Podcasts about key takeaways00

There's a moment in every product where you have to stop tweaking and actually launch. This week, Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson reflect on how 37signals decides when a product is truly ready for its first release. They share how they think about simplifying, sharpening, and ultimately knowing when it's time to ship.Key Takeaways00:12 – Recognizing when a product is ready to meet the world02:55 – Strip things back to the essentials first07:32 – Weighing real-world feedback from early users10:03 – Add the final layer of polish without overdoing itLinks and ResourcesFizzy is a modern spin on kanban. Try it for free at fizzy.do"Quality: The Concept2 RowErg" from Jason's HEY WorldRecord a video question for the podcastBooks by 37signalsSign up for a 30-day free trial at Basecamp.comHEY World | HEYThe REWORK podcastThe Rework Podcast on YouTubeThe 37signals Dev Blog37signals on YouTube@37signals on X

Ever feel like droughts, rising costs, or feed shortages are always threatening your ranch's future? I get it—and so does this week's guest, who's engineering innovative solutions for resilient, sustainable animal agriculture.In this episode, Harry Duran sits down with Joaquin Gonzalez, Chief Expansion Officer at Eleusis Feed, an expert in agricultural engineering with deep roots (literally) in ranching and hydroponic fodder systems. Raised on a ranch near Santiago and backed by a career spanning Chile, Colorado, and now Texas, Joaquin Gonzalez brings a wealth of hands-on experience and entrepreneurial spirit to revolutionize how livestock are fed.This conversation dives into the power of hydroponic fodder systems as a game-changer for ranchers and farmers battling water scarcity, price hikes, and traditional feed limitations. Joaquin Gonzalez unpacks why modular container farms aren't always the answer at scale, and shares how Eleusis Feed's industrial solutions offer flexibility for both small and massive operations, empowering producers in drought-prone regions to ensure feed—and food—security all year long.Beyond the nuts and bolts of fodder systems, you'll hear stories from Joaquin Gonzalez's lifelong obsession with horses, lessons learned from engineering trial and error, and the realities of transitioning from South America to the U.S. Discover what it really takes to convince traditional ranchers to embrace innovation, and get inspired by the impact of sustainable practices on animal health, water conservation, and rural livelihoods.If you're ready to learn how vertical farming can safeguard your operation and secure the future of animal agriculture, tune in to this episode now—this one's packed with practical insights and the passion to match. Listen and get equipped to grow smarter today!Thanks to Our SponsorsCEA Summit East - https://indoor.ag/cea-summit-east-2025/Indoor AgCon - https://indoor.ag/Key Takeaways00:06:42 Tackling Chile's Drought and the Quest for Sustainable Fodder00:13:01 Engineering Solutions: Container Farms and Overcoming Mold00:19:22 Barley Fodder for All: From Horses to Giraffes00:25:29 Scaling Up: Industrial Hydroponic Fodder Systems00:32:09 Educating Ranchers and Challenging Traditions00:38:18 Entrepreneurship, Moving to Austin, and Staying MotivatedTweetable Quotes"At the end, you have to have horses, you have to have a trainer and all this stuff, and it was something that from there I transitioned to another sport because it was too expensive. Being one of seven, it wasn't something that I was the only one obsessed with horses and stuff, so I pushed that dream aside and focused on other sports. But then after college, I picked it up again, started riding again, won another championship, and it was everything about having a horse and having a train with feed and all this stuff that gets complicated over time. That is something I have in my heart—at some point, I will do it for sure.""The containerized solution that we could put together was able to produce 850 pounds a day, which, if you look at the industry, you can feed 30 cows, 35 horses, and stuff like that. I was talking to many ranchers that had 200 head of cattle, so for that you need eight containers. Putting one container next to another at some point doesn't make sense—maybe two is okay, three you start to think about, no, because every container has its own system, its own way of farming. At the end, we were looking for something more industrial.""With a fodder system, you use about 95% less water than traditional farm. We're here to help those places, especially...

In this value-packed episode of SaaS Fuel, Mark Osborne, founder of Modern Revenue Strategies and top 25 marketing technology trailblazer, joins host VO and Jeff Mains for a tactical deep dive into building holistic, scalable revenue systems that go beyond the siloed tactics of old. Mark reveals why random acts of marketing and sales are growth killers, the transformative impact of aligning marketing, sales, and customer success, and practical steps for identifying and nurturing your ideal customers. You'll also learn how storytelling and “microscripts” can drive trust and reduce friction, the importance of bow-tie funnels (aka the power of retention and expansion), and get a playbook for creating try-before-you-buy offers that accelerate confidence. If you want your SaaS business to be built for significance and scale—this episode is your treasure map.Key Takeaways00:00 "Mastering Sales & Revenue Strategy"05:11 "Building Effective Revenue Systems"06:17 Revenue Growth Through Three Systems12:35 Identifying Top Customers Strategically13:39 Targeting the Right CRM Customers19:31 "Aligning Teams to Drive Revenue"23:49 B2B Buying Shift: Trust Erodes25:34 Health, Perception, and AI Challenges29:02 "Bite-Sized Client Value Strategy"32:12 Effective SaaS Onboarding Strategies35:49 Focus on One GTM Strategy40:50 The Power of Specialization42:35 "Storytelling Powers Human Connection"47:28 "Creating a Category of One"48:35 "Collaborative Metrics and Visual Mapping"52:31 "3D Holograms & AI Innovation"Tweetable Quotes"But what I find is that really building a revenue system that has multiple components and sort of interlocking components is the real key to growth." — Mark Osborne Category of One Marketing: "And so we have built a proprietary proven process that leverages our unique expertise for this unique marketplace. And if you believe that that's the right way to solve this problem, then we're the only solution that exists for you." — Mark Osborne Quote: "the stat is now that something like 70% of the buyer's journey is done before they talk to a single provider, much less you, if you're the second or third tier provider in the marketplace." — Mark Osborne Lower-Risk Sales Strategies: "it's just a way of giving them that bite of the burger so they can then be excited about coming in and finishing the meal rather than feeling like, well, should I talk to five more people or two more people or get three more references instead." — Mark Osborne The Power of Storytelling in Sales: "Telling stories is the way that we really resonate and connect with people. So each of those different sort of layers of really small stories and really, you know, sort of large allegories are important throughout the sales process." — Mark Osborne SaaS Leadership LessonsBuild Systems, Not SilosSustainable growth comes when every part of the revenue journey is connected—attraction, acceleration, activation.Customer Obsession Beats Logo HuntingLong-term companies focus on advocating for and expanding existing customers, not just acquiring new ones.Say No to the Wrong RevenueThe discipline to turn away poorly-matched clients fuels long-term success and product integrity.Create Alignment Through Visual...

How do you land on the right price for a product? This week, 37signals co-founders Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson pull back the curtain on the pricing choices they've made over the years, including the options the public never saw. They talk about why chasing giant enterprise deals isn't for them, and why simple, steady pricing beats clever tricks.Key Takeaways00:11 – The pricing experiments over the years10:48 – Why 37signals avoids enterprise deals18:05 – How Basecamp's pricing style differs from HEY's25:12 – Avoiding gimmicks and overthinking31:03 – Fizzy's pricing modelLinks and ResourcesRecord a video question for the podcastBooks by 37signalsSign up for a 30-day free trial at Basecamp.comHEY World | HEYThe REWORK podcastThe Rework Podcast on YouTubeThe 37signals Dev Blog37signals on YouTube@37signals on X

In this groundbreaking episode of SaaS Fuel, Jeff Mains sits down with Amos Bar Joseph, CEO and co-founder of Swann, the AI-native company on a quest to build the world's first truly autonomous business. With only three human founders and a fleet of AI agents, Swann is redefining the startup playbook—targeting $10M ARR per employee and running leaner operations without sacrificing growth or burning out teams. Amos Bar Joseph shares how Swann scales via intelligent automation and human-AI collaboration, creating systems where both people and agents operate in their zone of genius. Listeners learn actionable ways to build their “AI muscle,” leverage experimental GTM strategies, and develop organizations that amplify human talent rather than replace it.Key Takeaways00:00 "Building Resilient Customer-Focused Teams"05:23 Reinventing the Startup Playbook08:52 "Scaling Innovation Through AI Agents"10:14 "Building an AI Support Agent"15:00 "Optimizing Funnel With Human Leadership"17:16 "AI-Powered GTM Automation Tool"20:51 AI Amplifying Human Talent26:56 Continuous Innovation Through Experiments28:13 "Balancing Risk in Business Growth"32:43 "Building AI Muscle Internally"36:37 "AI Failures: Perfection Over Adaptation"39:11 Defining Failure in Experiments42:59 "Redefining Scale with Human-AI"48:21 Automated Sales Lead Management52:06 "Connect, Learn, Build Autonomously"54:40 "Scaling Revenue & Holographic Tech"Tweetable Quotes"It wasn't like that. What happened is that we started iterating in human in the loop workflows where humans and agents work side by side and there's an iteration mechanism where we refine that collaboration until we got to a process that one person could scale to an output of what used to in the past." — Amos Bar JosephQuote: "It's kind of like a developer that works with sales and marketing and sometimes founders or rev ops to turn any go to market idea into an agentic workflow. So you can scale go to market with intelligence, not revenue, not headcount, and really iterate on your go to market at the speed of thought." — Amos Bar JosephQuote: "The moment that you remove all the technical complexity with a tool like Swann, then you can start iterating on your go to market at the speed of thought." — Amos Bar JosephQuote: "what we aim for is actually these unconventional playbooks, because these playbooks, these tactics, are the ones that you can drive the most disproportionate value from the resource that you invest in." — Amos Bar JosephWhy Most AI Projects Fail: "The number one reason for that is that the user, the buyer, the organization is optimizing and the vendor together, they're optimizing for perfection, not for adaptation, as you just laid out, Jeff. And the reason is why that is the number one reason, is because you don't know what perfection looks like when you start." — Amos Bar JosephSaaS Leadership LessonsLeverage Talent, Not Headcount:Focus on value creation per employee, using AI to scale intelligent output—not just adding more people.Iterate to Innovate:Use experimentation and iterative processes to refine human-agent collaboration and maximize business results.Embrace the Zone of Genius:Place team members in roles where their passions and skills create disproportionate value; let AI take on everything outside that zone.Bias Toward BuildingAdopt a build-first mentality with AI tools—solve your own business bottlenecks rather than just buying external solutions.Stand Out With Unconventional Playbooks:In...

In this episode of the RE Social Podcast, hosts Vince Rodriguez and Andrew McCormick talk with Evan Cassidy, our former producer, standup comedian, and emerging real estate investor, to unpack the roller coaster journey of buying, renovating, and managing his first investment property in Yucca Valley. He opens up about what inspired him to jump into real estate, how the pandemic turned his initial renovation plans upside down, and the financial and emotional challenges that come with navigating your first Airbnb. The hosts dig into Evan's biggest lessons around building the right team, understanding market cycles, managing cash flow, and developing the patience and resilience needed to succeed as an investor. Evan also reveals how he balances family life with creative pursuits, and how both comedy and real estate continue to shape his long-term vision. Listen to this episode to learn more!Key Takeaways00:00:00Welcome to the RE Social Podcast00:01:08Let's get to know Evan Cassidy00:05:09The Joshua Tree Investment00:12:06Financials and Future Plans00:25:43Stocking and Organizing Supplies00:28:51Setting Up an Ideal Airbnb00:33:25Challenges and Lessons Learned00:44:41Hiring and Building a Reliable Team00:53:44Exploring New Real Estate Opportunities00:54:42Long-Term vs. Mid-Term Rentals00:58:54Credit Card Hacks and Bank Reactions01:01:24Lessons Learned from Investments01:04:38The Importance of Risk Tolerance01:21:53Blend of Comedy and Real Estate01:23:36How to connect with EvanResources and LinksFind his schedule on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenextwavecomedy/Evan's Yucca Valley Property http://www.casafreebird.com/Connect with Evanhttps://www.instagram.com/thecassmanshow/https://www.facebook.com/thecassmanhttps://www.youtube.com/c/fockyanationNeed Help? BOOK A CALL:https://anviinvest.com/consulting/ Learn more about AnVi Invest

This episode dives deep into the shifting landscape of SaaS growth, investment philosophy, and leadership with Klee Kleber, former Dell and Rackspace executive and co-founder at Build Group.Klee Kleber shares why he prefers the "long game" model over traditional VC, explains the math behind durable businesses, talks about the importance of relentless execution, and how empathy, self-awareness, and diversity drive lasting success. From stories of luck at Dell to building customer love at Rackspace and the bold ambition of Topwater, this episode is packed with pragmatic wisdom for SaaS founders, operators, and investors.Key Takeaways00:00 Building for Impact and Permanence03:12 "Strategic Investing and Growth Playbooks"06:40 "Efficient Growth Through Discipline"12:47 "Separate Division for Innovation"15:14 Apple's Strategy: Innovation & Adaptability19:21 "Scaling After Market Fit"20:32 Obsessed Founders: Numbers & Customers23:57 "Teamwork Drives Effective Leadership"27:49 "Commit, Focus, Scale Success"30:08 Exit Strategy Driven by Management34:24 "Growth Limits and Opportunities"39:31 "Customer Loyalty Drives Growth"40:16 Target Audience Traits Matter46:10 "Defining ICP: Human vs. MBA"49:45 AI vs Doctor: Diagnosis Revolution51:44 "Leadership, Innovation, Differentiation Challenges"54:29 "AI-Driven Growth with Topwater"Tweetable Quotes"You can't diversify your way to success—you can only retain your wealth through diversification. To build a company, you have to go all in." — Klee Kleber"Start with customer love—and radiate out from there. Obsess over the customers who love you, and the referrals will follow." — Klee Kleber"Relentless execution is what differentiates great companies from those that just do okay or even good." — Jeff Mains"Efficiency isn't boring—it's the secret to durable, compounding growth that actually lasts." — Klee Kleber"Most business to me is treading water, being disciplined, not burning, testing ideas, measuring like crazy, until you find the live wire." — Klee Kleber"Self-aware founders who build teams that compensate for their weaknesses are the ones who scale and thrive." — Klee KleberSaaS Leadership LessonsBuild for the Long Game – Focus on investments and company-building strategies that aim for durability and lasting impact, not just quick wins.Efficiency is a Competitive Advantage – Discipline in metrics like LTV/CAC and payback periods creates sustainable growth, instead of hoping for a lucky exit.Relentless Execution Beats Strategy Alone – Luck may start the journey, but relentless, focused execution is what converts opportunity into success.Balance Data with Customer Contact – Great founders marry spreadsheet discipline with real human customer feedback and empathy.Embrace Diverse Perspectives – Teams with varied backgrounds, skills, and viewpoints consistently outperform homogenous ones and spark true breakthroughs.Self-Awareness Multiplies Leadership Impact – Know your personal strengths and weaknesses; build teams that complement you and delegate accordingly.Guest Resourcesklee@buildgroup.comhttps://www.buildgroup.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/kleekleber/Episode SponsorThe Captain's KeysSmall Fish, Big Pond –

This week, Monica Marquez joins SaaS Fuel to dive deep into the real barriers behind successful AI adoption and organizational transformation. With a career spanning Google, Goldman Sachs, and the launch of Flip Work, Monica shares insights on bridging the gap between technology and human behavior, demystifying AI for non-technical teams, and championing change management that works for people—not just processes. Discover the critical mindset shifts, the role of psychological safety, and why the future of work is about "survival of the fastest." Plus, get firsthand strategies for leaders to drive transformation and build trust with AI.Key Takeaways00:00 "Embracing Change for Success"04:03 "Reinventing Work Mindset with AI"07:33 "Adapting Success in AI Era"11:08 "Leveraging AI to Enhance Work"15:34 Building Trust in AI Use19:05 Embrace Change to Avoid Extinction21:37 "AI Accelerates Growth, Challenges Adaptability"27:55 AI Skills: From Prompting to Mastery30:24 Rapid Innovation and Iteration Challenges35:38 Leveraging AI to Enhance Strengths37:17 AI Empowers Founders to ExecuteTweetable QuotesAI Adoption Struggles: "Millions, billions of dollars have been invested in the IT portion or the tools, but less than 2% of the companies are actually seeing ROI on that. And what they're really understanding is that it's because nobody's teaching the tool to the human." — Monica MarquezViral Topic: Rethinking Success in the Age of AI: "And so getting them to understand that you have to really unlearn and really destroy, disrupt that, that belief system and really start to create this equation that impact equals success." — Monica MarquezAI vs Human Judgment: "Because what people don't realize is yes, AI is going to replace some of this monotonous administrative like, you know, work that most of us actually should be pretty happy to hand off. But, but the AI doesn't really know client relationships. The AI doesn't know how to read the room." — Monica MarquezBuilding Trust with AI: "People don't trust the AI yet. And part of it is you can't build trust without evidence or without an exchange of, like, doing things." — Monica Marquez"I feel like AI has helped us get further much faster with less people because AI is doing a lot of this that we would have potentially outsourced in the past." — Monica MarquezSaaS Leadership LessonsLead With Evidence, Not AssumptionsEncourage teams to collect data by experimenting with AI—overcoming fear and building trust through firsthand experience.Prioritize Human EnablementInvest in change management and behavioral shifts, not just technology rollouts.Create Psychological SafetyEnable leaders and teams to "not know" and to admit uncertainty, fostering open experimentation and growth.Champion Unlearning and ReinventionHelp employees break free from old success equations and conditioned beliefs.Treat Digital Tools as TeammatesCoach AI (like an intern), iterating and refining outputs rather than expecting perfection on the first try.Model Change at Every LevelExecutives must embody the transformation—they are responsible for setting cultural signals for rapid adaptation.Guest Resourcesmonica@fts-ai.comhttps://flipwork.aihttps://www.linkedin.com/in/themonicamarquez/Episode SponsorThe Captain's...

Ever wondered how to scale your vertical farm without breaking the bank—or your nerves?In this episode of the Vertical Farming Podcast, I sit down with Tristan Fischer, CEO of Fisher Farms, one of the pioneers in modular farming technology. Tristan brings over 25 years of experience in clean energy and large-scale renewables, translating that expertise into creating more efficient, scalable, and cost-effective vertical farming solutions. Having navigated the challenges of building some of the largest vertical farms in the UK, Tristan is passionate about making vertical farming both accessible and sustainable—and he's got the battle-tested insights to prove it.We dive deep into Fisher Farms' journey from traditional R&D setups to their cutting-edge modular approach, using shipping containers like building blocks for truly scalable farms. Tristan shares candid stories about the risks and surprises of massive farm construction, and how clever modular design is transforming the economics and flexibility of indoor agriculture, enabling global expansion—even in places like Abu Dhabi, where energy costs are astonishingly low.Beyond technology, we explore Fisher Farms' culture of innovation, their relentless focus on driving down costs, and why Tristan believes vertical farming should move from premium niche to practical staple for feeding the world. You'll hear how the team's values—kindness, respect, factfulness, and robustness—help foster big ideas and quick pivots, and how these principles drive Fisher Farms to be the lowest-cost vertical farm in the world.If you're ready to rethink what's possible with vertical farming and discover how modularity might be the answer to your growth headaches, don't miss this episode! Click play and join us as we explore the future of feeding the world—without wrecking the planet.Ready to stop dreaming and start building a profitable, impactful vertical farm that transcends tired food system models? Click to listen and get inspired by Mary's story, strategy, and actionable insights!Thanks to Our SponsorsCEA Summit East - https://indoor.ag/cea-summit-east-2025/Indoor AgCon - https://indoor.ag/Key Takeaways00:00 Fisher Farms Expansion and Modular Approach06:01 Overcoming Scaling Challenges at Farm Two12:01 Fisher Farms Ethos and Focus on Cost Reduction18:31 Advancements in Lighting and Efficiency23:40 Competing with Glasshouses and New Market Opportunities29:54 Modular Growth in the UAE and Global Impact35:03 Plug and Play Modular Flexibility40:02 Fisher Farms Technology Certification and Branding46:08 Building an Innovative, Kind, and Robust Company Culture52:42 Closing Reflections and Future OutlookTweetable Quotes"If you have a thousand things which need to get right, I think we probably planned for about 900 of them and got them right, and then once Farm 2 got running, 50 of them were relatively quick to fix, but there were a few items which actually ended up being very, very difficult. Sometimes you had a problem hiding behind another problem.""Our view is that if we focus on really driving down cost, cost, cost, cost, then we don't have to worry about becoming a premium brand—but it gets us in the direction where we want to be, which is: how do you actually feed the world without trashing the planet at the same time?""What we want is my terrible idea and a genuinely bad idea, and your crazy, insane idea and somebody else's drug-addled idea or sleep-addled idea—whatever it is—and they're all actually genuinely bad ideas independently, but by putting those ideas together, layering those...

In this episode of SaaS Fuel, Thanos Diacakis shares battle-tested advice for scaling SaaS teams, streamlining delivery, and maximizing developer happiness. Drawing on his experiences at startups and tech giants like Uber, Thanos reveals counterintuitive strategies for improving software output, optimizing technical debt, rethinking backlogs, and harnessing new mental models. He breaks down the importance of incremental value, cross-functional collaboration, and avoiding the traps of over-planning. Whether you lead a small startup or an enterprise-scale engineering team, this conversation will challenge the way you think about speed, quality, backlog management, and long-term success.Key Takeaways00:00 "Checklists vs Software Complexity"03:19 Bug Fixing: Intuition vs Strategy08:24 Buckets: Features, Bugs, Investments, Risks09:47 Optimizing Feature vs. Platform Focus14:39 "Minimize Work in Progress"19:20 "Bug Backlogs: Input vs Output"20:39 Kanban Team Structure Guidelines26:38 "Rapid Progress in Coding Tools"28:21 "Minimal Planning, Bias for Action"31:48 "Delivering Incremental Customer Value"36:23 Collaborative Workflow Over Silos39:35 "Building Products That Inspire Use"42:53 "Accelerate: Building Effective Teams"44:11 Team Workflow Optimization Framework47:50 "Explore Mental Models Online"Tweetable QuotesWhy Slowing Down Software Releases Might Backfire: One of the things that would happen is if you slow down, how you ship to production is you'll have bigger batches and bigger batches, which means you might ship more bugs all at once and have to find them in a bigger QA cycle. — Thanos Diacakis "I also think we sometimes convince ourselves that we know more than we actually do and that we can plan a really long way out." — Thanos Diacakis Viral Product Development Mindset: "If you engage engineers and product in these creative discussions, you might find out, oh, I scoped out these 10 things, but turns out the customer gets 80% of the value from this one thing." — Thanos Diacakis Bureaucratic Bottlenecks in Big Companies: "They try to optimize locally for one particular function rather than optimize globally for shipping things out the door." — Thanos Diacakis Viral Topic: "Why Every Team Should Read Accelerate": So I think if I give anyone advices, if you haven't read Accelerate, then go read that book. Because it's basically lays out in terms of, and this is in terms of like core technical and procedural sort of infrastructural things that teams ought to have to be productive. — Thanos Diacakis SaaS Leadership LessonsBias Towards Action Over PerfectionAvoid waiting for perfect plans, especially with innovative projects; instead, learn by doing and iterating.Increase System VisibilityMake work in progress and team capabilities visible; this surfaces bottlenecks and areas for investment.Balance Short-Term and Long-Term GoalsStrategic investment in tooling, tech debt, and risk mitigation ensures sustainable delivery and value realization.Prioritize Collaboration Across FunctionsBreaking down silos between product, engineering, and design dramatically accelerates delivery and reduces defects.Ship Small, Ship OftenFrequent, incremental releases drive faster customer learning, boost agility, and reduce risk.Cultivate a Shared Language for OutcomesUse terms like investments and risk (not just features and bugs) to align business and technical priorities and drive meaningful...

Twice a year, the entire 37signals team meets up in person. This week, co-founders Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson talk about how these gatherings work, what they're really for, and why the structure is intentionally loose. They share how the mix of optional hangouts and focused work sessions helps their fully remote team reconnect, recharge, and solve problems face-to-face.Key Takeaways00:14 – How 37signals approaches its twice-a-year meetups01:52 – What's required and what's optional04:09 – The deeper purpose behind bringing everyone together07:51 – Finding the right blend of scheduled time and free time16:37 – The limits of video calls23:22 – Yes, there's fun, but it's still a work tripLinks and ResourcesRecord a video question for the podcastBooks by 37signalsSign up for a 30-day free trial at Basecamp.comHEY World | HEYThe REWORK podcastThe Rework Podcast on YouTubeThe 37signals Dev Blog37signals on YouTube@37signals on X

In this action-packed SaaS Fuel episode, host Jeff Mains welcomes AI entrepreneur Alberto Rizzoli, co-founder and CEO of V7. They dive into the transformative power of AI in automating repetitive and complex knowledge work, discuss the accelerating pace of AI innovation, and unpack how both large enterprises and smaller teams can prioritize, implement, and benefit from next-generation “agentic” AI. Alberto Rizzoli candidly shares insights on the future of SaaS, practical applications in B2B, go-to-market challenges, the evolving demands on leadership and hiring, and what it takes to stand out in a world where technology is no longer a lasting moat.Key Takeaways00:00 AI Revolution: Transforming Technology04:00 AI Reducing Administrative Costs06:21 "Measuring AI's Impact on Knowledge"09:41 "AI as Workforce Revolution"15:53 "Startups Compete on Quality"18:27 "Tech Giants Dominate AI Future"22:27 "AI Implementation Leadership Needed"25:55 "Evaluating AI Tools Effectively"29:31 AI Adoption Requires Trust31:46 "Shift in GTM Strategies"35:48 "AI Automation Careers in Demand"37:20 "V7Labs: AI Workflow Automation"Tweetable QuotesViral Topic: The Real Value of AI in Knowledge Work: "Even if you had the money to ask a lawyer and that were not an issue, you would still first ask ChatGPT because you get an instantaneous answer and there is no friction towards that." — Alberto RizzoliAI & the Future of Work: "Keeping a human away from their family and children for five hours to do some work that AI can do in five minutes by consuming a lot less relative energy will actually be kind of the best of both worlds." — Alberto RizzoliQuote: "There is still an enormous amount of unrealized value from AI. There is still close to no AI usage at the world's largest companies." — Alberto RizzoliAI's Impact on Infrastructure Investment: "We've never seen so much investment in power generation since World War II. So it really is a paradigm shift that's happening." — Alberto RizzoliBalancing Creativity and Responsibility: "the creative side is something that we enjoy, but there's so many things that are jobs that things that we have to do, things that always." — Jeff Mains Viral Simplicity in User Interfaces: "instead of having to figure out, you know, how the watch was built, we're just asking what time it is." — Jeff Mains The Cycle of Innovation and Investment: It almost becomes self fulfilling because there's so much money pouring into it. And that drives innovation, which brings more money, which drives more innovation. And I think it does become self fulfilling to some degree. — Jeff Mains SaaS Leadership LessonsPrioritize Deep Automation: Leaders should focus AI efforts on well-documented, high-frequency processes, not just shiny new initiatives.Embrace the Player-Coach Model: Middle management is evolving. Future leaders need to be hands-on contributors who coach, not just oversee.Build for Scalability: The best AI tools get you 80% of the way—allocating resources to push to 100% is critical for lasting impact.Hire for Tech Fluency: Hiring should emphasize technical problem-solvers across all departments, especially those who can identify and implement automation.Champion Change Management: Assign a dedicated AI implementation owner to drive adoption—this role will multiply team productivity.Invest in Quality, Not Hype: In a fast-copying landscape, the long-term winners are those who create the best user...

We are back! In this episode of the RE Social Podcast, hosts Vince Rodriguez and Andrew McCormick sit down with seasoned investor and Keyrenter Newport Beach owner Dan Borland to unpack the realities of property investment, management, and market strategy. From navigating interest rate shifts and managing multifamily properties to handling squatters and understanding the psychology behind business success, Dan shares hard-earned lessons from years in the industry. He also highlights the importance of transparency, strategic partnerships, and adapting to market changes to stay ahead. Tune in now to learn more about real estate investing!Key Takeaways00:00:00Welcome to the RE Social Podcast00:01:01Dan's Background and Real Estate Journey00:04:56First Major Real Estate Deal00:12:40Strategies in Property Management00:25:44Property Management Insights00:31:22Building Trust with Your Handyman and Vendors00:32:49Hiring and Vetting New Team Members00:37:18Incentivizing and Retaining Employees00:51:41Commercial Loans and Financing01:04:01Regrets and Lessons from Investments01:13:01Building a Service Business01:23:03The Importance of People and Systems01:30:00Final Thoughts and RecommendationsResources and LinksKeyrenter Property Management https://www.keyrenternewportbeach.com/Connect with Danhttps://www.instagram.com/dcbnewportbeach/https://www.instagram.com/keyrenternewportbeach_pm/https://www.facebook.com/keyrenternewportbeachhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-borland-0b025a7/Need Help? BOOK A CALL:https://anviinvest.com/consulting/ Learn more about AnVi Invest

In this episode of SaaS Fuel, Jeff Mains sits down with Michelle Griffin, founder of Griffin Resources, to unpack actionable strategies for building strong, flexible, and founder-friendly teams in scalable SaaS businesses.Michelle draws on her six years of hands-on experience supporting startups and scaling organizations with fractional HR, recruiting, sales ops, and operational support. Listeners will get insights into modern hiring practices, maintaining workplace culture in remote teams, succession planning, supporting diverse career paths, and practical tips for retention and performance—all tailored for founders ready to lead organizations, not just teams.Key Takeaways00:00 "Leadership, Growth & Employee Choices"04:38 HR Consulting Business Story08:44 Defining Culture Through Feedback11:42 "Work Culture and Reputation"14:33 Remote Work Flexibility Enhances Life18:39 Structured Hiring on a Budget20:02 "Effective Hiring Practices Overview"24:11 Cognitive Skills in Hiring29:01 Promoting Without Management Skills31:54 Leadership Through People Skills33:30 Golden Handcuffs and Workplace Happiness37:56 Mentorship and Career Growth Pathways41:48 Fair Hiring Practices Matter43:58 AI Innovation & Leadership InsightsTweetable QuotesViral Topic Title: Company Culture Is Everyone's Responsibility Quote: "Maintaining a culture is intentional and the face of the company is the, you know, pretty much the day to day workers. It's everybody. And it's not something that is kind of reserved for leadership and management and especially how your reputation is seen." — Michelle GriffinWork-Life Balance After COVID: "That was something that we noticed was a huge priority coming out of COVID is people really reprioritized family." — Michelle GriffinQuote: "You can do something called a structured interview, which is basically just having your set of questions that you're going to ask every single candidate." — Michelle GriffinViral Topic: The Pitfall of Promoting Top Performers Without Management Training: "They often will hire or promote people into a role that were good at their jobs but aren't taught or know how to manage people." — Michelle GriffinQuote: "if someone is really good at just doing their job and they don't want to move up, that you respect that and keep them in, in a role that they're happy in and, you know, you find other ways to keep them engaged and motivated." — Michelle GriffinSaaS Leadership LessonsListen Before You Build: Startups succeed when they listen intently to client needs and co-develop solutions, rather than forcing a market-fit from the top down.Define and Defend Culture: Invest in discovering your team's values. Protect culture by hiring for fit and embedding it into every policy, not just the handbook.Flexibility Drives Retention: Recognizing life priorities and offering flexible, remote, or personalized schedules dramatically reduces turnover and builds loyalty.Structure Beats Gut Instinct: Use structured interviews and neutral assessments to mitigate bias and improve hiring outcomes—especially when scaling quickly.Prepare for Leadership—Don't Assume It: Promotion must come with training, support, and encouragement to develop people skills, not just technical expertise.Respect Alternative

This week, the team shares a behind-the-scenes look at how they bring in outside beta testers before a product launch. Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson share how they invite early users into the mix, what they're looking for, and how it all shapes the final version. It's a rare peek into the “guests are coming over” phase of building Fizzy.Key Takeaways00:12 – Inside Fizzy's early access phase02:28 – Selecting beta testers03:05 – Treating early access as a real-world dry run07:11 – Cutting the to-do list down to what truly matters09:59 – Why early access is different from beta testingLinks and ResourcesRecord a video question for the podcastBooks by 37signalsSign up for a 30-day free trial at Basecamp.comHEY World | HEYThe REWORK podcastThe Rework Podcast on YouTubeThe 37signals Dev Blog37signals on YouTube@37signals on X

In this episode, Carl Holden joins Jeff Mains to dive deep into the evolution of SEO, its marriage with AI, and the realities of scaling a SaaS business honestly in a world awash with hype and misinformation. Carl Holden shares his journey from running a leading agency to launching RankBot, an AI-powered tool that automates SEO backlinks for businesses and agencies.Together, they discuss the myths and challenges in transitioning from services to SaaS, the role of human expertise alongside automation, and why authenticity and steady results still win over quick fame. Tune in for actionable insights, candid leadership lessons, and advice on building products and companies that last.Key Takeaways00:00 SEO vs AI Search Trends04:38 "Zero-Click Search Impact"09:25 "AI-Coded Rank Bot Success"12:39 Automated Link-Building Solution15:12 "Importance of Links in SEO"18:05 Automated Link-Building Solution21:07 "Bots for Targeted SEO Tasks"27:55 Risks of Automated Content Control28:50 AI Marketing Red Flags & Promises35:07 "Scaling Automation for Market Adjustments"39:31 Future Where Witnesses Are Needed41:26 Start, Fail, Improve, Repeat44:25 Easy Connections via Networking PlatformsTweetable Quotes“Everybody can make a nice website, but who else out there on the Internet is talking about your nice website? That's where links come in.” — Carl Holden“AI is starting to take certain tasks, and if you do anything regularly with patterns, AI will help—or do that in the future.” — Carl Holden“Organic traffic is not going away at this time. The way we get traffic may shift, but people still need it.” — Carl Holden“If money is all that matters, there are plenty of dishonest ways to get rich. But when you're dead, you don't get to keep it.” — Carl Holden“You want people to do business with you because you're good, not because you're popular.” — Carl Holden“Consistent authenticity—being out there telling people what you do and having a good product—will win over time.” — Carl HoldenSaaS Leadership LessonsEmbrace Change, Don't Run From ItWhen you see an industry shifting (like with AI), lean into change and make yourself indispensable by creating value within the new paradigm.Balance Optimism and Caution with New TechDon't blindly trust automation or AI—always validate and maintain oversight. The best results come from combining human judgment with smart tools.Build in Public, Iterate QuicklyLaunch your MVP, gather feedback, and improve over time. Perfection is the enemy of progress.Results Over HypeFocus on delivering genuine results; honest, consistent effort leads to sustainable success more than chasing trends or flashy viral tactics.Be Authentically Honest in Marketing & ProductResist the urge to oversell or stretch the truth—long-term, authenticity and integrity win client loyalty and positive reputation.Stay on Top of Industry ShiftsIn dynamic markets like SEO, regular learning and adaptation are critical. Monitor changes, test new strategies, and never get complacent.Guest Resourcescarl@rankbotai.comrankbot.aihttps://www.linkedin.com/in/carlholdenmarketing/Episode Sponsor

Who is Andrea?Andrea Stenberg is a social media whiz who really knows her stuff when it comes to video marketing. She loves helping business owners figure out how to use video to get noticed online and turn viewers into customers. Andrea's all about sharing simple, practical tips that actually work, no jargon or tech headaches. As a guest on “It's Not Rocket Science: Five Questions Over Coffee,” Andrea brings her friendly vibe and tons of helpful advice for anyone looking to grow their business with video.Key Takeaways00:00 “Aligning Video with Brand Strategy”04:45 Building Trust Through Videos07:39 Authentic Video Marketing with AI11:25 Authentic Video Outperforms Polished Content17:21 “Start Marketing with Video”21:23 Instagram & LinkedIn Content Strategies22:29 Challenges of Creating Short Videos25:53 Improving Videos Through Feedback_________________________________________________________________________________________________Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at www.systemise.me/subscribeFind out more about being a guest at : link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguestSubscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcastHelp us get this podcast in front of as many people as possible. Leave a nice five-star review at apple podcasts : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/apple-podcasts and on YouTube : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/Itsnotrocketscienceatyt!Do You Need a P.A.T.H. to Scale?We help established business owners with small but growing teams:go from feeling stuck, sceptical, and tired of wasting time and money on false promises,to running a confident, purpose-driven business where their team delivers results, customers are happy, and they can finally enjoy more time with their family -with a results-based refund guarantee: if you follow the process and it doesn't work, we refund what you paid.This is THE P.A.T.H. to scale your business.————————————————————————————————————————————-TranscriptNote, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)SUMMARY KEYWORDSvideo marketing, social media video, lead generation, customer conversions, coaches, course creators, healers, expertise marketing, personal branding, seat of your pants marketing, marketing strategy, brand consistency, going viral, target audience, client journey, personalized videos, AI in video, video editing tools, video content repurposing, audience trust, showing up on camera, authentic video, video length, LinkedIn Live, Instagram Reels, closed captions, video accessibility, video engagement, video production quality, content funnel, repurposing contentSPEAKERSAndrea Stenberg, Stuart WebbStuart Webb [00:00:00]:Hi, and welcome back to It's Not Rocket Science. Five questions over coffee. The important thing here is the coffee. And I want to really welcome Andrea, Andrea Stenberg, who's going to talk to us about the importance of doing a video in your social media and helping us to increase our lead generation and help us to increase our customer conversions by using effective video in, in lead generation. So, Andrea, welcome to It's Not Rocket Science. Five questions over coffee. And I hope you're ready to give us some pearls of wisdom.Andrea Stenberg [00:01:08]:Oh, thank you, Stuart. Thanks for having me.Stuart Webb [00:01:11]:So let's start by trying to understand exactly who, who, who the who, who the people are that you help with understanding how to use video better. And how do you, how, how you understand what their needs are?Stuart Webb [00:01:25]:Well, I, I work with coaches, course creators, healers, anyone who's selling sort of what's up here, their expertise and their knowledge. And they're usually people who are really good at what they do and they're really passionate about helping people. In fact, they're almost more passionate about helping people than they are about growing their business. But they're also serious about growing their business. And one of the things that that happens is, you know, they've learned along the way that video is becoming really important and they understand that video is important. So they've started using video, but they don't really know what they're doing. So what happens is like, so they've got over here, their website, their social media, their emails, all their marketing is kind of professional and branded. And then they put their video and it's over here and it almost looks like they're not even coming from the same business because they've just kind of added it on.Stuart Webb [00:02:22]:And they're doing what I call seat of your pants marketing, where they're just, when they, you know, on the rare occasions they have a few spare minutes, they do a video because, and they model it on somebody else's. But they don't really figure, haven't really figured out where it fits in their marketing and really is, I want your marketing and your video to like work together seamlessly like this so that they all support each other, they all work together, they all look like they're from the same business and they're all sharing a similar message. And so that's, you know, that's, that's who I work with. And that's my, my end goal for everybody is to have their video and their, the rest of their marketing all working seamlessly together.Stuart Webb [00:03:05]:You've kind of already Excuse me, you've already sort of answered the second part of my question which is, you know, we, you're right, we're all, we're all very aware of the fact that video is really important in, in marketing nowadays because it starts to help to sort of demonstrate who you are as a person. And you know, we have to remember at the end of the day even big businesses buy people. So, so what is it you've seen people do that perhaps doesn't quite gel? You've sort of talked about the website not looking the same as the video or the video somehow not looking as if it's coming from. What are some of those things that people have done that you've sort of spotted potential problems for them?Stuart Webb [00:03:42]:Well, I mean some of the problems is like, so everybody gets focused on the idea of going viral and I want to go viral and get discovered. And yes, part of video is getting discovered. But for most coaches, course creators, consultants, healers, going viral is actually not good for your business. For example, I had a video that went viral like it didn't get millions of people but it was like easily 10 times my normal viewership of videos. And the interesting thing was the vast majority of this new audience were 18 to 24 year old boys. And they're not my target audience, they're not going to be a customer of mine. Like I don't know why they liked this video but you know, like it was not really of any business value to me that these 18 year old boys were liking this video. So, so going viral, like yes, it's nice to be discovered but it's if you're being discovered by the wrong people, that doesn't help you.Stuart Webb [00:04:45]:The other thing about that is when people come into your world like they don't just hear of you today and become a customer today. I mean sometimes that happens but usually there's a process and there's a journey where people have to get to know like and trust you and, and that's where video becomes really powerful because not just from being discovered, but as people are getting closer and closer to making that decision, to becoming your client, you can build that trust. You can let them see that you have some expertise. They can, you can get them to experience what it might be like to work with you in a completely non threatening way. So if you're posting a video on LinkedIn or YouTube, somebody doesn't even have to give you their email address to watch your video. So it's a very low risk on their part to get a taste of what it's like to work with you. And then, of course, you know, once people get closer to becoming a client. For example, one of my favorite strategies is you can do personalized videos that you create one video for one person and you can say, hey, Stuart, I really enjoyed talking with you.Stuart Webb [00:05:52]:I just wanted to remind you about A, B and C and send a video to them and that, you know, really creates that. Wow, that's. This person really heard me. This person is really interested in me. And look, they sent me a video just for me. So there's lots of different places where you can use video, not just at the top of the funnel of just getting discovered by new people. And I think that's. That's the biggest change that people can make is start incorporating it into all the stages of your marketing, not just at the beginning.Stuart Webb [00:06:27]:I think that's a very, very, very, very interesting way of doing things because I've. I've seen and done similar things where. And that personalization, even if that video that you create for that one person is, you know, it's just their name and everything else is exactly the same to something you sent to somebody else, they feel it's theirs, don't they? Because you can't create a video easily without putting some effort in and making it very personal to them. We ought to just sort of COVID off the AI thing because is that something that you think AI generated videos are helping or hindering in these respects?Stuart Webb [00:07:08]:Well, I mean, for people who I work with. So, like, for example, if you're a coach or a healer, like, say you're a healer and you're going to help me make my child healthier or do better at school or whatever that you do. I need to trust you a lot, Especially if it's about my child. Like, if it's about me, I might be willing to take some risk. But if it's my child, I want to trust you a lot. And having an AI video like that doesn't build any connection to me. Whereas. But AI is useful.Stuart Webb [00:07:39]:But I really think if you're an expert and you're sharing your expertise and you work closely with your clients and they need to trust you, I think there's real power in getting your face on camera, getting your voice, letting people hear your enthusiasm, your passion for your industry, and getting a taste of what it's like to work with you. So having an AI avatar do the talking for you, I think is not going to help you grow your business. That being said, there are lots of ways you can Use AI as part of your video marketing. For example, I have a video editing tool that I use that creates a transcript so that instead of editing video, you actually edit the transcript. And when you delete a sentence in the transcript, it deletes it from the video. That's AI but it's like, it's still me, I'm just editing what I said. Or the same AI, you can go in and say, put in a 15 minute video and say, pull out five 30 second clips that I can share on social media. It's still my words.Stuart Webb [00:08:46]:It's just doing it for me. So it's kind of like having an assistant rather than, than, you know, AI creating everything. So I, I am very, very passionate about the idea of people showing up on camera, showing their faces. And you know, I, I sometimes get pushback from people saying they don't want to. And it's like, you know what? I, I don't like being on camera either. I'm, you know, I'm pushing 60, I'm not as thin. I have, you know, gray hair and wrinkles like everybody else. But you know what, my ideal clients don't care about that.Stuart Webb [00:09:17]:What they care about is how I can help them. And that's the same with anybody watching this. Your ideal clients ultimately don't really care that much about what you look like. It's like, how can you help them and do they trust you enough that you can actually do the things you say and video is really the thing that's going to help you?Stuart Webb [00:09:33]:I think you've got a valid point actually, Andrew. And you know, to an extent, I can remember talking to one consultant who actually said, at long last, I've got the gray hairs. Because now it looks like I've got the experience to help you rather than just having the experience to help you. So sometimes those gray hairs and wrinkles are really helpful and useful. Andrea, let's, let's move on to your, the way that you can help people. You've given us an offer that we've put into our vault at Systemize Me Free Stuff. What, what's the offer that you've got available for people if they go there and they, they read about this?Stuart Webb [00:10:09]:Well, the number one question I get from people is, okay, I get video is important, but what do I say? And it goes back to what, you know, what I said earlier about having that, that kind of funnel is you want to have videos for each stage. And so I have, I have a free guide that's called this seven Essential Videos for Explosive Growth. And it is, it's seven videos that are for different stages of a client, of the client journey. And if you follow that, you will create seven videos that speak to people in different stages of that journey. And then, you know, if you do one video a week, that's two months worth of videos you've created following this guide.Stuart Webb [00:10:53]:One video a week is so easy to do as well, isn't it? Let's face it, I mean I've, I've had a, I've had a look myself and they are not, these are not, these are not very difficult videos to create, are they? You're not, you're not telling people they need to book a studio or go and spend time learning how to be a professional presenter. This is how normal people, I'd like to consider myself normal. Normal people can just do these things in a very simple way just to get themselves started, even if they don't, even if they don't have all of the necessary professional equipment.Stuart Webb [00:11:25]:Well, and what's really interesting is there's actually lots of data now that shows that if your video is too polished and too well edited and too slick looking, they actually perform worse than somebody taking their cell phone and holding it up and, and talking and walking and it's jiggly and it's not perfect. And I think the reason is we're all used to, you know, commercials. As soon as a commercial comes up on television, what do you do? You get up and you go get a snack or you go and, and go use the, the, the facilities or you do any commercial. So when you're on, on social media, if you see something that feels like a commercial, your blinders go up and you go, no, I'm not going to listen to that. But if you get on camera and it's not perfect and you make a mistake or you stumble over a word, people go, this is a real person.Stuart Webb [00:12:20]:Do you know we've had a comment in from Derek. Derek's another video person I know, and he said, he's just said AI videos are great and can be personalized. What love said. But it's still easy to insert. Some of you, it's the dynamic captions that annoy the heck out of me. And I think Derek's got a point there. You're talking about the fact that we need to be us on those videos, don't you? You're saying that having the jiggliness sometimes just shows that you're a human being and you're still relatable. And that's the really key thing to making your video hit home with people.Stuart Webb [00:12:53]:And I've even seen, like, you know, Tony Robbins was doing video back when we were still using VHS to watch video. And I've seen him now online doing videos where he's clearly holding the cell phone and speaking to the cell phone. So even, you know, somebody who has been doing video for decades is recognizing that sometimes this off the cuff, just speaking to your audience, speaking from your heart, sharing a message resonates better than a really polished professional done in a studio. And all the flashy bells and whistles, sometimes those, those convert better.Stuart Webb [00:13:30]:So, Andrea, tell us how you, how you got to who you are. Was there a book or a course or something which sort of, which you used as a way to sort of help you to understand how video marketing was going to help your business grow?Stuart Webb [00:13:45]:Well, it's kind of. I felt really long and hard about this question because there's lots of things that got me to where I am and when I started learning video, because as a marketing professional, I knew my. I had to learn it for me so that I could help my clients figure it out. And there, there wasn't a lot available, but I came across, I think it was about 20, 20, 19. Somebody had an ad online for a course and it was going to be like, learn how to do video. And I was like, oh, yay, I'm going to get support, I'm going to get coaching, I'm going to get accountability. And I swear, I think my credit card was smoking. I pulled it out of my wal about to pay for this course.Stuart Webb [00:14:27]:And then imagine my crushing defeat when I opened up the course and the course was a PDF with 30 topics to do. When I went live every day for 30 days and the hashtag to you to post with my videos, I was like, this wasn't what I was looking for. But I went live every day for 30 days, including one day I was at my sister visiting my sisters. And the only place in the house that was quiet enough was. Was the bathroom. And I sounded like I was at the bottom of the toilet because it was all echoey. It was terrible. And so at the end of that, I thought, well, okay, if I can do that.Stuart Webb [00:15:05]:Okay, so I'm not scared of being on video because, like, that was bad. And I did it. I didn't die of embarrassment. Nobody threw virtual tomatoes at me. Like, it was fine. But I still didn't have a strategy. So I had to spend. I spent the next year being very UN Canadian.Stuart Webb [00:15:22]:I started like If I saw people doing interesting things with video, I would like message them. Can we get on zoom? Can we get on the phone? I'd like to pick your brain and what you're doing. And I just like, sort of, I just spent time talking to people and looking at people and just trial and error and learning from people because there wasn't really good guidance back then for how to use video as marketing. And so it kind of. But then the other thing, other side about it is video marketing. While it. It is different, it's actually still the same principles as offline marketing. And, you know, a lot of times I have older entrepreneurs come to me and say, well, I don't know if I can do video because I'm not a digital native.Stuart Webb [00:16:05]:I didn't grow up with this stuff. And I was just, you know, what? If you have the knowledge and the skills to talk to people and talk to customers and. And find out what their pain points are and talk to them about how you can help them, all you have to do is learn which buttons to push on video, because it's the same skill set because you're still talking to human beings. And that's. That's really the most important part.Stuart Webb [00:16:31]:Yeah, absolutely, Andrea. That there's a. There's a sense in which I'm sure that you've sort of got a question at the moment which you're wondering why I haven't asked yet. And I'm sure that that question is the one that you sort of really will help us to sort of to nail what the next step is or something. So I don't have that question because I've got to admit, I haven't thought that deeply about it. But you have got a question that you think I should ask. So what's the question that I should have asked you by now? And therefore, once you've asked it, you can have to answer it for us.Stuart Webb [00:17:05]:Well, earlier when I said you want to take your. Your marketing and your videos and make them work together, like, you know, a handshake. It's like, well, how do you do that when you're busy and, you know, busy entrepreneurship?Stuart Webb [00:17:19]:I like the question very much.Stuart Webb [00:17:21]:And so my answer is what I like, you know, people to do is turn their marketing on its head and start with video. So if you start with one video that has your message, has your voice, has your face, you start with the video and then repurpose that video. So you take your video and then you're repurposing it into a bunch of other Content. And you can do it quickly, you can do it easily, AI can help you, but it still sounds like you because you started with your words, your ideas, your voice. So, for example, you take a transcript of your video that you created and turn it into an email or a blog post, or do some LinkedIn posts based on content that you've created. And, and that does a number of things. I mean, first of all, it saves you time because you're starting with your words and then you're just recreating it. The second thing is one of the fundamental marketing principles is people need to hear the same message over and over again.Stuart Webb [00:18:27]:That's why, like, if you're watching commercial television, the advertisers don't make a commercial play at once and they never play it again. They play it over and over until we're sick of it because it takes that long for us to remember it. So if you take a video and then maybe you do an email or a blog post, then you do a LinkedIn post and maybe a LinkedIn carousel post, that's all on the same messaging. People start recognize it, remembering it. And sometimes they may even think, oh, I've heard that before. That Stuart must be really smart because I've heard that before, even though they heard it from you. So it's the repetition and the different formats that help. So that's, that's for me, is if you start with the video and then build from there, but using, you know, the same basic messaging, you can speed up your marketing.Stuart Webb [00:19:15]:You can make your, make it easier for you and more effective.Stuart Webb [00:19:21]:Brilliant. Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. I love it. Andrea. I mean, you've left us with what can only be described as the action for the rest of the day. We. Which is to do that, start with video and take that first step and go, go live.Stuart Webb [00:19:37]:I mean, you're right. It didn't kill you to go live 30 times in 30 days. Nobody is yet violently objected to me going live on video. Although personally I have. But that's another story. Andrea, thank you so much for encouraging us to sort of go and do these things and really make it happen. I think it's brilliant that you're pushing this message. I wish more people were taking it on board.Stuart Webb [00:20:00]:And I'm just going to ask people if they would value, like Derek was earlier, being alive and listening to us live, talking. If you can go to www.systemize.me, subscribe, that takes you to a simple form which allows you to actually just ask for my email once a week where I Send you who's coming up so that you can do like Derek, join and listen to the comments that are being made. We've got, we've got other people here talking as well and I'm just going to share these you Andrea, so that you can answer them. Derek, what is the sweet spot regarding video length?Stuart Webb [00:20:38]:That is a fabulous question. It's one of my most common questions and my answer is a terrible answer. And it's terrible because the answer truly is. It depends and it depends on a number of things. One, it depends on what your audience is expecting and what they're used to. Two, it depends on your skill as a presenter. You know, if you're really skilled and engaging and interesting and speak and sound bites, you can go longer. The other thing, the third thing it depends on is the actual content of the video because you need to give be long enough to give all the information that you promised at the beginning, but not so long that people are dropping off.Stuart Webb [00:21:23]:For example, I know I, I have two clients, one who is doing massively good reach with seven second Instagram reels. People are commenting, people are DMing her. They're, you know, you know, they're not just top of the funnel. These are people reaching out and taking the next step from 7 second reels. And then I also know somebody who does. This is also an Instagram example, but hour long live videos on Instagram five days a week and has hundreds of people showing up live, have people commenting, people are staying all the way through and engaging. So I know it's a terrible answer but it really is true. But if you're just starting out and you know, for example, If Derek's on LinkedIn, if you're doing a LinkedIn Live, often 10 to 15 minutes is a good place to start because there's that, you know, that quota that's been attributed to Mark Twain and a few other people is I apologize, my letter is so long I didn't have time to make it shorter.Stuart Webb [00:22:29]:So making a really short video that has a complete message and is really succinct is actually challenging. Where it's talking for 10 to 15 minutes, you know, if you have an intro that's one to two minutes, you maybe you have three talking points and you have an example or a story for each one of those, that's probably two to three minutes each. And then you have your, your closing statement which is probably at least a minute. There you go. You're already over 10 minutes. So, so that's a good place to start. And then you can sort of adjust up or down as you figure out what your audience expects from you and wants from you, and also what you're. Your skill as a presenter and how much work you want to put into making them shorter or making them longer.Stuart Webb [00:23:14]:Love it. We've got one question from Nicholas. Closed captions are on nearly every video now. They're always wrong somewhere. Do you have a comment on that, Andrea? As closed captions, I've always thought the closed captions were useful because, you know, we do have people who don't necessarily understand all of our accents. We do have people who are not able to hear everything we're saying. Sometimes they're in a busy office and they've got to have the sound off. There are a whole range of reasons why closed captions might be useful.Stuart Webb [00:23:40]:Are you a fan?Stuart Webb [00:23:42]:Yeah, absolutely. I actually have a client who is hearing impaired, so even when we're in person, she's got an app that will do closed captioning. So, yes, I think it's important for all sorts of reasons. There's also lots of data that show a lot of people watch videos with the sound off. So if you want to engage your audience having captions and really it's. The problem with closed captions is most of them are done with AI and the AI is mostly trained with American accents. So if you don't have an American accent, that's problematic. I speak quickly, and some.Stuart Webb [00:24:21]:Some of the AI has trouble with the way I speak. And then if you have, you know, particular terminology for your industry, they may not understand them. Now, depending on what you're like in a live stream, if there's closed captionings, there's not really anything you can do while you're live. If you're editing videos, people, you know, it just depends how much of a perfectionist you are, whether you go in and edit the closed captioning that the AI created or whether you just go, you know what? This is close enough. I'll just. I've got more important things to do in my business and. But closed captioning has gotten better. A year ago, I just about always edited, even on Instagram, the AI closed captioning because they were so wrong.Stuart Webb [00:25:09]:Now a lot of times I'll just leave them because they're close enough and they may get better as time goes on.Stuart Webb [00:25:19]:Andrea, thank you for answering those questions. I really appreciate you spending a bit of time doing that. I think that's great advice there. So just to repeat, go to Systemize me Free stuff. Pick up Andrea's excellent course on how to get your seven messages across and go to the Systemize me. Subscribe and be like Nicholas and Derek. Get your questions answered live by real experts like Andrea, rather than having experts like me tell you something wrong. So Andrea, thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us.Stuart Webb [00:25:53]:I really appreciate what you've been able to do teach us today and I look forward to getting my videos better because of the advice you've given.Stuart Webb [00:26:01]:Thanks for having me, Stuart, that. Get full access to It's Not Rocket Science! at thecompleteapproach.substack.com/subscribe

In software development, there are updates, and then there are complete overhauls. This week, Jason Fried joins Kimberly Rhodes to talk about how the team decides when it's time to rebuild from the ground up. They dig into the transition between versions, how customer feedback fits in, and even drop a few hints about what's coming in Basecamp 5.Key Takeaways00:10 – A walk through of Basecamp's evolution03:00 – How to recognize when it's time for a new version05:52 – Pricing considerations11:42 – There's no perfect moment to ship a new version13:16 – How and when to evaluate customer feedback18:58 – A sneak peek at Basecamp 5 featuresLinks and ResourcesRecord a video question for the podcastBooks by 37signalsSign up for a 30-day free trial at Basecamp.comHEY World | HEYThe REWORK podcastThe Rework Podcast on YouTubeThe 37signals Dev Blog37signals on YouTube@37signals on X

In this episode of SaaS Fuel, host Jeff Mains sits down with Rachel J. Edwards, founder of INSPIRI and creator of the Strategic Personality Blueprint (SPB). Rachel shares her journey from coaching to building a personality assessment tool that provides a holistic, multi-dimensional view of human behavior, bridging the gaps between popular frameworks like Disc, Enneagram, Big Five, and incorporating proprietary strengths and values modules. She discusses the challenges of bringing innovation to market as a non-technical founder, balancing product vision with scaling constraints, and the profound impact of customized personality insights for hiring, team harmony, and organizational success.Rachel's insights illuminate how understanding individual and team dynamics with evolving, experience-based assessments can turbo-charge leadership, hiring, and even applications beyond business—spanning education and criminal justice. Authenticity, privacy, and values-driven decision-making are at the heart of her product, pushing organizations to move beyond static labels to real, actionable understanding.Key Takeaways00:00 Holistic Coaching System Needed06:16 Dynamic Evolving Personal Assessment09:26 Beyond Labels to True Understanding12:08 "Team Analysis for Effective Leadership"15:40 "Validating Market Fit First"19:51 Streamlining for Scalability and Efficiency23:32 Building Trust in Employee Assessments26:41 Optimizing Team Dynamics Strategically29:36 Balanced Approach to Personality Insights32:18 Personalized Rehabilitation for Better Outcomes35:54 Tailoring Investor Communication Strategies40:28 "AI's Impact on Jobs"Tweetable QuotesViral Topic: One Assessment to Rule Them All: "And came up with one single assessment where it will capture five different assessments in one, though you're only taking one assessment, so like you said, you're not going to have to take the disc or Enneagram or any of the other assessments. It's all in one." — Rachel J. Edwards Quote: "how does somebody's motivations or their values impact the behavior that they see? And really being able to understand that point allows a coach or a leader or an organization to better lead and guide their people." — Rachel J. Edwards Viral Topic: The Truth Behind Personality Labels: "I like to say is we bridge the gaps between the labels because life and growth happen behind the labels." — Rachel J. Edwards Proving Market Fit Before Building: "So instead of going, like you said, to get go and building something from tech and then saying we have this, we're almost kind of flipping it and showing that there's a market fit, people want this and we're using it now." — Rachel J. Edwards Quote: "I think any one of those single things misses so much because there's just so much that people have to offer. People are a lot of depth in who they are and how they perform." — Jeff Mains Avoiding Startup Pitfalls: "some founders will make the mistake of we want to automate everything, get that out there, and it's all technology. And so they end up having to redo a bunch of stuff because they take all of the learning happens after they've already built it and like, oh, we should have done that differently." — Jeff MainsSaaS Leadership LessonsBridge the Gaps Between Labels: Avoid oversimplifying people by single assessments; embrace layered approaches for deeper understanding.Champion Privacy to Build Trust: Protect individual assessment results—privacy encourages honesty and leads to more actionable insights.Start Manual, Learn Deep: Begin with hands-on delivery to...

You hit the milestone, check the box, celebrate for five minutes—and then the emptiness creeps back in. The finish line just keeps moving farther away.If success has left you exhausted, it's because you've been chasing the wrong version of it.  In this episode of The Obedient Rebel Podcast, Allyson Chavez unpacks what it means to be an Obedient Rebel: Obey God's laws. Break your rules. Calm, clarity, and confidence.You'll hear the unspoken rules that keep leaders trapped in exhaustion—and the simple shift that breaks the cycle.Walk away with a practical tool you can use today to stop chasing and start receiving, and the reminder that God's version of success restores instead of drains.__Key Takeaways00:00 Intro00:20 Are you exhausted from chasing success that never satisfies?01:10 What it means to be an Obedient Rebel02:05 The unspoken rules that wear you out03:10 Breaking fear-driven rules and anchoring in God's truth04:25 The difference between God's laws and the world's chase05:40 Real-life story: when success didn't satisfy07:10 The moving finish line of achievement08:20 Why chasing success always leaves you empty09:15 What happens when success is built on obedience10:00 The lie that “more is always the answer”11:10 Tool: Switch the Chase – Step 1 (Identify what you're chasing)12:00 Step 2 (Stop chasing, start receiving)12:40 Step 3 (One small shift today from chasing to receiving)13:20 Obedience isn't passive—it's alignment14:15 Rest isn't laziness—it's obedience in action15:10 Redefining success through peace, not pressure__Additional Resources:Learn more about Allyson's work:Website: https://allysonchavez.com/freebie: theobedientrebel.com/way__Reach out to me on social media:

I've lost count of how many times I've watched passionate urban farmers burn out because their business model wasn't sustainable—what if there were a better way?This week on Vertical Farming, I sit down with Mary Wetherill, founding president and CEO of Green Food Solutions, for a candid conversation about building a truly sustainable urban farming business. Mary's unique journey—from the service industry and massage therapy to pioneering food access solutions in city environments—gives her an unmatched perspective on both the struggles and opportunities vertical farmers face today.In this episode, Mary demystifies how Green Food Solutions is reimagining the food system with a “farming as a service” franchise model that prioritizes support, profitability, and genuine community impact. We dig into what makes a good franchise partner, why most farms face recurring challenges, and how Mary's mission-driven approach is shaking up the industry's status quo. If you've ever wondered how to make real money in urban farming—without sacrificing your values—this conversation is your playbook.Beyond the business model, you'll hear stories about navigating Silicon Valley hype cycles, lessons learned from early accelerator programs, the importance of resourcefulness, and the surprising ways personal experience shapes entrepreneurial journeys. Plus, discover how Green Food Solutions fosters partnerships that work, advice for new farmers, and eye-opening discussions on market realities and PR.Ready to stop dreaming and start building a profitable, impactful vertical farm that transcends tired food system models? Click to listen and get inspired by Mary's story, strategy, and actionable insights!Thanks to Our SponsorsCEA Summit East - https://indoor.ag/cea-summit-east-2025/Indoor AgCon - https://indoor.ag/Key Takeaways00:00 Jersey City Roots and Entrepreneurial Beginnings06:10 Entering Urban Farming & The Square Roots Experience12:35 Green Food Solutions Business Model Explained18:26 Franchising, Farmers, and Fit for New Owners24:57 Green Food Solutions Origin Story & Mission30:22 Monetization, Resourcefulness, and Revenue Streams36:48 Team Management & Leadership Values41:02 Industry Reflections & Farmers' Challenges46:16 Closing Thoughts & Contact InformationTweetable Quotes"Honestly, when I worked for Merrill Lynch, I quit. I was in with my boss and I was getting a promotion. She brought me in her office and I was just going to give my two weeks. I'd rather stick a pencil in my eyes than take your promotion. I just really didn't like the corporate environment.""We were disgusted by how consultants and all these people were charging tens, twenties of thousands of dollars for things we were giving for free, and honestly, manufacturers usually give those for free—so I didn't like what I saw happening when I was so originally excited about it.""There was a day that my mom had a box of food that was brought into the house by a priest. I think that was the first day I had an experience of feeling poor, regardless of what level it was. I started selling my toys and shining shoes—I think I got my knowledge about monetization and being resourceful because of having grown up poor."Resources MentionedWebsite - https://www.greenfoodsolutions.comLinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/18566881 Facebook -

In this episode of SaaS Fuel, host Jeff Mains sits down with Jeff Holman, founder of Intellectual Strategies, to unravel the legal landmines that can sabotage even the most promising startups. From intellectual property oversights to under-documented agreements, Jeff explains why legal strategy should be baked into your business from day one. Hear why the conventional “fractional counsel” model often leaves founder needs unmet, and discover how a flexible, team-based legal approach powered by expert attorneys (and some AI augmentation) can protect your innovations and scale with you. Whether you're an early-stage SaaS founder or gearing up for acquisition, this episode is a tactical goldmine for risk-proofing what you're building—without drowning in unnecessary legal fees.Key Takeaways00:00 "Startup Legal Pitfalls Explained"04:26 From Outside to Inside Counsel09:56 "Startup Risks Without Legal Counsel"12:22 "IP Strategy for Business Success"14:31 "Branding Builds Lasting Business Value"17:20 "Startup Branding and Naming Challenges"21:05 "Time for Fractional Legal Support"23:30 Efficient Legal Counsel Management28:52 Contractor IP Ownership Rules29:41 IP Ownership and Workplace Conflict34:32 Prepare Early for Due Diligence37:39 AI Adoption Challenges for Attorneys41:07 "AI for Contract Review?"44:50 AI-Powered Legal Support System48:48 "Personality Science & Scaling Growth"Tweetable QuotesQuote: "You're talking strategy, and you're talking IP strategy aligned with business strategy, and it can get really cool." — Jeff Holman "Because for most companies, while patents are really cool and it's a, it's a strength of mine for most companies, your, your brand is probably going to be the most valuable thing in your business the day that somebody comes to buy it." — Jeff Holman Quote: "You need to do that smartly and you need to do it with, with the end in mind, which is some point someone's going to want out, whether it's amicable or antagonistic. Like we need to plan for the day that, that we're not all on the same page." — Jeff Holman Viral Topic: The Costly Mistake of Delaying Legal Strategy: "legal strategy isn't something to bolt on later, it's something you need to bake in from day one." — Jeff Mains Legal Blind Spots for Startups: "I think a lot of startups or maybe early stage companies don't think that they need, you know, legal representation. It's just, it's not an important thing. It's something we'll do later when we get big."— Jeff MainsViral Topic: Legal Blind Spots for Scaling Companies: "Well, from an owner's perspective, founder perspective, what are the biggest legal blind spots you see scaling companies fall into, especially as they hire faster, raise funds, and go into new markets." — Jeff Mains SaaS Leadership LessonsDocument Everything Early and OftenVerbal agreements and handshakes are not enough. Founders must document all promises, equity splits, and employment agreements to avoid expensive disputes and setbacks.Baking in Legal StrategyTreat legal planning as a foundational element of your business model, not a problem to solve later. This proactive approach can drive enterprise value and safeguard innovation.Build Your Moat with IPYour most valuable asset at exit may be your brand or proprietary...

With the launch of Fizzy getting closer, 37signals co-founders Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson use this episode to answer listener questions about the upcoming product. They talk about how Fizzy and Basecamp will coexist, why aesthetic design choices matter, and which AI features are actually worth using.Key Takeaways00:11 – Fizzy and Basecamp, competitors or complementary?02:00 – Finding the right tools that fit your workflow11:39 – Why aesthetics matter in software18:45 – Not every AI feature adds real valueLinks and ResourcesRecord a video question for the podcastBooks by 37signalsSign up for a 30-day free trial at Basecamp.comHEY World | HEYThe REWORK podcastThe Rework Podcast on YouTubeThe 37signals Dev Blog37signals on YouTube@37signals on X

In this special SaaS Fuel episode, host Jeff Mains welcomes James Piacentino, co-founder and CEO of Thrive Genetics—a company at the intersection of healthcare, genetics, technology, and compassionate mission. James shares his deeply personal connection to the opioid crisis, describing the family loss that shaped his life's purpose and eventually sparked the founding of Thrive Genetics.The conversation explores how advances in genetic testing, behavioral analysis, and AI are enabling physicians to proactively identify and mitigate addiction risk—before opioids are prescribed. Along the way, they discuss building solutions in complex, regulated markets, the importance of pilots and product-market fit, and why mission-driven leadership can turn innovation into real-world impact.Key Takeaways00:00 "Building Leaders and Scaling Success"06:25 Generational Trauma: Beyond Genetics07:24 Breaking Cycles Through Innovation11:53 High Pain Procedures and Opioids15:30 "Genetic Testing for Addiction Risk"20:09 Market Applications and Opportunities22:48 Integrated Healthcare Ecosystem Insights25:43 "Customer-Centered Product Development Insights"29:36 "Vision and Path to Scale"33:52 Streamlining Customer Service Efficiency37:27 "Focus on Solutions, Not Problems"40:01 Simplifying Healthcare Innovation43:18 "Collaborate for Impactful Leadership"47:18 AI Monitors Patient Pain Signals49:50 "Simple Design, De-Identified Data"52:16 "Embracing Rejection as Growth"55:36 "Fractional Legal & Personality Insights"Tweetable QuotesViral Topic: Building Products That Truly Fit Customer Needs: "It's very important to sit with your customer and just literally build the product to ensure that you are satisfying those specific business needs." — James PiacentinoViral Topic: Simplicity in Healthcare Innovation: "Complicated's fun and tech, maybe, but when you get into these healthcare scenarios, it's gotta be really, really lean, simple." — James Piacentino Viral Topic: Keep It Simple in Complex Systems: "We're just giving you some Information to use. We're not telling you you should. You should drive here or not, you know, so it was like a very simple workaround to something that could have been awfully complex, especially for what we're doing." — James PiacentinoViral Topic: Rethinking Opioid Addiction Prevention: "Why is it that we only talk about addiction after it happens, when technology now makes it possible to see the risk before the first prescription is even written?" — Jeff MainsViral Topic: The Future of Opioid Prescription"Advancements in personalized medicine are helping physicians make better informed decisions, balancing the need for pain relief with the responsibility to prevent addiction." — Jeff Mains Healthcare Innovation Mindset: "You don't have to tackle the bear, just drive by and wave." — Jeff Mains SaaS Leadership LessonsMission Drives Resilience:Stay true to your personal and company values, especially in high-stakes industries. Purpose fuels perseverance through complexity.Customer Collaboration is Key:Meet customers where they are. Continuously incorporate their feedback to ensure product-market fit and genuine value.Embrace Simplicity:In regulated spaces, complexity can kill progress. Strive for solutions that minimize barriers for adoption and use.Learn from the ‘No's:Rejection (from investors or stakeholders) is a gift. Each “no” teaches you something new to incorporate or consider.Surround...

In this episode, Jeff Mains sits down with Casey Woo, a renowned tech operator, investor, and co-founder of the Operators Guild. Casey introduces the concept of the “Scaler”—an elite generalist who thrives in the chaotic, ever-changing environment of early-stage SaaS startups. The conversation dives deep into what makes scalers indispensable, why specialists often struggle in startup settings, and how AI is shifting the landscape for operators and business leaders. Casey offers practical frameworks, shares battle-tested leadership lessons, and explains how founders can build more resilient and focused teams to avoid the burnout common among high-performing scalers and ops leaders.Key Takeaways00:00 "From Loneliness to Operators Guild"03:25 "Misleading Job Titles and Roles"09:47 "AI Reshapes Roles, Specialists Evolve"11:08 "Rise of Special Forces in Business"15:04 "Balancing Focus and Ambition"19:45 "Focus on Core Business Metrics"21:05 Pitfalls of Over-Hiring Too Early27:06 "Quality Checks, Trust, and Community"27:57 "Staying Engaged to Master AI Tools"33:07 "AI Fluency as Essential Skillset"37:11 "Understanding Diverse Business Languages"39:23 Operators Guild & FOG Investing CommunityTweetable Quotes“We are not defined by titles—we are multidisciplinary, and we are elite specialists at being generalists.” — Casey Woo“The earlier you go, the more change there is per day. You need people who can adapt and wear multiple hats.” — Casey Woo“AI isn't replacing the scaler—it's making the generalist even more indispensable.” — Casey Woo“Special Forces in business are the cross-functional scalers—the people who get dropped in and get it done.” — Casey Woo“Valuations aren't free. Be careful what you raise at, because expectations get baked into every round.” — Casey Woo“If you give someone 15 things to do, that's a lot. Do they need to do all 15? Prioritize ruthlessly.” — Casey WooSaaS Leadership LessonsEmbrace Generalism: In the early stage, leadership isn't about titles—learn to thrive by solving whatever needs attention, from product to operations.Ruthless Prioritization: Success comes from choosing the right battles. Cut down initiatives to what truly moves the needle.Build and Rely on Community: Leverage peer networks like Operators Guild for continuous learning, sharing, and staying ahead of rapid changes (especially with AI).Adapt Your Communication: Learn to “Google Translate” your messaging for different internal stakeholders—speak to engineers, marketers, and founders in their language.Invest in Scalable Systems Early: Upgrade infrastructure in anticipation of growth, not after; it's easier and more cost-effective to implement before complexity grows.Balance Aggression and Prudence: Being aggressive can win markets, but unchecked overextension leads to down rounds and organizational pain. Stay grounded in business fundamentals.Guest Resourcescasey.woo@gmail.comhttps://www.operators-guild.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/caseywooEpisode SponsorThe Captain's KeysSmall Fish, Big Pond –

Who is Katie?Katie Hahn is no stranger to the entrepreneurial hustle. Early in her journey, Katie was the one burning the midnight oil—she was everywhere, trying every strategy in the book. From updating her CRM to jumping onto the latest social media trend, Katie left no stone unturned. But beneath the surface, she was pulled in countless directions, chasing quick fixes and scrambling for solutions to meet her coaching clients' needs. Over time, Katie realized that true success came not from the frantic chase, but from focus and clarity. Now, she empowers other women to step off the hamster wheel and build purposeful, sustainable businesses.Key Takeaways00:00 Brilliant Women Lacking Growth Systems05:19 Lack of Business System Integration08:00 Empowering Women Coaches' Growth12:44 Sales as Helping, Not Forcing15:39 Guidance and Accountability in Business17:01 Weekly Advice_________________________________________________________________________________________________Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at www.systemise.me/subscribeFind out more about being a guest at : link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguestSubscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcastHelp us get this podcast in front of as many people as possible. Leave a nice five-star review at apple podcasts : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/apple-podcasts and on YouTube : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/Itsnotrocketscienceatyt!Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:If you are a business owner currently turning over £/$10K - £/$50K per month and want to grow to £/$100K - £/$500k per month download check out https://systemise.meIt's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way.————————————————————————————————————————————-TranscriptNote, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)SUMMARY KEYWORDSwomen coaches, coaching business, business systems, overwhelm, time freedom, financial freedom, CLIMB Framework, scalability, sales checklist, business growth, online business, client onboarding, lead generation, business processes, virtual assistants, high ticket sales, business optimization, chaos to stability, female entrepreneurs, productivity, systemization, strategy call, Facebook group, sales strategies, business model, business mentoring, accountability, client experience, business automation, business supportSPEAKERSKatie Hahn, Stuart WebbStuart Webb [00:00:00]:hi and welcome back to It's Not Rocket Science. Five questions over coffee. I'm here with Katie Hahn. Katie is the founder of the Climb Framework. The Climb Framework, and I'm sure we're going to get into this is a way that helps particularly women coaches, consultants get out of the overwhelm of a non systemized business and helps them too elevate themselves to growth by using a framework which introduces systems processes to help their business grow. So, Katie, thank you very much for spending a few minutes with us. I'm really looking forward to this conversation. And welcome to It's Not Rocket Science.Stuart Webb [00:01:11]:Five questions over coffee. Thank you.Katie Hahn [00:01:14]:I'm very excited to be here.Stuart Webb [00:01:16]:Thank you, Kate. So, Katie, let's start by trying to understand those people that I just sort of talked about, those people that you're trying to help. What, what are, who are these people? What's the business they've got? What's the problem that they really find themselves in?Katie Hahn [00:01:32]:I'll give you an example. And we've seen a lot of these people and this men and women, but I just specialize in women. But we see those people who hustle, you know, the ones who are working all hours, they're doing everything, you know, they're really putting this stuff in place. They're saying, oh, I got a new CRM, I'm on social media, I'm doing these things. But really when you talk to them and you dig down, they're all over the place. They're, they're after every shiny object. They are really just trying to solve that problem that they have today. And it may be trying to find people to, you know, for their coaching clients.Katie Hahn [00:02:09]:And so they're like, okay, what am I going to do today I'm going to go after this and tomorrow it's like, oh, I need a CRM. Now I have this. Well, now I have a client, what do I do next? And it's just constant chaos. And really what they face is this their bit. They don't have a business, they have chaos. And really what that means is they don't have a system to support their businesses. And what I found coming from the traditional business setting, brick and mortar professional services, is when you set up a business, you generally set up with very specific systems in place. However, in this new world of having everything online, you know, anybody can get started with anything.Katie Hahn [00:02:53]:And these women that I work with are brilliant, absolutely brilliant and passionate. Problem comes in is they got the hustle, but they don't have the know how that gives Them those systems in place to actually predictably grow and, and feel that they're meeting what they want to do, which is generally, you know, support the people they want to and whatever that coaching is, or in their business aspect, but also provide themselves that time and financial freedom that they got into this for. You know, most of them are moms and had a life crisis of change because now I can go back to work, I'm going to do my thing I love. And now with that, they got hustle, but they don't have time or financial freedom at all.Stuart Webb [00:03:38]:Yeah, I know the sort of thing you're talking about. This is the sort of person that goes from feast to famine. Suddenly they've got too much work, they've got no time to deliver properly. And then the next week they're looking around going, what, where's the next meal check coming from? I have no idea where everything is. And, and it's that need to have that continuous flow of leads that, that conversion of the, of the lead to the customer in order to sort of just give them the space and the time to actually develop a real business, isn't it? Yeah.Katie Hahn [00:04:08]:And they, they make these, you know, rash decisions because they need something today to solve a problem and they don't have the systems in place that's going to help them long term.Stuart Webb [00:04:20]:So let's, let's talk a little bit and sort of, you know, if there's somebody out there sort of immediately saying, hey, this might be me, and they might recognize themselves, but give us some specifics about the sort of things that they found themselves doing. You know, you come across somebody and you go, you know, I know what you're trying to do. These are the sort of people that have tried all sorts of things. Give us an example of the sort of things they've tried before. They seek advice on how to put the sort of systems you're talking in about Katie.Katie Hahn [00:04:47]:So it's really how they. Women generally, it's a feeling. They are just sick of the feeling of being out of control. When they were a mom or in the traditional business setting, their life was pretty easy. And now they're starting to feel chaotic and they're feeling overwhelmed. And what they start doing is the shiny object. You know, they may be on Instagram and they see, you know, some somebody puts out there. You're gonna get a million, you know, views if you do this.Katie Hahn [00:05:19]:And so they start going down rabbit holes. But it's really never a system in place that's going to get them to the Actual end goal. And so, you know, they're not figuring out that everything in a business has a relationship to each other. You know, so they may go down, oh, I got a CRM. But they don't use it, which means they don't now have the data, the information, the cohesion that's going to take the processes from sales to onboarding to client experience, to have those, you know, clients that are really going to be the evangelist for them. And because of the experience wasn't there. And it means that they are acting in a way where everything in their business is a bottleneck because it relies on that. There's no growth strategy because they've put everything on themselves and not using the right system so that they can say, okay, I need to work on my business, not in my business.Katie Hahn [00:06:19]:And then they can start delegating, bringing on a va. Because ultimately, what you typically see are they'll bring people on, they'll bring salespeople. Vas problem is everything goes through them and it ends. I work with tons of them like that.Stuart Webb [00:06:33]:Yeah, yeah, yeah. We've all seen those poor people that turn around. You know, I've got 15 people working for me, and absolutely none of them make a decision. And the question you always ask is, have you ever asked them to make a decision without talking to you first? And they look at you as if to say, why would we do that? That would be a very silly thing to do. So we know what you're talking about, Katie. I know you've got some really valuable, free. And I'm going to just point people now towards our. Our vault.Stuart Webb [00:06:59]:Katie has given me three brilliant, brilliant pieces of valuable content that I think you're going to just describe it to us, Katie, because, I mean, I'm going to really encourage people. There are some really, really interesting pieces of really valuable advice that you've got that you've given to us to give away this evening.Katie Hahn [00:07:20]:So the first one is my coaches weekly sales checklist. It just starts small. You got to start somewhere and realizing that at the front end, you need to have some processes in place and a checklist. So that one's an easy read. It gives you some activities to do, how to start implementing one thing at a time into your business and have a repeatable process every week just for sales, just small things. But I couldn't stop there because I know we'll have lots of problems. And I don't want to make this sound like these people are horrible or they're doing things wrong. They just don't have the right support and I feel like I don't.Katie Hahn [00:08:00]:I'm not doing them justice if I can't help provide more and the guidance they need to get to the next steps. So what I did was I just created a Facebook group and it's called High Ticket Women Coaches and it's all about sales and systems for scalable growth. I'm going to be dropping lots of nuggets of information in there, going live, talking about actual tangible pieces that they can implement in their business to get there. And the last thing is I don't normally do this, but I want to make sure that what people and women are doing is impactful and they're really going to have some strategies that they feel apply to them because everybody feels like they're in a different spot. My business is different. But really there's three stages and these three stages are chaos, stabilization and optimization. And what I want to do is help them identify where they are and provide real strategies on a strategy call to get out of where they are so they can get to that growth. So I, I got a busy summer, but I am willing to give 10 people a free strategy call and really start working with them on.Katie Hahn [00:09:09]:Here's what the steps you need to take to get to where you want to go.Stuart Webb [00:09:13]:So if you go to www.systemize.me forward/free hyphen stuff, you can see there those three links. There's the link to book a strategy call. That's quite a long link, so I'm not even going to try and read it out. You can go to free hyphen stuff and you will get immediate access to that strategy call link. You will get the Facebook group where Katie, I, I really, I really wouldn't mind dropping in on that myself. I'm the wrong, on the wrong. I've got the wrong hair lengths and things like that. But so there's some really great stuff that you're going to put in there as well as exercise.Stuart Webb [00:09:54]:Go to www.systemize.me. free hyphen stuff. Grab those free things from Casey because they are hugely valuable. Casey, I just wanted to understand a little bit more about it. You obviously have got this system. You've worked out the climb system and the climb is a great system system. What, what was it was a book, a life event. What, what helped you to form the climb system and get it really focused in the way that you've got it now?Katie Hahn [00:10:22]:Well, it, it started off with experience. I, I was drinking from a fire hose. I was put in charge As a CEO of an IT company and the owners that I was working with, my other owners, they left to go off on another venture. And so it was a disaster. I was changing a business model, growing clients in charge of sales. Everything was happening at once and I felt that I didn't have a method to figure out what I needed to do. And so somebody had given me a book and it was the business model Generation by Strategizer. And it really helps to visually organize what your business model is and who are your clients, kind of all those basic things that you really need to know.Katie Hahn [00:11:07]:And I absolutely love the book. I still use it and to this day I talk to my clients, have them fill it out and I just share the link. There's some great videos, but once you understand your business model, then you can move on to say what systems are important to your business model and really where to start focusing. So it's a very easy starting point. The other one I just, I believe you can use in life, but specifically for sales, is how to win friends and influence people. By oldie but a goodie. It's got core ideas. And what I really like about it is I don't want to manipulate people.Katie Hahn [00:11:49]:It talks about how to be genuinely interested in people, how to be there to support their needs and hear them. Because I don't want to be this used car salesman. I am a high ticket closer. I love sales, but I want to do it for the right reasons. And I want my, the coaching clients that I work with to understand why that's so important. Because I want those evangelists on the outside, you know, I want them talking about it. And once you learn those and can align them, your businesses can scale because people aren't talking this negative talk about their experience, but also how they made you feel. And so I really want to combine those two.Katie Hahn [00:12:26]:And the life instance that really kind of put these all together is that I work on the back end for high ticket coaches and I see in their business and I'm like, all right, I already have a process. Doesn't matter if it's a coach or a traditional business. Let's put it in place.Stuart Webb [00:12:44]:Yeah. Do you know, I'm very aware that one of the things you were talking there about was the how to win friends and influence people and how. And I'm very aware that a lot of people, particularly who are struggling or perhaps just beginning to scale their business, they get very worried about sales because they feel dirty. They feel somehow it's forcing somebody to have something they shouldn't have. And I was talking to somebody not so very long ago, and they were saying, well, how do you feel about sales? Because my background is very different to most, and I was not trained in sales or anything like that. And I said, I eventually realized sales is about helping somebody, and I just wanted to be the most helpful person in the world. So when I was reaching out and I was talking to somebody about helping them, I would say something like, you have this problem, and I have this solution to your problem. If you'd like the solution, let's find a way of working together.Stuart Webb [00:13:39]:And they go, yes. And I go, well, there needs to be some money for that. And they go, of course there has to be some money. And immediately you'd go, this sales thing isn't so difficult. It's just reaching out and helping somebody. And it's not about trying to force somebody to have something they don't want. It's basically being the most helpful person in the world. But just remembering in the end to say, I need to pay my mortgage.Stuart Webb [00:14:01]:So do you mind if you help me do that?Katie Hahn [00:14:03]:I completely agree. I'm not traditionally in sales. That's not where I came from. I have an education and a science background. I'm a scientist by trade. So this is not my background. And it's just like you. What I find is, if I can be helpful and they align, let's do it.Katie Hahn [00:14:20]:And it's not slimy or anything like that.Stuart Webb [00:14:24]:So let's move on to the. To the real question that you've probably got for me, Katie, at the moment, which is, you know, you're probably sitting there thinking, he still hasn't asked the killer proper question. He's got these questions he's asked me, but he hasn't asked the real one that. That I'm. That I'm waiting for. So I'm just gonna have to admit that I don't know what that question is and ask you to tell me what is the real killer question that you want me to ask you? And then obviously, you have to answer it, because I don't know the question either.Katie Hahn [00:14:52]:Well, it's not difficult. I mean, if I was talking, like, thinking about this, it's like all this information is out there. You know, all these processes are out there. There's tons of templates. The question is, why do business owners, specifically coaches, women coaches, still need a coach or mentor? And that, for me, is it takes some realization that as a business owner, you still need to have that support. Because basic transformation in a Business is driven by just implementing. It's not about just the information you have. And I don't think that all this information that we can Google is making everybody money, because if it was, we'd all be on autopilot.Katie Hahn [00:15:39]:We need somebody to say, here's where you start. Here are the things you're blind to because you're in the business and really aligning and saying, okay, here are the things we need to do to get you to X, putting plans in place and holding somebody accountable. I was an athlete, and we have coaches for a reason. We need to have a team behind us. We have doctors. We don't just go to one. You know, there's always this team and this support, and we think that's okay in other areas of our life. But as a business professional, you know, we got to get our set, set our egos aside and say, you know what, there's somebody here who can help guide me.Katie Hahn [00:16:18]:And the point is that it's going to happen quicker and faster and easier when I have the right support. And that's why I do this back to your sales thing. I want to help people.Stuart Webb [00:16:30]:Brilliant. And we've gone full circle, which is exactly where we need to end. Listen, I thank you so much for coming out and spending a few minutes with us today. Katie, I think the advice you've given is brilliant. I'm going to just once again, Pete, go to Systemize Me free. Grab that stuff from Katie. There are not many people that give away as much free value as Katie does, so please grab that stuff as soon as you can. And one little request from me, please subscribe to the newsletter.Stuart Webb [00:17:01]:What I do is I send an email once a week, and all I do is I let you know who's coming up so that you can join in and grab the sort of free advice that people like Kate give. So go to Systemize Me forward slash subscribe. That's Systemize Me Forward slash subscribe. Get onto the newsletter list. You'll just get an email once a week, which basically there's a joke in there as well. So it's not all. It's not all stuff. There's a joke, there's a joke, there's a.Stuart Webb [00:17:26]:There's news about the people that are coming up on the podcast and also some really great ways of getting advice from these people. Katie, thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us. I really, really love what you're trying to do to help people, and thank you for being as generous as you have been with so much of your advice.Katie Hahn [00:17:44]:Thank you very much.Stuart Webb [00:17:46]:Listen, I'm looking forward to following Katie. I really do think you should do the same. Thank you, Katie.Katie Hahn [00:17:53]:Thank you. Get full access to It's Not Rocket Science! at thecompleteapproach.substack.com/subscribe

Time has a way of reshaping what we believe, and sometimes, what we've published. In this week's episode, CEO and co-founder Jason Fried chats with Kimberly Rhodes to explore one particular chapter of REWORK that no longer rings true. Jason reflects on their current stance on having multiple products vs. just one, what company's should consider before they expand, and why knowing your limits still matters.Key Takeaways00:10 – The change in perspective on multiple products03:15 – The team needed for the company's expansion05:28 – Recognizing when you've taken on too much09:16 – The real value of writing ideas down12:35 – Advice on launching new products while maintaining previous onesLinks and ResourcesRecord a video question for the podcastBooks by 37signalsSign up for a 30-day free trial at Basecamp.comHEY World | HEYThe REWORK podcastThe Rework Podcast on YouTubeThe 37signals Dev Blog37signals on YouTube@37signals on X

In this episode of SaaS Fuel, host Jeff Mains sits down with Vitaly Motuz, founder of Reviews On My Website. Vitaly shares his journey from high school side projects to building a successful SaaS business focused on reputation management for local businesses. The conversation dives deep into product simplicity, scaling challenges, client-centric growth, leadership mindset, the impact of reviews (good and bad), and how AI is reshaping the landscape. Whether you're a SaaS founder, leader, or just passionate about tech, this episode is packed with actionable insights!Key Takeaways00:00 "Sparked Idea for Review Tool"04:19 "Simple Reputation Management Software"06:36 "Expanding Tools for Market Growth"11:42 Focusing on Marketing and Growth13:11 Learning to Delegate as Founder17:16 Startup Success in 201722:43 "Leadership, Hiring, and Growth Blueprint"24:53 "Small Remote Team Challenges"28:39 "Simplicity Over Features Wins"32:18 Customer Request Prioritization Strategy37:10 "Prioritize Stability, Avoid Quick Fixes"38:51 "Testing Features for Usability"42:14 AI Transforming Business OperationsTweetable QuotesViral Simplicity in Reputation Management: "And that's kind of like one of the things that all our customers tell us is we're one of the most intuitive and simple reputation platforms out there." — Vitaly Motuz Viral Topic: The Secret to Expanding Market Reach Quote: "it wasn't so much I think there were new platforms that helped us expand but rather expanding the tools that we offer." — Vitaly Motuz Letting Go as a Founder: "So one of the struggles for me was letting go some of the control and be open to finding help, finding somebody to bring on board to help me with some of those stuff." — Vitaly Motuz "It's providing the simple, simplest reputation management software for local businesses and agencies that simply works." — Vitaly Motuz Startup Flexibility: "So at the beginning you gotta be nimble. You gotta kind of like try things and see what works." — Vitaly Motuz SaaS Leadership LessonsPlay Your Own Game: Focus on what makes your company unique instead of chasing competitors' features.Let Go to Grow: Delegate and release control, especially in areas where others can excel, freeing yourself for strategic work.Relentless Customer Focus: Listen to paying customers, and develop the roadmap based on their real needs and experience.Lead By Vision: Define and communicate your organization's purpose and direction so your team feels a part of the mission.Embrace the Learning Process: Experimentation and failure are part of the journey—analyze, learn, and adapt.Prioritize Simplicity Over Complexity: Resist bloated product features that distract from your core value.Guest Resourcesvitaly@reviewsonmywebsite.comhttps://reviewsonmywebsite.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/vitalymotuz/Episode SponsorThe Captain's KeysSmall Fish, Big Pond –

In this episode of SaaS Fuel, host Jeff Mains sits down with Nahed Khairallah, a global startup strategist and HR leader known for transforming seven-figure startups into nine-figure success stories. Nahed shares how he revolutionized HR from an administrative afterthought into the rocket fuel for sustainable, scalable growth. With practical lessons gleaned from scaling teams across four continents, Nahed discusses why 70% of scaling attempts fail due to people issues, the dangers of throwing bodies at problems, and how founders can turn HR into a strategic business enabler. It's a masterclass on people operations for tech founders, with actionable tips whether you're 10 people or 100.Key Takeaways00:00 "Turning Human Capital into Growth"06:33 From Recruiter to HR Advisor11:04 Scaling Operations, Not Expanding Markets14:00 Founder Ego and Company Stagnation15:59 Hiring Strategy: Capacity vs. Capability21:30 Proactive Scalability for Startups23:26 Balanced Optimism vs. Delusion28:17 "HR's Business Understanding Gap"29:55 HR's Role in Business Alignment35:45 Financial Literacy Essential for HR38:56 Building Trust and Credibility40:25 External Advisors vs. Internal Trust44:55 Contractors vs. Full-Time Misclassification48:27 "Optimize Startup Staffing Strategy"51:14 Prioritize and Delegate for Growth54:37 Connect for HR InsightsTweetable Quotes“Throwing people at the problem almost never works. It's subtraction by addition.”— Nahed Khairallah“70% of scaling attempts fail because of people issues, not product issues.”— Jeff Mains“HR should be the rocket fuel for growth, not just a cost center.”— Nahed Khairallah“Success covers up a lot of problems—until the ceiling hits and the issues become visible.”— Jeff Mains“You want to operate lean, but also be ready to grow—build infrastructure that bolts on seamlessly.”— Nahed Khairallah“You need to be a business person first and apply the HR lens to it.”— Nahed KhairallahSaaS Leadership LessonsDon't Throw People at Problems:Rapid hiring without process scale is risky—focus first on optimizing operations.Recognize the Hidden Costs:Headcount costs go beyond salary (benefits, equipment, software)—track the full picture.Let Go to Grow:Founders must delegate and trust new hires, especially those brought in for their specialized experience.HR as Rocket Fuel:Move HR from a backend support role to a business-enabling function aligned with vision and results.Scenario Planning is Essential:Always challenge optimistic forecasts; plan for downturns and scenario-test your people ops.Founder Focus:Founders should regularly document and review their own roles—double down on what they do best and delegate the rest.Guest Resourcesnahed@organizedchaos.fyi https://organizedchaos.fyi https://www.linkedin.com/in/khairallahnahedEpisode SponsorThe Captain's KeysSmall Fish, Big Pond –

For 37signals, flashy ad campaigns and traditional brand promos have never been the way to go. This week, Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson share why traditional marketing methods like billboards, paid social media posts, and keyword ads don't give them results. They talk about how meaningful marketing comes from genuine support and real connection.Key Takeaways00:12 – Why marketing ROI looks different for every business10:35 – Spend your marketing budget on companies and people you believe in17:35 – What kinds of marketing actually does work for 37signals28:02 – How AI is making the authentic human connection stand outLinks and ResourcesRecord a video question for the podcastBooks by 37signalsSign up for a 30-day free trial at Basecamp.comHEY World | HEYThe REWORK podcastThe Rework Podcast on YouTubeThe 37signals Dev Blog37signals on YouTube@37signals on X

In this episode of SaaS Fuel, host Jeff Mains welcomes Harish Chandramowli, CEO of Flare, to unpack the evolution of ERP systems in the age of AI—specifically for fashion brands and SMBs.Harish shares insights from his unique career path, spanning cybersecurity at Johns Hopkins, engineering at Bloomberg and MongoDB, to tackling unstructured data and workflow automation for modern retailers. The conversation dives deep into the intersection of technology, scalable team building, and founder-led sales—along with candid lessons learned while bootstrapping, selling, and leading distributed teams across the globe.Key Takeaways00:00 Tech Innovation and People-First Leadership06:18 "SMB Market Gap: Custom ERP Needed"07:29 Flexible ERP Solutions with MongoDB12:34 AI Streamlines ERP Communication15:55 Increase Sales with Incomplete Products18:40 "Benefits of Technical Founders"23:02 Cultural Sensitivity in Global Teams25:41 Delegation as a Learning Opportunity29:43 "Team Growth and Skill Challenges"32:37 AI-Driven Business Insights36:22 Optimizing Workflow with AI Automation39:58 Future Growth: Strategies & Insights40:49 "SaaS Fuel Podcast Overview"Tweetable QuotesThe Power of Flexible Data: "One of the things that I learned in MongoDB is flexible data has so much power. It's so much easier to help people understand their business without having to pay." — Harish Chandramowli AI Revolutionizing Supply Chain Communication: "AI can learn. Your emails say that, hey, you got an email from your factory saying that things are getting delivered and AI can parse your attachment, fill in those data, you just need to verify and approve it and the workflow is done." — Harish Chandramowli Viral Topic: The Importance of Cultural Understanding in Global Teams: "Understanding each other's culture goes a long way in people feeling close to you." — Harish Chandramowli SaaS Leadership LessonsUnderstand Before You Automate: Deeply map out a customer's workflow before implementing automation. AI is most powerful when embedded where the real pain is.Founders Must Stay Hands-On: Engaged, founder-led sales and customer interactions are critical in the early stages—don't retreat into just building.Hire for Culture & Autonomy: Successful distributed teams thrive on self-motivation, global empathy, and transparent communication.Don't Fear Delegation: Letting your team handle challenges increases their growth and the company's overall resilience.Sales and Engineering Need Real Collaboration: Break down silos by involving engineers in sales calls and non-technical staff in planning meetings.Contextualize AI's Role for Customers: When selling AI-driven solutions, focus on the concrete problem solved, not the flashy technology. Realism and transparency build trust.Guest Resourcess.c.harish@gmail.comharish@flairesoftware.com https://www.flairesoftware.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/scharish/Episode SponsorThe Captain's KeysSmall Fish, Big Pond –

In this jam-packed episode of SaaS Fuel, sales expert Christian Jack joins host Jeff Mains to break down everything SaaS founders and sales leaders need to know about effective sales demos, discovery processes, psychological safety in sales, team culture, and the evolving landscape of SaaS sales.Christian shares his journey from music teaching to sales mastery, the critical lessons he learned about sales psychology, and the costly mistakes most SaaS teams make when it comes to demos and team management. You'll also get hard-hitting tactics to boost conversions, examples of SaaS companies that transformed their sales processes, and powerful leadership insights to help you build an unstoppable sales culture.Key Takeaways00:00 Understanding Cost Perception Objections04:59 "Entrepreneurial Aspirations Amid Uncertainty"09:33 Trust Over Features in Sales12:40 Safety Influences Communication Openness15:26 Tactics for Positive Engagement20:21 Sales: A Cyclical Journey23:15 Highlighting Simple Solutions Over Features25:59 Syntax and Engagement Strategy29:43 Demo Dilemma: Pros and Cons31:26 Marketing's Role: Engagement Initiation35:44 Enhancing Sales with Pre-Call Videos39:22 Transformational Vocabulary Strategies42:13 Empowering Message from an Astronaut47:06 Sales Success Hinges on Culture48:55 Find Christian Jack OnlineTweetable Quotes"Sales has now become even more of a game of building trust, I think, and building connection with people rather than just, you know, we have the best features, we have the best." — Christian Jack"We live it through the words that we attribute to the experience. And so if you are talking to somebody about your product, about your service, about your software, et cetera, the words that you use to describe it are very, very important."— Christian JackThe Secret to Driving Engagement in Software: "How do we actually set up the software in a way where people will actually use it? And what is the specific vehicle that we've used in order to achieve that?" — Christian Jack"Marketing gets people to the point where they start to lean in as soon as they start leaning in that sales job.” — Christian Jack "You want to use words like the door is closing or the window is open because that will start to help people envision in their mind, like they can see a door closing." — Christian JackDeeper Connections Through Nonverbal Communication: "And you can focus on other parts of the interaction, how they're reacting, what the response is, facial expressions, those kinds of things." — Jeff Mains"The dividing line between those two, marketing, sales and then where are they separate and then how do they work together best?" — Jeff MainsBiggest Competitor in SaaS Sales: "the biggest competitor that I think we all have in the marketplace is no action, no decision." — Jeff MainsSaaS Leadership LessonsCulture Over NumbersYour sales team's culture is the foundation of consistent performance and retention—it's critical for growth and survival.Sales and Marketing Must Work in HarmonyMarketing makes people “lean in”; sales takes over when a prospect is engaged. Align these efforts for maximum ROI.Prioritize Discovery, Not Just DemosYou can't sell a prospect unless you deeply understand their context. Tailor every demo and sales conversation.Empower with Psych-SafetyProspects buy when they feel safe. Your job isn't just handling objections, but creating an environment of trust and...

Who is Stever?Stever Robbins is a strategic advisor dedicated to empowering individuals at pivotal moments in their professional journey. With a focus on reputation building, he guides business leaders and entrepreneurs who aspire to become recognized authorities in their fields. Stever's expertise lies in helping clients establish themselves as the go-to person around their key constituents, whether it's within their industry or among high-value employees. His approach is tailored to those eager to cultivate a magnetic reputation that naturally attracts attention and opportunities, positioning them as influential figures in their respective domains.Key Takeaways00:00 Understanding Business Relationships05:54 "Public Speaking Overcomes Age Bias"09:41 Networking Maintenance System14:06 "The Myth of Hard Work"14:45 Rethinking "Work Hard" Advice18:16 "Maximizing Productivity and Networking"22:45 Effectuation in Startup Success24:28 "Networking: Meeting the Right People"29:32 Reflecting on AI's Impact31:12 AI's Impact on Critical Thinking34:31 Networking for Personal Fulfillment_________________________________________________________________________________________________Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at www.systemise.me/subscribeFind out more about being a guest at : link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguestSubscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcastHelp us get this podcast in front of as many people as possible. Leave a nice five-star review at apple podcasts : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/apple-podcasts and on YouTube : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/Itsnotrocketscienceatyt!Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:If you are a business owner currently turning over £/$10K - £/$50K per month and want to grow to £/$100K - £/$500k per month download my free resource on everything you need to grow your business on a single page : https://systemise.meIt's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way————————————————————————————————————————————-TranscriptNote, this was transcribed using transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast.SUMMARY KEYWORDSexecutive coaching, personal branding, business networking, building relationships, reputation management, career advancement, professional development, strategic outreach, public speaking, podcasting, productivity tips, maintaining connections, follow-up systems, industry recognition, business leadership, career success myths, high impact coaching, business startups, entrepreneurship, effectuation, business ecosystems, corporate politics, introverts in business, systematic networking, reconnecting contacts, business strategy, work-life balance, leadership skills, personal productivity, AI and productivitySPEAKERSStever Robbins, Stuart WebbStuart Webb [00:00:31]:Hi, and welcome back to It's Not Rocket Science five questions over coffee. I have my coffee here in front of me. I think Steve is ready to go as well. So I have my coffee. Up. We are caffeine up and ready to go. Looks, I'm really, really grateful that Steve has meant, spent some time with us. He's gonna spend a bit of time with us today.Stuart Webb [00:00:50]:Steve is well, he's, one of the most interesting and thought provoking and, innovative, speakers I've come across. So, Steba, I'm really grateful you're gonna come here and spend a few minutes talking to us about, well, five ideas we're gonna have over coffee.Stever Robbins [00:01:08]:Absolutely. Thank you for having me.Stuart Webb [00:01:11]:So, Steven, let's start with, I know you're you're sort of talking today a little bit about some of the some of the work you've been doing, and we're gonna get into it. So so tell us, who is it you're trying to help? What what what's the what's the the the ideal candidate for the sort of work you're trying to do with them at the moment?Stever Robbins [00:01:26]:Sure. I help people who are at an inflection point. People who need to get more widely known and who wanna become the go to person around their key constituents. At some point, I'll probably get a little bit more focused than that. But for example, a business person who wants to get known in their industry, a business person who wants to get known around the, high value employees. So So they wanna have a reputation as a, as a hire as a hire as an employer. Basically, anyone who wants to have a reputation that draws people to them and they want to establish a high profile as go to person.Stuart Webb [00:02:02]:And so this isn't just, just business owners. This could be anybody from a business owner to somebody who's already in in an employment and and just wants to get better known around their industry or bet better known around around the company.Stever Robbins [00:02:15]:Yeah. What I've discovered isStuart Webb [00:02:16]:that this actually has been oneStever Robbins [00:02:17]:of the keys to many of the coaching engagements that I've done. I've I've spent the last twenty years as an executive coach. And I finally realized, wait a minute. Helping this person with their marketing was just like helping this person who, I I work with a lot of high potential leaders, so people who are being groomed for the c suite. And part of being groomed for the c suite is you have to establish connections. You have to be known within the company. You need to be able to to, you know, go to the right places, know the right people, call in the right favors, and get people working together. And I realized this is actually the exact same skill set.Stever Robbins [00:02:49]:What it takes to become known in your industry is the same thing that it takes to come to become known within your company, you know, with a few minor tweaks. Instead of speaking at a conference, for example, you might be speaking at a brown bag lunch, but, you know, largely the sameStuart Webb [00:03:02]:thing. Absolutely right. A lot of these people will have spent time trying to do this just just by, you know, maybe making making mistakes or maybe sort of trying to sort of get out there and do things, but but I haven't got anyway so far. So what are the what are the frustrations? What are the some of the things you've seen people do? I wouldn't say wrong, but are not necessarily focused in the right way in order to really get that that high impact that you're talking about.Stever Robbins [00:03:29]:Sure. Well, you know, one of the big ones is that people treat their business like a business. So if I were to ask people, do you do you know where you make money? Most people would say yes. They might be wrong, but but but at least the point is they have some idea. Like, they're they're paying attention. But when I ask people, do you know do you know who you're connecting with and why you're connecting with them and what their major motivational drivers are and how you can deepen a relationship with them and connect with them, they just kind of look at me and go, well, yeah. I mean, I called someone up to have a lunch date. And I'm like, so you're preparing a proposal and you spend six weeks doing research and write a 25 page proposal.Stever Robbins [00:04:17]:But when you're thinking about who do you need to know, who needs to know you, and how are you gonna create that connection, you give that no thought. You just sort of treat it the way that you did back in kindergarten, which by the way, don't knock kindergarten. Really good time, recess, awesome idea. I love the thing where you play with the blocks. But as adults, we get more sophisticated about things. I would say one of the biggest, problems that people have is they're not systematic about it. They don't decide who they're gonna contact. They don't actually have a system for making contact and then a system for maintaining relationships, which, you know, people think, oh my gosh.Stever Robbins [00:04:59]:This is gonna take me a hundred hours a day. It is gonna take time. Building and maintaining relationships takes time. However, it doesn't take as much time as one might think if you're systematic about it. And even in the best of worlds, you're only gonna have a small inner circle, and a lot of what you do is gonna be about getting yourself out there more widely.Stuart Webb [00:05:20]:Are you suggesting that some people don't think deeply enough about their networking and they just wander into a networking meeting with a bunch of business cards and hope for the best?Stever Robbins [00:05:28]:Oh god. Yes. Yes. So okay. I know that it doesn't come across in this in this format. I am a high introvert. You put me in a networking event, and I will find the cheese table, and I will nibble 200 of those little cheese cubes while desperately trying not to make eye contact with anyone. And I realized this about myself.Stever Robbins [00:05:54]:And what I found what and and the other thing too is I look, this is actually getting less true. I started getting gray hair, like, all of a sudden last week. I'm like, where did these come from? But prior to getting some gray hairs, I looked much younger than I actually am. And I would go to business networking events, and people would just look right past me. They would just assume, oh, who's this high school kid? He has nothing to offer. And what I discovered was that if I did public speaking and if I was on stage, people would pay attention long enough to me just by virtue of my being on stage that I could say something intelligent. And then they would go, hey, that guy on stage said something intelligent and then they would approach me. So I never had to leave the cheese table.Stever Robbins [00:06:37]:I got to be lauded as like, oh, this great public speaker. And of course, for introverts, public speaking is amazing because you have complete control over the room. You don't have to pay attention to anyone you don't want to. They raise their hand to ask a question. You ignore them. Public speaking is a fabulous introvert activity. And and what I found was that was people would start coming to me. So that that was, like, my first big in, you know, in you don't have to network the way that that people say where you go and you show up with business cards.Stever Robbins [00:07:10]:You can network by putting yourself on a stage and having people want to come to you. I started a podcast in 02/2007, and, it was called the Get It Done, guys. Quick and dirty tips to work less and do more. It was a personal productivity podcast. It made it to number five on I or number three on iTunes, which I was totally psyched about. Unfortunately, I was never able to monetize it. But one of the interesting things about that is that I started having people come up to me on the street and just saying, you know, hey. You're you're Steve Robins.Stever Robbins [00:07:42]:You're that get it done guy person. And I'm like, how do you know what I look like? This podcast is audio only. But, apparently, people found somehow found out what I look like. And, again, that was putting myself out there with my ideas in such a way that I actually built an audience and built people who wanted to, to come speak to me to connect.Stuart Webb [00:08:04]:And the problem with all of that, Steven, I think you've just sort of alluded to it, is you've gotta have a system. You've gotta have you've got to have a you've got to have a strategy, you've got to know what it is you're trying to do to connect with them. But but networks can go cold very quickly, can't they? I mean, you just mentioned a podcast in 02/2007 now. In Internet terms, that was that was pre pre dinosaur. You you you can't just assume that the the the people you've connected with three years ago even remembered that your name or whether or not you've got gray hair. You you have to have a system for being available and being with them all of the time.Stever Robbins [00:08:41]:You do. And that's one of the wonderful things. So first is so the podcast went through 2020, by the way. So there are some still some people who who remember who I am. But but part of it is in fact being in front of them in some fashion. And you don't have to you don't have to be in front of them all the time. You need to be in front of them enough to reactivate their memory of you. And one of the things that I I mean, one of the wonderful things about the Internet world is you can do that through many different media.Stever Robbins [00:09:09]:You can do it through video. You can do it through audio. You can do it through email, newsletters. You can also do it with the telephone if you're keeping in touch. I mean, I I'm if you're doing marketing, you might be trying to keep in touch with hundreds and hundreds and thousands of people. But you might if you're within a company and you're networking within the company, you're not necessarily trying to keep in touch with 10,000 people. You're trying to keep in touch with a hundred people who are your most critical people. Or if you're in a career and entering a new industry, you'd be and and you're and it's not just customers you're going after.Stever Robbins [00:09:41]:You may only only wanna be keeping contact with, you know, 20 industry leaders, five or six key suppliers, etcetera. And part of, part of, like, the systems that I have, which I hate, let me be very, very clear, there's nothing pleasant about this, is I have a whole follow-up system. And every it's pleasant to actually connect with people. What's not pleasant is actually sitting down there. And every day, I have a spreadsheet that I can sit down and go through. It'll tell me how long it's it's been since I contacted which people, which ones are currently high priority. And I'll just run through it and drop them all an email. Drop them an email, send them a text, make a phone call, and just do something to remind them that I exist.Stever Robbins [00:10:23]:Doesn't have to be a long conversation, but they need to see my name and and remember who I am. And, you know, I'll offer to reconnect at depth. Some people take me up on it. Some people don't. But it's about keeping your name front and center. It's not necessarily about having having tons of in-depth conversation or tons of in-depth content with them at every touch.Stuart Webb [00:10:45]:And I remember when I was a very young professional, I I I know, I know I only look back 12, but, but I was I was a a professional at one stage. And I remember one of my mentors saying to me, use the opportunity for the two minutes at the beginning of every meeting to sit next to somebody different. That way you'll find out somebody else who you haven't spoken to yet. So you don't have to you just have to be systematic in the way that you think. You don't have to necessarily sort of think to yourself. I must reach out to them. If you see them, you you you make contact, you make a note, you move on. Yeah.Stever Robbins [00:11:15]:I one of the things I was doing recently was cleaning up my address book because I have about 7,000 contacts, and I just decided that, you know, that's a lot of contacts. And many of these people I haven't talked to for quite a while. So I literally had been going through about, you know, 50 to a hundred names a week. It's slow going. And as I've been going through every single one, I'm like, oh, wow. Here's someone I really care about. And for whatever reason, we haven't connected in, you know, ten years. And I've just been dropping people an email or sending them a text and just saying, what are you up to? And it's amazing.Stever Robbins [00:11:47]:This is something that a lot of people are afraid to do. They're afraid that if they've lost contact with somebody, oh, it'll be so embarrassing for me to try to reestablish contact because it's been so long. No. Remember, it's been long for them too. They haven't reached out to you. You haven't reached out to them. Without fail, when I reach out to people after ten years, their reaction is primarily, oh my gosh. It's great to hear you, except for the person who says, wait a minute.Stever Robbins [00:12:13]:Does the restraining order expire? You know? You know? Like, why? You're the one I was supposed to delete from theStuart Webb [00:12:18]:address book.Stever Robbins [00:12:20]:But but generally speaking, I've had a great response. I've reconnected with some people that I I I reconnected with a friend of mine I haven't seen in thirty years. And, you know, we had a great conversation, and it was all because I just picked up the phone. I picked up the phone, and I said, hey. Is this still your phone number? Because if not, I really wanna delete it out of my out of my phone. And she was like, don't delete it. Don't delete it. Call me today.Stever Robbins [00:12:43]:We had a great conversation.Stuart Webb [00:12:44]:That's brilliant. That's brilliant. Steve, I it it brings me to to what is technically question three, but I think we've sort of veered off track a little bit. And that, I know you've got some really valuable free advice, valuable free offers that you wanna sort of, leave the audience with. Do you wanna just describe those to us and and and tell us about, you know, how you are trying to help people with these, with exactly these problems?Stever Robbins [00:13:06]:Sure. Absolutely. So, as I mentioned to you, I don't remember if we were on air when I did. I've recently done a business pivot, and I previously dealt mainly with strategic business issues and am now shifting to this new model, which I call connected and respected, which is helping individuals do this kind of outreach. The the giveaway that I have today is a handout from a presentation that I did called 10 cultural and success lies. And,Stuart Webb [00:13:36]:Only 10? Wow.Stever Robbins [00:13:38]:Well, the the top 10. Well, let's make it a top 10 list. I gave this first at Harvard Business School, this presentation. I and I ended up being asked and came back and did this several times. The basic idea is as I got older, I looked around at people who were successful. I looked around. I I I did go personally to Harvard Business School, so I know a lot of people who are very successful in material sense. And I started noticing that the way they actually got there was not the way everyone says.Stever Robbins [00:14:06]:Right? Success lie I think this is number one. If it isn't, it should be. Is work hard and you'll get ahead. And I'm like, in what universe? I I mean, I know a couple people who are worth who are worth hundreds of millions of dollars when I compare their life to mine. They don't work harder than I do. Meanwhile, my cleaning lady I know how hard she works because I know how messy I am. My cleaning lady works her butt off, and she's never gonna have a hundred million dollars, at least not from not from cleaning. And that was the first cultural career lie that really got me wondering what other things do people say that have become conventional wisdom that if you really stop and think about them.Stever Robbins [00:14:45]:You know, we even tell kids to work hard. And I'm like, why would you tell a kid to work hard and they'll get ahead if that's not actually how getting ahead works? I mean, I wanna give my kids or my nieces and nephews because I don't have kids. I wanna give them advice that works. So I will say, work hard under the following circumstances for the following reasons, but don't expect these to be the thing that distinguishes you from other people. This may just be the price of admission or it may actually and this this was the weird thing about having a personal productivity podcast is I took a really hard look at what makes people productive. And one of the interesting things about being productive, if you're an employee, this is not true if you're self employed, but if you're an employee, the more productive you are, the more free time you have. The more free time you have, the less you appear to be working. The less you appear to be working, the more the people around you say that person is lazy.Stever Robbins [00:15:36]:And they give you more work to do because they think you have all of this free time, but they don't raise your salary because clearly, you were you didn't have enough to do previously. So when you are employed by someone else, the paradox is the more productive you get, the more work and the more responsibility you get without necessarily getting the rewards. When you're self employed, the more productive you get, you also get the rewards because you get to keep them, to keep the rewards yourself. So hard work, depending on the form, may or may not be having social and reputational consequences and maybe having career consequences that have nothing to do with your output and your productivity, but that have everything to do with the way that the hard work that you're doing is or isn't being perceived by other people. Should I tell you a secret I've never told anyone?Stuart Webb [00:16:24]:Please go ahead.Stever Robbins [00:16:25]:Okay, everyone. You're hearing this for the first time. I hope my first manager is not listening to this. I figured this out at my very first job out of undergrad. I was a computer programmer, and I Figured it outStuart Webb [00:16:39]:a lot earlier than most of us at Stevie. You know that. Don't you?Stever Robbins [00:16:42]:Well, so I was much I was much more productive than any anyone else on the programming team, like, really more productive. And I realized that I wasn't get I wasn't getting paid more for this. In fact, they even told me at my review that I was that productive, and they said, but you're too young to be making any more money than you're making now. So, I had to finish the system that I was working on. I finished the entire system in two days, and I then spent the next six weeks releasing one new module at a time so that it appeared that I was doing six weeks worth of work even though I had only spent two days on it. I spent the rest of the time reading comic books. And what was interesting is because I was so much more productive, the amount of work I was releasing per day was comparable to what everyone else was releasing per day. Whereas if I had released it all in two days, they would have given me six more weeks worth of work to do.Stever Robbins [00:17:41]:And, anyway, I've never told anyone that before. If my ex manager is listening, Sheldon, now you know. And the statute of limitations has passed.Stuart Webb [00:17:53]:Steve, I hate to I hate to sort of, just summarize that in a in a phrase that that was said to me when I was a much, much younger person. It's not what you know, it's who you know. And so you come back to the fact that you can be brilliant. I mean you can really know some stuff, but if you don't know the right people or you don't know the right person to tell that to, you might as well know nothing.Stever Robbins [00:18:15]:And IStuart Webb [00:18:16]:think you're illustrating that brilliantly with the fact that if you are, if you do have that free time, and I do know somebody in one company that I worked with who had a lot of free time because they were very productive. They just spent their time networking. They just spent their time going around making sure the senior managers knew who they were so that when they had an hour free and they had an idea, they knew to go and talk to about it. So they use their productivity extremely well. But, I'm really looking forward now to getting my hands on that and that that freebie that you just mentioned. And what I'm gonna tell people, look, if you go to this this link, I'm gonna put a lot of this stuff from Steve, you know, where you can find him, who you can talk to about him, and and some of his previous talks and things. I mean, we'll even refer to the podcast because I think the the productivity podcast, I do remember listening to it, was a brilliant brilliant insight into productivity. But if you go to systemize.me/free- stuff, we'll have links about Steve, what he does, how he works.Stuart Webb [00:19:11]:You can pick up all of that stuff there, and I really do think you should go and find out more about Steve. If you don't know who he is, you really should. So go to systemize.me, free stuff. Steve. I'm I'm gonna I'm gonna I'm gonna I'm gonna potentially take you back a little bit. You you've talked about productivity. You've talked about being a high impact coach. How did you get to be a high impact coach from being somebody who was a programmer? What what path was it were you on? Was there a program, a a course, a book, something that changed how you started to think about yourself? And I I appreciate we could now we could open a Pandora's box, and we could be here for a while.Stuart Webb [00:19:48]:So you take your time.Stever Robbins [00:19:50]:Sure. Let me let let me let me let me try to summarize as best I can. When I discovered that the hard work I I mean, this is this was my own lived journey. When I discovered that the hard work wasn't getting me the results that I wanted, I was gonna have to wait another ten years for my age to catch up with my work ethic. I started doing things like trying different companies, and I went back to business school, got an MBA, and I was with a series of startups. And after my I think it was my ninth startup, this was over the course of about of about fifteen years. After my ninth startup, I I was seeing patterns. Like, we we we myth mythological, myth logic.Stever Robbins [00:20:32]:We turn start ups into myths, at least here in America, and we have kinda corporatized to the whole start up process. So so there's all of this stuff, which just like the career wise, it is just complete b******t that people spew about startups. And part of it is things like how hard you have to work. And after you've been with nine startups, you start to notice the reason people are working hard is they don't know good project management. They don't know project scoping. They don't know how to identify what's important and what isn't. And if you know these things, then you simply, you know, you scope your work so that you can do it and you choose the work that's most important that's gonna get you the next step, etcetera. So I was at a start up.Stever Robbins [00:21:12]:It was driving me absolutely nuts to watch a bunch of very earnest, well meaning young people make all of the same mistakes. And I went to my lifelong mentor, and I said, you know, I I'm getting really tired of going through the same learning curve over and over and over and over. And they won't listen to me, of course, because they're young and adventurous and visionaries and all that stuff. And he said, why don't you try helping people from the outside instead of necessarily being part of the company? Because when you're the outside expert, people take you more seriously. And long story short, that's what led me into coaching, and I discovered I loved it. It's,Stuart Webb [00:21:50]:I'm gonna have to I I was laughing. I was trying not to laugh too much because this is a very serious subject. But I'm afraid I recognize so much of what you were saying because, you know, I I spent some time myself being a a start up mentor to some start up companies. And then nearly always ask the first question, which is, well, we're we're in the process of developing this or we're doing this. And I'll go, okay. Is that is that how is that gonna help your customer solve their problem? And they nearly always have no answer to that question. I think that's the basic question that you ask of any business. You know? Am I producing a solution to a problem, or am I doing this because it feels like it's the right thing to do? And, you know, I'm a scientist by background.Stuart Webb [00:22:25]:So I often use sort of the soul sort of, like, let's run an experiment and find out. And people would look at me as if to say, no. No. That's not how you do it. And I'm thinking, yeah. It is because that is actually the basis upon which most successful businesses have been built. But but it takes time to learn that sort of thing, doesn't it? And I think you've encapsulated that journey brilliantly.Stever Robbins [00:22:45]:There there is a there's a set of research in entrepreneurship and business formation that actually supports that. It's, done by a woman named Sarris Sarris Vathid at the Duke Fuqua School of Business, and she has published it under the title under the term effectuation, e f f e c t u a t I o n. It is she somehow has taken an extremely easy set of concepts and made them almost impenetrable using scholarly language. However, at the bottom line or at the at the end of the day, the bottom line is that most successful startups go through a period of extreme experimentation. And the ones that tend to be most successful and have the longest runways in terms of they're able to try the most experiments Mhmm. Are the ones who manage their investment very carefully. They make commitments in a very particular kind of way. And one of the big things that they do is they form alliances.Stever Robbins [00:23:43]:They become connected and respected, but they allow their network and their connections to help shape the business. And it becomes an iterative process where the business becomes shaped by the people around the business who put skin in the game. And skin in the game is the big differentiator. Anyone who's only put skin in the game, they get a say. And what happens is you have ecosystems developed, business ecosystems, in which everyone is an interested and committed player because everyone has skin in the game. And it may not look like the ecosystem that any of those players would have imagined in the beginning, but it's successful because everyone involved has had a hand in shaping it so that it meets their needs as well as the needs of anyone else. So it's called effectuation.Stuart Webb [00:24:28]:That's a brilliant I've not heard of that book, and I really am grateful for that. You've mentioned it. It's another one to add to my reading pile, which is getting longer, and I need to find some time to do it. But, you know, that is, that once again takes us back to this question about how do you know the right people and how do you keep the right people in your orbit so that they can actually be the partners that help you to form your ideas. I mean, we all have to we all have to have these networks. So it brings us right back to to your basic core tenant of this this discussion, which is you've gotta know the right people, and you don't know them by sitting in the corner with the cheese and waiting for them to come and approach you. You have to have a system for getting out there and finding them out and talking to them about these things.Stever Robbins [00:25:10]:Correct. And it it and it's the side of business that pretty much every successful business business owner either has because they work at it or because they have it naturally. Because let's be clear. If I look I was raised in a in a polyam a a traveling new age polyamorous hippie commune. And, you know, driving around in a in a 12 foot trailer with with our little commune members. And I went to Harvard Business School. So I was an extreme outsider to that entire echelon of society and and way of working. And it's been really interesting seeing that from both the inside and the outside because a lot of, you know, a lot of hundred million dollar deals do not get done the way you would imagine with tons and tons of due diligence and whatever.Stever Robbins [00:25:59]:It's, you know, my college roommate is running a fund, and he needs to invest in a gas pipeline for a tax deduction this year. Do you know anyone who's selling a gas pipeline? Oh, sure. My friend Bill is. I'll tell you what. I'll introduce you to Bill. You give me a 10% cut. Fine. And I'm sitting here watching these deals get made, and I'm like, really? Really? That that's how this happens? You know? Now there's plenty, I'm sure, that happened with a lot more due diligence and and a lot more care, etcetera.Stever Robbins [00:26:27]:But it's astonishing that that at the higher levels of business and presumably of it probably presumably, it's not just business. An awful lot of what goes on ends up being through personal connections, not through formal requests for, you know oh, can I tell you can I tell you something that will blow your mind?Stuart Webb [00:26:50]:Please.Stever Robbins [00:26:51]:I I realized this a couple weeks ago, and I realized I have never heard anyone else say this. I was thinking about, gee, isn't it a shame that there are no entrance criteria or entrance qualifications to be the leader of a country? And I thought about it. I thought, you know, I I honestly can't think of any country for whom there's their process of selecting a leader includes something like like they have to have passed economics one zero one with at least a passing grade or or a CEO. I've never heard of a CEO being given a balance sheet and saying, can you read this? What does this what does this balance sheet tell you about the business? Our leadership positions, none of them are based on actual competency measurements. They're all based on personal connections, who knows who and who has what reputation. And I would love a counterexample. Please send me counterexamples, but I haven't been able to think of them.Stuart Webb [00:27:52]:I hate to, I hate to to support what you've just said. I had a meeting with a CEO of a reasonably sized company, and I sat down with the CEO. And my immediate response was, I'm not sure how this guy got his job, but it wasn't by some sort of competence based interview. And I just asked him a simple question about his finances. Now I'm not an accountant. I'm not a great finance expert, but I knew a couple of questions to ask. And he looked at me and said, well, I don't really understand the numbers. I leave that to my finance guy.Stuart Webb [00:28:28]:I said, so how are you driving your strategy? And he said, strategy. What do you mean by strategy? And I said, well, do you know who your main customer is and how you're gonna make them happy? And he went, I'll leave that to my sales and marketing team. And I was wondering how this guy ran his team. And then I realized, he played a lot of golf, and he met a lot of potential customers on the golf course. And he invited those potential customers and potential partners to come back to the golf club and have a drink with him. And that's how he did his deals, and it was nothing more than that because he was playing quite a bit of golf. And and I just thought, hey. I wish I had your life, but on the same token,Stever Robbins [00:29:06]:I don't thinkStuart Webb [00:29:07]:I'd be as successful somehow. And I'm I'm afraid you're absolutely right. We do not have enough people who have been taken through those those lessons unless, of course, they've failed miserably and learned from them. And I think as a species, we're not that good at reflecting and learning upon what we've done in the past and maybe sort of sitting quietly and thinking about it and perhaps correcting it in the future?Stever Robbins [00:29:32]:Oh, don't even get me started on humans as a as a species and how we learn. I've been playing a lot with AI recently, which is probably gonna be our next successor species. And and I've been playing with AI, but I've been doing it in a very particular way, which I have been observing my own reactions to the AI. And so I'll solve a problem, and then I will solve a problem with AI. And and what I'm paying attention to, I mean, obviously, is whether the solution is correct, but I'm also paying attention to what is that experience like for me. How is it different for me to use AI as a tool or not? Because I wanna find out. Is this a tool that I wanna use? And what I have found is the piece that you just mentioned, the reflective piece, is virtually a % missing when I use AI. So when I use AI to solve a problem, I'm kind of pounding at the keystrokes and hoping the AI figures it out.Stever Robbins [00:30:25]:But when I solve a problem on my own, I kind of stop and think deeply about it. So with AI, it's more like I'm an editor. Oh, okay. Here's the five page essay that chat GPT or Claude just did for me. I'm gonna scan it over to see if there are any obvious errors. But what I'm not doing is really reading it sentence by sentence and going, wait. Do I really believe this sentence? And if I don't, is Claude right or am I right? And if Claude is right, how can I learn this? And how can I incorporate it into my thinking? None of that is happening when I use AI, and it should be because that's how humans learn, and that's how we get better at things. So I am now very afraid of AI.Stever Robbins [00:31:04]:I am afraid that it is going to deskill us very, very rapidly. Yeah. And I use it anyway. Go figure it out.Stuart Webb [00:31:12]:Articulate you have articulated a number of problems that I think we've got with AI at the moment. And it's nothing to do with the fact that well, it is to do partly with the fact that it's stealing stuff off the Internet and the the business models are highly flawed. But I think it is it's, for me, too often we're lazy and we just use it because it's quick and it's easy and we don't have to do the thinking. And I think sometimes we find thinking to be too much effort and I think that's partly and we go back to how are we teaching children. We're teaching them we're teaching them some of the some of the things which are not necessary to pass exams as opposed to do thinking. It's we're teaching them about we're teaching about the fact that they should know this stuff, but they don't have to think they don't have to learn it by doing any thinking. They learn it because it goes up on the blackboard and they copy it down or they write to a blackboard. Whatever screen they use now in teaching, I'm sure they don't use blackboards anymore, but it goes up and they just copy it down.Stuart Webb [00:32:03]:So We could spend many hours on that, but I'm gonna take us away because otherwise, we'll be here for the rest of the afternoon. And I don't wanna keep you that long because I know you've got things to do. Steve, you must be thinking we've had some really interesting questions, but when is he gonna be asking that really key question, the one that really makes me say, well, no. This is the key one that you should have asked. So I'm gonna ask you now to to pose that question and answer it for us.Stever Robbins [00:32:27]:I think the question you should have asked me, is why do we bother with any of this? Why why are we striving for, quote, unquote, success or to build our business or to have our hundred million dollar exit? And, you know, there's tons and reams of research that says that on people's death beds, they do not say, oh my god. I wish that I had acquired one more company. Right? It's the relationships that matter. As I as we're sitting here talking, the day care center across the street is taking the little tots out for their walk. There's, like, 20 of them. They're holding this little rope, and they're they're climbing up on the curve, and they're jumping, and they're making these little babbling tock noises. And even though I'm here with you, oh my god, it's coming in the window and I can't can barely stop myself from running over and going, oh gosh, they're so adorable. They're the future.Stever Robbins [00:33:23]:So I wanna be really, really clear. Right? All of the success stuff and the business stuff, none of this means anything. The only reason we do it is so that we can have a meaningful, happy life with relationships and people we love. And if that's the whole reason we're engaged in this set of endeavors and pretending that this is important, then why not start with the connection with the connections and the respect and the relationships and and build your business around that. Build your business around who do I wanna hang out with because I do business eight to ten hours a day. I'm gonna hang out with the people I'm doing business with. Instead of choosing the business and then hoping that you can find people to buy, choose the people and then find a business to serve them. And forget the hundred million dollar thing.Stever Robbins [00:34:16]:Trust me. You know, a couch made out of platinum thread is not more comfortable than a couch that's you know, that old stuff one that you got in the junkyard. It actually probably is more comfortable. But you you get the basic broad idea.Stuart Webb [00:34:31]:I'd love I'd love to have a an old couch, just to sit and talk about this while I've done it. You're absolutely right, Steve. But I I absolutely believe that too many people are spending time in companies and building businesses that make them unhappy. And, you know, you need to you need to know people to reach out to and have a coffee. You need to reach out to and speak to people who can just feed your soul. And I just kind of feel like you've done that for me this afternoon. There there's a big I've got a I've got a large contact list as well. I'm gonna go through that today.Stuart Webb [00:35:03]:I'm gonna make a note of some of the people that I have connected with in twenty years. No. I'm not that old. In in five years. And, just, just send them a message and find out. You know, there are people that I was I I spent some very happy years, when I was doing research at universities. I probably haven't spoken to them In a few years, I really should reach out and just say hello to them, and I'll be doing that. And then I'll put a system in place to keep in touch with them because that's the key thing, isn't it?Stever Robbins [00:35:28]:That is the key thing. Just remind them you exist, and eventually, you'll both be in the same city. You'll get together for lunch. You know, you'll plan a diamond heist together. You'll succeed. You'll wait long enough for the statute of limitations to wear off, and then you'll write a screenplay about it, and you obviously will be played by George Clooney.Stuart Webb [00:35:47]:I I can think of nothing better that I wanna do with my afternoon. Steve, thank you so much for spending some time with me. Listen. I'm I'm gonna say once again, look. Go to systemize.me/free-stuff to find out about Steve. Find out about that valuable, 10, 10, tops tips that he's gonna give me. I was gonna say the 10 tips, but it's not. It's only the top 10.Stuart Webb [00:36:08]:It's nothing more than the top 10.Stever Robbins [00:36:09]:I need to go put the word top in the title of that really quickly.Stuart Webb [00:36:14]:And now I'm just gonna beg you. Look. If you'd like to hear more about some of the people that are coming up, that are as joyful, they're as useful, they're as informative as Steva. Go go join, my my newsletter subscription list. Systemize.me/subscribe. Get on the list. Just get an email. It it doesn't come out very often.Stuart Webb [00:36:34]:I do not bombard you with 15 a day. It's I haven't got time for that, but I'll send you an email just letting you know who's coming up on the podcast, who you should join to listen to because some of these are absolutely brilliant. Stevie, you have been one of those people. Thank you so muchStever Robbins [00:36:48]:for beingStuart Webb [00:36:48]:here today, and thank you for bringing to our attention those tiny tots that are outside right at the moment enjoying themselves. Go join them. Go have fun. Go wherever they're going. I'm sure it's better than wherever you were planning to be some boring meeting that you were gonna go to.Stever Robbins [00:37:04]:Quite probably. Thank you very much, Stuart. I've really enjoyed it.Stuart Webb [00:37:08]:Thank you, Stever. Get full access to It's Not Rocket Science! at thecompleteapproach.substack.com/subscribe

Trust is the foundation of any strong company. In this episode of The REWORK Podcast, 37signals co-founder and CTO David Heinemeier Hansson joins host Kimberly Rhodes to explore what it really means to build a high-trust organization. David shares how trust shapes the culture and success of a team, even when working remotely.Key Takeaways00:23 – Trust starts as the default at 37signals05:19 – Empowering employees with reasonable spending freedom11:46 – Why one person's mistake shouldn't lead to restrictive policies15:15 – How to cultivate trust in remote workplaces22:10 – Trust and accountability can and should coexistLinks and ResourcesRecord a video question for the podcastBooks by 37signalsSign up for a 30-day free trial at Basecamp.comHEY World | HEYThe REWORK podcastThe Rework Podcast on YouTubeThe 37signals Dev Blog37signals on YouTube@37signals on X

What happens when you challenge the status quo of Agile, throw out bloated teams, and supercharge small pods with AI? In this episode, Jeff Mains sits down with Mac, founder of Wednesday Solutions, to explore the evolution of product development teams. Mac shares why he believes traditional Agile is obsolete and how his company's “product pods” are delivering massive impact with lean teams. Dive into real-world strategies on using AI to automate grunt work, focus on real customer value, and deliver faster than ever. Mac and Jeff also discuss over-engineering pitfalls, the essential Sprint Zero, and what's next for tech leadership in the age of AI.Key Takeaways00:00 "Impactful Small Teams"06:03 AI-Powered Engineering and Vibe Sprints07:15 "AI-First vs. Human-First Mindset"10:33 Rural Loan Tech Success15:28 "Sprint Zero: Focusing on One Problem"16:50 User-Centric Product Roadmap Creation20:00 AI: The New Industrial Revolution25:09 From Doing to Empowering Others27:18 Embrace Incremental Change30:47 Thoughtful Hiring in App Development35:53 "Utilize Managed Services First"37:15 "CTO: Bridge Across Tech, Product, Business"Tweetable QuotesAI-First Mindset: "Are you AI first or are you human first? Do you typically think of how I can do this myself, or do you think about what tools I can use to leverage, what tools I can leverage to actually get this done?" — Mac Viral Topic: The Dangers of Over-Engineering Early "don't try to build for scale before you even get your first user. Sort of like not over engineering over there is very important." — Mac The Power of Interdisciplinary Collaboration: "So when I think about it, having a product manager with tech experience or engineering experience and sort of bringing the intersection of these two disciplines together is first and foremost, most important." — MacThe Art of Delegation: "The question that I keep asking myself at the end of every week is how well would things have gone if I wasn't there for this week? And how well will things go if I'm not there next week, right?" — MacViral Topic: AI and Interview Strategies: "What was possible to build in weeks or months earlier is now possible within a few minutes with a few prompts."— Mac The Dangers of Confirmation Bias in Product Development: "And so we build a product and then get to the end. And it's not really what the market was looking for or it was close, but it's off a little bit." — Jeff Mains Viral Leadership Secret: "The most successful leaders aren't lone heroes. They're the center of four specific relationships that multiply their impact while preserving their sanity." — Jeff Mains SaaS Leadership LessonsTrue Velocity Comes from Focus, Not Headcount:Small teams with well-defined roles and clear ownership far outpace large, fragmented ones.Delegate Relentlessly:Great leaders empower others to own outcomes, not just tasks—Mac constantly asks how his absence would impact the team.Start with the Problem, Not the Solution:Sprint Zero ensures the product addresses a real, validated user pain—don't let assumption drive your build.Embrace Incremental Change:Don't fall for the “big-bang” launch myth when modernizing systems; ship value early and often.Hire for Specialization, Not Generalization:Early mistakes in hiring generalists slowed quality—now, experts who excel at their craft yield superior results.Leverage AI as a Force-Multiplier:The best...

Are you hiring your first go-to-market team, or looking to scale your B2B SaaS sales organization? In this episode of SaaS Fuel, Jeff Mains sits down with William Spengler, founder of Frederick Fox, to discuss the realities—and pitfalls—of building a high-performing sales team for SaaS startups.Will reveals why most early sales hires fail, how the staffing industry is undergoing disruption, and his blueprint for assembling a scrappy, effective team in a marketplace crowded with resumes and inflated claims. The conversation ranges from the challenges of hiring senior versus raw talent, the tactical necessity of reference checks, the evolving role of AI in recruiting, how to avoid cash crunches even when revenues are up, and why clarity in your hiring process is the foundation of success. If you're ready for a brutally honest, actionable guide to hiring and scaling (without the fluff), this episode is for you.Key Takeaways00:00 Effective Sales Strategy & Hiring04:56 Real Estate-Style Recruiter Model08:51 "Reality Check: Starting a Firm"11:47 Competitor Research for Business Growth15:04 Defining Critical Hiring Needs20:49 Experience Over Elbow Grease22:14 Streamlining Interview Processes28:25 Incentivizing Sales with High Commissions29:57 "Finding High-Performing Sales Talent"36:37 AI Tools in Recruiting: Limitations40:02 The Limits of AI Interviews42:33 Building an Effective GovTech Sales Team45:24 Verifying Sales Candidate References50:14 "AI Systems & Sales Strategies"Tweetable QuotesQuote: "I would say start to target their top salespeople. That's really what recruiters do. We do the research, we cold call, we email them and we sell your value proposition." — William Spengler How to Attract Top Talent: “A player is going to pick up on that confidence and is going to want to join you. If you're going to go, if you're going to talk to Lebron James and you're not confident, they're not going to take you seriously." — William Spengler Viral Topic: The Traits of Top Sales Talent: "I always think that's a red flag when a really good salesperson is paycheck to paycheck, that it's sort of a red flag." — William Spengler "It's not just about hiring someone with a shiny resume or a smooth pitch because they all seem to have that." — Jeff MainsThe Secret to Unstoppable Leadership: "It's not strategy, not charisma. It's not even luck. It's relationships. — Jeff MainsSaaS Leadership LessonsBuild for Clarity, Not Convenience:Ensure all stakeholders align on what the business truly needs from a hire before you start searching for "unicorns."Check the Hype at the Door:Don't just trust claims and shiny resumes. Take the time to verify past performance, especially for sales roles.Know Your Numbers—And Theirs:Ask candidates detailed questions about past targets and results, and verify them. Top performers are always eager to share real numbers.Prioritize Process Discipline:A clear, concise hiring process beats endless rounds every time. Do more work upfront—it pays off with better hires.Scale Operations Before Sales Explode:Investing in back office, accounting, and compliance early prevents massive headaches and cash crunches when you scale rapidly.Bet on Talent That Bets on Themselves:Seek out salespeople willing to trade high base salaries for high upside. These are often the true A-players.Guest...

As 37signals gets closer to launching their newest product, Fizzy, Jason Fried joins host Kimberly Rhodes to reflect on the final stretch of development. He shares the trade-offs of setting your own deadlines, the importance of onboarding new customers, and the company's process for marketing a product.Key Takeaways00:11 – What the “11th hour” looks like before a product launch03:50 – How to weigh deadlines against final release decisions05:44 – The importance of customer onboarding11:18 – A playful touch added to Fizzy's logo15:30 – Why version 1.0 is just the beginningLinks and ResourcesRecord a video question for the podcastBooks by 37signalsSign up for a 30-day free trial at Basecamp.comHEY World | HEYThe REWORK podcastThe Rework Podcast on YouTubeThe 37signals Dev Blog37signals on YouTube@37signals on X

This week on SaaS Fuel, Jeff Mains dives into radical innovation at the intersection of technology, storytelling, and human impact. Guest Sean Schroeder, exited founder and product strategist, unpacks his journey from digital content platforms to autism therapy and AI-powered brand storytelling. The episode covers Happy Ladders' parent-led autism therapy model, the philosophy behind Reventure Labs' unorthodox venture studio, and the technical artistry fueling Story Cycle Genie—a collective intelligence platform powering authentic brand narratives. If you've ever wondered how SaaS can drive real transformation or how founders can operationalize their own unique “vibe” into assets that scale, this episode delivers actionable insight with heart.Key Takeaways00:00 "Parent-Led Autism Therapy Revolution"04:51 From Content to Autism App09:40 Origin of Our Venture Studio10:31 Audience-Centric Investment Partnerships13:21 Balancing SaaS and Services Tensions19:14 "Off Standards, Off Results"20:24 Streamlined Founder Insight Extraction23:33 Deep Dive into Audience Archetypes27:40 Prioritize Planning Over Execution32:36 Extracting Founder Knowledge33:46 Pre-Investment Business Idea Testing38:24 "Governance for Consistent Conditions"40:08 Seamless Brand Story Coordination43:58 Data Utilization: Next Steps47:25 "Integrating Technical Specs and White Papers"51:18 Recruitment and Innovation InsightsTweetable Quotes“When you're working with AI, you're working at a more atomic level, validating what the genie is giving back—something you'll rarely get in a room just tossing ideas.” — Sean Schroeder“The therapist may only be there for hours, but parents are with their children 24/7. Empowering them turns everyday moments into therapy.” — Sean Schroeder“Founders move quick. Our job is to extract their embedded business intelligence—their real story—without months of ‘brand exercises.'” — Sean Schroeder“StoryCycle Genie lets you build your brand narrative with authentic inputs, not by borrowing someone else's metaphor but by owning your vibe.” — Sean Schroeder“If you're off just 2 degrees at the start, by the time your marketing or messaging hits the world, you'll be a foot away from where you want to be.” — Jeff Mains“Sometimes starting without a rigid plan is freeing—some of the best frameworks are discovered through building, intuition, and iteration.” — Sean SchroederSaaS Leadership LessonsEmpower the Stakeholders Closest to the Problem:Happy Ladders proves that empowering parents—rather than outside experts—can yield faster and more sustainable developmental progress in children.Lead with User-Centric Simplicity:Transform complex frameworks (therapy or branding) into practical, actionable routines that non-experts can implement.Technical Capital is as Valuable as Financial:In the modern venture landscape, providing technical expertise and capabilities can catalyze new ventures more effectively than just cash.Operationalize Authenticity:Authentic storytelling isn't found in vague abstraction but in pulling out and refining the founder's real-world beliefs and experiences.Build Ecosystems, Not Just Assets:A truly scalable brand is underpinned by systems, connected content, and iterative learning, not just standalone artifacts.Adopt a Test-and-Learn Mindset:Start with one asset, test hypotheses quickly (even monetization), and be unafraid to adjust based on feedback and new insightsGuest...

In this episode of SaaS Fuel, host Jeff Mains sits down with David Ebner, founder of Content Workshop and author of "A Content Marketing Story." Together, they dive deep into the power of storytelling for brands, especially in a world increasingly dominated by AI-generated content. David shares his journey from an MFA in creative writing to agency founder, highlighting how classic storytelling techniques breathe life into business content—even for "boring" brands. The conversation covers why emotion trumps logic in B2B sales, aligning brand stories with real customer pain points, and how AI is changing (but not replacing) creative content. They also explore building trust, the need for strong brand values, and practical frameworks for developing compelling narratives that make both customers and investors take notice.Key Takeaways00:00 Evolving Content Strategies and Trust04:50 Founding Content Workshop: Storytelling Essentials09:00 Evolving Beyond Early Success11:55 "Post-COVID Digital Shift"12:57 Emotional Connection in Marketing16:21 "Helping, Not Selling"20:53 "AI Refines Quality Content Production"22:57 Glossary's Impact on Content Traffic28:51 Hybrid Content Creation Process31:54 "Prioritizing Quality Over AI Automation"35:28 "Customer-Centric Corporate Values"36:14 "Opinionate Only on Relevant Issues"40:39 "Value Through Personal Engagement"44:31 "Building Trust for Long-Term Value"47:10 Faceless Case Studies Boost Relatability51:22 Story-Driven Business StrategiesTweetable QuotesRethinking Corporate Values: "And your values really should be derived from again, the people you're helping. That's really where your value should come from." — David Ebner "giving away value is the best way that you can kind of build that trust with the audience, influence having your brand influence the relationship with your target audience." — David Ebner Viral Topic: Why "Sticky" Audiences Matter"Sticky is just a business term for trust. Having a sticky audience. Sticky client base is valuable, extremely valuable." — David Ebner The Power of Storytelling in SaaS: "Telling great stories builds more trust than a security badge and closes faster than a limited time offer pop up." — Jeff Mains The Real Competitive Advantage in the Age of AI: "The difference maker isn't volume. I mean, there's plenty of that slop out there. It's voice."— Jeff Mains Digital Accessibility is Profitable: "digital accessibility isn't just ethical, it's profitable." — Jeff Mains SaaS Leadership LessonsStorytelling is StrategyWeave classic narrative elements into your brand to forge stronger connections and lasting differentiation.Know Your Audience DeeplyBuild and update personas regularly, because markets and customer priorities change.Emotion Precedes Logic in Every SaleNo matter the industry, purchase motivation starts with emotion—lead with empathy.Stay Human in the Age of AIUse AI to enhance productivity, but protect and amplify your unique voice.Brand Trust Is a Long GameInvest in evergreen content and consistent value, even if ROI isn't immediate—it pays dividends in loyalty.Tested Values Define Your BrandValues are...

Who is Ryan?Ryan Ware is a thought leader who helps individuals and organizations navigate the challenging period of change. He identifies a common tendency among people to undervalue the transitional phase between the current state and a desired future. Ryan emphasizes the importance of embracing this uncertain and confusing middle area, recognizing it as a critical time for growth and transformation. Through his insights, Ryan empowers others to appreciate the significance of this phase, ultimately guiding them toward achieving their envisioned future.Key Takeaways00:00 "Navigating Change in Business"06:11 "Embrace the Journey of Growth"07:04 "Embracing Change is Uncomfortable"12:27 Embracing Change Through Curiosity16:17 Adapting to Change in Learning18:47 "Embracing Curiosity in Coaching"20:16 Embracing Curiosity in Problem-Solving24:05 Reframe Change Mindset Strategies28:34 Join Our Expert Mailing List_________________________________________________________________________________________________Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at www.systemise.me/subscribeFind out more about being a guest at : link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguestSubscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcastHelp us get this podcast in front of as many people as possible. Leave a nice five-star review at apple podcasts : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/apple-podcasts and on YouTube : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/Itsnotrocketscienceatyt!Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:If you are a business owner currently turning over £/$10K - £/$50K per month and want to grow to £/$100K - £/$500k per month download my free resource on everything you need to grow your business on a single page : https://systemise.meIt's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way————————————————————————————————————————————-TranscriptNote, this was transcribed using transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast.SUMMARY KEYWORDSchange management, construction industry, architectural design, business transformation, team coaching, mindset shift, curiosity in business, growth mindset, human side of change, habit formation, leadership empathy, organizational development, business strategy, process improvement, learning culture, resistance to change, business coaching, fractional COO, project management, behavioral change, employee engagement, adaptability, consulting, coaching vs consulting, discovery call, strategy session, willingness to change, Amy Edmondson, Carol Dweck, failure as learningSPEAKERSRyan Ware, Stuart WebbStuart Webb [00:00:31]:Hi there, and welcome back to It's Not Rocket Science, five questions over coffee. I'm delighted, well, one, to have my, coffee in front of me, which is the most important part of all of this. There's not very much left in there at the moment, so I'm gonna need to refill that soon. But, I'm also delighted to to to welcome Ryan who tells me he has decaf coffee in front of him. So, don't, don't don't fall asleep on us, Ryan. You gotta be you gotta be entertaining us for the next twenty minutes or so. Ryan is a, keynote speaker, a coach, a fractional chief operating officer, and he really helps teams within the construction, architectural design space to navigate change, to think about the way in which they have to approach the changes that are, that are that they're approaching in their business. But it's a it's a it's a common problem that all business owners have to, think about, which is how do you navigate the changes in the business landscape around you.Stuart Webb [00:01:28]:So, Ryan, welcome to It's Not Rocket Science, five questions over coffee. Thoroughly looking forward to this. So, please, take your time to tell us a little bit more about how you help these teams to navigate change.Ryan Ware [00:01:41]:Yeah. Well, thank you for having me, Stuart. I appreciate the opportunity. I'm looking forward, to the questions and the conversation, even though it's decaf, try to run off natural energy.Stuart Webb [00:01:52]:That seems entirely reasonable. So let's start with the first question, which is Right. Let you I've already said that you work with sort of teams in the sort of architectural construction space. But, you know, the the common problem, who what are the sort of the the sort of give me the the the sort of common, ideal client, the person that sort of really is seeking sort of help from somebody like you at the moment.Ryan Ware [00:02:12]:Yeah. I I think there's a couple categories, but, generally, they they find themselves pretty much all in an area where they're recognizing that current state isn't exactly what they want. And they can envision this future state that they wanna get to. But they all, in some way, form, undervalue that middle that middle area. And that middle area is where things are uncertain, things are confusing, things, are unknown, and we've never seen them. We don't recognize them. It's what we call change. They undervalue that that time.Ryan Ware [00:02:52]:And by undervaluing it, they each have one group will overvalue current state and stay in it, and the other group will tend to rush through, that center area and and lack, the connection of human complexity into the change that's occurring whether in their individual life within a team or an organization.Stuart Webb [00:03:17]:And and tell me, Brian, I mean, you you you've been doing this for a while. You you you have some experience in it. What what are the sort of things that you've seen these business owners, these people within these sort of situations try before they reach you? I know when I've come across people that are doing this, they've they've they've normally done a bunch of things that try to help, but but rarely sort of, you know, seek out an expert such as yourself, and and I don't always succeed.Ryan Ware [00:03:44]:Yeah. It's you know, they say 70% of all change management and companies fail to meet the objective. And so a lot of times, what I mentioned in this middle area and undervaluing it, it's they'll they'll make an attempt on a new strategy, a new process, try a new solution within a project per se. And it doesn't go exactly as planned because they've never seen it before, and then they halt. And a lot of people will give up on that that center, change, area, which which is it takes a lot of time for us to learn something new, to develop, you know, new skills. We we already have habits. If we think about just a daily routine habit of getting up in the morning when who hasn't said, like, oh, I'm sorry. I'm sort of all out of sorts.Ryan Ware [00:04:34]:I got out of my routine in the morning.Stuart Webb [00:04:36]:Yeah. Yeah.Ryan Ware [00:04:38]:Yeah. When you get into that center area, what I see a lot of companies doing is, again, disconnecting the human side of change. And it's the objectives there. We wanna get this software put into place or there's a merger and acquisition done or or whatever. You know, it could be large or small sort of change that's occurring, but they don't go go to the humans and have the real conversation. So they'll they'll only bring up results and sort of go there. They won't drill any deeper, into the conversation to find out the root cause. They'll, they'll overvalue that current state as being something like, hey.Ryan Ware [00:05:21]:I've already been doing this a long time. I know how to do it, versus sort of a beginner's mindset of how do I test this? You know? How how do I work through through this change in order to learn? And I think you come from the world of science, and I try to tell everybody's like, we treated every project sort of as a laboratory or a change internally as this free testing zone to to regain knowledge on something that we've never seen before, it doesn't mean that we aren't taking what we've already known and just eliminating it. We're actually able to sort of stack on and and and grow. And I just find people rush through this. They see the goal, and they wanna rush through it. It's like, hey. You know, as simple as, hey. I wanna lose some weight.Ryan Ware [00:06:11]:Well, you can't just rush through that process, but you can start to recognize each day the little wins, and, you know, you don't rush through university. You know, the beauty of that the beauty of university is you go in and you're developing your learning. And even though you wanna be on the other side of it, even though you know at the end of the clarity is to graduate, you don't know what's happening on a daily basis. You can see the courses, but you don't know for sure. But where you're really in growth is that that middle confusion, you know, unknown territory that allows you to develop, and to begin to build a stronger relationship with change because you're now recognizing it as as an opportunity and a positive, not as a disruption or a cost or or a burden, to yourself.Stuart Webb [00:07:04]:Yeah. And I think you've mentioned two things. And and and and, what comes across to me most resonantly is change is tough, change is hard, people's habits. I mean I often remember the sort of the exercise I was taught when I was doing some of this which is you know this is the way you like, naturally lock your fingers. But if you do it the other way, it feels wrong, and it feels unnatural, and you desperately want to get back to the way it feels right. And just that action of sort of holding it there can make you feel uncomfortable, can make you feel very, very exposed if you like. And and just having to do that behavior change or or introduce something new takes people time to sort of understand that things won't be as threatening as perhaps they feel it is when they first come across it. And and the other thing is you say is is that sometimes when you when you are in that state, when you're when you're uncomfortable and when it's when it's you you have to start to think to yourself, okay.Stuart Webb [00:08:02]:This might not might not be as threatening as I first thought it was, but I have to want to learn to go through this. And getting to that mindset of wanting is kind of tough for a lot of people. You know, the business owner just wants to get them through it, and they're going, I was comfortable. Why why why are you making me do stuff which you don't? I I've got enough discomfort when I go home. You know? I've got a a family that I've gotta deal with. Why make me go through this discomfort now? I just wanna come here and be comfortable and and enjoy myself. You know? This is tough.Ryan Ware [00:08:32]:Yeah. It it's what I call willing participants first forced compliance. Right? So this is where leaders sort of begin to get it a little off track. A lot of times, they'll they're they're up the hill, and they believe they've said it, so therefore, the change is happening. And you have a middle layer who is trying to initiate the change, and everyone has their own their own agenda and their own goals towards the bigger goal. And this is where the human the human side, having that empathy of how difficult it is as a human to change. Like, just, you know, go do something simple. Get a new haircut, which I don't have the privilege to do anymore.Ryan Ware [00:09:13]:But, like, go change a style. Get a new shirt. Get a new get something small. How long does it take to adjust? And and when you start to recognize that within yourself and give yourself that time, that grace of adjustment period towards something new, you you can extend that same empathy towards others on your team, whether you're all coworkers or you are the manager or you're the leader. But when you when you connect the change to to humans and our and the way our brains want to function without getting into a lot of the science, because I know a lot of your shows have been able to already start to explain that, you described habits. They're great. They're perfect. We want them because that's where we're we can speed up and and be what we consider it our most efficient.Ryan Ware [00:10:03]:But we really hold on to that as, again, that overvalued state versus achieving what we want to. Like, taking seeing this middle area of it's always, you know, going to be a little unclear. The goal is there, but how you get there is going to still be unclear. You you overvalue that pain of going through it or the work to go through it or the the some people look at it as like, well, what if I fail? I'll be embarrassed. And what if I'm wrong? Mhmm.Stuart Webb [00:10:38]:First,Ryan Ware [00:10:38]:you know, believing in yourself and saying, like, I value that I have the ability to get through this. And even when it's not exactly what I thought, I can reframe my thought process in that moment of I've been here somewhere near here before. I've been through these things. I have the ability and think through with the team. But if we think embarrassment is, like, the end, or or we've thought something our whole life, and now it's wrong, and and we're afraid to say it and hold on to something, there's actually more cost to that and more pain to that. But we but we've it's familiar, so we keep it.Stuart Webb [00:11:24]:Yeah. And learning is hard, isn't it? I mean, well, I mean, we could we could do an entire an entire twenty, thirty hours on just learning. But I mean, learning is is is hard but is often undervalued in these situations. And I and I think you're absolutely right. People too often go back to when a a learning situation was difficult for them and go, well, I just don't wanna be there. You know, we we have to find these easy ramps, these easy paths, don't we? Yeah. And I'm I'm I'm gonna sort of bring in now because I think you've got some great, some some great some great offers and things that people, which we've put into our our our free stuff vault, where Ryan just took us through. I know there are a couple of offers in there, but, people, if you you go and go and look at these immediately.Stuart Webb [00:12:09]:In my opinion, immediately is is is is is possibly too too strong to work. But you need to get a hold of these and have a look at what Ryan is is is is giving giving away in terms of his valuable advice. Ryan, just talk us through, sort of some of the stuff that you've been able to sort of, offer to the listeners here.Ryan Ware [00:12:27]:Yeah. So we've got a couple ebooks that are out there really around mindset and and, you know, also just being able to navigate change by being more curious. Like, curiosity is, like, the key to me of change, and also this this idea that it's okay to be wrong once in a while. And what I mean by that, it's not, it's not that we always wanna just stand, you know, and fight against something that that we don't truly believe in, but that you could attempt to do something, and it's it may not go exactly as you thought. But now you know. And this is that world of science, and I'm trying you know, these these areas are about reframing our our thought about our relationship with change. And there's some steps and some things that you can go into, especially in chapter three of the the change mindset that some activities that you can begin to put yourself through that will help you sort of, like, assess your own relationship. Because I don't you know, you can't drive change as an individual in the company if you're not usually a willing participant or you aren't quite sure how how you react.Ryan Ware [00:13:44]:How do your emotions come up when something happens, until you recognize that your relationship with change tends to be one-sided. And no relationship is strong when when it's one-sided. Right. And I would say the other thing that we're we're you know, we typically will do is a strategy session or a discovery call because there's there's no one problem. As a coach or consultant, every company is different. While there's some similarities, it's just getting to know. I've gotta get closer to the team. I've gotta get closer to the problem to to be able to assess and work with them and build a relationship because, you know, consulting is is advice.Ryan Ware [00:14:28]:Coaching is questions. Like, I'm trying to get to your curiosity level to help you explore. And, you know, it's, to me, like, even with the speaking, I am just trying to spark enough curiosity that makes people start to question, like, I don't know. How did I learn this? Where did I get it from? Things like that to to be willing to say, hey. I'm curious enough to to go through this, like you said, and and begin to makeStuart Webb [00:14:58]:I think that's a brilliant way of putting it because to to make that sort of change for you to to start that journey. I mean, it doesn't matter where you are within an organization. You have to be curious about your own beliefs, your own your own behaviors, in order to get to the stage where you go, I now need to move beyond this this behavioral pattern, which which which has which has caused me to stay where I am. Because, you know, I I said this to one organization very recently who said, well, you we're talking specifically about the fact that, you know, their their growth had stalled. And I said, well, it hasn't stalled. It's going backwards because the world is advancing. Whether you like it or not, everybody around you is moving on. And so if you're sort of staying static, it means you're losing relative to everybody else two, three, four, five percent a year.Stuart Webb [00:15:51]:So you have to be changing constantly. Otherwise, you are behind. You're you're losing just by the fact that you're saying, well, I'm comfortable where I am. You you you're in actual fact losing. And so having that cautious sort of, belief that you need to question is absolutely critical to that whole process. I love what you were saying.Ryan Ware [00:16:11]:Yeah. I think it's we we forget that we're changing from the moment we're born.Stuart Webb [00:16:16]:Yeah. Yeah.Ryan Ware [00:16:17]:Life is constantly changing, but we're all you know, I I think it is. It's important that we have we create habits because we're taught that. Like, there's there's a reason that that you have to go through routines, and you gotta get them in sort of ingrained and embedded. But where I started questioning things, you know, little things is, like, as I learned math, my parents were teaching me. Those teachers were teaching me. Everyone had learned math the same way. But when I started teaching my son, I had never seen some of the new math that was coming through. And while I could be frustrated and I and I probably did get frustrated, like, why can't I figure this out? Why can't I learn it? I started realizing that the challenges that that generation is gonna have are different than than ours, but we we've learned math the same way, or we've done things the same way as all the other generations prior.Ryan Ware [00:17:09]:And without questioning, like, where where did we figure this? Where did we learn this? Or, you know, why do I believe this? Without doing that exploration, like, we're we're sort of allowing like, we love choice and we love control, but we're allowing other things to control us by not questioning it. And even though it may not be different, without knowing, we're letting someone else make a choice for us.Stuart Webb [00:17:35]:Brian, there must have been a, book, of course, a life experience that brought you to where you are with this knowledge, with this understanding, with this with this expertise in how to help construction companies go through the sort of changes you're talking about. Where did that come from? What was the what was the origination of of that? What was the book, of course, that you you think you'd recommend others sort of think about?Ryan Ware [00:18:01]:Yeah. I think that I think the book that really hit home was Carol Dweck's mindset. Courtney, you know, which is a couple decades old. But the just the things that I was seeing on a daily basis of how I was practicing architecture and then and left architecture and got into construction and was really trying to get people to reevaluate how they were building. You know, I watched, like, why isn't this taken off? I started just questioning, like, you know, this has been around a hundred years. Why isn't this taken off? Like, you know, we know there's other problems, like, all of it, labor shortage, all of these things occurring. It just I needed to know, like, what was the resistance? And it Yeah. You know, we could say it's risk.Ryan Ware [00:18:47]:We can say all of these things, but I just needed to start to understand the human mind. So reading mindset by Carol Dweck kicked off this this area for me to start thinking about, you know, how I train people in architecture, how I learn, how I wanted to take more of a coaching approach to it, and stretching people's minds as I was going through a change and implementing, you know, process and, you know, into those conversations because I couldn't force I couldn't force them to do it. If I've forced groups to to take on what I was trying to put in front of them as as, hey. Here's a new method to construction. Try it. They that's when they go into defense. Right? And and it it didn't work, or I don't have a choice. Someone is making me do this, opposed to using more curiosity, you know, kinda driven questions while having conversations with them.Ryan Ware [00:19:51]:Mhmm. You're trying to get trying to get them into not just their idea, but becoming those willing participants. So, you know, whether it's, you know, the Carol Dweck's and then reading a lot of the Dan Heath books. But one of my most favorite recent books is Amy Edmondson from Harvard, which wrote The Right Kind of Wrong. And you beingStuart Webb [00:20:15]:Great book.Ryan Ware [00:20:16]:From science. Right? Like, it's a it's a beautiful area where you you go back to that curiosity and exploration where just because you didn't get the answer today with all of the work that you did, it wasn't lost because you're using that experience as, like, we just know this didn't wasn't the right answer. It doesn't mean it's a wrong end. It just means it's one step closer to the right answer Yeah. Than being able to bounce back quicker. And I think that's one of the you know, that book has allowed me to be like, we have to think differently in this industry to address our problems. We we've got to kind of stretch our mind into into more curiosity sort of building experiences that create the project like a lab that we get the freedom to be wrong once in a while to make a mistake that some would say is too costly, which we're not talking about, like, you know, the buildings collapsing. We're we're talking about just selecting a new method, selecting a new delivery model, selecting a new material finish that that addresses other areas.Ryan Ware [00:21:26]:So, anyway, those are probably some of the books, but I would say the the one right now is Amy Edmondson's.Stuart Webb [00:21:32]:And I think Amy Edmondson has a a wonderful way of looking at it from all the way over from the malicious intent to destroy you through to the, hey. I was experimenting and that's a good thing, which we all have to bear in mind. You know, the the the the occasions in in which you know, you're talking about buildings collapse. There was one that I know she's talked about a little bit, which is a hotel that that unfortunately collapsed because somebody just didn't do the calculation, but that was because they were in the wrong mindset. So you you have to put yourself in the right mindset, Damien. That's the change is all about the mindset as you've been talking about and getting the right mindset. You know? Am I here? Should I be here in the I need to question everything because this is a safety critical issue, or, hey. This is a time for experimentation to learn and develop and grow.Ryan Ware [00:22:25]:Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I I'm a child of, you know, the eighties and the challengers. A perfect example for me of one where information's sort of there, and sometimes we're afraid to talk about it. Sometimes we're whatever the reason. Right? And I just think that creating that safe zone is you everyone can say we're creating a safe zone of kind of that learning environment. But by by really as leaders, if you're going through a change, getting just going through questions, getting to everybody's curiosity gets them to become more willing participants. But you don't have to start it with a change per se.Ryan Ware [00:23:06]:You don't have to be going through a massive change to begin building a stronger relationships with change. You just have to sort of start with yourself and something you've been thinking about, something you wanted to learn, something you wanted to try, you know, anything to go into that that exploration. SoStuart Webb [00:23:27]:Ryan, I I I'm very aware that I've been sort of asking you questions that have sparked my curiosity, but possibly are the wrong questions for, people, who have sort of, understanding of this. And and and there must be one question that you really think at the moment I should have by now asked, and it's very, it's very foolish of me not to have asked it. So I'm just gonna ask you to tell me what that question is. What is the question that I should have asked you? And and, obviously, once you've you've posed the question, you're the expert. You're gonna have to answer it for me, which is, which is the only way that, I can I can get through doing this? So what's the question, Ryan, that I should have asked you by this stage?Ryan Ware [00:24:05]:Yeah. I think I'll I'll stay, I'll stay in a little bit of just kinda giving, an opportunity for the for the listeners to to test something. So it would probably be is, like, what is one thing that they could do starting right now in order to, kind of reframe their thought on relationship with change? And I would say this goes back to that change mindset ebook, which has some strategies in there. But I would just I I typically like people to just start with something in their their life that it could be small like, pick a small thing that you could just win on or something that you've known your whole life, and you haven't really questioned it. And the reason I say something like that is, as a kid, you know, for a long time, we thought, you know, something happened to a child actor, in a life commercial. Because we were told that, and we believed it, and we never validated. And your whole life, you go through these things like, hey. Something something might be true.Ryan Ware [00:25:15]:So my question my question for them would be is pick something in your life that you were taught and you believed pretty much your whole life, but you've always felt like, there's no way this is valid. There's no way it's exactly like this. And maybe it sounds a huge impact, but just start asking the question. Where did I learn it? Who taught it to me? Who taught it to them? Is it still valid? What situations were different? What would have to be true today in order for this to be false or even further in the truth? Just to start to stretch your mind into it's okay to ask questions. It's okay to start to wonder, like, I don't know. I don't know if this is real. I don't know if this is true. And I would pick on the construction industry and say, like, because we're taught, that's exactly how we do it, or how we design or how we set up a sheet or whatever, in a set of documents, that doesn't mean it's true.Ryan Ware [00:26:19]:It could be something that someone set into motion years ago and just happens to become part of the process, but it's not real. And I think you just have to be willing to start asking questions and see where you get and just just to test it. You know? Just stretch yourself a little bit into this new way of thinking opposed to sitting in this current state of, like, well, I just I think it's too hard to go through the change. I don't wanna ask the question. What if somebody thinks I'm not intelligent enough because I didn't know the answer? Or, you know, because I've been here for five years, I've been doing it. Will I look, you know, silly or embarrassed? Because, you know, you read the book Traction or anything in kinda operation systems and think through it. They'll say, like, hey. If you're not embarrassed, you haven't gone deep enough.Ryan Ware [00:27:11]:But I I would just say, like, it's you don't have to be embarrassed by it. It actually is this moment of, like, like, an moment. It's actually this beautiful like, I keep talking about this beautiful thing that has changed, which is that's where you're growing. That's where you're learning. It's not where you're actually being downgraded or suppressed. You're in you're in an area of this freedom to to, yeah, you know, sort of explore your, kind of a beginner's mindset again ofStuart Webb [00:27:47]:I love that. I love that. And I think that's a really important message as we come to the end of this because, you know, change doesn't have to be embarrassing. Change doesn't have to be, I can only do it if I'm really hanging out there. Sometimes the incremental, sometimes the small steps to help you get there can be just as effective, and it's about taking yourself from the the mindset of I just wanna be comfortable through to the curious, which actually is probably the biggest shift that you can go through. Mhmm. Ryan, what a, a lot to think about, and I'm really grateful for the fact that you you spent sort of twenty, twenty five minutes with us just sort of talking us through some of that. Thank you so much.Stuart Webb [00:28:34]:Listen, I I'm just gonna do a little tiny bit of self promotion at the end of this. If you would like to get onto the mailing list so that you get an email, once a week, which sort of tells you who's coming up and so that you can join the the the the the LinkedIn live to to listen to some of the real experts in this, in this sort of stuff like Ryan talking to you, go to, www.systemize.me/subscribe. It's as simple as systemize.me/subscribe. And there's a simple form. It asks you for your first name and your email address, and that's it. And you'll get an email from me that just basically sort of, sets out who's coming up, what they're gonna be talking about, and you can come on and ask questions and and talk to people like us as the knowledge that people like Ryan have got. Ryan, thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us. Really appreciate you spending that time, and and I look forward to, to spending a bit more time with looking at what you're talking about and and learning more because I think, change is gonna be, the one constant that we can all agree is never going away.Ryan Ware [00:29:40]:Yep. Thank you, Stuart. Appreciate it.Stuart Webb [00:29:42]:No problem at all. Thank you. Get full access to It's Not Rocket Science! at thecompleteapproach.substack.com/subscribe

In their book REWORK, 37signals' co-founders Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson caution against glorifying nonstop work. In this week's podcast, they tackle a listener's questions related to the chapter Workaholism and dig into employee management including how to measure productivity and how to track progress. They explain why simple conversations often matter more than complex systems.Key Takeaways00:15 – Judge productivity by paying attention and staying engaged07:50 – Tracking progress doesn't require complicated systems11:44 – Conversations matter more than systems; don't be a coward15:11 – When work ramps up, handling busier times without burning outLinks and ResourcesRecord a video question for the podcastBooks by 37signalsSign up for a 30-day free trial at Basecamp.comHEY World | HEYThe REWORK podcastThe Rework Podcast on YouTubeThe 37signals Dev Blog37signals on YouTube@37signals on X

This episode dives deep into digital accessibility—why it's more than just ticking a compliance box and how it can unlock business growth, improve user experience, and amplify engagement across your B2B SaaS company. Jeff Mains chats with Mike Barton, VP at AudioEye, about transforming digital content and experiences to be truly inclusive. Together, they explore practical strategies for simplifying messaging, overcoming the “curse of knowledge,” leveraging AI as a creative partner, and using storytelling to create content that resonates with and includes everyone.If you're looking to scale your SaaS, boost SEO, or just build a business of significance, this conversation is full of actionable wisdom.Key Takeaways00:00 Inclusive Content Creation Strategies05:59 Emphasizing Digital Accessibility Awareness09:36 Unlocking a $13 Trillion Market10:28 Accessibility: A Revenue Opportunity15:51 Digital Accessibility for All19:50 Simplifying Content for Quick Impact22:29 "Storytelling Enhances Data Impact"24:30 User Experience Roadblocks Analogy30:27 Pre-Demo Decision Influencers33:49 Collaborative Storycrafting in Business36:40 Creating Unified Brand Narratives38:29 Engaging Brand Storytelling Techniques43:56 AI Enhances Content Creation Efficiency45:39 AI Clarifies Better Than Humans?48:58 Free Accessibility Site Scan51:18 Streamlining Growth: AI to StorytellingTweetable QuotesDigital Accessibility Matters: "This isn't about just checking a compliance box. It's unlocking your full audience potential and improving the experience for everyone, not just those with disabilities." — Mike Barton"But here's the kicker. Simplifying content, ditching jargon, and designing with clarity not only helps users with visual, cognitive or mobility challenges, it boosts your SEO, increases engagement, and actually converts better." — Mike BartonViral Topic: The Power of Emotion in B2B Storytelling: "data informs and emotion transforms." — Mike Barton Why Simplicity in Web Design Matters for Everyone: "Simplicity sells, simplicity scales." — Jeff MainsQuote: "Well, the first place it goes wrong is that there is no overarching brand story or narrative. You just have a bunch of content islands that exist across all your channels that are telling different stories." — Jeff Mains Quote: "Most people are shocked to find how many issues exist on their site and how difficult it is for a person with a disability." — Jeff MainsSaaS Leadership LessonsEmpathy-led Leadership:Lead your content, teams, and company by keeping customer experience at the forefront, especially for those often excluded.Challenge Default Thinking:Don't treat accessibility as a compliance task—see it as strategic growth and innovation opportunity.Simplify Relentlessly:Precision beats paragraphs. Prioritize clarity in your messaging for every audience segment.Make Others the Hero:Elevate your users' journey and outcomes, not your brand's accolades.Leverage Team and Community Feedback:Build a creative "brain trust" for testing and refining ideas—it's never a solo act.Embrace Technology with Humility:Use AI not to replace the human touch but to supercharge your team's abilities and your content's impact.Guest Resourcesmike.barton@audioeye.comwww.audioeye.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/omnibarton/Episode Sponsor

Curious how Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson keep their attention where it counts? In this episode of The REWORK Podcast, the 37signals co-founders join host Kimberly Rhodes to talk about the different ways they approach focus. From procrastination that sometimes pays off to meditation and visualization, Jason and David share their tips for finding and maintaining focus. Key Takeaways00:44 – What procrastination really tells you05:30 – Traditional and alternative meditation practices13:28 – Breaking through a creative block16:35 – Building a work schedule that makes focus easierLinks and ResourcesRecord a video question for the podcastBooks by 37signalsSign up for a 30-day free trial at Basecamp.comHEY World | HEYThe REWORK podcastThe Rework Podcast on YouTubeThe 37signals Dev Blog37signals on YouTube@37signals on X

How can job seekers win in a world where roles attract hundreds—if not thousands—of applicants and the hiring process feels like a black hole? This week, Jeff Mains is joined by Garrett Rice, co-founder and CEO of Callings AI, for a compelling look at how AI and modern SaaS tools are reshaping the job hunt—for the candidates themselves.Garrett draws on his extensive tech background—including years at Apple—to outline why today's employment search is fundamentally broken, and how Callings AI equips job seekers with workflow, networking, and optimization tools to regain control, clarity, and confidence on their path to a new role. The conversation is rich with actionable insights on standing out, networking with intention, and designing products for real user needs. If you're a SaaS founder, product builder, or simply navigating your own job transition, this episode is a masterclass in both leadership and innovation.Key Takeaways00:00 Empowering Job Seekers with SaaS04:28 "Career Shift: From Apple to AI"08:31 Job Application and ATS Challenges10:51 "Optimizing Job Application Success"14:48 AI-Enhanced Job Networking Tool18:29 "Comprehensive Job Search Support"21:55 Networking Unlocks Hidden Job Market24:50 Streamlined Job Matching Platform27:32 AI Boosts Efficiency and Fun30:20 Improving Candidate Discovery35:34 "Embrace Internal Growth Over Consultants"40:05 Division of Roles in Partnership41:18 Resume Enhancement Tool Unveiled45:31 Earning Customer Trust Over Awareness49:25 "Sales Hiring and Resource Sharing"Tweetable Quotes"The number one way to win a job is to get out of the pile and into the ‘You're being considered' pile—and that's done through networking." — Garrett Rice"AI won't magically solve the job search, but it can finally help level the playing field." — Garrett Rice"Your resume is a piece of paper. When you reach out, you become human to the company." — Garrett Rice"If you're not iterating, you're not building. Success is just well-managed failure and learning." — Garrett Rice"Credibility is earned, one relationship at a time—it's not just about getting your name out there." — Garrett RiceThe Power of Referrals: "I think that the referral incentive is huge and most people completely underestimate that or forget it exists." - Jeff MainsSaaS Leadership LessonsIterate Relentlessly:"You build, it works a little bit, it doesn't work in parts. You rebuild and you iterate and iterate and iterate.” — Learn as you go. Product-market fit is a process, not a one-time discovery.Mission-Driven Building:Stay laser-focused on delivering value to your core user—even when others try to pull you toward more profitable, “easier” directions.Make Networking Frictionless:In both leadership and job search, proactively and intentionally connecting with others is non-negotiable for success.Credibility Over Noise:The brand battle isn't just about visibility. It's earning trust, one genuine connection at a time, that matters now more than ever.Co-Founder Synergy Matters:Build with people you respect and align with. Complementary skill sets and shared values are a startup's real superpower.Embrace the Unknowns:“The idea that you have when you start… is never how it works out.” Be ready to hack through the jungle, not stroll down a paved path.Guest Resourcesgarrett@callings.aicallings.aihttps://www.linkedin.com/in/garrettriceEpisode Sponsor

What's holding you back isn't just strategy—it could be your own brain! In this riveting episode of SaaS Fuel, Jeff Mains sits down with Mitch Weisburgh, veteran educator and author of Mind Shifting: Stop Your Brain from Sabotaging Your Happiness and Success. Together, they explore how understanding the brain's survival mechanisms (hello, limbic system!) and developing self-awareness can unlock resourcefulness, resilience, and collaboration—skills every SaaS leader needs to thrive in chaos.Mitch shares practical stories about mindset shifts, the neuroscience behind decision-making, and actionable frameworks to transform failure into feedback. They discuss how to navigate conflict, ditch binary thinking, and lead teams (and yourself) with more empathy and adaptability. Get ready for brain hacks and business wisdom you can use right now.Key Takeaways00:00 Mindset Shifts for Effective Leadership06:14 "Reaching Critical Mass Skills"08:50 Travel Frustrations and Airline Inefficiencies13:17 "Understanding the Brain's Decision-Making"14:38 "Limbic Brain Functions Explained"19:43 Challenge Certainty, Embrace Awareness22:42 Understanding Limbic Reactions27:10 Unified Collaboration Over Individual Solutions30:04 Exploring Product Presentation Strategies33:53 Fostering Problem-Solving in Management35:32 Understanding Conflict Resolution Styles38:27 Negotiation and Collaboration in Sales43:40 Embracing Feedback in Challenges46:46 Stress Relief: Mindfulness and Support48:58 "Getting Rich Through Book Sales"53:17 Innovative Job Hunting PlatformTweetable Quotes"If you have a group of, let's say, 50 people in your organization, and if you can mobilize seven of them to be advocating for a solution, that's very often with good leadership enough to tip the whole organization." — Mitch Weisburgh"When you are absolutely positive about something, it's a sign that your limbic mind has made the decision." — Mitch WeisburghNavigating Uncertainty When Launching Products: "So in a complex system, what you really need to do is you have to come up with things that you can try that aren't going to destroy you so that you can get feedback and from that feedback, decide the next thing to do." — Mitch WeisburghQuote: "But the first thing is to be aware is that there's really five different styles of dealing with conflict. And once you become aware that there's five different styles of conflict, of conflict resolution, then all of a sudden you have options." — Mitch WeisburghThe Power of Trusted Support: "So having a trusted authority such as Jeff Mays, you know, that, you know, or a spouse or friends or relatives, you know, or even a therapist or coach. Okay, you know, sometimes, you know, you need that." — Mitch WeisburghViral Topic - The Loneliness Epidemic Among Leaders: "Most leaders are exhausted from playing the lone hero and it's killing both your results and your sanity." — Jeff MainsViral Topic: Inclusive Design Effectiveness: "He's proof that inclusive design isn't just ethical, it's effective." — Jeff MainsSaaS Leadership LessonsSelf-Awareness Is Step One.Leadership growth starts with recognizing your own thinking patterns and emotional triggers before you can shift them.Train Your Team to Think in Options, Not Orders.Instead of...

In this episode of SaaS Fuel, host Jeff Mains goes deep with Juan Betancourt, CEO of Humantelligence and creator of the AI-powered Ask Aura coach. Juan shares his fascinating transition from leading major corporations like P&G and Siebel Systems to scaling a tech startup aimed at transforming HR and team collaboration. We dive into the challenges of selling into the HR tech space, how leveraging psychometrics with AI can radically improve engagement, retention, and teamwork, and what it really takes to transition from executive to founder. Juan also reveals hard-earned lessons from multiple pivots, what makes Ask Aura unique, and how every organization—and founder—can prepare for the AI-powered future of work.Key Takeaways00:00 AI-Driven Talent Management Solutions05:04 Seamless, Multilingual, Voice-Activated Insights07:49 Revolutionizing Leadership Efficiency Tools12:31 "Prescriptive Action Replaces Reports"15:31 Lessons Learned from Corporate to Startup16:41 Venture Capital and Startup Realities20:23 Startup's Code Impresses Potential Buyer24:59 "TalentFit: Analyzing Workforce Performance"28:54 Marketing Failure Due to Misaligned Strategy31:36 AI Tool Implementation Challenges34:11 Ensuring Effective Employee Training39:02 "Unique AI: Personalized Coaching"42:05 AI's Future Impact on JobsTweetable Quotes"Who doesn't want to know how to get along better with that jerk who busts their balls every meeting?" — Juan Betancourt"The more you can democratize leadership insights company-wide, the bigger your edge." — Jeff Mains"Technology finally caught up—with AI in workflow, what used to be a $20,000 executive coach is now a $2/month subscription for everyone." — Juan Betancourt"We reduced turnover by 30%. That's the kind of impact that's only possible when psychometrics meet workflow." — Juan Betancourt"Even if you build the right thing, you'll lose if you try to outspend competitors on marketing instead of solving a pain the market understands." — Juan Betancourt"If you only see a blank screen, you're missing the real adoption battle—every user needs use cases, not just features." — Jeff MainsSaaS Leadership LessonsLean Into People Development:Scaling isn't just about products—it's about the quality of leadership and ongoing development. Invest in understanding and empowering your teams.Prioritize Actionable Insights:Make sure that psychometric or engagement data is not just collected—but used daily, in the flow of work, for real impact.Adopt Founder-Led Sales Early:In the beginning, rely on your network and credibility. First deals rarely happen because of the product alone.Pivot Relentlessly, But Learn Each Time:Don't be afraid to kill what's not working. Each failed pivot, portal, or product iteration paves the way to something better.Foster Ownership Over Perfection:Empower your “Bad News Bears” team: grit and ownership beat waiting for rare A+ players. Innovation comes from belief, not just brilliance.Make Product Value Obvious and Accessible:Users need clear use cases and context. Interface design and onboarding should start with “What do you want to accomplish today?”Guest ResourcesJuan BetancourtEmail: juan@humantelligence.com or...

In this energizing episode, Jeff Mains sits down with Ryan Hogan—an entrepreneurial powerhouse known for turning murder mystery games into a global business and now shaking up the recruiting world through his company, Talent Harbor. Together, they explore the underappreciated but foundational role of company culture in scaling SaaS organizations, why hiring for values trumps hiring for resumes, and how onboarding, leadership, and learning from failures build resilient, thriving teams.You'll hear battle-tested tips on establishing and living real core values (not just slogans), fixing broken cultures, running stellar onboarding programs, mistakes most founders make when hiring, and how to create pathways for growth that keep your best talent around for the long haul. Packed with practical examples and actionable advice, this is an episode every founder, leader, and hiring manager should bookmark.Key Takeaways00:00 "Core Values and Culture Fit"04:47 Measuring Success: Consumer Signals09:18 "Identify Core Behaviors First"12:10 Defining Startup Culture Evolution13:34 Core Values Alignment in Leadership16:56 Core Values in Daily Life19:32 "Brand Values in Customer Experience"25:13 "Why Companies Lose Talent"28:26 "Evolving Workplace Culture Issues"29:22 "Prioritizing Culture Fit in Startups"33:51 "First 72: Critical Onboarding"37:19 Effective Onboarding and Support Strategy40:50 Inspiring Growth with Care44:29 "Leadership Beyond Individual Success"47:54 Entrepreneurship: Finding Product-Market Fit51:17 AI Revolutionizes Culture with Ask AuraTweetable QuotesThe Truth About Business Culture: "Not the fluffy feel good posters on the wall version, but the real gritty, foundational stuff that drives how your team thinks, works and wins." — Ryan Hogan "Culture Fit matters more than a perfect resume, especially in the early stages, and how adaptable hires often outperform the most qualified ones when the market inevitably shifts." — Ryan HoganThe Art of Scaling a Brand: "founders have to learn to let go in order to scale effectively." — Ryan Hogan Viral Topic: The Impact of Leadership Authenticity on Workplace Culture: "You know, you said it was going to be this, and what I'm seeing is something else. And I think there's a kind of a disharmony there. And I wanted to be a part of this movement, but it's not what I thought it was going to be. Wasn't what I was sold." — Ryan HoganViral Topic: Leadership Integrity and Core Values: "the minute you say, we're committed to these things and someone makes a decision that's not in line with those core values, you've destroyed it." — Jeff Mains"Most people put their core values on the wall. You're trying to take those words from the wall and you're trying to make that connection of how do these show up on a daily basis." — Jeff MainsQuote: "You can create all this inspiration, but if people don't feel supported, that can become a huge issue for the enterprise." — Jeff Mains SaaS Leadership LessonsDefine and Reinforce Core ValuesBefore hiring, know the core behaviors your company needs to succeed and reinforce them consistently.Hire for Culture Fit—But Don't Neglect SkillsIn startups, prioritize values and adaptability slightly more than experience, but remember both matter.Transparent, Aligned Recruiting Models WinChallenge industry norms—flat, transparent fees and partnership drive better results than traditional commissions.Onboarding Shapes Long-Term SuccessInvest in scripting the...

37signals' co-founders Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson share more about their business than many founders. In this episode of The REWORK Podcast, they chat with host Kimberly Rhodes about why transparency is important to them. They talk about how sharing openly can double as marketing, the upside of showing work that's still in progress, and why timing matters when deciding what to put out to the public.Key Takeaways00:13 – Why transparency matters at 37signals03:07 – Everything is marketing09:22 – Letting people follow along while the work is happening12:43 – Knowing when and what to shareLinks and ResourcesRecord a video question for the podcastBooks by 37signalsSign up for a 30-day free trial at Basecamp.comHEY World | HEYThe REWORK podcastThe Rework Podcast on YouTubeThe 37signals Dev Blog37signals on YouTube@37signals on X

In this episode of the SaaS Fuel Podcast, host Jeff Mains sits down with John Long, the visionary behind Think AI, to explore the dynamic intersection of artificial intelligence and human empowerment in SaaS businesses. John shares his journey from real estate and HVAC to tech entrepreneurship, revealing how Think AI was born out of a need to streamline sales and customer interactions through advanced AI agents.The discussion delves into real-world examples of AI adoption—from automating interviewing and reviving old sales leads to transforming customer support in e-commerce. Jeff and John also tackle the boundaries of what current AI can (and can't) do, why humans will always be needed for complex and creative problem-solving, and how to build resilient, future-proof teams at the forefront of technological change.Whether you're a SaaS founder, tech leader, or simply AI-curious, this episode is packed with practical wisdom, actionable leadership takeaways, and a clear-eyed look at the realities and potential of AI in business today.Key Takeaways00:00 Empowering Humans with AI Integration04:34 AI Tool Evolution to Product06:44 "AI: Enhancing Focus and Efficiency"12:29 AI Revolutionizing Customer Support Careers16:26 "Empowering AI for Human Interaction"19:16 "AI Necessitates Human Oversight"22:33 AI: Capable, Yet Sometimes Overhyped24:44 Workforce Cuts: Economic Impact & AI Shift29:03 Understanding Tech in Home Services32:28 AI-Driven Podcast Production36:02 "Think Differently with AI"37:58 Balancing Ideas and Reality43:19 Rapid AI Support Adoption47:53 "AI Talent Management Revolution"Tweetable QuotesAI Revolutionizes Customer Support Careers: "We're going to double your pay, turn this into a career path, and really incentivize you to do what you love doing at a really, really high level and taking care of our people." — John LongViral Topic: The Expanding World of Agentic AI "AI can do a lot. It's challenging because most people don't know how to get started or kind of what to do to kick this thing off. And that's where companies like us step in and help with, with kind of the, the guiding steps of that. But yeah, AI can do a lot." — John LongHow AI Changes the Way We Think: "as people start to dig into AI, they literally begin to think differently. They look at their world differently and they, rather than approaching problems and thinking, well, okay, well I got to go and fix this. They think about things like, well, I'm going to go check with AI and figure out who else has experienced this and how they dealt with it. And you just, you look at the world in a different way and you approach problems in a different way and you just think differently." — John Long Empowering, Not Replacing Humans: "the future of business isn't about replacing humans, but empowering them." — Jeff MainsCultural Shift in the Age of AI: "Teams start working very differently, focusing on High value creative tasks while AI handles the grunt work. It's not just efficiency, it's a cultural shift."— Jeff MainsThe Epidemic of Leadership Burnout: "You know, you're probably like everybody else, drowning in connections but starving for real support. And it's creating a silent epidemic of leadership burnout among executives just like you." — Jeff Mains SaaS Leadership LessonsBalance Tech Ambition with Practical Reality:Leaders must combine visionary ideas with operational discipline—having both a “gas” and “brake” in the partnership drives sustainable growth.Focus on Value, Not Just Shiny Tools:Successful leaders implement AI...

In this episode of SaaS Fuel, host Jeff Mains sits down with serial entrepreneur and strategic executive Josh Sizemore, a powerhouse in building and scaling consumer brands in retail, CPG, wellness, and ecommerce. Drawing from decades of experience (including billion-dollar brands and innovative startups), Josh reveals the realities of taking niche health products to household names—without losing your brand's soul or becoming just another “me-too” in a crowded market.The conversation uncovers the art and science of brand storytelling, making the leap from DTC to retail, the power of deep versus wide expansion, the importance of authentic leadership, and how to avoid the pitfalls of solo decision-making and delegation. Josh gets candid about his journey launching a premium water brand, the value of grit in founder storytelling, navigating retail growth, keys to scaling SaaS marketplaces, and the ever-present challenge of knowing when to sell or double down.Whether you're a SaaS founder, a CPG upstart, or growing any high-integrity brand, this episode is loaded with actionable insights on leading powerfully, communicating clearly, and building market momentum that lasts.Key Takeaways00:00 AI, Innovation, and Mindset Shift06:35 Boost Product Sales with Sampling07:38 Slow and Steady Market Expansion11:24 Effective Virtual Communication Tools16:24 Water Donation and Distribution Initiative18:24 "Authentic Storytelling in Branding"23:00 "Original New York Salsa Success"27:00 Entrepreneurship Patience and Resilience30:05 High-End Retail Venture Story32:49 Founders' Delegation Challenges35:48 Instincts and Delegation39:31 Entrepreneurial Journeys in InnovationTweetable QuotesIf a distributor wants you but the retailers don't want you, then they're not going to bring you in. If a retailer wants you and then, but you don't have distribution to that retailer, well how are you going to get there? So it's gotta all kind of work in synchronous, you know, together and kind of synchronize itself up." - Josh Sizemore"you have to just stick to the play of slow and steady until you, you know, until you have the, the capital and the resources to hire 100 people or whatever to get to those stores." - Josh Sizemore"when you're not communicating directly to somebody, you have to be super, like, aware of, okay, does this text sound kind of even killed or is it over the top, or is it underwhelming when you send those communications through virtually?" - Josh Sizemore"just make sure that whoever it is is authentic. They're coming from a perspective of grit and grind." - Josh SizemoreScaling with Integrity: "Delegation isn't just about survival, it's about enabling real growth." - Jeff MainsAI and the Future of Work: "Documenting current processes is the first step to any meaningful innovation." - Jeff Mains"It's not strategy, not charisma, it's not even luck. It's relationships, specifically four of them." - Jeff Mains"It's really refreshing to be able to turn that over to somebody like that. They can just take it and run with it and make it so much better than even we thought it could be." - Jeff MainsSaaS Leadership LessonsDon't Rush Retail: Go Deep Before WideEarly retail wins are tempting, but focus on dominating a few stores at a time before expanding. Depth beats spread.Grit and Authenticity Beat Flashy MarketingShare real founder stories and struggles; people spot authenticity and reward it.Test Relentlessly and Leverage DataWhether it's email...