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Latest podcast episodes about kpi

Business of Tech
How Blue Mantis Navigates AI and Security Demand Without Enterprise Budgets – Josh Dinneen

Business of Tech

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 3, 2026 23:44


The episode reveals a structural shift toward operational complexity and heightened accountability in the MSP sector, as service providers are increasingly required to integrate AI capabilities, consolidate security offerings, and deliver enterprise-grade outcomes for mid-market clients without matching enterprise budgets. Blue Mantis, highlighted as a case example, embodies this shift with its transition from a traditional product reseller and hardware focus to a recurring managed services model with 60% of revenue now coming from managed services. The company's ongoing balancing act between recurring service delivery and legacy product sales illustrates the tension many MSPs face as the market demands integrated, outcome-driven engagements over transactional models. According to Josh Dinneen, Blue Mantis has developed fully managed security offerings, such as BlueMantis Protect, pairing AI-driven threat detection with human analysis to address mid-market needs for flexible, enterprise-grade cybersecurity. The company claims over 2,500 mid-market and enterprise customers and reports a customer retention rate above 97% over 48 months, with a 20% compound annual growth rate. These numbers are grounded in a “client-first” operational approach that emphasizes relationship management and ongoing alignment between service features and business requirements. The managed services business is supported by a global delivery model leveraging centers in India, Canada, and the US. Additional developments reinforcing the primary shift include Blue Mantis's measured adoption of AI and automation across both internal operations and customer-facing services. The company describes a structured AI rollout, aiming for every employee to have an AI “teammate” by the end of the year, framed as augmenting—not displacing—human workers. Josh Dinneen emphasizes the risk management dimension of rapid AI scaling, noting the double-edged nature of automation, and cites detailed KPI monitoring, a “3x ROI” workforce productivity model, and a growing FinOps practice to manage token-based AI consumption and budget risk, especially as vendors and consumption models shift costs and exposure downstream to customers and partners. For MSPs and IT leaders, these developments highlight mounting operational complexity and underscore the importance of risk mitigation strategies. Reliance on recurring services and layered security increases vendor and process dependency, elevating the need for robust governance, transparent performance metrics, and explicit controls over consumption-based pricing—particularly in AI and cloud. The operational implication is clear: MSPs must be prepared to offer advisory and managed services that both address evolving client demands for flexibility and manage the financial and accountability risks transferred by platform vendors and changing technology models. Supported by: CometBackupLogMeIn

Talking Billions with Bogumil Baranowski
Alexander von der Vellen: Money Is Not Freedom — It's Pressure — What a Former Fiduciary to 100+ Families Wants You to Know

Talking Billions with Bogumil Baranowski

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 3, 2026 72:07


Alexander von der Vellen is a Cambridge-educated former British Army officer who left private banking at Barings and JPMorgan Chase to become an independent fiduciary advising over 100 entrepreneurial families, and author of a trilogy on trusteeship and stewardship.Spend more time with Alexander here, his own recorded podcast series of lectures with some precious advice for inheritors and their families.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/3:00 — Alexander explains banking is the rare industry where age is a perceived advantage; he once asked his London barber to add gray hair for private banking credibility.8:52 — Childhood: born in Spain to an Austrian father and English mother, raised in the Canary Islands speaking four languages, boarding school at age 7.16:04 — The old Barings model: clients paid double the nearest competitor, and money itself was the one taboo topic at client events — “the money was the byproduct of the relationship.”20:11 — The Lord Darby anecdote: a JP Morgan banker meets Fleming's Lord Darby, learns he rides alone with the Queen in her carriage, and asks, verbatim, “why is she not a client?” — Alexander's illustration of the shift from relationship-driven to transactional banking.31:19 — Trusteeship as a human skill set: diligence, duty, loyalty, discretion — qualities that must be consciously developed, not assumed.43:16 — The JP Morgan $30 million marker: past that point wealth “will outlast you,” triggering a different family conversation entirely — stewardship, not spending.49:44 — Key quote: “money is not freedom, it's pressure” — the more you buy, the more pressure it adds to your life.58:33 — A boy-band client years later: “you do realize this is all because of you... you saved me from myself.”1:01:02 — Quoting Patton: “good plan delivered with energy today is far better than an excellent plan delivered next week.”1:04:30 — Success, defined: “it's about continuity with meaning every time.”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.

DGMG Radio
The Viral Marketing Bets Behind High-Growth Voice AI Company Bland.ai, with Ethan Clouser (Head of Marketing)

DGMG Radio

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 3, 2026 49:23


#378 | Dave sits down with Ethan Clouser, Head of Marketing at Bland AI, to talk about running marketing at a 22-year-old-founded, enterprise voice AI company that just raised $100 million - at 22 years old himself. Ethan breaks down Bland's early viral bets like the "Still Hiring Humans?" billboard, why they bought Soulja Boy's voice rights for an AI phone campaign, and how a giant red telephone car became one of their best marketing investments. Not to mention, Bland AI's marketing team built its entire website with Claude Code - coded by a guy who'd never written a line of code before. They also get into Bland's daily stand-up and KPI system, why "Voice AI for regulated industries" works as a homepage headline, and how to stand out when 200 competitors are all saying the same thing. Timestamps (00:00) - - Intro to Ethan Clouser, Head of Marketing at Bland AI (02:26) - - The failed no-code startup that accidentally turned Ethan into a marketer (06:14) - - Cold LinkedIn outreach and how Ethan landed the head of marketing job (09:09) - - The "Still Hiring Humans?" billboard bet that built Bland's early brand (13:46) - - Filling the marketing gaps Bland was missing: SEO, AEO, and reputation (17:56) - - Why "Voice AI for regulated industries" works as a homepage headline (20:34) - - Vibe-coding Bland's entire website with Claude Code (23:42) - - Bland's daily marketing stand-up and how KPIs decide which bets get made (31:29) - - Buying Soulja Boy's voice rights for an AI phone campaign (40:05) - - Standing out in a market crowded with 200 voice AI competitors (43:34) - - Why marketing, sales, and product alignment matters more than sales-marketing alignment Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletterLearn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/***Brought to you by:Zoom Webinars & Events – The virtual event platform built to help B2B marketers run webinars that actually drive pipeline, with branded registration pages, live engagement features, and built-in tools to repurpose sessions into clips and content. Learn more at zoom.com/exitfive.Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive.Vector - A contact-level ads platform that lets you build audiences from actual people on your site, clicking your ads, and checking out your competitors. Learn how to build an ABM program that scales at vector.co/exitfive.Join us in Stowe, Vermont for Drive 2026 - three days away from your desk to learn what's working in B2B marketing from the people who are actually doing it. Grab your ticket at exitfive.com/drive.Walker Sands - An integrated B2B marketing and growth services agency that helps marketing leaders turn strategy into measurable business impact through their Outcome-based Marketing model. Learn more at walkersands.com/exitfive.***Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production.They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast.Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest.Visit hatch.fm to learn more

El Menos Común de los Sentidos
Tu vida metida en un excel - 1/3

El Menos Común de los Sentidos

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 3, 2026 20:51


«Esa relación ya no me suma», «tengo que optimizar mi domingo», «necesito gestionar mi tiempo con mis amigos». Sin darnos cuenta, hemos metido un libro de contabilidad en nuestras relaciones y un control de calidad en nuestro tiempo libre. Nos hemos convertido en los gerentes de nuestra propia vida.En este primer episodio de la miniserie inspirada en el texto «Mercado de Valores» de Carlos Javier González Serrano, analizamos cómo el lenguaje corporativo y financiero se nos ha metido debajo de la piel. ¿Por qué sentimos culpa cuando no somos productivos? ¿Cómo pasaron el Bien, la Verdad y la Amistad de ser valores humanas a convertirse en simples KPI?

LE BOARD
Les freelances qui vont cartonner à la rentrée ont tous fait la même chose en août (ce que je construis en été en solopreneur)

LE BOARD

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 2, 2026 31:17


L'été, c'est le révélateur de ton business model.Si ton chiffre d'affaires s'effondre en juillet-août, ce n'est pas ton offre le problème, ni ton expertise : c'est ton modèle. Quand tu vends ton temps, tu ne factures plus dès que tu pars. Et tes clients, eux, partent aussi.Je suis passée par là. Ma première année en freelance, mon client m'a dit « on se retrouve en septembre » fin juin. Deux mois de CA en moins, sans même prendre de vacances. Aujourd'hui je pars six semaines et mon business tourne sans moi.Dans cet épisode, je te donne exactement ce que je fais (et ce que je ne fais surtout pas) en juillet et en août :→ Pourquoi je te déconseille formellement de prospecter comme un bourrin en août→ Le seul vrai KPI du solopreneur → Les 4 actifs à construire cet été → Les 4 briques de ton système IA → Comment j'ai collecté 700 leads en une semaine, entre deux vacances→ La différence entre une offre et un produit (et pourquoi ça change tout)→ Le stop and go : la compétence sous-estimée du solopreneurUn épisode pour te réconcilier avec l'été, arrêter de culpabiliser sur ton chiffre d'affaires de juillet, et sortir de septembre avec un business qui ne dépend plus de ta présence.Toi aussi passe l'été à construire au lieu de subir : profite de l'offre Solopreneur Summer et rejoins-nous dans l'Incubateur Solopreneur avant le 4 août !À lundi pour les épisodes quotidiens du Solopreneur Summer

#DoorGrowShow - Property Management Growth
DGS 347: Measure, Map, Automate: Smarter Property Management

#DoorGrowShow - Property Management Growth

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 31, 2026 30:27


AI is everywhere, but are property management companies asking the right questions before implementing it? In this episode of the #DoorGrowShow, Jason Hull sits down with Mo Hussain to discuss why successful AI adoption has far less to do with technology and far more to do with operational clarity. Instead of chasing the latest AI tools, Mo introduces his Measure, Map, Automate framework to identify operational bottlenecks, uncover hidden profit leaks, and build workflows that actually improve business performance.  Together, they explore why clean data is the foundation of automation, how undocumented processes create costly inefficiencies, and why AI should enhance human decision-making rather than replace it.   You'll Learn [00:00] Meet Mo Hussain and the Measure, Map, Automate Framework [03:20] Why Most Companies Ask the Wrong AI Questions [08:10] The Role of Clean Data in AI Success [12:45] Mapping Workflows Before Automating Them [15:30] The Process Myth and Better Operational Systems [21:10] Building Accountability Into AI Workflows [25:15] Designing AI Agents That Actually Perform [27:45] Turning Operational Data Into Business Growth [29:15] Final Advice for Property Management Leaders Quotables "AI value really truly is workflow value." Mo Hussain  "AI depends on trusted operational data." Mo Hussain  "The winners are not gonna be the companies that have the most amount of data, but they're the ones that can convert data into consistent operating actions." Mo Hussain  Resources DoorGrow and Scale Mastermind DoorGrow Academy DoorGrow on YouTube DoorGrowClub DoorGrowLive Transcript Jason Hull (00:00) welcome everybody. I'm Jason Hull, the founder and CEO of DoorGrow, the world's leading and most comprehensive coaching and consulting firm for long-term residential property management entrepreneurs. For over a decade and a half, we have brought innovative strategies and optimization to the property management industry.   At DoorGro, we are on a mission to transform property management business owners and their businesses. We want to transform the industry, eliminate the BS, build awareness, change perception, expand the market, and help the best property management entrepreneurs win. Now let's get into the show. And my guest today is Mo Hussain, and we're going to be talking about how property management companies can stop drowning in data and start turning it into real operational growth. In this episode,   Mo is breaking down the measure, map, and automate framework that he has built and approach an approach to uncovering hidden margins, reducing manual oversight, and getting more value out of every door in your portfolio.   right.   is Mo Hussain. Mo, welcome to the show.   Mo Hussein (01:01) Hey Jason, happy to be here.   Jason Hull (01:03) So today we're going to be chatting a little bit about how property management companies can stop drowning in data and start turning it into real operational growth. And Mo's going to break down the measure, map, and automate framework, his approach for uncovering hidden margins, reducing manual oversight, and getting more value out of every door in your portfolio. So cool, measuring is important. We'll get into that. So before we get into that, Mo,   Can you give people a little bit of background on yourself? How did you get into entrepreneurism? How did you get connected to property management? And help everybody understand who Mo is. Yeah.   Mo Hussein (01:42) Yeah.   great question. So I I've been in this industry now for probably coming up on 20 years at this point. I I worked at some of the prop tech and software providers that are prevalent in the space. Namely, I worked at both YARTI App Folio, which are both kind of headquartered in in Santa Barbara. and a little bit over ten years ago, I started a consultancy and accounting CPA practice that specifically focuses on   Jason Hull (01:56) Namely, I worked at both YARDIE and at Folio, which are both kind of headquartered in in Santa Barbara. a little bit over ten years ago, I started a consultancy and accounting TPA practice that specifically focuses   on prop tech and real estate. So we offer consultations with implementations, custom reporting, operationalizing around technology, which is which is now the buzz around kind of AI and automation at this point.   Mo Hussein (02:11) Prop tech and real estate. So we offer consultations with implementations, custom reporting, operationalizing around technology, which is which is now the buzz around kind of AI and automation at this point. and then   we've also built products for the space to help with automations, help with you know accounting compliance and bringing visibility and custom reporting capabilities to operators. So kind of leveraging all the experience.   Jason Hull (02:25) And then we've also built products for the space to help with automations, help with you know, accounting compliance and bringing visibility and custom reporting capabilities to operators. So kind of leveraging all the experience   Mo Hussein (02:40) from working as a consultant and also as an accountant and even working as some of these tech providers now being a actual supplier in the industry.   Jason Hull (02:41) from working as a consultant and also as an accountant and even working as some of these tech providers now being a aqua supplier in the industry. Very cool. Very cool. So you're a little bit nerdy.   Mo Hussein (02:52) A little bit. Data. I love data. Right.   Jason Hull (02:53) Okay, so am I. So am I. All right. So   cool. So let's talk nerdy to me, Mo. All right. So let's let's chat about this. So let's get into it. So t tell us about this. Wha why is this wh how'd you come up with this framework? Why is this important? I love frameworks because frameworks are usually where we take something that we notice a pattern in, there's some complexity involved, and we make it simple. So explain to us.   Mo Hussein (02:59) Yeah.   Jason Hull (03:18) Where does the measure map and automate framework kind of come from?   Mo Hussein (03:22) Right, right. And this is this kind of stems from a conversation you probably have with plenty of your your clients and even prospects when you start engaging, you know, the the the very popular question now of how do we use AI? I want to streamline and automate. And it's a very loaded, it's a very loaded, fairly ambiguous question, right? How do we use AI? We want to implement AI into our operations, right?   Jason Hull (03:23) And this is this kind of stems from a conversation you probably have with plenty of your   You know, the the the the very popular question now, how do we use AI? It's a very loaded, fairly ambiguous question, right? How do we use AI? We want to implement AI more.   Mo Hussein (03:48) when conversely, like you know, operators and property managers should be starting with a different qu set of questions, right? Like how like where are we losing things like NOI, margin, time, control, or even consistency, right? AI really only matters when it connects and automation really only matters when it connects to a to a revenue lever or some type of a cost lever or productivity gain or or risk reduction, right?   Jason Hull (03:50) Conversely, like you know, operators, property managers should be starting with a different set of questions, right? Like how like where are we losing things like NOI, margin, time, control, or even consistency, right? AI really only matters when it connects in automation really only matters when it connects to a to a revenue lever or some type of a cost lever, productivity gain or or risk reduction,   right? Yeah. there's there's a couple   Mo Hussein (04:14) and there's there's a couple of key components   Jason Hull (04:16) key components in even conversations that you've probably even had with with property managers today is that firstly like you know operators today they already have a lot of data. They probably have access to a lot of different data sets across, you know, operations, but it's probably, you know, disconnected and disjointed and different reports and disconnected systems, hidden in spreadsheets and and dashboards that probably don't drive much much action, right? and everybody wants   Mo Hussein (04:17) in even conversations that you've probably even had with with property managers today is that firstly, like, you know, operators today, they already have a lot of data. They probably have access to a lot of different data sets across, you know, operations, but it's probably, you know, disconnected and disjointed and different reports and disconnected systems hidden in spreadsheets and and dashboards that probably don't drive much much action, right? and everybody wants to   Jason Hull (04:43) to automate and execute   Mo Hussein (04:43) automate and execute an   operational kind of workflow. But the hard part is not whether, you know, AI can really do something, but the hard part is whether a company even knows where value is leaking and who owns that action and and whether these workflows are even clear enough to to be able to automate. And that's kind of the premise of this framework is to kind of measure what that pain is, you know, map that workflow, automate that repetitive work and manage   Jason Hull (04:45) an operational kind of workflow. The hard part is not whether you know AI can really do something, but the hard part is whether a a company even knows where value is leaking and who owns that action and and whether these workflows are even clear enough to to be able to automate. And that's kind of the premise of this framework is to kind of measure what that pain is, you know, map that workflow, automate that repetitive work, and   manage ideally performance through some type of closed loop accountability. We just put an actual word to it, right? A framework to it, I'm sure   Mo Hussein (05:07) ideally performance through some type of a closed loop accountability. We just put an actual word to it and a framework to it, but I'm sure very   similarly to the conversations that you're probably having also even with customers.   Jason Hull (05:15) Very similarly to the conversations that you're probably having also with customers.   Yeah, yeah, got it. Yeah. it's interesting because we're now seeing a lot of these tech companies or tech forward companies that are kind of backtracking on AI a little bit. They were giving out basically blank checks to use AI as much as they could. Some were even creating sort of a contest internally, incentivizing like who could use the most tokens.   Mo Hussein (05:29) Mm.   Right.   You're right.   Jason Hull (05:41) Which is a little bit insane   to just give people a blank check as if that always the more tokens you burn, the more productivity is being created, right?   Mo Hussein (05:51) Right, right, right. And we're seeing, yeah, and you know, as we're seeing these newer models that are coming out, whether it's, you know, through Cloud, Anthropic or even these other these other LLMs, the token utilization is becoming more and more expensive, especially with these newer models. And so now the question of just like, hey, how is that utilization actually translating to actual business value? Right. And this was a question that eventually would have been would have been pushed, right?   Jason Hull (05:54) Yeah and you know.   Of just like, hey, how's that utilization actually translating to actual business value? Right.   Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I love it. Like how to use AI. Yeah. Bad question. A better question is how do we actually make sure we're creating more profit? How do we actually make sure we are lowering costs? Like   And that's the the idea, they think, well, AI must be so much cheaper than people. And what's interesting, I've also seen some reports lately showing the amount of money these different LLMs are losing right now. They're spending a massive amount of money to deliver AI to us at a super cheap price right now. And but they're losing money. Every time we're chatting, they're losing money.   Mo Hussein (06:47) Mm-hmm.   Right.   Right.   Jason Hull (07:01) And that's that's a wild business model. They're obviously hoping to win some sort of AI race. They're hoping to get us maybe in the future. And there's a lot of talk lately as well of people thinking we gotta shift to local models. Like we gotta I gotta run this AI stuff on my own computer and not be giving all my money to anthropic or open AI you know, open AI or whatever. So okay.   Mo Hussein (07:15) Mm-hmm.   Right, right.   Right.   Jason Hull (07:26) Cool. So let's continue on. Me measure, map and automate. Yeah. Yeah.   Mo Hussein (07:29) Yeah. Yeah. And   by the way, going on your point, Jason, it's you know, you you also, you know, creating automation and leveraging these models locally, it there's definitely value in that. But you know, now more than ever, f you know, teams are kind of distributed, right? And so ideally, if you've built automations and leveraging these L LMs and   Jason Hull (07:35) Yeah, y you also you know   Locally it is definitely that   Teams are kind of distributed, right? Yeah. Ideally, if you've built automations and leveraging these LLMs   and   Mo Hussein (07:52) And things of that sort.   You probably want to have like some type of an interface that's like cloud based, right? Or for folks to be able to kind of collaborate in some type of a ideally like a safe environment, right? and so measure, map and and automate. So you know, there's there's kind of those three components to be able to actually fully ideally leverage leverage AI. But   Jason Hull (07:55) some type of a an interface that's like cloud based, right? Or for folks to be able to kind of collaborate in some type of a ideally like a safe environment, right? yeah. So measure, map and and automate. So you know there's there's kind of those three components to be able to actually fully ideally leverage leverage AI but   there's there's a couple like kind of key core components that feel like   Mo Hussein (08:20) There's there's a couple of like kind of key core components that I feel like   is very important for folks to to really understand before they can they they can even take advantage of of AI, right? so one is you know AI, AI value really truly is workflow value. And so like the most the biggest opportunities when it comes to automation leveraging AI is things that are repetitive.   Jason Hull (08:25) is very important for folks to to really understand before they can they they can take advantage of of AI, right? so one is, you know, a AI AI value really truly is a workflow value. And so like the most   automation leveraging AI as things that are   repetitive, you know, judgment heavy, ideally high volume workflows. Think about things like you know, leasing follow-up, delinquency, turns, maintenance, triage, variance explanations. another another key thing to understand is you know AI depends on trusted ideal operational data. And so if you don't have accurate or clean property unit, resident, vendor,   Mo Hussein (08:44) you know, judgment heavy, ideally high volume workflows. Think about things like you know, leasing follow-up, d delinquency, terms, maintenance triage, variance explanations. another another key thing to understand is, you know, AI depends on trusted ideally operational data. And so if you don't have accurate or clean property unit, resident vendor   payment data and it's and it's inconsistent, you know, AI just   Jason Hull (09:10) payment data and it's and it's inconsistent, you know,   AI just helps accelerate the wrong answer, right? This notion of like hallucinations also kind of exist. and you know insights without ownership is is just is really just theater. And so although AI may identify a problem and recommend an action, things need to be routed, right? And asci you know action needs to be assigned, there needs to be some accountability that gets created there and then a measurement of of of   Mo Hussein (09:13) helps accelerate r the wrong answer, right? And the this notion of like hallucinations also kind of exist. and you know insights without ownership is is just is really just theater. And so although AI may identify a problem and recommend an action, things need to be routed, right? And as I you know action needs to be assigned. There needs to be some accountability that gets created there and then a measurement of of of a   of of a of a result.   Jason Hull (09:40) of of a of a   result. and then lastly like humans humans control still matters, right? Things that have a very high potential opportunity cost. you know, operators should be very careful on how they utilize AI. So, you know, things around fair housing, sensitive sensitive decisions like screenings, evictions, legal communication, you know, employee decisions and maybe even large payment loopholes and so   Mo Hussein (09:42) and then lastly like humans, humans control still matters, right? Things that have a very high potential opportunity cost. you know, operators should be very careful on how they utilize AI. So, you know, things around fair housing, sensitive sensitive decisions like screenings, evictions, legal communication, you know, employee decisions and maybe even large payment approvals. And so   Once we   have these kind of these table stake table stake items, if you will, kind of address, then you know we can move on to kind of you know the our framework of kind of measure, map, and automate. And so in each of these different components have different purposes, you know. The whole point of the measure step is is to quantify where pain exists and to validate kind of being buying versus buy like building. And so you want to ask things like where   Jason Hull (10:09) Once we have these kind of these table stakes stakeheads, if you will, kind of addressed, then you know, we can move on to kind of, you know, the our framework of kind of measure, map, and automate. And so and each of these different components have different purposes, you know. The whole point of the measure step is is to quantify where pain exists and to validate kind of being buying versus buy like building. And so you want to ask things   like where   Mo Hussein (10:36) where   time, where margin, where service quality or accountability is lost today, right? Examples can be things like, you know, days vacant, you know, delinquency rate, maintenance response times. These would be kind of like outputs like invoice coding time, reporting hours, renewal conversions, right?   Jason Hull (10:37) Where time, where margin, where service quality or accountability is lost today, right? Examples can be things like, you know, days vacant, you know, delinquency rate, maintenance response times. These would be kind of like outputs like invoice coding time, reporting hours, renewal conversions, right?   Yeah. Got it. Yeah, that that makes a lot of sense. So you've got to be you have to have good data.   Which the crux of th where their data is all probably housed is inside of their property management software.   Mo Hussein (11:06) Right.   Jason Hull (11:07) And so hopefully that software is kinda tracking some of this stuff. But, you know, everybody's had a CRM that the team didn't put enough notes in. And then it becomes kind of useless, right? So you're like, what happened with Fred on that call earlier, you know, or previously? I I think I think we talked about this. Can't remember. Why aren't you putting in notes? And so then the flaw becomes the human in the loop in a lot of instances. But then you're saying, you know, also humans matter. Like   Mo Hussein (11:14) Right.   Right.   Jason Hull (11:34) Related to fair housing. We've got to have the human in the loop making decisions. I don't think it would go fair very well to be standing in front of a judge and say, Well, the AI messed this up. It wasn't me.   Mo Hussein (11:43) Right. Right.   Right. Yeah, that's very that's very correct. the the the other thing is is that you know software is a tool, right? So they you know, for like that example that you just gave of like, hey, you know, I had a conversation with Freddie or an owner or what have you, and you know, the notes weren't captured. And so if there's if if if if there's there needs to be also a cultural   Jason Hull (11:46) Yeah, that's very that's very   Yeah, they you know, put like that example that you just gave of like, Hey, you know, I had a conversation   And you know, the notes weren't captured. And so if there's if if if if there's there needs to be also   Mo Hussein (12:06) shift within the organization to become more performance kind of driven, right? And using, you know, places of truth. You know, I, you know, we use Salesforce in our own internal kind of CRM and you know, there's this old ad like this old saying of just, you know, hey, if it didn't happen to Salesforce, it didn't happen at all. In other words, if your system of record hasn't been updated and things haven't been added to it   Jason Hull (12:06) cultural shift within the organization to become more performance kind of driven, right? And using, you know, places of truth. You know, I you know, we use Salesforce in our own internal kind of CRM and you know, there's this this old like this old thing of just, you know, hey, if it didn't happen in Salesforce, it didn't happen at all. Right.   Mo Hussein (12:29) to to ensure that it is correct and accurate and up to date, then   Jason Hull (12:29) to it to to ensure that it is correct and accurate and up   to date, then the organization sees it as, you know, as it didn't happen. And somebody, you know, using anecdotal feedback like, well I did this, but I just didn't update this. And so that's it's very important that, you know, whatever system you're using to kind of measure different KPIs and metrics, that that, you know, that behaviors within the organization are shifting towards that. And it's it's something it's a cultural shift that needs to also   Mo Hussein (12:32) the organization sees it as you know as it didn't happen. And somebody, you know, using anecdotal feedback of like, well I did this, but I just didn't update this, it means it didn't happen. And so that's it's very important that, you know, whatever system you're using to kind of measure different KPIs and metrics, that that, you know, that behaviors within the organization are shifting towards that. And it's it's some it's a cultural shift that needs to also cascade   also from from leadership down as well.   Jason Hull (12:57) Cascade also from leadership down.   Yeah, the advantage we have nowadays with all the AI stuff that's come out is now pretty much everything gets transcribed everywhere. So calls get transcribed, notes can be created automatically. You can also go back and ha check the transcription on a call or a zoom call or recording, figure out what happened. So that you know, not leaving notes in the CRM is a little bit less of a problem than it was in the past.   So we've so we've chatted a bit about measure. What is what's important about mapping or map? Yeah. So this is this goes back to my previous point about like you know AI value being it it is workflow value. Yeah so you know you've measured you've identified you know your measurements and KPIs. So whatever those KPIs may be. Next what you need to do is map what the actual   Mo Hussein (13:30) The mapping. Yeah. So this is this goes back to my previous point about like, you know, AI value being it is workflow value. And so, you know, you've measured, you've identified, you know, your measurements and KPIs, you know, days vacant, delinquency, whatever those KPIs may be. Next, what you need to do is map what the actual what   the actual workflows that are happening, not how leadership or staff thinks it's happening.   Jason Hull (13:53) what the actual workflows are happening, not how leadership or staff thinks it's   happening. There's a very key kind of a distinction is that, you know, a lot of operators and teams kind of assume, hey, you know, we have a set process, but it may not be happening the way that they are envisioning or the way that they're assuming that this is happening. Yeah. And and map that entire workflow end to end.   Mo Hussein (13:59) The very key kind of distinction is that, you know, a lot of operators and teams kind of assume, hey, you know, we have a set process, but it may not be happening the way that they are envisioning or the way that they're assuming that this is happening. And and map that entire workflow end to end.   identify what systems are involved, where handoffs occur, where approvals are required.   Jason Hull (14:21) identify what systems are involved, where handoffs occur, where approvals are required,   Mo Hussein (14:27) where judgment calls are are are are kind of made. And so, you know, every company has, you know, things like experienced managers and accountants and maintenance folks and and they usually know what good looks like versus what bad looks like. And so AI here is to help kind of convert that tribal knowledge ideally into a repeatable operating model. And so examples of how that mapping   Jason Hull (14:28) where judgment calls are kind of made. And so every company has you know things like experienced managers and accountants and maintenance folks, and and they usually know what good looks like versus what bad looks like. And so AI here helped kind of convert that tribal knowledge ideally into an overviewable operative model. So examples of   that mapping would be is you know, hey, what is the entire need to lease workflow?   Mo Hussein (14:50) would be is, you know, hey, what is the entire lead to lease workflow? You know,   Jason Hull (14:54) You know, what is the work order to completion, you know? what is our renewal offer to sign and executed actual renewal? And so and actually and again documenting that, a a lot of organizations have some notion of what that workflow kinda looks like. but   Mo Hussein (14:54) What is the work order to completion? You know? what is our renewal offer to signed and executed actual renewal? And so and actually, and again, documenting that. A a lot of organizations have some notion of what that workflow kind of looks like. but you know, they   haven't actually done they may not have documented, or if they did, it's not updated and they have an out of date SOP or a process diagram.   Jason Hull (15:12) you know, they haven't actually gotten any INOT documents in or if they did, it's not updated and they have an out of data so P or a process diagram.   Mo Hussein (15:22) And that's that's and that's that's that's a very important kind of key aspect of kind of this process.   Jason Hull (15:22) and that's that's and that's that's that's a very important kind of key aspect of kind of this process. Yeah, yeah. Well I a lot of times I end up talking with clients and I've noticed kind of this pattern or trend in the industry of I call it the process myth where everybody thinks if we just had better processes   all of our hopes and dreams would come true when it comes to the off side of the business and we would be more profitable. And especially see this in the two to four hundred door range in single family or small multi-residential property management. And so the challenge there is th that it's impossible to create enough processes, KPIs, and systems to make mediocre people be great. But they pe that doesn't stop business owners from trying. They they're like   Mo Hussein (15:59) Right.   Right.   Jason Hull (16:04) They they they wake up in the morning, they're like, I want to play an impossible game today. And they they still try. And I call it the process myth because if you have really great people, even if your processes are garbage, that I've seen these businesses still perform well. But the reverse is not true. You have mediocre people, you could have insane amounts of systems and processes and stuff, and the business still has a lot of headaches and problems.   Mo Hussein (16:16) Mm-hmm.   Jason Hull (16:29) And so I've kind of noticed this pattern. I call it the three levels of process. And level one is documentation. It's just like writing stuff out. But that's kind of like the owner's manual in the glove box of the car. Nobody looks at it, it doesn't get updated. You know, it's like it's it's it's gathering dust, and people don't actually, that's not actually how the processes are run. And over time, things gravitate towards ease or grace or what the flows best for the person doing the job.   Mo Hussein (16:39) Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.   Jason Hull (16:57) Not for what's best for the job sometimes. And so it gravitates a little bit towards chaos or being worse. Then there's this level two, which is checklists. This is where people are using things like Asana or Process Street or Lead Simple or they some sort of checklist space system where now they're verifying the works getting done in a certain way. But checklist has its own problems in that it's very linear and not every process is linear.   Mo Hussein (16:59) Right, right.   Read simple. Mm-hmm.   Mm-hmm.   Jason Hull (17:24) There's decisions   and splits and merges and sting things happening concurrently in property management. And so the challenge with checklist also it can tend to slow things down. It's not as efficient. So the next level and the problem I had with checklist, we used to use process street, is that it it if anytime a process got complicated, I had to build logic and you know, if-then sort of situations into it.   And it usually got to the point where I didn't even understand it. Like a year later, I'm looking at a process. I'm like, I had to retranslate this back into something that made sense to my brain. And I always, and the nerd had to be the one that did all the updates on it because nobody else could understand it. So then we eventually graduated to level three. So level three is visual workflow. This is for humans.   Mo Hussein (18:01) Right.   Mm-hmm.   Jason Hull (18:13) And so, and with with this, my tip to everybody listening, if you have a system, whether it's checklist or it's any of these three levels, you know, documentation, checklist, or visual workflow, that you your first two processes you make as an operator or as a business owner is how to create a process in this system is number one. And number two, how to QA.   Mo Hussein (18:26) Did   Jason Hull (18:37) A process that is made in the system to know it's actually a good one. If you just make those two, you don't have to do any of the other stuff. Everybody else can do it. You just make those two. That's my tip for all you business owners. And now with AI, you can start adding AI. Once you have things visually mapped out, it's you've got the map like you're talking about. Now you can figure out all right, where can AI take over some of this stuff? And where do we still need the human in the loop? Right. So yeah.   Mo Hussein (18:43) Mm.   And automation. Mm-hmm. Yep.   Yeah.   Right,   Jason Hull (19:05) So any tips for those listening to this that are already geeking out with AI, they're doing a little bit of this measuring and mapping and automating. What are some of the biggest challenges you've noticed where this kind of breaks down or people are making mistakes?   Mo Hussein (19:19) It's it's honestly it's the it's the you know, AI value. it's it's a lot of the small individual decisions that are made in a in a repetitive fashion and that that are made a lot that really are gonna unlock like true value for for any operator. And so like, you know, having very clean data, standardized, you know, systems of truth by what we mean by that is that, you know, hey, you know.   Jason Hull (19:20) It's it's honestly it's the it's the you know, AI value it's it's   like true value for for any op   clean data, standardized, you know, systems of truth. But what we mean by that is that, you know, hey,   you know, you know, whatever work order system that you're using, for example, has accurate, you know, work order data. People, you know, you're making a segment for actually closing out the work order when they complete it. Hey, the end of the week, I'm gonna now try to remember what I did earlier in the week.   Mo Hussein (19:47) you know, whatever work order systems that you're using, for example, has accurate, you know, work order data. People, you know, your maintenance technicians are actually closing out the work order when they complete it. Not just, hey, the end the week, I'm gonna now try to remember what I did earlier in the week.   Close it out. So the data is   the data can't be trusted, then AI is just going   Jason Hull (20:04) data the be trusted and AI   Mo Hussein (20:07) to cause additional kind of confusion. And so having accurate systems of record. And I gave that example of of of a work order when a technician kind of closes that, right? the process map, I think the you know, the three buckets are like three level that you kind of gave, I think is a great, great.   Jason Hull (20:20) Yeah, yeah. Yeah, that makes sense.   yeah.   level that you kinda gave I think it's a great,   great anecdote and framing of how processes should be kind of looked at. And and I think one thing that a lot of operators usually tend to overlook or assume is you know how things are being done versus how they actually are being done within the schemes, right? So an owner somebody at some point said, okay hey this is a process we're gonna take and then over time that just kind of got changed.   Mo Hussein (20:29) anecdote and framing of how processes should be kind of looked at. And and I think one thing that a lot of operators usually tend to overlook or assume is you know how things are being done versus how they actually are being done within the teams, right? It's an owner, somebody at some point said, okay, hey, this is the process we're gonna take. And then over time that just kind of got changed. And there   may be, you know, two different property managers   Jason Hull (20:55) And there may be, you know, two different property managers   Mo Hussein (20:58) operating in two different regions in the same company that are doing leasing renewal differently, right? That going back to that point that you mentioned about systematizing and having accountability loops and task base or like checklist items and ensuring that those things are actually done in that same quality and that same fashion is very, very key. And so getting data, like getting the right data, accurate data,   Jason Hull (20:58) operating in two different regions in the same company that are doing these things renewal differently. Right. That point that you mentioned about synthesizing and having accountability loops and task based or like checklist items and ensuring that those things are actually done in that same quality, in that same fashion is very, very key. And so getting data, getting the right data, accurate data   Mo Hussein (21:23) and then also like your process mapping and your   Jason Hull (21:24) And then also like your process mapping   and your processes kind of documented. I think I think the visual representation is a great way to have that. And those are the two key things that ninety percent of folks that are trying to leverage AI and automation and even the folks that are starting to try to jump into this space and try to automate and use AI for these things like usually we're like where where they're really struggling with. got it. Yeah, I think   Mo Hussein (21:26) processes kind of documented. I think I think the visual representation is a great way to have that. Those are the two key things that ninety percent of folks that are trying to leverage AI and automation and even the folks that are starting to try to jump into this space and trying to automate and use AI for these things like usually we're like we're where they're really struggling with.   Jason Hull (21:50) I was just on a webinar recently and they were talking about building AI agents and they were talking about if you want to make really effective AI agents, you need to give them a really good job description, just like a human. And what what's really funny is if you we coach clients on this a lot, but if we tell the clients to to go, we coach clients on   Creating job descriptions. We call our version of them R docs because each section starts with an R, like role, responsibility, et cetera, all the typical stuff. But then we have some additional sections that we found really paramount. So what we'll tell them to do is go ask your team members, give them this framework, and have them create their own R Doc. And then you take a look at this and see if that's what you would have created. Because it's never like what they think their job is. It's usually very different than what the business owner thinks their job is.   Mo Hussein (22:25) Mm-hmm.   Right.   Jason Hull (22:36) And maybe even different what the manager, the ops person thinks the job is, but then you can actually literally get on the same page with them. You can be like negotiate this and be like, this is what we think your priorities should be, and what your outcomes should be, and what we want you to be able to accomplish. And this is helpful for them to know what they're aiming for so that they can please you because your team members want to please you if they're good. But usually there's a big disconnect, like you're saying, between what   Mo Hussein (23:00) Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.   Jason Hull (23:05) the the employee thinks their j role and job is versus what their manager thinks they should be doing versus what the business owner thinks everybody should be doing. And so nobody's on the same page. And then you're everybody's roles are a little messy. And then you're going, let's give them processes now to work on. And they're not even clear on what their job is or what their role is. Yeah. And so same thing if you were going to build an AI agent and you were like, I want you to try and be good at everything. And then suddenly it's like really   Mo Hussein (23:29) Right.   Jason Hull (23:34) Hallucinating a lot and it's messing everything up and yeah. And it's not a realistic creature, you know, just like some people give create job descriptions that are for like four different personality types. Right. And then they hire somebody that maybe can actually do all four things, and we call those really highly adaptable, weird creatures entrepreneurs. And then they wonder why that property manager left and stole all their clients.   Mo Hussein (23:34) Horrible.   Right.   Yeah.   Jason Hull (23:57) Instead of finding somebody that's like really good at being one thing. Right. Yeah. And that's how you should see Asia.   Mo Hussein (24:00) Right. That that that that role clarity is very, very, very important, right? And that's how you should see agents as well, is that   like, hey, it's like a trained employee. And so you should exp you should expect the same level of, you know, investment involvement, if you will, and trying to and try to help them be the best of like, you know, whether it's a leasing agent, a maintenance coordinator, or whatever that their role may be. And I I think another aspect is and I'm curious how like how   Jason Hull (24:12) you should expect the same level of you know investment involvement if you will and trying to and try to help them be the best of like you know whether it's a leasing agent a maintenance coordinator or whatever that their role may be and I I think another aspect is and I'm curious that   like how you know when you guys are having conversations with clients around role descriptions stuff it's the concept of ownership like hey what you know how to how to align ownership to and lining that up to hopefully the mental business   Mo Hussein (24:28) you know, when you guys having conversations with clients around role descriptions and stuff, it's the concept of ownership. Like, hey, what, you know, how to how to align ownership to and lining that up to hopefully an eventual business outcome or KPI   or something so that, you know, their performance drives also the business performance, right? How have you guys had this conversation or how do you talk about kind of that concept? I can kind of allude to it without kind of explicitly calling it out.   Jason Hull (24:42) Kate guy or something so that you know their performance derives also the business performance, right? Yeah. How do you talk about kind of that concept? You kind of allude to it without kind of explicitly calling   it out. Yeah, I think well, sometimes I'll just totally call a business owner out on things. But I think what I think will be interesting is people are building starting to build agents. I think that they should.   They should have an understanding of personality types. I think they should have an understanding maybe or a conversation with AI about what Myers Briggs type might be good for this agentic role. And because like somebody that's really good at like strategy and the strategist role, which would be like an INTJ in Myers Briggs, might be good at some operational stuff, but they would be really terrible at customer service.   Mo Hussein (25:19) Mm-hmm.   Jason Hull (25:33) Because a lot of INTJs don't even like humans, right? And so they're logical thinkers and they're really judging and they're practical and they're in you know introverted and they're really bad at understanding how the other person feels or even expressing that. And so you're you you don't want to create these try and create AI AI agents that are multiple split personality types, because I don't think they're gonna be as effective. And you can't also, just like you wouldn't want somebody building the process.   QE QA QA of the process. You don't want them both. You don't want AI to be checking itself. Right. Right. The the brain that had problems doing the messing things up, maybe, or didn't do it totally right. You don't want them checking their own work. Right. And so, yeah, so I think this is going to be interesting that people are going to be building agents and they usually think just logically here's the context it needs, here's the role, whatever. But I think also maybe give it the personality that it.   Mo Hussein (26:08) Right, right.   Right.   Jason Hull (26:29) What's the disc assessment for this person, this agent? What's the Myers Briggs type for this agent? And then if especially if they're communicating with humans or doing a task that you want them to be somewhat human like, they're going to be much better at doing this if you give it you create them in the right way. Just an idea.   the other thing to know as a business owner, you need to know who you are so that you can build your dream team around you. So your advisors, whether they're agentic or human, your advisors, your team members, it should be built ultimately around you thriving and being healthy in your own business so that you've got the tea the tools and the resources that fit you. But most business owners make the mistake.   Of trying to build the business around the business and then wonder why they're miserable and why they're kind of a slave to their own business. Right.   Mo Hussein (27:16) Right. Right. Right.   Jason Hull (27:20) So anyway, Mo, measure, map, automate, MMA. Doesn't involve fighting too much. You know, like mixed martial arts. It's a little bit on the, you know, less physical side of things. fun chatting about.   Mo Hussein (27:26) No.   Jason Hull (27:34) all the the AI stuff that's going. How can people anything else that you want to add to our conversation here about yeah this model? And then could you tell us a little bit about what you do and how maybe you help property managers with this stuff? Yeah. Yeah. so I guess just to put it succinct, kind of a a sandwich kind of takeaway. So yeah, operators need to wait for a perfect AI.   Mo Hussein (27:48) Yeah. Yeah. so I guess just to put it succinctly, kind of a a a sandwich kind of takeaway. So, yeah, operators don't need to wait for a perfect AI strategy.   Start by identifying, measuring where value exists, where things are leaking, then mapping workflows and then deciding what can be safely automated and measuring whether those actions improve performance. and so   Jason Hull (28:00) Identifying, measuring where value exists, where things are leaking, then mapping workflows, and then deciding what can be safe and automated, and measuring whether.   Mo Hussein (28:10) like you know, over time we'll see that you know the winners are not gonna be the companies that have the most amount of most amount of data, but they're the ones that can convert data into consistent operating actions across how they've operated every door. if you we help clients with you know putting together SOPs, also mapping their technology needs, where where they're where they're having operational leaks in the business can be   Jason Hull (28:10) So like you know over time we'll see that you know the winners are not gonna be the companies that have the most amount of most amount of data, but they're the ones that can convert data into consistent operating actions across how they've operated every door. if you we help clients with you know putting together SOPs, also mapping their technology needs, where where they're where they're having operational leaks and the business   can be optimized.   Mo Hussein (28:37) Optimized further using   Jason Hull (28:38) Further using technology and automation, we have a platform that we've built, Prop Strata, to actually connect and help with that automation type effort. and we're also we also do a lot of accounting and and CPA work. you can reach us at www.balanceasset solutions.com, and my emails mo at propstrata.com, or you can reach out to our team at info at balance asset.   Mo Hussein (28:39) technology and automation. We have a platform that we've built, Prop Strata, to actually connect and and help with that automation kind of efforts. then we're also we also do a lot of accounting and and CPA work. you can reach us at www.balanceasset solutions.com and and then my email is mo at at propstrata.com or you can reach out to our team at info at balanceasset solutions.com.   Jason Hull (29:03) Cool. So they could take a look at this at propstrata.com.   Mo Hussein (29:07) Correct. W dot propstrata.com.   Jason Hull (29:11) Okay, cool. Very cool. All right. yeah, check that out, everybody. It sounds interesting. All right. Well, Mo, I appreciate you coming out and hanging out with me here on the DoorGro show and sharing everything.   All right.   So if   If you have ever felt stuck or stagnant in your property management business and you want to take it to the next level, reach out to us at doorgrow.com. We are the world's best at creating high-growth property management companies in the single-family residential space or the small multi-space. And if for a free training or how to get unlimited leads for free, text the word leads to 512-648-4608. That's 512-648-4608.   Also, join our free community just for property management business owners at doorgrowclub.com. And if you want tips, tricks, and ideas to learn about our offers, subscribe to our newsletter by going to doorgrow.com slash subscribe. And if you found this even a little bit helpful, don't forget to subscribe and leave us a review on whatever channel you saw or heard this on. We'd really appreciate it. And until next time, remember the slowest path to growth.   is to do it alone. So let's grow together. Bye everyone.

Non-Eventcast
Grand Central Station - The Value of Case Management Software in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Non-Eventcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 31, 2026 35:02


Summary "Attorney Matt Damon" needs to draft a demand letter, but the facts he needs are scattered across medical records, deposition transcripts, case notes, and email threads. Jared Correia brings in Claude Simpson, Vice President of Client Operations at Smart Advocate, to unpack why that scattered data problem is nearly universal in legal practice. Claude explains that documents, not buzzwords, still run the practice of law, and that AI only works well when it is pulling from a structured case management system. They cover client portals, the real costs of switching platforms, data ownership disputes with cloud vendors, and how to measure ROI beyond time saved. Key Takeaways AI is only as good as the data feeding it, and case management software is what gives that data structure. Client portals are underused by most firms, even though clients already expect 24/7 self-service access from their bank and doctor. Centralizing case data beats stacking disconnected point solutions, even when integration with existing tools is required. Switching case management systems is harder than adopting one for the first time, and change management is the real obstacle. ROI on case management software shows up in turnaround time, error rates, client satisfaction, and staff retention, not just hours saved. About the Guest Claude Simpson is the Vice President of Client Operations at Smart Advocate, a case management platform built for law firms. He has been with the company since 2013, bringing a background as a practicing trial attorney, including medical malpractice litigation, along with early technology experience dating back to building one of the first local area networks at the New York State Supreme Court's Appellate Division in the 1980s. Links and Resources Red Cave Law Firm Consulting: redcavelegal.com Smart Advocate: smartadvocate.com Keywords case management software, legal technology, law firm AI, Smart Advocate, legal case management system, AI in law firms, client portal, law firm client experience, legal tech ROI, law firm technology adoption, cloud case management, law firm data security, legal ethics technology, change management law firm, law firm staff retention, demand letter drafting, personal injury case management, law firm KPI, legal AI adoption, shadow AI Episode Highlights [00:03:03 - 00:03:45] Claude Simpson explains that despite AI hype, documents, physical or electronic, still control the practice of law. [00:05:37 - 00:06:04] Jared and Claude agree AI needs structured data, and case management software provides that backbone. [00:10:38 - 00:11:24] Claude Simpson makes the case for client portals: clients expect 24/7 access the same way they get it from their bank or doctor. [00:13:14 - 00:14:03] Claude Simpson warns that disjointed systems create frustration and increase the risk of missed information. [00:16:53 - 00:17:34] Claude Simpson on convincing a 30-year veteran attorney to switch systems: show them they can be even more successful. [00:26:53 - 00:27:44] Claude Simpson flags a real risk: what happens if a firm and its cloud host end up in a contract dispute over data access. [00:29:19 - 00:30:31] Claude Simpson breaks down ROI beyond time saved: turnaround, error rate, client satisfaction, and staff retention. [00:33:00 - 00:34:00] Claude Simpson predicts AI bots listening in on firm discussions to suggest case values in real time.  

Den Gamle Hytte
GUL FREDAG: Droner, data og et sjældent kig ind i Brøndbys taktisk maskinrum

Den Gamle Hytte

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 31, 2026 43:52


Hvordan forbereder Brøndby sig taktisk til en kamp? – og hvad sker der, når gameplanen ikke virker?I denne særlige udgave af Gul fredag besøger Morten Brøndby Stadion og taler med Brøndbys senioranalytiker, Carl-Emil Lopdrup.Carl-Emil fortæller om sin vej fra Masterclass over Sønderjyske og tilbage til Brøndby, hvor han denne sommer fulgte med Thomas Nørgaard hjem til klubben, hvor han har arbejdet tidligere.Vi kommer helt tæt på analytikernes arbejde:• Hvordan Brøndby udvikler sin nye spillestil og skaber et fælles taktisk sprog• Hvorfor træningerne bliver filmet, tagget og analyseret• Hvordan spillerne får individuelle videoklip direkte på deres telefoner efter træning• Hvilke data og KPI'er Brøndby bruger til at vurdere en præstation• Hvorfor »field tilt« er blevet et vigtigt målepunkt• Hvordan trænerstaben bruger videoklip under kampene• Hvilke ændringer Brøndby foretog i pausen mod AGF• Hvorfor tre korte klip kan være vigtigere end en lang taktisk gennemgang• Hvad Marcus Younis arbejder med for at tage næste skridt• Hvordan Brøndby vil angribe kampen mod ViborgCarl-Emil giver også sit syn på Brøndbys sæsonpremiere i Aarhus og forklarer, hvorfor præstation og resultat ikke altid fortæller den samme historie.Og så træffer vi en vigtig beslutning: Kødsovsbarometeret skal tilbage i Den Gamle Hytte.Partner: Sparekassen KronjyllandStøt Den Gamle HytteFølg os på InstagramFølg os på FacebookFølg os på XFølg os på TikTokMød vores partner Sparekassen Kronjylland

Multipolarity
The Pod To End All Pods: Part 1

Multipolarity

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 30, 2026 54:39


Coming up this week and next week and the week after… A massive multi-part episode. The world is shifting in unpredictable ways. The old order dies of smoke inhalation in a dumpster fire. The new one has yet to be lifted out by C-Section. Iran, it is now clear, represents the smouldering conflagration that will consume US power. As its strength is sapped, this lumbering giant will make ever-poorer decisions. Bad money will be poured after good. The Falcon F-16 cannot hear the falconer. Which way is up will become ever harder to discern. In the face of this spinning compass, our sense-making apparatus is as useless as a cavalry charge in the Ardennes. But there is one doomsday weapon that could yet unscramble our circuits. One that has only recently become known to science. The Pod to End All Pods is a three episode collaboration between Multipolarity, and our two most requested guests – Malcolm ‘Juche Respecter' Kyeyune - and Amerikanets, the anonymous Substacker who uncovered the implausibility of Trump's Venezuela Raid. We've assembled this little RAND Corporation, and told them to solve for the next twelve months — and the next ten years. The results were incendiary and interminable. They spoke for three hours — which we've decided to carve into three separate podcasts. In the first episode, this week, we're going to talk about the Air War — the debaseification thesis, as laid out by Amerikanets. The Iranians are systematically denying the US its regional airbases by killing personnel and hitting assets on the tarmac. The Reaper drones that put the fear of god into America's enemies in the 2010s are now undergoing their own holocaust in the skies over Iran. Meanwhile, American generals are struggling to understand what the target even is — in a KPI culture, they're running out of targets, and pushing towards more and more abstruse success metrics. This is a war being run without a purpose. Then, In part two, we get round to The Systemic-War Thesis. Like World War I, like the Thirty Years War, or the Napoleonic Wars, this has become a conflict that pulls in every actor within a closed system — and only stops at mutual physical exhaustion. A point only underlined by the Saudis' decision to hit Iranian targets this week. Finally, in part three, we take on Europe, America and the political fallout. Is the old world about to be dragged into this, much against their will? Given the spate of fires at EU refineries and munitions plants, are we on explosion watch? All this and more, as the July Crisis takes shape. They said it would be over by Christmas — and this show just about will be. This is The Pod To End All Pods.

Podcast de Johann Yang-Ting
Comment écouter mon INTUITION m'a sauvé la vie... et mon business

Podcast de Johann Yang-Ting

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 29, 2026 15:43 Transcription Available


Faut-il écouter son intuition ou s'appuyer uniquement sur les chiffres pour prendre une décision ? Dans cette vidéo, je partage comment mon intuition a influencé certaines des décisions les plus importantes de mon parcours entrepreneurial.Dans le business, nous sommes encouragés à analyser les données, les KPI, les prévisions, les taux de conversion et les risques.Ces éléments sont indispensables.Mais ils ne captent pas toujours ce que notre expérience, notre sensibilité et notre connaissance du terrain ont déjà perçu.L'objectif n'est pas de prendre des décisions irrationnelles.L'objectif est d'apprendre à croiser ce que les faits vous montrent avec ce que votre expérience et vos signaux internes perçoivent déjà.

The Leadership Podcast by Niels Brabandt / NB Networks
#555 The Leadership Heartset - Marc Inzelstein interviewed by Niels Brabandt (Episode 3 of 4)

The Leadership Podcast by Niels Brabandt / NB Networks

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 29, 2026 8:14


Everyone talks about mindset. In the third episode of a four-part leadership series, host Niels Brabandt and executive coach and author Marc Inzelstein (Essential Leadership) make the business case for its under-discussed counterpart: the heartset, and the science of emotional coherence. Marc Inzelstein explains why the heart emits a measurable electrical signal that colleagues sense before a leader says a word, why leadership is best understood as a transmission of state, and why the documented pathway between heart and brain means emotionally coherent leaders make better decisions, not softer ones. Niels Brabandt challenges Inzelstein with the reality many senior leaders describe privately: KPI-obsessed cultures that treat the human side of leadership as a distraction from the numbers, and the two discuss what needs to change in executive education as a result. This episode is part of a four-part conversation between Niels Brabandt and Marc Inzelstein on modern leadership, following leadership in the age of AI and why executive teams underperform, and continuing with hope as a leadership practice. Host: Niels Brabandt / NB@NB-Networks.com Contact Niels Brabandt: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nielsbrabandt/ Niels Brabandt's Leadership Letter: https://expert.nb-networks.com/ Niels Brabandt's Website: https://www.nb-networks.biz/

Making the Museum
What Museums Can Learn from Casinos, Theme Parks, Sports, and More, with Renée Hampton

Making the Museum

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 28, 2026 68:00


What could museums learn right now — from their competitors?What's happening out there that museums should know about? How can museums compete with a sports venue that has 18,000 seats, each with its own interactive controller? What do IP, KPI, and F&B mean? What if museums went out and learned from theme parks, advertising, corporate centers … and even casinos? Renée Hampton (Strategic Partnerships Manager, Electrosonic) discusses “What Museums Can Learn from Casinos, Theme Parks, Sports, and More” with MtM host Jonathan Alger (Managing Partner, C&G Partners | The Exhibition and Experience Design Studio).Along the way: eye tracking, Donkey Kong, and Cirque du Soleil.Talking Points:1. What sports experiences … can teach museums2. What theme parks … can teach museums3. What advertising activations … can teach museums4. What corporate briefing centers … can teach museums5. What casinos … can teach museumsHow to Listen:Listen on Apple Podcasts:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/making-the-museum/id1674901311 Listen on Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/6oP4QJR7yxv7Rs7VqIpI1G Listen at Making the Museum, the Website:https://www.makingthemuseum.com/podcast Links to Every Podcast Service, via Transistor:https://makingthemuseum.transistor.fm/ Guest Bio:Renée Hampton is passionate about bringing creativity and multidisciplinary partnerships into the way organizations design and build experiential attractions across industries. As Strategic Partnerships Manager at Electrosonic, she collaborates with architects, interior designers, exhibit designers, fabricators, media producers, and technology partners to develop innovative technology solutions for institutions, owners, and operators. With a background spanning film production, real-time interactive media production, and experiential events, Renée combines creative and technical expertise with partnership strategy, project management, and business development. She is dedicated to building strong relationships that help create immersive environments connecting people with spaces, stories, and technology through the power of design.About Making the Museum:Making the Museum is a newsletter and podcast on exhibitions, written and hosted by Jonathan Alger. MtM is a project of C&G Partners | The Exhibition and Experience Design Studio.Learn more about the creative work of C&G Partners:https://www.cgpartnersllc.com/ Links for This Episode:Renée via LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/renee-hampton/ Renée via Email:renee.hampton@electrosonic.com or renee.e.hampton@gmail.com Electrosonic:https://www.electrosonic.com/ Links for Making the Museum, the Podcast:Contact Making the Museum:https://www.makingthemuseum.com/contact Host Jonathan Alger, Managing Partner of C&G Partners, on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanalger Email Jonathan Alger:alger@cgpartnersllc.com C&G Partners | The Exhibition and Experience Design Studio:https://www.cgpartnersllc.com/ Making the Museum, the Newsletter:Like the show? You might enjoy the newsletter. Making the Museum is also a free weekly email about exhibitions for museum leaders and teams. (And newsletter subscribers are the first to hear about new episodes of this podcast.)Join hundreds of your peers with a one-minute read, three times a week. Invest in your career with a diverse, regular feed of planning and design insights, practical tips, and tested strategies — including thought-provoking approaches to technology, experience design, audience, budgeting, content, and project management.Subscribe to the newsletter:https://www.makingthemuseum.com/ 

NETWORK MARKETING MADE SIMPLE
LinkedIn's New KPI Metric That Can Help Your Content

NETWORK MARKETING MADE SIMPLE

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 27, 2026 10:19


Most LinkedIn users are missing one of the most important analytics updates the platform has released.Likes, comments, and even total impressions only tell part of the story.LinkedIn has quietly introduced a much more valuable KPI inside your analytics: Discovery.Under your impression analytics, you'll now see two categories:• In-network impressions: People who already follow you or are connected to you.• Out-of-network impressions: People who don't follow you and aren't connected to you.Here's why this matters.If the majority of your impressions are coming from your existing network, you're primarily reaching the same audience over and over again.But if a growing percentage of your impressions are coming from out-of-network viewers, LinkedIn is signaling that your content is valuable enough to recommend to people who have never heard of you before.That is how real audience growth happens.In my opinion, this is one of the healthiest KPIs to track because it shows whether your content is expanding beyond your current circle rather than simply recycling within it.Now, that doesn't mean in-network impressions are bad. Your existing audience should absolutely continue seeing your content. But if your goal is to attract new clients, grow your authority, and consistently reach fresh audiences, you want to see your out-of-network percentage increasing over time.Instead of asking, "How many impressions did this post get?"Start asking, "Who generated those impressions?"That's a much more meaningful question.Focus on creating content that teaches, sparks thoughtful conversations, and keeps people reading. When LinkedIn sees people finding value in what you share, it's far more likely to introduce your content to people outside your existing network.Growth doesn't happen by talking to the same people louder.It happens when LinkedIn starts introducing you to the people who don't know you yet.Don't forget to sign up for our FREE LinkedIn Content Roadmap workshop here:https://www.thetimetogrow.com/LinkedInContentRoadmap

The Independent Dealer Podcast
#30 - Monday Minute | If You Could Only Track 5 Numbers, What Would They Be?

The Independent Dealer Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 27, 2026 5:00


Welcome to the Monday Minute – your weekly reset to lead better, think clearer, and build your independent dealership with intention.If your phone turned on for five seconds once a week and you could only receive five numbers from your dealership, what would they be? Not a 20-page report. Not a dashboard full of metrics nobody reads. Just five numbers that tell you whether your business is healthy or bleeding. Most dealers cannot answer that question – and that is exactly the problem.In this episode, Jeff and Luke break down KPIs the way they present them at convention: not as a reporting exercise, but as a focus system for your entire team. Jeff makes the case that the problem is not that dealers lack data – it is that they have too much of it, and they try to push all of it down to employees who only need to know what winning looks like in their lane. A salesperson does not need 30 metrics. They need a scoreboard. A collections team does not need a monthly composite. They need a number to chase every single week. Luke brings it back to the sports analogy that cuts through every time – the scoreboard does not track everything, it tracks the things that determine whether you win or lose. Your dealership is no different. The right KPIs depend on your model and your goals, but the principle is universal: what gets measured gets managed, and what gets discussed gets improved. Gut instinct might help you buy a car, but it does not build a repeatable, scalable operation.Your assignment this week: build your KPI scoreboard. Start simple – open a Google Sheet and create weekly tracking columns for leads, write-ups, sales, inventory count, and average days in inventory. Review it every single week and watch for trends. Over time you will learn which numbers actually move the needle and which ones are just noise. Remove the ones that do not matter, add better ones, and keep tightening until you have a short list of factors that truly control your dealership. That is where your focus goes. Auto Analytics can build these scoreboards for you if you want to skip the setup – but start somewhere. The dealers who win are not managing by feeling. They are managing by facts.Review this week's Sunday newsletter at TheIndependentDealer.com for the full theme and exercises.Not subscribed yet? Sign up now.https://theindependentdealer.us19.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=603446580871d8522a454418d&id=50aae74348Let's build this together.

David C Barnett Small Business & Deal Making
These Red Flags Will DESTROY Your Business If You Ignore Them

David C Barnett Small Business & Deal Making

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 27, 2026 21:04


- Join David's email list, RECEIVE 7 FREE GIFTS!!- https://www.DavidCBarnettList.com The best business owners don't wait until year-end financial statements to discover something is wrong; they spot problems while there's still time to fix them. In this video, I explain the five key performance indicator (KPI) categories every business should monitor to create an effective early warning system. We cover sales pipeline metrics, customer behavior, gross margins, operational efficiency, and cash flow, along with a simple green, yellow, and red dashboard that helps you identify problems before they become expensive. Whether you're running a small business, preparing to sell your company, or planning to buy one, understanding these leading indicators can help you make faster, more informed decisions. A well-designed dashboard doesn't just improve day-to-day management—it can also increase the value and marketability of your business by demonstrating strong operational control. **** Do Business with David using these incredible internet links... - David's Blog where you can find hundreds of free videos and articles, https://www.DavidCBarnett.com - Book a call with David and let him help you with your project, https://www.CallDavidCBarnett.com - Learn how to buy a successful and profitable business in a risk-controlled way https://www.BusinessBuyerAdvantage.com - Get help selling your business, https://www.HowToSellMyOwnBusiness.com ----- #BusinessKPIs #BusinessOwner #BusinessGrowth #SmallBusiness #BusinessManagement #CashFlow #Entrepreneur #Leadership #BusinessStrategy Youtube music licensing code: 5PJWQOE5ZZHTQSRY

FP&A Today
Lessons from a finance revolution at Mars, with Colin Moss

FP&A Today

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 26, 2026 45:58


Colin Moss worked for more than 10 years at Mars, which produces some of the world's best-loved brands including Royal Canin, M&M's and Snickers. In this role, he partnered with the global Finance leadership team to design to stand up the new FinTech function, strengthening the connection between Finance and IT and leading a portfolio of 40+ initiatives, establishing resource and financial management disciplines (before that he was at famed confectionary maker Cadbury). In 2025 he took the leap to set up his own business, CM Strategies working  with organisations navigating growth and complexity, helping them redesign how the finance department partners with the business and builds capability .   His message about the function of FP&A is resonant and powerful: “One  of the ways that I've seen it described is that your business, and  leadership team is, is the “head”, and FP&A is the “neck” because FP&A is showing that team where to look. In this context, FP&A is helping what's the context we're operating in? What's the strategy that we're executing against? And what does that mean for where we focus? What do we put our attention on? And that can be showing up in what KPIs we look at, but also what processes we need to improve.?”   In this episode Path to creation of my own business (in a “hard to leave” business) Early audit roles as the foundation of my career My early lessons about business partnership at Cadbury and Mars  Lessons from global finance transformation at Mars including KPI design and management reporting Power of judgement in FP&A    Find out more about CM Strategies at  www.cmstrategies.co.uk

Cà Phê Khởi Nghiệp Cùng Tùng Bê Tê - Không kịch bản
LỜI THẬT #4 CON GÀ ĐẺ TRỨNG VÀNG - TÙNG BT x BÀ NGOẠI TÀI CHÍNH THUÝ TẠ

Cà Phê Khởi Nghiệp Cùng Tùng Bê Tê - Không kịch bản

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 26, 2026 26:34 Transcription Available


ĐỪNG VỘI XÂY HỆ THỐNG. VÀ TIỄN CON GÀ ĐẺ TRỨNG VÀNG RA ĐI MÃI MÃI…Mấy chục năm có lời, đều đặn, không sang chảnh hào nhoáng, nhưng CÓ LỜI.Rồi một ngày, chủ đi học một khóa nào đó. Về áp hệ thống vô. KPI, SOP, OKR, đủ thứ viết tắt 3 chữ cái.CON GÀ ĐANG ĐẺ TRỨNG VÀNG… ngỏm củ tỏi.Tui gặp hoài. Quán ăn bán 20 năm, ngon, khách quen đầy. Chủ đi học về, làm lại menu, thuê manager, đổi flow bếp, gắn phần mềm POS.6 tháng sau … đóng cửa.Vì con gà đó đẻ trứng vàng KHÔNG PHẢI nhờ hệ thống. Nó đẻ nhờ bàn tay chị chủ đi chợ lúc 4 giờ sáng. Nhờ anh chồng đứng bếp biết khẩu vị từng khách quen. Nhờ cái cảm giác “ở đây ăn ngon hơn chỗ khác” mà không ai gọi tên được.Chị Thúy Tạ - CFO, người đồng hành tài chính với hàng loạt SME có nói với tui một câu trong podcast Lời Thật:“50% doanh thu đến từ những nhóm sản phẩm mình không có chủ ý phát triển. Tức là mình không có chiến lược.”Nghĩa là gì? Nghĩa là phần lớn chủ doanh nghiệp không biết con gà nào đang đẻ trứng vàng. Vậy mà đã vội xây chuồng công nghiệp.Tui không nói hệ thống hoá là sai, thậm chí nó là 1 bước quan trọng để scale up. Nhưng chưa hiểu gà, đã xây chuồng. Đó là vấn đề.Tui có 3 nguyên tắc trước khi đụng vô bất kỳ con gà nào:Một: xác định 100% nó đang đẻ trứng vàng thật, trước khi đầu tư nuôi. Đừng nhìn 1 quả rồi gọi nó là cash cow.Hai: nuôi không nổi thì lập hợp tác xã. Đừng ôm một mình.Ba: cân đo đong đếm. Gà đẻ trứng vàng nhưng ăn thóc bằng kim cương thì nuôi để làm gì?Mời mọi người nghe tập podcast mới nhất của Tùng BT và “Bà ngoại tài chính” Thuý Tạ nghen

Profit Cleaners: Grow Your Cleaning Company and Redefine Profit

In this episode of The Profit Cleaners Podcast, Brandon Schoen and Brandon Condrey share a candid one-year update on their Las Cruces expansion, offering an honest look at the challenges, setbacks, and lessons that came with launching a second location. While the opportunity showed early promise, unexpected operational and marketing obstacles forced them to rethink their approach and rebuild from the ground up.The Brandons discuss how a suspended Google Business Profile significantly impacted customer acquisition, the complexities of managing a business remotely, and the importance of establishing reliable systems and leadership before expanding into a new market. They also explain how seemingly minor administrative issues, including business verification and address discrepancies, created larger operational challenges than anticipated.Throughout the conversation, they reflect on the risks of pursuing multiple growth initiatives simultaneously and why they ultimately decided to pause their franchising plans to focus on strengthening their existing operations. By improving financial visibility, refining key performance indicators, and making more data-driven decisions, they have developed a clearer strategy for sustainable growth.Whether you are considering opening a second location or looking to improve the performance of your current business, this episode provides practical insights on resilience, operational discipline, and why long-term success is built through consistent execution rather than rapid expansion.Listen now!Highlights:(00:50) Brandon and Brandon provide a one-year update on the Las Cruces expansion and discuss the realities of launching a second cleaning business location.(03:34) How a suspended Google Business Profile disrupted customer acquisition and the lessons they learned while rebuilding their online presence.(05:43) The operational challenges of managing a remote location, hiring local leadership, and maintaining consistency across multiple markets.(10:32) Why they chose to pause their franchising plans and refocus on strengthening existing operations before pursuing further expansion.(13:28) How improved financial reporting, KPI tracking, and operational data are helping them make more informed business decisions.(17:58) Why they decided to continue investing in the Las Cruces location instead of walking away, and how a few strategic improvements can restore profitability.(20:23) The importance of resilience, continuous improvement, and maintaining long-term focus when navigating setbacks in business.Links/Resources Mentioned:Profit Cleaners Website Watch the FREE Masterclass: https://profitcleaners.com/masterclass)Join the FREE Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/profitcleaners/Visit profitcleaners.com/cleanerclean to stay updated on everything coming next from Profit Cleaners. profitcleaners.com/cleanercleanLearn more about Noctave AI:noctave.ai

台灣最前線
【台灣最前線】2026.07.24 毒油案政治化?蔣盧不顧市政拼選舉? 中國洪災是人禍?無人機翻轉烏俄局勢!

台灣最前線

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 24, 2026 98:26


BDO Private Equity PErspectives Podcast
Trust Before Terms: Building Lasting Value in PE - Part A

BDO Private Equity PErspectives Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 24, 2026 26:08


In the latest episode of BDO's Private Equity PErspectives Podcast, host Todd Kinney speaks with Eric Taylor, Founder and CEO of Trident, and Jeff Roth, Founding Partner of Bruin Capital, to discuss:How to approach sourcing in different corners of the market — from operator-led relationships with family-owned businesses to global networks across the sports ecosystemWhy conviction, sector expertise, and early relationship building can help sponsors move quickly while avoiding overly competitive processesWhere value creation actually shows up post-close, including management team alignment, KPI discipline, international expansion, revenue growth, and operational infrastructure

Investor Connect Podcast
Investor Connect 887: Innovating Health: Dan Wasserman on Commercializing Canadian Innovation

Investor Connect Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 24, 2026 26:32


In this episode of Investor Connect, Hall talks with Dan Wasserman, founder of Mammoth Health Innovation, about what it takes to turn biomedical and medical technologies into commercially viable healthcare solutions. Dan shares Mammoth's origins from a Canadian innovation center, his "Health Ecosphere" framework for pulling together the elements needed to commercialize health innovation, and how a Hollywood-based plan to tap Canadian entertainment expats for funding collapsed when COVID hit. He explains Mammoth's work bridging Canadian and U.S. innovation approaches, including ACIP (Advancing Canadian Innovation Through Procurement), language from which made it into Canada's 2023 federal budget, and introduces CHIEFS, his KPI-based evaluation tool for both innovators and investors. The discussion covers aging populations, shrinking budgets, regulatory and reimbursement realities, customer discovery, partnerships, exit planning, AI's practical roles, scaling globally, fundraising readiness. Visit Mammoth Health Innovation at mammothhealth.org/ Reach out to at dan@mammothhealth.ca , and on Twww.linkedin.com/in/dan-wasserman-2074192/ ________________________________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https:/_/tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

Enter the Boardroom with Nurole
183. Ian Filby: Power in the boardroom: PE control, public scrutiny & activist pressure

Enter the Boardroom with Nurole

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 22, 2026 43:01


Ian Filby spent almost 30 years at Alliance Boots before becoming CEO of DFS. He then served as Chair at Joules and Pendragon, where he navigated activist shareholder pressure. Listen to this episode to learn about: What private equity taught Ian about how boards should behave (01:34) The danger of drifting from data to anecdote (05:36) The KPI mistake that leaves boards blind to the future (08:04) Why Ian had an operating board and a strategy board (10:36)  The warning signs your bank may not back you when it matters (17:20) The private equity lesson every PLC board should steal (19:33) How Ian handled an activist investor, a blocked takeover and a boardroom revolt (23:14) Why Ian stepped down as chair (29:02) How to handle activist-investors (30:05)⚡The Lightning Round⚡(34:26)Host: Oliver CummingsProducer: Will FeltonEditor: Penelope CoumauMusic: Kate MacAudio: Nick KoldEmail: podcast@nurole.comWeb: https://www.nurole.com/nurole-podcast-enter-the-boardroom

Experiencing Data with Brian O'Neill
199 - Why Your Analytical AI Product Might Need 2 Pitches, Not 1, with Bhaskar Sunkara, CEO (bicycle.ai)

Experiencing Data with Brian O'Neill

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 21, 2026 50:56


I'm talking to Bhaskar Sunkara, CEO of bicycle.AI, which provides an AI analyst product designed to monitor revenue-critical KPIs, investigate the business and technical drivers behind KPI changes, and take a “governed next step.” Bhaskar explains why analytics products often fail when they overwhelm users with telemetry instead of focusing on the signals that matter. Drawing from his experience as founding CTO of AppDynamics, he shares how his team moved from low-level technical monitoring to business transactions like logins, checkouts, and bookings. The key lesson? Start with the right metric at the right level of granularity, then use deeper technical analysis to explain why something changed.   Bhaskar also breaks down how bicycle.AI serves multiple audiences inside an enterprise. Business leaders want measurable outcomes, KPI owners need answers about what changed and what to do next, and data teams require trust, governance, and traceability. He explains how, in order to support these different users, Bicycle separates product experience into four core surfaces: pull features like dashboards and chat, and push features like alerts and data stories. Alerts further help operational users respond quickly to KPI changes and data stories provide executives with strategic narratives around trends, causes, and business impact. During our chat, Bhaskar also draws a line most AI products blur: be explicit about which findings are deterministic and which are only a theory. He connects this directly to my CED framework, separating the conclusion from the evidence from the underlying data, and argues that how much you automate should be governed by one question: how costly is being wrong?   I also probed Bhaskar about their moat. He's learned that enterprise adoption requires winning over both executives who care about revenue impact and analytics teams that need confidence in the system's recommendations. Bhaskar also explains why their long-term advantage comes from the DEAL framework: Detect, Explain, Act, and Learn. By continuously incorporating validated decisions, business context, and customer-specific knowledge, the platform becomes more useful over time. We finish up with his advice for fellow analytical AI product founders, including why AI makes user experience more important, not less: it is the connection between agents, decisions, humans, and accountability.   Highlights / Skip to: Making the invisible feel urgent enough for customers to buy products (2:41) How to avoid creating the ‘metrics toilet' when the system can do so much (6:56) Designing for the end-user versus the buyer, especially during the POC phase (12:20) Thinking about the product's design in a way that ensures Bicycle's business value is obvious (15:38) How bicycle.AI's “push” and “pull” features help stakeholders see value (20:54) Getting their first 20 customers (25:19) What Bhaskar got wrong: over-rotating on the business buyer vs. the analytics team (32:23) The homework a build-anything horizontal platform imposes on customers (and Bicycle's vertical antidote) (34:30) Bicycle.AI's moat: compounding institutional knowledge (36:08) DEAL: Detect, Explain, Act, and Learn (40:46) How they designed the UX to reduce time-to-value during onboarding/setup (44:51) Bhaskar Sunkara's advice for other analytical AI founders (and why AI makes UX even more important to address) (47:47) Links bicycle.ai  Bhaskar Sunkara's LinkedIn  My CED framework for advanced analytics products that Bhaskar references in this episode

Prime Venture Partners Podcast
Global B2B GTM for Enterprises in the AI-first World

Prime Venture Partners Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 21, 2026 46:26


What You'll Learn:00:00 Introduction02:13 Why Marketing Owns Zero Board KPIs08:54 There Is No Killer Marketing Campaign15:41 Why Your First 10 Customers Matter More24:16 The Biggest GTM Mistake Founders Make33:48 How AI Is Changing Customer Discovery43:11 Demand Generation Beats Chasing Leads53:02 Why Value Wins Over Price1:02:47 The New Rules of B2B Go-to-Market1:11:26 Rapid Fire with Alon WaksRethink your B2B SaaS GTM strategy from pipeline to persona SpotDraft's CMO Alon Waks shares the framework behind $100M raised and 450+ customers.Ask a B2B founder about their killer marketing campaign and most will have an answer ready. Alon Waks will tell you that answer is wrong. There is no killer campaign. There is no one channel. And most of what founders think of as marketing is stuck in one-to-many land when it should be one-to-few.That is where this conversation starts, and it does not slow down.Alon is the CMO at SpotDraft, the AI-powered contract lifecycle management platform backed by Vertex, Qualcomm, Prosus, and P&G Invest, now serving customers across the US, UK, and APAC. In this episode with Prime Venture Partners, he opens up the playbook he actually runs day to day:- How he defines persona versus segment (and why founders keep starting with the wrong one)- What changes as a company moves from 0 to 1 to 10 to 100- Why he thinks paid marketing has become a race to the bottom that most founders are still throwing money at.He also opens up his playbook for B2B influencer marketing, an angle most CMOs will not talk about publicly. He explains why validation has quietly shifted away from Gartner and toward peer-to-peer conversations on Reddit, LinkedIn, and community forums. And for the Indian founders trying to crack the US, he lays out exactly which cities matter, what not to do on outbound, and when to make your first local hire.Toward the end, Alon gets uncomfortably honest about what marketing actually owns on the board KPI list (spoiler: almost nothing) and why that changes everything about how you should measure your team.If you are a founder, a marketer, or a CMO building a B2B SaaS GTM strategy from scratch, this is the one to bookmark.Connect:Alon Waks on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alonwaks/Spotdraft: https://www.spotdraft.com/Prime Venture Partners: https://www.primevp.in/Jerome Manuel on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeromermanuel/About Prime Venture Partners:Prime Venture Partners is an early-stage venture capital firm partnering with exceptional founders building category-defining companies from India.#GoToMarket #B2BMarketing

Content Amplified
Why storytelling is a craft, not a marketing strategy

Content Amplified

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 21, 2026 17:06


Storytelling has become the most overused word in marketing, and Emma Lieberman thinks that's exactly the problem. In this episode of Content Amplified, Emma, Director of Copy and Content at Impact Networking, argues that storytelling isn't a strategy to optimize, it's a craft, and treating it like a KPI is why so many brand stories fall flat. Drawing on Aristotle's Poetics, Emma breaks down what actually makes something a story (a beginning, a middle, an end, a character who changes) and why most marketing "stories" are really just branding wearing a costume. She walks through three examples that get it right: Grainger's YouTube series of unscripted client interviews, a Volvo ad that never shows the car until the very last second, and Google's classic "Parisian Love" ad told entirely through search bar queries. Emma also shares the one tactical move any marketing team can make tomorrow: start with client stories, since no sales team has ever said no to more of them. If you've ever wondered why your brand's "storytelling" isn't landing, this conversation explains what's actually missing.About EmmaEmma Lieberman didn't start out in marketing. She spent years in Los Angeles working as an actor and comedian, doing stand-up, sketch, and indie film, before the pandemic pushed her to try content writing as a freelancer. She quickly found that the skills she'd built connecting with an audience on stage translated directly to connecting with one in writing, and she moved from freelance work into an in-house role at Impact Networking. She's been promoted several times since and now serves as Director of Copy and Content at Impact Networking.Show NotesConnect with Emma on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emma-lieberman/Text us what you think about this episode!

电影不无聊
Vol.567 暑期档黑马《八仙!》登场,修己渡人戳破天庭虚伪

电影不无聊

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 20, 2026 86:40


7月观影指南就开始期待的本月必看《八仙!》提档,口碑票房皆已成黑马之势,联合《功夫女足》让这个冷清的暑期档热闹起来,久违的买票要抢好位置、在影院听到观众自发鼓掌,作为影迷满心欢喜,为国产动画电影打call! 影片制作精良、设定考据古籍,巨龟驮蓬莱、双金龙鱼拉公共辇车、水道追逐等场景奇幻且引人入胜。既有当年初次进入《疯狂动物城》的惊艳,更有中式神话世界观独有的亲近。 神仙追香火KPI,扒仙无心插柳柳成荫、被三星雇佣护宝趣味横生,笑点全龄通吃。然而仙界看似秩序规整,实则官场暗弊丛生,天灾实为人祸,杨戬既为私欲成反派,赛博战神深情亦有魅力,与昔日大圣身份置换更是笔墨恰当的惊喜。 市井出身、各怀私心的八人因玉虚琉璃灯结缘,从瞒天过海到过海救苍生,不论苍生是否值得,只论“做对的事”。钟离权渡吕洞宾,吕洞宾反向度化众人,钟吕救赎循环往复,既救世人、也救恩人,细节拉满、翻番动人。八人抛开成仙虚名却成仙,以凡人共情对抗神性傲慢,诠释修己渡人的真正仙道,也戳破天庭揽功造势的虚伪。

THORChain Weekly Live
Marketing Update, Devel's Limit Order Proposal, XMR Update | Podcast #217

THORChain Weekly Live

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 17, 2026 129:10


In this episode, the main conversation revolved around the limit order proposal, how it works, and its impact on arbitrage bots and Rujira.Swap now https://swap.thorchain.org/ THORChain is a decentralized crypto exchange. THORChain is the first and biggest DEX for Bitcoin. You can use any self custody wallet to swap and there's no KYC required.Timestamps:00:00:00 Intro00:04:00 Kenton starts00:11:00 Volume is great!00:13:00 Devel introduction00:15:00 How did you hear about THORChain, Devel?00:18:00 Why did you become a node operator as well as an arbitrageur?00:20:00 It's been a long-standing belief that arbitrageurs are parasitic00:23:00 Ratio between swap volume and arbitrage volume00:25:00 Arbitrage volume is around 63% — does this mean THORChain is efficient?00:27:00 Will Monero have a significant price discrepancy?00:32:00 Could XMR become the XY curve of THORChain?00:33:00 Devel's proposal: A new type of order to improve quotes and turn arbitrageurs into market makers00:35:00 If the system works: Faster swaps, bigger swaps, and better price execution00:37:00 They are not limit orders — they are limit swaps00:38:00 Screen share00:42:00 Devel explains the difference between limit orders and limit swaps00:46:00 I want to achieve an improved quote endpoint00:55:00 Chocolate bar01:05:00 Boone and Devel join01:06:00 Devel continues the conversation01:13:00 Is this proposal additive or a replacement?01:18:00 Devel continues breaking down the structure of his proposal01:24:00 Boone adds clarity01:28:00 Kenton asks about market making with exploited funds01:34:00 Would this complement or compete with Rujira?01:37:00 Boone: This does not conflict with the app layer01:41:00 Clarifying Rujira's design versus Devel's base-layer proposal01:47:00 Boone's maker/taker fee split idea01:50:00 Devel is currently helping improve node operator operations01:53:00 Quality-of-life improvements for new node operators01:57:00 Dynamic fees and the boone.tools highlight02:02:00 KPI dashboard for global volume02:06:00 Quick XMR update (Boone)

Marketing B2B
Déploie des campagnes intégrées pour adresser les grands comptes - Julien Rio, CMO spécialisé dans le B2B à l'international

Marketing B2B

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 17, 2026 35:15


Invité: Julien Rio, CMO spécialisé dans le B2B à l'international et créateur du framework RIO de campagnes intégrées.Dans cet épisode, nous parlons avec Julien Rio du concept de campagne intégrée en B2B grand compte et des limites d'une approche en “patchwork” où les actions marketing restent isolées. Nous détaillons une méthode structurée qui part de l'audience, puis du message, des canaux et des assets, afin de construire un parcours cohérent entre LinkedIn, email, événements, nurturing et équipes sales.Nous abordons aussi l'organisation interne nécessaire pour faire fonctionner ce type de campagne, avec plusieurs rôles complémentaires comme campaign manager, marketing produit, channel managers, content, marketing ops et sales. Nous revenons enfin sur les erreurs fréquentes, notamment le manque de coordination entre équipes, la priorité donnée à des KPI secondaires et à la lead generation à court terme, ainsi que sur les critères pour évaluer une agenceAu menu de cette conversation entre Julien et Mony :0:04 Introduction1:51 Campagne intégrée, logique de base3:41 Passer du patchwork à l'agile6:38 Construire le parcours multicanal10:28 Gouvernance des équipes marketing13:09 MOPS, Martech et Sales17:31 Collaboration et KPIs utiles21:15 Awareness contre lead gen26:45 Choisir une bonne agence31:12 Le marketing curse34:07 Où retrouver JulienRéférences :LinkedIn de Julienhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/julienrio/Websitehttps://www.julienrio.com/en Frameworkhttps://www.julienrio.com/landing/RIO-Integrated-Marketing-Campaign-Framework.php – ⚡ Connecte-toi à Mony⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠ici⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.Je suis Mony Chhim et je suis freelance LinkedIn Ads pour entreprises B2B (45+ clients accélérés)

Success Leaves Clues with Robin Bailey and Al McDonald
Success Leaves Clues: Ep 298 - How Great Leaders Build Workplace Belonging in Remote Teams with Stephanie Crombie, Employee Experience Manager at HeyOrca

Success Leaves Clues with Robin Bailey and Al McDonald

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 16, 2026 32:39


What makes people genuinely love where they work?In this episode of Success Leaves Clues, Robin Bailey is joined by special guest co-host Ashlea DesRoches for an inspiring conversation with Stephanie Crombie, Employee Experience Manager at HeyOrca, about the power of creating workplaces where people truly feel they belong.Drawing from a career that began in hospitality and took her around the world aboard cruise ships, Stephanie shares how memorable experiences, intentional leadership, and personalized employee journeys can transform workplace culture, especially in fully remote organizations.Rather than relying on generic perks or one-size-fits-all programs, Stephanie explains why today's most successful organizations create meaningful moments that help employees feel seen, valued, and connected from their very first day. From onboarding new hires to recognizing everyday contributions, she reveals practical strategies leaders can implement to improve engagement, retention, and long-term business success.Robin, Ashlea, and Stephanie also discuss remote culture, personalization, employee recognition, onboarding, belonging, leadership, workplace happiness, and why the way leaders make people feel will always matter more than any KPI.Whether you're a CEO, founder, HR leader, people manager, or someone passionate about building stronger workplace cultures, this episode offers actionable ideas for creating organizations where people thrive.You'll hear about:Why employee experience extends far beyond perks and benefits Creating meaningful workplace moments that employees remember Building a culture of belonging in fully remote teams The connection between employee happiness and business success Why personalized recognition outperforms generic rewards How intentional onboarding increases engagement and retention Practical ways leaders can make employees feel seen and valued Recognizing effort throughout the journey, not just outcomes Voice and choice as the foundation of great employee experiences How small moments create lasting workplace cultures Why human connection remains leadership's greatest advantageWe talk about:00:00 Welcome and introduction to Stephanie Crombie02:00 From hospitality to employee experience leadership05:45 Why people remember how work made them feel10:20 Building belonging in fully remote organizations15:30 Spotting culture shifts before they become problems17:30 Creating unforgettable onboarding experiences22:20 Personalization versus automation in employee experience27:00 Why generic perks no longer create engagement28:15 The power of "Voice and Choice"30:00 Happiness, belonging, and leadership culture32:00 Planting trees for future employees35:00 Final leadership lessons and closing thoughtsConnect with StephanieLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-crombie14/ Website: https://www.heyorca.com/ Connect with UsLinkedIn: Robin Bailey and Al McDonald Website: Aria Benefits and Life & Legacy Advisory Group

CX Decoded By CMSWire
Security, Service and the Chick-fil-A Standard: A Chief Customer Officer's 12-Year Journey

CX Decoded By CMSWire

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 15, 2026 34:49


Brinks Home chief customer officer Veronica Moturi joins CX Decoded host Dom Nicastro to explain how a security and home automation company rebuilt its call center from the ground up. Moturi started as a customer service agent in 2012 and rose through retention and escalations before taking the CCO role. She breaks down why average handle time isn't a KPI, how issue resolution and first call resolution drive a 55 net promoter score, and how AI tools and a remote workforce cut agent turnover from 150% to 22%.

FinTech Entrepreneur 馬克解讀金融科技
EP52.【知識深談】莫名收到微額匯款?拆解「警示帳戶」連坐風暴與 AI 防詐誤鎖危機

FinTech Entrepreneur 馬克解讀金融科技

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 15, 2026 44:48


這一集,Mark 和 Debbie 要帶大家探討一個可能隨時發生在我們每個人身上的金融噩夢:詐騙與警示帳戶。當你某天醒來,發現帳戶莫名收到一筆微額匯款,或者在網路上與人發生爭執而被惡意報復時,你可能在毫無知覺的情況下被警方列為「人頭帳戶」,名下所有銀行帳戶隨即遭到全面管制。在即時轉帳極速奔馳的數位時代,防詐大閘門「先鎖再說」的防護網,正在與我們日常的薪資撥付、貸款繳納、信用評等發生劇烈碰撞,甚至引發了「預防性設控」與「人權保障」之間的拉扯與焦慮。這不只是一場打擊犯罪的行動,更是金融系統安全與便利性的深度對焦。我們將層層剖析將我們金融生活「按暫停鍵」的三大管制限制作為:宛如主閘門直接封鎖的 「警示帳戶」、牽連名下其他水龍頭被降壓的 「衍生管制帳戶」,以及讓你被系統長期標記、降規金融功能的 「告誡帳戶」。面對金管會自 2025 年起建立的警示戶嚴格觀察指標,銀行承受著極大的監理壓力,這也讓 AI 防詐模型在「提高召回率」的極致追求下,一不小心就誤鎖了無辜正常人的交易。無辜被拖入詐騙金流鏈的「善意第三人」該如何展開自救?除了介紹確認通報來源、保留交易脈絡等四個自救步驟,我們還將深入探討能將防線前移至入帳前的 「PCIT(收款人入帳同意機制)」,以及如何在保護個資前提下進行跨業聯防與隱私運算。最好的防詐機制,是守住錢,同時也守住人對金融系統的信任。不論你是想預防被不明金流陷害的網拍賣家,還是關心台灣防詐制度改革關鍵的你,這一集絕對不容錯過!本集重點01:24|一筆不明匯款引發的全民焦慮:Threads 上前後只差 6 秒的兩筆轉帳04:49|運作超過 20 年的防詐體系:金管會 KPI 壓力如何讓銀行「寧可錯攔」10:50|警示帳戶、衍生管制帳戶、告誡帳戶:一次搞懂三種管制的差異19:16|AI 防詐為什麼會誤鎖:召回率與精準度的拉鋸、道高一尺魔高一丈24:30|帳戶被凍結怎麼辦:解除流程與快速自救四步驟31:41|PCIT 收款人入帳同意機制:在陌生資金入帳前補上「收款人防線」36:30|台灣防詐的下一步:法制救濟、KPI 平衡與跨業聯防的資料治理43:03|馬克碎念:防詐與便利不該二選一,真正守護的是民眾對金融系統的信任▸除了podcast,也歡迎在其他平台關注 #馬克解讀金融科技IG:https://www.instagram.com/markreadfintech(@markreadfintech)Portaly:https://portaly.cc/markreadfintech This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.markreadfintech.com

Everyday AI Podcast – An AI and ChatGPT Podcast
Ep 818: AI Just Went Multiplayer. Slack Is Where It All Comes Together

Everyday AI Podcast – An AI and ChatGPT Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 14, 2026 31:10 Transcription Available


Talking Billions with Bogumil Baranowski
Robert P. Miles: What 20 Berkshire CEOs Taught Him About Character, Inside the Temperament, the Moat, and the Culture that Keep Compounding

Talking Billions with Bogumil Baranowski

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 13, 2026 79:25


Find me on Substack, search for my name.Robert P. Miles is an author, educator, and the world's foremost authority on Berkshire Hathaway's management culture. Robert has written three bestselling books on Warren Buffett, created the only graduate MBA course dedicated to Buffett's philosophies, and founded the Value Investor Conference in Omaha. His journey from an entrepreneur to a globally recognized Buffett scholar began with a single Berkshire annual meeting in 1996 — and Warren Buffett himself has been paying attention ever since.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/Notes:3:00 – Bob Miles is introduced as the world's foremost Berkshire Hathaway culture scholar, author of three (now four) bestselling Buffett books and creator of the only graduate MBA course on Buffett's philosophies.5:30 – His path began with Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich and a failed high school "movie day" venture. The lesson that stuck: "you got to understand what business you're in."7:23 – His first 1996 annual meeting: Buffett tells a small shareholder, "between you and I we own half the company," and calls Wall Street "the legal pickpocket of the average investor."14:24 – The Dairy Queen story: a self-published "101 Reasons to Own Berkshire Hathaway," a line around the block, and Buffett walking through the door — leading to a two-book deal with Wiley.31:18 – On concentration: Buffett put 65% of his $20,000 net worth into Geico at 19, tied to his "star player" basketball analogy for conviction investing.36:41 – The three unchanging lessons of The Intelligent Investor — stocks are businesses, your partner is a manic-depressive Mr. Market, and margin of safety — because "principles are principles because they don't change."42:59 – A contrarian aside: private equity "has done more harm than good," with the Berkshire system as its inversion.53:43 – On Berkshire's real edge: "I see the moat as cash," the roughly $400 billion war chest that lets Ajit Jain write insurance the day after disasters strike.1:08:58 – On character over credentials: concentrating on admirable traits "there's no cost," regardless of background.1:10:34 – Miles' definition of success: stay humble enough to be taught, and "go to bed a little bit smarter" every day.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.

Running With Wolves
You're Paying for Content to Go Out — Not Content Built to Sell. Here's the Difference.

Running With Wolves

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 13, 2026 26:02


Content going out and content built to make someone buy are two completely different things. Two completely different strategies, two completely different skill sets and two completely different intentions. And most founders — and most agencies — only know how to do one of them. In this episode of Running With Wolves, Savannah breaks down a full client case study that proves exactly why. Her client had a 4 to 5K per month agency, beautiful consistent content and zero new clients to show for it. One week after implementing Savannah's strategy she made 60K in 24 hours — with no agency, less content and less money spent. Here's what this episode covers: • Why virality doesn't matter — one client had 2,000 views and made 200K, another had 200,000 views and couldn't make 2K • The three questions to ask your marketing team right now to find out if they actually know what they're doing • Why the selling is the last thing you should ever delegate — and most founders delegate it first • The old model vs the new model — and the single KPI shift that exposes every weak piece of marketing you're running Apply to work with Savannah HERE: http://bit.ly/applywlfpodcast or DM her on Instagram @itssavannahjordan ( / itssavannahjordan ) with your takeaway. content that sells, marketing strategy 2026, marketing agency mistake, client case study, organic marketing, female founder, sales strategy, 60K in 24 hours

Search Engine Nerds
Where the Clicks Go Now.

Search Engine Nerds

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 13, 2026 22:12


Clicks are down across the open web, but the traffic didn't disappear. It moved. Join Katie Morton (SEJ's editor in chief) and Matt Southern (senior news writer) for the RETURN of the SEJ PODCAST

Chris Cotton Weekly Blitz
Build a Business Worth Owning... and Worth Buying [E265]

Chris Cotton Weekly Blitz

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 13, 2026 9:13


Build a Business Worth Owning... and Worth BuyingWhat is your business actually worth?If you don't know the answer, you're not alone—but it's one of the most important questions every shop owner should be asking.In this episode of The Weekly Blitz, Coach Chris Cotton introduces AutoFix Coaching's new Coaching to Valuation philosophy. Instead of focusing only on monthly KPIs, this approach starts by understanding your current business value and building a customized coaching roadmap that increases enterprise value over time.Whether you plan to sell your shop someday or keep it for the next generation, every leadership decision should make your business stronger, healthier, and more valuable.In This EpisodeWhy valuation matters—even if you never plan to sellThe difference between building income and building enterprise valueIntroducing AutoFix Coaching's Coaching to Valuation philosophyWhy every KPI should connect to business valueThe importance of income statements and balance sheetsHow a customized coaching roadmap helps build a stronger businessThe Weekly Blitz is brought to you by our friends over at Shop Marketing Pros. If you want to take your shop to the next level, you need great marketing. Shop Marketing Pros does top-tier marketing for top-tier shops.Click here to learn more about Top Tier Marketing by Shop Marketing Pros and schedule a demo: https://shopmarketingpros.com/chris/Check out their podcast here: https://autorepairmarketing.captivate.fm/If you would like to join their private Facebook Group, go here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/autorepairmarketingmastermindConnect with Chris:AutoFix-Auto Shop Coachingwww.autoshopcoaching.comwww.aftermarketradionetwork.com 940-400-1008Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AutoFixAutoShopCoachingYouTube: https://bit.ly/3ClX0aeEmail Chris: chris@autofixsos.comThe Automotive Repair Podcast Network: https://automotiverepairpodcastnetwork.com/Remarkable Results Radio Podcast with Carm Capriotto: Advancing the Aftermarket by Facilitating Wisdom Through Story Telling and Open DiscussionDiagnosing the Aftermarket A to Z with Matt Fanslow: From Diagnostics to Metallica and Mental Health, Matt Fanslow is Lifting the Hood on Life.The Auto Repair Marketing Podcast with Kim and Brian Walker: Marketing Experts Brian & Kim Walker Work with Shop Owners to Take it to the Next Level.The Weekly Blitz with Chris Cotton: Weekly Inspiration with Business Coach Chris Cotton from AutoFix - Auto Shop Coaching.Business by the Numbers with Hunt Demarest: Understand the Numbers of Your Business with CPA Hunt Demarest.Speak Up! Effective Communication with Craig O'Neill: Develop Interpersonal and Professional Communication Skills when Speaking to Audiences of Any Size.

Getting Granular
The Click Brief Podcast: June 2026

Getting Granular

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 13, 2026 42:21


Jeremy Packee and Emily Anderson break down June's biggest paid media updates, including Google's AI Max delay, new Smart Bidding controls, OpenAI's expanding advertising platform, and Meta's latest AI creative tools. They also discuss Reddit's growing role in product discovery, new Google Analytics reporting features, and what these changes mean for advertisers navigating an increasingly AI-driven landscape. As always, the conversation focuses on separating platform hype from practical strategies marketers can apply today. Episode Highlights Biggest Relief Google delayed the automatic migration from Dynamic Search Ads to AI Max until February 2027, giving advertisers more time to test AI Max before the transition becomes mandatory. Most Significant Change Google's Smart Bidding updates will optimize more aggressively toward target CPA and target ROAS goals for budget-limited campaigns, potentially changing how advertisers approach bidding strategies. Platform to Watch OpenAI continues expanding its Ads Manager with product feed campaigns, signaling that ChatGPT is becoming an increasingly viable advertising channel for e-commerce brands. Creative Reality Check Meta introduced new AI-powered creative tools and brand memory features, but advertisers should continue reviewing AI-generated assets carefully before publishing. Reporting Win Google Analytics introduced cleaner source grouping and additional reporting integrations, making attribution and campaign analysis easier to manage. Other Platform Updates • AI Max remains the default option for new Google Search campaigns • Google expanded Smart Bidding Exploration and introduced Promotion Mode for seasonal campaigns • Reddit launched new community-powered shopping ads and AI-assisted ad creation tools • Google added attributed brand searches and Shorts engagement metrics for YouTube campaigns • Microsoft introduced Product Explorer within Merchant Center • Google is testing a "Strongest Match" label on search ads • Google Analytics now integrates directly with Google Business Profiles • Amazon introduced Sponsored Brands Gallery for richer branded shopping experiences • Triple Whale added AI visibility reporting for e-commerce brands Final Take June's updates reinforce a trend we've been watching all year: AI is becoming the default across nearly every advertising platform. While these new tools offer more automation and efficiency, advertisers still need strong measurement, clean data, and human oversight to ensure AI is driving real business results—not just platform metrics. Follow The Click Brief for fast, no-fluff performance marketing updates. Visit The Click Brief blog for more in-depth analysis and updates from June

Remarkable Results Radio Podcast
Maximizing Profit Through Effective Labor Rate Strategy [THA 493]

Remarkable Results Radio Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 10, 2026 39:30


Thanks to our Partners, NAPA TRACS, Today's Class, KUKUI, and Pit Crew Loyalty Watch Full Video Episode Your posted labor rate may not be the labor rate you're actually collecting, and that gap could be costing your shop thousands of dollars every month. In this episode, Carm Capriotto is joined by Andy Adams, a shop owner and business coach, and Rob Sperring, a service manager, to explain why the Effective Labor Rate (ELR) is one of the most overlooked yet impactful performance metrics in the auto repair industry. They break down why ELR falls short, how it affects profitability, and the practical steps every shop owner can take to close the gap. What You'll Learn What Effective Labor Rate (ELR) is and why it matters more than your posted door rate.Why healthy shops should collect at least 90 percent of their posted labor rate.How unbilled diagnostic time, underpriced canned jobs, and complimentary inspections reduce profitability.Why excessive discounting, even with good intentions, can quietly erode your bottom line.How shifting consumer buying habits make labor profitability more important than ever.Why improving ELR creates opportunities to increase technician compensation and strengthen your business.How auditing repair orders can uncover missed labor opportunities and unnecessary discounts.Why updating your labor matrix and canned jobs can immediately improve financial performance.How sharing KPI's (key performance indicators) with your team builds ownership and accountability throughout the shop. Effective Labor Rate is more than a financial matrix; it's a direct measure of how well your shop captures the value of the work it performs. By understanding where labor revenue is being lost and making intentional operational improvements, shop owners can increase profitability, invest in their teams, and build a stronger, more sustainable business. Rob Sperring, Grand Rapids Motorcar, Grand Rapids, MI Andy Adams, Adams Garage, Terre Haute, IN. Coach at Repair Shop of Tomorrow Thanks to our Partner, NAPA TRACS NAPA TRACS will move your shop into the SMS fast lane with onsite training and six days a week of support and local representation. Find NAPA TRACS on the Web at http://napatracs.com/ Thanks to our Partner, Today's Class Optimize training with Today's Class: In just 5 minutes daily, boost knowledge retention and improve team performance. Find Today's Class on the web at https://www.todaysclass.com/ Thanks to our Partner, KUKUI Stop juggling multiple marketing tools. KUKUI's integrated platform delivers 4x better website conversions, automated follow-up, and real-time ROI tracking. Get industry-leading customer support with KUKUI at https://www.kukui.com/ Thanks to our Partner, Pit Crew Loyalty You're probably tired of chasing new customers who never return. We understand. Pit Crew Loyalty ends the one-and-done cycle, turning first visits into lasting, reliable revenue at https://www.pitcrewloyalty.com/ Connect with the Podcast: Visit the Website:https://remarkableresults.biz/Subscribe on YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/carmcapriottoFollow on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/RemarkableResultsRadioPodcast/Follow on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/carmcapriotto/Follow on Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/remarkableresultsradiopodcast/Join Our Virtual Toastmasters Club:https://remarkableresults.biz/toastmastersJoin Our Private Facebook Community:https://www.facebook.com/groups/1734687266778976Join our Insider List:https://remarkableresults.biz/insiderAll books mentioned on our podcasts:https://remarkableresults.biz/booksOur Classroom page for personal or team learning:https://remarkableresults.biz/classroomBuy Me a Coffee:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/carmSpecial episode collections:https://remarkableresults.biz/collections The Automotive Repair Podcast Network: https://automotiverepairpodcastnetwork.com/ Remarkable Results Radio Podcast with Carm Capriotto: Facilitating Wisdom Through Story Telling and Open Discussion. https://remarkableresults.biz/Diagnosing the Aftermarket A to Z:...

C-Speak: The Language of Executives
Hasbro plays to win:CEO Chris Cocks discusses balancing legacy brands while incorporating innovation into new games and toys

C-Speak: The Language of Executives

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 10, 2026 29:34


In this episode of C-Speak, Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks covers the company's 160-year history, its core businesses and the “Playing to Win” strategy focused on inspiring a lifetime of play. He highlights how Hasbro balances legacy with growth and details what the future looks like for the toy company.“Our core KPI is what we've termed ‘delight,' and it's the number of people that we've reached in the past year with a play experience and hopefully brought a smile to their face. Last year we estimate we delighted about 1.1 billion people,” Cocks says. Subscribe to C-Speak so you never miss an episode. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.

聽天下:天下雜誌Podcast
【微笑台灣Ep.181】「地方韌性」關我什麼事?誰為台灣鄉鎮儲備扛得住的能力

聽天下:天下雜誌Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 10, 2026 30:50


最近「韌性」一詞相當流行,但「地方韌性」是什麼?跟一般人又有什麼關係呢? 微笑台灣邁入25週年,今年提出「地方韌性」的概念,提醒鄉鎮預先做好準備,一旦遭遇突發性的衝擊或是長期壓力時,是否具備復原或轉型的能力?而台灣發展地方創生,應該產值優先,還是價值優先?有些行動賺不了大錢,卻有著重要的社會意義。 這一集微笑台灣編輯部將分享專題製作過程中的自我叩問,從鄉鎮中正在發生的動人故事,看見台灣真正的地方韌性。 【聽完這集你會知道】 03:46|直擊埔里長青村921災後重建的血淚史。村長如何走過被村民誤解的委屈,藉由召開村民大會建立互信,並透過發揮長輩的專長,找回高齡者的生活價值。 09:21|國立暨南大學成立「水沙連學院」讓研究對齊地方剛需;以及「水沙連醫療群」如何透過跨科轉診與銀髮健身,打造超越都會區的基層預防醫療網。 11:50|新竹芎林「三角下的寮」,一間飲料店光靠日常「便當會」凝聚回鄉登山客與老人,靠人際關係編織出最實際的鄰里支持系統。 14:04|屏東大成國小面臨廢校時,校長攜手雲門舞集與西班牙等國際藝術家,將藝術融入教育,甚至把社區巷弄變美術館,成功吸引外地學生逆勢增長破百人。 18:40|我是全村的希望:設計出包含「重感情、拼經濟、顧厝邊」等六大面向的村長治理遊戲,實踐地方政策的兩難抉擇。 26:00|呼籲公部門與企業打破「產值優先」的數字 KPI 迷思。那些帳面年產值不到百萬、卻厚實維繫了村莊老人家日常的微型創生團隊,才是地方韌性最應該被看見的長遠社會價值。 【本集金句】 「很多個個人的『不認命』疊加起來,不只是個人的韌性,而是可以變成一種集體的韌性。」 #微笑台灣 #地方韌性 #地方創生 #台灣鄉鎮 #我是全村的希望

Dental A Team w/ Kiera Dent and Dr. Mark Costes
#1,173: Three Lies and Three Truths About Growing Your Practice

Dental A Team w/ Kiera Dent and Dr. Mark Costes

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 8, 2026 16:43


Kiera shares the three most common pieces of bad advice out there when it comes to growing a practice. She encourages doctors not to keep applying new pieces of information to growth, but to understand how to filter the best pieces for your practice — and shares three truths to making this happen. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: Kiera Dent- Dental A Team (00:00) Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera. And today we're gonna talk about a couple of lies feel so harsh, but I think these are maybe some misnomers, some beliefs that a lot of dentists are told about growing a practice that aren't true. Or they could be true, but they don't have to be true. So again, like I don't want to say it's lies. I just think it might be a possibly wrong way to look at things if you want. And so I want to talk about some of those like what are the   like three biggest lies, if you will, with air codes around lies. Because I think about a lot of advice is given to you about how to grow a practice, but I don't think it's all true. I think that there's ways that we can look at it differently and get different outcomes. And I don't think people are trying to mislead. ⁓ but I just I feel like it's incomplete. And so I want you guys to recognize that growing your practice and evolving your practice isn't about following more advice or doing more things. I think it's actually about filtering like what is the best way to do it. And for me,   Lazy or efficient, take your pick. I prefer the term efficient. ⁓ let's just get you the most efficient way to grow your practice that keeps you sane, that doesn't burn you out. Because again, I'm about the yes success model. It's all about you, making sure you're living your absolute best life, followed by earnings and profitability and then systems, structure, and scale for you. We've got to have those in place for you. And so I'm really, really big on growing, not for growing sake, but to grow in the way that's best for you, which is why vision and you are the most number one important thing. So when you go through this, I just   I want you to realize like we don't have to stay stuck, we don't have to say overwhelmed, and we don't have to plateau. But there's ways that we can walk through the most common lies, if you will, that are talked about with growth. And then three truths that actually will drive real sustainable growth for you. So number one that I hear a lot is like you just need more new patients. Now, this can be true. Like I said, lies are with an air quote, and you don't always have to be doing marketing spend and you don't have to constantly be attracting people. And like to me, it's constant marketing spend.   Attracting instead of retaining and full hygiene with low case acceptance. Like that can be some of the things. And what's wrong with that is a lot of offices, like when they're telling me, Kiera, we're at like 90 new patients a month. I'm like, cool, you got a backdoor open problem. Like, if we just close that back door, you probably wouldn't need as many new patients, but your ego is screaming, I need more new patients. Or I've got just all these patients coming through, and that's again, we're not retaining them. Or our hygiene schedule is full, but like our doctor schedule is wide open. Well, we don't have great case acceptance. So to me,   Gotta have like great patients coming in, retaining them, and follow through. So growth actually comes better from conversion, not volume. You do need both, which is where I don't think it's a lie. Like you do need patients. We gotta have at least 30 new patients per doctor per month in a like a GP practice. Pediatrics usually run in like 75 to 90, depending upon the the location and what we're looking for. So, like more patients aren't gonna fix leaky systems. So another   Another one, like I said, I'm gonna go through them and they'll tell you like some solutions to fix it. Work harder and produce more, like outproduce your problems, add more days, work longer hours, do more dentistry personally. But like that's burnout. I just had a doctor and she's like, Kiera, we talked about production and I just can't do it. And I was like, Yes, because you're not supposed to do it. We're supposed to have goals. We're supposed to have the whole team. Like I I was with an office and their goal is like twenty-five thousand a day.   But the dentist isn't doing all that and they're out by like four o'clock and we're just scheduling better and we're making sure all the hygienists are up to goal and each doctor's up to goal. Like profit doesn't always follow production. I don't care what your top line is, I care what your bottom line is. So you have to like there is a zone where a lot of doctors work more, but they don't actually make more or they like take home the same. And to me, that's nonsense. Like I'd rather you scale it back and have a small practice than having this high, I don't know, ginormous one and not taking home profit. So   You've got to have, we've got to have efficiency, we gotta have systems, and we gotta make sure it's not all on hue. And then like let's talk about what growth and profit are that we actually wanna hit, not just a top line number. So I I'm really big on like you don't have to work harder and produce more. There's actually a way of how like what do we really need to produce? How do we actually build a schedule? How do we use the entire schedule? How do we use our morning huddles to win rather than just produce, produce, produce? Okay.   Another myth is hire more people and we'll fix it. Like just throw money at your problems through hiring people, through doing this, like this thing will help us. Like, let's add team members. I have an office and I think they've got like 10 people in the front office. I'm like, my gosh, that's psychotic. Like, but everyone feels overwhelmed and overworked. And I'm like, yeah, because no one has clear job descriptions. No one has an end-of-day checklist. No one has like ownership of it. We just keep piling more and more people on rather than like, all right, what's broken? What's a true system? Because I typically say,   Per doctor, I want one for an office team member, except for if there's only one, then I want two. But that's usually a pretty good ratio. Office managers are like debatable if they're there or not. So if you look at that, this is where, but like we overstaff, but we don't have clarity. We got payroll, but like our payroll sky high, but we saw the same issues. Payroll should be sitting at 30%. Like that should be where we're at. Even if you're like here, it's so expensive. I'm like, I know, but we also can't overpay. We can't have so many team members. There are ways that we could like.   You can outsource. There's so many things that we can do. And that's not for me to say we can't hire people. It is for me to say, like, we got to be smart business owners too. So a lot of times people don't fix broken systems. Confusion scales with headcount. Trust me, I used to have a team of five. Now I got a team of 25. It's crazy. It's very thrilling. So, like, you can add more and more people, but if we don't have systems and processes and like,   clear job descriptions, you're just gonna create more chaos and you think you're gonna fix it, but you just add more, then you're stressed because your cash flow is less. It doesn't fix. You got have structure before you have growth. So people don't fix systems, systems support people. So a couple of now like truths. Okay. So we had like lies. All right. Number one, like I said, you just need more new patients. Number two is work harder and produce more. And number three was hire more people. It'll fix it. Now like I said, hiring people might fix it. Producing more could fix it.   having more patients could fix it. But things that are really going to help are like set systems. Like I was in a practice and I'm like, okay, we just need to get a set schedule. Like I said, they're like, I'm exhausted. I was like, perfect. What is each provider's daily goal? What's their hourly goal? What's our hygiene goal? We need to make sure those are in place. So that way it's not just reliant on one doctor. Now we got to look at our case acceptance. Let's look at our patient flow and let's look at billing. Like to me, a lot of these things like if I just fix case acceptance, I don't actually need a ton more patients. If I just fix case acceptance, it's like why don't we actually   clothes the patients that are in our chair. Can we do same-day dentistry for them? Can we get referrals from them? So I'm having quality patients come through. We're diagnosing and we're accepting. Like, what if I just have those? Like those things in place will actually grow your practice. Having 30 new patients a month per doctor is going to grow your practice. Having reviews that tie to that, making sure our collections are at 98%. So many offices actually are profitable, but they're not collecting the money. So they feel broke.   But I'm like, that's actually a system that's going to grow you. So like let's just go after a few systems that are gonna truly grab scheduling, block scheduling. What are the provider goals? Let's hit that. Let's talk about that at Morning Huddle every single day. Let's look at our case acceptance. Our case acceptance, if you're at GP, like we're not doing huge cases, you should be at like a 70% acceptance. If we are at all on X, I'm usually at like 35 to 40. What's our case acceptance? What are we closing? Are we doing single dentistry? Like what are we diagnosing? Are we diagnosing three tens of what we're trying to produce? If not, I need to go fix my case acceptance.   That is my system to fix. That's going to actually grow my practice. That's gonna put money on my books. Billing, just collect the dang money. Like fix that. That's actually gonna grow your practice. That's gonna grow your profit. That's what's actually gonna grow you. Now, another thing that's actually gonna grow you is having strong, strong, strong profit. You've got to have profit. Like that's gonna grow you. I don't care what your top line is, you gotta know your profit.   So, what how do we figure that out? We're gonna look at our BAM. We're gonna figure out exactly what our practice needs to make, including paying you. And then we're gonna make sure that we have enough patients, we have enough case acceptance, we have enough providers, we can block schedule this to actually produce it. Then we gotta make sure we're collecting it. Because if not, we're not going to get it. You have to be profitable. We gotta look at efficiency. How many team members do we actually need to have? What are their job descriptions? Have clear job descriptions, a KPI per person of a number that's gonna drive the business forward. That's going to fix our practice.   You don't need more people. You don't need more production. You don't need more overhead. We need to make sure our overhead is correct, that we're adequately staffed, that we have the correct amount of production and procedure mixes. Some people just don't do enough dentistry. Like you don't diagnose enough. I need you not to diagnose a single crown filling. I need it to be a crown if it's really a crown. If we can't do this, like we might not need as many team members. Can we outsource and use a biller that's not an in-house? I don't know, but there's ways to get creative. You've got to look at it.   For me, it's non-negotiable. Your overhead needs to be at 50% or less. Doctor pay needs to be at 30%. Our profit margin needs to be at 20%. You've got to go look at it. We either need to cut costs, increase production, or increase collections. One of those three things is gonna make you there. You've got to get profitable. It's not like that's really going to grow you. And sometimes growth comes from contracting. Businesses are like breathing. It's gonna expand and it's gonna contract. Sometimes we're gonna be a bigger team.   Sometimes we're gonna be a smaller team. I've done this myself. I've grown too much and I've had to cut. And then we grow again and then we have to cut. It's not because I'm trying to be irresponsible. It's because I genuinely need to like the business didn't grow as much as we thought it would. We now have to contract. You have to be able to make those decisions. Now I hope that you are not like grow, contract, go contract. Like let's not be like adding and cutting team members on a consistent basis all the time. Like more stability. But really look, what are the job descriptions? What is the KPI? If I hire this other person.   How much more revenue are they going to put in? What are they going to do? I get it. We want to help our team. But I was in a team the other day and they had an outsource builder and this builder was asking for more hours. And they were like, no, this is what you agree to. This is how many hours we want. Let's see if we can actually like what needs to get done. They're under staff. They have a front office team member that's out on maternity leave. But for that team to recognize like more hours doesn't fix our problems. Like we need to be more efficient. How can we be more efficient? A lot of team members, when I go into offices, are not being fully utilized.   So before you go and say, like, we need more team, maybe we should look at their job descriptions, maybe look at our org chart. Let's look at what people are doing and what they should be doing and what they're capable of doing. And then let's see how we can like simplify things. What things can we like delegate out? What things can we hire out? What does that look like? Because if we can get those things put into place, do you realize how much happier every single person is? These are the things that actually grow a practice. Looking at your numbers, knowing your profit margins, having the systems in place that actually put money on your books, hygiene.   Let's talk about hygiene. Making your hygienists are doing three times their pay. That's going to grow your business. It's not like just pump new patients in. It's not pump production on the books. It's not these things like work harder. It's not that. It's genuinely right, people. Let's look at our numbers. Let's see. Now it's like okay, if I know the payroll should be at thirty percent, I now have the dollars allotted for that amount. How I spend those dollars is your decision. It's your discretion. I don't really care.   But you know the metric. So if you know the metric, you know most offices are able to accommodate this. You've got to figure out how for you you can accommodate this. Do I need to increase my production? Then can I look at my block schedule? Can I look at different ways? Can I look at my case acceptance? Can I look at my diagnosis? Do we have better handoffs amongst all of us? What little things are gonna be able to grow you and your practice? That's going to be like those things actually put money on your books. Those things actually move you forward. Like I said, they're not necessarily lies because you do need patience, you do need production, and you do need people.   But making sure that we're not pumping money into those areas or we're forcing those things to grow our business. There's a lot of ways that we'll actually grow your business with a lot of less effort. So look at your practice. And I want you just to say, like, okay, what is my payroll? What is my overhead? What is what is my bam, the barriers minimum of my business? What do I need to produce and collect in my practice? Let's start there. And if I'm like   Someone told me the other day that their payroll was 40%. I was like, okay, great. We have two choices. We can either produce more and collect more, or we can find where we're inefficient and what things we need to change. I don't care. You know the metric, you know it. And then you have a choice. You can either do it or not. But this is what's going to grow your practices and grow your bottom line. And these are not as being cutthroat. These are industry standards across the board. If your hygiene team's not producing three times the pain, you're like, but I'm in California. I know I hear you. Practices are able to do it.   It's just like the four-minute mile. If someone else is able to do it, let's get creative and see how you can do it. I would recommend cutting the excuses and starting to look for truth, starting to look for how, what are the solutions. Kiera Dent is well known for a famous line of there's always a solution, let's find it. So I want you to really truly, what is the solution? What's really going to grow your practice? And if you're stuck, if you don't know, I'd love to cut through the noise for you. I feel like I play Mario. Like I see all the little, like, I don't know, glitterally.   Like, here's your gold star. Here's this thing. It's above your head. Like, my gosh, if they just increase their case acceptance and they fix their blocks and they knew their number, all the practice will grow. In my own business, I struggle with that. In your own business, it's hard to see it. So sometimes you need somebody who's got a bird's eye view, someone who's sitting above the noise, someone who's able to cut through that, someone who's able to say, these are the three systems we're going to put in place first. This is going to grow you exponentially. Let's get the business fundamentals for you. Let's actually grow your business for what you want, not just   So like playing like whack-a-mole and trying all these things that don't actually move you forward. So hopefully that was able to give you three lies and three truths, things that will actually move you forward. And like I said, they're not lies. They're just things that I feel a lot of people put effort and energy in trying to solve their problem rather than doing the work. It's like I want a six pack, but until I get on that freaking floor, I can do a lot of things. There's even things to help me lose weight now. But until I want that six pack, I gotta do the work to get there. So for you.   We gotta do the work that's actually gonna grow your practice, not just like create noise and make it feel like we're moving. ⁓ I love this quote. I don't remember who said it, but they said, Don't confuse progress with motion. A rocking horse has motion, but there's no progress. And I love thinking about that because when we think about it, that can be that can be something I think we feel. Like you are having   motion but it you're not progressing. And like they say, I think it says Alfred A Montagu. I think sorry if I said that wrong. I'm really sorry, but it says don't do not confuse motion and progress. A rocking horse keeps moving but does not make any progress. So for you, are the things that you're doing actually making progress or do they just feel like motion? Because we've got to make sure we're making progress. We're actually growing. We're not just doing motion. So reach out. I'd love to help you. And if this helped   Or you thought about it or spurred it, please share it with somebody. Leave us a review. I'd love you guys to take time to get more people, more offices, just like you to be part of our Dental A Team family. I adore you. You're doing better than you think you are, and I'm happy to help you in any way we possibly can. Reach out, Hello@TheDentalATeam.com. And as always, thanks for listening. I'll catch you next time on the Dental A Team Podcast.

The Digital Marketing Mentor
116: From Hours to Minutes: Google Ads SQRs on Autopilot with Claude Cowork

The Digital Marketing Mentor

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 8, 2026 16:24 Transcription Available


In this solo episode, Danny Gavin reveals how he automated his Google Ads Search Query Report process using Claude Cowork and Windsor.ai, eliminating the 3-4 hours per account it previously took to complete manually. The system pulls live metrics, merges them by keyword and ad group, and outputs a structured Excel file with an ad group summary, KPI-focused observations, and pre-populated negative keywords. It's a must-listen for those looking to systematize time-consuming account analyses and free up time to tackle other tasks. Episode Highlights:Search query reports are one of the highest-leverage tasks in Google Ads management, and doing this job manually can eat up three to four hours of work per account per cycle.Danny shares how he connected Claude Cowork to live Google Ads data through Windsor.ai and turned Optidge's entire SQR methodology into a repeatable automation.He shares what the six-tab Excel output actually contains, including auto-generated observations, pre-populated negatives, and an ad group summary that flags structural problems before anyone looks at individual search terms.The 80/20 split: See what Claude handles automatically versus where human judgment still makes the final call.This episode gives four practical lessons for building AI automations in an agency context, from documenting your process first to understanding why the ROI compounds over time.Episode Links: Digital Marketing Mentor PodcastDanny Gavin on LinkedInOptidgeClaude Cowork Windsor.ai Send us Fan MailFollow The Digital Marketing Mentor:Website and Blog: thedmmentor.comInstagram: @thedmmentorLinkedin: @thedmmentorYouTube: @thedmmentorInterested in Digital Marketing Services, Careers, or Courses? Check out more from the TDMM Family:Optidge.com - Full Service Digital Marketing Agency specializing in SEO, PPC, Paid Social, and Lead Generation efforts for established B2C and B2B businesses and organizations.ODEOacademy.com - Digital Marketing online education and course platform. ODEO gives you solid digital marketing knowledge to launch/boost your career or understand your business's digital marketing strategy.

Be It Till You See It
703. What Every Profitable Studio Owner Should Track

Be It Till You See It

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 7, 2026 56:39 Transcription Available


Plenty of Pilates studios look successful from the outside. The numbers tell a different story. In this episode, Lesley Logan sits down in person with Julian Barnes, co-founder and CEO of the BFS Network, the boutique fitness industry's market intelligence company behind the annual State of the Industry report. Julian brings the data from 500-plus studios across 46 states. Lesley brings the how. Together they break down the five numbers that separate a real business from an expensive hobby, and what it actually takes to keep clients for years instead of weeks. If you have any questions about this episode or want to get some of the resources we mentioned, head over to LesleyLogan.co/podcast https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/. If you have any comments or questions about the Be It pod shoot us a message at beit@lesleylogan.co mailto:beit@lesleylogan.co. And as always, if you're enjoying the show please share it with someone who you think would enjoy it as well. It is your continued support that will help us continue to help others. Thank you so much! Never miss another show by subscribing at LesleyLogan.co/subscribe https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/#follow-subscribe-free.In this episode you will learn about:The five KPIs that profitable studios track every month.Why referrals still beat social media for new leads.How to structure an intro offer that converts.The objection scripts that turn a maybe into a yes.Why holding clients accountable is what kills churn.Episode References/Links:BFS Network – bfsnetwork.comBFS Pilates Studio Benchmarks Report - BFSreport.com or BFSpilatesreport.comFacebook https://beitpod.com/thebfsnetwork https://www.facebook.com/thebfsnetwork?mibextid=wwXIfr&mibextid=wwXIfrSubmit your wins or questions - https://beitpod.com/questionsGuest Bio:Julian Barnes is Co-Founder and CEO of the BFS Network, the premier growth accelerator and market intelligence company in the beauty, fitness, and self-care industry. He leads BFS' CEO Network — the premier peer-to-peer leadership network for multi-location, multimillion-dollar operators who are building to scale — and serves as Managing Director of the Global Leadership Council, whose members collectively operate more than 10,000 locations worldwide. He also serves as an Outside Director for a global fitness brand. Barnes created NYU's Institute in Entrepreneurship & Small Business Management and served on the US Tennis Association's Investment Committee, which managed a $200M portfolio. He holds a BA from Tufts and a JD from UNC Chapel Hill.If you enjoyed this episode, make sure and give us a five star rating and leave us a review on iTunes, Podcast Addict, Podchaser or Castbox. https://lovethepodcast.com/BITYSIDEALS! DEALS! DEALS! DEALS! https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/memberships/perks/#equipmentCheck out all our Preferred Vendors & Special Deals from Clair Sparrow, Sensate, Lyfefuel BeeKeeper's Naturals, Sauna Space, HigherDose, AG1 and ToeSox https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/memberships/perks/#equipmentBe in the know with all the workshops at OPC https://workshops.onlinepilatesclasses.com/lp-workshop-waitlistBe It Till You See It Podcast Survey https://pod.lesleylogan.co/be-it-podcasts-surveyBe a part of Lesley's Pilates Mentorship https://lesleylogan.co/elevate/FREE Ditching Busy Webinar https://ditchingbusy.com/Resources:Watch the Be It Till You See It podcast on YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq08HES7xLMvVa3Fy5DR8-gLesley Logan website https://lesleylogan.co/Be It Till You See It Podcast https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjogqXLnfyhS5VlU4rdzlnQProfitable Pilates https://profitablepilates.com/about/Follow Us on Social Media:Instagram https://www.instagram.com/lesley.logan/The Be It Till You See It Podcast YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq08HES7xLMvVa3Fy5DR8-gFacebook https://www.facebook.com/llogan.pilatesLinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/lesley-logan/The OPC YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@OnlinePilatesClasses Episode Transcript:Julian Barnes 0:00  You have to be confident enough, both in your own abilities and that the universe will provide for you the right way. You have to be confident enough to say no to the wrong person, so you keep space open for the right person, as you said, and you have to be confident that the universe is going to bring that right person to you.Lesley Logan 0:24  Welcome to the Be It Till You See It podcast where we talk about taking messy action, knowing that perfect is boring. I'm Lesley Logan, Pilates instructor and fitness business coach. I've trained thousands of people around the world and the number one thing I see stopping people from achieving anything is self-doubt. My friends, action brings clarity and it's the antidote to fear. Each week, my guest will bring bold, executable, intrinsic and targeted steps that you can use to put yourself first and Be It Till You See It. It's a practice, not a perfect. Let's get started. Lesley Logan 1:05  All right, Be It babe. This is really for my Pilates studio owners and teachers out there, people who want to open a Pilates studio. We are going to get deep in numbers, and you're hearing me talk a lot about my thoughts about the Pilates industry and how you are going to have a profitable Pilates business. So it's kind of fun. If you've never heard me talk Pilates business, and you want to hear my thoughts, you can. For those of you who are Profitable Pilates members, you're going to hear some of my favorite things to say, and I think you're going to be really impressed with how amazing your studios are doing compared to others. But also, I think it's really important to know what the stats are. What is going on in the Pilates history? It is changing. There are a lot of studios, but are these studios actually as successful as they look? Lesley Logan 1:28  So, I think this report is really fun. If you watch it on YouTube, you're gonna see the visuals of these numbers. If you're like me and need to see them, you can watch it there. We'll also have everything in the show notes and in the blog as well. You guys are awesome. Here is Julian from the BFS Network. Lesley Logan 1:43  All right, loves, this is gonna be fun. You guys get to hear me in my own element, probably a little more behind the scenes of what we do with other businesses, but we have an incredible guest here. We'll talk a lot of numbers, so if you're a visual person, you might want to watch this on our YouTube channel. Julian from the BFS Network, you are here. Hello, tell everyone who you are and what you rock at, because they're going to want to know.Julian Barnes 2:18  Lesley, I am here in your home studio in Las Vegas. This is not Zoom. This is.. I could touch your high five. Here we go. There we go. Awesome. Hello, everyone. My name is Julian Barnes. I am the co-founder and CEO of the BFS Network. I am based in New York City, here in Vegas to hang out with my good friend Lesley and Brad. We are the BFS Network. For today's conversation, the most important thing I'm going to share is we are known as the premier market intelligence company in the boutique fitness industry. We publish the State of the Industry report, which is the annual report, which is the most comprehensive report in our industry. A lot of data, a lot of KPIs, a lot of metrics, all focused on showing what profitable studios do. So I'm here today with Lesley, and I'm going to share some of the numbers, and she's going to tell us how to achieve those numbers.Lesley Logan 3:13  Yeah, I'm excited. Let's go, let's do it. I'm a visual person, so I'm glad you got a visual for us.Julian Barnes 3:18  So the first thing I want to just talk about is who participated in the survey. In addition to the Profitable Pilates community, this survey has been conducted over the last 18 months, 500-plus studios worldwide. Most importantly, it is the overwhelming majority, 89% of the studios that participated in the survey have three or fewer locations, and most of them have one location, individually owned, self-financed, no private equity, no investor. So we're talking about just the regular studio owner who bootstrapped and saved, and maybe borrowed from the bank to open, that's who's in here. There's no Solidcore in here, there's no Barry's, there's no SoulCycle. And if there are some independent Club Pilates franchisees, they're individually owned, they're not big corporate, so that's.Lesley Logan 4:17  Not one of those people who owns 75 or 100 sharing. Yeah, yeah.Julian Barnes 4:21  Exactly. All right, so that's who's in it. Also, there's broad geographical distribution of the survey, meaning 45% of the responses came from cities with a population of half a million or more, 45% came from cities 50,000 to half a million, another 10% are rural areas less than 50,000, 46 out of 50 states, so we have geographic representation, we have market size representation, one, two, and three locations, no PE, no investors, so we're talking about the average mom-and-pop small studio everywhere in this country.Lesley Logan 4:57  Okay, you know I'm gonna want to have dinner where the four states are, so we got a find studio close to. Julian Barnes 5:01  It's like three S's. No, three N's. So it's North Dakota, Nebraska, and I forget the other two.Lesley Logan 5:08  Okay, I have a really great city for you, Nebraska solo owner, really pretty incredible, open for over 20 years. Julian Barnes 5:13  That's what we need. Okay. So that's who we're talking about. The way we're going to rock today is talk about the BFS scorecard, which is six KPIs. I'm going to share with the listeners, all of you, the six KPIs that profitable studios track, and I'm going to tell you what those KPIs are. And then we're going to come back, and I'm going to ask Lesley how and what a studio should do to achieve those KPIs. So, I am the "what" today; Lesley is going to be the "how."Lesley Logan 5:49  Yeah. So, for those of you, this is how it was explained to me, and I think this is a lot of fun for my peeps to listen. He's gonna be that Steve Kornacki at the big board, and I'm gonna come in as Rachel Maddow or Chris Hayes. I mean, obviously I watch a news channel, so there we go. So I'm gonna come in with my opinion and my punditry.Julian Barnes 6:07  You don't have blonde hair, so you're not that other channel.Lesley Logan 6:09  I'm not. Also, these are still my cheeks, my lips, my eyes.Julian Barnes 6:18  All real, keeping it real. Okay, so KPI number one is number of leads per month, and Profitable Pilates studios generally are generating somewhere between 10 to 50 leads per month. The number one response is more than 50 leads, so 30% of the respondents generated more than 50 leads, and then the tie for second was less than 10 leads per month and 10 to 25. Less than 10 was 20%, 10 to 25 is 21%, so that's basically a tie. I don't know for sure, but if I had to guess, the studios that are generating more than 50 leads a month are probably mat Pilates with larger class sizes, and yeah, they need more leads.Lesley Logan 7:09  I think anytime you need more leads, it's probably better having more class-based classes. Yeah.Julian Barnes 7:13  Exactly. And so the studios with less than 10 or 10 to 25 are probably more of the Reformer.Lesley Logan 7:19  Yeah.Julian Barnes 7:19  So number of leads per month is the first metric to track. I'm going to run through these quickly, and then we're going to come back. Okay, so the first KPI is number of leads per month, and the highest response was more than 50 leads per month. 30% of the Profitable Pilates studios that we surveyed generate more than 50 leads per month, and I would imagine that the majority of those are Pilates mat classes, where they have more people in seats and bigger studios, and they need to fill classes. Tied for second was less than 10 leads per month and 10 to 25 leads per month, and that is between 20 and 21% of the people who completed this assessment selected less than 10 and 10 to 25. So number of leads per month is the first KPI that we're going to talk about. Second KPI is the conversion rate, and let's see if I can do this, because I'm not an idiot, is what I told you, right?Lesley Logan 8:19  You're doing great. So there we go.Julian Barnes 8:22  Conversion rate of leads to first-time visitors. I can't wait for Lesley to break this down, but it's one thing for someone to email you, to DM you, to IM you to say, "I'm interested, send me more information about your studio." It's another thing for that person to actually walk in the door, and so conversion rate of lead to first-time visitor, Profitable Pilates studios are converting at more than 30%. 54% of the Profitable Pilates studios are converting at more than 30%. So think about that: for every 10 leads, the best studios are getting three of those 10 emails to walk in the door, right? So, conversion rate of leads to first-time visitors. Now they came, they took a class, they bought the intro offer. The question is, what percentage of those people made a second, bigger purchase? They already purchased the intro offer. I like to think about it like this: you go to a restaurant the first time and you have a nice meal. My question is always, am I going to come back? And especially if you bring a friend with you, maybe it's your favorite restaurant, and you bring a friend with you to your favorite restaurant, and you pay for the dinner. The question for your friend is, did you enjoy your dinner, and did you enjoy your dinner enough that you would come back and pay for it? That second purchase, same thing applies with studios, so they bought the intro offer. Did they come back? And Profitable studios, 55% of Profitable Pilates studios convert to a second, bigger purchase more than 30% of the time. So see how small these numbers get: for every 10 leads, three walk in the door, and of those three that walk in the door, only one is making a next purchase. So Lesley's gonna break that down. She is chomping up the bits, waiting for me. Lesley Logan 10:13  I can't wait. Julian Barnes 10:13  All right, so those are the first three KPIs. Okay, so the last two KPIs we'll talk about are average member lifetime value, which is how long they stay, and so the largest category for Profitable Pilates studios, 28% of Profitable Pilates studios have a lifetime value greater than two years. The good news is, hence the name of Profitable Pilates, that 71% of the Profitable Pilates studios that completed this assessment have an LTV of more than two years, and that's really important. I'll let Lesley weigh in on why that's important, but the number is more than two years. You want to be an LTV more than two years. Julian Barnes 10:56  And finally, the last KPI we're going to talk about today is churn, and churn means how often your members leave and you have to go refill that spot. You can't grow if you're constantly replacing someone in your studio. So Profitable Pilates studios, 43% of profitable Pilates studios minimize churn to less than 5%, but here again, the Profitable Pilates community that Lesley runs, 71% of the people who completed this assessment have a churn less than 5%.Julian Barnes 11:31  So let's recap. The five KPIs are number of leads per month, converting those leads from lead to first visit, converting the first visit to a second purchase, assuming the first visit is an intro offer, second purchase, then how long do they stay, and do you retain them by minimizing churn? Those are the five KPIs. That's what Profitable studios do in the Pilates sector. Lesley, now tell the people.Lesley Logan 12:02  Oh my gosh.Julian Barnes 12:03  Tell the people, Lesley, what they're supposed to do to achieve these numbers. How do they get these number of leads per month?Lesley Logan 12:11  Okay, so here's a really great... I just want to say I'm really proud of the people who filled this out, because my goal has always been for the people we coach for the long term. I'm like, your business should get really boring, like it should get really predictable. My goal is that some of our people need one lead a month because they actually don't have room, and they're actually referring out to other businesses in the area. That obviously is more of a smaller studio that doesn't have large group classes, but that is the absolute goal, because it's better to be entertained in your life, your business should not be so entertaining. Lesley Logan 12:39  So what I would say is, for studios to have a really great conversion, if you don't know how many leads you're getting a month, that's important. You got to start there, and you want to know where they're coming from, because that really does help you understand where you're spending your time marketing. Everyone tries to sell you to the moon and back that you should be on social media. You might not need to be, depends on your community, right? Depends on how many people are there, and depends on how many leads you need. I know that sounds crazy in 2026 that I would tell someone that it's not about social media, but it's not, more and more people are not necessarily trusting what they're seeing on socials because of AI and things like that. So, you really want to have an amazing network of clients who love you, who refer people out, so you're getting strong, solid leads, because those are gonna be the ones that actually come in over just reaching out to see what's going on.Julian Barnes 13:22  You just said something I want to jump on. I didn't mention it, but we also asked studio owners what was their most effective lead gen tactic. You want to guess what that answer is, Lesley?Lesley Logan 13:33  Referral.Julian Barnes 13:34  By far, in every modality.Lesley Logan 13:39  Yes. And here's what people.Julian Barnes 13:40  It's two to one, like it wasn't close. And again, these are profit, not just Pilates, all modalities. The number one lead gen tactic is referrals. So when you said people don't trust what's on the social and socials, what do people trust?Lesley Logan 13:56  They trust their friends.Julian Barnes 13:57  They trust people they know, people who they know, like, and trust.Lesley Logan 14:00  So here's the thing: if you are a new business right now, or you need people right now, if you're spending all of your time marketing yourself through stuff online and buying ads, that's one way to do it. And you will get people. I'm not saying that doesn't work, but you will get more people quicker if you actually tell the people who know, like, and trust you, whether they're clients or not, "Here's what my studio does, here's who we help, here's how we help them. Who do you know?" If you say, "Who do you know?" it opens a loop. You open a loop, people aren't likely to say, "I don't know anyone," because they'd have to think about that. But if you say, "Who do you know?" it opens this loop, and they start being aware of it. And if their friend's like, "Oh, my shoulder hurts," they go, "Oh, I just heard about the studio down the street." People will refer you people, and those are the people who actually come in, more likely than not, than someone who's just cruising the internet and filling out the contact form. Whoever fills out the contact form, honestly, it's whoever gets to them first and doesn't bug them.Julian Barnes 14:49  Let's take the people behind the scenes for a second. Before this call, we were chilling out in your backyard, and is it safe to say that we have some fundamental disagreements about how studios actually operate some things, right?Lesley Logan 15:27  I think that's okay, though.Julian Barnes 15:36  I wanted them to know that the things you and I agree on are the most important fundamental aspects of running a business. The things we disagree on, I say they're on the fringe, they're just a matter of choice. But this, having referrals, know, like, and trust that, it is tested over time.Lesley Logan 15:26  Yeah, I mean, it's so true. And also, it just makes it a lot easier on you if you need clients today. You opened the studio recently, or you hired a new teacher, or you opened some new classes, you need people to fill those seats today, you will always have a faster rate of transitioning them into clients if you're going to your community and the people who trust you, because they will talk about you, they will have a trust transference. If you are waiting for people to fill out your contact form, then it's like, well, they wanted you at 11:00 PM last night while they were watching someone on some TV show doing what they thought was Pilates, so they reached out, but now it's 8:00 AM or 9:00 AM in the morning and they're at work. Then it's like, "Well, I'm too busy this weekend," so you got to get people when they're excited. Lesley Logan 16:07  If you have a 30% conversion rate from the lead into coming in, that's great. I actually don't think that that's a terrible... I think if you have higher than that, you are doing great, but if you have lower than that, that's where I have concern. I feel like 30% feels very fair. Where I want you to really look at is from that, when they come in, if you have a lower than 30% conversion rate, you really do have an issue, because the numbers just get so small, and you're actually just wasting a lot of time. You're working really hard. And so I think this is where you, as an owner, need to look at what your onboarding experience is. How are you setting people up? Are you getting them with the right teacher? Are you the only person who's teaching them? Then it really is on you, what's going on?Lesley Logan 16:47  And this is where I think a lot of people make mistakes, because they try to sell Pilates, or whatever the modality is. People actually don't want to buy process; they want to buy the transformation, they want to buy the passion from you. And so this is where, if you're a studio owner and you're not the one who's doing these intro offers, they're going into a class, or they're going into another teacher's experience. You need someone who's got passion and actually can read the person, because you have to take what their goal is and what you offer and show how they get there. Nobody wants to hear, "Oh, you're going to buy the four-session-a-week package," because that's, no, that's a process. They want to buy in on the belief that you have that you can get them to where they want to go.Julian Barnes 17:24  You just said the magic word, and I don't know if people really heard you or want to go back. You said they want to buy the what, starting with the letter T?Lesley Logan 17:34  Oh, the transformation.Julian Barnes 17:35  Say that again.Lesley Logan 17:36  The transformation. They want the transformation, they want the end result.Julian Barnes 17:38  I like to say that there is no transformation without the transaction. There is no transformation without the transaction. So you have to ask the question, why are you here, and you have to actively listen to what they say, and then be prescriptive in your answer to the question. Okay, so you want X, Y, or Z. Great. Here's how you're going to get that: two times a week, three times a week. You're going to take this class, that class, this class, etc. You're going to give them a prescription, just like a doctor would give you a prescription, and tell them when they ask what does it cost, you reframe it. The investment for you to achieve your desired goal is going to be one of time and money. The time is twice a week or three times a week, and the monthly investment for that is going to be X.Lesley Logan 18:29  I agree so much, because if you can actually get them to understand that this is a tool to the transformation, and they can make that transaction, and you break it down, you can also be honest with them, and this is where trust is really built. Some people are going to come to you with goals that are not in alignment with what you do. If you actually tell them... for example, in Pilates in LA, every single person wants to lose five pounds, and it's like, "Well, here's what we know about science. Science would say, if you want to lose weight, it's a few different factors, and any fitness is part of the journey, but it's not the tool." The actual tool, especially if you're serving women, is: what are your hormones like? What are you eating? And then you can go from there. But if all you do is work out to lose weight, you might lose a couple pounds, you might change the metabolism you've got, but it's actually not going to get you to the goal. Lesley Logan 19:20  And so this is where it's really cool for people, and this is what I coach people on their first-time sessions, is find out what they're there for, and then tell them you can or can't help them. So I would always say, "Here's how Pilates is going to be part of your journey, here's what we can't do, but here's what we can do." First of all, most people are lied to so much, or sold a bunch of smoke and mirrors, that they actually will like that you told them that. They might not buy from you, they might go to someone else, or they might try something else and come back, because they actually believe and trust you. I really do believe in being authentic here. And then when you're teaching the sessions, you need to actually tell them, "Here's why I've chosen this exercise for you, here's why this exercise is going to hit your goals." That's what people don't do, they just keep talking about Pilates this, Pilates that. Pilates is now on every corner, so maybe that worked in the 1990s or might have worked in the early 2000s, but it doesn't work today. You actually have to say, "With my eye, I'm seeing your shoulder is doing this, and you have back pain, and so what I'm seeing is because of this imbalance, you're gonna have back pain until we get this balanced. So, here's these three exercises we're going to do, and they're going to help you with this." You have to actually tell them, take them behind the scenes. I like to say that their first sessions, their intro sessions, are like going to a buffet. They get to see all the different options, and you're going to talk about all the different options, and then you're going to prescribe them, like Julian said, like, "Hey, okay." First of all, I never say, "Did you like that?" You got to just go with confidence. You're like, "Thank you for letting me teach you," because that gives gratitude, it lets them know the session's over, and then you go into, "You said you wanted this. Here's how we're going to get there. Here's the process." Julian Barnes 19:20  Here's the roadmap.Lesley Logan 19:20  Yes. And then if they're like, "Whoa, that's too much for me." If you go through all the investment and all the time, and they're like, "That's more than I can spend right now," you can say, "I understand. We can take a little longer; instead of coming three times a week, we can do two times a week, or we can do this and this," but you have to actually help them find a way. I get it, some people don't work out, so that's not even the money, it's the actual going from zero times at the gym to coming three times. You're asking a lot, so this is where you have to be honest, and this is where I think our industry really needs a little kick in the pants, and a nice one. People that are with me a long time have heard me say this: if you aren't going to hold people accountable to their goals, you're going to become a to-do that they move around all the time.Julian Barnes 21:28  1,000%. And remember, they came to you. You didn't go find them.Lesley Logan 21:34  Yeah.Julian Barnes 21:35  Even if you did, even if you went to the local farmers market, you didn't force them to give you their email. Lesley Logan 21:40  Yeah.Julian Barnes 21:40  They gave you their email. They walked into the door. You have to ask them why they walked in, and you have to actually listen, so you can connect what they said with what you're going to say. You know what you're going to say, you know what your packages are. The question is, can you connect your packages to the goal they told you they want to achieve? It is not about giving permission, you are the person in the position of authority.Lesley Logan 22:09  Well, that's the thing. You just said you are the person in the position of authority, and that's where people don't see themselves.Julian Barnes 22:15  Retain your power.Lesley Logan 22:16  And so when people come to us, I have to constantly remind them that you're so worthy. If you have people who are late canceling and you're not charging them, I promise you, you're losing that client. That's not a client you want, by the way, but it's also you're losing that client because when push comes to shove. Julian Barnes 22:31  They're not committed. Lesley Logan 22:33  Right. When their budget has an issue, when something comes up, they're like, "Oh, I'm going to cancel my Pilates," because they're not actually seeing results, because you didn't hold them accountable to get results. I think this is where people really have to actually remember there is such a thing as you being in relation to them, and there is a camaraderie, but you're also the expert. They came to you, and the only way that they can exchange the energy is to pay you that worth, but you have to hold them accountable so that they get those results. And when you get them the results, that's why you don't have churn, that's why your churn is so low, and that's why you'll have clients for life. And by the way.Julian Barnes 23:05  We're gonna come back to that. Lesley Logan 23:05  Okay I just want to say, I think a lot of people go, "Oh, this person came to me, I hope they like me." You can't be like that if you want a business that actually works and doesn't stress you out at the end of the day. You have to actually have the authority, because you are the expert. They don't know.Julian Barnes 23:21  You have to be a little bit like Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs said you don't ask the customer what they want; you tell the customer what they need. None of us raised our hand and said we want a phone, remember the Blackberries and the Treos, and we want a contact management thing, we want to surf the web. No one said, "I want that." He presented it to us and said, "Here, isn't this cool?"Lesley Logan 23:45  Yeah, right. I think that's where, I understand some people's first-time sessions are in a group class. I would argue that that's a harder way to sell things. I would absolutely say, if you are a class-based studio and you want to have clients for life, you should have some sort of onboarding that allows them to be either on their own or in a very small group of other people who are also on an intro, so that you can actually find out why they're there and actually tell them how these exercises on whatever equipment you're teaching them actually help them reach their goal. Because if you just put them in a class with a bunch of other people, first of all, they get lost, and the experienced people get annoyed if the teacher keeps teaching to the newbie. You're going to lose people; they're going to start going, "I'm not getting challenged here, I'm going to this studio over here." So, I really do believe in an onboarding journey. And, of course, people are going to say, "Oh, this studio over here will let me in." Great, you should go to that studio that doesn't have any worries about you getting hurt and doesn't want your sessions to be personalized. No problem. I understand you want to get started. I actually believe in villainizing a little bit of the thing that you are not doing, so that you can actually tell people, "Here's why you wanted to work with me. Here's why you want to trust me, because I actually care about why you're here, and you're not just a number on my Reformer, you're actually a person whose impact I want. I want you to have the transformation you wanted." But I also think when they're in that first session, whatever it is, a week or a session, I really do think if you don't tell them what you're seeing in their body that's keeping them from the goal they want to have, you are missing out on an opportunity for them to understand how smart you are and how much of an expert you are. If you tell me that you want to have better posture and I'm seeing that your hip is up to one side, you have to tell people, "Oh, I noticed this, no wonder your posture is having problems. So here we're going to do these exercises." I always said this, but I think it's really where people miss out. This is where teachers keep it to themselves and they actually don't tell the client what they're seeing; they just pick exercises, but the person doesn't know why you're picking that. So, you have to peel back the curtain, so that they can see that you're in there with them, you're a partner in this journey, and you're gonna hold them accountable to hitting the goals they want, and then when they hit those, you're gonna set new ones.Julian Barnes 25:40  Right. All right, so let's talk about KPI number three: percentage of new visitors who purchase a membership or a bigger package. So we're talking specifically about people who purchase the intro offer, they finish the one week or the two week or the one month, whatever the intro offer is, they finished that. Did they pull out their credit card and make a second purchase? What should studios do, owners, and instructors do to increase the probability of a yes?Lesley Logan 26:11  I love this question so much. I'm going to take us back a little bit. So I want to go back to the intro offer. You need to pick an intro offer that actually fits the goals you need. If you need a lot of clients, the intro offer needs to be very simple, very easy. I wouldn't even give people two weeks, I think that is crazy nonsense. I also don't like free; I think you have to charge. It's very hard to go from zero to whatever you're charging. So, I would say if you need clients yesterday, you're doing a single-session intro offer with a very much hands-on experience, where someone is told, you find out what they need in an interview style, and then a concierge style at the end about what's going on. That's what you need. If you don't need a ton of clients, then your intro offer can be a little longer, and can actually be a higher need to say yes, meaning instead of doing a private session and the intro offer is $60 for one session, it might be $180 for three. That obviously is going to get rejected more, because it's a bit more. "I don't know if I want to spend $180 on you, I just met you, I don't even know you." But you don't need a lot of people, so you're like, "I only want the best to come through," right? So you really want to make sure you're picking that. Now, obviously, the higher the intro offer's time and money commitment is, the more likely you're actually going to have a second purchase if they do it in a condensed form of time. That's why I disagree with two weeks or one month, I really do, especially for in-person. I think you want to keep things quick, because when that dopamine high is happening, that's when they're more likely to buy. If it's three sessions that they can take over three weeks, good luck, because they only felt the high in the moment when they drove their car home, they actually didn't get the benefits. But if it's three sessions in one week, you're more likely to get that second purchase. You want people to feel the benefits, because let's be really honest: Joe Pilates has a quote that everyone likes to use, but they don't finish the sentence. "In 10 Pilates sessions, you feel different. In 20 sessions, you look different. In 30 sessions, you have a whole new body." But they don't finish it: "If you come three to four times a week, or your money back." That's what Joe said, that's what his ad said. If you're just coming to Pilates once a week, it'd be like trying to study Spanish once a week. I can recognize words, but I'm not going to be able to understand Bad Bunny, that's not happening. I have to do it multiple times a week, and science is there, no matter the modality. Unless you're doing something three or four times a week, you're actually not making a change.Julian Barnes 26:58  Well, that's the key, right? Earlier you said you're here for the transformation. The first step, I would argue, in the transformation is transforming your daily routine. What you just said is people need to adopt a new routine that says, "I'm coming on Tuesday morning, Thursday after work, Saturday morning." I'm committed to that change. See, hear these terms: commitment, investment, transformation. They need to commit. You need to present them with a prescription. You are more likely to be successful if you present a prescription that gives them the opportunity to adopt a new routine from day one.Lesley Logan 28:10  Here's the thing: you will sound more confident when you're talking with them if you're making them rise up to the occasion. It is understanding their intake forms.Julian Barnes 29:12  You're leading them to rise to the occasion.Lesley Logan 29:18  Yes. Here's the thing: are you more likely to come to the person who says, "When do you want to come in?" If you're someone who's listening who says, "When do you want to come in? Do you want to come in next week?" I'm going to tell you right now, your business is a hobby, and eventually the IRS is going to audit you, so that's not going to be good for you. You're not gonna be profitable. If you're telling people, "Hey, you should come, you're gonna come two times a week. I have 10:00 AM on Tuesdays and Thursdays, does that work for you?" That is me telling you. You're going, "Hmm, does it work for me?" But you're not, you're more likely to look at your calendar like, "When do I want to come in? Oh, next week actually feels really full. Now I can't come in," right? You want to actually tell people and prescribe people and have the confidence in what you're doing, and this is where I think a lot of people have a lot of fear. "Oh my god, they'll think I'm being rude." No, they won't. They're going to think that you're in control. This is a business. It's a business. Lesley Logan 30:06  And also, I don't want to waste people's money, so you can even say that. Look, here's the deal: if you're only going to come once every other week, this is kind of a waste of money. You shouldn't really do this; you could probably do something at home on YouTube. If you really want the transformation, you have to commit to it, and the commitment looks like this. That's where I would say, whether you do memberships or packages, I don't like unlimited, because that is craziness, you also can't prescribe people the times to come in. "If you want to hit this goal in the next three months, I recommend our three-time-a-week commitment. If that's too much for you, there's a two-time..." You have these things that people can choose, a journey, a path. If you're only gonna have one time a week, here's the deal: you can never miss, and I'm gonna need you to do homework, because the reality is, one time a week, if that's all you can afford time or money-wise, I get that something is better than nothing, but you gotta do something at home. Otherwise, it is a waste of your time and money, and I don't wanna waste your money. And when you talk like that with people, they're like, "Oh, this person really knows what they're talking about." When you ask them, "When do you want to come in?" a broken clock is right two times a day. You're going to get some people, but those are the type-A people who happen to be near you or close to you, and they kind of like you. You're not going to have a business where it's easy to predict how much money you're going to make month after month.Julian Barnes 31:15  Would you say that transformation requires the three C's? You need to change your routine, you need to be consistent about the changes you're making in routine, and you have to be willing to get rid of your comfort zone, get out of your comfort zone. Very little change occurs when you're comfortable.Lesley Logan 31:37  Oh, you know what happens: if you don't change, the world does, and you just actually get further behind. So I do think that... I love all those three C's, and I think that's really helpful for people. Here's the thing, the objections you're going to get are three. There might be some other ones, but these are the three I've heard teaching for a really long time, and I used to run nine studios for a high-end fitness company, so I have heard them all, which are: "I don't have the money." Guess what, everyone says that when they actually don't really want to tell you why they can't do it, or they didn't like it. It's an easier thing. You're not going to go show me your wallet, right? So, "I don't have the money," and "I don't have the time." This is one for people who want change, but they're afraid of leaving their comfort zone. So, this is where you actually have to have a speech ready in hand. "I get that. I'm a very busy person. Here's what we're going to do: we are going to pre-schedule your sessions for the next month, so you can schedule your whole life around it. How about we start two weeks out, because it's a little easier? Two weeks out, it's not overwhelming. We're going to schedule your whole life around it, and because of our cancellation policy, you're going to cancel your friends over this, and you're actually going to get the transformation." Or they have to "think about it." If they have to think about it, there's a couple things going on. You weren't good enough at making sure they understood how what you're doing is going to help them with their transformation. You didn't get an honest goal out of them, or you actually didn't tell them how you're going to get there, so they're kind of in, but they're not sure. Or you have way too many offers. If you have too many offers, "I don't know what to do. If I see we have these packages, and we have these packages, we have this class over here, we have this class over here..." It's too confusing for me, and I have to think about it. You want things to be very easy for people to make a yes. And so, if they have to say, "Oh, I have to talk to my husband," that is also a way of saying, "I don't have the money," or "I'm not sure," because most women have the ability to spend the money on what they want. The first time I ever heard this as a brand new teacher, I said, "No problem. If your husband has any questions, here is my number. Remember, these are the goals we talked about, here's how we're going to get there." And if you want me to chat with him about how this is going to work out, I'm happy to do that. Guess what? He came up to my studio the next day and he said, "My wife can come as much as she wants, whatever she wants, she can come as much as she wants. I just want her to be happy," right? Most of the time it's not the husband; it's that she was not sure if she was worthy of the commitment, and we have to hold space for that. But if you can actually think of the objections you have, and then come up with your responses ahead of time, you're gonna come off more confident when they have those. And then guess what, they can go think about it. Okay, great. "I'm gonna reach out next week, I'm gonna reach out tomorrow, I'm gonna call back on the follow-up. Is that okay with you?" You'd be surprised how many people come in if you follow up.Julian Barnes 34:04  Now, here's one of the areas where we may disagree. I agree with everything you just said. Sometimes it's okay to say, "We may not be for you."Lesley Logan 34:13  Oh, we're not going to disagree on that. I love that.Julian Barnes 34:17  I hear you. The three objections: don't have time, can't afford it, not sure. Okay, I hear you. We may not be the right place for you. We are the place for people who are willing to make a commitment to the transformation they seek. We work with people who are committed. We work with... and then whatever's in your community, you know, describe them. They might be business owners, executives, presidents of corporations, whatever is in your tribe, in your community. We work with the best of the best. If you want to be part of that, we'd love to have you, but I get it, we may not be for you, and that's okay. Lesley Logan 34:56  That's okay. Julian, I love this, because I just coached someone today, and she was talking about, "Oh, they got sick and they couldn't do this, and now they're good there." I said, "You should fire them as clients, they're not good clients." In fact, I would call that dirty money. Every single teacher out there who's taking clients who just come in willy-nilly, that is dirty money. It's actually never going to get you good referrals. There's certainly not gonna be a walking billboard. The best advice I ever got when I first started teaching Pilates, best advice, a teacher took me aside on my first day, and he goes, "Get one client and make them obsessed with you. You focus every energy and everything you have on that one client, and you will have clients for life." And he's not wrong. I was gifted a duet session from a teacher who was moving, and I took that to heart. They're like, "We can't come next week." I'm like, "Oh, well, I'll see you... let's go with an extra one this week. Gotta make it up."Julian Barnes 35:43  Exactly right.Lesley Logan 35:44  And they're like, "What? We don't do two in a week." I'm like, "Well, you're missing next week. I'm not gonna wait two weeks to see you. What change are we gonna have? We gotta do this." They never miss a session. Guess what? Within two weeks, I had two of their friends from their building, right? Because I was like, "If you want to work with me, this is how often you have to do this." And here's the thing: when you tell people, "We might not be for you," one, some people will rise to the occasion because they don't like to be rejected, and two, you're leaving space for someone who's going to actually add to the community and make your business successful. And, by the way, more importantly, you're going to make an impact on them, because it's not fun to teach people who are not committed it's, actually exhausting.Julian Barnes 36:18  I know you believe in karma.Lesley Logan 36:19  I do. Julian Barnes 36:20  Right, as we sit in a room full of crystals everywhere.Lesley Logan 36:24  Some people, I'm wondering when their karma is coming. I'm just gonna say.Julian Barnes 36:28  So you have to be confident enough that the universe will present you what you need when you need it, and that confidence is really tested when you have some financial needs and the wrong client walks in. You have to be confident enough, both in your own abilities and that the universe will provide for you the right way. You have to be confident enough to say no to the wrong person, so you keep space open for the right person, as you said, and you have to be confident that the universe is going to bring that right person to you.Lesley Logan 37:12  Yes. Well, and.Julian Barnes 37:13  But it's not going to always be on your schedule.Lesley Logan 37:15  No. And that... well, that's here's the thing, we've been talking about these different leads, you actually don't get to decide when people are going to finally come in the door. So you have to make sure that whatever you're doing is making sure it's put in front of them and reminded in front of them, and they're reminded again until they're like, "Oh, I'm finally ready." We actually don't get to decide when they come in the door, but once they're there, we absolutely can say, "You're in my house, and in my house, this is how we do things," right? Like my house, you can leave your shoes on, we got a dog, he goes in and out, this is a desert, we're fine, but some people's houses, the shoes go off. I was just at a friend's house who's in the Pilates industry, and he's like, "Yeah, you take your shoes off," and we went upstairs, and he's like, "Oh, there's a deck, put these slippers on," and I'm like, "Oh my god, there's so many rules!" But guess what, it's his house. Those are the rules of participating in his world, and so I would just say it's okay to have these rules. It really helps people understand the boundaries, and it will make for better clients who are more consistent, and guess what, they will go back to the best way to get clients: refer you better clients.Julian Barnes 38:15  Great. So now, how do we keep them? How do you recommend that your clients act in such a way as to increase lifetime value? First of all, what is lifetime value? Second, why is it important? Third, how do you increase it? What is it? Why is it important? How do you increase it?Lesley Logan 38:34  So you can correct me. I'm going to do a simple lifetime value with clients: like if you have clients for two years, how much money do you often make off them? And getting an average of a lifetime value really helps you understand how many clients you really kind of need for your business to predict or project what you want to make. You want to make a million dollars for your studio, and your average lifetime client is X. Then you need 25 of those clients to get there, right? So it really helps you understand the business you're going to have. And our businesses, we have a really amazing lifetime value of a lot of our clients. It's kind of insane for our membership bases that are online, what they are, and so once we know those, it really helps us understand how much money are we going to spend marketing, right? Especially if you're an on-demand business or membership basis.Julian Barnes 39:12  How much you're willing to invest in marketing.Lesley Logan 39:14  Yes.Julian Barnes 39:14  If you know that your member is paying you 100 bucks a month, which is 1,200 bucks a year, and they have an average tenure of two years, then you know that you have about $2,400 for every client.Lesley Logan 39:27  Yeah.Julian Barnes 39:28  So now you back, that's not even that's before profit.Lesley Logan 39:30  Yep. Okay. Yep.Julian Barnes 39:32  Now you back that down and back that out and say, "Well, how much am I willing to invest by an acquisition cost? Am I willing to invest $100 to make $2,400? Sure. Am I willing to invest $2,000 to make $2,400? Not so much."Lesley Logan 39:32  There are people who will do that, and I think they're crazy.Julian Barnes 39:33  So you know that number because you want to know how much you want to invest.Lesley Logan 39:37  Yes, and it's really important, and it really does take time to get that value if you're a brand new studio. This is going to be something. Julian Barnes 40:00  6 to 18 months, minimum. Lesley Logan 40:02  So it's really important. What was the second two questions?Julian Barnes 40:06  That's what it is. How do you keep your members with you for two, three, four years? How?Lesley Logan 40:14  Okay, so first of all, this is going to sound crazy. If your value system doesn't include commitment and consistency, you've already started your business off on the wrong foot for a long-term lifetime value of a client. You have to actually have in your value of your business, "We want committed or consistent clients." What are we going to do? It's part of our value system to make sure that happens. Maybe that comes from communication, maybe that comes from transparency, maybe that comes from responsibility, maybe that comes from community, but you have to decide in your value system how you're going to get there from the get-go. Because everything in your value system dictates how you make decisions on who you hire, what services you offer, what days you're open, all that stuff, right? Second thing is, if you're not making sure your clients are consistent, if you're just letting them cancel and there's no fees, they're not committed. Guess what, they're going to eventually go somewhere else, because no one's making sure they show up.Julian Barnes 41:11  The word there you're looking for, I think, is accountable.Lesley Logan 41:14  Yes.Julian Barnes 41:15  Accountable. You have to hold your clients accountable to the prescription for the transformation that they said they want. You didn't tell them what they wanted; they told you what they wanted. You told them how to get it.Lesley Logan 41:29  Yeah, exactly. So, I think this is where people are afraid they'll lose clients if they uphold a cancellation policy. Nope, you'll lose them because you didn't. Now, you might lose them in the beginning, like, "This is too harsh." Great, this is not the studio for you. That studio on the street is in charge, go there. I don't know if you'll get your goals, but you won't be charged for not showing up here. You said you wanted to do this; I held a space for you, right? It's really important. And you'll say it in your own words, but I promise you, I promise you, I had clients when I was in LA... I taught in LA for 12 years. I was there for 14, taught 12 years in LA, and when COVID hit, I still had more than half of my clients from the first year I started teaching.Julian Barnes 42:08  How? What did you do to maintain that LTV?Lesley Logan 42:12  Aside from my boundaries, if I traveled, there was a teacher coming into their space at their exact same time, so their schedule didn't change just because my schedule changed. I think this is really important: no matter the size of your space, you've got to have backups or a backup policy in place, so that you can get sick, have to travel, or have a baby, and make sure that they're taken care of at the schedule that they committed to, because it's really hard for them to move their schedule, right? Second thing, if you're not reinstating what they're getting from you, you think that they're mind readers, they're not, right? So, you have to remind them how far they've come, how close they are to their goal. "Oh, you've hit this goal, where are we at now?" You also need to actually... they talk so much, they are nonstop, they think you're their therapist. If you're not listening to the things they're saying they're going to go do with their family, "Oh, you're going to go hike such and such volcano in Europe? Okay, we're going to add some exercises in to make sure you can do that. Oh, you want to start running a marathon? Okay, we got to do these things to help keep your hips open, otherwise your back's going to hurt." You need to hear the things that they're saying they want to do with their kids, their family. You have to insert yourself. Julian Barnes 43:15  You have to listen. I'm hearing you say, 'Listen, listen.'Lesley Logan 43:17  And what do most teachers do? This is the thing, I say this, the industry is having an amazing moment right now, but I promise you, right now, because all the teachers are focused on cues, and all the students are focused on how many people are in the class, you are going to see the pendulum swing the other way. Because people are not there for your cues; they're there for the transformation. And if you're not looking with your eyes at what their body is doing, you don't know what cue you need. You have to see what they're doing, and then give them the correction that they need in that moment. And because we have different learning styles and things like that, you can't... I'm sorry, you can't have memorized cues. You have to learn how to be present, and be present to listen to what they're saying when they're leaving. What are they saying? "Oh, you know, my sister's coming to town next week." Guess what I'm saying: "Oh, is your sister coming with you to class? Do we need to reschedule your sessions?" Because if you can start to train them, then they're never missing, they're getting the consistency. But you have to know that their goals are going to change with their life. My clients, 12 years long, I mean, it's amazing what height we got out of them, and they're older. So I think it's really important for people to actually remember that the impact you want to make is there if you listen, and they'll stay because you keep reminding them how Pilates is part of their life.Julian Barnes 44:32  And so churn, to wrap it up, LTV and churn are related. You want your LTV to be high so they stay with you for many years, and you want to reduce your churn, which is the percentage of clients or members who leave your studio. What are some of the best practices that studio owners can implement to minimize churn?Lesley Logan 44:53  So, I think this is where, if your business is based off waitlists and 12-hour things, and hoping people cancel so they will get off the waitlist, you're actually going to have churn. I actually think this is where we have to really think about who we're trying to serve and how we're serving them. And I would really make sure that your clients are able to be part of the journey of the growth of your business. They should be part of it, celebrated, reminded that they're there. They always need to have a name. Every single person, whoever you hire, no matter how big you get, if they are not saying people's first names, and also following up, "Oh, you've been gone for two weeks because of X surgery. How are you doing? Yes, we paused your membership, but..." actually check on them. "Oh, I don't want to bother them." Oh my god, they won't respond if you're bothering them! We have to actually stick around and be in people's lives, and follow up and remind them that they matter and that they're missed. And if you have any teachers who are not remembering people's names and not remembering that they've been gone, you're going to have a churn problem. I think the reason why my businesses have grown, even in coaching people, and that we have people who've been with us since day one, is because we constantly remind everybody who the OG people were. These people are here; they've been with us for the long haul. They remembered us when it was small, but they're being introduced to the new people when it's bigger, and they're feeling that they're part of a community. I think people forget that people, at the base of everything, just want to belong. And if you're not able to look them in the eye and remember their name and introduce them to somebody else, they're going to feel unseen at some point. So I really do think that churn is reduced when you see people as a human being.Julian Barnes 46:27  So, I have a bonus question for you which is, right in your wheelhouse as a veteran instructor, more like a comment for you to reply to, from the very beginning of this conversation, you haven't used this word, but it's my takeaway of what you've been saying: impact. We talk about how people want transformation. Talk about how do you convert from lead to first-time visitor? How do you convert from first-time visitor to second purchase? How do you keep them a long time? How do you minimize churn? To me, the answer is impact, and what we, at BFS, don't focus on front of house, we're not Pilates instructors, but you obviously are. And so what I like to remind people, and I'm going to ask you to elaborate, I like to remind people none of the processes, none of the systems, none of the messaging, none of the stuff matters if you're not delivering fire classes each and every time. Agree, disagree, assess?Lesley Logan 47:29  Oh, I agree. I also think it's really interesting because I come from this as a classical Pilates instructor, but I coach a lot of contemporary-based Pilates. So my fire classes on the Reformer always start with footwork and probably end with the same exercise. So, when you say fire classes, I think it's really important that I say.Julian Barnes 47:47  I want to say impact. The classes have to deliver impact.Lesley Logan 47:50  Yeah, they have to. Well, I'm saying I'm agreeing with you. I'm also saying you don't have to be someone who's recreating the wheel every time, but people have to feel so different than when they walked in the door, because if they feel the same, then they're not coming back. This is a nice hobby that they have, you fit the thing, but as soon as road construction's up or their job goes across town, you're out of it. Here's what I know about being a teacher for so long in LA: people would drive across freeways to stay with the same teacher because of the impact. Why would they do that when there's a studio... it's LA! There are, and by the way, it's LA, like New York, the best Pilates instructors in the world are in these places, and they're going across town. Why? It is because of the impact. And I think this is where people lose their confidence: they see other people doing things and go, "Oh, I should do that, too. Everyone's Reformers are beige now; I should do beige. Everything is this." No. What is it that you said you would give people, and what is it that they want? And if you can stay clear on that and keep understanding what their new wants are, you will have them for life.Julian Barnes 48:59  This goes back to something you said earlier today: take one client and give everything to, say that again, you said?Lesley Logan 49:07  Take one client and you make them obsessed with you, and then you'll have clients for life.Julian Barnes 49:11  Okay, so unpack that, because I think you're talking about how do you make them obsessed. To me, that sounds like you're saying give them 110%, teach the best class every time, you are the best.Lesley Logan 49:38  It goes back to accountability. I'm going to give 110% in every session, but you have to show up for the sessions, and it's a two-way street, I'm not in your body, right? So you got to make sure that they feel like they can trust you to tell you what's going on, but they have to show up

The Metacast
Can Performance Marketing Finally Work On Steam?

The Metacast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 7, 2026 59:39


Mobile has spent the last decade perfecting paid acquisition, and often, paid UA comprises 99% of a mobile game's marketing budget. PC and console gaming generate tens of billions of dollars in revenue, yet most studios have never tried performance marketing once. PC and console have always played in the field of brand, festivals, press, influencers, and content creators due to a variety of reasons that we unpack in this episode. Alexandra Takei, VP of Platform Revenue at Medal, sits down with Jules Baculard, founder and CEO of AdZap, to unpack why PC performance marketing has lagged behind mobile and what it would take to build a real acquisition stack for Steam, PlayStation, and Xbox. The conversation covers the structural challenges: thin desktop inventory, cross-device attribution, Steam's limited data visibility, long purchase windows, and the uncomfortable reality that many Steam purchases are never played. Jules explains how AdZap built their performance platform using mobile ad infrastructure, Steam's companion app, landing pages, signal engineering, and retargeting to drive qualified traffic and wishlist growth. The episode also digs into real case studies across indie and Ubisoft titles, incrementality testing, CPI benchmarks, and why wishlists still matter, even if they are an imperfect KPI.For any studio trying to make every marketing dollar work harder, this is a tactical look at PC performance's next frontierWe'd also like to thank Medal.tv for making this episode possible. If you're a PC gamer and want to clip your moments or a studio, publisher, or marketer looking to reach a high-quality gaming audience and get your game in front of the right players, check out all Medal has to offer at https://grow.medal.tv.If you like the episode, please help others find us by leaving a 5-star rating or review! And if you have any comments, requests, or feedback shoot us a note at podcast@naavik.co. Watch the episode: YouTube ChannelFor more episodes and details: Podcast WebsiteFree newsletter: Naavik DigestFollow us: Twitter | LinkedIn | WebsiteSound design by Gavin Mc Cabe.

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True Success According To Jesus | Chip Ingram

EDEN

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 6, 2026 46:08


Multi billion-dollar businesses, sports, health and wellness companies depend on specific KPI's to track progress and make adjustments. The Question: what does Jesus track and measure as Key Indicators of our relationship with Him?For more updates, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://eden.church/fire⁠⁠⁠⁠GET CONNECTED + PRAYERNew to EDEN? We'd love to pray for you, too! Let us know at⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://eden.church/connect⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LEARN ABOUT EDEN CHURCHEDEN is a startup church in Silicon Valley. Learn more at⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://eden.church⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠FIND US ON SOCIAL MEDIAFB:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/edenthechurch⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠IG:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/edenthechurch/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠GIVE TODAY⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://eden.church/give⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Talking Billions with Bogumil Baranowski
Marion Fogli, Finance Made Human: Money a Triple Taboo, Three Money Questions, and Talking Early About Inheritance

Talking Billions with Bogumil Baranowski

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 6, 2026 54:42


Find me on Substack, search for Bogumil Baranowski.Marion Fogli, a Swiss digital banking pioneer who co-founded Switzerland's first digital private bank, now teaches what she calls Finance Made Human, translating money into a language that real people can actually understand, use, and feel at peace with.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/3:02 – Growing up “rich in love, not money” — Marion's father's story shapes her definition of wealth.5:29 – Building Switzerland's first digital private bank taught her: “The math is visible, but the behavior is where everything actually happens.”8:07 – The human touch problem: digital banks see anxiety in login patterns hours before a client ever picks up the phone.13:03 – On AI and investing: technology can hand you 30 stock picks, but not the conviction to hold them.15:18 – Money scripts, explained: childhood beliefs about money live in the body, not the words — “a shallow breath, tight shoulders, a nervous laugh.”17:21 – Three questions to surface your own money script: your body's reaction, the sentence you heard most as a child, and the gap between what you say and what you do about money.20:38 – The surgeon who earned over half a million and had no idea where it went: “You have income, and you have financial peace, and they're not the same currency.”23:07 – The cash experiment: Marion paid her kids in physical cash for a month instead of transfers — they ended up saving more.27:48 – Why money is the last taboo: “It actually reveals your vulnerability.” It exposes worth, achievement, and security all at once.32:06 – Unequal help given quietly to one child can destroy a family once it surfaces after a parent's death.36:16 – The three-bucket system: Oops Fund, Projects Fund, Freedom Fund — “I called it the Oops Fund.”39:41 – “It's about giving each Franc a job so the person can finally rest.”45:41 – Financial education starts with one question: what do you want your money to do, short, medium, and long term?52:48 – Marion's definition of success: “It's not what you accumulate. It's what you can give without losing yourself.”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.

Management Blueprint
341: Scale a Culture-First Business with Staff Sheehan

Management Blueprint

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 3, 2026 24:11


https://youtu.be/uePyn0u75sY Staff Sheehan, CEO of Project Omega, is driven by a mission to strengthen America’s energy independence and national security by rebuilding the nation’s nuclear fuel cycle and scaling a culture-first business rooted in exceptional leadership and execution. With a career spanning energy, sustainable fuels, hydrogen, and chemical physics, Staff is leading the development of technologies that transform spent nuclear fuel into long-lasting power sources while helping usher in a new era of reliable, abundant nuclear energy. We explore Staff Sheehan’s Scaling Framework — Build the Best C-Suite, Due Diligence Your Investors, Build Things, and Execute, Execute, Execute. Staff explains why exceptional leadership is the foundation of every successful company, why founders should carefully vet their investors, and why hardware startups must prioritize building real products over ambitious concepts. He also discusses how AI-driven energy demand is fueling a nuclear renaissance, why restoring the U.S. nuclear fuel cycle is essential to energy independence, and what it takes to scale both advanced nuclear technologies and a high-growth company. — Scale a Culture-First Business with Staff Sheehan  Hi, everyone. Steve Preda here with the Management Blueprint Podcast. My guest today is Staff Sheehan, the CEO of Project Omega, an advanced nuclear recycling company with a mission to rebuild America’s nuclear fuel cycle end-to-end and unlock a new era of energy abundance for the United States. Wow. What a mission. Welcome to the show, Staff.  Thanks so much for having me, Steve. Great to be here.  Wow. You really are not playing small. Rebuilding America’s nuclear fuel cycle and unlocking a new era of energy abundance. Tell me about your personal “Why.” How are you manifesting it through the business? Well, I’ve been working in the energy industry, or adjacent to the energy industry, for a long time. This is the fourth business that I’ve started. Prior to this, I was in sustainable fuels. Prior to that, I was in metals and hydrogen. Before that, I did a Ph.D. in chemical physics. And before that, I was in software, but it was in something that was energy-intensive. So I've always been focused on how we can improve the energy industry in the United States. More recently, especially, that has become more and more intertwined with national security.Share on X  So I would say that for the last 10 years, I’ve spent a lot of time focused not just on energy, but also on national security. Right at the intersection of energy and national security is the nuclear industry. Over the last year, especially since four executive orders on nuclear power were signed, I’ve been focused on the nuclear industry. This has really been the resurgence of nuclear power in the United States over the last year or so. Yeah, it’s super fascinating. So, I mean, stupid question: why is this important?  Well, now I think we’re learning—and we’re having an acute learning experience, especially in the United States—that energy is a key bottleneck. And I think the thing that woke us up to that, in a lot of ways, is AI and the need for compute. But it’s not been only AI. We’ve been exporting manufacturing. We’ve been exporting a lot of things from the United States that rely on electricity or rely on energy in one way or another. Our exporting of that has caught up to us, and we now have to reshore a lot of things that maybe in the ’80s and the ’90s we decided to export out to China, for example. Now that we’ve realized that was not the greatest idea, we now are realizing that we need the energy to power it.  And so energy has become a key talking point, and the infrastructure behind energy has become a key talking point, especially in the United States. People’s electricity prices have gone up, so it’s not just industry and not just the folks who are building AI and data centers. It’s really everybody who’s now feeling the pain of our energy crunch. It’s crunched a little bit now, and I think people see that also because of what’s going on in the Middle East and the high price of gas. But the crunch is continuing because we know we have a high energy demand for all of the AI build-out that we’ve been doing for the last handful of years. Yeah, that is so interesting. And I remember in the 1990s, there was this phenomenon that actually the energy demand was falling, at least in Europe, where I come from, and there was overcapacity, and there was approval of overbuilding capacity. And the discussion was, “Okay, why do we need this? How do we slow this down?” And now the opposite thing is happening, which is pretty fascinating.  There’s a big question as to how idle assets are used, right? Because a lot of people don’t understand how electrical grids work. Everywhere in the world, energy is pretty much generated as you use it. So the energy that we’re using to talk on this podcast is being generated, depending on where you are located in the United States. From my location, it’s probably being generated by a natural gas power plant because it’s 2:10 in the afternoon, and this is around the time when a lot of natural gas peaker plants start to get going.  Depending on where you’re calling in from, those electrons are being generated live as we’re speaking. There’s not much storage on the grid. We do have some storage on the grid. California uses pumped hydro. They’re building battery infrastructure in places like Texas, but they’re not quite there yet. Grids don’t operate by just making the energy and then using it later. No. Grids operate by putting energy into the grid as demand is increasing. So the energy that you use is being generated live. You have to think about it that way.  Historically, back in the ’80s and the ’90s, there were not a lot of sinks for that live energy that was being generated, and people were also really bad at predicting demand. Another thing that happened in the ’80s and the ’90s, as I said right before, is that we were outsourcing a lot of our manufacturing to China. So China was building energy capacity because they saw all this manufacturing demand coming in. Their cost of labor was cheaper than what you guys had in Europe and what we had in the United States.  Robotics was not a thing, so everything was pretty manual. And the energy wasn’t needed here. It was needed, but Europe and the US were outsourcing, so we didn’t have the need for the energy here because we were sending all the jobs over to the Far East. They needed the energy there, so they built a bunch of coal-fired power plants. They built a lot of energy capacity while those conversations were happening in Europe. And now I think we’ve realized that it was a mistake to outsource so many things—and, in a sense, outsource your energy generation as well.  We need to find ways of either storing energy or converting that energy and using it productively. So rather than storing it, you could convert it into chemical products. You could convert it into a variety of different things. I think we've learned a lot since the '80s and the '90s, and I think that ties into the original learning experience: don't outsource everything. You need to learn how to be self-sufficient.Share on X Yeah. Yeah, don’t outsource your key competencies and your key resources. And energy is clearly one of those. Just a quick side question: How much energy is being wasted because it’s not able to be stored?  It depends on where you are. A lot of energy gets wasted in places where you have high hydroelectric utilization. But the cost to produce it is very cheap because hydro is indirect solar. The water evaporates, comes down, and it’s very dependent on the landscape where you can deploy hydroelectric power. In other places where you have power plants that follow load, like natural gas, for example, then you’re probably not wasting quite as many electrons as you are in places where you could potentially overproduce.  But I think we’re generally pretty efficient. We don’t waste too much, and a lot of that is because of the way grids work, where we predict how much electricity is needed, and we ramp production up and down as required.  Okay. Let’s talk about frameworks that you may have in your business. This podcast is about frameworks—the processes that are maybe unique to your business or that you discovered as you were building your business. Anything come to mind that can be explained in three to five steps, or as approaches or perspectives?  Yeah, I mean, I guess the learnings that I've had over all of my businesses. I think the first learning is: hire the right people.Share on X As a CEO, you have to spend an inordinate amount of your time on hiring, recruiting, and finding the right people. It’s super important to make sure that you have the best team. So that was my number one job when I started Project Omega: to hire the best possible team that I could hire.  And that was really, like, I told my investors that your first KPI is: build the best C-suite that you can. And I think I did that. I have a really incredible team of folks at Project Omega who are subject area experts in the parts of the business that they lead, and so I’m really happy with how I did it in this business. I’ve had stumbling blocks in prior businesses, and that’s how you learn. You call them learning experiences for a reason. My biggest stumbling block in my prior company was investors.  I didn’t do proper due diligence on investors. There’s ongoing litigation that I’m a part of that has to do with investors where you may not know where their money comes from. I think the number two thing is: make sure that you do a lot of diligence on who’s backing you. Typically, investors do diligence on founders, but founders don’t do quite as much diligence on the investors. And we need to flip that narrative. It’s especially true in national security. In national security, you have to be very sensitive to foreign actors. And this, again, was the issue that I ran into in my last business.  You can’t accept money from people who have significant backing from groups that are adversarial to the United States. A lot of those groups are U.S.-based funds. They’re not foreign funds, but they just get their money from foreign sources, and you have to be very careful about that when you’re in the national security world. It may not be as important if you’re making, like, a consumer app.  But if you’re doing things in energy and you’re doing things in national security, those are places where those people could seriously cause problems for your business down the line. And it comes out years after they invest in you. It’s not like they invest in you and then middle around two days later. All of these groups, including adversaries to the United States, are playing the long game. It’s not a next-week thing. It’s a several-years-from-now thing.  Interesting. Interesting. Okay. So that’s good advice. So build the best C-suite you can, and make sure you do your due diligence on your investors. What’s the next important lesson that you learned about building a business?  Focus on execution. Execution is the challenge. I think there are a lot of businesses out there that exist on paper, and when you’re a hardware company, that’s not the way to do things. I think there are a lot of on-paper businesses that, for better or for worse, have been very successful. Some of them have had IPOs and SPACs and things like that. There are businesses that exist on paper—at least in the nuclear industry, the energy industry, and the fuels industry—that have gone very far for on-paper businesses. But I think a very large portion of those—and I haven’t done all the statistics, but I’m sure Claude or Grok or GPT could—a lot of those businesses don’t do very well because they don’t have any actual experience building things in the real world.  So I think it's extremely important to execute, to get steel in the ground, and to focus on actually building things when you're in the hardware space.Share on X Now, of course, in software, that’s a little bit different. So it depends on whether you’re running a hardware or software business. In software, you may be able to keep going for a lot longer without a product or without having things in market because you’re building something that you know is going to have a huge splash when it comes out. But that’s not necessarily the way hardware businesses are able to be put together.  So give me an example of a business that’s on paper and not in the real world. Give me a hypothetical example.  A hypothetical example would be a business that has put together a number of contracts and a number of marketing materials about what they’re going to do, but they’ve never actually gone out and done it. Whether that’s at a small scale, like the lab scale, or at a larger scale, the point is they haven’t actually built it. My business—we’re very public about this. There are photographs and things like that of our lab out there. My business is at the lab scale. We’re working on going up to the pilot scale right now.  So that’s grams and kilograms of material. We’re not recycling metric tons of nuclear material. No business is doing that in the Western world except the one in France. So no business is doing that in the United States currently. But we’re public about where we are and what scale we’re at. A lot of businesses out there say they’re going to go out and operate XYZ widget, let’s say, and get a lot of traction around that before they’ve actually operated any sort of widget. And I think hardware is different than software.  Some venture markets have learned that, and some are probably going to learn that. But it’s been my experience over the last 12 years of running hardware businesses. My prior two businesses—Catalytic Innovations and Air Company—were both hardware businesses. And before I went to college and graduate school, I was in the software world, so I’ve kind of seen it from both sides.  Yeah. That’s interesting. So I saw your LinkedIn post about these underwater unmanned vehicles—UUVs, I think you call them. Is this like an underwater drone? Yeah. So, a UUV is an unmanned underwater vehicle. If you're trying to do something underwater, like do reconnaissance or try to find out what's going on under there with your adversaryShare on X or even a neutral party using a UUV is a way to do that without putting service members in harm’s way and a way to do that in a low-cost environment. So that’s one of the major applications for UUVs. But one of the big challenges for them is: how do you power them? You could use fuel to power them, but then they could run out of fuel, and then you have a stranded asset.  You could use electricity to power them with a battery, but the battery also runs out, and once it’s gone, it’s gone. It’s very hard to recover these. You’re not going to go down to the bottom of the sea to recover your UUV. The other option is to use—and we already do this, right, with our manned underwater vehicles, or our nuclear submarines in the United States—we already use nuclear power to power those submarines. And so that’s been the way that we've historically been able to operate underwater for long periods of time, and that's the way that I think we're probably going to go for these unmanned vehicles as well.Share on X  And that’s what my business focuses on. So we not only do this for UUVs but for space applications as well as terrestrial applications by building power sources. Those power sources are made using material that we recycle from spent nuclear fuel. Those power sources are called radiovoltaics, and you could imagine them as like an AA battery that lasts 30 years. And that’s really, I would say, the next step for operational energy. So we’re focused on using those as replacements for batteries in these small applications. You could think of it as a much broader application in the future—not just operational energy for the military, but beyond that. We actually use these sorts of materials in our everyday lives.  You’re sitting in a room, I’m sitting in a room, and I’m looking up at the smoke detector in my room. You’re sitting in a room with a smoke detector in it as well, and that smoke detector has a little piece of americium-241. Americium-241 is an isotope recovered from nuclear waste. We don’t recover it in the United States because we haven’t recycled nuclear waste in probably a little north of 50 years. But you can get these isotopes from places like France, where they recycle nuclear waste today. So all of us are sitting in a room with a radioisotope-powered device. Americium-241 specifically powers the detector in your smoke detector. Americium spits out alpha particles.  Those alpha particles are little helium nuclei. They hit a detector continuously, and that generates a current. Now, if smoke goes up into your smoke detector, those alpha particles hit the smoke instead of hitting the detector, and you won’t get that same current generation in your smoke detector. So that’s how we detect smoke, and right now, nuclear waste is sitting in all of our houses, keeping us safe. But that’s not really a mainstream part of the narrative yet.  Yeah. And what about the radiation? Is it not dangerous?  No. So for americium, there are different types of radiation. Well, not all radiation is created equal. There’s alpha radiation, which is what americium-241 emits predominantly, and those are little helium nuclei. Those can’t go through a piece of paper. Alpha radiation stops very easily. Like, your skin will very easily stop alpha radiation. Beta radiation, which is different from alpha radiation, is an electron that is flung out of a nucleus. So beta radiation is also stopped relatively easily.  Like, if you ingest it, then it could cause problems, but again, your skin can stop it. Gamma radiation is the one that we’re concerned about from a health perspective. Now, gamma radiation can be used for medical treatments and is very effective when it’s used in medical treatments, like to treat cancer, but gamma radiation is generally pretty bad because it goes straight through you. Gamma rays are little photons, and they’re very high-energy photons, so they can fly through you and they can cause damage to your DNA.  A lot of the, I would say, like, negative effects of any nuclear incident are really caused by gamma radiation more than anything else. Like Chernobyl, which is the famous one, had cesium-137 polluting a lot of the countryside around Chernobyl, and cesium-137 is a very strong gamma emitter. So gamma is what we try to avoid. At Project Omega, we don’t use gamma emitters for our power sources, and so all of our power sources use the safer types of radiation. That’s fascinating. So, Staff, I’d like to switch gears here a little bit and go back to business. So what drives growth in a business like yours—or specifically, your business?  A lot of things drive growth. Our business right now works together with a lot of groups in national security.Share on X We’re driven by the growth of the United States, and we’re driven by the growth of our economy. But beyond that, the demand for nuclear electricity has been very high, and that’s driven a lot of growth for us as well. How do you generate enough electricity to power data centers and power compute? That’s a huge problem in the world right now.  A lot of people who initially invested in AI are pivoting to invest in energy, actually, because they’re realizing the bottleneck for AI is not the chips. It’s the energy that’s needed to power the chips. As people are building these new assets that require all this energy, they’re quickly realizing that nuclear is one of the best ways to fulfill all of these energy requirements. As the nuclear industry grows, we’re seeing the need to reshore and bring the nuclear fuel cycle back to the United States.  We stopped doing commercial enrichment, for example, a long time ago, and there are a lot of great companies working on commercial enrichment. We stopped doing recycling and reprocessing back in the 1970s, and we’re bringing that back. We’re one of the groups working on bringing recycling and reprocessing back to the United States in a more responsible way than we did back then because technology is undoubtedly and unarguably better today than it was in the 1960s and 1970s.  That’s fascinating. So you’re helping all these old economies, which are obviously in a new skin, recover here—manufacturing and energy. So what’s one thing that you’re trying to figure out in your business right now?  So one of the challenges that everybody in the nuclear industry faces right now is scale. There’s a whole new group of reactors called small modular reactors, and another colloquial term for those is advanced reactors. Figuring out how to scale those is one of the challenges. So we’re working right now on scale. We're focused very heavily on scaling up our process so that we're able to build these true infrastructure projects that will ensure that the United States has a domestic nuclear fuel cycle going into the future. So that's really the main focus…Share on X  Being able to not only scale our technology but also execute at the current scale that we operate. On the execution side, we work together with two really great national labs: Idaho National Laboratory and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Execution in the nuclear industry is historically challenging, and working together with the government and the national labs is a big value-add because those national labs have the institutional memory, and they have the experience of working with radioactive materials and nuclear materials that we’re able to piggyback off of. They also have a lot of infrastructure that we’re able to work with.  Yeah. And when you say scale, is it about scaling energy generation, energy transmission, or the manufacturing of equipment that utilizes the recovered nuclear fuel? Or is it also about scaling the organization in terms of managing the organization? All of the above. All of the above. This time last year, we were pretty much one person. Or, this time last year, we were still a concept, and we started the business in July last year. So this time last year, we were pretty much one person, and now we’re close to 20. We’ve already scaled by a lot in just the last year. But we probably need to scale by another order of magnitude by the time we get to next year. So a big part of it is managing the growth of a high-growth and rapidly moving organization.  But a big piece of it is also scaling energy in the United States—scaling transmission, scaling generation, and scaling the production of nuclear fuel. Right now, we get a lot of our nuclear fuel from overseas. Twenty percent of the United States electrical grid is nuclear. So today, we use a lot of nuclear electrons to power, as I mentioned, based on our locations, we’re probably not using too many nuclear electrons right now. Or, Steve, I don’t know where you’re calling in from.  I’m in Virginia, the capital of data centers.  I take it back. You’re actually probably using nuclear electrons as we speak. So we need to scale that generation, but we also need to scale the fuel for those reactors. The nuclear electrons that you’re using to talk with me right now are most likely coming from Russian uranium that we buy from Russia.  I think your home country and many folks in Europe have learned that relying on Russia for your energy resources is not the greatest idea. We still, to this day, rely on Russia for a lot of our commercial uranium for our commercial reactors, and that’s something that we need to change. So scaling our nuclear fuel cycle in the United States is a key aspect of what we’re doing.  So what’s really fascinating is we were on vacation in Moab, Utah, just a few weeks ago, and we noticed that there was a lot of mining of nuclear materials there. Is this something that happened in the past and essentially the industry wound down in the U.S., or is there still mining of nuclear materials here?  So there’s very little actual mining of uranium in the United States. I think something like 99% of our uranium comes from foreign sources. So there’s not a lot of uranium mining. The management of nuclear resources in the United States… There is a good amount of nuclear work that’s being done in Utah, but there are a handful of states that actually do the majority of the nuclear-material legwork. Utah is one of them, I think. Idaho is the birthplace of nuclear energy, and so Idaho is doing a lot of work on the nuclear fuel cycle and nuclear materials management.  Idaho is where all of the spent fuel from our naval fleet goes at the end of the life of aircraft carriers and submarines. That’s public knowledge. You can look it up. There’s a lot of work that’s been done to make sure all of that material is managed completely safely and very effectively. So Idaho is the birthplace of nuclear energy, and it’s also where a lot of work on the nuclear fuel cycle is happening. That’s actually the other state where we operate at Project Omega. So Idaho is, I would say, one of the leaders in the nuclear renaissance that’s happening right now.  Okay. So that’s a really good point. So you’re in Idaho. Where else are you in the United States, and what would you like our listeners to do when they hear about you? Who are the people that you would like to get in touch with you?  Well, I’m calling in from Newport, Rhode Island, right now. So Newport, Rhode Island, is our headquarters. We have a laboratory that we operate that’s down the street from here. So we have some operations in Rhode Island, and that’s our headquarters. We also have operations in Idaho, and that’s where we’re building some of our infrastructure. We have a small contingent in the DC area as well. We have other facilities as well, but we keep those confidential. Publicly, we’re headquartered in Rhode Island, and we do a lot of work in Idaho and in the DC area. That’s fascinating. So if people get interested in what you’re doing and would like to get in touch with you or learn more about Project Omega, where should they go, and where can they learn more? They would go to projectomega.com. info@projectomega.com is our main inbox. We do a pretty good job of staying up to date with it. That’s also what we use for careers and hiring. As I mentioned, hiring is one of my top jobs. So we’re always interested in finding the best candidates out there who want to revolutionize the nuclear fuel cycle in the United States. That’s fantastic. So if you’re interested in the nuclear industry, recycling nuclear fuel, and driving the UUVs of the next generation, then definitely check out the Project Omega website and reach out to Staff. And if you enjoyed this conversation, make sure you follow us and subscribe on YouTube. Stay tuned, because every week there’s an exciting entrepreneur coming on the show. Staff, thanks for coming and sharing your wisdom and unique knowledge. And thanks for listening.  Awesome. Thank you so much for having me, Steve. This was great. Important Links: Staff's LinkedIn Staff's Website Staff's email: info@projectomega.com

Second in Command: The Chief Behind the Chief
Ep. 591 - Twentyeight Health COO Mara Castro - How To Avoid These Deadly Traps in Operations Success

Second in Command: The Chief Behind the Chief

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 25, 2026 46:11


How do you actually scale without losing yourself or your team in the chaos?In this conversation, Sivana Brewer sits down with Mara Castro, COO at Twentyeight Health and former Warby Parker trailblazer, to dissect what it takes to build, lead, and sustain high-performing teams in brutally demanding, mission-driven environments. Expect raw takes on leadership, the dangerous myth of “just do more,” and what it really means to earn trust as a COO.If you've ever wondered why some leaders quietly burn out while others keep their team charging ahead, you cannot afford to miss this episode. Hear exclusive, battle-tested insights you won't find in any COO playbook. Don't settle for “what everyone does” and listen now before these lessons become your competitors' next unfair advantage.Sponsored byGenius Network - An exclusive community for highly successful entrepreneurs, connecting you with top-tier leaders, strategic insights, and powerful relationships to help you grow your business faster and smarter.Learn more: https://www.geniusnetwork.com/Timestamped Highlights00:22 – The unexpected journey from nonprofit roots to COO02:37 – Why a career break fueled a powerhouse comeback05:34 – The untold value of prior relationships for landing big roles09:14 – Networking for introverts: How authentic connections really win10:15 – The counterintuitive 90-day blueprint every new COO must follow13:06 – The art of KPI clarity and not getting sucked into the weeds17:50 – The hidden trap of too much complexity in health tech33:23 – Why guiding, not micromanaging, unlocks leadership at scale39:30 – The radical power of raising the white flag earlyAbout the GuestMara Castro is the COO at Twentyeight Health, where she leads product, engineering, clinical operations, and pharmacy for a fast-scaling women's telehealth platform. Previously, the first employee at Warby Parker, she helped build and scale one of the most celebrated brands in DTC history, before driving expansion at Evolve in hospitality tech. Her results-driven, human-focused approach makes her a standout leader in growth and transformation.

Best Real Estate Investing Advice Ever
JF 4258: Operational Depth Trumps Industry Norms, Standardized Toolkits, and Proactive Resident Engagement

Best Real Estate Investing Advice Ever

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 23, 2026 31:17


Bill and Brandon talk about how systematic routines like daily KPI checks and proactive resident engagement transform chaos into consistent growth. Bill shares how a background in manufacturing and construction translates into sharper maintenance standards, standardized toolkits, and faster work order turnarounds cutting response times to less than 24 hours. Brandon and Bill discuss the importance of in-person resident conversations post-acquisition, building trust that leads to higher renewal rates and fewer vacancies. Bill Ray Asset Manager in VSF Investments Based in: Celina, Ohio Where to find them: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bill-ray-5430b51a3/ Brandon Virgallito Managing Member of Real Estate Alpha Based in: Dayton Metropolitan Area Where to find them: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bvirgallito/ Book your free demo today at bill.com/bestever and get a $100 Amazon gift card. Visit https://malabarhillcapital.com/ for more info. Podcast production done by⁠ ⁠Outlier Audio⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices