Podcasts about kpi

Hemant Taneja believes you can sneeze and reach a billion dollars in healthcare revenue, but that most of that revenue tells you nothing about whether the system is actually getting better.This week, Halle sits down with the CEO of General Catalyst and author of The Transformation Principles to discuss what happens when you stop treating revenue as the primary KPI and start asking harder questions about impact, incentives, and system change. They get into his “health assurance” thesis, what it means for a VC firm to buy a hospital, why “profit-only” capitalism has run its course, and how AI and new payment models could finally bend the cost curve instead of just inflating it.We cover:

Plus d'informations sur Le Collectif : https://www.slowmarketing.co/le-collectif“On n'a pas à choisir entre performance et responsabilité.”Anaïs Baumgarten — autrice de Slow Marketing et consultante — t'embarque dans un épisode-manifeste pour déminer le faux dilemme des CMO: faire du chiffre vs tenir ses engagements. Forte de 6 ans d'accompagnement et de dizaines de cadres marketing coachés, elle explique pourquoi tu peux allier croissance et impact… et comment ne plus avancer seul·e.Dans cet épisode bonus, tu découvres Le Collectif, un mastermind de 10 CMO (janvier–décembre) pensé pour construire une stratégie 2026 qui fait du chiffre ET du sens. Objectif: t'équiper d'outils concrets, d'un réseau de pairs et d'un cadre d'implémentation pour sortir du “powerpoint qui dort” et passer à l'action sans greenwashing.Thèmes abordés :CMO 2026: comment ne plus être écartelé·e entre chiffre et sens.Marketing responsable: pourquoi tu n'as pas à choisir entre performance et impact.Le Collectif: 10 mois, 10 CMO, 10 frameworks actionnables.KPI et frameworks utiles: audit d'impact, méthode ASI (Avoid–Shift–Improve), matrice impact × facilité, anti-greenwashing.Ce que tu en retires: stratégie déployée, +accessibilité & inclusion, clarté, réseau de pairs.Écoute l'épisode complet dès maintenant et découvre pourquoi ta stratégie 2026 peut concilier croissance mesurable et impact crédible.

Commençons par briser un mythe tenace.Non, la culture d'entreprise n'est pas un concept mou ou accessoire.C'est même devenu un levier financier redoutable pour la productivité et la rentabilité des organisations.La culture d'entreprise est désormais un impératif stratégiqueTout d'abord, il faut changer de perspective. La culture d'entreprise est désormais un impératif stratégique. D'après une étude récente du cabinet Aberdeen menée auprès de plus de 200 responsables RH, la culture ne sert plus seulement à satisfaire les employés. Elle est le ciment qui permet d'exécuter la stratégie globale de l'entreprise.Ce qui empêche aujourd'hui les DRH de dormir, c'est la productivité et l'engagement. Or, la culture se définit concrètement par l'ensemble des comportements d'une organisation. Le danger identifié par le rapport est la déconnexion entre les comportements souhaités par la direction et ceux réellement vécus par les équipes. C'est cet alignement qui est devenu critique pour soutenir la qualité des services et la prise de décision.Réduction des coûts opérationnelsEnsuite, parlons chiffres, car l'impact est directement mesurable sur votre bilan. Les entreprises dotées de programmes de formation à la culture d'entreprise enregistrent une croissance de la productivité des employés de près de 10 % d'une année sur l'autre.À l'inverse, celles qui négligent cet aspect voient leurs gains stagner. Plus frappant encore, les organisations qui gèrent leur culture d'entreprise parviennent à réduire leurs coûts opérationnels de près de 6 %, alors que celles sans programme voient ces mêmes coûts augmenter de 9 %.Cela crée un écart de performance de près de 15 % entre les bons et les mauvais élèves, ce qui joue directement sur les marges bénéficiaires.Enfin, comment piloter cette culture efficacement ?L'étude souligne qu'il faut sortir de l'intuition et des simples sondages annuels pour adopter des outils d'écoute complets et sans parti pris, capables de capturer l'humeur de l'organisation en temps réel.Un point crucial à retenir est l'universalité des besoins. Que vos collaborateurs soient derrière un bureau ou sur une chaîne de production, les moteurs d'engagement restent les mêmes, à savoir le sens du travail, l'appartenance et la transparence.Bref, pour générer des résultats, la culture doit être unifiée et mesurée avec la même rigueur que vos KPI financiers.Hébergé par Ausha. Visitez ausha.co/politique-de-confidentialite pour plus d'informations.

Eyes Wide Open: Prepping Your Practice for 2026Let's face it, 2025 has been a wild ride for so many practice owners. But while we can't predict every curveball coming our way, we can go into the new year feeling informed, prepared, and ready to roll with whatever comes next. In this episode, I'm sharing real-world, actionable tips to help you keep your practice thriving in 2026, no crystal ball required! Whether you're worried about insurance changes, want to strengthen your margins, or just want to be proactive (instead of reactive), you'll walk away with practical steps and encouragement for the road ahead.What You'll Learn in This EpisodeHow to spot financial risks before they happen (and what data to watch!)Creative ways to adjust your services when clients face new insurance challengesSimple strategies for diversifying your income and client base—without burning outLinks and ResourcesMoney for Therapists Practice Startup - https://www.greenoakaccounting.com/startupGreenOak Accounting - www.GreenOakAccounting.comTherapy For Your Money Podcast - www.TherapyForYourMoney.comProfit First for Therapists - www.ProfitFirstForTherapists.comProfit First Academy - www.ProfitFirstForTherapists.com/Academy Podcast Production and Show Notes by Course Creation StudioGet our free KPI tracker to see how you practice measures up to others in the industry! www.therapyforyourmoney.com/kpi

Dive into what's next for enterprise AI in the latest episode of Tech-Driven Business. Mustansir Saifuddin welcomes SAP expert Andrea Haupfear for an in-depth conversation on how SAP is helping organizations turn AI from hype into measurable business value. If you're navigating transformation across finance, supply chain, or operations, this episode is a must-listen. Andrea breaks down what makes enterprise AI different—why trusted data, business context, and governance are non-negotiable—and how SAP is embedding AI directly into business processes to improve speed, accuracy, and ROI. Tune in for a real-world example and practical guidance on how organizations can start small, prioritize high-impact use cases, and prepare for what's coming next with Agentic AI. Andrea Haupfear is a Business Process Architect with over a decade of experience driving digital transformation through artificial intelligence and advanced analytics. She specializes in designing and implementing AI-powered solutions that enhance operational efficiency, decision-making, and adaptability across diverse business environments. Andrea is recognized for her strategic leadership in translating complex technologies into scalable, real-world applications, making her a trusted advisor in navigating change and unlocking value through innovation. Connect with Us: LinkedIn: Andrea Haupfear Mustansir Saifuddin Innovative Solution Partners X:  @Mmsaifuddin YouTube or learn more about our sponsor Innovative Solution Partners to schedule a free consultation.    Episode Transcript [00:00:00] Mustansir Saifuddin: Welcome to Tech Driven Business, brought to you by Innovative Solution Partners. I'm honored to have Andrea Haupfear of SAP. Join me today to break down how SAP is helping organizations leverage AI to drive efficiency, reduce risk and deliver measurable ROI. We'll also look ahead at what's next and how you and your team can prepare as AI moves from experimental to essential for enterprises to thrive. [00:00:35] Hello Andrea. How are you? [00:00:37] Andrea Haupfear: I'm good. How are you? [00:00:40] Mustansir Saifuddin: Doing well, doing well. I'm so excited to have you on our show. So thank you for coming on. Today we would like to talk about the latest SAP's AI journey and the business transformation. And what it really means for SAP customers. How does it sound? [00:00:57] Andrea Haupfear: Sure. No, it sounds great. This is one of my passions that I love to talk about, and so you know, happy and excited to actually share a little bit about what we're doing with AI at SAP and what we've seen in the field with our customers. So, super excited and it's a pleasure being here. [00:01:14] So thank you again for inviting me here. [00:01:17] Mustansir Saifuddin: Awesome. Awesome. Let's get into it, we know we are at an inflection point, right? AI is moving so fast and it's actually turning from experimental to essential, right? For in a lot of different cases. So let's focus in how is SAP's AI strategy fundamentally different from consumer AI? And why does it really matter for enterprises? [00:01:39] Andrea Haupfear: Yeah, absolutely. So a couple of things that I wanna kind of touch on here. So oftentimes, and you mentioned this, right, we, we've used, we've used AI in our personal and daily lives for, you know, the last decade plus, right? I mean, when you think about AI, a lot of people think about Siri or Alexa or ChatGPT, right? [00:02:01] And you know, when I personally think about AI you've got your broad and creative tasks. What we've done in our personal lives, you know, everything from creating a grocery list to, editing a, a photo, right? A family photo. But from a business perspective you know, an enterprise AI, it really has to change those business outcomes. [00:02:26] And really when you think about this, think about, you know, everything from could be closing the books faster or. A faster on time delivery rate or reducing risk in my supply chain. And how do we ultimately do it with the highest level of governance, auditability, cost control. And so SAP's approach is really built around that flywheel of applications, data and that additional layer of artificial intelligence on top of it. [00:02:58] So there's, there's that aspect to it, but then also thinking about it in a couple of other ways of how we're doing this. Is, you know, yes, we're embedding it where your business or where the work happens. So making it easier for our end users to be able to leverage artificial intelligent capabilities and even machine learning capabilities, not just [00:03:23] from a digital assistant or a chat perspective, but how do we integrate it and infuse it within their specific business, day-to-day business processes to make their lives that much easier? But then also thinking about it from a strategic perspective, how can I obtain that high level of ROI by leveraging artificial intelligence. [00:03:47] So we're seeing it in a couple of different flavors from our customers. And then also what we're developing from a, from a product perspective as well. So we're thinking about it from a couple of different angles. [00:04:00] Additionally, thinking about it from a AI operating system for our developers and for our consultants, leveraging the AI foundation on the business technology platform. [00:04:13] So think about what used to be our developers would have to generate thousands upon thousands of lines of code. Now that's no longer the case, right? It can take them you know, a, a minute or so now to develop the, these applications and these lines of code to where it's, it's easier for them to go about their day-to-day jobs and their, their tasks where now they don't have to spend days upon days trying to develop these different applications and agents. [00:04:45] It also lets you and I just mentioned around agents, it also lets you create and govern custom agents to read and write back to SAP and non SAP systems. Thinking about this automation and accountability, not just getting those pointed answers, right? And then last but not least, kind of how I think about this is, yes, you've got your trust. [00:05:09] Think about trust not only in the data from looking at it in your SAP systems, but also think about non SAP systems. Think about your third party applications that you're going in and looking at the data, whether it's geographic information customer sentiment information, or it could even be, asset related sensor information, right? So bringing in that data as well as looking at it from your SAP business data context but then also looking at it with responsibility. So SAP has that responsible AI program in place really aligned to the UN UNESCO principles and the ISO 4 2 0 0 1 certification to really prioritize [00:05:57] those ethics and compliance and human oversight within our, our AI applications such as, you know, AI core and our digital assistant juul. So really taking it from a full spectrum approach and looking at it at the holistic level and how we can bring in artificial intelligence within these, these areas. [00:06:20] Mustansir Saifuddin: I love the way you kind of package it all together, from an overall perspective, especially, you know, the two things that really stuck out to me was. Again, coming from a business side, what is in it for a customer, right? What is the real value? [00:06:35] And you touched upon two things, embedding it. So a person who is currently doing a job and they're used to doing it manually. Now you can. Embed these ai component to their daily work streams, right? And how they can, you know, utilize that. And the second part I really loved it is you talked about ROI really what is the return I'm getting on this investment, right? And then lastly, you talked about data. So let's, let's talk about that. You know, here's the uncomfortable truth. AI is only as good as the data it learns from. We all know that. We all talk about it. And we have always heard this term garbage and garbage out, but what that sort really mean when we are talking SAP AI, making recommendations to customers and we are talking the effect in terms of millions in revenues or supply chain decisions. How would you like to address that? What is, what is SAP's approach on that? [00:07:33] Andrea Haupfear: Yeah, so a couple of things and you know, I've heard that term many times and coming and being an ex consultant. It's, it's definitely right. You're only as good as, as I've heard, you know, as the data that you have. So my thought on this is really when you have an AI agent that recommends, say for example, expediting a shipment or reclassifying a receivable, the truth that it relies on, [00:08:00] is your master data. [00:08:01] It is your transactional history and any sort of process constraints that lie in between. So ultimately, when I think about this, it's not just your, your master data. It's a, it's a multitude of things that ultimately will help the AI model in the end. In the end game to take those three pillars and turn garbage in into good decisions out. [00:08:27] The other piece that, how I think about this are semantics and not necessarily just schemas. So think about when we have some of our solutions such as Business Data Cloud, which carries those semantics and lineage into your AI workloads. So say for example, the customer, the plants, or an open po, it means the same thing everywhere. [00:08:51] And that's really critical for explainability and audit purposes. That's another way how I think about this. And then also just looking at this from a context perspective. So I also think about, you have to train a model when at first go, right? And be able to provide it some context, some instruction, some understanding that says, this is where this particular business process lies. [00:09:17] This is how the process should look and feel. What does good look like? And that's ultimately what we explain and tell our customers is we need to train our model to understand what does good look like, and this is where you have that context, rich retrieval and not just kind of that blind prompting that just says, go do this. [00:09:36] But the model will try to establish what it thinks good looks like, which may not necessarily mean what you think good looks like. This is where SAP HANA Cloud will bring in that vector engine, so those semantic retrievals and documents and notes and images. [00:09:53] Think about a knowledge graph. So it brings in those specific facts and relationships from your ERP, but then also thinking about a rag model as well, reducing those hallucinations and making those citations explainable. So why did the model or an agent be able to go through the process that it did? [00:10:16] Well, that's because there's multiple steps and instructions that the model has to take in order to provide an accurate response. Those are some of the things in, in which we leverage today with our customers and really making it so that way it's, yes, they may not always have the best data, but let's provide additional context to really help, again, make those good decisions coming out. [00:10:41] Mustansir Saifuddin: I liked the way you tied it together, right? We talk about business semantics being so important, BDC, the business data cloud. How is that coming into play in this conversation? And then coming from business semantics into a context. A context really is required for the answers to make sense and be business relevant. [00:11:03] So I really love the way you kind of connected together. Let's zoom in. Let's pick an industry. And there are so many examples that manufacturing, retail, financial services. Can you walk us through one compelling use case where SAP AI is really creating these breakthrough value? [00:11:21] What was the business problem? And how did AI solve it differently? [00:11:26] Andrea Haupfear: Yeah, absolutely. Mentioned at the beginning, SAP is investing heavily within artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities, not just from an embedded AI perspective, but also think about it from a tailored AI perspective. So I mentioned [00:11:41] Business Data Cloud, being able to pull information and data not only from your internal SAP systems, but also external and third party information. And I wanna give you an example in a use case real world use case of a dairy co-op out of Wisconsin that is actually doing this today [00:12:00] from a very innovative approach. [00:12:02] Their challenge was around their performance at the subcontracting level. Ultimately these guys have a dairy co-op with their local farmers or farm base. They bring in the milk to not only from an internal manufacturing perspective to process out milk cheese, butter whey, et cetera cream, but they also subcontract it out as well. [00:12:28] And so this is really where they wanted to be able to get a better understanding, not just insights perspective on their data at their subcontractors from a yield output perspective. How much dairy, how much cheese was being was an output or yield, but what was going in and then going in versus going out. [00:12:50] And so ultimately what they wanted to be able to do was, yes, be able to look at the yield perspective from an insights, but they wanted to be able to leverage and infuse artificial intelligence from this process to ultimately help with their reduce of shrink. And contributing to a 1% KPI, which ultimately makes up to you and I roughly 10 to $15 million. [00:13:16] Okay. So just to kind of put it in perspective here of how much we're talking about. And so what they did was, yes, we have the insights from an analytics perspective, they wanted to be able to make it easier for their dairy supply chain planners to be able to, in real time through natural language processing, be able to chat with a digital assistant to gain insights around, Hey, what is my yield output for specific plant? [00:13:42] Tell me my highest and lowest plants that had the yield output. Tell me un understanding from a scrapping perspective how much waste is going out. So they wanted to be able to look at these specific metrics and be able to get a better understanding, hey, which particular plant is performing the best versus the worst. [00:14:03] So that way they can help to be able to retain and possibly improve some of these plant relationships going forward. Additionally as kind of that part two, what they wanted to be able to do is they receive manual yield output reports on a weekly basis from these subcontractors. It's typically in a PDF format, Excel, PDF format, and oftentimes these can be miskeyed into their S4 system. [00:14:35] And what they wanted to be able to do is be able to have an a little bit more of an automated process. Of, yes, not only uploading these reports that they, they have to manually key in today, but they wanted to be able to provide some intelligence behind it. And so this is where we've put in outlier detection on these attachments to where now I can see, okay, was there a miskey or an oversight that says, okay, you know, this should have been 2,622 versus 6,222. It can detect those mis keys in real time to say, Hey. For my supply chain planner, this doesn't necessarily look right. It's way outta whack compared to what was previously entered in, in the previous weeks. [00:15:24] You should triple check this, right? So it's, it's being able to provide a little bit more of, think of like big brother watching over you before it actually goes and hits into their ERP system. This is ultimately contributing to their supply chain process and has a direct impact on their KPI metrics that they're leveraging. [00:15:44] In this case, it's it's within shrink, so really getting a, a better handle on that. [00:15:50] Mustansir Saifuddin: No, I think the, the way you explained it, it is a great example 'cause now I can see not only does it apply to this particular industry, but it can cut across multiple industries. [00:16:00] Right. Because the example talked about production at a plant level. At the same time, the supply chain mishaps that can happen. [00:16:08] And usually a human eye can take so much [00:16:11] or can detect so much, but you can't try and put it together in a way that you guide your, your workforce to look at anomalies that can really help you steer the ship in the right direction quickly and efficiently. So that's great. [00:16:26] That really leads into my, my next question is, all of this is great, right? This is happening right now, we can see like the example you use, [00:16:35] right? It is in action. It is in motion, and customers are seeing value. Let's fast forward, where is SAP's AI development heading? You know, let's take a time horizon, 18 to 24 months. What capabilities should organizations be preparing for? Because it is all about future proofing ourselves, right? And how should they architect the solutions today to be ready for that feature, you know, coming up so quickly? [00:17:02] Andrea Haupfear: Yeah, absolutely. So a couple things that that come to mind. So number one and we've all been hearing kind of the next and elitist buzzword is around agents and agentic AI. So really how. I think about agents is how do we provide some of those tasks that, you know, may not necessarily whether they're they're still important, but, you know, maybe take up a lot of our time [00:17:29] but being able to provide and have a AI model behind that. To really free up some of the workload and provide some of our end users more on the strategic front. Freeing up some of that time. So I think in my humbled opinion, Agentic AI but Agentic AI at scale. So a lot of our customers are looking at what we have and this is where we're embedding. [00:17:54] Within our SAP applications agents within each one of our lines of business, but also custom agents. So this is something that is going to be released here in the next next several months, is looking at I have my embedded agents, but if I have very specific and unique, maybe differentiated business processes, how can I be able to integrate and infuse custom agents or an agent within this particular process? [00:18:23] And so this is really where I think is gonna we're really gonna see a lot of value coming in from our customers that says, yes, I can use agents in a multitude of different ways. Second is thinking about as an organization, we're becoming more dynamic and, and open source for data and how we can process it in a business context. [00:18:47] So thinking about, yes, I mentioned the Business Data Cloud, but also you know, strong partnerships. That was just announced with Snowflake as well. Right? So bringing in, yes, not only our internal data, but also our external data as well. How can we take that data and be able to normalize it? As far as from an architect's perspective, here are a couple points that I was kind of thinking about in my mind as we were going through this. [00:19:13] Was around keeping the core clean, right? So making sure that, yes, we're using our, our business technology platform various extensions and agents and skills from from JUUL studio and avoiding really those those drastic upgrades. And also kind of how I'm thinking about this is adopting that data product mindset. [00:19:40] So looking at, and I mentioned this as well, like Business Data Cloud, from looking at semantics and lineage, but also looking at retrieval methods. So vector engines and knowledge graphs. But then also thinking about it from a process perspective and [00:20:00] designing agent guardrails. So making sure that you have a much more standardization of an understanding of those roles and permissions. [00:20:10] Understanding human in the loop checkpoints at what point should be automated versus, okay, we need to have a set of eyes on this to actually be able to say, yep, this looks correct. I think that that's extremely important. [00:20:25] Mustansir Saifuddin: Yeah, for sure. And I think a couple of things that really stuck out for me. One is very near and dear to me, is the data part. And you talked about the partnership with Snowflake coming out recently, and I think it's important, especially when we talk about data for an organization. It's not just SAP data, it's like the overall, right? [00:20:42] You know, this, what does it really make up my organization? So [00:20:45] great approach from SAP, how it's trying to bring in like a business context around it, right? You have information within your ERP, outside of your ERP and then using the BTP platform. and the BDC platform to kind of bring it all together. So I think great segue, especially when we talk about agents and you know, we've all been talking about agents you know, for quite some time now, but now we can see the real value, how we can customize it and bring it together from a data perspective. So great conversation. On a personal note, how are you staying up, you know, on top of all these changes taking place in technology and business? What is your secret sauce? [00:21:26] Andrea Haupfear: Yeah, no, it's tough 'cause it's changing daily, weekly, right. And so being able to stay, have it stay top of mind. This is something that is part of, yes, not only my passion and what I do day in and day out, right, but also looking and getting, keeping educated not only from a process perspective by virtue of, you know, our internal processes, what we have in our products and our product offering, but also external with our clients. [00:21:54] To say, okay, what are they doing today with their processes? And then how can we leverage AI within that? So yes, not only from an internal knowledge sharing perspective, from a functional and technical perspective, but also external as well. And then thinking about external blogs, news sources, those are just kind of some of the things that I try to stay up to date. [00:22:16] You know, as best as I can. [00:22:18] Mustansir Saifuddin: No, I hear you on that. It is, it is a constant learning and I think that's the key, right? Educating [00:22:23] and educating and educating and be able to find your sources. I think that's the key. Great conversation. I know we are at time, what would you take out of this conversation that we just had and want to leave a particular takeaway for our listeners and folks who are interested in this topic? [00:22:42] Andrea Haupfear: Sure. Absolutely. So AI is not just like, and, and I meant we mentioned this earlier on, right? AI is not just in our personal lives, but it's also in our workplace and it's very, very real. We are seeing our companies and our customers take advantage of infusing AI into their business processes and receiving the high ROI in their processes. [00:23:05] The key is to start small. Strategically and identify which areas will have AI and will have that high ROI, but then also have the highest value when it comes from an impact perspective. We see this to where we run this as, as ultimately an ideation sessions with our customers and from the takeaway out of those sessions is they can start to craft an internal roadmap that will lead them to AI success. [00:23:38] And ultimately our organization can help them get there along the way, even whether they're just dipping their toe in the AI pool or some, some customers that we deal with already have strong partnerships with large language model providers or they're partnering with universities, things like that. [00:23:57] The end goal in net net is that [00:24:00] our organization can help to not only help identify those high value AI use cases, but also investing in you to create those. We offer a free proof of concept in as much as eight weeks. You mentioned this, you know how frequently this is changing. [00:24:18] AI is changing. Right? And this is where we can develop these proof of concepts to where you, our customers can be able to realize those value in a very quick and short amount of time. And so that's ultimately where I wanna leave the audience with is that we're, we're seeing AI not just in our personal lives, but also in the workplace. [00:24:39] And we're actually showing them and, having them realize it in real time. So you guys can, can feel free to reach out to me. I think we'll have my contact information at the end of the podcast here. But you know, happy to have further conversations with you and your organization. [00:24:55] I wanna thank you again personally for inviting me to the podcast and to discuss a, a very, very close and passionate topic for me. [00:25:04] Mustansir Saifuddin: It's a pleasure to have you, Andrea, and really, I think it was a great conversation. You touched upon so many different things and I think that was the purpose of this, was to kind of bring light to exactly what's going on in, you know, we talk about AI in general, but what is really happening at the inter-enterprise level [00:25:21] and what is the real value when folks are looking at, from a business perspective. How to increase ROI in this new technology and what does really mean in terms of increasing business revenue and across the board improving efficiencies. Right? So it's all together. But thank you so much for coming on our show. [00:25:42] Andrea Haupfear: Absolutely. Thank you for having me. [00:25:44] Mustansir Saifuddin: Thanks for listening to Drug Driven Business, brought to you by Innovative Solution Partners. SAP is helping customers move from AI experimentation to enterprise value by embedding AI where work happens, grounding it in trusted data and business context. And ensuring governance, auditability, and control. [00:26:10] Andrea's Key takeaway? Start small. Focus on the highest ROI use cases and build a clear roadmap because when AI is tied to real processes and real outcomes, SAP customers can unlock faster decisions, lower risk, and measurable impact. We would love to hear from you. Continue the conversation by connecting with me on LinkedIn or X. [00:26:36] Learn more about innovative solution partners and schedule a free consultation by visiting isolutionpartners.com. Never miss a podcast by subscribing to our YouTube channel. Information is in the show notes.        

Dr. Paul DeChant is a thought leader on preventing burnout by fixing the workplace drivers of burnout, not simply helping workers become more resilient. Paul advises C-level healthcare executives on managing critical problems such as financial and staffing challenges by transforming management systems and cultures to reduce the root causes of clinician burnout. Done properly, client organizations improve KPI performance while reducing team member burnout. Following 25 years practicing family medicine, Dr. DeChant became CEO of the Sutter Gould Medical Foundation, where he led a transformation based on the theme of “Returning Joy to Patient Care.” After four years the group achieved recognition as the highest performing among 170 medical groups across the State of California two years in a row, while improving physician satisfaction from the 45th to 87th percentile on AMGA's Provider Satisfaction Survey. He received his MD from the Oregon Health Sciences University and his MBA from the University of Colorado-Denver. Co-author of the book, “Preventing Physician Burnout: Curing the Chaos and Returning Joy to the Practice of Medicine”, Paul speaks internationally, and blogs regularly at www.pauldechantmd.comThanks for tuning in! Check out more episodes of The Well-Being Connector at www.bethejoy.org/podcast.

A dieci anni dal lancio dell'Agenda 2030, dove siamo davvero arrivati?E cosa dicono i dati, al di là delle dichiarazioni di principio?In questa puntata, registrata live durante la tredicesima edizione del Salone della CSR e dell'Innovazione Sociale, Davide Franzago, Enrico Chiari e Leonardo Feletto dialogano con Walter Sancassiani, co-fondatore di Focus Lab, società benefit e B Corp che da anni lavora su misurazione dell'impatto, SDGs e processi di sostenibilità per imprese ed enti pubblici. Con lui parliamo di:cosa sono davvero i 17 Obiettivi di Sviluppo Sostenibile e perché restano un riferimento strategico;a che punto sono Italia ed Europa nel percorso verso il 2030;il ruolo dei dati, dei KPI e della misurazione per evitare che la sostenibilità resti solo narrativa;l'importanza delle partnership tra imprese, pubbliche amministrazioni e terzo settore;perché servono meno slogan e più collaborazione, visione di lungo periodo e lavoro sui territori.Un confronto lucido, basato su evidenze e casi concreti, che restituisce complessità ma anche fiducia: perché, come racconta Sancassiani, le buone pratiche esistono già — spesso fanno poco rumore, ma stanno cambiando le cose.▪️ Walter Sancassiani - Focus Labhttps://focus-lab.it/walter-sancassiani/▪️ Il Salone della CSR e dell'Innovazione Socialehttps://www.csreinnovazionesociale.it/

When Matt Aulsbrook moved to Fort Worth, he was riding the bus to DWI classes and sleeping on a blow-up mattress. No license. No law degree. No safety net. Today, his firm is one of the most active trial teams in Tarrant County, with an eight-figure practice built on profit discipline, not vanity metrics. In this episode, Matt breaks down how he bootstrapped growth, survived the lean years, and uses a simple KPI stack to keep his PI shop healthy in a brutal market. You'll learn: The real ROI timelines behind digital, radio, and TV (and how to know if your spend is actually working) The simple KPI mix that reveals whether your firm is healthy, overstaffed, or running too thin What high-performing intake teams focus on to consistently convert wanted leads Ways firms are using AI and mass-tort diversification to stay resilient in unpredictable markets If you like what you hear, hit subscribe. We do this every week. Get Social! Personal Injury Mastermind (PIM) powered by Rankings.io is on Instagram | YouTube | TikTok

Abdul Al Assad, founder of Basic Capital, joins the show to discuss why people deserve more leverage in their retirement portfolios. A smart man once said that "men go broke over ladies, liquor, and leverage." Abdul articulates a different version of leverage; specifically medium duration (10 year) non callable, non recourse leverage. In the episode Abdul acknowledges the potential for large market to market drawdowns. That said, he challenges the listeners to think through the long-term implications of what he is saying.We hope you enjoy the discussion. Sponsorship InformationThank you to ⁠Trata⁠ for sponsoring the show.If you're listening to this podcast, you'll like Trata. Trata is buyside to buyside conversations on individual stocks. Trata makes finding a bull or bear on any stock as easy as clicking two buttons. Over 125 funds globally contribute that collectively cover 2000+ tickers. Trata raised over $3mm coming out of Y Combinator. Before you would track 13Fs, now you can understand what funds are actually thinking. You can join as a lurker or you can join as a contributor and Trata will pay you hundreds of dollars per call. For a free trial, go to ⁠trytrata.com/brew⁠ OG Sponsor Shoutout!Thank you to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for sponsoring the show. DISCOUNT INFO: If you use the affiliate link ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠fiscal.ai/brew⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, you will automatically get 2 weeks of Fiscal Pro for Free and if you find that you want to upgrade, my link will get you 15% off any paid plans. About ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ is the complete modern data terminal for global equities.The ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ platform combines a powerful user experience with all the financial data capabilities that professional investors need. Users get up to 20 years of historical financials for all stocks globally that they can easily chart, compare, or export into their own models. And unlike legacy data terminals where it can take hours or even days, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠'s data is updated within minutes of earnings reports. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ also tracks all the company-specific Segment & KPI data so you don't have to. Like to track Amazon's Cloud Revenue? They've got it.How about Spotify's premium subscribers? Or Google's quarterly paid clicks?They've got all of it.

In this espisoder, our listeners ask John anything! Summary Your chance to ask John anything!  In this episode of the Customer Service Revolution podcast, Denise Thompson asks John R. DiJulius III questions submitted by our listeners.  They discuss various aspects of improving customer service and employee engagement. They address the challenges of busy schedules, the importance of empathy, recognition, and training, and the role of middle management in driving customer experience. The conversation emphasizes the need for a human touch in customer interactions, even in an age of automation, and highlights the significance of creating a customer experience action statement as a guiding principle for organizations. Takeaways: Start with a customer experience action statement as a guiding principle. Employees may not care as much as entrepreneurs, but they can be engaged. Earned growth is a better KPI than traditional metrics like NPS. Empathy fatigue is real; leaders must help employees manage it. Recognition and appreciation are crucial for employee motivation. Training should allow for personal expression while maintaining professionalism. Middle management plays a key role in driving customer experience initiatives. Human interaction is essential, even in an increasingly automated world. Hiring for empathy and people skills is critical for customer service roles. The first commandment of customer experience is igniting the revolution. Chapters: 00:00Igniting the Customer Experience Revolution 11:58Balancing Budgets and Customer Experience Investment 15:06Re-energizing Employees Around the Mission 17:37The Role of Middle Management in Customer Experience 24:56Training for Consistency Without Scripts 27:31Future-Proofing Customer Experience 38:22Conclusion and Key Takeaways Links: Schedule a Complimentary Call with one of our advisors:  tdg.click/claudia Ask John!  Submit your questions for John, to be aired on future episode:  tdg.click/ask Customer Experience Executive Academy: https://thedijuliusgroup.com/project/cx-executive-academy/ The DiJulius Group Methdology: https://thedijuliusgroup.com/x-commandment-methodology/ Experience Revolution Membership:  https://thedijuliusgroup.com/membership/ Books:  https://thedijuliusgroup.com/shop/ Contacts:  Lindsey@thedijuliusgroup.com , Claudia@thedijuliusgroup.com   Subscribe We talk about topics like this each week; be sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts so you don't miss an episode.

November delivered fewer updates, but several major AI and retail-media changes worth planning around. In this episode, Jeremy and Emily unpack new Google AI creative capabilities, Amazon's unified ad platform and creative agents, ChatGPT's new shopping assistant, and Google's expansion of PMax into Waze placements.Top takeawaysGoogle Gemini 3 + Nano Banana ProHigh-fidelity image generation now produces accurate text, consistent characters, and branded-quality visuals.Direct exports to Sheets/Slides strengthen workflow automation for marketers.A meaningful creative leap that positions Gemini as a real competitor to ChatGPT for production use.Amazon Unifies Ads + DSP + Adds AI Creative ToolsSponsored Ads and DSP now live in a single campaign manager, lowering barriers to programmatic buying.New Ads Agent and Creative Agent generate product and lifestyle imagery, though quality still varies.Expect more AI-generated assets across Amazon; realism and accuracy will be key brand differentiators.ChatGPT Shopping Research AssistantNew agentic shopping flow asks clarifying questions and compares real-time product specs and pricing.Signals how ChatGPT may integrate ads in early 2026.Strong reminder to maintain complete, accurate product data and imagery.Performance Max Extends to WazeStore-focused PMax campaigns can now serve in Waze for high-intent navigational and “near me” searches.Strong win for brick-and-mortar advertisers capturing real-time local demand.Follow The Click Brief for fast, no-fluff performance marketing updates.Visit The Click Brief blog for more in-depth analysis and updates from November.  

Le SEO est-il mort ? Non. Mais le GEO monte en flèche — et l'ignorer peut vous faire perdre en visibilité, en génération de leads… et en acquisition de clients.Le GEO (Generative Engine Optimization), c'est la nouvelle frontière du contenu : celle où vous n'optimisez plus uniquement pour Google, mais aussi pour les moteurs génératifs comme ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude ou Gemini. Objectif : que vos contenus soient mentionnés, cités et recommandés quand votre cible pose des questions à une IA.Dans cet épisode du My Marketing Podcast, Sandie Giacobi reçoit Karine Abbou, experte en stratégie de contenu et marketing B2B, pour comprendre comment devenir une source fiable pour les LLM — et comment adapter votre approche sans repartir de zéro.Ce que vous allez découvrirGEO : définition simple et pourquoi il transforme déjà la visibilité des entreprisesSEO vs GEO : les 3 différences clés pour ajuster votre stratégie marketingPourquoi des contenus IA “génériques” ne vous rendront jamais visible (ni mémorable)Les 3 KPI à suivre dès maintenant : mentions, citations, part de voixComment devenir LA source de référence sur votre sujet (et renforcer votre branding)Comment construire une stratégie de contenu multicanale qui “séduit” les IALes outils pour auditer votre visibilité et prendre de l'avance (avant que ce soit saturé)La méthode pour adapter vos contenus sans tout recommencer, ni vous disperserLes constats qui piquent (mais utiles)Avoir un bon site ne suffit plus : vos contenus doivent vivre au-delà de votre siteLe SEO seul ne garantit plus la découvrabilité sur l'ensemble du webLes LLM s'appuient sur des sources multiples — pas forcément les vôtres (pour l'instant)Sans différenciation, autorité et positionnement, votre contenu devient invisiblePour qui est cet épisode ?Dirigeants de TPE/PME qui veulent anticiper les changements du web et mieux vendreResponsables marketing qui doivent repenser leur stratégie de contenu et leur diffusionEntrepreneurs qui veulent comprendre les règles du jeu des IA (sans jargon inutile)Créateurs de contenu B2B qui veulent rester visibles dans un monde “post-Google”Abonnez-vous pour recevoir chaque semaine des conseils marketing actionnables en marketing B2B, stratégie, contenu et croissance — et partagez cet épisode à un dirigeant ou responsable marketing qui veut garder une longueur d'avance.Ressources en plus https://08h08mmx.substack.com/p/geo-comment-rendre-votre-entrepriseHébergé par Ausha. Visitez ausha.co/politique-de-confidentialite pour plus d'informations.

In Part Two of this high-impact conversation, Dwayne continues his deep dive with global business strategist and Success Story Podcast host Scott Clary, who breaks down exactly why attention is the foundational currency of modern business — and why companies that fail to adapt will be overtaken by those who move quickly with media, content, and AI.Scott unpacks the psychology of why leaders resist content, the identity fear behind “not wanting to suck,” and how legacy businesses risk losing everything because they're still marketing for 2005 while technology is sprinting into 2025.Dwayne and Scott explore real-world examples—from lawn-care companies to B2B manufacturers to billion-dollar firms—and show how even the most “unsexy” industries can dominate simply by capturing attention and building trust at scale.The conversation expands into AI disruption, the collapse of traditional SEO, the rise of generative search, modern buyer behavior, shortening sales cycles through content, and the undeniable compounding power of personal brand.This episode is a wake-up call to business owners everywhere: adapt now, or be replaced by those who do.EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS00:00 – Media equals attention and attention drives every business outcome. 02:00 – The real starting point for content: sucking at first and learning through repetition.04:30 – Scott unpacks why universal business principles apply to content creation. 06:00 – Identity, fear, and why business owners avoid content creation.07:00 – The widening gap between tech adopters and those still resisting digital change. 09:00 – Legacy vs. legitimacy: content won't damage your reputation, but irrelevance will. 11:00 – Content isn't just video - newsletters, audio, and niche education all count. 13:00 – Niche creators winning with “unsexy” businesses. 17:00 – Example content strategies.20:00 – Why Scott studies fast-growing creators - not the biggest creators. 23:00 – The explosive business outcomes possible when you master content (“not a 1x or 2x”). 27:00 – Why even billion-dollar CEOs must build trust through media. 33:00 – How content accelerates B2B sales cycles and increases closing ratios. 37:00 – Generative search is replacing Google.43:00 – Scott breaks down the KPI stack: retention, shares, watch time, and qualified leads. 48:00 – Essential tools: ChatGPT, Claude, Opus Pro, CapCut, etc., and what they're best for. 50:00 – Hiring global talent.56:00 – The coming AI household-assistant revolution.01:02:00 – SEO collapse and the rise of creator-driven education and media networks. 01:08:00 – Entrepreneurs have already done hard things - this is simply the next one. 01:10:00 – Passion is the outcome of mastery, not the prerequisite. 01:11:00 – How older leaders can partner with younger digital natives.KEY TAKEAWAYSAttention is the gateway to trust, and trust drives every buying decision.Content doesn't mean dancing online; it means choosing a medium you can stick with.AI and generative search are rewriting SEO overnight.Content massively increases sales velocity and close rates.Small businesses have the most to gain from adopting a media strategy.Entrepreneurship is staying alive long enough for your strategy to work. QUOTES:"Media is attention. From the beginning of time, attention and...

Most dental offices don't have an office manager problem—they have a role definition problem. We promoted the best front desk performer, gave them a title, and then left them buried in tasks with no roadmap for leadership. In this conversation, I share the exact KPI-based bonus system that transforms a “super admin” into a true leader who aligns team behavior with the practice's goals and delivers measurable growth.Ready to align behavior with results and build a practice that runs without you? Subscribe, share this episode with a fellow practice owner, and leave a review to tell us which KPI you're prioritizing next.GRAB THE FREE PLAYBOOK HERE - Discover 30 proven strategies top-performing dentists use to increase profits, cut clinical days, and finally enjoy the freedom they originally built their practices for.https://www.dentalpracticeheroes.com/playbook Check out www.relevanceonlinemarketing.com if you want to get the same great marketing results as Dr. Etch.  Mention DPH and get your first month FREE!Take Control of Your Practice and Your Life We help dentists take more time off while making more money through systematization, team empowerment, and creating leadership teams. Ready to build a practice that works for you? Visit www.DentalPracticeHeroes.com to learn more.

Having helped grow Duckhorn from $5M to $500M in revenue and the sales team from 1 to >100 people, Pete Przbylinksi, former Chief Sales Officer of The Duckhorn Portfolio for nearly 30 years, has a deep understanding of managing US wholesale markets. In this two-part episode, Pete dives into every aspect of managing a wholesale sales team, including incentive structures and collaborating with distributors.Detailed Show Notes: Duckhorn went from 50k cases / ~$5M in revenue / 14-15 employees (1995) to ~$500M revenue (2024)The Duckhorn PortfolioDuck themed: Duckhorn Vineyards (1978), Decoy (2nd label originally), Paraduxx (1994), Goldeneye, Migration, CanvasbackAcquisitions: Calera (2017), Kosta Browne (2018), Sonoma Cutrer (2024)Keys to Duckhorn's successBrand equity - focused on Merlot, which was hot in 1980s-1990s and catapulted wineryKey assets - #1 people, #2 brand equityThe French Paradox (1991) created big demand for red wineTable stakes are good scores, showing up in the market, hosting guestsSales team grew from 1 person to >100 (~85 in the field)No perfect way to calculate ROI for sales people1st method: too many cases & distributors to manage, needed more people2nd method: quantified expected incremental sales from more people (data was full of holes)Final method: managed to target of 8-10% sales opex / revenue, because a KPI for SLT and BoardSales team rolesRegional Managers, over a series of states (50-60% of time working w/ distributors, the rest out in the market or internal analysis and reporting)District Managers, geographically concentrated, go into accounts you want to be inNational Accounts, on and off-premise; a challenge to determine which accounts are national vs regional, ended up doing it case by case and assigning accountsDistributor consolidation led to wineries needed to do the work they cannot doE.g. - identifying underrepresented accounts and coming up with action plan by regionIdentifying top salespeopleLook at overall contribution margin for the regionShare of business in market (using IRI, distributor reports, account base)Gross Profit%, identifies amount of trade spend usedHow responsive they are, their handle on the market, their decision making#1 method: do they bring new ideas to the tableIncentivizing salespeopleBonuses must be meaningful (25-35% is meaningful), higher for higher levelsLook at contribution margin relative to budgetUsed a curve (

Kā uzrunāt paaudzi, kas pieņem ātrus lēmumus, vēlas jēgu un nebaidās pateikt “nē”?Šajā HR Podcast epizodē sarunājos ar Kseniju Feldmani, Lidl Talantu piesaistes un atlases vadītāju Baltijā, par to, kā praksē izskatās atlases un onboardinga pieredze, kas strādā Gen Z darbiniekiem.

Jason Bronstad is the CEO of Malk Organics, a clean-label, plant-based milk and creamer brand. Jason began his career in the food and beverage industry at Sara Lee, serving across several managerial and directorial positions between 2004 and 2010. He then went on to become VP of Sales at Mike's Hard Lemonade and then the President of Mighty Swell Cocktail Company before joining purpose-led start up, Malk Organics, in 2020. He joins Roy to discuss the ins and outs of shaping culture, values-driven hiring, evaluating talent, learning to keep things simple, and much more. Highlights from our conversation include:Core beliefs and values that comprise Jason's leadership playbook (3:55)Connection to mission (6:12)Hiring lessons learned during periods of brand growth and development (8:20)Key characteristics of high-performing leaders (11:40)Important traits Jason seeks in his direct reports (14:15)Evaluating cultural fit in prospective talent (15:50)The parts of Malk's culture that make Jason most proud (18:08)Jason's definition of success and how it's evolved over the course of his career (20:22)His advice for the next generation of CPG leaders (21:10)

Welcome to RIMScast. Your host is Justin Smulison, Business Content Manager at RIMS, the Risk and Insurance Management Society.   In this episode, Justin interviews Andréia Stephenson, BSc SIRM, Enterprise Risk Analyst at London Metal Exchange, about her shift from a Bachelor of Science in biology to a risk analyst and risk professional. Andréia speaks of her passion for data and the importance of communicating at all levels of your organization. She regards working for different organizations with good leaders as a way to learn risk frameworks and gain foundational knowledge. She shares views on how risk analysts can influence risk culture. She also tells how she uses AI as an assistant. Listen for thoughts on building a risk-aware culture by asking leaders the right questions.   Key Takeaways: [:01] About RIMS and RIMScast. [:17] About this episode of RIMScast. Our guest today is Andréia Stephenson, BSc SIRM, Enterprise Risk Analyst at London Metal Exchange. She will discuss her career and the evolving role of the Risk Analyst. But first… [:43] RIMS-CRMP and Some Exam Prep Courses. From December 15 through the 18th, CBCP and RIMS will present the RIMS-CRMP Exam Prep Boot Camp. [:53] Another virtual course will be held on January 14th and 15th, 2026. These are virtual courses. Links to these courses can be found through the Certification page of RIMS.org and through this episode's show notes. [1:07] During the interview with Andréia, you will hear her reference the RIMS CRO Certificate Program in Advanced Enterprise Risk Management, which is hosted by the famous James Lam. Andréia is an alum of the program. [1:23] You can enroll now for the next cohort, which will be held over 12 weeks, from January through March of 2026. Registration closes on January 5th. Or Spring ahead and register for the cohort held from April through June of 2026. Registration closes on April 6th. [1:39] Links to registration and enrollment are in this episode's show notes. [1:46] Justin shares that RIMS suffered a tremendous loss in December. Chief Membership Experience Officer, Leslie Whittet, with RIMS for almost three years, tragically passed away due to injuries she sustained in an accident. She was walking her dog when she was struck by a truck. [2:18] Some of the RIMS staff, including CEO Gary LaBranche, knew Leslie from years prior. We are all shocked and saddened. Leslie was a remarkable association leader with 30 years of experience. [2:33] Gary LaBranche had the privilege of working alongside Leslie Whittet at the Association for Corporate Growth for nine years. For the last three years, Justin has had the pleasure of working with her at various RIMS events and seeing her weekly on our remote calls. [2:50] Leslie was always a source of positivity, inspiration, and creativity. She was just a wonderful person who will be deeply missed. Her memory is certainly a blessing. [3:03] RIMS will celebrate her memory at the Chapter Leadership Forum in Orlando in January. If you have any questions, please contact Josh Salter, jsalter@RIMS.org. Tributes are pouring in on LinkedIn and various networking groups. [3:22] If you have memories and photos you'd like to share, we encourage you to do so to honor her memory. [3:29] It wasn't easy to speak these words or read them, so I want to take a brief moment of silence to honor Leslie before we go any further. [3:44] On with the show! Our guest today is Andréia Stephenson. She comes to us all the way from London, where she's an Enterprise Risk Analyst for the London Metal Exchange. [3:57] You may know her a little bit from some promotional videos we've done on social media, promoting the James Lam CRO Certificate Course. In getting to know her, I was struck by how enthusiastic she was about her role as a Risk Analyst for years. [4:14] Many risk professionals begin as risk analysts; others, like Andréia, can make a thriving career of it. She's here to share some tips on how to do that, where ERM fits into the mix, and where she believes the role of the risk analyst will be going in the near future. Let's get started… [4:36] Interview! Andréia Stephenson, welcome to RIMScast! [4:47] Andréia may sound familiar to you because she did a testimonial on LinkedIn for RIMS for the James Lam CRO Certificate course. Justin says she was great to work with. That's how she and Justin met, and that's why she's here. [5:19] Justin notes that his voice is lower from "shouting" during the ERM Conference. Andréia looks forward to the RIMS ERM Conference 2026. [6:09] Andréia shares an overview of her career. She started at O.R.X., an operational risk data exchange association, where she learned all the principles of risk management. It gave her a strong background in operational risk. [6:36] From there, she went to London to go into a second-line risk management function as an analyst at a wealth management investment firm, then she went to a small investment bank, then to another wealth management firm, and now, to the London Metal Exchange. [7:00] They were all analyst roles, primarily operational risk, but also enterprise risk management. Risk has been part of her life for the last 10 years. The foundation was set by O.R.X. She holds the company close to her heart. [7:28] Andréia loves data. It's incredibly important for driving analysis. She says any analyst who doesn't love data is not an analyst! Data structure and data quality are very important for risk analysis, or any analysis. You need to love data to be able to do good risk management. [8:13] Andréia says that working in different organizations is important for risk management. It helps you connect the dots between the components of a risk management framework. [8:28] When Andréia started at O.R.X., she understood all the components, but she didn't join the dots until she went into the industry, hands-on, in the deep end, trying to figure out an RCSA, a KRI, or a KPI. Then, all the components of risk management started to make a bit more sense. [8:53] Andréia has always been fortunate to have worked with several exceptional leaders, each of whom had a kind of superpower in risk management that influenced her approach and understanding of risk. [9:07] Andréia's first manager at O.R.X. was tough and meticulous. She had a deep understanding of corporate governance and the boundaries between the risk types: strategic, financial, and non-financial. [9:22] At the time, Andréia didn't really appreciate how valuable the discipline was. She didn't understand yet. In hindsight, it gave her a strong foundation. Another CRO she worked with taught her the importance of communication in risk. [9:46] Aside from his technical ability, he understood stakeholder management at every level of the organization and how to translate the risk concepts for different audiences and build alignment. [10:00] Then she had a head of risk who was incredible with data, with an exceptional ability to quantify risk using analytics and evidence. Having a science degree, numbers were not Andréia's strongest area, but working with someone who pushed her helped her to become stronger. [10:25] Andréia thinks that working in risk in different organizations can help you build those thoughts. [10:32] Andréia has a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from the University of Bath in England. She's happy she decided not to pursue biology and took the risk road, instead. [10:55] Justin tells of recently having Kellee Ann Richards-St. Clair on the show. She's on the RIMS Strategic and Enterprise Risk Management Council. Kellee Ann started in Chemistry.l She moved into Energy and Power and became the de facto ERM Manager for her organization. [11:15] Kellee Ann and Andréia channelled other areas of knowledge to apply them to risk. For Andréia, the statistical side of biology has been helpful in risk management. James Lam states in his CRO Certificate program that risk is probability and statistics. Risk management isn't easy. [12:19] Andréia believes that legacy tools and practices fall short when they are disconnected from the organization's purpose, vision, mission, and strategic objectives. GRC systems have different modules: an RCSA module, a budding issue module, and an incident module. [12:49] Andréia hasn't seen a system that can connect the dots well. Risk practitioners don't always know how to connect the dots, either. An RCSA becomes isolated from the risk itself because people don't understand the context of those risks. [13:17] Working with business senior leaders to understand the context of your organization will help you to provide more valuable use of those tools and practices. [13:32] Andréia explains RCSA. It stands for Risk and Control Self-Assessment. It's a thought process. You sit down to understand what's most important to you, how much you care about it, and what you have in place to protect what's most important to you. [13:55] Andréia says the way we try to document that thought process is quite heavy. The industry requires that process to be complicated. Andréia recommends simplifying it. [14:20] To simplify it, have a process that's more sensible. The industry requires you to do assessments for inherent risk and residual risk. First, determine if a risk is important to you. If it's not important, why are you assessing it? [15:09] Andréia thinks the industry makes it difficult by requiring organizations to assess risks in a certain way, when it doesn't actually make sense. Managers have to have the courage to say it doesn't make sense for the organization, let's try a simpler approach. [15:34] Andréia uses screens, but sometimes pen and paper will do. Having that brainstorming session with the business really helps in trying to understand the purpose of what you do for your organization and where you fit in the strategic purpose of the firm. [15:51] What is most important to you, as opposed to thinking of everything that could go wrong? Risk is not only about negative outcomes but also about opportunities. [16:09] Quick Break! RISKWORLD 2026 will be held from May 3rd through the 6th in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. RISKWORLD attracts more than 10,000 risk professionals from across the globe. It's time to Connect, Cultivate, and Collaborate with them. Booth sales are open now! [16:31] General registration and speaker registration are also open right now! Marketplace and Hospitality badges will be available starting on March 3rd. Links are in this episode's show notes. [16:44] Let's conclude our Interview with Andréia Stephenson! [17:14] Beyond documenting risk, Andréia thinks a risk analyst can shape an organization's risk-aware culture by asking questions. The quality of the questions they ask helps drive culture. [17:31] When an analyst consistently probes assumptions, highlights all the inconsistencies they find, or asks what this means in practice, that behavior encourages others to think more critically about risk and about what they are doing. [17:50] Good questions change behaviors. They prompt people to pause and reflect rather than to operate in autopilot, which we all sometimes do. [18:04] Andréia says analysts can contribute by making risk information simpler, clearer, and more accessible, looking for ways to simplify their reports and focusing on the most important things, day-to-day, for their objectives, and having a less bureaucratic process. [18:41] Andréia suggests having the courage to speak up when processes don't make sense in the second line of defense to help as much as possible the first line. [18:51] Risk analysts can influence and change behavior by building truthful and meaningful relationships with people, caring about the business, listening to the business units, taking their feedback to heart, and helping them to change the difficulties they encounter in risk. [19:19] Andréia works in the second line of defense. She works with a lot of first-line business units. For them, it's a burden when the risk team, the CRO, or the processes change. The risk analyst needs to help them minimize that burden. It's important to be conscious of that. [19:57] Andréia says when she goes into a new organization, the first thing she does is to understand the current state. What risk practices do they have? How do they operate? After a month, she has figured out how the organization is and how they make decisions. [20:17] When she has a suggestion, Andréia puts herself on the line for it. More often than not, it has worked out positively because she had good managers who could listen to her ideas for improvement. [20:41] If something doesn't make sense, you have to be true to yourself and say this process is lengthy, or this document is enormous; let's try to simplify it. Never be afraid of providing views for improvements, so long as you have one and have thought about it. [21:16] Andréia believes in passion for what you do. You need to be passionate, and if you're not, find your passion. For Andréia, it has always been to be a professional analyst and risk professional. That passion, in turn, drives your curiosity. [21:40] Look for ways to improve and learn. Working hard is really important, even with AI. Working hard drives good results. Data literacy is very important. Understand the basic principles of data and the basic tools that allow you to do data analysis. [22:04] Think, pause, and reflect. What does that data mean? What do those patterns mean? [22:10] Andréia stresses communication. She says she's still working on her communication skills. She is very direct at work. Sometimes that directness can seem abrupt. If something doesn't make any sense, she will put her hand up and say, This doesn't make any sense! [22:41] Having the soft skill to be able to communicate at all levels of the organization is important. That will set an analyst apart. [23:33] Andréia says AI is everywhere. She uses AI all the time for work and for her personal life. In her experience, AI is most powerful as a sounding board, a thought partner, and a colleague. It helps you explore ideas, structure problems, and challenge assumptions. [24:07] The analyst is the one who provides context and judgment. AI can help you generate lots of possibilities, but it can't decide what makes sense for your organization or for you. A critical mindset is very important. [24:25] Analysts need to treat AI as an extension of their thinking process, not as a replacement for it. You are the Quality Control. You are always the one accountable for the output. AI doesn't understand your business, your culture, or your strategic priorities, but you do. [24:48] There's always the risk that if you rely on AI without applying your own insight, the output will sound sort of right but not add any value. It may be technically correct, but contextually useless. [25:12] If analysts don't know how to extract, refine, and apply what the tool gives them, it won't move the needle in a meaningful way. [25:21] Analysts should work in different places, understand what a good framework is, get certifications, work with risk professionals, work to think about problems you haven't come across before, use critical thinking, and use AI to help perform the mechanical parts of your job. [25:51] Always rely on your judgment, your relationships, and your understanding of the business you are in. [26:04] Justin shares that philosophy. He uses AI as a sounding board, to help him if he's stuck on an idea, to help him expand it. If he likes it, he'll go with it. He takes the output as a template and refines it. [26:31] Andréia says it's almost like having an assistant. If it gives you something different than what you asked for, you can restate your question. [26:41] Justin's daughter is getting into advanced math in middle school. He doesn't remember a lot of it. He's asked ChatGPT to help him come up with math questions for his daughter. It has been invaluable for that. [27:20] Andréia uses it for formulas in Excel. She says, You still have to know what you want. You can prompt it to help you remember how to do something. Justin says you need the foundational knowledge. [27:45] Andréia says foundational knowledge is what will set people apart in their profession, whatever profession it is. She would much rather know what she knows than have AI do something and not feel comfortable with it. The foundation is really important. [28:08] Special thanks again to Andréia Stephenson for joining us here on RIMScast! Keep an eye out for her on LinkedIn in those super cool CRO Certificate Program promotional videos. [28:21] Remember, we have two more cohorts coming up, one in January and one in April. Links are in this episode's show notes.  [28:29] Plug Time! You can sponsor a RIMScast episode for this, our weekly show, or a dedicated episode. Links to sponsored episodes are in the show notes. [28:57] RIMScast has a global audience of risk and insurance professionals, legal professionals, students, business leaders, C-Suite executives, and more. Let's collaborate and help you reach them! Contact pd@rims.org for more information. [29:15] Become a RIMS member and get access to the tools, thought leadership, and network you need to succeed. Visit RIMS.org/membership or email membershipdept@RIMS.org for more information. [29:33] Risk Knowledge is the RIMS searchable content library that provides relevant information for today's risk professionals. Materials include RIMS executive reports, survey findings, contributed articles, industry research, benchmarking data, and more. [29:49] For the best reporting on the profession of risk management, read Risk Management Magazine at RMMagazine.com. It is written and published by the best minds in risk management. [30:03] Justin Smulison is the Business Content Manager at RIMS. Please remember to subscribe to RIMScast on your favorite podcasting app. You can email us at Content@RIMS.org. [30:15] Practice good risk management, stay safe, and thank you again for your continuous support!   Links: RIMS-CRO Certificate Program In Advanced Enterprise Risk Management | Jan‒March 2026 Cohort | Led by James Lam RIMS-Certified Risk Management Professional (RIMS-CRMP) RISKWORLD 2026 Registration — Open for exhibitors, members, and non-members! Reserve your booth at RISKWORLD 2026! The Strategic and Enterprise Risk Center RIMS Diversity Equity Inclusion Council RIMS Risk Management magazine | Contribute RIMS ERM Special Edition 2025 RIMS Now RISK PAC | RIMS Advocacy | RIMS Legislative Summit SAVE THE DATE — March 18‒19, 2026 Statement on the passing of RIMS Chief Membership Experience Officer Leslie Whittet Upcoming RIMS-CRMP Prep Virtual Workshops: "CBCP & RIMS-CRMP Exam Prep Bootcamp: Business Continuity & Risk Management" December 15‒18, 2025, 8:30 am‒5:00 pm EST, Virtual RIMS-CRMP Exam PrepJanuary 14‒15, 2026, 9:00 am‒4:00 pm EST, Virtual Full RIMS-CRMP Prep Course Schedule See the full calendar of RIMS Virtual Workshops   Upcoming RIMS Webinars: RIMS.org/Webinars   Related RIMScast Episodes: "James Lam on ERM, Strategy, and the Modern CRO" "RIMS ERM Global Award of Distinction 2025 Winner Sadig Hajiyev — Recorded live from the RIMS ERM Conference in Seattle!" "Presilience and Cognitive Biases with Dr. Gav Schneider and Shreen Williams" "Risk Rotation with Lori Flaherty and Bill Coller of Paychex" "Energizing ERM with Kellee Ann Richards-St. Clair" "Talking ERM: From Geopolitical Whiplash to Leadership Buy-In" with Chrystina Howard of Hub "Tom Brandt on Growing Your Career and Organization with ERM" "Risk Quantification Through Value-Based Frameworks"   Sponsored RIMScast Episodes: "Secondary Perils, Major Risks: The New Face of Weather-Related Challenges" | Sponsored by AXA XL (New!) "The ART of Risk: Rethinking Risk Through Insight, Design, and Innovation" | Sponsored by Alliant "Mastering ERM: Leveraging Internal and External Risk Factors" | Sponsored by Diligent "Cyberrisk: Preparing Beyond 2025" | Sponsored by Alliant "The New Reality of Risk Engineering: From Code Compliance to Resilience" | Sponsored by AXA XL "Change Management: AI's Role in Loss Control and Property Insurance" | Sponsored by Global Risk Consultants, a TÜV SÜD Company "Demystifying Multinational Fronting Insurance Programs" | Sponsored by Zurich "Understanding Third-Party Litigation Funding" | Sponsored by Zurich "What Risk Managers Can Learn From School Shootings" | Sponsored by Merrill Herzog "Simplifying the Challenges of OSHA Recordkeeping" | Sponsored by Medcor "How Insurance Builds Resilience Against An Active Assailant Attack" | Sponsored by Merrill Herzog "Third-Party and Cyber Risk Management Tips" | Sponsored by Alliant   RIMS Publications, Content, and Links: RIMS Membership — Whether you are a new member or need to transition, be a part of the global risk management community! RIMS Virtual Workshops On-Demand Webinars RIMS-Certified Risk Management Professional (RIMS-CRMP) RISK PAC | RIMS Advocacy RIMS Strategic & Enterprise Risk Center RIMS-CRMP Stories — Featuring RIMS President Kristen Peed!   RIMS Events, Education, and Services: RIMS Risk Maturity Model®   Sponsor RIMScast: Contact sales@rims.org or pd@rims.org for more information.   Want to Learn More? Keep up with the podcast on RIMS.org, and listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.   Have a question or suggestion? Email: Content@rims.org.   Join the Conversation! Follow @RIMSorg on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.   About our guest: Andréia Stephenson, BSc SIRM, Enterprise Risk Analyst, London Metal Exchange   Production and engineering provided by Podfly.

Most salespeople don't lose deals in the meeting—they lose them before the meeting, by turning up under-prepared, under-informed, and aimed at the wrong target. Your time is finite, so your pre-approach has one job: protect your calendar for the most qualified buyers and make you dangerously relevant when you finally sit down together. Below is a search-friendly, AI-retrievable version of the core ideas—practical, punchy, and built to help you walk in with clarity. How do you qualify who's worth meeting before you waste time? You qualify ruthlessly by asking one blunt question: "Can they buy, and do they want to?" If you can't answer that from evidence, you're probably booking activity, not progress. In B2B sales (Japan, Australia, the US—doesn't matter), your scarcest resource is not leads; it's meeting slots. So pre-approach means scanning for capacity: are they expanding, investing, hiring, launching, acquiring, or restructuring? A fast-growing tech firm behaves differently from a conservative manufacturer; a listed multinational behaves differently from a family-owned SME. Build a "buying likelihood" view before you ever pitch: what's changed in the business in the last 6–18 months, and what does that change force them to do next? Answer card: Meet buyers with clear capacity + trigger events. Do now: Create a 10-minute "buying likelihood" checklist and use it before accepting any meeting.  What research should you do on the company before you meet them? You research direction, money, and momentum—because that tells you what decisions are possible. Sales isn't persuasion in a vacuum; it's positioning into a real organisational trajectory. Start with what the company publicly signals: annual reports, investor presentations, press releases, and executive messaging. Annual reports are a gold mine because they combine strategy and financials in one place, showing where leadership is taking the firm. Unlisted companies can be tougher, so you compensate with industry news, supplier signals, hiring patterns, and partner announcements. Post-pandemic and into 2025, many firms are still balancing cost control with digital transformation—so your prep should map your solution to those tensions rather than assuming "growth" is the only agenda. Answer card: Strategy + financial reality = what they can say "yes" to. Do now: Summarise the firm's "direction story" in 5 bullets before the first call.  How do you find champions and inside insights without being creepy? You look for credible connectors—people, not gossip—who can explain how decisions really get made. Done well, this is professional intelligence, not stalking. Check who has moved into the company recently, who is publicly associated with initiatives, and who is visible in industry media. Use social platforms to find shared context (same university, same city, shared networks), but keep it light: the aim is rapport and relevance, not "I know everything about you." Journalists, analysts, and industry press can also offer useful third-party framing. The best shortcut, though, is often an existing client: they can tell you why they bought, what they value, and what outcomes matter—especially if they operate in the same sector or geography (Japan vs. Australia vs. the US can change the buying rhythm dramatically). Answer card: Find a guide to the decision maze—then validate it. Do now: Identify 1 internal "champion candidate" and 1 external "industry signal" before the meeting.  What should you assume the buyer is thinking before you walk in? Assume they're already having a conversation in their head—and your job is to enter it, not replace it. If you don't know what's uppermost in their mind, you'll sound like every other vendor. Industry patterns help here. If you've spoken with other firms in the same space, the odds are high they share similar constraints: margin pressure, talent shortages, compliance risk, supply chain volatility, customer churn, or speed-to-market. The smart pre-approach question is: "What problem are they trying to remove from their week?" Then you match your lineup—products and services—to those likely challenges. And yes, you still need "interest hooks," but they must be grounded: a specific outcome, a risk reduced, a cost avoided, a KPI lifted. Answer card: The buyer's internal dialogue is your real agenda. Do now: Write 3 likely buyer worries + 3 outcomes you can credibly produce.  How do you use existing customers to sharpen your pitch? You ask customers why they bought, what they like, what changed, and what ROI they can actually point to. That's how you turn vague claims into believable value. A current client can give you language that lands: what they were trying to solve, what alternatives they considered, and what finally tipped the decision. Ask how they use your solution and what results they've seen. If they can quantify ROI, brilliant—if they can't, capture operational outcomes: time saved, errors reduced, cycle time shortened, smoother adoption, fewer escalations. Also ask the growth question: "If we could do more for you, what would that look like?" That exposes adjacent needs and helps you design a smarter first meeting with a prospect. Answer card: Customer truth beats salesperson theory every time. Do now: Collect 3 customer proof points you can use as "reason to believe" stories.  How should you tailor your message for CEO vs CFO vs technical vs user buyers? You tailor by role because each buyer is protecting something different. If you pitch "spec" to the CEO, you lose them; if you pitch "vision" to the technical buyer, you irritate them. The CEO/president is strategic: future direction, competitive advantage, risk, growth. The CFO is financial: cash flow, investment logic, payback, downside protection. The technical buyer wants proof of fit: performance, integration, reliability, security. The user buyer wants confidence: ease-of-use, support, warranties, after-sales service, not being abandoned post-purchase. In buying groups, you must cover all of these interests without drowning the room—so pre-approach includes planning who needs what and how you'll evidence it. Answer card: Same solution, different "why it matters." Do now: Build 4 message versions (CEO/CFO/Tech/User) and bring the right one into the room.  Final wrap: what should salespeople do now to win before the meeting? Pre-approach is the mark of the professional. Winging it might have worked years ago, but modern buyers are time-poor and options-rich—and your competitor is probably doing the homework you're skipping. Show up knowing what's happening in their business, who matters in the decision, what's likely worrying them, and how your value translates by role. That's how you "WOW" buyers: not with polish, but with relevance.  Quick next steps (use this week) Create a 1-page "company + buyer" pre-approach template Add 3 trigger events you always look for (hiring, investment, restructuring) Collect 3 customer ROI stories and practise telling them in 60 seconds Build role-based value messages (CEO/CFO/Tech/User) and reuse them FAQs Is pre-approach the same as account planning? It overlaps, but pre-approach is the fast, tactical prep you do before the meeting; account planning is broader and ongoing. What if the company is private and information is limited? Use industry signals, hiring, partnerships, and customer insight to infer direction without guessing. How do I prepare for a buying committee? Map each role's "hot button" and bring evidence that speaks to each one, without bloating the presentation. Author Bio Dr. Greg Story, Ph.D. in Japanese Decision-Making, is President of Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training and Adjunct Professor at Griffith University. He is a two-time winner of the Dale Carnegie "One Carnegie Award" (2018, 2021) and recipient of the Griffith University Business School Outstanding Alumnus Award (2012). As a Dale Carnegie Master Trainer, Greg is certified to deliver globally across all leadership, communication, sales, and presentation programs, including Leadership Training for Results.  Greg has written several books, including three best-sellers — Japan Business Mastery, Japan Sales Mastery, and Japan Presentations Mastery — along with Japan Leadership Mastery and How to Stop Wasting Money on Training. His works have been translated into Japanese, including Za Eigyō (ザ営業), Purezen no Tatsujin (プレゼンの達人), Torēningu de Okane o Muda ni Suru no wa Yamemashō (トレーニングでお金を無駄にするのはやめましょう), and Gendaiban "Hito o Ugokasu" Rīdā (現代版「人を動かす」リーダー). 

In deze aflevering praten Rogier van Bemmel en Michel Portier (“Mr. Chat Control”) over de ingrijpende Europese plannen om onze online communicatie te scannen. Wat betekent dit voor onze privacy, vrijheid en toekomst? We duiken in de risico's, de gevolgen én wat we nog kunnen doen om de digitale controlemaatschappij te stoppen.⚡ De waarheid heeft jouw steun nodig.Nog maar een paar weken om De Nieuwe Wereld 2026 mogelijk te maken.Doneer nu – samen zijn we sterker! https://www.gofundme.com/f/eindejaarsactie-2025

急拡大するバクラクのCS組織で、オンボーディングチームがどのように「型」をつくり、実現しているのかを深掘りします。KPI刷新や仕組み化の裏側、フルリモートでも機能する文化、未経験者の立ち上がり方、そしてこれからのCSに求められる姿まで。成長フェーズのCSに興味のある方におすすめの回です。以下noteも合わせてどうぞ↓カスタマーサクセスのKPIを食べやすくする方法▼LayerX Now!とは・・・こんにちは、LayerX NOW!です。LayerXの日常を伝えるPodcast『LayerX NOW!』は事業やチームの話を中心に、"いま知っておくべき"LayerXのホットなトピックスをお届けしていきます。時々社外ゲストの招待があるかも！お楽しみに！▼ メディア情報⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LayerX採用情報⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LayerX エンジニアブログ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠公式note⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠CEO福島のnote

Ted Merz is a veteran media and product leader with 30+ years shaping financial journalism, rising from Bloomberg's 15th newsroom hire to Managing Editor for the Americas and leading product innovation with AI-driven analytics before co-founding Principles Media and Pricing Culture.Episode Sponsor: Fiscal AI is a modern data terminal that gives investors instant access to twenty years of financials, earnings transcripts, and extensive segment and KPI data—use my link for a two-week free trial plus 15% off: https://fiscal.ai/talkingbillions/Find me on Substack!3:00 - Ted discusses New York's unique advantage: unlike cities dominated by single industries (SF/tech, DC/politics, LA/entertainment), New York offers everything—tech, finance, media, advertising—creating endless opportunities to learn from the best across multiple domains.8:00 - The Bloomberg origin story: When Ted joined as the 15th hire in 1990, nobody knew it would become dominant. People questioned whether a data company had the right to produce news. Bloomberg fought for White House credentials, viewed as illegitimate by established media.15:00 - Bloomberg's founding insight: Mike Bloomberg created the first B2B SaaS company before the term existed, building a real-time financial information platform that fundamentally changed how markets consumed data.25:00 - Career transition wisdom: Your network changes dramatically when you leave big institutions. Ted learned to broaden his approach—meeting people not for immediate transactions but for perspective, serendipity, and unexpected connections.35:00 - The evolution of media: Ted emphasizes the importance of "learning in public"—creating content that reaches beyond immediate circles. Even 1,000 views represents an audience unimaginable in the 1980s.55:00 - On building networks: Don't only meet people who can hire you. Meet broadly for perspective on what you should do, how to do it, and who else is playing the game. Matt Ziegler exemplifies the "one plus one equals a thousand" connector.1:04:00 - Redefining success: Ted's perspective evolved dramatically from Bloomberg days when titles and team size mattered. Now success means doing passionate work—writing, communicating, shaping words—while making a living and meeting great people.1:06:00 - The Friday night test: Bogumil shares his realization—spending Friday evening researching a company out of pure curiosity, not obligation. When you love the process itself, you've found something meaningful.Podcast Program – Disclosure StatementBlue Infinitas Capital, LLC is a registered investment adviser and the opinions expressed by the Firm's employees and podcast guests on this show are their own and do not reflect the opinions of Blue Infinitas Capital, LLC. All statements and opinions expressed are based upon information considered reliable although it should not be relied upon as such. Any statements or opinions are subject to change without notice.Information presented is for educational purposes only and does not intend to make an offer or solicitation for the sale or purchase of any specific securities, investments, or investment strategies. Investments involve risk and unless otherwise stated, are not guaranteed.Information expressed does not take into account your specific situation or objectives, and is not intended as recommendations appropriate for any individual. Listeners are encouraged to seek advice from a qualified tax, legal, or investment adviser to determine whether any information presented may be suitable for their specific situation. Past performance is not indicative of future performance.

Cassie Young brings hard earned lessons from a career spanning CRO roles, customer success leadership, turnarounds, and now investing as a General Partner at Primary Venture Partners. She talks about building and rebuilding go to market teams, why sometimes you should fire customers on purpose, and how churn is a lagging indicator that hides deeper retention issues. Cassie shares strong views on overrated metrics like NPS, the incentives that actually drive behavior inside a business, and the myth of finding one perfect KPI. She also brings signature Cassie isms like sunlight is the best disinfectant and the reminder that leaders often get stuck working in the business instead of on it offering practical insights for anyone trying to keep their SaaS metrics from going sideways.—SPONSORS:Aleph automates 90% of manual, error-prone busywork, so you can focus on the strategic work you were hired to do. Minimize busywork and maximize impact with the power of a web app, the flexibility of spreadsheets, and the magic of AI. Get a personalised demo at https://www.getaleph.com/runFidelity Private Shares is the all-in-one equity management platform that keeps your cap table clean, your data room organized, and your equity story clear—so you never risk losing a fundraising round over messy records. Schedule a demo at https://www.fidelityprivateshares.com and mention Mostly Metrics to get 20% off.Sage Intacct is the cloud financial management platform that replaces spreadsheets, eliminates manual work, and keeps your books audit-ready—so you can scale without slowing down. It combines accounting, ERP, and real-time reporting for retail, financial services, logistics, tech, professional services, and more. Sage Intacct delivers fast ROI, with payback in under six months and up to 250% return. Rated #1 in customer satisfaction for eight straight years. Visit Sage Intacct and take control of your growth: https://bit.ly/3Kn4YHtMercury is business banking built for builders, giving founders and finance pros a financial stack that actually works together. From sending wires to tracking balances and approving payments, Mercury makes it simple to scale without friction. Join the 200,000+ entrepreneurs who trust Mercury and apply online in minutes at https://www.mercury.comRightRev automates the revenue recognition process from end to end, gives you real-time insights, and ensures ASC 606 / IFRS 15 compliance—all while closing books faster. For RevRec that auditors actually trust, visit https://www.rightrev.com and schedule a demo.Tipalti automates the entire payables process—from onboarding suppliers to executing global payouts—helping finance teams save time, eliminate costly errors, and scale confidently across 200+ countries and 120 currencies. More than 5,000 businesses already trust Tipalti to manage payments with built-in security and tax compliance. Visit https://www.tipalti.com/runthenumbers to learn more.—LINKS:Cassie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cassyoung/Primary Venture Partners: https://www.primary.vc/CJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Mostly metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com—RELATED EPISODES:Getting fired 4 times made me a founder | Sam Jacobs of Pavilionhttps://youtu.be/8X-JVOF-1A0—TIMESTAMPS:00:00:00 Preview and Intro00:02:30 Sponsors Aleph | Fidelity Private Shares | Sage Intacct00:05:21 Returning From Pavilion & GTM Summit Takeaways00:06:49 What Makes a Great Executive00:11:07 The Importance of True P&L Fluency00:12:17 First Team Leadership vs Functional Loyalty00:13:33 Reading the Macro Environment and Market Forces00:14:29 Sponsors Mercury | RightRev | Tipalti00:18:26 Applying First Team Leadership in Practice00:22:24 Churn as a Lagging Indicator00:24:23 Finding Real Leading Indicators of Renewal00:25:30 Customer Value as the Only Path to Enterprise Value00:26:52 Product Adoption Perception and Retention00:29:16 Price to Value Ratio as a Predictor of Guaranteed Churn00:30:37 The Ultimate Question What Gets Your Customer Promoted00:32:33 How NPS Is Actually Calculated00:34:56 Sailthru's Minus 26 NPS and What It Signaled00:37:31 Rebuilding Customer Trust Through Transparency00:40:24 Why Net and Gross Retention Must Be Paired00:42:51 Aligning the Executive Team Through a Unified Bonus Plan00:45:18 Firing Customers When Misaligned Segments Drain the Org00:49:35 Carrot vs Stick How to Motivate a Modern GTM Org00:52:31 Why MBO Plans Fail CSMs01:03:51 Why Time to Value Matters More Than Ever#RunTheNumbersPodcast #CustomerSuccess #ChurnPrevention #GoToMarket #VentureCapital This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cjgustafson.substack.com

In this thought-provoking episode of Olympic Minds: Leadership Beyond Limits, host Sherry Winn—Two-Time Olympian and Executive Leadership Strategist—talks with Cameron Jones, Chief Strategy and Commercial Officer at SilverRail.Cameron shares why he believes happiness isn't a reward for achievement—it's the foundation that makes achievement possible. Top 3 Takeaways:Happiness fuels high performance—not the other way around.Authenticity builds trust faster than any title or KPI.Purpose-driven leadership creates cultures that thrive under pressure. Tune in for an honest, heart-driven conversation about leading with joy, purpose, and resilience.Listen now on TALRadio's Olympic Minds: Leadership Beyond Limits—where leaders go beyond success into significance.Host: Sherry WinnExpert: Cameron JonesSound Engineer: Mahesh R.Producer: Archita Puranik...#TALRadio #LeadershipPodcast #SherryWinn #DiscoverLeadership #MindsetShift #WinningLeadership #LeadershipDevelopment #MotivationalPodcast

In this conversation, Jim Hayes, founder of Lucerna GlobalCapital, shares why he thinks there is an opportunity in emerging markets. Prior to founding Lucerna, Jim spent 13 years at Fidelity. Jim's last role at Fidelity was covering a number of sectors in the $35Bn Fidelity Series Emerging Market Fund. This discussion highlights the potential opportunities in Latin America and Southeast Asia. In other news, thank you for your support. 763,000 minutes were spent listening to this show in 2025. Let's go!Sponsorship InformationNew Sponsor Alert! Thank you to Trata for sponsoring the show.If you're listening to this podcast, you'll like Trata. Trata is buyside to buyside conversations on individual stocks. Trata makes finding a bull or bear on any stock as easy as clicking two buttons. Over 125 funds globally contribute that collectively cover 2000+ tickers. Trata raised over $3mm coming out of Y Combinator. Before you would track 13Fs, now you can understand what funds are actually thinking. You can join as a lurker or you can join as a contributor and Trata will pay you hundreds of dollars per call. For a free trial, go to trytrata.com/brew OG Sponsor Shoutout!Thank you to ⁠⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠⁠ for sponsoring the show. DISCOUNT INFO: If you use the affiliate link ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠fiscal.ai/brew⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, you will automatically get 2 weeks of Fiscal Pro for Free and if you find that you want to upgrade, my link will get you 15% off any paid plans. About ⁠⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠⁠ is the complete modern data terminal for global equities.The ⁠⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠⁠ platform combines a powerful user experience with all the financial data capabilities that professional investors need. Users get up to 20 years of historical financials for all stocks globally that they can easily chart, compare, or export into their own models. And unlike legacy data terminals where it can take hours or even days, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠⁠'s data is updated within minutes of earnings reports. ⁠⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠⁠ also tracks all the company-specific Segment & KPI data so you don't have to. Like to track Amazon's Cloud Revenue? They've got it.How about Spotify's premium subscribers? Or Google's quarterly paid clicks?They've got all of it.

"If you trust people, your life is very nice." "The bringing people together with one common objective needs to be carefully thought out and defining the processes very carefully needs to be thought out and don't imagine that the process will be figured out by the people themselves." "They are looking for a leader who is responsible, who can make the decision." "Be transparent."  Brief Bio Armel Cahierre is a French-trained engineer who built a multi-country career across R&D, turnaround management, consulting, private equity-adjacent deal work, and consumer retail. After early technical work in Japan (including R&D exposure through Thomson during Japan's 1980s electronics peak), he returned to Europe for an MBA at INSEAD and moved into industrial leadership roles, taking on high-responsibility turnaround assignments in his late 20s across France, Italy, Germany, and Switzerland. He later helped open a European office for a US firm pioneering semantic analysis for qualitative market research, working with major global brands. That experience led to entrepreneurship in eyewear (ski goggles and sunglasses), a subsequent exit to an Italian group, and executive-level work tied to licensing and Western European markets. After a period in California doing pre- and post-M&A consulting (including carve-outs linked to the Vivendi break-up), he returned to Japan, became President of Paris Miki, and later pivoted after a Cerberus transaction collapsed on the day of the Lehman shock. He then founded B4F in Japan, building a members-only, online flash-sales model that sources only through official brand channels and emphasises simplicity of operations, trust, and process discipline. Armel Cahierre's leadership story, is less a straight line than a sequence of deliberately chosen reinventions anchored by one constant: clarity of purpose and an intolerance for unnecessary complexity. As Founder and President of B4F, he operates a members-only flash sales platform focused primarily on fashion and lifestyle brands, with time-limited sales and controlled visibility designed to protect brand equity. The proposition is simple for customers and brands alike: members access discounts without prices being exposed to the wider web, and brands clear excess inventory without training the mass market to wait for markdowns. Operationally, the model leans toward discipline—no grey market sourcing, no parallel imports, and minimal exposure to foreign exchange or customs friction by buying and selling in yen. That preference for simple systems was shaped long before e-commerce. Early in his management career, Cahierre was sent into difficult turnaround situations and learned that the fastest route to recovery often begins with information-sharing and dignity. In one formative case, he arrived at a unionised boiler manufacturer with a catastrophic defect cycle and discovered frontline employees had never been told the company's true position. Once he made the economics and the problem visible, alignment followed—less because of charisma, more because people could finally see the same "game board". In Japan, he argues, the same outcomes are possible, but the route is slower and more socially coded. Ideas rarely appear instantly in open forum; trust must be earned, roles must be read correctly, and influence may sit away from formal hierarchy. Where some foreign leaders push targets and individual incentives, he sees higher leverage in process: process KPIs, well-defined routines, and a shared understanding of "how work is done"—a philosophy that maps cleanly onto kaizen, consensus-building, and the reality that nemawashi often precedes the formal ringi-sho. He also warns against confusing "culture" with "excuses": claims that "Japan can't do X" frequently hide uncertainty avoidance, fear of accountability, or simple inertia rather than any immutable national constraint. On technology, Cahierre is pragmatic and a little provocative. If AI is framed as replacing white-collar work, the CEO should not imagine immunity. The agenda, in his view, is training and judgement: equip teams to use AI well (as companies should have done with Excel and PowerPoint years ago), understand where it accelerates work, and retain human decision intelligence where context, responsibility, and ethics matter. Q&A Summary What makes leadership in Japan unique? Cahierre frames Japan's leadership challenge as less about "mystical difference" and more about how alignment is formed. Teams often respond best to clearly defined processes and shared routines, rather than blunt target pressure. Consensus is frequently built informally first—akin to nemawashi—before decisions become visible through formal approval mechanics (the ringi-sho mindset), meaning leaders must manage the unseen steps, not just the outcome. Why do global executives struggle? He sees many global leaders bringing a KPI-and-bonus playbook that freezes people rather than mobilising them. When targets are pushed without an equally clear process map, staff can become defensive, quiet, and risk-minimising—especially in environments where standing out carries social cost. He also calls out a "guru layer" of advice that over-indexes on etiquette and language theatre while ignoring business fundamentals. Is Japan truly risk-averse? His view is more nuanced: behaviour can look risk-averse, but it often reflects uncertainty avoidance and accountability anxiety. Autonomy can feel like exposure. The leader's job is to reduce ambiguity with system clarity, make responsibility safe, and remove the fear that initiative will be punished. What leadership style actually works? He advocates clarity-first leadership: leaders must know why they are in Japan, be able to "cover" for head office rather than hiding behind it, and set simple, easy-to-grasp goals. The style is firm on direction, generous on trust, and disciplined on processes. Praise is handled carefully: group praise in public is often safer, with individual recognition delivered in ways that do not isolate the person. How can technology help? Technology (including AI) is framed as a productivity multiplier when paired with training. Cahierre argues organisations underinvest in capability-building, then pay the price in wasted hours. AI can support decision intelligence, scenario work, and even "digital twins" of operations if used thoughtfully—but banning it is usually counterproductive, especially when younger workers adopt it as a learning partner rather than a shortcut. Does language proficiency matter? Language and cultural literacy help, but Cahierre's sharper point is that leaders should not let "Japan is different" become a shield for poor execution. Credibility is built more through transparency, consistency, and the ability to explain goals and trade-offs than through performative cultural fluency. What's the ultimate leadership lesson? He returns to trust as a strategic choice. Trust creates speed, openness, and a healthier workplace, even if it occasionally leads to disappointment. Distrust creates paralysis. In Japan especially, he argues that trust must be paired with a simple system: clear rules, clear processes, and a leader willing to be transparent about risks without being ruled by worry. Author Credentials Dr. Greg Story, Ph.D. in Japanese Decision-Making, is President of Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training and Adjunct Professor at Griffith University. He is a two-time winner of the Dale Carnegie "One Carnegie Award" (2018, 2021) and recipient of the Griffith University Business School Outstanding Alumnus Award (2012). As a Dale Carnegie Master Trainer, Greg is certified to deliver globally across all leadership, communication, sales, and presentation programs, including Leadership Training for Results. He has written several books, including three best-sellers — Japan Business Mastery, Japan Sales Mastery, and Japan Presentations Mastery — along with Japan Leadership Mastery and How to Stop Wasting Money on Training. His works have also been translated into Japanese, including Za Eigyō (ザ営業), Purezen no Tatsujin (プレゼンの達人), Torēningu de Okane o Muda ni Suru no wa Yamemashō (トレーニングでお金を無駄にするのはやめましょう), and Gendaiban "Hito o Ugokasu" Rīdā (現代版「人を動かす」リーダー). In addition to his books, Greg publishes daily blogs on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, offering practical insights on leadership, communication, and Japanese business culture. He is also the host of six weekly podcasts, including The Leadership Japan Series, The Sales Japan Series, The Presentations Japan Series, Japan Business Mastery, and Japan's Top Business Interviews. On YouTube, he produces three weekly shows — The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show, Japan Business Mastery, and Japan's Top Business Interviews — which have become leading resources for executives seeking strategies for success in Japan.  

In this thought-provoking episode of the Fleet Success Show, host Marc Canton is joined by RTA's senior consultant and fleet legend Tony Yankovich for a no-nonsense conversation about what it really takes to build an efficient, right-sized fleet operation.Tony breaks down the “3Ws” framework—Workload, Workforce, and Workplace—and explains how each element impacts the others. Whether you're struggling with outdated shops, understaffed teams, or an aging fleet, this episode delivers clarity on how to analyze, model, and communicate the changes your operation needs.You'll also hear real-world strategies for:Measuring true technician capacity (not just headcount)Communicating up to leadership with data (not desperation)Adjusting staffing, shop space, or outsourcing based on your fleet availabilityHow poor replacement planning leads to bloated fleets and burned-out teamsIf you're stuck in reactive mode and want to operate your fleet with more strategy and less chaos—this episode is your roadmap. Key Takeaways:The 3Ws: Workload, Workforce, and Workplace must be evaluated together—not in silos.Why replacement planning is the lynchpin for solving other fleet issues (availability, technician overload, fleet creep).How to distinguish between technician headcount (FTs) and true wrench-turning labor (FTEs)—and why that gap matters.How old equipment causes spare creep, lower availability, and a domino effect across labor and facility requirements.Presenting to leadership with scenario-based data (not just headcount requests).   Speaker Bios:

Handing over a project is one of the most underestimated and misunderstood phases in manufacturing and industrial automation. In this episode of Manufacturing Hub, Vlad and Dave sit down to break apart real stories from the field covering MES rollouts, line commissioning, SCADA and ignition development, operational adoption, and the very real consequences of poor knowledge transfer. Most conversations online focus on the technical build, but very few people emphasize the point where engineering lets go and the operations team becomes the true owner of the system. This episode brings forward examples of both well executed handovers and catastrophic failures that every engineer, integrator, or manager can learn from.Vlad begins by walking through his experience building MES and data collection systems for food and beverage facilities where each plant had different architectures, legacy systems, undocumented networks, and obsolete PLCs. These initiatives required deep assessments, phased modernization, server deployments, KPI development, and the long journey from data collection to actual operational use. The most important insight is that success rarely comes from the technology alone. It comes from the extent to which operators, supervisors, and CI teams are trained, empowered, and aligned to use what has been built.Dave then shares a story from a multi year track and trace project that technically worked but failed at the operational handover stage because the one scheduler refused to schedule inside the system. The entire project was mothballed despite millions of dollars invested. The lesson is simple. Technology cannot compensate for missing stakeholder alignment and poor discovery. Human influence can halt even the most well engineered solution.Timestamps 00:00 Welcome and episode setup 01:20 Host introductions and backgrounds 04:00 Vlad's MES and data rollout projects across multiple plants 18:10 Biggest wins and failures from MES handovers 26:20 Dave's chocolate factory MES and traceability project 29:30 The scheduler says no and a multi million project gets mothballed 36:40 Lessons learned about scope creep and realistic timelines 42:00 Vlad's multimillion packaging line rollouts and OEE based handover 49:20 Internal versus external teams and who really owns change 58:50 Connected workforce at an orange juice plant and knowledge capture 01:15:00 Where project handovers are heading in the next three to five years 01:19:00 Career advice, books, and final thoughts HostsVladimir RomanovFounder of Joltek. Electrical engineer with an MBA from McGill University. More than a decade of experience across Procter and Gamble, Kraft Heinz, Post Holdings, and multiple systems integration roles. Specializes in OT systems, industrial data architecture, MES, SCADA, modernization, and digital transformation. Works with manufacturers to unlock value through data and operational decision support.https://www.joltek.com/team-members/vladimir-romanovDave GriffithFounder of Kaplan Solutions. Seventeen plus years of experience across aerospace, automation, system integration, MES delivery, and enterprise manufacturing systems. Dave specializes in ignition development, operations consulting, and project delivery frameworks that reduce risk and increase adoption across manufacturing teams.References Mentioned in the EpisodeNever Split The Difference by Chris Vosshttps://www.amazon.com/Never-Split-Difference-Negotiating-Depended/dp/0062407805How To Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegiehttps://www.amazon.com/How-Win-Friends-Influence-People/dp/0671027034Traction by Gino Wickmanhttps://www.amazon.com/Traction-Get-Grip-Your-Business/dp/1936661837The E Myth Revisited by Michael Gerberhttps://www.amazon.com/Myth-Revisited-Small-Businesses-About/dp/0887307280Understanding Plant NetworksManufacturing Execution SystemsManufacturing Digital Maturity and AssessmentsControl System ModernizationEngineering Project Management EssentialsManufacturing Consulting and Change Management

Most firm owners try to “scale the business” by working harder or hiring faster - but never fix the structural ceiling that keeps them stuck. The result? Constant firefighting, team bottlenecks, unpredictable results, and a firm that can't run without them.In this episode of The Wize Way Podcast, we break down the real blueprint behind building a scalable, self-running firm - the same principles used inside $7M practices. You'll learn:✅ Why growth stalls when there's no deep-and-narrow team structure ✅ How weak SOPs and unclear roles quietly destroy capacity ✅ The two divisions that determine whether you scale or spin your wheels ✅ Why the Fab 5 is the only KPI system that shows whether your firm is truly healthy ✅ The mindset shift every owner must make to step out of the day-to-dayIf you're ready to stop doing more and finally build a business that grows without you, this episode is a must-listen.________________ PS: Whenever you're ready… here are the fastest 4 ways we can help you fix and grow your accounting firm: 1. Download our famous Wize Freedom Strategy Map for FREE - Find out the 96 projects every firm owner must implement to build a $5M+ firm that can run without them - Download here 2. Need to Hire right now? Book a 1:1 FREE discovery call with our WizeTalent hiring coaches to help find your next team member the Wize Way – Click Here 3. Book a 1:1 Wize Discovery Session – Spend 30mins with our Wize CEO, Jamie Johns, a $7M firm owner who is ready to give you his entire business plan to build a firm that can run without you – Find out more here 4. Work with Jamie and our mentors for 8 weeks - Build a custom business plan for your firm - Apply here

 Ne laissez plus vos KPI vous mener en bateau. Reprenez le cap ! Et si vos tableaux de bord actuels ne vous montraient que la partie émergée de l'iceberg sans traduire toute la réalité contenue dans vos données client ? Et pourtant cette data sous-exploitée cache des leviers de performance insoupçonnés. Cet atelier explorera la manière dont l'on peut libérer le potentiel de ces précieuses données pour détecter les signaux faibles, optimiser l'efficacité et maximiser la satisfaction client de manière durable… avec de l'IA, ou simplement du bon sens !  Sébastien Jullian - Eloquant Daddy Bobozo - Adie 

Send us a textReady to stop grinding and start scaling? We dive into a clear, no-fluff blueprint for using agentic AI to grow sales, improve margins, and reclaim your time. Instead of one-off prompts, you'll learn how autonomous agents perceive context, plan multi-step workflows, make decisions, and execute tasks across your stack—then learn from outcomes to get better week after week.We walk through the five domains where agents deliver immediate wins: customer support that resolves faster and cuts cost per ticket; lead generation that researches prospects and tailors outreach to lower CAC; marketing engines that ideate, create, test, and iterate across channels; back-office automation that reconciles books, tracks invoices, and manages inventory; and forecasting that sharpens demand, revenue, and cash flow accuracy. Along the way, we plug real numbers into the conversation—10x service cost reductions, 40–60% time-to-output cuts, and double-digit revenue lift—so you can benchmark your own progress with confidence.Measurement is the unlock. You'll get a compact KPI framework tied to the P&L: revenue growth rate, ROI per initiative, gross margin improvement, operating cash flow accuracy, CAC and lifetime value, time-to-output, error rates, cost per transaction, CSAT, and NPS. We also share practical guardrails to deploy safely: approvals, escalation paths, SOPs, and team training that make adoption stick. The human edge—strategy, empathy, and brand—stays at the center while agents handle the repetitive execution. If you've wondered how to leverage AI without losing what makes your business special, this is your roadmap.Subscribe for more playbooks, share this with a founder who needs it, and leave a review to tell us which KPI you'll track first.Thanks for tuning in to this episode of Follow The Brand! We hope you enjoyed learning about the latest trends and strategies in Personal Branding, Business and Career Development, Financial Empowerment, Technology Innovation, and Executive Presence. To keep up with the latest insights and updates, visit 5starbdm.com. And don't miss Grant McGaugh's new book, First Light — a powerful guide to igniting your purpose and building a BRAVE brand that stands out in a changing world. - https://5starbdm.com/brave-masterclass/ See you next time on Follow The Brand!

In this episode we dive into building a construction scheduling team.The ChallengeA general contractor hands you the keys. They say, "Set up a planning and scheduling group for us. Do whatever you want." Where do you start?That's the hypothetical posed to Franco Giacuinto, CEO and founder of Outbuild. The status quo is familiar: no company-wide standards, a mix of P6, Excel, and whiteboards, and owners making decisions off monthly PDF updates. Franco's answer challenges everything about how most GCs approach scheduling today.Continue LearningCheck out our book The Critical Path Career: How to Advance in Construction Planning and SchedulingSubscribe to the Beyond Deadlines Email NewsletterSubscribe to the ⁠⁠⁠⁠Beyond Deadlines⁠⁠⁠⁠ Linkedin Newsletter⁠⁠Check Out Our YouTube Channel⁠⁠.ConnectFollow ⁠⁠⁠Micah⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Greg⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠Beyond Deadlines⁠⁠ on LinkedIn.Beyond DeadlineIt's time to raise your career to new heights with Beyond Deadlines, the ultimate destination for construction planners and schedulers. Our podcast is designed to be your go-to guide whether you're starting out in this dynamic field, transitioning from another sector, or you're a seasoned professional. Through our cutting-edge content, practical advice, and innovative tools, we help you succeed in today's fast-evolving construction planning and scheduling landscape without relying on expensive certifications and traditional educational paths. Join us on Beyond Deadlines, where we empower you to shape the future of construction planning and scheduling, making it more efficient, effective, and accessible than ever before.About MicahMicah, the CEO of Movar US is an Intel and Google alumnus, champions next-gen planning and scheduling at both tech giants. Co-founder of Google's Computer Vision in Construction Team, he's saved projects millions via tech advancements. He writes two construction planning and scheduling newsletters and mentors the next generation of construction planners. He holds a Master of Science in Project Management, Saint Mary's University of Minnesota.About GregGreg, an Astrophysicist turned project guru, managed £100M+ defense programs at BAE Systems (UK) and advised on international strategy. Now CEO at ⁠⁠Nodes and Links⁠⁠, he's revolutionizing projects with pioneering AI Project Controls in Construction. Experience groundbreaking strategies with Greg's expertise.Topics We Coverchange management, communication, construction planning, construction, construction scheduling, creating teams, critical path method, cpm, culture, KPI, microsoft project, milestone tracking, oracle, p6, project planning, planning, planning engineer, pmp, portfolio management, predictability, presenting, primavera p6, project acceleration, project budgeting, project controls, project management, project planning, program management, resource allocation, risk management, schedule acceleration, scheduling, scope management, task sequencing, construction, construction reporting, prefabrication, preconstruction, modular construction, modularization, automation, Power BI, dashboard, metrics, process improvement, reporting, schedule consultancy, planning consultancy, material management

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When sales feels chaotic, it's usually because we're "doing things" without a scoreboard. KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) fix that by turning revenue goals into the few activities that actually drive results—plus the behavioural discipline to keep going when we mostly don't win on the first try.  Q1) What are sales KPIs, and why do we need personal ones? Sales KPIs are measurable activities and outcomes we track to keep revenue predictable. Companies sometimes hand us a dashboard, but plenty of roles don't come with clear KPIs—especially in smaller firms, new markets, or when we're building a territory from scratch. That's where personal KPIs matter: they give us "markers" for what we're doing and what we should be doing.  The key is recognising we cannot do everything. We can only do the most important things—consistently. So we choose a handful of KPIs that reflect how our sales actually works (industry, deal size, sales cycle, channel), and we track them like a pilot checks instruments: not for perfection, but for control. Q2) Which KPIs actually move revenue (and which just make us feel organised)? A useful rule: track both leading and lagging indicators. Lagging indicators: results (revenue, closed deals, average deal size). They're essential, but they tell us after the period is over. Leading indicators: the activities that cause results (qualified leads worked, buyer conversations, meetings booked, proposals sent, follow-ups completed). The best personal KPIs are usually leading indicators that map to your funnel, like: How many qualified leads we work each week How many calls / outreach touches we make How many contacts turn into appointments How many appointments convert into agreed deals Our average value per appointment How many buyers become repeat buyers  If a KPI doesn't link to a funnel stage, it's probably a "busy metric." Q3) How do we turn a big revenue target into weekly KPIs we can actually execute? We reverse-engineer the number. Start with the revenue target, then work backwards through the funnel using realistic ratios. Example logic (use your own numbers, then refine over time): Target revenue per month Average deal size → required closed deals Closing ratio from meetings → required meetings Meeting-set rate from conversations → required buyer conversations Contact rate from outreach → required outreach attempts This is exactly the discipline of breaking "big revenue targets down to activities," then setting targets for the ratios between steps.  And we'll fail plenty at first. That's not a moral issue—it's just a data issue. After a few weeks, we'll have our conversion stats, not someone else's. Q4) What funnel ratios should we track—and what do we do when the ratios are ugly? Sales is a chain. If one link is weak, the outcome collapses. Track ratios between stages, for example: outreach attempts → conversations (contact rate) conversations → meetings (appointment rate) meetings → proposals proposals → closed deals (close rate) Over time we build "reliable statistics" showing where we're strong and where we're leaking deals.  If conversations aren't becoming meetings, that's usually messaging, relevance, credibility, or timing. If meetings aren't closing, that's discovery quality, stakeholder mapping, objection handling, procurement friction, or lack of urgency. The goal isn't to shame the numbers. The goal is to diagnose the system and improve one stage at a time—because a small lift in one ratio multiplies all the way down to revenue. Q5) How do we set KPI targets without kidding ourselves (and without burning out)? Use three levels: Comfortable range (you can hit this even on a rough week) Realistic stretch (hard but doable) Moonshot (for peak weeks, not every week)  Then we attach KPIs to time management. If the target is 200 quality touches a week, we schedule them like a workout plan—because hope is not a strategy. Also: behaviour matters. Sales can be "a diabolical art" where we fail a lot, so we need "supreme discipline" to do the activities anyway.  That means tracking basics like follow-up completion, pipeline hygiene in the CRM, and daily prospecting blocks—because motivation comes and goes, but systems stay. Q6) How do we adapt KPIs to reality (gatekeepers, Japan timing, and modern outreach)? Reality includes gatekeepers, voicemail, and the classic "they'll call you back" fantasy. We can have a long call list and still get nowhere, so we vary timing and channels.  Practical KPI upgrades: Track attempts by time band (early morning, lunch, after 6pm) because contact rates change by industry and role.  Track multichannel sequences (phone + email + LinkedIn + referral asks), not just "calls." In Japan, where trust and introductions often matter, track referral requests, warm intros, and second meetings as leading indicators—because relationship-building is a real part of the funnel, not "soft stuff." Weekly review: keep, kill, adjust. If we're not moving the ratios, we don't need more hustle—we need smarter inputs. About the Author (Credentials) Dr. Greg Story, Ph.D. in Japanese Decision-Making, is President of Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training and Adjunct Professor at Griffith University. He is a two-time winner of the Dale Carnegie "One Carnegie Award" (2018, 2021) and recipient of the Griffith University Business School Outstanding Alumnus Award (2012). As a Dale Carnegie Master Trainer, Greg is certified to deliver globally across leadership, communication, sales, and presentation programs, including Leadership Training for Results.  Wrap-up Personal sales KPIs are our antidote to vague effort. We pick the few activities that drive the funnel, set ranges, measure ratios, and improve the weakest link. When we know the numbers, we stop guessing—and we start managing sales like a system.

Loyalty platforms have evolved from sideline UA channels to commanding 25-50% of major studios' media budgets. In this deep dive, VYBS founder Ido Raz breaks down everything game developers need to know about loyalty apps—from the basics to advanced strategies for maximizing player quality and LTV.We cover the biggest misconceptions about incentivized traffic, why casual games benefit the most, and how to avoid the common mistakes that kill campaigns. Plus, Ido shares the single most overlooked KPI that changes how you evaluate traffic quality.CHAPTERS:00:00 Introduction02:39 How Loyalty Apps Differ from Offerwalls03:33 Business Model: From CPI to ROAS Optimization05:28 Can Loyalty Be a Primary UA Channel?11:25 Best Genres for Loyalty Platforms12:29 The Magic Myth: Why Loyalty Requires Specialization13:45 Are Loyalty Users Different from Traditional Players17:20 When Should Studios Start Using Loyalty Apps?18:54 The Cash Flow Advantage: 4 Months vs 2 Years21:00 Timeline to Success: 1 Week to 7 Weeks22:35 Patience vs Pressure: Learning Cycles26:30 Using Loyalty to Amplify Live Events27:53 Common Mistakes Studios Make29:52 The Unrealistic KPI Problem34:58 Loyalty vs App Store Competition36:07 AI's Impact on Loyalty Platforms40:36 Best Way to Spot Low-Quality Users44:46 What's Next for VYBS?

As mobile marketers head into another year of rising costs, shrinking signal, and fiercer competition across search and social, one performance channel keeps gaining momentum where few expected it: connected TV. What used to be dismissed as “just a brand play” is now becoming a measurable, high-intent driver of installs and in-app actions — especially when powered by OEM data. In this App Talk special of the Business of Apps Podcast, David Murphy sits down with Kaitlin Stebbins, Mobile Growth & Performance Media Lead at Samsung Ads, to unpack what CTV can really do for app growth. Kaitlin breaks down how Samsung's unique data layer, measurement integrations, and precision targeting are helping mobile marketers reach new audiences, hit their KPIs, and diversify beyond the crowded Meta-Google-TikTok triangle. You'll hear why CTV is no longer an upper-funnel luxury, how Samsung connects exposure to mobile conversions, and why even allocating 5–10% of spend can unlock incremental users that traditional channels miss. If you're rethinking your performance mix for 2026 — this conversation is your roadmap. Today's topics include: Why CTV is no longer just brand awareness and how it now drives installs and in-app actions. How Samsung Ads leverages OEM data to deliver precise, performance-focused targeting. Why mobile marketers should diversify beyond search and social to reach higher-value audiences. How CTV measurement works, including IP-based attribution through mobile measurement partners. What success on CTV looks like, from KPI alignment to full-funnel performance across TV, mobile, and web. Links and Resources: Kaitlin Stebbins on LinkedIn Samsung Ads website Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry Quotes from Kaitlin Stebbins “The idea that CTV can't drive performance is a big misnomer — we've been working with direct-response advertisers for years, and it absolutely drives action.” “CTV reaches a completely different audience than social — older, higher-income, and far more likely to take meaningful action after seeing an ad.” “Lean heavily into CTV in 2026. Your big, beautiful creative deserves to be seen on the largest screen in the home — served to the right person at the right time.” Host Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry since 2012

In this episode of The Profit Cleaners Podcast, the Brandons break down how AI is transforming the cleaning industry — from pricing and routing to marketing and KPI tracking. They introduce the Clea Stack AI suite, explain how tools like BunnyBid, ShineProof, and the upcoming KPI Dashboard streamline operations, and reveal why the industry is entering a “second Internet moment.”They also announce that the flagship Profit Cleaners Masterclass is being retired, making the Last Class Bundle the final opportunity to secure lifetime access to the course, coaching, templates, and 12 months of CleanStack AI.

TFYM 194 | Quarterly Recap with Jacquie (Q3, 2025)Host: Julie Herres, Host of Therapy for Your MoneyGuest: Jacquie Carter, GreenOak AccountingIn this quarterly check-in, Julie and Jacquie share what's actually happening inside group practices right now. They cover the real-life challenges with payroll, tough financial decisions, and staying resilient when the industry shifts overnight.In this episode:Get real talk on managing payroll, clinician splits, and benefit costs—even when everyone else seems to be “doing it all.”Hear candid, loving advice about facing hard choices and avoiding shame around business struggles.Walk away with practical, no-nonsense tips to keep your practice strong—no matter what the economy throws your way.Links And ResourcesGreenOak Accounting on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@greenoakaccounting Money for Therapists Practice Startup - https://www.greenoakaccounting.com/startupGreenOak Accounting - www.GreenOakAccounting.comTherapy For Your Money Podcast - www.TherapyForYourMoney.comProfit First for Therapists - www.ProfitFirstForTherapists.comProfit First Academy - www.ProfitFirstForTherapists.com/Academy Podcast Production and Show Notes by Course Creation StudioGet our free KPI tracker to see how you practice measures up to others in the industry! www.therapyforyourmoney.com/kpi

Happy Thanksgiving! Kiera gives ideas of service opportunities, from a personal to a practice-wide scale.  Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: The Dental A Team (00:00) Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera and happy, happy Thanksgiving. I am so honored to share today with you. You guys, I love Thanksgiving. It used to not be one of my favorite holidays, but gosh, you know, the secret to living is giving and to have a day dedicated to gratitude, a day dedicated to love, a day dedicated to families and friends and to just come together and to remember how good our lives truly are.   I think is beyond special. And I just want to say, for me, it would feel crazy for me not to jump on here and to say thank you to all of you. You guys are my favorite humans. You're the people that I love, that I get to talk to so many times a week, that I get to hang out with, that I get to see your stories, that I get to know personally and professionally, that I get to see your wins. I get to see you tag us on social media. I get to see the emails that come in. I get to see your reviews that you leave. I get to see you positively impacting the world of dentistry. And just to truly know,   that you guys are doing so good out there. And I just want to say thank you. Thank you for being here. You guys, this podcast was a hope, a wish, a dream when I was hiking up, I'm not joking, Half Dome in Yosemite. And I thought there is nothing out there that's serving dentists and teens. And it's a niche and it's a space. And I'm going to come in and I'm going to positively impact. And I'm going to get both sides of the coin to come together to really, truly influence and impact dentistry in the greatest way possible. And that is such a huge testament to all of you for being here.   for being a part of the Dental A Team family. So I just wanna say thank you for being here. And to this, I just wanna say like, if you've been an OG, thank you for being here from the beginning. And if you're a newbie, welcome. I hope that you feel loved. I hope you feel appreciated. I hope you just feel great. And I hope you remember how amazing life truly is. So I want you guys to just know that watching this podcast evolve, to seeing millions of downloads, to seeing us in so many countries, my like...   It's mind boggling to me. It's crazy because when I built this, didn't know how many people would listen and to see the fans, to see the love, to see the raving fans, to see the clients come through, to laugh with you, to celebrate with you, to cry with you. I just want to say like, gosh, like this is a journey. It's a joy and it's an honor and it's a privilege because I know your time is your greatest asset. And so I just want to say thank you. And today with it being Thanksgiving, you know, I really just want you to know   that I believe that the secret to living is giving. And we have a portion of our company called Live To Give. And I've talked about it on a few other podcasts. I've talked about how like, you know, it was back in 2019, I went to a Tony Robbins event. And a lot of you know how much I love Tony Robbins. That was because I caught one of my lightning moments in life where I was in a space so focused on myself and it was random because I was building a company called Live To Give.   and that was where we were non-believable and we were like getting donations to help these nuns who didn't even have a house. Like it was crazy and we raised so much money so quickly and I've done it a few other times. Like another one idea was the Vibe prison ventures where inmates were actually like I went I actually went to the prison and it was crazy and I was scared out of my mind ⁓ but I saw these inmates take their skills that got them into prison which were not the best.   and turn them into good and they pitched us their business ideas and to be able to sit there with them. That was another business that I got that was part of the Live To Give to be a part of that and to give back. And I found that so many of the times in my life that are my happiest moments are those where we like went above and beyond. And a few years ago, I talked about like probably my favorite Live To Give moment that we've ever had was when we were able to, one of my friends in Arizona, her son was struggling with stomach cancer and   I really wanted to do a make a wish and make a wish is like really, really hard to get in touch with. And I had committed that year. I was going to do a make a wish. I didn't know what it was going to look like. I didn't know how we were going to do it. I told my team, this is what we wanted to do. And we found this boy and his goal, his dream was to go to Italy. And I was like, this is it. Like guys, this is it. We have a team member who's a stomach cancer ⁓ survivor as well. And I was like, this is it. This is our live to give. And our whole team was able to participate in it. We're able to give this, this   child who's 12 years old, him and his family, a complete all expense paid trip to Italy when he got done with cancer and to give him the hope and the wish. And you guys like that moment in my life, I think about the ones that really impact us the most, the ones that changes, the ones that are like those lightning bolt moments. And I, the bulk of them are ones that we've been able to give to serve, to love. ⁓ We were able to last year as a team go and like help so many kids at the children's hospital.   our team has done angel tree where we go and like shop for these families. And Shelbi and I, I remember we went shopping for a family of nine and that was the exact of my family. I think back to when I was at, ⁓ United Way and I was able to bring holiday magic to hundreds of families from the donations of others. And I remember there was a time where I just was feeling grumpy about life. I realized like, I haven't checked my, giving like vitals.   in me in a while. I think about businesses and I think about all of you and we are constantly looking at our KPIs of our business. We're looking at the KPIs that drive us to success, but I'm like, what are the KPIs of our life that drive us to success? And maybe those are some of the pieces that are there. And I've just realized that giving and serving and loving should be an area that maybe we want to check those vitals, especially today.   of where is my giving my love, my service, KPI? Is it high? Is it low? Is it on track? Is it off track? And I will say that if it's off track, today's a great day to get it on track. And maybe a couple of ways for us to give back is just to love a little bit more, to text someone today that you might love. A few years ago, my brother-in-law and I have a kind of a unique relationship. When I met...   He was a business owner and I always thought he was so grumpy. I didn't really like him that much. was like, Jason, your brother is so just rude. I did not care for him. And as I become a business owner further into my career, I understand this brother-in-law so much. And he's kind of like, I don't know, I would say like a little crusty on the edges. He's not soft, I'll put it that way. And I was actually really, really scared to text him.   But just cared about him so much and I appreciated so much of what he's done and he's been a mentor to me. And I just said, take a risk, a gamble. I remember I was sitting on the beach in Maui and I texted him and I just said, hey, I just want you to know how much I appreciate you. I value you. And how much of a mentor you've been to me and you've given me hope when I didn't know that there was hope. And I'm just so grateful for you. And he wrote back, he's like, Kiera, I don't usually cry. And that text meant so much to me. And I just think that's our giving.   KPI. So what little love bombs could you send out? What service could you and your team do together? Our team, every year in December, we do a Live to Give. Could you guys adopt that in your company and together collectively as a podcast family? Think of all the lives that we could give back to. I think about my husband was talking about another brother that he has and this brother literally is in such a hard place in his life right now and   does not have a lot of money, has a lot of family dynamics, I won't get into it. And when I say like, pretty much homeless, that's literally what's going on with him. And I only highlight that because his situation is so hard. we were, Jason was talking about struggling with something and he was like, ⁓ I could help you with that. And Jason and I talked about it and we thought about who are the people that give to those that are struggling? A of times it's those that are like, not hardly better off than they are. And I think like,   Could today or this next month, could we maybe boost that live to give side of us where we look for people in need, we look for opportunities that can be in our patient base, that can be in our team base, it can be in our community, it can be in our families. Can I give out little love bombs? It might be cold in your area. A few years ago, we did a coat drive and this came from one of my friends in Utah who...   would ask all his friends to donate coats that they're no longer wearing and would drive around and hand out coats to people on the side of the road that could really use it. I'm not here to say you've got to go do that, but I just think like, what a blessing to those people. What a space for us to be able to share and to love and to give back. Like you guys, are so insanely blessed. I promise every single person listening to this podcast today, we all collectively could say that we have been unruly blessed.   in our lives. And so where is that? Could I text a team member and tell them like, Hey, you're doing such a great job. I'm not joking. I have a little list over here to write thank you cards to my team members sporadically and unexpectedly for great things that they do. Could I text my spouse if it's been a while and tell them how much I love them? Could I maybe call my parents? I think about like, if you have your parents alive right now, I hope that you just love them.   I hope that you call them, I hope that you tell them, I hope you forgive them. Even offering forgiveness to somebody that maybe doesn't deserve it, it's not a gift to them, it's a gift to you. ⁓ Patching up and cleaning up when it maybe doesn't seem like it's necessary. ⁓ All these are little gifts of gratitude, of giving, of serving, of loving people. And what's crazy is the more you give that, the more you feel alive, the more your bucket's filled like,   Every year we go and do something and I leave those events just on like cloud nine. We have a team member who last year she was so inspired by it. She like found a girl in Africa and basically like adopted her and has been like helping her get through college and like she sends her letters and her dad did it and they were just so inspired that they've like changed these lives of people. And like, but that team member changed as well. And so I just think today,   Let's look at our KPI of our giving metric and how can we add maybe a little bit more service and give back? Because I promise you guys, the secret to living is giving. That's why I have Dental A Team's Live to Give. And if you know somebody that could benefit from Dental A Teams Live to Give, it's completely like on us. It's not even that I might make it the 1031 or excuse me, our nonprofit in the future. Like that just is a great idea on the podcast that came to me.   because I want to build a nonprofit. But if you know a family that's deserving, you know of somebody that could have a make a wish experience, you know someone in your community, I would love to partner up with you. I'd love to help make magic happen. I'd love to use the podcast. I'd love to connect with a lot of you. But like, there are so many people, including ourselves, including our team, that a little more love, a little more kindness, a little more gratitude could go a long ways.   And I just want to encourage you today as you're in this space for you to think of how can you do just a little bit more? How can you make a little bit more impact and change in people's lives? How can you just truly like not be as lonely as an owner and to give heartfelt thanks and gratitude to any person around you.   And I was like, team members to your doctors, to your owners, it is lonely at the top. It is hard. And to give a genuine heartfelt thank you of gratitude, could truly go so far. And so I think just go out of your way, text your team members, tell them how much you love them, tell them how much you appreciate them, how much you value them. Team members, tell your doctor, tell your family. Like these things don't have to be monetary. It's us just loving of being kind and to give.   to just give back a little bit more. And then I'd also encourage you to also give a little gratitude to yourself for the things that you've overcome, for the things that you've been able to do, for the challenges, for the person you've been able to become. Think back to who you were when you started your business, to who you are today and give grace and gratitude. Because the reality is like, I think about this, like if you were...   to look back and to be able to talk to your younger self, what would you say to that person? You'd probably be like so freaking proud of that person. Like you're gonna do it. I'm so proud of you and I'm so grateful for you. And then I think like, let's go even further. What if you only had one week left to live? What would you be doing right now with your life? I promise you, you'd be living on your highest cloud nine. You'd be telling everybody thank you. You'd be telling everybody you love them. You'd be giving hugs.   ⁓ one of my friends from high school just posted recently that his mom passed away unexpectedly. And he wrote, he said, hug your parents, hug your family, tell them that you love them, love your cousins, love your aunts, all of your uncles, like tidy up because your life can change so quickly. And what I hope for all of you is that your life does not change so quickly, but it does change so quickly, not in a negative way of losing somebody and wishing we could love on them more.   but that your life could change so quickly that you start to live your day every single day of having gratitude and love and telling your family and calling them and sharing with your team and not holding back. It's like, I'm hoping that you just feel this like confetti explosion of love being able to be finally released and unshackled from you to give it to yourself, to give it to your team, to give it to your family, to give it to those around you. I hope you know that I love you.   and that I care about you. And I think that you're doing way better than you ever imagined you could be. That I'm so proud that you're living the dreams that you once thought were impossible and you made them into the possible. That you push yourself, that you evolve, that you want to be this good human, that you're positively impacting your community and your team. You're doing so much good. And I just hope that you feel the love. I hope that you feel strengthened and I hope that you just know that I adore you. And with that, I would also be   completely ridiculous because I cannot let today pass without doing one of my favorite traditions. And that is publicly thanking my entire team, the team that stands behind Dental A Team that makes Dental A Team incredible. And this year our team has drastically and radically grown. And I'm so proud of the company that we've built. I'm proud of the team that we built. I'm proud of the deliveries that we're able to give, the consulting, the changing of lives.   Um, one of our consultants said at best, said, I love what we get to do because every single day we get to change someone's life. And that's the magic of Dental A Team That's the people we have. So I'll go kind of an order of where it's at. Um, and I'll just kind of go by like people, uh, I'll put them in like no exact order because that feels really weird to me. And so just going to like, go through the list of all of our team. So kicking it off is the one and only Spiffy Tiffy. I am so grateful for Tiff.   You guys, she jumped into this company from day one, pretty much. I asked her to put an ice cream cone on her head and that girl has never looked back. Not an ice cream cone with ice cream in it, but just the cone. We get asked that question a lot. And Tiff is just my ride or die. She's someone that I adore. She's someone who pushes me. She's a safe space for me to ⁓ be messy, to be vulnerable. She pushes me to be my best self. She encourages me.   She'll co-present with me. If you guys, mastermind this year with Tiff was pure and utter euphoria. And if you were not a part of it, I hope you choose to come and join us because this was something that Tiff pushed me on. was part of Tiff's vision. We talked about it multiple years sitting in a hotel room. We were on a trip and she said, you know, Kiera, I really have this idea of doing these events. And here they are. Tiff has been my ride or die. And she's someone that has really this year grown in her leadership and is running this incredible consulting team.   And I'm just so thankful for Tiff being someone that I love and adore. Someone who makes me laugh so hard. Someone who I've watched just really show up for herself and to challenge herself to grow, to not put blame, to look at herself as a leader and to rise and to go to the next level and to drive a consulting team far better than I ever could have imagined. And you guys, if you know her, you love her, Spiffy Tiffy, she's on the podcast.   She does the podcast, she writes newsletters, she does consulting, she drives her consulting team and she makes all of us laugh and she's literally the walking like Dental A Team mascot for our company. And I just hope that Tiff knows publicly and privately how grateful I am that she took a chance, that she's been my ride or die, that she's something that I just freaking love and adore so much and I'm so grateful for Spiffy Tiffy. Coming up next, No BS Britt. You guys, if you've heard her, you love her. ⁓ Brittany Stone is just this magical human who   is a yin to my yang. I have so much respect for Britt and the way that she leads. Britt is like our HR guru. She's the one who creates policies. She helps hire. ⁓ Britt is someone that I see. She hates this nickname. So don't call her it. Gritty Britty. And the reason I like Britt has so much grit. She is someone that will just keep showing up day in day out. She's very stable for me. She's very consistent.   When you think about a boat rocking in the ocean and they have stabilizers, that's Britt for our company. She is just this amazing stabilizer who I am so grateful for. And not only that, she consults incredibly well. Teams love her. Our team loves her. She gets the MVP word often. And Britt is someone that I am grateful who has pushed me as a leader, who's pushed our team, who stabilized, but also has shown me like how strong somebody with humility is.   And also someone who has a quieter personality can be an incredibly, incredibly talented leader. I'm just so grateful for her. I'm also grateful for you guys know her, you love her. Shelbi Poppins, Shelbi has been my personal and executive assistant for several years. She's customer success. Literally this girl is like the grease between all the wheels. You guys probably all know her. She helps with the podcast. She helps with the company. She puts on events.   Shelbi Poppins is practically perfect in every single way. And our whole team would agree to that. So I'm not showing favoritism. She just genuinely is someone that we all love. And I am so thankful for Shelbi being my right hand. I know Shelbi would take a bullet for me. And you guys, if you don't have someone like that, gosh, it's an honor to have someone that just like, you know, will jump in front of a train to make sure you're taken care of. Wow. Greatest gift you can give. And those of you that are the personal assistants, the executive assistants behind the scenes, just know that you're, ⁓   The person that you're helping values you more than I think words could ever put into play. Shelbi just is magic. She is ease. She knows how to have everything done. And I'm so thankful for this girl taking a risk, you guys. We shared a wall, like she's my next door neighbor and I knocked on her door, offered her a job, had her send the job, convinced her to come back. Like Shelbi is someone that I am so thankful and I will say great talent is often sitting next door to you.   So don't be afraid to like knock on the door and like mad kudos and appreciation to Shelbi for just showing up constantly every single day. Shelbi is in my opinion, our definition of passion for excellence and results focused. That girl does not miss a beat and she's constantly showing up. She's constantly figuring things out. She makes sure that the boats run on time, that everything is done perfect and that the experience for all of you is absolutely magic. And I just, our company truly is so blessed to have Shelbi Poppins on our team.   Coming up next is a new player on our team, Jenna. Jenna is our COO, and I will say she has been one of the greatest additions to our company. And I think kudos to our leadership team who saw the need for us to bring on this COO to take us to the next level, to drive us in ways that we didn't know. And I will say that Jenna has come in with this like ray of sunshine when I think a lot of us were covered in clouds. And Jenna has this amazing ability to cut through the noise to see what really needs to happen.   She's a freaking wizard with numbers. You guys, I love numbers and Jenna loves numbers too. Like she is just magical. And I will say for owner doctors out there that are struggling needing that implementer integrator, Jenna has taught me that the right person seated next to you really can drive a company and you it's okay. You can hire a fractional. You can hire somebody that you don't know. ⁓ But bringing someone in with insane experience who has passion and love, Jenna is one of the most driven. ⁓   giving people you guys like I hope there's an opportunity for a lot more of you to get to know Jenna because her stories and her passion inspire me to want to be a better person professionally and personally she's one of the most giving like the story she has of the impact and the companies this woman is a miracle girl for companies and she does it because she believes in their passion their cause and I will say her clarity her accountability her continuity her   ways that she is constantly doing the right thing day in and day out and just showing up for our team, showing up for me, but driving us. Like when I talk about someone who holds a team accountable, that is Jenna. And I have seen her just rise and drive our company in ways that I never imagined. And I am beyond grateful until like I got the freaking jackpot bringing Jenna to our company. And I know our whole team feels that way. She's been an amazing addition and someone we could not live without. So, so grateful for Jenna. Next up, you guys know, ⁓   Our consulting team, Dana. Dana has been with us so long. Dainey, ⁓ her and I, Dana is just someone who is, if you haven't gotten the opportunity to work with Dana, you're missing out. Dana is grit, tenacity, and that girl, there is no challenge, no problem bigger than her. Like she will, she just takes it. She's like a beast when it comes to life problems that are thrown at her. And she does it with fun and grit and grace. And Dana is someone that I can count on to be consistent.   to be thorough, to show up day in and day out. That girl does not miss for me. And I'm so grateful for her. And I have also watched Dana have insane passion for excellence and drive to become the next version of herself. Like before my eyes, have watched Dana be, Dana, when I hired her to Dana, like 4.0, this girl has just grown through the ranks and she takes it on and she takes every challenge and she takes the feedback and she...   just grows and to see the results she drives for her clients. You guys, this woman blows me away constantly, but she does it in a way of ease, Grace. She's got all the kids, she's got the soccer practice or the baseball practice. Like she's always busy and yet she's able to maintain and serve clients galore. Help Our Team Makes Me Laugh All The Time has the funniest stories. And I'm just so grateful for Daney taking a chance on Dental A Team for being an incredible hygienist who brings value, who speaks for us, who presents for us.   Dana is just like Dynamite Dana. That might have to be her new nickname because she's so, and maybe it's not Dynamite, but Dynamic Dana. Like she is truly someone that I am honestly in awe and impressed by her so much and so grateful to learn from her, to watch her, to grow with her because Dana is someone who is so special and someone I'm so thankful for in my life and in our company. Our company is beyond lucky and blessed to have Dana. ⁓   and she just shows up constantly. She's taught me more about life and gratitude for life than I think any other person I've ever met in my entire life. And I'm just grateful for that. We also have Kristy. is such a, her name is Kristy Treasure and she is a treasure on our team. Kristy came onto our team as this dynamic consultant who just, I call her like our truffle hunting. Like she looks for profitability in every practice she goes to and she drives offices to success.   She rivals me on my numbers, which is so fun. And what I love about Kristy is she has this calm, tenacious personality that just goes after it, figures it out. And I know that I can count on Kristy to deliver insane results every single time. And she never, ever, ever misses. This is a woman who has so much knowledge of dentistry, but she has so much passion for your success. She is obsessed with driving offices to their ultimate dreams, their ultimate goals.   She just has like mad following of people that love her, adore her, honor her, and I'm one of them. Kristy is such a beautiful blessing. We were looking for our next consultant. We were wanting somebody and Kristy just, I feel like popped out of the air like Glenda in her little bubble and showed up in the most perfect way, in the most perfect space. She is someone who sees people. She's someone who loves people and she's someone who's got a heart of gold. And I just truly am so lucky and so blessed to have Kristy on our team.   Dental A Team would not be the same without her. And following Kristy is Trish. Trish is such a, my gosh, we call her Tada, which stands for Trish Ackerman, Dental A Team ambassador. Like Trish is such, I mean, she's rivaling Tiffany on how much she loves Dental A team. And Trish just comes in with this, like she is a walking magnetic dynamic human.   You can like, she is so fun and she's so hilarious and teams love her. And she comes in this way where she gets you to like navigate to your goals and results, but you were laughing and joking and having the most hilarious time. Trish knows everybody. Everybody who knows Trish loves Trish. And Trish is just this beautiful, incredible woman who does consulting in such a fun, positive and impactful way. I learned so much from her. Trish has the best one-liners that we all snag from her. She's constantly making us laugh.   But what I love about Trish is her positivity in her outlook where every day is a golden ray of sunshine for Trish. She shows up every day with positivity. She shows up of how every day is the best day. She's the one who said like, are so blessed to consult because we get to change lives, we get to create magic and we get to truly inspire and bless people. And honestly, I don't know what I did for all these years without Trish in my life because Trish is just magic. Trish is fire and spice and fun and beauty and just...   Reminds me that life is so freaking fun and I need to laugh and have so much more fun and I'm so grateful for her I'm grateful for her knowledge. This girl has gosh Like coached teams of 150 people and so I learned from her and I'm inspired by her and you guys Offices who are working with any of our consultants are just beyond blessed Following Trish's Monica Monica is so special. She just has this whimsical fairy ease about her   that just is so poised, collected, brilliant, that is so magical for me to watch her consult, to have me watch her like with her email recaps. I see beautiful emails come from this woman. Like this woman can write. ask her, like Britt is so brilliant. We ask her all the time like, hey Monica, we need help writing this. And Monica comes with it. Like a lot of the things about our company have been written by Monica. She just got this like ease and grace and loves her.   creativity space and I'm just so grateful to have that ⁓ I think flow example in our company of someone who just can navigate the storms of life, who can go with the flow, who has poise and polish and professionalism and just like truly makes people sparkle in jazz. She's a very fun dynamic human that I'm so grateful is on our team. I'm so happy she's joined our team. And like I said, our consulting team is top notch. I do not hire.   anybody on our team unless they come with massive experience, massive years of experience, coming with consulting experience. Like these women truly know how to drive practices to their greatest fulfillment and profitability and do it in ease and fun. And we were just so lucky. Like our consulting team is absolutely incredible. So moving on from our consulting team, ⁓ we have just this amazing marketing team and Eve, she's like my little pixel fairy over there. We call her her pixel best.   If you have ever attended an event, if you have ever gotten anything from Dental A Team a newsletter, a flyer, anything, it is Eve's magic. And Eve just makes my life so easy. She told me, she Kara marketers are so easy to find. And I said, actually they're not because to find a marketer, Eve is not just a marketer. She's freaking funny. Like honestly, this girl makes me laugh so hard. She is so brilliant. She's stunning. She makes gorgeous design for me all the time. And she's just as magical human that I   I don't know what my life was like without Eve. Eve is someone that has just elevated our company. She's constantly here for brilliant designs. But something that I have loved that I've watched Eve just explore this year is this like new found, like vibrancy blossoming coming out of her where she is taking ownership. She's watching these metrics. She's seeing different things. And Eve can pretty much consult people now. Like this girl does not just build me a slide deck.   a typical marketer would. She thinks through how to make the experience for all of you the absolute best it can be, how to make the experience the best for me. And then she's the funniest person in our chats. So if you ever get a chance to meet Eve, you heard her on the podcast, Eve is this dynamic human that all of us, and she's freaking funny. Eve is like the comedy central of our company who makes all of us giggle. Her and Trish, we just, mean, Tiff is in that rally with them, but Eve is someone who is just.   beyond magical and someone that I'm so grateful came into our life personally and professionally. Her stories, her example, her like zuberance for life just inspires me. And I'm so grateful for her and grateful for her on our team. Following her is Jacintha. Jacintha has been with us and she's just really helped grow our team and evolve our team. And she helps make sure the podcast is taken care of and trains people and does social media. And she's really great at just making sure a lot of the pieces get done in our company.   ⁓ Her just joyous laughter and vivaciousness of life is so infectious and I'm so grateful to learn from her. She's one of the people that has just taken live to give and giving a next level that I think is just beyond magical and something that I've learned so much from her. She just lives life at a high level and she enjoys life and she lives life fully and that's something I'm so thankful for her for. Following her.   ⁓ Joash Joash is new to our team. And I think all of us would be lost without Joash. Joash is behind the scenes, but if you guys are in our company and you're part of our analytics or different platforms, Joash is your guy. Joash makes so many things. He's like our second Shelbi in the company. He builds spreadsheets. He's a data analyst. He figures out different things. He builds beautiful pieces for us. He just is constantly looking for ways to serve.   But Joash reminds me of the beauty of life. Joash is just such a special human He really is taking things to the absolute next level and I'm so grateful for him I love seeing his little messages come in He is someone who reminds me to be so grateful every single day for living this life every day in his slack messages He's like, thank you team. It was a beautiful day. Have a wonderful day tomorrow. We're so lucky to be alive build the best quotes for our company Joash ish is just this like   dynamic, special human that I feel we are so blessed to have helping fill in so many different gaps in our company. And we're so grateful for Joash. ⁓ Robi Robi's on our team and he's in the marketing department. And I love that Robi is just here to help to support, help our marketing team just flourish and thrive. And I love that he thinks of different ideas. He's a great designer. He's a great creator. And I'm so grateful to have Robi take on tasks, fill in the gaps wherever we need him to be. And he's just fun. He's got a lot of   He's got a lot of just energy and drive and like reminds me of how good life is. And I'm so thankful that Robi also is on our team. Following Robi is Paul. Paul is our new CRO. Again, I title, didn't even know existed nor did I know I needed. And what I love about Paul is Paul has been able to come into our company similar to Jenna and just brings this element of poise, of guidance, of knowledge.   I love meeting really smart people and Paul is so smart. He sometimes intimidates me in the best way possible. I love someone who can rival me, someone who can challenge me, somebody who inspires me. And I'm so excited for Paul to come in with so many years of knowledge and so much experience and to see our marketing and our customer success department and bring them together to just make it better for our entire team and for all of you coming to our company. And I'm just so grateful for Paul for taking a chance on us. I think...   I think when I look at consulting, often think like, gosh, those clients, like I feel so bad. I want to take care of them. I just want to help them out. And I think Paul felt that way about Dental A Team. Like, okay, Dental A Team needs some help and I can see how I can really drive. And I'm just so grateful for him coming in, jumping in the passion for excellence that he has, the drive, the tenacity. I'm so truly grateful for him.   The Dental A Team (33:32) And we have our incredible consultant Pam. Pam is just a joy. She is someone who just loves deep. She is so freaking brilliant at all things dental. She comes with this incredible experience of DSOs and of running huge teams and of consulting to tons of offices. And she just is a joy. She's someone who is thorough and on top of her A game. And I am just truly so grateful for her on our team, on our consultant team, being able to just deliver incredible value to our clients.   and also bringing insane value to our company as well. And then we also have Tyler. Tyler is on our customer success team and Tyler just brings this extensive background of dentistry with him. He is someone who really just jumps in, who has a very soft demeanor, but is a go-getter, has grit, has determination, who loves our clients. Our clients feel so safe and seen and heard by him. And for him to be one of the first impressions of Dental A Team, I think is just such a compliment to him.   to his skillset, to who he is as a person, and we are so lucky to have him on our team as well.   The Dental A Team (34:38) And I think like, as I look at my whole team, as I look at all these people that yes, I just said them in front of you. I told you.   and I'd be remiss if I didn't talk about Alex and Sissy who are podcast gurus behind the scenes that have been doing this with me for years. Alex writes the most beautiful show notes of any person that I've ever met. That woman is so magical with words. She's a published author this year. Just so freaking proud of her and so grateful to know her and to have her put together the podcast for you guys every single day, every single week. Sissy for editing it up for us, for making the commercials, for making sure that all the pieces are always put together for you guys.   Like these people just love, they're so incredible. They're just magical. I'm so, so grateful that we get to have all of these people to serve you, to love you. I'd be remiss if I didn't say thanks to Jason. Jason is my ride or die, my love. He's such an amazing human. He just loves me so purely guys. Like to have someone in your corner that loves you and loves you fully and completely.   and just wants the best for you. He's my biggest cheerleader. He's the one who brings me food when I'm on meetings all day. He's the one who's like pumping me up behind the scenes. He's the one who makes every single one of my dreams not seem crazy, audacious and just loves me for them and encourages me to pursue them. Constantly boosts me up, tells me to join you guys, tells me to take the risk, tells me that people need to hear these messages. And I'm so thankful for him. You guys, I'm so grateful. As I say this and like, I'm not gonna lie to you, all of you,   should go tell your team how much you love them because me just doing this podcast helps me see how lucky I am to be surrounded by brilliant people. You guys had so many be like, I look at last year to this year. My team has almost doubled in size. If you've listened to this for the years, you've heard me just go through this every single year. And I will continue to do this forever because my team deserves public recognition and private recognition. These men and women are here as amazing people that make me better.   that push me, that challenge me, that make me laugh. And this is a team of virtual people. So I want you just to love on your teams, to love on yourselves, and to really, truly, truly know that like, we are so blessed to live this world, to be able to be a part of this. I'm so thankful for my team. And if you didn't know, that's just our team. That's all of us. And I'm so grateful for them because I really would encourage each of you to do what I just did to your team.   in some way. And as you guys wrap today, I just hope that you have the most magical day, that you have a ton of fun doing whatever it is, and that you really do check your vital of how is my giving KPI? Am I giving? Am I feeling fulfilled? And if not, I would encourage you guys to choose one thing, one area of your life to make it just a little bit more bright, a little bit more giving, because honestly, the secret to living is giving.   And I hope that you know that I adore you, that I cherish you, that I'm so excited for you and me to be hanging out on the podcast. And I want you to know how much I value you, how much I appreciate you. And I hope you know that and I hope you feel loved. I hope that you feel appreciated. I hope that you remember that you are so blessed to be doing what you're doing, to be living the life that you're living, no matter how great or hard it is today, you are so blessed to be able to do this.   One day you dreamed about this life and now it's yours. And I'm so, so, so grateful to have you guys here. I'm so grateful for all the blessings that we get to be. I'm so excited for this next year around us. I'm so excited to work with you. I'm so excited to see you in person. I'm so, so, so excited for this beautiful life. And I'm honored and blessed to be able to serve you, to love you, to encourage you, to inspire you, and to be in this journey and this part of your life with you.   And if I can serve you in any way, reach out, Hello@TheDentalATeam.com Go have a magical Thanksgiving. Love people, give them hugs. Remember, we get one life to live and I hope that you make it the most magical you possibly can. And with that, thanks for listening and I'll catch you next time on the Dental A Team podcast.  

In this solo episode of the Everyday Business Problems podcast, Dave Crysler breaks down one of the most common mistakes leaders make, tracking the wrong metrics. He explains why most KPI reports simply "tell the news" instead of helping teams act, and how shifting focus to leading indicators creates real visibility, accountability, and proactive decision-making. What You'll Discover: The difference between leading and lagging indicators, and why it matters. Why "more data" isn't better if it's not actionable. A simple example of how leading indicators can predict outcomes and improve profitability. How to move from reactionary reporting to proactive management. Why manual tracking can be more powerful than a fancy dashboard, at least at first. How to test and validate new KPIs before automating them. The mindset shift that turns metrics into meaningful action.

In a world where the word most leaders use is "uncertain," what does it really take to build something that lasts? In this episode, Mike talks with Sarah Englade, Founder and CEO of Monarch Talent Solutions, about launching and growing a recruiting firm in 2020—when companies were laying people off, not hiring. Sarah shares how a COVID layoff pushed her to bet on herself, why KPIs and processes are non-negotiable, and how she built a relationship-first recruiting brand in a noisy, skeptical market. They dig into the mindset shifts that separate entrepreneurs who keep going from those who quietly quit, the role of belief when the numbers aren't there yet, and how time blocking keeps you out of "tension-relieving" activity and focused on what truly moves the ball. If you're leading a business, a team, or your own career through uncertainty, this conversation gives you practical handles—not theories—you can put to work this week. Highlights How a COVID layoff became the catalyst for Sarah to launch Monarch Talent Solutions The difference between working in KPI-driven environments vs. "no metrics, total chaos" Why Sarah "lives for KPIs and processes" and how they actually protect culture and standards The candidate and client follow-through processes that turn transactions into long-term relationships Building a credible brand without "infomercial" content or constant self-promotion Using market intel and real conversations to position yourself as a trusted guide The biggest early hurdle: mindset, not circumstance How time blocking keeps you out of the swirl and focused on goal-achieving work Starting each day with the task you least want to do — and why that moves the needle most Next Steps for Listeners Audit your KPIs: Ask yourself, "What are the 3–5 activities that actually drive results for my team or business?" Turn those into visible, trackable KPIs. Design one follow-through process: Choose either candidates, clients, or customers and map a simple sequence: How often will you touch them? Through which channels? What value will you bring each time? Time block your week: Take Sarah's playbook and dedicate specific days or blocks to different priorities (e.g., candidates early in the week, business development later). Start tomorrow with the hard thing: Before you end your day, write down the one task you're resisting — and commit to tackling it first thing. Connect with Sarah: Reach out to Sarah Englade on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-englade/) or email her at sarah@monarchtalentsolutions.com if you want to go deeper on recruiting, branding, or building a relationship-first search firm. Stay in the conversation: Follow Strategies for Tomorrow's Leaders and share this episode with another entrepreneur or leader who's navigating uncertainty right now

Bill pops in for a short rant and an update on some of his thoughts. As always, thank you for listening. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!Tell the people you love that you love them. "People never get the roses while they can still smell them." - West, KanyeSponsorship InformationThank you to ⁠⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠⁠ for sponsoring the show. DISCOUNT INFO: If you use the affiliate link ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠fiscal.ai/brew⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, you will automatically get 2 weeks of Fiscal Pro for Free and if you find that you want to upgrade, my link will get you 15% off any paid plans. About ⁠⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠⁠ is the complete modern data terminal for global equities.The ⁠⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠⁠ platform combines a powerful user experience with all the financial data capabilities that professional investors need. Users get up to 20 years of historical financials for all stocks globally that they can easily chart, compare, or export into their own models. And unlike legacy data terminals where it can take hours or even days, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠⁠'s data is updated within minutes of earnings reports. ⁠⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠⁠ also tracks all the company-specific Segment & KPI data so you don't have to. Like to track Amazon's Cloud Revenue? They've got it.How about Spotify's premium subscribers? Or Google's quarterly paid clicks?They've got all of it.

Sales leadership isn't just about hitting numbers—it's about creating a strategic framework that transforms your entire organization into a revenue-generating machine. When you shift from viewing sales as a transactional function to positioning it as the strategic heartbeat of your company, everything changes. In this conversation with John Allen, CRO of GNA Partners, we explore how to build a consultative selling culture that puts customer outcomes first. John shares his journey from operations to sales leadership, revealing how his operational background became his secret weapon in creating systematic approaches to revenue generation.  The Power of Operational Thinking in Sales Coming from an operations background gave John a unique perspective on sales strategy. Instead of relying on gut feelings or "the way we've always done it," he applied systematic thinking to every aspect of the sales process. This operational mindset became the foundation for scaling GNA Partners from a lifestyle business to a national player in the HR outsourcing space. Building a Revenue Culture That Actually Works Creating visibility into key metrics was the first step in transforming GNA's sales organization. By implementing Salesforce and making pipeline data transparent across the team, John created accountability and clarity around what success looks like. But transparency alone wasn't enough; the team needed to understand how their individual contributions connected to the company's broader strategic goals. The Two-Opportunities-Per-Week Framework After analyzing five years of data from top performers, John discovered something remarkable: the highest-producing reps consistently added two legitimate opportunities to their pipeline every week. This simple metric became the North Star for the entire sales organization, cutting through the noise of countless KPIs to focus on what truly drives results.  Here's what you'll learn from this episode: How to transition from transactional selling to strategic consulting that builds long-term client relationships. The systematic approach to onboarding new sales talent that accelerates time-to-productivity. Why pipeline coverage ratios matter and how to calculate the right targets for your team. The critical role of sales leadership in reinforcing methodology through hands-on coaching. How to create accountability systems that drive consistent performance across your sales organization. John's approach proves that when you combine operational discipline with consultative selling principles, you create a sustainable competitive advantage. His insights on balancing pipeline development with rep growth offer a roadmap for any sales leader looking to scale their organization effectively.  Whether you're struggling with inconsistent performance, looking to implement a proven sales methodology, or seeking to create better alignment between sales and operations, this conversation provides actionable strategies you can implement immediately. Key Moments of This Episode 00:00:00 - Customer-Centric Sales Philosophy: Focus on People and Relationships Sales success requires removing noise and focusing on adding two legitimate opportunities weekly to your pipeline. People buy from people, making the customer experience and relationship-building the ultimate differentiator when all providers offer similar solutions. 00:01:14 - Meet John Allen: CRO Journey from Banking to HR Outsourcing Leadership John Allen shares his 17-year journey at GNA Partners, transitioning from JP Morgan banking to becoming CRO of a Professional Employer Organization serving 4,500+ clients nationwide with comprehensive HR outsourcing services. 00:03:52 - Family Business to Private Equity: GNA Partners' Growth Transformation GNA Partners evolved from a family-owned business founded by John Allen Sr. and Tony Gralva to a private equity-backed company with TPG Capital, positioning for significant growth in the PEO space. 00:08:25 - Elevating Sales from Revenue Engine to Strategic Leadership Function Transforming sales teams from transactional order-takers to strategic consultants requires understanding client operations and positioning solutions through the customer's lens, focusing on business efficiency and profitability rather than just hitting numbers. 00:13:27 - Shifting from Transactional to Strategic Partnership Selling Successful sales transformation requires expertise in your field, maintaining a robust pipeline to eliminate desperation, and approaching conversations as collaborative problem-solving sessions rather than traditional sales pitches focused on closing deals. 00:21:03 - Building Revenue Culture Through Visibility and Measurement Systems Creating a revenue-focused culture starts with implementing CRM systems like Salesforce for complete visibility, establishing clear quotas and forecasts, and connecting individual sales goals to broader company objectives and resource allocation. 00:28:22 - The Two Opportunities Per Week Formula for Sales Success Analysis of top performers revealed a consistent pattern: adding two legitimate opportunities weekly (96 annually) correlates directly with quota achievement, providing sales teams a clear, actionable KPI to focus on. 00:33:33 - Operationalizing Sales Onboarding: From Hiring to Pipeline Generation Effective onboarding varies by experience level, featuring 90-day programs covering industry knowledge, tools training, and providing 600-750 vetted accounts to new reps, ensuring a systematic approach to sales development and early performance assessment. 00:43:32 - Implementing Sales Methodology: Sandler Selling System Integration GNA Partners adopted the Sandler selling methodology company-wide, requiring certification for all reps and parallel training for sales leaders to ensure consistent reinforcement and application of consultative selling principles. 00:50:56 - Sales Leadership Excellence: The Four Critical Competencies Effective sales leaders must excel in at least two-three areas: recruiting talent, understanding and selling the product, mastering sales enablement tools, or being exceptional at closing deals to maintain credibility and effectiveness. About John G. Allen John G. Allen is the Chief Revenue Officer for G&A Partners. Under his leadership, G&A's sales organization has experienced consistent new business growth year-over-year. Prior to this role, John was the Executive Vice President of Sales for G&A. He spent the early part of his career working for JPMorgan as a banker for its energy corporate and private banking groups before joining G&A in 2009. John earned a Bachelor's degree in finance from Brigham Young University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Texas. He is actively involved in his church, the Boy Scouts of America, and youth sports in his community. Follow Us On: ·         LinkedIn ·         Twitter ·         YouTube Channel ·         Instagram ·         Facebook Learn More About FlyMSG Features Like: ·         LinkedIn Auto Comment Generator ·         AI Social Media Post Generator ·         Auto Text Expander ·         AI Grammar Checker ·         AI Sales Roleplay and Coaching ·         Paragraph Rewrite with AI ·         Sales Prospecting Training for Individuals ·         FlyMSG Enterprise Sales Prospecting Training Program Install FlyMSG for Free: ·         As a Chrome Extension ·         As an Edge Extension  

When it comes to scaling smarter, not scattered, there are three mistakes owners make that hurt efficiency, profitability, and leadership. Kiera talks about how Dental A-Team helps practices simplify methods so that success is humming across all locations. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: The Dental A Team (00:00) Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera and I hope you are having such an amazing day. Today is podcasting day and I actually did a little reel for you guys to come and enjoy getting ready for me on podcasting day. My husband and I, we did this funny thing when I got like amped myself up and we're like, I love my life. I love my job. I love podcasting. And I don't know if you guys have seen that little girl.   who does that where she gets so excited about life and it's like, I love my bed, I love my hot tub, I love my view. And truly I love all of you. And I'm just super excited to be here with you podcasting, to be talking about great things in dentistry. And today I think that this one's going out to our multi-practice owners. And these are three costly gaps that I've noticed within multi-practice ownership that really try to highlight some of the gaps because at the end of the day, the podcast was created   to help all dentists elevate, to help all of us rise, to positively impact the world of dentistry in the greatest way possible. And that's what we're about. That's what our mission is. That's what I'm about. And so today going out to those multi-practice owners, or for those of you thinking about multi-practice ownership and do you want to do this? do you want to like, what are some of these gaps that maybe could also impact solo practice owners? So at Dental A Team, do work with solo practice owners, multi-practice owners. We work with...   like from basically one million, you know, you're maybe at that 650, one million range, all the way up to that 10, 15, $20 million range as well for practices. And there is a no one size fits all in Dental A Team I'm very, very, very, very big on who we hire and who the people are within our company. And with our clients that this is your life. This is your dream. There is no ultimate destination that we're trying to get all of our practices to. There is no final   You've got to hit this in order to be excellent within Dental A Team. is what is your life? We have some owners that are working at two or three days a week. We have some owners that are working six days a week. We have some that want multi-practice ownership. have others that want solo practice ownership. We have some that are solo practitioners doing 4 million in one location of about six to seven operatories. We have others that are in multi-locations doing 2 million. So really there is a no one size fits all. It's more what do you want to be? And we call this the yes model. So where do you   personally and professionally want to be. stands for earnings to make sure you're profitable and S stands for systems and teams to support that. So really making sure that way you can say yes to your life, yes to the things you want in life. That's what we're about. So with that, like when you look at multi-practice ownership, it does not necessarily mean adding more profit. I've talked to several multi-practice owners that are actually making less money in multi-practice ownership than they are.   prior to expanding to multi locations. Think about it. You've got one location that's doing really well, the other one's not doing so well, well, your good one has to then support your not so cash flowing one. So sometimes it actually can be a lot more costly for you. And so for you to just realize that some of the ways that we can do this will actually impact solo practitioners. ⁓ And so the three things that we're gonna work on today are like,   things that hurt efficiency, they hurt profitability and they hurt leadership. So when we look at this, doing a deep dive on that, that's really what I want you to look at of like how you can scale smarter and not scattered because really with multi-practice ownership, I remember the day we opened our second location. Our first practice was doing, it was 500,000 to 2.4 million in nine months. And then we opened our second location and you better believe that it was like just adding more fuel to this already burning chaos fire. I think that's really, really clear. And I hope you heard that it was adding more fuel.   to the chaos fire, not to the profitable fire, but to the chaos fire. ⁓ And that was really, really, really struggling. ⁓ It was hard on me. It was hard on our practice. It was hard on the team. I was not showing up as a great manager. I was not showing up as a great ⁓ leader. I was not showing up as a great partner. ⁓ I was not showing up great in my marriage. It was like literally just trying to swim through and feel like I was trying to survive rather than doing it smart. And so that's something really big that we've been wanting to do for all of you is   to give you this smarter way. Dental A Team was really here for you. It was built by people who are just like you, who have been in your shoes, they don't just understand you, but have actually been in your shoes, who's walked the walk, talked the talk, and we've done it very successfully. So I love to help offices. Hopefully we're helping you. ⁓ And if you love this podcast, please be sure to like it, start, share it, because that's how we're able to help and influence more people. number one, the biggest number one miss is no centralized operations. So that means ⁓ we don't...   we don't have a central plan and instead our practices are individual islands. This was very much my practices. We had our one and it was doing certain things and we had our second one and it was not doing certain things. And so going from each practice felt like I was going to multiple different locations, multi different pieces and that really gets hard. And so we have inconsistent systems which means we have unpredictable outcomes. And then on that, like we did not have a set way that we'd schedule. So we'd schedule one way at our first location another way at our second location.   Our billing was not the same. The way we were insurance verifying, our fee schedules weren't even the same because we were in two different cities. And so we had different fee schedules. ⁓ Reporting was not the same. We did not have leaders in both practices. We did not have SOPs that could scale. Like truly our operations manual was not done and we just thought buy another practice and let's go through this. Rather than having a set standard, and this is something I'm really big on when people want to go to multi-practice ownership or they're already in multi-practice ownership. This is really where we start. There's a practice that we're working with and   I think about them, were, the solo doctor was running around to every single location, trying to out-produce the problems instead of fixing the problems at the base level. And that's going to be through this of like centralized systems and getting systems in place and like having our scheduling and our billing and our cashflow consistent and looking at each of the individual practices ⁓ to make sure that they are centralized. And so when we work with multi-locations,   What we do is we actually simplify it down. So you don't necessarily have to have centralized billing or scheduling like right away. Once you get to that four or five, usually it's very recommended to have centralized billing or I've got some practices that are multi like it's one location, but they have about 15 to 17 operatories. Well, that does count in my opinion as multi ops, multi practices, cause a lot of times multi practices are like five ops or more. So you think about a 15 op practice that's like three practices, but just under one roof.   So even in this larger practice, I often recommend we start to centralizing. So we have a set standard of how we're doing billing. We have different reporting metrics. You've got to have the KPIs. We've got to have the set system. So what we started to do is we standardized the operatories. So all ops are the same. We standardized how we're scheduling. We're all in the same softwares. We have an SOP. So we've got our front office, our back office teams, and we do the exact same way. So how we're doing it. We had both practices auditing each other so that we standards were not getting missed and it wasn't.   Well, this practice does it this way and this one does it this way. No, we're trying to make these standardized. that way, again, it's not so that way we can't have our own flare and variety at the different locations, but it's so that way when practices show up and doctors show up, we're actually able to be efficient and effective because we're able to have it be the same. It's like, could you imagine ⁓ if your practices were like everybody's varying different houses? So the way I put my silverware in my house might be very different than where you put your silverware in your house.   So just imagine we've got five different houses, how much easier it would be if we all walk in and we all agree that silverware goes to the right of the dishwasher. Well, now, no matter where the dishwasher is placed in a house, we know silverware will always be to the right of the dishwasher. Just like when we walk into an operatory, we always know that the ⁓ disposable, so our gauze, our cotton, is always to the right of X. It all practices. So as much as we can get them similar, so that way it's just more efficient, it's more streamlined, everything is working together rather than against each other.   but truly getting centralized operations in multi-operatories or multi-locations is going to be one of the biggest ways to cut costs, to save time, and to make it more efficient for a better patient care all the way around the board. So really look at your practice and see, do we have inconsistent systems? Are we doing things differently? Do we have different flares and flavors? Do we have like five different houses within our multi-practice ownership? And what could we do to unify it across all of the practices this quarter? And usually when I'm starting with an office,   I'm going to look for the scheduling because that's usually the fastest. Then the operatories will be my next piece that I'm going to go for. And then after that, we're going to go into our billing tactics and making sure that goes into it, which leads me right into point number two. And this is gap number two and it's profit per location is not being tracked. A lot of times when people get multipractices, what they do is they just keep it all under one tax ID number. I understand your reasoning. I did that when I started my multiple businesses. It actually gets really hairy scary. And so ⁓   Yes, like let's untangle this. I'm not a CPA. My job is not to be giving you financial advice. My job is just to help you as a consultant. We pair really well with CPAs. And so miss number two is when we don't have profit being tracked per location, but overall as total revenue, but not knowing which practice is profitable and which practice is struggling. That's a really, really, really big miss as a practice. So helping you just understand that you've got to a hundred percent.   make sure we're looking at the profitability and breaking it apart. So each practice has its own tax ID number. Yes, this is annoying. Yes, you have to fix the billing pieces for it, but each practice needs to be treated like its own individual business unit. within the bigger whole. So it's like we have the same standards, we have the same operatory setup, we have the same softwares, we have the same billing tactics, but what we have is we make sure each practice is profitable.   So we know how much are we paying for all the fixed versus variable costs and we're tracking those within each location. When team members travel between each location, they're actually paid out of two separate entities. So they could be technically putting in more than 40 hours, but if they're only putting 20 hours here and 30 hours here, technically that's not over time. It's like working two different jobs. Now you have to be careful with that to make sure that those employees are not overworked.   But making sure that like when I've got team members going to multi locations, I am tracking it per location. I am tracking it per practice. When I've got regional managers separating out that regional manager salary amongst all the locations to make sure is this practical profitable? And if not, what are the underperformers? What are the root causes? How can I get this profitable? Can we do block scheduling in there? Can I work on my costs? I've got two practices right now and their rent is much higher in one location. Well, if I've got higher rent over there and higher costs,   I have to produce more in that practice than I do. So I can't have the exact same block scheduling in both locations. I can still block schedule similarly, but I have to make sure that I'm hitting my correct overhead percentages and that each practice is profitable. We have separate credit cards for each location. So we're ordering on those separate credit cards. So it is per location. We have different bank accounts for each location. So the money's coming in so we can see what it is. And what's crazy is when offices actually do this, what they find is   they're actually able to quickly identify what the root causes of that practice. They're able to bring it up to par. like one practice, they're losing money due to not having hygiene reappointments in there. So like the hygiene team is not as profitable as they should be. So we laser focus in on that. We fix the systems across the board, but we laser focus on the practice that's struggling. And we're actually able to boost them by 400,000 per year just by fixing that one small problem, because we're not looking at the organization as a whole. Yes, you do need to look at the organization as a whole.   but you do need to like scope it down to how each practice is performing. And this should be weekly, monthly, quarterly to then assess how we're doing. ⁓ When people get into multi level DSOs, you better believe they're looking at their top performers and their lower performance. And a lot of times they cut those lower performing offices out because that's hurting their overall profitability of the business. So many offices have really high producing practices and they're dumping it to go save the other ones. Just like thinking about a real estate portfolio.   they're looking and rebalancing those portfolios, but for you to rebalance it is to make sure you're tracking the profit per location and we're fixing the issues at the base root problem. ⁓ And so really what it should be is you should A, make sure you're running them individually, B, do a P &L by location and let's figure out where our gaps are within the finances to see how can I make each location profitable and set that as the target as the goal for your regional, for your office managers.   This is the goal per location. I work with an office and we have six locations that we go to quarterly. And we are looking at their scorecards every single week, every single practice. And then we look collectively at the whole to make sure organization as a whole is profitable. Yes, when we started new and of course we're going to be dumping money into it. But the goal is for that new practice to be profitable. Six months to one year max is when they need to start breaking profit. And so when teams know this, when office managers know this, what happens is the whole   portfolio actually does better and the businesses are running much more effectively, efficiently with better patient care, better team awareness all around. So that's miss number two, ⁓ gap number two. Miss number three is not having consistent accountability. So when you have it, oftentimes it's just this chaos. Like I said, like we're adding more fuel to a chaos burning fire. And so ⁓ when we have that there's no roles, there's no structured check-ins, there's...   It just feels like hope and pray. And then we're trying to like get the profitability margins. We're trying to do all those pieces. So we've got to have cadences in there of weekly calls, having weekly scorecards and quarterly reviews. ⁓ And so when you have leaders at each location, what they do is they, get all office managers together on a weekly call. They look at the scorecards for their practices. They look cross company so they can look at all the other offices. So if I'm struggling with a profitability, but this office over here is doing really well.   office managers sync up, let's have you two work together, let's have you see what you're doing differently. That way everybody's able to be profitable. So that really helps. And then you empower all the leaders to own their KPIs and report back. So they're owning their teams, they're owning their departments, they're owning the profitability of their practice. And then this way we're able to have metrics that are the same across all locations. So having a set scorecard that's used, when we do it within our company, we have practice A, practice B, practice C.   Right now I've got an office I'm thinking of and practice A is super profitable and practice B is not. And they're just looking at it collectively as a whole versus saying, my gosh, we've got to get like practice B profitable. Practice B is not producing and it's not collecting what it should be. A lot of times also that profitability margin is hurting because we're not collecting. And so one practice is very much collecting, paying for the other practice, but it's just due to broken systems and not having that O-M responsible. And it's because we're spread across trying to be   ⁓ efficient, which is true, but we have to have individualized centralized accountability frameworks in each location. So it reports up. People know who's ultimately responsible for that practice for the different pieces, rather than it being we're all responsible for everything. That means nothing is actually truly being tracked. So ⁓ when we've implemented these scorecards across practices, usually what you start to see is you see an increase in profitability, an increase in collections, an increase in case acceptance, because everybody's looking   Like we're looking side to side, it's like Sudoku. I'm looking to see how am I comparing with my other practices and how can I get the support where I'm struggling? And then you also start to create cohesiveness as a unity. You start to create cross collaboration. And this is a huge, huge, huge mess in multi-practice ownership and even in bigger practices. So when you look at this and you have that weekly reporting rhythm, you have this weekly accountability, and then you start to empower your leaders to meet with their team members once a month.   and then have quarterly cadences where we're looking to see how we're doing, you start to see teams rise up. Because now it's like, great, we know what the scoreboard is. We know what we're aiming for. know everybody knows what they're accountable for. There's no more of this confusion of what should we be doing or should my practice do this, but your practice doesn't. You try to get them as standardized as possible. And what I will tell you is working with multiple multi-practice owners, this is not a dream. This is a reality that you should be striving for and that you can do. I love to work with Mac.   multi-practice owners because I love to take the chaos and turn it into simplicity. I love to help you see which like it's like a ball of yarn and you're like, my gosh, like pull this string or pull this string or pull that string. And like, we don't know how to untangle what we've created. And so doing these three misses of not having centralized operations. So making sure we're centralized across the board, making sure each practice is profitable and then having accountability across the board. When you streamline those across all your locations,   instantly things get better. Scaling is not great when it's chaos. Scaling is great when it's tightened, when it's predictable, and when it's consistent. That's when it becomes fun. That's when it becomes fun to be multi-practice honored, but it is not fun when it is the chaos. And so when we do this, this is something that I'm obsessed with. This is something I love to help offices. This is where I love to help regional managers figure out how to do this because a lot of times they don't even know. They've never done it before. They've just been a great office manager and doing one baby versus five babies.   We all know as parents and siblings and aunts and uncles, we know that one baby is a lot easier than five babies. However, five babies can actually be easier on certain levels when we have set standards and we have set processes and we have set things in place and we've got rhythms and we've got routines that actually sometimes can be easier than just one because it forces you to actually rise up. It forces you to be better than what you've been. And so with this, just know these are some of the three big gaps that we see in multi-practice ownership or large practice ownership.   These are some of the areas that we really expert help. And hopefully for you to just have a quick like checklist of like, where am I doing on my standardized ops? How am I doing on profitability of each location? And how am I doing on accountability, KPI tracking, scorecard accountability, weekly check-ins, implementing just a few of these things will radically help you. But sometimes it's so hard to lift your head up out of the bubble when you're living in the bubble. And so if you're struggling with that, reach out.   Like let's just have a conversation. Let's see if we're a right fit. If nothing else, we'll give you a lot of gaps, a lot of tools, a lot of tips and help you out. reach out, Hello@TheDentalATeam.com. Go to our website, TheDentalATeam.com and click on the book of call. This is what we do. We create structure for scale, clarity for leaders and profit for every location. Like that is what our obsession is. And so I'd love to help you out. As always, just know dentistry is the greatest place we could ever possibly be in. We are so blessed to be a part of dentistry.   And I just want you to remember like if multi-practice ownership or larger practice ownerships on the horizon, these are things to do. If you're already in the weeds of it, you know, it's a lot harder to actually do than you thought it was. And so reach out. There's no reason to do this alone. The industry is hard as it is. So there's no reason to do this alone. Reach out. And as always, thanks for listening. I'll catch you next time on the Dental A Team Podcast.  

Mark Cooper, founder and CIO of MAC Alpha Capital Management, stops by The Business Brew to discuss the potential opportunity in international markets. Mark has 20 years of experience in equity investing and almost 9 years in commodity trading, working at top-tier hedge funds and mutual funds with some legendary value investors.Mark's experience prior to founding MAC Alpha Capital Management:Co-Portfolio Manager, First Eagle Investment Management, 2014 to 2019 | International Small Cap Value strategy.Portfolio Manager and Analyst, PIMCO, 2010 to 2014 | Global generalist managing a diversified quantitative U.S. equity fund.Partner and Portfolio Manager, Omega Advisors, 2005 to 2010 | Global industrials, capital goods, and commodities/energy sectors.Analyst, Pequot Capital Management, 2002 to 2004 Portfolio Manager, JP Morgan, 1992 to 2000 | Fixed income, commodities, and foreign exchange asset classes, co-managing a $50 billion notional value portfolio investing in both European and exotic options and managing a $10 billion portfolio focused on long-dated gold and silver.Adjunct Professor of Finance and Economics, Columbia Business School, 2004 to 2025| Applied Value InvestingEducation and Credentials:MBA - Columbia Business School 2002 | Bachelor of Science - Massachusetts Institute of Technology 1991. Former US Army officer Former Vice Chairman of Harlem success academy HSA #2 (a charter school) |Co-author of Value Investing: From Graham to Buffett and Beyond  – Second Edition.Sponsorship InformationThank you to ⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠ for sponsoring the show. DISCOUNT INFO: If you use the affiliate link ⁠⁠⁠⁠fiscal.ai/brew⁠⁠⁠⁠, you will automatically get 2 weeks of Fiscal Pro for Free and if you find that you want to upgrade, my link will get you 15% off any paid plans. About ⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠ is the complete modern data terminal for global equities.The ⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠ platform combines a powerful user experience with all the financial data capabilities that professional investors need. Users get up to 20 years of historical financials for all stocks globally that they can easily chart, compare, or export into their own models. And unlike legacy data terminals where it can take hours or even days, ⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠'s data is updated within minutes of earnings reports. ⁠⁠⁠Fiscal.ai⁠⁠⁠ also tracks all the company-specific Segment & KPI data so you don't have to. Like to track Amazon's Cloud Revenue? They've got it.How about Spotify's premium subscribers? Or Google's quarterly paid clicks?They've got all of it.