Podcasts about HQ

Most of us have that voice in our head that says we're not ready, not good enough, or just faking it—and Jay Schwedelson is here to shut that voice up for good. In this episode, Jay explains how negative self-talk sneaks into your brain, why it's so convincing, and the weird trick he uses to stop it instantly. Plus, he somehow ties it all back to Mean Girls, Rocky, and Eddie Murphy.ㅤBest Moments:(01:15) Why switching careers into marketing isn't as hard as you think(02:18) The sneaky power of negative self-talk and how everyone falls for it(03:49) What UCLA's research says about how self-doubt rewires your brain(05:14) The hilarious but effective way Jay shuts up his inner critic(07:00) Jay's unapologetic list of the greatest movies ever madeㅤCheck out our 100% FREE + VIRTUAL EVENTS! ->Guru Conference - The World's Largest Virtual EMAIL MARKETING Conference - Nov 6-7!Register here: www.GuruConference.comㅤCheck out Jay's YOUTUBE Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@schwedelsonCheck out Jay's TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@schwedelsonCheck Out Jay's INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/jayschwedelson/ㅤMASSIVE thank you to our Sponsor, Marigold!!Email chaos across campuses, branches, or chapters? Emma by Marigold lets HQ keep control while local teams send on-brand, on-time messages with ease.Podcast & GURU listeners: 50 % off your first 3 months with an annual plan (new customers, 10 k-contact minimum, terms apply).Claim your offer now at jayschwedelson.com/emma

Greg James takes you inside Radio 1's Cloakroom! The behind the scenes HQ of Radio 1's Traitors Halloween special where the victims share their side of the story, the traitors confess and the faithfuls reflect. Exclusive reactions, dramatic reveals and all the chaos in between.

A bailout package for Chicago transit passed in Springfield as the Bears' stadium funding efforts were again shut out. Crain's politics reporter Justin Laurence discusses with host Amy Guth.Plus: 1871 is on the move to Edelman's downtown HQ, Senate OKs energy bill that includes billions for battery storage and nixes nuke ban, Heartland Bank expands in Illinois and Missouri with $170 million CNB buy, and Baxter lowers guidance. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Another full serving of red meat on The Chad & Cheese Podcast. Joel unleashes the layoff bloodbath: Amazon axes 14K corporate jobs for automation, Target cuts 1.8K amid sales slumps, GM drops 3K+, Rivian 600, UPS a brutal 48K. Military.com? DOA via Valnet. Chad blames UPS pain on automation, ditching Amazon volume, and shrinking wallets; ties GM to the EV tax-credit cliff—“Trump economy killer!” Joel says companies hate chaos, froze post-election, now tariffs (⅓ each: importer, company, consumer) drip inflation, crushing spending and jobs. Amazon's BlueJay bots are coming for warehouses. Emi (Europe) confirms global instability fuels automation through '27; Target may need holiday humans, but HQ already slashed layers. Mercor—those zygote founders roasted for bias-free matching—pivots to AI-model eval, grabs $350M Series C at $10B. 30K experts at $85/hr tell OpenAI why outputs rock or rot. Chad salutes the “picks-and-shovels” genius; Joel dubs it the mother of pivots. AuditBoard scoops FairNow for AI-governance; Chad smells PE acqui-hire for HG's $180B empire, Joel's skeptical—flat headcount, no terms, RecFest whispers “smoke.” Emi loves Mercor's 500M ARR path, reserves FairNow judgment. iCIMS wakes up: AI Sourcing Agent, turnkey I-9/E-Verify (backgrounds/assessments next), Apply Network adds LinkedIn/Veritone. Chad groans—5 yrs post-Opening.io, 3 post-Candidate.ID, rebranding old tech as “agents” in me-too panic. Joel sees ATS arms race: bundle sourcing/SEO or lose to SmartRecruiter clones. Emi hopes CTO Deepak Pandya saves the day; Chad/Joel want retention—“We've got agents too!” H-1B mess: White House defends $100K fee vs. Chamber lawsuits over fraud/wage suppression. DeSantis bans H-1Bs at FL universities (13.6% biz faculty gone), citing Chinese nationals teaching U.S. policy. Chad recalls 2020 Chamber suit—immigrants power innovation/supply chains. BC runs Reagan ads during NHL, fast-tracks Trump-weary U.S. nurses: 1.4K+ apps, 113 registered, 100+ hired. Joel predicts Canada-wide poach; Emi: fee won't spawn American nurses. Bold (Monster/CB owners) drops 2007 cringe-video: wrinkled CEO, Trumpasaurus, resume subs, predatory paid services. Chad gags at “ick,” slams Jeff Taylor for cheering a flaming brand. Joel: ChatGPT could do better; Emi: euthanize the dead horse—trust gone. Trio signs off with Joel the Chicken & Agent Chad pitching iCIMS mascot gigs. Death, taxes, layoffs—baby.  Chapters00:00 - Intro13:32- Layoffs21:44 - AI News30:29 - iCIMS38:23 - H-1B47:04 - Bold 

What does it take to keep a family business thriving for generations? In this episode of Unstoppable Mindset, I talk with Jan Southern, a seasoned business advisor who helps family-owned companies build long-term success through structure, trust, and clarity. We explore why so many family firms lose their way by the third generation—and what can be done right now to change that story. Jan shares how documenting processes, empowering people, and aligning goals can turn complexity into confidence. We unpack her “Three Ps” framework—People, Process, and Product—and discuss how strong leadership, accountability, and smart AI adoption keep growth steady and sustainable. If you've ever wondered what separates businesses that fade from those that flourish, this conversation will show you how to turn structure into freedom and process into legacy. Highlights: 00:10 – Why unexpected stories reveal how real businesses grow. 01:39 – How early life in Liberal, Kansas shaped a strong work ethic. 07:51 – What a 10,000 sq ft HQ build-out teaches about operations. 09:35 – How a trading floor was rebuilt in 36 hours and why speed matters. 11:21 – Why acquisitions fail without tribal knowledge and culture continuity. 13:19 – What Ferguson Alliance does for mid-market family businesses. 14:08 – Why many family firms don't make it to the third generation. 17:33 – How the 3 Ps—people, process, product—create durable growth. 20:49 – Why empowerment and clear decision rights prevent costly delays. 33:02 – The step-by-step process mapping approach that builds buy-in. 36:41 – Who should sponsor change and how to align managers. 49:36 – Why process docs and succession planning start on day one. 56:21 – Realistic timelines: six weeks to ninety days and beyond. 58:19 – How referrals expand projects across departments. About the Guest: With over 40 years of experience in the realm of business optimization and cost-effective strategies, Jan is a seasoned professional dedicated to revolutionizing company efficiency. From collaborating with large corporations encompassing over 1,000 employees to small 2-person offices, Jan's expertise lies in meticulously analyzing financials, processes, policies and procedures to drive enhanced performance. Since joining Ferguson Alliance in 2024, Jan has become a Certified Exit Planning Advisor and is currently in the process of certification in Artificial Intelligence Consulting and Implementation, adding to her ability to quickly provide businesses with an assessment and tools that will enhance their prosperity in today's competitive landscape. Jan's forte lies in crafting solutions that align with each client's vision, bolstering their bottom line and staffing dynamics. Adept in setting policies that align with company objectives, Jan is renowned for transforming challenges into opportunities for growth and longevity. With a knack for unraveling inefficiencies and analyzing net income, Jan is a go-to expert for family-owned businesses looking to extend their legacy into future generations. Ways to connect with Jan: Email address : Jan@Ferguson-Alliance.com Phone: 713 851 2229 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jansouthern cepa Website: https://ferguson alliance.com About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog. Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards. https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/ accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/ Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below! Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset . Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts. Transcription Notes: Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us.   Michael Hingson ** 01:20 Well, hi everyone. I want to welcome you to unstoppable mindset where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. But the neat thing about it is we don't usually deal with inclusion or diversity. We deal with everything, but that because people come on this podcast to tell their own stories, and that's what we get to do today with Jan southern not necessarily anything profound about inclusion or diversity, but certainly the unexpected. And I'm sure we're going to figure out how that happens and what's unexpected about whatever I got to tell you. Before we started, we were just sitting here telling a few puns back and forth. Oh, well, we could always do that, Jan, well, welcome to unstoppable mindset. We're glad you're here. Thank you so much. Glad to be here. Any puns before we start?   Jan Southern ** 02:09 No, I think we've had enough of those. I think we did it   Michael Hingson ** 02:11 in, huh? Yes. Well, cool. Well, I want to thank you for being here. Jan has been very actively involved in a lot of things dealing with business and helping people and companies of all sizes, companies of all sizes. I don't know about people of all sizes, but companies of all sizes in terms of becoming more effective and being well, I'll just use the term resilient, but we'll get into that. But right now, let's talk about the early Jan. Tell us about Jan growing up and all that sort of stuff that's always fun to start with.   Jan Southern ** 02:50 Yes, I grew up in Liberal Kansas, which is a small town just north of the Oklahoma border and a little bit east of New Mexico kind of down in that little Four Corners area. And I grew up in the time when we could leave our house in the morning on the weekends and come home just before dusk at night, and our parents didn't panic, you know. So it was a good it was a good time growing up. I i lived right across the street from the junior high and high school, so I had a hugely long walk to work, I mean,   Michael Hingson ** 03:28 to school,   Jan Southern ** 03:30 yeah, and so, you know, was a, was a cheerleader in high school, and went to college, then at Oklahoma State, and graduated from there, and here I am in the work world. I've been working since I was about 20 years old, and I'd hate to tell you how many years that's been.   Michael Hingson ** 03:51 You can if you want. I won't tell   03:55 nobody will know.   Michael Hingson ** 03:57 Good point. Well, I know it's been a long time I read your bio, so I know, but that's okay. Well, so when you What did you major in in college psychology? Ah, okay. And did you find a bachelor's degree or just bachelor's   Jan Southern ** 04:16 I did not. I got an Mrs. Degree and had two wonderful children and grew up, they've grown up and to become very fine young men with kids of their own. So I have four grandchildren and one great grandchild, so   Michael Hingson ** 04:33 Wowie Zowie, yeah, that's pretty cool. So when you left college after graduating, what did you do?   Jan Southern ** 04:40 I first went to work in a bank. My ex husband was in pharmacy school at Oklahoma, State University of Oklahoma, and so I went to work in a bank. I was the working wife while he went to pharmacy school. And went to work in a bank, and years later, became a bank consultant. So we we lived in Norman, Oklahoma until he was out of school and and as I began having children during our marriage, I went to work for a pediatrician, which was very convenient when you're trying to take care of kids when they're young.   Michael Hingson ** 05:23 Yeah, and what did you What did you do for a pediatrician?   Jan Southern ** 05:27 I was, I was her receptionist, and typed medical charts, so I learned a lot about medicine. Was very she was head of of pediatrics at a local hospital, and also taught at the university. And so I got a great education and health and well being of kids. It was, it was a great job.   Michael Hingson ** 05:51 My my sister in law had her first child while still in high school, and ended up having to go to work. She went to work for Kaiser Permanente as a medical transcriber, but she really worked her way up. She went to college, got a nursing degree, and so on, and she became a nurse. And eventually, when she Well, she didn't retire, but her last job on the medical side was she managed seven wards, and also had been very involved in the critical care unit. Was a nurse in the CCU for a number of years. Then she was tasked. She went to the profit making side of Kaiser, as it were, and she was tasked with bringing paperless charts into Kaiser. She was the nurse involved in the team that did that. So she came a long way from being a medical transcriber.   Jan Southern ** 06:51 Well, she came a long way from being a single mom in high school. That's a great story of success.   Michael Hingson ** 06:56 Well, and she wasn't totally a single mom. She she and the guy did marry, but eventually they they did divorce because he wasn't as committed as he should be to one person, if it were,   Speaker 1 ** 07:10 that's a familiar story. And he also drank and eventually died of cirrhosis of the liver. Oh, that's too bad. Yeah, that's always sad, but, you know, but, but she coped, and her her kids cope. So it works out okay. So you went to work for a pediatrician, and then what did you do?   Jan Southern ** 07:31 Well, after my husband, after he graduated, was transferred to Dallas, and I went to work for a company gardener, Denver company at the time, they've been since purchased by another company. And was because of my experience in banking prior to the pediatrician, I went to work in their corporate cash management division, and I really enjoyed that I was in their corporate cash management for their worldwide division, and was there for about four years, and really enjoyed it. One of my most exciting things was they were moving their headquarters from Quincy, Illinois down to Dallas. And so I had been hired. But since they were not yet in Dallas, I worked with a gentleman who was in charge of putting together their corporate offices. And so we made all the arrangements. As far as we had a got a 10,000 square foot blank space when we started. And our job was to get every desk, every chair, every pen and pencil. And so when somebody moved from Quincy, Illinois, they moved in and they had their desk all set up. Their cuticles were cubicles were ready to go and and they were they could hit the ground running day one, so that,   Michael Hingson ** 09:02 so you, you clearly really got into dealing with organization, I would would say, then, wouldn't, didn't you?   Jan Southern ** 09:11 Yes, yes, that was my, probably my first exposure to to the corporate world and learning exactly how things could be more efficient, more cost effective. And I really enjoyed working for that company.   Michael Hingson ** 09:30 I remember, after September 11, we worked to provide the technology that we were selling, but we provided technology to Wall Street firms so they could recover their data and get set up again to be able to open the stock exchange and all the trading floors on the 17th of September. So the next Monday. And it was amazing, one of the companies was, I think it was Morgan Stanley. Finally and they had to go find new office space, because their office space in the World Trade Center was, needless to say, gone. They found a building in Jersey City that had a floor, they said, about the size of a football field, and from Friday night to Sunday afternoon, they said it took about 36 hours. They brought in computers, including IBM, taking computers from some of their own people, and just bringing them into to Morgan Stanley and other things, including some of the technology that we provided. And within 36 hours, they had completely reconstructed a trading floor. That's amazing. It was, it was absolutely amazing to see that. And you know, for everyone, it was pretty crazy, but Wall Street opened on the 17th and and continued to survive.   Jan Southern ** 10:57 That's a great story.   Michael Hingson ** 10:59 So what did you do? So you did this, this work with the 10,000 square foot space and other things like that. And then what?   Jan Southern ** 11:08 Well, once, once everyone moved into the space in Dallas. Then I began my work in their in their corporate cash management area. And from there, my next job was working in a bank when my my husband, then was transferred back to Tulsa, Oklahoma, and I went back to work in banking. And from that bank, I was there about three to four years, and I was hired then by John Floyd as a as a consultant for banks and credit unions, and I was with that company for 42 years. My gosh, I know that's unusual these days, but I really enjoyed what I did. We did re engineering work and cost effectiveness and banks and credit unions for those 42 years. And so that was where I really cut my teeth on process improvement and continuous improvement, and still in that industry. But their company was bought by a an equity firm. And of course, when that happens, they like to make changes and and bring in their own folks. So those of us who had been there since day one were no longer there.   Michael Hingson ** 12:26 When did that happen?   Jan Southern ** 12:27 That was in 2022   Michael Hingson ** 12:32 so it's interesting that companies do that they always want to bring in their own people. And at least from my perspective, it seems to me that they forget that they lose all the tribal knowledge that people who have been working there have that made the company successful   Jan Southern ** 12:51 Absolutely. So I guess they're still doing well, and they've done well for themselves afterwards, and but, you know, they do, they lose all the knowledge, they lose all of the continuity with the clients. And it's sad that they do that, but that's very, very common.   Michael Hingson ** 13:13 Yeah, I know I worked for a company that was bought by Xerox, and all the company wanted was our technology. All Xerox wanted was the technology. And they lost all of the knowledge that all the people with sales experience and other kinds of experiences brought, because they terminated all of us when the company was fully in the Xerox realm of influence.   Jan Southern ** 13:39 So you know what I went through? Yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 13:42 Well, what did you do after you left that company? After you left John Floyd,   Jan Southern ** 13:47 I left John Floyd, I was under a I was under a non compete, so I kind of knocked around for a couple of years. I was of age where I could have retired, but I wasn't ready to. So then I found Ferguson Alliance, and I'm now a business advisor for family owned businesses, and so I've been with Ferguson just over a year, and doing the same type of work that I did before. In addition to that, I have become a certified Exit Planning advisor, so that I can do that type of work as well. So that's that's my story in a nutshell. As far as employment,   Michael Hingson ** 14:26 what is Ferguson Alliance?   Jan Southern ** 14:29 Ferguson Alliance, we are business advisors for family owned businesses. And the perception is that a family owned business is going to be a small business, but there are over 500,000 family owned businesses in the United States. Our market is the middle market, from maybe 50 employees up to 1000 20 million in revenues, up to, you know, the sky's the limit, and so we do. Do a lot of work as far as whatever can help a family owned business become more prosperous and survive into future generations. It's a sad statistic that most family owned businesses don't survive into the third generation.   Michael Hingson ** 15:16 Why is that?   Jan Southern ** 15:19 I think because they the first the first generation works themselves, their fingers to the bone to get their their business off the ground, and they get successful, and their offspring often enjoy, if you will, the fruits of the labors of their parents and so many of them, once they've gone to college, they don't have an interest in joining the firm, and so they go on and succeed on their own. And then their children, of course, follow the same course from from their work. And so that's really, I think, the primary reason, and also the the founders of the businesses have a tendency to let that happen, I think. And so our coaching programs try to avoid that and help them to bring in the second and third generations so that they can, you know, they can carry on a legacy of their parents or the founders.   Michael Hingson ** 16:28 So what do you do, and what kinds of initiatives do you take to extend the longevity of a family owned business then,   Jan Southern ** 16:39 well, the first thing is that that Rob, who's our founder of our family owned business, does a lot of executive coaching and helps the helps the people who are within the business, be it the founder or being at their second or third generations, and he'll help with coaching them as to how to, hey, get past the family dynamics. Everybody has their own business dynamics. And then you add on top of that, the family dynamics, in addition to just the normal everyday succession of a business. And so we help them to go through those types of challenges, if you will. They're not always a challenge, but sometimes, if there are challenges, Rob's coaching will take them through that and help them to develop a succession plan that also includes a document that says that that governance plan as to how their family business will be governed, in addition to just a simple succession plan, and my role in a lot of that is to make sure that their business is ready to prosper too. You know that their their assessment of as far as whether they're profitable, whether they are their processes are in place, etc, but one of the primary things that we do is to help them make certain that that if they don't want to survive into future generations, that we help them to prepare to either pass it along to a family member or pass it along to someone who's a non family member, right?   Michael Hingson ** 18:34 So I've heard you mentioned the 3p that are involved in extending longevity. Tell me about that. What are the three P's?   Jan Southern ** 18:41 Well, the first p is your people. You know, if you don't take care of your people, be they family members or non family members, then you're not going to be very successful. So making certain that you have a system in place, have a culture in place that takes care of your people. To us, is very key. Once you make sure that your people are in a culture of continuous improvement and have good, solid foundation. In that regard, you need to make sure that your processes are good. That's the second P that that you have to have your processes all documented, that you've authorized your people to make decisions that they don't always have to go to somebody else. If you're a person in the company and you recognize that something's broken, then you need to have empowerment so that your people can make decisions and not always have to get permission from someone else to make certain that those processes continuously are approved improved. That's how to you. Could have became so successful is they installed a product. They called it, I say, a product. They installed a culture. They called it kaizen. And so Kaizen was simply just continuous improvement, where, if you were doing a process and you ask yourself, why did I do it this way? Isn't there a better way? Then, you know, you're empowered to find a better way and to make sure that that that you can make that decision, as long as it fits in with the culture of the company. Then the third P is product. You know, you've got to have a product that people want. I know that you've seen a lot of companies fail because they're pushing a product that nobody wants. And so you make certain that your products are good, your products are good, high quality, and that you can deliver them in the way that you promise. And so those are really the 3p I'd like to go back to process and just kind of one of the things, as you know, we had some horrendous flooding here in Texas recently, and one of the things that happened during that, and not that it was a cause of it, but just one of the things that exacerbated the situation, is someone called to say, Please, we need help. There's flooding going on. It was one of their first responders had recognized that there was a tragic situation unfolding, and when he called into their system to give alerts, someone says, Well, I'm going to have to get approval from my supervisor, with the approval didn't come in time. So what's behind that? We don't know, but that's just a critical point as to why you should empower your people to make decisions when, when it's necessary.   Michael Hingson ** 21:56 I'm sure, in its own way, there was some of that with all the big fires out here in California back in January, although part of the problem with those is that aircraft couldn't fly for 36 hours because the winds were so heavy that there was just no way that the aircraft could fly. But you got to wonder along the way, since they are talking about the fact that the electric companies Southern California, Edison had a fair amount to do with probably a lot a number of the fires igniting and so on, one can only wonder what might have happened if somebody had made different decisions to better prepare and do things like coating the wires so that if they touch, they wouldn't spark and so on that they didn't do. And, you know, I don't know, but one can only wonder.   Jan Southern ** 22:53 It's hard to know, you know, and in our situation, would it have made any difference had that person been able to make a decision on her own? Yeah, I was moving so rapidly, it might not have made any any difference at all, but you just have to wonder, like you said,   Michael Hingson ** 23:10 yeah, there's no way to, at this point, really know and understand, but nevertheless, it is hopefully something that people learn about for the future, I heard that they're now starting to coat wires, and so hopefully that will prevent a lot, prevent a lot of the sparking and so on. I'd always thought about they ought to put everything underground, but coating wire. If they can do that and do it effectively, would probably work as well. And that's, I would think, a lot cheaper than trying to put the whole power grid underground.   Jan Southern ** 23:51 I would think so we did when I was with my prior company. We did a project where they were burying, they were putting everything underground, and Burlington Vermont, and it was incredible what it takes to do that. I mean, you just, we on the outside, just don't realize, you know, there's a room that's like 10 by six underground that carries all of their equipment and things necessary to do that. And I never realized how, how costly and how difficult it was to bury everything. We just have the impression that, well, they just bury this stuff underground, and that's all. That's all it takes. But it's a huge, huge undertaking in order to do that   Michael Hingson ** 24:36 well. And it's not just the equipment, it's all the wires, and that's hundreds and of miles and 1000s of miles of cable that has to be buried underground, and that gets to be a real challenge.   Jan Southern ** 24:47 Oh, exactly, exactly. So another story about cables. We were working in West Texas one time on a project, and we're watching them stretch the. Wiring. They were doing some internet provisioning for West Texas, which was woefully short on in that regard, and they were stringing the wire using helicopters. It was fascinating, and the only reason we saw that is it was along the roadways when we were traveling from West Texas, back into San Antonio, where flights were coming in and out of so that was interesting to watch.   Michael Hingson ** 25:28 Yeah, yeah. People get pretty creative. Well, you know, thinking back a little bit, John Floyd must have been doing something right to keep you around for 42 years.   Jan Southern ** 25:40 Yes, they did. They were a fabulous country company and still going strong. I think he opened in 1981 it's called advantage. Now, it's not John Floyd, but Right, that was a family owned business. That's where I got to cut my teeth on the dynamics of a family owned business and how they should work and how and his niece is one of the people that's still with the company. Whether, now that they're owned by someone else, whether she'll be able to remain as they go into different elements, is, is another question. But yeah, they were, they were great.   Michael Hingson ** 26:20 How many companies, going back to the things we were talking about earlier, how many companies when they're when they buy out another company, or they're bought out by another company, how many of those companies generally do succeed and continue to grow? Do you have any statistics, or do more tend not to than do? Or   Jan Southern ** 26:40 I think that more tend to survive. They tend to survive, though, with a different culture, I guess you would say they they don't retain the culture that they had before. I don't have any firm statistics on that, because we don't really deal with that that much, but I don't they tend to survive with it, with a the culture of the newer company, if they fold them in, yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 27:15 Well, and the reality is to be fair, evolution always takes place. So the John Floyd and say, 2022 wasn't the same as the John Floyd company in 1981   Jan Southern ** 27:31 not at all. No, exactly, not at all.   Michael Hingson ** 27:34 So it did evolve, and it did grow. And so hopefully, when that company was absorbed elsewhere and with other companies, they they do something to continue to be successful, and I but I think that's good. I know that with Xerox, when it bought Kurzweil, who I worked for, they were also growing a lot and so on. The only thing is that their stock started to drop. I think that there were a number of things. They became less visionary, I think is probably the best way to put it, and they had more competition from other companies developing and providing copiers and other things like that. But they just became less visionary. And so the result was that they didn't grow as much as probably they should have.   Jan Southern ** 28:28 I think that happens a lot. Sometimes, if you don't have a culture of continuous improvement and continuous innovation, which maybe they didn't, I'm not that familiar with how they move forward, then you get left behind. You know, I'm I'm in the process right now, becoming certified in artificial intelligent in my old age. And the point that's made, not by the company necessarily that I'm studying with, but by many others, is there's going to be two different kinds of companies in the future. There's going to be those who have adopted AI and those who used to be in business. And I think that's probably fair.   Michael Hingson ** 29:13 I think it is. And I also we talked with a person on this podcast about a year ago, or not quite a year ago, but, but he said, AI will not replace anyone's jobs. People will replace people's jobs with AI, but they shouldn't. They shouldn't eliminate anyone from the workforce. And we ended up having this discussion about autonomous vehicles. And the example that he gave is, right now we have companies that are shippers, and they drive product across the country, and what will happen to the drivers when the driving process becomes autonomous and you have self driving vehicles, driving. Across country. And his point was, what they should do, what people should consider doing is not eliminating the drivers, but while the machine is doing the driving, find and give additional or other tasks to the drivers to do so they can continue to be contributors and become more efficient and help the company become more efficient, because now you've got people to do other things than what they were used to doing, but there are other things that AI won't be able to do. And I thought that was pretty fascinating,   Jan Southern ** 30:34 exactly. Well, my my nephew is a long haul truck driver. He owns a company, and you know, nothing the AI will never be able to observe everything that's going on around the trucking and and you know, there's also the some of the things that that driver can do is those observations, plus they're Going to need people who are going to program those trucks as they are making their way across the country, and so I'm totally in agreement with what your friend said, or your you know, your guests had to say that many other things,   Michael Hingson ** 31:15 yeah, and it isn't necessarily even relating to driving, but there are certainly other things that they could be doing to continue to be efficient and effective, and no matter how good the autonomous driving capabilities are, it only takes that one time when for whatever reason, the intelligence can't do it, that it's good To have a driver available to to to to help. And I do believe that we're going to see the time when autonomous vehicles will be able to do a great job, and they will be able to observe most of all that stuff that goes on around them. But there's going to be that one time and that that happens. I mean, even with drivers in a vehicle, there's that one time when maybe something happens and a driver can't continue. So what happens? Well, the vehicle crashes, or there's another person to take over. That's why we have at least two pilots and airplanes and so on. So right, exactly aspects of it,   Jan Southern ** 32:21 I think so I can remember when I was in grade school, they showed us a film as to what someone's vision of the country was, and part of that was autonomous driving, you know. And so it was, it was interesting that we're living in a time where we're beginning to see that, yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 32:41 we're on the cusp, and it's going to come. It's not going to happen overnight, but it will happen, and we're going to find that vehicles will be able to drive themselves. But there's still much more to it than that, and we shouldn't be in too big of a hurry, although some so called profit making. People may decide that's not true, to their eventual chagrin, but we shouldn't be too quick to replace people with technology totally   Jan Southern ** 33:14 Exactly. We have cars in I think it's Domino's Pizza. I'm not sure which pizza company, but they have autonomous cars driving, and they're cooking the pizza in the back oven of the car while, you know, while it's driving to your location, yeah, but there's somebody in the car who gets out of the car and brings the pizza to my door.   Michael Hingson ** 33:41 There's been some discussion about having drones fly the pizza to you. Well, you know, we'll see,   Jan Southern ** 33:50 right? We'll see how that goes. Yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 33:53 I haven't heard that. That one is really, pardon the pun, flown well yet. But, you know, we'll see. So when you start a process, improvement process program, what are some of the first steps that you initiate to bring that about? Well, the first   Jan Southern ** 34:11 thing that we do, once we've got agreement with their leadership, then we have a meeting with the people who will be involved, who will be impacted, and we tell them all about what's happening, what's going to happen, and make certain that they're in full understanding. And you know, the first thing that you ever hear when you're saying that you're going to be doing a re engineering or process improvement is they think, Oh, you're just going to come in and tell me to reduce my staff, and that's the way I'm going to be more successful. We don't look at it that way at all. We look at it in that you need to be right. Have your staff being the right size, and so in in many cases, in my past. I we've added staff. We've told them, you're under staffed, but the first thing we do is hold that meeting, make certain that they're all in agreement with what's going to happen, explain to them how it's going to happen, and then the next step is that once management has decided who our counterparts will be within the company. Who's going to be working with us to introduce us to their staff members is we sit down with their staff members and we ask them questions. You know, what do you do? How do you do it? What do you Did someone bring it to you. Are you second in line or next in line for some task? And then once you finish with it, what happens to it? Do you give someone else? Is a report produced? Etc. And so once we've answered all of those questions, we do a little a mapping of the process. And once you map that process, then you take it back to the people who actually perform the process, and you ask them, Did I get this right? I heard you say, this? Is this a true depiction of what's happening? And so we make sure that they don't do four steps. And they told us steps number one and three, so that then, once we've mapped that out, that gives us an idea of two of how can things be combined? Can they be combined? Should you be doing what you're doing here? Is there a more efficient or cost effective way of doing it? And we make our recommendations based on that for each process that we're reviewing. Sometimes there's one or two good processes in an area that we're looking at. Sometimes there are hundreds. And so that's that's the basic process. And then once they've said yes, that is correct, then we make our recommendations. We take it back to their management, and hopefully they will include the people who actually are performing the actions. And we make our recommendations to make changes if, if, if it's correct, maybe they don't need to make any changes. Maybe everything is is very, very perfect the way it is. But in most cases, they brought us in because it's not and they've recognized it's not. So then once they've said, yes, we want to do this, then we help them to implement.   Michael Hingson ** 37:44 Who usually starts this process, that is, who brings you in?   Jan Southern ** 37:48 Generally, it is going to be, depending upon the size of the company, but in most cases, it's going to be the CEO. Sometimes it's the Chief Operating Officer. Sometimes in a very large company, it may be a department manager, you know, someone who has the authority to bring us in. But generally, I would say that probably 90% of our projects, it's at the C   Michael Hingson ** 38:19 level office. So then, based on everything that you're you're discussing, probably that also means that there has to be some time taken to convince management below the CEO or CEO or a department head. You've got to convince the rest of management that this is going to be a good thing and that you have their best interest at heart.   Jan Southern ** 38:43 That is correct, and that's primarily the reason that we have for our initial meeting. We ask whoever is the contract signer to attend that meeting and be a part of the discussion to help to ward off any objections, and then to really bring these people along if they are objecting. And for that very reason, even though they may still be objecting, we involve them in the implementation, so an implementation of a of a recommendation has to improve, has to include the validation. So we don't do the work, but we sit alongside the people who are doing the implementation and guide them through the process, and then it's really up to them to report back. Is it working as intended? If it's not, what needs to be changed, what might improve, what we thought would be a good recommendation, and we work with them to make certain that everything works for them. Right? And by the end of that, if they've been the tester, they've been the one who's approved steps along the way, we generally find that they're on board because they're the it's now. They're now the owners of the process. And when they have ownership on something that they've implemented. It's amazing how much more resilient they they think that the process becomes, and now it's their process and not ours.   Michael Hingson ** 40:32 Do you find most often that when you're working with a number of people in a company that most of them realize that there need to be some changes, or something needs to be improved to make the whole company work better. Or do you find sometimes there's just great resistance, and people say no, there's just no way anything is bad.   Jan Southern ** 40:53 Here we find that 90% of the time, and I'm just pulling that percentage out of the air, I would say they know, they know it needs to be changed. And the ones typically, not always, but typically, the ones where you find the greatest resistance are the ones who know it's broken, but they just don't want to change. You know, there are some people who don't want to change no matter what, or they feel threatened that. They feel like that a new and improved process might take their place. You know, might replace them. And that's typically not the case. It's typically not the case at all, that they're not replaced by it. Their process is improved, and they find that they can be much more productive. But the the ones who are like I call them the great resistors, usually don't survive the process either. They are. They generally let themselves go,   Michael Hingson ** 42:01 if you will, more ego than working for the company.   Jan Southern ** 42:05 Yes, exactly, you know, it's kind of like my mom, you know, and it they own the process as it was. We used to laugh and call this person Louise, you know, Louise has said, Well, we've always done it that way. You know, that's probably the best reason 20 years in not to continue to do it same way.   Michael Hingson ** 42:34 We talked earlier about John Floyd and evolution. And that makes perfect sense. Exactly what's one of the most important things that you have to do to prepare to become involved in preparing for a process, improvement project? I think   Jan Southern ** 42:52 the most important thing there's two very important things. One is to understand their culture, to know how their culture is today, so that you know kind of which direction you need to take them, if they're not in a continuous improvement environment, then you need to lead them in that direction if they're already there and they just don't understand what needs to be done. There's two different scenarios, but the first thing you need to do is understand the culture. The second thing that you need to do, other than the culture, is understand their their business. You need to know what they do. Of course, you can't know from the outside how they do it, but you need to know that, for instance, if it's an we're working with a company that cleans oil tanks and removes toxins and foul lines from oil and gas industry. And so if you don't understand at all what they do, it's hard to help them through the processes that they need to go through. And so just learning, in general, what their technology, what their business is about. If you walk in there and haven't done that, you're just blowing smoke. In my mind, you know, I do a lot of research on the technologies that they use, or their company in general. I look at their website, I you know, look at their LinkedIn, their social media and so. And then we request information from them in advance of doing a project, so that we know what their org structure looks like. And I think those things are critical before you walk in the door to really understand their business in general.   Michael Hingson ** 44:53 Yeah, and that, by doing that, you also tend to. To gain a lot of credibility, because you come in and demonstrate that you do understand what they're doing, and people respond well to that, I would think   Jan Southern ** 45:10 they do. You know, one of our most interesting projects in my past was the electric company that I mentioned. There was an electric company in Burlington, Vermont that did their own electric generation. We've never looked at anything like that. We're a bank consultant, and so we learned all about how they generated energy with wood chips and the, you know, the different things. And, you know, there were many days that I was out watching the wood chips fall out of a train and into their buckets, where they then transferred them to a yard where they moved the stuff around all the time. So, you know, it was, it's very interesting what you learn along the way. But I had done my homework, and I knew kind of what they did and not how they did it in individual aspects of their own processes, but I understood their industry. And so it was, you do walk in with some credibility, otherwise they're looking at you like, well, what does this person know about my job?   Michael Hingson ** 46:20 And at the same time, have you ever been involved in a situation where you did learn about the company you you went in with some knowledge, you started working with the company, and you made a suggestion about changing a process or doing something that no one had thought of, and it just clicked, and everybody loved it when they thought about it,   Jan Southern ** 46:42 yes, yes, exactly. And probably that electric company was one of those such things. You know, when they hired us, they they told us. We said, We don't know anything about your business. And they said, Good, we don't want you to come in with any preconceived ideas. And so some of the recommendations we made to them. They were, it's kind of like an aha moment. You know, they look at you like, Oh my gosh. I've never thought of that, you know, the same I would say in in banking and in family businesses, you know, they just, they've never thought about doing things in a certain way.   Michael Hingson ** 47:20 Can you tell us a story about one of those times?   Jan Southern ** 47:24 Yes, I would say that if you're, if you're talking about, let's talk about something in the banking industry, where they are. I was working in a bank, and you, you go in, and this was in the days before we had all of the ways to store things electronically. And so they were having a difficult time in keeping all of their documents and in place and knowing when to, you know, put them in a destruction pile and when not to. And so I would say that they had an aha moment when I said, Okay, let's do this. Let's get a bunch of the little colored dots, and you have big dots and small dots. And I said, everything that you put away for 1990 for instance, then you put on a purple dot. And then for January, you have 12 different colors of the little dots that you put in the middle of them. And you can use those things to determine that everything that has a purple dot and little yellow.in the middle of that one, you know that that needs to be destructed. I think in that case, it was seven years, seven years from now, you know that you need to pull that one off the shelf and put it into the pile to be destructed. And they said, we've never thought of anything. It was like I had told him that, you know, the world was going to be struck, to be gone, to begin tomorrow. Yeah, it was so simple to me, but it was something that they had never, ever thought of, and it solved. They had something like five warehouses of stuff, most of which needed to have been destroyed years before, yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 49:21 but still they weren't sure what, and so you gave them a mechanism to do that,   Jan Southern ** 49:27 right? Of course, that's all gone out the window today. You don't have to do all that manual stuff anymore. You're just, you know, I'd say another example of that was people who were when we began the system of digitizing the files, especially loan files in a bank. And this would hold true today as well, in that once you start on a project to digitize the files, there's a tendency to take the old. Files first and digitize those. Well, when you do that, before you get to the end of it, if you have a large project, you don't need those files anymore. So you know, our recommendation is start with your latest. You know, anything that needs to be archived, start with the newest, because by the time that you finish your project, some of those old files you won't even need to digitize, just shred them. Yeah, you know, it's, it's just little simple things like that that can make all the difference.   Michael Hingson ** 50:32 When should a family business start documenting processes? I think I know that's what I thought you'd say,   Jan Southern ** 50:40 yes, yes, that is something that is near and dear to my heart. Is that I would even recommend that you maybe do it before you open your doors, if potential is there, so that the day you open your business, you need to start with your documenting your processes, and you need to start on your succession planning. You know, those are the days that once you really start working, you're not going to have time. You know, you're going to be busy working every day. You're you're going to be busy servicing your customers, and that always gets pushed to the back when you start to document something, and so that's the time do it when you first open your doors.   Michael Hingson ** 51:29 So when we talk about processes, maybe it's a fair question to ask, maybe not. But what are we really talking about when we talk about processes and documenting processes? What are the processes?   Jan Southern ** 51:41 Well, the processes are the things that you do every day. Let's take as an example, just when you set up your your files within your SharePoint, or within your computer, if you don't use SharePoint, your Google files, how you set those up, a process could also be during your accounting, what's the process that you go through to get a invoice approved? You know, when the invoice comes in from the vendor, what do you do with it? You know, who has to approve it? Are there dollar amounts that you have to have approvals for? Or can some people just take in a smaller invoice and pay it without any any approvals? We like to see there be a process where it's approved before you get the invoice from the customer, where it's been approved at the time of the order. And that way it can be processed more more quickly on the backside, to just make sure that it says what the purchase order if you use purchase orders or see what your agreement was. So it's the it's the workflow. There's something that triggers an action, and then, once gets triggered, then what takes place? What's next, what's the next steps? And you just go through each one of the things that has to happen for that invoice to get paid, and the check or wire transfer, or or whatever you use as a payment methodology for it to go out the door. And so, you know what you what you do is you start, there's something that triggers it, and then there's a goal for the end, and then you fill in in the center,   Michael Hingson ** 53:38 and it's, it's, it's a fascinating I hate to use the word process to to listen to all of this, but it makes perfect sense that you should be documenting right from the outset about everything that you do, because it also means that you're establishing a plan so that everyone knows exactly what the expectations are and exactly what it is that needs to be done every step of the way,   Jan Southern ** 54:07 right and and one of the primary reasons for that is we can't anticipate life. You know, maybe our favorite person, Louise, is the only one who's ever done, let's say, you know, payroll processing, or something of that sort. And if something happens and Louise isn't able to come in tomorrow, who's going to do it? You know, without a map, a road map, as to the steps that need to be taken, how's that going to take place? And so that's that's really the critical importance. And when you're writing those processes and procedures, you need to make them so that anybody can walk in off the street, if necessary, and do what Louise was doing and have it done. Properly.   Michael Hingson ** 55:00 Of course, as we know, Louise is just a big complainer anyway. That's right, you said, yeah. Well, once you've made recommendations, and let's say they're put in place, then what do you do to continue supporting a business?   Jan Southern ** 55:20 We check in with them periodically, whatever is appropriate for them and and for the procedures that are there, we make sure that it's working for them, that they're being as prosperous as they want to be, and that our recommendations are working for them. Hopefully they'll allow us to come back in and and most do, and make sure that what we recommended is right and in is working for them, and if so, we make little tweaks with their approvals. And maybe new technology has come in, maybe they've installed a new system. And so then we help them to incorporate our prior recommendations into whatever new they have. And so we try to support them on an ongoing basis, if they're willing to do that, which we have many clients. I think Rob has clients he's been with for ever, since he opened his doors 15 years ago. So   Michael Hingson ** 56:19 of course, the other side of that is, I would assume sometimes you work with companies, you've helped them deal with processes and so on, and then you come back in and you know about technology that that they don't know. And I would assume then that you suggest that, and hopefully they see the value of listening to your wisdom.   Jan Southern ** 56:41 Absolutely, we find that a lot. We also if they've discovered a technology on their own, but need help with recommendations, as far as implementation, we can help them through that as well, and that's one of the reasons I'm taking this class in AI to be able to help our customers move into a realm where it's much more easily implemented if, if they already have the steps that we've put into place, you can feed that into an AI model, and it can make adjustments to what they're doing or make suggestions.   Michael Hingson ** 57:19 Is there any kind of a rule of thumb to to answer this question, how long does it take for a project to to be completed?   Jan Southern ** 57:26 You know, it takes, in all fairness, regardless of the size of the company, I would say that they need to allow six weeks minimum. That's for a small company with a small project, it can take as long as a year or two years, depending upon the number of departments and the number of people that you have to talk to about their processes. But to let's just take an example of a one, one single department in a company is looking at doing one of these processes, then they need to allow at least six weeks to for discovery, for mapping, for their people to become accustomed to the new processes and to make sure that the implementation has been tested and is working and and they're satisfied with everything that that is taking place. Six weeks is a very, very minimum, probably 90 days is a more fair assessment as to how long they should allow for everything to take place.   Michael Hingson ** 58:39 Do you find that, if you are successful with, say, a larger company, when you go in and work with one department and you're able to demonstrate success improvements, or whatever it is that that you define as being successful, that then other departments want to use your services as well?   Jan Southern ** 59:00 Yes, yes, we do. That's a very good point. Is that once you've helped them to help themselves, if you will, once you've helped them through that process, then they recognize the value of that, and we'll move on to another division or another department to do the same thing.   Michael Hingson ** 59:21 Word of mouth counts for a lot,   Jan Southern ** 59:24 doesn't it? Though, I'd say 90% of our business at Ferguson and company comes through referrals. They refer either through a center of influence or a current client who's been very satisfied with the work that we've done for them, and they tell their friends and networking people that you know. Here's somebody that you should use if you're considering this type of a project.   Michael Hingson ** 59:48 Well, if people want to reach out to you and maybe explore using your services in Ferguson services, how do they do that?   Jan Southern ** 59:55 They contact they can. If they want to contact me directly, it's Jan. J, a n, at Ferguson dash alliance.com and that's F, E, R, G, U, S, O, N, Dash alliance.com and they can go to our website, which is the same, which is Ferguson dash alliance.com One thing that's very, very good about our our website is, there's a page that's called resources, and there's a lot of free advice, if you will. There's a lot of materials there that are available to family owned businesses, specifically, but any business could probably benefit from that. And so those are free for you to be able to access and look at, and there's a lot of blog information, free eBook out there, and so that's the best way to reach Ferguson Alliance.   Michael Hingson ** 1:00:52 Well, cool. Well, I hope people will take all of this to heart. You certainly offered a lot of interesting and I would say, very relevant ideas and thoughts about dealing with processes and the importance of having processes. For several years at a company, my wife was in charge of document control and and not only doc control, but also keeping things secure. Of course, having the sense of humor that I have, I pointed out nobody else around the company knew how to read Braille, so what they should really do is put all the documents in Braille, then they'd be protected, but nobody. I was very disappointed. Good idea   Speaker 2 ** 1:01:36 that is good idea that'll keep them safe from everybody. Yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 1:01:39 Well, I want to thank you for being here, and I want to thank to thank all of you for listening today. We've been doing this an hour. How much fun. It is fun. Well, I appreciate it, and love to hear from all of you about today's episode. Please feel free to reach out to me. You can email me at Michael H i@accessibe.com or go to our podcast page. Michael hingson, M, I, C, H, A, E, L, H, I N, G, s, O, n.com/podcast, but wherever you're listening, please give us a five star rating. We value your thoughts and your opinions, and I hope that you'll tell other people about the podcasts as well. This has been an interesting one, and we try to make them all kind of fun and interesting, so please tell others about it. And if anyone out there listening knows of anyone who ought to be a guest, Jan, including you, then please feel free to introduce us to anyone who you think ought to be a guest on unstoppable mindset. Because I believe everyone has a story to tell, and I want to get as many people to have the opportunity to tell their stories as we can. So I hope that you'll all do that and give us reviews and and stick with us. But Jan, again, I want to thank you for being here. This has been a lot of fun.   Jan Southern ** 1:02:51 It has been a lot of fun, and I certainly thank you for inviting me.   Michael Hingson ** 1:03:00 You have been listening to the Unstoppable Mindset podcast. Thanks for dropping by. I hope that you'll join us again next week, and in future weeks for upcoming episodes. To subscribe to our podcast and to learn about upcoming episodes, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com slash podcast. Michael Hingson is spelled m i c h a e l h i n g s o n. While you're on the site., please use the form there to recommend people who we ought to interview in upcoming editions of the show. And also, we ask you and urge you to invite your friends to join us in the future. If you know of any one or any organization needing a speaker for an event, please email me at speaker at Michael hingson.com. I appreciate it very much. To learn more about the concept of blinded by fear, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com forward slash blinded by fear and while you're there, feel free to pick up a copy of my free eBook entitled blinded by fear. The unstoppable mindset podcast is provided by access cast an initiative of accessiBe and is sponsored by accessiBe. Please visit www.accessibe.com . AccessiBe is spelled a c c e s s i b e. There you can learn all about how you can make your website inclusive for all persons with disabilities and how you can help make the internet fully inclusive by 2025. Thanks again for Listening. Please come back and visit us again next week.

You know that feeling when events seem like a gamble and AI looks like it might replace the whole point of showing up? Here's the twist: showing up still wins. In this candid chat, Jay Schwedelson digs in with Alon Alroy on why micro events punch above their weight, how to make big conferences actually pay off, and what it takes to challenge a giant without a giant's budget.ㅤFollow Alon Alroy on LinkedIn, follow Bizzabo on LinkedIn, and visit Bizzabo.com to explore their event platform and resources. You can also check out Bizzabo's upcoming webinar on micro events—details available on their site or by messaging Alon directly.ㅤBest Moments:(01:28) From Air Force and an Airbnb-style idea to finding the real pain in events(04:53) AI raises digital noise but live events hit an all-time high for connection(08:00) Micro events that work cost 10k to 14k and get cheaper when you split with 3 to 4 partners(10:20) The booth isn't the strategy pre-during-post activation and same-day follow-up win ROI(15:00) Challenger playbook move fast a virtual launch in March 2020 vs incumbents months later(15:45) Busy vs Venti campaign speak directly to competitor pain and make it unforgettableㅤCheck out our 100% FREE + VIRTUAL EVENTS! ->Guru Conference - The World's Largest Virtual EMAIL MARKETING Conference - Nov 6-7!Register here: www.GuruConference.comㅤCheck out Jay's YOUTUBE Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@schwedelsonCheck out Jay's TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@schwedelsonCheck Out Jay's INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/jayschwedelson/ㅤMASSIVE thank you to our Sponsor, Marigold!!Email chaos across campuses, branches, or chapters? Emma by Marigold lets HQ keep control while local teams send on-brand, on-time messages with ease.Podcast & GURU listeners: 50 % off your first 3 months with an annual plan (new customers, 10 k-contact minimum, terms apply).Claim your offer now at jayschwedelson.com/emma

October was a busy month and we spare none on today's update with AgriNovus CEO, Christy Wright, and VP Libby Fritz. Updates include: A new global HQ for Elanco and our upcoming One Health Summit co-hosted with BioCrossroads (register here)Corteva's restructure into two companies and what comes nextBiomEdit's $2M Bezos Earth Fund Grant (listen to CEO Aaron Schacht here)BioBond launches two new adhesives -- one for fake fingernails and school adhesivesARI's new HQ at the 16 Tech Innovation District to secure Indiana's bioinnovation futureQuadrant is coming on 12/3! Register here.

I was connected with Adam via a mutual friend in the entrepreneurial space. He was visiting Florida on podcast circuit and dropped by HQ to share his story and what changed for the better in his life. Adam, is a nationally recognized entrepreneur, recovery advocate, and the CEO and co-founder of GITT Apparel—short for “Get In The Truck”—which he launched alongside his sister, Jeannette. Born from his own transformation out of addiction and homelessness, GITT is now a global movement and lifestyle brand sold in 41 states and across 3 continents, including Europe and the Mombasa Coast of Africa. The brand has even been featured on Times Square billboards.Adam serves as the Chief Marketing Officer for New Hope Counseling and Recovery in Southeastern Kentucky, where he gives back by helping others still struggling with addiction. He's also excited about the recent grand opening of him and his fiancé Jen's women's treatment center, Fourth Dimension Treatment Center in Coalgood, Kentucky, which offers adventure therapy and a range of innovative, holistic recovery modalities.He's been featured in LA Wire, CEO Weekly, Recovery Today Magazine, US Insider, NY Weekly, NY Wire, and is a frequent guest on the Everyday Kentucky Show, along with dozens of TV, radio, and newspaper interviews nationwide. Adam has over 300,000 followers across platforms and is known for combining marketing, purpose, and raw storytelling to inspire change.

Instagram just dropped a feature that's going to change how you scroll, and probably how you argue with your friends. Jay Schwedelson dives into Instagram's new Watch History tool, the oddly effective subject line hack that's boosting open rates, and why OpenAI's latest update might finally make Google nervous. Plus, a detour into Halloween costumes, reality TV, and a few questionable streaming picks.ㅤBest Moments:(00:34) Instagram finally adds a Watch History so you can find that video you lost in the scroll(01:56) The secret to higher open rates is mid-subject-line capitalization(03:00) OpenAI rolls out shared projects for all ChatGPT users, taking aim at Google Drive(04:00) Love Is Blind reunion and other “useless but necessary” TV updates(04:45) Google's top Halloween costumes of the year include demon hunters and… the LoraxㅤCheck out our 100% FREE + VIRTUAL EVENTS! ->Guru Conference - The World's Largest Virtual EMAIL MARKETING Conference - Nov 6-7!Register here: www.GuruConference.comㅤCheck out Jay's YOUTUBE Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@schwedelsonCheck out Jay's TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@schwedelsonCheck Out Jay's INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/jayschwedelson/ㅤMASSIVE thank you to our Sponsor, Marigold!!Email chaos across campuses, branches, or chapters? Emma by Marigold lets HQ keep control while local teams send on-brand, on-time messages with ease.Podcast & GURU listeners: 50 % off your first 3 months with an annual plan (new customers, 10 k-contact minimum, terms apply).Claim your offer now at jayschwedelson.com/emma

Illinois residents will face steep hikes in ACA health insurance premiums next year. Crain's contributor Jon Asplund discusses with host Amy Guth.Plus: New York real estate firms raising big bet on Loop offices, American Airlines isn't pulling back in Chicago, Chicago Fire FC moving HQ to Wrigley Building and Trader Joe's coming to Fulton Market. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

For our Sale A Day Playbook go here: https://bit.ly/pod-saleadayplaybook1 Ever felt like you're doing everything “right”… but the numbers still aren't moving? Today's chat is for the owners who nearly walked away - then doubled down, rebuilt their engine, and clocked best-ever months and highest profit. In this episode, three legends from the Fitstop network get brutally honest about expanding too soon, clawing back from under-100 members, and the identity shift from chief-everything-officer to real CEO. You'll hear the exact plays they ran - leads, sales, content, roles, KPIs, and hiring - that turned overwhelm into momentum, and momentum into money. Here's what we're covering: -The multi-site mistake (and the readiness checklist to avoid it) -Why your manager shouldn't own sales - and the simple split that fixes retention -Avatar-led content that pulls quality leads (even when ads don't get the click) -Become obsessed with your numbers: daily tracking, net member movement, and realistic lead targets -How a VA can buy back ~15 hours a week - and what to do with that deep work time -Accountability over excuses: stop blaming HQ, markets or seasons -Designing lifetime retention beyond 90 days (and building member “future”) -Hiring sequence for scale: content first, then sales, with clear KPIs and forecasts Chapters: ⏳ [00:00] Cold Open & Intros: From nerves to wins on the board ⏳ [06:42] The Hard Lesson: Went multi-site too early and paid for it ⏳ [09:44] Are You Ready for Site #2? Team & structure checklist ⏳ [10:27] Burnout & Churn: The surprises no one tells you about ⏳ [19:46] Losing Hurts, But It Teaches: How setbacks sparked better marketing ⏳ [20:29] Ditch Free Trials: Paid offers that attract the right members ⏳ [37:10] Split the Roles: Managers own retention, one owner owns sales ⏳ [42:18] Know Your Numbers: Daily tracking and reverse-engineering leads ⏳ [44:14] Content That Converts: One clear avatar per site ⏳ [57:03] Follow-Up That Lands: 6–7 calls in 3 days + smart DMs ⏳ [63:09] Buy Back Time: Hire a VA and do real deep work ⏳ [73:00] Lead Like a CEO: Clarity, KPIs, standards, cadence ⏳ [75:21] No More Excuses: Radical ownership beats blame every time ⏳ [79:45] The Cost of Wearing All the Hats: Burnout and a silent studio ⏳ [83:06] Big Next Moves: Content hire, then full-time sales, then scale ⏳ [86:02] Freedom & Optionality: Build a business you can keep - or sell ⏳ [87:16] One Piece of Advice: Learn fast, get help, and get out of your own way Don't forget to like, subscribe, and comment below with your biggest takeaway. We read them all. Want to LEARN proven systems to grow your business without burnout? Go here: https://live.geronimoacademy.com/newsletter Connect with us: My website: ⁠https://thegeronimoacademy.com ⁠ IG Geronimo: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/thegeronimoacademy⁠ IG Hey.Doza: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/hey.doza⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://au.linkedin.com/in/andrewhandosa⁠

Today on America in the MorningMelissa Hits Jamaica Today The strongest hurricane ever to hit the island of Jamaica and currently the most powerful storm to form this year anywhere on the planet, and will make landfall today.  Winds from Hurricane Melissa reached 175 miles per hour overnight, and is expected to slam into Jamaica with sustained 160 mile per hour winds, gusts of over 200 miles per hour, over 3 feet of rain, and a storm surge 13 feet high.  Correspondent Ed Donahue reports Hurricane Melissa's island-wide damage at the very least will be catastrophic.   Government Shutdown Food & Flights The federal government shutdown continues to roll on, with a shortage of air traffic controllers leading to flight delays at some airports.  John Stolnis has more from Washington.    Russia's New Weapon President Trump is not happy with Russian leader Vladimir Putin after the Kremlin tested a new nuclear-powered missile, one it said cannot be shot down.  Washington correspondent Sagar Meghani reports.    Indiana Redistricting Plans There's plans for redistricting in the Hoosier State, after Indiana's governor called for a special legislative session to aid Republican chances of keeping the House of Representatives in GOP control.  Correspondent Marcela Sanchez reports.   Alleged Kirk Killer's New Clothes The suspect in the killing of Charlie Kirk on the Utah Valley University campus earlier this year will be allowed to wear civilian clothing in court proceedings.  Correspondent Clayton Neville reports.     Tariff Talk Against Canada President Trump continues his tour of the Far East where he spent Monday in Japan, and with preparations to meet with China where a trade deal framework seems to be in place.  Ed Donahue reports that trade talks with Canada are at a standstill following a video of Ronald Reagan talking against the use of tariffs in a TV ad run by the Premier of Ontario that angered President Trump and the White House.   A Third Term President Trump is addressing speculation he could try to run for a third term as President, despite being term limited.  Correspondent Clayton Neville reports.   Mamdani Remains In The Lead We're now just a week away from the New York City mayoral election and polls are showing the race tighter than ever.    New York Possible Redistricting Plans The New York Times is reporting that a lawsuit was filed on behalf of four New Yorkers that charges that the state's congressional map unconstitutionally dilutes Black and Latino votes in a district that covers Staten Island and part of southern Brooklyn.     Tech News Amazon is cutting the top level brass at their corporate HQ, but, hiring is on the increase for the holiday rush.  Chuck Palm has that in today's tech report.     Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Marketers are about to face a new kind of search—and Jay Schwedelson and Daniel Murray are breaking down what it means. Between trick-or-treating mishaps and Halloween candy hot takes, they unpack how AI browsers like Atlas and Comet are rewriting the rules for SEO, content gating, and how your website needs to function for both humans and AI agents.ㅤFollow Daniel on LinkedIn and check out The Marketing Millennials podcast for sharp, no-fluff marketing insights. Subscribe to Ari Murray's newsletter at gotomillions.co for sharp, actionable marketing insights.ㅤBest Moments:(02:55) Why new AI browsers like Atlas and Comet could change how marketers think about search(04:45) How to make your website scannable, fast, and AI-friendly(06:15) Why you should optimize your forms for AI agents, not just humans(09:15) The future of gated content and why “resources” pages might disappear(10:15) How to design sites with fewer clicks and more instant answers(11:00) The great Halloween candy debate: full-size bars or bustㅤCheck out our 100% FREE + VIRTUAL EVENTS! ->Guru Conference - The World's Largest Virtual EMAIL MARKETING Conference - Nov 6-7!Register here: www.GuruConference.comㅤCheck out Jay's YOUTUBE Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@schwedelsonCheck out Jay's TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@schwedelsonCheck Out Jay's INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/jayschwedelson/ㅤMASSIVE thank you to our Sponsor, Marigold!!Email chaos across campuses, branches, or chapters? Emma by Marigold lets HQ keep control while local teams send on-brand, on-time messages with ease.Podcast & GURU listeners: 50 % off your first 3 months with an annual plan (new customers, 10 k-contact minimum, terms apply).Claim your offer now at jayschwedelson.com/emma

Groove Radio's Official TOP 5 GROOVES Weekly Chart Hosted by Swedish Egil - Week of 10-27-25 01 Animal Trainer & Noah Kulaga - Running (Original Mix) - Around Midnight 02 Odd Mob, OMNOM & HYPERBEAM - System (Extended Mix) - Insomniac Records 03 FENIK - Long Way Down (ft. Jake Neumar) (Extended Mix) - Zerothree Music 04 Philou - Game On (Radio Edit) - REALM 05 SLESS & Loboski - I Like It (Extended Mix) - Wobbles & Waffles Bonus tracks: 06 Paul Oakenfold & Mr. Belt & Wezol - Starry Eyed Surprise (Radio Edit) - Perfecto / New State Music 07 Green Velvet - Answering Machine (Dunmore Brothers Remix) - Promo -- About GROOVE RADIO Groove Radio is the Rhythm of the Future - always on in HQ audio with electronic dance music and DJ culture LIVE from Los Angeles. Curated by legendary radio programmer, Swedish Egil, Groove Radio celebrates 30+ years featuring iconic and emerging talent from the early classics of 90's techno and house music to the sounds of today's dance music festivals. -- For more info visit:  grooveradio.com c2025 Groove Radio. All rights reserved.

Justin Bieber BioSnap a weekly updated Biography.Justin Bieber has been making major headlines this week by launching a daily Twitch streaming series from a massive studio space filled with games, musical instruments, and yes—a mini skate ramp and basketball court. According to Billboard via KS95, Bieber excitedly told viewers he's planning to stream on Twitch nearly every day, treating fans to candid moments of hangouts, sports, music rehearsals, and even playful time with his toddler son, Jack Blues Bieber. One particularly buzzworthy moment from these streams came when Jack Blues, appearing onscreen, melted hearts by calling Justin “Dadda,” a clip fans quickly made viral, as reported by PopRant. Bieber's Twitch channel has become a new interactive HQ for Beliebers, and he's teased that the session doubles as prep for a major upcoming performance at Coachella, speculating that he's gearing up to “put on a hell of a show,” though details beyond that comment remain unconfirmed.Social media has been ablaze with footage and recaps: YouTube hosts highlight reels capturing Justin's playful athletic side, from ping pong trick shots to shirtless skateboarding, and a charming signoff where he told fans, “I love you,” further cementing his brand as an artist unafraid to show both swagger and softness. While some Beliebers continue to speculate about new music collaborations after his highly publicized 2025 partnership with Diddy, which blended their generational talents to chart-topping effect according to Meta AI, so far there have been no new releases this week—only rehearsals and hints.There's also been a persistent business buzz around Justin's continuing reign as one of the most lucrative names in pop. AOL's finance desk ranks his annual earnings at about 80 million dollars, with a net worth of 300 million. This week, Bieber's name trended again after NetEase Cloud honored him as the most-streamed Western artist in their twelve-year history and since his album “Swag” and its follow-up “Swag II” continue to perform strongly on international charts. His Twitch project is a public move into a more personal, interactive brand and could mark a long-term shift in how global pop stars connect with fans—offering daily glimpses of celebrity and authenticity. If speculation about a signature Coachella show holds true, this year could be a defining period in Bieber's career and public profile.Get the best deals https://amzn.to/3ODvOtaThis content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI

Sometimes Jay Schwedelson gets deep about data or strategy—but this time, he's answering your weirdest, most random questions. From nonprofit marketing tips that actually work to his all-time favorite reality TV obsession (yes, he has strong opinions), this episode swings from helpful to hilarious in the best way.ㅤBest Moments:(01:15) Why first-person CTAs like “Count me in” or “Yes, I want to help” drive higher clicks for nonprofits(03:00) The 75-word rule that separates good emails from ignored ones(05:34) Why showing real human faces—not AI ones—boosts engagement by 38%(05:58) The bold prediction that “humanity will be the algorithm” in 2026(07:45) Jay crowns Love Is Blind Season 9 as the best (and most unhinged) reality TV ever made(08:30) Why he can't stand true crime—and what that says about us allㅤCheck out our 100% FREE + VIRTUAL EVENTS! ->Guru Conference - The World's Largest Virtual EMAIL MARKETING Conference - Nov 6-7!Register here: www.GuruConference.comㅤCheck out Jay's YOUTUBE Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@schwedelsonCheck out Jay's TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@schwedelsonCheck Out Jay's INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/jayschwedelson/ㅤMASSIVE thank you to our Sponsor, Marigold!!Email chaos across campuses, branches, or chapters? Emma by Marigold lets HQ keep control while local teams send on-brand, on-time messages with ease.Podcast & GURU listeners: 50 % off your first 3 months with an annual plan (new customers, 10 k-contact minimum, terms apply).Claim your offer now at jayschwedelson.com/emma

“Leading is easy. Getting people to follow is the hard part”. “Listen first; don't pre-decide the outcome”. “Japan is a Swiss watch—change one gear and the whole movement shifts”. “Do nemawashi before decisions; ringi-sho is the runway, not red tape”. “Bring people back to Japan—networks mature with the country”. Chris LaFleur is Senior Director at McLarty Associates, the Washington, D.C. based strategic advisory firm. A career U.S. Foreign Service Officer, he served multiple tours in Japan—including Sapporo, Yokohama language training, and Tokyo in political and politico-military roles—worked on the staff of Secretary of State Al Haig, at the U.S. Mission to the UN, and at the U.S. Embassy in Paris focusing on Asia during the Soviet war in Afghanistan. He later became Deputy Director of the American Institute in Taiwan, returned to Tokyo as Deputy Chief of Mission under Ambassador Tom Foley, and served in Washington as the No. 2 in the Bureau of East Asian Affairs as well as a negotiator on alliance modernisation with Japan and South Korea. He was U.S. Ambassador to Malaysia in the Iraq War era, then Vice Chairman of JPMorgan Japan, and repeatedly served as President and Chairman at the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ACCJ). Today, he advises global firms on policy, regulatory, and political risk across Japan and the region.  Chris LaFleur's leadership journey tracks the evolution of U.S.–Japan relations and the realities of making decisions inside complex systems. Beginning as a vice consul in Sapporo, he learned that listening precedes leading in Japan. Hokkaidō's standard Japanese, the step-by-step pace of regional life, and daily immersion built linguistic and cultural pattern recognition. That foundation scaled when he rotated through Yokohama language training and the Tokyo Embassy, where politico-military work brought alliance management into focus: with bases, communities, and bilateral policy layered together, decisions were not events but processes requiring consensus and continuity. Shifting to Washington to staff Secretary Al Haig offered a crash course in how policy gets made, while the UN posting and a Paris portfolio on Asia sharpened his systems view across capitals. Taiwan unlocked dormant Chinese language skills and reminded him that capability compounds with context. Returning to Tokyo as Deputy Chief of Mission under Ambassador Tom Foley, he saw that organisational power is distributed: success hinged on local staff with deep networks, continuity across rotating Americans, and steady, trust-building communication with home offices that wanted speed while Japan required sequence. As Ambassador to Malaysia during the second Iraq War, LaFleur had to explain and persuade amid public scepticism—learning again that legitimacy is earned by hearing concerns first. Transitioning to the private sector as Vice Chairman at JPMorgan Japan validated a surprising constant: large companies decide like large governments. He expected neat, calculated choices; he found coalitions, trade-offs, and path dependence. The lesson for leaders: map stakeholders, solicit ideas early, and let nemawashi do its work before the ringi-sho formalises momentum. In consulting today, he helps global executives reframe “risk” in Japan as uncertainty to be worked through with decision intelligence—aligning goals, mapping interdependencies, and testing scenarios before locking in. Japan, he says, is a Swiss watch: its precision is an asset, but every gear is linked. Leaders succeed by respecting that system—sequencing conversations, checking downstream effects, and ensuring consensus is genuine, not assumed. Technology can accelerate this work—digital twins for processes, collaborative platforms for traceable sign-offs—but tools must fit culture. Above all, bring people back to Japan; networks—and trust—rise with time. What makes leadership in Japan unique? Japan's operating model is sequence over speed. Nemawashi aligns stakeholders in advance; the ringi-sho codifies consensus; and downstream interlocks across compliance, customers, and partners mean details matter before decisions. Leaders must treat decisions as journeys, not moments, and recognise local staff as the critical path to progress. Why do global executives struggle? Headquarters often assumes top-down approvals equal action. In Japan, meetings with “the top” rarely move the machine unless the working levels are engaged. Foreign leaders also underestimate uncertainty avoidance embedded in tightly coupled processes—the “Swiss watch” effect—so a small tweak can ripple across functions and clients. Is Japan truly risk-averse? It is more accuracy-seeking than risk-averse. The system prizes predictability because errors propagate widely. What looks like reluctance is often prudent scenario-testing. Reframe risk as uncertainty management: clarify assumptions, run premortems, and build reversible steps that preserve harmony while enabling change. What leadership style actually works? Listening first. LaFleur emphasises not pre-deciding outcomes and actively soliciting ideas from Japanese colleagues. Credibility grows when leaders translate Japan's logic to HQ (and vice versa), sequence approvals, and sponsor inclusive consensus. Authority helps; empathy and patience deliver. How can technology help? Use decision intelligence to visualise interdependencies and simulate impacts. Digital twins of processes reveal where approvals, compliance, and client commitments intersect. Collaborative tools can make nemawashi transparent, while structured knowledge bases preserve networks as staff rotate. Tech should speed alignment, not bulldoze culture. Does language proficiency matter? Fluency amplifies effectiveness but isn't binary. Even partial competence builds sensitivity to context, omissions, and implied meaning. Leaders who grasp how Japanese sentences carry subject and object through context better “hear” what a yes might actually mean in terms of readiness. What's the ultimate leadership lesson? Inspire people to move together. Map the system, honour the culture, and turn listening into aligned action. Keep bringing talent back to Japan so relationships mature; in a consensus economy, trust is compounding capital. Author Credentials Dr. Greg Story, Ph.D. in Japanese Decision-Making, is President of Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training and Adjunct Professor at Griffith University. He is a two-time winner of the Dale Carnegie “One Carnegie Award” (2018, 2021) and recipient of the Griffith University Business School Outstanding Alumnus Award (2012). As a Dale Carnegie Master Trainer, Greg is certified to deliver globally across all leadership, communication, sales, and presentation programs, including Leadership Training for Results. He has written several books, including three best-sellers — Japan Business Mastery, Japan Sales Mastery, and Japan Presentations Mastery — along with Japan Leadership Mastery and How to Stop Wasting Money on Training. His works have also been translated into Japanese, including Za Eigyō (ザ営業), Purezen no Tatsujin (プレゼンの達人), Torēningu de Okane o Muda ni Suru no wa Yamemashō (トレーニングでお金を無駄にするのはやめましょう), and Gendaiban “Hito o Ugokasu” Rīdā (現代版「人を動かす」リーダー). In addition to his books, Greg publishes daily blogs on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, offering practical insights on leadership, communication, and Japanese business culture. He is also the host of six weekly podcasts, including The Leadership Japan Series, The Sales Japan Series, The Presentations Japan Series, Japan Business Mastery, and Japan's Top Business Interviews. On YouTube, he produces three weekly shows — The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show, Japan Business Mastery, and Japan's Top Business Interviews — which have become leading resources for executives seeking strategies for success in Japan.

Liquid Death didn't happen by accident. Mike Cessario went from skateboards and punk bands to building a beverage brand that treats marketing like entertainment, not homework, and he's brutally honest about what actually moves the needle. With Jay Schwedelson, he breaks down packaging as the real moat, why they tested the brand before the product, and how to stay interesting when AI makes content cheap.ㅤGrab Liquid Death at your local store or online at www.liquiddeath.com, check out their sparkling lineup, and catch Mike at the upcoming Guru Conference for a deeper dive into their marketing playbook.ㅤBest Moments:(02:45) From punk bands and agency life to launching a product so he could finally be the client(05:04) Why water was the wedge - biggest category, boring brands, plastic everywhere, then a portfolio beyond plain water(06:55) Most products are commodities - brand and aesthetics win hearts, not tiny functional differences(08:40) The Facebook fakeout - 3M views and 80k followers before a single can existed, then used to raise money(11:50) Entertainment first and small bets - nothing over 150k, in-house beats a 650k “at cost” bid(13:40) Full-funnel media done right - broad awareness feeding precise mid-funnel and conversion work(16:10) AI as cost saver, not taste maker - youth backlash is real and craft still mattersㅤCheck out our 100% FREE + VIRTUAL EVENTS! ->Guru Conference - The World's Largest Virtual EMAIL MARKETING Conference - Nov 6-7!Register here: www.GuruConference.comㅤCheck out Jay's YOUTUBE Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@schwedelsonCheck out Jay's TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@schwedelsonCheck Out Jay's INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/jayschwedelson/ㅤMASSIVE thank you to our Sponsor, Marigold!!Email chaos across campuses, branches, or chapters? Emma by Marigold lets HQ keep control while local teams send on-brand, on-time messages with ease.Podcast & GURU listeners: 50 % off your first 3 months with an annual plan (new customers, 10 k-contact minimum, terms apply).Claim your offer now at jayschwedelson.com/emma

Back when the pubs shut in March 2020, lockdown boredom prompted under-employed antigen records PR drone Jason to start making radio as a cry for help. He also embarked on a mission to listen to every record he owns, in alphabetical order. Unfortunately, the pubs reopened and, five years later, he has only reached the halfway point. He celebrates this unimpressive milestone with a small sample from the M section of the antigen HQ record collection.   Track list: 1. Moondog – Up Broadway 2. Madvillain – All Caps  3. Mesodorm – Easy  4. The Men – Bataille  5. Meat Puppets – Plateau  6. Mari Boine – Vilges Suola  7. Magazine – Rhythm of Cruelty 8. The Magnetic Fields – Busby Berkeley Dreams 9. Method Man – Bring the Pain (Remix) 10. Melt-Banana – Chain-Shot to Have Some Fun 11. Misfits – Bullet  12. Mark Stewart – Passivecation Program 13. mclusky – Lightsabre Cocksucking Blues 14. Malibu Ken – Tuesday  15. Missy Elliott – Pass That Dutch  16. Madosini – Wenu Si Goli 17. Mark Kozelek & Jimmy Lavalle – Caroline  18. My Bloody Valentine – Several Girls Galore 19. The Monkees – Porpoise Song (Theme from Head) 20. Marc Almond with the Willing Sinners – Mr Sad  21. Morrissey – The World Is Full of Crashing Bores 22. The Modern Lovers – I'm Straight  23. Missing Foundation – Jameels / Turmoil 24. Moor Mother & billy woods – Maroons  25. Morphine – Free Love 26. MacGillivray – Peggy Gordon 27. Mogwai – Like Herod

Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world. US bureau chief Jacob Magid joins host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode. As US Vice President JD Vance spends his first day in Israel, Magid discusses Vance's comments about the ceasefire, the continued focus on getting all of the remaining hostages' bodies back, and the question of a possible timeline regarding Hamas disarmament. Magid also delves into Vance's statements at a press conference in the new Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC) in Kiryat Gat. The CMCC is a new hub inside Israel where participating countries will try and monitor the ceasefire, says Magid, adjudicating violations and handling the movement of goods into Gaza, including aid and security forces, in the future. Vance discussed what role other countries could play, including the question of Turkey and Israel's resistance to that idea, says Magid. Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates. For further reading: Vance, in Israel, predicts Gaza ‘peace’ will last, says Hamas disarmament non-negotiable US military says ceasefire HQ will be able ‘to assess real-time developments in Gaza’ Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Pod-Waves. IMAGE: U.S. Vice President JD Vance speak to the media as U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner stand next to him, in Kiryat Gat, Israel, Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on Fangs, Leslie and Kayte are flying solo, talking season 7 ep 9/10. We've got exploding watcher HQ, tedious Buffy/Spike drama & oh boy, Dru is back (sorta).Follow Fangs on Twitter!Join our Patreon for special episodes!

Saros Consulting, a global leader in IT consulting and strategic project management, has announced global expansion plans, which include the creation of 50 new jobs and a €8M investment. In addition to the new jobs, the investment covers a new HQ in Dublin and the establishment of a global delivery hub in Cape Town, South Africa. Headquartered and founded in Dublin, Saros provides IT consulting services covering areas including digital transformation, cybersecurity and mergers and acquisitions. The company currently has a presence in the UK, Switzerland and the US. Over a two-year period, the next wave of Saros's expansion will see the company strengthen its presence in existing markets, while entering South Africa - supported by Enterprise Ireland - as a new market. The jobs - split across all of Saros's key markets - and investment will accelerate the company's growth in its core sectors of life sciences, financial services and retail, while enabling it to scale its global resourcing business. As part of the investment, Saros has opened a new HQ in Fitzwilliam Place, Dublin, which is designed with collaboration spaces and break-out rooms to support the company's expanding workforce. The Cape Town team will support Saros's growth across Europe and Africa, providing fully remote solutions to businesses across both continents. The new roles will be in the areas of project management, IT consulting and business development, supporting Saros's mission to provide high-quality, scalable resourcing solutions to multinational clients. Ray Armstrong, co-founder and CEO, Saros Consulting, said: "Today's announcement marks a major milestone in our journey to becoming a truly global player. With this investment, we are not only creating new jobs in Ireland and South Africa, but also strengthening our ability to deliver flexible, remote-first services to enterprises across multiple regions. The investment represents our confidence in the future of distributed work and our commitment to building a truly borderless consulting practice." Justin van der Spuy, co-founder and CEO, Saros Consulting, said: "South Africa offers a strong talent pool and a strategic gateway to global markets. The quality of technical talent emerging from South African universities, coupled with the country's mature IT services sector, make it an ideal location for our first African hub." See more stories here. More about Irish Tech News Irish Tech News are Ireland's No. 1 Online Tech Publication and often Ireland's No.1 Tech Podcast too. You can find hundreds of fantastic previous episodes and subscribe using whatever platform you like via our Anchor.fm page here: https://anchor.fm/irish-tech-news If you'd like to be featured in an upcoming Podcast email us at Simon@IrishTechNews.ie now to discuss. Irish Tech News have a range of services available to help promote your business. Why not drop us a line at Info@IrishTechNews.ie now to find out more about how we can help you reach our audience. You can also find and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat.

October's serving up some wild marketing data, and Jay Schwedelson is here for it. From why company-name personalization suddenly skyrockets email open rates this month, to why it's officially time to ditch your Instagram posts for reels, Jay breaks down the trends that actually move the needle. Plus, a surprising stat about ChatGPT content that'll make you rethink your next prompt—and a hilarious detour into celebrity weirdness that you didn't know you needed.ㅤBest Moments:(00:59) Why using company names in subject lines boosts B2B email opens by over 30% right now(01:59) The right time to drop “Black Friday” in your emails for maximum engagement(02:43) Why regular Instagram posts are basically dead and reels dominate reach(03:37) Instagram's upcoming redesign proves it's all about reels and DMs(04:29) The top 50 AI phrases killing your engagement (and how to un-AI your writing)(06:49) Kristen Bell's bizarre anniversary caption that broke Jay's brainㅤCheck out our 100% FREE + VIRTUAL EVENTS! ->Guru Conference - The World's Largest Virtual EMAIL MARKETING Conference - Nov 6-7!Register here: www.GuruConference.comㅤCheck out Jay's YOUTUBE Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@schwedelsonCheck out Jay's TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@schwedelsonCheck Out Jay's INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/jayschwedelson/ㅤMASSIVE thank you to our Sponsor, Marigold!!Email chaos across campuses, branches, or chapters? Emma by Marigold lets HQ keep control while local teams send on-brand, on-time messages with ease.Podcast & GURU listeners: 50 % off your first 3 months with an annual plan (new customers, 10 k-contact minimum, terms apply).Claim your offer now at jayschwedelson.com/emma

It's week 3 of the Spooktacular Express and this is, without a doubt, the scariest episode we've ever done. Put on your helmets, tune in and drop out as we take you to the realm of your VR nightmares. To make things even spookier, we've enlisted the "help" of an amporphous, soulless, faceless monster: generative AI. That's right, we're combining a game series with AI Slop(TM) to create the most terrifying VR experience possible. Andrew is taking us back to a game we almost remember. Kyle is taking us to the government. Todd is taking us to a pervert cave. *DISCLAIMER: This episode is a bit. We here at DT!HQ think that AI sucks and we don't condone its use in creative spaces. The title of this week's episode was selected by our Patrons in our Discord Community! If you want to help us choose the next one, join our discord, and/or get some bonus content, become part of #ButtThwompNation at patreon.com/debatethiscast! Have you seen our Instagram? instagram.com/debatethiscast Have you seen our Threads? threads.net/debatethiscast Want to send us an email? debatethiscast@gmail.com MERCH! We have that! Right now you can go on the internet and order things that say Debate This! On them! All you need to do is head to MerchThis.net and give us your money! Ever wanted socks with the DT! logo on them? Well now you can get em! One more time that website is MerchThis.net! Properties we talked about this week: Black Phone 2, Banjo-Kazooie, Metal Gear Solid, Kirby and the Forgotten Land, ChatGPT, Fortnite, Nirvana Music for Debate This! is provided by composer Ozzed under a creative commons license. Check out more of their 8-bit bops at www.ozzed.net!

I would like to thank Patreon member Xizer for suggesting this one, as Xizer put it    “An in depth look at General Kanji Ishiwara would be interesting. The man was the architect for the Mukden Incident that led to the Second Sino Japanese War, but he was vehemently opposed to the abuse and exploitation Japan's colonialism indulged in. His vocal condemnation of the brutality and excesses of the Imperial Japanese military foreign policy and Tojo in particular led to his removal, but he couldn't be executed for popularity in the rank and file. Even at the trials after the war he remained defiant, declaring that President Truman should be tried alongside the Axis War criminals for firebombing Japanese cities. He was truly a fascinating figure.   Indeed Kanji Ishiwara is a fascinating character and his story has a startling impact on the Pacific War and global history as a whole. Now by the time I am reading this the script got out of hand, its a long one haha, so it might have to be a multi parter, but I want to limit the first part to Ishiwara and how the Mukden Incident occurred first. It might come further down the road but I will finish the story of this fascinating man later on after hitting up more Patrons desired subjects, without further adieu enjoy part one of Kanji Ishiwara.    Kanji Ishiwara was born in Tsuruoka, Yamagata prefecture on January 18th of 1889. He was the second son of a policeman who was a descendent of a samurai family serving the Shonai Domain. His clan supported the Tokugawa Shogunate during the Boshin War and as a result of their defeat, alongside other Shogunal allied clans would see themselves shut off from larger governmental positions in Meiji Era Japan. Not to go too deep down that rabbit hole, but domains like Choshu and Satsuma would see the lionshare of higher positions, while domains who served on the opposite side would be cast out more.   Ishiware began his army career at the military preparatory school in Sendai at the age of 13, followed up by 2 years at the Central military preparatory school in tokyo. In 1907 he entered the military academy as a member of its 21st class. He left the academy in july of 1909 with the commission of Lieutenant and an assignment as platoon commander of an infantry regiment in Tohoku. After the annexation of Korea in 1910 his regiment was shipped over to the peninsula and he served at Ch'unch'on in a small garrison. After two years of occupation duty, Ishiwara returned to Tohoku and in 1915 passed the examinations necessary to enter the Army Staff college. He held an outstanding record, graduating top of his class in november of 1918 and would be amongst the elite ranks of the Gunto Gumi, receiving the imperial sword.   Now in 1920 he had a frustrating assignment with the department of military training he applied for service in China and received an assignment to the Central china garrison in Hankow. He spent a year traveling through central china before returning back to Tokyo in 1921 where he worked as a lecturer at the army staff college. He sought another China assignment, but his superiors sent him instead to Europe, as they did with all their promising young officers. He went to Germany for 3 years, studying languages and military history. In 1925, he was now a Major, 36 years of age and he received an assignment to the faculty of the army staff college to lecture about the history of war. Now from the very beginning of his character, Ishiwara proved himself a very unconventional officer. He was on the eccentric side, quite argumentative and burdened with a lot of health problems. He had multiple kidney infections, gastro-intestinal problems, tympanitis and other ailments that clawed at him. You also cant forget his ancestry which was important to the Japanese military even in the 1930s. Many of those that came from a disgraced clan had the habit of going above and beyond in terms of imperial loyalty, sort of like a way to rid themselves of the stigma of distrust that was seen in the early Meiji years.   Ishiwara was a bit bizarre, he was nonconforming, quite an independent spirit you would say. Many biographers of his point out, while he held an outstanding record in his education, this went alongside things like his disregard for military punctilio, such as his dress and appearance. In his early career he spoke out against inequalities he saw within the military such as what he saw as favoritism for staff college graduates. Such talk was quite reckless. He read a lot about politics, religion, history and philosophy, he seemed to have quite the restless mind. His behavior drew attention from his colleagues, many deeming him brilliant.   Now everyone in any military has to learn about military history, but not all seek to learn it outside the required readings and such. Ishiwara is one of those rare individuals who was obsessed with learning more about military history. He read about the Russo Japanese war and took quite a critical look at it. He believed the Japanese victory was due to a large part because of luck. He thought Japan had taken the von Moltke strategy of annihilation, but Russia was simply to large to be dislodged from Asia with a swift stroke. If Russia had preserved herself better, he believed Japan would have lost and it was only by a peculiar set of circumstances that Japan had avoided a war of endurance. Ishiwara believed if such a set of circumstance occurred again, Japan defense planning would need to change dramatically to base itself on the realities of modern warfare. This led him to read thoroughly about WW1 in europe and he looked critically at the differences between a short duration vs long duration war. How prolonged conflicts eventually became total wars where politics, economics and social order played larger roles, than just that of the military. This led him to think of categories for different types of war such as “kessenteki senso / decisive war” and “jizokuteki senso / continuous war”. He viewed these two types as flowing back and forth throughout history, in a cyclical rhythm.    While in Germany he studied Clausewitz, von Moltke and the works of Hans Delbruck. He was particularly taken by Delbrucks niederwerfungstragie “strategy of annihilation, the decisive battle” and ermattungsstrategie “the strategy of exhaustion”. He could see his own theorizes more fleshed out in such works and took quite a liking to them. This brought him to analyze the Napoleonic war as the archetype of the war of annihilation and the wars of Frederick the Great as that of a war of exhaustion.    Now further on in his studies, Ishiwara became convinced like many of his colleagues, that Japan and the United States for reasons of power and ideology were on a set course for war. He also concluded such a war would be a protracted one, that of a strategy of exhaustion. But how could Japan prepare for such a protracted war when her natural resources were so clearly inadequate. This led him to think more so about Asia. Ishiwara believed Asia was an entity distinctly different from the west. He held beliefs that Asia should be liberated and unite. During the Xinhai revolution of 1911, as a young cadet in Korea, Ishiwara was quite excited by the idea China might revitalize itself, but he became disillusioned during his time in China later. In the 1920's he dealt with bandits, warlord era conflicts, chaos and disorder, seeing poverty everywhere, all of this shattered his image of China progressing and reforming herself. He wrote this during that time “Looking at the situation in China, I came to harbor grave doubts as to the political capacities of the chinese race and came to feel that, though they were a people of high cultural attainment, it was impossible for them to construct a modern state”. Despite how disappointed he was with the political problems of China, he was likewise disgusted with how his Japanese colleagues treated the Chinese. He recalled feelings of shame when he saw fellow colleagues in Hankow descending from rickshaws and tossing coins to the ground at the rickshaw mens feet. He would constantly write of how the Japanese needed to shed their racial superiority feelings, but funny enough he would write this alongside his beliefs it was necessary for Japan to help guide nations like China to their destiny. While he may have held beliefs in racial equality between Japan and China, he certainly did not think the same of China's politics. Like the majority of his colleagues he believed China required reform and modernization that Japan should usher in. To Ishiwara the issue at hand was if Japan did not help China, the west would aggressively do so and thus subjugate her further. To Ishiwara China needed liberation. Ishiwara also linked the incoming war between Japan and the United States to play a large role for what would occur between China and Japan.   Ishiwara like many Japanese officers held beliefs concerning the Kokutai. I will try to summarize exactly what the Kokutai is, but honestly its a unbelievably complex cultural phenomenon. The Kokutai was a spiritual motive force that influenced the Japanese military. It can be viewed as the national character of Japan. Japan was a constitutional monarchy that held the Kokutai (national body or character)  and Seitai (government body/structure). Thus there was in reality two ideologies, one held the traditional belief focusing on that of the emperor and that of the official government. If I were to give you a overly confusing summary, I would tell you “Japan is run by the emperor and the government simultaneously” this of course if confusing as hell, and it should be. Article 4 of the former Japanese constitution held “the emperor is the head of the empire, combining in himself the right of sovereignty, uniting the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government, although subject to the consent of the imperial diet”. Its like saying you have an absolute monarch, but he will be listening and following the democratically elected people. This contradiction would lead to the Pacific War. A large issue that would emerge is that the constitution literally said the navy and army were controlled by the Emperor and not the political diet. Thus many in the military viewed themselves subject to the Kokutai, which as an ideology would evolve dramatically from the Meiji era to the Showa Era. For example, what if you are a military high ranking officer who views the political elites as nothing more than criminals, taking the emperor hostage against his will and thus against the will of the Japanese people. Well this might lead you to try and overthrow the government to make sure the Emperor was really in charge as you think he should be. A real rabbit hole I could go down.   Ishiwara had a unique view of the Kokutai. In his early education he wrote this about his doubt on understanding it as a principal. “Even though I, myself, because of my training…had come to have an unshakeable faith in the kokutai I began to lack confidence that I could imparts this belief to others –to the common soldier, to the civilian, to non-Japanese”. His issue was how did the Kokutai apply outside Japan? How could its value transcend the national boundaries and interests of Japan? If a Japanese soldier was to sacrifice his life for the Kokutai, how did this take on any meaning for men of all races? How could the kokutai's supra-national value by linked to other outside ideologies?   Ishiwara found some answers to these questions in Nichiren Buddhism. It seems here he was able to combine his conceptions about war, history and national purpose. Now Ishiwara did not come from a religious family. He dabbled in christianity for a bit, but did not pursue it. Shinto likewise did not sufficiently fulfill Shiwara' beliefs. Nichiren Buddhism is strongly patriotic, has a apocalyptic character to it and represents a holy mission to be the religion for all mankind with the center of propagation as Japan. There was this kind of quasi idea of world regeneration behind it with Japan as the moral righteous leader. Thus as you can imagine the Kokutai and Nichiren buddhism sort of fit like a glove in many ways.    Utilizing Nichiren Buddhism, the kokutai could be raised from its purely national dogma and be amplified to the entire world. Ishiwara was introduced to all of this by Tanaka Chigaku who was part of the Kokuchukai “national pillar society” a nichiren nationalist organization with an HQ in tokyo. After attending a public meeting held by Tanaka, he quickly converted to Kokuchukai and he would write down in his journal “I was attracted to the Nichiren faith's view of the kokutai”. Nichiren buddhism.    One aspect of Kokuchukai's nichirenism that greatly appealed to Ishiwara was its combative passages. Ishiwara would justify and attribute much of the military force Japan used on the asian continent drawing parallels to Nicherns idea of drawing the sword to defend righteousness. He often quoted nichirens statement “that the significance of the art of war appears in the wonderful law”. Ishiwara become engulfed by the nichiren doctrine and came to believe in its prediction that there would be a “Zendai mimon no dai toso / titanic world conflict, unprecedented in human history”, something like a global armageddon. After this would come a reign of universal and eternal peace under the harmony of “the wonderful law”.   While in Germany Ishiwara became convinced that if Japan and the United States were destined for war and the US won that war, the kokutai would be destroyed. He took the trans-siberian railway enroute back to Japan and stopped in Harbin. There he met with Nichiren believers and he spoke to them about his idea of “a final war”. He stated he believed it would come through religious prediction and his military analysis. He warned everyone Japan must hasten herself for it and that “the final war is fast approaching”. Ishiwara came back to Japan in 1925 fired up with conviction to lecture at the army staff college about his final war. His audience was the army's bright and youthful officers. He taught them Frederican and Napoleonic campaigns, Moltke and WW1 and of course his thoughts on the future conflict before them all. The Army staff college continuously called for him to expand his lectures because they were so popular. Then in 1927 he drafted an essay titled “Genzai oyobi shorai Nihon no kokubo / Japan's present and future national defense”. Here he spoke about the inevitable war between the US and Japan. These were quite provocative and took a hell of a lot of attention from colleagues. Later on in april of 1931, he would brief his fellow Kwantung officers using the essay, arguing the need for decisive action on the asian mainland.   In 1928 he would have given another course on European war, but he came down with influenza and was forced to take leave. As he was getting better he was hit with a case of tympanitis in his ear and had to be hospitalized for 6 months. It was to be one of many ailments that would grind at his health. He eventually was drawn into an elite study circle to talk about war theories led by Major Suzuki. The group consisted of young reformist type officers who talked about political and military issues. He carried on his work on the final war and eventually wrote “Sensoshi taikan / general outline of the history of war” which was delivered as a lecture before Kwantung officers at Changch'un in Manchuria on July 4th of 1929. It would receive revisions in 1931, 1938 and became a book of the same title after 1941. As he began lecturing using Sensoshi taiken he also circulated amongst an inner circle within the Kwantung army “kokuun tenkai no konpon kokusakutaru man-mo mondai kaiketsuan / Plan for the solution of the Manchuria and Mongolia problem as a basic national policy to revolutionize our country's destiny”, what a title. As you might guess the plan called for occupying Manchuria in preparation for the upcoming war with America. By the way, all of his lectures and works would gain so much fame, he was asked in 1936 to adapt the materials for a text on military history for Emperor Hirohito.    Now the 1930's were quite a tense time for Japan. The Japanese leadership saw Marxism everywhere, and believed it was withering away their nation. Japanese liberal types were arguing the military budget was out of hand, many were calling for reduction. To Ishiwara it was insanity, how could Japan not arm itself? Marxists preached communism would save Japan; Liberals preached true democracy would save Japan; Ishiwara and many in the army preached the Kokutai would save Japan. Ishiwara preached his final war theories and that the coming apocalypse would not see an American synthesis, but a supreme victory for the Japanese kokutai that would unify the world. “Japan must be victorious not for the sake of her own national interest, but for the salvation of the world. The last war in human history is approaching, Nichiren's titanic world conflict, unprecedented in human history”.   From the offset of his initial theories, Ishiwara believed the final war would be a strategy of exhaustion. But WW1 and the 1920's brought technological advances such as tanks, poison gas and the airplane. The airplane in particular made Ishiwara believe the defensive stalemate seen in WW1 was coming to an end. Airpower could deliver bomb loads past all known defenses such as naval surface units, fortresses, armies with automatic weapons. He believed the final war would see absolute horrors brought upon the greatest cities of the world. London, Shanghai, Paris even Tokyo would be wiped out within a day of the commencement of hostilities. Air bombardment would deliver victory and he would be quite right about that in regards to what would happen to Japan. He believed such a war would be waged only once and “we will enter an age where war will become impossible because of the ultimate development of war technology”.   Ishiwara argued Japan must directly or indirectly control Manchuria and to a lesser degree over parts of China. He asserted Japan had a moral obligation to the asian continent and a special relationship to Manchuria and China. China must be stabilized, for her people were threatened by turmoil, corruption and conflict. He argued Japan would be eventually obliged for the sake of peace and the welfare of the Chinese people to take a more active effort to stabilize her, particularly in Manchuria. He wrote in 1930 “To save China, which has known no peace, is the mission of Japan, a mission, which, at the same time, is the only means for the salvation of Japan itself. To accomplish this task it is an urgent matter that the interference of the United States be eliminated”. Ironically, he was advocating that in order to prepare for a conflict with the US, Japan must take a stronger hand in Manchuria and China…which would probably force the United States to confront her. He advocated against the strategy of a decisive battle at sea, instead emphasizing a continental strategy. “If the worst comes about and the war at sea turns against us, if proper measures have been taken, Japanese forces on the Asian mainland can be made self-sufficient and the war continued.” Above all else, Manchuria was the key, alongside parts of Mongolia and China.    In 1931 he began writing about how China needed to reform and it would be in her best interest to accept Japanese guidance. He saw China as the most valuable ally to be beside Japan in the event of war with the United States. If anything he argued Japan must try to not become involved in a war with China, every effort should be made to avoid provoking such an event. Yet as he continued his writing he began to see the diplomatic issues play out between China and Japan and came to the conclusion, “every attempt should be made to avoid provoking China, but in the event that it is impossible to bring about China's understanding, then Nanking should be swiftly attacked and north and central China occupied” way to go 0-60. His attitudes to Britain and Russia were quite similar, every effort should be made to remain friendly, but in the case of war Hong Kong and Malaya should be quickly occupied or in the case of the USSR, predetermined objectives inside Siberia should be seized quickly.    Now lets talk about Manchuria, specifically Manchuria in the late 1920's. Manchuria was in a huge tug of war between Russia, China and Japan. Her ties to China proper were severed by years of warlordism allowing Japan to grow her position. For Japan, the quote “manchurian problem” as it would be known centered on a single question “how to consolidate and expand it under Japanese influence in the face of an expanding China”. Japan saw 3 viable methods, taking control over the south manchuria railway, using the kwantung army and Japanese colonists, the good old filibuster approach. Each of these 3 methods offered different approaches to the same problem which of course would have very different outcomes.    Controlling the railway allowed quite a lot of control over southern Manchuria. The issue with this of course being Japan having to constantly fight off Chinese political efforts against such control. Zhang Zuolin, the Tiger of Manchuria and arguably greatest of the warlords of China held control over Manchuria and was firmly acting in Japanese interests, but for how long would he play ball? To the Kwantung Army members operating in and around Manchuria, the northern expedition of Chiang Kai-shek was getting out of hand and threatening Zhang Zuolin and thus their interests as well. Anti-Japanese sentiment was only getting worse as the northern expedition climbed north. The Kwangtung army sought more than anything to assert and retain their control over Manchuria, because it offered a buffer against the USSR. Anything that threatened that control had to be dealt with. Ultimately it was believed by many in the Kwantung Army that Manchuria would have to be separated officially from China and in order for this to occur, Japan would most likely need to use force.    Senior officers of the Kwantung army were invited in June of 1927 for a meeting called upon by Premier Tanaka Giichi. The purpose of the meeting was to formulate Japan's policy toward China and Manchuria. A more radical Kwantung army group headed by Colonel Komoto Daisaku sought to eliminate Zhang Zuolin, as he was increasingly being seen as a major obstacle to Japanese ambitions in Manchuria. Well they would do just that in 1928 when Zhang Zuolin was assassinated via a bomb placed on train tracks known as the Huanggutun incident. The assassination did not work out as the Kwantung Army officers thought it would. Instead of their groomed puppet General Yang Yuting taking up the role as leader of Manchuria, it went instead to Zhang Zuolin's son, Zhang Xueliang, who lets just say was not too happy the Japanese had obviously killed his father. Thus the Kwantung Army did not assert the forceful policy they wanted in Manchuria, they had actually made it worse for them.   The half-hearted investigation into those responsible for killing Zhang Zuolin, led to the removal of Colonel Komoto from his post. Tanaka's cabinet was toppled. The Kwantung army were now embarrassed and angry that their stance in Manchuria was weakened. The Japanese colonists within Manchuria felt more threatened and called more so upon the Kwantung army for protection against Chinese nationalists wishing to kick them out. The Kwantung army was grasping at straws trying to think of a way to sever Manchuria from China. In 1928, Ishiwara was a lt colonel and he was consulted in length by Kwantung officers about his views on the Manchurian problem. While he had not fully hashed out his Final War theory by this point, he nonetheless spoke about the fundamentals of it, arguing the necessity of taking action to control Manchuria. For the next few years, all efforts were made by Kwantung officers to influence policy towards Manchuria. Ishiwara's ideas were being stimulated and influencing the debate over Manchuria amongst his high ranking colleagues. In October of 1928, Ishiwara sought and received an appointment to the Kwantung army staff. The assignment was to be as an operations officer and his number one backer was Colonel Komoto Daisaku. It seemed Komoto saw Ishiwara as the firebrand necessary to push the Manchurian policies they wanted.   When Ishiwara arrived at Port Arthur, he found the Kwantung Army HQ in a state of confusion and demoralization. This of course was a large part due to the cluster fuck of a failure from the bombing of Zhang Zuolin. The investigation into the assassination led to many shifts within the Kwantung army staff, many quite restrictive. Even though Komoto's career was shattered by the Zhang Zuolin failure, he kept arguing to his colleagues that the Manchurian crisis hamukdend to be resolved by force. Ishiwara it seems agreed with this and during the early months of 1929 worked alongside Komoto, planning operations against Chinese forces in the Mukden area. By spring of 1929, Komoto was officially being kicked out. By May he was relegated to a divisional backwater in Japan and by June he was out of the army. This did not mean however that he lost influence on Manchurian affairs. Komoto's replacement was Lt Colonel Itagaki Seishiro and old comrade of Ishiwara since Sendai military preparatory school.    For the next two and a half years, Ishiwara and Itagaki worked alongside other Kwantung Army staff to solve the Manchurian problem as they saw it. By the mid 1931's the idea Manchuria needed to be seized via force was now the mainstream viewpoint for the Kwantung army in general. Ishiwara believed firmly that Japan could no longer stand idle in Manchuria, because every day that went by saw little by little, Japan relinquishing rights and interests in Manchuria to China, and at some point they would simply be kicked out. To “quit manchuria” would be a national disaster, they would lose their buffer state, the resources and the land for their booming population to emigrate to. Simply put Manchuria was the steroid keeping Japan alive, she needed it to continue to grow. Ishiwara would often say “manchuria provides Japan with breathing space” where have we heard that type of talk before?. To the military heads in Tokyo Ishikawa would often assert Manchuria had to be seized via force, because of the soviethreat of the USSR and communism as a whole “In view of the traditional russian policy in that area, once the soviets advanced into manchuria, it would become a base for the communization of asia. Not only would the internal stability of manchuria become impossible to maintain, but Japan would be unable to maintain its own national defense, and China's defenses, too, would become imperialized". The Army HQ in Tokyo likewise agreed Manchuria was the vital defensive line against the USSR. But unlike the Kwantung army who sought all of Manchuria, the heads in Tokyo sought to absorb southern Manchuria via the south manchurian railway and did not seek anything north of it. Ishiwara however assumed the only way Japan could prevent the USSR from placing pressure on southern Manchuria was no less that Japan having to occupy northern Manchuria and even further north towards the Amur River so Japan could control the mountain ranges flanking western and eastern frontiers of northern manchuria.  Once Japan controlled northern Manchuria, Ishiwara stated in 1931 “With the solution of our defense problems in the north, we would then be free to plan an advance in any direction: to China proper, for example, or even to Southeast Asia”.   Ishiwara took all of this a step further, after Manchuria was conquered, Japan would have to somehow administer and pacify the peoples of it. Ishiwara argued the stability of Manchuria would be developed through the special talents of various races living there. The Chinese would develop the small businesses in the region, the Koreans would use their paddy farming knowledge, etc. These racial ideas would contribute to the development of Manchukuo and the greater east asia co-prosperity sphere. But above all else, Manchuria would serve the interests of Japan, many of which would be exploitative and economic in nature.    By early 1930 Ishiwara and Itagaki worked out a plan using the same strategy used during the Russo-Japanese war, a surprise night attack. The Kwantung army would assault the Liaoning area hitting important Chinese garrisons. The plans had to be meticulous as the Kwantung army was severely smaller than most of the Manchurian forces led by Zhang Xueliang. Around Mukden alone Zhang held 20,000 men well equipped with aircraft and tanks. Throughout all of Manchuria, if a war arose, Zhang could assemble roughly 250,000 troops to bear down on an enemy. The Kwantung army meanwhile could muster 10,000 men which were basically garrison units around the railway. They did not have significant aircraft nor mechanized forces at hand, and were pretty poorly equipped to boot. Ishiwara's answer to the disparity in forces called for the use of intelligence and rigorous training. He sought to perfect specific assault techniques so that when the conflict broke out, the Japanese would use lightning speed and effective concentration of force to overwhelm the Chinese. The plan overall was remarkably simplistic, wagering everything on dealing a crushing blow at the center of Zhang Xueliangs military powerbase at the Peitaying barracks at Mukden. If this fell, he predicted the enemy's morale would break, giving the Kwantung the necessary military and psychological momentum to subdue the surrounding areas. If the USSR got involved, the plan would have gone to utter shit.   One important variable Ishiwara highlighted was the necessity to pull off the operation before any attempt to restructure the domestic order in Japan occurred. Ishiwara knew his arguments and those of his colleagues would influence the heads in Tokyo, and they had to act before they did. However the heads at Tokyo and the Kwantung army held very different perspectives on when to act. In June of 1931 the Central army HQ stated in its General Outline of a solution to the Manchurian problem “we must defer the question of military action for a whole year. During this time the foreign ministry would attempt to dampen anti japanese activities in manchuria through negotiations with the government of Nanking. In the meantime the government would launch an information campaign to try and drive acquiescence at home and aboard for military action ”. Ishiwara as you can imagine was very bitter about the idea of prolonging for a year and argued the international environment meant they must strike immediately. The Soviet 5 year plan was still in mid course; the US, Britain and France had yet to overcome their financial crisis and could offer limited resistance in the far east and most obviously the Nationalist regime in China was still busy in its unification efforts south of the Great wall, but that would change soon. If they waited a year all of this would change for the worse, the time was now or never to Ishiwara.   In july of 1931 Ishiwara and Itagki organized a final major staff reconnaissance designed to get the newest Kwantung officers up to date with northern Manchuria. To cover for what they were doing they told high command it was a survey against the USSR, but it was of course to investigate the Chinese power in northern manchuria. On their return trip, the party heard of the disappearance of one Kwantung staff officer, captain Nakamura Shintaro. Ishiwara and the others found out when they reached Port Arthur and the rumor spread that Captain Nakamura had been killed by Chinese soldiers under “mysterious circumstances”. Now over the past few months there had been violent riots, murders, work strikes and other incidents occurring in Manchuria. The Nakamura affair flared all of these tensions up. Seeing the paint on the wall, Chinese and Japanese foreign ministries tried to negotiate the issue, but those at the central army HQ like Nagata Tetsuzan who were sympathetic to the impatience of their Kwantung colleagues felt compelled to aid them. For Ishiwara the issue was clear as he wrote “the Nakamura incident adds just one more issue to the others. What the army should do now is to ignore the foreign ministry and solve the problem by taking matters into its own hands”. And that is just what he did. The Kwantung officers took their forces outside the railway zone, which they had been restricted to and without waiting for approval from Itagaki who was in Japan at the time, initiated the steps to despatch an armored train and a mixed regiment of infantry and artillery forces to go to Mukden to get the Chinese military to help investigate the Nakamura disappearance. Tokyo got word of this and dispatched a telegram to stop their departure from the railway and to not use the Nakamura incident as a way to use force to solve the manchurian problem.   For Ishiwara this was the last straw. On August 20th he sent a message to Nagata condemning the current diplomatic situation and that negotiations were an utter waste of time. “There is no way to settle the matter except by placing it in the hands of the army. If central hq finds it so difficult to trust its field personnel then it had better replace them with representatives more suitable to the conditions it imagines to exist in Manchuria”. Ishiwara doubled down and pushed for a plot to provoke military conflict outside of Mukden. As he wrote in almost a messianic Nichiren conviction ‘I will be the pillar of Japan; I will be the eyes of Japan; I will be the great vessel of Japan” .   “Gekokujo / ruling from below” is a Japanese historical term referring to when subordinates defy or manipulate their superiors. Ishiwara and his like minded close colleagues were about to perform Gekokujo. On september 18th, 1931 a bomb was planted by the Kwantung army on the tracks of the south manchuria railway at Liutiaokou and it exploded. Japanese troops under the guise the bomb was a “chinese terrorist attack” moved to swiftly overrun the Peitaying barracks. Ishiwara's plot had finally unfolded. 

JP Morgan's new $3 billion HQ trades keycards for fingerprints and eye scans—a shiny monument to how workplace security just became workplace surveillance. | Subscribe to "The Recruiting Life" newsletter at JimStroud.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Even on airplanes, chaos finds Jay Schwedelson and Daniel Murray—but this Bathroom Break isn't just about travel horror stories. Between speakerphone offenders and oversized dogs, they break down how to actually organize your content so it doesn't become one big mess. From tagging systems and Notion libraries to “writer's rooms” that actually work, this one's packed with simple, real-world ideas to keep your marketing machine humming.ㅤFollow Daniel on LinkedIn and check out The Marketing Millennials podcast for sharp, no-fluff marketing insights. Subscribe to Ari Murray's newsletter at gotomillions.co for sharp, actionable marketing insights.ㅤBest Moments:(01:13) Jay's nightmare airplane encounter with the loudest guy on speakerphone(03:03) Daniel explains how tagging content and tracking performance makes remixing easy(05:37) Why pain points and headlines belong in your content library, not just campaign names(07:31) The surprising way Daniel's team keeps newsletters fresh and relevant each week(09:15) Jay's tip for solo creators—schedule a content-only block on your calendar(10:43) Why you should include people outside your marketing team in brainstorming sessions(11:00) Jay's plea for airlines to ban “farm animal–sized” dogs from middle seatsㅤCheck out our 100% FREE + VIRTUAL EVENTS! ->Guru Conference - The World's Largest Virtual EMAIL MARKETING Conference - Nov 6-7!Register here: www.GuruConference.comㅤCheck out Jay's YOUTUBE Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@schwedelsonCheck out Jay's TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@schwedelsonCheck Out Jay's INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/jayschwedelson/ㅤMASSIVE thank you to our Sponsor, Marigold!!Email chaos across campuses, branches, or chapters? Emma by Marigold lets HQ keep control while local teams send on-brand, on-time messages with ease.Podcast & GURU listeners: 50 % off your first 3 months with an annual plan (new customers, 10 k-contact minimum, terms apply).Claim your offer now at jayschwedelson.com/emma

It's been another packed week on the ATP and WTA Tours, so join Joel, Chris, and a special guest appearance from Alina as they break down all the big stories from Tennis Weekly HQ.Jannik Sinner dominated Carlos Alcaraz to capture the Six Kings Slam in Saudi Arabia, pocketing a record $6 million payday — but what did we really learn from their latest showdown? Is indoor hard court still Sinner's territory, and what to make of Alcaraz's comments on the packed tennis calendar? Meanwhile, Daniil Medvedev finally returned to the winners' circle in Almaty after 882 days, and Casper Ruud lifted the Stockholm Open title in front of Swedish royalty, with Chris and Alina reporting behind the scenes as they continue their quest to track down and interview Magnus Norman.The team also rates Emma Raducanu's season, analyses Elena Rybakina's late WTA Finals push, and asks what's gone wrong for Mirra Andreeva. Plus, big coaching news as Jack Draper hires former coach of Andy Murray and Grigor Dimitrov, Jamie Delgado whilst Frances Tiafoe sacks his teams to sign up Todd Martin. Finally, our Mailbag tackles Holger Rune's heartbreaking injury — is the tennis calendar pushing players too far or should players learn to adapt their schedule more?SOCIALSFollow us on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, plus email the show tennisweeklypod@gmail.com.MERCHPurchase Tennis Weekly Merch through our Etsy store including limited edition designs by Krippa Design where all proceeds go towards the podcast so we can keep doing what we do!REVIEWS***Please take a moment to rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your pods. It really means a lot to us at HQ and helps make it easier for new listeners to discover us. Thanks!*** Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Each fall, Lake Placid turns into the “Telluride of the Northeast”—a walkable, mountain-ringed town where filmmakers and film lovers share theaters, coffee lines, and conversations. In this episode, we sit down with Noah Raymer, Director of Communications for Adirondack Film and the Lake Placid Film Festival, to explore what makes this long-running North Country tradition so special.What you'll hear in this episode:Festival vibe, Adirondack style. Why Lake Placid's scenic scale, community feel, and face-to-face access make it a filmmaker favorite—without the red-carpet hoopla.How Adirondack Film and the Festival fit together. From attracting productions (costume, set, camera, and craft jobs right here at home) to curating world-class screenings for local audiences.A history born in a blizzard. The sold-out 1997 screening of The Sweet Hereafter that sparked the Lake Placid Film Forum—and a quarter-century of film culture in the Adirondacks.Big names, low profiles. Memories of guests like Martin Scorsese (interviewed by Jon Favreau), Guillermo del Toro, and Willem Dafoe—plus why artists love the low-key, collaborative scene.Why this year feels different. A new emphasis on the trades behind the camera—costume, lighting, locations, special effects/creature work—so emerging creatives can find real pathways into the industry.Student pathways. The Festival's Student Summit (lodging, meals, passes, and small-group sessions with visiting filmmakers) and the Futures in Film collaboration with local schools and training partners.Dates & don't-miss moments (this year)Festival: Oct 30 – Nov 2 in Lake Placid; Opening Night Party on Oct 30.Careers in Motion (Trades Seminar + speed-mentoring): Oct 31, 2:30 PM.Free Film Trivia + Halloween Costume Contest: Oct 31 (film-themed prizes; no pass required).Lake Placid Halloween Parade: Oct 31, 12–1 PM.Film lets us see the world through someone else's eyes—essential in a place as globally connected (and proudly local) as the Adirondacks. The Festival builds community, keeps creative talent here, and opens doors for the next generation of crew and storytellers.Links & Mentions:Lake Placid Film Festival / Adirondack Film — passes, schedule, Student Summit, giving: adirondackfilm.org; socials: @adirondackfilm.Adirondack Film Commission (episode mentioned earlier with Eric Granger).High Peaks Resort (festival HQ) & Palace Theatre (main screenings).Lake Placid Pub & Brewery; The Breakfast Club (meet a filmmaker between sessions).Stockade Works (training partner) & Careers in Motion seminar.Futures in Film partners: Lake Placid High School, BOCES, SUNY Plattsburgh, Stockade Works.See Something That Means Something (winter art-house series).Give / Sponsor: adirondackfilm.org/give; info@adirondackfilm.org.Nearby to-dos while you're in town: Olympic Ski Jumps, High Falls Gorge, Main Street shops (make it a whole weekend). Produced by NOVA

Groove Radio's Official TOP 5 GROOVES Weekly Chart Hosted by Swedish Egil - Week of 10-20-25 01 Jamis & Ekko - Thirst - Helix Records 02 Dansyn & HILLS - Control (Extended Mix) - Catch & Release 03 CID & Taylor Renee - Fancy $hit (Extended Mix) - Catch & Release 04 Chris Avantgarde - Dale (Dub Mix) - Hyperreal / Boom.Records 05 AYYBO & Discip - 4 Ya Mind (Original Mix) - Solid Grooves Records -- About GROOVE RADIO Groove Radio is the Rhythm of the Future - always on in HQ audio with electronic dance music and DJ culture LIVE from Los Angeles. Curated by legendary radio programmer, Swedish Egil, Groove Radio celebrates 30+ years featuring iconic and emerging talent from the early classics of 90's techno and house music to the sounds of today's dance music festivals. -- For more info visit:  grooveradio.com c2025 Groove Radio. All rights reserved.

Mason writes "I'm not quite sure how to start this other than with my first encounter. In the summer of 2013 or 2014, I went camping with my friend Perry and his father in upstate New York, we lived in Saranac Lake, which is 15 minutes down the road from Lake Placid where the 1980 miracle on ice occurred. Upstate New York is nothing like the city that the state is most famously known for, its mountainous, and covered in forests, and is also home to the Adirondack state park, where our little town was nestled. We had gone with his nearly estranged father to a camping ground near a lake, which one I cannot remember, as the area is littered with them. What I do remember however is Perry's father had stopped us setting up camp to tell us a scary story, ironically enough about Sasquatch. He told us a story about it taking food and attacking campers, but the two of us both teenagers, blew off his story. I for one have always had an interest in Bigfoot, but growing up, every adult in my life had talked down to me or made fun of this interest, causing me to in a sense disengage from them when they attempted to talk shop with me.  This camp ground was large, and had over 20 slots, and his father had splurged in an attempt to reconcile with Perry, opting to rent a site next to the lake. Between our campsite and every other was about 100 feet of thick woods, to allow privacy between the families camping. At the time I believe it was us, and two other families as it was nearing the end of summer, and they were a few sites away from us. The camping was fun, and nothing too exciting occurred other than the three of us learning to set up an over complicated bass pro tent for a small family. At around 10 o'clock that night give or take an hour we had been sitting around our campfire when Perry's father's demeanor changed. For most of this day we had all three been very excited and having fun, but at this point in the night he seemed to suddenly become very serious. He got us to clean up our campsite and pack up everything aside from a large cooler he had brought along. Then he had ushered us into the tent. Perry and I, both being 13 or 14, were still awake, laughing over dumb jokes and attempting not to wake Perry's father when we began to hear walking. At this time I had not been as well versed of the sounds of the woods as I would become later in life, but even then I could distinguish the sound of bipedal walking, especially when it sounded heavy. We heard something begin to approach our campsite, and at first I had wondered if it were a loon or heron which were all over the lake during the day. This however was quickly disproven when it approached our tent. Perry's face suddenly became filled with fear, fear which matched the sudden sinking feeling growing in my chest and stomach. I had turned slightly to my left, onto my back, as I was closest to the side this unknown had approached, and something inside me demanded I not have my back to whatever this was. We sat there for what felt like forever, but could only have been a minute, when the side of the tent began to push in slowly, what was pushing it in has never left me. What I can only describe as a poorly outlined hand had pushed in the side of the tent. The tent wall had bulged inwards a good five or six inches and was starting to stretch as far inward as it could before the tent began to bend. The hand itself reminded me of my fathers hand, he is a man of 6 feet and over 250 pounds, and had hands that remind me of the cartoon character wreck it Ralph, or more accurately like a baseball glove. What shocked me most of all was that this hand seemed to be double or triple the size of my father's hands.  I believe if it were not for what happened next, it may have kept moving its hand further. Perry's father actively spoke in his sleep, a quirk of his that I at the time did not know. He had said something quiet, but just loud enough that it caused this hand to pull away. It was at this moment that the air began to feel electrified, like we had done something wrong, and the fear in my body then and even now rewriting this spiked. The woods had gone deadly silent, the only sound we could hear was the water from the lake make ten feet from our tent.  We froze, Perry and I had lain as flat as possible to avoid bringing attention to ourselves, and were doing our best to slow our breathing, to keep quiet. Perry's father however had mumbled something else, and Perry decided he would attempt to wake him. It half worked, as his father seemed to hear Perry whispering to him, because the next thing I knew his father chuckled and said "You're trying to scare me for the story aren't you? Not gonna work" and moments later, his father was once again asleep. As he spoke, we heard and felt the steps from earlier walk away from us, further into our campsite. We had pitched our tent on the edge of the site because a large picnic table sat in the center, this table is where we left our cooler. I mention this because you could hear the wood suddenly creaking as if something heavy was leaned on it or sat on it. Following this was the sound of the cooler opening, and the sound of plastic bags and cans being sorted through.  Perry and I held our breath, terrified. At the time I refused to believe it was Bigfoot, because I did not want what was happening to ruin my enjoyment of the subject.  We listened to it for quite some time, I believe four or five minutes, rummaging through the cooler, before we heard the cooler close, and the steps begin to move away. The next thing we heard was something entering the water, and the sound of something swimming away.  We stayed awake after that, or more accurately I did, Perry eventually got to sleep, I can only imagine he was exhausted from the terror we had felt. I, in my infinite wisdom of a brazen 13 or 14 year old, waited for sunrise to exit the tent, where I found our cooler still on the table but moved, and many of the items we had brought in the cooler strewn about the site. I did not see tracks, as the ground here was too hard, but what I did notice was that the cooler felt oily on the handles, like someone who had washed their hands in seed oils had touched it, or someone who had done an oil change had just manhandled the cooler. It also smelled slightly of mildew, or more accurately it smelled like stale air.  When Perry woke and so did his father, Perry apparently had decided to not talk about what had happened, and his father thought I was trying to scare him for as he put it "payback for yesterdays story". Suffice to say, I had grown a pair of eyes in the back of my head that night, which would keep me aware in the woods for years to come. My second encounter is extremely brief, and at the time I was convinced by my mother that it was simply foxes attempting to mate. For you if you want to see where this one occurred, we lived at  220 Riverside Drive, Saranac Lake New York. Down the road from my old home was thick woods that went on fire miles, which are still there. My home was just up the road from it. I know this had occurred in 2014 because my father had given me an IPad he no longer wanted for my birthday which was in March of that year. I had been up late watching YouTube, and enjoying some pirated shows on the site, and when I say late I mean 1 or 2 AM late.  I had always been spooked by sounds I'd never heard before, but never as afraid as what this would do to me.  I had just decided I needed to sleep when my dog Lakota, a Keeshond I just recently adopted began to whine. His cage was in my room. For context, this home was three stories tall, but built on an a steep hill. We had gotten this home from a family friend who had been building it for himself, but decided he didn't want it when he found a "better property". My room was on the "ground floor". I put this in quotations because my room and the entire left half of the ground floor sat 10 feet above the driveway. The driveway, was about 40 or 50 feet long, extending past our house to a garage which is built into the hill, the hill itself was covered in thick woods and it was maybe 70 feet between our house and the people behind it. The driveway itself also opened a path up behind the garage, up into the woods.  So my room is about 10 feet above the driveway, but directly beside it, and I have a single window here. I had the window partly cracked, and my room was pretty quiet, I was trying not to wake my mother upstairs because her room was directly above mine and she could be very upset if I was too loud and woke her up. I was relaxed and enjoying myself as I had said before when a sound I can only describe as a bloody scream exploded up from the driveway. It was both deep and high pitched, and vibrated the glass in the windows, my TV and my entire body. I was instantly overcome with the deepest fear I have ever felt, and I threw the iPad down. Normally if I heard something that scared me I would just close the window and my bedroom door and hide under the covers, but this filled me with so much terror I threw my iPad, left my dog behind and went running into the hall. As soon as I made it into the hall, I could hear something in the distance answer back. I too began screaming, only instead of a guttural two toned shrieking I began screaming for my mother. She came rushing down the stairs, I can only assume she too was awoken by these sounds. She however was angry with me. According to her that was foxes sending out a mating call. I had told her I don't believe her and her response still sticks with me as an oddly funny reaction to such a terrifying moment. "What do you want me to do? Go outside and shoot it? I'm not doing that!"  I believe my panic had sent the screamer away from our home, because I never heard that sound again after the initial scream and answer from down the road.  For years I just accepted my mother's reality, because I didn't know what else it could be, until I was listening to your show. I'm not sure what episode it was but I know the sound. The moment I heard it I had a full blown panic attack, and was brought right back to that night. Every time I hear that sound I go back, not as panicked as before thankfully, but that sound will haunt me for the rest of my life. It is only thanks to you that I know what it was now. The audio I think of sounds feminine almost, like a banshee almost, and is followed by a deep call at the end. I believe it may have been on a recent episode. Now for my final encounter or rather what I'd refer to as the most terrifying 3 months of my life.  I moved to Virginia in 2016, and have lived here since then. It was last year, 2024, when I had lost my job in retail. I had lost my grandmother who had been there my whole life, she had been there for me when I lost my sister in 2009 and even been there holding one of my mothers legs when I was born. This loss had hit me hard and I had lost the passion I had for my job and most things around me. It had been my spouse Lynn's suggestion that I go into something new, something that got me outside, to help me find my passion for work again. So I applied to FedEX Ground in Winchester Virginia, and to my delight I got the job fairly quickly. I was trained, and put into my own truck within a month and a half of getting the gig. My route was Luray Virginia, specifically the area around Highway US-211 East, called Fairview. This area is mostly hills, woods, farms, pastures, and creeks. This is about as rural as you can get, internet vanishes here, your phone loses signal, and most people you speak to is related to five others here. I loved my route, except for three places on it. To start was Piney Mountain Road. Piney Mountain goes up to a small paved circle where houses have mailboxes. The houses these boxes belong to were each up a steep mountain whose roads were carved out of the mud and dirt between trees, and every driveway was a challenge: the worst of all was at the top of the mountain, where a house had an inclined driveway. This driveway had no good turn arounds aside from a small patch of dirt that sat precariously over a small drop of about 70 feet onto a slope with a slight incline of 80°. I would have to do an eleven point turn to turn my vehicle around and then pray to god my brakes didn't give out as I delivered these peoples packages. Well the more I delivered to them, the more I felt like someone was going to come out of the woods and attack me in the truck.  Every time I delivered to this home I was filled with dread to the point I once just left their boxes in the driveway and nearly killed myself flying down the mountain. There was one night however, when I was out extremely late delivering, that I arrived at the paved circle at the bottom of the mountain, and decided I was never driving up there again. I parked and was on the phone with my spouse, with an earbud in one ear. I was delivering to the only house at the bottom before I was to go up the mountain, when I began to hear nearly every sound I've ever heard you play on the podcast start up that mountain, I heard arguing samurai chatter, I heard howling, screaming, I heard branches and trees being torn apart, and I flew into my truck, leaving their packages in a drop box that belonged their neighbors and I left in tears. Next, would be Morning Star Road or as google calls it "Jewell Hollow Road." Not much happened here aside from two things. I saw a distant figure up on a hill one day for maybe a moment that was man shaped and black, and an old woman who told me and I quote her directly "the boogers don't like you speeding around here." To finish out I would have to drive up a road directly behind the Shenandoah national park HQ, East Rocky Branch. This road went far back into the woods, surround by it really, on the right side of the road was a 10 foot drop into a ditch with a river at the center, and on the left was a hill connected to a small mountain. I drove this entire road, delivering boxes to every house, except for the ones at the ends. Every time I would drive down this road I would get an odd feeling, like I was being watched. I had chalked it up to paranoia; because I had been listening to your shows episodes I'd downloaded on the app, I just had become a true member and not an Apple podcast listener anymore. For months I was just calling it paranoia, denying the occasional stick break, the woods going silent, or the feeling of being watched. There was even a point when I had gone a different road this occurred so I assumed I had just begun overthinking, until the last two months I worked for FedEX. I had a house I delivered to at the end, which had a large cleared yard with trees surrounding it. There was a large opening about maybe 40 feet wide that looked all the way to a small waterfall about 200 feet from where I'd park in their gravel driveway. I had met the family who lived here a few times, and the father was a good 6'5 maybe 6'6. This is important because I would often see the father about halfway back towards this waterfall, and he would stand beside a tree in this clear view in order to talk with me as I delivered packages, mainly to tell me where to place them. It was November, and I was arriving in their driveway on a day they must not have been home, because their car that usually blocked me from doing an easy turn around in this driveway was gone. So I parked sideways in the driveway, and began to take their package out. I hadn't noticed it yet, but the woods were silent aside from the occasional gust of wind. The package was quite heavy; and I had been spouting some expletives as I was not in the best of shape, but I eventually got it on their porch. Once I did, I turned around and looked back in the clearing. What I saw fills me with dread to this day. "

Somehow, Jay Schwedelson made accountability sound like a superpower instead of a chore. In this short solo riff, he shares the one mindset shift that's fueled his entire career—how showing up every single week, no matter how small the action, builds momentum most people never find. If you've ever felt like you're “not the smartest person in the room,” this one hits differently.ㅤBest Moments:(01:00) Jay admits to constantly talking himself down—and why that's actually helped him grow(02:15) The two habits that changed everything: consistency and accountability(03:45) Why “learning by doing” isn't enough to stay sharp in your career(05:40) How a simple weekly Slack message can transform your growth and visibility(07:08) The real reason Jay's newsletter made him exponentially better at his job(09:28) Brutal stats that prove most people quit way too soon(10:15) The simple formula to beat 95% of people without being the smartest one in the roomㅤCheck out our 100% FREE + VIRTUAL EVENTS! ->Guru Conference - The World's Largest Virtual EMAIL MARKETING Conference - Nov 6-7!Register here: www.GuruConference.comㅤCheck out Jay's YOUTUBE Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@schwedelsonCheck out Jay's TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@schwedelsonCheck Out Jay's INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/jayschwedelson/ㅤMASSIVE thank you to our Sponsor, Marigold!!Email chaos across campuses, branches, or chapters? Emma by Marigold lets HQ keep control while local teams send on-brand, on-time messages with ease.Podcast & GURU listeners: 50 % off your first 3 months with an annual plan (new customers, 10 k-contact minimum, terms apply).Claim your offer now at jayschwedelson.com/emma

Marketers love shiny objects, but this chat gets real about what moves pipeline right now with Jay Schwedelson and Ben Schechter. CMO FloQast! [Industry Giant Accounting Platform]From why webinars still outperform to how to score webinar engagement the smart way, Ben shares practical plays for B2B teams that feel more consumer savvy. You also get a sanity check on AEO experiments, and a peek at how a not-so-sexy category builds a brand people actually want to follow.ㅤConnect with Ben Schechter on LinkedIn and explore FloQast if you lead or support an accounting team looking to modernize the close and operations.ㅤBest Moments:(01:23) From B2C to B2B - the consumer skills that turbocharge enterprise growth(04:12) Webinars still crush - attendance, engagement, and conversion you can bank on(06:55) Registered vs attended vs engaged - who sales should call first and why(08:52) Stop worshiping lead count - pipeline and dollars beat vanity metrics(11:45) AEO is real but early - balance experiments with core SEO and paid search(15:15) Making accounting feel human - a distinct voice and an in-house studios teamㅤCheck out our 100% FREE + VIRTUAL EVENTS! ->Guru Conference - The World's Largest Virtual EMAIL MARKETING Conference - Nov 6-7!Register here: www.GuruConference.comㅤCheck out Jay's YOUTUBE Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@schwedelsonCheck out Jay's TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@schwedelsonCheck Out Jay's INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/jayschwedelson/ㅤMASSIVE thank you to our Sponsor, Marigold!!Email chaos across campuses, branches, or chapters? Emma by Marigold lets HQ keep control while local teams send on-brand, on-time messages with ease.Podcast & GURU listeners: 50 % off your first 3 months with an annual plan (new customers, 10 k-contact minimum, terms apply).Claim your offer now at jayschwedelson.com/emma

Sean Fennessey (The Big Picture, The Rewatchables) enters B.O. HQ to discuss the hottest topics in movies. Can Marty Supreme crown Timmy Chalamet as an undeniable movie star? Which Oscar nomnomnoms will save the telecast's ratings? Will Chris Nolan return to Warner Bros to direct the upcoming Jetsons Movie? Would a Billy Joel bio-pic blow the Springsteen movie out of the water? Plus previews of Black Phone 2 and Good Fortune and so much more. "Our modern day Gene Shalit" has finally joined The B.O. Boys and it's a can't miss ep! Remember to Rate (5 Stars), Review (Great show, blah, blah, blah) and Follow us on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/b-o-boys-movie-box-office/id1489892648 E-mail us: theboboyspodcast@gmail.com   Subscribe on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@theboboyspodcast   Follow us on TikTok and Instagram: @TheBOBoysPod   Subscribe to us on Substack: https://substack.com/@theboboys Our AWESOME artwork was provided by the talented Ellie Skrzat. Check out her work at https://ellieskrzat.com/ Thanks to WannaBO VP of Interns Christopher for running our social media! ---

In this episode of The Liquidity Event, Shane and guest host Ed Z cover everything from Nobel laureates disappearing into the woods to Italy's flat-tax paradise for the ultra-rich. They unpack why more working-class Americans are turning to the stock market, debate whether democratized investing is empowerment or gambling, and answer a listener question about why companies are staying private longer. The duo also tackles Reddit's $750,000 cash conundrum, the truth about life insurance “wealth hacks,” and end on chess, broken office chairs, and the art of tax-season survival. Timestamps: (00:00) Shane's office chair falls apart — chaos at tax day HQ. (02:00) Meet guest host Ed Z (04:15) Disney planning with AI — Shane and Ed test ChatGPT's travel agent skills (06:30) The government shutdown, Epstein theories, and suit shopping with AI (07:25) Nobel laureate goes missing — why geniuses love the woods (09:30) Italy's “La Dolce Vita” flat-tax scheme for the ultra-rich (13:00) Corruption, $1 Italian homes, and Shane's mafia jokes (15:00) The working class joins Wall Street — Robinhood, risk, and returns (19:00) Why democratizing investing is both thrilling and terrifying (20:00) Listener question: why aren't companies going public anymore? (24:00) Private money, long horizons, and the rise of private equity ETFs (26:30) Reddit question: what to do with $750,000 in cash (29:00) Life insurance “wealth hacks” and why caps on returns are a scam (31:30) Chess, Fabiano Caruana, and why Shane's the only spectator in St. Louis

Fresh out of the studio, Yuying Deng, Co-founder and CEO of Esevel, shares her transformative journey from corporate lawyer to healthcare operator to tech entrepreneur with our guest host Yana Fry from Yana TV. Yuying discusses how the pandemic's sudden shift to remote work in April 2020 revealed critical gaps in IT infrastructure for distributed teams, inspiring her to launch Esevel—a platform now serving companies across 88 countries. Yuying challenges the traditional HQ-centric worldview, advocating that "HQ should be a mindset, not a location," and shares how Esevel deliberately builds leadership opportunities for talented professionals regardless of whether they're based in Manila, Singapore, or São Paulo. Last but not least, Yuying shares what great would look like for Esevel's future: becoming the indispensable tool companies think of first when scaling global teams, while proving that talent and performance matter more than location."Many companies that say they do distributed and remote work actually still have a very HQ-centric worldview. That means leadership is in HQ, strategy is formed in HQ, and high-impact jobs are in the HQ as well. So when they hire remote and distributed teams. For example, in the Philippines, Brazil, and India they use these more as back-office functions. So you have very talented people who join them there, thinking that they could rise in a global company. But very soon they find that they hit a glass ceiling and are no longer able to advance, and so they move on to another firm. I think that's a massive waste of talent, especially if you're talking about here in Asia. This is the world's fastest-growing region. People are ambitious, people are bright, and they are able to take on leadership positions if they're given the opportunity to. This is one thing that we have really tried to reverse at Esevel. You do not have to be at HQ in order to rise into a leadership position. As long as you perform your job and perform it well, we look at performance more than location. So I think that is one thing that has to shift: HQ shouldn't be a location. HQ should actually be a mindset. And I think that's something that a lot of remote companies or distributed work companies have correct when it comes to that." - Deng YuyingEpisode Highlights:[00:00] Quote of the Day by Deng Yuying[02:00] Introducing Yuying Deng, CEO of Esevel[02:25] From lawyer to operator to founder[03:32] MBA at INSEAD shaped entrepreneurial journey[03:53] Built community care division for Orange Valley[04:24] Family business dynamics and PE exit lessons[05:44] Esevel: IT operations platform for distributed teams[07:56] Company DNA shaped by pandemic remote work[08:38] Importance of staying close to customer problems[10:16] Managing operations across 88 countries globally[12:39] Failure is a feature, not a bug[14:33] Operational complexity and doing boring work well[16:35] Future of hybrid and remote work[19:48] HQ should be a mindset not location[21:25] Characteristics needed for remote work success[22:40] Growth opportunities regardless of employee location[24:58] Founding a company is like raising child[26:52] No perfect time for major life decisions[29:31] Ethical principles learned from parents[30:33] Vision for Esevel and family independence[32:28] Partnership requires mutual support for success[35:48] Rising through adversity with determination[36:34] Legacy focused on happy, independent childrenProfile: Yuying Deng, CEO of Esevel: https://esevel.comLinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yuyingdeng/Guest Host: Yana Fry from Yana TV:  https://www.youtube.com/@yanatvsgLinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yanafry/Podcast Information: Bernard Leong hosts and produces the show. The proper credits for the intro and end music are "Energetic Sports Drive." G. Thomas Craig mixed and edited the episode in both video and audio format.

Things are getting spooky in marketing this week, and Jay Schwedelson is here to break down what's worth your attention. From Microsoft revealing exactly how AI tools evaluate your website to the surprising email subject lines that actually boost Halloween engagement (no, not the pumpkin), Jay shares what's working, what's weird, and what to avoid—plus a quick detour into brain-melting AI video apps and some questionable Netflix choices.ㅤBest Moments:(00:45) Why Microsoft's AI content guidelines actually matter for your website(01:30) The simple Q&A format that helps AI (and people) understand your site faster(03:30) How B2B brands can tap into Halloween without looking ridiculous(04:45) The top three Halloween emojis that outperform the pumpkin(05:15) One preheader emoji trick that lifts open rates instantly(06:45) YouTube's wild new AI feature that lets you rewrite video endings(07:15) Jay's unfiltered take on OpenAI's Sora 2 app and the “brain snot” era of content(08:00) The Netflix show too disturbing for Jay to finish(09:10) Why the Amanda Knox Hulu series is unexpectedly binge-worthy(09:45) Final call for free seats at the Guru ConferenceㅤCheck out our 100% FREE + VIRTUAL EVENTS! ->Guru Conference - The World's Largest Virtual EMAIL MARKETING Conference - Nov 6-7!Register here: www.GuruConference.comㅤCheck out Jay's YOUTUBE Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@schwedelsonCheck out Jay's TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@schwedelsonCheck Out Jay's INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/jayschwedelson/ㅤMASSIVE thank you to our Sponsor, Marigold!!Email chaos across campuses, branches, or chapters? Emma by Marigold lets HQ keep control while local teams send on-brand, on-time messages with ease.Podcast & GURU listeners: 50 % off your first 3 months with an annual plan (new customers, 10 k-contact minimum, terms apply).Claim your offer now at jayschwedelson.com/emma

Send us a textA gleaming studio with a fence that listens. That's the paradox at Gold Base, Scientology's international HQ, where Golden Era Productions presents a pristine creative campus while security systems hum beneath the hedges. We take you through both worlds at once: pausing a polished promo film to identify the faces, jobs, and backstories you weren't told, then riding a drone's-eye map across soundstages, villas, tunnels, and the private grounds built for one man's comfort and control.We start by dissecting the “making movies to help the world” narrative and replace it with working reality. Why did manufacturing vanish while “training films” persisted? What does a lecture mix actually involve—and who decides which words get removed? We show the departments behind the doors and explain why an expensive film lab became obsolete on arrival. Then we move outside: the Cine Castle sitting directly on the perimeter, ladders and gear on hand; birthing blocks sized for a mythical 1,600 staff; the G Units reserved for VIPs; and the lower/middle/upper villas that formed an executive citadel. Building 50 and Bonnie View come into focus: a $40M command wing with a private tunnel under the highway and a lavish compound prepared for a founder who never returned.Security isn't a rumor here; it's infrastructure. We point out the main guard booth, ground mics on the fence, floodlights that turn night into noon, and the drills that lock everyone down. The “intruder” they train for is often a staffer trying to leave. That's why the escape stories matter: the trunk ride from talent parking, the riverbed sprint under night vision, the quick lie at a gate to “cross” the highway. Even the lake and pool have two meanings—resort imagery and ritual humiliation dressed as maritime tradition. By the end, you'll have a mental map of how Crime AdjacentThe never-ending true crime thriller told weekly. This season: The Rest Stop Killer.Listen on: Apple Podcasts SpotifySupport the showBFG Store - http://blownforgood-shop.fourthwall.com/Blown For Good on Audible - https://www.amazon.com/Blown-for-Good-Marc-Headley-audiobook/dp/B07GC6ZKGQ/ref=tmm_aud_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=Blown For Good Website: http://blownforgood.com/PODCAST INFO:Podcast website: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2131160 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/blown-for-good-behind-the-iron-curtain-of-scientology/id1671284503 RSS: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/2131160.rss YOUTUBE PLAYLISTS: Spy Files Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWtJfniWLwq4cA-e...

Hey before I begin the podcast, I just want to thank all of you who joined the patreon, you guys are simply awesome. Please take the time to vote and comment on the patreon polls so I can best tackle the specific subjects you want to hear more about and hell it does not have to be about the Pacific War, I like ancient Rome, WW1, WW2, just toss some ideas and I will try to make it happen.   This Podcast is going to be a very remarkable story about a Korean man who fought for the IJA, the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany during the second world war.  He is also a man whom most than likely never existed.   Did that catch you off guard haha?   If you have a chance you can pull up wikipedia and search Yang Kyoungjong. The first thing you will notice is a disclaimer that states numerous historians who claim Yang Kyoungjong does not exist. Yet this man exists in some history books, there is a iconic photo of him, there is a documentary looking into him, countless Korean stories are writing loosely about him, there is a pretty decent war film and multiple youtubers have covered his so-called story. So how does this guy not exist if his story is so popular?   His story is claimed to be real by military historian Stephen Ambrose who wrote about him in his book in 1994 titled “D-day, june 6th, 1944: the Climactic battle of World War II. There is also references to him in Antony Beevor's book “the second world war” and that of defense consultant and author Steven Zaloga's book“the devil's garden: Rommel's desperate Defense of Omaha Beach on D-Day”. In 2005 a Korean SBS documentary investigated his existence and concluded there was no convincing evidence of his existence. For those of you who have ever heard of this man, I guarantee it's because of the 2011 south korean film “My Way”. That's where I found out about it by the way. Many of you probably saw the iconic photo of him, again if you pull up the wikipedia page on Yang Kyoungjong its front and center. The photo shows a asiatic man wearing a wehrmacht uniform and he has just been captured by american forces on the d-day landings.   Now I don't want to jump into the is he real or not busy just yet. So this is how the podcast will go down, very reminiscent of “Our fake History's Podcast” might I add, I am a huge fan of that guys work. I am going to tell you the story of Yang Kyoungjong, then afterwords disclose my little investigation into whether he is real or not.   So without further adieu this is the story of a man who fought for three nations during WW2.   The Story   It was June 1944, the allies had just unleashed Operation Overlord, the D-Day landings at Normandy. Lt Robert Brewer of the 506th parachute infantry regiment, 101st airborne division was overlooking the capture of Axis forces and reported to his regiment finding four Asians in Wehrmacht uniform around the Utah beach landings. Brewer nor any of his colleagues spoke the language the Asian men spoke, they assumed them to be Japanese.  The four asians were processed as POW's, listed as young Japanese and sent to a British POW camp, before he would be sent to another POW camp in the US. At some point between his capture and the POW camps, he gave his name as Yang Kyoungjong, stated he was Korean and gave an extremely incredible story. To who did he say these things, no one knows.   Yang Kyoungjong was born in 1920, in Shin Eu Joo, part of modern day North Korea. At the age of 18, Yang was forcibly conscripted into the Imperial Japanese army. Korea was one of the bread baskets of Asia and the Empire of Japan had annexed her in 1910. Japan held sovereignty over Korea, making Koreans subjects.    In 1939 the Empire of Japan faced major labor shortages and as a result began conscription of Japanese men for the military, while importing vast amounts of Korean laborers to work in mainland Japan. For the Imperial Japanese Army, Koreans were not drafted until 1944 when things were dire for Japan. Until 1944, the IJA allowed Koreans to volunteer in the army. In 1938 there was a 14% acceptance rate, by 1943 this dropped dramatically to 2%, but the number of applicants increased exponentially from 3000 per annum in 1939 to 300,000 by the end of the war. On paper it looked like Koreans were registering en masse on their on violation, but this is quite the contrary, the Japanese policy was to use force. Japanese officials began press gang efforts against Korean peasants, forcing them to sign applications, it is believed over half of the applications were done in such a manner. Other applicants registered for a variety of reasons, typically because of economic turmoil. Korea would produce 7 generals and many field grade officers. One of the most well known was Lt General Crown Prince Yi Un who would command Japanese forces in the China War.   Thus Yang Kyoungjong was forced into the IJA and would find himself stationed with the Kwantung Army. Quite unfortunately for him, he was enlisted into their service at a time where two major border skirmishes occurred with the Soviet Union. The USSR was seen as Japan's number one rival going all the way back to the Triple Intervention of 1895 when the Russians thwarted Japan's seizure of the Liaodong peninsula after they had won the first sino japanese war. This led to the Russo-Japanese war, where Japan shocked the world being victorious over the Russian Empire. When the Russian Empire fell and the Russian civil war kicked off, Japan sent the lionshare of men to fight the Red Army during the Siberian Intervention of 1918-1922.    Communism was seen as the greatest if not one of the greatest threats to the Kokutai and thus Japan as a whole. As such Japan placed the Kwantung Army along the Manchurian borderlands to thwart any possible soviet invasion. There had numerous border skirmishes, but in 1938 and 1939 two large battles occurred. In 1938 the Kwantung army intercepted a Soviet message indicating the Far East forces would be securing some unoccupied heights west of Lake Khasan that overlooked the Korean port city of Rajin. Soviet border troops did indeed move into the area and began fortifying it. The Kwantung army sent forces to dislodge them and this soon led to a full on battle. The battle was quite shocking for both sides, the Soviets lost nearly 800 men dead with 3279 wounded, the Japanese claimed they had 526 dead with 913 wounded. The Soviet lost significant armor and despite both sides agreeing to a ceasefire, the Kwantung army considered it a significant victory and proof the Soviets were not capable of thwarting them.   In theory Yang Kyoungjong would be in training and would eventually reach the Manchuria borders by 1939. Another man sent over would be Georgy Zhukov who was given the task of taking command of the 57th special corps and to eliminate Japanese provocations. What was expected of Zhukov was if the Japanese pressed again for battle, to deliver them a crushing and decisive blow. On May 11th, 1939 some Mongolian cavalry units were grazing their horses in a disputed area. On that very same day, Manchu cavalry attacked the Mongols to drive them past the river of Khalkhin Gol. Two days later the Mongols returned in greater numbers and this time the Manchu were unable to dislodge them.    What was rather funny to say, a conflict of some horses grazing on disputed land, led to a fully mechanized battle. On May 14th, Lt Colonel Yaozo Azuma led some regiments to dislodge the Mongols, but they were being supported by the Red Army. Azuma force suffered 63% casualties, devastating. June saw the battle expand enormously, Japan was tossing 30,000 men in the region, the Soviets tossed Zhukov at them alongside motorized and armored forces. The IJA lacking good armored units, tossed air forces to smash the nearby Soviet airbase at Tamsakbulak. In July the IJA engaged the Red Army with nearly 100 tanks and tankettes, too which Zhukov unleashed 450 tanks and armored cars. The Japanese had more infantry support, but the Soviet armor encircled and crushed them. The two armies spared with another for weeks, the Japanese assumed the Soviets would suffer logistical problems but Zhukoev assembled a fleet of 2600 trucks to supply his forces, simply incredible. Both sides were suffering tremendous casualties, then in August global politics shifted. It was apparent a war in Europe was going to break out, Zhukov was ordered to be decisive, the Soviets could not deal with a two front war. So Zhukov now using a fleet of 4000 trucks began transported supplies from Chita to the front next to a armada of tanks and mechanized brigades. The Soviets tossed 3 rifle divisions, two tank divisions and 2 tank brigades, nearly 500 tanks in all, with two motorized infantry divisions and 550 fighters and bombers.    The stalemate was shattered when Zhukov unleashed is armada, some 50,000 Soviets and Mongols hit the east bank of Khalkhin Gol. The Japanese were immediately pinned down, while the Soviets were employing a double envelopment. The Japanese tried to counter attack and it failed horribly. The Japanese then scrambled to break out of the encirclement and failed. The surrounded Japanese forces refused to surrender as the Soviets smashed them with artillery and aerial bombardment. By the end of August the Japanese forces on the Mongolian side of the border were annihilated. On September 15th the USSR and Japan signed a ceasefire.    The battle of Khalkhin Gol was devastating for both sides. The Japanese claim they had 8440 deaths, 8766 wounded, lost 162 aircraft and 42 tanks. Its estimated 500-600 Japanese forces were taken prisoner. Because of IJA doctrine these men were considered killed in action. Some sources will claim the real numbers for Japanese casualties could have been as high as 30,000. The Soviets claim 9703 deaths, 15,251 wounded, the destruction of 253 tanks, 250 aircraft, 96 artillery pieces and 133 armored cars. Of those tank losses, its estimated 75-80% were destroyed by anti-tank guns, 15-20% field artillery, 5-10% infantry thrown incendiary bombs, 3% mines and another 3% for aircraft bombing.   Back to Yang Kyoungjong, he alongside the other Japanese, Manchu and Korean POW's were sent to Gulags in Siberia. As the war on the Eastern Front kicked off between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, facing annihilation the Soviets did anything possible to survive. One of these actions was to create the Shtrafbats, “Penal battalions”. Stalins order No 227 created the first penal battalions, who were supposed to be around 800 men strong. The first Shtrafbat battalion was deployed to the Stalingrad Front on August 22nd of 1942.   On order was issued on November 26, 1942 “status of Penal units of the army”, it was issued by Georgy Zhukov, now deputy commander in chief who was the man who formally standardized soviet penal units. The Shtrafbats were around 360 men per battalion commanded by mid range Red Army officers and politruks. The men forced into these were permanents or temporaries. Permanents were officers, commanders, the higher ranks guys. Temporary known as shtrafniki “punishees” were the grunts, typically prisoners and those convicted of crimes. From september 1942 to May of 1945 422,700 men would be forced into penal battalions.    Typically those forced into penal military units were one of two things: 1) those convicted of dissertation or cowardice, 2) Soviet Gulag labor camp inmates. It seems Yang Kyoungjong found himself in a very awkward situation as he would be forced into one of these penal battalions and sent to fight on the eastern front. As pertaining to Order No. 227, each Army was to have 3–5 barrier squads of up to 200 persons each, these units would be made up of penal units.    So back toYang Kyoungjong, he would find himself deployed at the third battle of Kharkov. This battle was part of a series of battles fought on the eastern front. As the German 6th army was encircling Stalingrad, the Soviets launched a series of wide counter attacks, as pertaining to “operation star”. Operation star saw massive offensives against Kharkov, Belgorod, Kursk, Voroshilovgrad and Izium. The Soviets earned great victories, but they also overextended themselves. Field Marshal Erich von Manstein seeing the opening, performed a counter-strike against Kharkov on February 19th of 1943, using fresh troops of the 2nd SS Panzer Corps alongside two other panzer armies. Manstein also had massive air support from field Marshal Wolfram von Richthofens Luftflotte 4, 1214 aircraft tossed 1000 sorties per day from February 20th to march 15th. The Red army had approximately 210,000 troops who fought in the Voronezh-Kharkov offensive, the Germans would have roughly 160,000 men, but their tanks outnumbered the Soviets 7-1, they had roughly 350 of them.   The Germans quickly outflanked the Soviets, managing to encircle and annihilate many units. Whenever soviets units made attempts to escape encirclements, the German air forces placed pressure upon them. The German air forces had the dual job of airlifting supplies to the front lines giving the Soviets no breathing space. Gradually the fight focused around the city of Kharkov seeing the Soviets dislodged. The Germans caused severe casualties, perhaps 45,000 dead or missing with another 41,000 wounded. The Germans suffered 4500 deaths, 7000 wounded. The Germans took a large number of prisoners, and Yang Kyoungjong was one of them.   Yet again a prisoner Yang Kyoungjong was coerced into serving another nation, this time for Die Ost-Bataillone. The Eastern Front had absolutely crippled Germany and as a result Germany began to enlist units from just about any nation possible and this included former Soviet citizens. There were countless different units, like the Russian liberation Army, die Hilfswillige, Ukrainian collaborationists, and there were also non-Russians from the USSR who formed the Ost-Bataillone. These eastern battalions would comprise a rough total of 175,000 men. Many of the Ost-Bataillone were conscripted or coerced into serving, though plenty also volunteered. Countless were recruited from POW camps, choosing to serve instead of labor in camps. The Osttruppen were to typically deployed for coastal defense, rear area activities, security stuff, all the less important roles to free up the German units to perform front line service.   There were two different groups, the Ost-Legionen “eastern legions” and Ost-Bataillone “eastern battalions”. The Ostlegionen were large foreign legion type units raised amongst members of specific ethnic or racial groups. The Ost-Bataillone were composed of numerous nationalities, usually plucked from POW camps in eastern europe. They were tossed together into battalion sized units and integrated individually into German combat formations. Obviously the Germans did not get their hands on large numbers of Koreans, so Yang Kyoungjong found himself in a Ost-Bataillone.    In 1944, due to massive losses in the Eastern Front, and in preparation for the allies about to open a second front, the Germans began deploying a lot of Ost-Bataillone along the coastal defense line at Cherbourg. Yang Kyoungjong was enlisted in the 709th static infantry division, a coastal defense unit assigned to defend the eastern and northern coasts of the Cotentin Peninsula. This would include the Utah beach landing site and numerous US airborne landing zones. The sector was roughly 250 km running northeast of Carentan, via Barfleur-Cherbourg-Cap de la Hague to the western point of Barneville. This also included the 65 km of land just in font of Cherbourg harbor. A significant portion of the 709th were Ost-bataillon, countless were from eastern europe, many were former Soviet POW'S. There were also two battalions of the 739th Grenadier regiment whom were Georgian battalions. A significant amount of the 709th had no combat experience, but had trained extensively in the area.   The 709th would be heavily engaged on D-day meeting US airborne units and the 4th infantry division who landed at Utah beach. In the early hours of June 6th, the US 82nd and 101st airborne divisions landed at the base of the Cotentin peninsula and managed to secure a general area for the US 4th infantry division to land at Utah beach, with very few casualties compared to other beach landings. After the landings the forces tried to link up with other forces further east. By June 9th they had crossed the Douve river valley and captured Carentan. House to house fighting was seen in the battle for Carentan, the Germans tossed a few counterattacks, but the Americans held on with the help of armor units of the 13th.    The Americans then advanced to cut off the Cotentin Peninsula, now supported by 3 other infantry divisions. The Germans had few armored or mobilized infantry in the area. By June 16th the German command was tossed into chaos as Erwin Rommel wanted them to pull out and man the Atlantic Wall at Cherbourg, but Hitler demanded they hold their present lines of defense. By the 17th Hitler agreed to the withdrawal, under some provisions the men still took up limited defenses spanning the entire peninsula. On the 18th the US 9th infantry division reached the west coast of the peninsula thus isolating the Cherbourg garrison. A battle was unleashed for 24 hours with the 4th, 9th and 79th US infantry divisions driving north on a broad front. They faced little opposition on the western side and the eastern, the center held much stronger resistance. The Americans would find several caches of V-1 flying bombs and V-2 rocket installations at Brix. After two days the Americans were in striking distance of Cherbourg. The garrison commander Lt General Karl-Wilhelm von Schlieben had 21,000 men, but many were naval personnel and labor units. Schliebens 709th had performed a fighting withdrawal to Cherbourg and were completely exhausted. The trapped forces were low in provisions, fuel and ammunition. The luftwaffe tried dropping supplies on their positions but it was inadequate.    A general assault began on the 22nd and the German forces put up stiff resistance within their concrete pillboxes. Allied warships bombarded the city on the 25th of june and on the 26th a British elite force, No. 30 Commando launched an assault against Octeville, a suburb of southwestern Cherbourg. The commandos quickly captured 20 officers and 500 men of the Kriegmarine naval intelligence HQ at Villa Meurice. As the Germans were ground down, Schlieben was captured and with that a surrender was made on the 29th.   The Americans suffered nearly 3000 deaths with 13,500 wounded during the operation. The Germans suffered 8000 deaths with 30,000 captured. For the 709th who took a lionshare of the fighting they reported sustaining 4000 casualties.    Amongst the captured was Yang Kyoungjong. As I said in the beginning Lt Robert Brewer of the 506th parachute infantry regiment, 101st airborne division was overlooking the capture of Axis forces and reported to his regiment finding four Asians in Wehrmacht uniform around the Utah beach landings. Brewer nor any of his colleagues spoke the language the Asian men spoke, they assumed them to be Japanese.  The four asians were processed as POW's, listed as young Japanese and sent to a British POW camp, before he would be sent to another POW camp in the US. At some point between his capture and the POW camps, he gave his name as Yang Kyoungjong, stated he was Korean and gave the story. Apparently Yang Kyoungjob was granted US citizenship and would spend the rest of his life in Illinois until his death in 1992.   So that is the story of Yang Kyoungjong.    The truth Did Yang Kyoungjong exist? Where does his story originate? For those of you who have not guessed it yet, the story I told you was full of details, I simply added based on historical events, with zero evidence at all any man named Yang Kyoungjong was involved in them. I did this specifically to highlight, thats exactly what others have done over the course of many years, creating a sort of mythos. If you know the game broken telephone, thats what I would theorize makes up most of this mans story. But lets go through some actual evidence why don't we?   From the digging I have done, the story seemed to originate with historian Stephen Ambrose book in 1994 titled “D-day, june 6th, 1944: the Climactic battle of World War II”. While writing this book, Ambrose interviewed Robert Burnham Brewer, who served E Company, 2nd battalion, 506th parachute infantry regiment of the 101st airborne division. This same man was portrayed in Band of Brothers by the way. Brewer gave one rather ambiguous account where he spoke about capturing 4 asian men in Wehrmacht uniforms.    Here is patient zero as told to us by Ambrose's book (Page 34, no footnote on the page)   The so-called Ost battalions became increasingly unreliable after the German defeat at Kursk; they were, therefore, sent to france in exchange for German troops. At the beach called Utah on the day on the invasion, Lt Robert Brewer of the 506th Parachute infantry regiment, 101st airborne division, US Army, captured four asians in Wehrmacht uniforms. No one could speak their language; eventually it was learned that they were Koreans. How on earth did Koreans end up fighting for Hitler to defend france against Americans? It seems they had been conscripted into the Japanese army in 1938-Korea was then a Japanese colony-captured by the Red Army in the border battles with Japan in 1939, forced into the Red Army, captured by the Wehrmacht in December 1941 outside Moscow, forced into the German army, and sent to France”. What happened to them, Lt Brewer never found out, but presumably they were sent back to Korea. If so, they would almost certainly have been conscripted again, either into the south or north korean army. It is possible than in 1950 they ended up fighting once again, either against the US army or with it, depending on what part of Korea they came from. Such are the vagaries of politics in the 20th century. By June 1944, one in six German rifleman in France was from an Ost battalion.   Now digging further since there are no footnotes, it seems Ambrose took an oral account from Lt Brewer, but did not directly quote him and instead abstractly expanded upon his story. Ambrose was guilty of doing this often. As multiple historians have pointed out, Brewer was living in the 1940s and was by no means an ethnographer, he was not a person who could have accurately known the nationality of the four asian men he captured. It is plausible he or other US units around him, just came up with Korean for the four asians who could have been from nearly anywhere in central to east asia. For all we know the men found could have been from Turkestan. What was “asian” to westerners of the 1940's is extremely broad.    If you look up the Ost-Bataillone or Ostlegionen you will see they consisted of captured former soviet soldiers. During the d-day landings, 1/6th of the German forces defending the atlantic coast were made up of the Ost-battailones. They came from numerous places, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, India, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkestan, Mongolia and numerous parts of the USSR. Needless to say, there were a ton of people whom would be considered asian and could be mistaken to be from Korea, Japan, Burma, etc.    It seems Brewer's vague account was transformed by Amrose, but this only covers one part of all of this, the story, what about the photo?    The iconic photograph is another matter entirely. The photograph has nothing to do with Brewer's account, it is simply a random photograph taken at Utah beach of a captured asian soldier wearing a Wehrmacht uniform. The official description of the photo states “Capture Jap in Nazi uniform. France, fearful of his future, this young Jap wearing a nazi uniform, is checked off in a roundup of German prisoners on the beaches of france. An american army captain takes the Jap's name and serial number” Author Martin Morgan believes the man in the photograph is not Yang Kyoungjong, but instead an ethnic Georgian from the 795th Georgian Battalion, which was composed of Georgian Osttruppen troops or someone who was Turkistani. In 2002 word of the story became more popularized online and in 2004 the iconic photo also began to circulate heavily on the internet. The Korean media became aware of the story in 2002 and when they saw the picture the Korean news site DKBNews investigated the matter. Apparently a reader of the DKBNews submitted biographical details about the soldier in the photo, including his name, date of birth, the general story we now know, his release, life in Illinois and death. The DKBNews journalist requested sources and none were provided, typical.   So some random unknown reader of the DKBNews gave a name, place and time of birth and even where he ended up and died.  In 2005 the Seoul broadcasting system aired a documentary specifically investigating the existence of the asian soldiers who fought for Germany on d-day.   In the SBS special “The Korean in Normandy,” produced and broadcast in 2005 based on rumors of Yang kyoungjog,  they searched for records of Korean prisoners of war during the Battle of khalkhin gol and records of Korean people who participated in the German-Japanese War, and records related to the German Army's eastern unit, but could not find traces of such a person. In addition, the soldiers who served in the Soviet army, who were captured, and then transferred to the German army's eastern units were considered by the Soviet Union to be serious traitors. Accordingly, under a secret agreement between the United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union, they were forcibly repatriated to the Soviet Union after the war and held in Gulags.. The SBS production team stated that the rumors that a 'Korean from Normandy' had gone to the United States and that he died in seclusion near Northwestern University under the name of 'Yang Kyoungjong', which they were unaware of, were false. The investigative team looked for any traces of a Yang Kyoungjong and found none, so they concluded although there were accounts of asian soldiers in the German army during WW2, there was zero evidence of the existence of Yang Kyoungjong or any Koreans fighting on D-day for that matter.    The 2005 SBS Special documentary sprang forth a bunch of stories by Korean authors, expanding the mythos of Yang Kyoungjong.   In 2007 author Jo Jeong-rae published a novel titled “human mask” which told the story of SHin Gilman, The story ends with Shin Gil-man, who was conscripted into the Japanese army at the age of 20, as a prisoner of war in Normandy, then transported back to the Soviet Union and eventually executed by firing squad. Another novel called “D-day” by author Kim Byeong-in was release in 2011, just prior to the film My War, the plot is extremely similar to the movie. The main characters are Han Dae-sik and Yoichi, who met as children as the sons of a Japanese landowner and the house's housekeeper, harboring animosity toward each other, and grew up to become marathon runners representing Joseon and Japan. As they experience the war together, they feel a strange sense of kinship and develop reconciliation and friendship.   And of course the most famous story would find its way to the big screen. In 2011 the film My Way came out, back then the most expensive south korean film ever made at around 23$ million.   Then in 2012 a unknown person created a wikipedia page piecing together the Ambrose story, the photo and the unknown DBK readers information. With all of this information becoming more viral suddenly in 2013, two history books hit the scene and would you know it, both have “Yang Kyoungjong” in them.    These are Antony Beevor's book “the second world war” and that of defense consultant and author Steven Zaloga in his book “the devil's garden: Rommel's desperate Defense of Omaha Beach on D-Day”. Both authors took the story, name and iconic photo and expanded on the mythos by adding further details as to how the Korean man would have gone from Korea to Cherbourg france.   So Ambrose's story spreads across the internet alongside this photo. Both spark interest in Korea and an investigation receives some random guys testimony, which quite honestly was groundless. Despite the korean documentary stating there was no evidence of a Yang Kyoungjong, it sparks further interest, more stories and a famous film in 2011. 2012 sees a wikipage, it becomes more viral and now seeps into other historians work.   And I would be remiss not to mention the bizarre controversy that broke out in my nation of Canada. A nation so full of controversies today, dear god. Debbie Hanlon a city councilor in St John Newfoundland was absolutely wrecked online in 2018 for an advertisement promoting her real estate business stating “Korean Yang kyoungjong fought with Japan against the USSR. He then fought with the USSR against Germany. Then with Germany against the US! Want an agent who fights for you, call me!” Really weird ad by the way. So it seems her ad was to point out how far she was willing to go for her real estate clients. It was considered extremely offensive, and not the first time she pulled this off, her husband Oral Mews had recently come under fire for another ad he made using a photo of the Puerto Rican cab driver Victor Perez Cardona, where the vehicle turned into a casket. That ad said “He can't give you a lift because he's dead. He's propped up in his cab at his wake! Need a lift to great service, call me!” Hanlon was surprised at the amount of backlash she received since the ads had been running for over 4 years online. She claimed to be the victim of cyberbullying and trolls. So yeah, that happened.    Did Yang Kyoungjong exist, more than likely not, was it possible some Koreans found themselves in a position his story pertains to, you know what it's quite possible. During War a lot of weird things happen. I hope you liked this episode, please let me know in the comments on the Patreon what you think, how I can improve things and of course what you want to hear about next!

Everyone thinks they're sending too many emails, but according to Jay Schwedelson and Daniel Murray, the truth is you're probably not sending enough. In this Bathroom Break episode, the duo dives into the myths around email frequency, timing, and those dreaded unsubscribes. They share hot takes, real data, and a few caffeine-fueled truths about what really keeps your emails in the inbox (and your audience engaged).Follow Daniel on LinkedIn and check out The Marketing Millennials podcast for sharp, no-fluff marketing insights. Subscribe to Ari Murray's newsletter at gotomillions.co for sharp, actionable marketing insights.Best Moments:(01:05) Jay admits to skipping a VIP dinner for room service and honesty wins the night(03:12) Why sending more emails actually improves open rates and inbox placement(06:40) The myth of the “best day and time” to send emails and why variety wins(09:22) How AI tools can now auto-time your email sends to each subscriber's habits(13:00) Unsubscribes aren't bad—they can be a sign your content finally stood out(16:44) Relevancy and frequency are a power couple—great content earns more sends(19:55) Daniel shares the real cost of parenting on six Celsius a dayCheck out our 100% FREE + VIRTUAL EVENTS! ->Guru Conference - The World's Largest Virtual EMAIL MARKETING Conference - Nov 6-7!Register here: www.GuruConference.comㅤCheck out Jay's YOUTUBE Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@schwedelsonCheck out Jay's TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@schwedelsonCheck Out Jay's INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/jayschwedelson/ㅤMASSIVE thank you to our Sponsor, Marigold!!Email chaos across campuses, branches, or chapters? Emma by Marigold lets HQ keep control while local teams send on-brand, on-time messages with ease.Podcast & GURU listeners: 50 % off your first 3 months with an annual plan (new customers, 10 k-contact minimum, terms apply).Claim your offer now at jayschwedelson.com/emma

We unpack what CrossFit means after a combined 26 years of affiliate ownership—community, business, and brand—and ask whether the new “hard work, no shortcuts” campaign reaches new people or just rallies the faithful. We explore missed partnerships, HYROX momentum, and a practical path forward built on prescriptive coaching and real member stories.• defining CrossFit now—modality, community, or business• community loyalty vs the need for profit• rising fees and what HQ delivers to affiliates• early rebel branding vs today's polished hard-work message• HYROX growth and why affiliates aren't seeing the spillover• program fit, scaling psychology, and movement preferences• missed opportunities in partnerships and media strategy• prescriptive coaching as a true differentiator• storytelling that lowers fear and builds belonging• simple, repeatable actions owners can use to growThank you everybody for taking the time out of your day to listen to the Herd Fit podcast. Be on the lookout for next week's episode.

It's been a historic week on the ATP and WTA Tours! Join Joel and Kim on Tennis Weekly as they unpack all the headlines, starting with Valentine Vacherot's fairytale victory in Shanghai — the Monaco native becoming the lowest-ranked Masters 1000 champion in history after defeating his cousin Arthur Rinderknech in an all-family final. The team debate whether this incredible underdog story is a great advert for tennis or a reflection of a congested ATP schedule.On the WTA side, Coco Gauff continues her hard-court dominance, powering past Jessica Pegula to win the Wuhan Open without dropping a set — extending her flawless 9–0 record in hard-court finals. There's also excitement ahead of the Million Dollar Point Slam launching at the Australian Open, as well as buzz around Carlos Alcaraz's new Nike logo, set to debut at the ATP Finals. Plus: Roger Federer reveals his five tennis GOATs (with a cheeky Djokovic nod), Joel's take on the Impossible Shot Challenge, and we preview Stockholm, Ningbo, and the blockbuster Six Kings Slam in Saudi Arabia featuring Alcaraz, Djokovic, and Sinner.SOCIALSFollow us on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, plus email the show tennisweeklypod@gmail.com.MERCHPurchase Tennis Weekly Merch through our Etsy store including limited edition designs by Krippa Design where all proceeds go towards the podcast so we can keep doing what we do!REVIEWS***Please take a moment to rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your pods. It really means a lot to us at HQ and helps make it easier for new listeners to discover us. Thanks!*** Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Running social for StubHub sounds like the dream gig—and Jay Schwedelson gets the inside scoop from Caity Bransby, who actually does it. From her start as a college student pitching her school's first Instagram account to leading social for one of the biggest event brands on earth, Caity shares what it really takes to “move at the speed of culture,” build a career from your phone, and stay cool under the viral spotlight.Best Moments:(01:34) How a college Instagram experiment became a career running social for StubHub(07:05) “Always be posting”—why action beats perfection every time(11:40) What “moving at the speed of culture” really means when you work for a major brand(14:56) Why Caity keeps her hands on the creative wheel instead of hiding in meetings(18:10) The secret to viral posts: follow instinct, not quotas(23:14) How active community management keeps StubHub top of mind with fansCheck out our 100% FREE + VIRTUAL EVENTS! ->Guru Conference - The World's Largest Virtual EMAIL MARKETING Conference - Nov 6-7!Register here: www.GuruConference.comㅤCheck out Jay's YOUTUBE Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@schwedelsonCheck out Jay's TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@schwedelsonCheck Out Jay's INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/jayschwedelson/ㅤMASSIVE thank you to our Sponsor, Marigold!!Email chaos across campuses, branches, or chapters? Emma by Marigold lets HQ keep control while local teams send on-brand, on-time messages with ease.Podcast & GURU listeners: 50 % off your first 3 months with an annual plan (new customers, 10 k-contact minimum, terms apply).Claim your offer now at jayschwedelson.com/emma

Send us a textWhat if youth esports had the same structure, safety, and upward path as Little League or AAU? We sit down with Valhallan Esports' Morris Jackson to unpack how he went from owning a single arena to acquiring the entire brand and relocating HQ to Las Vegas—transforming a scattered scene into a true pipeline for kids, parents, schools, and colleges. From 23 locations across 12 states to an online platform that removes geography as a barrier, Morris lays out a plan to make Valhallan a destination where young gamers train, compete, and grow with purpose.We get practical about what parents really want to know: how to keep kids safe, how to make gaming productive, and how to navigate a space that now includes scholarships and academic tracks. Morris connects specific games to real skills—Rainbow Six Siege to cybersecurity, Minecraft to engineering and systems thinking—and explains how monitored communities, age tiers, and coaching turn screen time into skill time. We also explore how colleges like Boise State and Syracuse are investing, why UNLV's Cyber Week matters, and how scholarships are expanding fast.Las Vegas emerges as the perfect hub: HyperX Arena, global access, and a city that embraces innovation. Morris shares why Valhallan is moving to a corporate‑led model for consistency and quality, how online demand will guide future arena placements, and why this youth‑first focus can capture meaningful share in a $500B ecosystem. He closes with candid, hard‑won advice for entrepreneurs about stretching beyond comfort zones and refusing to let fear set the limits. If you care about kids, education, esports, or building a brand with real community impact, this conversation will stick.Enjoy the episode? Follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a quick review to help more listeners find us.

You think events are just about sessions and swag, but Jay Schwedelson and Bob Vaez make the case that the real ROI happens before showtime and after hours. From pre-show outreach that actually drives booth traffic to the surprisingly strategic world of name badges, Bob shares hard-won plays that save budget and build relationships you'll still be cashing in on months later.Learn more about EventMobi!Best Moments:(01:27) How a boring engineer fell in love with conferences and built EventMobi from attendee pain points(05:24) The simplest networking hack: ask what people are doing for dinner and make it a small group(07:29) Speed to LinkedIn that night so your new connections actually remember you(10:00) The highest impact move for sponsors happens before the show: targeted pre-show emails(11:46) Smart due diligence: check which sponsors keep returning to the same event(16:38) Why badges matter more than you think and how truly wireless on-site printing changes everythingCheck out our 100% FREE + VIRTUAL EVENTS! ->Guru Conference - The World's Largest Virtual EMAIL MARKETING Conference - Nov 6-7!Register here: www.GuruConference.comㅤCheck out Jay's YOUTUBE Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@schwedelsonCheck out Jay's TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@schwedelsonCheck Out Jay's INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/jayschwedelson/ㅤMASSIVE thank you to our Sponsor, Marigold!!Email chaos across campuses, branches, or chapters? Emma by Marigold lets HQ keep control while local teams send on-brand, on-time messages with ease.Podcast & GURU listeners: 50 % off your first 3 months with an annual plan (new customers, 10 k-contact minimum, terms apply).Claim your offer now at jayschwedelson.com/emma

From a wrong-number job interview to running two Bay Area branches and finally launching his own shop, Josh Fleenor lays out how Pest Pros grew from two trucks to a regional force—anchored in multifamily, a “whatever it takes (the right way)” culture, and promoting leaders early so the company can scale without breaking. You'll hear the origin story, the first-year sprint to $747k, the blue-ocean play in property management, and how hugs, hard conversations, and clear guardrails keep the team winning year after year. You'll hear: The misdial that led to pest control, five years at Clark, and the leap after a dissolved partnership.Why multifamily became the beachhead—and how value + pricing flipped “dirt-cheap” accounts into real margin.The year-one LinkedIn blitz, $700k booked in property management, and testing channels by turning Google off.Culture in practice: “no excuses, find a way,” hugs and vulnerability, and guardrails so “whatever it takes” doesn't burn families out.Hiring slow for core values, promoting early to build leadership layers, and a structure that rotates HQ leaders into satellite offices.Tech & tools: cautious AI (great for SOPs, not for phones—yet), contests, and experiences that bond the team. Show links: From Gym Teachers to Service Leaders: The Julio Twins' Story | Last Bite Mosquito, Viking Pest https://youtu.be/DAYxtzhswxs From PE Teachers to Pest Control Owners: The Julio Twins Share Their POTOMAC Experience https://youtu.be/HAx9noqsqTo https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulgiannamore www.potomaccompany.com https://bluecollartwins.com Produced by: www.verbell.ltd Timestamps 00:00 – Cold open: “Whatever it takes”—and why the team hasn't missed an annual goal in 7½ years 01:00 – Origin story: the wrong-number interview that led to pest control; Clark → Bay Area branch leadership 04:45 – “Meant for more”: deciding to go all-in on the industry 08:00 – Partner plan dissolves; Josh launches Pest Pros with two trucks and a people-first vision 11:55 – Year one: LinkedIn property-management push and $747k produced by December 13:50 – Headwinds: SPB complaints, Yelp shutoff, and finding the blue-ocean in multifamily 16:30 – Pricing for value (not “dirt-cheap”); personal connection as the wedge 18:45 – Financial lumps and learning—what he'd do differently 19:45 – Leadership layers: promote early so managers can practice accountability 22:00 – Morning routine, boundaries, and defining what “whatever it takes” does—and does not—mean 24:50 – Channels & testing: billboards, TV, referrals; turning Google off to see what's real 28:10 – Expansion map: Concord HQ, Yuba City, Roseville; “own NorCal” before jumping farther 30:40 – Rebuilding a misfiring satellite office around core values; HQ leaders rotate in monthly 33:00 – Production targets: $1,400–$1,500/day per truck—without 12-hour burnout days 36:30 – Culture mechanics: hugs, vulnerability, Kings-arena party, Tahoe yacht, contests 42:45 – Hiring for values; when a “maybe” hire isn't a culture fit 44:00 – AI today: SOPs/emails yes; phones not yet—protect the experience 47:00 – Imperfect reps > perfection; posting, writing, and getting better on camera 49:30 – Parenting and adversity: giving his daughter the space to earn her own stripes 51:10 – Closing: mentorship, masterminds, and a people-first vision for the next chapter

Did you know: Each position in your practice should contribute toward the practice's goals? Tiff and Kristy break down why each position should have a vision and specific metrics (starting at the job description), and how together, alongside all the other positions, they work toward the greater good of the practice. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript The Dental A Team (00:00) Hello Dental A Team listeners. I am so excited to be here today. I am always excited to be here today you guys I love podcasting I really really do and I love podcasting with other people more than solo and I get to pull consultants in and Britt from HR Headquarters over there HQ and Eve from marketing like I get to pull in just the most fun people from our team to Just double up and get some time with Kristy   I've got you today and this is like our special time together and I just love it. So, and Kristy, I put you specifically at the end of my podcasting day. I hope you noticed that not just because of timing, but because you bring a sense of calm to my life and podcasting with you, not to say that it's not easy with anyone else on our team, but you really like, it's just so easy. You bring a sense of calm and ease. And I was like, that's what I want to end my day with. So thank you for.   opening up your schedule to me and for being here today, Kristy, how are you?   DAT Kristy (00:59) Good, absolutely. I love it too. I mean, we were just talking the other day because we don't get much time together and so I know we look forward to this time. now that I know you put me at the end of the day on purpose, I love it. I love it. I love it. Yeah, it's a good way to end the day.   The Dental A Team (01:13) Surprise!   Good. Well, I'm glad. know Mondays are busy for you. Our team does, we do meeting Mondays and so it gets a little jam packed, but it's nice because we get it. I feel like we get all of that admin stuff out of the way and we get aligned on actions we need to take for the week kind of all together on the same day. And then we just spearhead our week ready to go. Well, Kristy, ⁓ today is exciting. I   I'm gonna actually pull in what we were just talking about. you guys, you guys know, avid listeners, you guys have been here. We've been doing this podcast for a really long time, you guys, and if you have ideas on things that you want to hear, please send them in because our little brains over here are just thinking of all of these things. Sometimes they feel like, did we just record this? It's like this content sounds so similar to something else we've talked about. And so I don't know how to label this one.   But I want you guys to know we are going to chat today a little bit about job descriptions. And this is something that we find incredibly important. So we talk about it a lot. So I want to drive that home. They are so important. And Kristy, something that I recently recorded a podcast with Brittany. And something we talked about, part of that leadership skill, was being able to give direction to the team to execute decisions.   as a leader, being able to execute decisions, being decisive and having execution as leadership, but also gifting that to the team. And we talked about the vision of the practice, kind of where the company's going and the leader, the owner, being able to utilize that for the culture of the company. But I kind of think right now, these job descriptions are the vision per position.   It gives us our heading so that within my position in the practice or the organization, I can say yes, no, maybe, yes, this is the right decision right now for the company. And it brings about some clarity for everyone. Kristy, you, what do you think?   DAT Kristy (03:28) Yeah, I love that you mentioned that because for so long, think we've all understood that job descriptions should have duties, right? I truly am a fan of duties versus titles, but also I think honing in on the other aspect of, think the duties, let me step back. The duties tell us what we're responsible for, but I think bringing in the other aspect   tells us how the person should behave. And so I think they go hand in hand. And I think oftentimes we miss that other piece of it and then we get frustrated when we don't hire that person.   The Dental A Team (04:11) Yeah, I agree.   in ⁓ a layer on top of that, you mentioned job duties and kind of how to behave. But even within that ⁓ what piece, the job duties, the clarification on the job duties, if I know that my job, my goal of my position is to have the schedule full, maybe I'm a schedule coordinator, and my number one metric is 90 % full on hygiene for the next five days,   80 % full doctor, like whatever that metric is. If I know that's my metric, then I think, my gosh, this one patient, my how-to says confirmations. And step one is text message, email, text message, email, but I know this person is 85 years old and they're not getting these text messages. I don't have to question, do I call this patient? My job, my goal is to get that patient here for that appointment, no matter what that means looks like.   So I think that vision and that ⁓ very clear cut, this is what the metric is of your position. I sitting in that scheduling coordinator position can say, Julie, at 85, I'm just gonna call her. I'm not gonna mess with the text messages and wait until three days before if I know she needs a call and we need to confirm her right. Like I have this information, but we often get asked, Kristy, I think.   by different team members that they're like, well, can I do this? I'm like, well, does it get you to your goal? Is it a part of what gets the practice to our goals? Heck yeah, I think that's a great idea. It gives you the space to be creative, to get to the results that you need to get to, that are set as parameters because you know what you're driving towards.   DAT Kristy (05:58) Yeah, you said that so well. So again, I'm with you. It's not just the duties and how we behave and perform them. But like you said, then we can tie it to what metrics am I responsible for? And one other piece behind that is painting the clarity. If it's 90 % reappointment rate or, you know, whatever metric I am responsible for. Now, what system   comes behind that metric if it's not where I want it to be, right? So then I can pull up the system and say, hey, am I not working the system properly or do I need to find a new system because our system's not working any longer to get the result we want?   The Dental A Team (06:45) for sure and that's where teams come to us, or office managers, and they're like, my team has no accountability, how do I hold them accountable? Or how do I get my team to hold themselves accountable? How do I get them to own their jobs? It's really hard to own something if you don't have complete clarity around that goal that you're working towards. And so having those smart goals with those metrics tied to them, Kristy, like you just said, allows that person then, like you've said, to work backwards from the result to see   What did I do that got the result? Because anything you do, I literally just said it this morning, I say it all the time, even consistently being inconsistent is going to get you a result. Consistently doing anything will get you the result. And if your consistency lies in inconsistently, I'm always inconsistent, you're going to get a result. So knowing what your target result is in comparison to the result that you got allows you to backtrack and say,   DAT Kristy (07:25) Yeah.   The Dental A Team (07:41) Was I inconsistent in my utilization of my systems? Or is the system just flawed and I need to reinvent that wheel? Totally fine too, but it allows the space for that. And Kristy, the way you said it was it allows the person holding that metric to see it themselves and can to it, which takes training and it takes consistency from leadership to constantly point back to the metrics, to constantly be like, okay, ⁓ what   what is your metric, your standard, and then what did you reach? And when there's questions that come up like, Kristy, like, do I call this lady? You're like, well, what is your metric? Does it get you there? And I think that consistency is that accountability piece that people are lacking.   DAT Kristy (08:27) Yeah, I agree with you. ⁓ Just like you said, it's very easy once we've painted that clarity and we have understanding also for the team to report back to you. You shouldn't have to ask. But I also would say don't just report back. Report back and let them know your trend because maybe it is 90 % reappointment rate that we're looking at. ⁓ Literally, I was just on with an office that was   It's almost embarrassing to say they haven't looked at their rates for reappointment. She's like 50 some percent and I'm like, yeah, that could be a problem, right? ⁓ Yeah, let's not focus on 50. Let's talk that the goal is 90 and let's start talking about your trend, right? So even if I'm reporting it talk about your trend where were you and where are we going? And then I also like to say with that TIF is recognize what's working well and   reinforce the good. gets reinforced gets repeated, right? And then get team talking about what they will do to overcome any opportunities if we're not at the mark we want.   The Dental A Team (09:36) Yeah, I love that. I love that so much. you just, you saying that about the practice, I'm like, my gosh, that's fantastic. Like 50%, that's not fantastic, but look at how much space there is to create something different. Like that's really freaking cool because practices come in and they're like, I don't know what to do. And I don't know why it's this way. And I just need this. And it's like, this is so cool because there are spaces.   that are really, really simple to tackle that you just didn't uncover yet. And we get to come in and help uncover those. So it's like 50 % reappointment rate. That's fantastic because now we can implement two to three daily actions that severely change the projection in a company that you may have come to us thinking, and I don't know this client, I don't know what she or he was thinking like, but they may have been thinking like, my hands are tied, what do I do?   how do I get more patients? I need more new patients. I hear that all the time and I'm like, well, what about the patients we have? It's so cool. So you just got me really excited about that. So I'm like, holy cow, I can't wait to hear these results. It's gonna be fantastic. But that's case in point. There's a couple of people that probably need that metric, right? A hygienist, hygiene team and scheduling coordinators, like they need these metrics because now they understand what their purpose is in the company and how they can contribute to the overall goals.   DAT Kristy (10:40) Yeah.   Yeah.   The Dental A Team (11:02) Many doctors, I think Kristy, you and I both come across this, many doctors are really afraid, or business owners in general, to talk goals. And I think the piece that gets missed is that goals drive the courage to push forward in life. Without a goal, without a drive, we're just complacent. And so not talking about them and not talking about how   each position can contribute towards those goals, I think is actually a disservice and holding people back.   DAT Kristy (11:39) Yeah, I agree with you, Tiff. think a lot of times people get stuck because goals are related to a lot of times in dentistry, monetary amounts, right? But truly, it's no different than us at home. We have a checkbook and we have a bank account and we have standard bills that we have to pay. And it's not that we have to get nitty gritty on that stuff, but we all have to understand there's a cost of doing business unless we're a   not-for-profit organization, you know? And so again, I love ⁓ how you and Kiera talk about the metrics aren't to beat ourselves up, right? It's not a stick to beat ourselves up with. It truly is just a measure of how healthy we're getting our patients. And the minute that we really get transparent about the numbers and what they mean and relate it to just like patient health and practice health, I mean, we always talk about getting our patients healthy.   What about talking about a healthy practice too, right? And we need to let team know just because, I mean, we hear it every day as consultants, a practice could do $6 million and I could have another practice that does a million and the 6 million inevitably people might think is more healthy than a million and truly that's not the case. So we need to educate our teams and let them know those numbers mean more.   And ⁓ truly it's a reflection of how healthy our patients are and how healthy the practice is.   The Dental A Team (13:14) Yeah, I totally agree. I totally agree. And your individual metrics then add up to those results. So those of you who are building out the job descriptions, like yes, you need like a how-to, we need to know what those systems and protocols are. But separate from that, they need a heading. They need to know how do I show up? It's like, what are our core values? How do I show up in this position? If we've got, I don't know, a check-in spot, right? We've got a patient coordinator who's at check-in.   DAT Kristy (13:19) Thank you.   The Dental A Team (13:40) and her job description does not say you sit up straight, you smile, and you greet patients with eye contact as soon as they walk in, you can't complain when she's got her head down on the computer or she's got her cell phone and patients are walking in and they're not being greeted. So get nitty gritty on those spaces because that's easy to achieve, right? If she reads that or he reads that, it's like, ⁓ that's the expectation, that's how I'll show up. And then now that feeds into your reschedule rate.   DAT Kristy (13:49) I can't.   The Dental A Team (14:09) Right? Patients are like, heck yeah, I'm coming back. I love seeing Sonia up front. Like it just all feeds into one another. So I think breaking that down into what is this position accomplishing for my practice within the goals that we have set. So if this is my vision, why do I have this position? Why do I have a scheduling coordinator? Why do I have a dental assistant? And then some pieces I think that I promised Kristy we would talk about some positions that you don't always think about. Right? So like sterile tech.   come on guys, there are so many sterile technicians running around that don't know what the heck they're supposed to be doing, there's no job description for a sterile tech and we just kind of run in the mill, let them figure it out, that's the dental way. So like sterile tech or, Kristy, one I know is really big right now is virtual assistants and I have a client who has an entire team of virtual assistants and Kristy, how important is it for the metrics?   the job description ⁓ just in the VA space, so for the VAs, but how important is it for the team to have that VA job description too and know what they can count on those people for?   DAT Kristy (15:21) ⁓ 100%. ⁓ The cool part with it too, Tiff, I mean, yeah, they need to know the expectations of what's being handled so they can hold them accountable just as any other team member, right? But also, I love, especially ⁓ offices where we're looking to develop leadership, when you have in an OM or a practice administrator, if you have a virtual assistant, what if...   great opportunity for them to work with somebody to develop them, right? And you're literally paying them to be there and do a service, but yet your leadership team or developing leadership team can help them be accountable to the metrics, right, that the virtual assistant is there for.   The Dental A Team (16:09) Yeah.   Yeah, absolutely agree. I have a practice that was like, well, like, I know they're doing insurance verification. I'm like, cool. Well, one, how far out are they supposed to be? Like, what's the volume of insurance verifications they're doing? Because we've got some shifts in the front office. Could they take on calling on unpaid insurance claims? And they were like, I don't know. haven't. I have no idea what their time is like. And I haven't talked to them in weeks. I was like, ⁓ hold the phone. I'm going to I got to pick myself up off the floor real quick.   Who's holding these people accountable? You've got to treat them just the same as you would if they were in your practice. And I think that's multifaceted. I have a practice who does really, really well with a couple of each spectrum. But one in particular does really well with virtual assistants because they create them to be part of the team. The virtual assistants do so much as to even show up for Daily Huddle. They're there with them. We have virtual assistants that show up for Daily Huddle. We know our VAs.   practices that it's just like, they're doing this thing and they think of them as a separate entity. I think the VAs get lost. I think the sterile techs get lost. The sterile techs of the world are just lost in our dental field. And they're looking for that direction and they're looking for that drive. I think our VA, right, we've got a newly onboarded one as well, but our VA who just celebrated six months with us, I found out, he has incredible direction in his position.   And I see that he finds fulfillment in the things that he does for our company. And that's really cool to watch and to see. I know we get fulfillment. It's very easy to get fulfillment as a consultant. Like we get to work hands-on with the clients every day. Same as a dental practice, you guys get to see the changes you're making in the patient's mouths, right? And in their daily lives, you know? So then to find metrics where it's like, no, even as a virtual assistant, even as an onboarded,   outsourced billing company, like these are the metrics that are going to show us that you're actually adding incredible value to our team. And how cool is that to have that heading to be like, I get to go to work every day and I get to help this team do better for their community. And that's the piece that I just feel like is missing in a lot of different spaces.   DAT Kristy (18:15) Yeah.   Yeah, I love that you say that, Tiff, because a lot of, I mean, we're familiar, probably the most popular one is in the insurance realm, right? And so I know even a lot of the virtual companies will set up time to meet with the offices weekly, right? And so again, for the OM or the practice administrator, I'm like, how often are you on those? Not very often. I'm like, man, what a missed opportunity, right? Again, to develop your leadership and share with them.   What's your expectations? We want zero claims over 90 days. And again, the metrics aren't to beat ourselves up. If it's not there, how fun to celebrate when, just like the re-care, right? When they hit 60%, we're gonna be celebrating because one little change, right? But painting that clarity, where are we going? What's my expectation? And then getting the team's commitment into how can we...   The Dental A Team (19:17) massive.   DAT Kristy (19:27) improve this, right? But I think you also mentioned something earlier, even outside of the virtual assistant realm, but all of our team members, how often are we meeting with them? And how often are we ⁓ taking the time away from the business to grow and develop them? Right? And review their metrics. Yeah.   The Dental A Team (19:45) Yeah, massive.   Yeah, and how do you do that if you don't know what you're reviewing? Like, how do you do that if you don't know what their accountabilities are? And how do you help grow someone? know one of the big pieces of leadership that we train on is being able to develop people and giving them a growth plan. And I remember being asked, oh my gosh, I don't even know. I was probably like 28, I don't know, 27. I might.   boss, my office manager pulls me into the office for my one-on-one and she's like, well, where do you see yourself in five years? And I was like, I don't know. Like I think my only, that could be your position. Like what, I don't know what, I don't know what that means, right? Because in those positions in the practice, they don't know. They don't know what's possible, right? Unless they've been there before.   There may be somebody who's maybe worked in another practice and she managed or worked in another practice and he saw this great manager he aspires to be, but most of the time we don't know. And so providing that growth plan, even within the job description of these are the metrics that I get to help grow those. So I can find growth and fulfillment within my own position because I'm growing the practice and growing these metrics. I don't need to take your job.   DAT Kristy (20:45) Mm-hmm.   The Dental A Team (21:03) I can be happy and satisfied in my own because it's written out for me and we're talking about it in the one-on-ones. We're seeing how, you know, where's my goal and how far away am I? Just the same as we're seeing the trends and everything else. So Kristy, I totally agree. Really my 28 year old brain would have been like, this is amazing if it had been like, here's some things that I see, you know? And otherwise I'm like, I don't know. Like how do I answer that? You know?   DAT Kristy (21:29) Yeah. Well,   and to your point, Tiff, with that being said, don't forget to rope in your virtual assistants and have those conversations with them too. Because I think, like you mentioned earlier, the practices that we see ⁓ truly utilizing virtual assistants well are incorporating them, right? They're sharing the expectation, but they're also giving them that feedback and they're treating them like a team member, you know? So if you guys are doing   a bonus system, don't forget your virtual assistants or your sterile techs, right? Include them. They're a huge part of the practice. So.   The Dental A Team (22:08) Yeah, yeah, and to your point, the team that I referenced that does really well with the virtual assistants, the virtual assistant that now does a lot of their scheduling started as insurance verifications and they grew her and she learned the schedule, she listened to the team on calls, they groomed her into that position so that she could take it on because she wanted growth. So I agree, I agree. So gosh, Kristy, this one became really, really fun. Thank you.   for that and taking that journey. And you guys, hope that there are some amazing tidbits that you're able to pick up from here. The biggest one is know your vision, know your goals. Like where is your practice heading so that you can then dial in where is each position heading within those goals. That's gonna be massive. So job descriptions, yes, we can talk about job descriptions all the time. Go Google it on our page, like search it. You're gonna find a million of them. The big point today is the metrics. Like what are these jobs providing?   towards your goal, what's inspiring them to do their work every day, and how are you talking about it and communicating it with them. So, Kristy, thank you so much. I love taking these journeys, and you made this really fun. I appreciate you today, and always every day. Yeah.   DAT Kristy (23:20) Thank you. Thank   you. Always back at you.   The Dental A Team (23:24) Thank   you, thank you. you guys, Kristy's always here for the fun, just expanding on what we're even talking about stuff.   for her name on these podcasts. You will never be disappointed. You're always gonna love them. And as always, leave us a five star review. We'd love to hear what you think and we'd love to hear anything that you guys have in addition to what we talked about. We know we don't know it all. Hello@TheDentalATeam.com.   You can reach us there and we cannot wait to hear from you guys until next time  

ChatGPT just took a massive swing at e-commerce, rolling out instant checkout with Stripe so you can shop directly inside a chat window. Jay Schwedelson unpacks why this could be a Google-killer, why Threads is suddenly neck-and-neck with X in daily active users (even if it doesn't feel like it), and how Perplexity's new Comet browser can literally save you money at checkout. He also digs into a massive conversion study that proves simple words sell more than fancy copy, Instagram's big bet on Reels, and yes—some unnecessary drama around Cracker Barrel's logo. To balance it all, Jay throws in TV talk, a Dancing With the Stars surprise, and the news Scrubs fans have been waiting for.Best Moments:(00:16) ChatGPT adds instant checkout with Stripe, starting with Etsy and Shopify sellers(02:00) Threads reportedly matches X on daily active users—believe it or not(03:00) Perplexity launches Comet, an AI browser with auto coupon-finding at checkout(04:00) Study shows simple fifth-grade-level copy converts 56% better than complex writing(05:25) Instagram tests replacing the home tab with Reels as default feed(06:08) Cracker Barrel fires its branding agency after logo backlash(07:33) Robert Irwin crushes on Dancing With the Stars and teases a Bachelor future(08:00) Scrubs revival in the works with the original castCheck out our 100% FREE + VIRTUAL EVENTS! ->Guru Conference - The World's Largest Virtual EMAIL MARKETING Conference - Nov 6-7!Register here: www.GuruConference.comㅤCheck out Jay's YOUTUBE Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@schwedelsonCheck out Jay's TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@schwedelsonCheck Out Jay's INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/jayschwedelson/ㅤMASSIVE thank you to our Sponsor, Marigold!!Email chaos across campuses, branches, or chapters? Emma by Marigold lets HQ keep control while local teams send on-brand, on-time messages with ease.Podcast & GURU listeners: 50 % off your first 3 months with an annual plan (new customers, 10 k-contact minimum, terms apply).Claim your offer now at jayschwedelson.com/emma

When Jay Schwedelson and Daniel Murray swap stories about awkward baby-in-restaurant moments and LinkedIn strategy hacks in the same breath, you know it's going to be entertaining. This Bathroom Break episode takes a surprising turn into how commenting (with memes, images, or one-liners) might actually beat posting when it comes to growing on LinkedIn.ㅤFollow Daniel on LinkedIn and check out The Marketing Millennials podcast for sharp, no-fluff marketing insights. Subscribe to Ari Murray's newsletter at gotomillions.co for sharp, actionable marketing insights.ㅤBest Moments:(02:15) Daniel reveals why LinkedIn's new comment impressions feature is a signal you should lean into comments.(03:30) How using memes and images in comments outperformed posts for The Marketing Millennials.(04:25) Why comments can act like mini-posts that spark conversations and visibility.(05:45) A smart way to use comments to test content ideas before posting them officially.(07:15) Daniel shares how this commenting strategy fueled faster LinkedIn growth than years of posting.(08:45) Jay's kids roast his “embarrassing” LinkedIn one-liners.ㅤCheck out our 100% FREE + VIRTUAL EVENTS! ->Guru Conference - The World's Largest Virtual EMAIL MARKETING Conference - Nov 6-7!Register here: www.GuruConference.comㅤCheck out Jay's YOUTUBE Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@schwedelsonCheck out Jay's TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@schwedelsonCheck Out Jay's INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/jayschwedelson/ㅤMASSIVE thank you to our Sponsor, Marigold!!Email chaos across campuses, branches, or chapters? Emma by Marigold lets HQ keep control while local teams send on-brand, on-time messages with ease.Podcast & GURU listeners: 50 % off your first 3 months with an annual plan (new customers, 10 k-contact minimum, terms apply).Claim your offer now at jayschwedelson.com/emma

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