Podcasts about Fortune

This episode was sponsored by Cardiff   LightSpeed VT: https://www.lightspeedvt.com/ Dropping Bombs Podcast: https://www.droppingbombs.com/ Today's Dropping Bombs episode delivers a mind-bending conversation with Dr. Caroline Leaf — cognitive neuroscientist, communication pathologist, and 40-year researcher who's flipping neuroscience on its head with one bold claim: your mind controls your brain, not the other way around.   Dr. Leaf breaks down why your biological age can be reversed, how to hack your non-conscious mind, and the five-step formula scientifically proven to improve mind management by 81%. She also gets into why positive affirmations are actually making things worse, what your dreams are really trying to tell you, and what science has actually proven happens to your consciousness when you die.   This episode challenges everything you thought you knew about your mind, your biology, and the toxic thought patterns that have been silently blocking your success this whole time.   Your brain is only 1% of who you are — the other 99% is yours to command, and this conversation exposes exactly how to access it.  

Send a textJoin your host Clifton Pope as he is back for the 300th episode of the HFWB Podcast Series and it's only right if it's a solocast plus the March 2026 edition of the Future Fortune Series!In this month's edition, Clifton dives into the jobs report and why the economy just hit the brakes!We dive into why stocks are down and oil prices are going up, the Fed's dilemma with weak jobs and stubborn inflation, and what every listener should do in these uncertain times!Subscribe to the show on Apple/Spotify Podcasts/Rumble so you don't miss the monthly edition of the Future Fortune Series!Sign up for Clifton Pope's latest Masterclass/course: Understanding Chaos, Turmoil, and Uncertainty with the link belowhttps://cpope26.gumroad.com/l/zvbfmjIf you love the show, please leave a rating/review so more people can tune in!Thank you for the love and support!The Fresh Patch Podcast - Where Good Pets Get It. Welcome to the Fresh Patch Podcast where we talk about everything, from dog...Listen on: Apple Podcasts Support the showhttps://athleticism.com/HEALTHFWEALTHB https://coolgreenclothing.com/HEALTHFITNESSWEALTHBUSINESS https://normotim.com/HEALTHFIT https://www.portablemeshnebulizer.com/pages/collab?dt_id=2573900official affiliates of the HFWB Podcast Series Please support the mission behind each product/services as it helps grow the HFWB Podcast Series to where the show can continue to roll along!

Core Reasons for Being Trapped: The primary reasons owners cannot leave their businesses include strong emotional attachment (37%), financial dependence on the business income (25%), inability to sell at a profitable price (20%), and a lack of suitable buyers (19%). According to LinkedIn. Workload and Burnout: Many owners are forced to work longer hours, with 60% struggling to get time off and 54% having given up hobbies and personal activities, according to Medium. For Laurie Barkman: Growing up, I launched my first services business at age 10, mowing lawns, raking leaves, and babysitting. In high school, I leaned into leadership, learned how to address challenges head-on, and made a lasting impact on my community. That drive to build winning teams took me to Cornell University, where I studied Industrial and Labor Relations. I began my career at Ingersoll-Rand, a global engineering firm, working shoulder-to-shoulder with engineers and plant teams to reengineer operational processes for productivity and cost improvements. It was there that I first saw how analytical and technical leaders think.   Later, I earned my MBA from Carnegie Mellon University, intentionally choosing a rigorous quantitative program to refine the analytical skills I knew I'd need to lead and advise in structured, technical environments. Over the years, I built a career spanning Fortune 500s and startups, leading teams through high-growth transformation, including time in logistics, SaaS, e-commerce, and operations, often in collaboration with engineers, data-driven founders, and technical teams.   The search was part of a long-term succession plan. A third-generation family business and leading transportation and logistics company in North America sought a new divisional CEO. In the interview process, I was told, “We're not interviewing you for the next 2 years…we're interviewing you for the next 20.” Playing the long game excited me. Taking on this role was a perfect storm of high expectations, internal resistance, and every eye was watching. I wasn't necessarily who they expected, but I knew how to create value. I steadied the ship and shifted mindsets towards transformation. Eventually, we guided the company to a successful sale to a Global Fortune 50 company. After the acquisition was completed, I stayed on as a senior executive and served on the Integration Steering Committee, advising on the launch of new e-commerce fulfillment services. Back to the original notion of staying in the company for 20 years. As things played out, my tenure was only three. Was I disappointed? Heck no. I realized that while we may have a plan, sometimes plans change for good reason. The acquisition “put some money in my jeans” and gave me the flexibility to pursue my entrepreneurial passions.   For more information: https://lauriebarkman.me/ LinkedIn: @LaurieBarkman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fewer than one in four companies have redesigned their workflows to capture value from AI. Stephen Wunker, Managing Director at New Markets Advisors, has advised Fortune 500 companies like Microsoft and Meta through AI transformation challenges that go far beyond technology adoption. The discussion covers his "octopus organization" framework for distributing intelligence across teams, the three diagnostic questions that reveal AI readiness (what humans won't, shouldn't, and can't do), and why successful AI implementation requires cross-functional champions rather than traditional project management approaches.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Microsoft's anti-"Microslop" censorship backfired spectacularly; Australia is cracking down on AI age verification while Meta is busy targeting toddlers; prediction markets are basically just insider trading with extra steps; AI chatbots are getting people killed and exposing spy operations; the Moon landing got pushed again; Opera got nostalgic at 30; Sony bought Charlie Brown; and Netflix is making documentaries with robot people now.Show notes at https://gog.show/736Watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/6lw2Hy_U8QASponsors:DeleteMe - Get 20% off your DeleteMe plan when you go to JoinDeleteMe.com/GOG and use promo code GOG at checkout.Private Internet Access - Go to GOG.Show/vpn and sign up today. For a limited time only, you can get OUR favorite VPN for as little as $2.03 a month.SetApp - With a single monthly subscription you get 240+ apps for your Mac. Go to SetApp and get started today!!!1Password - Get a great deal on the only password manager recommended by Grumpy Old Geeks! gog.show/1passwordFOLLOW UPMicrosoft Bans the Word “Microslop” on Copilot Discord, Gets So Humiliated That It Locks Down the Whole ServerAustralia will consider requiring app stores to block AI services without age verificationA Day in the Life of an EnshittificatorIN THE NEWSMeta's what-if for tweensHow Meta Executives Talked About Child Safety Behind the ScenesThe Great Insider Trading Reckoning Reportedly Hits OpenAIKhamenei market meltdown on Kalshi shows how prediction markets still can't decide what ‘counts'Some Alleged Polymarket Insiders Made a Fortune on U.S. Strikes on IranPolymarket Decides Incentivizing a Nuclear Detonation Might Be a Bad IdeaA Chinese official's use of ChatGPT accidentally revealed a global intimidation operation‘Our Bond Is the Only Thing That's Real:' A New Lawsuit Alleges Google Gemini Drove a Man to SuicideThe Data Centers Have Arrived at the Edge of the Arctic CircleBig tech companies agree to not ruin your electric bill with AI data centersTerraPower gets OK to start construction of its first nuclear plantThe Supreme Court doesn't care if you want to copyright your AI-generated artAnthropic CEO Dario Amodei calls OpenAI's messaging around military deal 'straight up lies,' report saysThe $100 Billion OpenAI-Nvidia Deal Is Not HappeningNASA Announces Major Change to Plans For Putting Humans on The MoonThe US Senate empowers NASA to fully engage in lunar space raceAstronomers Estimated the Lifespan of Alien Civilizations, and It's Not Looking Good for UsMEDIA CANDYCharlie Brown now works for SonyThese AI Avatars in a Netflix True Crime Doc Are Disturbing ViewersNetflix buys Ben Affleck's AI film tech company, InterPositiveAPPS & DOODADSOpera Has Turned 30 and Is Celebrating With a Compelling Tribute to Web NostalgiaWeb Design MuseumMeta hit with a class action lawsuit over smart glasses' privacy claimsApple Macbook NeoAT THE LIBRARYUncommon People: Britpop and Beyond in 20 Songs by Miranda SawyerSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This episode was sponsored by Cardiff & Tectum Roofing   LightSpeed VT: https://www.lightspeedvt.com/ Dropping Bombs Podcast: https://www.droppingbombs.com/ This powerful Dropping Bombs episode features Sean Moriarty, a former gang member who rebuilt his life from rock bottom into an eight-figure commercial roofing empire, and now runs three companies simultaneously across construction, education, and technology.   Sean gets raw about the dark years: the streets, the addiction, the betrayal, and the moments he almost lost everything. He breaks down how discipline and systems pulled him back every single time, the brutal truth behind scaling a trades business, and why the roofing industry is one of the most underrated paths to serious wealth.   This episode is raw, real, and hits different. Whether you're in the trades, building a business, or just trying to figure out your next move, Sean's story will shake something loose in you. Entrepreneurs, this one's for you.   

Episode Summary: In this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast, Benoy Thanjan sits down with Hervé Billet, CEO and co-founder of Sunvoy, the first white-label customer portal and fleet management app built by solar installers for solar installers. Hervé shares his entrepreneurial journey, from helping design Belgium's first solar car to building and selling a solar installation company in the U.S., and now leading Sunvoy. The conversation covers what solar companies need to do to create long-term enterprise value, how branding and systems drive successful exits, and why clean accounting, process, and operational discipline matter if you want to sell a business. Benoy and Hervé also discuss how Sunvoy helps installers improve operations by bringing critical project and O&M data into one place, reducing time spent hunting for information and improving the customer experience. They also explore current solar industry trends, including the shift toward Third Party Ownership (“TPOs”) and leases, rising electricity prices as a driver of solar adoption, technology improvements in solar hardware and storage, and why installer-built software creates a real competitive advantage.   Biographies Benoy Thanjan Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy, solar developer and consulting firm, and a strategic advisor to multiple cleantech startups. Over his career, Benoy has developed over 100 MWs of solar projects across the U.S., helped launch the first residential solar tax equity funds at Tesla, and brokered $45 million in Renewable Energy Credits (“REC”) transactions. Prior to founding Reneu Energy, Benoy was the Environmental Commodities Trader in Tesla's Project Finance Group, where he managed one of the largest environmental commodities portfolios. He originated REC trades and co-developed a monetization and hedging strategy with senior leadership to enter the East Coast market. As Vice President at Vanguard Energy Partners, Benoy crafted project finance solutions for commercial-scale solar portfolios. His role at Ridgewood Renewable Power, a private equity fund with 125 MWs of U.S. renewable assets, involved evaluating investment opportunities and maximizing returns. He also played a key role in the sale of the firm's renewable portfolio. Earlier in his career, Benoy worked in Energy Structured Finance at Deloitte & Touche and Financial Advisory Services at Ernst & Young, following an internship on the trading floor at D.E. Shaw & Co., a multi billion dollar hedge fund. Benoy holds an MBA in Finance from Rutgers University and a BS in Finance and Economics from NYU Stern, where he was an Alumni Scholar. Hervé Billet As the CEO of Sunvoy, I'm committed to empowering solar businesses with innovative technology that streamlines operations and enhances customer experience. Sunvoy is the first white-label customer portal and fleet management app, built by solar installers for solar installers. Our platform simplifies the complexities of running a solar business, enabling companies to scale efficiently with seamless integration and effortless results. Sunvoy offers powerful tools to manage solar fleets, automate communication, and deliver an exceptional customer journey, helping companies thrive in an increasingly competitive market. Previously, I served as the CEO of Ipsun Solar, where we revolutionized the residential and commercial solar market by enabling customers to own their power, reduce their utility bills, and add value to their properties through clean, renewable energy. Ipsun Solar, a B-Corporation, was known for its commitment to sustainability, being part of the Amicus and Amicus O&M networks, and serving as a certified Tesla Powerwall installer. Before venturing into the solar industry, I worked at Accenture, where I consulted with Fortune 500 companies, U.S. Federal agencies, and large non-profits. My projects included: Calculating Greenhouse Gas emissions for the U.S. Department of Energy Headquarters. Business development for Accenture's Sustainability Services. Leading digital implementation teams for organizations like Goodwill Industries International. Providing strategic support to global institutions such as the IMF, World Bank, UNICEF, United Nations, and U.S. Department of Labor. At 21, I co-founded my first company, Solar Team, an initiative to showcase the power of solar energy through solar-powered vehicles. This early venture sparked my enduring passion for renewable energy and continues to inspire my work today.   Stay Connected: Benoy Thanjan Email: info@reneuenergy.com  LinkedIn: Benoy Thanjan Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com Website: https://www.solarmaverickpodcast.com/   Hervé Billet Website: https://sunvoy.com/  Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/hervebilliet/      Please provide 5 star reviews      If you enjoyed this episode, please rate, review and share the Solar Maverick Podcast so more people can learn how to accelerate the clean energy transition.    Reneu Energy Reneu Energy provides expert consulting across solar and storage project development, financing, energy strategy, and environmental commodities. Our team helps clients originate, structure, and execute opportunities in community solar, C&I, utility-scale, and renewable energy credit markets. Email us at info@reneuenergy.com to learn more.

Get InTouch with Terri! Terri Ross Website: Click Here Terri Ross Patreon: Business and Sales Mentorship 4S Summit Info: For more details, look up 4S Summit to understand its role in providing strategic business consulting in the aesthetics industry https://4ssummit.com/ Terri Ross is a renowned expert in the aesthetic industry, specializing in sales training, strategic growth consulting, and business transformation. As an accomplished author and international speaker, Terri has dedicated over two decades to elevating businesses in the aesthetic field with a ground-up approach focused on sustainability, profitability, and scalability. Her experience is rooted in working with Fortune 500 companies like Medicis and Zeltique, where she developed a deep understanding of market dynamics and strategic sales methodologies. Episode Notes: Terri Ross brings the heat on one of the biggest revenue leaks in medical aesthetics: selling single treatments instead of leading a structured, outcome-driven consultation. She explains why the consult is the only moment to build trust, uncover emotional motivation, create a phased plan, and increase conversion, retention, and lifetime value. 

What if honesty is the only sales strategy you ever needed? In this episode, Kevin sits down with Don Williams, founder of Don Williams Global and a sales and leadership coach with over 30 years of experience. Don works primarily with founder-led businesses under $100 million, helping them grow their top line fast. He started selling at 19, became the top rep out of 450 within months, and has since worked with more than half of the Fortune 500. His core belief has never changed: the foundation of all sales and leadership is trust, and the only way to build it is to be trustworthy. The relationship that transformed Don's life: a man he met in downtown Fort Worth at a meeting he knew was never going to close. Don was so impressed that before leaving he looked at the man and said, we are not doing business today, and I think that's the right thing. But I've only told a couple of people this in my life: you and I, someday, somehow, some way, we will work together and do great things. Two years later the man called. They spent nearly a decade doing significant work in the insurance industry, and at one point Don bought a house from his sight unseen simply because he trusted him completely. Their paths diverged, then reconnected again, and Don now expects them to be a near-household name in AI within the next 18 months. Twenty-five years, two business chapters, and a third just getting started.   [00:02:31] Noah Rosenfarb: The Introduction Behind This Episode Noah Rosenfarb introduced Kevin and Don, telling Don simply that Kevin has your vibe. Don says he and Kevin are like brothers from other mothers. Both agree it worked because Noah already had deep trust with each of them. [00:04:00] What Don Does: Helping Businesses Bring More Money in the Door Don spent 30 years with Fortune 500 companies before shifting to founder-led businesses. He helps clients raise their top line, which solves about half of all business problems. He took one client from the edge of bankruptcy to $1.5 million in 2025, projecting $5 million this year. [00:05:20] What Inspires Him: Helping People Who Help People Don describes himself as a giver whose mission is to help people who help other people. He only takes on work that feeds that personal mission. The bigger the ripple, the better. [00:08:00] Build the Best Team, Not a Team That Looks Like You Don used to hire people who thought and worked exactly like him, and says that was a mistake. The best teams have diverse viewpoints, thought patterns, and skill sets, like a football team. A leader's only two jobs are to cast the vision relentlessly and then go get the best people to make it real. [00:12:20] The Origin Story: A 19-Year-Old with a 67% Closing Rate Don dropped engineering when a part-time sales job out-earned his future degree. Within months he was the top rep out of 450 with a 67% closing rate, double the company average. He credits brutal honesty: people buy from someone who tells the truth. [00:15:57] The Foundational Principle: Be Trustworthy Don sold 17 houses in his first month in real estate, every one on the first visit. Trust is the foundational skill of all sales and leadership. Do what you say you will do and you will stand out. [00:17:40] The Google Stat Nobody Acts On The first vendor to speak with a customer wins the deal 71% of the time. If no one answers, they call the next business on the list. Answering the phone is one of the easiest ways to beat the competition. [00:19:00] The Client Results That Rock His World A client on the edge of bankruptcy closed 2025 at $1.5 million and is projecting $5 million this year. Don loves working with highly intelligent people who are sometimes low on emotional intelligence. All influence happens at the emotional level: the brain might veto something crazy, but the heart gets what the heart wants. [00:22:26] The Relationship That Changed Everything Don met a man at a meeting he knew would never close and told him they would work together someday. Two years later the man called, and they spent nearly a decade in the insurance industry together. Twenty-five years on they are building something in AI that Don expects to make them a near-household name. [00:24:40] The Business He Gave Away at 5 O'Clock Don opened a second business to support a sick friend, then gave the whole operation away when his friend passed. At 5 PM he told Dave it would be his at 5:01 or gone forever, and gave it away for free. Don buried Dave at the National Cemetery in Dallas this year and says no bank balance replaces relationships that mean something. [00:37:07] Final Thought: You Are Stronger Than You Think All success in life starts with how you see yourself. Your reality will follow your thoughts. His favorite quote, from Christopher Robin: you are far better, far smarter, and far stronger than you think.   KEY QUOTES "The foundational skill of all influence, whether it's leadership or sales, is trust. And if you want to build trust, be trustworthy. Do what you say you're gonna do. That will shock people, because they're not used to it." - Don Williams "Google stats say that the first potential vendor, the first potential service provider that speaks with the customer, wins the deal 71% of the time." - Don Williams "All your business success and all your awards and all those commas on your bank account won't make any difference if you don't like who you are and if you don't have relationships with people that mean something." - Don Williams CONNECT WITH DON WILLIAMS

Soooo… yeah it's been a whiiiiiile!!!! And times are tense, but I got facts to snack n chew! Got a lil treat at the end of the ep as well ;) Hope you enjoy! Shouts out ld850Beatz, RustyCold @Cold1Productions, S.a.m Fortune, Willie “@Fourtuneave”Grey n Mike ShiekStarr!!!!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/grigdaking-podcast--4717967/support.

Have you been pushing through work like you should be fine—while secretly feeling burned out, drained, or resentful? What if the fastest way back to “okay” isn't fixing it all… but finally allowing yourself to feel what's true?Why hard seasons at work are normal—and how dropping the “shouldn't feel this way” mindset helps you get back to baseline faster.How avoiding negative emotions often shows up as overworking, overcommitting, and people-pleasing—and why that keeps you stuck.A simple daily reset: a 10-minute timer practice (brain dump + name the emotion + notice body sensations) to process stress instead of carrying it.Enroll in BFG: Want to eliminate stress, self-doubt, and overworking to be more effective, feel better, and create sustainable success in your demanding corporate career? Schedule a free consult here to find out how you can get started in my Breaking Free from the Grind 1:1 coaching program.Take the 3-minute BFG quiz here to find out which mindset - Overachiever, Overthinker, People Pleaser, Impostor, or Perfectionist - is preventing you from creating sustainable success at work. Your results will reveal your biggest trap and how to break free for good. About AmeliaAmelia Noel is a Master Certified Coach, podcast host, corporate workshop facilitator, and creator of the Breaking Free from the Grind coaching program. After spending over a decade of her career working on Wall Street at a top investment bank and as a global strategy consultant to Fortune 100 companies, Amelia now helps professionals working demanding corporate careers eliminate stress, self-doubt, and overworking so they can break free from the grind and create sustainable success in their careers.Connect with Ameliawww.amelianoelcoaching.comIG: @breakingfreefromthegrindLinkedIn: Amelia Noel 

This week on the Franchise Your Business webinar series, we are joined by Glenn Livingston, Ph.D., founder of Defeat Your Cravings, LLC, and former CEO of a multi-million-dollar consulting firm serving Fortune 500 clients. His work has been featured in major media outlets, including The New York Times, The LA Times, and on ABC and CBS Radio.In this session, Dr. Livingston shares insights from decades of research on overeating and binge behavior, including a self-funded study with more than 40,000 participants. He explores why entrepreneurs often struggle with cravings, how weight-loss injections fit into long-term habit change, and practical tools to break craving cycles.This was a live recording on March 6, 2026 at approximately 1:00 PM Eastern USA.Ready to talk about franchising your business or help with your franchise efforts? Book a complimentary consultation with one of our consultants: https://bigskyfranchiseteam.com/consultation-routing/#callSubscribe to our other podcast: Multiply Your Success: https://www.multiplyyoursuccesspodcast.com/Subscribe to our other podcast: Franchise Your Business: https://open.spotify.com/show/7Ff8rTBR1Oykv4dIOOBdhnLearn more about our guest:https://www.defeatyourcravings.com/BlogMePlease/never-miss-an-episode-2/https://www.facebook.com/people/Defeat-Your-Cravings/61550719047966/https://x.com/DYCGlennhttps://www.instagram.com/defeatyourcravings/This episode is powered by Big Sky Franchise Team. Big Sky Franchise Team is consistently recognized as one of the best franchise consulting firms in the United States, helping business owners franchise their businesses through a proven 3-Step franchise process rooted in ethical principles, hands-on guidance, and customized deliverables. If you are ready to talk about franchising your business you can schedule your free, no-obligation, franchise consultation online at: https://bigskyfranchiseteam.com/. The information provided in this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered financial, legal, or professional advice. Always consult with a qualified professional before making any business decisions. The views and opinions expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the host, Big Sky Franchise Team, or our affiliates. Additionally, this podcast may feature sponsors or advertisers, but any mention of products or services does not constitute an endorsement. Please do your own research before making any purchasing or business decisions. References to external data sources, studies, statistics, or other third-party content are not claimed as our own unless explicitly stated. We do our best to provide proper credit and citation where due. If we unintentionally fail to cite or credit a source, please let us know, and we'll gladly...

This episode was sponsored by Cardiff & The Salty Truth Podcast   LightSpeed VT: https://www.lightspeedvt.com/ Dropping Bombs Podcast: https://www.droppingbombs.com/ Today's Dropping Bombs episode features Lindsay K. Foren, the Salt Lake City powerhouse who turned a rough start into a luxury real estate career and a growing media brand.   From teenage motherhood to closing $15 million in her first year of real estate, Lindsay refused to play victim—she built the life she wanted on her own terms. Now she's moving luxury properties, scaling an HVAC business with her husband, and launching the The Salty Truth Podcast to help women stop waiting and start executing.   Lindsay breaks down why your inner circle determines your income, how to use feminine power at any table, and why buying a business beats building one. Her "Salty Women of the Earth" movement is turning "someday" into "hell yes, today."   Nobody's coming to save you—that's the salty truth. Your next move starts now.  

SEG 12 Scoutmaster General and the Birth of Downing StreetDowning rose to Scoutmaster General, overseeing Scotland's administration while building a massive fortune through seized properties and the trade of war prisoners. (4)1669

In this episode of Scouting for Growth, Sabine VanderLinden welcomes industry veteran Karl Grandl, now of Miss Moneypenny Technologies, for a wide-ranging conversation on the real transformation underway in financial services and insurance.  Sabine VanderLinden sets the stage by emphasizing that digitization is no longer enough—true change means re-architecting operating models for velocity, intelligence, and trust at scale. Together, they explore the pitfalls of strategic complacency, the opportunities provided by European regulation, and the immense potential of intelligence layers and wallet technology to redefine how institutions interact with customers.  The discussion moves from strategic leadership to practical use cases—from frictionless onboarding and claims to agentic customer experiences—offering a roadmap for both incumbents and challenger firms looking to thrive in the era of real-time risk and embedded governance. KEY TAKEAWAYS Reflecting on my conversation with Karl Grandl, what became clear is that transformation in financial services isn't just about digitizing legacy systems—it's about fundamentally re-architecting the industry. For decades, institutions like banks and insurers were built for stability, but the pace of change and customer expectation today demands real-time, intelligent, and seamless experiences. Simply layering new digital tools over old processes leads to fragmentation, not progress. We're stepping into the era of frontier firms: organizations powered by intelligence, human-agent collaboration, and embedded governance. As Karl emphasized, automation by itself doesn't mean autonomy or intelligence. Instead, success hinges on evolving operating models and creating trust at scale. Regulatory changes, particularly in Europe—such as the EU AI Act and the introduction of digital identity wallets—are not burdens, but strategic advantages. They force discipline, drive infrastructure modernization, and create opportunities to offer frictionless experiences for 450 million citizens. Karl's insight into customer experience “activation layers” resonated deeply. True transformation is about orchestrating intelligent touchpoints so insurance feels invisible and effortless, yet highly trustworthy, especially at moments of service or claim. This approach preserves the value of brokers and advisors, enhancing their roles as strategic risk partners instead of replacing them. Finally, leadership, not technology, is at the heart of transformation. The ability to articulate a clear vision and quickly demonstrate value is what distinguishes the winners. Real-time governance, compliance by design, and empathetic human engagement are becoming essential to build—and keep—customer trust. The challenge for every executive now is not just to optimize yesterday's operations but to actively build tomorrow's intelligence layer. The frontier is being defined now, and it begins with a leadership mindset ready for structural redesign and velocity. BEST MOMENTS "Automation is not autonomy, efficiency is not intelligence, and digital channels without orchestration create digital fragmentation."  "European regulation is our unfair advantage. It's not just about discipline, it's about infrastructure."  "You have to evolve—from transaction intermediary into a strategic risk advisor, augmented by intelligence that handles routine so you can focus on relationships, empathy, and judgment."  "Governance is about to become the most strategic capability. When compliance agents and financial AI are embedded in every workflow, governance shifts from retrospective reporting to real-time intervention."  "The frontier firm is not defined by how much AI it deploys; it is defined by how intelligently it integrates risk, compliance, capital, and customer experience." — Sabine VanderLinden ABOUT THE GUEST Karl Grandl is often dubbed an “insurance dinosaur,” with over 30 years in the industry spanning Swiss Life, GetSafe, WeFox, and now Miss Moneypenny Technologies. His experience spans product development, distribution, and embedded insurance, as well as scaling tech-driven aggregators across markets.  At Miss Moneypenny, Karl is spearheading the integration of wallet technology and intelligence layers, focusing on frictionless customer interaction and embedding trust and compliance by design.  An advocate for regulation as a strategic advantage and transformation as a leadership imperative, Karl is a sought-after voice for both legacy insurers and challenger MGAs looking to build tomorrow's intelligence-driven operating models.  Connect with him via LinkedIn or at upcoming events such as InsurTech Week and InsurTech Insights in London. ABOUT THE HOST Sabine VanderLinden is a corporate strategist turned entrepreneur and the CEO of Alchemy Crew Ventures. She leads venture-client labs that help Fortune 500 companies adopt and scale cutting-edge technologies from global tech ventures. A builder of accelerators, investor, and co-editor of the bestseller The INSURTECH Book, Sabine is known for asking the uncomfortable questions—about AI governance, risk, and trust. On Scouting for Growth, she decodes how real growth happens—where capital, collaboration, and courage meet. If this episode sparked your thinking, follow Sabine VanderLinden on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram for more insights. And if you're interested in sponsoring the podcast, reach out to the team at hello@alchemycrew.ventures

Welcome to Exponential View, the show where I explore how exponential technologies such as AI are reshaping our future. I've been studying AI and exponential technologies at the frontier for over ten years. Each week, I share some of my analysis or speak with an expert guest to make light of a particular topic. To keep up with the Exponential transition, subscribe to this channel or to my newsletter: https://www.exponentialview.co/ ----- Meet R Mini Arnold - my OpenClaw chief of staff, which manages the equivalent of a ten-person team from a Mac mini in my garden studio. While I slept, that AI team debugged its own code at 3am, researched a trending Substack essay using five parallel investigators, and wrote a 4,600-word script for this very episode in 40 minutes. The gap between people who've started building this way and those who haven't is widening every week.  I covered: 00:51 Introducing my OpenClaw agent “R Mini Arnold” 03:59 What my AI chief of staff actually does 07:58 The hardware and software stack 10:38 A morning brief before you wake up 12:05 Overnight agents: research and code 15:00 How I communicate with my agent 18:56 Example 1: the sovereign wealth fund 22:41 Example 2: how this video was written 26:34 What it costs 29:22 The soul.md personality spec 32:39 Am I losing the judgment muscle? 35:46 Individuals vs. Fortune 500s 38:25 What to try this week ----- Where to find me: Exponential View newsletter: https://www.exponentialview.co/ Website: https://www.azeemazhar.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/azhar/ Twitter/X: https://x.com/azeem Production by EPIIPLUS1 Production and research: Baba Films, Chantal Smith, Marija Gavrilov. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Rejection is one of the biggest confidence killers in sales—but it doesn't have to be. In this episode, Ray Higdon explains how to stay confident after rejection and why most salespeople take rejection far too personally. The truth is, rejection is not a sign that you are failing—it is a normal part of growth, success, and mastery. Ray shares powerful perspective shifts that instantly remove the emotional sting of rejection, including why top authors, actors, and entrepreneurs faced massive rejection before succeeding. You will also learn how detaching from outcomes, focusing on activity, and reframing rejection as progress can dramatically increase your confidence and consistency. —  

Compliance and regulatory reporting used to mean endless spreadsheets, fragmented data sources, and teams drowning in manual work. Today, AI is transforming how the world's largest companies manage financial reporting, sustainability disclosures, and audit workflows—not by replacing humans, but by giving them time back to do strategic work. In this episode of IT Visionaries, host Chris Brandt sits down with Kim Huffman, CIO of Workiva, the platform used by 85% of the Fortune 100 for critical financial and compliance reporting. Kim shares her unique perspective as both a former Workiva customer and now the CIO steering the company into an AI-powered future. They explore how the office of the CFO is evolving under pressure from new sustainability regulations, how AI governance actually works in practice, and why collaboration between IT, finance, sustainability, and risk teams has become essential. Kim also discusses the changing role of the CIO, the coming wave of autonomous agents in the workplace, and why having more data doesn't always mean making better decisions.   Key Moments: 00:58 – The State of Compliance Today 02:18 – Why Standards and Regulations Matter 05:48 – The Complexity of Global Compliance 07:36 – Data Collection Across Teams 08:36 – Single Source of Truth 10:20 – The Sustainability Data Challenge 13:36 – The Endless Spreadsheet Problem 16:12 – What's Driving the CFO Office 19:46 – AI's Strategic Role at Workiva 23:02 – Beyond Repetitive Tasks 25:20 – Transforming How Teams Work 27:03 – Will AI Replace Jobs or Create Capacity? 30:00 – Measuring AI's Business Impact 33:06 – Speed vs. Data Overload 36:25 – The Evolving Role of the CIO 40:00 – Technology Leadership in Transition 43:09 – The Next Five Years for CIOs 46:14 – Managing the Coming Wave of AI Agents 50:02 – AI Will Create Its Own Security Industry 52:26 – The Sustainability Reporting Reality 55:31 – Resource Constraints and AI Consumption 57:34 – Why ESG Data Is Now Critical Business Intelligence 59:23 – Keeping NPS High While Innovating   -- This episode of IT Visionaries is brought to you by Meter - the company building better networks. Businesses today are frustrated with outdated providers, rigid pricing, and fragmented tools. Meter changes that with a single integrated solution that covers everything wired, wireless, and even cellular networking. They design the hardware, write the firmware, build the software, and manage it all so your team doesn't have to.That means you get fast, secure, and scalable connectivity without the complexity of juggling multiple providers. Thanks to meter for sponsoring. Go to meter.com/itv to book a demo.---IT Visionaries is made by the team at Mission.org. Learn more about our media studio and network of podcasts at mission.org. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Demolish Your Comfort Zones This week on A New Direction, Coach Jay Izso welcomes elite performer and Fortune 500 coach Art Turock to discuss his transformative book, Demolish Your Comfort Zones. We aren’t just talking about “stepping outside” of where you feel safe; we are talking about a total demolition. Art argues that conventional self-improvement tools like basic goal setting and time management are often “watered down” to fit within our existing comfort zones, making them effective for modest gains but useless for bold breakthroughs. If you feel like you've been “trying hard” but staying stuck, it's likely because you've unknowingly prioritized short-term comfort over long-term results. Art will reveal how comfort zones act as a ceiling on your potential, killing more dreams than failure ever could. During the show, we will dive into the “Colossal Deception”—the internal rationalizations we use to avoid the discomfort necessary for growth. By shifting from mere “interest” to “no matter what” commitment, you can begin to dismantle the barriers that keep you from your absolute best effort. This conversation is designed to disturb your current mindset and replace it with extreme accountability, ensuring your comfort zones no longer dictate the boundaries of your success. To truly crush your hidden limitations, you must be willing to pay the “price of freedom,” which is temporary discomfort. Art’s approach is born from over 1,200 self-experiments and his own journey as a championship sprinter who began at age 55. We will explore how to identify the “Guy/Gal on the Couch”—that voice in your head advocating for “reasonableness”—and how to use tools like the Freedom Log to rehearse the mindset shifts needed to stay ahead of your comfort zones every single day. Whether you are a business leader, an athlete, or someone looking to reignite a personal passion, this episode will provide the 90-day blueprint you need to stop negotiating with bad habits. Join Coach Jay and Art Turock as they teach you how to live a life where your comfort zones simply cannot survive. It's time to stop dreaming and start achieving by learning to embrace the very situations you've been trained to avoid. And for all my A New Direction listeners here is your link to a FREE complimentary coaching call with Art. Coaching – Art Turock Art Turock’s book, “Demolish Your Comfort Zones: 6 Unconventional Practices to Crush Your Hidden Limitations” is a book that is not for the faint of heart.  Let’s be honest with each other, change is difficult.  To change ourselves is even more demanding.  It requires not just a change in behavior, but a change in mindset. So often we think and act in a “victim” mindset.  We don’t even realize the words that we use on a daily basis actually have us thinking that we have no control over our life, change, or being better.  We don’t’ even know that we have stopped ourselves before we have even tried. But what is even more daunting for many of us is the idea of what it will take to make change. And that’s the point of Demolish Your Comfort Zones.  It is going to take work.  It is going to take time.  It is going to take consistency.  It is going to take practice, and ultimately it is going to take discipline.  But if we will do the work we experience freedom! What you and I do not realize is that we have set up our own prisons, from a combination of nature and nurture. We have allowed ourselves to simply go with the status quo.  Say it is good enough.  And for most of us we never pursue, or worse yet have given up on our dreams. Demolish Your Comfort Zones, challenges our notions of success, improvement, and high performance.  The 6 Keys that Art Turock lays out, if we will do them, will change any doubts and fears we have about success. This is a book filled with practical wise guidance.  It is a book that will be a life changer for those who have the courage to take it on.  The book is fantastic!  Isn’t it time you should live your best free life?  Then this book is for you! Get your copy by clicking “Demolish Your Comfort Zones“. Please say thank you to the sponsors of A New Direction: DLinda Craft Team, Realtors, for more than 40 years they have been helping people with their home buying and selling needs around the world. Their customers call them the “Legends of Customer Service”…why? Because Linda Craft and her team believe that the relationship is the most important part of the home buying and selling process. Because after all your home is about your memories not the bricks and mortar.  Learn more by going to www.LindaCraft.com Here is the truth: You tune into A New Direction because you want to grow. But consuming content and executing strategy are two different things. If you are leading a company between $5M and $50M and you feel like you are hitting a ceiling, the problem isn't a lack of information. It's likely a “human” bottleneck. I am Coach Jay, a Behavioral Strategist who specializes in fixing the friction that kills profit. I don't just look at your P&L; I look at the psychology of the people driving it. I recently helped a stalled mid-market firm save $3 Million and secure new capital—not by firing people, but by realigning their behavior. Stop guessing. Let's find the millions trapped in your org chart. Reach out for a discreet conversation: 919-369-2121 or visit TheCoachJay.com.

The reception to our recent post on Code Reviews has been strong. Catch up!Amid a maelstrom of discussion on whether or not AI is killing SaaS, one of the top publicly listed SaaS companies in the world has just reported record revenues, clearing well over $1.1B in ARR for the first time with a 28% margin. As we comment on the pod, Aaron Levie is the rare public company CEO equally at home in both worlds of Silicon Valley and Wall Street/Main Street, by day helping 70% of the Fortune 500 with their Enterprise Advanced Suite, and yet by night is often found in the basements of early startups and tweeting viral insights about the future of agents.Now that both Cursor, Cloudflare, Perplexity, Anthropic and more have made Filesystems and Sandboxes and various forms of “Just Give the Agent a Box” cool (not just cool; it is now one of the single hottest areas in AI infrastructure growing 100% MoM), we find it a delightfully appropriate time to do the episode with the OG CEO who has been giving humans and computers Boxes since he was a college dropout pitching VCs at a Michael Arrington house party.Enjoy our special pod, with fan favorite returning guest/guest cohost Jeff Huber!Note: We didn't directly discuss the AI vs SaaS debate - Aaron has done many, many, many other podcasts on that, and you should read his definitive essay on it. Most commentators do not understand SaaS businesses because they have never scaled one themselves, and deeply reflected on what the true value proposition of SaaS is.We also discuss Your Company is a Filesystem:We also shoutout CTO Ben Kus' and the AI team, who talked about the technical architecture and will return for AIE WF 2026.Full Video EpisodeTimestamps* 00:00 Adapting Work for Agents* 01:29 Why Every Agent Needs a Box* 04:38 Agent Governance and Identity* 11:28 Why Coding Agents Took Off First* 21:42 Context Engineering and Search Limits* 31:29 Inside Agent Evals* 33:23 Industries and Datasets* 35:22 Building the Agent Team* 38:50 Read Write Agent Workflows* 41:54 Docs Graphs and Founder Mode* 55:38 Token FOMO Culture* 56:31 Production Function Secrets* 01:01:08 Film Roots to Box* 01:03:38 AI Future of Movies* 01:06:47 Media DevRel and EngineeringTranscriptAdapting Work for AgentsAaron Levie: Like you don't write code, you talk to an agent and it goes and does it for you, and you may be at best review it. That's even probably like, like largely not even what you're doing. What's happening is we are changing our work to make the agents effective. In that model, the agent didn't really adapt to how we work.We basically adapted to how the agent works. All of the economy has to go through that exact same evolution. Right now, it's a huge asset and an advantage for the teams that do it early and that are kinda wired into doing this ‘cause you'll see compounding returns. But that's just gonna take a while for most companies to actually go and get this deployed.swyx: Welcome to the Lane Space Pod. We're back in the chroma studio with uh, chroma, CEO, Jeff Hoover. Welcome returning guest now guest host.Aaron Levie: It's a pleasure. Wow. How'd you get upgraded to, uh, to that?swyx: Because he's like the perfect guy to be guest those for you.Aaron Levie: That makes sense actually, for We love context. We, we both really love context le we really do.We really do.swyx: Uh, and we're here with, uh, Aaron Levy. Welcome.Aaron Levie: Thank you. Good to, uh, good to be [00:01:00] here.swyx: Uh, yeah. So we've all met offline and like chatted a little bit, but like, it's always nice to get these things in person and conversation. Yeah. You just started off with so much energy. You're, you're super excited about agents.I loveAaron Levie: agents.swyx: Yeah. Open claw. Just got by, got bought by OpenAI. No, not bought, but you know, you know what I mean?Aaron Levie: Some, some, you know, acquihire. Executiveswyx: hire.Aaron Levie: Executive hire. Okay. Executive hire. Say,swyx: hey, that's my term. Okay. Um, what are you pounding the table on on agents? You have so many insightful tweets.Why Every Agent Needs a BoxAaron Levie: Well, the thing that, that we get super excited by that I think is probably, you know, should be relatively obvious is we've, we've built a platform to help enterprises manage their files and their, their corporate files and the permissions of who has access to those files and the sharing collaboration of those files.All of those files contain really, really important information for the enterprise. It might have your contracts, it might have your research materials, it might have marketing information, it might have your memos. All that data obviously has, you know, predominantly been used by humans. [00:02:00] But there's been one really interesting problem, which is that, you know, humans only really work with their files during an active engagement with them, and they kind of go away and you don't really see them for a long time.And all of a sudden, uh, with the power of AI and AI agents, all of that data becomes extremely relevant as this ongoing source of, of answers to new questions of data that will transform into, into something else that, that produces value in your organization. It, it contains the answer to the new employee that's onboarding, that needs to ramp up on a project.Um, it contains the answer to the right thing to sell a customer when you're having a conversation to them, with them contains the roadmap information that's gonna produce the next feature. So all that data. That previously we've been just sort of storing and, and you know, occasionally forgetting about, ‘cause we're only working on the new active stuff.All of that information becomes valuable to the enterprise and it's gonna become extremely valuable to end users because now they can have agents go find what they're looking for and produce new, new [00:03:00] value and new data on that information. And it's gonna become incredibly valuable to agents because agents can roam around and do a bunch of work and they're gonna need access to that data as well.And um, and you know, sometimes that will be an agent that is sort of working on behalf of, of, of you and, and effectively as you as and, and they are kind of accessing all of the same information that you have access to and, and operating as you in the system. And then sometimes there's gonna be agents that are just.Effectively autonomous and kind of run on their own and, and you're gonna collaborate and work with them kind of like you did another person. Open Claw being the most recent and maybe first real sort of, you know, kind of, you know, up updating everybody's, you know, views of this landscape version of, of what that could look like, which is, okay, I have an agent.It's on its own system, it's on its own computer, it has access to its own tools. I probably don't give it access to my entire life. I probably communicate with it like I would an assistant or a colleague and then it, it sort of has this sandbox environment. So all of that has massive implications for a platform that manage that [00:04:00] enterprise data.We think it's gonna just transform how we work with all of the enterprise content that we work with, and we just have to make sure we're building the right platform to support that.swyx: The sort of shorthand I put it is as people build agents, everybody's just realizing that every agent needs a box. Yes.And it's nice to be called box and just give everyone a box.Aaron Levie: Hey, I if I, you know, if we can make that go viral, uh, like I, I think that that terminology, I, that's theswyx: tagline. Every agentAaron Levie: needs a box. Every agent needs a box. If we can make that the headline of this, I'm fine with this. And that's the billboard I wanna like Yeah, exactly.Every agent needs a box. Um, I like it. Can we ship this? Like,swyx: okay, let's do it. Yeah.Aaron Levie: Uh, my work here is done and I got the value I needed outta this podcast Drinks.swyx: Yeah.Agent Governance and IdentityAaron Levie: But, but, um, but, but, you know, so the thing that we, we kind of think about is, um, is, you know, whether you think the number 10 x or a hundred x or whatever the number is, we're gonna have some order of magnitude more agents than people.That's inevitable. It has to happen. So then the question is, what is the infrastructure that's needed to make all those agents effective in the enterprise? Make sure that they are well governed. Make sure they're only doing [00:05:00] safe things on your information. Make sure that they're not getting exposed. The data that they shouldn't have access to.There's gonna be just incredibly spectacularly crazy security incidents that will happen with agents because you'll prompt, inject an agent and sort of find your way through the CRM system and pull out data that you shouldn't have access to. Oh, weJeff Huber: have God,Aaron Levie: right? I mean, that's just gonna happen all over the place, right?So, so then the thing is, is how do you make sure you have the right security, the permissions, the access controls, the data governance. Um, we actually don't yet exactly know in many cases how we're gonna regulate some of these agents, right? If you think about an agent in financial services, does it have the exact same financial sort of, uh, requirements that a human did?Or is it, is the risk fully on the human that was interacting or created the agent? All open questions, but no matter what, there's gonna need to be a layer that manages the, the data they have access to, the workflows that they're involved in, pulling up data from multiple systems. This is the new infrastructure opportunity in the era of agents.swyx: You have a piece on agent identities, [00:06:00] which I think was today, um, which I think a lot of breaking news, the security, security people are talking about, right? Like you basically, I, I always think of this as like, well you need the human you and then there you need the agent. YouAaron Levie: Yes.swyx: And uh, well, I don't know if it's that simple, but is box going to have an opinion on that or you're just gonna be like, well we're just the sort of the, the source layer.Yeah. Let's Okta of zero handle that.Aaron Levie: I think we're gonna have an opinion and we will work with generally wherever the contours of the market end up. Um, and the reason that we're gonna have an opinion more than other topics probably is because one of the biggest use cases for why your agent might need it, an identity is for file system access.So thus we have to kind of think about this pretty deeply. And I think, uh, unless you're like in our world thinking about this particular problem all day long, it might be, you know, like, why is this such a big deal? And the reason why it's a really big deal is because sometimes sort of say, well just give the agent an, an account on the system and it just treats, treat it like every other type of user on the system.The [00:07:00] problem is, is that I as Aaron don't really have any responsibility over anybody else's box account in our organization. I can't see the box account of any other employee that I work with. I am not liable for anything that they do. And they have, I have, I have, you know, strict privacy requirements on everything that they're able to, you know, that, that, that they work on.Agents don't have that, you know, don't have those properties. The person who creates the agent probably is gonna, for the foreseeable future, take on a lot of the liability of what that agent does. That agent doesn't deserve any privacy because, because it's, you know, it can't fully be autonomously operated and it doesn't have any legal, you know, kind of, you know, responsibility.So thus you can't just be like, oh, well I'll just create a bunch of accounts and then I'll, I'll kind of work with that agent and I'll talk to it occasionally. Like you need oversight of that. And so then the question is, how do you have a world where the agent, sometimes you have oversight of, but what if that agent goes and works with other people?That person over there is collaborating with the agent on something you shouldn't have [00:08:00] access to what they're doing. So we have all of these new boundaries that we're gonna have to figure out of, of, you know, it's really, really easy. So far we've been in, in easy mode. We've hit the easy button with ai, which is the agent just is you.And when you're in quad code and you're in cursor, and you're in Codex, you're just, the agent is you. You're offing into your services. It can do everything you can do. That's the easy mode. The hard mode is agents are kind of running on their own. People check in with them occasionally, they're doing things autonomously.How do you give them access to resources in the enterprise and not dramatically increased the security risk and the risk that you might expose the wrong thing to somebody. These are all the new problems that we have to get solved. I like the identity layer and, and identity vendors as being a solution to that, but we'll, we'll need some opinions as well because so many of the use cases are these collaborative file system use cases, which is how do I give it an agent, a subset of my data?Give it its own workspace as well. ‘cause it's gonna need to store off its own information that would be relevant for it. And how do I have the right oversight into that? [00:09:00]Jeff Huber: One thing, which, um, I think is kind interesting, think about is that you know, how humans work, right? Like I may not also just like give you access to the whole file.I might like sit next to you and like scroll to this like one part of the file and just show you that like one part and like, you know,swyx: partial file access.Jeff Huber: I'm just saying I think like our, like RA does seem to be dead, right? Like you wanna say something is dead uhhuh probably RA is dead. And uh, like the auth story to me seems like incredibly unsolved and unaddressed by like the existing state of like AI vendors.ButAaron Levie: yeah, I think, um, we're, I mean you're taking obviously really to level limit that we probably need to solve for. Yeah. And we built an access control system that was, was kind of like, you know, its own little world for, for a long time. And um, and the idea was this, it's a many to many collaboration system where I can give you any part of the file system.And it's a waterfall model. So if I give you higher up in the, in the, in the system, you get everything below. And that, that kind of created immense flexibility because I can kind of point you to any layer in the, in the tree, but then you're gonna get access to everything kind of below it. And that [00:10:00] mostly is, is working in this, in this world.But you do have to manage this issue, which is how do I create an agent that has access to some of my stuff and somebody else's stuff as well. Mm-hmm. And which parts do I get to look at as the creator of the agent? And, and these are just brand new problems? Yeah. Crazy. And humans, when there was a human there that was really easy to do.Like, like if the three of us were all sharing, there'd be a Venn diagram where we'd have an overlapping set of things we've shared, but then we'd have our own ways that we shared with each other. In an agent world, somebody needs to take responsibility for what that agent has access to and what they're working on.These are like the, some of the most probably, you know, boring problems for 98% of people on, on the internet, but they will be the problems that are the difference between can you actually have autonomous agents in an enterprise contextswyx: Yeah.Aaron Levie: That are not leaking your data constantly.swyx: No. Like, I mean, you know, I run a very, very small company for my conference and like we already have data sensitivity issues.Yes. And some of my team members cannot see Yes. Uh, the others and like, I can't imagine what it's like to run a Fortune 500 and like, you have to [00:11:00] worry about this. I'm just kinda curious, like you, you talked to a lot like, like 70, 80% of your cus uh, of the Fortune 500, your customers.Aaron Levie: Yep. 67%. Just so we're being verySEswyx: precise.So Yeah. I'm notAaron Levie: Okay. Okay.swyx: Something I'm rounding up. Yes. Round up. I'm projecting to, forAaron Levie: the government.swyx: I'm projecting to the end of the year.Aaron Levie: Okay.swyx: There you go.Aaron Levie: You do make it sound like, like we, we, well we've gotta be on this. Like we're, we're taking way too long to get to 80%. Well,swyx: no, I mean, so like. How are they approaching it?Right? Because you're, you don't have a, you don't have a final answer yet.Why Coding Agents Took Off FirstAaron Levie: Well, okay, so, so this is actually, this is the stark reality that like, unfortunately is the kinda like pouring the water on the party a little bit.swyx: Yes.Aaron Levie: We all in Silicon Valley are like, have the absolute best conditions possible for AI ever.And I think we all saw the dke, you know, kind of Dario podcast and this idea of AI coding. Why is that taken off? And, and we're not yet fully seeing it everywhere else. Well, look, if you just like enumerated the list of properties that AI coding has and then compared it to other [00:12:00] knowledge work, let's just, let's just go through a few of them.Generally speaking, you bring on a new engineer, they have access to a large swath of the code base. Like, there's like very, like you, just, like new engineer comes on, they can just go and find the, the, the stuff that they, they need to work with. It's a fully text in text out. Medium. It's only, it's just gonna be text at the end of the day.So it's like really great from a, from just a, uh, you know, kinda what the agent can work with. Obviously the models are super trained on that dataset. The labs themselves have a really strong, kind of self-reinforcing positive flywheel of why they need to do, you know, agent coding deeply. So then you get just better tooling, better services.The actual developers of the AI are daily users of the, of the thing that they're we're working on versus like the, you know, probably there's only like seven Claude Cowork legal plugin users at Anthropic any given day, but there's like a couple thousand Claude code and you know, users every single day.So just like, think about which one are they getting more feedback on. All day long. So you just go through this list. You have a, you know, everybody who's a [00:13:00] developer by definition is technical so they can go install the latest thing. We're all generally online, or at least, you know, kinda the weird ones are, and we're all talking to each other, sharing best practices, like that's like already eight differences.Versus the rest of the economy. Every other part of the economy has like, like six to seven headwinds relative to that list. You go into a company, you're a banker in financial services, you have access to like a, a tiny little subset of the total data that's gonna be relevant to do your job. And you're have to start to go and talk to a bunch of people to get the right data to do your job because Sally didn't add you to that deal room, you know, folder.And that that, you know, the information is actually in a completely different organization that you now have to go in and, and sort of run into. And it's like you have this endless list of access controls and security. As, as you talked about, you have a medium, which is not, it's not just text, right? You have, you have a zoom call that, that you're getting all of the requirements from the customer.You have a lot of in-person conversations and you're doing in-person sales and like how do you ever [00:14:00] digitize all of that information? Um, you know, I think a lot of people got upset with this idea that the code base has all the context, um, that I don't know if you follow, you know, did you follow some of that conversation that that went viral?Is like, you know, it's not that simple that, that the code base doesn't have all the knowledge, but like it's a lot, you're a lot better off than you are with other areas of knowledge work. Like you, we like, we like have documentation practices, you write specifications. Those things don't exist for like 80% of work that happens in the enterprise.That's the divide that we have, which is, which is AI coding has, has just fully, you know, where we've reached escape velocity of how powerful this stuff is, and then we're gonna have to find a way to bring that same energy and momentum, but to all these other areas of knowledge work. Where the tools aren't there, the data's not set up to be there.The access controls don't make it that easy. The context engineering is an incredibly hard problem because again, you have access control challenges, you have different data formats. You have end users that are gonna need to kind of be kind of trained through this as opposed to their adopting [00:15:00] these tools in their free time.That's where the Fortune 500 is. And so we, I think, you know, have to be prepared as an industry where we are gonna be on a multi-year march to, to be able to bring agents to the enterprise for these workflows. And I think probably the, the thing that we've learned most in coding that, that the rest of the world is not yet, I think ready for, I mean, we're, they'll, they'll have to be ready for it because it's just gonna inevitably happen is I think in coding.What, what's interesting is if you think about the practice of coding today versus two years ago. It's probably the most changed workflow in maybe the history of time from the amount of time it's changed, right? Yeah. Like, like has any, has any workflow in the entire economy changed that quickly in terms of the amount of change?I just, you know, at least in any knowledge worker workflow, there's like very rarely been an event where one piece of technology and work practice has so fundamentally, you know, changed, changed what you do. Like you don't write code, you talk to an agent and it goes and [00:16:00] does it for you, and you may be at best review it.And even that's even probably like, like largely not even what you're doing. What's happening is we are changing our work to make the agents effective. In that model, the agent didn't really adapt to how we work. We basically adapted to how the agent works. Mm-hmm. All of the economy has to go through that exact same evolution.The rest of the economy is gonna have to update its workflows to make agents effective. And to give agents the context that they need and to actually figure out what kind of prompting works and to figure out how do you ensure that the agent has the right access to information to be able to execute on its work.I, you know, this is not the panacea that people were hoping for, of the agent drops in, just automates your life. Like you have to basically re-engineer your workflow to get the most out of agents and, uh, and that, that's just gonna take, you know, multiple years across the economy. Right now it's a huge asset and an advantage for the teams that do it early and that are kinda wired into doing this.‘cause [00:17:00] you'll see compounding returns, but that's just gonna take a while for most companies to actually go and get this deployed.swyx: I love, I love pushing back. I think that. That is what a lot of technology consultants love to hear this sort of thing, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. First to, to embrace the ai. Yes. To get to the promised land, you must pay me so much money to a hundred percent to adopt the prescribed way of, uh, conforming to the agents.Yes. And I worry that you will be eclipsed by someone else who says, no, come as you are.Aaron Levie: Yeah.swyx: And we'll meet you where you are.Aaron Levie: And, and, and and what was the thing that went viral a week ago? OpenAI probably, uh, is hiring F Dees. Yeah. Uh, to go into the enterprise. Yeah. Yeah. And then philanthropic is embedded at Goldman Sachs.Yeah. So if the labs are having to do this, if, if the labs have decided that they need to hire FDE and professional services, then I think that's a pretty clear indication that this, there's no easy mode of workflow transformation. Yeah. Yeah. So, so to your point, I think actually this is a market opportunity for, you know, new professional services and consulting [00:18:00] firms that are like Agent Build and they, and they kind of, you know, go into organizations and they figure out how to re-engineer your workflows to make them more agent ready and get your data into the right format and, you know, reconstruct your business process.So you're, you're not doing most of the work. You're telling agents how to do the work and then you're reviewing it. But I haven't seen the thing that can just drop in and, and kinda let you not go through those changes.swyx: I don't know how that kind of sales pitch goes over. Yeah. You know, you're, you're saying things like, well, in my sort of nice beautiful walled garden, here's, there's, uh, because here's this, here's this beautiful box account that has everything.Yes. And I'm like, well, most, most real life is extremely messy. Sure. And like, poorly named and there duplicate this outdated s**tAaron Levie: a hundred percent. And so No, no, a hundred percent. And so this is actually No. So, so this is, I mean, we agree that, that getting to the beautiful garden is gonna be tough.swyx: Yeah.Aaron Levie: There's also the other end of the spectrum where I, I just like, it's a technical impossibility to solve. The agent is, is truly cannot get enough context to make the right decision in, in the, in the incredibly messy land. Like there's [00:19:00] no a GI that will solve that. So, so we're gonna have to kind of land in somewhere in between, which is like we all collectively get better at.Documentation practices and, and having authoritative relatively up-to-date information and putting it in the right place like agents will, will certainly cause us to be much better organized around how we work with our information, simply because the severity of the agent pulling the wrong data will be too high and the productivity gain of that you'll miss out on by not doing this will be too high as well, that you, that your competition will just do it and they'll just have higher velocity.So, uh, and, and we, we see this a lot firsthand. So we, we build a series of agents internally that they can kind of have access to your full box account and go off and you give it a task and it can go find whatever information you're looking for and work with. And, you know, thank God for the model progress, but like, if, if you gave that task to an agent.Nine months ago, you're just gonna get lots of bogus answers because it's gonna, it's gonna say, Hey, here's, here are fi [00:20:00] five, you know, documents that all kind of smell like the right thing. And I'm gonna, but I, but you're, you're putting me on the clock. ‘cause my assistant prompt says like, you know, be pretty smart, but also try and respond to the user and it's gonna respond.And it's like, ah, it got the wrong document. And then you do that once or twice as a knowledge worker and you're just neverswyx: again,Aaron Levie: never again. You're just like done with the system.swyx: Yeah. It doesn't work.Aaron Levie: It doesn't work. And so, you know, Opus four six and Gemini three one Pro and you know, whatever the latest five 3G BT will be, like, those things are getting better and better and it's using better judgment.And this sort of like the, all of these updates to the agentic tool and search systems are, are, we're seeing, we're seeing very real progress where the agent. Kind of can, can almost smell some things a little bit fishy when it's getting, you know, we, we have this process where we, we have it go fan out, do a bunch of searches, pull up a bunch of data, and then it has to sort of do its own ranking of, you know, what are the right documents that, that it should be working with.And again, like, you know, the intelligence level of a model six months ago, [00:21:00] it'd be just throwing a dart at like, I'm just, I'm gonna grab these seven files and I, I pray, I hope that that's the right answer. And something like an opus first four five, and now four six is like, oh, it's like, no, that one doesn't seem right relative to this question because I'm seeing some signal that is making that, you know, that's contradicting the document where it would normally be in the tree and who should have access.Like it's doing all of that kind of work for you. But like, it still doesn't work if you just have a total wasteland of data. Like, it's just not, it's just not possible. Partly ‘cause a human wouldn't even be able to do it. So basically if a, if a really, really smart human. Could not do that task in five or 10 minutes for a search retrieval type task.Look, you know, your agent's not gonna be able to do it any better. You see this all day long. SoContext Engineering and Search Limitsswyx: this touches on a thing that just passionate about it was just context engineering. I, I'm just gonna let you ramble or riff on, on context engineering. If, if, if there's anything like he, he did really good work on context fraud, which has really taken over as like the term that people use and the referenceAaron Levie: a hundred percent.We, we all we think about is, is the context rob problem. [00:22:00]Jeff Huber: Yeah, there's certainly a lot of like ranking considerations. Gentech surgery think is incredibly promising. Um, yeah, I was trying to generate a question though. I think I have a question right now. Swyx.Aaron Levie: Yeah, no, but like, like I think there was this moment, um, you know, like, I don't know, two years ago before, before we knew like where the, the gotchas were gonna be in ai and I think someone was like, was like, well, infinite context windows will just solve all of these problems and ‘cause you'll just, you'll just give the context window like all the data and.It's just like, okay, I mean, maybe in 2035, like this is a viable solution. First of all, it, it would just, it would just simply cost too much. Like we just can't give the model like the 5,000 documents that might be relevant and it's gonna read them all. And I've seen enough to, to start believing in crazy stuff.So like, I'm willing to just say, sure. Like in, in 10 years from now,swyx: never say, never, never.Aaron Levie: In, in 10 years from now, we'll have infinite context windows at, at a thousandth of the price of today. Like, let's just like believe that that's possible, but Right. We're in reality today. So today we have a context engineering [00:23:00] problem, which is, I got, I got, you know, 200,000 tokens that I can work with, or prob, I don't even know what the latest graph is before, like massive degradation.16. Okay. I have 60,000 tokens that I get to work with where I'm gonna get accurate information. That's not a lot of tokens for a corpus of 10 million documents that a knowledge worker might have across all of the teams and all the projects and all the people they work with. I have, I have 10 million documents.Which, you know, maybe is times five pages per document or something like that. I'm at 50 million pages of information and I have 60,000 tokens. Like, holy s**t. Yeah. This is like, how do I bridge the 50 million pages of information with, you know, the couple hundred that I get to work with in that, in that token window.Yeah. This is like, this is like such an interesting problem and that's why actually so much work is actually like, just like search systems and the databases and that layer has to just get so locked in, but models getting better and importantly [00:24:00] knowing when they've done a search, they found the wrong thing, they go back, they check their work, they, they find a way to balance sort of appeasing the user versus double checking.We have this one, we have this one test case where we ask the agent to go find. 10 pieces of information.swyx: Is this the complex work eval?Aaron Levie: Uh, this is actually not in the eval. This is, this is sort of just like we have a bunch of different, we have a bunch of internal benchmark kind of scenarios. Every time we, we update our agent, we have one, which is, I ask it to find all of our office addresses, and I give it the list of 10 offices that we have.And there's not one document that has this, maybe there should be, that would be a great example of the kind of thing that like maybe over time companies start to, you know, have these sort of like, what are the canonical, you know, kind of key areas of knowledge that we need to have. We don't seem to have this one document that says, here are all of our offices.We have a bunch of documents that have like, here's the New York office and whatever. So you task this agent and you, you get, you say, I need the addresses for these 10 offices. Okay. And by the way, if you do this on any, you know, [00:25:00] public chat model, the same outcome is gonna happen. But for a different kind of query, you give it, you say, I need these 10 addresses.How many times should the agent go and do its search before it decides whether or not, there's just no answer to this question. Often, and especially the, the, let's say lower tier models, it'll come back and it'll give you six of the 10 addresses. And it'll, and I'll just say I couldn't find the otherswyx: four.It, it doesn't know what It doesn't know. ItAaron Levie: doesn't know what It doesn't know. Yeah. So the model is just like, like when should it stop? When should it stop doing? Like should it, should it do that task for literally an hour and just keep cranking through? Maybe I actually made up an office location and it doesn't know that I made it up and I didn't even know that I made it up.Like, should it just keep, re should it read every single file in your entire box account until it, until it should exhaust every single piece of information.swyx: Expensive.Aaron Levie: These are the new problems that we have. So, you know, something like, let's say a new opus model is sort of like, okay, I'm gonna try these types of queries.I didn't get exactly what I wanted. I'm gonna try again. I'm gonna, at [00:26:00] some point I'm gonna stop searching. ‘cause I've determined that that no amount of searching is gonna solve this problem. I'm just not able to do it. And that judgment is like a really new thing that the model needs to be able to have.It's like, when should it give up on a task? ‘cause, ‘cause you just don't, it's a can't find the thing. That's the real world of knowledge, work problems. And this is the stuff that the coding agents don't have to deal with. Because they, it just doesn't like, like you're not usually asking it about, you're, you're always creating net new information coming right outta the model for the most part.Obviously it has to know about your code base and your specs and your documentation, but, but when you deploy an agent on all of your data that now you have all of these new problems that you're dealing withJeff Huber: our, uh, follow follow-up research to context ride is actually on a genetic search. Ah. Um, and we've like right, sort of stress tested like frontier models and their ability to search.Um, and they're not actually that good at searching. Right. Uh, so you're sort of highlighting this like explore, exploit.swyx: You're just say, Debbie, Donna say everything doesn't work. Like,Aaron Levie: well,Jeff Huber: somebody has to be,Aaron Levie: um, can I just throw out one more thing? Yeah. That is different from coding and, and the rest [00:27:00] of the knowledge work that I, I failed to mention.So one other kind of key point is, is that, you know, at the end of the day. Whether you believe we're in a slop apocalypse or, or whatever. At the end of the day, if you, if you build a working product at the end of, if you, if you've built a working solution that is ultimately what the customer is paying for, like whether I have a lot of slop, a little slop or whatever, I'm sure there's lots of code bases we could go into in enterprise software companies where it's like just crazy slop that humans did over a 20 year period, but the end customer just gets this little interface.They can, they can type into it, it does its thing. Knowledge work, uh, doesn't have that property. If I have an AI model, go generate a contract and I generate a contract 20 times and, you know, all 20 times it's just 3% different and like that I, that, that kind of lop introduces all new kinds of risk for my organization that the code version of that LOP didn't, didn't introduce.These are, and so like, so how do you constrain these models to just the part that you want [00:28:00] them to work on and just do the thing that you want them to do? And, and, you know, in engineering, we don't, you can't be disbarred as an engineer, but you could be disbarred as a lawyer. Like you can do the wrong medical thing In healthcare, you, there's no, there's no equivalent to that of engineering.Like, doswyx: you want there to be, because I've considered softwareJeff Huber: engineer. What's that? Civil engineering there is, right? NotAaron Levie: software civil engineer. Sure. Oh yeah, for sure. But like in any of our companies, you like, you know, you'll be forgiven if you took down the site and, and we, we will do a rollback and you'll, you'll be in a meeting, but you have not been disbarred as an engineer.We don't, we don't change your, you know, your computer science, uh, blameJeff Huber: degree, this postmortem.Aaron Levie: Yeah, exactly. Exactly. So, so, uh, now maybe we collectively as an industry need to figure out like, what are you liable for? Not legally, but like in a, in a management sense, uh, of these agents. All sorts of interesting problems that, that, that, uh, that have to come out.But in knowledge work, that's the real hostile environments that we're operating in. Hmm.swyx: I do think like, uh, a lot of the last year's, 2025 story was the rise of coding agents and I think [00:29:00] 2026 story is definitely knowledge work agents. Yes. A hundredAaron Levie: percent.swyx: Right. Like that would, and I think open claw core work are just the beginning.Yes. Like it's, the next one's gonna just gonna be absolute craziness.Aaron Levie: It it is. And, and, uh, and it's gonna be, I mean, again, like this is gonna be this, this wave where we, we are gonna try and bring as many of the practices from coding because that, that will clearly be the forefront, which is tell an agent to go do something and has an access to a set of resources.You need to be responsible for reviewing it at the end of the process. That to me is the, is the kind of template that I just think goes across knowledge, work and odd. Cowork is a great example. Open Closet's a great example. You can kind of, sort of see what Codex could become over time. These are some, some really interesting kind of platforms that are emerging.swyx: Okay. Um, I wanted to, we touched on evals a little bit. You had, you had the report that you're gonna go bring up and then I was gonna go into like, uh, boxes, evals, but uh, go ahead. Talk about your genetic search thing.Jeff Huber: Yeah. Mostly I think kinda a few of the insights. It's like number one frontier model is not good at search.Humans have this [00:30:00] natural explore, exploit trade off where we kinda understand like when to stop doing something. Also, humans are pretty good at like forgetting actually, and like pruning their own context, whereas agents are not, and actually an agent in their kind of context history, if they knew something was bad and they even, you could see in the trace the reason you trace, Hey, that probably wasn't a good idea.If it's still in the trace, still in the context, they'll still do it again. Uhhuh. Uh, and so like, I think pruning is also gonna be like, really, it's already becoming a thing, right? But like, letting self prune the con windowsswyx: be a big deal. Yeah. So, so don't leave the mistake. Don't leave the mistake in there.Cut out the mistake but tell it that you made a mistake in the past and so it doesn't repeat it.Jeff Huber: Yeah. But like cut it out so it doesn't get like distracted by it again. ‘cause really, you know, what is so, so it will repeat its mistake just because it's been, it's inswyx: theJeff Huber: context. It'sAaron Levie: in the context so much.That's a few shot example. Even if it, yeah.Jeff Huber: It's like oh thisAaron Levie: is a great thing to go try even ifJeff Huber: it didn't work.Aaron Levie: Yeah,Jeff Huber: exactly.Aaron Levie: SoJeff Huber: there's like a bunch of stuff there. JustAaron Levie: Groundhogs Day inside these models. Yeah. I'm gonna go keep doing the same wrongJeff Huber: thing. Covering sense. I feel like, you know, some creator analogy you're trying like fit a manifold in latent space, which kind is doing break program synthesis, which is kinda one we think about we're doing right.Like, you know, certain [00:31:00] facts might be like sort of overly pitting it. There are certain, you know, sec sectors of latent space and so like plug clean space. Yeah. And, uh, andswyx: so we have a bell, our editor as a bell every time you say that. SoJeff Huber: you have, you have to like remove those, likeswyx: you shoulda a gong like TPN or something.IfJeff Huber: we gong, you either remove those links to like kinda give it the freedom, kind of do what you need to do. So, but yeah. We'll, we'll release more soon. That'sAaron Levie: awesome.Jeff Huber: That'll, that'll be cool.swyx: We're a cerebral podcast that people listen to us and, and sort of think really deep. So yeah, we try to keep it subtle.Okay. We try to keep it.Aaron Levie: Okay, fine.Inside Agent Evalsswyx: Um, you, you guys do, you guys do have EVs, you talked about your, your office thing, but, uh, you've been also promoting APEX agents and complex work. Uh, yeah, whatever you, wherever you wanna take this just Yeah. How youAaron Levie: Apex is, is obviously me, core's, uh, uh, kind of, um, agent eval.We, we supported that by sort of. Opening up some data for them around how we kind of see these, um, data workspaces in, in the, you know, kind of regular economy. So how do lawyers have a workspace? How do investment bankers have a workspace? What kind of data goes into those? And so we, [00:32:00] we partner with them on their, their apex eval.Our own, um, eval is, it's actually relatively straightforward. We have a, a set of, of documents in a, in a range of industries. We give the agent previously did this as a one shot test of just purely the model. And then we just realized we, we need to, based on where everything's going, it's just gotta be more agentic.So now it's a bit more of a test of both our harness and the model. And we have a rubric of a set of things that has to get right and we score it. Um, and you're just seeing, you know, these incredible jumps in almost every single model in its own family of, you know, opus four, um, you know, sonnet four six versus sonnet four five.swyx: Yeah. We have this up on screen.Aaron Levie: Okay, cool. So some, you're seeing it somewhere like. I, I forget the to, it was like 15 point jump, I think on the main, on the overall,swyx: yes.Aaron Levie: And it's just like, you know, these incredible leaps that, that are starting to happen. Um,swyx: and OP doesn't know any, like any, it's completely held out from op.Aaron Levie: This is not in any, there's no public data which has, you know, Ben benefits and this is just a private eval that we [00:33:00] do, and then we just happen to show it to, to the world. Hmm. So you can't, you can't train against it. And I think it's just as representative of. It's obviously reasoning capabilities, what it's doing at, at, you know, kind of test time, compute capabilities, thinking levels, all like the context rot issues.So many interesting, you know, kind of, uh, uh, capabilities that are, that are now improvingswyx: one sector that you have. That's interesting.Industries and Datasetsswyx: Uh, people are roughly familiar with healthcare and legal, but you have public sector in there.Aaron Levie: Yeah.swyx: Uh, what's that? Like, what, what, what is that?Aaron Levie: Yeah, and, and we actually test against, I dunno, maybe 10 industries.We, we end up usually just cutting a few that we think have interesting gains. All extras, won a lot of like government type documents. Um,swyx: what is that? What is it? Government type documents?Aaron Levie: Government filings. Like a taxswyx: return, likeAaron Levie: a probably not tax returns. It would be more of what would go the government be using, uh, as data.So, okay. Um, so think about research that, that type of, of, of data sets. And then we have financial services for things like data rooms and what would be in an investment prospectus. Uhhuh,swyx: that one you can dog food.Aaron Levie: Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Yes. Yes. [00:34:00] So, uh, so we, we run the models, um, in now, you know, more of an agent mode, but, but still with, with kinda limited capacity and just try and see like on a, like, for like basis, what are the improvements?And, and again, we just continue to be blown away by. How, how good these models are getting.swyx: Yeah, I mean, I think every serious AI company needs something like that where like, well, this is the work we do. Here's our company eval. Yeah. And if you don't have it, well, you're not a serious AI company.Aaron Levie: There's two dimensions, right?So there's, there's like, how are the models improving? And so which models should you either recommend a customer use, which one should you adopt? But then every single day, we're making changes to our agents. And you need to knowswyx: if you regressed,Aaron Levie: if you know. Yeah. You know, I've been fully convinced that the whole agent observability and eval space is gonna be a massive space.Um, super excited for what Braintrust is doing, excited for, you know, Lang Smith, all the things. And I think what you're going to, I mean, this is like every enter like literally every enterprise right now. It's like the AI companies are the customers of these tools. Every enterprise will have this. Yeah, you'll just [00:35:00] have to have an eval.Of all of your work and like, we'll, you'll have an eval of your RFP generation, you'll have an eval of your sales material creation. You'll have an eval of your, uh, invoice processing. And, and as you, you know, buy or use new agentic systems, you are gonna need to know like, what's the quality of your, of your pipeline.swyx: Yeah.Aaron Levie: Um, so huge, huge market with agent evals.swyx: Yeah.Building the Agent Teamswyx: And, and you know, I'm gonna shout out your, your team a bit, uh, your CTO, Ben, uh, did a great talk with us last year. Awesome. And he's gonna come back again. Oh, cool. For World's Fair.Aaron Levie: Yep.swyx: Just talk about your team, like brag a little bit. I think I, I think people take these eval numbers in pretty charts for granted, but No, there, I mean, there's, there's lots of really smart people at work during all this.Aaron Levie: Biggest shout out, uh, is we have a, we have a couple folks at Dya, uh, Sidarth, uh, that, that kind of run this. They're like a, you know, kind of tag tag team duo on our evals, Ben, our CTO, heavily involved Yasha, head of ai, uh, you know, a bunch of folks. And, um, evals is one part of the story. And then just like the full, you know, kind of AI.An agent team [00:36:00] is, uh, is a, is a pretty, you know, is core to this whole effort. So there's probably, I don't know, like maybe a few dozen people that are like the epicenter. And then you just have like layers and layers of, of kind of concentric circles of okay, then there's a search team that supports them and an infrastructure team that supports them.And it's starting to ripple through the entire company. But there's that kind of core agent team, um, that's a pretty, pretty close, uh, close knit group.swyx: The search team is separate from the infra team.Aaron Levie: I mean, we have like every, every layer of the stack we have to kind of do, except for just pure public cloud.Um, but um, you know, we, we store, I don't even know what our public numbers are in, you know, but like, you can just think about it as like a lot of data is, is stored in box. And so we have, and you have every layer of the, of the stack of, you know, how do you manage the data, the file system, the metadata system, the search system, just all of those components.And then they all are having to understand that now you've got this new customer. Which is the agent, and they've been building for two types of customers in the past. They've been building for users and they've been building for like applications. [00:37:00] And now you've got this new agent user, and it comes in with a difference of it, of property sometimes, like, hey, maybe sometimes we should do embeddings, an embedding based, you know, kind of search versus, you know, your, your typical semantic search.Like, it's just like you have to build the, the capabilities to support all of this. And we're testing stuff, throwing things away, something doesn't work and, and not relevant. It's like just, you know, total chaos. But all of those teams are supporting the agent team that is kind of coming up with its requirements of what, what do we need?swyx: Yeah. No, uh, we just came from, uh, fireside chat where you did, and you, you talked about how you're doing this. It's, it's kind of like an internal startup. Yeah. Within the broader company. The broader company's like 3000 people. Yeah. But you know, there's, there's a, this is a core team of like, well, here's the innovation center.Aaron Levie: Yeah.swyx: And like that every company kind of is run this way.Aaron Levie: Yeah. I wanna be sensitive. I don't call it the innovation center. Yeah. Only because I think everybody has to do innovation. Um, there, there's a part of the, the, the company that is, is sort of do or die for the agent wave.swyx: Yeah.Aaron Levie: And it only happens to be more of my focus simply because it's existential that [00:38:00] we get it right.swyx: Yeah.Aaron Levie: All of the supporting systems are necessary. All of the surrounding adjacent capabilities are necessary. Like the only reason we get to be a platform where you'd run an agent is because we have a security feature or a compliance feature, or a governance feature that, that some team is working on.But that's not gonna be the make or break of, of whether we get agents right. Like that already exists and we need to keep innovating there. I don't know what the right, exact precise number is, but it's not a thousand people and it's not 10 people. There's a number of people that are like the, the kind of like, you know, startup within the company that are the make or break on everything related to AI agents, you know, leveraging our platform and letting you work with your data.And that's where I spend a lot of my time, and Ben and Yosh and Diego and Teri, you know, these are just, you know, people that, that, you know, kind of across the team. Are working.swyx: Yeah. Amazing.Read Write Agent WorkflowsJeff Huber: How do you, how do you think about, I mean, you talked a lot about like kinda read workflows over your box data. Yep.Right. You know, gen search questions, queries, et cetera. But like, what about like, write or like authoring workflows?Aaron Levie: Yes. I've [00:39:00] already probably revealed too much actually now that I think about it. So, um, I've talked about whatever,Jeff Huber: whatever you can.Aaron Levie: Okay. It's just us. It's just us. Yeah. Okay. Of course, of course.So I, I guess I would just, uh, I'll make it a little bit conceptual, uh, because again, I've already, I've already said things that are not even ga but, but we've, we've kinda like danced around it publicly, so I, yeah, yeah. Okay. Just like, hopefully nobody watches this, um, episode. No.swyx: It's tidbits for the Heidi engaged to go figure out like what exactly, um, you know, is, is your sort of line of thinking.Sure. They can connect the dots.Aaron Levie: Yeah. So, so I would say that, that, uh, we, you know, as a, as a place where you have your enterprise content, there's a use case where I want to, you know, have an agent read that data and answer questions for me. And then there's a use case where I want the agent to create something.And use the file system to create something or store off data that it's working on, or be able to have, you know, various files that it's writing to about the work it's doing. So we do see it as a total read write. The harder problem has so far been the read only because, because again, you have that kind of like 10 [00:40:00] million to one ratio problem, whereas rights are a lot of, that's just gonna come from the model and, and we just like, we'll just put it in the file system and kinda use it.So it's a little bit of a technically easier problem, but the only part that's like, not necessarily technically hard, it is just like it's not yet perfected in the state of the ecosystem is, you know, building a beautiful PowerPoint presentation. It's still a hard problem for these models. Like, like we still, you know, like, like these formats are just, we're not built for.They'reswyx: working on it.Aaron Levie: They're, they're working on it. Everybody's working on it.swyx: Every launch is like, well, we do PowerPoint now.Aaron Levie: We're getting, yeah, getting a lot, getting a lot of better each time. But then you'll do this thing where you'll ask the update one slide and all of a sudden, like the fonts will be just like a little bit different, you know, on two of the slides, or it moved, you know, some shape over to the left a little bit.And again, these are the kind of things that, like in code, obviously you could really care about if you really care about, you know, how beautiful is the code, but at the end, user doesn't notice all those problems and file creation, the end user instantly sees it. You're [00:41:00] like, ah, like paragraph three, like, you literally just changed the font on me.Like it's a totally different font and like midway through the document. Mm-hmm. Those are the kind of things that you run into a lot of in the, in the content creation side. So, mm-hmm. We are gonna have native agents. That do all of those things, they'll be powered by the leading kind of models and labs.But the thing that I think is, is probably gonna be a much bigger idea over time is any agent on any system, again, using Box as a file system for its work, and in that kind of scenario, we don't necessarily care what it's putting in the file system. It could put its memory files, it could put its, you know, specification, you know, documents.It could put, you know, whatever its markdown files are, or it could, you know, generate PDFs. It's just like, it's a workspace that is, is sort of sandboxed off for its work. People can collaborate into it, it can share with other people. And, and so we, we were thinking a lot about what's the right, you know, kind of way to, to deliver that at scale.Docs Graphs and Founder Modeswyx: I wanted to come into sort of the sort of AI transformation or AI sort of, uh, operations things. [00:42:00] Um, one of the tweets that you, that you wanted to talk about, this is just me going through your tweets, by the way. Oh, okay. I mean, like, this is, you readAaron Levie: one by one,swyx: you're the, you're the easiest guest to prep for because you, you already have like, this is the, this is what I'm interested in.I'm like, okay, well, areAaron Levie: we gonna get to like, like February, January or something? Where are we in the, in the timelines? How far back are we going?swyx: Can you, can you describe boxes? A set of skills? Right? Like that, that's like, that's like one of the extremes of like, well if you, you just turn everything into a markdown file.Yeah. Then your agent can run your company. Uh, like you just have to write, find the right sequence of words toAaron Levie: Yes.swyx: To do it.Aaron Levie: Sorry, isthatswyx: the question? So I think the question is like, what if we documented everything? Yes. The way that you exactly said like,Aaron Levie: yes.swyx: Um, let's get all the Fortune five hundreds, uh, prepared for agents.Yes. And like, you know, everything's in golden and, and nicely filed away and everything. Yes. What's missing? Like, what's left, right? LikeAaron Levie: Yeah.swyx: You've, you've run your company for a decade. LikeAaron Levie: Yeah. I think the challenge is that, that that information changes a week later. And because something happened in the market for that [00:43:00] customer, or us as a company that now has to go get updated, and so these systems are living and breathing and they have to experience reality and updates to reality, which right now is probably gonna be humans, you know, kinda giving those, giving them the updates.And, you know, there is this piece about context graphs as as, uh, that kinda went very viral. Yeah. And I, I, I was like a, i, I, I thought it was super provocative. I agreed with many parts of it. I disagree with a few parts around. You know, it's not gonna be as easy as as just if we just had the agent traces, then we can finally do that work because there's just like, there's so much more other stuff that that's happening that, that we haven't been able to capture and digitize.And I think they actually represented that in the piece to be clear. But like there's just a lot of work, you know, that that has to, you just can't have only skills files, you know, for your company because it's just gonna be like, there's gonna be a lot of other stuff that happens. Yeah. Change over time.Yeah. Most companies are practically apprenticeships.swyx: Most companies are practically apprenticeships. LikeJeff Huber: every new employee who joins the team, [00:44:00] like you span one to three months. Like ramping them up.Aaron Levie: Yes. AllJeff Huber: that tat knowledgeAaron Levie: isJeff Huber: not written down.Aaron Levie: Yes.Jeff Huber: But like, it would have to be if you wanted to like give it to an Asian.Right. And so like that seems to me like to beAaron Levie: one is I think you're gonna see again a premium on companies that can document this. Mm-hmm. Much. There'll be a huge premium on that because, because you know, can you shorten that three month ramp cycle to a two week ramp cycle? That's an instant productivity gain.Can you re dramatically reduce rework in the organization because you've documented where all the stuff is and where the answers are. Can you make your average employee as good as your 90th percentile employee because you've captured the knowledge that's sort of in the heads of, of those top employees and make that available.So like you can see some very clear productivity benefits. Mm-hmm. If you had a company culture of making sure you know your information was captured, digitized, put in a format that was agent ready and then made available to agents to work with, and then you just, again, have this reality of like add a 10,000 person [00:45:00] company.Mapping that to the, you know, access structure of the company is just a hard problem. Is like, is like, yeah, well, you just, not every piece of information that's digitized can be shared to everybody. And so now you have to organize that in a way that actually works. There was a pretty good piece, um, this, this, uh, this piece called your company as a file is a file system.I, did you see that one?swyx: Nope.Aaron Levie: Uh, yes. You saw it. Yeah. And, and, uh, I actually be curious your thoughts on it. Um, like, like an interesting kind of like, we, we agree with it because, because that's how we see the world and, uh,swyx: okay. We, we have it up on screen. Oh,Aaron Levie: okay. Yeah. But, but it's all about basically like, you know, we've already, we, we, we already organized in this kind of like, you know, permission structure way.Uh, and, and these are the kind of, you know, natural ways that, that agents can now work with data. So it's kind of like this, this, you know, kind of interesting metaphor, but I do think companies will have to start to think about how they start to digitize more, more of that data. What was your take?Jeff Huber: Yeah, I mean, like the company's probably like an acid compliant file system.Aaron Levie: Uh,Jeff Huber: yeah. Which I'm guessing boxes, right? So, yeah. Yes.swyx: Yeah. [00:46:00]Jeff Huber: Which you have a great piece on, but,swyx: uh, yeah. Well, uh, I, I, my, my, my direction is a little bit like, I wanna rewind a little bit to the graph word you said that there, that's a magic trigger word for us. I always ask what's your take on knowledge graphs?Yeah. Uh, ‘cause every, especially at every data database person, I just wanna see what they think. There's been knowledge graphs, hype cycles, and you've seen it all. So.Aaron Levie: Hmm. I actually am not the expert in knowledge graphs, so, so that you might need toswyx: research, you don't need to be an expert. Yeah. I think it's just like, well, how, how seriously do people take it?Yeah. Like, is is, is there a lot of potential in the, in the HOVI?Aaron Levie: Uh, well, can I, can I, uh, understand first if it's, um, is this a loaded question in the sense of are you super pro, super con, super anti medium? Iswyx: see pro, I see pros and cons. Okay. Uh, but I, I think your opinion should be independent of mine.Aaron Levie: Yeah. No, no, totally. Yeah. I just want to see what I'm stepping into.swyx: No, I know. It's a, and it's a huge trigger word for a lot of people out Yeah. In our audience. And they're, they're trying to figure out why is that? Because whyAaron Levie: is this such aswyx: hot item for them? Because a lot of people get graph religion.And they're like, everything's a graph. Of course you have to represent it as a graph. Well, [00:47:00] how do you solve your knowledge? Um, changing over time? Well, it's a graph.Aaron Levie: Yeah.swyx: And, and I think there, there's that line of work and then there's, there's a lot of people who are like, well, you don't need it. And both are right.Aaron Levie: Yeah. And what do the people who say you don't need it, what are theyswyx: arguing for Mark down files. Oh, sure, sure. Simplicity.Aaron Levie: Yeah.swyx: Versus it's, it's structure versus less structure. Right. That's, that's all what it is. I do.Aaron Levie: I think the tricky thing is, um, is, is again, when this gets met with real humans, they're just going to their computer.They're just working with some people on Slack or teams. They're just sharing some data through a collaborative file system and Google Docs or Box or whatever. I certainly like the vision of most, most knowledge graph, you know, kind of futuristic kind of ways of thinking about it. Uh, it's just like, you know, it's 2026.We haven't seen it yet. Kind of play out as as, I mean, I remember. Do you remember the, um, in like, actually I don't, I don't even know how old you guys are, but I'll for, for to show my age. I remember 17 years ago, everybody thought enterprises would just run on [00:48:00] Wikis. Yeah. And, uh, confluence and, and not even, I mean, confluence actually took off for engineering for sure.Like unquestionably. But like, this was like everything would be in the w. And I think based on our, uh, our, uh, general style of, of, of what we were building, like we were just like, I don't know, people just like wanna workspace. They're gonna collaborate with other people.swyx: Exactly. Yeah. So you were, you were anti-knowledge graph.Aaron Levie: Not anti, not anti. Soswyx: not nonAaron Levie: I'm not, I'm not anti. ‘cause I think, I think your search system, I just think these are two systems that probably, but like, I'm, I'm not in any religious war. I don't want to be in anybody's YouTube comments on this. There's not a fight for me.swyx: We, we love YouTube comments. We're, we're, we're get into comments.Aaron Levie: Okay. Uh, but like, but I, I, it's mostly just a virtue of what we built. Yeah. And we just continued down that path. Yeah.swyx: Yeah.Aaron Levie: And, um, and that, that was what we pursued. But I'm not, this is not a, you know, kind of, this is not a, uh, it'sswyx: not existential for you. Great.Aaron Levie: We're happy to plug into somebody else's graph.We're happy to feed data into it. We're happy for [00:49:00] agents to, to talk to multiple systems. Not, not our fight.swyx: Yeah.Aaron Levie: But I need your answer. Yeah. Graphs or nerd Snipes is very effective nerd.swyx: See this is, this is one, one opinion and then I've,Jeff Huber: and I think that the actual graph structure is emergent in the mind of the agent.Ah, in the same way it is in the mind of the human. And that's a more powerful graph ‘cause it actually involved over time.swyx: So don't tell me how to graph. I'll, I'll figure it out myself. Exactly. Okay. All right. AndJeff Huber: what's yours?swyx: I like the, the Wiki approach. Uh, my, I'm actually

Most brands still treat email like a "legacy" channel while the right automated flows can quietly become one of the biggest drivers of revenue and retention. Join Brad Friedman and Jesse Kay as they break down automated email flows, list growth fundamentals, and how to connect paid social with owned channels like email and SMS so you can build an integrated system that converts and keeps customers coming back. Jesse Kay is the CEO of Vyber Media, where he helps high-growth brands use email, SMS, and lifecycle marketing to increase revenue across the funnel. Through innovative, youth-focused strategies, Jesse has worked with professional athletes, small business owners, and Fortune 1000 CEOs to drive measurable results in email, SMS, paid social, growth marketing, and influencer campaigns. The Digital Slice Podcast is brought to you by Magai. Up your AI game at https://friedmansocialmedia.com/magai And, if it's your first time purchasing, use BRAD30 at checkout to get 30% off your first 3 months. Visit thedigitalslicepodcast.com for complete show notes of every podcast episode.

AI for restaurants is no longer a futuristic concept reserved for large chains or experimental kitchens. It has become a necessary response to an industry weighed down by complexity, disconnected systems, and operational blind spots. Few people understand that reality better than Alex Hult, a founder whose path into restaurant technology was shaped not by theory, but by lived experience. Alex's journey into AI for restaurants began far from Silicon Valley. After a professional hockey career that took him around the world, he shifted into restaurant ownership, opening and operating multiple bars, nightclubs, and restaurant concepts across two states. That transition exposed him to the day-to-day realities of running hospitality businesses, from staffing and inventory to customer experience and profitability. It also revealed a fundamental problem: restaurant technology was fragmented, complicated, and often worked against operators rather than for them. As Alex scaled his restaurant group, he encountered a growing stack of tools that failed to communicate with one another. Point-of-sale systems, inventory platforms, labor tools, and reporting dashboards created more noise than clarity. Instead of empowering operators, technology added friction. That frustration became the catalyst for his next chapter and the foundation for AIO. AI for restaurants, as Alex envisions it, is not about replacing people or automating hospitality out of existence. It is about simplifying operations so leaders can make better decisions faster. AIO was built as an AI-first platform designed to unify restaurant data, eliminate silos, and give operators a single source of truth across their business. The goal is not complexity masked by intelligence, but clarity powered by it. This perspective resonates deeply within an industry that has been forced to adapt rapidly over the last several years. Rising labor costs, supply chain volatility, and shifting consumer expectations have made operational efficiency more critical than ever. AI for restaurants offers a way forward, but only if it is designed with operators in mind. Alex's background as a restaurant owner gives him credibility in a space crowded with tools built without firsthand understanding of hospitality. Rather than layering AI on top of broken systems, AIO was created to rethink how restaurant technology should function at its core. By consolidating data and surfacing insights that matter, the platform helps leaders focus on outcomes instead of dashboards. This approach reframes AI for restaurants as a practical business tool rather than a buzzword. Ford Saeks brings a complementary lens shaped by decades of helping organizations grow through alignment and execution. From his experience, technology only creates value when it simplifies decision-making and supports strategy. Businesses struggle when tools multiply faster than clarity. AI for restaurants becomes powerful when it reduces complexity, strengthens accountability, and supports leadership at every level. The restaurant industry is uniquely human. Success depends on people, process, and experience coming together seamlessly. Technology that disrupts that balance can do more harm than good. Alex's work emphasizes that AI should enhance hospitality, not interfere with it. By creating systems that serve operators, teams can spend less time managing tools and more time delivering great experiences. AI for restaurants also represents a shift in how founders and operators think about growth. Instead of adding layers of management or reactive reporting, intelligent systems provide foresight. That foresight allows leaders to address issues before they escalate, allocate resources more effectively, and maintain consistency across locations. In an industry defined by thin margins, those advantages compound quickly. Alex's transition from restaurant owner to tech founder highlights an important lesson for modern entrepreneurs. The most impactful solutions often come from those who have felt the pain themselves. By building AIO from the operator's perspective, he has positioned AI for restaurants as a bridge between technology and hospitality, not a barrier. As restaurants continue to evolve, the demand for smarter systems will only increase. Operators want tools that work together, insights that matter, and technology that respects the pace of real-world service. AI for restaurants, when executed thoughtfully, delivers on that promise. Alex Hult's work serves as a reminder that innovation does not always come from disruption alone. Sometimes it comes from simplification. By addressing the broken tech ecosystem head-on, he is helping restaurants reclaim clarity, efficiency, and confidence in an increasingly complex landscape. Watch the full episode on YouTube. Join Fordify LIVE every Wednesday at 11 a.m. Central on your favorite social platforms and catch The Business Growth Show Podcast every Thursday for a weekly dose of business growth wisdom. About Alex Hult Alex Hult is the Founder and CEO of AIO, an AI-first platform designed to simplify restaurant operations and eliminate fragmented technology systems. A former professional hockey player turned restaurant owner, Alex built and operated multiple restaurant and nightlife concepts before launching AIO to solve the operational challenges he experienced firsthand. His work focuses on using AI for restaurants to create clarity, efficiency, and smarter decision-making across the hospitality industry. Learn more at AIOapp.com About Ford Saeks Ford Saeks is a Business Growth Accelerator with more than two decades of experience helping organizations drive scalable, profitable growth. He has generated over one billion dollars in sales worldwide for companies ranging from start-ups to Fortune 500 brands by helping leaders align strategy, systems, and execution. As President and CEO of Prime Concepts Group, Inc., Ford works with business owners and executives to attract loyal customers, strengthen brand positioning, and ignite innovation. He has founded more than ten companies, authored five books, earned three U.S. patents, and received numerous industry awards for marketing and business excellence. Ford is widely recognized for his expertise in modern growth strategies, including AI-driven marketing, customer engagement, and operational efficiency. He hosts Fordify LIVE and The Business Growth Show Podcast, where he shares insights and conversations designed to help leaders think differently, act strategically, and grow with intention. Learn more at ProfitRichResults.com and watch his show at Fordify.tv. .

We live in a world obsessed with performance. KPIs, productivity, image, optimization. But beneath all the metrics and strategies lies a quieter, deeper question: Can I trust you?In this episode, Janet explores why character,  not just skill, is the true foundation of leadership and life. Because when pressure rises, and no rulebook applies, it's not policy that guides us. It's who we are.Drawing from ancient philosophy, modern psychology, and a powerful real-life leadership story, Janet invites you to reflect on the choices you make every day and who you are becoming because of them. This conversation is about cultivating the inner stability to act with wisdom, courage, and integrity, especially when it would be easier not to.Virtue may not be trendy. It can't be hacked or optimized. But in uncertain times, it's the one thing that holds everything together.In this episode:✅ Why leadership failures are often character failures, not skill gaps✅ How trust, respect, and integrity shape real leadership✅ What ancient virtue ethics can teach modern leaders✅ Why courage matters most when no policy applies✅ The danger of valuing speed, scale, and output over wisdom✅ How small daily choices shape who you becomeAbout Janet Ioli:Janet Ioli is a globally recognized executive advisor, coach, and leadership expert with over 25 years of experience developing leaders in Fortune 100 companies and global organizations.She created The Inner Edge—a framework, a movement, and a message that flips leadership from mere success performance to presence; from ego to soul. Through her keynotes, podcast, and programs, Janet helps high-achievers find the one thing that changes everything: the mastery within.Her approach redefines leadership presence—not as polish or tactics, but as the inner steadiness people feel from you and the positive imprint you leave on individuals and organizations.Chapters for Apple Podcasts00:00:00 Character in Leadership00:03:42 Choosing Courage Daily00:08:44 Cultivating VirtueConnect with Janet Ioli:Website: janetioli.comLinkedin: Janet IoliInstagram: @leadershipcoachjanetIf you want to become more grounded, confident, and aligned with your deeper values in just 21 days, check out Janet Ioli's book Less Ego, More Soul: A Modern Reinvention Guide for Women. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Select “Listen in Apple Podcasts,” then choose the “Ratings & Reviews” tab to share what you think. Produced by Ideablossoms

We help B2B brands launch shows that turn their point of view into pipeline. If you're launching a podcast (or have one already) and are not sure how it can hit your bottom line, book a meeting with Jason: https://meetings-eu1.hubspot.com/jason-bradwell/youtube-meeting-link They hit the top 10 in their category. They landed Fortune 500 CEOs. They racked up downloads month after month. And they closed precisely zero deals. In this solo episode, Jason Bradwell unpacks one of the most common and costly mistakes in B2B podcasting: building a show for your ego instead of your pipeline. If your guest list reads like a networking wish list, this episode is for you. Most B2B podcasters start in the same place: chasing the biggest, most recognisable names in their industry. The logic feels sound. Credibility by association. Impressive LinkedIn posts. A logo wall of guests. But those guests are rarely in your ICP; their audiences are not your audience, and the conversations you have with them rarely address the specific, real-world problems your prospects are wrestling with right now. Jason walks through the practical alternative: the editorial-led approach. Instead of starting with the guest, you start with the question. What keeps your prospects up at night? What objections come up on every sales call? What decisions are they struggling to make? Those questions become your episode topics, and the guests you find to answer them do not need to be famous. They need to be credible, relevant, and close enough to the work that your prospects genuinely recognise themselves. He also outlines a five-step framework for building an editorial roadmap rooted in sales intelligence and explains the only metrics that actually matter when measuring a podcast's commercial impact. Key Takeaways ◼️ How to audit your sales calls to build a content-driven editorial roadmap ◼️ Why booking recognisable guests optimises for vanity metrics rather than pipeline ◼️ How to structure an episode around a prospect's problem instead of a guest's agenda ◼️ Why the best podcast guests are often practitioners and customers rather than celebrities ◼️ How to give your sales team content they can actually use to move deals forward ◼️ Why download counts are the wrong success metric and what to track instead Chapter Markers 00:00 Intro 00:45 The top 10 podcast that closed zero deals 01:30 Why chasing big-name guests hurts your pipeline 02:45 Start with the question, not the guest 03:30 Ego approach vs. editorial approach: a direct comparison 05:00 When big-name guests do make sense 05:30 Five steps to build an editorial-led podcast strategy 06:45 The only metrics worth measuring What's Next If this episode made you rethink your guest strategy, the next step is simple: pull up your last five sales calls and write down the questions that came up most. That is your editorial roadmap. Share this episode with anyone on your team who is involved in your podcast or content strategy. Useful Links Connect with Jason Bradwell on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonbradwell/Listen to Pipe Dream on Podbean: https://www.podbean.com/podcast-detail/bac4p-2a0121/Pipe-Dream-PodcastLearn more about B2B Better: https://www.b2b-better.com

Hustle culture is out, and Dr. Michael Gervais is here to tell us why. The world-renowned high-performance psychologist, who works with Olympians, Fortune 50 CEOs, and the Seattle Seahawks, returns to Real Pod for the third time to challenge everything we think we know about success. In this powerful conversation, Dr. Mike breaks down the difference between peak performance and true mastery, why doing more will not make you extraordinary, and how to train your mind to be calm, focused, and unbothered. He shares how to create a compelling future, make a fundamental commitment to your values, and build the psychological agility needed to navigate setbacks without losing yourself. If you are tired of burnout, chasing validation, or feeling behind, this episode will shift your entire perspective. Tune in to learn how to be more so you can finally do less, but better.Resources:Morning Mindset Routine: linked here Website: findingmastery.comInstagram: @michaelgervaisPodcast: Finding Mastery with Dr. Michael GervaisRelated Episodes:Dr. Michael Gervais - Understanding Our Minds: How To Unlock Your Full PotentialStop Worrying About What People Think Of You & Unleash Your Authenticity with Dr. Michael Gervais// SPONSORS //Premier Protein: Find your favorite flavor at premierprotein.com or at Amazon, Walmart, and other major retailers. Quince: Go to quince.com/realpod to get free shipping and 365-day returns.BetterHelp: Visit betterhelp.com/realpod today to get 10% off your first month.LMNT: LMNT is offering a free sample pack with any purchase, that's 8 single serving packets FREE with any LMNT order. This is a great way to try all 8 flavors or share LMNT with a friend. Get yours at DrinkLMNT.com/realpod.Peloton: Let yourself run, lift, sculpt, push, and go. Explore the new Peloton Cross Training Tread+ at onepeloton.com. Please note that this episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products or services referred to in this episode.Produced by Dear Media.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This episode was sponsored by Cardiff & Gold Insurance Agency   LightSpeed VT: https://www.lightspeedvt.com/ Dropping Bombs Podcast: https://www.droppingbombs.com/ Today's Dropping Bombs episode delivers pure hustle fuel with Daniel & Elisa Gordon, the married power duo who walked away from corporate comfort, cashed out everything, and built Gold Insurance Agency—a virtual empire now scaling over a million a month.   From broke dancer to top salesman, Daniel found insurance by googling "highest paying career without a degree." Elisa crushed records at their old company only to be ignored while management celebrated everyone else. Together they said enough, jumped ship, and never looked back.   This conversation separates the shakers from the rollers—if two W-2 employees built a seven-figure virtual agency in four years, what's your excuse? Entrepreneurs, listen now. Your dice are waiting to be thrown.  

From losing his entire $25,000 life savings on his first investment to backing over 70 startups, Andrew Ackerman shares proven strategies for evaluating founders, testing assumptions cheaply, and why the best entrepreneurs see deals where others see nothing. In this episode of the DealQuest Podcast, host Corey Kupfer sits down with Andrew Ackerman, a serial entrepreneur turned early-stage investor and innovation expert. Andrew is currently a strategic advisor and head of Reach Labs at Second Century Ventures, consults on corporate innovation strategies and venture studios, and serves as an adjunct professor of entrepreneurship. He previously served as managing director at DreamIt Adventures, one of the top five accelerator programs in the world. He has invested in over 70 startups and written over 60 published articles for Forbes, Fortune, and other major publications. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN: In this episode, you'll discover why Andrew looks for the instinct to hustle for deals rather than focusing on the idea itself, how accelerators fill the gap between friends and family money and proper VC rounds, and why testing assumptions with a five-dollar pack of index cards can save months of development time. Andrew explains the real difference between SAFE notes and convertible notes, what makes lawyers often terrible startup advisors, and the SeatGeek origin story that proves early testing can turn a failing startup into a billion-dollar company. ANDREW'S JOURNEY: Andrew's path started with both grandfathers as entrepreneurs, one running candy shops and the other creating insurance products. Coming out of University of Chicago in the 90s when startups weren't a thing, he chose consulting before realizing the startup world had caught up. His first venture Bunk One provided internet services for summer camps and exited successfully. His second startup taught harder lessons through founder drama and failure. Angel investing came accidentally through a pharma deal he admits he had no business making, but getting lucky early hooked him. Eventually he joined DreamIt Adventures, running their New York office. KEY INSIGHTS: When evaluating founders, Andrew looks for the instinct to hustle. He shared an example of a founder who rented pencils in fifth grade for a nickel a day. Not sold. Rented. That entrepreneurial DNA shows up early and separates successful founders from everyone else. The SeatGeek story proves early testing works. A startup in his accelerator tested conversion rates early instead of waiting, discovered they were completely off, pivoted in seven weeks, and built a billion-dollar company. Lawyers often make terrible startup advisors because their incentive structure is backwards. Billing by the hour doesn't reward speed, and careers focused on avoiding mistakes rather than making deals happen. Perfect for founders thinking about raising capital, anyone curious about how accelerators work, aspiring angel investors wondering how to evaluate founders, and entrepreneurs who want practical frameworks for testing assumptions. FOR MORE ON THIS EPISODE: https://www.coreykupfer.com/blog/andrewackerman FOR MORE ON ANDREW ACKERMAN:https://www.andrewbackerman.comhttps://www.amazon.com/Entrepreneurs-Odyssey-Approach-Startup-Success/dp/1032883545/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0http://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewbackermanhttps://x.com/andrewackermanhttps://www.instagram.com/andrewbackerman/FOR MORE ON COREY KUPFER https://www.linkedin.com/in/coreykupfer/ https://www.coreykupfer.com/ Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator, and dealmaker. He has more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author, and professional speaker. He is deeply passionate about deal-driven growth. He is also the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast. Get deal-ready with the DealQuest Podcast with Corey Kupfer, where like-minded entrepreneurs and business leaders converge, share insights and challenges, and success stories. Equip yourself with the tools, resources, and support necessary to navigate the complex yet rewarding world of dealmaking. Dive into the world of deal-driven growth today! Guest Bio Andrew Ackerman is a serial entrepreneur turned early-stage investor who has invested in over 70 startups. He heads Reach Labs at Second Century Ventures, previously ran DreamIt Adventures' New York office, and teaches entrepreneurship. He has written over 60 articles for Forbes and Fortune and authored The Entrepreneur's Odyssey, written as a novel because stories stick better than frameworks. Related Episodes Episode 370 - Gerry Hays: Democratizing Venture Capital Through VentureStaking Episode 350 - Tom Dillon: Understanding Business Valuation and Exit Planning Realities Episode 89 - Sherisse Hawkins: Capital Raising Journey and Funding Realities Keywords/Tags angel investing, accelerator programs, startup evaluation, founder assessment, SAFE notes, convertible notes, early stage investing, venture capital, startup testing, lean startup, DreamIt Adventures, Second Century Ventures, startup validation, startup pivots, SeatGeek

I walk through a complete 30-step playbook for building a modern SaaS company using AI agents, media, and sub-niche positioning. The core argument is that SaaS is evolving rather than dying, and the builders who win are the ones who combine a focused workflow product with a media flywheel and agent-powered execution. Drawing on my experience advising TikTok, Reddit, and building three venture-backed companies, I lay out a step-by-step framework any solo builder or small team can follow from niche selection through to becoming the default execution layer in their market. I'm hosting a free workshop so you can build your business in the age of AI. Sign up here: https://startup-ideas-pod.link/build-with-ai-2026 Timestamps 00:00 – Intro 01:18 – Step 1: Start with a sub-niche inside a big market 02:21 – Step 2-5: Map Workflow end to end 06:37 – Step 6-7: Create scroll-stopping content 10:15 – Steps 8–9: Double down on organic and run paid ads on winners 11:11 – Step 10: Capture emails from day one 11:47 – Steps 11–13: Manually perform the workflow and document every step 13:40 – Steps 14–16: Turn mechanical tasks into agent workflows and connect to real tools 14:47 – Step 17: Add orchestration, retries, and verifications 16:32 – Steps 18–19: Store user preferences and launch with high-touch onboarding 18:20 – Steps 20–21: Publish measurable proof and move to per-task pricing 21:21 – Steps 22–23: Outcome pricing and compounding value 22:07 – Steps 24–27: Expand workflows, build switching costs, create case studies 23:25 – Steps 28–30: Hire from the niche, reinvest profits, become the default layer 24:08 – Closing thoughts Key Points Start in a specific sub-niche, not a broad market — that is where sustainable cash flow lives, not VC competition. The future of SaaS starts as a service business: manually performing the workflow is how I learn what to automate. Media is a core business function, not an afterthought — content creation runs in parallel with product development from day one. Mechanical tasks are AI's strongest suit; separating judgment tasks from mechanical tasks is the key architectural decision. Per-task and outcome-based pricing is replacing per-seat models, and indie builders have a structural advantage in making that shift. Orchestration — coordinating agents, validating outputs, and resolving issues — is the new interface layer and the highest-value position to own. The #1 tool to find startup ideas/trends - https://www.ideabrowser.com LCA helps Fortune 500s and fast-growing startups build their future - from Warner Music to Fortnite to Dropbox. We turn 'what if' into reality with AI, apps, and next-gen products https://latecheckout.agency/ The Vibe Marketer - Resources for people into vibe marketing/marketing with AI: https://www.thevibemarketer.com/ FIND ME ON SOCIAL X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/gregisenberg Instagram: https://instagram.com/gregisenberg/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gisenberg/

Steve Taplin is the CEO of Sonatafy Technology, author of "Fail Hard, Win Big: 30 Ventures | 20 Failures | 10 Wins," and host of the Software Leaders Uncensored podcast. In this conversation, Steve reveals the partnership that almost destroyed him but vindicated him five years later; why he walked out of a meeting with a Fortune 500 CIO; and the discipline that saved his sanity. Steve also shares the 24-hour rule for processing failure to help his teams fail without breaking trust or morale. Steve breaks down the practice that taught him when to fight and when to quit. If you've ever been paralyzed by the fear of failure—or worse, burned by a partnership you trusted—this episode will rewire how you think about risk, resilience, and what it actually takes to bounce back. Find episode 501 on The Leadership Podcast, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts! Watch this Episode on YouTube | Steve Taplin on Failure as Fuel: When to push through and when to quit https://bit.ly/TLP-501 Key Takeaways [04:16] Steve shares his most painful failure-turned-win: a $2 million deal his partner closed that he walked away from—five years later, both the partner and sponsor were indicted for fraud. [07:59] Steve drops the hard truth: "Nobody cares about your business. They care about the problem it solves." [09:43] Steve's philosophy on raising money: "Raising money is a responsibility—your business has to be ready for it." [11:15] Steve recalls his "oh sh*t" moment at IBM: he didn't know the difference between sales and marketing after starting his first company. [13:36] Steve credits journaling as his resilience tool and describes rehearsing failure scenarios with his team to build organizational resilience. [18:50] Steve defines earning potential: "Your ability to make money is your ability to solve more challenges than everybody else." [21:52] Steve recounts going back to IBM as VP of Sales and selling over $1 billion in contracts. [27:03] Steve explains when to quit and the discipline that made financial clarity possible. [32:00] Steve's message to young people: "You don't have a choice—the world is unforgiving. You either learn from failure or you don't survive." [35:04] And remember..."Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure... than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat." - Theodore Roosevelt Quotable Quotes "Integrity is not optional, especially when you're raising money—it's foundational." "Nobody cares about your business. They care about the problem it solves." "You get 24 hours to be upset. Then shake it off and figure out a solution." "Success is not just money—it's having the freedom to operate your business AND great relationships with your family." "Your ability to make money is your ability to solve more challenges than everybody else." "If you don't take risks, you can't keep accelerating your career." "Good, bad, or indifferent, you learn more from failures than you do successes." "You can't grow without failing." "Use your failures as fuel and learning experiences." "You got to know how to run businesses. You got to know how to sell if you want to take control of your life." These are the books mentioned in this episode Resources Mentioned The Leadership Podcast | theleadershippodcast.com Sponsored by | www.darley.com Rafti Advisors. LLC | www.raftiadvisors.com Self-Reliant Leadership. LLC | selfreliantleadership.com Steve Taplin LinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/in/stevetaplin Sonatafy Technology Website | www.sonatafy.com Software Leaders Uncensored YouTube | www.youtube.com/@SoftwareLeadersUncensored Software Leaders Uncensored Podcast | softwareleadersuncensored.com

In this episode, we sit down with Jess Jensen, founder of Co-Pilot Communications, to talk about building authentic leadership in a digital world. After nearly 20 years inside Fortune 100 companies like Microsoft and Qualcomm, Jess now helps executives and founders find their voice, clarify their message, and show up online in a way that actually reflects who they are. We unpack why differences sell, how vulnerability builds credibility (not weakens it), the real role of AI in content creation, and why LinkedIn and podcasting are powerful tools for modern leaders.   How to Stay Connected with Jess & CO-Pilot Communications: This April, Jess is launching ALTITUDE—a private LinkedIn branding cohort for small business owners on the rise. Only 8 spots. Registration opens in March.  Join the waitlist here: www.copilotcommunications.com/altitude-waitlist Or, connect with Jess on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicakjensen/   00:00 Guest Intro 01:32 Unreasonable Hospitality 04:03 Radical Candor and Trust 05:14 Digital Presence Funnel 11:03 AI and Authentic Content 20:21 Client Process and Storytelling 25:03 Setting Story Boundaries 25:45 Vulnerability Builds Credibility 31:23 Authenticity Shapes Team Culture 34:46 Dark Social Flywheel 37:36 Podcasting and LinkedIn Strategy

After several “Good Morning” GREETINGS, the Fat One continues his stories from the Lost Wages trip… today from The Villa! There's nattering about Wheel of Fortune, fun bags, a tarp, an odd lap dance, the Peppermill and much more. Happy National Pound Cake Day.

CHIEF SWAG OFFICER IS LIVE ON BSW!   It's a huge week for the brand. Shop all of our swag on BSW here! Use the code CHIEFSWAG10 on Chiefswagofficer.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------   I sat down with the CEO and Co-founder of Wondersauce in this episode to talk about branding. John is a seasoned entrepreneur, investor, and CEO with over 15 years of experience crafting award-winning strategies, digital experiences, and campaigns for renowned brands such as Golf.com, Nike, L'Oréal, Scott's, Sixpenny, NYC's Brookfield Place, Chandon, and Grubhub, among others. Inspired by his generation growing up with the Internet, Sampogna was among the first in his field to embrace social media as a creative tool for growth, earning recognition on Business Insider's list of "30 Most Creative People in Advertising Under 30." His insights have been featured in various media outlets, including Glossy, Adweek, CNBC, Marketing Brew, Ad Age, Yahoo, and Digiday. He has also appeared on globally ranked podcasts, as a judge for prominent industry awards, and on stages like the Brand Innovators Summit at the US Open. Today, he leads a team of over 100 technologists, creatives, strategists, and producers as the Co-Founder and CEO of Wondersauce, a business acceleration agency that partners with brands poised for change to achieve their next stage of growth. Under his leadership, Wondersauce has earned a spot on Inc. Magazine's Inc. 5000 list of America's Fastest-Growing Companies, built a roster of premier Fortune 500 clients and innovative startups, and was officially acquired by Project Worldwide, an advertising holding company.   Follow Alexa on Instagram here and TikTok here. Find out more about John and Wondersauce here.

Josh Gates heads to the Wild West in search of the hidden loot - worth millions in today's dollars -- that was heisted by the infamous group of lawmen turned criminals, the Dalton Gang. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What if being unmistakably human is your biggest competitive advantage in an AI-first world? In this episode, I sat down with Louis Carter, founder of Most Loved Workplace, to talk about why workplace culture is being tested and reshaped faster than ever. Louis shared how “most loved” isn't a slogan, it's a credibility signal grounded in real employee sentiment, and why being unmistakably human is becoming a serious competitive advantage in an AI-driven world. We also unpacked his idea of “inaction fatigue” (when leaders collect feedback but don't act), plus practical ways leaders can embed trust, respect, and emotional connection into the employee and customer experience so the world actually sees what's happening inside the company. Here are the highlights: -Culture as a competitive signal: “Most loved” works when it's validated by real employee sentiment, not just marketing. -Human advantage in an AI-first world: Being unmistakably human is becoming a standout differentiator as automation accelerates. -From feedback to follow-through: “Inaction fatigue” happens when employees share input but never see meaningful change. -The SPARK framework: Collaboration, shared vision, aligned values, respect, and outcomes create emotional connectedness at work. -Embedding love end-to-end: Culture should show up in onboarding, career paths, performance plans, and the customer experience.   About the guest: Louis Carter is a globally recognized organizational psychologist, author, speaker, and founder of Most Loved Workplace® and the Best Practice Institute (BPI). He created the Most Loved Workplace® certification and the Love of Workplace Index™, a data-driven methodology used by thousands of companies to build cultures where people feel deeply connected, respected, and engaged. Louis is the author of more than a dozen leadership and management books, including In Great Company: How to Spark Peak Performance by Creating an Emotionally Connected Workplace (McGraw-Hill), and his research has been featured in publications such as Forbes, Fast Company, Inc., and The Wall Street Journal. He has advised CEOs and executive teams from mid-sized firms to Fortune 500 organizations and is ranked among the top organizational culture thinkers in the world.   Connect with Louis: Website Business: http://www.mostlovedworkplace.com Personal: http://www.louiscarter.com LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/louiscarter/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/louiscarter.bpi Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/louislcarter/ YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/louiscarterchange X: x.com/louislcarter Books: https://louiscarter.com/leadership-books/   Connect with Allison: Feedspot has named Disruptive CEO Nation as one of the Top 25 CEO Podcasts on the web. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allisonsummerschicago/ Website: https://www.disruptiveceonation.com/    #CEO #leadership #startup #founder #business #businesspodcast  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Carlos Gonzalez de Villaumbrosia interviews Chris Geoghegan, VP of Product at Zapier. As the company's first-ever Product Manager, Chris has spent nearly a decade scaling Zapier into a $5 billion automation giant that serves over 3.4 million businesses and 69% of the Fortune 1000.Zapier is not just building AI tools; they are powering their entire company with them. Chris reveals that his team currently runs over 800 active AI agents internally to manage everything from calendar prep to engineering triage. He breaks down the Code Red moment that shifted their strategy and how they are defining the future of Agentic Workflows.What you'll learn:Agentic vs. Deterministic: Why standard workflows follow a set path, while agents can reason, access knowledge, and change course to solve problems.The Orchestration Layer: How to hire and onboard AI agents using Context Engineering and Model Context Protocols (MCPs).Adoption vs. Transformation: Why adoption is just doing old tasks faster, while transformation unlocks business models that were previously impossible.Building a Moat: How Zapier uses its vast data on user intent to stay ahead of commodity LLM features.Key takeaways:Treat Agents Like Employees: You can't just deploy an agent; you must onboard it with specific context and tools to be effective.Lead by Building: Transformation fails if leaders don't use the tools. Zapier's execs do show-and-tell sessions to prove they are hands-on.AI Governance is Key: To move up-market to the enterprise, you must solve for Observability (who sent what data) and Access Control.Credits:Host: Carlos Gonzalez de VillaumbrosiaGuest: Chris Geoghegan 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 here

Entertainment • Empowerment • Elevation   Creator of the Heart Coherence Method™   15×Award-Winning Entertainer | Award-Winning Wellness Expert & Comic | Executive Coach | Transformational Keynote Speaker | Corporate & Team Resilience Strategist | Trauma Therapy Professional | Positive Psychology Practitioner & Certified Coach | Certified Resilience Facilitator   From Broadway to boardrooms, Carolann is a globally recognized executive coach, keynote speaker, and multi-award-winning entertainer and TV host who electrifies stages and empowers hearts through a bold fusion of intuition, neuroscience, humor, and soul. She coaches Fortune 500 leaders, celebrities, and mission-driven organizations to reignite purpose, elevate performance, and lead with clarity and coherence.   Socials:   Website: www.carolannvalentino.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolannvalentino/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carolannvalentino1/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carolann.valentino   Summary:   In this episode of The Heartbeat for Hire Podcast, host Lyndsay Dowd welcomes Carolann Valentino, a 15-time award-winning entertainer, Broadway performer, and trauma-informed executive coach . Carolann shares her incredible journey of running one of New York City's highest-grossing restaurants ($40M revenue) during the height of the 9/11 crisis while simultaneously performing as a comic entertainer . She introduces the Heart Coherence Method, explaining why emotional regulation—not just hustle—is the ultimate performance advantage for leaders in high-pressure environments.   Key Takeaways:   - Regulated Leaders Regulate the Room - Hustle vs. Regulation - Heart Coherence Defined - Purpose on the Playing Field   Episode Chapters:   [00:00] Intro: The Power of Resilience and Heart [01:05] Meet Carolann Valentino [02:15] The NYC Grind [05:05] The Crossroads [08:04] Understanding Heart Coherence [12:30] Regulation Over Reaction [17:00] Bringing Your Purpose to Work [19:54] The Steak Knife Story [24:55] Leading with Passion [27:50] The Ripple Effect [32:23] Connecting with Carolann

What if the way we've been thinking about brains at work is fundamentally broken? What if accommodations aren't about fixing people, but about unlocking talent we've been filtering out for decades? In this powerful episode, Lori sits down with Dave Thompson to explore how neurodiversity is the biggest shift in human capital in a generation, and why the companies that get it right will lead the future of work. In this episode, you'll discover: Why “rebranding the brain” matters, and how moving from a deficit model to an ecological, strength-based framework changes everything for individuals and organizations The four levels of psychological safety (inclusion, learner, contributor, and challenger safety) and what they actually look like when done well — not as buzzwords Why hiring is broken for everyone, and how job descriptions, ATS systems, and rigid requirements filter out some of the most brilliant talent before they even get a chance The difference between accommodations and “success enablers” and why Dave's “desk tour” approach unlocks self-advocacy without labels or paperwork How ERGs can become true business resource groups, and why emotional labor and self-advocacy deserve recognition, not just a bullet on a job description About Dave Thompson: Dave Thompson is a strategist, author, and internationally recognized speaker focused on redesigning systems that support the full range of human cognition. A program coordinator and visiting scholar at Vanderbilt University's Frist Center for Autism and Innovation, two-time TEDx speaker, and advisor to Fortune 100 companies, he translates lived experience as an early-identified ADHDer and dyslexic thinker into practical change. His book Brainstorm: Neurodivergent Talent and the Future of Work is available now wherever books are sold. Timestamps: [00:00] Cold open — What if brains at work are fundamentally misunderstood? [01:10] Intro — Meet Dave Thompson [02:00] Dave's why — From cheese club to systems change [04:30] Rebranding the brain — The rainforest analogy for neurodiversity [08:00] Belonging & psychological safety — The four levels explained [14:30] Hiring is broken — Job descriptions, ATS bias & filtering out brilliance [21:30] Success enablers vs. accommodations — Dave's desk tour approach [26:00] Self-advocacy & recognition — Not everyone wants a birthday party [33:00] ERGs that actually work — From afterschool clubs to business drivers [40:00] Brainstorm the book — What Dave hopes readers take away [43:30] Outro — Patreon exclusive teaser + calls to action Want more? Dave joins us in the Difference Makers community on Patreon for an exclusive: watch here. Find Dave Thompson at: Website: brainstormneurodiversity.com Book: Available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, bookshop.org, and wherever books are sold Subscribe, leave a review at https://www.aworldofdifferencepodcast.com/reviews/new/, and share this episode. Visit https://www.aworldofdifferencepodcast.com for more resources. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the latest episode of Chesterfield Behind the Mic, we talk to Chesterfield resident Juwan Washington about being on Wheel of Fortune recently, which was especially fun for him given that his mother, Tameka Stephens, also got to spin the wheel and play the classic game.   Credits: Director: Martin Stith Executive Producer: Teresa Bonifas Producer/Writer/Host: Brad Franklin Director of Photography/Editor: Matt Boyce Producer/Camera Operator: Martin Stith and Matt Neese Graphics: Debbie Wrenn Promotions and Media: Joanna Heims and Michael Senter   Music: Hip Hop This by Seven Pounds Inspiring Electronic Rock by Alex Grohl   Guest: Juwan Washington, Chesterfield resident   Recorded in-house by Communications and Media   Chesterfield.gov/podcast     Follow us on social media! On Facebook, like our page: Chesterfield Behind the Mic. On Twitter, you can find us at @ChesterfieldVa and on Instagram it's @ChesterfieldVirginia. And you can also watch the podcast on WCCT TV Thursday through Sunday at 7 p.m. as well as on weekends at noon on Comcast Channel 98 and Verizon Channel 28.

What does it really take to sell an AI-native product into the Fortune 500? In this episode of Founded & Funded, Madrona Managing Director Matt McIlwain sits down with two founders deep in the trenches of enterprise AI adoption, Esha Joshi (Co-founder, Yoodli⁩) and Anup Chamrajnagar (Co-founder, Gradial.) Their companies are selling into some of the world's most complex organizations, like Google, SAP, Snowflake, Databricks, and more. And they break down what founders often underestimate about enterprise AI sales. They dive into: Why most AI pilots fail and how to prevent it The "three-legged stool" of enterprise sales How AI review boards are reshaping buying cycles Securing long-term contracts Pricing AI: seats vs. usage vs. outcomes Navigating non-deterministic AI failures with customers Building champions who accelerate their careers with AI If you're building an AI-native company and selling into enterprises, this is for you. Full Transcript: https://www.madrona.com/this-is-how-fortune-500-companies-are-buying-ai-today Chapters: (00:00) – Introduction (03:37) – Early AI Pilots: What Worked (and What Didn't) (05:01) – Sell Pain, Not Features (06:25) – Why Enterprise Expectations Are Higher Now (07:48) – Moving From "Wow" Factor to Durable Outcomes (09:17) – How to Structure a Pilot That Converts (10:35) – Expanding Beyond the Initial Wedge (13:41) – Turning Pilots Into 12-Month Contracts (14:47) – Navigating Procurement & AI Governance Boards (16:02) – What's Changed (and What Hasn't) in Enterprise Sales (16:45) – How to Increase Deal Velocity (19:39) – Using AI to Improve Your Own Sales Ops (20:20) – Are You Replacing Jobs with AI? (23:14) – Building Career-Accelerating Champions (23:46) – When AI Outputs Go Wrong (Real Stories) (25:23) – Why the Pilot Never Stops (29:04) – Pricing AI: Seats vs. Usage vs. Outcomes (34:48) – Go-To-Market Partnerships That Unlock Enterprise (37:25) – The Role of Forward-Deployed Engineers (38:44) – Final Advice for AI Founders Selling to Enterprise

This episode was sponsored by Cardiff   LightSpeed VT: https://www.lightspeedvt.com/ Dropping Bombs Podcast: https://www.droppingbombs.com/   Today's Dropping Bombs episode delivers a raw awakening with John Gafford, who exposes the drift—that dangerous place where you're not broke but not rich, not sad but not happy, just existing while life happens to you.   From Apprentice contestant to luxury real estate titan and now author, John breaks down radical self-accountability, the $100,000 vitamin disaster, and why nobody's coming to save you—the quicker you accept that, the faster you escape.   This conversation separates the asleep from the awake—if you're trapped in comfort, excuses, or victim mentality, John's blueprint will shatter every illusion. Your drift ends here.  

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This week we talk about Anthropic, the Department of Defense, and OpenAI.We also discuss red lines, contracts, and lethal autonomous systems.Recommended Book: Empire of AI by Karen HaoTranscriptLethal autonomous weapons, often called lethal autonomous systems, autonomous weapons systems, or just ‘killer robots,' are military hardware that can operate independent of human control, searching for and engaging with targets based on their programming and thus not needing a human being to point it at things or pull the trigger.The specific nature and capabilities of these devices vary substantially from context to content, and even between scholars writing on the subject, but in general these are systems—be they aerial drones, heavy gun emplacements, some kind of mobile rocket launcher, or a human- or dog-shaped robot—that are capable of carrying out tasks and achieving goals without needing constant attention from a human operator.That's a stark contrast with drones that require either a human controlled or what's called a human-in-the-loop in order to make decisions. Some drones and other robots and weapons require full hands-on control, with a human steering them, pointing their weapons, and pulling the trigger, while others are semi-autonomous in that they can be told to patrol a given area and look for specific things, but then they reach out to a human-in-the-loop to make final decisions about whatever they want to do, including and especially weapon-related things; a human has to be the one to drop the bomb or fire the gun in most cases, today.Fully autonomous weapon systems, without a human in the loop, are far less common at this point, in part because it's difficult to create a system so capable that it doesn't require human intervention at times, but also because it's truly dangerous to create such a device.Modern artificial intelligence systems are incredibly powerful, but they still make mistakes, and just as an LLM-based chatbot might muddle its words or add extra fingers to a made-up person in an image it generates, or a step further, might fabricate research referenced in a paper it produces, an AI-controlled weapon system might see targets where there are no targets, or might flag a friendly, someone on its side, or a peaceful, noncombatant human, as a target. And if there's no human-in-the-loop to check the AI's understanding and correct it, that could mean a lot of non-targets being treated like targets, their lives ended by killer robots that gun them down or launch a missile at their home.On a larger scale, AI systems controlling arrays of weapons, or even entire militaries, becoming strategic commanders, could wipe out all human life by sparking a nuclear war.A recent study conducted at King's College London found that in simulated crises, across 21 scenarios, AI systems which thought they had control of nation-state-scale militaries opted for nuclear signaling, escalation, and tactical nuclear weapon use 95% of the time, never once across all simulations choosing to use one of the eight de-escalatory options that were made available to them.All of which suggests to the researchers behind this study that the norm, approaching the level of taboo, associated with nuclear weapons use globally since WWII, among humans at least, may not have carried over to these AI systems, and full-blown nuclear conflict may thus become more likely under AI-driven military conditions.What I'd like to talk about today is a recent confrontation between one AI company—Anthropic—and its client, the US Department of Defense, and the seeming implications of both this conflict, and what happened as a result.—In late-2024, the US Department of Defense—which by the way is still the official title, despite the President calling it the Department of War, since only Congress can change its name—the US DoD partnered with Anthropic to get a version of its Claude LLM-based AI model that could be used by the Pentagon.Anthropic worked with Palantir, which is a data-aggregation and surveillance company, basically, run by Peter Thiel and very favored by this administration, and Amazon Web Services, to make that Claude-for-the-US-military relationship happen, those interconnections allowing this version of the model to be used for classified missions.Anthropic received a $200 million contract with the Department of Defense in mid-2025, as did a slew of other US-based AI companies, including Google, xAI, and OpenAI. But while the Pentagon has been funding a bunch of US-based AI companies for this utility, only Claude was reportedly used during the early 2026 raid on Venezuela, during which now-former Venezuelan President Maduro was taken by US forces.Word on the street is that Claude is the only model that the Pentagon has found truly useful for these sorts of operations, though publicly they're saying that investments in all of these models have borne fruit, at least to some degree.So Anthropic's Claude model is being used for classified, military and intelligence purposes by the US government. Anthropic has been happy about this, by all accounts, because that's a fair bit of money, but also being used for these purposes by a government is a pretty big deal—if it's good enough for the US military, after all, many CEOs will see that as a strong indication that Claude is definitely good enough for their intended business purposes.On February 24 of 2026, though, the US Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, threatened to remove Anthropic from the DoD's stable of AI systems that they use unless the company allowed the DoD to use Claude for any and all legal purposes—unrestricted use of the model, basically.This threat came with a timeline—accede to these demands by February 27 or be cut from the DoD's supply chain—and the day before that deadline, the 26th, Anthropic's CEO released a statement indicating that the company would not get rid of its red lines that delineated what Claude could and could not be used for, and on the 27th, US President Trump ordered that all US agencies stop using Anthropic tools, and said that he would declare the company a supply chain risk, which would make it illegal for any company doing business with the US government at any level and in any fashion to use Anthropic products or services—a label that's rarely used, and which was previously used by the Trump administration against Chinese tech giant Huawei on the basis that the company might insert spy equipment in communications hardware installed across the US if they were allowed to continue operating in the country.Those red lines that Anthropic's CEO said he wouldn't get rid of, not even for a client as big and important as the US government, and not even in the face of threats by Hegseth, including that he might invoke the Defense Production Act, which would allow him to force the company to allow the Pentagon to use Claude however they like, or Trumps threat that the company be blacklisted from not just the government, but from working with a significant chunk of Fortune 500 companies, those red lines include not allowing Claude to be used for controlling autonomous weapon systems, killer robots, basically, and not allowing Claude to be used for surveilling US citizens.The Pentagon signed a contract with Anthropic in which they agreed to these terms, but Hegseth's new demand was that Anthropic sign a new version of the contract in which they allow the US government to use Claude and their other offerings for ‘all legal purposes,' which apparently includes, at least in some cases and contexts, killer robots and mass surveillance.So the Pentagon tried to strong-arm a US-based AI company into allowing them to use their product for purposes the company doesn't consider to be moral, and that led to this situation in which Anthropic is now being phased out from US government use—it'll apparently take about 6 months to do this, and some analysts speculate that timeline is meant to serve as a period in which further negotiation can occur—but either way, it's being phased out and it may even have trouble getting major clients in the future as a result of being blackballed.As all this was happening, OpenAI stepped in and offered its products and services to fill the void left by Anthropic in the US government.OpenAI's CEO has been cozying up to Trump a lot since he regained office, and has positioned the company as a major US asset, too big to fail because then China will win the AI race, basically, so this makes sense. Its CEO released several statements and press releases in the wake of this further cozying, saying that they believe the same things Anthropic does, and that they're not giving up any credibility for doing this because they have the same red lines, no killer robots, no mass surveillance of US citizens.But this is generally assumed to be bunk, because why would the Pentagon agree to the same terms all over again, and with a company that provides, for their purposes and right now, anyway, inferior services instead of the one they just chased out and blackballed, and which was helping them do purposeful, effective things, like kidnapping a foreign leader from a secure facility, today?Instead, what it sounds like is OpenAI is trying to have its cake and eat it too, saying publicly that they don't want their offerings used to control autonomous weapons systems or mass surveil Americans, but instead of writing that into the contract, they've got some basic guardrails baked into their systems, and they are assuming those guardrails will keep any funny business from happening. So it's a sort of gentleman's agreement with their clients that OpenAI products won't be used for mass surveillance or killer robots, rather than something legally binding, as was the case with Anthropic.The response to all this within the tech world has been illustrative of what we might expect in the coming years. Many people, including folks working on these technologies, are halting their use of OpenAI tech in protest, and in some (at this point at least) fewer cases, people are quitting their OpenAI jobs, because they are strongly opposed to these use-cases and would prefer to support a company that takes a strong stand on these sorts of moral issues.Some analysts also wonder if this will ensure the Pentagon only ever has access to inferior AI models because they intentionally threatened and disempowered a key AI industry CEO in public, saying that they had final say over how these tools are used, and many such CEOs are both unaccustomed to such stripping down, but are also doing the work they're doing for ideological reasons—they have beliefs about what the future, as enabled by AI technologies, will look like, and they believe they will play a vital role in making that future happen.The idea, then, is why would they want to work with the Pentagon, or the US government more broadly, if that means no longer being in charge of the destiny of these tools they're putting so much time, effort, and resources into building? Why would they take on a client, even a big, important one, if that means no longer having any grain of control over the future of the world as shaped by the systems they're building?We'll know a bit more about how all this plays out within the next handful of months, as this could serve as a moral differentiator between otherwise near-match products in the AI category, allowing companies like Anthropic to compete, both in terms of clients and in terms of employees, with the likes of OpenAI and xAI by saying, look, we don't want killer robots or mass surveillance and we gave up a LOT, put our money where our mouths are, in support of that moral stance.That could prove to be a serious feather in their cap, despite the initial cost, though it could also be that the pressure the US government is willing and able to apply to them instead serves as a warning to others, and the likes of OpenAI and Google and so on just get better at speaking out of both sides of their mouths on this issue, creating sneakier contracts that allow them to say the same on paper, seeming to take the same moral stance Anthropic did, while behind closed doors allowing their clients to do basically whatever they want with their products, including using them to control killer robots and to mass surveil US citizens.Show Noteshttps://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/artificial-intelligence-under-nuclear-pressure-first-large-scale-kings-study-reveals-how-ai-models-reason-and-escalate-under-crisishttps://www.axios.com/2026/02/26/ai-nuclear-weapons-war-pentagon-scenarioshttps://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/27/technology/openai-agreement-pentagon-ai.htmlhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lethal_autonomous_weaponhttps://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/885963/anthropic-dod-pentagon-tech-workers-ai-labs-reacthttps://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/886816/openai-reached-a-new-agreement-with-the-pentagonhttps://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/02/trump-moves-to-ban-anthropic-from-the-us-government/https://apnews.com/article/anthropic-pentagon-ai-dario-amodei-hegseth-0c464a054359b9fdc80cf18b0d4f690chttps://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/whats-really-at-stake-in-the-fight-between-anthropic-and-the-pentagon-d450c1a1https://openai.com/index/our-agreement-with-the-department-of-war/https://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/artificial-intelligence-under-nuclear-pressure-first-large-scale-kings-study-reveals-how-ai-models-reason-and-escalate-under-crisishttps://www.axios.com/2026/02/26/ai-nuclear-weapons-war-pentagon-scenarios This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit letsknowthings.substack.com/subscribe

If sales have started to feel heavy, frustrating, or emotionally draining, the problem may not be your strategy—it may be your mindset. In this episode, Ray Higdon explains why sales feels hard and how simple mindset shifts can immediately change your experience and results. Most salespeople unknowingly tie their emotions to outcomes, rejection, and responses. But top performers detach from results and instead anchor themselves in activity, patience, and consistency. You will learn how to stop fearing rejection, why becoming addicted to activity transforms performance, and how shifting from "trying to close" to simply "seeing who's open" reduces pressure and increases conversions. Ray also explains why consistency, courage, and stepping outside your comfort zone are essential for success to become inevitable. —  

Today's guest, Denise Woods, has been the 'voice behind the voice' for Hollywood's most celebrated performers for over twenty years. As a dialect and vocal coach, she has contributed to Oscar- and Tony-winning performances.   Beyond Hollywood, Denise has been the secret weapon for Fortune 500 executives, broadcast journalists, and elite athletes transitioning to broadcasting careers. Her client list reads like a who's who of entertainment—from Jessica Chastain to Queen Latifah, from Anthony Mackie to Maggie Gyllenhaal.   Denise is also committed to giving disenfranchised voices the courage and tools to tell their stories by dismantling fear, shame, and trauma. As a graduate and the first African-American female faculty member of Juilliard's Drama Division, she's breaking barriers while helping others find their power. Her book, The Power of Voice, captures this transformative approach to finding and using your authentic voice.   In this episode, we'll explore: Why embracing your authentic light is essential to mastery The reason true expertise means embracing "I don't know" How non-conformity fuels artistic excellence, and why Denise thrives as a co-creator and collaborator The spiritual and intentional approach to preparation that allows authentic voices to emerge Her current favorites: Book: Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison, Speaker: Michelle Obama, Podcast: Trevor Noah's What Now? More from Denise Woods Website: https://www.speakitclearly.com/  Her book, The Power of Voice Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/speakitclearly  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/denise-woods-b1239518  More from Tricia  Publish your book with The Big Talk Press Join my complimentary monthly workshop  Explore my content and follow me on YouTube Follow me on Instagram  Connect with me on Facebook  Connect with me on LinkedIn  Visit my website at TriciaBrouk.com 

Stefan Feuerstein isn't just an expert in delegation—he's a humanitarian leader with a track record of real-world impact. In this powerful episode, Stefan joins John to unpack the simple but transformational delegation model from his book ABC Delegation.But this conversation goes far deeper than business. Stefan's approach—Autonomy, Briefing, and Consent—was born not in a boardroom, but in the field. From leading 250 people in Honduras (the murder capital of the world) to supporting migrant children at the U.S. border, Stefan's leadership method was forged under pressure in some of the world's most difficult environments.Together, they break down the mindset shift needed to delegate effectively (especially for control-prone entrepreneurs), the practical framework for implementing ABC, and real examples of how it's driving results for teams worldwide—from humanitarian missions to Fortune 500 companies.If you've ever said “I'll just do it myself,” this episode will challenge you—and give you the tools to lead and let go.Are you interested in leveling up your sales skills and staying relevant in today's AI-driven landscape? Visit www.jbarrows.com and let's Make It Happen together!Connect with John on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnbarrows/Connect with John on IG: https://www.instagram.com/johnmbarrows/Check out John's Membership: https://go.jbarrows.com/pages/individual-membership?ref=3edab1Join John's Newsletter: https://www.jbarrows.com/newsletterConnect with Stefan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stefan-feuerstein-0b35a7117/Check out Stefan's Website: https://abcdelegation.com/

What if the reason your marketing "isn't working" these days isn't your team — but your strategy? In today's environment, buyers are changing faster than most companies can keep up. Sales teams are frustrated. Leads are down. And what used to work suddenly doesn't. The real issue? Most organizations are still operating with outdated assumptions about how to turn their prospects into customers. In this episode, Rachel sits down with Karen Hayward, Managing Partner & CMO at Chief Outsiders and author of Stop Random Acts of Marketing, to unpack what modern growth really requires — and why CEOs must reclaim ownership of it. Karen brings more than 20 years of experience advising Fortune 1,000 and mid-market companies. At Chief Outsiders, she leads a team of 40-plus CMOs and CSOs, helping organizations align sales and marketing around the voice of the customer to accelerate revenue. She's a Vistage and TEC-certified speaker, guest lecturer, and trusted advisor to CEOs and private equity leaders ready to build growth engines in today's marketplace. In this episode, Karen breaks down how to replace marketing chaos with a disciplined strategy. The Modern Buyer Has Changed — Has Your Strategy? Today's landscape paints a generationally different picture of consumer behavior than the one many of us grew up with. Nearly 65% of B2B buyers are now Millennials or Gen Z. They research independently. They distrust early sales engagement. They want rep-free or digital-first buying experiences. And increasingly, they're discovering companies through AI platforms. If your growth engine still relies on cold outreach and traditional sales funnels, you're misaligned with how today's customers actually want to buy. Karen explains that marketing now owns the majority of the funnel. Her advice? Start with the voice of the customer. Interview recent wins and losses. Identify what customers truly value — not what you assume they value. Then align positioning, messaging, and sales enablement around that insight. From Random Acts to Real Results One of the most common mistakes Karen sees? Companies executing disconnected tactics without a cohesive strategy. Instead, she urges leaders to focus on three foundational pillars: Deep customer insight Clear competitive positioning Honest understanding of company strengths Only then should you invest in acquisition. Karen also shares tactical wins leaders can implement immediately: Record discovery calls and use AI to tighten proposal alignment Run an AEO grader report to evaluate how AI platforms see your business Build robust FAQ content based on real buyer questions The throughline? Discipline over randomness. Marketing remains full of engagement metrics and busy dashboards, but true success relies on measurable growth. Enjoy this episode with Karen Hayward… Soundbytes 09:21 – 09:32 "About 65%-plus of B2B buyers today are millennial or Gen Z. And they buy drastically differently than baby boomers do." 37:46 – 38:30 "By the time the salesperson gets engaged, you have very little time to build trust. So how do you coach yourself to get better on the at-bats that you have given how little time you have? So the one thing I would do with the sales team, or with BD people, or with founders, or with you — if you're talking to clients — is I would record the initial conversation with the client and understand what their needs are. I would record that. And then I would send a follow-up email to them with a summary of what they said, and I'd ask them to correct me." Quotes "Marketing now owns most of the sales and marketing funnel." "Stop doing random acts of marketing and hoping something works." "You can't rely on your sales force to tell you why you're winning and losing." "Open the door and ask about them first." "Engagement doesn't pay payroll." Links mentioned in this episode: From Our Guest Website: https://www.chiefoutsiders.com/profile/karen-hayward Phone: 650-823-4292 Connect with Karen Hayward on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karenhaywardcmo/ Connect with brandiD Find out how top leaders are increasing their authority, impact, and income online. Listen to our private podcast, The Professional Presence Podcast: https://thebrandid.com/professional-presence-podcast Ready to elevate your digital presence with a powerful brand or website? Contact us here: https://thebrandid.com/contact-form/

What does it really take to lead well when the world—and the workplace—feels deeply divided? You're invited into a thoughtful, grounded conversation with Michael C. Bush, CEO of Great Place to Work, as we explore how trust, character, and everyday leadership behaviors shape cultures where people can thrive, no matter their differences. You'll hear why great leadership isn't about perks or slogans, but about how consistently leaders listen, speak, thank, and show respect. Michael shares data-backed insights from decades of employee experience research, explains how companies earn Great Place to Work certification, and makes a compelling case that organizations that care for people—across demographics, beliefs, and roles—don't just feel better to work in; they also perform better. Michael is CEO of Great Place To Work, the global research and analytics firm that produces annual distinguished workplace rankings around the world, such as Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For, the World's Best Workplaces, and the 100 Best Workplaces for Women. Michael joined Great Place To Work as CEO in 2015, bringing 30 years of experience leading and growing organizations. Michael is driven by a love of business and an unwavering commitment to fair and equitable treatment. You'll discover: Why trust is the foundation of every great workplaceThe leadership behaviors that matter most to employeesHow Great Place to Work measures fairness for allWhat leaders must do differently in polarized timesWhy people-centered companies outperform long-termConnect with Michael C. BushLinkedInWebsiteGreat Place to WorkBookA Great Place to Work for All Check out all the episodesLeave a review on Apple PodcastsConnect with Meredith on LinkedIn

70% of AI rollouts fail because leaders treat them as IT projects. Stephen Wunker, founder of New Markets Advisors who has guided Fortune 500 companies through digital transformations, explains why AI implementation requires fundamental business process redesign rather than traditional technology deployment. He outlines the cross-functional framework that integrates HR, operations, and strategy teams from day one, plus the value proposition transformation methodology that repositions companies in AI-transformed markets.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It's a new explosive Davey Mac Sports Program as we're looking at the clown show that continues to be the once-great sports leader ESPN!   Kevin Durant makes insane comments and somehow Stephen A. Smith agrees with them!   Will ESPN ever resist getting on a soap box and talking stupidly?   How are they still sermonizing at this point and is it the reason for their demise as both Variety and Fortune disclose how much money and viewers ESPN is losing these days!   Plus, who really are the best international basketball players and why do they bother some people?   Also, a high school basketball game ends in the worst way possible--who is to blame?   Baseball is only a few weeks away and MLB has unveiled the new Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) system...are home plate umpires an endangered species?  The New York Football Giants have a major problem on their hands in co-owner Steve Tisch and something needs to be done about it!   Players from the U.S.A. men's and women's hockey teams go on Saturday Night Live...can we finally leave the other nonsense behind us?   And, a major fight breaks out at one of Roy's gigs...what the heck is going on?!   It's a spirited and fun 424th episode of the award-winning* Davey Mac Sports Program that you should hear right now!   BOOM! * Best Independent Sports Podcast - iTunes Editorial Team

This episode was sponsored by Cardiff & Double L Equipment   LightSpeed VT: https://www.lightspeedvt.com/ Dropping Bombs Podcast: https://www.droppingbombs.com/ This Dropping Bombs episode delivers blue-collar fire with Hunter Leverton, the 26-year-old founder who transformed from overweight and struggling to building a thriving blue-collar empire from scratch.   Starting with one truck that paid for itself in three months, Hunter bootstrapped his way to renting and building custom water trucks across America while transforming his health, relationships, and mindset. He breaks down the brutal truth about discipline, the one choice that flipped his entire life, and why blue-collar businesses are the new path to generational wealth.    If you're ready to stop making excuses and start doing the damn work, this conversation is your wake-up call.   Entrepreneurs and blue-collar hustlers, listen now. Your next move starts here.