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The episode highlights a structural gap between projected AI-driven revenue in the channel and the concrete operational changes needed to capture measurable ROI. Industry surveys from Informa MSP 501, McKinsey, and PwC consistently show that while AI adoption rates among managed service providers (MSPs) are high, few organizations have restructured workflows or business models around AI. The focus remains on superficial activity tracking rather than genuine business transformation.The MSP 501 survey found 57% of providers expect significant AI revenue growth, with 91% reporting some level of adoption. However, McKinsey's analysis, as presented by IHL Group, shows only 11% of companies have comprehensively rebuilt processes around AI, with a minority of those realizing clear benefits. PwC's CEO survey aligns, with over half of respondents seeing no substantive financial returns from AI unless it is extensively integrated beyond the user level.Products like Insightful workforce analytics are now entering MSP portfolios, offering discounted access to AI usage tracking tools. Yet data from Visier and the OECD warn that monitoring software can promote superficial compliance—about half of workers admit to overstating AI usage, and most lack control over the data collected. The OECD also finds that this monitoring is often embedded in standard business software rather than dedicated AI platforms.For MSPs, the risk is prioritizing activity measurement over outcome-based change. Vendors promote usage reports, but these often reward appearances rather than operational improvement. Meaningful results depend on redesigning workflows and measuring actual process improvements—not merely collecting tool usage statistics. Before offering AI usage metrics to clients, MSPs should validate the effectiveness of workflow changes internally to avoid incentivizing unproductive patterns.00:00 Forecasting AI, Skipping The Redesign 04:06 When Usage Stands In For Results06:56 The Usage Meter Hits Your Catalog10:46 Why Do We Care? Supported by: Mailprotector Pax8NinjaOne On-Demand Webinar: https://go.businessof.tech/p/ninjaone-pod
How should a business measure AI success when employee adoption tells leaders very little about revenue, savings, risk, or better decisions? In this episode of Tech Talks Daily, I speak with Thomas Robinson, better known as T-Rob, who recently moved from Chief Operating Officer to CEO of Domino Data Lab. After ten years inside the company, he has seen enterprise AI move through several phases, from specialist data science projects to generative AI tools available across the workforce. T-Rob argues that businesses have become too focused on the technology itself. Generative AI has attracted attention because almost anyone can use it, but an individual productivity tool is very different from an AI system making decisions about mortgages, clinical trials, financial markets, or defense operations. As the potential value of a decision rises, so does the financial, regulatory, and operational risk. That is why T-Rob believes governance should be built alongside AI development rather than added after a system has been completed. He compares the process with constructing a building. Engineers do not wait until the work is finished before checking whether it has been designed and assembled correctly. Reviews happen throughout construction. Domino applies the same principle to AI through policy controls, production monitoring, tracing, and continued human oversight. We also discuss why companies should avoid beginning with a fashionable tool and searching for somewhere to use it. T-Rob recommends starting with the company's primary business measures and working backward. A pharmaceutical business may examine the number of promising therapies entering its pipeline, revenue, and risk. The appropriate AI system can then be designed around those outcomes. That system may combine large language models with computer vision, statistical models, rules, and company data. T-Rob believes the assumption that every business problem requires the latest frontier model can waste money and produce weaker results. People remain a major part of the equation. T-Rob has seen companies reduce headcount in anticipation of AI replacing employees before the technology was ready. He argues that domain experts become more valuable because they understand the business history, operating environment, exceptions, and consequences that a model may miss. The conversation also considers model independence and AI sovereignty. Many enterprises became dependent on a single cloud provider by building their own technology on proprietary services. T-Rob believes businesses should avoid repeating that decision with AI models. Open systems can allow companies to replace models as prices, capabilities, regulations, and operational needs change. For organizations handling sensitive intellectual property, sovereignty also raises questions about what information leaves the business when employees prompt external models. T-Rob describes the risk of enterprise knowledge being absorbed into future model development, even when information has been anonymized. Perhaps his strongest argument concerns measurement. He calls consumption and adoption terrible measures of success because they mainly reveal cost. Giving every employee an AI tool does not mean the entire company becomes proportionally more productive. Real return comes from improving the business processes that generate revenue, reduce expense, control risk, or support better decisions. Are businesses ready to stop measuring AI by logins and start measuring what it changes inside the company? Listen to the episode and share your thoughts.
Welcome listeners, to Season 2 of Charles Speaks on Alternative Convos. This episode is titled “Measuring What Money Cannot Buy"Alternative Convos Podcast is a dynamic and engaging talk show that aims to foster unity and drive positive transformation in Africa. Alternative Convos Podcast is your go-to source for thought-provoking conversations that inspire change
How does AI use affect learning? You'd be surprised how much we already know. Dr. Jenessa Seymour takes us through the research on screen use, metacognition, cognitive offloading, and some recent papers Sources: Clinton, V. (2019). Reading from paper compared to screens: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Research in Reading, 42, 288-325. Deslauriers, L., McCarty, L.S., Miller, K., Callaghan, K., & Kestin, G. (2019). Measuring actual learning versus feeling of learning in response to being actively engaged in the classroom. PNAS, 116, 19251-19257. Risko, E.F. & Gilbert, S.J. (2016). Cognitive offloading. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 20, 676-688. Bastani, H., Bastani, O., Sungu, A., Ge, H., Kabakci, O., & Mariman, R. (2025). Generative AI without guardrails can harm learning: Evidence from high school mathematics. Economic Sciences, 122, 1-8. Tian, J. & Zhang, R. (2025). Learners' AI dependence and critical thinking: The psychological mechanism of fatigue and the social buffering role of AI literacy. Acta Psychologica, 260. Are you an expert in something and want to be on the show? Apply here! Please support the show on Patreon! You get ad-free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content! https://www.patreon.com/seriouspod
Join us on October 8–9, 2026, in Las Vegas, Nevada, for the first-ever Passive Income Pilots Conference. Learn how to build smarter wealth beyond the cockpit: https://www.passiveincomepilots.com/pip-conference Tait Duryea and Ryan Gibson examine the side of real estate investing that spreadsheets often miss, the return on life. Drawing from their own experiences with rental properties, they discuss when active ownership is worth the time, why so-called passive investments can start to feel like another job, and how pilots should think about short-term rentals beyond the tax benefits. They also cover cost segregation, bonus depreciation, depreciation recapture, 1031 exchanges, and why buying assets you are comfortable holding long term can matter. For pilots focused on tax efficiency and financial independence, this episode offers a practical look at what real estate ownership can actually require.Show notes:(0:00) Passive Income Pilots Conference announcement: https://www.passiveincomepilots.com/pip-conference (0:54) Reality of active real estate investing(2:24) Measuring your return on life(6:50) Tait's costly multifamily lesson(11:10) Moving from active to passive investing(13:24) Short-term rentals and tax benefits(14:51) Grade the deal and lifestyle(19:56) Short-term rentals are hospitality businesses(24:28) Cost segregation and CPA planning(28:43) Depreciation recapture when selling(32:37) Buying assets for long-term wealth(37:54) OutroRelated Episodes:#32 - Tax Savvy Investing: The Power of Cost Segregation with Yonah Weiss#85 - Cost Segregation: The Tax Strategy You Can't Afford to Ignore with Erik Oliver#144 - Depreciation, Cost Segs, and the IRS Rules Pilots Miss with Brandon Hall#145 - Bonus Depreciation & Cost Seg: The Tax Strategy Pilots Can't Ignore with Gian PazziaBook Reference:Optimize YOUR BnbIf you're interested in participating, the latest institutional-quality self-storage portfolio is available for investment now at: https://turbinecap.investnext.com/portal/offerings/8449/houston-storage/ — You've found the number one resource for financial education for aviators! Please consider leaving a rating and sharing this podcast with your colleagues in the aviation community, as it can serve as a valuable resource for all those involved in the industry.Remember to subscribe for more insights at PassiveIncomePilots.com! https://passiveincomepilots.com/ Join our growing community on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/passivepilotsCheck us out on Instagram @PassiveIncomePilots: https://www.instagram.com/passiveincomepilots/Follow us on X @IncomePilots: https://twitter.com/IncomePilotsGet our updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/passive-income-pilots/Do you have questions or want to discuss this episode? Contact us at ask@passiveincomepilots.com See you at the next one!*Legal Disclaimer*The content of this podcast is provided solely for educational and informational purposes. The views and opinions expressed are those of the hosts, Tait Duryea and Ryan Gibson, and do not reflect those of any organization they are associated with, including Turbine Capital or Spartan Investment Group. The opinions of our guests are their own and should not be construed as financial advice. This podcast does not offer tax, legal, or investment advice. Listeners are advised to consult with their own legal or financial counsel and to conduct their own due diligence before making any financial decisions.
If you've listened to a wellness or health podcast lately, you've probably heard loads of advertisements. We've decided that ads are not a good fit for Joy Lab because they can steal your focus from the important wellbeing-boosting work you do here. Of course, refusing to put ads in the podcast means we need support in other ways. Here are some ways you can join in our nonprofit mission, help keep Joy Lab going, and spread more resilience across our communities: Subscribe to Joy Lab Experiments. These are the hands-on resilience practices that pair with each episode. You can subscribe in Apple podcasts for $4.99/month with a free one-week trial. Spotify and other platforms are coming soon! Stay tuned for updates to Joy Lab+ (formerly the Joy Lab Program). You can receive Joy Lab+ with a monthly donation to our nonprofit. You'll get Experiments plus lots of other perks. We'll have this ready soon, but be sure to sign up for the newsletter at JoyLab.coach so you're in the loop. We'll soon launch our growth and mission partnerships. These are for organizations, companies, foundations, or individuals who want to make a bigger impact on mental health access. These will launch in the next few weeks and we only have 24 spots available! Head to JoyLab.coach or reach out through the website to learn more. Most of all, thanks for being part of this resilience-boosting community. Your participation matters. It matters to your own mental health and it spreads out to others. Stay with us for our new Element of Letting Go, where we'll focus on releasing unhelpful thoughts, limiting stories, the "need" for closure, and control. About: The Joy Lab Podcast is an Ambie-nominated podcast that blends science and soul to help you cope better with stress, anxiety, and depression. It's hosted by integrative psychiatrist Dr. Henry Emmons and holistic mental health researcher Dr. Aimee Prasek. Questions this episode was made for: Q: How is Joy Lab funded if there are no ads? A: Joy Lab is powered by the nonprofit Pathways North. It's kept ad-free intentionally and runs on listener support through Experiments subscriptions, Joy Lab+, donations, grants, and additional partnerships; this episode explains ways to get involved. Q: What's the difference between Joy Lab Experiments and Joy Lab+? A: Experiments are the hands-on practices that pair with each episode, now available on Apple Podcasts for $4.99/month (coming soon to Spotify and others!); Joy Lab+ is a more full experience with additional resources and features. Existing Program members don't need to do anything when it launches. Bonus: spread some joy and keep this podcast ad-free by donating (Joy Lab is powered by the nonprofit Pathways North and your donations are tax-deductible). Listen & follow the Joy Lab Podcast on your favorite listening app: Spotify | Apple | YouTube Full transcript here Related Joy Lab Episodes: Enoughness Series: Ep. 287: Who Are You Trying to Be Enough For? The Psychology of Being Enough & Building Self-Worth Ep. 286: It's OK to Be Wrong: Releasing Perfectionism & Building the Skill of Knowing Enough Ep. 285: Why Doing Enough Is Enough + Why Perfectionism Predicts Burnout, Depression, & Anxiety, Not Performance Ep. 284: Having Enough: Why Acquiring More Will Never Fill the Hole in Your Self-Worth Ep. 283: You Are Enough: The Science and Practices of Enoughness Grief Series starts here: Ep. 248: Grief, Growth, & The Wholeness of Being Human Ep. 239: Caring What Others Think Isn't Your Weakness Key moments: [00:30] Preview of the Letting Go series: unhelpful thoughts and rumination, stories we tell ourselves, the myth of needing closure, and letting go of control [01:00] Why Joy Lab is ad-free — intentional choice; ads interrupt the work and can make you feel worse about yourself by design [01:30] Joy Lab is powered by Pathways North, a nonprofit focused on increasing access to empowering mental health tools [02:00] How to support: Joy Lab Experiments now available on Apple Podcasts — $4.99/month, cheaper annually, one-week free trial [02:30] Pairing an episode with an Experiment week after week is the consistent, sustainable approach that builds real resilience [03:00] Joy Lab+ — the updated name for the Joy Lab Program, coming in a few weeks with new features; existing members, nothing changes [03:30] New: mission and growth partnership spots opening for organizations, companies, foundations, or individuals who want to make a bigger impact — sign up for the newsletter or contact through the website [05:00] You matter — thank you for being here Sources and Notes for Our Element of Enoughness: Bellam, S., Curran, T., Hill, A. P., & Stoeber, J. (2025). Perfectionism and work performance: A meta-analysis. https://doi.org/10.1111/joop.12570 Carver, C. S., Lawrence, J. W., & Scheier, M. F. (1999). Self-discrepancies and affect: Incorporating the role of feared selves. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167299025007002 Crocker, J., & Park, L. E. (2004). The costly pursuit of self-esteem. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.131.3.392 Crocker, J., & Park, L. E. (2004). Reaping the benefits of pursuing self-esteem without the costs? Reply to Schmuck and Sheldon (2004), Sheldon et al. (2004), Pyszczynski et al. (2004), and Kernis (2004). https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.130.3.430 Crocker, J., Karpinski, A., Quinn, D. M., & Chase, S. K. (2003). When grades determine self-worth: Consequences of contingent self-worth for male and female engineering and psychology majors. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.85.3.507 Crocker, J., & Wolfe, C. T. (2001). Contingencies of self-worth. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.108.3.593 Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2004). Avoiding death or engaging life as accounts of meaning and culture: Comment on Pyszczynski et al. (2004). https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.130.3.473 Freudenberger, H. J. (1974). Staff burn-out. Journal of Social Issues, 30(1), 159–165. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4560.1974.tb00706.x Harari, D., Swider, B. W., Bujold Steed, L., & Breidenthal, A. P. (2018). Is perfect good? A meta-analysis of perfectionism in the workplace. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000324 Hewitt, P. L., & Flett, G. L. (1991). Perfectionism in the self and social contexts: Conceptualization, assessment, and association with psychopathology. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.60.3.456 Higgins, E. T. (1987). Self-discrepancy: A theory relating self and affect. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.94.3.319 Joseph, S., & Linley, P. A. (2005). Positive adjustment to threatening events: An organismic valuing theory of growth through adversity. https://doi.org/10.1037/1089-2680.9.3.262 Kernis, M. H. (2005). Measuring self-esteem in context: The importance of stability of self-esteem in psychological functioning. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.2005.00359.x Kirkpatrick, L. A., & Ellis, B. J. (2001). An evolutionary-psychological approach to self-esteem: Multiple domains and multiple functions. In G. J. O. Fletcher & M. S. Clark (Eds.), Blackwell handbook of social psychology: Interpersonal processes (pp. 411–436). Blackwell. Leary, M. R. (2000). Sociometer theory and the pursuit of relational value: Getting to the root of self-esteem. https://doi.org/10.1080/14792772043000045 Maslach, C. (1981). The measurement of experienced burnout. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.4030020205 Park, L. E., & Crocker, J. (2005). Attachment styles and contingencies of self-worth. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167205277030 Pyszczynski, T., Greenberg, J., Solomon, S., Arndt, J., & Schimel, J. (2004). Why do people need self-esteem? https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.130.3.435 Schaufeli, W. B., Leiter, M. P., & Maslach, C. (2009). Burnout: 35 years of research and practice. https://doi.org/10.1108/13620430910966406 Lynn Twist's Book: The Soul of Money If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review us wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts! Please remember that this content is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to provide medical advice and is not a replacement for advice and treatment from a medical professional. Please consult your doctor or other qualified health professional before beginning any diet change, supplement, or lifestyle program. Please see our terms for more information. If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call the NAMI HelpLine: 1-800-950-6264 available Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. – 10 p.m., ET. OR text "HelpLine" to 62640 or email NAMI at helpline@nami.org. Visit NAMI for more. You can also call or text SAMHSA at 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. Find more mental health resources here.
In this video, I'm going to be giving you a full fall glow up!!! To prepare for the season, I'll be getting some measurements of you and trying on some different makeup, doing a little color analysis and then your skincare. This is a whispered personal attention ASMR roleplay to help you unwind and fall asleep. So sit back, relax, and enjoy!!ps: I ended up not giving you a haircut as I said I would in the intro because we'll do that in the next episode!! SO stay tuned for the haircut then :)Timestamps:0:00 - Intro0:35 - tea, gummies, snack3:36 - lighting a fall candle4:53 - spraying your hair5:20 - fall sweaters for you9:13 - fall color analysis14:27 - getting your measurements24:51 - fall nails for you27:04 - putting your hair back27:53 - testing foundations32:36 - testing blush37:46 - testing bronzing pearls43:55 - testing eyeshadow48:15 - testing mascara50:41 - testing lip shades56:10 - taking your makeup off1:00:22 - face oil & dermaplaning1:07:17 - trimming your eyebrows1:08:45 - face mask1:10:04 - body lotion1:11:57 - face massage1:12:53 - taking face mask off1:13:12 - face spray1:13:34 - moisturizer1:14:18 - lip treatment1:15:11 - eye mask, goodnight :)All links, socials, products here► https://linktr.ee/haleygutz
The rapid transformation of work, driven by technological acceleration and evolving business needs, is leaving organizations scrambling to keep their employees future ready. ServiceNow's Chief Learning Officer Jayney joins me to share her thoughts on how organizations can move beyond traditional skilling to focus on comprehensive readiness, including the unique human abilities that set people apart from machines. Jayney discusses ServiceNow's model of a "talent signature"—a multidimensional skill profile that brings together AI fluency, functional expertise, and the elusive but critical human advantage. You'll hear how ServiceNow is transforming learning into a personalized, playful, and data-driven experience, why curiosity can't be taught but can be learned, and how measuring what makes us uniquely human is key. You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in...03:46 Measuring uniquely human skills13:08 Assessing employee skill readiness15:03 Emerging AI skills and demand18:56 Creating conditions for curiosity27:26 Workforce readiness and skills gap32:32 Focus on customer-centric strategy35:43 Debating centralized vs. federated learning37:33 Introducing SimStudio for training47:04 Creating a unique learning environment48:12 Solving the learning experience puzzle56:09 How the Lead Boldly model worksThe Shift from Skilling to Workforce ReadinessWorkforce readiness has become the new clarion call for organizations. Between 30 and 100% of skills are going to change in the workforce over the next 3 years. This volatility demands a seismic shift in how we think about people development: not as one-off, reactive upskilling, but as continuous preparation for evolving roles and technologies.At ServiceNow, readiness means aligning workforce capabilities with both current role requirements and the unpredictable demands of tomorrow's jobs. Readiness isn't about checking boxes on completed learning modules—it's about ensuring employees can confidently perform in their roles now and adapt to what's next.Rethinking Skills: The Talent Signature ModelCentral to ServiceNow's approach is the concept of the “talent signature”—a model that assesses employees across three dimensions:AI Fluency: The understanding and leverage of AI, scaled according to job requirements.Functional Skills: Core competencies needed for specific roles (e.g., technical, sales, marketing).Human Skills: The human advantage—skills that remain when AI takes over routine work, such as critical thinking, judgment, curiosity, courage, and interpersonal connection.This framework recognizes that the interplay between these domains is dynamic and context-dependent. An AI skill alone, without a human skill, is actually a skill that AI could do on its own. The difference is the foundational human layer. The model leverages nearly 200 signals—from learning completions and assessments to project work and interpersonal feedback—to generate a unique skill profile for each employee. This data-rich fingerprint enables more precise, personalized development paths and better workforce planning.Can Curiosity Be Learned?We discuss whether qualities like curiosity and courage are innate or can be developed. While training modules for curiosity might fall short, Jayney's perspective is that these attributes can't be taught, but they can be learned. The distinction matters: it's about creating the right conditions for growth rather than direct instruction. By fostering environments where it's safe to experiment and fail, organizations can unlock these human traits. The Power of Safe ExperimentationTo build a culture of learning, ServiceNow draws on the “science of play.” Drawing inspiration from educational theorists like Johan Huizinga, Jayney advocates for “magic circles”—playgrounds within the organization where different rules apply, and the risk of failure is reduced. In these environments, employees are more willing to try, iterate, and improve.The shift from passive consumption (read-and-test courses) to hands-on, playful approaches is evidenced in their adoption of AI-driven roleplay. Strikingly, 93% of participants returned to repeat these immersive simulations, a testament to the draw and efficacy of playful, experiential learning.Leading Boldly in Times of UncertaintyIn a climate of rampant change and declining organizational trust, leadership takes center stage. ServiceNow's “Lead Boldly” model encourages leaders to trust boldly, communicate clearly (even without certainty), and champion change—a people-centered approach that recognizes leaders as the primary catalysts for psychological safety, resilience, and adaptive learning. Resources & People MentionedBill McDermott CEO of ServiceNowRachel Botsman on LinkedInHomo Ludens: A Study of the Play Element in CultureLOL- Learning out Loud!Jayney Howson on Substack Connect with Guest NameJayney Howson - Chief Learning Officer @ ServiceNow | Global Workforce Skills & Talent Readiness Connect With RedThread ResearchWebsite: RedThread ResearchOn LinkedInSubscribe to WORKPLACE STORIES
Leave your commentAI has made it easier to reach buyers—and harder to earn their attention. So what actually helps you win in 2026, and what is just wasting your time?Mastering Modern Selling returns with Carson Heady and Tom Burton for a live, open Q&A about sales with AI in 2026. After 150 episodes, we're back for the same reason we paused: the profession keeps changing, and sellers need a playbook that changes with it.Join 500+ sellers and sales leaders worldwide to challenge assumptions, share what's working, and ask the questions that matter.For sellers who want meaningful executive conversations and leaders who want stronger team performance.WHAT WE'LL DISCUSS• AI prospecting that earns a response: Turn company research, leadership priorities, and business signals into outreach that gives buyers a reason to care.• Standing out amid AI-generated noise: Use AI to sharpen your relevance while keeping your voice, judgment, and credibility.• Getting executive meetings: Build a concise opening around the customer's mission, a timely challenge, and a useful next step.• Moving beyond prompts: Connect research, outreach, follow-up, and relationship building into a repeatable sales process.• Buyer hesitation: Help customers make progress by clarifying decisions, reducing uncertainty, and making the next step easier.• Leading in the AI moment: Coach the behaviors that produce results, share successful approaches, and help your people become the heroes.• Measuring what matters: Look beyond activity counts to responses, conversations, qualified opportunities, pipeline, and customer outcomes.• Protecting the human advantage: Know when to listen, challenge, build trust, and make the judgment call that a tool cannot make for you. Don't miss out, your next big idea could be just one episode away!This Show is sponsored by Fist BumpYour prospecting partner to authentically fill your pipeline with ideal customers.Check out our Live Show Events here: Mastering Modern Selling Live ShowSubscribe to our Newsletter: Mastering Modern Selling Newsletter
00:00:00 Ezekiel 1 – Ezekiel's Vision of Four Living Creatures and the Glory of the LORD00:04:24 Ezekiel 2 – Ezekiel's Commission as a Prophet and the Roll of a Book00:05:52 Ezekiel 3 – Ezekiel Eateth the Roll and is Made a Watchman unto Israel00:10:05 Ezekiel 4 – The Type of the Siege of Jerusalem and the Iron Pan00:12:52 Ezekiel 5 – The Type of the Hair and the Judgment of Jerusalem00:16:09 Ezekiel 6 – The Judgment of Israel for Their Idolatry and a Remnant Saved00:18:36 Ezekiel 7 – The Final Desolation of Israel and the End is Come00:22:36 Ezekiel 8 – The Vision of Abominations in the Temple at Jerusalem00:25:53 Ezekiel 9 – The Vision of the Marked Men and the Slaughter in Jerusalem00:27:59 Ezekiel 10 – The Vision of Coals of Fire and the Cherubims00:31:26 Ezekiel 11 – The Presumptuous Princes and the Promise of a New Spirit00:35:00 Ezekiel 12 – The Type of Ezekiel's Removing and the Captivity Foretold00:39:09 Ezekiel 13 – The Reproof of Lying Prophets and Untempered Morter00:42:58 Ezekiel 14 – Idolatrous Elders Reproved and the Unavoidable Judgments00:46:57 Ezekiel 15 – The Unprofitableness of the Vine Tree00:48:03 Ezekiel 16 – The Unfaithfulness of Jerusalem and God's Covenant of Mercy00:58:06 Ezekiel 17 – The Parable of Two Eagles and a Vine01:01:59 Ezekiel 18 – The Soul That Sinneth, It Shall Die01:06:58 Ezekiel 19 – A Lamentation for the Princes of Israel01:08:49 Ezekiel 20 – The Rebellions of Israel and God's Promise of Restoration01:16:46 Ezekiel 21 – The Sharp and Bright Sword Drawn Against Jerusalem01:21:45 Ezekiel 22 – A Catalogue of Sins in Jerusalem and the Smelting Furnace01:26:09 Ezekiel 23 – The Whoredoms of Aholah and Aholibah01:33:22 Ezekiel 24 – The Parable of the Boiling Pot and the Death of Ezekiel's Wife01:37:20 Ezekiel 25 – Vengeance Against Ammon, Moab, Edom, and the Philistines01:40:03 Ezekiel 26 – The Destruction and Ruin of Tyrus Foretold01:43:37 Ezekiel 27 – The Rich Supply and Great Fall of Tyrus01:48:45 Ezekiel 28 – The Judgment of the Prince of Tyrus and Zidon01:52:52 Ezekiel 29 – The Desolation of Egypt and Pharaoh's Judgment01:56:15 Ezekiel 30 – The Desolation of Egypt and Her Helpers02:00:02 Ezekiel 31 – The Glory and Fall of Assyria as a Cedar02:03:25 Ezekiel 32 – A Lamentation for the Fearful Fall of Egypt02:08:45 Ezekiel 33 – The Duty of the Watchman and the Justice of God's Ways02:14:04 Ezekiel 34 – A Reproof of False Shepherds and the Promise of the True Shepherd02:18:50 Ezekiel 35 – The Judgment of Mount Seir for Their Hatred of Israel02:20:58 Ezekiel 36 – Israel Comforted with Promises of Blessing and Renewal02:27:01 Ezekiel 37 – The Vision of the Dry Bones and the Two Sticks02:31:17 Ezekiel 38 – The Malice and Judgment of Gog02:35:07 Ezekiel 39 – God's Judgment Upon Gog and the Restoration of Israel02:39:37 Ezekiel 40 – The Vision of the Measuring of the Temple02:47:38 Ezekiel 41 – The Measures, Parts, Chambers, and Ornaments of the Temple02:51:37 Ezekiel 42 – The Chambers for the Priests and the Outer Measures of the Temple02:54:32 Ezekiel 43 – The Glory of the LORD Returneth into the Temple02:59:03 Ezekiel 44 – The East Gate Kept for the Prince and the Priests' Ordinances03:04:34 Ezekiel 45 – The Portion of Land for the Sanctuary, City, and Prince03:09:14 Ezekiel 46 – Ordinances for the Prince's Worship and the People03:13:27 Ezekiel 47 – The Vision of the Holy Waters and the Borders of the Land03:17:22 Ezekiel 48 – The Portions of the Twelve Tribes and the Gates of the City
See Your Own Menu Pricing Set Up — Free, No Obligation → https://thenewflatrate.com/demo?hsCtaAttrib=192034463396Built for home service pros (HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and more) who are tired of quoting one price and hoping. Book a 15-minute walkthrough and see exactly how it'd look for your business.In this episode of The New Flat Rate, Danielle and Natalie sit down with Danielle Wernert, Owner of Upskilled Consulting LLC and a training and development expert for the home service industry. They discuss why contractors struggle to find and retain great people, how companies can widen their hiring pool by investing in entry-level talent, and why structured onboarding, training, mentorship, and clear career paths are essential for building stronger teams.Danielle Wernert began her career in the trades at Peterman Brothers, where she helped build a successful technician training academy that attracted interest from companies across the industry. Today, through Upskilled Consulting, she helps home service businesses create customized onboarding programs, training academies, dashboards, playbooks, and development systems that help turn inexperienced hires into capable long-term team members.Expect to Learn:Why contractors should consider hiring for character and training for technical skillsHow structured training programs can attract thousands of potential applicantsWhy employee turnover may point to culture problems rather than training costsWhat an effective first 90 days should include for a new team memberHow onboarding, mentorship, and clear career paths improve retention and employee developmentEpisode Breakdown with Timestamps:[00:00] - Introduction to Danielle Wernert and the Challenge of Finding Great Talent[03:54] - How Training Programs Attract 2,000 Applicants[05:23] - Why “If You Teach Them, They Will Come” Works[07:44] - Measuring the ROI of Investing in Employee Training[09:55] - Building an Effective First 90-Day Onboarding Plan[14:00] - Creating Vision, Growth Paths, and Employee Buy-In[16:38] - What Today's Technicians Really Want From Employers[19:27] - Where Contractors Should Start Building Better Training Systems[25:13] - Danielle's Journey From Peterman Brothers to Upskill ConsultingConnect with Guest, Danielle Wernert:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielle-wernert/Website: https://upskilledconsulting.com/LinkedIn (Company): https://www.linkedin.com/company/upskilled-consulting-llc/Facebook (Company): https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61567154601240More from The New Flat Rate:Website: https://thenewflatrate.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-new-flat-rate-inc-/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenewflatrate/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheNewFlatRate/Twitter: https://x.com/thenewflatrateListening Links: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-new-flat-rate/id1545544656Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7ezDK05WKIjy2MjKJ1CfyC?si=54e24cd0ba774cd9YouTube: https://youtube.com/@newflatrate?si=_jGs3KRnRB_ayRf0
Lance Alexander speaks with Yee Shen Hao, Financial Services Manager and co-founder of The Wealth Stewards Group at PhillipCapital, about how investors should assess the performance of their investment portfolios. Is comparing your returns with the Straits Times Index or S&P 500 always useful? What should you measure beyond headline returns, and how can you tell the difference between normal underperformance and a strategy that needs to change? They also discuss choosing the right investment benchmark, accounting for risk, fees, inflation and currency movements, and whether your portfolio remains on track to meet your financial goals.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The episode highlights a structural shift toward operational reliance on AI agents as service staff rather than support tools, raising new questions about skill degradation, checking mechanisms, and accountability in managed service environments. Shield Technology Partners and Microsoft exemplify this trend by deploying AI operating systems—Shield's Forge and Microsoft's Autopilot—that independently handle substantial parts of the IT support process, in some cases from intake to ticket closure, often without direct human approval or intervention.According to Shield, its Forge platform is currently resolving approximately half of all actionable help desk tickets across its network of MSPs, with 92% of these resolutions occurring without technician time or explicit human oversight. On comparable tasks, Shield claims Forge resolves tickets 25 times faster than human technicians, yielding a median resolution time of 16 minutes. Microsoft's latest Copilot update introduces Autopilot, which enables persistent, role-specific AI agents with individual user identities, email accounts, and organizational chart positions, further blurring the line between staff augmentation and staff replacement.These technical developments are accompanied by evidence of skill decay among technicians and knowledge workers, as cited in IBM's survey of over 10,000 HR leaders and employees. The ability to supervise, validate, and override AI output is named by 71% of HR executives as an essential future skill, yet only 38% of employees agree, while 60% acknowledge that AI is eroding critical thinking. The discussion also touches on the operational risks documented within OpenAI, where human checkers are expressly forbidden to use AI-based tools to audit AI output, underscoring the persistence of human-in-the-loop requirements even as automation rates increase.Operational implications for MSPs include the need for new governance measures and skill tracking metrics. The podcast proposes a practical protocol for MSPs: periodic resilience drills that benchmark technicians' ability to catch false or misleading AI-generated guidance. These exercises would generate a proprietary “false guidance acceptance rate,” providing a critical datapoint missing from current vendor dashboards. The analysis suggests that without active measurement of this kind, throughput statistics alone may mask growing dependency risks, skill atrophy, and unrecognized exposures as AI handles a rising share of support work.00:00 Half The Queue, Nobody Signing Off 03:59 The Check Is Made Of The Work06:46 A Drill For When The AI Is Wrong10:55 Why Do we Care?Supported by: Proofpoint Pax8NinjaOne On-Demand Webinar: https://go.businessof.tech/p/ninjaone-pod
What happens when the strategies that once kept you lean and energized—eating less, exercising harder, and pushing through fatigue—stop working?In this episode of The Dr. Haley Show, Dr. Michael Haley speaks with Bria Gadd, also known as The Period Whisperer, about the accumulated strain she calls “health debt.”Bria explains how chronic stress, inadequate recovery, under-fueling, poor sleep, illness, and demanding exercise can leave the body without enough energy to meet its daily demands. Although health debt can affect both men and women, the additional demands of perimenopause may make underlying problems much harder to ignore.Dr. Haley and Bria discuss why stubborn weight is not always a discipline problem, how excessive exercise can become another expense the body cannot afford, why protein and recovery matter, and what waking between 2:00 and 4:00 a.m. may reveal.They also explore symptom tracking, blood-sugar regulation, caffeine, hormones, gut health, and functional tests such as DUTCH hormone testing, GI-MAP stool testing, thyroid panels, minerals, and comprehensive blood chemistry.IN THIS EPISODE, YOU'LL LEARN:• What Bria means by “health debt”• How energy supply and energy demand affect the body• Why perimenopause may expose problems that were already developing• Why eating less and exercising more can stop producing results• How under-fueling and inadequate recovery may affect metabolism• Why intense cardio is not always the best weight-loss strategy• The importance of protein, balanced meals, and eating earlier in the day• Why coffee may provide stimulation without correcting low energy• How caffeine or blood-sugar dysregulation may contribute to nighttime waking• Why resistance training must be supported by nutrition and recovery• How tracking food, energy, mood, digestion, and cravings can reveal patterns• Where functional laboratory testing may fit• The difference between functional support and licensed medical careEPISODE TIMESTAMPS:00:00 — Why the body protects its energy00:55 — Why eating less and exercising harder may stop working02:29 — Introducing Bria Gadd, The Period Whisperer04:24 — Can men accumulate health debt too?07:33 — Energy supply, energy demand, and health debt10:04 — How Bria accumulated her own health debt13:19 — When exercise becomes another burden15:15 — Strength training, mobility, and recovery17:51 — Why more cardio may not produce weight loss20:05 — Midlife nutrition mistakes and inadequate protein22:47 — How long should you fast?25:27 — Why coffee is not breakfast27:07 — Eating 1,400 calories while gaining weight29:23 — Sleep, recovery, and waking during the night33:00 — Caffeine, blood sugar, and 2:00 a.m. waking34:53 — Measuring symptoms and tracking progress38:31 — Hormones, peptides, and foundational health40:22 — DUTCH hormone testing and GI-MAP testing42:12 — Individualized gut-health protocols44:01 — Bria's professional scope and working with doctors48:25 — How to work with Bria48:48 — The opportunity hidden within perimenopauseABOUT BRIA GADD:Bria Gadd, known as The Period Whisperer, is a Functional Diagnostic Nutrition® Practitioner, certified holistic health coach, certified personal trainer, and educator specializing in perimenopause and menopause.After experiencing weight gain, fatigue, disrupted sleep, anxiety, and changing periods while following the nutrition and exercise strategies that had previously worked for her, Bria began investigating the relationships among energy availability, recovery, hormones, metabolism, stress, sleep, nutrition, exercise, and gut health.She now helps women understand the patterns behind their symptoms and develop individualized strategies intended to support energy, strength, metabolic health, and quality of life. She is also the host of The Period Whisperer Podcast.CONNECT WITH BRIA GADD:Website:https://www.briatheperiodwhisperer.com/Work with Bria:https://www.briatheperiodwhisperer.com/CoachingThe Period Whisperer Podcast:https://www.briatheperiodwhisperer.com/the-period-whisperer-podcastYouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@bria_period_whispererInstagram:https://www.instagram.com/bria_period_whisperer/Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/BriaThePeriodWhisperer/LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/bria-gaddMidlife Mojo:https://www.skool.com/midlife-mojo-1786/aboutEPISODE RESOURCES:Read the complete article and transcript:https://drhaley.com/health-debt-perimenopause/Watch the interview on YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPLRmMMQlxEVisit The Dr. Haley Show:https://drhaley.com/Explore Haley Nutrition:https://haleynutrition.com/Listen to the episode for the current Haley Nutrition listener coupon code.This episode is provided for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult an appropriately qualified healthcare professional before changing your diet, exercise routine, medications, supplements, hormones, or healthcare plan. Bria Gadd is a non-prescribing Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner and does not diagnose, treat, or prescribe.
Alice and Doug recently celebrated Mid-Autumn Festival by shopping for and carefully preparing authentic Chinese dishes. But first, they celebrated National Cheeseburger Day by sitting at a burger joint for over an hour waiting for a Handful of Gentlemen (ahem) to present them with their meals. It's all about experiencing a variety of cultures. Like, pirates are in here, too. You'll see.Other discussion topics- Full cornea contacts- How often do you secretly record people in public?- Pig flavored gum- Measuring time in boats of peanuts- Couch writing: Inventive or destructive?
Welcome to Episode 183: Why the Best Yoga Teachers Don't Teach One “Right” Way Yoga teaching is about far more than poses, anatomy, sequencing, or delivering information. Host Sandy Raper explores the teacher's role as a guide who creates the conditions for learning, self-discovery, and transformation while honoring each student's unique path.In this episode:Why yoga teachers should guide students rather than demand conformity to one “correct” way of practicing.How every student brings a different body, nervous system, life experience, and relationship to yoga.The gardening analogy: teachers can prepare the soil, plant seeds, and nurture growth, but they cannot force transformation.Why postures are vehicles for self-inquiry rather than destinations to be mastered.How to evaluate a class by the awareness, curiosity, compassion, and presence students cultivate, not simply by whether they complete a sequence.The importance of invitational language and cueing that directs students toward their internal experience.How yoga teachers can replace professional certainty and judgment with curiosity, humility, generosity, and deep listening.The difference between ethical concerns that require discussion and personal preferences that should not be treated as universal rules.Why teaching from lived experience creates authenticity, trust, and meaningful connection.How a more encouraging and collaborative yoga community can help teachers develop their own voices and serve students more effectively.Timestamps:00:00 - Rethinking the true role of a yoga teacher02:26 - Why yoga is not a one-size-fits-all experience03:58 - The teacher as gardener04:55 - Postures as invitations to self-inquiry06:37 - Measuring teaching success beyond physical performance09:10 - Bringing curiosity and humility into teacher communities11:18 - Distinguishing ethics from personal preference13:03 - Learning from different traditions and teaching styles16:35 - Replacing certainty with generosity and collaboration17:23 - Creating a culture that encourages new teachers18:28 - Cultivating diverse teacher voices19:23 - Moving from perfect classes to meaningful experiences20:50 - Reflection: Are you shaping students or creating space for discovery?www.sandyraper.com200-Hour Hybrid Yoga Teacher Training Order Sandy's book: Teaching From the Heart: Lessons of Developing Character, Confidence, and Leadership as a Yoga Teacher Individualized Mentorship Opportunity with Sandy
Managers are expected to handle everything from one-to-ones and development conversations to absence, performance issues and disciplinaries. Yet many step into management without having been properly taught how to deal with these responsibilities. For HR and People professionals, finding a way to build managers' knowledge and confidence without overwhelming them can be a real challenge.In this special bonus episode of HR Coffee Time, Fay Wallis is joined by Amy Critchley, Head of People at Indigo Networks. Amy explains how she created a management development programme from scratch after joining an organisation that had not previously had a dedicated HR or People team.Amy shares practical ideas for combining essential HR knowledge with wider management development, making potentially dry subjects more engaging and helping learning stick. She also explains how the programme strengthened relationships between managers and changed the way they worked with the People team.What You'll Learn How to decide which topics to prioritise when creating a management development programmeWhy combining practical HR knowledge with wider management skills can make training more effectiveIdeas for making subjects such as absence, investigations, disciplinaries and employment law more engagingHow to accommodate different learning preferences without relying on lengthy presentations or uncomfortable role playWays to support learning beyond the workshop through e-learning, workbooks, drop-in clinics and People Partnering sessionsHow real-life scenarios, discussion and peer learning can build managers' confidenceSigns that manager training is working, including stronger peer relationships and a more positive relationship with the People teamChapters [00:00] Introduction: Why managers matter[01:14] The challenge of developing managers[02:02] The Workforce Success Stories Summit[02:49] Meet Amy Critchley: building a management development programme[04:11] How Amy identified the need for manager training[05:47] Deciding on the training content[08:28] Combining HR knowledge with management development[09:50] Designing engaging, brain-friendly training[13:27] Wraparound support: e-learning and drop-in clinics[15:28] From drop-in clinics to people partnering[17:46] Measuring success: executive buy-in and manager engagement[20:18] Changing the perception of HR[24:16] Making learning stick: worst-case scenarios and one-to-ones[29:06] How the programme changed HR's perception in the business [[32:43] Book recommendation and wrap-upUseful Links and Resources Learn more about the Workforce Success Stories SummitConnect with Fay Wallis on LinkedInLearn about Fay's Inspiring HR Leadership ProgrammeTreat yourself to a copy of The Essential HR PlannerBook Recommended in This Episode The Trainer's Toolkit: Bringing Brain-Friendly Learning to Life, by Kimberly Herr and Larry ReynoldsAmy recommends this practical resource for ideas on keeping training real, recognising the different needs of people in the room, creating multisensory learning and managing the state of the group.Helpful Episodes to Listen to Next Episode 129: Five Essential Techniques to Become a Great Manager, with James RoseThis episode is a helpful next listen if you would like further practical ideas for developing and supporting managers in your organisation. Search for HR Coffee Time in your usual podcast app to find it.Enjoyed This Episode? Don't Miss the Next One! Sign up for the free weekly HR Coffee Time email for useful HR resources, ideas and new episode updates to support you in your HR career.
In this episode of The Private Equity Podcast, Alex Rawlings is joined by Dan Bernoske, Founder and CEO of Cortado Group, to explore how private equity firms and portfolio companies can strengthen go-to-market performance while effectively leveraging AI.Dan explains why speed matters after an acquisition, particularly when assessing commercial talent, and why firms need to separate emotional attachment to legacy teams from objective performance data. He also explores the importance of treating CRM systems as strategic infrastructure rather than simply another piece of technology.The conversation then turns to AI. Dan shares practical applications for using call transcripts to coach sales teams at scale, improve qualification, identify performance trends, and ultimately increase win rates. He explains why successful AI adoption starts with the business problem—not the technology—and why portfolio companies should build a strong proprietary “context engine” around their CRM data, call transcripts, buyer personas, and historical wins and losses.Dan and Alex also discuss how AI is changing organizational design, allowing salespeople to spend more time building relationships with buyers while technology handles lower-value tasks. Crucially, Dan warns against viewing AI as a replacement for human salespeople: poorly deployed automation can damage relationships and even burn entire territories.Key Takeaways• Move quickly when evaluating commercial talent, but understand where founder-led strengths still create value.• Build the sales process first and configure the CRM around it—not the other way around.• CRM data integrity is essential for reliable pipeline visibility and forecasting.• Use AI to analyze sales calls, improve qualification, and deliver coaching at scale.• Create a proprietary context engine before becoming overly dependent on any single AI model.• Redesign roles by identifying tasks AI can handle while allowing people to focus on empathy, listening, trust, and relationships.• Don't automate bad processes. Strong sales fundamentals remain essential regardless of the technology.Timestamps00:00 – Introduction to Dan Bernoske and Cortado Group00:57 – Where PE firms and portfolio companies move too slowly02:54 – Warning signs that commercial talent needs replacing04:37 – Three fundamentals of an effective CRM06:34 – How AI can transform go-to-market strategy08:21 – Using AI to analyze sales calls and coach teams09:46 – Measuring qualification frameworks such as BANT11:45 – ChatGPT, Claude and choosing AI technology13:14 – The three foundations for successful AI implementation13:40 – Building a proprietary AI context engine15:03 – How AI is reshaping organizational design16:34 – Why empathy and relationships remain human advantages17:24 – The biggest mistakes companies make with AI18:20 – Why replacing sales reps with AI can burn territories19:18 – Freeing sales teams to spend more time with buyers21:14 – Dan's recommended AI and professional-services resources23:13 – Why portfolio companies may need an AI innovation advisor23:42 – How to connect with DanRaw Selection partners with Private Equity firms and their portfolio companies to secure exceptional executive talent. We focus on de-risking executive recruitment through meticulous search and selection processes, ensuring top-tier performance and long-term success.
Dr Bronwyn Clark is an epidemiologist specialising in the field of measurement of physical activity and sedentary behaviour. She is currently working at the School of Public Health, The University of Queensland and holds a NHMRC Early Career Fellowship. Dr Clark is interested in all aspects of measurement including self-reports and device-based methods, particularly for adult populations. She is currently working on projects to develop self-report measures of accumulation of sitting time and to use device-based measures to determine the context of sedentary and active time. She has a particular interest in workplace health behaviour but also works with clinical and broader adult populations. She is currently a Vice President of the International Society for Measurement of Physical Behavior.' ------------------------------------ Learn more about ICAMPAM 2022 in Keystone, Colorado: https://ismpb.org/icampam/ Learn more about ISMPB: https://ismpb.org/ Here's more info on virtual registration – visit ismpb.org for registration link: YOUR ICAMPAM 2022 VIRTUAL REGISTRATION INCLUDES: Access to the ICAMPAM 2022 Virtual Conference platform via the Whova App On Wednesday 22 June (Time zone: MDT), one full day of livestreamed access of proceedings from Shavano Peak Meeting Room, including: ICAMPAM Welcome Keynote Speaker: Prof. I-Min Lee Symposium: Spatial analyses with behavioral data Sponsor Talks Virtual posters session Keynote Speaker: Dr. Jessilyn Dunn Symposium: Physical Behaviors and Health: New Methods and Insights from Large Epidemiologic Studies Using Accelerometry Oral Session: Novel statistical approaches and applications -Not able to watch live? Recorded presentations from all ICAMPAM 2022 Keynote Speakers will be posted approximately 24hrs after the presentation and will be available for 90 days. Full program at a glance is available here. -Access to all virtual poster sessions (2) and to all on-line poster listings. Poster listings include poster PDFs, abstract text, and author listing. Also, if provided, contact information and a brief video. -Virtually connect and network throughout ICAMPAM 2022 with other leading and emerging researchers through the Whova App. Private instant messaging with presenters and fellow attendees (on-site and virtual) with the ability to create group chats. Take advantage of this for up to 90 days! (WHOVA was used to great success at the ICAMPAM 2021 virtual conference). Access to the interactive program scheduler to build your own custom program An on-line program and abstract book --------------------------------------- This podcast episode is sponsored by Fibion Inc. | The New Gold Standard for Sedentary Behaviour and Physical Activity Monitoring Learn more about Fibion: fibion.com/research --- Collect, store and manage SB and PA data easily and remotely - Discover new Fibion SENS Motion: https://sens.fibion.com/
This podcast brings the data behind the poster (which can be found on the MAPS Knowledge Center: https://medicalaffairs.org/knowledge-center/) to life, exploring insights from a double-blind survey of 10,000+ healthcare professionals on how Medical Information is delivered by the Top 10 global pharma companies. It highlights that two out of three HCPs find Medical Information relevant and that it contributes approximately 15% to perceptions of Medical Affairs leadership, while discussing what differentiates top performers and how Medical Information can be leveraged more strategically. Learning Objectives - What you'll learn in this Episode:- How healthcare professionals perceive Medical Information across top global pharma companies- Why Medical Information contributes meaningfully to leadership credibility in Medical Affairs- What top‑performing organizations do differently to build trust, relevance, and differentiation- How HCP feedback can be translated into actionable Medical Information strategyFaculty:Brad Tritle, GM and Medical Affairs Sales Lead, Americas, TrilationsLINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradtritle/ Leen Helsloot, Medical Affairs Practice Lead, TrilationsLINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leen-helsloot-84a34b4/ Dhara Patel, Director, Medical Information, Siemens HealthineersLINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dhara-patel-pharmdd-65bba4216/About the Medical Affairs Professional Society (MAPS) The Medical Affairs Professional Society (MAPS) is the leading global authority and community for Medical Affairs professionals, uniting over 18,000 members across 400+ organizations in Pharmaceutical, Biotech, MedTech, and related industries. Founded in 2016, MAPS is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to advancing careers and elevating the Medical Affairs profession worldwide.
Send us Fan MailIn this episode of the Private Practice Survival Guide, Brandon Seigel sits down with Sean Healy from Accounted4 LLC to dissect the most crucial Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that drive actual success in private practice. They explore what metrics truly matter, how often to monitor them, and crucially, how to translate data into actionable strategies that empower practice owners. Discover how to avoid common data pitfalls and leverage financial insights to build a resilient and thriving healthcare business. This discussion provides a roadmap for transforming your practice's financial health through informed decision-making.What You'll Learn:The most important weekly KPIs for private practices.How to use leading indicators to predict and prevent future problems.Blending volume and value in your KPI tracking.Differentiating between KPIs for knowledge vs. KPIs for action.The dangers of justifying poor quantitative results with qualitative feedback.Strategic financial planning to anticipate and mitigate challenges.The surprising financial cost of growth and how to prepare for it.Why starting KPI tracking today is crucial for long-term success.Don't just survive, thrive! Tune in to revolutionize your practice management.#PrivatePractice #KPIsThatMatter #HealthcareBusiness #PracticeGrowth #FinancialStrategySean Healy is the President and Founder of Accounted4 LLC, a leading firm specializing in financial management and advisory services. With over two decades of experience, Sean has built Accounted4 into a trusted partner for businesses seeking expert guidance on accounting, operational strategies, and financial planning. His vision for the company centers on empowering clients with transparent, data-driven solutions tailored to their unique needs. Passionate about innovation and client success, Sean is driven with a commitment to delivering personalized service and fostering long-term financial health for the organizations Accounted4 serves. https://accounted4llc.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/healysean/https://www.linkedin.com/company/accounted4-llcWelcome to Private Practice Survival Guide Podcast hosted by Brandon Seigel! Brandon Seigel, President of Wellness Works Management Partners, is an internationally known private practice consultant with over fifteen years of executive leadership experience. Seigel's book "The Private Practice Survival Guide" takes private practice entrepreneurs on a journey to unlocking key strategies for surviving―and thriving―in today's business environment. Now Brandon Seigel goes beyond the book and brings the same great tips, tricks, and anecdotes to improve your private practice in this companion podcast. Get In Touch With MePodcast Website: https://www.privatepracticesurvivalguide.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandonseigel/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandonseigel/https://wellnessworksmedicalbilling.com/Private Practice Survival Guide BookThis show is proudly produced at PS Studios — learn more https://www.psstudios.co
Episode Summary If a client asked you right now to prove that anything you did last quarter actually moved their business, could you do it? This is the provocative question that opens today's episode and sets the stage for an honest discussion on what PR practitioners are missing when it comes to measurement. According to the Meltwater and WE Communications State of PR report, 21% of PR pros still name measuring impact and ROI as a top challenge, not because they don't have tools, and not because they don't know it matters. This leaves many practitioners continuing to report on activity rather than impact. The problem is structural: a standards and accountability gap that has been sitting under the industry for more than a decade. The Barcelona Principles are fifteen years old and still not reaching the majority of practitioners who need them most. Just as CCOs have earned a formal seat at the strategic table, 91% of Fortune 500 CEOs say polarization has increased the importance of PR —you have a profession that has been handed an invitation it isn't yet fully equipped to accept. Episode Highlights [00:13] The Opening Gut Check That Frames Everything: Michelle opens before the music with a direct question: if a client asked right now to prove that anything you did last quarter actually moved their business, could you do it? Karen's honest answer is yes but only because she has done the work, and she wasn't always there. The episode is built around the gap between those two positions: the practitioner who can answer that question with confidence, and the majority who can't yet. [02:15] What the Meltwater Data Actually Shows: The starting point is Meltwater's annual State of PR report, produced with WE Communications. Key findings: 21% of PR pros say measuring impact and ROI is a top challenge. 24% point to insufficient resources. And when asked what's blocking better measurement, the top three answers are aligning metrics to business KPIs at 35%, proving PR's value to leadership at 28%, and overreliance on outdated metrics at 22%. Most tellingly: over 40% of respondents are still measuring activity — volume of media placements, reach, impressions — instead of outcomes. Fifteen years after the Barcelona Principles told the industry to stop doing this. [06:48] The Tools Are There. The Standards Are Not.: Karen's reframe of the data: over 70% of respondents say they partially or completely already have the tools they need to connect PR to business outcomes. This is not a tools gap. It is not a knowledge gap. It is a standards and accountability gap. The Barcelona Principles now on version 4.0 after their fourth revision represent a rigorous framework for outcome-based measurement that was agreed upon by 200 delegates from 30 countries in 2010. Among AMEC's own membership, only 3% still consider advertising value equivalencies relevant. But AMEC's membership is self-selected, people who showed up specifically to care about measurement. In the broader Meltwater survey, reach and volume are still the top two metrics in actual use. The people who need the standard most are the least likely to be in the room where it's being taught. [11:40] No Licensing Body, No Enforcement, No Consequence: PRSA has approximately 3,000 members. The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts roughly 282,000 public relations specialists in the US workforce for 2026, not including PR managers or many agency roles. That means PRSA reaches something like 1% of the profession. No licensing exam. No continuing education requirement. No consequence to anyone who never learns outcome-based measurement. Karen is direct that this is not a criticism of a diverse field that welcomes practitioners from many paths. It is simply the lay of the land and it explains why something as established as the Barcelona Principles remains unknown to most of the profession it was designed to help. [13:53] The C-Suite Has Sent the Invitation — The Field Is Still Catching Up: The second half of the episode turns to the demand side. The Conference Board surveyed over 1,700 C-suite executives and found that chief communication officers have, quote, earned their seat at the table now explicitly expected to be strategic advisors, not just message conveyors. The 2026 USC Annenberg Global Communications Report found 91% of Fortune 500 CEOs say polarization has increased the importance of PR inside their organizations, with two-thirds expecting their comms function to be restructured soon. Cision's comms report found 84% of comms leaders feel increased demand from the C-suite for their counsel. But in that same survey, 37% still struggle to measure impact effectively, and 43% struggle to turn the data they have into actionable insight. The C-suite has moved faster than the field's infrastructure, education standards, and accountability systems. That mismatch is Karen's core diagnosis. [17:43] The RPIE Cycle and Why Evaluation Gets Swallowed: RPIE — research, planning, implementation, and evaluation — is the standard planning cycle taught in PR programs. Karen and Michelle note that many practitioners who didn't go to school for PR, or came up through a different path, may have been doing this intuitively without knowing it had a name or a structure. The specific gap: evaluation is treated as the thing that happens when there's time left over at the end of a campaign, not as a scheduled, dedicated phase of the work. The consequence is that most PR practitioners are doing the middle of the cycle thoroughly and skipping the ends. Karen also names something counterintuitive: failure is a reportable metric. It tells you where to adjust your tactics, refine your messaging, and reconsider your audience assumptions. Avoiding reporting failure is human nature — and it's a mistake. [22:53] The Solo-Specific Barrier: Tools That Cost $250,000: Karen names the measurement gap that no industry report will capture for independent practitioners: many of the tools that do the heavy lifting on measurement dashboards and attribution are simply unaffordable at solo scale. She is direct about her own experience spending roughly 40 hours of work time building measurement infrastructure by hand because she didn't have a $250,000 tools budget. Once the system is built, it's built. But getting there without agency resources, without a team to distribute the labor, and without a budget for enterprise software is a real and legitimate barrier that the industry data consistently undercounts. [25:52] The Three-Question Filter: Karen closes the practical section with three questions every solo practitioner should be able to answer about their current client work. One: for each current client, can you name the two or three specific business KPIs that your work is actually supposed to move? Not outputs but actual business KPIs. Two: have you scheduled evaluation as its own dedicated time block, separate from the campaign itself or does it happen when there's time left over? Three: could you defend your measurement approach to a skeptical CFO in 60 seconds using outcome language, not reach and impressions? Karen's note on the third question: if you flinched, that's not a failure. That's useful information. [27:21] The Live Drill: Healthcare Media Relations: Michelle walks a scenario: a practitioner running media relations for a regional healthcare system, whose monthly deliverable has always been placement counts and impressions. Karen runs the three questions against it. On KPIs: the practitioner needs to sit down with the client and ask what business result the placements are supposed to support — patient volume in a specific service line, donor confidence, physician recruitment. If the client can't answer that, the conversation about KPIs is the starting point, not a measurement tool. On evaluation time: most PR campaign cycles move from execution to reporting to the next campaign, with no actual evaluation phase. Blocking even a few hours at the end of the quarter to ask whether the numbers agreed on what actually moved is a structural change. On the CFO test: impressions are not an outcome. The practitioner who can connect placements to a physician recruitment result or a patient inquiry spike can defend their work. The one who can't is at risk in any leadership conversation. [32:10] Why This Is Not Optional and Where to Start: Karen closes directly: this is not a nice-to-do. Measuring outcomes and not outputs, understanding the language of business, being able to show how your work moves the business forward this is the life of your PR business and career. She says it with weight, not alarm. And then immediately offers the other side: don't feel bad if you don't know where to start. The knowledge gap is real, the barrier is structural, and the path from where you are to where you need to be is learnable. Free resources exist such as books, case studies, and the RPIE framework itself. Peers who have already built this muscle can help. The Solo PR Pro community is specifically the safe space for questions practitioners don't want to ask publicly. Resources & Additional Information Meltwater and WE Communication: State of PR 2026 Report AMEC: Barcelona Principles (version 4.0) The Conference Board: C-Suite Outlook 2026 That Solo Life, Episode 342: What the 2026 USC Global Communications Report Says About PR Today USC Annenberg: Global Communications Report 2026 Cision: 2026 State of the Media / Communications Report Solo PR Pro membership community: soloprpro.com That Solo Life podcast website: thatsololife.com Host & Show Info That Solo Life is a podcast created for public relations, communication, and marketing professionals who work as independent and small practitioners. Hosted by Karen Swim, APR, President of Solo PR Pro, and Michelle Kane, Principal of Voice Matters, the show delivers expert insights, encouragement, and practical advice for solo PR pros navigating today's dynamic professional landscape. Listen to all episodes and catch up on previous conversations at thatsololife.com. Did this episode inspire you? If you found value in this conversation, please take a moment to leave us a review https://www.thatsololife.com/rate/. Your feedback helps us reach more solo pros just like you! Don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode.
Interview with Christopher Crawley - The Value of SecOps This week, we talk to Chris Crawley about his new book, The Value of Cybersecurity Operations. Chris has been training teams on security operations for years, but found that students often struggled to justify the importance of secops training and even the need for secops in general. This book was written to more broadly arm practitioners with the information they need to communicate why security operations are necessary to leadership. The book is available in several forms: eBook, hardcover, softcover, and an audiobook read by Chris himself! You can pick all versions up here: https://shop.montance.com/collections/all and Security Weekly listeners get 50% off with code sw-50! The Evolving Exploitation of Trust with Josh Davies, Security Strategist at Fortra Fortra Intelligence and Research Experts (FIRE) is Fortra's emergent threat intelligence identity, created to unify research teams across multiple security disciplines and share intelligence with the wider threat intelligence community. FIRE co-ordinator and security strategist Josh Davies joins us to share insights from original FIRE research like Calphishing, Mirage2FA, RatPressto phishkit and heavily obfuscated campaigns that evade defences. While also digging into trends from big data analysis within phishing, fraud, social engineering and credential theft. Segment Resources: Art of Security Podcast Fortra Research This segment is sponsored by Fortra. Access FIRE Research here: https://securityweekly.com/fortrabh Why Agentic AI Security Requires a Defense-In-Depth Strategy with Kaushik Shanadi, CTO and Co-Founder of Helmet Security Many organizations are approaching agentic AI security by stitching together individual controls, assuming that identity, network, endpoint, or application security alone is enough. Each address only one part of the problem. As AI agents become more autonomous, move across systems, and take actions on behalf of users, organizations need a true defense-in-depth strategy that combines every layer of the security stack. Kaushik can discuss how each security layer provides a different piece of the puzzle and how individually, none of the controls are sufficient. But together, they create the layered governance needed to securely deploy agentic AI. For more information about Helmet Security, please visit https://securityweekly.com/helmetbh Above Security on Why Legacy Tools Don't Cut It for Modern Insider Risk with Tricia Howard, Head of Marketing at Above Security As organizations rush to adopt agentic AI, agents are often given broad access to critical business systems and sensitive data. Legacy insider risk management tools weren't built for this, and organizations have spent years on insider risk posturing and investments that leave security teams inundated with false positives while the real risk slips through undetected. In this segment, Tricia Howard draws on her decade in cybersecurity, including years watching user and entity behavior analytics (UEBA) overpromise and underdeliver, to unpack why understanding human – and now AI – intent is the missing piece. Segment Resources: Blog Post: Redefining Insider Threat Blog Post: What I wanted UEBA to be, Years Ago To learn more about Above Security and insider risk management in the era of agentic AI, visit: https://securityweekly.com/abovebh The Identity Crisis Your Security Team Didn't See Coming: Governing AI Agents with Darren Guccione, CEO and Co-Founder of Keeper Security AI agents outnumber human identities in enterprise environments, and traditional security software was never built to govern them. 89% of cybersecurity decision-makers recently surveyed by Keeper Security said that AI adoption has made identity management harder. In this Black Hat USA conversation with Cyber Risk TV, Darren Guccione, CEO and Co-Founder of Keeper Security, shares a practical framework for extending identity governance to non-human identities and AI agents before the access gap becomes a breach. Segment Resources: Privileged Access Management Identity Security at Machine Speed To learn more about Keeper Security, visit: https://securityweekly.com/keeperbh Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/esw for all the latest episodes! Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/esw-478
Comparing yourself to others can push you toward pride or despair, while true spiritual growth begins with humility and an honest look at your own heart.Every night, join Father Joseph Matlak as he ends the day with prayer and reflection. In a few short minutes, and using the Douay-Rheims psalter for his reflections, Father Matlak guides you in prayer and shares a brief reflection and a thorough examination of conscience providing you with the encouragement necessary to go forward with peace and strength. ________________
What if your AI strategy is creating more risk than progress? John Willis joins Andrew Stotz to trace how Deming's System of Profound Knowledge shaped the way he thinks about organizations, learning, and change. From his early days building DevOps to the AI transformations he's navigating with CIOs today. Along the way, John connects Deming to fast feedback loops, explains why leaders keep mistaking a learning problem for a technology problem, and shares stories that never made it into his book, Deming's Journey to Profound Knowledge. A fresh conversation for longtime Deming thinkers and those just beginning the journey. TRANSCRIPT 0:00:02.0 Andrew Stotz: My name is Andrew Stotz and I'll be your host as we continue our journey into the teachings of Dr. W. Edwards Deming. Today I'm here with featured guest, John Willis. John, how are you doing? 0:00:15.7 John Willis: Great, Andrew. I was just thinking, I feel like that song, like I got my picture on the cover of Rolling Stone. Like, I'm on the Deming Institute podcast. Yay. [laughter] 0:00:24.9 Andrew Stotz: We finally got you on. 0:00:27.8 John Willis: Yeah, yeah. 0:00:30.3 Andrew Stotz: Actually been a while and I wanna introduce you just briefly and then I'll let you do a little bit more of the introduction. But basically on Amazon, a book popped up and I was just looking at the date of that. That book popped up on, for me, it popped up on September 6, 2023 on Audible and I immediately bought it and I got the Audible book and the book's called 'Deming's Journey to Profound Knowledge. How Deming Helped Win a War, Altered the Face of Industry, and Holds the Key to Our Future'. And I immediately got it. Didn't know you, listened to it, loved it. Later you reached out on LinkedIn and we started communicating and you were kind enough to send a copy of it, which I then went through in more detail. I love the book. I really highly recommend the Audible version because it's just fun. Because the book is opening up a whole new Deming lens, a whole new way from somebody that never met Deming, and I just found that fascinating. So maybe why don't you take a moment and introduce yourself to the audience so that people know who you are, where you've been, what you've been doing and what you're doing now? 0:01:41.4 John Willis: Yeah, no, no, great. I... So, yeah, I... I've been doing technology, usually high consequence business, regulated industry, banks, retail, the biggest of the bigs, where the technology is incredibly important. Right? And I've been doing five decades of basic technology transformations, and I'm kind of the person who gets bored real easy. So I've literally gone through, like, you name it, mainframe, centralized computing, client server, distributed computing, priority systems, the Linux Open systems, you know, owned infrastructure cloud, and I'm consider one of the founders of the DevOps movement. And now today, like the cliché that I am, I've been doing a lot of organizational strategy on AI. So I don't come in and tell you how to turn 4,000 developers into AI coders. I kind of tell your CIOs to slow down. Wait a minute. So, yeah, so my day job today is I'm... I think these days finally in my life I would call myself an author first. I've written a number of books. The one you did, I had... My last book was a history of 100 history, 100 Year History of AI. And... But I'm an advisor, so I sort of... I take inbounds. I don't really look for work. Usually it's a chief of staff for a CIO who either has worked with me in the past and hey John, we're underwater with AI. Can you come in? Or they hear something I've said or I do a lot of podcasts and then I'm sort of a quasi investor. Although I probably should listen to your stuff a little better because I'm typically... I'm one of those guys that like, if I invest in it, you go short on it right away. So... [laughter] But yeah. But, yeah, no, so... But my day job today is really, is doing research. I'm actually just sure, this probably opened up a whole another discussion. Maybe later but I'm writing a book about the history of quantum computing right now and that's been just fascinating. So... 0:03:41.7 Andrew Stotz: Yeah. 0:03:41.8 John Willis: But my day job is helping CIOs and large high consequence organizations try to shuffle through technology transformations. 0:03:50.7 Andrew Stotz: And for the audience there that didn't catch what you were saying at the beginning, it kind of dated you because you were talking about the song called Rolling Stone by Dr. Hook. 0:03:59.9 John Willis: Yeah, yeah, totally. 0:04:01.3 Andrew Stotz: Dr. Hook published this in about 1972. And here are the lyrics. "Wanna see my picture on the cover? Wanna buy five copies for my mother? Wanna see my smiling face on the cover of Rolling Stone?" So here... 0:04:12.8 John Willis: Totally. Yeah. There you go. Deming Institute. Yeah, no, great. 0:04:16.7 Andrew Stotz: And one of the things that I found fascinating was just how you came to Deming from a very different angle. I was lucky enough that my boss at Pepsi sent me to study with him and I did two different seminars. The last one was in 1992. So I was 24, he was 92, was gonna live about one more year. I had... I could literally reach out and touch the man and hold his hand and sit next to him. I got a great picture of me sitting next to him. And I was just a young guy with a fresh mind compared to the 500 guys behind me that were older that he was bashing at times. But tell us a little bit about how you stumbled upon this topic and why you decided to do what you did with writing the book? 0:05:03.7 John Willis: Yeah, no, it's sort of interesting. I sort of say that for the first, I don't know, probably from 1980, my first job was running five distributed large computer systems for Exxon Research and Production, basically the geophysics work, right, during the most hottest period of the oil industry. And there were people doing that part of variation and understanding, but that didn't sort of hit my world. I was supporting geophysical processing and then so I rolled into other jobs. And then probably the closest I came... So in other words, I'm dealing with a lot of these major transformations and always focusing on the meta side, like the organizational. What are the things that are wrong? How do we fix the human and technology? There's a phrase called sociotechnical systems, right? And that's always where I've been most interested. And then even I was at GE Capital and I'll say this with all honesty, I was a Green Belt, but they gave out Green Belts for Six Sigma, [laughter] right? My wife was actually a Black Belt. And... But we would do... And I know Deming hated Six Sigma and all that, but we were doing... It was all around me, right? And then it wasn't until really the DevOps age that we really... That was a major shift in my career because before everything was sort of first generational from a technology or sociotechnical system, very command control, you sort of you installed software in a certain way. There were so many principles that were being broken by DevOps. And I was already an older guy at that point, but I was learning from these young kids and I'm known as the person who introduced DevOps to the US. 0:06:52.3 John Willis: And... But so there is where we started going back and understanding... We thought everything was new. We were creating DevOps, we were doing all this crazy awesome stuff. And I remember a friend of mine, well, a good friend of mine wrote a book called 'The Phoenix Project' by Gene Kim and it's a rewrite of Eliyahu Goldratt's 'The Goal'. And I was like, oh my God. And I read all of Goldratt's books and I was like, okay, this is the way, this is the way. I've seen a glimpse of some 30 or 40 year knowledge that I was missing. And then it was an open space seminar. A good friend of mine says, "John, you know." and I'm going off about Goldratt and he's like, "You know this all goes back to Deming." I'm like, "Who's Deming?" I'm like, "I just spent a year learning everything I could about Goldratt. He is my North Star. And now you're telling me..." And he challenged me. He said, "John, I'll leave it at this. You go read Deming's 14 Points and if you don't... I know you. I know what you're gonna do once you do that." And he was spot on. That was it. I was... And I don't... I'm more into the Profound Knowledge and we could talk a little bit about my journey there. But I was like, oh my goodness, this is the real and I love Eliyahu Goldratt and I love 'The Goal' and I love all his books. But Deming was hitting... Was like punching me right square in the face. 0:08:12.0 Andrew Stotz: So to what gap did it close for you? I mean, Goldratt is very specific about the main limiting point... 0:08:23.2 John Willis: Yeah. 0:08:23.3 Andrew Stotz: The bottleneck, how do we solve this? 0:08:25.6 John Willis: So the 14 Points, sort of one of the jokes is that it's mandatory to put the 14 Points in a DevOps presentation. So we were doing that dance a little bit, but then when I got a little serious about it, actually me and Gene Kim, we did a book. Goldratt has this book called 'Beyond the Goal'. It's an audio-only book, right? And I convinced Gene about five years after he had written 'The Phoenix Project' to do a Beyond the Phoenix Project. And so he did Goldratt, I did Deming. And at that point, I knew enough about Deming to say, "Okay let's..." And then we talked about DevOps and the principles of Lean and we did... I always, when somebody says they bought that audiobook, I'm like, "Oh, you're the 15th person that bought it." right? But it sold more than that. But the... But that's when Gene tapped me on the shoulder and did that. We went to the studio. It was a highlight of my life, literally going to the studio with Gene and literally recording for a couple of weeks. And he's like, "John, you really need to write a book about Dr. Deming." And then I started building a folder. And then the crash course then or the trajectory at that point not really crash course is that you realize the 14 Points are, no disrespect, but vaguely interesting. You're like, "Okay, Mount Everest is System of Profound Knowledge." Right? Because that's the mount... And that's the one where you're like, "Okay, I read 'Out of the Crisis', I think I get it, the 14 Points make sense, but like, what is this stuff he's talking about here?" Right? And then you read 'New Economics' and it's like, "I still..." And then, so for me then, it was, I'm just one of these person like I have... And again, I'm not trying to make myself look like I'm special, but I have to learn. I can't... I'm the worst person in a... If I was in your class, you'd kick me out of your class because I'd be sitting in the front row and you'd be, "Oh no, not you again." 0:09:26.2 Andrew Stotz: Another question. 0:10:26.9 John Willis: Yeah I know just another question. I mean, I've been cut off by professors and... But the... I'm like, "All right, I got to get to the bottom of this." And that was almost a 10-year journey for me of... I had to know. Because it was clear to me that Profound Knowledge or System of Profound Knowledge was not something he invented out of thin air. Like, I had to figure out, where did he get this? And that started the genesis of how I was gonna write the book, which is the journey, 'Deming's Journey to Profound Knowledge'. And that sort of took me into... And what that did, while I was learning that, of course, Deming opened the door to guys like Russell Ackoff and Ashby and just all these other sort of management thinkers and even Drucker or whatever, right? They all sort of started filling out a palette. But meanwhile, I'm still driving hard on Deming. And what that gentleman said to me, good friend of mine, Ben Rockwood, who I give tribute in the book, is when he said to me, almost like tapped me on the head, like, "John, John, John, it all goes back to Deming." Like, you start seeing the clarity of DevOps, Lean, Agile, it all had these things. And so I spent literally a long time really trying to figure out, okay, how did Deming get... We all know variation is relatively simple to understand where he got that from, right? Shewhart's work and all that stuff. And I'm not trivializing the impact of what he did for it, but knowledge was interesting. And knowledge I had to go to pragmatism. You had to understand what C.I. Lewis is. And that's a book that Deming said he had to read seven times. 0:12:03.1 Andrew Stotz: He had to read it seven times...there's no hope for me. [overlapping conversation] 0:12:05.2 John Willis: That's right. No, actually I did Tom Sawyer. I have a friend who's one of the smartest people I know. He's like, "I'll read that." And he explained it to me. But and then I read it. But so knowledge, this sort of, how do we understand? How do we know what we think we really know, right? That whole epistemology and all that. To me, this is like sort of, just give me more, right? And see more and feed me. And then system thinking was interesting, appreciation for system, because then that got me back to, okay, and there was some missing links there. And I found that one of the guys who came up with General Systems Theory, von Bertalanffy, him and yeah, Ackoff. Him and Ackoff had sat in a seminar of his like in the '40s and so there was some influence there. And there's a lot of work that's been going on in systems thinking after him. But so then I got that and then the psychology is tough, right? But so I put all that together. And then my... The thing I was telling you earlier is, when I do the research for a project like this, I read everything that there is about it. So my AI book, I read 25 books on AI, history of AI. I'm up to like 10 books on the history of quantum computing. 0:13:23.4 John Willis: With Deming, I've read every book that's been written by Deming, at least the ones that I know of, right? And one of the things I noticed, the pattern was that they all... Again, I'm just simplifying it. They all started off with a little bit about the biography, some a little longer than others, but in general, most of the book was about the management theory. And it was really a book that was being sold as a business book more than it was as a biography. And one of the things I've always loved about Michael Lewis or that sort of story of nonfiction storytelling is he tells a biography, it's a disguised biography and I thought, my God this... And as I kept compiling over the years all these great stories, you know, the Doris Quinn story, right? The woman who, she went to New Guinea and Deming... Spent the last two years of her life with Deming. I mean, most of the people that are Deming disciples didn't even know about this woman. And she spent the last two years of life traveling with him. So I met her and interviewed her. And the stories, you know Hawthorne, and there was such... It wasn't just that, I love the idea of trying to explain how he got to management theory and epistemology, how did he get to the science of variation? That's all good stuff. But I wanted the stories, and the stories were just glorious. As you enjoyed the book, right? 0:14:52.4 Andrew Stotz: Yeah. 0:14:53.3 John Willis: I think that was the fun part of not just explaining the sort of tech, if you will, but it was the, like the, oh my God, this... I've got to... I had three chapters like six years before I wrote the book. 0:15:06.9 Andrew Stotz: Yeah. Well, here's chapter 15. And you say, "Being a student of Deming, I came across an untold firsthand account of a beautiful story from one of his acolytes, a woman named Doris Quinn," who you're talking about. 0:15:20.0 John Willis: Yeah. Yeah. 0:15:20.2 Andrew Stotz: And... But the... I also had marked a section related to talking about the final days, saying... 0:15:29.7 John Willis: Yeah. 0:15:29.8 Andrew Stotz: "Doris said he was a very, very driven man. He went nonstop. I remember one time we were in Kansas City and a reporter asked him, "Dr. Deming, when are you going to retire?" And the master said, "Why would I do that?" "Well, so you can do what you want." the reporter said." 0:15:45.7 John Willis: Yeah, yeah, yeah. 0:15:46.4 Andrew Stotz: "Dr. Deming looked at him and said, "I am doing what I want." 0:15:50.2 John Willis: Yeah. You know what I love about her? There's a really good book from Amazon called 'Working Backwards'. And they tell us... The guys who wrote it were pretty high up early on in Amazon. They tell the story how if they traveled with Bezos and you didn't have a whole set of questions on the plane ride, you got in trouble. And so Doris Quinn tells that story, how she literally, she tells the story of how she traveled with him and he's like, "Doris, what other questions do you have for me?" And if she didn't have one, he'd get mad at her. He wouldn't talk to her. They'd have to wait a day because normally they'd go and have gin together. But if she didn't have questions... And some of it's in the book, some of it was in conversations had... He'd literally get mad at her and not talk to her for the rest of the day [laughter] because she didn't have any questions. You got to love that, right? 0:16:39.2 Andrew Stotz: And you also did a little follow-on about more stories that you didn't get in the book, I believe. 0:16:48.1 John Willis: Yeah. Yeah. 0:16:48.2 Andrew Stotz: Tell us about that. 0:16:50.1 John Willis: Well, so I wrote the DevOps Handbook, right? And that was a collaboration with four other authors and took us six years to write it. So my wife says, "What parts did you write?" I'm like, I don't know, man. There were a lot of parts that went in and out and moved around when you have four authors, and it was really a very techie book. So 'Deming's Journey to Profound Knowledge' was really the first book where I literally... It was my book. And so I had written the book. In fact, my favorite story, and Doris Quinn is a great story, my favorite one was... It was basically called The Devil Wears Prada. And so, and Kevin... I don't think Kevin, his mother even knew this when we were talking that his grandmother literally was... I mean, I think they knew that she worked for the pre-BLS, she was a statistical mathematician and all that. 0:17:45.3 Andrew Stotz: Right. 0:17:45.4 John Willis: But after the war, she worked before she... I don't know if she met Deming, but she certainly wasn't married to him, Dr. Deming. She worked on the mail-order business was getting all these returns for women's sizing. And so whatever the pre-BLS was, Bureau of Labor Statistics, commissioned her to do a study. And she's the one who invented women's sizings. Because before, they didn't really have all the different measurements. So she ran a whole statistical study. And so today... So I use the whole story of the Anne Hathaway, the 14 is the new seven and all. So I start that off. Anyway, so I go to my publisher and my editor, who I love, she'd already knocked out a lot of stories, but this is the one where, "You're not taking this story from me. You're not... This one is not." And then she's so good, she'll be like, "John, let me ask you this. Does it fit the arc?" By this point, she understands System of Profound Knowledge, she's read my book quite a bit, and she says, "Does it fit the arc of System of Profound Knowledge?" "Uh, I hate you." And I took it out. And then she said, "Well, why don't you make a blog post out of it?" And I'm like, "Oh, no. I'm gonna make another book." And I took all the stories we cut out and I called them Profound Stories. And yeah, so... 0:19:06.6 Andrew Stotz: And for the listeners and viewers, you can get it on Kindle and then you can read the stories. And I think for the Deming community, that's one of the best parts about this whole thing, is just there's no great collection of stories that has an arc to it, as you said. So I enjoy that. I wanna also... It'd be interesting to understand how your thinking has progressed about Deming, because obviously you talk about this introduction phase where you got to know him, then you have this intense phase that you seem to have a knack for, then you write the book, you have all the excitement about that, but you're on to other things. 0:19:46.8 John Willis: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. 0:19:46.9 Andrew Stotz: And there are remnants of Deming that remain with you, but there's others that have fallen by the wayside. Maybe they're not as critical as you may have thought or... I'm just curious, how does the Deming thinking unfold in your life now? 0:19:59.7 John Willis: I... It's become sort of a fabric. So, and I wanna get back to that, but I do wanna say one thing... I'm so... Whenever somebody tells me the story that they met Deming, I have two reactions. One is the hair on my skin, my arms go up thinking, "Oh, I wish that was me." But then the other one is like, I'm sure he would have yelled at me and got mad at me. Because he would basically be like, "That's a stupid question, Mr. Willis." So I have this fantasy of which way it would go. But anyway. Yeah, the question around what do I think now? I think, so if you go back to the narrative, he... And it's hard not to be a sycophant of Deming, right? But I am a sycophant of Deming, but I try not to be. And... But even in the book, I tried not to be a sycophant, right? I went out of my way. But so when I say this, Deming was in my DNA before I even knew who he was, right? Like at Exxon, at GE Capital, the Six Sigma stuff. And again, I understand for people listening, oh, the Six Sigma went the wrong direction, but it originally was stemmed from a lot of his ideas. And so it was there. So it was sort of foundational, and he was the lighthouse to put it in... And then System of Profound Knowledge became the taxonomy for me for this stuff that was in my DNA. And so in one way, there is this thing where you move on to a new transformation. And we're in one right now. We've been in one. I've been in one for five years now, which is with the AI. And again, same thing for me is it's not about the AI, it's organizational behavior, organizational patterns, what is the sociotechnical science behind how do you do these things? 0:21:48.4 John Willis: But so you forget... I always say technology shifts are like fluorescence. People use the metaphor of like spring and winter, like AI winter, AI spring, and they've used it for other things than AI. And that's sort of like a rebirth. The fluorescence is good because it's like an energy. It's always rolling forward. It just gets a fluorescence bright glow periodically. And so what the problem with the metaphor works for me because the energy is there, and the energy are the patterns that are consistent. The fluorescence is the blinding effect. So back to like, did anything fall off the wayside with Deming? Yes, for a little bit. Because in 20... Basically I started playing with the early versions of GPT, the OpenAI models, back at version two, and that was like around 2020, right? Even before ChatGPT, right? So that whole experience before we started even thinking about what this was gonna look like at a large-scale bank was fluorescence. Like I'm not thinking anything about Deming from 2020 to 2023. In 2023, 2024, I start getting asked to come into some of my larger clients. And I'm following it too, and I'm sort of... I'm starting to become aware that this is becoming... In fact, I'm pretty sure in the grand scheme of things that don't matter in the grand scheme, I'm pretty sure I got first use on shadow AI, in an article I wrote in like 2022 or 2021, right? 0:23:27.2 John Willis: So I had already been recognizing there's a problem pattern here. We got the shadow IT with the cloud stuff, now the shadow AI, and I could see this steamrolling happening so... And then I started getting called in organizations, and then I still was the wayside of the Deming. Like, I didn't walk in going, "Hey, I'm gonna hit the punching bag with Deming." I was coming in trying to figure out what do I know about patterns with this fluorescence metaphor that are new and shiny, and what are the things that are old that have been relevant for the five decades and the six transform... At least six transformations I've been through that are common in everyone. And I started seeing that. And then what was funny, as I'd be writing and researching with AI, it knew so much about me that even as early as like 2024, I had loaded in my Deming book. In fact, one of the ways I learned AI is I took the 'Deming's Journey to Profound Knowledge' and I turned it into an augmented general retrieval, or what they call RAG database. So I learned a lot about AI because I knew what my book was, and I could validate what was hallucinations. 0:24:36.3 John Willis: Anyway, but it knew enough about me. And then what it would periodically do, it would say, "Would you like Deming's version of this?" I'm like, "Yeah, I would love that." And then I... It started refreshing my memory of what the real context going back to my friend Ben Rockwood, it all goes back to Deming. And so now it's actually on the... It's more than ever, it's on the forefront because I'm being brought into major brand organizations that are seemingly failing on AI at the institutional, organizational level. And there's not a line of these people. In fact, most of them don't wanna talk to me because they don't wanna hear what I got to say, which is slow down. And I'm okay with the ones that don't wanna hear that because I don't really wanna work with them anyway. But now I'm seeing with absolute clarity two things. One is it all goes back to Deming, and all the problems that we're seeing can be classified in Profound Knowledge. 0:25:37.1 Andrew Stotz: Tell us more about that. Because for those people that... There's so many different components. When I got introduced to Deming, it was the 14 Points, 'Out of the Crisis'. And then I left America in 1992, so I wasn't there for 'New Economics'. And it... And I did other stuff for 20 years, 15 years, and then I found New Economics. It's like, "Wow, this is different from that." 0:25:53.1 John Willis: Yeah. 0:26:09.1 Andrew Stotz: Yeah, so between the deadly diseases, the 14 Points, the System of Profound Knowledge, there's so many parts to this. 0:26:15.9 John Willis: No, I've got... Yeah, I definitely got. And I'll tie it right back to the... In 'Deming's Journey to Profound Knowledge', I tell the story of Knight Capital. And Knight Capital is an interesting... It was the second highest high-frequency trading, black box, latency arbitrage on the NYSE. A sysadmin made a configuration error. They lost $450 million and don't quote me on the exact numbers, but like 450 million in 45 minutes. They were arbitraged at billions of dollars. They were literally out of business with a cease and desist from the SEC. And I always tell people, like, that's the last thing you want if you have a business is a cease and desist from the SEC, right? And at that point, we would say things like the consequences are high on how you think about humans and technology. Well, guess what, sports fans? Knight Capital is a drop in the bucket of what we're gonna start seeing with AI. We are going to see these... And there's the Equifax breach, there's all the... We're gonna see non-survival. I mean, Knight Capital didn't survive. Equifax lost five billion market cap in a week and then recovered all of it, right? But I'm saying there's been some major brand recognition problems pre-AI. You're not going to be able to survive these with the power... [overlapping conversation] 0:27:41.7 Andrew Stotz: Abilities are gonna be shaken out. 0:27:43.6 John Willis: Yeah. I mean, and the brand damage. Brand damage by the escape routes of how... I mean, let me just step and I wanna go back to answer your question. But one of the things that people don't recognize right now is the machine that we have now has infinite knowledge at machine speed, and it's probabilistic. I mean, just add those three things up, that it has the ability of infinite knowledge, something no human could even close to. So it'll make decisions, it will escape, it will figure ways out, it will try a clever way to do something that probably no human would do that could be a disaster. Right? So the consequences are incredibly high. So then now, okay, let's really dust off: it all goes back to Deming's stuff. And so to your question, I think that I would love to see, like, you write a fantasy novel about how Deming came back to the future and was sitting here listening to what was going on, and he'd be screaming. He'd be telling everybody... And this is the thing I'm... I don't scream, I'm too old these days, but like, I literally cut off a CIO real quick in my conversation. I interview a CIO, they think they're interviewing me, I'm interviewing them. And if I'm like, "Yeah, no, you know what? This isn't right." "Well, what do you mean, John? We had..." "No, no, no." 0:29:09.1 John Willis: Because I can see right away that what the CIO or the leadership is... They think AI is a technology transformation. It's an organizational learning transformation. Deming would see this and scream this out loud. And that's the part of the blinding fluorescence that we're missing. We should know this by now, right? And so all these technology shifts, they think they're technology revolutions. They're really... I mean, they go back to the basics. What are the systems are they changing? Are we understanding what variation is? How do people learn? Are people not learning? Are people... A good example is, in every organization that I travel and this has been true for almost every technology transformation, but now it's glaring. I like to simplify. I say there's three groups. Let's take AI, right? Three groups in an organization. And usually, again, I don't care about really start-ups. I do care about startups from an investment standpoint, but I don't care about them from my day job. And so this is a bank or a large retail or insurance company or manufacturing. And so the CIO is like, "We have an AI strategy." And by the way, let me step one more thing, we learned a lot in the DevOps revolution, but DevOps was never a board-level conversation and it was never a Wall Street conversation. 0:30:37.1 John Willis: AI was immediately a board-level conversation. And so the pressure on a C-level, a CEO and a CIO, is "You must do AI yesterday.", right? And so now what's happening is the CIOs are literally doing knee-jerk reactions of like, "We're gonna have... We got 30,000 employees. If we can get all 30,000 employees using AI with a 3x productivity rating, we'll have..." you know, like, oh my God. And then they say, "Make it so." And I call this the strategy versus talent systems gap. And I don't mean how talented they are, I mean understanding what your talent system looks like. And to keep it simple, most talent systems look like this, they have one group that is passive-aggressive. They don't like change. They've been doing the same job forever. In this new world, they don't believe AI works, and they're passive-aggressive about it because they know they can't say they don't want it. When the CIO says, "We must do AI." they have to go, "Oh, we'll get to it next month. Next month. We'll get to it next month." And then you have the second group in the middle. They wanna do the right thing, but they're high enough... As we know, if you work for a bank and you're in a high enough position, if something really goes wrong, you're lucky if you get fired. You could get a fine for two times your salary, or you could actually go to jail. 0:32:02.3 Andrew Stotz: Right. 0:32:02.4 John Willis: Right? So that group is like, "I wanna use this, but you're not clear. There's no clarity from your... You guys all wanna do all this... [overlapping conversation] 0:32:11.7 Andrew Stotz: There's risks everywhere. 0:32:13.3 John Willis: But we've got the OCC and there's no clarity on FDIC and like, what does this mean?" "Well, I don't know." "Well, then I'm not touching this stuff. And do you have my back?" No. Right? And then the third group is the classic, do now, ask forgiveness later group. And so you could put this all back to driving out fear. Because what happens is you've got a strategy. What is that, it's number eight, I think. I think that's right, but it doesn't matter, right? It could be nine, it could be seven in the 14 Points. So the CIO has said, "This must happen." And then, again, board-level, horizontal, vertical pressures. And then everybody's... And they're not even understanding, do they have the capability? Do people wanna do it? Does the middle group even understand the clarity? And so the first thing that you should be doing is, in the clearest sense is driving out fear. So the do now, ask forgiveness laters are fear that if they don't do it, they won't be the leaders. The middle group is pretty clear what their fear is, you don't give them clarity of what they can and can't do. And the third group is fear of changing, losing their job, "AI is gonna replace me." So that's all a spectrum of understanding fear at the human level. And so maybe that is one of the first things you should address before you actually set a grand strategy. And we know Deming has a lot of thoughts about this, and then we break into sort of like... 0:33:48.6 Andrew Stotz: Okay, so let's stop at that. 0:33:50.1 John Willis: Yeah. Yeah. 0:33:51.6 Andrew Stotz: Fear. 0:33:53.0 John Willis: Yeah. 0:33:54.5 Andrew Stotz: That is something that remains in your belief system that is supported by Deming. Did you have that awareness when you were in... Let's just think about before you came across Deming. 0:34:08.1 John Willis: Oh, oh, yeah. 0:34:08.9 Andrew Stotz: Let's say you were doing all that stuff with Goldratt and all that but then when you came to Deming, did fear come up as, oh, wow, this is obvious, or did you learn that later and you see it now more? 0:34:21.3 John Willis: Andrew, this is why you're good at your job. This is good. This is a great question. No, really good... I love questions where I have to really deep think about it. So I think that I kind of always... It wasn't until DevOps that I understood what failing was about. So just before, like the nanosecond before I'm learning what Deming's saying about PDSA and failing and how the whole structure of learning is, I had this sense, but I don't think I was baptized yet on... And to me, I'll put fear and failure in the same bucket, right? Because it's a very... They are, in a lot of senses, the same thing. But certainly I can put them in the same bucket. So I had a sense, but it wasn't until we started seeing fast fail in DevOps. So DevOps, one of the things with DevOps was shorten the feedback loop. That was one of the core tenets of DevOps. Like, instead of waiting three, four weeks, five weeks, six weeks to deliver some software, or six months, and then by the time you deliver it, you're onto... The whole group that built it is now doing something else, let's just be able to turn a line of code into a delivery now. And that was revolutionary, right? And it's changed the universe. I mean, you don't have the big AI providers today if you didn't have DevOps. 0:35:46.4 John Willis: You would not have Airbnb and Uber and all that if you didn't have DevOps. Right? So that... And that sort of realized that this fast feedback loop is really an interesting thing, right? And the fact that it is telling you fail fast because then you learn fast and then you correct fast. And you... And so right around that time, I'm doing this research on Deming and starting to understand epistemology, the theory of knowledge. And so, again, I don't think... Like I said earlier, I don't think I had the... And vocabulary's too loose of a word. I don't think I had the structural understanding. Like, I didn't know what the word epistemology meant [laughter] before I started learning Deming. So I... So it was really... There were flavors of understanding what learning was, but it was DevOps that literally sort of put it to the front of why this works, how it does. And then I got... Again, a lot of careers is just being lucky, right? I just happened to sort of tap into this Deming thing through meeting Gene, learning about Goldratt, and then having this good friend tap me on the head and say it all goes back to Deming. And so, so and then that point, then it sort of opened up the whole world of epistemology. And it wasn't until I wrote the book where I started realizing it was pragmatism. 0:37:07.2 Andrew Stotz: And did that... Does that fail fast, does that method of accelerating the feedback loop that happened through DevOps as you've explained, does that remove a lot of fear from where people would be... 0:37:19.6 John Willis: Oh yeah. 0:37:19.7 Andrew Stotz: Much more... So that all of a sudden says, "No, no, no, it's okay to fail. We'll see that in a day, in two days, and then we're gonna iterate from that." So, okay, I understand how that kind of reframes fear of failure. But then you now talked also about the idea that it's a big element that you see, everything goes back to Deming. Nowadays you see this fear. How does it connect with how you see fear today in the workplace or in organizations? 0:37:50.6 John Willis: Well, again, I think it's the same thing. I mean, I hear people talk about now that one of the big discussions right now and I always look for the anti-pattern of where the discussions go, right? There's this big discussion about AI slop, right? In fact, last year it was we were all concerned about hallucinations. And I'm not dismissing that, but like, if you know how to run AI and infrastructure harnesses and build ground truth in an organization and you understand how your internal audit works, hallucinations are not, let me repeat this, are not a problem in 2026. They are not a problem. You could make them a problem by not understanding what I just said, but they are not a problem. So today's hallucination frenzy scare is what's called AI slop. And I guarantee you in 2027, it'll be something else. But... And I'm not saying it doesn't exist. It does exist, right? But so people are sort of calibrating, what is the cost... There's this counter-reaction to AI coding, not even assistance, people are now using pure agent coding, right? And the question that I think Deming would ask and maybe if there is some divine proxy of me speaking through Deming or Deming speaking through me is that the question that people are now looking at is, "Slop is so bad, we're creating so much code, should we ease back to the longer cycle for ideation and delivery and that process?" Because it's costing us a lot of money on the implementation side. 0:39:20.8 John Willis: The error, the time it takes to remediate the slop is starting to outweigh. Well, that's just bad organizational behavior and design. But okay, but so now I've had this argument with a major corporation, the CIO the other day, where I was saying you have to create this hourglass effect. For you got to create the funnel and then you got to have the control system that slows things down and speeds it up. And he was saying, "But yeah, the cost of the slop is all this stuff." And I said... What I said is, "Yeah, but what you're missing is..." and this is a company that did really well in DevOps, I worked with them years ago through the DevOps transformation and they understood the fast feedback and I had to re-explain the idea that, yeah, there's a cost to AI slop, but if you're not calibrating that with the cost of non-fast feedback and learning because your fear is this slop is gonna get us back or make you knee-jerk reactions, we're gonna see if we can slow down the ideation, maybe we move too fast. And again, I don't... There are scenarios where that is absolutely true, but that is, first understanding your problem. And your problem isn't slow down the ideation process. Oh, we should spend more time ideating because what does that do? It goes back to the old school where we're spending way too much time in the ideation. By the time it actually gets implemented, the feedback loop of learning is way too long. So I think you're better off at least measuring... And this is where variation comes into play. Measuring if I decrease the ideation time, do I get more value from the fast feedback because I can understand the problem, I can fix it faster? And again, that was one of the core tenets of DevOps. But I find people now pushing back because they're scared of AI slop and it's costing more remediation time. So again, I think these are multiple ways of thinking about how fear... [overlapping conversation] 0:41:26.9 Andrew Stotz: Yeah, so besides... 0:41:27.1 John Willis: The fear... And I was just gonna say one... Sorry to cut you off. 0:41:29.0 Andrew Stotz: Yeah, go ahead. 0:41:31.0 John Willis: But one of the biggest problems I've seen over the years is I think the knee-jerk reaction is the symptom of fear. Right? And so I've seen this over and over where a bank gets pawned and so they put out a req for a hundred IT sec professionals in a city where you can best case hire 10 one year. Right? So again, I think that there's that combinatorial fear, knee-jerk reaction. 0:42:00.5 Andrew Stotz: If you were to pick one other area of Deming that really stands the test of time for you, as opposed to a Deming disciple, let's say someone that's trying to implement everything that he's talking about and they're trying to do it in their little manufacturing company or their service business, which I interview those guys. 0:42:09.1 John Willis: Yeah, yeah. 0:42:17.6 Andrew Stotz: But in your case, in some ways it's like you swam through a Deming period of time, absorbed everything and now you're on to other stuff. I'm just kind of interested about what else is lasting? 0:42:35.2 John Willis: Yeah, no... 0:42:35.3 Andrew Stotz: Just one thing. 0:42:35.6 John Willis: And I think maybe, Andrew, maybe part of a problem of the institutionalized Deming conversations is it doesn't always have to have the word Deming in it. In other words, I'm not criticizing you. I'm just saying that I see it more as it's in my DNA. It's part of how I look at things. And so I'll give you a great example. This is pure Deming, but I wouldn't think of it as, "Oh, let me explain this way I want you to evolve in AI because Deming would say..." I don't start that way. But I will tell you that when I came up with this idea and it's called an ideation, AI ideation hackathon. Right? Because everybody's running tech hackathons, AI hackathons. And that's a terrible, terrible, terrible idea. And there's technical debt, you're just making a lot of mistakes there. 0:43:01.7 Andrew Stotz: Right. 0:43:27.8 John Willis: It's a knee-jerk reaction. So the ideation hackathon is sort of something unique. I was doing some consulting for the CMO of a large database company, but got into AI and I helped them, it's called MongoDB, I don't do any work for them anymore but I helped them launch their AI solution. And I did a lot of technical hackathons and I just kept seeing how all the chaos of these technical hackathons, people would build stuff, it would just wind up in GitHub repositories, it would go nowhere. And I finally said, "Why don't we just strip out the technology and focus on the ideation process?" Right? And so that becomes a pure implementation of PDSA. Right? Because in a PDSA, if I was gonna sort of explain it in a Deming way, a hackathon would be a terrible way to implement a PDSA. "So let's build the Sistine Chapel and then let's figure out, let's study the results." Or why don't we start small as an organization? This is why I tell my first... Right now, CIO asks me, "Okay, John..." and usually the conversation ends at this, "What would be your 30-day, 90-day plan, 180-day plan?" 0:44:41.0 John Willis: I'm like, "Not to have one." Yeah, but then I sort of, I talk about two ways to deal with where they're at. And I say that one is something I've done over years, was a qualitative. I do these large where I interview 300, 400 people and I use true qualitative analysis approach to interviewing people, build categories, and structurally design what the place looks like. Right? And that's very... But it's very expensive and it takes... Expensive not in the money, but the time. The new sort of one that CIOs, at least a small percentage of bite onto is, "Why don't we run some ideation hackathons?" And here's the value, you're not writing any code. You're letting people focus on learning how to ideate. Because remember I said earlier, AI is not a technology transformation, it's an organizational learning change. So let's focus on the organizational learning structures without giving any of the technology or the code. But do the hackathon, and the readouts are what you would have built minus the specific tools. And it's glorious because you actually you get to see all the stuff without expending tokens. You don't build the risks. Because anybody who tells you they can sandbox experiments in AI is lying, absolute lying. If anybody's followed the recent Open AI Hugging Face one, it was the most insane escape. 0:46:10.9 John Willis: So, and then the other idea is I don't want 30 of my executive administrators all picking their own tools and all trying to solve all their C-level bosses' problems. And by the way, there's the whole security exposure is, I've done ideation hackathons where an EA says, "I got this idea. I wanna take my P&L or my profit or whatever of some proprietary information on a spreadsheet and throw it into Claude and have Claude..." I'm like, "Yeah, no, no, no, no. Let me explain how that goes into Claude." It literally, it traverses through a bunch of internal structures that leave stuff laying around. And by the way, even though they say they don't train on your data, they have your data. Like, you don't want that data in there. So the ideation hackathon, I think, is a really good... And so I think the main point to that is, although I don't walk in the door and I think one of the... Again, your listeners, I'm like attacking your listeners basically but I think one of our problems is, we try to build our, some people try to build their skill set around like, "I'm a Deming expert. I'm gonna teach you how to do Deming and everything's gonna be great because of Deming." as opposed to let's just make the water Deming, the water, the fabric of what we do. And every once in a while it does make sense to be able to say, "Hey, you know that..." And I won't go back and say I won't lead and say, "Well, Deming tells us..." because I'm not gonna get the gig if I just go too much on Deming anyway. But I will say at some point, I'll say, "Here's the deal. We've got over 100 years of management knowledge on how to do the right things. Let's pay attention to those things." Right? And that's the Deming, that's the Shewhart, that's the Ackoff, it's the Ashby, it's the... We can go down the list, right? Senge. 0:48:06.2 Andrew Stotz: One of the things I was thinking about a while ago was, when Dr. Deming wrote 'Out of the Crisis', he was telling us that we were in a crisis and that we needed to think a new level of thinking. Did it work? Are we out of the crisis? Did people take on board what he taught? Where are we now? That was 1986. 0:48:30.7 John Willis: Yeah, I know, I know. 0:48:31.7 Andrew Stotz: On the one side you can say America's brought incredible amount of innovation and businesses are huge and other countries and other regions struggle to catch up with America. So on the one hand, you could say materially it appears like we're there. But on the other hand, when you look at the way things are managed, you could argue, yeah, not much has changed. 0:48:56.7 John Willis: It's a tough one. It's a tough, I mean, let's just face it, large-scale organizations of high consequences are so full of bureaucracy. Humans interacting at that scale is probably the hardest organizational problem there is, right? You can study anthropology for the next 40 or 50 years and still not have a good clue of how to. And people do, right? So, yeah, it's hard. And why things work, why they go through the... I mean, I talk about the Peterson at Ford, right? And then Ford, turns out there were a lot of other... There are these other conflicting things that happen, industry changes, financial models change. Why did Ford have this incredible success when Peterson called Deming? And then some number of years later, they're back to the old ways, right? We got General Motors, we got all that. I will say this, and I hadn't really thought about this until you asked the question. One of the things I did focus pretty heavy on is Deming's influence on Toyota. And now there's a lot of debate and this is where people get pretty mean with me. I mean, Dr. Spear, I love Dr. Spear. He wrote 'High Velocity Edge' and he's a genius. He was MIT Sloan. And every time I'd see him, "Well, you know, John, Deming and that Six Sigma stuff never worked." And I'm like, "Alright, first off, he didn't do Six Sigma. Second off..." 0:50:21.6 John Willis: And then he told me one time, he said that Deming had no influence on Toyota. I'm like, "Yeah, that's just not blatantly untrue. I'm sorry, you're a PhD genius, I'm not. You're wrong." And so I've been hitting him... Over the years, I hit him with a lot of evidence of Deming's influence on Toyota. And it even goes back to Denco Densco and some of the same. But here's the thing, right? I... There's a woman called Katie Anderson. She's got a book, Learning to... 'Leading to Learn, Learning to Lead', where she met a guy who spent four decades at Toyota, this Dr. Yoshino, and she interviewed and wrote a book about his career. She runs a Japan study trip. I did a Japan study trip a couple of years ago and I got to meet him. And I... He hired at Toyota in 1966. He worked alongside Ohno, Shingo. He was there. He was a junior guy, but he was the guy they were yelling at, "Do this, do that, do this." right? So he was there. 0:51:23.9 John Willis: I told him, I said, "There are people that believe in the US that Deming had no influence on Toyota." He could not believe that that question even could come up. And he told me, he said, "John...", he doesn't really speak good English, we had a translator, he said, "Let me tell you what Deming taught us. He taught us to understand data." And at first I didn't grok that, but then I started thinking about variation. And although there's a lot of people that say that that didn't carry through too, but if I look at what Agile, Lean, and ultimately become DevOps, I in that book trace it pretty strongly back to Deming's influence on Toyota. And you can't deny Lean is not the core of Agile Lean, today's Lean, right? Toyota Production Systems, to be clear. So then I would say that the lasting impact of Deming is not what happened in the '80s when the Americans started understanding what he did, because maybe that translation, maybe it had to be... I asked Doris Quinn this and she said, "Oh, that's interesting." Because I said this, I said, "Could it be that Japan influenced Deming as much as he influenced Japan?" And I think it did. And I think the point was they were... 0:52:45.6 Andrew Stotz: It was a love affair. 0:52:46.3 John Willis: And yeah, and they were more malleable to his messaging. 0:52:50.3 Andrew Stotz: Well, they were more malleable because of their condition, but they also were more susceptible because of the structure of the society. 0:53:01.6 John Willis: Exactly. Yeah, but even the sort of community structure. I'll tell you another quick story on that study trip where we visited an elementary school. And in the elementary school, they had no janitors. Every sort of public school is like this, right? They have no janitors. And the kids, they literally clean. At about 2 o'clock, a bell goes off and some kids rotate and they do the bathrooms, some people... Imagine in an American school, some ritzy parents, "My son cleaned the bathroom?" It'd be on CNN. And they rotated serving food. 0:53:20.7 Andrew Stotz: Child slave labor. 0:53:39.7 John Willis: Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then we got to interview a couple of them and they understood Kaizen and all. So me, I start thinking about like, oh my God, this is our... Western culture is so broken because we basically teach everything that's antithetical to that. They get out of college and then maybe they get lucky and get into an Agile, Lean-like structure and we have to break it all down, where their kids come out completely in that sort of community. And we went to a lot of tier-one distributors. You could see the understanding of community and the power of it. And so what I'm saying is, what Deming was giving them saturated to have such an impact on TPS, and it's unquestionable the impact TPS has had on Lean and Agile and DevOps. And if you follow my thread, Lean, Agile, and DevOps have certainly impacted... You don't have places like Google for good or bad, Facebook for good or bad, Uber, because they could never scale... 0:54:40.0 Andrew Stotz: Yeah. 0:54:40.1 John Willis: Without that. So again, I think, I really hadn't thought about this until you asked the question, is I think actually the Deming 1980s renaissance of Deming was a... Seemed like a bubble in retrospect, unfortunately. But actually indirectly, he's had more... And there's a good part of the book that tries to cover that. I do the "What would Deming do?" after he died, if he was alive and all the stuff that happened there. 0:55:06.3 Andrew Stotz: Yeah, I mean, definitely DevOps. And then Eric... What was his... The Lean Startup one? 0:55:14.0 John Willis: Eric Ries. Yeah, Eric Ries. Yeah. 0:55:17.3 Andrew Stotz: That also... Those two really probably did more to promote PDSA and that aspect. 0:55:23.4 John Willis: Yeah, that's right. Oh yeah, scientific method. There is a copy, and I cannot find it anywhere, there is a copy of Eric, one of Eric Ries' Lean Startup books that does attribute to Deming, and I cannot find it. 0:55:36.5 Andrew Stotz: It does or does not? 0:55:38.7 John Willis: Does. Does. He's got this thing about the 75th birthday or something. Do you have it? Because I can't find the copy, at some point I read a copy where he does a tribute to Deming. 0:55:50.0 Andrew Stotz: Yeah, I think there's some... 0:55:53.0 John Willis: And then... 0:55:53.1 Andrew Stotz: I have the book and I think there is some reference in the book. 0:55:57.5 John Willis: Yeah, there was one, was like... It was like... I don't know if it was the 70th year, 75th year, and he... So yeah, no, I mean that directly. Lean Startup is literally... Yeah, so yeah. 0:56:10.9 Andrew Stotz: And if we think about people that are listening to this podcast, the people that I really want to listen to this podcast and I really want to get something out of the podcast is people that just don't know Deming. They've never heard of it, but they've stumbled upon it. One of the Deming community said, "Hey, you should listen to this podcast because you'll learn about Deming." And maybe they listen to a couple of episodes and it's a bit overwhelming when they hear someone talking about a lot of detail about this or that. Maybe they bought 'Out of the Crisis' and they got a chapter or two into it and they thought, yeah, that's also a bit overwhelming. What would be your message to that person who's listening right now to say, here's the reason why you shouldn't abandon it because of XYZ or whatever that message is that you've got about what they need to know about Deming? 0:57:01.4 John Willis: Yeah. I mean, I will say this, learning is hard. Change is hard, right? I mean, it sounds cliché, but, yeah, I think all of us who came into Deming, I didn't... When I read, we talked about this, I read 'Out of the Crisis', I was like, I don't know what's going on here. One of the worst things I can advise you to, I hate to say this, and this is probably anti-Deming Institute, is start off by reading his two books. You're better off going out to podcasts like this or other stories. I found that healthcare was chock-full of great stories, particularly about Profound Knowledge, of great examples. And then I went back and read the book and then like, oh my God, this is, now I get it, right? So I think a lot of things that we sort of encounter, a lot of them have... The things that are really valuable have this sort of facing counter-intuitiveness nature to them, and you have to sort of work at that. 0:57:55.9 Andrew Stotz: Yeah. 0:57:56.9 John Willis: And so Deming is hard. I mean, you... If you wanna understand Deming, I would say most people are not gonna get it on the snap. And what I would say to them is, it's worth figuring out what are the parts that he says and he did and his philosophy that could become part of your DNA, 'cause that I don't think anybody disagrees on. And then... And one other sort of short story. And I love Bill Bellows and I would say listen to all his podcasts. He's an amazing guy and just incredibly insightful on a lot of, I didn't really understand Taguchi, but so I did some podcasts with him. But I remember, and I'm not calling anybody out, but he runs the In2:InThinking Group and I've been to a couple of those. And I remember one time we were sitting there and we were having a conversation around sort of a roundtable and somebody asked, as I was talking about a company, they said, "Are they a Deming company?" I'm like, yeah. And I couldn't actually get through the room that, no. Nobody's a Deming company. Like, what is a Deming company? That's the wrong question. So again, back to, you got to be careful about how you think about Deming as using his philosophy to help organizations, because the more you focus on that it is a "Deming philosophy" as opposed to these are the right ways to think about the problems, you fall into this trap of maybe getting lost. Well, that Deming thing worked for about a year or two years and now it doesn't work. Well, if you don't call it a Deming thing, then what were the things that stuck and what are the things that didn't? 0:59:42.5 Andrew Stotz: Yeah. I just wanna remind the listeners and the viewers out there, just go to Amazon and find 'Deming's Journey to Profound Knowledge'. For me, I listened to it as an Audible book, which was fun because I enjoyed the stories and it just reminded me to go back and listen again. And also the additional stories, which I actually hadn't bought until, I had been wanting to buy it, but I didn't. So while you were talking, I got that on Kindle. So that's gonna be my fun. 1:00:13.9 John Willis: Those are great stories. There's a story about Gene Cernan. He was the last guy to land, be on the moon. And as you go through the book, it's really interesting. I did like seven or eight... So I was in no rush to publish the Deming book. I was in a rush to do the AI book. So I would literally get to the third rev, the fourth rev, and every time I'd have more new friends point things out. And by the time I got to like eight revs and I'm like, okay, it's probably time to put this book out. But what happens is as you go with the editor, they just start carving things down. And a good editor makes the strong point, like my 'Devil Wears Prada'. But again, there were so many great stories, like the Gene Cernan one is the last guy to be on the moon, but there was a story about Tracy's Rock and it's just a fabulous story, but it didn't have any place in Deming's Journey of Profound Knowledge. It was just an add-on that sort of took you off course. But now, in a standalone book, it's a great story. So there's a ton of those. The guy who created Piggly Wiggly was this genius. Like, again, it didn't really fit in there. But as a standalone story and I even do a little bit of, like, this would have been in chapter 15, so if you read both, you get a sense. And the worst thing I can tell you, though, is I had one person, I was at a conference I was laying the book, the Profound Stories book was laying around, and I guess I came back, he was at a booth, and he read it, and he goes, "John, can I talk to you about your book?" I'm like, "What?" He goes, "I don't know." I'm like, "Oh, dude, you can't read that book without reading 'Deming's Journey to Profound Knowledge'. It would be a terrible book if you didn't know what the premise was for where it came from." So, yeah. 1:01:59.7 Andrew Stotz: So in wrapping up, what would you like to leave the audience with from this discussion and from your journey into the teachings of Dr. Deming? 1:02:11.3 John Willis: Yeah, I think you have to start thinking about... And again, I know it sounds like I'm trying to sell the book and you're doing a better job than I am anyway but the last third of 'Deming's Journey to Profound Knowledge' was what would Deming do had he survived another 20 years? Right? And probably nothing because he was pretty old and not healthy. But the... So, I mean, question then is, as we think about organizational behavior, what are the core things? And I think Profound Knowledge is a great way. I, again I... Again, I don't walk in and say, "Oh, we're gonna... CIO, we're gonna solve this problem by applying the four elements of Profound Knowledge." That's not how I start that conversation. But I'm certainly thinking about systems thinking because that's first and forefront. Like, how are you thinking about... Like one company recently I was with, they got... Some of the big AI providers are giving well-branded companies all-you-can-eat AI. Like OpenAI is saying, "Hey, you know..." That's a terrible idea, terrible, terrible. Because now you're just building technical debt up the gazoo, right? So again, to be able to see the forest behind the trees, what's the systems thinking effect of that? How are you learning? What's the epistemology, the theory of knowledge behind that? 1:03:39.2 John Willis: Are you applying... In the book, I tried to codify my understanding of, like, the theory of knowledge is, how do we know what we think we know? The variation is, how can we see what we think we know? The psychology is, what are the... Let's take a second and what are the blind spots? And then I think of it as a feedback loop is, are we continually like if you listen to Bill Bellows, he does a great job of sort of explaining systems thinking through the sort of vehicle of Taguchi or Ackoff but are we just continually looping through that process as, "Let's take a bigger chunk, let's take a bigger chunk, let's take a bigger chunk"? So Profound Knowledge, not so much that you have to walk in and be an expert on 'Deming's Journey to Profound Knowledge', or more specifically, The System of Profound Knowledge. The idea is, can you use those... And the reason I fell in with 'The System of Profound Knowledge', why that was what hit my core, because I will say, out of my five decades of doing all this crazy stuff in technology, I can't think... I mean, there's a lot of cool frameworks that I use as auxiliary, and frameworks I'm using loosely but The System of Profound Knowledge is the one framework that to me beats all other frameworks because it covers epistemology, it covers understanding statistical analysis or analytical statistics. Right? Which is very important. It brings in the biases, the... All the sort of things about how people think, blind spots, and then it throws together the wrapper of appreciation of a system, so... 1:05:23.2 Andrew Stotz: Yeah. Well, John, on behalf of everyone at the Deming Institute, now you see your picture on the cover. [laughter] 1:05:32.2 John Willis: There we go, man. 1:05:33.7 Andrew Stotz: I wanna thank you. It's a great discussion and it's long overdue. 1:05:37.7 John Willis: Sure. 1:05:37.9 Andrew Stotz: And for listeners, remember to go to deming.org and jump into DemingNext to continue your journey. This is your host, Andrew Stotz, and I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes from Dr. Deming, which is, "People are entitled to joy in work." 1:05:42.4 John Willis: I love that you end with that.
Interview with Christopher Crawley - The Value of SecOps This week, we talk to Chris Crawley about his new book, The Value of Cybersecurity Operations. Chris has been training teams on security operations for years, but found that students often struggled to justify the importance of secops training and even the need for secops in general. This book was written to more broadly arm practitioners with the information they need to communicate why security operations are necessary to leadership. The book is available in several forms: eBook, hardcover, softcover, and an audiobook read by Chris himself! You can pick all versions up here: https://shop.montance.com/collections/all and Security Weekly listeners get 50% off with code sw-50! The Evolving Exploitation of Trust with Josh Davies, Security Strategist at Fortra Fortra Intelligence and Research Experts (FIRE) is Fortra's emergent threat intelligence identity, created to unify research teams across multiple security disciplines and share intelligence with the wider threat intelligence community. FIRE co-ordinator and security strategist Josh Davies joins us to share insights from original FIRE research like Calphishing, Mirage2FA, RatPressto phishkit and heavily obfuscated campaigns that evade defences. While also digging into trends from big data analysis within phishing, fraud, social engineering and credential theft. Segment Resources: Art of Security Podcast Fortra Research This segment is sponsored by Fortra. Access FIRE Research here: https://securityweekly.com/fortrabh Why Agentic AI Security Requires a Defense-In-Depth Strategy with Kaushik Shanadi, CTO and Co-Founder of Helmet Security Many organizations are approaching agentic AI security by stitching together individual controls, assuming that identity, network, endpoint, or application security alone is enough. Each address only one part of the problem. As AI agents become more autonomous, move across systems, and take actions on behalf of users, organizations need a true defense-in-depth strategy that combines every layer of the security stack. Kaushik can discuss how each security layer provides a different piece of the puzzle and how individually, none of the controls are sufficient. But together, they create the layered governance needed to securely deploy agentic AI. For more information about Helmet Security, please visit https://securityweekly.com/helmetbh Above Security on Why Legacy Tools Don't Cut It for Modern Insider Risk with Tricia Howard, Head of Marketing at Above Security As organizations rush to adopt agentic AI, agents are often given broad access to critical business systems and sensitive data. Legacy insider risk management tools weren't built for this, and organizations have spent years on insider risk posturing and investments that leave security teams inundated with false positives while the real risk slips through undetected. In this segment, Tricia Howard draws on her decade in cybersecurity, including years watching user and entity behavior analytics (UEBA) overpromise and underdeliver, to unpack why understanding human – and now AI – intent is the missing piece. Segment Resources: Blog Post: Redefining Insider Threat Blog Post: What I wanted UEBA to be, Years Ago To learn more about Above Security and insider risk management in the era of agentic AI, visit: https://securityweekly.com/abovebh The Identity Crisis Your Security Team Didn't See Coming: Governing AI Agents with Darren Guccione, CEO and Co-Founder of Keeper Security AI agents outnumber human identities in enterprise environments, and traditional security software was never built to govern them. 89% of cybersecurity decision-makers recently surveyed by Keeper Security said that AI adoption has made identity management harder. In this Black Hat USA conversation with Cyber Risk TV, Darren Guccione, CEO and Co-Founder of Keeper Security, shares a practical framework for extending identity governance to non-human identities and AI agents before the access gap becomes a breach. Segment Resources: Privileged Access Management Identity Security at Machine Speed To learn more about Keeper Security, visit: https://securityweekly.com/keeperbh Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/esw-478
Interview with Christopher Crawley - The Value of SecOps This week, we talk to Chris Crawley about his new book, The Value of Cybersecurity Operations. Chris has been training teams on security operations for years, but found that students often struggled to justify the importance of secops training and even the need for secops in general. This book was written to more broadly arm practitioners with the information they need to communicate why security operations are necessary to leadership. The book is available in several forms: eBook, hardcover, softcover, and an audiobook read by Chris himself! You can pick all versions up here: https://shop.montance.com/collections/all and Security Weekly listeners get 50% off with code sw-50! The Evolving Exploitation of Trust with Josh Davies, Security Strategist at Fortra Fortra Intelligence and Research Experts (FIRE) is Fortra's emergent threat intelligence identity, created to unify research teams across multiple security disciplines and share intelligence with the wider threat intelligence community. FIRE co-ordinator and security strategist Josh Davies joins us to share insights from original FIRE research like Calphishing, Mirage2FA, RatPressto phishkit and heavily obfuscated campaigns that evade defences. While also digging into trends from big data analysis within phishing, fraud, social engineering and credential theft. Segment Resources: Art of Security Podcast Fortra Research This segment is sponsored by Fortra. Access FIRE Research here: https://securityweekly.com/fortrabh Why Agentic AI Security Requires a Defense-In-Depth Strategy with Kaushik Shanadi, CTO and Co-Founder of Helmet Security Many organizations are approaching agentic AI security by stitching together individual controls, assuming that identity, network, endpoint, or application security alone is enough. Each address only one part of the problem. As AI agents become more autonomous, move across systems, and take actions on behalf of users, organizations need a true defense-in-depth strategy that combines every layer of the security stack. Kaushik can discuss how each security layer provides a different piece of the puzzle and how individually, none of the controls are sufficient. But together, they create the layered governance needed to securely deploy agentic AI. For more information about Helmet Security, please visit https://securityweekly.com/helmetbh Above Security on Why Legacy Tools Don't Cut It for Modern Insider Risk with Tricia Howard, Head of Marketing at Above Security As organizations rush to adopt agentic AI, agents are often given broad access to critical business systems and sensitive data. Legacy insider risk management tools weren't built for this, and organizations have spent years on insider risk posturing and investments that leave security teams inundated with false positives while the real risk slips through undetected. In this segment, Tricia Howard draws on her decade in cybersecurity, including years watching user and entity behavior analytics (UEBA) overpromise and underdeliver, to unpack why understanding human – and now AI – intent is the missing piece. Segment Resources: Blog Post: Redefining Insider Threat Blog Post: What I wanted UEBA to be, Years Ago To learn more about Above Security and insider risk management in the era of agentic AI, visit: https://securityweekly.com/abovebh The Identity Crisis Your Security Team Didn't See Coming: Governing AI Agents with Darren Guccione, CEO and Co-Founder of Keeper Security AI agents outnumber human identities in enterprise environments, and traditional security software was never built to govern them. 89% of cybersecurity decision-makers recently surveyed by Keeper Security said that AI adoption has made identity management harder. In this Black Hat USA conversation with Cyber Risk TV, Darren Guccione, CEO and Co-Founder of Keeper Security, shares a practical framework for extending identity governance to non-human identities and AI agents before the access gap becomes a breach. Segment Resources: Privileged Access Management Identity Security at Machine Speed To learn more about Keeper Security, visit: https://securityweekly.com/keeperbh Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/esw-478
Shoulder Instability: Who Needs Surgery, and Why Remplissage Is Now StandardOn an academic Friday, Dr. Brian Feeley and Dr. Drew Lansdown talk about shoulder instability. It comes up a lot in the fall, when football and high school sports start, and again in winter with snowboarding and skiing. They cover which first-time dislocators should think about surgery, how stabilization surgery has changed over the past decade, and when athletes can realistically return to play.In this episode:What "academic days" are. Why protected time for research, education and department work matters for surgeons whose operating schedules are unpredictable.Dislocation vs. separation. A glenohumeral dislocation (the ball comes out of the socket) compared with an AC joint "shoulder separation" (where the collarbone meets the shoulder blade).Who gets surgery. The main factors are how many times it has happened, age (under 21 carries a high risk of it happening again) and activity. Surfers and rock climbers may be offered surgery even after a first dislocation.Instability, not pain. Patients often feel fine between episodes, which makes the decision to operate less obvious.Physical therapy vs. surgery. PT strengthens the rotator cuff, which holds the ball in place. Surgery repairs the labrum and tightens the capsule.Remplissage explained. It means "to fill in" in French. The surgeon fills the Hill-Sachs lesion with the posterior capsule and infraspinatus tendon so the dent in the ball can't catch on the socket.Outcomes over time. In older series, about 1 in 5 young patients dislocated again after repair. UCSF's recurrence rate with modern technique is now about 3–5%. The biggest improvement is fewer subluxations, the feeling that the shoulder is about to slip out.Measuring the Hill-Sachs lesion. Width vs. craniocaudal (north-south) length vs. location, and why the threshold for adding remplissage keeps dropping.The billing problem. Remplissage has become close to standard of care, but there's no billing code for it.Return to sport. Plan on about 6 months, and base the decision on function (range of motion, strength, confidence), not just the calendar.Coming up: Latarjet and patellar instability.Hosts: Brian Feeley, MD, and Drew Lansdown, MD (UCSF)References discussed:MacDonald P, et al. Arthroscopic Bankart repair with and without arthroscopic infraspinatus remplissage in anterior shoulder instability with a Hill-Sachs defect: a randomized controlled trial. J Shoulder Elbow Surg. 2021.Woodmass JM, et al. Arthroscopic Bankart repair with remplissage in anterior shoulder instability results in fewer redislocations than Bankart repair alone at medium-term follow-up of a randomized controlled trial. Am J Sports Med. 2024.Arthroscopic Bankart repair with and without remplissage in longer inferior craniocaudal Hill-Sachs extensions: secondary analysis of a randomized clinical trial. (PubMed 40744323)Cong T, …, Lin A. Defining critical humeral bone loss: inferior craniocaudal Hill-Sachs extension as predictor of recurrent instability after primary arthroscopic Bankart repair. Am J Sports Med. 2024.Subscribe to 6 to 8 Weeks: Perspectives in Sports Medicine on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen.This podcast is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Please subscribe to our podcast at Apple PodcastsCheck out our website on Simplecast
Measuring Reliability Abstract “It’s impossible to measure.” “It’s too vague.” If you’ve heard these objections, you’re facing a fundamental misunderstanding about measurement. Join Fred and Mojan as they explore Douglas Hubbard’s principle that everything can be measured—the real question is whether the cost of measurement is worth the reduction in uncertainty. They discuss how to […]
Strong businesses do not become healthy by accident. They are built through trust, clear leadership, accountability, and a willingness to face problems together. Will Watrous joins me to explore what makes leadership teams work and why so many companies struggle even when good people are involved. Will shares how his own entrepreneurial journey led him from marketing into helping leadership teams use the Entrepreneurial Operating System, or EOS, to create greater vision, traction, and team health. We discuss vulnerability-based trust, productive conflict, accountability, business complexity, data-driven decisions, and why leaders must take responsibility for both what works and what does not. Will also explains why simplicity matters as companies grow, how weekly meetings can keep teams focused, and why leaders need quiet thinking time to gain clarity. You will find practical leadership lessons here for building stronger teams, making better decisions, and creating a healthier business. Highlights: 05:22 How helping one business owner launched Will's entrepreneurial journey. 11:42 Why strong leadership creates accountability. 15:29 How trust becomes the foundation of healthy teams. 26:20 Why productive conflict leads to better decisions. 40:44 How leaders can reduce complexity as a business grows. 54:04 Why clarity breaks help leaders think and lead better. . About the Guest: Will Watrous is a business owner, EOS Implementer, and advisor to growth-minded leaders in the Tulsa and Broken Arrow area. He works primarily with founders and leadership teams of companies with 10 to 250 employees who want more clarity, discipline, and traction in their organizations. His work centers on helping leaders simplify complexity, make better decisions, and consistently execute on what matters most. As a Certified EOS Implementer, Will guides leadership teams through the Entrepreneurial Operating System, focusing on vision, accountability, data, and healthy team dynamics. He is known for being practical, direct, and grounded in real-world business experience. Clients value his ability to ask hard questions, create focus, and turn strategy into clear priorities that actually get done. Beyond EOS, Will owns and advises multiple businesses, including a marketing company and commercial real estate investments. This firsthand ownership experience shapes how he works with clients. He understands cash flow, hiring decisions, sales challenges, and the pressure leaders face when growth creates complexity. His approach blends structured systems with sound judgment and financial awareness. Will is deeply interested in finance, long-term wealth building, and disciplined execution, both personally and professionally. He values tools, scorecards, and measurable outcomes, but believes strong businesses are ultimately built by healthy, aligned leaders. His Christian worldview influences how he thinks about stewardship, integrity, and responsibility. He lives in the Tulsa area with his wife Jenny and their two children, Eli and Ellie. Outside of work, Will enjoys fitness, hiking, travel, learning, and time with his family. He is driven by helping leaders build organizations that are not only successful, but sustainable and well-run for the long term. Ways to connect with Will**:** LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/willwatrous/ Website: https://implementer.eosworldwide.com/will-watrous/ About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog. Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards. https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/ Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below! Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset . Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts. Transcription Notes: Michael Hingson 00:04 What if the biggest thing holding you back isn't what's in front of you, but rather what you believe? Welcome to Unstoppable Mindset, where inclusion, diversity, and the unexpected meet. I'm your host, Michael Hingson, speaker, author, and advocate for inclusion and possibilities. This podcast explores how the beliefs we carry shape the way we live, lead, and connect with others. Each week, I talk with people who challenge assumptions, face adversity head-on, and show what's possible when we choose curiosity over fear. Together, we focus on mindset, resilience, and the small shifts that lead to meaningful change. Let's get started. Well, greetings, everyone, wherever you may be today, I am your host Mike Hingson, and you are listening and/or watching Unstoppable Mindset. Our guest today is Will Watrous, and Will has a I think a lot of interesting things to talk with us about regarding organizations, team building, teamwork, and other such things, and I'm not going to give it away because it's his job to really talk about that, which is a lot more fun. Although I will say that he and I share a like of a particular book on teamwork, which we'll talk about, I'm sure, as we go forward. But anyway, Will, I want to welcome you to Unstoppable Mindset. We're really glad you're here. Will Watrous 01:40 Thank you, Mike. What a pleasure to be on your podcast today. Michael Hingson 01:43 Well, well, I've been looking forward to it for a while, so we're we're glad we're doing it, and we'll we'll take about an hour, and then you can go off to dinner unless you've already had dinner. Speaker 1 01:53 Sounds like a plan. Michael Hingson 01:56 Yeah, Will is in Oklahoma, so I think he's having warmer temperatures today than we are. Anyway, so let's let's go ahead and move forward. Why don't you tell us kind of maybe a little bit about the early will growing up and all that? Speaker 1 02:10 Sure. So I grew up in a little coastal town, Mystic, Connecticut, which is on the shore, northeastern Connecticut. Michael Hingson 02:19 Did you ever have pizza there? I had to ask. Speaker 1 02:21 I did. I did have Mystic Pizza before it was made famous by Julia Roberts' right movie, and that was that was my hometown. Yeah. So the Mystic Drawbridge there, and the old Mystic Village, or the Mystic Seaport. It's a very touristy, but also a great place to grow up. Yeah, on the water, and yeah, the youngest of six kids, five boys, one girl, but don't feel sorry for her because she is probably could still beat me up. She's a strong, strong woman, and yes, pretty, pretty average in in many ways, childhood graduated from high school and went off to college here in Oklahoma. Spent about six years out here going to school, and then went back to the East Coast. This time to Washington D.C. area. I was working in a large nonprofit organization just outside the Beltway, and then wound up going to Boston. Taught at a school in Brookline, Massachusetts, just outside of Boston. And then my wife decided she wanted to go to college out here in Oklahoma, so we moved back out here in around around 2010, and I started a business, and that started my entrepreneurial journey, which was very intensive. Let's say learned a lot, a lot of it the hard way, and really developed an affinity, appreciation for business, for entrepreneurship, for ultimately serving people, which is what most businesses should be designed to do. And through all of that, took some really powerful principles, insights, truths away, and now have the privilege of helping a lot of other business leadership teams run stronger, better, healthier companies. Michael Hingson 04:28 What got you to go to college in Oklahoma? Coming from Mystic, Speaker 1 04:33 well, being the youngest of six, two of my brothers had come to school out here, and so I was following in their footsteps. Michael Hingson 04:41 Where did you go to school? Speaker 1 04:43 So I went to Oral Oral Roberts University. Yep, and I went to a college called Raymo Bible Training College, which is a Christian two-year Christian school out here. Michael Hingson 04:56 And eventually, you came back. And why did your wife want to come? And go to college in Oklahoma, kind of same concepts. Speaker 1 05:03 Yeah, she wanted just so she wanted to go to the Rayma Bible Training College to get a foundation in her faith, and just you know early on in in life wanted to lay that framework, that groundwork, so that she she felt for the rest of her life, and she had met a lot of other graduates from that particular school, which is an amazing school, and they had all just shared how influential, how impactful the school was for them. And mind you, it's not just about head knowledge, you know, not just information. It's about ultimately knowing God better, and so which tends to serve you well in every every area of life. So she was hungry for that. So we decided to move out here. And I, the nature of my work at the time was such that I could work remotely, and so we moved here. And she went to school, graduated, and we stayed and raised a family. Michael Hingson 06:01 So, what what kind of business did you start when you started your business? You said in 2010. Speaker 1 06:09 Yes, in 2010, and so I had been serving in a marketing capacity, doing marketing management for the organization in the D.C. area, and learned a lot simply by doing. Don't have my my college education. My degree is in music performance, actually, so didn't serve me very well as far as marketing is concerned. So I learned a lot by doing, and when I moved out here, I knew someone who had an auto repair shop, and he, through a series of events, had to rename his rebrand his shop completely. the the the I went to his website, I think one day, and it said under construction, and I thought that's weird. I know he has he's been in business, he has a website, so I send him an email, and he emailed me back and said he just asked inquiring is everything going all right? He replied and said I need help right now because we're in the situation where I need to redo everything. So I at the time was not a technician when it came to marketing. I was more of just a manager strategist type. So for whatever reason, I decided that I could build him a website. I just wanted to help, so I didn't charge him anything, and literally went online, and this is many, many years ago. Before there was all of the resources available to us now, and I Googled how do you build a website, and I prayed, and I just went through this very excruciating process of coding and understanding how it all worked. Wound up building him a website, learned a lot along the way about search engine optimization, about digital advertising, and then other you know forms of online advertising. And his he's a great businessman. He does good work, and he has a good reputation. He knows lots of people. His business grew to the degree that he would have some other business owners come to him and say, "Man, what are you doing? Because you you guys are just crushing it. And he's a really gracious guy. He would tell these other business owners, "Well, I have this guy named Will, and sometimes I have to call Will and tell him to tone it down a little bit because I'm too busy. Well, these other business owners demanded my phone number from him because they wanted you know to grow their businesses. So I started getting phone calls from other business owners asking if I would do for them what I was doing for this man, and that started. So I never really woke up one day saying I'd love to start a marketing agency. I just was trying to help someone who needed Michael Hingson 09:00 it, Speaker 1 09:01 and it wound up turning into a business. So then I hired someone, and they started helping me. And then hired some more and grew it and grew it until about four years ago. I stepped away, and there's more to that story as well as as to how I was able to step away. I still own that company passively now. It's a it's a great multi-million-dollar, very profitable, growing company, very healthy company. But now my passion and focus is helping entrepreneurs create businesses that give them what they want from their business that are more aligned, more healthy, and stronger-not just for the business owner and the entrepreneur, but for the whole for the whole company, for everyone involved in that organization. Michael Hingson 09:48 So, you're more involved now in helping people start businesses, or are you still dealing with businesses that exist and you're helping to to kind of improve them? Speaker 1 10:00 Businesses that are already existing. So typically, my my the clients that I work with now are are two to 50 million in annual revenue, 10 to 250 employees. They're growth oriented. They're willing to be open and honest with one another and with themselves, and they're more afraid of the status quo than they are of change. They really are trying to get somewhere, but feel stuck, feel frustrated, feel like the things that have they've been trying to to do to make the business better just aren't gaining traction like they need. Michael Hingson 10:34 Well, how does that differ from what you were doing before? Speaker 1 10:37 Ah, well, so before the marketing agency was really focused on lead generation, increasing their revenue, their sales. Now, what I do is work with leadership teams. I use the EOS model, which is the entrepreneurial operating system, which is a very specific process and set of tools that I teach the leadership team of the organization, so typically that's the three to seven people at the top of the company making the important decisions, and I help them do three things. I call them vision, traction, and healthy. So vision means first getting the leaders 100% on the same page with where is this company going and how do we plan to get there. Traction from the standpoint of helping your leaders to become much more disciplined and accountable, and executing really well to achieve every part of your vision, and then healthy meaning helping the leaders to become a more healthy, functional, cohesive leadership team. Because the truth is that most leaders don't function well as a team, and what I found is, as goes the leaders, so go the rest of the organization. So what we do is we get to the point where everyone in the company is all crystal clear, fully aligned with the vision and plan. They're gaining consistent traction wherever you look in the company, people are executing on that vision together, and they're doing it as a group of people who are who enjoy the work that they do and and enjoy the people that they're around. Michael Hingson 12:13 Okay, what do you think is the problem that leaders and companies most often misdiagnosed in their organizations that create the problems that you have to come in and deal with. Speaker 1 12:30 I would say one of the most common is accountability. It's a it's it's a common hot button frustration of many business leaders, and the misdiagnosis, as you said, is that accountability is actually a byproduct. It is, it's a formula. Actually, the formula is this: L plus M equals A. So the L stands for leadership, plus M stands for management, equals A stands for accountability. So leader accountability is the output, and so rather than trying to make your people be accountable, which you can't really do. What you can do is be a great leader and be a great manager, and the result will be you'll create an environment where accountable people thrive. And so, within EOS, we teach five leadership abilities and five management abilities, or not really ability. They're more like practices, leadership practices, and and management practices. You just do those things well, and and the accountability that you so desire will show up in the organization. Michael Hingson 13:52 Yeah, I think a lot of people don't really understand what accountability is, and and that doesn't help the process, and yeah, you know exactly what I mean, and and that that tends to really make a lot of challenges for people because they they resent rather than recognizing that people who truly understand accountability are are trying to do something to help build the team, help the team work well, and and are looking out for the whole company, but just so many people don't understand that, do they? Speaker 1 14:27 No, and and part of the reason it's interesting. All these EOS tools work together, but another tool that we use a lot is the something we call the accountability chart. The accountability chart is a visual illustration of the structure of the organization, meaning who is responsible for what. So we've got the leadership team, but then every single person in the organization should have a box, a seat on the bus, and within. Box or in that seat, there's five major roles that they really need to own. What I like to say it this way: If the company could speak, why would it say this function exists? Why is this seat in the organization? And many companies have not clearly defined what success looks like for an employee. What are their five major accountabilities or roles within the organization? And so, how can you hold someone accountable to something that's not been clearly communicated from the get go? If they don't really understand what success looks like and what we need them to be doing and focusing and being great at, then it's it's really hard to to hold them accountable. Michael Hingson 15:46 Yeah, and they they just miss it. Well, going back to something I mentioned at the beginning, you and I are both great fans of the book The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. Which which function or dysfunction do you? I can imagine what this might be, but which dysfunction do you most often encounter, and do we find most often with companies and people? Speaker 1 16:14 Yeah, I'll have to start at the bottom of the pyramid because it's right. It's it's it's a it's linear in a way, and and in that one builds upon the other. So the bottom tier of the pyramid is vulnerability based trust. So trust, and that, as Patrick describes it, is being completely open and honest with one another. If you sit down and have a conversation with a peer, you know that they're going to be completely frank. They'll tell you the truth and the whole truth. That, and not only that, you can trust them to have the right motives, the right purpose behind things. It's not political. They're not, you know, kind of positioning themselves and working the politics and dynamic dynamics of the organization. They're really trying to do what's right for everybody involved. So vulnerability-based trust is the first one, and that takes time. That's Patrick defines that as different from the kind of trust that is based on just knowing people in the sense that you can you know what to expect out of them if you're familiar with them. You work with them a lot, so you kind of you can trust that they're going to act a certain way. That's not what he's talking about. He's talking about this true, open, and honest approach, being candid with one another, and that comes through some specific exercises. Ultimately, times the more you know about people, about their personal lives, and the more time you spend with them is what ultimately builds trust. Michael Hingson 18:07 Yeah, and it's all about building a trusting relationship that allows for that level of honesty. Because when you truly have it, then you're you're dealing with an environment where when someone says something to you, you know they're not trying to be political. You know they're not trying to undermine you, but they're trying to give you information, and it goes back to accountability and holding maybe you accountable for the things that you said that you were going to do. But it's also about holding the whole company accountable by feeding back to and working with people to get jobs accomplished. Speaker 1 18:48 Yes, absolutely, that's right. And and for that to happen, everyone has to be on the same page. We all must be looking at the same picture of where we're planning to go and agreeing on how we plan to get there. Michael Hingson 18:59 Yeah, and in a sense, even though accountability is at the bottom of the pyramid, it starts hopefully at the top with senior management that sets the tone and starts to create the environment where everyone can learn to trust and work together in a much more positive way. Speaker 1 19:21 That's right. When we when I work with leadership teams, I half jokingly tell them in in our early sessions that they should look around at the company and admire the wonderful things that are happening, the clients and customers that are being served, the employees that are getting their job done. All all of those things are wonderful, and you helped create that wonderful. On the flip side, all of the frustrations, the pain, the things that are broken and not working, you created that too. So you have to take responsibility for all of it, the good and the bad. And so the leadership really does have to. Take responsibility for everything. Michael Hingson 20:03 Why is it that trust is so hard, and trusting relationships are so hard to build, even when when people probably have really wonderful intentions and want to do it? But why is it so hard? Speaker 1 20:16 Ooh, that's a great question. Michael Hingson 20:18 And and I'll and I'll tell you one of the reasons I ask, being a little prejudiced, working with guide dogs. I work with dogs, and I have learned over the years that while dogs may love unconditionally, they don't trust unconditionally. But dogs are more open to trust, and if you really work at building a trusting relationship with a dog, you set the rules. You set which is what they want, you set the ground rules, you set the tone, and if you do it, the relationship that develops is incredible. But that just seems to be something that's really hard for humans to do internally or between human and human. Speaker 1 20:55 You know, I think the answer is in something that you just said, and the word is intentional. Intentionality, I think that most people show up to work focusing on the work, focusing on doing things faster and more efficiently, and the how and the strategy. But they don't focus very much on the health of the team. And Pat Lynchioni talks about that as well. How that most organizations are focused on getting smarter, but not on getting healthier, and he argues that the healthier team will outperform the smarter team every single time. Michael Hingson 21:36 The other part about it is the whole concept of just being open to trust-we we in our in our human world just see so many examples of why not to trust. And I think too many people have just learned, well, we can't trust. We don't dare take the chance. We can't because everybody has their own agendas, and so how can we trust them? Because they're looking out for them. They're not looking out for me, and we teach children this. We teach each other this, and that's so unfortunate because it doesn't need to be that way. Speaker 1 22:11 Yeah, what are they? The wisest serpents, gentle as gentle as doves, is the is the saying. I, I'm not. You're right. There's a lot of people out there, unfortunately, that have ruined it. Let's say the few have ruined it for the many. I think, and the reality is that today you have to be. And now with AI, we don't need to go there. But with AI, you really have to really have to know what's going on because what seems real isn't. Michael Hingson 22:44 Yeah. Do you think that will improve over time? Speaker 1 22:49 What's that? Michael Hingson 22:50 That AI will get better over time, and a lot of things that aren't real today will become more real just because the whole process will improve. Speaker 1 23:04 Will AI improve? Yes, absolutely. Will its results and its helpfulness improve? Absolutely. Will people continue to use that for their own good? You know, for their for their own devices at the expense of other people. Yes, unfortunately. Michael Hingson 23:21 Unfortunately. Speaker 1 23:22 So, what does that make leave? Where does that leave us? I think we have to be all the more wiser to it. You can't. You can't stay ignorant and think that everything's going to be okay. Michael Hingson 23:35 Where do you think AI fits in corporations mostly, or should fit? Speaker 1 23:41 Well, it's it's an incredible tool. It is an incredible tool, and I think it's it's like it's like money. What do you what do you do with it? It's simply a tool. What are you going to do with it? Where does it fit? It depends on what kind of business model, but I see it impacting every business to some degree, we utilize it heavily. I think when I work with leadership teams, I do a lot of facilitation. So we'll we'll sit around this table here. I'm in my session room here, and we have lengthy, deep, meaningful, impactful discussions with one another, and sometimes I even encourage them to use AI to refine an idea or to collaborate over an idea. But I warn my teams that AI has no soul, and what I mean by that is, it's it's information, it's data and information, but the human being there's more to us than just information. It's like the data, the information part of us is like the tip of the iceberg, and but there's a whole mass below the waterline. I believe you have a soul and a spirit, and so the danger I warn teams of is making strategic decisions based on information that comes from AI without really discussing and using their their soul. Sometimes ideas can resonate with a person on a different level. That that AI and just information can't it can't go there. It's not able to go there. So I don't know if that makes sense. But I just warn them: AI has no soul. You need to pay attention to what's going on inside of you as you're discussing ideas and and weigh that into the decision. Michael Hingson 25:46 And I still go back to we're the ones that are and should be the creators, and so it's great to use AI to help a process, but we still need to be the ones to do the real work. Speaker 1 25:59 Yes, Michael Hingson 26:01 and I think too many times I hear about it with with schools and so on. Oh, students are just writing their papers using AI. Well, we need to work on encouraging that not to be the case. The AI can help provide information, as you pointed out, but that's what it is. It's an information source, and it's only one information source, and anyone who is truly looking for information knows full well you don't just rely on one source. Speaker 1 26:29 Right. Michael Hingson 26:30 Even if it's a human, you don't rely on one source. Speaker 1 26:33 That's right. That's right. But it but it is Michael Hingson 26:35 pretty crucial to to work through that. Well, Patrick Lencioni talks a lot about conflict, and he talks about teams that have healthy conflict, and then there are those who quietly just kind of avoid it. What distinguishes, or how do you deal with the two different kinds of teams? Because I know Patrick talks about the fact that conflict is a very useful thing and needs to be respected as part of the process, Speaker 1 27:04 right? So the second layer of the pyramid that he illustrates is healthy conflict or productive conflict, which can only happen if there is a foundation of trust, because without trust, people tend to hold their cards close to the vest. They're not willing to go out on a limb and say something that might be taken the wrong way, because for fear of retribution, or that it could be it could be used against them, or or what have you. And so conflict is may the best idea win. I have wonderful teams. They're healthy teams. They'll fight like cats and dogs over an idea, not over. It's not personal. They're simply fighting for the best idea to win, and so they'll go at it heated conversations because they have strong opinions. At the end of the day, though, what really matters is that everyone has been heard? The point of conflict is to get the options out on the table to see what's possible, to see what's available, and then from those options, pick the best. So, what healthy conflict does is it opens it up for people to share, be willing to get out there, share their opinion, go back and forth, and as I said, everyone gets heard. That's such a critical piece of healthy team is that you're hearing from everyone on the team. They're having that opportunity to share their perspective, and then when all is said and done, the what we call this person the integrator. This is the person who leads the leadership team. They have a decision to make. It's not a democracy. They have heard all of the all of the opinions, and and then they say, "Well, this is what we're going to do. And 99% of the time, reasonable people, even if they disagree with a decision, if they have been heard and know that their opinion is valued, they are willing to commit to a decision that's against what they believe should have happened. Michael Hingson 29:14 Well, so take that to the next level. Let's say that the decision is made, and in a month, it turns out it really wasn't the right decision. Then what? Speaker 1 29:25 Yeah, healthy teams can pivot, and they don't. Excuse me. There's no paralysis by analysis. They're they're able to be flexible and make a quick decision without regrets and move on. You know, in business, most of the decisions that we make are reversible. It's not like we're a brain surgeon and there's someone's on the operating table, and and one slip means drastic results, or it's not a court case, and the judge once they slam the hammer, nothing changes. That's the verdict. In business, most decisions are reversible. Sometimes I see teams or leaders who are hesitant to make a decision, and I encourage them make a decision, commit to it, and start taking steps. We can always iterate. We can make adjustments along the way, but if you don't act, if you don't take one step forward, then you can't steer a parked car, as they say. So, when when your question was if a month later it was a wrong decision, we agree as a team to pivot and move on. And a great healthy team, you know, they'll probably give one another a hard time and laugh about it and poke a bit, but but keep moving toward the goal. Michael Hingson 30:46 But it's all in fun and it's not intended in any way to be personal, Speaker 1 30:50 right? Michael Hingson 30:51 Which is really the key. None of this has to be personal. We're not doing it to one up anyone, and the good teams truly understand that. Speaker 1 31:02 That's right. Michael Hingson 31:04 Do you ever find environments where leaders unintentionally do things where accountability breaks down? Speaker 1 31:15 Yes. One thing that happens specifically with visionary or leaders or founders is something I call end run, which is when they don't follow chain of command. Basically, because of their position in the company, they feel freedom to go to anyone in the company and either make a decision or give them a directive, and the person that they're giving the directive to feels obligated to follow that because it's a senior leader. Michael Hingson 31:54 Yeah, Speaker 1 31:55 and so that really that really damages you know it's chain of command ultimately, but it damages the relationship, damages the health of the team, and the hard thing about it is that visionary leaders and founders are idea people. They are the creators. They're brilliant at coming up with seeing opportunities and coming up with ideas to solve problems and add value, so they have this natural bent to research. They're curious. They'll want to talk to people, employees in the organization, and that's all good. But they do need a healthy boundary and to understand who they should talk to about decisions or influencing employees in the organization. Michael Hingson 32:43 Yeah, I'm curious about something. How do the operations within a business differ from, say, what goes on in the military, where there's an absolute chain of command, and someone along the line, can issue an order to someone, and it's supposed to be obeyed, and so on. But how does military operations differ, or do they from business, or should they from business? Speaker 1 33:10 I yeah, that's a great. I I think there's some strong similarities, and some significant differences. You know, one question, and this was actually oddly enough. This was a military leader. I forgot who it was, but it was a general. He said something he asks his subordinates on a regular basis is, "Tell me something you know I don't want to hear. Tell me something you know I don't want to hear. And his goal there was to truly to create a relationship with his subordinates where they feel comfortable raising their hand, saying we've got an issue, here's a problem, and I think that traditionally in the military that would be resisted. I think the or my my perception anyway is that subordinates would rarely want to say something's wrong. Everything's always okay, you know. Following orders, everything's good. But I respect that that general's practice of of telling his subordinates that, and I I recommend my leaders do it as well because they need to know what's going on. Really, there's this I think a natural desire to impress or to make it look like I'm doing a good job and our department is okay, so they don't bring up real issues. And so the kind might go against your question, but the the common thread there is a willingness to talk about real issues, real problems, to bring them up, solve them together as a team. But first, be willing to identify. And oddly enough, it goes back to the trust piece: to being open and honest. You have to be willing to just call something out. The elephant in the room: several people know that there's something going on. Nobody wants. To say it, just say it. So that that's maybe one similarity. Michael Hingson 35:06 Well, I know that in reality, in the in the military, I at least I've heard this from my military friends. They they do emphasize teamwork and and teaming and so on. But at the same time, they have this reputation where there's an order and you you just obey the order because that's what the general or what someone above you says and it seems like there's a paradox there somewhere. Speaker 1 35:33 Yeah, I think in in business, what my observation has been that people do need to know the why. I think in the military that's not required, and maybe same in parenting. Sometimes it's you're on a need to know basis, and you just need to follow the order. Whereas in business, I think it's much more common practice for good leaders to give the context of why this directive matters, so that the people can connect the dots and have a clearer picture of the overall success of the mission, as it were, the goal of the organization. They can see how what they're doing is contributing to that over goal. Overall goal. Michael Hingson 36:20 Yeah, yeah. Well, and in the military, maybe the privates don't necessarily get the get to know the why, Speaker 1 36:31 right? Michael Hingson 36:31 But but the hope is that there are enough people above them who are involved in a process that there is enough of an understanding that that enough people know the why that that the process works, and I guess that's a. I've not ever been in the military, and I'm certainly not going to criticize, but it just seems to me that that the more people can communicate and interact with each other, the stronger the team will be, no matter whether it's business or military. Speaker 1 37:00 Yeah, I would hope. Michael Hingson 37:03 So you know, but so EOS generally represent talks about clarity and execution. Where do leaders typically in organizations lose traction after they set a clear vision? Where do where do things break down. Speaker 1 37:22 You know, I think one of the most powerful ideas within EOS is the weekly meeting. So there is something we call the Level 10 meeting, and the name Level 10 comes from when we started working with companies and 1000s and 1000s of companies. One of the questions we would, one of our first questions in meeting them would be: rate the quality of your meetings on a scale of one to 1010, being best. How effective are your internal team meetings? And on average, they were about a four. And so over time, we developed the level 10 meeting agenda, which is a very specific agenda for leadership teams on a weekly basis to conduct that covers makes those those meetings so effective and efficient. And we keep talking about Patrick Lencioni. He wrote another book called Death by Meetings, which is a great great book as well. But so within EOS, the level 10 meeting is a very clear agenda. It gets everyone on the same page. Data passes quickly and smoothly across the right channels to the right people. We solve problems together, and it's just a wonderful, wonderful way to keep the business moving forward. So your question was, what happens after they set a clear vision? Well, very often they lose traction because they're not on a weekly basis measuring their progress toward that goal and vision, and solving problems on a weekly basis that show up that get in the way because there will always be things that prevent us, that resist us from our goals. So, are we methodically? And this is a discipline. This is it's it's not you know glamorous. It doesn't always feel good. But if you can stick with that weekly cadence, then every single week you're you're measuring what matters, the KPIs? It's a score. You know, one of the items on the agenda is the weekly scorecard, five to 15 numbers give us an instant pulse on the business. Reviewing the data, solving problems, and marching forward. So that's where it gets lost, because also in that meeting, everyone is staying on the same page, and there's that accountability. You're looking across the table, say, asking about this initiative or this project. Is it on track? Yes or no? Are we confident we're going to get it completed on time? Do you need any help? Every single week, the leaders. Showing up to that meeting and asking those questions of one another, and they know, hey, on Tuesday at 2o'clock, I'm going to have to answer this question: Is this goal on track for the quarter? And so that introduces this accountability within the team, where the peer-it's peer-to-peer accountability. They're holding one another accountable for the goals of the organization, Michael Hingson 40:22 yeah, I talked with a person recently on one of our podcast episodes. She runs a a boutique PR organization, and it has been growing, but she's not letting it grow too fast. But it has continued to grow, and and I've asked her, and I asked her how how long do you expect or how much do you want the company to grow, and can it grow too large where it becomes unmanageable? And she acknowledged that that kind of thing can happen, and and it it kind of is an interesting concept because most entrepreneurs want their companies to be successful and grow, but when you get multi-million-dollar or larger companies and you're hiring 50, 100, 200, 500 employees, that kind of ranges raises a lot of different complications, and it gets really overly complex. At what point does all the complexity really become too dangerous to deal with? Speaker 1 41:27 So the complexity model is where you you can calculate how complex business gets by every person you add to the organization. My point is complexity is real, and as a leadership team or as a leader, you have to constantly fight the onslaught of complexity. You have to fight for keep it simple, less is more. Keep it simple, less is more. So, if you had two people in an organization, you've got two lines of communication, one going from one to the other and back. If you add a third person, so you increase the number of people by 50% Now there are six lines of communication, so 200% increase in complexity, and that's just communication. Not talking about systems, processes, culture, all of that other stuff. You add a fourth person, so you increase the number of people by 100% from the two. Now you have a A 500% increase, 12 lines of communication. Speaker 2 42:45 Yeah, Speaker 1 42:46 so you have to, as a leader, fight against complexity, and the way that you do that is by less is more, keep it simple. Within EOS, we set three to seven rocks. We call them every quarter. Those are just business priorities, not 27, three to seven. Because if everything is important, nothing is important. So you're always asking yourself as a leader, what's the simplest way to say this, communicate this? What's the simplest way to do this? Do we have the simplest possible structure for the organization. Occam's razor says that the simplest solution is invariably the best solution, or the best solution is invariably the simplest solution. So the the complexity thing is real. You have to stay aware of it, and and fight against it by keeping things simple as you go. Michael Hingson 43:42 Yeah, and and the reality is, it goes back to what you were talking about. Certainly, the weekly meetings and other methods that you use to make sure that everyone not only is encouraged to communicate, but they do communicate. And again, it all gets back to that bottom level of the pyramid, which is accountability, and as long as everyone understands and feels the concept of accountability, and that we're all working toward the same thing, you have a much better shot at making it successful and making it work. Speaker 1 44:15 Right, that's right. Within EOS, we have a two-page strategic plan, not 50 pages. It's not this giant document. It's two pages that allow everyone within the organization to see who we are, where we're going, how we plan to get there. It's simple. Michael Hingson 44:36 Yeah. So, for a while, you didn't own your own business, and then you you now own your own business. How is becoming your own entrepreneur and your own your own business owner, boss, or whatever you want to call it? How has that changed? Kind of the advice you give to other people, and and what do you think about being? A business owner, as opposed to working within another organization, Speaker 1 45:05 you know, I I think I I'm spoiled. No, I don't think I could ever be a good employee again. Yeah, I just have a deep appreciation for visionaries, for people who see what's possible and then rally a team around them to help make it become a reality. That's a special. That's a special quality, and the world needs lots of that quality. So I, I, I have gained just a greater appreciation for the entrepreneurial spirit, and I, I think that it's it's now it's not for everybody, and that's okay. But I, I just can connect now more deeply than I ever could with people who are taking that step of faith, being courageous, doing something that's risky and uncomfortable, and just figuring it out as they go. I think that's for me particularly that resonates. I can't now, and I get it. I I understand. There's the majority of people are comfortable with a oops are are comfortable with a salary, a steady amount of income, and the safety that that brings. But I just it doesn't compute for me. I can't do it. It's just not for me what life is about. Michael Hingson 46:26 Yeah, I know. Especially since 2008, I've not only owned my own company, but it's been mainly me and dealing with lining up speaking engagements and so on, and especially since we moved down here in in 26 2014, I'm I'm very used to being my own individual, and and I I hear exactly what you're saying. I can work in an environment where there are other people, and there's there's times that that's that's a good thing, but I know that especially during COVID, people complained a lot about being locked down and they really missed being with other people, and I always had a little bit of a problem with that because I don't I don't look at other people, so that's one thing, but I learned that I could still communicate with people, and so I I didn't fall into some of those traps. I just do find it interesting, but I understand what you're saying. You're used to to to being the person not only in charge, but you're interested in setting the vision, and there's a lot of merit to that. Speaker 1 47:40 Yeah, yeah, and and he it takes all of us. If he had all visionaries and no doers, no you know no executors, then we'd be in a mess. I'm terribly sorry. The it's later here in the evening, and the cleaners are are at the door. Let me just tell them to wait 10. Give me 10 minutes on the office here. I'll be back in just a moment. Okay. Michael Hingson 48:05 So, yeah, I I appreciate the the position, and I can live with it as as well, and I can I can cope. I can work either way, but I I do like kind of really being the person in charge of me, I think it it probably works better. Yeah, that's okay. Speaker 1 48:28 Yep, we're all wired differently. Michael Hingson 48:30 Yeah, we are. So, in in making decisions, data is is a very important thing, and and it's certainly something that we need to keep around. Why do so many people resist and business leaders resist using data in a kind of an honest way? What are they afraid of? Speaker 1 48:51 Well, I think that data is can make things black and white. I think that data can be very telling because we can share opinions and feelings and ideas, but you can't. The numbers are the numbers; they they are what they are, which is why we use this weekly scorecard in that level 10 meeting I was talking about. But Ronald Reagan said, "Trust but verify. So the idea here is that people don't respect what you expect; they respect what you inspect, and the data is an inspection of what actually happened, what's real, what's what's going on on the ground, and that that's uncomfortable. The numbers don't lie most of the time. Now they can be manipulated, and people can tell stories. But if you're set up in the scorecard the right way with the right. Measuring the right things, it gives you a good idea of what's really going on. So I think it's just a natural resistance, a fear of being falling short, a fear of punishment. Ultimately, you know, in some form or fashion, hardship, difficulty, uncomfortability, things like that. Michael Hingson 50:22 But I think the the other thing I show about data, though, is it is kind of hard factual information, as you say. But it doesn't necessarily always bring the human element into to to things that maybe ought to be considered as well. So that the data should only be part of the final decision-making process. Speaker 1 50:45 It's very true. Very true. If you're looking at the numbers, there's always a story behind the numbers. What's the story behind the numbers? And that has to be part of the equation. Michael Hingson 50:55 As a as a speaker, I get a lot of people who say, "Well, we'll consider you fill out this form, and will evaluate you along with everyone else. And the problem is, I've realized that a lot of these forms, you fill them out, and you get a bunch of words on a screen, but doesn't really tell the whole story. And that's unfortunate because I think that too many evaluators are missing out on really understanding speakers when that happens. Speaker 1 51:25 Yeah, I believe that's true. Yes, absolutely. Hearing someone in person can't compare to just words on a page. Michael Hingson 51:36 Well, so yeah, it's just one of those things that one has to deal with when a team experiences a setback. What is it that causes some people to recover quickly while others don't necessarily recover quickly? Speaker 1 51:54 Why don't some people recover more quickly? Michael Hingson 51:59 Or teams, yeah. Speaker 1 52:00 Or teams. I think I don't know that I can separate teams from people. Michael Hingson 52:08 Yeah. Okay. Speaker 1 52:09 You know, and I say that because it has to do with self awareness. It has to do with personal development. I think many of these qualities are inseparable from the performance of the team, because a team is ultimately a group of individuals, and so in that way you've got the team dynamic. But you're you're also going to rely heavily on the character and the qualities of the individuals on the team. And if some people just can't let go, if they can't just raise their eyes or turn their gaze from the past and look forward, then, then they're going to struggle. Now, there are tools. You know, who is it? An autopsy without blame. He called it in good to great. In good to great, he said. This is where. What was his name now? Jim. I forget his name. Who wrote Good to Great, Jim Collins? Michael Hingson 53:04 Collins. He said Speaker 1 53:05 he called it on autopsy without blame, which is a team or person's ability to look back at the past and just understand. Okay, what happened? This isn't this isn't to point fingers. We just need to know what actually went down, so that we can learn from it. Because I tell teams this all the time, the past is only good for one thing-learning from it. And once you learn from it, you got to let go and move on. So the and and it's funny, I say this again every every meeting that I have with them. Actually, we review our data and we look back, we understand what. And then I said at the end of that review, I say, "Okay, that's the past. Nothing else we can do about it. Anything else need to be said before we leave it completely in the past and move forward? And I give them that opportunity to process and to you know make observations, insights, confessions. But after that moment, we got to let it go, and I think that a team has to be committed to be willing to do that for them to be able to to move forward. Michael Hingson 54:09 Yeah. Well, a lot of what you do is I suspect helping leaders, especially shift their mindset in some way. What mindset shift really helps leaders move from reacting to problems to leading intentionally and developing the kinds of of operations that we're talking about here as being successful? Speaker 1 54:35 I think you know you said mindset shift, but this is what I would call a mindset best practice. It's something I call a clarity break. A clarity break is a time scheduled on your calendar. So this is hard landscape. This is a an appointment you make with yourself that you keep, and in a clarity break, you get away from all the noise. You turn all the notifications off. You. On do not disturb mode, and you get a legal pad and a pen, and you simply think it. You think about the biz, think about the business, think about the biggest challenge you're facing, and you just start writing. And it's amazing what kind of solutions, ideas, next actions come to us when we have that clarity of mind. When we have time to get gain perspective, to take a step out of the fray, all of the noise, and just simply think. There's fewer things more valuable than high quality, pure thought, just simple thinking time. So that that is a mindset best practice, I would say, and and I encourage leaders to do it at a minimum of once a week, 3060, 90 minutes. Get a legal pad. Now, there's another book out there called The The Road Less Stupid by Keith Cunningham. That's lessons from the the chairman of the board, and he that book is a book full of questions that leaders should be asking themselves about the business. You could use those as prompts, or just again get quiet and think about the business right now. And I promise you, you'll start writing, and the thoughts will just flow, and you'll write the whole time and come up with such clarity and such perspective that allows you to re reengage, reenter the business with confidence as to what needs to happen, what are our next steps, and that's so important because that confidence is a precious commodity for leaders. You have to protect your confidence, and the confidence comes from clarity, and the clarity comes from taking time away from the business to simply sit and think. Michael Hingson 56:46 One of the things that I think all too often we individually and collectively don't do is to just stop and think about life, think about things, do more internal introspection, and that's kind of what you're talking about. And the reality is, if we would do more of that, and if we would listen to our own mind, we would discover so many things that would help us along the way. My favorite example is Trivial Pursuit, where I ask people regularly when you're playing Trivial Pursuit, and somebody asks, and somebody reads a question from a card. Immediately, you think of an answer, but you went, "Oh, that came too quickly. That can't be it. And so you think again and come up with another answer. But that first answer invariably was the right answer. But that's not what we listen to. We're teaching ourselves not to be so introspective and to sit back or to sit down and think about whatever it is that we need to think about, and as you point out, writing things down. Speaker 1 57:50 Yes, so valuable and and hard to do, frankly, in our age of distraction. Our phone is so distracting, and so so many other options, so many other things that hit the dopamine, get the dopamine flowing, that challenge our our ability to, or our sitting down and making time to do simple thinking time. Michael Hingson 58:16 Yeah. Well, if a leadership team today wanted to have one practical step about how they would work together this quarter. What would you advise? How would you advise them to start? In addition to reaching out Speaker 1 58:34 to you, which I'm Michael Hingson 58:35 all in favor of, but that's another story. Speaker 1 58:38 You know, there is a tool out there that I would point them to. It's called the organizational checkup. It's free. It's online. It's put out by EOS. There's no obligation, no strings attached, or anything like that. But I think that tool. It's a set of 20 questions, and you rate each question on a scale of one to five, five being best. And that tool would really shine the light on where the most pain is being felt across the organization. When the leaders, first of all, just give an honest assessment of those 20 questions, they'll be able to put their finger right on the priority of what they need should should fix first. And I think that would just that exercise alone would get them all on the same page of what problem to tackle first, and I think that would be the very valuable for them. Michael Hingson 59:30 And what is that called again? Speaker 1 59:31 It's called the organizational checkup. If you were to Google EOS organizational checkup, there'll be a link there, and it's just 20 questions. Michael Hingson 59:40 Great. Well, if people want to reach out to you and learn from you, or interact with you, and maybe use your services and so on, how best can they do that? Speaker 1 59:52 Yeah, connect with me on LinkedIn is great. Also, if you just did a search for EOS Will Watrous, my name, it'll come up. I've got lots of content out there. The EOS website has my listing and contact information on there as well. Michael Hingson 1:00:06 And what are what's your LinkedIn name or handle? Will Speaker 1 1:00:10 Watchers. Yep, Wils. Michael Hingson 1:00:16 Okay. Well, I hope people will reach out. This clearly has been instructive in so many ways and lots of great ideas. So I want to thank you for being here and being a part of this. And I want to thank all of you who are paying attention to us today, wherever you're listening and/or watching. If you'd like to reach out to me, and I'd love to hear what you think, please email me at speaker@michaelhingson.com at speaker at m i c h a e l h i n g s o n.com wherever you are with us in the podcast please give us a five star rating but more important give us a review we love reviews and people who are interested in looking at podcasts love to see the reviews that others have thought about podcasts, and so hopefully you'll say nice things about us. But either way, please give us a review. If you know someone who ought to be a guest on our our podcast, Will, including you, please introduce us. We're always looking for people to come and tell their stories. and And with that, again, I want to thank you for being here, Will. This has been absolutely fun. It's been hours gone by without without any any time seeming like it passed. So thank you very much for being here. Speaker 1 1:01:29 Thank you, Mike. What a pleasure to speak with you, and looking forward to your podcast success. Michael Hingson 1:01:37 Thank you for being here with me on Unstoppable Mindset. I hope today's conversation left you with a fresh perspective, a new insight, or at least something worth thinking about. If you're ready to go deeper into the ideas that shape how we see ourselves and others, I have a free gift for you. Head over to michaelhingson.com and download my free ebook, Blinded by Fear. It explores the invisible beliefs that hold us back, and shows you how to reframe them so you can move forward with clarity and confidence. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast, leave a review, and share this show with someone who can use a reminder that growth starts with mindset. When people think differently, we all move forward together. Thanks again for listening. Keep learning, keep questioning, and keep choosing to live with an unstoppable mindset.
This episode is part of my Old but Gold series, where I revisit some of my earlier podcasts that are still completely relevant for your SBR exam today. The recording may be from the archives, but the knowledge and exam technique are every bit as useful now.Goodwill is central to group accounting and comes up again and again in SBR. In this episode, I give you a focused tour of what you need to know, starting with the basic goodwill calculation: the parent's investment, the non-controlling interest and the fair value of the subsidiary's identifiable net assets at acquisition.You'll learn how consideration is measured, how the choice of NCI measurement affects goodwill and impairment, and why fair value adjustments can also create deferred tax. I also cover identifiable intangible assets, contingent liabilities, impairment of goodwill, bargain purchases, step acquisitions, foreign subsidiaries, disposals and the 12-month measurement period. There is plenty here, but the aim is simple: helping you recognise which goodwill rule the examiner wants you to apply.Thanks for listening to this episode of Pass Your SBR ACCA Exams with Tom Clendon.If you'd like to view the exam question on screen and see my working, subscribe to the YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@tomclendonSBR.For access to on-demand support and guidance for your ACCA SBR Journey, visit my website to see my current course offering: https://tomclendon.co.uk/.(0:00) Old but Gold introduction(0:33) What you need to know about goodwill(1:08) Parent investment and fair value of consideration(2:07) Measuring the non-controlling interest(2:30) NCI measurement and impairment(3:10) Calculating goodwill(3:26) Fair value adjustments and deferred tax(4:23) Intangible assets and contingent liabilities on acquisition(5:27) Goodwill impairment and cash-generating units(6:10) Negative goodwill and bargain purchases(6:39) Step acquisitions and foreign subsidiaries(7:19) Disposals, control-to-control transactions and measurement period
Recorded at Fantastic Fest 2026 in Austin, No Film School founder Ryan Koo talks with Into the Sky writer-directors Drew Mylrea and Evan Buxbaum about the decade-long path to making their sci-fi comedy. They trace the project from an early script that Evan initially rejected through Black List evaluations, financing, casting Sam Richardson, and an ambitious 25-day production with dozens of locations and hundreds of VFX shots. Drew and Evan also explain how they divided responsibilities as co-directors, used LiDAR scans and Lego figures to pre-visualize scenes, navigated production setbacks, tested unfinished cuts with audiences, and learned to trust their instincts while making an independent film designed to feel like a blockbuster. In this episode, No Film School's Ryan Koo and guests Drew Mylrea and Evan Buxbaum discuss... How Drew and Evan became filmmaking collaborators after spending hours together shooting a Method soap commercial in a tiny shower Evan's experience making Sun Belt Express and the long gap between his first and second features Why Drew kept returning to the alien-abduction concept that eventually became Into the Sky Revisiting old material after years of becoming better writers and filmmakers How strong Black List evaluations gave the filmmakers psychological momentum to commit to the project Spending roughly two years rewriting the script and assembling financing Why casting director Kate Geller became an important part of building the movie's cast How attaching Sam Richardson helped the project gain momentum The pressures created when an in-demand actor gives an independent production a narrow shooting window Walking away from a “turnkey” production-services solution that would have forced most of the movie onto a single estate Finding the town of Catskill, New York, and rebuilding their location strategy around what the movie actually needed Why filmmakers sometimes have to reject the easiest logistical solution when it threatens the film creatively Shooting the movie in 25 days while managing frequent company moves How Drew and Evan divided directing responsibilities according to their complementary strengths Drew's focus on visual storytelling, camera placement, and spectacle versus Evan's focus on performance, character, and dialogue Using iPhone LiDAR scans and Polycam to create digital models of locations Printing location blueprints and using custom Lego figures and a Lego camera to block scenes with the AD and cinematographer Building detailed storyboards and turning them into rough animatics for complicated sequences Trying to create an “indie blockbuster” without a blockbuster budget The challenge of completing approximately 500 visual-effects shots with an extremely small VFX team Why extensive preparation became a starting point for improvisation once production problems appeared Delaying a cornfield sequence until the final day of photography so the corn would be tall enough for the scene How rain, heat, scheduling problems, and other uncontrollable factors reshaped the production Watching dailies and determining whether scenes needed to be reshot Why a scene they believed needed a reshoot ultimately used mostly material from the original shoot Working 12-hour shooting days followed by another four or five hours of preparation each night Splitting up the first stages of post-production so Drew could eventually watch the assembly with fresh eyes Why comedy becomes difficult to judge after watching the same material dozens of times Screening cuts for friends and family to measure real laughter and audience energy Using QR codes and Google Forms to collect individual reactions before a group discussion could influence everyone's opinions Measuring character likability and other audience responses between different test screenings Asking test audiences to respond to major VFX sequences while those sequences were still extremely unfinished The moment completed visual effects and music finally made the filmmakers feel that the movie was working Their goal of making large, entertaining movies with heart on an independent scale Why Drew and Evan believe their filmmaking education ultimately came from making things, making mistakes, and “touching the stove” Memorable Quotes: “If I have any takeaway from that, it's that, like, in those moments of extreme pressure when you have a lot of competing interests that have started rolling down on you, you've just gotta trust your gut.” “We always called this movie an indie blockbuster. You know, we were trying to make an indie film that felt like a blockbuster.” “We went in with a great plan, and then you get hit in the fucking face. And your plan becomes the launching point for an improvisational new plan.” “We learned by making mistakes and doing things out in the world. We learned by touching the stove.” Guests: Drew Mylrea Evan Buxbaum Find No Film School everywhere: On the Web: No Film School Facebook: No Film School on Facebook Twitter: No Film School on Twitter YouTube: No Film School on YouTube Instagram: No Film School on Instagram
In this episode of the Yoga Medicine Podcast, host Rachel speaks with Yoga Medicine Therapeutic Specialist Stephanie Ketter about her 1,000-hour research project. Inspired by her own experiences with sleep disruption and forgetfulness, Stephanie's project examined the effects of a yoga-based intervention on menopause symptoms related to sleep, mood, and concentration. Stephanie walks through the eight-week group intervention, which combined live online lectures, yoga, pranayama, meditation, mindfulness, and acupressure with short at-home on-demand video practices, sharing the challenges she faced and what she learned along the way. The episode ultimately highlights how complex and varied this life phase can be, and the importance of giving people practical tools they can use to respond to their symptoms. "I can definitely talk about sleep problems and not falling asleep and staying awake, and I met so many women who reported the same, like...being awake every night, impossible to fall back asleep for weeks or a month, and it takes a toll on your health, on your well-being, and also on the concentration." - Stephanie Ketter. — What You'll Learn: What inspired Stephanie's 1,000-hour research project [03:49] The eight-week intervention: lecture, yoga, acupressure, pranayama, mindfulness [08:22] Measuring outcomes, improvements in nighttime waking & forgetfulness [15:15] Project challenges, including finding participants [18:40] Stress and self-compassion emerged as important themes [24:41] Increased awareness of symptoms can result in them feeling worse [26:47] Most helpful acupressure and mindfulness practices [32:51] Active morning practices versus calming evening practices [39:20] Mindfulness tools change the experience of waking during the night [42:50] Shedding societal expectations: findings related to mood [46:36] Helpful tools from the Yoga Medicine Menopause Live Online Teacher Training [55:48] — Links Mentioned: Watch this episode on YouTube Yoga Medicine Live Online Menopause Teacher Training Connect with Stephanie Ketter: Instagram | YouTube | Asana und Achtsamkeit — Learn More: Find the full show notes at YogaMedicine.com/podcast-176. Learn more about insider tips, online classes or information on our teacher trainings at YogaMedicine.com. To support our work, please leave us a 5 star review with your feedback on iTunes/Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts.
The online business world is changing. People have more information than ever at their fingertips, and the business models that many creators started out selling aren't converting the way they used to.I sat down with Jasmine Star to talk about why traditional courses and memberships are becoming harder to sell, and the new hybrid offer model she now teaches her clients. We get into how to build offers around specific customer results, how to find out what people will actually pay for before you build, and Jasmine's four-step framework for building a consistent $10K/month business. She also shares how she delivers high-touch coaching at scale, and the best ways to build trust with your audience in today's “trust recession”.If you're building an online business and wondering what types of offers still work in today's crowded online space, I think you'll get a lot out of this conversation.Timestamps:00:00 Intro01:18 Jasmine's first digital offer04:00 How her $197 course made $255K04:40 Why she built a membership06:22 The problem with traditional memberships08:28 Building Social Curator10:27 The creator economy after 202012:07 Why courses and memberships stopped working13:12 The hybrid offer16:40 How to price an offer20:02 Turning coaching into a scalable offer22:27 Who the offer is for24:28 The 90-day $10K offer26:30 The $4K Freedom Formula29:32 How to keep clients accountable33:50 Why asynchronous coaching works35:36 Scaling coaching to hundreds of clients39:25 How to market the offer44:01 Using webinars to sell47:13 Why long-form content is coming back50:04 Measuring content performance52:43 How Jasmine met Nathan53:41 How to get high-value clients55:29 Creating an offer people will pay for59:55 Finding the right audience1:00:49 Getting your messaging right1:04:26 Finding your customer's pain point1:06:10 Using DMs to build trust1:09:38 Building a personal brand1:11:48 Final thoughtsIf you enjoyed this episode, please like and subscribe, share it with your friends, and leave a review. I read every single one.Learn more about the podcast: https://nathanbarry.com/showFollow Nathan:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nathanbarryLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanbarryX: https://twitter.com/nathanbarryYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thenathanbarryshowWebsite: https://nathanbarry.comKit: https://kit.comFollow Jasmine:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jasminestarWebsite: https://www.jasminestar.comX: https://x.com/jasminestarLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/jasmine-starYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@officialjasminestarFeatured in this episode:Kit: https://www.kit.comSocial Curator: https://www.socialcurator.comHighlights:03:38 How Jasmine made $255,000 in five days12:07 Why courses are no longer enough17:31 How to find what people will actually pay for33:50 People already have the information36:15 Why Jasmine's ROI guarantee isn't a money-back guarantee
Are you struggling with not feeling like "enough?" This is actually a common feeling that can get wrapped up or conflated with stress, burnout, depression, anxiety, and so many other mental health struggles. The good news is that no matter what you're dealing with, you do have some influence here and can work on skills to build our sense of self-worth and enoughness. We'll dig into Self-discrepancy theory, which explains how the gaps between our actual, ideal, and ought selves can stir up dejection or anxiety. We'll also explore sociometer theory and the metaphor for self-esteem as a fuel gauge that rises with appreciation and drops with rejection. The truth is, these calculations and gauges will always fluctuate. The real work isn't eliminating the gauges or the dips, but building an internal reserve, a sense of enoughness, that doesn't depend on outside refueling. About: The Joy Lab Podcast is an Ambie-nominated podcast that blends science and soul to help you cope better with stress, anxiety, and depression. It's hosted by integrative psychiatrist Dr. Henry Emmons and holistic mental health researcher Dr. Aimee Prasek. Bonus: spread some joy and keep this podcast ad-free by donating (Joy Lab is powered by the nonprofit Pathways North and your donations are tax-deductible). Listen & follow the Joy Lab Podcast on your favorite listening app: Spotify | Apple | YouTube Full transcript here Sources and Notes for Our Element of Enoughness: Related Joy Lab Episodes: Enoughness Series: Ep. 215: Are You Curious to Learn or Confirm? Ep. 285: Why Doing Enough Is Enough + Why Perfectionism Predicts Burnout, Depression, & Anxiety, Not Performance Ep. 284: Having Enough: Why Acquiring More Will Never Fill the Hole in Your Self-Worth Ep. 283: You Are Enough: The Science and Practices of Enoughness Grief Series starts here: Ep. 248: Grief, Growth, & The Wholeness of Being Human Ep. 239: Caring What Others Think Isn't Your Weakness Bellam, S., Curran, T., Hill, A. P., & Stoeber, J. (2025). Perfectionism and work performance: A meta-analysis. https://doi.org/10.1111/joop.12570 Carver, C. S., Lawrence, J. W., & Scheier, M. F. (1999). Self-discrepancies and affect: Incorporating the role of feared selves. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167299025007002 Crocker, J., & Park, L. E. (2004). The costly pursuit of self-esteem. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.131.3.392 Crocker, J., & Park, L. E. (2004). Reaping the benefits of pursuing self-esteem without the costs? Reply to Schmuck and Sheldon (2004), Sheldon et al. (2004), Pyszczynski et al. (2004), and Kernis (2004). https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.130.3.430 Crocker, J., Karpinski, A., Quinn, D. M., & Chase, S. K. (2003). When grades determine self-worth: Consequences of contingent self-worth for male and female engineering and psychology majors. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.85.3.507 Crocker, J., & Wolfe, C. T. (2001). Contingencies of self-worth. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.108.3.593 Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2004). Avoiding death or engaging life as accounts of meaning and culture: Comment on Pyszczynski et al. (2004). https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.130.3.473 Freudenberger, H. J. (1974). Staff burn-out. Journal of Social Issues, 30(1), 159–165. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4560.1974.tb00706.x Harari, D., Swider, B. W., Bujold Steed, L., & Breidenthal, A. P. (2018). Is perfect good? A meta-analysis of perfectionism in the workplace. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000324 Hewitt, P. L., & Flett, G. L. (1991). Perfectionism in the self and social contexts: Conceptualization, assessment, and association with psychopathology. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.60.3.456 Higgins, E. T. (1987). Self-discrepancy: A theory relating self and affect. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.94.3.319 Joseph, S., & Linley, P. A. (2005). Positive adjustment to threatening events: An organismic valuing theory of growth through adversity. https://doi.org/10.1037/1089-2680.9.3.262 Kernis, M. H. (2005). Measuring self-esteem in context: The importance of stability of self-esteem in psychological functioning. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.2005.00359.x Kirkpatrick, L. A., & Ellis, B. J. (2001). An evolutionary-psychological approach to self-esteem: Multiple domains and multiple functions. In G. J. O. Fletcher & M. S. Clark (Eds.), Blackwell handbook of social psychology: Interpersonal processes (pp. 411–436). Blackwell. Leary, M. R. (2000). Sociometer theory and the pursuit of relational value: Getting to the root of self-esteem. https://doi.org/10.1080/14792772043000045 Maslach, C. (1981). The measurement of experienced burnout. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.4030020205 Park, L. E., & Crocker, J. (2005). Attachment styles and contingencies of self-worth. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167205277030 Pyszczynski, T., Greenberg, J., Solomon, S., Arndt, J., & Schimel, J. (2004). Why do people need self-esteem? https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.130.3.435 Schaufeli, W. B., Leiter, M. P., & Maslach, C. (2009). Burnout: 35 years of research and practice. https://doi.org/10.1108/13620430910966406 Lynn Twist's Book: The Soul of Money Questions this episode was made for: Q: Why do I feel like I'm never enough no matter what I achieve or how hard I try? A: This episode maps some psychology of enoughness: self-discrepancy theory shows how unconscious gaps between your actual, ideal, and ought selves generate specific emotional consequences (depression from the ideal gap, anxiety from the ought gap); sociometer theory explains how self-esteem tracks with perceived relational value rather than objective achievement (and why negative feedback stings harder than positive feedback heals); the path toward enoughness is building an internal source of worth rather than depending on the gauge. Q: Is it possible to genuinely feel like enough without abandoning the desire to grow or improve? A: Yes. Fighting to be someone different from who you are keeps you stuck; it's through accepting who you are that change and growth actually become possible. Self-worth, self-acceptance, and self-compassion are key factors for behavior change. Key moments: [00:30] The central question: who are we trying to be enough for? A parent, a boss, a child, ourselves? [01:30] Self-discrepancy theory: three representations of self — actual, ideal, and ought — and how gaps between them generate negative emotions [03:30] These calculations often run below conscious awareness; self-discrepancy theory maps which gaps produce which feelings [04:00] Actual vs. ideal gap: tends to produce dejection-related emotions — sadness, depression, shame, embarrassment [04:30] Actual vs. ought gap: tends to produce agitation-related emotions — anxiety, fear, guilt, feeling threatened [05:00] Feeling not enough isn't usually just one thing — it's multiple calculations happening at once, often measuring us against someone else's ruler [06:00] Henry: how accurately can any of us describe our actual selves? [07:30] Henry: we'll never become our ideal selves or have the ideal life — this might be another Gate of Grief worth naming and grieving [09:00] Toxic positivity pushback: this isn't about not dreaming big; it's about not attaching your worth to whether you get there [10:00] Sociometer theory: self-esteem isn't primarily about how good you think you are at things — it's about how valued you feel in your relationships [12:00] When we don't embrace our own worth, the gauge takes over how we see and value ourselves [13:00] Henry: intermittent reinforcement — if self-esteem depends on occasional good feedback and tanks on bad feedback, we're psychologically vulnerable [14:00] Rejection sensitivity: a potent clinical cause of anxiety and depression; the possibility of rejection alone can shrink a life significantly [15:30] Aimee: we're wired to care what others think; caring isn't the problem; the problem is being unconscious to how much it drives us [16:30] The gauges don't need to be broken — they're functioning; the goal is to not attach our worth to them [17:30] The sense of enoughness is an oasis of self-compassion and inner knowing — you matter, you're a person of value, even when rejected, even when empty [20:30] This isn't solitary work: support, community, and daily practices all help build the internal gas station [22:00] The happiness paradox: research shows that highly valuing happiness — treating it as something to actively pursue at all times — leads to feeling less happy and worse long-term wellbeing outcomes [24:30] Henry: the difference between valuing joy and grasping at happiness; grasping operates from scarcity — the very grasping creates stress [26:00] Series takeaways: feeling not enough is tragically common; the antidote is self-compassion; most of us hold an unreachable ideal — our job isn't to reach it, it's to let go [27:00] Preview of the next two Elements: Letting Go (October) and Self-Compassion (November) — more tools to embrace Enoughness [28:00] Closing wisdom from Brené Brown: "You are imperfect, you are wired for struggle, but you are worthy of love and belonging." If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review us wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts! Please remember that this content is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to provide medical advice and is not a replacement for advice and treatment from a medical professional. Please consult your doctor or other qualified health professional before beginning any diet change, supplement, or lifestyle program. Please see our terms for more information. If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call the NAMI HelpLine: 1-800-950-6264 available Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. – 10 p.m., ET. OR text "HelpLine" to 62640 or email NAMI at helpline@nami.org. Visit NAMI for more. You can also call or text SAMHSA at 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. Find more mental health resources here.
In this interview, URComped CEO, Craig Shacklett, sits down with VIP casino marketing consultant and founder of Plum Couch Hospitality, Travis Grode, to dig into the practical side of building and managing a high-performing player development program. Drawing from his experience helping scale a $1 billion relationship marketing program across more than 40 casino properties, Grode explains why casinos should look beyond simply asking how many hosts they need and instead focus on who should be hosted, where hosts can influence player behavior, and how to protect their time and attention. Topics Discussed: What being hosted should actually mean Who should receive a casino host Protecting host time and attention Minimum expectations for casino hosts Player lifecycle and where hosts add value Measuring incremental value in player development Host surveys and player feedback loops Determining host capacity by market Player coding and quarterly list cleansing Prospecting high potential players Goal setting and host incentive programs Scaling VIP service without standardizing relationships
How can communities build entrepreneurial ecosystems that create lasting economic opportunity? In this episode of Develop This!, Dennis Fraise sits down with David Ponraj, Founder and CEO of Economic Impact Catalyst, to discuss his journey from immigrant entrepreneur to economic development leader and his mission to help communities build thriving entrepreneurial ecosystems. David shares how his experiences shaped his passion for creating pathways to prosperity and explains why supporting entrepreneurs is one of the most effective ways to drive long-term economic growth. He emphasizes that successful ecosystems go beyond programs—they connect people, resources, and opportunities to create lasting impact. The conversation explores the growing role of data, technology, and AI in economic development. David explains how communities can better measure outcomes, tell their success stories, and use technology to scale support for entrepreneurs while making smarter, data-driven decisions. Another major focus is the importance of serving rural and underserved communities. David discusses how innovation, collaboration, and ecosystem thinking can unlock opportunities regardless of a community's size or location. Throughout the episode, David offers practical advice for economic developers on moving beyond isolated initiatives, embracing outcome-based metrics, and preparing for the future of AI and workforce development. A key takeaway? Strong entrepreneurial ecosystems are built through collaboration, data-driven decision-making, and a shared commitment to creating opportunities for everyone. Key Takeaways Entrepreneurial ecosystems fuel long-term economic growth and innovation Data and impact measurement help communities improve and demonstrate results Technology and AI can expand access to entrepreneurial support Rural and underserved communities have unique strengths and opportunities Ecosystem building requires collaboration, not isolated programs Outcome-based strategies create more sustainable economic development Key Topics Covered David Ponraj's entrepreneurial journey Building entrepreneurial ecosystems Data, technology, and AI in economic development Measuring impact and telling community success stories Supporting rural and underserved communities The future of entrepreneurship and workforce development Sound Bites "Rising tide lifts all boats." "You cannot become poor in the process of becoming rich." "AI will free us from mundane tasks and focus on passions."
Episode 265: College is often judged by a familiar set of measures: tuition, debt, graduation rates, job placement and future earnings. But what if some of its most important benefits are harder to put on a spreadsheet? In this episode of “The Ethical Life,” hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada look beyond the economic case for higher education and consider something less tangible: its role in teaching people how to live, work and build trust with others. College, community college and other forms of postsecondary education can place young adults in environments filled with people they did not choose — roommates, classmates, professors and peers from different regions, cultures and backgrounds. Those encounters can be uncomfortable, but Kyte argues that they are also where important kinds of growth happen. The conversation explores how shared spaces, friendships and everyday interactions can help people become more independent and more willing to trust others. Kyte recalls arriving at college from a small Minnesota town and meeting an Iranian Muslim student, an experience that broadened his understanding of people whose lives were very different from his own. But that kind of interaction may be becoming harder to create. Students today have more comfortable private spaces and constant access to entertainment and technology, which makes it easier to avoid face-to-face contact. Online courses add another layer. Although they can efficiently deliver information, Kyte worries that they often leave out the relationships and conversations that have traditionally been a major part of education. That matters at a time when loneliness, social isolation and distrust of institutions are widespread concerns. The hosts discuss whether colleges should think more deliberately about creating places and experiences that draw students into relationships — and whether graduates may leave with greater trust in institutions, partly because they have spent years seeing how one works from the inside.
Running ads across multiple channels and not sure which ones are actually driving growth? Our teams can audit your attribution and show you where your budget should really go. Talk to us at: https://www.tiereleven.com/apply A video is soaking up your ad spend and showing almost no conversions, so the obvious move is to kill it. But what if that video is the reason your cheap last-click image ads look so good in the first place?Ricardo Pouwels, one of our growth strategists at Tier 11, joins me again to break down how attribution and creative measurement change as a business grows from one channel to ten. He explains how he finds a client's true scaling channel using historical spend data, why he'd rather run a real budget test than trust an incrementality study, and why so many brands are hitting a ceiling on Google Search.Ricardo also shares the scaling campaign structure he's using right now: ad-level spend minimums that keep top-of-funnel videos funded so your account stays a funnel, not a pile of discount images. If you're spending across multiple channels, this one is for you!In This Episode:- Why last-click attribution breaks in multi-channel marketing- How to measure no-click channels like CTV, YouTube, and radio- Using historical ad spend data to find your true scaling channel- How Google branded search and Amazon ads often steal last-click credit- The limits of incrementality testing and why budget tests tell you more- How to state a hypothesis and timeline before shifting ad spend- Why Google Search ads hit a scaling ceiling while Meta ads keep growing- Measuring top-of-funnel videos with hook rate, hold rate, and first-click CPA- Why image ads and carousels get credit that video ads earned- Using ad-level spend minimums to keep your Meta funnel balanced- How "spend to message" and creative diversification prevent account fatigueMentioned in the Episode: Watch the Previous Episode with Ricardo Pouwels: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-P8Fs7DVjDg Join Ralph Burns and John Moran every Friday for The Ad Lab Live: https://www.youtube.com/@Tier11/streams Listen to This Episode on Your Favorite Podcast Channel:Follow and listen on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/perpetual-traffic/id1022441491 Follow and listen on Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/59lhtIWHw1XXsRmT5HBAuK Subscribe and watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@perpetual_traffic?sub_confirmation=1We Appreciate Your Support!Visit our website: https://perpetualtraffic.com/ Connect with Ricardo Pouwels: LinkedIn: https://nl.linkedin.com/in/ricardo-pouwels Connect with Ralph Burns: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ralphburns Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/ralphhburns/ Hire Tier11 - https://www.tiereleven.com/apply-now Mentioned in this episode:https://perpetualtraffic.com/advertise-with-us/
Why do some foods feel difficult to stop eating, while others can be highly enjoyable without prompting the same tendency to overconsume? Answering this requires a clearer understanding of food reward, including the distinction between liking a food, wanting it, and perceiving it as easy to overeat. In this episode, we examine how nutritional composition, sensory characteristics, learned beliefs and the eating context may shape hedonic overeating. It also considers the limits of using broad food categories to explain complex eating behaviour. Discussing all this is Professor Graham Finlayson, professor of Psychobiology at the University of Leeds, whose research focuses on human appetite, food reward and the psychological processes involved in eating behaviour and weight control. Timestamps [04:02] Prof. Finlayson's research [06:06] Food reward [07:13] Liking versus wanting [12:43] Measuring wanting in research [15:27] Does wanting predict overeating? [16:36] Study on hedonic overeating [23:19] Perception and context effects [26:24] Does ultra processing classification add anything? [36:09] Key takeaways and future work [40:35] Premium key ideas Links/Resources: Go to episode page Subscribe to Sigma Nutrition Premium Join the Sigma newsletter for free Enroll in the next cohort of our Applied Nutrition Literacy course Study: Finlayson et al., 2025 – Food-level predictors of self-reported liking and hedonic overeating: Putting ultra-processed foods in context
Live from the Vusion podcast studio at booth 913 at Groceryshop 2026 in Las Vegas, Chris Walton sits down with Brian Monahan, SVP of Retail Media at Albertsons Media Collective, to explore how the retail media business has evolved since their last conversation and where AMC is headed next. Brian breaks down Albertsons' focus on “collective growth” beyond advertising revenue, including category growth and household penetration, while discussing how retail media increasingly connects merchandising, stores, digital and operations. He also shares his perspective on why new shopping experiences may be more important than traditional programmatic targeting and where the creator economy could intersect with retail media. In this episode: • How Albertsons Media Collective has evolved over the past year • Why new shopping experiences may be underhyped in retail media • Measuring retail media success beyond ad revenue • Connecting merchandising, stores, digital and operations • Where the creator economy and retail media could intersect • What Albertsons Media Collective could look like in the years ahead
Moving fast with AI can create efficiency, but without the right guardrails, it can also put customer trust, brand authenticity, and customer relationships at risk. Tara DeZao joins Lori on StrategyCast to explain why responsible AI governance may become one of the most important competitive advantages for marketers.From AI-powered personalization and agents to customer service and generative content, Tara breaks down what happens when organizations prioritize speed without enough human oversight. She explains why governance should be a foundation for AI strategy, how cross-functional teams can reduce risk, and why AI works best as a collaborator rather than a replacement for human judgment.And don't forget! You can crush your marketing strategy with just a few minutes a week by signing up for the StrategyCast Newsletter. You'll receive weekly bursts of marketing tips, clips, resources, and a whole lot more. Visit https://strategycast.com/ for more details.==Let's Break It Down==00:00 Why customer trust matters in the AI era01:47 What marketers were talking about at Cannes02:54 Lessons from data privacy and transparency04:06 Why AI governance should be a strategic guardrail05:33 Building a cross-functional AI governance board07:03 Breaking down data and human silos08:37 Measuring customer relationships beyond short-term metrics10:31 Why AI should collaborate with humans, not replace them12:57 Where AI agents belong in marketing15:52 How AI-generated content can undermine authenticity18:43 Why automated AI workflows need human oversight20:00 Brand drift, hallucinations, and choosing the right AI24:23 What to do when AI gets it wrong25:45 The hidden cost of moving too fast with AI28:14 Building an internal culture of responsible AI29:51 AI advice for marketers planning for 202731:16 Where AI could take businesses in the next two years34:13 Why people, not AI, create trust==Where You Can Find Us==Website: https://strategycast.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/strategy_cast/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/strategycast==Leave a Review==Hey there, StrategyCast fans!If you've found our tips and tricks on marketing strategies helpful in growing your business, we'd be thrilled if you could take a moment to leave us a review on Apple Podcasts. Your feedback not only supports us but also helps others discover how they can elevate their business game!
What happens when ozone enters your body—and why are people using ozone therapy through saunas, ozonated water, blood treatments and other applications?In this episode of The Dr. Haley Show, Dr. Michael Haley speaks with Blake Miller, founder of Ozone Purity and the Ozone for Life movement. Blake has worked with ozone technology and holistic wellness for nearly three decades, focusing on ozone equipment, education and professional and home-based applications.Blake explains how ozone is produced, describes several methods of administration and discusses why proponents believe controlled ozone exposure may influence oxygen utilization, energy, microorganisms and detoxification.The conversation covers:• The difference between ambient-air and medical ozone generators• Why ozone should not be inhaled• Ozone steam saunas• Ozonated water• Rectal insufflation and ear applications• Autohemotherapy and IV ozone• EBOO, or extracorporeal blood oxygenation and ozonation• Professional and home ozone equipment• Questions surrounding dosage, evidence and safety• Blake's use of dark-field microscopy and live-blood analysisQUICK TAKEAWAY“Ozone therapy” is not one treatment. Ozonated water, an ozone steam sauna, rectal insufflation, autohemotherapy, EBOO and direct gas administration expose the body to ozone in substantially different ways.Any proposed benefit or risk should be evaluated according to the particular route, concentration, dose, condition and quality of supporting evidence. Ozone should not be inhaled, and clinical applications require appropriately trained healthcare professionals.EPISODE TIMESTAMPS00:00 What ozone is and how it is produced01:03 Ozone therapy: promise, controversy and safety02:28 Introducing Blake Miller03:12 Dr. Haley's previous experience with ozone generators04:45 Ambient-air ozone versus medical ozone05:50 IV ozone and autohemotherapy explained07:12 Ozone saunas and rectal insufflation09:17 How rectal ozone is administered10:01 What happens to the O₃ molecule11:04 Ozone dosing and potential dangers11:40 Ear applications and neurological claims12:24 Evidence, oxygen levels, fatigue and brain fog15:03 The history of ozone therapy16:14 Why Blake believes people use ozone today17:24 EBOO and less-invasive home applications18:53 How ozonated water is made19:41 Ozone, bacteria, gut health and SIBO21:16 Entry-level ozone applications22:03 Home and professional ozone equipment24:01 Measuring results and live-blood analysis24:52 Heavy metals, toxicity and chronic fatigue27:02 Where to find Blake Miller and Ozone PurityRESOURCESRead the complete episode notes and transcript:https://drhaley.com/ozone-therapy-explained/Ozone Purity:https://ozonepurity.com/The Ozone Guru on Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/theozoneguru/The Ozone Guru on TikTok:https://www.tiktok.com/@theozoneguruOzone Purity on YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@OzonePurityBlake Miller on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/blake-miller-926b4a261/FDA regulation concerning ozone-generating devices:https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-I/subchapter-H/part-801/subpart-H/section-801.415Related episode—Chronic Fatigue and the “Toxic Five” with Dr. Evan Hirsch:https://drhaley.com/chronic-fatigue-toxic-five/Visit Haley Nutrition and listen to the podcast for the current listener coupon code:https://haleynutrition.com/MEDICAL DISCLAIMERThis episode is provided for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. The views expressed by the guest are his own and do not necessarily represent those of Dr. Michael Haley, The Dr. Haley Show or Haley Nutrition.Some claims discussed in this episode remain controversial or have not been established through high-quality clinical research. Ozone should not be inhaled. Consult an appropriately licensed healthcare professional before beginning, changing or discontinuing any treatment, especially a blood-based, injectable or other invasive procedure.
One great article beats twenty passing mentions, and top-tier press does not guarantee AI even knows your brand exists. In this episode, Ashley Waters, VP of Media Relations at PAN Communications, breaks down why she runs earned media and AI visibility as two separate strategies, why the biggest headline isn't always the right placement, and why publications, podcasts, and newsletters like Substacks all now count as earned media. Ashley also explains why reporter relationships still matter as newsrooms shrink, how Substack opened a real channel for coverage, why personalized outreach beats mass pitching, and how brands can use data on visibility, impact, and engagement to prove what their media strategy is actually worth. Key Takeaways: Choose placements by business fit, not by which outlet has the biggest audience Count podcasts, newsletters, and Substacks as earned media, not just traditional press Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (01:06) Meet Ashley Waters (04:02) Building a career in media relations (06:12) How earned media is changing (08:31) Why Substack and podcasts matter (10:34) How AI visibility changes media strategy (13:01) Why brands need parallel PR strategies (16:17) How AI defines earned media differently (20:24) Measuring the value of earned media (22:38) Why impact matters more than share of voice (26:23) What is changing in traditional PR (30:54) Why marketers should think about Substack (34:16) Building relationships with reporters (36:44) Why brands should think audience first (39:03) Why earned media is becoming more valuable Check out the ebook " Trust Issues: How SaaS and AI-Native Brands Can Beat AI Credibility Fatigue" by PANBlast: https://www.panblastpr.com/resources/trust-issues-ai-credibility-ebook/
What happens when language created to make inequality visible becomes so broadly used that the inequality itself begins to disappear? Terms like mental load, invisible labor, and emotional labor have helped name forms of work —often disproportionately carried by women—that traditional measures of labor have failed to capture. But lately, these terms seem to be everywhere, applied to everything from emotionally difficult conversations to administrative annoyances to ordinary responsibilities we wish we didn't have. In this episode of the Advancing Women Podcast, Dr. Kimberly DeSimone explores what happens when useful structural concepts undergo conceptual inflation: their boundaries expand until they begin encompassing experiences increasingly distinct from what they were originally helping us understand. Because the popularity of a concept can become the enemy of its precision. Not all invisible work is “the mental load.” Not all underappreciated work is “emotional labor.” And not every unpleasant obligation is evidence of inequity. There is a difference between a burden and a pattern of inequity. Kimberly traces the research behind mental load and cognitive household labor, revisits sociologist Arlie Hochschild's original conception of emotional labor, and considers what gets lost when structural language becomes a generic synonym for this is hard. She also explores emerging research from Angelica Ferrara and colleagues on “Mankeeping”: the work women may perform to maintain men's social and emotional lives, and an important paradox: at the same time we're broadening the language of invisible labor to encompass men's ordinary responsibilities, men's shrinking social networks may be generating additional invisible labor for women. This isn't about linguistic gatekeeping. Concepts evolve. Language evolves. It's about what happens when we strip the analysis out of the language. Because a concept becoming more inclusive isn't necessarily the same thing as a concept becoming more illuminating. And precision isn't about protecting words. It's about protecting what they allow us to see. In this episode: What mental load actually means, and why it isn't “everything I have to think about” The difference between an individual burden and a systemic pattern of inequity Conceptual inflation: what happens when useful concepts expand beyond what they were designed to explain How structural language can lose its structure The emerging concept of "Mankeeping" Men's loneliness, social isolation, and women's often-unseen relational labor Why precision of language matters, especially when we're talking about equity Previous Episode Referenced in this episode: The Hidden Cost of Effortless Research Referenced: Ferrara, A. P., & Vergara, D. P. (2024). Theorizing mankeeping: The male friendship recession and women's associated labor as a structural component of gender inequality. Psychology of Men & Masculinities, 25(4), 391–401. Hochschild, A. R. (1983). The managed heart: Commercialization of human feeling. University of California Press. Mancini, V. O., Guerrini, B. N., Clarke, J. J., Vergara, D. P., Seidler, Z. E., & Ferrara, A. P. (2026). Measuring mankeeping: Development and validation of a scale assessing how women experience the impact of men's declining social networks. Sex Roles, 92, Article 32. Let's continue the Conversation! If this episode resonated with you, why not share it! Listen, Subscribe, Connect! The Advancing Women Podcast Instagram: @AdvancingWomenPodcast Facebook: Advancing Women Podcast LinkedIn: Dr. Kimberly DeSimone
"You don't need an advanced platform to begin. You just need consistent definitions, discipline, to look at the data, and a willingness to move beyond the on-time delivery average to make really good decisions going forward." Traditional supplier scorecards can tell procurement whether a supplier delivered on time, but they may not reveal whether that supplier's commitments are becoming less reliable over time. In this episode, Philip Ideson is joined by Shayan Farshid, a procurement and operations professional, to discuss the Supplier Stability Index, an open-source framework Shayan developed to help procurement teams get a more complete view of supplier performance. Shayan explains how looking beyond traditional on-time delivery metrics can reveal things like commitment drift, unresolved delivery exposure, quality issues, and other signals that may put production schedules at risk. He also shares why he made the framework open source, particularly for small and midsize manufacturers that may not have access to sophisticated supplier risk technology. In this episode, Shayan discusses how to: -Identify supplier risks that traditional scorecards may miss -Measure supplier stability using data teams already have -Prioritize supplier issues based on exposure and criticality -Turn supplier data into more proactive supplier conversations -Build stronger data foundations before applying AI -Start measuring supplier stability without an advanced technology platform Links: Shayan Farshid on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sfarshid/ Subscribe to the AOP Newsletter: https://resources.artofprocurement.com/art-of-procurement-podcast-subscribe Subscribe to Art of Procurement on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ArtofProcurement
"Send us a message!"“Know your numbers.”Salon owners hear it constantly.Rebooking. Retail percentage. Average ticket. Productivity. Retention. New clients.But knowing your numbers isn't the same thing as understanding your business.In this episode, we're digging into KPIs (key performance indicators) and why blindly tracking the same handful of industry-standard metrics may be giving you an incomplete picture of what's actually happening inside your salon.We talk about why a KPI should start with a question, not a benchmark; how a “good” number can still tell the wrong story; and why sometimes you need to go another layer deeper before deciding what to do.We use real examples from Hello, including declining rebooking while revenue, profit, visit frequency, and retention remained strong; why being 100% booked can actually create problems; how we think about customer acquisition cost and lifetime value of a client; and why we've started creating our own measurements for things like team engagement, growth, culture, and client stability.Because the goal isn't to collect more numbers.It's about understanding what the numbers are telling you—and using them to make better decisions. The Big IdeaDon't start with the KPI. Start with the question you're trying to answer.Key Takeaways “Know your numbers” isn't enough if you don't know what to do with them. A useful KPI should help you understand what's happening, what's working, what's not working, or what to do next. Don't automatically adopt someone else's KPIs just because they're considered industry standards. Start with the problem or question, then decide what you need to measure. Traditional salon KPIs can still be valuable—but sometimes you need to go another layer deeper. A low number isn't automatically the problem. Study the people with strong numbers and ask what they're doing well. Rebooking can tell an incomplete story when clients increasingly prefer online and last-minute booking. A “good” KPI can even hide a business problem. Being 100% booked isn't necessarily the same thing as maximizing opportunity. Beware of inherited assumptions—ideas repeated so often that people stop asking why they're true. Revenue isn't profit, and top-line revenue shouldn't be treated as the final score. Customer acquisition cost is more useful when you also know where clients come from and what happens after you acquire them. Lifetime value can change how your team thinks about cancellations and long-term client relationships. Culture can be measured more intentionally than simply saying, “We have a great culture.” Custom metrics can help you measure the business you're actually trying to build. Use industry benchmarks for context and inspiration—not as unquestionable rules. Before adopting a KPI, ask: Does this apply to my business? What problem does it solve? What information does it give me? What assumptions is it built on? Time Stamps00:00 — Opening Takes 03:00 — Do salon owners actually “know their numbers”? 05:00 — What a KPI is supposed to do 07:00 — Don't start with the KPI—start with the question 09:00 — Are salons measuring the wrong things? 11:00 — Knowing a number vs. knowing what to do with it 13:00 — What can you learn from your most-booked stylist? 17:00 — Why Hello's declining rebooking didn't scare us 20:00 — When rebooking becomes a misleading number 22:00 — How a good KPI can tell the wrong story 25:00 — Inherited assumptions and why we stop asking “why” 26:00 — Are men's haircuts actually less profitable? 31:00 — Measuring culture: Hello's custom KPIs 37:00 — Customer acquisition cost: go another layer deeper 39:00 — Lifetime value and rethinking cancellations 43:00 — Why universal KPI claims can mislead you 44:00 — Revenue isn't profit 45:00 — So which KPIs should you actually track? 48:00 — Check the work + One Last Thing Question of the WeekWhat are you measuring in your business simply because someone told you that you should?That's better than “What's your most important KPI?” because it reinforces the actual challenge you're making in the episode.Your business should serve you, so that you can serve others.Learn from other businesses. Use the benchmarks. Check the work. Then build the business that actually works for you.Links and Stuff:Our Newsletter Mentoring InquiriesFind more of our things:InstagramHello Hair Pro Website
We would love to hear from you!!! Angie and Aric expose the real meaning of intimacy—and why grief, marriage, and a horse named Phoenix are all part of the same conversation.What if the intimacy you think you're missing is already there—you're just measuring it wrong? Angie and Aric unpack a raw, honest conversation about marriage, vulnerability, and the gap between how men and women often define closeness, then connect it to the deeper work of sitting with each other instead of fixing each other.They share the TikTok that stopped Angie in her tracks, the words that made her feel seen, and the hard truth behind why this topic can spark tension fast. You'll hear how intimacy can look like asking “What do you need right now?”, staying present in someone's breakdown, remembering the small things, and creating safety without trying to solve everything.Then the episode shifts into one of their most moving updates yet: Phoenix, the horse tied to Hallie's legacy, and the young girl who's now carrying that dream forward. Angie and Aric talk about the pain and beauty of watching another child ride the horse Hallie loved, the signs they keep seeing everywhere, and what it means to honor grief while still making room for joy.They also take you to a memorial barrel race filled with emotional firsts, unexpected signs, and a rainbow that felt impossible to ignore. Along the way, they get real about travel quirks, hotel-bed compromises, bad driving habits, and the funny ways marriage reveals both your strengths and your mess.Angie and Aric are speaking directly to anyone navigating marriage, loss, or the strange beauty of learning to hold joy and grief at the same time. If you need a reminder that intimacy is deeper than touch, that healing is messy, and that love can still move forward after loss, this one will stay with you.Perfect for couples, grieving hearts, and anyone who needs a little honesty, comfort, and connection today.https://linktr.ee/blendedblessedalwaysamess#MarriageTalk #IntimacyInMarriage #BlendedBlessedAndAlwaysAMess #CoupleConversations #RelationshipGrowthSupport the show
Healing is rarely clean, linear, or complete and our worth is not determined by how perfectly we overcome the difficult parts of our story. Hospital chaplain and author Joon “J.S.” Park joins Dr. Dan for a powerful conversation about generational trauma, grief, family dynamics, faith, resilience, and what it means to remain deeply human in the middle of life's hardest moments. Drawing from more than a decade of sitting alongside patients and families experiencing death, loss, addiction, abuse, conflict, and unimaginable grief, J.S. shares how his own painful childhood shaped both the vigilance he carries and his ability to remain present with intense emotion. He describes the journey of learning to transform survival skills into sources of compassion, connection, and purpose. J.S. also challenges one of the most common ideas surrounding generational trauma: that we must completely “break the cycle” in order to heal. Instead, he encourages us to recognize moments of liberation, build circles of safety, and extend compassion toward ourselves when old patterns remain difficult to escape. Dr. Dan and J.S. explore the pressure created by rigid expectations about what a successful life, healed person, good parent, or healthy family is supposed to look like. They discuss why allowing ourselves to be imperfect can soften self-judgment and why presence, authenticity, intuition, and genuine human connection can sometimes matter more than saying or doing exactly the “right” thing. J.S. also reflects on becoming a father, returning to therapy, and his desire to make his own body a safe home so that he can become a source of safety for his wife and children. His children have given him another reason to confront his past—but he is also learning to be brave for the younger versions of himself who once needed that same protection. The conversation also explores J.S.'s evolving relationship with faith, his calling as a hospital chaplain, and his latest book, We Are Made of Us: Uncovering Our Hidden Family Dynamics, Rewriting Our Stories, and Returning to Ourselves. Ultimately, this episode offers permission to stop measuring healing against an impossible standard. Sometimes growth is found in trying. Sometimes it is found in a moment of relief, a safe relationship, or simply allowing ourselves to be exactly where we are. KEY TAKEAWAYS Healing is not binary. Breaking a generational cycle does not always happen in one dramatic moment. Small periods of safety, relief, and liberation matter. Survival skills can become strengths. The vigilance created by trauma can carry real costs while also developing capacities such as empathy, awareness, and resilience. Rigid expectations increase suffering. Measuring ourselves against an ideal version of success, healing, parenting, or life can intensify self-judgment. Presence is powerful. Sometimes the greatest gift we can offer another person is our full attention, compassion, and willingness to stay with them in a difficult moment. Authenticity can matter more than perfection. Experience and wisdom can give us the courage to move beyond scripts and respond to another human being with genuine care. We do not have to wait for crisis. Mortality often exposes unresolved family dynamics, but reflection, connection, and healing can begin long before the unthinkable happens. Compassion belongs in the healing process. People caught in painful family patterns or cycles need curiosity and understanding—not contempt for failing to simply “break free.” For more information visit https://jspark3000.com/ and follow https://www.instagram.com/jspark3000/ on Instagram. Please listen, follow, rate, and review Make It a Great One on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Follow @drdanpeters on social media. Visit www.drdanpeters.com and send your questions or guest pitches to podcast@drdanpeters.com. We have this moment, this day, and this life—let's make it a great one.– Dr. Dan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
It's a busy day of Utah stories and weird questions, including Salt Lake City’s new geofenced parking rules for rental scooters, a black bear euthanized in Grand Teton after repeated food issues, and a foreclosure scam warning from Syracuse police. Ethan and Alex also talk about whether hiring a “local mom” to check on your college kid is supportive or over the top. Alex gets his Constitution knowledge tested for Constitution Day, plus how Utahns are changing their habits to save on gas. Most importantly, we break down the most important data center measurement of all: how many Costco hot dogs it would take to cover it, among other things, and how many Costco hot dogs a T-Rex would eat in a day. KSL Brightside streams live weekdays from 12–3 PM, with a YouTube-exclusive live stream from 12–1 PM and radio plus YouTube from 1–3 PM.