is what it is. But in reality, open source models in certain dimensions are already on par or beat closed source models. So for example, in the coding space, open source models are really, really good. And in function calling, file function is also really, really good. So it's all a matter of whether you build one model to solve all the problems and you want to be the best of solving all the problems, or in the open source domain, it's going to specialize. All these different model builders specialize in certain narrow area. And it's logical that they can be really, really good in that very narrow area. And that's our prediction is with specialization, there will be a lot of expert models really, really good and even better than one-size-fits-all closed source models.Swyx [00:33:55]: I think this is the core debate that I am still not 100% either way on in terms of compound AI versus normal AI. Because you're basically fighting the bitter lesson.Lin [00:34:09]: Look at the human society, right? We specialize. And you feel really good about someone specializing doing something really well, right? And that's how our way evolved from ancient times. We're all journalists. We do everything. Now we heavily specialize in different domains. So my prediction is in the AI model space, it will happen also. Except for the bitter lesson.Swyx [00:34:30]: You get short-term gains by having specialists, domain specialists, and then someone just needs to train like a 10x bigger model on 10x more inference, 10x more data, 10x more model perhaps, whatever the current scaling law is. And then it supersedes all the individual models because of some generalized intelligence slash world knowledge. I think that is the core insight of the GPTs, the GPT-123 networks. Right.Lin [00:34:56]: But the training scaling law is because you have an increasing amount of data to train from. And you can do a lot of compute. So I think on the data side, we're approaching the limit. And the only data to increase that is synthetic generated data. And then there's like what is the secret sauce there, right? Because if you have a very good large model, you can generate very good synthetic data and then continue to improve quality. So that's why I think in OpenAI, they are shifting from the training scaling law intoSwyx [00:35:25]: inference scaling law.Lin [00:35:25]: And it's the test time and all this. So I definitely believe that's the future direction. And that's where we are really good at, doing inference.Swyx [00:35:34]: A couple of questions on that. Are you planning to share your reasoning choices?Lin [00:35:39]: That's a very good question. We are still debating.Swyx [00:35:43]: Yeah.Lin [00:35:45]: We're still debating.Swyx [00:35:46]: I would say, for example, it's interesting that, for example, SweetBench. If you want to be considered for ranking, you have to submit your reasoning choices. And that has actually disqualified some of our past guests. Cosign was doing well on SweetBench, but they didn't want to leak those results. So that's why you don't see O1 preview on SweetBench, because they don't submit their reasoning choices. And obviously, it's IP. But also, if you're going to be more open, then that's one way to be more open. So your model is not going to be open source, right? It's going to be an endpoint that you provide. Okay, cool. And then pricing, also the same as OpenAI, just kind of based on...Lin [00:36:25]: Yeah, this is... I don't have, actually, information. Everything is going so fast, we haven't even thought about that yet. Yeah, I should be more prepared.Swyx [00:36:33]: I mean, this is live. You know, it's nice to just talk about it as it goes live. Any other things that you want feedback on or you're thinking through? It's kind of nice to just talk about something when it's not decided yet. About this new model. It's going to be exciting. It's going to generate a lot of buzz. Right.Lin [00:36:51]: I'm very excited to see how people are going to use this model. So there's already a Reddit discussion about it. And people are asking very deep, mathematical questions. And since the model got it right, surprising. And internally, we're also asking the model to generate what is AGI. And it generates a very complicated DAG thinking process. So we're having a lot of fun testing this internally. But I'm more curious, how will people use it? What kind of application they're going to try and test on it? And that's where we really like to hear feedback from the community. And also feedback to us. What works out well? What doesn't work out well? What works out well, but surprising them? And what kind of thing they think we should improve on? And those kind of feedback will be tremendously helpful.Swyx [00:37:44]: Yeah. So I've been a production user of Preview and Mini since launch. I would say they're very, very obvious jobs in quality. So much so that they made clods on it. And they made the previous state-of-the-art look bad. It's really that stark, that difference. The number one thing, just feedback or feature requests, is people want control on the budget. Because right now, in 0.1, it kind of decides its own thinking budget. But sometimes you know how hard the problem is. And you want to actually tell the model, spend two minutes on this. Or spend some dollar amount. Maybe it's time you miss dollars. I don't know what the budget is. That makes a lot of sense.Lin [00:38:27]: So we actually thought about that requirement. And it should be, at some point, we need to support that. Not initially. But that makes a lot of sense.Swyx [00:38:38]: Okay. So that was a fascinating overview of just the things that you're working on. First of all, I realized that... I don't know if I've ever given you this feedback. But I think you guys are one of the reasons I agreed to advise you. Because I think when you first met me, I was kind of dubious. I was like... Who are you? There's Replicate. There's Together. There's Laptop. There's a whole bunch of other players. You're in very, very competitive fields. Like, why will you win? And the reason I actually changed my mind was I saw you guys shipping. I think your surface area is very big. The team is not that big. No. We're only 40 people. Yeah. And now here you are trying to compete with OpenAI and everyone else. What is the secret?Lin [00:39:21]: I think the team. The team is the secret.Swyx [00:39:23]: Oh boy. So there's no thing I can just copy. You just... No.Lin [00:39:30]: I think we all come from a very aligned culture. Because most of our team came from meta.Swyx [00:39:38]: Yeah.Lin [00:39:38]: And many startups. So we really believe in results. One is result. And second is customer. We're very customer obsessed. And we don't want to drive adoption for the sake of adoption. We really want to make sure we understand we are delivering a lot of business values to the customer. And we really value their feedback. So we would wake up midnight and deploy some model for them. Shuffle some capacity for them. And yeah, over the weekend, no brainer.Swyx [00:40:15]: So yeah.Lin [00:40:15]: So that's just how we work as a team. And the caliber of the team is really, really high as well. So as plug-in, we're hiring. We're expanding very, very fast. So if we are passionate about working on the most cutting-edge technology in the general space, come talk with us. Yeah.Swyx [00:40:38]: Let's talk a little bit about that customer journey. I think one of your more famous customers is Cursor. We were the first podcast to have Cursor on. And then obviously since then, they have blown up. Cause and effect are not related. But you guys especially worked on a fast supply model where you were one of the first people to work on speculative decoding in a production setting. Maybe just talk about what was the behind the scenes of working with Cursor?Lin [00:41:03]: I will say Cursor is a very, very unique team. I think the unique part is the team has very high technical caliber. There's no question about it. But they have decided, although many companies building coding co-pilot, they will say, I'm going to build a whole entire stack because I can. And they are unique in the sense they seek partnership. Not because they cannot. They're fully capable, but they know where to focus. That to me is amazing. And of course, they want to find a bypass partner. So we spent some time working together. They are pushing us very aggressively because for them to deliver high caliber product experience, they need the latency. They need the interactive, but also high quality at the same time. So actually, we expanded our product feature quite a lot as we support Cursor. And they are growing so fast. And we massively scaled quickly across multiple regions. And we developed a pretty high intense inference stack, almost like similar to what we do for Meta. I think that's a very, very interesting engagement. And through that, there's a lot of trust being built. They realize, hey, this is a team they can really partner with. And they can go big with. That comes back to, hey, we're really customer obsessed. And all the engineers working with them, there's just enormous amount of time syncing together with them and discussing. And we're not big on meetings, but we are like stack channel always on. Yeah, so you almost feel like working as one team. So I think that's really highlighted.Swyx [00:42:38]: Yeah. For those who don't know, so basically Cursor is a VS Code fork. But most of the time, people will be using closed models. Like I actually use a lot of SONET. So you're not involved there, right? It's not like you host SONET or you have any partnership with it. You're involved where Cursor is small, or like their house brand models are concerned, right?Lin [00:42:58]: I don't know what I can say, but the things they haven't said.Swyx [00:43:04]: Very obviously, the drop down is 4.0, but in Cursor, right? So I assume that the Cursor side is the Fireworks side. And then the other side, they're calling out the other. Just kind of curious. And then, do you see any more opportunity on the... You know, I think you made a big splash with 1,000 tokens per second. That was because of speculative decoding. Is there more to push there?Lin [00:43:25]: We push a lot. Actually, when I mentioned Fire Optimizer, right? So as in, we have a unique automation stack that is one size fits one. We actually deployed to Cursor earlier on. Basically optimized for their specific workload. And that's a lot of juice to extract out of there. And we see success in that product. It actually can be widely adopted. So that's why we started a separate product line called Fire Optimizer. So speculative decoding is just one approach. And speculative decoding here is not static. We actually wrote a blog post about it. There's so many different ways to do speculative decoding. You can pair a small model with a large model in the same model family. Or you can have equal pads and so on. There are different trade-offs which approach you take. It really depends on your workload. And then with your workload, we can align the Eagle heads or Medusa heads or a small big model pair much better to extract the best latency reduction. So all of that is part of the Fire Optimizer offering.Alessio [00:44:23]: I know you mentioned some of the other inference providers. I think the other question that people always have is around benchmarks. So you get different performance on different platforms. How should people think about... People are like, hey, Lama 3.2 is X on MMLU. But maybe using speculative decoding, you go down a different path. Maybe some providers run a quantized model. How should people think about how much they should care about how you're actually running the model? What's the delta between all the magic that you do and what a raw model...Lin [00:44:57]: Okay, so there are two big development cycles. One is experimentation, where they need fast iteration. They don't want to think about quality, and they just want to experiment with product experience and so on. So that's one. And then it looks good, and they want to post-product market with scaling. And the quality is really important. And latency and all the other things are becoming important. During the experimentation phase, it's just pick a good model. Don't worry about anything else. Make sure you even generate the right solution to your product. And that's the focus. And then post-product market fit, then that's kind of the three-dimensional optimization curve start to kick in across quality, latency, cost, where you should land. And to me, it's purely a product decision. To many products, if you choose a lower quality, but better speed and lower cost, but it doesn't make a difference to the product experience, then you should do it. So that's why I think inference is part of the validation. The validation doesn't stop at offline eval. The validation will go through A-B testing, through inference. And that's where we offer various different configurations for you to test which is the best setting. So this is the traditional product evaluation. So product evaluation should also include your new model versions and different model setup into the consideration.Swyx [00:46:22]: I want to specifically talk about what happens a few months ago with some of your major competitors. I mean, all of this is public. What is your take on what happens? And maybe you want to set the record straight on how Fireworks does quantization because I think a lot of people may have outdated perceptions or they didn't read the clarification post on your approach to quantization.Lin [00:46:44]: First of all, it's always a surprise to us that without any notice, we got called out.Swyx [00:46:51]: Specifically by name, which is normally not what...Lin [00:46:54]: Yeah, in a public post. And have certain interpretation of our quality. So I was really surprised. And it's not a good way to compete, right? We want to compete fairly. And oftentimes when one vendor gives out results, the interpretation of another vendor is always extremely biased. So we actually refrain ourselves to do any of those. And we happily partner with third parties to do the most fair evaluation. So we're very surprised. And we don't think that's a good way to figure out the competition landscape. So then we react. I think when it comes to quantization, the interpretation, we wrote actually a very thorough blog post. Because again, no one says it's all. We have various different quantization schemes. We can quantize very different parts of the model from ways to activation to cross-TPU communication. They can use different quantization schemes or consistent across the board. And again, it's a trade-off. It's a trade-off across this three-dimensional quality, latency, and cost. And for our customer, we actually let them find the best optimized point. And we have a very thorough evaluation process to pick that point. But for self-serve, there's only one point to pick. There's no customization available. So of course, it depends on what we talk with many customers. We have to pick one point. And I think the end result, like AA published, later on AA published a quality measure. And we actually looked really good. So that's why what I mean is, I will leave the evaluation of quality or performance to third party and work with them to find the most fair benchmark. And I think that's a good approach, a methodology. But I'm not a part of an approach of calling out specific namesSwyx [00:48:55]: and critique other competitors in a very biased way. Databases happens as well. I think you're the more politically correct one. And then Dima is the more... Something like this. It's you on Twitter.Lin [00:49:11]: It's like the Russian... We partner. We play different roles.Swyx [00:49:20]: Another one that I wanted to... I'm just the last one on the competition side. There's a perception of price wars in hosting open source models. And we talked about the competitiveness in the market. Do you aim to make margin on open source models? Oh, absolutely, yes.Lin [00:49:38]: So, but I think it really... When we think about pricing, it's really need to coordinate with the value we're delivering. If the value is limited, or there are a lot of people delivering the same value, there's no differentiation. There's only one way to go. It's going down. So through competition. If I take a big step back, there is pricing from... We're more compared with close model providers, APIs, right? The close model provider, their cost structure is even more interesting because we don't bear any training costs. And we focus on inference optimization, and that's kind of where we continue to add a lot of product value. So that's how we think about product. But for the close source API provider, model provider, they bear a lot of training costs. And they need to amortize the training costs into the inference. So that created very interesting dynamics of, yeah, if we match pricing there, and I think how they are going to make money is very, very interesting.Swyx [00:50:37]: So for listeners, opening eyes 2024, $4 billion in revenue, $3 billion in compute training, $2 billion in compute inference, $1 billion in research compute amortization, and $700 million in salaries. So that is like...Swyx [00:50:59]: I mean, a lot of R&D.Lin [00:51:01]: Yeah, so I think matter is basically like, make it zero. So that's a very, very interesting dynamics we're operating within. But coming back to inference, so we are, again, as I mentioned, our product is, we are a platform. We're not just a single model as a service provider as many other inference providers, like they're providing a single model. We have our optimizer to highly customize towards your inference workload. We have a compound AI system where significantly simplify your interaction to high quality and low latency, low cost. So those are all very different from other providers.Alessio [00:51:38]: What do people not know about the work that you do? I guess like people are like, okay, Fireworks, you run model very quickly. You have the function model. Is there any kind of like underrated part of Fireworks that more people should try?Lin [00:51:51]: Yeah, actually, one user post on x.com, he mentioned, oh, actually, Fireworks can allow me to upload the LoRa adapter to the service model at the same cost and use it at same cost. Nobody has provided that. That's because we have a very special, like we rolled out multi-LoRa last year, actually. And we actually have this function for a long time. And many people has been using it, but it's not well known that, oh, if you find your model, you don't need to use on demand. If you find your model is LoRa, you can upload your LoRa adapter and we deploy it as if it's a new model. And then you use, you get your endpoint and you can use that directly, but at the same cost as the base model. So I'm happy that user is marketing it for us. He discovered that feature, but we have that for last year. So I think to feedback to me is, we have a lot of very, very good features, as Sean just mentioned. I'm the advisor to the company,Swyx [00:52:57]: and I didn't know that you had speculative decoding released.Lin [00:53:02]: We have prompt catching way back last year also. We have many, yeah. So I think that is one of the underrated feature. And if they're developers, you are using our self-serve platform, please try it out.Swyx [00:53:16]: The LoRa thing is interesting because I think you also, the reason people add additional costs to it, it's not because they feel like charging people. Normally in normal LoRa serving setups, there is a cost to dedicating, loading those weights and dedicating a machine to that inference. How come you can't avoid it?Lin [00:53:36]: Yeah, so this is kind of our technique called multi-LoRa. So we basically have many LoRa adapters share the same base model. And basically we significantly reduce the memory footprint of serving. And the one base model can sustain a hundred to a thousand LoRa adapters. And then basically all these different LoRa adapters can share the same, like direct the same traffic to the same base model where base model is dominating the cost. So that's how we advertise that way. And that's how we can manage the tokens per dollar, million token pricing, the same as base model.Swyx [00:54:13]: Awesome. Is there anything that you think you want to request from the community or you're looking for model-wise or tooling-wise that you think like someone should be working on in this?Lin [00:54:23]: Yeah, so we really want to get a lot of feedback from the application developers who are starting to build on JNN or on the already adopted or starting about thinking about new use cases and so on to try out Fireworks first. And let us know what works out really well for you and what is your wishlist and what sucks, right? So what is not working out for you and we would like to continue to improve. And for our new product launches, typically we want to launch to a small group of people. Usually we launch on our Discord first to have a set of people use that first. So please join our Discord channel. We have a lot of communication going on there. Again, you can also give us feedback. We'll have a starting office hour for you to directly talk with our DevRel and engineers to exchange more long notes.Alessio [00:55:17]: And you're hiring across the board?Lin [00:55:18]: We're hiring across the board. We're hiring front-end engineers, infrastructure cloud, infrastructure engineers, back-end system optimization engineers, applied researchers, like researchers who have done post-training, who have done a lot of fine-tuning and so on.Swyx [00:55:34]: That's it. Thank you. Thanks for having us. Get full access to Latent Space at www.latent.space/subscribe

The latest episode of Mathematica's On the Evidence podcast features Jeffery Marino, the director of California's Office of Data and Innovation (ODI). For the podcast, Mathematica's President and Chief Executive Officer Paul Decker spoke with Marino about ODI's CalAcademy for training state employees in areas such as plain language and human-centered design, California Governor Gavin Newsom's executive order on generative artificial intelligence, facilitating interagency data sharing agreements, and data-driven storytelling about government's impact in people's lives. They also discussed Marino's career trajectory: he majored in English literature in college, became a data journalist, and now leads ODI, a department within California's Government Operations Agency encouraging collaboration across state agencies to improve digital services for all Californians. Find the full transcript of the interview: https://www.mathematica.org/blogs/embedding-data-and-innovation-across-california-state-government Learn more about ODI's CalAcademy: https://innovation.ca.gov/who-we-are/calacademy/ Read California Governor Newsom's executive order on generative AI: https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/AI-EO-No.12-_-GGN-Signed.pdf Listen to an On the Evidence interview with Jennifer Pahlka, author of Recoding America: Why Government is Failing in the Digital Age and How We Can Do Better, which is referenced in the discussion between Decker and Marino: https://mathematica.org/blogs/jennifer-pahlka-on-government-in-the-digital-age Explore a playlist of interviews between Mathematica's Paul Decker and fellow leaders of evidence-driven organizations: https://soundcloud.com/ontheevidence/sets/evidence-leadership?si=ea534d2c041c44e99c289a8d4dffa664&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

In episode 23 of season 2, we sit down with David Weiss, CEO of Weiss International, an expert in leadership development, innovation, and navigating complex organizational challenges. David's experience as an author, speaker, and executive coach has equipped him with unparalleled insights into how leaders can thrive amid uncertainty and foster team environments that drive innovation and engagement. In this episode, David dives into the essential qualities leaders need today, focusing on the power of emotional intelligence and how to lead effectively when ambiguity is the norm. He explores how fostering open dialogue and creating collaborative spaces can unlock a team's creative potential. David also shares practical strategies for helping leaders at all levels develop the resilience and agility needed to adapt to ever-changing business landscapes. With actionable takeaways and real-world examples, David explains how leaders can close leadership gaps, inspire their teams, and harness the collective intelligence of their organizations to solve complex problems. He emphasizes the importance of developing emotional maturity and facilitating conversations that lead to impactful decision-making. Tune in to learn David's proven frameworks for leading through change, building innovative cultures, and enhancing your leadership toolkit for the future. This episode is a must-listen for anyone committed to expanding their leadership capacity and fostering team success. . . . Like this episode? Be sure to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review and share the podcast with your colleagues. . . . TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [05:22] The importance of emotional intelligence and why it's essential for modern leadership [08:15] Building resilient teams  [12:38] Strategies for facilitating open dialogue  [16:45] Closing leadership gaps and empowering leaders at every level [21:10] How to approach leadership when faced with ambiguity [26:07] Embedding innovation into team culture [30:23] Real-life examples of leaders successfully navigating complex challenges [32:50] The role of emotional maturity in making decisions

In this Iron Culture, Sigma Nutrition Radio, SNA crossover, Dr. Joe Klemczewski returns! Dr. Joe, possibly the first online bodybuilding coach and person to advise clients to track macros before IIFYM was an acronym, joins us to reflect on the past and help us navigate the future. In the modern information age, there is more information than ever, which is a good thing, right? Perhaps, except that there is also more misinformation and disinformation than ever as well. While the evidence-based movement solved the problem of information inadequacy, we now face a much more complex problem of information illiteracy. What can you do to better navigate the “fake news” littering all aspects of social media, especially the nutrition space, and how can you facilitate better critical thinking in your clients and followers to reduce the likelihood they will undertake harmful diets? In this episode we tackle just that, discussing how paying attention to history and social changes can provide protection against modern fads.   Time stamps: 00:00 Danny, Erich? And sending our condolences to the listeners https://raskolapparel.com/ 02:37 Re-introducing Dr. Joe Klemczewski 09:57 Changes in science 18:01 Science education for the consumer 26:53 How Dr. Joe communicates science with nuance to different audiences and how society (and social media) operates to perpetuate beliefs 36:59 Discerning truth and fact from context – using the recent meta-regressions on volume and frequency as an example Pelland 2024 The Resistance Training Dose-Response: Meta-Regressions Exploring the Effects of Weekly Volume and Frequency on Muscle Hypertrophy and Strength Gain https://sportrxiv.org/index.php/server/preprint/view/460 51:00 The psychology of persuasion 59:34 Embedding heuristics and the utility of AI in academia 1:09:50 Broader trends in society, marketing strategies and delivering what is expected 1:21:46 Recapping the episode and closing out (be wary of Eric's positivity propaganda)

Join us for an insightful exploration into the intricacies of workplace culture with Eric Stone, author of "Jumpstart Your Workplace Culture." Listen in as Eric reflects on navigating pivotal challenges like 9-11, offering practical strategies and a human-centric approach to transform organizational dynamics. His insights underscore the potential for innovative thinking in reshaping the way organizations operate. We discuss the critical role of one-on-one interactions in understanding motivations and management styles. Our conversation introduces the "hourglass approach" as a strategic framework for operationalizing insights, emphasizing the importance of mission, vision, and values in decision-making. As we face technological shifts and unforeseen events like the global pandemic, this approach helps realign strategies with core values, ensuring a cohesive and engaged work environment. Explore the importance of embedding organizational values throughout the life cycle of an organization to ensure they remain vibrant and influential. We also examine the key role of talent management, especially when it comes to promotions, emphasizing the need for transparency and linking advancement to cultural and values alignment. Finally, Eric shares his "John Wick School of Management" approach to fostering resilience in hybrid work environments. If you're interested in how to build a peak performing and highly engaged culture, this episode is for you. What You'll Learn: • The importance of aligning mission, vision, and values with the "hourglass approach." • Using "30 minutes of fame" to enhance employee-manager relationships • Embedding organizational values from the ground up  • The critical role of diversifying award systems • Why you want to hire for a match rather than hire for fit • Transparency is the key ingredient when it comes to talent management and advancement • Leveraging the "John Wick School of Management" approach to foster resilience in hybrid work environments. Podcast Timestamps: (00:00) – How to Jumpstart Your Workplace Culture (13:11) Building Employee Engagement Through Relationships (18:58) – The Crucial Role of Values In Fostering a Strong Culture (27:09) – Hiring and Promotion as Levers to Drive Culture (42:28) - Building Resilient Organizational Cultures (49:55) The John Wick School of Management Success (53:12) Shrinking the Leadership Gap More of Eric: Eric Stone is a seasoned leader and the founder and CEO of Clear Path Ventures, dedicated to helping organizations cultivate high-performance cultures and address complex challenges. After a remarkable 26-year career at Enterprise Holdings—one of North America's largest privately held companies—Eric became one of the company's most decorated regional vice presidents, renowned for his skill in fostering resilience and engagement across diverse teams. He led through pivotal moments, including 9/11, the Great Recession, and the COVID-19 pandemic, ultimately deciding to retire in 2018. However, inspired by his network, he soon returned with a new mission: to share his wealth of experience and insights through international keynote talks, workshops, and his award-winning book, Jumpstart Your Workplace Culture. Today, Eric collaborates with leaders to enhance employee engagement, improve customer experiences, and drive sustainable growth. Through Clear Path Ventures and his roles on nonprofit boards, Eric remains committed to empowering businesses and bridging opportunity gaps for marginalized communities. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-stone-clear-path/ Mentions: Jumpstart Your Workplace Culture: A Road Map for Igniting High Performance by Eric Stone Key Topics Discussed: Leadership, Company Culture, Workplace Culture, Values, Mission, Vision, Moral Management, Promotions, Talent Management More of Do Good to Lead Well: Website: https://craigdowden.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigdowden/

What if five minutes could change everything about how you lead, connect, and thrive? In today's episode, I reveal the powerful daily gratitude practice that shifted my mindset from scarcity to abundance—fueling not only my own growth, but transforming my team dynamics and leadership resilience. If you're ready for a simple, impactful habit to elevate your life and work, this post is for you! Here's a quick look at how gratitude can revolutionize your life and leadership, just as it did for me. 1. Gratitude Enhances Mental and Emotional Well-Being Gratitude has profound effects on mental health, reducing anxiety and depression while boosting overall mood. In this episode, I begin by sharing how this practice helped me refocus from a scarcity mindset—where stress and fear of “not enough” clouded my vision—to one of abundance and peace. Listing just a few daily “wins” and things I'm grateful for gives my mind a positive focal point and sets the tone for my day. Practicing gratitude helps you focus on what you have, rather than what you lack, cultivating a mindset that energizes and uplifts both you and your team. And if you're looking for more info on forming an abundance mindset, I think you'll love this ep: Episode 202: Self Worth = Net Worth: How to Live in Abundance 2. Fostering Team Relationships through Gratitude Integrating gratitude in a team setting doesn't just enhance your day, but strengthens your team dynamics. I found that a simple habit of sharing appreciation with my team, both in private conversations and during meetings, lifted our collective spirit. This genuine acknowledgment brought cohesion and positivity to our interactions, boosting communication and morale. With everyone aligned and motivated, our work flowed better, and the energy shifted toward collaborative success, building a work environment that supports growth and achievement. 3. Building Resilience as a Leader With gratitude as a grounding practice, I noticed an increased resilience to daily challenges. For instance, when obstacles like travel delays or sudden issues arose, my gratitude practice allowed me to pause, reframe, and face these situations with a calmer, more adaptive mindset. Instead of letting stressful moments dictate my mood, I embraced each challenge as a lesson, focusing on what was still within my control. This approach not only supported my emotional regulation but also set a positive example for my team, showing them how to navigate challenges effectively. 4. Long-Term Leadership Impact Sticking to my gratitude practice has had a long-lasting impact on my leadership style, making me a more empathetic, balanced, and approachable leader. The effects extended beyond my professional life, enhancing my relationships as a parent, spouse, and friend. Embedding gratitude into your routine has a ripple effect—it supports personal growth and allows you to lead from a place of compassion and joy, ultimately making a positive impact on your entire team and community. 5. Start Your Own 5-Minute Gratitude Practice The episode outlines a straightforward gratitude practice: reflecting on past wins, listing things you're grateful for now, and setting intentions for the day. This five-minute habit can be done verbally, digitally, or in a journal and serves as a daily reset, focusing your energy on the positives. By committing to this practice, you'll find shifts in mindset and improved emotional regulation that benefit your leadership style, relationships, and personal growth. To dive deeper, listen to the full episode, and discover how gratitude can transform your leadership and inspire those around you. And if you remember nothing else from this gratitude practice, remember this: what you focus on grows. Start each day by honoring the good, and watch how it attracts more positivity, resilience, and connection into your life and leadership.   No, You Hang Up First (Let's Keep Connecting) Did today's episode resonate with you? Leave us a review sharing your favorite gratitude practice detail and we'll send you a free signed copy of I See You! A Leader's Guide to Energizing Your Team through Radical Empathy. Have another question about gratitude that we can answer, or a question about something else? Leave us a Speakpipe audio clip and we'll answer it in an upcoming episode. Don't want to miss another episode? If you're a Spotify listener, find our show here and click “Follow.” If you're an Apple Podcast listener, click here and make sure to hit “+Follow.” Want 2 emails a week from us? One with a quick tip you can implement right away to enhance your personal and/or professional lives & one of our famous F.A.I.L. Fourward Friday newsletters? Click here, scroll to the bottom of the page, and we'll meet you in your inbox. :) Show Links Purchase I See You! A Leader's Guide to Energizing Your Team through Radical Empathy here and the Resource Guidebook that was built in conjunction with it here. Connect with Erin Diehl x improve it! Erin's website Erin's Instagram Erin's LinkedIn improve it!'s website improve it!'s Instagram