Podcasts about north star

What does it really take to grow as a Christian songwriter, especially when you do not live in Nashville or have established industry connections?In this episode of the Christian Artist Mentorship Podcast, Wisdom Moon sits down with songwriter and Full Circle Music Academy Director Maggie Youngs to discuss songwriting, collaboration, community, and trusting God with an unconventional career path.Maggie shares how songwriting began as a personal way to process anxiety and pray through difficult questions. She also explains how an unexpected internship at Full Circle eventually developed into a leadership role she never could have planned for herself.Wisdom and Maggie unpack what actually happens during a Nashville co-write, how songwriters should approach ownership splits, and why serving the artist's vision should remain the North Star of the writing process.They also discuss whether every artist should write their own songs, the proper role of artificial intelligence in songwriting, and why strong relationships often matter just as much as strong creative ability.Maggie also explains how Full Circle Music Academy helps independent artists, songwriters, and producers access industry education, meaningful collaboration, professional feedback, and a community of creatives who can grow together. Maggie Youngs is the Academy Director at Full Circle Music. Using her unique background in ministry, business, and songwriting, she works to build events, resources and opportunities that help creatives take real steps toward their careers and callings. Connect with Maggie Youngs and Full Circle Academy:Email: support@fullcirclemusic.comFull Circle Instagram: @officialfcmusicMaggie's Instagram: @maggieeeeeelizConnect with Wisdom Moon:Instagram: ⁠⁠@wisdommoon⁠⁠Christian Artist Mentorship: ⁠⁠christianartistmentorship.com⁠⁠Pure Mosaic Services: puremosaicservices.comIf you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a songwriter, producer, worship leader, or Christian artist who would benefit from the conversation.

(Jul 31, 2026) Hundreds of people at a public hearing this week spoke out against the proposed closure of labor and delivery services at the hospital in Ogdensburg; Plattsburgh's Michigan Fest, honoring the region's iconic hot-dog-and-meat-sauce combo, returns this weekend; our chief engineer Kurt Lanning is in the studio to tell us about how those radio waves get to you.

I'm Still Finding My Way – Why You Don't Need Your Old Self Back Have you ever caught yourself saying, "I just want the old me back"? I know I have. I've heard it from hundreds of clients too. It sounds comforting because we believe our old self represents certainty, confidence and stability. But what if that's not really what we're looking for? In this deeper dive I explore an idea that completely changed the way I see personal development. Instead of chasing an old version of ourselves—or even trying to discover some perfect "real me"—perhaps we're simply finding our way. Because your way changes as you change. I'll share part of my own journey through depression, identity and the work I've been doing around my North Star. Together we'll explore why identity isn't somewhere you arrive, but something that keeps unfolding, and I'll guide you through a simple reflective process to help you reconnect with the qualities that have always been part of you. If you've ever felt lost, uncertain or caught between who you were and who you're becoming, I hope this episode helps you realise that maybe you haven't lost your way at all. In this episode you'll discover: Why wanting your "old self" back may be keeping you stuck. The difference between identity and the qualities that never leave you. A simple "Museum of Selves" exercise to reflect on every version of your life. Why your future isn't about becoming someone different, but continuing to unfold. Practical journal questions to help you take your next small step. Remember... You're not going backwards. You're still finding your way. And your way changes as you change. If this episode resonates, please share it with someone who needs to hear it: https://personaldevelopmentunplugged.com/486-im-still-finding-my-way/ and if you'd like me to explore a particular challenge, email me at feedback@personaldevelopmentunplugged.com. Oh! And there's a video of me recording this. It's rough and ready because that's all it needs to be https://youtu.be/hWcLgtawcp0 Until next time... Have more fun than you can stand. Shine Brightly

(Jul 31, 2026) The North Star Health Alliance announced that it's cutting its labor and delivery services at the hospital in Ogdensburg. On Wednesday, hundreds of people spoke out against the proposed closure at a public hearing. Also: Health and Human Services Secretary RFK Jr. visited Fort Drum yesterday.

Everybody talks about making disciples.Churches want to make disciples. Parents want to raise disciples. Youth pastors want to disciple students.But before we can build a process, measure success, or decide what matters most, we have to answer a more basic question:What is a disciple?In this episode, I begin developing a working definition that will shape everything that follows: "A disciple is saved by Jesus, is transformed by Jesus, and lives to know Him and make Him known."We'll explore why Jesus is the actor in salvation and transformation, why behavior is evidence rather than the cause of salvation, and why following Jesus demands everything while being worth everything.This is the guiding point, the North Star we're pointing our kids, students, and new believers towards...In this episode:• Why definitions matter before methods• A working definition of a disciple• Grace, transformation, and purpose• Matthew 9, Matthew 16, James 2, Titus 1• Why discipleship is about progress, not perfectionNext Episode: Based on that definition: What is discipleship?#HolyHypocrites #Discipleship #GenAlpha

Last week, if you were in Toronto, you may have spotted a striking yellow-and-black Tesla Cybertruck cruising around the city. Behind the wheel was Shloime Zionce, the Toronto-raised White House correspondent for Ami Magazine and YouTube creator. He grew up in Toronto's Orthodox Jewish community before moving to the U.S. to attend yeshiva. While visiting his parents and extended family in his native city, Zionce launched his cross-continent mitzvah mission at a July 21 event outside the Promenade Shopping Centre in Thornhill. He will take the self-driving Cybertruck on the road, on his two-year quest to drive through all 50 U.S. states. He's encouraging Jewish pride and mitzvot in response to the surge of antisemitism since Oct. 7. Zionce is paying for the project himself to honour his late friend, Chabad Rabbi Zvi Kogan, who was kidnapped and murdered by Islamic terrorists in the United Arab Emirates in 2024. The eye-catching design is intentional. “Overall we need eyeballs on this thing because if you want to connect with Jews, the Jews have to notice you and see that you're there. And this vehicle is pretty hard to to go unnoticed.” On today's episode of The CJN's North Star podcast, host Ellin Bessner gets a private tour including climbing aboard for a ride through Zionce's grandmother's Thornhill neighbourhood, as he explains the mission behind one of the most unusual Jewish outreach vehicles on the road. Related links: Read more about slain Chabad Rabbi Zvi Kogan from his friend Rabbi Yehuda Sarna, a Montrealer who is Chief Rabbi of the Jewish community in the UAE, in The CJN from 2024 . Learn more about Shloime Zionce's new Cybertruck mitzvah campaign to bring Jewish pride and yiddishkeit to all 50 states and Canada in honour of his slain friend, Rabbi Zvi Kogan, killed by terrorists in 2024 in the UAE, at Mitzvahtruck.com Watch Shloime Zionce's reporting from the White House and his travel stories, on YouTube Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner ( @ebessner ) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Izzie Helenchilde (producer and video editor), Michael Fraiman (executive producer), Alicia Richler (editorial director) Music: Bret Higgins Support our show Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Watch our podcasts on YouTube. Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt) https://thecjn.ca/north

What happens when you stop trying to become the person the world expects and finally begin choosing who you want to be? In Episode 152 of Pushing Forward with Alycia, host Alycia Anderson welcomes global speaker, bestselling author, disability advocate, activist, and content creator Spencer West for a powerful conversation about disability identity, autonomy, interdependence, and breaking free from expectations. Spencer is the author of Breaking Free: Stop Following Expectations and Start Following Yourself, a new book that invites readers to question the expectations shaping their lives and begin choosing a more authentic path. Born with a genetic condition that prevented the muscles in his legs from functioning, Spencer underwent surgeries that resulted in the amputation of both legs just below his pelvis. Growing up, he was repeatedly told that he was “just like everyone else” and that every child wanted to walk. But prosthetic legs were not the best mobility choice for Spencer. By sixth grade, his parents and therapist gave him the opportunity to decide for himself how he wanted to navigate the world. Choosing to stop using prosthetic legs became one of his earliest lessons in bodily autonomy. “The moment I realized I could choose how I wanted to navigate the world, everything started to change.” That decision did not eliminate the pressure to fit in. Spencer shares how he continued confronting internalized ableism, social expectations, and the confusing message that disability should be ignored rather than embraced as part of his identity. The Life Changing Power of Autonomy Spencer and Alycia discuss why disabled children deserve the opportunity to participate in decisions about their own bodies, mobility, healthcare, and lives. Spencer credits his parents with giving him choices instead of assuming they always knew what was best for him. Looking back, he recognizes that this early experience helped him understand that he could make other meaningful choices too. For parents, educators, medical professionals, and leaders, his story offers an important reminder: supporting disabled people does not mean controlling every decision. It means creating space for autonomy, self discovery, and informed choice. Climbing Kilimanjaro and Redefining Help Spencer also shares the story behind climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. He was not motivated by a desire to prove that “anything is possible.” In fact, Spencer openly admits that he does not like camping and had never dreamed of becoming a mountain climber. The climb became part of a larger campaign called Redefine Possible, which raised more than its original $500,000 goal for clean water initiatives in East Africa. Spencer trained for a year alongside two of his closest friends. Although the original plan was to use both his wheelchair and his hands to climb, the terrain required him to navigate much more of the mountain on his hands than expected. Throughout the expedition, Spencer relied on his friends for physical support. But on summit day, both friends became sick from the altitude. Suddenly, the person who assumed he would need the most assistance became the person helping them continue. Spencer could not physically carry his friends, but he could stay beside them, encourage them, and keep moving forward with them. That experience transformed how he viewed strength. “We all need help. We all need to ask for help, and we all need to offer help.” Rather than celebrating the myth of the self made person, Spencer encourages people to embrace interdependence, the understanding that every person depends on support, relationships, community, and collaboration. Moving Beyond Inspiration Porn Spencer and Alycia examine the harmful narratives that often surround disabled people who accomplish highly visible goals. Spencer never wanted his Kilimanjaro climb reduced to a message suggesting that if a disabled person can climb a mountain, everyone should be able to overcome every barrier. That framing ignores systemic ableism, access needs, privilege, support, and the reality that every disabled person has a different body and experience. Spencer shares how disability justice advocate Naomi Ortiz challenged him to reconsider the way he talked about the climb. The true story was not that he overcame disability alone. It was that he reached the summit through community and interdependence. That conversation led Spencer to study disability history, disability justice, and the advocates who have shaped the movement. Today, much of his content reflects what he continues to learn and unlearn in real time. What Does It Mean to Break Free? Spencer's new book, Breaking Free: Stop Following Expectations and Start Following Yourself, examines the expectations people absorb from the moment they enter the world. For Spencer, those expectations included: Do not think of yourself as disabled Overcome your disability Use prosthetic legs Follow a traditional career path Marry a woman Measure success through productivity Live according to society's definition of a successful life As a disabled gay man growing up in a conservative Wyoming community, Spencer gradually realized that many of those expectations did not reflect who he was or what he wanted. Breaking free became the process of identifying which expectations belonged to him and which ones had been placed upon him by others. “My value and success are not tied up in what my body can produce.” Spencer explains that breaking free does not always require climbing a mountain or completely changing your career. It can begin with one small decision, such as leaving an unhealthy relationship, exploring a new passion, moving to another city, or making room for something that brings joy. Disability as Identity During a volunteer trip to Kenya, Spencer spoke with students about his disability. A young girl told him she had not realized that the loss of limbs could happen to a white person too. Her observation sparked a major realization. Until that moment, Spencer had viewed disability primarily as something that happened to him. He had not yet embraced it as part of his identity. That experience helped him begin connecting disability with the other layers of who he is, including being queer, a speaker, a creator, and an advocate. Spencer and Alycia reflect on how long it can take to fully embrace disability identity after growing up in environments that treated disability as something negative, shameful, or separate from the self. A Book Designed to Become a Tool Breaking Free is more than a memoir. Spencer designed the book as a practical guide for readers who are questioning the expectations shaping their lives. Each chapter includes exercises, reflection questions, key concepts, and opportunities for readers to begin their own process of change. The book also gives Spencer an opportunity to share parts of his life that he had not discussed publicly before, including the pressure he experienced to hide his queer identity while working within an organization concerned about conservative donors and religious partners. After years of advocacy from Spencer, queer colleagues, and allies, he eventually shared his coming out story publicly on June 26, 2015, the day marriage equality became law across the United States. For Spencer, that moment represented years of persistence, truth telling, and breaking free. Spencer West's North Star Today, Spencer continues speaking, creating digital content, and helping organizations understand the value of hiring disabled talent. His work challenges myths about disabled employees and highlights the unnecessary ableism many disabled people face while trying to find meaningful employment. His current North Star is clear: get Breaking Free into the hands of people who need permission to question expectations, embrace their identities, and begin choosing themselves. In This Episode Why bodily autonomy matters for disabled children and adults Spencer's decision to stop using prosthetic legs Unlearning internalized ableism The deeper story behind climbing Mount Kilimanjaro Why no one is truly self made Interdependence and the courage to ask for help How inspiration porn harms disabled people Learning from disability justice advocates Disability and queer identity Breaking free from society's expectations Separating personal value from productivity Why Spencer wrote Breaking Free Disability inclusion and employment Memorable Quotes from Spencer West “The moment I realized I could choose how I wanted to navigate the world, everything started to change.” “The story was not that I reached the top alone. The story was interdependence.” The Pushing Forward Moment “Maybe our job is not to become anything. Maybe our job is to unbecome all the things that do not belong to us so we can become the person we were meant to be.” Spencer explains that this idea, inspired by a passage associated with Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist, became the guiding thesis behind Breaking Free. Connect with Spencer West Visit Spencer2TheWest.com to learn more about Spencer, book him to speak, and find his new book. Follow Spencer on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube at @spencer2thewest. Book: Breaking Free: Stop Following Expectations and Start Following Yourself Available wherever books are sold. Connect with Alycia Anderson Visit AlyciaAnderson.com to learn more about Alycia's keynotes, disability inclusion programs, accessibility resources, and consulting services. Explore more episodes of Pushing Forward with Alycia. Pushing Forward is how we roll. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"I was attempting to be the smartest person in the room, trying to add value to somebody else's work. It was not facilitating others' greatest contributions. In fact, it shuts people down." In this Best of Series episode, we replay a chat I had in 2019 with Tracey Burton, Executive Director of Uniting, on experiential learning, 360 degree feedback and the future of the health industry.

Watch the video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/HHWS6KTKcTU Keith and Jodi interview Meier Galblum Haigh, Executive Director of Disability Culture Lab, about the summer streetwear collection "We're Still Here: Fashion Against Fascism," shaped by conversations with more than 40 disabled people and a North Star visioning process exploring what "winning" and liberation look like. Meier explains Disability Culture Lab's mission to build disabled-led communications infrastructure because "bad stories lead to bad policy," and describes themes behind the collection—interdependence and care, disabled leadership and power, disabled joy, and the harms of oppressive systems—along with tensions around non-disabled parents driving harmful narratives. The Deep Cut segment reviews Netflix's "All the Light We Cannot See" through a disability lens, discussing authentic casting of blind/low-vision actors, shortcomings in character depth and historical context of Nazi violence against disabled people, the value of audio description, and the need for agency, complexity, access, and disabled involvement behind the camera. Disability Culture Lab Website: https://www.disabilityculturelab.org/ Instagram: https://instagram.com/disabilityculturelab BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/disabilitylab.bsky.social Store: https://shop.disabilityculturelab.org/

How can building an audience in advance help your stories reach the people who make movies? And how can you prove there's demand for your book or screenplay before you've written it? Brooks Elms shares his advice after more than 20 years as a WGA screenwriter. In the intro, what doesn't work for book marketing and what does [Amy Chan SubStack; Unsingle; Rephonic]; Goodreads giveaway for Bones of the Deep; FutureVision XPrize. This podcast is sponsored by Kobo Writing Life, which helps authors self-publish and reach readers in global markets through the Kobo eco-system. You can also subscribe to the Kobo Writing Life podcast for interviews with successful indie authors. This show is also supported by my Patrons. Join my Community at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn Brooks Elms is a WGA screenwriter with over 45 scripts, over a dozen sales, and he has directed two indie features. He is the creator of the Answer the Call system and has trained over 1,000 writers. You can listen above or on your favorite podcast app or read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights and the full transcript is below. Show Notes How to see the opportunity in AI when others only see the threat How to test a story with samples, and what a 16-second movie can do Building the trailer before you write the screenplay Letting your audience finance the film once they have validated the idea Why Hollywood still wants existing IP, and what makes them pay attention Feeling safe enough to write the truth, and finding a concrete path forward You can find Brooks on LinkedIn or email him at brooks@brookselms.com. Transcript of the interview with Brooks Elms Jo: Brooks Elms is a WGA screenwriter with over 45 scripts, over a dozen sales, and he has directed two indie features. He is the creator of the Answer the Call system and has trained over 1,000 writers. So welcome to the show, Brooks. Brooks: Thank you. It's awesome to be here. Jo: Fantastic. So first up— Tell us a bit more about you and how you got into screenwriting. Brooks: I started filmmaking first. A buddy came up to me in high school and said, “Hey, we're making a karate movie, do you want to help us?” I was like, “Oh my God, yes, that sounds amazing.” So next thing I know, I had this karate outfit on, and we were just making this completely ridiculous and totally fun movie, and it was amazing. It was so fun. Then it went to a whole other level when we shared it with a friend, this guy Jay Sharon, and he watched the movie and he laughed so hard he literally fell out of his chair. I was like, “Oh my God,” the fun I had making it could actually transfer to somebody else. I was hooked. So from there I went to NYU film school, and then made a few independent feature films which were good but not great in terms of how they were received. They were great for me in terms of enjoyment, but I knew I needed to iterate faster at that point. So then I was like, “Well, it's expensive and it takes a long time to make a movie,” at least back then. So I pivoted to screenwriting, and pumped out two, three scripts a year, got signed at UTA, got writing assignments, and basically launched a screenwriting career. Then I still tried to get some stuff going, but it's hard when movies are so expensive. It's not hard, it's just that it takes a lot of precision in the marketing, and a lot of conversations to find the right matches to finance something, and you're either interested in doing that or you're not. I just was like, “Well, I'll just mostly write screenplays.” Then I started teaching at UCLA Extension and then coaching after that, along with writing. Then all the way up to the future. What's great about moving forward is that with AI, shot-making is becoming very close to cinematic quality. You can actually match cinematic quality in moments in some genres, but probably by next year. Right now you could actually do a really good horror movie all AI for 10, 20,000 bucks, depending on how much you're doing yourself or getting other people to do. So the economics are going to absolutely explode. So I'm sitting on dozens of scripts that didn't get through the Hollywood packaging bottleneck because they're too expensive, and I now have this giant slate that's ready to go, and I'm just absolutely thrilled. It's been a lifelong dream for me. Jo: Oh, so much to come back on there. Where to start? I do want to talk about what you just said there, sitting on dozens of scripts and now seeing the opportunity. I actually wrote down in my journal about a year ago, I see what's coming with AI, and I think that the best thing I can do is create as much original IP as possible, so that I can make the most of the opportunity ahead. So let's just get into the AI, because a lot of people feel it's a super bad thing. Talk about the opportunities and the attitude that you've got [around AI], and that you've seen others have around this, for what is ahead in a positive way. Brooks: It's fascinating to see how people respond to AI. I wonder, when the printing press rolled around, if there was some sort of backlash. Books must be handwritten. They can't be mass-produced. Here's one of my theories. At a deep psychological level, it's so profoundly powerful that I think the default setting is, “Oh, crap.” When I was a kid, some things were hard, and that power imbalance, when something big, new and powerful comes along: I'm going to get screwed, and so this is somehow a bad thing. I think that's the base psychological thing going on with most of the noise. Obviously there are some legit problems, in terms of copyright infringement from learning models, or from some of the environmental situation. So I'm not saying it's all rainbows and butterflies, but I think 90% of the noise around it comes from a fear of change. Here's the other one—a fear of, “Oh, yikes, I'm going to get taken advantage of somehow by either robots, or the corporations are going to use the robots against me,” or something like that. I have real empathy for me when I feel that way a little bit, but I don't feel it much, and for other people that do feel it. The other thing is, you know what it is? I think they fear their own empowerment even more. I had a therapist who was really good. He said, people aren't so much afraid of failing as they are afraid of succeeding. Because if we fail, we're stuck in act one and we don't go anywhere. The fear is answering the call and going to act two, when everything effing changes in the new world. So I think people are afraid of how goddamn powerful they're going to be when they can have a team of AI agents helping them do everything they want in business or life or whatever. I think it's the same thing with the internet. People are like, “Oh, I don't like social media, blah, blah, blah.” And I get it. There's a lot of noise and a lot of crap. Yet we have access to billions of people, and the algorithms in social media right now I think are level three out of 10. They're just going to get better and better. Even as it is now, if I do a post about something and it gets ignored, that's on me. The algorithms are trying to match me to my people. So if I'm not unique enough and authentic enough and aware enough of how virality works, that's on me, and it's a learnable skill that I can embrace and then change and then get better at. So I think people then resist that change. They resist the empowerment of learning the art of virality, or learning the art of some sort of social media stuff or whatever. The last thing I'll say about this rant is, I don't want to act like I'm the guru on the hill that has all the answers. I refuse calls all the time. I'm scared about all sorts of things. I'm certainly not perfect. I feel frustrated when I'm trying to put my big ideas into action and I can't get this technology thing to work or that one, and I throw tantrums. I'm trying to come at it from a real human perspective, but by and large, I've got stars in my eyes. I'm like, “This is amazing. This is going to be so powerful.” For so many people, you just have to be ready to embrace it and just go along for the ride, because there's going to be some big-ass changes. There already are, and that's going to accelerate. Jo: You mentioned there learning the art of whatever it is. One of the things is, I've spent 20 years, and so have you, learning our craft and our art, and now it can be done very easily. I'm generating video, as you mentioned, which is a craft I haven't spent 20 years on, but now I can generate. So things have definitely changed in that way. Just coming to the screenwriting side. Probably about a decade ago now, I did my first screenwriting course. I've written screenplays. Then I looked at the game you have to play and, like you said, the conversations you have to have, the events you have to go and network at, all the things that you have to do to put a screenplay in front of the right person at the right time. I was like, “I cannot do that. It's just not going to happen. I can't do that along with everything else.” So I put it aside, but now I feel maybe it's time to bring it back because things are changing. So can you maybe talk about, if someone has a screenplay now that they've written, or some IP like a book that they have now— What would you recommend people do in terms of wanting to get that [IP] in front of somebody, or doing something with it themselves? Brooks: It's such a good question. By the way, not even a screenplay—you could do the same things with a novel. Let me try to be succinct here, which is a good challenge for me. A simple way to look at it is, you're giving samples. Let's say it's a lemonade stand, and you give out a little shot of your… maybe you have cayenne pepper lemonade, some sort of fun lemonade. If you give out a sample and people are into it, they're going to come back and they're going to tell friends. If you give a sample of the lemonade and they're not into it, then you go back to the kitchen and you mix up a different flavour. So that's some basic business, but the internet allows us to do that at scale. So what I like to encourage people to do when I coach them is come up with the minimum viable material. It can be a 10-second clip. There's a writer in my community who made a really beautiful 16-second movie. It's one shot. I love it so much. It's two wine glasses. There's a lipstick smudge on one of the wine glasses. They're half full, and it's just that shot. It's sitting there, and all of a sudden you hear this thundering, thumping down these stairs, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun. Then you see out of the corner of the frame one person runs by, and then the other person behind her runs by and goes, “Wait.” That's it. That's the whole movie. It's 16 seconds. He did that with his phone. So there's so much going on. There's a couple of basic elements, but he just did it with his phone, and you can evoke enormous emotional impact on people through social media, whether it's just words. You guys have a big advantage as novelists because you're so good with words. Whether it's a little bit longer, like sudden fiction, that's a couple of pages or whatever. Even just copywriters are really in a good position for the future because they're super potent with two words or three words or 10 words. Then novelists are probably really advantageous because it doesn't cost anything to just put some words out on the internet. The point is, if you put something out, it's a signal, and you're talking about billions of people who could find that signal. If you do it and then you look at the response, and then you try again, you look at the response, we can do this iteration infinitely for free. So you can do it already. You've been able to do it for 10, 15, 20 years, just with words. But now you're going to basically be able to do that with movies or clips or trailers. So the thing that I'm leading in my community of writers is having people build trailers in advance, or clips. When a book or a movie is done, how the heck do we get people to see it? One way is a trailer or some sort of behind-the-scenes material. You can just do that stuff now before even writing the screenplay. I saw that you were doing this project, a trailer for this competition. And then you mentioned, “Oh, I've got to write the screenplay.” Not really. You have to develop the story enough to know what you're referring to, and then it's about studying the craft of either trailer construction, or whatever the clips are, or viral clips. They all have a structure, and then you just test it. If you enjoy that testing process, which I find absolutely thrilling, it feels like the filmmaking version of a stand-up comedian. If I did stand-up, I say a joke, they laugh or they don't laugh. It's really beautiful feedback from the universe. Nerve-wracking, right? But we can do that now as storytellers. We put a story out there in any format, and the audience responds. Just like you have to read any room, you have to learn how to read the engagement on social media. What do likes mean? What do shares mean? What do comments mean? How do you deal with trolls? All that is just part of the new art. Once you get good at it, holy smokes, that's the key to the kingdom. You can build audiences in advance, and for movies you could even have them finance your movie in advance, if you've built an email list of 20,000, 30,000, 40,000 people because you kept putting out all these viral clips around your story, novel, or screenplay. Then you go, “Okay, now 30,000 people are on my email list and I tell them about me and my perspective and my world. We're going to make this darn thing with AI for 20,000 bucks. You guys have got to pony up some money. Put in a dollar, five, 10, or you get the VIP $500 experience.” It's like crowdfunding, but much more sophisticated, because most crowdfunding was like begging friends and family to donate to your crazy dream. What I'm talking about is going to the audience directly, developing enough of the story, then going to the audience second, and then only when they validate the idea, to the extent that you're happy with. You could do a crazy idea that's going to have a small audience, and you don't have to have a blockbuster audience. You get to pick the audience size that you want, and then put the samples out there and see if you have a relevant audience size for this next project. Once the audience tells you, “Yes, we want this,” then you go make it. So you're ultimately reducing risk to almost zero. It takes time and you have to learn how to do this stuff, but it's thrilling to me because we just have the capacity to test the material and listen to the audience upfront. The last thing I'll say, and I've rambled a lot, I'm sorry. When I made a movie in 1994, a feature film right out of NYU, it took me three years to find out what the audience thought about that movie. I had to make the damn thing, and then I ran out of money, and that took me years to edit it, and I finally got it, blah, blah, blah. And again, I loved it. I loved every facet of it, and it was fine, but it was super inefficient. Today, I could take those same elements, create an AI trailer this weekend, put it in front of hundreds of thousands of people, and they could tell me right away, “This sucks,” or, “This is interesting,” or, “Holy smokes, this is amazing. I want this.” If it's not, “Holy smokes, this is amazing, I want it,” I can go ahead and re-edit the whole damn trailer, and just keep reiterating at almost no cost. Then once the demand is there, I can take that demand and that audience and go to Hollywood, and that's when they're going to want to work with me. Then it doesn't take a million conversations and finding the needle in the haystack, because Hollywood sees the numbers and they go, “Oh, you're the people we do want to do business with. You've proven demand. We want to do business with you.” Jo: Yes, it's so interesting. I can hear people listening and they're like, “Easier said than done, getting an email list of 40,000 people.” And in fact— It's exactly the same as building up a career as an independent author. This is as a filmmaker, as a visual person, and the industry is visual, so doing a visual trailer is the obvious thing. And as you say, the tools I use just to do this one, I use Midjourney, and I've used Seedance as the main video model. It does take a while, but it is pretty fast now, if you have a visual image of what you want in your head, which obviously you're a visual person as well. But is it… Brooks: Hold on. I want to push back on that a little bit, because I think it's really important. So yes, that's true, but underneath that, my friend, it's a relationship. It's the relationship, and the media is secondary. You have been prolific in connecting with your audience, and that's why I think a lot of people like you, because you share and they get to know you in that sort of cadence. I saw you in another podcast, you mentioned Seth Godin, who just said, “Hey, I want to be the type of person that has this relationship with my audience. I'm going to share some of my thoughts every day.” He happened to do it with words, with his background in marketing, but you could do the same thing with still images. You could do the same thing with a five-second movie clip once a week. It's the relationship you want with your fans. I'm not saying you snap your fingers and you have 50,000 people on your email list. What I'm saying is, what else are you doing? If we're artists and our impulse is to create and share, and if you do it in this way, if I can create and share and inspire trust in this relationship with a stranger because they like my genre thing and they like the way they felt when they experienced my media, words, images, movies, it doesn't matter. They just like the feeling, and they go, “Ooh, I want more of that feeling. How do I get more of that? Oh, this person has this email list or community.” If I can do it with one, then I can scale it out. So getting the first one, or the first 5 or 10 samples, that is a whole process. But then once you do that, scaling up is more of a mechanical thing. It's not even that hard, especially when you can do paid ads. So you can scale up very quickly if you have the sauce. If you don't have the sauce, it doesn't matter who you're related to, you've got to get the sauce right. Jo: Yes, and again, it's so parallel to the indie author community. I've just got to ask you, in the olden days, an author might write a screenplay, or a screenwriter write a screenplay, and then they would send it. They'd find an agent. They'd pitch an agent, and I guess then they'd hope that someone would turn that into a movie. So is that just dead now? Is it realistically that you need to get yourself out there, build the audience in the same way that it often is for authors? Brooks: So, no. I've got two screenplay deals going right now. So here's how it's going to work. Think about Broadway, or the theatre district in Britain. It's like West End or East End or whatever… Jo: The West End. Brooks: Sorry for my American ignorance. West End, okay. So every town on the planet has a stage, but there's only one Broadway, there's only one West End, right? And every town has its own festival, but there are a few significant tastemakers. There's Cannes, there's Sundance, there's Toronto. Hollywood is always going to be a tastemaker in our lifetime, for sure. What they don't have anymore, what they enjoyed for the first 100 years of the industry, is that they had a stranglehold on basically the equipment, the financing, and the audience, and that's all going away. Do you want to hear a fun story about the birth of cinema? Do you know why Hollywood started in Hollywood? Jo: No. Brooks: So Thomas Edison invented the camera, or the type of model camera that they were using in, I don't know, 1910 or something around there. They didn't want to pay his patent. They didn't want to pay the patent to make these movies, so they went all the way across the country, a bunch of outlaws, and they set up shop in California because he couldn't enforce his patent that they were basically stealing. And reason number two, LA enjoys amazing weather almost all year round. The weather here is either nice or really nice. You have mountains, you have beach, you have desert, you have all these different locales. So when it was really important to be on location, LA was the perfect place. Anyway, that is all going away. For many decades, more people could make movies. In the early '90s, Robert Rodriguez made a movie for 9,000 bucks. There was a book in the '80s that I bought that I loved, it was Feature Filmmaking at Used-Car Prices. This guy, Rick Schmidt, I think his name was. There were the independent filmmakers really in the '60s and the '70s. So the cost has been going down and down and down, and now it's less than ever. Once social media came along, now you have access to the audience, so why do you even need Hollywood? That being said, there are tons of people. There are 400,000 people already working in the movie and the TV industry here. And they're voracious. We have a voracious demand. Humans need stories. We need big stories, long stories. We need stories, and Hollywood is so good at giving them stories. And so they have a need for these things, and they're still spending a lot of money on those budgets. So yes, there's still a demand for turning books and optioning them and turning them into movies. Books are great. Any sort of existing IP is great because there are marketing efficiencies there. People already know that stuff, know the vibe of it, and so it's easier to market than something that's totally creative and new. When you're spending that much money, you want those marketing efficiencies. They're really important. So the point being, the power is shifting away from Hollywood. Hollywood will still be a tastemaker, but you and me can reach anybody on the planet now. Almost. Billions of people. If it's making a movie, right now you could make a movie that most people wouldn't realise is an AI movie. If it was a horror film, I know a handful of people that could make a feature-length horror film right now with AI and 99% of the audience couldn't tell, if it was professionally written. Jo: I think the point here though is, I'm an author, the people listening are authors, and we don't want to make movies. We want to license our IP to people who want to make movies. Brooks: Yes. Great. Okay, good. So then you could, if you wanted, build an audience. Hollywood loves when something's already proven, so that's that IP thing, right? So if you just have a great book, then it's all about the sales. You guys have Dragons' Den, we have Shark Tank here. And what's amazing about that show is these are people or entrepreneurs pitching an idea, and there's an amazing rhythm that happens. They say, “We've got this great idea. It's this sort of company.” And the sharks, or the dragons, will listen. And there's a huge turning point when they reveal sales. They're either really excited about the idea and then they go, “Well, how are the sales?” And the person goes, “Well, we don't have any sales yet.” And they go, “Uh,” and they're not interested. Or they might even be like, “Eh, it doesn't seem like a good idea.” And they're like, “Well, how are the sales?” And they're like, “Oh, well, we've sold through the roof.” And then all of a sudden they perk up. So it's all about the sales. So step one is writing something that you want. Step two is making sure other people in your target audience are also loving it as much as you do. Step three is proving in some way at scale that there's real demand for it. So you could do that with trailers, you could do that with clips, you can do that as an indie publisher. There's all sorts of things that you can do. Humans are much more persuaded by concrete data than they are by just vibes. So if you can bring Hollywood concrete data of any type, like viral videos, like audience, like obviously bestsellers. Awards mean something, but not quite as much as sales. Then you're going to get Hollywood's attention because that reduces risk for them. So even now, when Hollywood's definitely shrinking and contracting, there's still very significant money being spent because it's a huge demand. If you ever walk around a studio lot, those things are opulent places. It's stunning. Like, how are they paying for all this stuff? These lots are enormous. It's because humanity is voracious for stories, and movies are one premium type of storytelling. The demand for stories is steady if not going up. It's just that we have a wider variety of types of stories that we can do, whether we're an indie author. So anyway, did I answer the question? You get me too excited with these questions, Jo. It's a problem. Jo: Yes. I think there's a lot of opportunity and a lot of ways in, but the parallels with being an indie author I think are quite clear. One of the things I found interesting about your profile and what you do is that you help clients who are already accomplished but not quite breaking through, and that sounds like a lot of mid-list indie authors, probably a lot of mid-list screenwriters, mid-list filmmakers. This is a hard place to be because, on the one hand, we are grateful for what we have achieved and what we can do, and yet wanting more, wanting that big Hollywood deal or the Netflix deal, or wanting the massive bestseller or whatever. So if someone wants to get to that next level, what are some of the ways that they can perhaps try and get there? Brooks: It's a great question. Coaching is a really wonderful way to learn anything of this sort of complexity and challenge, especially if it's a hyper-competitive business. We need two things, I think, to write a great novel or screenplay or both. A, we need to feel profoundly safe in our space. If we can't really feel deeply authentic about the things that are embarrassing, or that we feel shame about, or just our shadows, or anything that we don't feel completely comfortable saying and sharing in public usually. We need to be able to touch those things, and be articulate about those things, and that's one part of it. Then we need a concrete path forward. Maybe you're thinking about some tragedy that you had in childhood, and how you dealt with it and how difficult that was. So you need to be able to be real precise in those observations about what it felt like, and how you tried to compensate for it, and that didn't work and it made it worse. Whatever your observations are about your life journey, you need to be really specific and really deeply felt. A good coaching relationship allows you to be in that space, to be really honest with yourself and authentic. g Aood coach will push you back and say, “You know what? That sounds interesting, but maybe not quite as true to you deeply.” So that's one piece of it. Then there's a concrete path forward. You need to have the emotional access to that truth, and then you need to know what to do with that truth in a step-by-step way. Because most people, the ones that you're talking about, they're accomplished in something else. What happens is when we first start writing, and maybe this happens with novelists, but for sure it happens to screenwriters, you just start typing words. But you haven't really thought through the theme, the concept, the structure, the character, all the deeper questions that really matter. The milestones, like a North Star: winning a major award, or getting a publisher. That's the direction that we're heading towards, and then you set it and forget it, but you want to keep checking it every week, every month or whatever. But you want it very specific. “I would like to sell a book, or sell a book to Hollywood, or write a screenplay, or get a producer attached to a screenplay.” Whatever the milestone is, make it really specific, really concrete, and then reverse engineer. This is what I do on the concrete path. I reverse engineer every step to get there, starting with a really tiny one we can do today, and I make sure they feel really safe, and then we just walk through. Then what happens is, if you do that, if you feel safe, if you're showing up authentically and you have a process that's repeatable, not just willy-nilly, it's got to be something that's proven to work. It wasn't an accident I wrote 45 scripts. I've got a whole system. But by the way, the first five scripts took me forever. The last movie that I made took me three years to write that script. I can write a better script with those same elements in three months now, because I know I have a concrete path. So if you want to do something new, whether it's playing the piano or getting six-pack abs or writing a screenplay, work with somebody who's got a system that's already proven, and make sure you relate to them, and then just follow the system. Then when the doubts come up, and they will, that's where the feeling safe is really important. Because, oh, I want the six-pack abs, but I don't feel like going to the gym. I want the extra donut. If I'm working with a really good trainer, they go, “Dude, do you want the six-pack abs or not?” And then you go back and forth, and I go, “Okay, now I can make peace with myself and say I can take one tiny bite of the donut and then still do my workout,” and then I'm moving towards that North Star. Does that make sense? Jo: Yes. I think, like many independents, I resist anything that is systematised. I'm a discovery writer, and I follow the muse, and all of that kind of thing. I think I would say something in a similar vein, which is sustainable creativity for the long term, because your 45 scripts are also years of work, and my books are years of work, and we get better at what we do. So my system, I do have a system really, because— My system is that I do the work, and I write my stories, and I get them out there, and I do the marketing. So even if it's not as systematised as such, it's still a process that I have repeated over and over again. Brooks: That's fascinating to me. Would you consider yourself a pantser? You're like, “I've got an idea,” and you just start writing? Jo: I don't use the word pantser. I guess I call it discovery writing, which is… Brooks: That's a better term. Jo: Yes. What I'm writing for this prize, for example, I know the characters, I know now what's happening. When I had the idea, it was very much a vision and a theme, and the competition has a theme: a positive future with AI and technology. But the things that came around that, I then started playing with ideas around the treatment. I haven't written the screenplay yet. I don't do a plot, or I don't follow Save the Cat or any of that kind of thing. When I write a novel, I just explore and I never write in order. Then at some point I stop and then I have to think about the structure and putting it all together, so the edits are quite big. But my fun is in that discovery, really. Brooks: Oh, that's awesome. Okay, so let me ask, that's really fascinating. And by the way, that doesn't, to me, negate the system that I use. The one that I use is ultimately… the thing is, these questions, the audience is wanting your unique answers to. You don't necessarily need to do it in a certain order. I think that's actually really cool that you write out of order and you have a few elements in mind. All that stuff sounds awesome. The only thing that then makes me curious is, how's your pace? Are you actually completing novels at a pace that feels good, or do you feel like you go too fast, too slow? Jo: I do one or two a year at the moment. Well, two a year, really. But I would say I'm not as successful as I'd like to be, so I'm not saying that my system is the best. I'm saying I want to be better. It's just that my fun is this sort of creative chaos, which I then try and control later. One of the things I really like about screenplays and treatments and doing this kind of thing for film is that it is much more structured, I think, than a 70,000-word novel. You can go in all kinds of directions, whereas with screenwriting you do have to be more disciplined really. Brooks: Yes, so this is going to be fun probably, to hear my view for your audience, and the differences as I see them. For starters, you're talking about what, 10, 20, 30 hours reading a novel sometimes, or maybe less, whereas a movie's a 90-minute experience, right? So that's different. Or if it's a TV series, you might see an hour and then an hour. So that's a very different experience. What happens is when it's condensed like that, you're loading up layers. So every scene is stacked with exposition beneath the drama, and done in a certain way. So specifically, movies are only what you can see and only what you hear. Whereas novels, if you can think it, you can write it, it can be in there. So you don't need to have a plot, but if you want to sell your book to Hollywood, it helps. So I was very resistant about structure. I went to NYU film school, where we really just made short films. It was funny, I had friends that were in the dramatic writing department, and I was like, “You guys are wasting your money. You're just learning to write scripts. We learn to write the scripts and make the movies.” What I hadn't realised is it's a different skill set to hold somebody's attention across an hour-long play, or a 90-minute movie, than it is to make a movie that holds their attention for two minutes or five minutes. I found out years later when I made a feature that was like a lot of shorts patched together, and people were not… They liked it, but they didn't love it. I was like, “Well, what's going on?” And so then I learned to really love Save the Cat in particular. It completely changed me. What happened was, I got a big old slice of humble pie. I had made my second feature, and I put everything I had into it, and it had loose structural beginning, middle, end, blah, blah, blah. But I was still, “Eh, Hollywood BS. What do they know? It's all fake.” So I was very anti-Hollywood structure. Then I was like, now I've got two independent films out there, people saw them, liked them, whatever, but it wasn't getting me consistent work. It wasn't really advancing my career in the way that I wanted. And I was like, “Well, maybe there is something to the Save the Cat.” So I went to the Save the Cat workshop with Blake when he was still alive, and he was delightful, a really awesome guy. He's got this kind of cutesy style, for people that don't know. For context, Blake Snyder was a working Hollywood screenwriter, and he had this system called Save the Cat, which actually has some really interesting ideas. He's got this very light, breezy sort of style. A lot of people don't like him and some people really love him, and everything in between. But I took his weekend seminar, and it completely changed me, because at that point, like I said, I took three years to write a script. Then once he had a process and he had a way of thinking about craft that was just much more screenwriter-friendly, I was like, “Oh my God.” It was so much easier, because I was just focused on the right thing at the right time. So it just sped everything up. After that, I was banging out two to three scripts a year, and better and better quality. So for me, because I went from winging it and wrote five scripts in 13 years, and then wrote two to three scripts every year, I became a huge proponent of system and process. Then my own system really came from that, but it's modular. I have a nine-step system, but you don't necessarily have to go in that order, other than the last three steps, but I won't get into the details. Sometimes you kind of jump from two to three and then back to two and then back and forth. So I love that you get the feel for those elements, and then you just felt your way through. But writing screenplay pages doesn't make sense until you really understand concept, you get a deep sense of beginning, middle, end, character arcs, and these other threads. There are just way better tools for those jobs than screenplay format, because it's a really weird format. It's got these weird slug lines at the top that are all in caps, because a screenplay is a blueprint for somebody else to make the movie. It's not an end-user document like a novel. I don't let my clients even go to that format because it just gets them focused on the wrong things. What they really need to know is, what is your perspective about this theme? What happened in your life that you're fascinated with, that you'd even want to write about this? And tell me what your real life lessons are. So we go into… again, I go back to relationship. What's your relationship to the universe? And what's your relationship to your best friends, or where you got your heart broken, or whatever you want to write about. And then we get that clarity, and then I show you how to express it in terms of developing a screenplay. It's really long-form storytelling, and then the structure just makes it build on itself. But with the structure, because you're talking about so much money and people involved to make it, at least traditionally, what ended up happening was narrative structure that was not so much rigid. Because here's the thing, you can look at 50, 100 years of European cinema and you can look at Hollywood cinema, and Hollywood laps them. When I taught at UCLA Extension, I had lots of foreign students. Let's say there'd be two or three students… if there were 12 people in the class, two or three people would be from America, and everybody else would be from other countries. I would go around, I'd be like, “What movies and TV shows have you been watching?” Almost in every single country, they watch half from their own country, half from Hollywood. So Hollywood storytelling works, that's just the data, and they're dominant. The reason it works is what Aristotle was saying thousands of years ago.. There's a way of thinking about beginning, middle, end that just deeply speaks to the psyche, and you can ignore it if you want. I think Godard said, “You need beginning, middle, and end, but not necessarily in that order,” right? Which is great. Just the way we experience life, there's a beginning, a middle, an end to this podcast interview. There's a beginning, middle, end to the day, a beginning, middle, end to me eating lunch. So if you don't lean into the beginning, middle, end psychological aspect of your story, you're going to bore your reader. But to your point, you don't necessarily have to sort that out in the beginning. It's more efficient probably if you do, but you don't have to. Go into it wherever the muse tells you to go, and then at some point, like you do, then you go, “Okay, now I go back and I edit.” If you're saying there's another level, you have another gear in you, then yes, I'd be curious to slowly go through how you're making those decisions. Because what's happening probably is there are ways you're holding back a little bit. There's maybe something you're afraid of being vulnerable about. That's usually where me or other writers are holding themselves back, and we can take a look at that. There are different ways I show writers to do it. Then you can go, “Oh, I was doing it here, and now I can do it there.” And it could be with process, or just a certain creative choice. With story, it's clear and compelling. Those are the simple things. So, is this clear enough? Is it compelling enough? And there are almost always ways to up-level on any facet, whether it's one sentence, or a sentence that describes the whole concept of the book, or a chapter. Each one of those can be looked at with that lens and we can just say, “Hey, this is 70%, 80%,” whatever, and then we say, “Well, how do we get a little bit more?” And then when you do that enough, it piles up. Then especially if you bring in an audience and people are flipping out for your work, they'll tell you. Jo: Yes, I love a challenge, so thank you for everything you've shared today. So where can people find you and everything you do online? Brooks: Well, one way you can find me—if anything I said seemed helpful for you, if you have questions about Hollywood or you have a screenplay in your heart—you can just email me, brooks@brookselms.com. You could look me up on LinkedIn. I'm at Brooks Elms. I also have a Skool community called Screenwriter Marketing, but it's really for any sort of storyteller, and it talks about my favourite way to engage an audience and get through it. So anybody can jump into that if you like my vibe. If you really think anything I've said, or the way I said it, seems like it could be helpful for you, just reach out. Let me know what you're up to, and maybe there's a way I can help you. Jo: Fantastic. Well, thanks so much for your time, Brooks. That was great. Brooks: You're welcome. It was a total pleasure. It was lots of fun, and I really appreciate you.The post How To Prove The Demand For Your Stories And Get The Attention Of Hollywood With Brooks Elms first appeared on The Creative Penn.

 EPISODE DESCRIPTION I sat down with John O'Connor from RealFi to dig into one of the most overlooked problems in crypto , the fact that the $350 billion sitting in stablecoins is doing almost nothing for the people who hold it. Tether and Circle pocket the yield while you hold a digital dollar that just sits there. John walks me through exactly how RealFi flips that model, channeling your stable coins directly into real world credit markets and passing the returns back to you. We talk about USDR and sUSDR, how they manage liquidity risk and redemptions, why DeFi security is an existential threat right now, and why John actually wants RealFi to be called boring. We also get into the future of decentralised neo-banking in emerging markets, what lessons he carried over from his time as the first hire at Cardano, and why product market fit today matters more than a promised roadmap. DISCLAIMERNothing mentioned in this podcast is investment advice and please do your own research. It would mean a lot if you can leave a review of this podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and share this podcast with a friend. Be a guest on the podcast or contact us - https://www.web3pod.xyz/ CONNECT Website: https://realfi.coRealFi LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/real-fi/Twitter/X: https://x.com/realfi_coRealFi Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Real_FiJohn O'Connor LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jjtoconnor/John O'Connor Twitter/X: https://x.com/jjtoconnor?lang=enWeb3 with Sam Kamani: https://www.web3pod.xyz/ KEY POINTS WITH TIMESTAMPS • [00:00] Sam introduces John O'Connor from RealFi and the topic of productive stablecoins• [01:02] John shares his origin story , from Eve Online in-game currencies to Bitcoin to Cardano as its first hire• [02:54] The core problem: $350 billion in stablecoins sitting idle while Tether and Circle keep all the yield• [04:21] Who the primary users are , institutional allocators, trading collateral, and protocol treasuries• [07:05] Explaining USDR and sUSDR , the base stablecoin versus the staked, yield-accruing version• [08:28] How RealFi manages liquidity risk and redemption mismatches across two separate books• [11:27] Why RealFi is not competing with Tether and USDC but playing in a different and faster-growing lane• [13:24] The hardest challenge , bridging TradFi asset management with the crypto world and navigating global regulation• [15:32] Why DeFi security is an existential question right now and how AI is changing the exploit landscape• [17:40] Exploring smart contract insurance and the challenge of underwriting in a fast-moving risk environment• [21:59] North Star metrics , TVL growth, stickiness of capital, and being proud to be called boring• [25:54] Lessons from Cardano applied to RealFi , focus on product market fit today, not five years from now• [28:05] Companies John admires , Athena for tokenising the funding rate trade and neo-banking startups going after idle corporate balances• [31:37] What needs to happen for productive stablecoins to go mainstream , regulation, decentralised account recovery, and a full neo-banking stack• [35:59] The ask , RealFi is launching on Cardano and EVM Mainnet imminently and wants partners, users, and testers

Today's audio is a little Q&A and a mention on action taking! Throughout the 31 days of July, I'll be dropping daily audio trainings on all things mindset, money, sales, marketing, brand building and the courageous action required to blow your own mind! Join 31 to Thriving here if you'd like to be in the vibes, ask your questions, get accountability and smash the start to the second half of the year! Enjoy! If you'd love to learn more about the work I do, check out my website here. If you have any takeaways or learnings please do drop me an email tara@thethrivingbusinesswoman.com or drop me a DM on Instagram. I always love to hear your thoughts on each episode! You can find me here.   See you next week for another episode! Don't forget to subscribe and leave a rating or review so more people can find this podcast, and if it helped you today, please do share with someone who could benefit from it.   Keep thriving!

Canada's largest public Jewish construction project, the JWest campus in Vancouver, has reached a significant milestone. About two weeks ago, on July 16, Vancouver's city council approved an updated rezoning proposal for the $235 million redevelopment that will build a new Jewish community centre, with a revamped Holocaust museum and a day care, a theatre and space for 20 Jewish agencies, and also a larger King David High School right next door. Eventually, the builders hope to erect two apartment towers offering 630 rental units, including some non-profit housing. Groundbreaking for the new JCC is expected this fall, according to Alex Cristall, the chair of the JWest Foundation, the fundraising arm. Meanwhile, in Edmonton, work has been underway for months on a new JCC for the Alberta capital, which hasn't had one since 2012. Edmonton's construction is expected to be finished by early in the winter of 2027, according to Stacey Leavitt-Wright, the CEO of the Jewish Federation of Edmonton. The $6 million project to refit an old Boy Scouts regional headquarters will build “a living room” for the city's Jewish community, she said. Unlike Vancouver's massive undertaking, Edmonton's will be on a much smaller scale. It won't have a gym or a pool. But both communities share a common goal: creating new brick and mortar hubs to provide a much-welcome meeting place for Jews who have been seeking stronger community connections since Oct. 7, 2023. On today's episode of The Canadian Jewish News' North Star podcast, host Ellin Bessner speaks with Alex Cristall and Stacey Leavitt-Wright about where each project stands to date, and why they are a bet on the future growth of Jewish life in Western Canada. Related links Read about the federal funding announced for Vancouver's JWest campus project in The CJN from 2022 , Hear “North Star's first interview with Alex Cristall, JWest's chair, from that year. Learn more about JWest and Edmonton's new JCC project . Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner ( @ebessner ) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Izzie Helenchilde (producer and video editor), Michael Fraiman (executive producer), Alicia Richler (editorial director) Music: Bret Higgins Support our show Subscribe to The CJN newsletter https://thecjn.ca/newsletters/ https://thecjn.ca/north Watch our podcasts on YouTube. Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receip) https://thecjn.ca/north

Northstar baseball drops state opener to Miles City and the MSU-Northern Skylight Volleyball camp begins Monday.

https://youtu.be/KUPg9BuYSaM David B. Jones, CEO and Partner of Mercer Assessments, is helping organizations attract the right A-Players by making labor markets more efficient through defensible human capital insights. By combining psychometric science, workforce analytics, and AI-enabled technology, David helps employers identify, develop, and retain the right talent while empowering people to discover careers where they can thrive and make meaningful contributions.  In this conversation, David introduces The R.E.A.P.E.R. Framework—Review the Situation, Explore Alternatives, Agree a Course of Action, Execute the Plan, and Refine the Approach. He explains why organizations should begin every challenge with a thorough situation review, how collaborative decision-making creates alignment before execution, and why continuous refinement drives long-term organizational success. David also discusses how AI is reshaping talent management, why organizations need real-time workforce insights instead of static reports, and how Mercer Assessments leverages technology while preserving the integrity and defensibility of human capital assessments. — Attract the Right A-Players with David B. Jones  Good day. Steve Preda here with the Management Blueprint Podcast. Today, my guest is David Jones, the CEO and partner of Mercer Assessments, focused on providing defensible human capital insights and foresight in the fields of talent acquisition, leadership development, and organizational productivity. David, welcome to the show.  Thank you, Steve. Great to be here.  Well, I’m excited to have you here, especially because you are the first guest—maybe not completely from the Middle East because we had a couple of guests from Israel—but definitely from Dubai, where you are. Maybe that is also impacting the answer that you’re going to give to my question. So here is my first question. What’s your personal ‘Why’, and how are you manifesting it in your business, Mercer Assessments?  Yeah. Well, I mean, I think obviously a lot of skills around resilience and being able to think about how you maintain your own personal well-being, but also the well-being of the workforce, is something which has come to the fore in the last couple of weeks, for sure, living in Dubai. But I think very much of my North Star—by educational background, I’m a labor market economist. Although I’ve worked in HR and talent management for pretty much all of my career, I think I’m always thinking about how to make markets more efficient.  I think the labor market, in some ways, and what it takes to become efficient, is very similar to a fish market, a stock market, or any other market that you can think of. What you need to be able to make the best decisions is really good data, really good up-to-date information, both on the supply side and on the demand side.Share on X I think a lot of what we do at Mercer Assessments, and a lot of what we do in talent management more generally, is really about trying to do that. Trying to help individuals understand what their strengths are.  Trying to match them to specific careers that will be more fulfilling for them in the long term and also help them be more productive for their employers. As well as helping employers understand what the important skills are for today and tomorrow, and how they can predict how people will perform in certain environments. So really trying to bring the supply side and demand side together. I think, notoriously, labor markets have very bad information.  Typically, most people get their career guidance from their parents or their grandparents, which can be great for aspiration but doesn’t always necessarily keep them up-to-date in terms of what’s happening in today’s workplace. So I think this is really my anchor, if you like, where a lot of what we do in our innovation, our technology, or our engagements with clients typically comes back to this point. Fundamentally, how do we make labor markets more efficient and more functional for all of the stakeholders?  Yeah, that’s fascinating. So would you say that if you are doing this well, then more people will feel fulfilled in the roles that they work in?  I mean, I think that’s definitely the aspiration, right? That’s definitely what you would hope to do. I think, as individuals, I’m sure we can all think of those really, really great days where you think that you nailed it at work, and you think that this is something where you can make a really specific contribution. It just feels good, and all those people around you have the benefit of that. It becomes something which is infectious for those around you.  I think it’s important for the economy on a macro level, right? I think if we are able to provide opportunities, provide career paths, and help people understand what their unique strengths are, then this is something which helps to promote productivity and positivity more generally, right? At the individual, team, family, and societal level, it affects all sorts of dimensions.  So maybe this is kind of a side question, but I’m really wondering, is this AI revolution, as we’re going through it, influencing your work, and is it changing the requirements of employers?  Yeah. I think we’re in a very interesting time. I mean, I’m not a futurologist. I’m not a prophet. I’m not somebody who makes these sorts of big predictions about the future. But I think the case for AI, to some extent, is still unproven in terms of what it’s actually delivered to date. I mean, I think there’s obviously a lot of investment. There’s a big impact on the environment. But I don’t think we’ve had something really groundbreaking discovered by AI at this point that’s new.  It seems to be quite backward-looking in many ways, based on ingesting data from all the novels that you have on your shelf and that I have on my shelf. Maybe they’re going to ingest this podcast in the future. I don’t know. It doesn’t seem that there’s been a unique breakthrough that humanity has not been able to, or would not be able to, achieve by itself. And yet, I think the promise and the anticipation of what AI can do is quite compelling, right?  I think the way that it is impacting the labor market especially… Ironically, it’s impacting probably software developers the most today. It’s interesting that a lot of people in white-collar fields, professionals maybe, are also feeling like it’s changing the way they’re working. So there’s a big debate, I think, about whether it’s going to be an augmentation or whether it’s going to be a replacement of some sorts of tasks. I think one thing you can say with certainty is that the concept of a job is definitely going to change. If you look at the roots of the word—the etymological roots of the word “job” in the English language—it literally means “a task” rather than a role as such. Yeah. So I think we’re going to get this greater atomization of people’s roles. What used to be bundled together as one job is now going to be much more atomized into specific skills, specific tasks.  The opportunity there is that we all get to do more of the things that we find more fulfilling and less of the repetitive, dangerous, or dull types of things that we have to do in our jobs sometimes.Share on X But I think it has some second-order impacts in terms of how people develop their careers and the competence and confidence that people, particularly when they’re junior in their jobs, need time to build—the ability to operate at a higher level. So I think we’re all going to have to be leaders in lots of ways, even leaders in our own work.  Yeah, I agree with you. That’s fascinating. So, David, let’s talk about the framework. What would be a framework? Think of something that allows you to be more effective in your job—something maybe that you personally discovered or that you and your colleagues developed. Something that helps you be more effective in creating those labor market matches, finding the right candidates, and assessing them. Something that you can describe in three, four, or five steps, or maybe three or four ways of looking at things. Anything that comes to mind?  So there are a few things. I did miss a few things because I think—I don’t know if you’ve heard the news. We’re recording this, and I think the British prime minister has just resigned today. This is, I think, our seventh prime minister in 10 years. I’m sure each one of those prime ministers had their own framework in terms of what they wanted from their political leadership and how they were going to operate in government.  So I think we’re definitely operating in a much more VUCA world, right? This mnemonic is about being volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. I think, to some extent, that means that having a framework has to be something that is constantly being amended, reviewed, and updated in many ways. A lot of what we do in assessment—we have very clear statistical frameworks where we look at particular behaviors or particular characteristics, and we try to make sure we measure them. But I thought maybe that was too detailed and too comprehensive.  So one of the things we do when engaging with our clients is that we have a sort of consulting approach. It’s like a cycle. We start by reviewing the situation, so it’s like a situation appraisal, if you like. We use this internally as well in Mercer Assessments. So we try to understand what’s happening, what’s going well, and what we’re concerned about—just trying to get any data or information that we can.  Then it's important, particularly with a team or with a client, to explore what the priorities are, what's important, and what is causing them the most thought or requiring the most energy to address.Share on X So reviewing, exploring, and then agreeing on a course of action. Making sure that there’s consensus or, if you’re in an organization, making sure you’ve got the budget and the endorsement from headquarters or senior management. Then I think you can go into a planning stage. Making sure you’ve got a focus on execution and that you know what has to happen and when.  Then I think you can go into the ability to have that as a cycle and review or evaluate the plan itself. Is it on track? Is it on time? Is it on budget? Is it achieving its objectives? You can continue on this sort of reflexive cycle. So if you were to do that, it becomes quite sinister. The mnemonic becomes R.E.A.P.E.R., like the Grim Reaper or like “reap what you sow,” because you review, explore, agree, plan, execute, and then review again.Share on X So it can become, hopefully, a virtuous cycle, but it can also become an ongoing process.  I love it. So Yeah. So if you refine, maybe the last one is refined, and then you avoid repeat— Yes. Yeah.  Yeah. Oh, great.  That’s good. Yeah, I like it. Yeah, love it. So basically, what you’re looking for is helping your customers with an initial problem and then helping them generally improve their organization by continuing to refine and add to it, making it better over time.  Yes, correct. Yeah.  So it turns into a recurring engagement.  Yes, that’s the hope. Well, yeah. I mean, hopefully, if you have that relationship with the client and also with your team, you have this ability to recognize what you’ve achieved together, but you can also plan what you want to do differently next time.  So you’re the CEO of Mercer Assessments, which is the Dubai operation. Is this just a geographic branch of the Mercer Group, or is it a separate business that operates in multiple geographies?  Yeah. So actually, it’s a new venture for Mercer globally. My background is that I was one of the founders of a company called The Talent Enterprise, which was acquired by Mercer just over two years ago. It had also made an acquisition of another company before that called Mettl. So we were more of a talent assessment type of company.  We would do talent acquisition, talent development, leadership development, things like high-potential identification, succession planning, and these types of applications. Employee engagement as well, things like employee well-being assessments and stuff like this. The psychometric assessment field. So if you or your listeners are good at Greek, you would know that “psychometric” means “measurement of the mind.”  Yeah, right. So this is really what we’re trying to do. We’re accredited by the British Psychological Society to say that the tools we have, use, or develop have validity, reliability, and are statistically stable within the sorts of bounds that you would expect when measuring human beings.  It can never be perfect, but it’s considered to be predictive. Mettl was more focused on skills assessment. That was one of their big areas of focus, along with educational assessment. So coming together as Mercer Assessments, we’re now part of this big global organization. Although we’re based in the Middle East, we’re now working in Asia, Europe, North America—we’re just starting to do more work in North America—and Australasia. So this is the sort of big, hairy, audacious plan that we have.  That must be pretty intense if you’re working around the clock, essentially working around the globe. Then Mercer is… It can be.  Yeah, it can be. Even working in the Middle East, you have different working weeks. Some of our clients work on Sundays. But we have a good team. We have a big team. We have great technology. So we have scalable ways of doing it.  So what drives growth in this business?  I think it is changing. If you were to ask me that question even two years ago, I would say it’s to do with the change, the transformation, or the aspiration of the client, of the organization. If they’ve got a new operation, or they’re expanding, or they need to develop new skills, or they need to make sure their productivity and positivity are enabling them to keep up with their competitors, then these things would often trigger the sorts of interventions that we help our clients with.  That’s still true to a large extent, but what's changing a lot is what you were talking about earlier—to do with AI and expectations from technology. So I think what we're doing a lot more of now is real-time decision support.Share on X It used to be that our deliverables would look like a PDF report. They would say, “Okay, this is Steve. We’ve assessed Steve. These are Steve’s strengths. These are his areas for development. This is the sort of team or the certain type of colleague that he would thrive working with.  These are the people or the situations that he might struggle with.” That type of static report. Then either we or the client—sometimes if you’re looking at large numbers of people—you’d have to do a lot of spreadsheet work or a lot of PowerPoint work and say, “Okay, now we need to match that with your strategic objectives.” So I think what’s happening now is we’re focusing a lot more on the data.  Our technology is providing much more of a dashboard report, so Steve can access his results straight away because that’s actually when Steve is most interested in them and they’re most relevant—not two weeks later when you schedule a coach or someone to give him feedback. You’re interested as soon as you finish the last question. You want to know, “Okay, what does this say about me?” We can add lots of AI layers to that to help you implement it or understand it. Then for the organization, we now provide much more of a dynamic dashboard-type report.  So if, I don’t know, the CFO leaves this afternoon and the CEO calls the CHRO and says, “Okay, who are the internal candidates for this role?” You can come up with an answer. It doesn’t have to be something where you say, “Let me check my filing cabinet,” or, “Let me put a PowerPoint together for you and get back to you later this week or next week.” You can actually do that type of matching within the platform that we have. We have our own platform called Lighthouse, and it really helps you match individuals or teams to certain tasks or to certain ventures or aspirations that the organization might have.Share on X  Yeah. So instead of providing individual reports for individuals, you now operate this platform for your clients, and then they can look up the people involved in changes. So how is it different to scale the business with this type of approach? What makes it more complex?  Yeah. So on the one hand, it can help us a lot as our own organization because we can be much more pervasive 24 hours a day across the different time zones that we operate in. If you’re our client, you don’t always have to rely on having a meeting or a call with us in person. You can go and find that answer yourself. It’s quite an intuitive process and platform. You can access it and get value from your own data. I think that’s the key thing that I’m trying to emphasize that’s changed.  Clients are now impatient with SaaS platforms in particular when they’re not able to access their own data directly. So there’s a little bit of disintermediation going on in the enterprise software business as a whole. That’s the key trend that I’m trying to highlight here. But it also helps us to be more scalable. Just to take a step back to the previous discussion about AI, I think when it comes to using AI in your business, the key strategic choice is what you’re not going to use AI for.  For us, we made the choice actually three or four years ago that we’re not going to use AI in the assessments themselves. Not today. Maybe in five years’ time or ten years’ time we might change our mind, and we’re constantly reviewing that. But we need these defensible assessments. We need to be able to say, “This is fair and objective, and we’re coming with an external point of view that is transparent and defensible in every sense of that word.”  Yeah. You don’t want to hallucinate assessments for clients or even run the risk of that happening, right?  Yeah, absolutely. And there are some companies that have done that, right? I mean, there are lots of cases you can find where companies have said, “Hey, we just need a five-minute video, and I can tell you everything you need to know about this person, and you can make decisions about their career and all sorts of stuff,” right? I’m not saying we won’t get there in the future, but I just don’t think that’s good enough at the moment.  And I think with a lot of things that you do with chatbots now, if you’re judicious about it, you might be able to say, “Well, actually, that’s interesting, but it’s not good enough,” right? It’s not a finished product. It’s not something that I can execute on. What we can do is add a lot of value around the assessment. So we can do things like AI-based development planning, right?  When someone wants to see their results—and people normally want to see their results almost immediately after they’ve finished their assessments—you can start to say, in the flow of work, in the client’s environment, whatever their learning partners or learning architecture may be, “Okay, here’s a development plan for you,” customized and curated within that environment for your strengths, how to emphasize them, and also for any development areas or new learnings that you want to address.  We can also do things like AI-based proctoring, right? We can give the client a risk report on an application and say, you know, how genuine is this? What other software does Steve have open on his laptop? Is there a shadow in the room? Where are his eyes going? Is he looking at someone else? Is he getting help from someone else? Is this really Steve? All these sorts of things, right? We can do that. We can also develop customized case studies for the organization around its specific tasks and challenges that the organization has.  So you can come up with very specific, job-related assessments. AI can add a lot of value to all of these things. It can provide greater scale and a greater ability to sustain our growth. But with the core of what we do today, we’re saying, “Look, you need to be able to trust us.” And we want to be able to show you the answer. If you have a question about any of our assessments, we can check. There’s an audit trail, and we can show you the answer. It’s not just, “The computer came up with this idea. We don’t know.” But that’s intellectual property, and you know that it works, and you’re sticking with it. You don’t allow AI to bastardize it, basically, yeah, which makes sort of sense. So, David, what is one thing that you’re actively trying to figure out in your business right now? That’s a great question. I mean, there’s lots of things. I think a lot of them come around, you know, what is this threshold between what we do as humans and what we use AI or other technology to help us do? And I think that threshold is constantly being reviewed. A lot of it is to do with how do you make growth sustainable. We have had massive growth in the last five or six years, and that’s a great thing.  But I think it means you have to make sure the foundations of your organization are strong so that you can move from one to another. I mentioned earlier that we’re just starting to focus on North America as one of our new markets, and I was very keen that we didn’t do that until this point or even next year because we’re not the organizational equivalent of The Beatles, right? Like, we can’t just expect to turn up in a big, sophisticated, very strong, highly cultured market and be able to expect that we’re going to do things like we’ve done them everywhere else, or that we don’t need to think about how we communicate with those prospects and those clients.  So that’s a really big step for us. And how we manage data, I think, is probably the key thing. Fundamentally, if I was to come back to answer your question, I think it’s how we manage data because I think clients are becoming much more sophisticated, much more impatient with people who curate their data. They say, “Look, you know, we know we’re generating lots of data inside the organization,” right? Which is typically what we do, right? It’s people data.  Normally in most work environments, you can tell when somebody opens their laptop, or you can tell when they walk in the office door, or you can tell sometimes even what they’re doing inside the working space, right? Their ID has got an RFID in it or something like that. So there’s lots of data that’s constantly being generated inside the organization, and clients want to get value from that data. And having a sort of third-party proxy come in and say, “Hey, we can do your payroll for you,” or “We can send a questionnaire to people once a year, and that can let you know whether they understand health and safety or they’re engaged in their workplace,” it’s not really satisfactory anymore, right?  The clients are saying, “Okay. I want to be able to get value from my data, and I want to be able to see that. I want the analytics. I want to ask questions that are not able to be prescribed at the beginning.” “And I want to be able to do these queries in real time.”  So essentially, would that require you to get integrated with your clients to some degree so that you can process the data in real time as it emerges? It’s really interesting because I think what I’m hearing from my clients is they’re actually frustrated with that. In the sort of classic SaaS world, which we’ve had in organizations now for 20, 30, maybe even 40 years, you integrate the big internal ERP systems or CRM systems, and you integrate them, and then you have to sort of work within their framework, right? And you might see a report that’s already pre-programmed, but you don’t necessarily see the data, right? If you wanted to say, “Okay, what’s the trend today over the 24-hour clock?” or “How is it changing in June compared to May?” or “How does it relate to the temperature?” or whatever, right?  You can come up with all these questions that you might not be able to predict and then plan and have a sort of pull-down standard report. So to do that, you need access to the data. And I think clients are saying, “This is our data.” This data belongs to us. We want to be able to see that directly, and we want to be able to use that as a decision-support tool, and not necessarily just have a report.”  Yeah. So they’d rather own the data and apply your tools to their data without you necessarily having access to the data or something like that?  Yeah. It’s also a source of differentiation for them, right? Because they know that if… I’m not going to mention these companies. I’m sure you and all your viewers know the big brands. It’s interesting what’s happening with their share prices recently, right? They’re all maybe suffering a little bit from a decline in their share prices, on average. It’s basically a standardized way of doing things, right?  There’s pretty much the same way that any corporation in any part of the world is going to do it because that’s the way you get efficiency through that software. But if an organization says, “Actually, we’ve got an insight into something that we think is unique and differentiated, and we want to make decisions in a slightly different way, or make them faster,” that’s a point of competitive advantage.  Does that mean they wouldn’t want you to apply their idea to other customers because it’s their unique property? They’d just want your tools to help them process their data. They don’t want to share it with you.  Yeah. There are clients like that. We do deal with very sensitive industries, and sometimes government departments, where we have to be able to certify that type of approach. I think that’s likely to become more common in the future as people become more sensitive and more aware of the value, the opportunity, and the threat of what can happen with their data.  Yeah. I mean, some people say that information is now ubiquitous. It’s the questions that are really important because that’s how you communicate with AI. Maybe the question itself can be proprietary know-how—knowing how to ask the right kind of question. They don’t want…  No. I mean… Yeah, I agree. Completely. Yeah. You’re absolutely right. Again, to go back to assessments, we’ve recently released a whole bunch of assessments that measure skills in AI as a domain. We’ve got all sorts of technical and non-technical AI assessments. Obviously, one of the skills that we look at is prompt engineering. If you’ve used some of the generative AI platforms, you’ll always get an answer.  They’re pre-programmed to give you an answer, and most of them are also pretty polite. They fluff up your ego a little bit and say, “Hey, great question.” “That was really interesting.” Then they’ll give you an answer. You need to be aware of that. You need to probe and make sure you’ve not just got an answer—you’ve got the answer. Or at least the best answer that makes sense for you. Then you’ve quality-checked it.  You’ve taken it from one platform, put it into another platform, and then into a third platform. Whatever you’ve done, you need to have that awareness and those specific skills to get the most value out of it. It’s very dangerous, and I think we can all see it. I’m sure your inbox is like my inbox. You get emails from people and think, “Okay, well, that’s not an email from a person.” It’s a bulleted email. It’s not personal. It’s not directed at you. Sometimes it’s hard to understand what it even means.  Yeah. You’re right. So David, who is the ideal customer for you that can most benefit from your solution?  That’s a good question. Personally and professionally, I like clients who challenge us. I like clients who ask questions that make us think in a different way, so we can hopefully give them value and really answer those questions. I think that’s important for us to develop. Clients who are looking for new insights or different foresights that help them in their business—those are the kinds of clients we’re looking for. Definitely the ones who are pushing the envelope and helping take us forward in terms of quality.  So if those types of people are listening to this show and would like to learn more about what you do and how you might be able to help them, where should they go? Where can they find out more?  Yeah, absolutely. You can find me on LinkedIn. I’m David B. Jones on LinkedIn. There are a lot of David Joneses. I think David Jones is the most common name for a British man—even more common than John Smith—so there are a lot of us around. But you’ll be able to find me as David B. Jones. You can also find Mercer Assessments. You can find out more about us through those channels. I’ll be happy to answer any questions or provide more information.  Is there a website people should check out? Do you have a separate website for Mercer Assessments?  We do. Mercer Assessments is part of the mercer.com website. That’s where you’ll find more information. There are also a number of books we’ve published on particular subjects to do with assessment, talent, and leadership development more generally. Those are all available on Amazon as well.  Okay. So if you’re out there and you’re looking to have a more sophisticated view of your people and their aspirations and how they fit the type of work that you want them to do, and you’d like to understand more deeply, then check out Mercer Assessments, David B. Jones. Actually, it’s easy to just put in “David Jones Mercer,” and David will pop up that way.  Check out the books that David and his colleagues have published. And if you enjoyed this conversation, then make sure you follow us on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts. And David, thanks for coming to the show and sharing your experience and insights. I mean, it seems to me that you have a much more nuanced approach than most talent assessment or performance assessment organizations, and you have a lot more tools at your disposal. It’s a combination of technology and professional expertise. So that’s fascinating. Thanks for coming on the show. And if you enjoyed this conversation, make sure you follow us because we come out every week with exciting entrepreneurs like David. I will. I will. Thank you, Steve. Important Links: Davidi's LinkedIn David's  website

Welcome to The Ecommerce Braintrust podcast, brought to you by Julie Spear, Head of Retail Marketplace Services, and Jordan Ripley, Director of Retail Account Management.   Today, we are getting into something every brand needs to hear - because what you think you know about your media performance might be complete fiction.    We're talking about the 2026 measurement crisis. The moment when the gap between what your dashboards say and what your account shows has become impossible to ignore.    And to help us make sense of it all, we have two incredible guests from the Acadia team with us: Sally Kazin, Head of Analytics, and Ross Walker, Director of Retail Media.   Let's dive in!  Quote: The gap between the dashboard numbers and the ground truth has become impossible to ignore.   Sally Kazin   KEY TAKEAWAYS In this episode, Julie, Jordan, Sally, and Ross discuss: The growing "measurement crisis" in ecommerce, where platform-reported revenue often exceeds actual sales due to duplicated attribution claims across channels Transition from reliable observation-based tracking to a world of estimation and modeling, driven by privacy changes and a fragmented platform landscape The challenges posed by siloed data, platform biases, and engine inflation in retail media and traditional paid channels Widespread overreliance on ROAS as a North Star metric and the pitfalls of "ROAS jail" for both brands and CFOs The limitations and decline of Multi-Touch Attribution (MTA), and why Acadia now deploys a three-pillar measurement framework The importance of glass box (transparent) models over black box or "off the shelf" solutions, balancing science and business art in measurement Pairing MMM with real-world incrementality tests for a self-correcting measurement loop How to communicate with CFOs and senior leadership about marketing impact, translating platform metrics into true business outcomes and incremental revenue The evolution of MMM: from slow, backward-looking models to AI-enabled, forward-looking, and more frequent scenario planning Practical questions for brands to gut-check their measurement strategy, such as verifying if summed platform-attributed revenue exceeds actual sales Common flags of broken retail media measurement, and the need to match ad spend and goals to brand objectives rather than vanity KPIs  

In this episode, I sit down with Michael Baker, CPA, Certified Financial Planner, and co-author of Financial Blind Spots, for a conversation about building financial confidence and creating more options for your farm family. Michael shares why so many farmers overlook important financial opportunities, the value of having the right advisory team, and how planning can help protect your family, your farm, and your future. We discuss common financial blind spots, creating a long-term vision, protecting your greatest assets, and why asking better questions leads to better decisions. If you're ready to take control of what you can and make proactive decisions for your family's future, this episode is for you. "Control what you can control. The only way to create possibility is to move forward. Reach out and ask questions. Just ask, ask, and ask. Eventually, you'll know." - Michael Baker, CPA Remember, successful financial planning is a journey — one step at a time. Share this episode with your farm family and community to build confidence and strengthen your financial future together. Resources Mentioned During This Episode Financial Blind Spots: A Deep Dive into Farm Finance A practical guide to building financial confidence. Values-Based Financial Planning by Bill Backrack Align your financial decisions with what matters most. Reid Wilkie, Farm Attorney in Medicine Hat Trusted legal guidance for farm families and transitions. About Our Guest Michael Baker, CPA, CA, CFP, TEP, is the founder of Baker Wealth in Medicine Hat, Alberta. With over 30 years as a professional accountant, Mike has become a leader in transforming financial landscapes, and his goal is clear: to be a visionary in financial planning and tax strategy using life insurance. At the core of his work is a single value: helping others create a life they love. He leads a balanced life and is located in Medicine Hat, AB. Mike has been happily married to Sabrina, the love of his life, for 23 years, and together they raise 16-year-old triplets — a son and two daughters.  An accomplished athlete, he played University football for the Golden Bears and has completed seven Ironman Triathlons, bringing that same discipline and devotion to everything he does. Contact Michael  Visit The Baker Wealth Website  Follow Michael on LinkedIn Follow Michael on Facebook Elaine Froese Resources: Watch this episode on YouTube. Visit the podcast website SPEAKING - book Elaine for your next event COACHING - explore Farm Transition Coaching MEMBERSHIP - become a Farm Family Transition Member FREE STUFF - downloadable tools for your farm transition CONTACT - take the next steps in your transition BURNING QUESTION? Submit it here Farm Family Coach Social Media Links Facebook Instagram LinkedIn X YouTube TikTok Timestamps 00:00 - Introduction to Mike Baker and the topic of financial freedom for farmers 02:37 - Mike's journey from CPA to financial advisor and the book Financial Blind Spots 04:56 - The gap in financial advisory engagement among farm families 07:09 - Building a North Star: setting long-term goals amidst life's uncertainties 10:25 - Key concepts of the "Financial Pyramid" model for farm planning 13:12 - The crucial role of protection and insurance in farm succession 15:22 - How land and asset valuation affect farm transition strategies 18:02 - The longevity risks faced by farm families and the 100-year legacy plan 23:31 - Values-based planning: aligning financial decisions with family priorities 27:41 - Practical advice for an older farm family just starting to plan 32:28 - The importance of health, prevention, and early diagnosis in farm safety 35:01 - Different types of insurance: term, participating whole life, critical illness, and disability 37:46 - The complexity of disability insurance and the importance of definitions 40:30 - The use of key person insurance in farm business continuity 44:23 - Innovative insurance strategies involving land and leverage 48:26 - How to choose and vet a trustworthy financial advisor 50:27 - Next steps for farm families seeking financial clarity and freedom 52:48 - Upcoming farm finance, legal resources, and networking opportunities 54:17 - Closing thoughts: taking one step at a time toward better financial health

072726 Ukraine War, Iran Lull, Missile Gap, Mamdani's North Star, Queens College Cuts Demo by The News with Paul DeRienzo

In part four of the To Be Continued series, Krista sits down again with Thom Stecher, an educational consultant who has spent more than four decades mentoring students, teachers, and school leaders. Perspective, possibility, and passion led him here: to purpose.Thom describes purpose as a North Star and, more surprisingly, as a discipline. Passion moves us, he says, but purpose is what channels that energy into work that lasts. He and Krista trace where purpose comes from and how it shifts across a life, from the dinner table where his father put down his fork and said he wanted to make a difference, to the cornfield where his grandfather taught him that as long as you are breathing, there is work to do.Along the way, they get honest about ego, humility, and the daily practices that keep us on track. This is a conversation for any educator wondering whether purpose is something you find once, or something you keep refining.

What does it take to stop competing on price and start commanding attention? One word. Your core belief. In this episode of the Business of Story, host Park Howell sits down with Brian Burkhart, founder of Square Planet and one of America's top communication strategists, to reveal why most businesses become invisible commodities — and exactly what to do about it. Brian has spent decades helping Fortune 500 leaders, CEDx speakers, and senior executives find the single galvanizing word that transforms how teams align, how audiences feel, and how brands compete. His insight is simple and powerful: if you can't name what you stand for, you won't stand out. In this episode you'll discover: How to distill your core belief into one powerful word that galvanizes your entire organization Brian's 10-step ancient Stoic framework that works for any presentation, pitch, or keynote How to reverse-engineer your core beliefs directly from your daily actions Why your audience decides with feelings first — and how to make art that activates them The Mad Men "It's Toasted" moment that proves one idea beats every feature list Brian Burkhart defines art as "the unnecessary done on purpose to make someone feel." Sprinkles on cupcakes. Colorful hospital walls. Hotel turndown service. None of it is necessary. All of it creates enthrallment. And enthrallment is exactly what separates unforgettable brands from forgotten commodities. Whether you're preparing a Monday morning presentation, a keynote, or a company-wide initiative, this episode gives you the tools to find your North Star — and make it impossible to ignore. Guest: Brian Burkhart, Founder of Square Planet Contact: info@squareplanet.com Free 45-minute consultation: mention the Business of Story Host: Park Howell, Founder of the Business of Story and creator of the StoryCycle System™ Learn more: businessofstory.com

Many HR teams struggle to move beyond transactional order-taking. Ty Beasley, Chief Talent Officer at RSM US LLP, shares how grounding HR in financial realities transformed his team into trusted strategic advisors. Through the Drive Peak Performance framework, RSM redesigned performance advisor training and held partners directly accountable for the talent experience. This strategy replaces rigid office mandates with physical agility to support individual employee growth. This episode provides a concise roadmap for connecting talent strategy directly to business growth. It shows leaders how to build a stronger HR function that drives measurable business outcomes.

What happens when an organization gets so focused on results that it forgets why it exists? Andrew Stotz and Balaji Reddie dig into the first of Deming's 14 Points, constancy of purpose, using stories like Harvard's answer to Deming's challenge to define a business and Indian manufacturers who pivoted to build PPE during the pandemic. This conversation may change how you think about success, profit, and the real aim of a business. TRANSCRIPT 0:00:02.4 Andrew Stotz: My name is Andrew Stotz and I'll be your host as we dive deeper into the teachings of Dr. W. Edwards Deming. Today I'm continuing my discussion with Balaji Reddie, an educator and trainer in the teachings of Dr. Deming and quality management generally. I'm really excited for today's topic, which is the 14 Points. Take it away, Balaji.   0:00:27.5 Balaji Reddie: Thank you. Thank you, Andrew. So the last time we spoke, we had discussed all the four sciences that Dr. Deming put together. In a nutshell, we said his words, appreciation for a system. That means appreciating that there are no events, there are eventualities, and there is a huge myriad or a huge system of myriad components that create these outcomes. So we need to understand that. We need to appreciate the fact that these are all interconnected, interdependent, these components. Right. And we saw some other attributes that when they interact with each other, the cause and effect are not closely related in time or space. Seemingly disconnected events then turn out to be connected. There exist synergistic relationships. So you can't just straightaway say, "I know." You can say, "From what I understand or what knowledge I have right now about the system, I think."   0:01:34.7 Balaji Reddie: And you always dig deeper. Right. And that gave us the next thing, that the performance of any system, the outcomes are subject to Variation. You will never get the same outcome every single time. It keeps on fluctuating. And then we realize there is a difference between normal and abnormal fluctuations. The typical term that Walter Shewhart said was Variation, and Deming took that forward. He said, "Understand Variation." I would say learn how to think statistically. Right? And statistical thinking is about knowing when to act and when to leave a process alone. Okay. So we said understand the Variation, and you should know when to... There's that normal fluctuation, you would need to work on it continually. But abnormal fluctuation is a little easier to understand, isolate, and take immediate action. So the low-hanging fruit comes from the abnormal fluctuation, what he called as special causes or assignable causes, as Walter Shewhart said.   0:02:41.0 Balaji Reddie: And once you work on them, then your long-term work on the process continues. That never stops because it helps you understand the process much, much better. Right? But there you are faced with the dilemma sometimes. There's so many complications there, and you just need to understand them if you want to know completely what happens in a system. And that's why he said the complete knowledge is never... Is unknown and unknowable. But he said there's a way of doing that, and that's where the Theory of Knowledge came in. We needed to understand that we build upon what we have right now. We start asking questions, and you begin with theories. "I think, I believe." And once you start doing that, you start unraveling the mysteries of the system under study. And last bit here is all this, of course, he was speaking about man-made systems, organizational systems, which all this work is being done by people.   0:03:38.0 Balaji Reddie: And he said that's where the best part comes in. You can never do things all by yourself. You need to cooperate with others. Each one comes with their own theories, and each one has their own system of learning, their own way of thinking. So we need to understand that, whether you are employees inside a company, whether you are people outside the company contributing in the sense of suppliers, or people who are recipients of this in terms of consumers. So everyone, you need to understand people, that they're a part of this entire system. And that's where Psychology comes in. Of course, I used the word empathy. I said understanding them and on. And on a lighter note, I ended by saying that if you really want to sharpen your empathetic skills, you need to either understand your pet or a baby, because these are people who can't express what they want and you just have to have your own theories and then understand them better.   0:04:34.9 Balaji Reddie: But that's what we saw last time. Now we're gonna get to, funnily, what he espoused as his philosophy [chuckle] when he first presented it in the United States in a structured form, right? These were the 14 Points. Now, first of all, the 14 Points are not his philosophy, but they're 14 consequences of his philosophy. You can never really set out to say, "I'm gonna do these 14 Points." But when you start, how do I say, asking the right questions and want to gain Profound Knowledge of what's happening and start looking at things differently and start asking questions, the right kind of questions, just like I said, "What is the purpose of the system? What are the components? How are they connected? How do they work? What is happening right now? Does this normally happen? Is this abnormal?" And then, of course, what are better ways of explaining or expressing what I'm seeing right now?   0:05:43.9 Balaji Reddie: And then finally, taking help from everybody else and bringing their thought processes. When you start asking these questions and start structuring and understanding the organization much better, you eventually see the 14 Points. So they are consequences of his philosophy. They are not his philosophy. You end up with the 14 Points, you don't start with them. Right? Having said that, does that mean we just go through this and be done with it? I said, "No." Now let's understand how he structured these and why he structured it the way he did. Now, they are in no order of preference. In fact, I remember speaking to Bill Bellows about this, and he said when he asked Deming, "Which of the 14 Points are the most important ones? Where do I start?" and he said, "All of them." He said, "Where do I start?" "Start anywhere," he said. You could start anywhere, eventually they're all connected.   0:06:40.7 Balaji Reddie: So the 14 Points are a system themselves. They are all connected to each other. You could start anywhere and you end up with the 14 Points in any case. But since we have to follow a kind of the sequence in which he wrote them, which he presented them, I'm following that sequence to begin with. Now, I'm gonna start with the 1986 edition of the 14 Points, which are there in his book, Out of the Crisis. But in 1990, he updated the wordings of the 14 Points. So I shall pull up my document right here so that I can read out the 1990 edition. Just give me a minute.   0:07:36.0 Andrew Stotz: Just for the audience, go out there and get yours in your hand. Get ready. I'm just going through and getting mine ready.   0:07:42.8 Balaji Reddie: Yes, so. Okay, so here it goes. Let's get to the 14 Points. So here we are. Right. And in what I normally say here, that he often said too, that when you apply Profound Knowledge, the 14 Points help you apply this in the most structured manner. So here we go. So the first is the 1986 edition, point number one, where he says, "Create constancy of purpose toward improvement of product and service with the aim to become competitive and to stay in business and to provide jobs." I think this is an amazing set of words which he's brought here, especially saying to provide jobs, where he said that quality is a ways and means of really contributing to society and not sucking the worst 10%, but adding something more to it to provide more jobs. Now in the 1990 edition, right, now the commentary for this, if you read Out of the Crisis, I've taken an excerpt from there, "Management must demonstrate unshakable commitment to quality, productivity and continual improvement.   0:09:09.8 Balaji Reddie: Your customers, your suppliers, your employees need your statement of constancy of purpose, your intention to stay in business by providing product and service that will help man to live better and which will have a market." So this was his definition of quality. A product or a service possesses quality if it helps someone live better in every way and enjoys a large and sustainable market. So for him, quality had two aspects. One, it must make someone's life better. Whatever you do, whether it's a product or a service, service being an activity. Right. So it should add value to the customer's life. It should make that person's life better. But it should be at a price the customer is willing to pay. Right? So that's the way he looked at it.   0:09:55.2 Balaji Reddie: Now, he changed this in 1990 to this, "Create and publish to all concerned a statement of the aims and purposes of the company or other organization. Management must demonstrate constantly their commitment to this statement." Now he says to publish the statement. And he says not just purpose, but aim. So aim, I think this came from his definition of a system, where he says that a system must have an aim. Without an aim, there is no system. So the aim provides a direction and purpose provides the reason why the system exists. So they go hand in hand. You can't separate these two. But now the commentary for this is, "A system must create something of value, in other words, results. The intended results, along with consideration of recipients and of cost, mold the aim of the system. It is thus management's task to determine those aims, to manage the whole organization towards accomplishment of those aims.   0:11:07.1 Balaji Reddie: It is important that an aim never be defined in terms of a specific activity or method. It must always relate to a better life for everyone. The aim precedes the organizational system and those that work in it." So...   0:11:23.4 Andrew Stotz: What was that part? "It's important that it's not" what?   0:11:27.2 Balaji Reddie: Yeah, that it's not an activity or a product. It should be something broader than that. It's about adding value to someone's life. Now, you can't go into the other extreme and come up with a motherhood statement like "I want to boil the ocean" or "I want to solve the world's poverty problems," alright? But it must translate into something doable, alright? And it should tell where the organization is heading. But the key word here is "publish it," right? And he says, "and other organization," that means "of the company or other organization." So I believe he started envisioning that in the future it's not gonna be one company, but a family of companies working together, which very simply today we use the term "supply chain" to express that. And I think, I think I mentioned this before in one of my earlier chats that I don't like that term because. It falls woefully short to explain what actually is happening there.   0:12:29.2 Balaji Reddie: I like to use the word provider network. Right? It's a network. It's not just a chain. Chain is more linear. Network is more lateral, all over the place. And these are not just suppliers. These are providers. So, right, he talked about a supply chain in those days. And he also says publishing, that means it should exist in some hard form, right, so that people see it, read it. Okay. Now this kind of, I thought was quite amazing because if you know about, for those who are into ISO 9000, the standard, of course, the latest one which is coming out this year, I'm not well-versed with what they've written or what they've changed in it, but up until 2015, the ISO insisted that companies have a documented statement of their policies, right, a quality policy and objectives. It should be written down. So to say that they could have got this idea from here is not fair, but I guess that you can see the parallel in what he was saying.   0:13:44.8 Balaji Reddie: So publishing. Now, in 2007, this is what I wrote after talking to many, like I said, who attended or helped Dr. Deming in his seminars till the day he passed on, right? And they said, of course, because I was quite intrigued, initially his four-day seminar had a perfect structure and everyone knows who attended that on the second day after lunch you had the red beads experiment. So that never changed even after Profound Knowledge came in. So anyway, coming back to what I was just saying, so initially he spoke a lot about the 14 Points, but after he professed Profound Knowledge, the stress on the 14 Points came down, but it did not disappear altogether. And this I heard from many of those and I asked what he would speak of. So based on that, I just came up with these words. The words are all Dr. Deming's, I've just edited and put it together.   0:14:50.1 Balaji Reddie: So create a statement of the aim and purpose of the organizational system. It must bring out the long-term vision of the organization, preferably stating how it intends to stay in business by making life better for all those impacted in any way. So there could be a direct or an indirect impact. Stakeholders is the term we use right now, right? So purpose describes why you exist. And if you go deeper to find out why a company exists, it has to last beyond the founding father's vision, right? So the statement of purpose must be very clear. Like Walt Disney, we spoke about this, he said, "I'll do anything to make a child smile." That was his purpose, and that's how everything stemmed from that, right? So if you start looking deep, why are we here? Why do we exist?   0:15:46.3 Balaji Reddie: Then once the company starts growing, you don't forget why you set up the company in the first place. You go back to your roots and the statement of purpose is like a North Star. It reminds you of where you're supposed to be, where you started, what you had in mind, right? So it's not that companies don't have it, but we need to revisit it from time to time. And sometimes you need to, it may undergo a change because things don't remain the same, right? Systems keep changing and if everything keeps changing, then you have to revisit the purpose. You don't do it every day though, because it's something that you spoke about and you say that it took me time to come out with this statement of purpose. So I was trying to understand even Apple's statement of purpose where Steve Jobs said making technology accessible, making technology simple, making technology productive is what we are supposed to do here as a company. Right.   0:16:46.4 Balaji Reddie: So he always believed in simplicity. He believed in seeing that people are more productive with the work, the software, or the products that they offer. Right. And it should be something that at times goes beyond just what the customer expects so that that one part is always there. So that's point number one, the statement of purpose.   0:17:11.3 Andrew Stotz: Can I ask a couple questions about that?   0:17:14.2 Balaji Reddie: Yeah, sure, sure, sure.   0:17:15.3 Andrew Stotz: Before we go on, I'm assuming you're gonna go on to number two.   0:17:18.4 Balaji Reddie: Yes.   0:17:20.5 Andrew Stotz: So a couple of things. First thing is about aim. You know that statement, "the purpose of a system is what it does," meaning that ultimately every system, there's an aim. It just may not be the aim that you think it is or that you want it to be. So part of this idea is recognizing that we have to state the aim or else people just, they're gonna just do things the way they've done them. Am I correct in saying that?   0:17:51.2 Balaji Reddie: Yeah. And it brings clarity to whatever you are doing. You start realizing, okay, I thought that we were actually doing this when we should be doing something else. For example, in Out of the Crisis, he gives that example of that trucking company. And he said when that gentleman took Dr. Deming's four-day seminar and then went back to his company and asked his employees, "What business do you think we are in?" Because that's what he used to ask, "What business are you in?" He used to ask that question, right, to the audience. "Any CEOs here? What business are you in? What business do you need to be in? What are you gonna be doing five years from now, ten years from now?" Right. So these are questions which I think you need to look at. If you want a list of questions, then in Out of the Crisis, there is a chapter on just the questions. Right.   0:18:57.0 Balaji Reddie: And that's, if I believe, let me just check. It comes after chapter seven. Is that where it comes in? No, I think... Yeah. Diseases and Obstacles. Okay. It's chapter five, "Questions to Help Managers." So you can find a host of questions there. These are rhetorical questions, most of them, telling you to focus on the job you have on hand. Right. And helps you define your purpose and your aim, both. And it gives clarity. Like I said, sometimes it gives clarity to yourself. What exactly am I doing here? All right. You always begin by saying that. I mean, if you ask people who set up businesses, they'll start by saying, "I did this because I was good at it," and the money came, but "I was good at doing this." And why did you do that? What do you mean by good? "Well, when I did this, I saw people feel happy." Right. And that's why I wanted to do this.   0:20:06.8 Balaji Reddie: And I thought this is the best way for me to earn my money, but the purpose was mainly to make them happy. Right. And then the money came. So that should be the focus. I think I mentioned this once when 1983 was when Harvard Business School was celebrating 75 years of existence. And everyone knew at that time, because Deming had just been rediscovered in America, and he was hot property. But everyone knew his ideas about Harvard. [chuckle] He was scathing. He said they prepared managers for the past and not for the future, and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. He was very angry. But when they sent him a letter saying that we are making a souvenir of sorts, so can you pen a few words for us? So he was quite lavish in his comments and in his praise. He said, "It's not easy to run a business school and y'all have done it for 75 years. So all credit to you." But he said, "I have just one question for you.   0:21:18.7 Balaji Reddie: In these last two, three years that I have come back into American industry, I see with pain that many people do not understand the purpose of their business. And I see that Harvard has not defined the purpose of a business. Could you define the purpose of a business?" And Harvard came out with an answer which went, "The purpose of a business is to create value at a profit." So the sequence of the words is so beautiful. Create value at a profit. Right? And for a business, you need both. If you're only creating value and no profits, that's not a business. That's social service. And if you only want profits but no value, then that's not a business either. Then you might as well go loot a bank, get 100% profit and no value. And I remember Myron Tribus writing about this at the Kobe shipyard in Japan, right? And this was before Deming landed there, apparently, because there was someone sitting at Kobe who later on had taken Deming's lectures on statistical quality.   0:22:39.4 Balaji Reddie: And then of course, the leadership thing, right, where Deming spoke about the flow diagram. And he said that, he said the light bulb went on because they had a statement there at the Kobe shipyard, "We shall make good ships. At a profit if we can, at a loss if we must, but we shall make good ships." And later on, apparently some American gentlemen came to take over and they changed that and they said, "No, no, no, remove all that profit and loss and just say, 'We shall make good ships.' That's it." So there were times when things started going wrong, right? They went in the wrong direction because they were not looking at it in the clear manner. When they had problems, they said, "No, just make the ship. Just ship it out. It's good." And things went wrong. So they had to reassess and come back. So that was the kind of the idea that we're looking at, the aim and the purpose, and that could change. Right?   0:23:45.6 Andrew Stotz: And I want to add for the listeners out there, in the world of finance, profit is, we also call it cash flow. The cash flow is the numerator in the calculation of value. The denominator is risk. So when we think about what's the objective of a person running a business, it's to maximize value, which many people think means maximize profit, which it does not. It means maximize risk-adjusted profit. So, for instance, if you were breaking the law and doing bad things or mistreating your people ultimately you're raising the risk. Though your cash flow or your profit may be strong, you're raising the risk of that profit or cash flow. And so that's a distinction I like to help people understand, because there are people that just think that the objective of business is maximize profit. No, it's to maximize value. And mathematically we can prove that in the world of finance.   0:24:57.2 Balaji Reddie: Yeah. So I'd just like to paraphrase, when I said that what Harvard said is purpose of a business is to create value at a profit, I'd just like to add something more to that. Create value at a profit in the most ethical way, right? We have to be very ethical about it, because if you're doing wrong things to get your profits and add value, it won't last long. You won't last long as a company. It'll always catch up to you.   0:25:27.4 Andrew Stotz: And I use the word sustainably. That's a kind of a nonsense word these days because everybody talks about sustainability and all.   0:25:34.5 Balaji Reddie: Yeah, they talk in terms about, in a very different context.   0:25:37.8 Andrew Stotz: But the point is, is that are we generating profit in a sustainable fashion? Now the other, I had one more question on this one, and that is if we go back to the words, he talked about the create constancy of purpose for improvement of product and services. And my question to you is, when he talks about aim, sometimes people can get confused, including myself sometimes. And for instance, Clifford Norman and David Williams have been on the show talking about their book Quality as an Organizational Strategy. And so as I've looked at his teachings over time, I've had a question in my mind of is what he's saying that the aim is to improve the business through this focus on quality? In other words, quality is the aim? Or is the aim whatever a company says, "We want to do this, our aim is that"? I'm just curious how you understand those things.   0:26:52.8 Balaji Reddie: I would say quality, but his definition of quality, right? Help someone live better and there must be a market, right? And it must be sold at the right price. So he's been practical, if you look at it. He says that if what you're doing is not making anybody's lives better, then why do it at all? Right? So you need to... You need to look at it from his viewpoint of quality, if I may put it that way. Not that narrow focus on quality of product in terms of free from deficiencies, [chuckle]   0:27:28.9 Andrew Stotz: Yeah.   0:27:30.1 Balaji Reddie: But in a very broad sense what he thought quality is. And also, I found something on the internet, so I'd like to again add that in, that the entire thing is his whole thing is to have happier people. Happy customers... And he doesn't say satisfied, he says happy. So happy customers, happy employees, happy suppliers, society being happy, and the owners. Okay. So what the Japanese interpreted this as, which they call as total quality, is owners, employees, customers, suppliers, and society. When all five are simultaneously satisfied, we call it as total quality. Whereas if you look at it from Deming's point of view, when all five are happy simultaneously, then you attained constancy of purpose. And the longer you can do it, the better it is. So that's his constancy. So the aim and the purpose should be about that. It should be about happier people at work, happier people in the market, consumers, customers, the suppliers, because they should feel a sense of pride...   0:28:56.9 Balaji Reddie: That they're learning something from this company, that growth is happening. Society should feel that this company not only serves their targeted audience, but does not cause harm or is also adding some kind of oblique value to all of us here. We all feel happy interacting with these people in some form or the other. Not necessarily being philanthropic or something, but in a very different sense. We're not getting harmed by these guys. So that, I think, in the broadest sense is what Deming was trying to say to run a company based on constancy of purpose.   0:29:35.4 Andrew Stotz: And the reason why I'm asking is because one of the lessons I've learned just in life in general, certainly from the teachings of Dr. Deming, but just in general, is that if you pick a particular thing or area and you decide that I'm gonna improve this and I'm gonna keep working on improving this, you're gonna end up with something incredible that nobody else has as long as you stick with it. And so that's where this idea of, and if you know what quality means, which is the five groups and things being happy, more jobs, create opportunity, all of that, once you understand that, then quality is driving toward that better outcome. I guess what I'm also thinking about is could a person who's never heard of Dr. Deming just say, "That's my aim right there. I'm gonna take it straight out of what he said, constancy of purpose in relation to improving the product and service with the understanding [chuckle] that that improvement means that." That's it. It's not the aim of "We want to provide transportation vehicles" or something like that. That's more of kind of a corporate communication or. That's where I really want to hear your thoughts on that.   0:30:53.3 Balaji Reddie: Yeah. So when you say that "I want to do this through this product that I am giving," and right now my understanding is that this is the best way to do it, but as the world evolves, obviously there could be many different other ways of doing it and I need to keep revisiting this. As long as my purpose is perfect, I know I'll be able to adapt and adopt very quickly. Right. Otherwise you'll be left behind. What exactly am I here for? Many of the people set up businesses, ancillary units here in my hometown, Pune. They set up, they were basically employees in the parent company and then they saw an opportunity. They saw they were good at this. "I can make this better." So they set up the company to serve the parent company, not realizing that suddenly there could be somebody else coming in. Right. And they were preferred because they understood what the parent company wanted.   0:31:53.5 Balaji Reddie: But if they had just set up by saying, "No, why am I setting up this business? Because I see an opportunity. I can do this well." Okay, then can I do anything else well? What else can I? Why just this product? Why not any other product? Right? I think during the pandemic, many of the manufacturing companies realized that. They said, "We are very good at assembly, so why don't we start assembling PPE kits?" here in India, because PPE kits used to be imported. And I know this firsthand. My student was working in one such logistical company and he said we were importing. 300,000 PPE kits per annum. That was the requirement.   0:32:38.8 Andrew Stotz: What's PPE?   0:32:40.2 Balaji Reddie: Personal protection equipment, which you have to wear, the doctors, et cetera, the health workers during the pandemic. They had to wear that and serve, because we didn't know what was happening. So instead of just masks, just protect themselves completely. In labs, doctors, nurses, they all wore that. Right. So this personal protection equipment, we were importing 300,000 such kits per annum from, I think somewhere in Belgium. And because that was the requirement, but during the pandemic, the requirement went up. And so many of the companies, automotive manufacturing companies, decided that, let's get into this because we know how to do these things, right? We know how to assemble. And within a matter of 45 to 50 days, they built capacity. And imagine this, we were consuming, I am not joking, at the rate of 200,000 kits per day.   0:33:39.4 Andrew Stotz: Yeah. Then you can become a global supplier.   0:33:46.5 Balaji Reddie: And so they had to. But now, see, they did it for that much time because they said, our core business is something else, but we understood our purpose, so let's contribute in a very different way. The other one which they did was many of the manufacturing companies started assembling ventilators. And some of them which were running without electricity, they ran on a mechanical device so that the need for power, et cetera, et cetera, be superfluous. So when you know your purpose, then you can always adapt and adopt very quickly. And I think the pandemic gave us that opportunity to see how many of the companies responded in a very positive sense. In one way to look at it is, "Oh my God, this is it, this is my fate, and we're gonna shut down, we have nothing to do." But the other way is, "No, wait, why are we here? And let's use our expertise in a very different sense. So let's get to action."   0:34:41.3 Andrew Stotz: Interesting. I feel like we can spend a whole episode talking just about one of the 14 Points.   0:34:46.9 Balaji Reddie: That's why I said two episodes for the 14 Points. [laughter] If you don't mind, three also. Because many of the points have been either not discussed in detail or misinterpreted. And there have been changes. Deming himself brought a change in the wordings. That's why I wanted to keep this section, this session separate.   0:35:07.9 Andrew Stotz: Okay.   0:35:12.5 Balaji Reddie: Now you can see why, because I was just setting the scene for the 14 Points. If you want to ask me, it's all profound, very, very profound. [chuckle]   0:35:16.9 Andrew Stotz: Yeah, and I have a lot of questions, so that's good. I've got some clarity now for point one. I think the listeners and the viewers will also get some of that clarity, so that's great.   0:35:26.4 Balaji Reddie: Thank you. And I have been, I still, I just scratch my head about many of the things that he said. Because if people are reading Out of the Crisis, oh my God, you gotta read the text for point one. It's brilliant. I mean, I can't just, you can't just read it out right now. [chuckle] It'll take three episodes just to. But just, many people just say he did give us a method. I think I told you this two episodes ago. He was very clear. We didn't see it. We didn't see it. And he's so clear about what he wanted in innovation. That, of course, I thought that there was a slight difference, I think we spoke about this, invention and innovation. So invention is something new and innovate is to use something differently. Right. So that innovation, I think he confused the two terms, if I may say so. Too brave to make a statement like that. But anyway, he says here that you have to keep improving, innovating, and this obligation never ceases.   0:36:36.6 Balaji Reddie: It's that very clear. And if you see here, there's one, there's a paragraph here, he says, "It's a mistake to suppose that efficient production of product and service can, with certainty, keep an organization solvent and ahead of its competition. It is possible and, in fact, fairly easy for an organization to go downhill and out of business making the wrong product or offering the wrong type of service, even though everyone in the organization performs with devotion, employing statistical methods and every other aid that can boost efficiency." So I think he was highlighting the limitation of the statistical methods, that 97% versus 3% thing, that we are only trying to improve this, but the whole thing comes from the top, that are you providing the right product? I mean, you can't set up a company today making the best typewriters in the world. [chuckle]   0:37:35.4 Andrew Stotz: That's true.   0:37:41.5 Balaji Reddie: So he keeps saying this again and again, that you should publish a resolution that no one will lose his job for contribution to quality and productivity. So I think what we're coming to the end of this session today, we just discussed point one. [laughter] That's the best part. I heard from Henry Neave once that they all formed a kind of a team. Henry had come down to America and they started, they decided to meet Myron Tribus and just about everyone, Nida Backaitis, Barbara Lawton, the gang, and they were so happy to, the stars, right? Gipsie Ranney, I forget the other names, but they were all together and then they decided, let's discuss the 14 Points. And then point one, and it went on beyond lunchtime. They started in the morning. [laughter]   0:38:36.6 Andrew Stotz: That's great.   0:38:46.1 Balaji Reddie: It seems Dr. Deming was so happy. He was just sitting back and just listening and listening and listening. Then they met again the following day and the next day, and then they only came to point number four. And then finally, Brian Joiner, I think, said, "I think we're wasting too much time here. Let's just stop this." And it seems Deming was so upset because he said that Brian Joiner said, "Let's give ourselves 45 minutes for this point and that's it." [laughter]Deming said, "Don't set a target." [laughter]   0:39:22.9 Andrew Stotz: That reminds me of Bill Scherkenbach showing a picture of Deming at the, I don't know, National Education Committee meeting. And he said that they met all day or for two days and they still couldn't come up with the aim of what education, the aim of education in America was at the time. So, yeah.   0:39:42.9 Balaji Reddie: Yeah, I had this problem. It happened at a seminar here in Pune. It was Education for the Future or something like that, Engineering Education: The Next Five Years, blah, blah, blah, I don't know what it was. And there was this one gentleman making a presentation from a school in a city called Bangalore in India. And his topic was Six Sigma in education. And when he came to present, he started by saying, "Six Sigma is 3.4 errors in a million." And I said, "Oh, no." Anyway, then he went on to say, "Okay, so we decided our 10th, grade 10 is a public exam in India. It's a very big deal for a child to sit for that exam, right?" And he said that, "We want to have flawless results. And we've had flawless results for the last eight years. We have so many students, so many, so many students every year, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah." And so if you multiply and all that, and then, "So how do we get this?" Now here came the best part. He said, "In grade nine, all..."   0:40:48.9 Balaji Reddie: All those who had failed or had not reached a certain grade, we threw them out. And so we had flawless results. And I could see people squirming in their chairs because they were all sitting in the audience were teachers. They were squirming in their chairs and then one guy could take it no more. He put his hand up. And I was chairing that session, by the way. You can imagine what was happening to me. Anyway, this gentleman put his hands up and he says, "How can you say that? How can you say that?" He was very agitated. And I could realize, I just stood up and I said, "Okay, Professor so-and-so, please sit down. I get your, I get your sentiment, but we need to do this differently." So I turned to this... And he was a principal, this gentleman... I said, "What is the aim and the purpose of an educational institution?" And this man said, "Results."   0:41:42.4 Andrew Stotz: Yeah.   0:41:45.8 Balaji Reddie: Then I said, "Let's throw this question open to everyone." And I said, "Let's stop." I asked the people organizing the seminar that could we take a small detour here? Let's just stop. Let's not stick to your timetable because I know you're here on a leash. So they said, with permission from the chair and the host college... They were sitting there, the main people... They said, "No, we want this question answered now. What is the purpose of an educational institution?" And there was a lot of goading. I was bringing in Profound Knowledge and I was throwing up questions. And finally we came to the conclusion that the aim of any educational institution is to create a well-rounded individual that contributes positively to society.   0:43:33.9 Andrew Stotz: All right, so on behalf of everyone listening, I want to thank you again for the discussion. 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, and that is, "People are entitled to joy in work." As we're talking about how do we build that for the future.

Send us Fan MailHow much are you actually paying yourself? Not what your business generated last quarter. Not what you transferred after one good project. What are you consistently paying yourself, every two weeks or every month?If you're waiting to see what's left over, this episode is for you. Laura breaks down why your compensation has to be a planned, budgeted line item in your business, not an afterthought. Because hope is not a compensation strategy, and you deserve a business that pays you reliably for the talent, leadership, and energy you pour into it.In This EpisodeWhy the owner is so often the last person to get paid, and why that can't be the long-term planThe problem with "I pay myself when there's enough money" and what it costs you personallyHow to choose your ideal salary based on your real life, not thin airWhy your salary becomes your North Star, and how to work backward from it to revenue, margins, and project mixThe trap of top-line sales in interior design: why a big bank balance after a client invoice doesn't mean you can pay your mortgageOwner compensation vs. profit, and why they are not the same thingBuilding your pay into the annual budget first, then layering in everything elsePlanning for consistency in an industry with lumpy revenueWhat to do if your business can't afford your ideal salary yet (hint: that gap is the most useful information you've gathered all year)Why growing revenue without growing your pay isn't growth, it's a bigger job with the same paychequeHow paying yourself properly changes the way you price, choose projects, and leadYour Homework This WeekChoose your ideal annual compensation and divide it into a monthly or bi-weekly amount.Compare it with what you're actually paying yourself right now. What's the gap?Check whether your annual business plan includes your compensation as a real expense. If it doesn't, add it.Work backward: what revenue, gross profit, and mix of projects does the business need to produce to support it?You don't need to solve everything in one afternoon. But you do need to stop avoiding the number.In just one focused hour, we'll dive into whatever you need most—pricing strategies, client management, attracting high-end clients or building repeat business. You'll get clarity, strategy, and expert advice based on my 27+ years of running a thriving, seven-figure design firm.This is your chance to get real answers to the questions you've been dying to ask—from someone who's actually been there.Book your session as you need it—no strings attached.Be sure to follow along on Instagram @thebusinessofbeautifulspaces + @thorntondesign to stay up to date on what we're talking about next week. If you love our podcast, please, please, please leave us a review. If you have any questions or topic ideas OR you wish to be a guest email us thebusinessofbeautifulspaces@gmail.com or find us on instagram @thebusinessofbeautifulspacesLaura Thornton is the  principle designer of Thornton Design Inc, located in Kleinburg, ON.  Since founding the company in 1999, Laura has been committed to creating a new kind of interior design experience for her clients. Thornton Design is an experienced team of creative talents, focused on curating beautiful residential and commercial spaces in the Toronto, Ontario area and beyond. Now sharing all the years of experience with other interior designers to create a world of collaboration and less competition. The Business of Beautiful Spaces  I @thebusinessofbeautifulspacesThornton Design                                      I @thorntondesign

Join our champion program: mark@themomentumcompany.comAttend a Thriving Leader event: https://thriving-leader-2026.lovable.app/Instagram: @the.momentum.companyLinkedIn: /momentum-companyIn this episode of The Intentional Agribusiness Leader, Mark sits down with Karla Thieman, Senior Vice President of Public Policy at JBS USA, for a conversation about leadership, public policy, career development, culture, and what it takes to create lasting impact in agriculture.Karla defines intentional leadership through one simple idea:Have a North Star.Know where you're trying to go.The path won't always be straight. There will be setbacks, unexpected opportunities, and plenty of detours. But intentional leaders don't lose sight of the destination—they adjust their route while staying committed to the mission.For Karla, that North Star started early.As a high school senior, she knew she wanted to become an agricultural lobbyist—someone who could connect farmers to public policy and serve as a voice for agriculture in Washington, D.C. That vision guided every opportunity that followed, from Capitol Hill to USDA and ultimately to leading public policy efforts at JBS USA.One of the biggest themes throughout the conversation is this:Leadership isn't about having a perfect plan. It's about having a clear direction.The conversation traces Karla's journey through writing the 2014 Farm Bill, serving as Chief of Staff to Secretary Tom Vilsack at the USDA, and eventually building JBS USA's Washington, D.C., public policy office from the ground up.Along the way, she shares an important reminder:Sometimes the opportunities that shape your career aren't the ones you planned for.They're the ones you were prepared for.Another major theme is culture.When Karla joined JBS, she didn't just build a team—she intentionally built a culture.She believes great teams start with great people, long before a position is ever available. Throughout her career, she's kept a "Rolodex" of talented individuals, investing in relationships and identifying future leaders long before she needed to hire them.The conversation also explores how JBS reinforces its culture across more than 80,000 employees through seven core values:DeterminationSimplicityAvailabilityHumilitySincerityDisciplineOwnershipThose values aren't simply written on the wall.They're embedded into hiring, performance evaluations, leadership development, and daily decision-making.Because culture isn't built by intention alone.It's built through consistent reinforcement.Another powerful leadership lesson comes from Karla's experience leading teams at a young age.Like many emerging leaders, she wrestled with imposter syndrome after stepping into high-level leadership roles early in her career.Her biggest lesson?Information isn't power unless you share it.She observed that the best leaders weren't the ones who protected information to maintain influence.They were the ones who equipped their teams by creating transparency, trust, and ownership.That philosophy has shaped the way she leads today.The conversation closes with one of Karla's proudest accomplishments—helping launch the International Year of the Woman Farmer.What began as an idea in 2015 took more than a decade, multiple administrations, countless partnerships, and unwavering persistence before becoming a reality in 2026.It's a powerful reminder that meaningful change rarely happens overnight.Sometimes the most important work requires years of steady, intentional progress.Because leadership isn't measured by how quickly something happens.It's measured by whether you're willing to keep moving toward your North Star.Listen if you are:Navigating leadership or career transitionsInterested in agricultural policy and the Farm BillBuilding culture within your organizationDeveloping and leading high-performing teamsLooking to grow as an intentional leaderPassionate about the future of agriculture and public serviceA clear North Star won't eliminate the twists and turns—but it will keep you moving in the right direction.

Every lender is being pitched AI right now. But how many are actually implementing it successfully — and what separates the ones that do from the ones that don't? In this episode of Connect, California MBA CEO Paul Gigliotti sits down with Varant Herculian of JazzX AI for a candid, execution-focused conversation on what it actually takes to move from an exciting AI demonstration to real-world adoption inside a mortgage operation. Varant brings nearly three decades of mortgage industry experience — from originating loans to leading digital strategy and operational transformation — and now he's helping lenders reimagine their entire operating model with AI. This is not a product pitch. It's a masterclass in change management. In this episode: - Why the Frankenstein ecosystem of stacked point solutions is the core problem AI needs to solve — and what an intelligence layer actually means in practice - The difference between a point solution and a true end-to-end AI platform: connected decisions, shared context, and no rip-and-replace of existing systems - Why real adoption starts with business outcomes, not technology — and why the North Star metrics matter more than the implementation plan - The agile production launch philosophy: why five loans in a real production environment teaches you more than five months in a conference room - How to build a champion network, capture testimonials, and cascade adoption at scale - The two workflow scenarios every lender falls into — and how JazzX solves for both - Tunable autonomy: how lenders can start in recommendation-only mode and gradually increase AI autonomy as trust and evidence grow - How to establish baseline metrics from day one so ROI can be proven — not assumed - Why lenders are more open to upfront implementation costs than you'd think — if you can prove the value first Connect is the California MBA's podcast where strategy, innovation, and leadership come together to shape the future of mortgage finance. Subscribe for new episodes featuring the voices driving the industry forward.

“Everything I did was about making my parents proud,” said retired Ontario Court of Justice judge Harvey Brownstone, summing up his lifetime struggle for acceptance. Rejected and cut off at age 19 when he told his parents he was gay, Hamilton native Harvey Brownstone went on to succeed in school, in the legal profession, and now in the world of show business. But his new book, “Without Prejudice: My Life as a Gay Judge” , which was released earlier this summer, reveals the heart-breaking personal cost of fighting homophobia from his family, at university, Bay Street law firms, and even from the top level of the Ontario government. But as Brownstone turned 70 last week, on July 24, he is thrilled that his life story is now touching a chord with so many readers both in the gay community and beyond. His book has been on the bestseller lists. Soon, a new Hollywood bio-pic of his life, starring David Arquette, based on the manuscript, is to be released this fall. And while Brownstone doesn't have his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, nearly five years post-retirement from the bench, he's already interviewed hundreds of famous movie stars since he launched his second career as a celebrity talk-show host in 2021. On today's episode of The CJN's North Star podcast, Harvey Brownstone returns to the show to talk about the reaction to his new book: he shares how he finally forgave his mother, why the Ontario court system — specially family court — needs a serious remake, and he gives his advice for any young people considering when to “come out” to their families. Related links Follow Harvey Brownstone Interviews at his website and buy his book there, too. Harvey Brownstone was a guest on The CJN's _North Sta_r podcast in 2025 when Zionist groups were being banned from Pride parades across Canada. Why former Ontario Court justice Harvey Brownstone warned divorcing families to stay out of family court, if they can help it, in The CJN, from 2009. Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner ( @ebessner ) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Izzie Helenchilde (producer and video editor), Michael Fraiman (executive producer), Alicia Richler (editorial director) Music: Bret Higgins Support our show Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Watch our podcasts on YouTube. Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt) https://thecjn.ca/north

Partner with Jay: https://www.jayschwedelson.com/contactㅤPre-order Jay Schwedelson's new book, Stupider People Have Done It (out June 9, 2026).All net proceeds are donated to The V Foundation for Cancer Research, let's kick cancer's butt: https://www.amazon.com/Stupider-People-Have-Done-Marketing/dp/1637635206ㅤSubscribe to Jay's newsletter for weekly marketing tips and tactics: https://www.jayschwedelson.com/newsletterㅤRegister for GuruConference (FREE + VIRTUAL!) https://www.guruconference.comㅤCheck out Eventastic (FREE + VIRTUAL!) https://www.eventastic.comㅤConnect with Jay on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/schwedelson/Check out Jay's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@schwedelsonCheck out Jay's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jayschwedelson/Ask Jay anything: https://www.jayschwedelson.com/askㅤLeave a comment and follow the show, it really helps us out!ㅤFollow Stu McLaren on Instagram at @stumclaren, and head to his website Stu.me, where he points listeners to find everything he is working on.ㅤEveryone slaps the word "community" on things now, but almost nobody builds one that survives past 90 days. Stu McLaren has been quietly building membership businesses since before that was a buzzword, and he sits down with Jay Schwedelson to explain why the whole game has flipped from handing people information to actually walking them to the finish line. The part worth your commute is a one-message test that tells you whether anyone will pay before you build a single thing.ㅤBest Moments:(02:59) Why most communities turn into ghost towns after 90 days(04:32) The North Star question every membership needs to answer for its members(07:33) The founding member launch: one message that proves demand before you build anything(12:23) How AI flipped memberships from access to acceleration(17:42) Love me or hate me, there's no money in the middle(19:50) Why Stu is now completely evangelical about Japan

Thanks for listening, and please follow us on Insta @NHPTalent and www.youtube.com/thePOZcast For all episodes, please check out www.thePOZcast.com This special episode is brought to you by our dear friends at Blood Cancer United. An organization very near and dear to me. I'm here to remind you to give to causes that make a difference. You want to help, but you don't know where to start? Blood Cancer United is at the top of my list. They are the global leader in helping patients and families with blood cancer, and your dollars fund research, patient support, and advocacy. Please give today here: Thank you for supporting this important mission. Learn more and donate here: https://pages.lls.org/voy/nyc/nyclls26/aposner   Chapters: 1:54 - Lindsey's background 4:11 - Decision making 5:00 - Big Lesson Learned as an RA 5:58 - Paralysis of Choice 7:52 - Job Hopping 8:40 - Difference between Boomers & Millennials (Leadership wise) 10:48 - Young Leaders - Where is the gap? 12:19 - Concept of Feedback 14:11 - Impetus behind writing the first book 15:37 - Multi-generational Workforce 18:59 - Need of physical workplace vs remote work (uncertainty) 21:53 - Magic Formula 23:20 - Lindsey's book title struggle 25:18 - Early Career Guidance 26:45 - Insightful Interview Questions 29:06 - Who should read the book 29:47 - Golden key takeaway 30:41 - Biggest challenge in writing this book 31:52 - Vulnerability 32:26 - Greatest piece of advice 34:20 - Lindsey's Super Power 34:35 - Personal/Professional Silver Linings 35:54 - Lindsey's North Star

Basketball is bigger than basketball.In Episode 314 of the JAMODI Podcast, Matt Sayman sits down with Great Lakes Christian College Head Coach Elijah Kess to discuss building a championship culture through consistency, servant leadership, relationships, and daily standards.Growing up in Baltimore, basketball became Elijah's path toward changing the trajectory of his life. Today, he leads one of the nation's successful Christian college programs while working multiple jobs, raising a family, and refusing to lose his hunger.Topics include:• Building culture that lasts • The "North Star" philosophy • Relationships over championships • Why consistency changes lives • Coaching beyond basketball • Recruiting through honesty • Developing mentally tough players • Leadership through servant mindset • Daily habits that build winners • Faith, family, and purposeIf you're a coach, leader, teacher, parent, or athlete, this episode is full of practical leadership lessons you can apply immediately.Subscribe for weekly conversations with basketball coaches from every level.

Shomrim Toronto became the public face of the massive volunteer effort to help Toronto police search for 14-year-old Esti, an autistic Jewish teenager who went missing from her home for two weeks in May. Hundreds of volunteers from the Jewish community and beyond came out to help in the civilian-led search, putting up posters and flyers, bringing food, supporting the family, and raising funds for a $25,000 reward for information. On May 28, Toronto police announced they'd located her, safe and sound, in a basement apartment many kilometres away from her home. While there won't be any charges laid, and police have now said the case is closed, the impact of the mission—their biggest ever since their founding five years ago—has left a deep impact on Shomrim Toronto's volunteers. In this exclusive interview with The CJN's North Star podcast, host Ellin Bessner sits down with Avi Grinberg and Kevin (Menachem) Silver of Shomrim Toronto, who explain how they became the hub of the massive community civilian search, how Esti's family is doing now, and how the experience will shape the organization's future. Related stories Learn about why Shomrim launched in this story from 2021 in The CJN. In 2024, Shomrim and other volunteer security groups were profiled for helping protect Jewish Toronto and York Region, both in the community and, in some cases, on campus, in The CJN. Some of The CJN North Star's coverage of the successful search for Esti from May 2026. To volunteer or learn more about Shomrim, check out their website . Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner ( @ebessner ) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Izzie Helenchilde (producer and video), Michael Fraiman (executive producer), Alicia Richler (editorial director) Music: Bret Higgins Support our show Subscribe to The CJN newsletter h https://thecjn.ca/north Watch our podcasts on YouTube. Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt) https://thecjn.ca/north

Jacob and Drew are back from their short hiatus with a review of Fist of the North Star! Plus they look at the Batman The Animated Series episodes "Old Wounds" and "The Demon Within" Cel Cast Linktree - https://linktr.ee/thecelcastpodcast

Basketball is bigger than basketball.In Episode 314 of the JAMODI Podcast, Matt Sayman sits down with Great Lakes Christian College Head Coach Elijah Kess to discuss building a championship culture through consistency, servant leadership, relationships, and daily standards.Growing up in Baltimore, basketball became Elijah's path toward changing the trajectory of his life. Today, he leads one of the nation's successful Christian college programs while working multiple jobs, raising a family, and refusing to lose his hunger.Topics include:• Building culture that lasts • The "North Star" philosophy • Relationships over championships • Why consistency changes lives • Coaching beyond basketball • Recruiting through honesty • Developing mentally tough players • Leadership through servant mindset • Daily habits that build winners • Faith, family, and purposeIf you're a coach, leader, teacher, parent, or athlete, this episode is full of practical leadership lessons you can apply immediately.Subscribe for weekly conversations with basketball coaches from every level.

Do you feel like you built a business for freedom, but somehow became the person everyone depends on for EVERYTHING? In this episode, I sit down with Ashley Thomas to talk about the leadership shifts that help you move from reactive chaos to sustainable success. We break down why discipline and clear expectations create more freedom, the ways poor retention and people-pleasing are costing your business, and why being the "cool boss" without structure creates confusion and resentment on your team. Ashley also shares her Leadership Compass framework for defining your North Star, turning your values into behaviors your team can actually follow, and creating a culture where accountability starts with you. Get ready to become a stronger leader, empower your team to take more ownership, and build the systems and culture that give you more freedom to focus on growing your business. Check out our Sponsors: Shopify - Try the ecommerce platform I trust for Glōci. Sign up for your $1/month trial period at http://Shopify.com/happy. Zazzle - Save 25% on your first order today at http://Zazzle.com with code EARN. Monarch Money -  Get your first year of Monarch Core for half off at http://Monarch.com with code EYH. Northwest Registered Agent - Visit northwestregisteredagent.com/EarnFree and start using free resources to build something amazing. Wealthfront - Join the million-plus people already building long-term wealth with confidence by heading to wealthfront.com/earn. Indeed - Indeed is giving Earn Your Happy listeners a $75 SPONSORED JOB CREDIT to help get your job the premium status it deserves. Just go to http://Indeed.com/podcast right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on Earn Your Happy. Momentous - If you want to try Momentous Signature Spec Creatine, head to livemomentous.com and use code EARN for up to 35% off your entire first order. HIGHLIGHTS 00:00 How to turn a reactive business into an intentional one.05:30 Why discipline and boundaries protect you from constant business fires. 09:15 Why business owners struggle to step into leadership. 12:00 The North Star framework for staying focused on what matters most. 15:15 Strategies for staying disciplined and focused on your bigger goals. 20:45 What your retention numbers reveal about your company culture. 25:00 Why a "no rules" culture can create confusion and resentment. 31:45 Tips for building a strong company culture as your business grows. 34:45 The people-pleasing trap that can hurt your team and leadership. 36:15 The leadership mistakes that could be creating your culture problems. 40:00 The framework for defining who you want to be as a leader. 43:45 Ways to turn your core values into behaviors your team can actually follow. 46:00 What's the difference between talking about your values and actually living them? 49:15 What is sustainable success? 52:00 Strategies for building a leadership team that can make decisions without you. 54:45 Advice for becoming the leader your business needs you to be. RESOURCES DM “GIFT” to Ashley @hbic.sixten on Instagram for a chance to win Ashley Thomas' Leadership Compass, valued at $999! Apply for the Elite Entrepreneur Mastermind HERE! Get on the waitlist for Mentor Collective Mastermind HERE! Try glōci for 40% off your first order with code HAPPY at checkout - head to getgloci.com FOLLOW Follow me: @loriharder Follow glōci: @getgloci Follow Ashley: @hbic.sixten Earn up to 4.30% APY with Wealthfront's high-yield cash account for a limited time: https://wealthfront.com/earnThis experience may not be representative of other Wealthfront clients, and there is no guarantee of future performance or success. Experiences will vary. The host of Earn Your Happy podcast, Lori Harder (“Media Partner”), is not a client of Wealthfront. The Media Partner receives cash compensation from Wealthfront Brokerage for this paid endorsement placed in their podcast, creating a conflict of interest. More details available via the referral link. The Direct Deposit Plus Investing Program from Wealthfront Advisers LLC and Wealthfront Brokerage LLC provides eligible clients a 0.25% APY increase above the base APY on eligible Cash Account balances (up to an overall boosted rate of 4.30% for a limited time when including the three month 0.75% APY boost for new clients) when you direct deposit $1,000 a month, plus open, fund, and maintain an investing account. Wealthfront may change or end the program at any time and determine eligibility at its discretion. Terms apply. Full details at wealthfront.com/promo-terms.The Cash Account, which is not a deposit account, is offered by Wealthfront Brokerage LLC ("Wealthfront Brokerage"), Member FINRA/SIPC. Wealthfront Brokerage is not a bank. The Annual Percentage Yield ("APY") on cash deposits as of January 30, 2026, is representative, requires no minimum, and may change at any time. References to the APY for the Wealthfront Cash Account, including any APY increase, are to the APY paid by insured depository institutions that participate in our cash sweep program (the "Program Banks”). Wealthfront Brokerage does not pay interest. Wealthfront Brokerage sweeps cash balances to Program Banks, where they earn the variable APY.Same-day withdrawal or instant payment transfers may be limited by destination institutions, daily transaction caps, and by participating entities such as Wells Fargo, the RTP® Network, and FedNow® Service. New Cash Account deposits are subject to a 2-4 day holding period before becoming available for transfer. Fees & Eligibility requirements may apply to certain checking features. Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. Securities investments are not bank deposits, bank-guaranteed or FDIC-insured, and may lose value. Product images are for illustrative purposes and do not reflect individual experiences, account balances, or performance.

Guest: Dr. Mike Farrar, Booz Allen HamiltonWeather forecasting has come a long way—from hand-drawn maps and limited observations to a world driven by supercomputers, satellites, and real-time data. But as technology continues to evolve, so does the challenge of making forecasts faster, smarter, and more useful for the people who rely on them every day. Today on Weather Geeks, we're joined by Dr. Mike Farrar, whose career has spanned research, operations, and leadership across the meteorological community. His company has been tasked to help modernize the National Weather Service, and with that he's helping shape what the future of forecasting could look like for both meteorologists and the public alike. We'll talk about the biggest challenges facing weather operations today, how emerging technologies like AI and cloud computing are changing the forecasting landscape, and why communication and public trust remain just as important as the science itself.Chapters00:00 Introduction and Career Background of Dr. Mike Farrar01:30 The Evolution of Weather Forecasting Technologies04:18 Transformational Advances in Meteorology09:15 The Private Sector and Meteorology's Growth12:16 Break 112:19 The Impact of AI and Cloud Computing19:28 Modernizing the National Weather Service22:55 The Role of Human Forecasters in the Age of AI26:51 Break 228:01 The North Star of Meteorology: Science and Service30:18 Skills for Future Meteorologists33:50 Embracing Change in the Meteorological Field34:29 Closing Remarks and Resources ResourcesBooz Allen Hamilton - https://www.boozallen.comNOAA's National Centers for Environmental Prediction - https://www.weather.gov/ncep/American Meteorological Society - https://www.ametsoc.orgAWIPS (Advanced Weather Information Processing System) - https://vlab.noaa.gov/web/nws-heritage/-/introducing-awipsNCAR (National Center for Atmospheric Research) - https://ncar.ucar.eduGuest linksLinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/mikefarrar-wxSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Are you tired of feeling like your business is just a junk drawer of unfinished ideas and disconnected systems? In this episode, business strategist Yvonne McCoy shares how to stop chasing every new trend and start focusing on the unique strengths that make you stand out in a crowded market.Join Kathi and Yvonne as they dive deep into the reality of pivoting a business during uncertain times and the importance of finding your dead reckoning or North Star. Yvonne introduces her Be Found framework, explaining how entrepreneurs can move from being just another expert to being the go-to authority in their field. You will learn why creative freedom actually requires a solid structure and how to shift your marketing to focus on the gooey brownie your clients crave rather than just the recipe.Support the show

Basketball is bigger than basketball.In Episode 314 of the JAMODI Podcast, Matt Sayman sits down with Great Lakes Christian College Head Coach Elijah Kess to discuss building a championship culture through consistency, servant leadership, relationships, and daily standards.Growing up in Baltimore, basketball became Elijah's path toward changing the trajectory of his life. Today, he leads one of the nation's successful Christian college programs while working multiple jobs, raising a family, and refusing to lose his hunger.Topics include:• Building culture that lasts • The "North Star" philosophy • Relationships over championships • Why consistency changes lives • Coaching beyond basketball • Recruiting through honesty • Developing mentally tough players • Leadership through servant mindset • Daily habits that build winners • Faith, family, and purposeIf you're a coach, leader, teacher, parent, or athlete, this episode is full of practical leadership lessons you can apply immediately.Subscribe for weekly conversations with basketball coaches from every level.

Debbie Wasserman has spent nearly four decades volunteering with the National Council of Jewish Women in Canada. Now she's taken on her highest profile role yet: she's the new president of the International Council of Jewish Women (ICJW), a century-old umbrella NGO representing Jewish women's organizations in 36 countries on five continents, from Argentina to Nigeria to Croatia. The organization advocates for women's rights on a global stage, including at the United Nations and the Council of Europe. Their members speak out on issues including human trafficking, domestic violence, antisemitism, and, after Oct. 7, security for Israel and raising awareness about the sexual violence Hamas terrorists carried out against Israeli women. Wasserman got her start in public service as a young mother in Toronto, including helping run the National Council of Jewish Women Toronto branch's famous annual Passover food basket campaign. Today, after many leadership positions with the Canadian affiliate, she's now only the second Canadian woman in history to lead the historic international NGO. In this episode of The CJN's North Star podcast, Wasserman joins host Ellin Bessner to discuss the priorities she'll be tackling over the next four years, including an exciting project launching first right now in Canada: “The Power of Small Conversations”, an initiative to fight antisemitism, which Wasserman hopes can become a model for Jewish communities around the world. Related links: Follow Debbie Wasserman and her work with the International Council of Jewish Women and read her inaugural speech May 19, 2026. Read more about when Toronto's Debbie Wasserman was elected president of the National Council of Jewish Women of Canada, in 2017, in The CJN . Learn more about The Power of Small Conversations initiative being launched this fall by the Canadian organization, NCJWC, with Wasserman's involvement. Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner ( @ebessner ) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Izzie Helenchilde (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer), Alicia Richler (editorial director) Music: Bret Higgins Support our show Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Watch our podcasts on YouTube. Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt)

Most leaders hit a point where the roar of success becomes isolating and their go-to solutions often fall short. If reaching out to old friends or mentors isn't enough anymore, there's a vital type of relationship you're likely missing. Discover the radical honesty, clarity, and growth that only a peer at your level can provide and why it's the secret weapon for truly sustainable leadership.When you're navigating complex decisions and high-stakes challenges, the people closest to you, your team, family, or long-time friends, often want to support you but can't see the full picture. Their feedback may be filtered through love, loyalty, or even fear, making honest confrontation rare and risky. That's why the most valuable insight often comes from someone outside your immediate circle, someone who's building at the same altitude, facing similar dilemmas, and can tell you what you need to hear, not just what you want to hear.In this episode, we break down: Why your trusted relationships may be inadvertently holding you back rather than pushing you forward The critical difference between support and honest challenge and why true growth demands the latter How to identify and cultivate a peer relationship that fuels your leadership at the highest level The subtle but powerful impact of radical honesty in decision-making and strategic thinking Practical steps to build this rare partnership before it's too late If you're a leader climbing higher, whether you're in a C-suite, scaling a startup, or leading a high-growth team, this episode is your blueprint for unlocking authentic, unfiltered insight. Without this kind of relationship, you risk stagnation, misjudged decisions, or burnout. But with it? You'll gain the clarity to act decisively, the confidence to challenge your assumptions, and the resilience to sustain success.Are you ready to stop having the same conversations and start engaging in the kind of dialogue that truly transforms your leadership? This is essential listening if you want to lead with more intention, make smarter choices, and find the support that actually pushes you forward. The right peer can become your North Star. Don't miss your chance to find that connection. Think First

Are you what you do? James Clear says identity change is the North Star for habit change — and he's right. But it works the other way too: your habits are quietly shaping your identity. In this episode, I talk about the two-way loop between habits and identity, why "your labels, your limits" applies to how you see yourself, and what this means for the culture of your team — because culture is really just collective identity, shaped by collective habits. If you want more questions like this to help you build more remarkable days, I send them three times a week in Your Remarkable Day. Sign up at kevineikenberry.com/newsletters.

Episode 109: Michael League is the founder of Snarky Puppy, the GroundUP Music label, and the GroundUP Music Festival, and he's one of the most independent minds working in music today. He sat down with us for a deep conversation about how he built the whole thing. This isn't an interview about bass tone or gear. It's about how the entire machine actually works: how a bandleader turns a college project into a five-time Grammy-winning institution, an artist-first record label, and an international festival, all on his own terms, and all without a major label calling the shots. We trace the whole arc. League started Snarky Puppy in 2004 at the University of North Texas because he wasn't getting to play, so he built his own band. It transformed when he immersed himself in the Dallas gospel and R&B scene, absorbing the mentorship of the late Bernard Wright, the "North Star" who reshaped its feel. Out of that came the Snarky Puppy sound and the rotating cast fans call "the Fam," nearly 40 players who launched solo careers like Cory Henry's ("Lingus" is one of the most-watched instrumental performances online), Bill Laurance, Mark Lettieri, Larnell Lewis, Robert "Sput" Searight, and more. Michael pulls back the curtain: how he leads and pays this rotating collective, schedules a year out so everyone gets bandstand time, and sees himself, borrowing from Béla Fleck, as "a leader among equals." We get into why he founded GroundUP Music after growing disenchanted with the label system, how it works as an artist-friendly alternative to majors, and how the GroundUP Festival became a no-headliner gathering that's crossed the Atlantic. We also cover his life as collaborator: his partnership with David Crosby, whose late-career renaissance he helped spark; Lalah Hathaway entering the Snarky orbit; Family Dinner coming together; discovering Jacob Collier early; his band Elipsis with Antonio Sanchez and Pedrito Martinez; his love of the oud; and running it all from a 500-person Roman-era village in Spain. We talk making a living in music, sustainable careers for musicians, mentors and friends he's lost, and AI's effect on the industry. This is for musicians, bandleaders, producers, and label-builders and anyone who's wondered how to build something lasting without compromising the art. If you love Snarky Puppy, jazz fusion, and the real workings of the industry, this one's for you. Subscribe and hit the bell. Lets go! This episode is brought to you by our friends at The Pod Company! Their portable sauna makes it easy to prioritize your health wherever you are, whether you're on tour, traveling, or at home. Use promo code ELMO to get yours for $499 instead of $999! Learn more at https://podcompany.com/ Huge thanks to our friends at DistroKid! DistroKid is the easiest and fastest way to get your music on over 150 platforms worldwide! Go to https://distrokid.com/vip/elmo to get 20% off your first year! Become a Patreon Member to stay in the loop as we post Patreon-only exclusive content, ad free episodes, and discussions about music and music careers. https://www.patreon.com/gowithelmo Please SUBSCRIBE / FOLLOW this podcast to catch new episodes as soon as they drop! Your likes, comments and shares are much appreciated! Listen to the audio form of this podcast wherever you get your podcasts: https://elmolovano.komi.io/ Follow Michael: https://www.instagram.com/michaelleagueplaysmusic/ Follow Go With Elmo: https://www.instagram.com/gowithelmo/ https://www.tiktok.com/@gowithelmo https://x.com/gowithelmopod Follow Elmo Lovano: https://Instagram.com/elmolovano https://x.com/elmolovano Follow Jammcard: https://www.youtube.com/@jammcard https://www.instagram.com/jammcard/ jammcard.com #michaelleague #snarkypuppy #groundupfestival Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Send us Fan MailFeeling stuck can be confusing when your life looks good on paper. We talk about that exact tension: having the job you wanted, having friends, doing all the “right” things and still feeling empty. Instead of ignoring it, we treat it as a signal. That uneasy feeling often points to a bigger truth: fulfillment comes from alignment, not comfort, and alignment usually requires a decision that scares you.We walk through the two catalysts that changed our trajectory. First, we set a clear goal with a real deadline: start a business by the end of the year, then put in reps even before everything made sense. Second, we put ourselves in a high-action environment by attending Grant Cardone's conference in Miami, where the message became obvious fast: if you want to build a business and provide value, you have to share your message and actually help people. That shift turns “maybe someday” into “I'm starting now.”From there, we trace how a practical skill set in accounting, personal finance, and financial literacy can become the foundation for coaching that goes far beyond money. We talk about building a North Star vision, strengthening mindset, supporting mental health and physical health, improving relationships, and staying grounded in service, community, and purpose. We also keep it real about the messy beginning: no sales system, no polished funnel, getting paid through Venmo, then evolving step by step. If you're researching how to start a coaching business, how to start a side hustle, or how to stop overthinking and take action, this is your reminder to build brick by brick.If this hits home, subscribe for more Five Minute Friday insights, share this with a friend who needs a push, and leave a review so more people can find the show. What's one small step you're willing to take this week? To Reach Jordan:Email: Jordan@Edwards.Consulting Youtube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9ejFXH1_BjdnxG4J8u93ZwFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/jordan.edwards.7503Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jordanfedwards/Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanedwards5/Hope you find value in this. If so please provide a 5-star and drop a review.Complimentary Edwards Consulting Session: https://calendly.com/jordan-edwardsconsulting/30min 

 EPISODE DESCRIPTION I sat down with Ilies, CEO of Ouinex, a crypto exchange that launched earlier this year with one clear mission: stop retail traders from getting crushed by institutions on unfair playing fields. Ilies breaks down exactly how traditional crypto exchanges are structured in a way that lets market makers and financial institutions exploit everyday traders, and explains the specific model Ouinex uses to fix that. We also dig into why TradeFi instruments on most crypto exchanges cost retail traders five to seven times more than they should, how AI copilots could change the way traders manage positions, and where the market is headed as institutional money continues flowing into digital assets. If you have ever wondered why your trades seem to always go against you, this episode will open your eyes.DISCLAIMERNothing mentioned in this podcast is investment advice and please do your own research. It would mean a lot if you can leave a review of this podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and share this podcast with a friend. Be a guest on the podcast or contact us - https://www.web3pod.xyz/ CONNECT Ouinex Website: https://ouinex.com/enTwitter/X: https://x.com/OuinexTelegram: https://t.me/+g8twTjE3_wUxY2E0Web3 with Sam Kamani: https://www.web3pod.xyz/ KEY POINTS WITH TIMESTAMPS • [00:54] Ilies shares his background, starting at FXCM 25 years ago and building his way into crypto and founding Ouinex in 2022• [03:24] He explains the central limit order book problem: retail traders are competing in the same order book as well-funded institutions with co-location and full trading teams• [07:26] Ouinex introduces the no-taker execution model, where market makers can only make markets, not take orders, and have no visibility into retail client orders• [08:19] TradeFi instruments on Ouinex tap into decades-old bank liquidity from Goldman, Citi, and Deutsche, making Ouinex around 20x more liquid than competitors on those instruments• [10:23] Ilies compares spreads: a normal TradeFi broker offers around one point on gold, while major crypto exchanges charge around seven points for the same product• [15:37] He describes how thin crypto liquidity lets institutions move markets with small capital, keeping retail as what he calls exit liquidity• [20:00] Ouinex is a multi-asset platform, so when crypto is flat, users can access oil, gold, Nasdaq, and equity markets all from one interface• [21:28] On regulation, Ouinex is actively working with a local partner to obtain a MiCA-aligned license in Europe• [26:24] Discussion on AI in trading: Ilies is skeptical of predictive AI signals but excited about an AI copilot feature that would call traders when their positions hit key levels• [30:30] Ilies and Sam discuss the growing wave of institutional interest in digital assets, with family offices and hedge funds expanding into crypto• [34:30] North Star metrics for Ouinex are trade volume and retention, and currently almost no users are leaving once they join• [37:48] Ouinex is preparing for a seed or Series A round, targeting documentation ready by end of August, and is inviting traders to try the platform

Finding Your Way: When You Feel Lost in Life Have you ever quietly said to yourself, "I've lost my way"? Not necessarily out loud. Just inside your own mind. That feeling that somehow you've become disconnected from where you're going, who you're becoming, or even who you really are. In this deeper dive episode, Paul explores a personal experience of feeling lost after making significant changes in life and identity. What emerged was a surprising realisation: perhaps we don't lose our way at all. Perhaps we simply lose connection with the part of ourselves that already knows the way. This episode explores the uncomfortable space between who you've been and who you're becoming, why that space can feel like grief, and how looking outside yourself for answers often keeps you stuck. Most importantly, you'll experience a guided hypnosis and visualisation process designed to help you reconnect with your future self, discover your inner direction, and uncover the next small step on your journey. Because maybe your path isn't something you find. Maybe it's something you feel. IN THIS EPISODE • Why feeling lost often follows personal growth and change • The hidden link between identity and feeling directionless • Why searching for answers outside yourself can make things worse • The difference between finding a thing and following a direction • How your future self may already know the next step • Using emotion to communicate with your unconscious mind • Why purpose is often discovered through feeling rather than logic • A guided hypnosis process to reconnect with your inner compass KEY TAKEAWAYS ✓ Feeling lost doesn't mean you've lost your way. ✓ Identity shifts can temporarily create uncertainty and confusion. ✓ Your future self can provide guidance when your conscious mind feels stuck. ✓ Direction often appears before the destination becomes clear. ✓ Purpose is experienced through alignment and feeling, not just thinking. ✓ Small steps create clarity far more effectively than endless searching. QUOTE FROM THE EPISODE "You don't have to have the whole plan. You don't need the perfect map. Your future self doesn't hand you the whole journey. It simply nudges you, one step at a time." REFLECTION QUESTIONS • Have I really lost my way, or have I simply lost connection with myself? • What parts of my identity am I currently letting go of? • What feeling am I truly seeking in my future? • If my future self could guide me today, what small step would it suggest? • Am I searching for answers outside myself that may already exist within? CALL TO ACTION If this episode resonated with you, please share it with someone who may be feeling uncertain about their direction in life. https://personaldevelopmentunplugged.com/485-finding-your-way-when-you-feel-lost-in-life And if there is a subject you'd like explored in a future episode, email: feedback@personaldevelopmentunplugged.com Together we'll keep exploring, learning, and evolving. Until next time... Have more fun than you can stand. Shine Brightly

What if walking away from the CEO seat was the smartest career move you could make in AI right now?Cameron Herold sits down with Alex Triplett, COO of you.com, the company quietly powering web search for AI agents behind brands like Salesforce, Anthropic, and Harvey. Alex turned down the chance to be a CEO to take the second-in-command seat at a fast-moving AI startup, and he explains exactly why.They get into the operator work most leaders avoid: walking into a 135-person company, making a brutal focus call, and rebuilding the team around a single mission. Alex breaks down his first 90 days, the listening tour that validated his biggest decision, how he sells to enterprise without getting strung along, and the system that keeps him out of the minutiae.Skip this one, and you risk what most new executives do: the right idea at the wrong time, and broken trust. Listen now for the unfiltered COO playbook on focus and timing.Sponsored byGenius Network - An exclusive community for highly successful entrepreneurs, connecting you with top-tier leaders, strategic insights, and powerful relationships to help you grow your business faster and smarter.Learn more: https://www.geniusnetwork.com/Timestamped Highlights10:16 – “Google for AI agents,” explained: the invisible layer your favorite LLM cannot work without13:18 – You might be using you.com right now without knowing it. Here is where it hides in the AI stack15:08 – How to tell a real enterprise deal from a buyer who is just keeping you busy19:56 – The COO superpower hiding in plain sight, and why it gets you a seat at the C-suite table23:08 – Chief of staff or glorified executive assistant? The title too many companies get wrong25:24 – Three companies, one founder: how Richard runs you.com while raising $650M for a frontier lab33:34 – 135 people on day one: the focus call that cut the team to 110, then built it back stronger38:01 – One mission, one North Star, and the moment focus “just exploded” the company39:23 – The first 90 days that make or break a COO: the listening tour that validated everything47:23 – Why this COO leaves messages unread on purpose, and what it taught him about good decisions50:09 – The one-sentence piece of advice he would give his 22-year-old selfAbout the GuestAlex Triplett is the Chief Operating Officer of you.com, the leading web search API for AI agents, serving customers like Salesforce, Anthropic, and Harvey. An investor turned operator, Alex spent the first decade of his career in private equity before moving to the operating side. He served as Global Head of Corporate Development at ION Group, where he helped grow the business from $150 million to $3 billion in revenue, and later as CFO and COO of Appfire. He also chairs the board of the travel app Pangea and holds a degree from the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia.

In Part 2 of this conversation with Conor Heaney, founder of Optical Success Academy and owner of Jones & Co. in Manchester, Harbir and Conor continue their discussion on what it really takes to grow an independent optometry practice. Picking up from Part 1, they explore the difference between being efficient and being effective, and why some of the most meaningful improvements in a practice come from slowing down, becoming more intentional, and focusing on the experience you actually want to create for patients.Harbir shares more of what he has implemented at Clarity Eyecare after a year inside Optical Success Academy, including better team meetings, improved phone conversations, stronger follow-up, more Google reviews, and a clearer focus on attracting the right clientele. Conor explains why practice owners need a “North Star”: a clear understanding of who they want to serve and what kind of practice they want to build. From there, decisions around pricing, service, marketing, team training, and patient experience become much easier to align.The conversation also dives into team development, delegation, and the shift from doing the work of the optometrist to doing the work of the business owner. Harbir shares a valuable lesson about putting the right person in the right role, while Conor explains how developing your team can create more freedom, better service, and a stronger business. For practice owners who feel busy, stretched, or stuck in the day-to-day, this episode offers practical insight into how small habits and consistent implementation can create meaningful change.Key TakeawaysEffective beats efficient.The fastest or most efficient option is not always the best one. Sometimes slowing down, adding thoughtful service touches, and creating a better patient experience leads to stronger relationships, better word of mouth, and a more successful practice.Your ideal client should guide your practice decisions.Conor explains that when you are clear on who you want to serve, it becomes easier to make decisions around pricing, service, marketing, appointment flow, and team behaviour.Team development creates freedom.Harbir and Conor discuss how putting the right people in the right roles, trusting your team, and delegating more effectively can help both the practice and the practice owner grow.Free Report from Conor HeaneyConor is offering listeners access to his report, The Nine Keys That Unlock the Hidden Profits in Your Practice. To request the report or learn more about Optical Success Academy, email info@opticalsuccessacademy.com.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review & share! http://www.aboutmyeyes.com/podcast/

WHAT IFWhat if the very humility you were raised to wear like a badge of honor is the exact thing quietly capping your career? What if showing up, speaking up, and being seen isn't bragging. That's the whole game. Siri Swahari spent two decades unlearning that lesson, and now she's built an entire movement to make sure other women don't have to figure it out alone.SUMMARY & GUEST INTROSiri Swahari moved to the US at 23 with no network, no roadmap, and no one in her corner. She built her entire career from scratch, volunteer work at a Colorado Springs library to VP at one of the world's largest IT and business consulting firms. Along the way, she founded Women Executive Circle, a community of senior women leaders now active in 12 states and growing. I needed to have this conversation. Her message is one every woman in corporate America needs to hear right now: you were not taught to show up, speak up, and be seen. That ends today.INSIDE THE EPISODEThe Humility Trap. Siri grew up in India being told that announcing her achievements, even being class topper, was bragging. She breaks down the deep unlearning it took to realize that staying invisible when you're already delivering value isn't humility. It's counterproductive.Imposter Syndrome Is a Growth Signal. Siri reframes the thing most women dread: if you're feeling imposter syndrome, you're doing something new, something uncomfortable, something that means you're growing. She shares how a career rotation into an entirely unfamiliar business function transformed how she leads. She coaches others through it now.You Can't Be an NPC in Your Own Career. Siri borrows her son's gaming acronym. NPC, non-playing character. It's what happens when talented women stay silent and expect growth anyway. Advocacy, visibility, and speaking up aren't optional extras. They're the game itself.What Bad Leaders Teach You. Siri and Erica both share how their worst leadership experiences became their most formative ones: the bosses who didn't credit their work, the environments that made people feel disposable, and how those moments became the North Star for the leaders they chose to become.The Origin Story of Women Executive Circle. What started as a small lunch group in Raleigh, born out of a Christmas party that required 100 attendees to happen, became a 12-state community of senior women leaders. Siri tells the full story, including the parking lot moment that made her text her WhatsApp group that Thursday night and say: the world needs this. Let's go.The WEC Framework: Wins, Evolving, Challenges. Siri walks through the rose/bud/thorn icebreaker she adapted into WEC's signature framework. Going around a table and asking 'what's actually going on in your life' unlocks something no traditional networking event ever could. It's the reason a leader who hadn't gotten out of bed in three days showed up to happy hour. She left with a plan.Representation Is the Work. After a women-in-AI event, Brown women lined up to ask Siri how she was so comfortable speaking in public. Not the VP title, not the promotions. That moment is what drives her. Because you can't be what you can't see, and Siri is committed to being visible so others know it's possible.RESOURCES & LINKSWomen Executive Circle: https://www.linkedin.com/company/women-executives-circle/LinkedIn: Siri Swahari: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sirishaswahari/ RESOURCES & LINKSStart small with me inside HER Jumpstart:https://her-collective.mn.co/plans/1985289?bundle_token=60b2c61d62213cdbd16d437cdc0e4204&utm_source=manual

On this episode of the STL Bucket List Show, we sit down with Dr. Tayler Onion—host of the Hang Time podcast, professor at UMSL, former Division I volleyball player, and advocate for women in sports—to discuss one of the fastest-growing movements in athletics today.Tayler shares her journey from growing up on a small farm in rural Illinois to competing at the University of Illinois, earning her doctorate studying women in sports leadership, and launching Hang Time, a podcast dedicated to telling the stories of women who are changing the sports industry. She reflects on the unexpected story behind becoming the Outback Bowl's famous "Bloomin' Onion" mascot, how that experience inspired her first podcast, and why she ultimately rebranded to focus exclusively on women's sports.The conversation explores the incredible rise of women's athletics, the lasting impact of Title IX, why representation in coaching and leadership matters, and how media coverage, fandom, and athlete-driven storytelling are creating opportunities that didn't exist just a few years ago. Tayler also shares her vision for building a stronger community for women working in sports throughout St. Louis, the lessons she's learned as both an athlete and educator, and why she believes the city is ready for even more investment in women's professional sports.From unforgettable championship moments to the future of sports media, this episode is an inspiring conversation about leadership, community, and the people helping shape the next generation of sports.They discuss: - Growing up on a farm in Industry, Illinois, and playing volleyball at the University of Illinois - Winning the "Be the Bloom" contest and becoming the Bloom and Onion mascot at the 2019 Outback Bowl - Launching the Bloom Pod during the pandemic and its focus on everyday people with big ideas - Finishing a doctorate on women's self-perception of power in sports leadership during Title IX's 50th anniversary - The decision to rebrand and relaunch as Hangtime, focused solely on women in sports - Interviewing ESPNW founder Laura Gentile and what it took to build a media category from scratch - The Deloitte projection of $3 billion in women's sports revenue for 2026 - Why traditional brands still don't know how to market to women's sports fans - Growing up without girls' sports and finding a North Star in local player Sam Quiggle - The 1999 U.S. Women's World Cup and Brandi Chastain as formative childhood moments - Reaching the national championship match with Illinois volleyball in 2011 - Teaching in UMSL's Sports Management program and getting students into the Super Bowl, Final Four, and NFL Draft - Hangtime's first in-person event at Urban Chestnut and the upcoming membership launch on August 1st - Bringing more pro women's sports — WNBA, NWSL, PWHL — to St. LouisSupport the show

In this episode of Million Dollar Flip Flops, Rodric sits down with Meggi Rombach for a powerful conversation about midlife pivots, self-reflection, courage, and what it means to stop following the old success script.Meggi shares how her own burnout, health challenge, and career transition led her to help people in midlife redefine their next chapter in a way that feels more aligned with who they really are. Rather than seeing past choices as “wrong,” Meggi offers a more compassionate perspective: maybe that mountain was right for one season, but now it is time to choose a new direction.The conversation explores mindful rebellion, intrapreneurship, speaking up at work, breaking old patterns, and learning how to prototype a new life before making a major leap.In This Episode, You'll LearnWhy the “old success script” stops working for many people in midlifeHow to know when it is time for a new chapterWhy self-reflection is the first step toward changeHow to identify the patterns you keep bringing into new situationsWhy speaking up benefits both employees and leadersWhat “mindful rebellion” really meansHow lifestyle prototyping can help you test your next moveWhy negotiating your way toward your ikigai can open new doorsHighlights & Timestamps[00:00] Why speaking up mattersMeggi explains how people speaking up creates more innovation, engagement, and retention.[01:00] Meet Meggi RombachMeggi shares how she helps people in midlife break away from the old success script and define a more aligned next chapter.[02:00] Right mountain, new seasonRodric and Meggi discuss whether people climb the wrong mountain—or whether the mountain was simply right for a previous phase of life.[03:00] Start with honest self-reflectionMeggi explains why change begins with looking honestly at where you are and whether you still enjoy the path you are on.[04:00] Patterns follow youMeggi shares why people must examine how they show up, or they will carry the same patterns into the next job, relationship, or chapter.[05:00] Fear of speaking upThe conversation turns to why people stay quiet at work and how to share opinions without entitlement.[06:00] Burnout and the turning pointMeggi shares how a major health challenge and burnout forced her to stop, heal, and rethink what came next.[07:00] Mindfulness at workShe explains why mindfulness is not just fluffy meditation—it can improve stress, focus, and efficiency.[08:00] Rebel talentMeggi discusses the research behind rebel talent and why organizations benefit when people challenge the status quo.[09:00] Intrapreneurship and challenging old systemsRodric and Meggi talk about entrepreneurial thinking inside organizations and why many people are afraid to risk their seat.[11:00] Lifestyle prototypingMeggi explains how to test a new direction through side projects, volunteer work, or small experiments before making a major leap.[12:00] Transferable skillsShe shares why people are never truly starting from zero and how existing skills can carry into a new career or business.[13:00] Coaching and portfolio careersMeggi shares her vision for combining coaching with fractional corporate work to create systemic impact.[14:00] Where to find MeggiMeggi shares her podcast, LinkedIn presence, and reflection assessment tool.[15:00] Teleportation and the next guest questionMeggi leaves the next guest a fun question: if teleportation were possible, where would they go and why?[15:30] The lesson of 2025Meggi answers Cindy Baker's question and shares her biggest lesson: negotiate your way into your ikigai.[16:00] Embrace mindful rebellionMeggi closes by encouraging listeners to challenge the status quo, ask uncomfortable questions, and do it with intention.Notable Quotes“If people dare to speak up, to show up, to speak their mind, actually everybody wins.” – Meggi Rombach“I want my people to speak up. I want them to rebel a bit against me because that's when the real good stuff happens.” – Meggi Rombach“It starts with self-reflection.” – Meggi Rombach“Trust your North Star.” – Meggi Rombach“You can say anything as long as you say it politely and without a sense of entitlement.” – Meggi Rombach“Negotiate your way into your ikigai.” – Meggi RombachConnect with Meggi Rombach

Ever feel stuck in the cycle of change? Let's talk about how to embrace it instead! Tag someone who needs to hear this! Change isn't just inevitable; it's essential. Think about the bamboo tree: it spends years growing its roots before it shoots up at an incredible speed. Just like us, sometimes we need to dig deep before we can rise.

Bloomberg is reporting that one of the key signals driving the AI trade is losing its reliability — and that raises a critical question for investors who've built positions around AI infrastructure, chips, and related names. When the narrative cracks, understanding what's driving valuations underneath becomes more important than ever.Today's Stocks & Topics: SAP SE (SAP), Market Wrap, Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (SIRI), AI Tokens, Terex Corporation (TEX), What Happens When the AI Bubble Pops? The Trade Is Losing Its North Star, Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (AIT), Adobe Inc. (ADBE), SMI 3Fourteen Full-Cycle Trend ETF (FCTE), ROTH Conversions, Hyperscalers.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands