Podcasts about kpis

AI adoption is not really a technology question. It's a trust question, and trust levels shift dramatically depending on where a company operates and who its customers are. In this episode of Supply Chain Now, Scott Luton and co-host Bill Huber, retired VP CFO at VELUX, speak with Theodora Lau, founder of Unconventional Ventures, about trust and AI adoption, open banking and data interoperability, fragmented data versus bad data, workforce retraining, and the lessons global supply chains can borrow from fintech. Theo explains how to tell healthy friction from harmful friction, treat fragmented data differently from bad data, judge AI initiatives by outcomes instead of token usage, and build systems that keep people, not service providers, in control of their own data. Jump into the conversation: (00:00) Introduction (09:41) Theo Lau's path from telecom to fintech innovation (17:35) Why trust, not technology, drives AI adoption (20:17) What GDPR and the EU AI Act reveal about governance and trust (28:04) Lessons supply chain can borrow from open banking and fintech (38:27) What separates real AI transformation from bolting AI onto broken processes (43:13) The difference between fragmented data and bad data (54:16) A JD Power stat reshaping how consumers ask financial questions Additional Links & Resources: Connect with Theodora Lau: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vineetvashishta/ Learn more about Unconventional Ventures: https://www.linkedin.com/in/billhuberatlanta/ Connect with Bill Huber: https://www.linkedin.com/in/billhuberatlanta/ Learn more about VELUX: http://www.velux.com Learn more about our hosts: https://supplychainnow.com/about Learn more about Supply Chain Now: https://supplychainnow.com Watch and listen to more Supply Chain Now episodes here: https://supplychainnow.com/program/supply-chain-now Subscribe to Supply Chain Now on your favorite platform: https://supplychainnow.com/join Work with us! Download Supply Chain Now's NEW Media Kit: https://supplychainnow.com/media-kit/ Learn more about Blue Yonder Cognitive Solutions: http://blueyonder.com/cognitive WEBINAR- SAP AI Inside the Supply Chain: From Silo to Orchestration: https://bit.ly/4bvpz6K WEBINAR- Operational AI in the Supply Chain: How context empowers agents and humans to operate side by side: https://bit.ly/4x7Vd2Z WEBINAR- You Can't Manage What You Can't See: Using Visibility, KPIs, and AI to Optimize Logistics Operations: https://bit.ly/4ql6iem This episode was hosted by Scott Luton and Bill Huber, and produced by Trisha Cordes, Joshua Miranda, and Amanda Luton. For additional information, please visit our dedicated show page at: https://supplychainnow.com/what-global-supply-chain-can-learn-from-fintech-world-1630 The content in this episode, including all audio, videos, visuals, and graphics, is the property of Supply Chain Now and is protected by copyright law. Unauthorized use, reproduction, distribution, modification, or re-uploading of this content in any form is strictly prohibited without explicit written permission from Supply Chain Now.For licensing inquiries or permissions, please contact us at production@supplychainnow.com© 2026 Supply Chain Now. All rights reserved. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode, host Josh interviews Jeff Campbell, a digital marketing expert and co-founder of AI Commerce. They discuss effective strategies for e-commerce sellers on platforms like Amazon and Walmart, focusing on increasing repeat purchases, leveraging first-party data, and tracking key metrics such as ROAS, CPC, and customer lifetime value. Jeff emphasizes the importance of consistent data analysis, understanding break-even points, and balancing efficiency with growth. He shares practical examples and actionable tips for optimizing advertising spend and expanding sales channels, providing valuable insights for both new and experienced e-commerce entrepreneurs.Chapters:Introduction to Jeff Campbell and AI Commerce (00:00:00)Josh introduces Jeff Campbell, his background, and AI Commerce's focus on e-commerce marketplaces.Strategies to Increase Repeat Purchases (00:00:32)Jeff discusses the importance of first-party data, email collection, and retargeting to drive repeat sales.Key Metrics and KPIs for E-commerce Sellers (00:02:49)Discussion on tracking impressions, clicks, CPC, CPO, customer acquisition cost, LTV, and the relationship between paid and organic sales.Tools and Frequency for Data Tracking (00:04:26)Jeff recommends using Excel or dashboards, and emphasizes daily tracking with monthly/quarterly insights.Competitive Strategies and Market Trends (00:05:26)Explains aggressive spending strategies, increased competition, and the need to monitor KPIs closely.Balancing Volume and Efficiency Metrics (00:06:17)Jeff highlights the importance of balancing sales volume and efficiency (Roas), and avoiding analysis paralysis.Identifying the Two Most Important Metrics (00:07:17)Focus on breakeven Roas and sales volume as the primary metrics for most sellers.Importance of Long-Term Data Trends (00:07:58)Josh and Jeff discuss not overreacting to short-term data, but focusing on monthly and quarterly trends.Case Study: Food Brand and Revenue Formula (00:09:05)Jeff shares a food brand example, explaining the revenue formula: traffic x AOV x conversion rate.Optimizing Traffic Sources and Channel Diversification (00:10:23)Describes switching to Walmart for cheaper CPCs and the impact on overall revenue.Using Data for Dayparting and Efficiency (00:11:31)Jeff explains using conversion and CPC data by hour/day to optimize ad spend and efficiency.Three Actionable Takeaways for E-commerce Sellers (00:12:32)Josh summarizes: know your numbers, review metrics monthly/quarterly, and expand channels only after mastering the basics.Closing and Contact Information (00:15:23)Jeff shares how listeners can contact him and learn more about AI Commerce.Links and Mentions:Tools and Websites  "AI Commerce": "00:00:31"  "Excel": "00:04:26"  "Google Sheets": "00:04:26"  Key Concepts and Metrics  "First Party Data": "00:01:14"  "Cost Per Order (CPO)": "00:03:22"  "Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)": "00:04:26"  "Average Order Value (AOV)": "00:10:23"  "Conversion Rate": "00:10:23"Transcript:Josh 00:00:00  Now. I'm super excited to introduce you all to Jeff Campbell. Jeff is a digital marketing veteran and e-commerce entrepreneur and professor at Wake Forest University. His strategic vision and operational approach have led multiple successful business acquisitions and exits. Jeff currently leads AI Commerce, a global digital agency focused on marketplaces and e-commerce, which he co-founded in 2020. So with that introduction, welcome to the show, Jeff.Jeff 00:00:31  Thanks for having me, Josh. I'm excited.Josh 00:00:32  What is there anything that you've done with your agency or with previous experience to really start turning a business that the average order for? I guess the average number of orders per customer, instead of it being one, you start increasing it to 2 to 3 because that's where you start to get this flywheel of, all right, I can spend I could even spend more to acquire this customer that it's not even break even. I'm losing money on the front end, but I make it up in the long in the long run. So are there any strategies or advice you would share to our listeners in order to help get those second, third, fourth sales and repeat purchases?Jeff 00:01:14  Yeah, I can't stress enough how important first party data is, specifically email addresses.Jeff 00:01:19  So if you can get them to your website to somehow register a product or an, you know, there's some rules with Amazon, you know how how you can get information, what you can stick in the box, etc. but, figure that out because I think that first party data is going to be so crucial for brand owners in the future for targeting as as privacy laws will hopefully come out soon. And, and, and the data sharing of of the platforms are probably going to stay heavily with the platform. So, here and now, rant over about one p data. You know, Amazon and most of these platforms have some sort of retargeting, right. So if you know that you're you're hawking air filters and they go out every three months and you need a replacement. Use your email database if you have it, use some of the the first party data of your platforms. Be it Amazon or Walmart. A lot of that does take some DSP work, which comes with a higher price tag. But retargeting is one strong, strong way to to remind people about the previous purchase and time to to repurchase.Jeff 00:02:24  I think that's probably the big one. Again, the email relationship and again, having first party data to be able to do that and then from there create and lookalike models. Right. So understanding the behaviors of those folks and starting to target people, to make maybe their first purchase because they look a lot, a lot like or they act and behave like, past purchasers of yours too. Works really well for that initial. And then you can retarget them as well.Josh 00:02:49  Yeah, it makes great sense. I love that now, Jeff. I would love to dive in further into these profitability or just overall metrics that people should be tracking that become those mile markers that lead to scale. And let's dive deep into what each of those, you know, metrics mean and how, you know, let's say take an an Amazon e-commerce seller today, how they should be tracking them now, and maybe some of the tools they should be using to make sure that they're setting up the correct foundation.Jeff 00:03:20  Sure, sure.Jeff 00:03:22  so, you know, I, I'd really look at making sure you are tracking the standard, you know, impressions, clicks, click through rate, you know, cost, CPC, etc.. we always want to look at that variability as CPC. That's really important. some, some of the other ones, the new to brand metrics where you can get them, the cost per orders and kind of go into that customer acquisition cost and LTV. so CPO cost per order is, is important. and then as we as we know, especially with Amazon and some of the other marketplaces are starting to do this. The reliance and relationship between paid and organic. The more you pay to get some keyword wins, the more you're going to see yourself organic. So you have to compile some of those sales from both paid and organic channels against the cost of the advertising, because there is a relationship there. So looking at that total Roas or that total ACOs or tacos, as the hungry people like to say is important as well.Jeff 00:04...

Cameron is joined by Ashley Stahl, a best-selling author and speaker, and they discuss the importance of personal branding for practice owners. They explore Ashley's journey from a career in counterterrorism to becoming a sought-after speaker, emphasizing the impact of TEDx talks on personal branding. The conversation highlights the significance of preparation, authenticity, and original thinking in effective speaking, as well as the elements that make a speaker unforgettable.Cameron and Ashley talk about the importance of personal experiences in shaping self-esteem and how they can be effectively used in public speaking. Ashley emphasizes the need for speakers to connect personal moments to their professional topics, creating engaging openings that resonate with audiences. They also highlight the challenges of visibility and authority in medical practices, the significance of defining goals for speaking engagements, and the balance between personal branding and audience engagement. Finally, the economics of thought leadership and the value of having a well-prepared talk are explored.Listen In!Thank you for listening to this episode of Medical Millionaire!Takeaways:Personal branding is crucial for practice owners.Social media, especially Instagram, is vital for patient acquisition.Preparation is key to effective speaking.Authenticity and intuition enhance a speaker's message.Original thinking resonates more with audiences than generic advice.TEDx talks can significantly boost personal branding.Engaging storytelling is essential for memorable speeches.Transformational messages provide actionable insights for the audience.Speakers should focus on their unique perspectives.The energy and conviction of a speaker can influence their effectiveness. Personal experiences significantly impact self-esteem and confidence.Engaging openings in speeches can draw from personal stories.Moments, not events, resonate more with audiences.Crafting a speech involves connecting personal moments to professional topics.Visibility and authority are crucial for medical practitioners.Defining clear goals can guide effective speaking.Personal branding should serve the audience, not just the speaker's ego.Paid speaking engagements differ from speaking for visibility.Building a brand requires consistent effort across multiple platforms.Having a well-prepared talk can lead to significant opportunities.Medical Millionaire: The Blueprint for Scaling a World-Class Medical Aesthetics PracticeWelcome to Medical Millionaire, the go-to podcast for forward-thinking Medspa owners, Medical Aesthetics leaders, Plastic Surgery & Dermatology practices, Concierge Wellness clinics, and Elective Healthcare entrepreneurs who are ready to scale with intention and operate like a true, high-performing business.If you're building, growing, optimizing, or preparing to exit your aesthetics or wellness practice, this show is your competitive advantage.Hosted by Cameron Hemphill Your Guide to Sustainable, Scalable Growth Your host, Cameron Hemphill, is one of the most trusted growth strategists in Medical Aesthetics and Elective Wellness.With over 10 years in the industry, Cameron has helped scale 1,000+ practices and more than 2,300 providers, working alongside the most recognized KOLs, national brands, EMRs, tech companies, and private equity groups, shaping the future of aesthetics. From marketing to operations, from finance to leadership, Cameron brings a real-world, data-driven perspective on what it takes to turn a practice into a powerful business engine.What This Podcast Is All About: Each episode takes you behind the scenes of the fastest-growing practices in the country, revealing the systems, strategies, and mindset required to win in today's Medical Aesthetics landscape.Expect tactical insights, step-by-step frameworks, and conversations with:Industry thought leadersTop injectors & medical directorsEMR & tech innovatorsOperations expertsMarketing strategistsPrivate equity & M&A advisorsWellness and longevity pioneersThis is where aesthetics, business, technology, and wellness converge. What You'll Learn on Medical Millionaire Every week, you'll access expert guidance to help you scale profitably and predictably, including:Marketing & Brand PositioningCRM + Lead Management SystemsPatient Acquisition & ConversionEMR Optimization & Tech Stack ArchitectureSales Psychology & Consultation MasteryFinance, KPIs, and Practice EconomicsOperational Workflows & AutomationIndustry Trends Backed by Real Benchmark DataPatient Retention & Lifetime Value ExpansionMindset, Leadership & Team DevelopmentWhether you're opening your first location or running a multi-million-dollar enterprise, you'll gain the clarity and direction to grow with confidence. A Show Designed for Every Stage of Practice Growth Medical Millionaire breaks down the journey into four essential stages, showing you exactly how to move from one to the next:Startup – Build the foundation and attract your first wave of patientsGrowth – Scale revenue, expand services, and strengthen operationsOptimize – Increase efficiency, margins, and customer experienceExit – Prepare your practice for maximum valuation and acquisitionIf You're Ready to Grow, This Is Where You Start. Tune in weekly for actionable insights, expert interviews, and the exact playbooks high-performing practices use to dominate their markets. This is the podcast for Medspa owners who want more than a job; they want a scalable, profitable, industry-leading business. Welcome to Medical Millionaire.Let's build your practice into the empire it deserves to be.

For decades, one challenge has consistently been at the top of chiropractors' minds: How do I get more new patients? Today, the answer increasingly starts with what happens when someone searches for a chiropractor online. In this episode, Dr. Noel Lloyd interviews Corey Hiben, founder of ChiroX, about how chiropractic practices can use SEO, Google Ads, Google Business Profiles, better websites, and data-driven marketing to create a more predictable new patient pipeline. Corey shares his journey from occupational therapy into digital marketing and explains why he ultimately chose to specialize specifically in helping chiropractors grow. In This Episode You'll Learn: Why new patients remain one of the most important KPIs for a growing chiropractic practice How to tell whether you actually have a new patient problem — or a retention problem What it really means to "dominate local search" Why appearing near the top of Google and Google Maps matters Common Google Business Profile mistakes chiropractors make Why the services listed on your website and Google Business Profile should align The difference between SEO and Google Ads When Google Ads may make sense for faster lead generation Why SEO should be viewed as a long-term business investment Why many chiropractic websites fail to convert visitors into patients What your website should communicate to a prospective patient Which marketing numbers chiropractors should insist on seeing Why attribution and tracking matter when evaluating a marketing company How marketing strategies differ between small and competitive markets Why marketing campaigns need time and data to improve What type of chiropractic practice is an ideal fit for Corey's approach SEO vs Google Ads: Corey explains a simple way to think about the difference: Google Ads can help create opportunities in the shorter term, while SEO is a longer-term investment in the visibility of your practice. For growing practices, the strongest strategy may ultimately involve both — paid visibility today while building organic visibility for the future. Your Website Isn't About You One of the biggest mistakes Corey sees is chiropractic websites filled with information about the doctor but lacking a clear path for someone who simply wants help. Prospective patients primarily want to know: Can you help me?Can I trust you?How do I schedule? Making those answers obvious can dramatically improve the effectiveness of your online presence. Track the Number that Matters Marketing shouldn't be a mystery. Corey recommends looking closely at how much you're investing and how many actual new patients are being generated from that investment. Cost per lead and other metrics matter, but ultimately the practice owner needs to understand whether marketing is producing real patients and real growth. Learn More about Corey Hiben & ChiroX If you'd like to learn more about Corey's approach to chiropractic SEO, Google Ads, websites, and local search: Visit: ChiroXMarketing.com You can also check out the ChiroX Podcast on YouTube, Spotify, and other major podcast platforms. Dr. Noel Lloyd has also appeared as a guest on Corey's show. Ready to Grow Your Chiropractic Practice? Getting new patients through the door is only part of building a successful practice. You also need the systems, team, leadership, and associates to serve those patients without making the owner responsible for everything. Learn more about Five Star Management: Visit MyFiveStar.com Ready to see what's possible for your practice? Book a consultation with the Five Star Management team and learn how the right systems can help you build a stronger, more scalable chiropractic practice.

When business owners think about due diligence, financial statements, tax returns, contracts, and legal documents usually come to mind. But buyers are also trying to answer a more fundamental question: How well does this business actually operate? In this episode, Pat Ennis and Walter Deyhle welcome back Tim Van Mieghem, Founding Partner of The ProAction Group, for a discussion about operational due diligence and why it matters long before an owner decides to sell. They explore the operational risks and opportunities buyers look for, including owner dependency, undocumented processes, weak management, customer concentration, poor KPIs, and lack of accountability. For owners, the important takeaway is that operational due diligence doesn't have to begin when a buyer arrives. Looking at your company today through the eyes of a future buyer can reveal weaknesses, reduce risk, improve performance, and uncover opportunities to increase business value well before a transaction. In this Episode we discuss: What operational due diligence is and how it differs from financial and legal due diligenceWhat buyers are really trying to learn about a company's operations What gives a buyer confidence that the business can continue performing after the owner exitsCommon operational issues that can reduce value or create buyer concernThe impact of owner dependency and undocumented processesWhy management strength, KPIs, and accountability matterOperational improvements owners should make two or three years before going to marketHow technology, automation, data, and AI are changing operational due diligenceWhy owners should prepare for operational due diligence before a Letter of Intent is ever signed Guest:  Tim Van Mieghem, Founding Partner, The ProAction Group Tim Van Mieghem is a Founding Partner of The ProAction Group, an operational consulting firm that has served middle-market companies since 1995 by helping them identify, quantify, and uncover latent value. ProAction primarily serves private equity firms and their portfolio companies. Tim's expertise includes manufacturing, logistics, and inventory management, and is showcased in his book Implementing Supply Partnerships and his forthcoming book, Shocking Profit. He also hosts the Shocking Profit podcast. Connect with Tim:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-van-mieghem-5ba91b/     https://www.proactiongroup.com/ ───────────────────────────────────────── Ready to assess your own ExitReadiness®? Take the free ExitReadiness® DIY™ Assessment at exitreadiness.com. ───────────────────────────────────────── Prefer to begin your planning process on your own?  Explore ExitReadiness® DIY™ at exitreadiness.com. The platform provides proven frameworks, practical tools, assessments, and educational resources designed to help business owners make better decisions, build more valuable and transferable businesses, and create more options for the future. When judgment and experience matter most, credentialed exit planning professionals are available to help. Conversations that move you closer to a regret-proof exit. Subscribe To The Channel By Clicking HERE!Learn more about working with Pat and Walter at ennislp.com Connect with Pat: linkedin.com/in/pat-ennis-25b4a111/Connect with Walter: linkedin.com/in/walter-deyhle-cpa-abv-cff-maff-cexp-cepa-57386614/#PatEnnis #WalterDeyhle #ExitReadinessDISCLAIMER: The information in this presentation is provided as education only. Neither the presenter nor ENNIS Legacy Partners is engaged to render legal, accounting, or other professional services. Consult a qualified professional for advice specific to your situation. ENNIS Legacy Partners assumes no legal liability for any loss related to information contained in this presentation.

In this episode of Future Finance, Paul Barnhurst and Glenn Hopper discuss AI fatigue and why finance professionals should focus less on chasing new models and more on using AI effectively. They share practical ways to improve AI results through better instructions, reference files, context, and data foundations.In this episode, you will discover:Why AI fatigue is becoming a real challenge.Why prompting alone is no longer enough.How context and reference files improve AI results.Why clean data and clear KPIs matter.How finance teams can start using AI more effectively.Paul and Glenn emphasize that finance teams do not need to build complicated systems immediately. Starting with clear data definitions, documented sources, and simple context files can already make AI much more useful.Follow Glenn:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gbhopperiiiFollow Paul:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thefpandaguyDisclosure: Portions of this episode (such as the introduction or promotional segments) use AI-generated voice narration produced under human editorial review.Future Finance is sponsored by QFlow.ai, the strategic finance platform solving the toughest part of planning and analysis: B2B revenue. Align sales, marketing, and finance, speed up decision-making, and lock in accountability with QFlow.ai. Stay tuned for a deeper understanding of how AI is shaping the future of finance and what it means for businesses and individuals alike.In Today's Episode:[00:00] - Introduction[01:07] - AI Fatigue[04:09] - Using AI Effectively[05:44] - The Changing Role of Prompting[07:40] - AI for Financial Modelling[11:37] - AI and Finance Data[14:47] - Building a Data Foundation[18:10] - Practical AI Tips[19:08] - Closing Thoughts

Tiff and Pam talk about the current intersection of technology in the practice, and how using and understanding AI as a tool for busywork means you can focus on the tasks that really need that human touch. They talk about why training AI could be just as critical as training humans, where to look first when incorporating the software into your practice, how a staff member can serve as quality check for automated tasks, and more. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: Tiffanie (00:01) Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Tiff back with you here on the podcast. And we are in the studio today. I have myself and I have Miss Pam with me. And Pam is one of our prize possession consultants here at the Dental A Team. We have had Pam on our team for a little while now. And if you are special enough and blessed enough to work with her, you know exactly who she is and you have some solid foundational systems. Pam is a systems guru. She busts them out.   And she holds accountability like I've never seen before. And when she learns something, she learns it forever. And I love getting to watch you, Pam, progress in your Dental A Team journey. I watch you like taking notes all the time on the systems that we, you know, hold tried and true. Yesterday Dana was talking about a couple of systems during our collaboration and I was like, gosh.   She's just over there feverishly writing and I love it because I know exactly what's gonna happen. You're gonna like go back, you're gonna relearn   Pamela (00:54) I was. Yes, I was.   Tiffanie (00:58) it, and you're gonna teach it. And it was just really cool. So I love that, Pam. Thank you. And I love that you have these skill sets that you're able to then take and you help so many practices implement the same skill sets, like not just our systems, but how to retain it. You know how you retain it.   But then you're also looking for how are other people retaining the things that they're learning so that you can help them grow in their learning as well. So it's just really cool to watch, Pam. Thank you for everything you do and thank   Pamela (01:27) Thank you.   Tiffanie (01:28) you for being here today. How are you?   Pamela (01:31) you know, I'm doing fabulous and thank you. I appreciate all those kind words, Tiff. That was very nice. I think it's a unique and great time to be in dentistry. So v we've seen a lot of changes over the years and now we're to a stage that is changing very, very quickly.   Tiffanie (01:50) I agree. I I love that you said that, Pam, because something that I think we've said in dentistry for a long time is that dentistry is really progressive in a lot of ways. I think there's a lot of things in dentistry that haven't changed and haven't progressed, like Rick canals, things like that are still being done similarly to how they were thirty years ago. But so much in dentistry is so progressive and it's changing all the time. But I I think we've always said that. But I think in the last five, six years that has   Like us saying that before doesn't even make sense anymore. Like the progression we're seeing now is wild.   Pamela (02:26) It's it's crazy. you know, I was thinking about this, and there are so many systems that we have done for years that we're not perfecting, right? That we still could perfect and are in addition to any AI stuff we have. But the interesting thing is is that now something that has been in scarcity our entire human existence or now or soon will become like an abundant commodity, which is intelligence, right?   Tiffanie (02:53) Yeah. Yeah.   Pamela (02:55) So   I think that it's really wild to be thinking about that intelligence is a commodity and we can buy it.   Tiffanie (03:03) Yeah, I think that's amazing. That was a great perspective. And you are not wrong. I listen to a lot of   Pamela (03:07) Yeah.   Tiffanie (03:09) podcasts and I know you do too that speak to that same thing. And I think both of our households house many conversations around that same thing. I think we we share that.   Pamela (03:18) That is so true. It's so true.   Tiffanie (03:22) Yeah. So with that, Pam, I think that's a great start. What are you seeing? expand on that for me. Like what are you seeing as far as I love that like intelligence is is a   purchasable at this point. What are you seeing with your practices or just the research you're doing and the things you're hearing and and listening to within the dental world, narrow that down for us. What are you seeing from your perspective how that's changing dentistry?   Pamela (03:48) Yeah,   well I I think the the question is is how do we react to that reality, right? And a lot of practices are have not gotten into the AI and are now saying, okay, I want my insurance verification done, I want, you know, RCM done, the revenue cycle management done by AI, but it is a little daunting. Right? It is like I had one practice say   yo well we have this company that's doing our RCM and and I said do you are you like what are you doing with it and they said nothing they do it and I'm like dear goodness gracious like there are you have to manage it unfortunately I think we're at a real a space where we're not the Ironman like Jarvis runs everything   Tiffanie (04:43) Yeah.   Pamela (04:43) you know stage we're at the   Alexis and we have a lot of really smart AI tools. Most of them, I'm well, they're all sitting on top of separate systems and what we are contributing. I don't think we're pardon me quite to the point where it's an operating system as opposed to, you know, pieces. So I'm seeing practices now take those pieces, try to learn them, and then develop their skills even more in the stuff that they were doing.   So what I mean by that is how are we, how are they actually doing at clean claims, right? Are they   Tiffanie (05:23) Yeah.   Pamela (05:24) getting the clean the claims clean before they send them in? how are they doing on you know managing the online scheduling? Are they reacting to that? And is all the patient's insurance information accurate before it goes to the AI?   So that's that's what I'm seeing. That's a s a little bit of a struggle.   Tiffanie (05:47) Yeah. I think something you pointed out there was that a lot of people a lot of people seem to be jumping headfirst and just like handing the keys over rather than allowing it to be a tool that they use still with oversight. And I noticed recently, even just on my chat GPT that I use down at the bottom, it's like, Hey FYI, these may be inaccurate. Like this is not to be taken as truth. Yeah. And I'm like, well   Pamela (06:11) Yes, I j I saw that, yeah. So true.   Tiffanie (06:16) We need that reminder though, kind of like the McDonald's coffee cup that now has, you know, since nineteen ninety or whatever it was, says that the contents are hot. Like humanity needs those reminders 'cause I think we're so it's like a it's a catch to me too, 'cause I do think we're so quick to jump onto things and try them. But   Pamela (06:34) Mm-hmm.   Tiffanie (06:34) at the same time we're like second guessing and   thinking we can't and thinking they don't work, but we do latch on to certain things where we're just like, wait, that was expected. I expected to be able to drink my coffee as soon as you handed it to me. You know, that it wasn't gonna be scalding hot, that I could just just go. And same with the AI. I think there's so many aspects of it that we just expected all of the truth to be on the internet somewhere. We've been primed that the truth is on the internet and   we just expected it to be true that now chat is like, hey, wait a second, like, hey, I'm just like your buddy who did the research online, the same as your friend next door. Like this   Pamela (07:09) Right.   Tiffanie (07:13) could be wrong. And I think it's an interesting thought because to your point of view, handing over your cycle management, your your revenue and all of that data, handing that over to AI and expecting it to just be perfect from here on out with no mistakes is wild.   Right, but we're doing it. So many of us are doing it. Similarly to the online scheduling. I know we have a lot of practices and we have some doctors that have spoken for us at our events. we had one last September that our doctor focused on AI, and she pointed out the facts of needing to train their AI the same as they're training a human. Like you get a   Pamela (07:51) Yeah, yes. Yes.   Tiffanie (07:54) result and you're like, you got that result, you're fired, you're done, we give up.   You say, actually,   Let's tweak it to be what we want it to be. So we're saying yes and okay, cool. And let's do it this way. Let's move it this direction. with that statement, you also said insurance verifications, making sure they're accurate. And it made me think too, we've always said, you know, good information in is good information out, bad information in is bad information out. And I think   That's the same with any of it, with any of the AI tools or any of it, right? The it can only scour the internet for so much information and find so much truth. With the good information in, that goes as far as everything. So whatever it is that we're asking and training these systems and these tools to produce is what we're going to get. So we're not spending the time with the AI and we're not spending the time saying, This is the result that I want, this is how I want you to get there.   we're doing a disservice to ourselves just the same as so many people we were just talking about this. So many people are still misusing or underutilizing tools that we've had for gosh, at this point I always say 30 years, but at this point I think it's going on like 40 years, right? Like we've had these tools for   Pamela (09:12) Exactly, yeah.   Tiffanie (09:14) a long time. We're still   Pamela (09:16) Yeah.   Tiffanie (09:16) misusing them because I know both of us have walked into offices where they're like changing the prices in the treatment plan.   And they're doing all this math and there's a calculator. I still have offices that have the calculators that have the tape, and I'm like, where are you even where do you buy the tape anymore? Right. But they do, they have this running tab. And I'm like, what are you doing? And they say, Well, it's never right. We always have a balance. And I'm like, Okay, this is like a band-aid fix, right? So no matter what technology you have, there's so much tech that saves us so much time. And that's the point of this conversation is what kind of tech is out there that can   save our team   Pamela (09:52) Mm.   Tiffanie (09:53) time. And a lot of that time is for the administrative team, gives them the the chance to do other things, right? So automating things gets rid of busy work, allows them to do other things. But if we're not utilizing the tool correctly from the get-go, it's not saving the time because we're going back and fixing it anyway. So maybe we're saving time on we have an online scheduling app and it works. So our team maybe doesn't have to answer as many new patient calls.   But then that same person is over here calculating by hand a treatment plan estimate. It's like, cool, well, we just like took nonsensical   Pamela (10:28) Yeah.   Tiffanie (10:29) time and put it into a nonsensical time suck again. So, Pam, how   Pamela (10:33) Yeah. Yeah.   Tiffanie (10:35) are you helping the chain offices to really utilize the tools to actually save the time? And when they're not, so like that situation, how do we how do we get to the bottom of it? Because for me,   When I see somebody calculating treatment plan estimates because they always have a bill at the end, I'm like, cool, that's like a band-aid over this massive gash on your arm and it stopped the bleeding   Pamela (10:59) Mm-hmm.   Tiffanie (11:00) in that one spot, but it's not fixed. Like you still need stitches. How do we get to the bottom of it? And how do you help practices really figure out what truly is going to save them time and how they can get there?   Pamela (11:14) Yeah,   I think it goes back to basics. Before we layer on that AI piece of it, we have to have those basics in place. And you're right, there are a lot of practices and you know that are struggling with that. They're still doing things by hand. So, you know, have going back to the basics and having that correct verbiage, I think, is super important. to with the patient of knowing that.   There may be, it is an estimation, and there may be a difference when once your insurance pays. And you can offer to the patient, you know, if you would like to call, I don't like doing predeterminations, pre-D, I'm kind of against them. A lot of people still do them for larger treatment. I understand that. but for if you are to, you know, tell a patient, look, if if it's a credit.   we will get that credit right back to you within the month, right? have   Tiffanie (12:12) Mm-hmm.   Pamela (12:13) some sort of verbiage that gives you a little bit of out, but also be confident when you're prevent presenting those numbers if you've done the homework. So I think that's where it goes is back to the basics, making sure the basics are correct before you, you know, are giving that treatment plan to the patient. And then your verbiage is super important. And trusting it.   Tiffanie (12:36) Yeah, I totally agree.   And trusting it exactly. Being able to trust the system is huge. So making sure I think you're you're like spot on back to the basics, right? So making sure your verbiage is in line and making sure that the information that we're putting into the computer system is as accurate as possible. And you can use AI tools for that too, right? So we have   Pamela (12:55) Right. Right.   Tiffanie (12:56) AI tools this day and age that do insurance verifications and they upload it into the system.   They do all of the pieces. But then again, back to what we said earlier and how you said like this practice is like, we don't even look at it, right? Same thing. Like if you're if you're paying for an AI bot to go scour, get the information, put it into your system, and then you're turning around and you're like, well, it's always wrong, right? I I always have a balance or a credit. And so I calculate it just to double check, like, okay, maybe we need to look to see.   Further back, where is that miscalculation coming from? Because the insurance data in the system, the patient's data in the system, the right fee schedules, all of those pieces are feeding the tech and the intelligence, the information that it's spouting out to you. So it can only do so much. So if you've   Pamela (13:47) Right.   Tiffanie (13:48) got, you know, you didn't mark the you didn't you didn't tell the bot that you needed to mark that there was a downgrade. So you're you're having   crowns come back and there's two hundred dollar balance because it was downgraded, right? Well, stop hand calculating that and tell the bot to do it differently. Tell the system to do it differently. Whatever your system   Pamela (14:06) That's right. That's right.   Tiffanie (14:08) is, there's a little button somewhere that you you click it and it says downgrades, right? Account for downgrades, etc. So utilizing those tools from the ground zero, I think is just massive and it's something that's been severely underutilized for a really long time.   that needs to be right first. Because then if we go in and we layer these AI bots on top of that, that data is what they're working with. Just like Dentrix can only give you a treatment plan based on the information that you put in there. You put the fee schedule, you put the percentages, you put the treatment plan. You did all the buttons, you clicked and you put the treatment plan. It spouts out these numbers based on the information you put in it. The bot's going to do the same thing. So I think that's our soapbox bot.   Pamela (14:55) yeah.   Tiffanie (14:55) situation there,   like we go on forever. Go for it.   Pamela (14:59) Yeah, no, I I agree and a lot. a lot of practices are struggling with this and they're because they're getting this AI and saying, Hey, it's not worth it. Like I'm still having to call the insurance company, I'm still having to, you know, calculate by hand, right? And I think it it does go back, like we said, to the basics and really digging down on that. And I mean continue to use AI, but like you said.   it's so interesting. You have to teach it, right? And you may not be able to look to say, this is the exact to the penny downgrade amount, but once you have taught it, you do need to trust it. Yeah. Yeah.   Tiffanie (15:40) Yeah, I agree. I love   it. Okay, what kind of tools? I've I've got a few, you know, that I'm I've been seeing the online scheduling, I think, is finally making it headway. It's been a tool that we've had for a really long time, but we've   Pamela (15:55) Yes.   Tiffanie (15:55) all been very afraid of it for good reasons. That's fine. But what are some other tools that you're seeing them implement? So AI bots, like what are what are your practices using them for that people could start looking at?   Make sure their foundations are correct. Start looking into how could we automate some busy work to give my team back time? What are you seeing out there in in dentistry right now, Pam?   Pamela (16:17) Yeah.   definitely the RCM, the revenue cycle management. I think that AI does a really great job with that. But the thing I I spoke about earlier is I the and getting to the root of the problem, if you don't want to have to manage it more, then you have to make sure your claims are clean. And what does that mean? And that's going back to basics, truly, as well. Like, are we taking all the photos? Are we taking   you know, all the blood points when probing. Are we doing are we doing everything we can do to make sure that they have as much information as they have. So I think RCM is kind of the number one I'm seeing. insurance verification, where a lot of practices are moving there. I think there's still a little struggle with that because we don't get the patient information a as quickly. And you know, I think most of the most of them say put it in two days before.   Tiffanie (17:15) Yeah.   Pamela (17:16) Patient communication, so even filling the schedule, right? texting people to say on an ASAP list, you know, those kind of things are being utilized very well. schedule optimum schedule optimization as well. So I think there are programs out there that help you say fill that schedule and say, here's the patients that would work in this hole, right? So I think it's   We have to accept that AI is here, right? so I think very, very to your point is yes, training it, but also yes, we do have to learn it. And it it will be it's one of those things. We're kind of lifelong learners, people in dentistry, because we always have new things coming. And so we have to look at it like this. This is just a a piece to learn, and the more we can learn about it, the better.   that we are gonna get. We can't just be afraid of it. I say dig right in, figure that, you know, whatever you're using, figure it out. Call the company, ask questions, ask the right questions, you know, what what how do I get my insurance verification better? You know, and let them help you and tell you because they know everyone doesn't know. And if you just like one and done, I'm leaving it alone, you're probably not gonna have   as good of experience as you could have with it. Yeah. And so I think doctors   Tiffanie (18:43) Yeah. Yeah, I love those.   Pamela (18:45) need to be a little bit aware aware. It takes time to learn. It's not just plug   Tiffanie (18:50) Yeah.   Pamela (18:50) and play.   Tiffanie (18:51) Yeah. And to piggyback off that, it sounds like making sure we still have KPIs in place, there's still somebody overseeing results, that somebody's still verifying that that employee, right, is doing the job right is key because if we're if we do have an AI bot that's helping with revenue cycle management, and then we're not looking at AR numbers, we're not seeing, you know, our over ninety.   decrease or or is it increasing like we're not watching those KPI points. That's how it gets lost. Just the same as somebody with a great resume comes in and says, hey, I'm gonna clean up your AR for you. Pay me X amount of dollars and we stick them in a corner and never look at it. Right? It's the same thing. So making sure those KPIs are in place. I think there's a ton of AI style tools that have come out for front office administrative work, which makes sense. You know, that's that's where AI   is in the administrative world right now as the recording of this podcast at least but something that I see a lot of practices using too and I think you have a few that are using them the like Pearl and Overjet AI systems for that second opinion at least I know a lot of doctors are liking that second opinion which has helped it's not I I think of it as busy work now but that like co-diagnosing space and really just that confidence   in what I'm diagnosing seems to come across a lot more from the doctors and those tools have been super beneficial as well. So I think there's starting to be this massive shift in the AI tech kind of industry where there is going to be more coming out for the the back office as well. And I think Pam, a lot of insurances are actually using systems like Pearl and Overjet, those AI tools to read x-rays and process claims a lot faster too.   Which to your point then they gotta be super clean. You're okay.   Pamela (20:45) Well, yeah, and and sorry, I totally did not mean to interrupt you,   but that that brings up something that I've thought about and I've heard from practices, a lot of claims are being denied, right?   Tiffanie (20:58) Yeah.   Pamela (20:58) More. I think it's up like by twenty percent over the last few   Tiffanie (21:01) I agree.   Pamela (21:01) years. And that's probably because they are using AI to read the x rays, and   Tiffanie (21:09) Yeah.   Pamela (21:09) there is no way the human eye can be as good as   an the AI assistance, you know, the tech   Tiffanie (21:19) Yeah. Yeah.   Pamela (21:20) the the radiology it it it that is going to become an AI job. So just in general.   Tiffanie (21:25) For sure.   Pamela (21:26) And so reading reading X rays, they're they're proficient. They're they're extremely intelligent at it. And so we need to jump on that bandwagon to make sure that we are seeing everything too. But   yeah, that's   Tiffanie (21:40) Yeah, agreed.   Pamela (21:41) very, very true.   Tiffanie (21:42) Yeah. And the same as the other AI tools, they have their variances as well. And you train those   Pamela (21:47) Mm-hmm.   Tiffanie (21:47) tools too. And you train yourself to see like, okay, well, this variance of that is like that's that's pretty extreme. I'm not like my practice doesn't diagnose that way. Cool, that's a watch for you, right? But at least it's being pointed out and you can compare. You can look at okay, what did last time look like versus this time? Which is super cool because that's not something you can do.   with just our eyes of that kind of comparison.   Pamela (22:11) Yeah.   Tiffanie (22:12) So whether you're diagnosing off of it or using it as a tool to see progress and change, train it, train it and train yourself just the same as you're training your scheduling bots.   Pamela (22:22) I I agree a hundred percent. And it it does have to be managed, right? It it does have to we have to learn it and we have to manage and it i it's just not a one and done. Just yeah. So very sh very   Tiffanie (22:33) Yeah. Yeah. Well, I love it.   There's so much tech to be found. I think some key ones that we can kind of action item here to go explore at least. I love the online scheduling tools if you're not using them yet. I think they're worth it. they weren't always. They have turned a corner. They are worth it. and Pam, I think even the scheduling   bots that answer, you know, new patient calls, things like that are taking over and they're doing really phenomenally. And then I think I would push to make sure your insurance information is accurate. obviously, you know, Pearl or Overjet kind of tools, those are phenomenal too. But I think starting with those scheduling and those insurances, if you're not using those tools yet, I think it's worth looking into because I really do think that revenue cycle management, all of those pieces are   hugely beneficial at this point. So do your homework. Go ahead.   Pamela (23:30) I agree and I think I think   it yeah, do your homework and I think it's exciting what's happening in with the voice activation. I don't think it's quite   Tiffanie (23:38) Mm-hmm.   Pamela (23:39) there yet, but that is something I know dental offices are very hungry for. I know it's a little intimidating, but when it gets better, and I I think it's developed huge amount from when I was in the office because it d had   Tiffanie (23:53) Yeah.   Pamela (23:54) just started. and you know, I think   Offices are really looking forward to that and doctors are looking for their notes to help with their notes, right?   Tiffanie (24:05) Yeah.   Pamela (24:05) So I think those are the two big areas that we want to watch   Tiffanie (24:08) Yeah.   Pamela (24:09) and really keep abreast of what's going on and you know, keep automating and you can do it slow and it shouldn't be intimidating.   Tiffanie (24:18) Yeah, I completely agree. I think slow is fast these days. Everything's changing so much. It's worth it to do   Pamela (24:24) Yeah.   Tiffanie (24:25) your due diligence and make sure that you're using it correctly and to its full extent. So I love it. Thank you so much, Pam. This was a lot of fun. I know that the AI tech world is your jam. you do a lot of introspective work on it and just it's a big conversation topic for you. So thank you for   Being on here with me today and being willing to share your knowledge.   Pamela (24:49) Thank you, thank you. I love AI and I can't wait to buy a robot.   Tiffanie (24:54) Yeah, no right. That's what a our   we have an almost 13-year-old in the house and he's ready to buy one, ready to build them, ready to go. I love it. I love it. Of course.   Pamela (25:02) I know, it's it's very cool. Well thank you for the time, Tiffanie. It was great to talk about this.   Tiffanie (25:09) Thanks, fam. Awesome. Okay, listeners, share this with a buddy. share some information you might have. You might be trying something in your practice now. Drop us a five-star review below and call that out. People do read through those comments.   or if you're on our socials, put it in the comments section. You guys have some conversations about this. There's a lot to be learned here and there's so much to be shared. I know we had a doctor speaking on how she's using AI, but then we also just had a massive conversation in our doctor's only mastermind last Tuesday about AI tools, AI bots, kind of how different practices are using them. So it's a huge conversation. Get it rolling in there, get on board with some other doctors and share these tools with each other.   Hello@TheDentalATeam.com. If you need anything from us at all, we are always happy to share all of the knowledge that we have and we're always happy to help you in your practice on your journey towards an amazing rest of the year. Thanks so much guys and we'll catch you next time.  

Lauren Cobello is the CEO and founder of Leverage with Media PR, a boutique public relations agency that helps authors, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders use media strategically to build authority, credibility, and growth. Before launching her agency, she spent nearly two decades building her own personal brand as a personal finance expert, becoming a three-time author and regular national TV personality on shows like The Today Show, Good Morning America, Dr. Oz, and Rachael Ray. After scaling her personal brand to seven figures, she sold that company and bootstrapped Leverage with Media PR from zero to a million-dollar agency in just 10 months. On this episode we talk about: How Lauren paid off 40,000 dollars in debt and built a personal finance brand from a couponing blog. How national TV appearances became top-of-funnel “ads” that fueled her seven-figure business. Why she sold her first company, downsized her lifestyle, and went all-in on starting a PR agency debt free. The truth about the PR industry, including low-quality agencies, profit-first models, and why so many founders feel burned. How traditional media, podcasts, and social platforms now work together to build authority in 2026. Why relationships and senior-level publicists are the real differentiators for landing meaningful TV and podcast placements. The realities of getting on top podcasts like Joe Rogan and why most entrepreneurs need a more strategic, ego-free media plan. Top 3 Takeaways Media is a multiplier: When used strategically, every TV appearance, podcast, or feature should act as top of funnel that drives people into a sales ecosystem and builds trust before you ever enter the room. Not all PR is created equal: Most agencies optimize for profit, staffing junior or outsourced teams, while the firms that actually move the needle rely on senior publicists with deep relationships and clear KPIs. Traditional media isn't dead—it's leveraged: In 2026, the strongest brands blend traditional TV, podcasts, social, and newsletters, using prestigious earned media (like major TV shows) for credibility and association that makes everything else easier. Notable Quotes "Every single TV appearance that I did became top of funnel—an ad that went into my sales funnel and got people to trust me before I even walked in the room." "PR is not marketing, and most PR agencies are full of it because they sell promises junior teams can't fulfill." "You probably aren't going on the top five podcasts you're dreaming about, but the right ‘smaller' shows can move the needle more than the ones with fake followers and vanity metrics." Connect with Lauren Cobello: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/leveragewithmediapr Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/leveragewithmedia Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauren_cobello Other: ⁠Leverage with Media PR⁠  A Word from Our Sponsors:- The most successful business owners don't do it all themselves — they delegate. Upwork lets you build a team of highly skilled specialists for every function your business needs, so you can focus on what you do best and let experts handle the rest. Visit Upwork.com right now and post your job for free! - Go to Leesa.com for 30% OFF select mattresses (through September 13, 2026) PLUS get an extra $50 off with promo code TMM, exclusive for my listeners Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of Front Cover: A Rough Notes Podcast on the Agency Intelligence Podcast Network, Jason Cass sits down with Robbie Smith, Co-Founder of Oakbridge Insurance the agency featured on the September 2026 front cover of Rough Notes Magazine.  Key Topics: Robbie reflects on Oakbridge Insurance earning a spot on the cover of Rough Notes Magazine Oakbridge Insurance formed five and a half years ago when four Georgia agencies came together The firm now generates over $210 million in revenue across nine Southeast states Business mix spans 60% commercial P&C and surety, 22% personal lines, 18% employee benefits Third party capital from Corsair Capital and now Audax Private Equity fuels growth and M&A A COVID era frustration with failed internal perpetuation sparked the idea behind Oakbridge Insurance Valuing agencies the way they're run, tracking KPIs like shareholder and producer age Structuring deals so the "last generation" gets cash while the "current generation" earns equity Oakbridge Insurance's four guiding principles: opportunity, excellence, collaboration, and community Passing leadership to a new CEO, president, and COO as Oakbridge Insurance targets its next five years Reach out to: Robbie Smith Jason Cass Visit Website: Oakbridge Insurance Rough Notes Magazine Produced by PodSquad.fm

Matthias Gruenwald shares his journey from automotive manufacturing to successful mobile home park investing, highlighting the importance of KPIs, technology, and an abundance mindset in scaling real estate portfolios. In this episode, Matias Grunwald shares his journey from managing small properties to overseeing over 1,100 units, emphasizing the importance of scalable systems, building relationships, and mindset shifts necessary for growth in real estate investing.   Professional Real Estate Investors - How we can help you: Investor Fuel Mastermind:  Learn more about the Investor Fuel Mastermind, including 100% deal financing, massive discounts from vendors and sponsors you're already using, our world class community of over 150 members, and SO much more here: http://www.investorfuel.com/apply   Investor Machine Marketing Partnership:  Are you looking for consistent, high quality lead generation? Investor Machine is America's #1 lead generation service professional investors. Investor Machine provides true 'white glove' support to help you build the perfect marketing plan, then we'll execute it for you…talking and working together on an ongoing basis to help you hit YOUR goals! Learn more here: http://www.investormachine.com   Coaching with Mike Hambright:  Interested in 1 on 1 coaching with Mike Hambright? Mike coaches entrepreneurs looking to level up, build coaching or service based businesses (Mike runs multiple 7 and 8 figure a year businesses), building a coaching program and more. Learn more here: https://investorfuel.com/coachingwithmike   Attend a Vacation/Mastermind Retreat with Mike Hambright: Interested in joining a "mini-mastermind" with Mike and his private clients on an upcoming "Retreat", either at locations like Cabo San Lucas, Napa, Park City ski trip, Yellowstone, or even at Mike's East Texas "Big H Ranch"? Learn more here: http://www.investorfuel.com/retreat   Property Insurance: Join the largest and most investor friendly property insurance provider in 2 minutes. Free to join, and insure all your flips and rentals within minutes! There is NO easier insurance provider on the planet (turn insurance on or off in 1 minute without talking to anyone!), and there's no 15-30% agent mark up through this platform!  Register here: https://myinvestorinsurance.com/   New Real Estate Investors - How we can work together: Investor Fuel Club (Coaching and Deal Partner Community): Looking to kickstart your real estate investing career? Join our one of a kind Coaching Community, Investor Fuel Club, where you'll get trained by some of the best real estate investors in America, and partner with them on deals! You don't need $ for deals…we'll partner with you and hold your hand along the way! Learn More here: http://www.investorfuel.com/club   —--------------------

We spend years chasing revenue, growth, bigger teams, bigger goals and the next level but at some point, we have to ask what all of that success was supposed to give us in the first place. Because a business can look incredibly successful from the outside while the woman running it is exhausted, overwhelmed and barely participating in her own life. In this episode of The Elevate Podcast, we're redefining what it actually means to elevate. We're talking about why your health, strength, relationships, energy, time, finances, confidence and happiness deserve KPIs too and why your next level might have nothing to do with making more money. Maybe you don't need a bigger business. Maybe you need a bigger life. If you've built something you're proud of but secretly wonder, "Is this really what success is supposed to feel like?" this episode is for you. Accompanying PDF: https://opulentbeautypro.mykajabi.com/offers/MYoWfrum

S6:E75 What if getting more customers actually made your business worse? That's the paradox Charles Gaudet sees repeatedly. A founder builds a business through hard work, referrals and personal relationships. Success arrives. More customers come in. Employees are hired. Yet instead of gaining freedom, the founder becomes the hub through which nearly everything still has to pass. Queue up this episode of Small Business Stories as Charles Gaudet, CEO of Predictable Profits, explains what he calls the Founder's Trap and why adding more leads, sales or people can deepen it instead of solving it. Charles describes the founder not as someone sitting neatly at the top of an organizational chart, but stuck in the middle of it: chief rainmaker, best closer, decision-maker, client contact and firefighter. And that leads to a larger diagnostic problem. If people don't trust your business to operate without you, growth becomes harder to sustain. If buyers don't understand your unique advantage, more traffic won't necessarily improve conversion. And if you misdiagnose the problem, AI can efficiently give you an answer to the wrong question. That last point creates an especially interesting intersection with Dr. LL's work on misinterpretation risk: sometimes the signal isn't unclear because the answer is bad. It's unclear because we've misunderstood the problem we're trying to solve.

Your law firm leads aren't broken; your intake process is. In this episode, Molly and Ron Latz (founder of LegalFenix) expose the real reasons qualified leads leak out of your pipeline before cases get signed. Most law firms blame their marketing agency or claim they're not getting quality leads. But Ron's framework reveals the truth: the problem is almost always failures in people, processes, and technology hidden within your firm, not in your lead generation. Key Takeaways: Why blaming your marketing agency kills your business (and how to diagnose the real problem)   The 5-minute rule: why speed to lead is your #1 competitive advantage in 2026   How to align your intake and marketing teams (weekly meetings, not quarterly ones)   What your intake coordinator is actually worth ($25K/month for true solos)   How to set shared KPIs with agencies BEFORE you sign anything   The technology audit Ron runs first (call routing, form submissions, CRM tasks)   How to replicate what elite law firms do differently.   Ron Latz is the founder of LegalFenix and has spent 15+ years in legal marketing. He works as a fractional CMO, helping law firms transform lead generation into actual signed cases, not just vanity metrics.   Connect with Ron: Website: https://legalfenix.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronlatz/ Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/legalfenixmarketing Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@LegalFenix Newsletter: https://legalfenix.com/newsletter/   Links: Website: https://hiringandempowering.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hiringandempowering Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hiringandempowering LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hiring&empoweringsolutions/ The Law Firm Admin Bootcamp + Academy™ : https://www.lawfirmadminbootcamp.com/ Get Fix My Boss Book: https://amzn.to/3PCeEhk Ways to Tune In: Amazon Music - https://www.amazon.com/Hiring-and-Empowering-Solutions/dp/B08JJSLJ7N Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hiring-and-empowering-solutions/id1460184599 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/3oIfsDDnEDDkcumTCygHDH Stitcher - https://www.stitcher.com/show/hiring-and-empowering-solutions YouTube - https://youtu.be/evdvi9D0SRs 

Most accounting firm owners assume the big, PE-backed players have an unbeatable head start on AI. In this state-of-the-industry conversation, Joey Kinney, Virtual CFO at Anders, pinch-hits for Tom Wadelton and sits down with Adam Hale, Partner at Anders, for an unscripted look at where AI is actually changing accounting advisory work right now. Fresh off a live Basis AI conference with the top 100 firms in the room, Adam explains why smaller, faster-moving firms may have more room to close the gap than anyone expects. From there, the conversation covers what happens when clients start showing up with their own AI-built financial analysis, why tracking 50 KPIs is the same as tracking none, how the COO role is quietly folding into the CFO seat, and why Adam believes the traditional CPA firm staffing pyramid is about to flip into a diamond. They also get into an honest conversation about trust: what it actually takes for a young, AI-fluent advisor to be believed in the room. If you're trying to figure out how AI changes your firm's pricing, staffing, and advisory model over the next year, this episode is a working session, not a keynote.  ▶️ Why Smaller CPA Firms Have the AI Advantage with Joey Kinney and Adam Hale.Episode resources: ● Website: https://anderscpa.com/ ● If you have questions or would like to be a guest on the show, email us at mcpasuccessshow@anderscpa.com ● Check out the Virtual CFO Playbook Course: https://anderscpa.com/virtual-cfo-services/vcfo-playbook/Quotes:Adam Hale: "One of the biggest takeaways is they're not very far ahead either, in this entire space. Smaller firms really have an opportunity here to make up a lot of ground."Joey Kinney: "If you're tracking 50 KPIs, you're tracking no KPIs, because you don't have any KPIs at 50."About the HostsJoey Kinney, CPA, pinch-hits as host for this episode. He's a Virtual CFO at Anders. Coming from an accounting family, Joey began learning about basic accounting principles from his parents as a teen. From there, he continued to build his experience by taking on a variety of roles in the accounting and financial industry. Joey enjoys helping business owners navigate the ever-changing business landscape. He loves being a trusted advisor who can help his clients achieve their personal and professional goals.LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joey-kinney-cpa-60658188/ Adam Hale, CPA, Partner and Managing Director of Advisory at Anders, is dedicated to transforming traditional accounting practices through innovative Virtual CFO services. With over 20 years in public accounting, Adam has been instrumental in the ideation and development of CPA training courses.Website: https://anderscpa.com/about/your-anders-team/#adam-haleLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamhalecpa/Tom Wadelton is out this episode, back next time.About the ShowThe Modern CPA Success Show is the go-to podcast for accounting firm owners eager to enhance profitability and master Virtual CFO services. This podcast leverages combined expertise in delivering top-tier Virtual CFO services across North America.Website: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2458888Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AndersCPALinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/anders-cpa/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anderscpa/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@andersvcfo#VirtualCFO #AccountingAI #CPAFirmGrowth

S6:E75 What if getting more customers actually made your business worse? That's the paradox Charles Gaudet sees repeatedly. A founder builds a business through hard work, referrals and personal relationships. Success arrives. More customers come in. Employees are hired. Yet instead of gaining freedom, the founder becomes the hub through which nearly everything still has to pass. Queue up this episode of Small Business Stories as Charles Gaudet, CEO of Predictable Profits, explains what he calls the Founder's Trap and why adding more leads, sales or people can deepen it instead of solving it. Charles describes the founder not as someone sitting neatly at the top of an organizational chart, but stuck in the middle of it: chief rainmaker, best closer, decision-maker, client contact and firefighter. And that leads to a larger diagnostic problem. If people don't trust your business to operate without you, growth becomes harder to sustain. If buyers don't understand your unique advantage, more traffic won't necessarily improve conversion. And if you misdiagnose the problem, AI can efficiently give you an answer to the wrong question. That last point creates an especially interesting intersection with Dr. LL's work on misinterpretation risk: sometimes the signal isn't unclear because the answer is bad. It's unclear because we've misunderstood the problem we're trying to solve.

To monetize your sales pipeline, you need to fill it, prioritize it and tackle it. This whole idea of knowing what to do and not doing it, is rampant. It seems ridiculous. It’s like, “who would do that?” And the answer is nearly everybody does it. And none of us do it on purpose, but we all, to some extent, end up doing it. David: Hi, and welcome to the podcast. In today’s episode, cohost Jay McFarland and I will be discussing how to monetize your sales pipeline. Welcome back, Jay. Jay: Thank you, David. It’s such a pleasure to be here. I really can’t wait to talk a little bit more about this process. I see people who kind of think they have a pipeline. But they’re not sure exactly what to do with it. So a good, important topic today. David: Yeah. What to do with it or in a lot of cases, even what it is. I think even before we can talk about how to monetize it, you almost have to identify it. What is it? What is your sales pipeline? Who is it? Who are the people who are in it? Where is it located? Is it just inside your head? Because if it’s just inside your head, leaving enormous amounts of money on the table. Jay: Yeah, and we’ve talked in the past about key performance indicators, KPIs. First you have to know what that pipeline is. Then you have to know how to track it and where people are at in each stage so that things ideally trigger automatically. I think that’s the end goal, but getting there can be difficult. 3 Steps to Monetize Your Sales Pipeline David: Yeah, I mean I think of it in terms of filling it, prioritizing it and then tackling it. Because if you’re not doing it in that order, it’s going to be problematic for you. Jay: All right. Well then let’s start with filling it. Let’s get that going. David: Okay, Well, when we talk about filling our pipeline after we’ve identified what it is and where it is, filling it obviously is the biggest thing. And I think a lot of salespeople tend to think of this as being pretty important. Getting new leads into their pipeline. And of course, it is very important. It’s the number one step. Because until you know who’s in there, you don’t really have anything you can do. You’ve got to have the prospect first. So filling it starts with asking yourself, who goes in here? And what types of clients am I looking for? Are they in particular types of industries? Are they located in a particular geographic area? What are the different things that I’m looking for in terms of a good, solid prospect for my pipeline? So who goes in is very important. But who stays out is also extremely important. And we don’t think about this, but it is so critical. In my sales career over the years, particularly in the early stages, I just thought if someone was willing to talk to me then they were a good prospect. And I learned, not as quickly as I should have, that that’s just not the case. There are people out there who will be happy to talk to you again and again and never actually buy anything from you. So when you’re looking at who goes in and who stays out, think in terms of exactly that. When you are talking to someone, if you’re not able to get them qualified in as quickly as you’d like, to make sure that they have the need, the desire, the money, the budget, the willingness to spend. Then, don’t keep going back to that well and expecting to get water out if there’s no water to be found. Jay: You know, we had exactly this problem here recently with the company I’ve been doing consulting for. They wanted to start using Google ads and David: mm-hmm. Jay: So they just put out some general pay for click kind of stuff, and their phones and their online scheduling just lit up. I mean every single day, packed and full. But only about 3% of those calls were related to their actual focus and their product. So they ended up spending all this time. And then what they had to do was go through a process of, like you said, Okay. Identifying the core customer and refining your keywords down to a point where you’re not getting all of that other stuff. At first, they’re like, “look at all these calls. This is going to be great,” and it turned into a huge detractor very quickly. To Monetize Your Sales Pipeline, Don’t Overfill it David: Yeah. And so when we think in terms of filling our pipeline, and I led with that. I said, Okay, first we have to fill it, but we don’t want to overfill it. And we particularly don’t want to fill it with people who have no likelihood of becoming clients. So, a lot of times the thought process is, you know, where is the next lead going to come from? Whether it’s coming from online, whether you’re doing something with Google, whether you’re doing in person prospecting, whether you’re doing it through social media, where they come from is not as critical as making sure that you’re getting people into the pipeline that you can qualify in or out as quickly as possible. So that’s really the first thing. Fill it, but don’t overfill it. Because I know people who have what they think are sales pipelines. It’s basically a database of thousands of people that they’re never going to get to, because they didn’t do the second thing we’re talking about, which is to prioritize it and decide, you know, who are the people in here that I need to be in touch with now? We need to rank the contacts inside that database so that we can be in touch with the right people at the right time. I mean, that’s really all prioritization is, starting with the most important contacts first, and that’s a challenge sometimes too, is to say, Okay, well who is most important? is it what they refer to as the bleeding neck thing? You know, who’s in the most trouble? Or is it, hey, I’ve got a really good, loyal client who reached out to me. Do I reach out to them first, or do I reach out to the person who’s screaming, who I might not know as well? That’s a personal decision, but in a lot of cases, you need to do your prioritization based on what’s most important to you. If it’s serving a really good customer first, then that person has to come first. If somebody else is screaming for service, but they’re new prospects and you have no idea whether or not they can spend a dime with you, you need to decide how that’s going to fall on the prioritization scale. And to the extent possible, if you have help, if you’ve got an administrative assistant who can help with some of that stuff, that’s great. But prioritization is absolutely key. Is it our best customers? Is it the person with the biggest, most pressing need? Now, biggest and most pressing are also two different things, right? Somebody might have a very pressing need for a very teeny, tiny order. And so if that’s the case, does it make sense for you to step away from what you’re doing with a bigger, more important order or customer to deal with somebody who’s got something smaller in mind. And once again, you’ve got to make some of these decisions for yourself. But when you recognize that there are different criteria that go into this decision, then it really becomes more of a simple thought process. Because you make those calls for yourself and then you make those decisions accordingly. And there are always people who are going to have time sensitive projects. So where does that fall into the overall scheme of things? People, you know, say they need stuff tomorrow or they need it immediately. And sometimes that’s the case and sometimes it’s not. So finding those things out is also part of this process. Jay: Yeah. One of the ways I ‘ve seen this done, kind of what you’re talking about, is identifying where different leads are coming from. So I have leads that are referrals and I have leads that are from Google Ads. And then I’m tracking my close rate on both of those leads, and I’m realizing that the ones that come from referrals or my current database, my close rate is 30%, and from Google it’s 10%. To me, that’s a great way to be able to identify where you should focus your time. David: Yeah. And in those situations too, I mean, some people will look at that and say, “well, I got 30% here and 10% there. Let’s forget about that.” But hey, 10% is still 10% right? And if your qualification procedure is tight, and you can disqualify the unqualified as quickly as possible, and I’m sure we’ll talk about that in future podcasts as well, then it makes perfect sense to look at that. Because the 10% that you’re getting from one source might actually perform better than the 30% you’re getting somewhere else, depending on how large a customer it is and what they’re buying. So there are all those different factors involved, and it’s smart. What you’re doing is very smart. Looking at that and trying to make those best decisions based on what’s actually happening in real life, in your customer base, in your prospect base. Jay: Yeah. Such a great point, because I may be able to close 30% of this type of lead, but I’m only getting three of those a day. And then on the 10% side, I’m getting 20 of those a day, so David: Right. Jay: That’s part of that calculation, right? David: Yeah, 10% of 20 is two. So if you can pick up two customers from it, then, you don’t want to throw that away. Jay: Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. And I think the other part is you don’t have to ignore those smaller percentages or things. You can have systems to deal with those people. Maybe you put them in a drip program so that they’re still getting contact from you. There’s other ways you’re not going to just, you know, kiss those people goodbye. You just may have a different way to reach out to them. David: Absolutely. All right, so we talked about identifying it, well, identifying it first, but then in terms of the 1, 2, 3 of it, filling your pipeline, prioritizing your pipeline, and then tackling it. So we talked about filling it and prioritizing it. Now, when it gets down to tackling, it’s really just a matter of doing. Once you’ve done your prioritization, once you’ve decided who the next person is, or who’s the first person I need to be in touch with, then it’s a matter of executing on your plan. So your prioritization is essentially your planning stage. And then tackling it is just about taking action. It’s about doing it. And we’ll be talking about things like call reluctance and things like that in future podcasts. But this whole idea of knowing what to do and not doing it, is rampant. It seems ridiculous. It’s like, well, who would do that? And the answer is nearly everybody does it. And none of us do it on purpose, but we all, to some extent, end up doing it. It’s like, Well, I know I need to do this, but then something pops up on our radar and we do that. It could be shiny object syndrome. We’ve talked about squirrel before, right? Squirrel. That was from a movie, right? You had mentioned that in a previous podcast. Jay: Yeah. That was from Up In Disney’s Up. David: Right, okay. The dog. Jay: The dog, yeah. David: Yeah, and I think we can all relate to that. So it’s like we know what we need to do, but then we get distracted. And so tackling it simply means having the self discipline to, once you’ve made that plan, to stick to that plan. And follow your instincts in that regard, because if you’ve taken the time to identify who needs to be in touch next, then you want to make sure that that’s the person that you’re being in touch with. It’s very straightforward, but needs to be mentioned because a lot of times it just doesn’t happen. There are probably situations. I know I’ve been in this situation, probably anybody who’s watching this podcast has been in a situation where you’re like, Oh, I really need to call so and so. I really need to get in touch with this person or that person. And then days go by, or weeks go by, or months go by, and in a lot of cases it’s because you didn’t do step two, you didn’t prioritize it. You didn’t actually put that person on a list, at or near the top of that list where they would be seen, and it could be acted. And once again, going back to what we started out on this, if you’re doing it all in your head, you are going to miss things. There’s no way you will not miss things. It’s just the way things work. You get it down on paper, you get it into one prioritized list, you organize it, you sort it. You start at the top and work your way through. That’s about the best way that you’re ever going to be able to get these things done. So, the topic that we started out with was monetizing your pipeline. Now, all we’ve really talked about is filling it and prioritizing it and tackling it, but that’s what leads to the monetization. Because it’s the failure to do those things that puts you in touch with a lot of the wrong people at the wrong time with the wrong words. That leads to non monetization. So if you really want to monetize your pipeline, you still need to focus on these three things. First, you have to fill it, then you have to prioritize it, and then you have to tackle it and be ruthless about eliminating poor quality prospects. Jay: Yeah, I totally agree with you. And again, looking at tackling knowing your sales cycle is something that can be critical. Like if you, if you discover that, if you don’t get back to them in a week, then the close rate goes down. I mean, it depends on what type of business you have, but that timeliness is also something you should study and look at. Because you may learn, if I don’t get back to these customers in 48 hours, then my percentages go way down. David: Absolutely. I mean, I’ve always maintained that a hot lead is like a hot cup of coffee. It doesn’t get any hotter as a result of neglect. You know, you’ve got to get to it fast. And leads are like that. And I know I’ve made that mistake in my business over the years where something comes in, I get distracted. You follow up later and they’re like, “Oh, I already took care of that.” It’s like, “ugh.” Now I haven’t done that at all recently, but I know years ago, and in the early stages, I’d just have things falling through the cracks because I didn’t do this consistently, these three things. When you do it, it works really well. When you don’t, you really pay the price. Jay: Yeah, absolutely. How do people find out more, David? David: Well, you can go to TopSecrets.com/call if you’d like to have a call with myself or my team to talk about how you’d like to grow your sales and profits. We can have a strategy session, discuss where you’re struggling, what you’re looking to do, and if we can help, we’ll tell you how we can do that. And if we can’t help, we’ll tell you that too. So I’d start with that: TopSecrets.com/call. Jay: All right, Dave, I love it. Thank you so much for joining us today. David: Thank you, Jay. Ready to Grow Your Sales & Profits? If so, check out the five primary ways we help promotional product distributors grow: Just Getting Started? If you (or someone on your team) is just getting started in promotional products sales, learn how we can help. Need Clients Now? If you're already grounded in the essentials of promotional product sales and just need to get clients now, click here. Want EQP/Preferential Pricing? Are you an established industry veteran doing a significant volume of sales? If so, click here to get End Quantity Pricing from many of the top supplier lines in the promo industry. Time to Hire Salespeople? If you want to hire others to grow your promo sales, click here. Ready to Dominate Your Market? If you're serious about creating top-of-mind-awareness with the very best prospects in your market, schedule a one-on-one Strategy Session here.

In this episode, Sarah discusses why autopilot (or always choosing the default, easiest choices) doesn't work. She starts with the example of health, and then compares the decline of our society's physical health (particularly metabolic health) to cognitive and emotional struggles many face today in our current digital landscape.She then moves on to 5 things she is loving now -- lightening the mood considerably!Mentioned on the ep:- Cal Newport's recent episode discussing cognitive KPIs: https://www.thedeeplife.com/podcasts/episodes/how-to-build-a-cognitive-training-plan-monday-advice/- Hobonichi launch site:https://www.1101.com/store/techo/en/magazine/2027/y27/?srsltid=AfmBOopv4kxup7kx0tbdd2yl9WyyElZXI15WfwGg9l-az5ya6klfqXkX August Sponsors: Factor Meals: Head to factormeals.com/plans50off and and use code plans50off to get 50 percent off and 1 free breakfast item per box while supplies last until 10/31/2026 IXL: Best Laid Plans listeners can get an exclusive 20% off IXL membership when they sign up today at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.ixl.com/plans⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. PrepDish: Make your menu planning so much easier! Try it free for 2 weeks by visiting ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠prepdish.com/plans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn how to use AI to answer the marketing questions that actually matter. Join our free live Masterclass → https://www.passetto.com/ai-marketing-kpi-masterclassShowing up in AI search isn't a ranking game. It's a category-level eligibility problem.In this episode, Carolyn and Amber sit down with Gaetano DiNardi, the GOAT of SEO, to break down what actually gets a brand recommended by an LLM: entity association, AKA the model's pre-existing, trained-in belief that you belong in a category. It takes months, sometimes years, to build. No schema markup or "LLMs.txt" trick shortcuts it.Then they go after the citation obsession running the GEO conversation. Gaetano has clients getting cited constantly and still not getting recommended, because a citation and a recommendation aren't the same thing.Topics covered:Why GEO is a category eligibility problem, not an SEO ranking problemWhat "entity association" is, how long it realistically takes to build, and why some brands shouldn't even try yetThe citation myth: why getting cited everywhere doesn't mean getting recommended, and why the "95% third-party" stat is misleadingWhat it actually takes to get recommended by name when a buyer asks an AI tool for a shortlistWhy top-of-funnel content is dying on owned domains and moving to "rented land" (YouTube, LinkedIn, Substack)Who should prioritize SEO/GEO right now, and who's still too early to botherSkip to 47:00 to watch a live walkthrough: Gaetano reverse-engineers a ChatGPT recommendation in real time, asking it directly how it landed on an answer and which sources it actually pulled from.-----------------------------------------------------Measure marketing beyond leads and last-touch attribution.Passetto unifies CRM and marketing data into one clean, governed model, to finally help marketing leaders measure the KPIs they actually need.See how marketing influences pipeline, how marketing changes win rates and deal size, which programs are actually working, and where to invest next. Then query it all through AI, on demand.

Your day job can be more than a paycheck.It can also be a front-row seat to how a real business operates.In this episode of The Level Up Podcast, Paul Alex breaks down how aspiring entrepreneurs can use their current jobs as paid training grounds for the companies they eventually want to build.Every meeting, process, department, and system contains a lesson.Instead of resenting the structure around you, study it.Pay attention to how teams communicate, how leaders make decisions, and how the company handles problems at scale.In this episode, you'll learn:• Why corporate systems can teach you how larger businesses actually operate• How to study management, KPIs, workflows, and problem-solving from the inside• Why observing proven processes can save you from reinventing the wheel• How changing your perspective on your day job can reduce frustration and increase preparationThe truth is simple:Every workplace can become a classroom if you are paying attention.Study the systems.Watch the leaders.Learn from the mistakes.Take the lessons you can legally and ethically apply to your own business.Your job can fund your future while also teaching you how to operate at a higher level.Use the sandbox.Collect the knowledge.Then build your own castle.Your Network is your NETWORTH!Make sure to add me on all SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS:Instagram: https://jo.my/paulalex2024Facebook: https://jo.my/fbpaulalex2024YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGhDAD1JyGGzSQUPD9lc9HQLinkedIn: https://jo.my/inpaulalex2024Looking for a secondary source of income or want to become an entrepreneur? Check out one of my companies below to see if we can help you:www.CashSwipe.comFREE Copy of my book “Blue to Digital Gold - The New American Dream”www.officialPaulAlex.com

In this episode, Jason explains why data alone cannot tell you everything you need to know about a construction project. Metrics matter, but leaders still need visibility, experience, and direct observation to understand what is really happening. Jason discusses the limits of KPIs and lagging indicators, the danger of confusing correlation with causation, and the importance of field walks in understanding team morale, preparation, training, planning, and project behaviors. He explains why the most valuable information is often difficult to capture in a dashboard and must instead be seen and interpreted by experienced people. What you'll learn in this episode: Why project data and KPIs rarely tell the complete story on their own. How confusing correlation with causation can lead to poor conclusions from data. Why field walks help leaders understand behaviors, preparation, morale, and project conditions. How visual systems and experienced observation help teams identify information that metrics cannot capture. Are you managing your project only through reports and KPIs, or are you also getting close enough to the work to see what the data cannot show you?   If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free and you'll never miss an episode.  And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two

An AI agent can finish a task and still violate the rules that matter most. In supply chain, that gap can affect cost limits, approved suppliers, compliance requirements, safety protocols, and escalation paths. In this episode of Supply Chain Now, Scott W. Luton speaks with Vin Vashishta, CEO and AI strategist at V-Squared, about intent contracts, audit trails, workflow reorchestration, tokenomics, semantic layers, and evidence-based AI strategy. Vin explains how to evaluate AI by the value it creates, budget for recurring usage costs, work with imperfect information, and require consultants to connect every recommendation to evidence, risk, mitigation, and business-specific ROI. Jump into the conversation: (00:00) Introduction (05:38) Intent contracts and their role in AI agent management (08:38) The need for AI audit trails in supply chain (11:10) CIO considerations for managing AI demand at scale (14:21) Gaps in workflow reorchestration and value quantification (17:00) Lessons from the semantic layer meme on imperfect data (19:36) The outcomes an AI strategy should deliver for a specific business (25:03) AI training programs generating the strongest market response (26:49) Ways to follow Vin and learn more Additional Links & Resources: Connect with Vin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vineetvashishta/ Learn more about V-Squared: https://vsquaredai.com/ Vin's LinkedIn Post about Managing AI Agents: https://bit.ly/Managing-AI-Agents The cost of intelligence: How CIOs can manage AI demand at scale: https://mck.co/3TUD3mz Vin's LinkedIn Post about the Cost of Intelligence: https://bit.ly/Vin-on-CIO-Managing-AI Vin's LinkedIn Post on The Semantic Layers: https://bit.ly/Vin-on-Semantic-Layers Vin's LinkedIn Post on AI Strategy: https://bit.ly/Vin-on-AI-Strategy-2026 Vin's Training & Certification Classes: https://datascience.vin/ Learn more about our hosts: https://supplychainnow.com/about Learn more about Supply Chain Now: https://supplychainnow.com Watch and listen to more Supply Chain Now episodes here: https://supplychainnow.com/program/supply-chain-now Subscribe to Supply Chain Now on your favorite platform: https://supplychainnow.com/join Work with us! Download Supply Chain Now's NEW Media Kit: https://supplychainnow.com/media-kit/ WEBINAR- SAP AI Inside the Supply Chain: From Silo to Orchestration: https://bit.ly/4bvpz6K WEBINAR- Operational AI in the Supply Chain: How context empowers agents and humans to operate side by side: https://bit.ly/4x7Vd2Z WEBINAR- You Can't Manage What You Can't See: Using Visibility, KPIs, and AI to Optimize Logistics Operations: https://bit.ly/4ql6iem Gartner Announces 2026 Rankings of the Global Supply Chain Top 25: https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2026-06-17-gartner-announces-2026-rankings-of-the-global-supply-chain-top-25 This episode was hosted by Scott Luton and produced by Trisha Cordes, Joshua Miranda, and Amanda Luton. For additional information, please visit our dedicated show page at: https://supplychainnow.com/ai-agents-semantic-layers-cio-leadership-1629 The content in this episode, including all audio, videos, visuals, and graphics, is the property of Supply Chain Now and is protected by copyright law. Unauthorized use, reproduction, distribution, modification, or re-uploading of this content in any form is strictly prohibited without explicit written permission from Supply Chain Now.For licensing inquiries or permissions, please contact us at production@supplychainnow.com© 2026 Supply Chain Now. All rights reserved. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Mark Young is the CEO of Ryze Agency, where he helps brands scale through world-class marketing, sharp product positioning, and operational clarity. Mark has built multiple successful businesses and has become a trusted advisor for founders looking to break through plateaus and expand into new markets.  He has recently published a series of 5 books titled the Ecommerce Brand Guide to the Galaxy with Benjamin Hardy.Highlight Bullets> Here's a glimpse of what you would learn…. Differences between selling on Amazon and Shopify, focusing on intent-based versus cold traffic marketing.Common misconceptions brands have about marketing metrics, particularly the focus on ROAS.Importance of understanding customer acquisition cost (CAC), lifetime value (LTV), and average order value (AOV) for sustainable growth.Strategies for increasing average order value through upsells and bundles.The significance of customer experience and retention marketing on Shopify compared to Amazon.The role of storytelling and brand identity in engaging customers on Shopify.Examples of successful and unsuccessful brand strategies in e-commerce.Actionable takeaways for brands looking to scale on Shopify.The impact of brand loyalty and customer relationships on long-term success.Recommendations for influential books and tools in the e-commerce space.In this episode of the Ecomm Breakthrough Podcast, host Josh Hadley speaks with Mark Young, CEO of Ryze Agency, about scaling DTC brands on Shopify. Mark explains the fundamental differences between Amazon's intent-based selling and Shopify's cold traffic environment, emphasizing the need for brand storytelling. He challenges the common obsession with ROAS, introducing the "holy trinity" of metrics: Customer Acquisition Cost, Lifetime Value, and Average Order Value. Mark also highlights the importance of retention marketing and authentic customer relationships, sharing real success and failure stories to illustrate how strategy, not tactics, drives sustainable e-commerce growth.Here are the 3 action items that Josh identified from this episode:Shift from “conversion” to “connection” Stop treating Shopify like Amazon. Build demand through storytelling, content, and brand experience—optimize for trust and engagement before expecting conversions.Scale with the right metrics (not ROAS) Track and optimize your CAC:LTV:AOV triangle. Aim for a 1:3 CAC:LTV ratio, and be willing to accept lower short-term ROAS to acquire high-value customers.Increase AOV + retention to unlock profit Bundle products, upsell, and improve post-purchase experience. Focus on repeat buyers (email/SMS, loyalty, CX) to maximize LTV and make your paid acquisition sustainable.Timestamps:00:00:38 Introduction to the E-comm Breakthrough PodcastThe announcer introduces the podcast, aimed at helping seven-figure e-commerce business owners unlock their full potential and growth.00:00:52 Host's Introduction and Guest WelcomeHost Josh Hadley introduces himself and the episode's guest, Mark Young, CEO of Ryze Agency and author.00:02:12 The Challenge of Scaling from Amazon to ShopifyMark discusses why brands successful on Amazon often struggle on Shopify, highlighting the fundamental differences between the platforms.00:04:15 Amazon vs. Shopify: Intent vs. Cold TrafficA breakdown of how Amazon is an intent-based platform, while Shopify requires cold traffic marketing and brand storytelling.00:05:57 Common Misconceptions Brands Have with AgenciesMark explains the two types of clients he encounters: startups who think they know everything and brands with agency trauma.00:08:20 The Problem with Over-relying on ROASMark details why Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) is a "fool's metric" and how agencies can manipulate it.00:11:02 The Holy Trinity of E-commerce MetricsMark explains the three core KPIs brands should focus on: Lifetime Value (LTV), Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC), and Average Order Value (AOV).00:18:24 The Importance of Average Order Value (AOV)Discussion on why an AOV of at least $50-$100 is crucial for profitability due to shipping costs and consumer psychology.00:21:09 Focusing on Customer Experience and RetentionMark argues that brands focus too much on acquisition and not enough on creating an impressive backend customer experience.00:24:49 The Mindset Shift from Amazon to ShopifyBrands moving from Amazon must learn to focus on customer experience and brand storytelling, which Amazon handles for them.00:28:11 Building a Relational BrandThe importance of creating a personal, relational brand on Shopify, as opposed to Amazon's transactional nature. People buy from people.00:33:19 Be the Guide, Not the HeroUsing the "StoryBrand" framework, Mark explains that brands should act as the guide (Gandalf) for their customer (Frodo).00:35:09 Case Study: A Successful Skincare BrandA brand succeeded by understanding its brand voice, embracing omnichannel marketing, and defining clear goals for its agency partnership.00:38:00 Case Study: A Failed BrandA brand failed due to a reactive CEO, a singular focus on top-line revenue, and training customers to expect constant discounts.00:41:38 Three Actionable TakeawaysJosh Hadley summarizes the key lessons: understand your brand story, focus on LTV over ROAS, and prioritize customer retention.00:44:03 Mark's Most Influential BooksMark shares his favorite and most influential books, including works by Donald Miller, Will Guidara, and Stephen Covey.00:45:12 Leveraging AI in BusinessMark discusses how his agency uses AI, specifically "Claude bots," to imagine a new kind of business, not just automate tasks.00:48:08 Who to Follow in the E-comm SpaceMark recommends following Alex Hormozi and Donald Miller and emphasizes the value of nano and micro-influencers over macro-influencers.00:49:16 How to Connect with Mark YoungMark shares where listeners can find him, his books, and his agency, and discusses his passion for helping entrepreneurs.Resources mentioned in this episode:Josh Hadley on LinkedIneComm Breakthrough ConsultingeComm Breakthrough PodcastEmail Josh Hadley: Josh@eCommBreakthrough.comTools and Websites  "Ryze Agency": "00:02:01"  "Shopify": "00:02:55"  "

Episode Summary I've had more conversations than I can count with law firm owners who tell me their team just isn't performing. More stress, more hours, more chasing, and somehow the numbers still don't move. In this episode I want to challenge that story, because in my experience it's rarely a staffing problem. It's an accountability gap, and that gap sits with the owner, not the team. I share what happened the year I tried to push my own firm past the $1.1M mark. I worked harder than I ever had. Revenue went up by $100k. Profit went down by $50k. It took me a while to admit that wasn't a team performance issue, it was a leadership one. I hadn't given my team anything real to be accountable to. This episode is part of the bigger conversation I have often in my law firm coaching work: growth doesn't create accountability, it exposes whether you already have it. If you're serious about law firm business coaching for your own firm, this is the structural piece that gets skipped most often. The core message I want you to sit with: your team will rise to the standard you actually measure and follow up on, not the one you're hoping for. What We'll Cover Why a busy, profitable looking firm can still be quietly leaking money The year my revenue went up and my profit went down, and what I learned from it Why loosely set KPIs function like decoration instead of accountability What happens when roles are vague and work turns into a hot potato nobody owns The four pillars I use to build real accountability into a firm The difference between visibility and micromanaging Why a KPI without a follow up conversation is just a spreadsheet One simple number you can start tracking this week What You'll Learn Why accountability is a system you build, not a personality trait you hope your staff have How to tell the difference between a real KPI and a vague target that just feels like one Why leading indicators like conversion rates matter as much as billables What a strong role description actually needs to include to stop work falling through the cracks How sending people their own numbers, not just tracking them yourself, changes behaviour Why consistency matters more than harshness when it comes to follow through You'll come away with a clearer picture of where the accountability gap sits in your own firm, and a practical first step to start closing it this week. Free Resources Wondering if the accountability gap in your firm is costing you more than you realise? I've got resources to help you dig in. My free resources cover the real nuts and bolts of running a law firm, from identifying profit leaks and getting clear on your numbers to building stronger systems and stepping back from being the bottleneck. Book a Free Law Firm Growth Strategy Call Scalable Law Accelerator Program Identifying Profit Leaks How to Make AI Recommend Your Law Firm (Free Guide) Is Your Team Actually the Problem, or Is It You? I want to be honest with you here. If your team isn't accountable right now, that's not a comment on their character. It's a comment on the structure you've given them to work inside. I see this constantly in my work as a law firm coach, and it's the first thing I look at with any firm I work with. If this episode sounds like your firm right now, this is exactly the kind of structural work I help with through law firm business coaching. Book a call with me and let's look at what's actually happening underneath your team's results. Book a Law Firm Growth Call Who's Still Waiting on You to Notice? Know a law firm owner who's constantly chasing their team, wondering why nothing gets done unless they're the one pushing it? Send them this episode. It might be the nudge they need to stop treating it as a staffing problem and start looking at the structure behind it. And if something in this episode made you rethink the way you work, I'd love to hear about it. Share your biggest takeaway on social media and tag me. I love seeing the shifts you're making inside your firm, even the small ones that, over time, add up to something much bigger. Apple Podcasts: Listen on Apple Spotify: Listen on Spotify YouTube: Watch on YouTube

Brandon Bateman of Bateman Collective has overseen more than $100 million in digital ad spend for the real estate investing community, and he comes on to hand investors the exact numbers they should track to know if their marketing is actually working. As David puts it, Brandon helps people make money while Simple CFO helps them keep it, the yin to the yang.This is an action-packed, notes-out episode. Brandon breaks down why underfunding a marketing channel is the worst mistake you can make, what percentage of revenue different exit strategies should spend on marketing, and the four KPIs that matter far more than the ROI number everyone fixates on. If you want your marketing to produce leads and profit, grab a pen for this one.Timeline Summary[2:13] – The most common financial mistake: overextending on marketing you can't sustain[3:00] – Why PPC needs six months of funding set aside and SEO needs 12 to 18[4:04] – The worst outcome: spending three months on SEO and quitting before any return[4:43] – PPC as a mid-term channel where leads come fast but the return takes time to dial in[5:59] – How pay-per-lead differs: zero ramp-up, but no optimization once you buy[8:10] – The credit-card-and-crossed-fingers client and why that's luck, not a strategy[9:31] – What percentage of revenue to spend on marketing, and why it depends on exit strategy[11:20] – Why flippers make money on the buy and the value add, and should run a wholesale company inside the flip[12:47] – The survey numbers: flippers around 20%, wholesalers 30 to 40% of revenue on marketing[14:06] – How to think about marketing spend on buy-and-hold rentals[16:00] – The two extremes: over-concentrated in one channel versus afraid to spend[17:38] – The client who spent the same and got the same, then realized he had to double spend to double revenue[19:58] – The four KPIs that matter when comparing marketing channels[20:36] – KPI one, ROI, and why it's overplayed as the only metric[21:22] – KPI two, lead quality measured as leads per contract, and how it drives your whole overhead[23:01] – KPI three, the scale and total volume a channel can produce[23:39] – KPI four, cash conversion cycle, and the hard-money-lending analogy that explains it[28:25] – The simplest first step for an investor who's never run paid ads[30:33] – Why you should get bad at sales on cheap leads before spending on $400 PPC leads5 Key TakeawaysDon't Underfund A Channel — The most common mistake is starting a channel you can't sustain. PPC needs about six months of budget set aside and SEO needs 12 to 18, or you'll quit before the return ever shows up.Marketing Spend Depends On Exit Strategy — Flippers averaged around 20% of revenue on marketing, wholesalers 30 to 40%. Flippers make money on both the buy and the value add, so a good flip should contain a profitable wholesale business inside it.Look Past ROI To Four KPIs — ROI matters but isn't the whole story. Compare channels on ROI, lead quality (leads per contract), total volume and scale, and cash conversion cycle to see which actually builds the better business.Lead Quality Sets Your Overhead — Fewer leads per contract means fewer salespeople, managers, and support staff. One client runs seven figures solo on PPC purely because the lead quality supports it.To Double Revenue, Double Spend — If you spend the same and do the same, don't expect growth. Scaling usually means lowering ROI a bit while increasing volume, which grows profit if the rest of the business can support it.Links & ResourcesBateman Collective — https://www.batemancollective.com Profit First for Real Estate Investing Free Workbooks — https://pfreiworkbook.com Simple CFO — https://simplecfo.com Profit First for Real Estate Investing by David Richter — https://profitfirstrei.comEnjoyed This Episode?If Brandon's four KPIs made you realize you've been judging your marketing on ROI alone, that's the upgrade worth acting on this week. Share this episode with an investor who's either blowing their budget or too scared to spend, and follow the show and leave a rating and review so more real estate investors can market smarter and keep more of what they make.

Andrew recently sold an underutilized CNC lathe, which raises a bigger question: when an investment does not work out as planned, was the money wasted? How do you gauge what value you got out of it, even in learning?Andrew and Jay discuss knowing when to experiment, when to hire expertise instead of learning everything yourself, and why good business owners need to understand what they should and should not personally master.Then the conversation turns to KPIs, benchmarking, revenue per employee, and the danger of comparing your company against businesses operating under completely different constraints. They also dig into the levers a business owner can actually control, why discounts may simply pull future sales into the present, and the relative value of Pierson's traditional IMTS sale.

STOP TRACKING EVERYTHING: THE KPIs THAT ACTUALLY GROW YOUR PEST CONTROL BUSINESSPest control companies have access to more marketing and sales data than ever before—but more data does not always lead to better decisions.Google Ads, Local Services Ads, website analytics, call tracking, social media, HighLevel, and pest control management software can generate hundreds of reports and measurements. The challenge is determining which numbers genuinely matter and how to use them to grow your business.In this episode of The Pest Control Marketing Domination Podcast, Casey Lewis explains how to separate meaningful key performance indicators from vanity metrics and irrelevant data. The objective is not to build the biggest dashboard. It is to identify the numbers that reveal what is working, where opportunities are being lost, and what action should be taken next.IN THIS EPISODE, YOU'LL LEARN:• The difference between a metric and a meaningful KPI• Why more website traffic does not necessarily mean more customers• How to work backward from your revenue and growth goals• Which marketing, sales, operational, and retention KPIs matter most• Why qualified opportunities are more important than raw lead totals• How to calculate cost per qualified opportunity and customer acquisition cost• How response time and missed calls affect your closing rate• How to identify sales and follow-up problems inside your pipeline• Why every new opportunity needs a clear source, status, value, and outcome• How HighLevel can track an opportunity from the initial inquiry through the completed sale• How Google Looker Studio can combine information from multiple marketing platforms• Why dashboard information must lead to decisions, accountability, and actionTHE NUMBERS THAT MATTERA practical pest control business scorecard should help management monitor:• Marketing spend• Qualified opportunities• Cost per qualified opportunity• Speed to first response• Missed-call rate• Appointments or inspections scheduled• Sales closing rate• New customers acquired• Customer acquisition cost• Average initial sale• New recurring revenue• Customer retention and cancellationsHighLevel can help track what happens to each opportunity throughout the sales process. Google Looker Studio can bring information from HighLevel, Google Ads, Google Analytics, Search Console, call-tracking systems, social advertising, and other platforms into a more useful executive dashboard.However, technology alone cannot solve the problem. Accurate reporting requires consistent pipeline management, proper lead-source tracking, clearly defined stages, and accountability from everyone who handles new customer opportunities.The real purpose of data is to help you answer five questions:What happened?Why did it happen?What needs to change?Who is responsible for making that change?When will the results be reviewed?You do not need more reports. You need a small group of reliable numbers that tells you whether your business is moving toward its goals—and where you need to take action.ABOUT CASEY LEWISCasey Lewis is the host of The Pest Control Marketing Domination Podcast and the founder of Rhino Pest Control Marketing. Casey and the Rhino team help pest control, wildlife control, and lawn care companies improve their websites, digital marketing, lead generation, CRM systems, sales follow-up, and customer-acquisition strategies.CONTACT RHINO PEST CONTROL MARKETINGWebsite: https://rhinopestcontrolmarketing.comEmail: casey@rhinopros.comLearn more about SMART® Pest Control Websites, HighLevel CRM and automation, Google Ads, Local Services Ads, SEO, reputation management, and complete pest control marketing programs.If your company is generating leads but struggling to track, follow up with, and convert those opportunities, contact Rhino Pest Control Marketing to discuss building a more measurable customer-acquisition system. Call Casey at (925) 464-8383

On this episode of The Buzz, powered by Toyota Automated Logistics, hosts Scott Luton and Karin Bursa welcome Philip Vervloesem, Chief Commercial and Markets Officer at OMP, for a wide-ranging conversation on the forces reshaping global supply chains. From extreme weather and transportation disruptions to China's rapidly expanding automotive industry, the team explores today's biggest supply chain headlines before diving into AI, decision velocity, always-on planning, and the evolving role of supply chain professionals. Supply chain leaders have more data, technology, and intelligence at their fingertips than ever before, but the real competitive advantage comes from turning those insights into the right decisions faster. Scott, Karin, and Philip examine how organizations can use scenario planning, external market signals, AI agents, and connected decision-making to respond more effectively to disruption and uncertainty. They also explore why successful AI adoption isn't simply about automation or replacing people. Instead, the future belongs to organizations that combine intelligent technology with human judgment, collaboration, trust, and business context. Key Takeaways Resilience happens before disruption. Scenario planning and decision intelligence give organizations more options while there is still time to act. External signals matter. Weather, climate patterns, market conditions, and other syndicated data can help companies anticipate disruptions and continuously refine supply chain plans. Decision velocity is becoming a competitive advantage. Leading organizations aren't simply collecting more data—they're connecting data to decisions and executing those decisions across the enterprise faster. Agentic AI's greatest opportunity is augmentation. AI agents can identify issues, evaluate scenarios, coordinate information, and recommend actions, while people provide judgment, context, governance, and leadership. Always-on planning is changing traditional planning cycles. Planning isn't disappearing, but waiting for weekly or monthly cycles to respond to change increasingly will. The planner of the future needs strong human skills. Business knowledge, communication, influence, collaboration, storytelling, and the ability to navigate trade-offs will become even more valuable as technology advances. The future of supply chain planning isn't simply about moving faster—it's about making better decisions with greater confidence. As AI, intelligent planning platforms, and always-on capabilities continue to evolve, successful organizations will be those that connect technology with human expertise and turn complexity into action. Tune in to hear how leaders can prepare now for a more adaptive, resilient, and decision-driven supply chain. Additional Links & Resources: Toyota Automated Logistics: https://toyota-automated-logistics.com/ Enterprise Unleashed: The Biggest Lessons from 2026 So Far: https://streamyard.com/watch/CBk6F4Dgtwk3 The Peak Readiness Index Report 2026: https://bit.ly/Peak-Readiness-Report Low Rhine levels disrupting German industry: https://reut.rs/45BdaL8 Corporate concern over El Nino hits multi-year high: https://reut.rs/4xPGVnI There Aren't Enough Ships to Handle China's Booming Car Exports: https://on.wsj.com/4bXfZd8 OMP: https://omp.com/ Connect with Philip on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/philipvervloesem/ Upcoming Live Programming: https://supplychainnow.com/upcoming-live-programming/ Supply Chain Now Resource Hub: https://supplychainnow.com/resource-hub/ Learn more about our hosts: https://supplychainnow.com/about Learn more about Supply Chain Now: https://supplychainnow.com Watch and listen to more Supply Chain Now episodes here: https://supplychainnow.com/program/supply-chain-now Subscribe to Supply Chain Now on your favorite platform: https://supplychainnow.com/join Work with us! Download Supply Chain Now's NEW Media Kit: https://bit.ly/3XH6OVk WEBINAR- SAP AI Inside the Supply Chain: From Silo to Orchestration: https://bit.ly/4bvpz6K WEBINAR- Operational AI in the Supply Chain: How context empowers agents and humans to operate side by side: https://bit.ly/4x7Vd2Z WEBINAR- You Can't Manage What You Can't See: Using Visibility, KPIs, and AI to Optimize Logistics Operations: https://bit.ly/4ql6iem This episode was hosted by Scott Luton and Karin Bursa, and produced by Trisha Cordes, Joshua Miranda, and Amanda Luton. For additional information, please visit the dedicated episode page at: https://supplychainnow.com/buzz-decision-velocity-ai-agents-future-supply-chain-planning-1628 The content in this episode, including all audio, videos, visuals, and graphics, is the property of Supply Chain Now and is protected by copyright law. Unauthorized use, reproduction, distribution, modification, or re-uploading of this content in any form is strictly prohibited without explicit written permission from Supply Chain Now.For licensing inquiries or permissions, please contact us at production@supplychainnow.com© 2026 Supply Chain Now. All rights reserved. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

AI can accelerate your business, but if the foundation is broken, it may only accelerate the chaos. In this episode of the Marketing Boost Solutions Podcast, Captain Marco Torres sits down with Elias Curtis, Founder and CEO of Transformed Design Inc., to reveal what businesses truly need before AI and automation can deliver meaningful results.Drawing from more than 17 years in digital marketing, Elias shares how to generate qualified leads, connect your website and CRM, track the numbers that matter, and build systems that support sustainable growth. You'll also discover why AI still requires human oversight and why the businesses that master both technology and strategy will have the advantage.This conversation was a powerful reminder that building a successful business is about having the right systems in place. It's about working smarter, not just harder. Listen to the full episode and walk away with a clearer roadmap for your marketing and a renewed sense of control over your business growth.⏱ Episode Highlights02:05 – Building a digital agency over 17+ years06:20 – Why marketing fundamentals still matter10:45 – The biggest mistakes businesses make when scaling15:30 – Generating qualified leads without wasting your budget20:40 – Why lead quality matters more than lead volume25:15 – How AI is changing marketing and small business30:10 – The truth about AI and human oversight34:55 – Where entrepreneurs should begin with automation39:40 – Connecting your website, CRM, ads, and follow-up44:25 – The KPIs every growing business should track49:05 – SEO, GEO, and visibility in AI-powered search53:50 – Breaking through a business growth plateau58:15 – Building systems for sustainable long-term growth01:01:20 – Complimentary AI & Website Growth AssessmentConnect to Elias Curtis  belowWebsite: https://www.transformeddesign.comBusiness Platform: https://www.businesslaunchos.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eliascurtisFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/transformeddesignincInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/transformeddesignYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TransformedDesign7

Your front desk can look busy all day and still leak production, profit, and patience. When phones, check-ins, insurance questions, and balance collections are treated like one giant job, “urgency” wins every time. The ringing phone gets answered, the insurance fire gets put out, and the real growth work quietly disappears: filling tomorrow's hole, following up on that $10,000 treatment plan, and building systems that keep the practice steady even when someone is out.We walk through a cleaner way to think about dental practice management by creating levels inside your admin department. Foundational front desk skills can be trained fast, which means you can hire great people with the right attitude and communication even without deep dental experience. From there, you intentionally develop advanced roles like insurance, treatment coordination, and true leadership. That structure gives your team a path to grow, makes onboarding easier, and stops your practice from depending on one superhero employee who “knows everything.”We also get honest about the office manager role. Promoting the best insurance expert and changing nothing else is not management, it is a title swap. A real dental office manager needs protected time to coach people, track KPIs, improve systems, and drive proactive work that increases case acceptance and reduces schedule chaos. If you want a front desk team that scales, you need clear ownership and redundancy so every critical function has at least two trained people.If you found this useful, subscribe, share the episode with another practice owner, and leave a review so more dentists can find the show. What role on your admin team needs the clearest definition right now?Join Us at our Upcoming Retreat October 2nd and 3rd.  Click Here to Register If you are ready to increase your new patients and start growing your practice, visit www.relevanceonlinemarketing.com and see what you've been missing with your current company. Take Control of Your Practice and Your LifeWe help dentists take more time off while making more money through systematization, team empowerment, and creating leadership teams.Ready to build a practice that works for you? Visit www.DentalPracticeHeroes.com to learn more.

Running a great remodeling business is not about one magic bullet. It is a combination of a lot of little things done consistently well! Coming off the Rise Conference 2026, Kyle shares several ideas and reminders from the two days spent with 100+ remodelers. From thinking through what your biggest constraint is right now, to how delegation can unlock growth, to why tracking the right KPIs matters more than tracking everything, Rise 2026 was full of great sessions and ways you can strengthen your remodeling business. 

There was no shortage of great content and even better conversation and Kyle is already looking forward to making 2027 even better!Explore real client results and case studies at Contractor Growth Network Results, learn how they help remodelers build marketing that works at Contractor Growth Network, and check out their Podcast for weekly insights designed to help remodelers grow smarter.Explore the vast array of tools, training courses, a podcast, and a supportive community of over 2,000 remodelers. Visit Remodelersontherise.com today and take your remodeling business to new heights!Key Takeaways Systematic marketing of projects to local neighborhoodsImportance of post-project reviewsUsing story selling to build trustImplementing EOS for business managementTracking KPIs for project successBatching tasks to improve focusAdjusting gross profit margins for profitabilityBuilding a strong team through training and delegationThe power of peer groups and roundtablesMindset shifts for overcoming challenges

You've gotta do the homework before you have the conversation. Is your discovery process actually moving the needle for your buyers, or are you stuck in old habits that no longer deliver results? This episode features Becc Holland, a leading voice in sales strategy, who dives into how most sellers misunderstand the discovery process.  The conversation challenges outdated tactics and explores the power of uncovering what buyers don't know about their own needs. Listeners get a preview of new approaches to building trust, asking smarter questions, and turning KPIs into powerful sales tools. Don't miss this chance to learn what truly sets top sellers apart in today's market.

You love your business, but is it taking too much from you? Most entrepreneurs didn't start a business because they wanted to work all the time, carry every decision, or spend their evenings thinking about what still needs to get done. They started because they wanted to build something meaningful and have freedom in their lives. In this episode, Melissa Kay and Kaitlyn Adelle are having a real conversation about what it means to take your life back from your business–and why we believe you can build a successful, profitable business without sacrificing the life you're building it for. If your business is successful but still depends too heavily on you, this conversation is for you. Profit by Design is a Tap the Potential production. Show Highlights:Melissa's perspective on the mission of Tap the Potential and what they want to accomplish in the lives of entrepreneursThe importance of celebrating wins with our clientsTime with your loved ones is one thing you can't get more of once it's gone.Kaitlyn's perspective on the mission to allow entrepreneurs to have more LIFEUsing motivators to hold our clients accountableThe common struggles most business owners face: overworking, underperforming team members, untracked KPIs, and insufficient job descriptions and onboarding plans, The root of the overwhelm is a systems-and-people problem.Addressing the higher-level problem is key. Resources:Ready to build a business that supports your life instead of consuming it? Book a call with Kaitlyn at www.tapthepotential.com.

Strong communities do not happen by accident. Steven Libman believes multifamily investing is about more than buying apartment buildings. It is about creating places where people know their neighbors, support one another, and feel valued. In this conversation, Steven explains how his company, Investing with Purpose, combines multifamily investing with intentional community building. From resident CARES teams and neighborhood events to financial education and community outreach, he shares how caring for residents has become part of their investment strategy. Steven also discusses selecting experienced operating partners, navigating today's market conditions, and maintaining transparency with investors during uncertain times. Key Topics Why experienced operating partners come before underwriting Lessons from recent market challenges How resident CARES teams build stronger communities Community events that help neighbors connect Why resident retention improved through intentional engagement The difference between KPIs and Key Care Indicators Financial education opportunities for residents Raising capital by staying true to company values Guest Information Steven Libman Founder of Investing with Purpose Website: https://www.iwpurpose.com Learn more about the Purpose Care Initiative and current investment opportunities through the company website. Connect with Steven Website: https://www.iwpurpose.com Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/ph/podcast/property-profits-real-estate-podcast/id1445202

In this "Quick Take" episode of Blue Collar Millionaire's podcast, Chris, Kevin and Josh Yudin debate whether common business concepts are overrated or underrated for blue-collar entrepreneurs. They call team meetings overrated without a clear post-meeting plan, and say company culture is underrated, while mission statements and the words "core values" are often overrated unless actively practiced.  They discuss door knocking as uncomfortable but powerful when done with a plan, and argue SEO is cluttered and often overrated. They emphasize wrapped trucks as legitimacy and a milestone as revenue grows, and say masterminds, overseas virtual assistants, profit sharing, KPIs, knowing the right numbers, early focused work time, and learning via podcasts/audiobooks are underrated. They view AI as overrated without experts, exits to private equity as rare and difficult, and work-life balance as overrated if you love the work. 01:08 Meetings Culture Values  02:14 Door Knocking Debate 03:05 SEO and Wrapped Trucks 04:08 Masterminds and Hiring Friends 05:22 Overseas Talent Incentives 07:07 Coaches KPIs Numbers 08:14 Benefits and Early Mornings 10:54 Learning and AI Hype 11:45 Build to Exit Reality 14:10 Work-Life Balance Myth Subscribe to Blue Collar Millionaire for honest conversations about building, scaling, and leading a successful blue-collar business.

The Customer Service Department Is Dead: What the Future Service-Centric Organization Looks Like Customer service cannot remain the department responsible for cleaning up problems created by the rest of the company. If an organization is serious about becoming service-centric, every department must understand how its decisions shape the customer experience—and one accountable leader must ensure the entire system works. In Episode 268 of the Customer Service Revolution Podcast, Denise Thompson and John R. DiJulius III examine what the future service-centric organization will look like as AI reshapes customer behavior, frontline roles, organizational design, and the economics of service. The future will not belong to the company with the fastest chatbot or the fewest employees. It will belong to the organization that uses technology to remove friction behind the scenes while making the experience more human in front of the customer. Customer Experience Must Be Enterprise-Wide—but Someone Still Has to Own It "Customer experience is everyone's responsibility" sounds inspiring, but it can become an excuse for having no accountability. John argues that successful organizations need a clear experience champion—someone who loses sleep over the experience and has the authority, KPIs, and executive access to challenge decisions that could hurt customers or employees. In a large enterprise, that may be a chief experience officer supported by a customer experience department. In a smaller organization, it may be a shared role assigned to an HR, training, operations, or other senior leader. The title matters less than the clarity of the mandate, the time committed to it, and the metrics tied to it. The role should also extend beyond the customer. A truly service-centric organization manages the entire experience ecosystem: customer experience, employee experience, and vendor experience. AI Should Remove Friction, Not Humanity AI is changing customer service, but using it only to reduce headcount can create expensive unintended consequences. Gartner predicts that by 2027, half of the companies that cut customer service staff because of AI will rehire people to perform similar functions under different titles. Gartner has also reported that only 20% of customer service leaders had reduced agent staffing because of AI. As AI handles routine questions, human employees inherit the escalations, emotional customers, sensitive conversations, and high-stakes decisions. That work can be more meaningful—but also far more demanding. Organizations must protect employees from empathy fatigue, make access to a human easier, and train people in the skills technology cannot replace: empathy, curiosity, listening, rapport building, judgment, and the ability to defuse an upset customer. Your Customer May Send an AI Agent Instead of Visiting Your Website The customer journey may no longer begin on a company's website, app, or contact center. Gartner found that customers were approximately three times more likely to use a third-party generative AI tool than a company-provided chatbot when trying to resolve a service issue. Among customers who already used generative AI, 58% had used it to complete a task—not merely find information—and that figure reached 74% in B2B settings. That creates a new strategic threat: the company can become invisible while an outside AI platform recommends brands, compares choices, completes purchases, and resolves problems. Technology is easy for competitors to copy. Human connection, trust, community, and a distinctive brand experience are harder to duplicate. Access to a Human Could Become the Next Competitive Advantage Pega research found that 77% of consumers believed they always or often achieved better outcomes when dealing only with a human, while two-thirds preferred human-led support. Nearly half said they did not trust businesses that used AI to handle customer service interactions completely. Despite that preference, many organizations continue to make people fight through layers of self-service before reaching an employee. John's answer is blunt: a customer should be able to reach a human when the customer wants to. Companies that preserve convenient human access—and equip those employees to deliver empathy, expertise, and judgment—may be able to turn humanity itself into a powerful brand differentiator. Personalization Without Integrity Becomes Exploitation More customer data creates more opportunities to personalize an experience, but not every technically possible use of data is ethical. The public controversy over Delta Air Lines' AI-supported pricing illustrated how quickly personalization can be perceived as surveillance pricing. Using customer knowledge to anticipate a need or make someone feel cared for is service. Using a customer's identity, vulnerability, income, or presumed willingness to pay to extract the highest possible price is exploitation. Customers should be allowed to choose and pay for clearly defined service levels; businesses should not quietly decide that a particular customer can be charged more. Integrity cannot become collateral damage in the race to personalize. The Best Model Is People-Led and Technology-Powered Walmart and Starbucks offer a more promising blueprint. Walmart has introduced AI tools designed to support approximately 1.5 million U.S. associates, including real-time translation and technology that reduced shift-planning time from 90 minutes to 30 minutes. Starbucks' Green Apron Service model combines staffing, workflow improvements, and technology to give employees more time for craft and customer connection. These organizations are not presenting technology as the experience. They are positioning it as the infrastructure that helps people deliver the experience. That is where AI creates real value: transcribing workshop notes, organizing information, handling repetitive tasks, accelerating internal processes, and giving employees more time to think, connect, and solve. Stop Measuring Speed at the Expense of Loyalty Average handle time, ticket volume, and cost per contact can reward speed while quietly damaging the relationship. Fast service that makes a customer feel dismissed is not a win. Neither is a warm interaction that fails to solve the problem. The future service-centric organization must measure both efficiency and experience. John recommends tracking earned sales growth—the percentage of business generated through repeat customers and referrals rather than purchased through advertising—along with the operational and experience measures that explain why loyalty is rising or falling. The most important question is not simply, "Was the issue resolved?" It is, "How did the customer feel after doing business with us?" What Leaders Should Build Now The future service-centric organization will: Assign one accountable experience champion with clear authority, priorities, KPIs, and executive access. Make every department responsible for understanding its internal or external customer and its effect on the end experience. Use AI for repetitive, administrative, and low-risk work while preserving human judgment for sensitive, ethical, financial, and health-related decisions. Train employees continuously in AI readiness and service aptitude skills. Give frontline employees the authority to solve problems without unnecessary permission-seeking. Protect easy access to a skilled human whenever a customer wants or needs one. Measure loyalty, repeat business, referrals, complaints, certainty, and customer outcomes—not speed alone. Refuse uses of customer data that exploit vulnerability or presumed ability to pay. Build strong customer service systems first, then layer AI on top of them. Customer service may stop being a department, but service must become the operating system of the entire company. Chapters 00:59 — Why the customer service department is dead 01:51 — Enterprise-wide ownership still needs one accountable champion 05:06 — Does every company need a chief experience officer? 07:34 — Breaking silos through cross-functional CX leadership 08:26 — Are companies using AI to improve service or cut headcount? 11:14 — The new role of the human service professional 13:30 — Preventing escalation overload and empathy fatigue 15:17 — When customers send third-party AI to handle your company 19:36 — Will access to a human become a premium service? 23:08 — Why community and brand experience are returning 26:11 — AI costs, disappearing entry-level roles, and the talent pipeline 30:14 — Walmart, Starbucks, and the people-led, tech-powered model 34:03 — Personalization, surveillance, and the integrity line 38:59 — Which traditional customer service metrics now work against CX? 42:23 — A practical blueprint for leadership, employees, technology, and measurement 48:05 — The first question every CEO should ask Key Takeaways Customer experience can be enterprise-wide without becoming leaderless; one person must still own the system and its results. AI creates the most value when it removes repetitive work and gives employees more time for judgment, empathy, and connection. Automating simple interactions can leave human agents with a relentless stream of emotionally difficult cases, increasing the risk of empathy fatigue. Third-party AI platforms may become the new front door to the customer journey, making a distinctive human brand experience even more important. Easy access to a knowledgeable human can become a powerful competitive advantage. Personalization crosses the line when customer data is used to exploit vulnerability or presumed willingness to pay. Metrics such as average handle time can produce unintended behavior when they are not balanced with loyalty, customer outcomes, repeat business, and referrals. A company needs clear service systems before it layers AI onto the customer experience. Quotes "Someone has to lose sleep at night over the experience the company is providing." — John R. DiJulius III "When answers are everywhere, questions become the scarce resource." — John R. DiJulius III "When the world gets more artificial, we need to become more human." — John R. DiJulius III "The more digital we become, the more human is the competitive advantage." — John R. DiJulius III "Integrity shouldn't be something that is outdated." — John R. DiJulius III "EX equals CX. Employee experience equals customer experience." — John R. DiJulius III "Customer service may stop being a department, but service must become the operating system of the entire company." — Denise Thompson Resources Mentioned in This Episode Gartner: Half of companies that cut customer service staff because of AI will rehire by 2027 Gartner: 85% of service leaders are expanding human-agent responsibilities Gartner: Customers are three times more likely to use third-party GenAI than company chatbots Pega: Consumers demand more from AI-powered customer service PwC: 2025 Customer Experience Survey Walmart: AI-powered tools for 1.5 million associates Starbucks: Green Apron Service and improved service performance Delta Air Lines: Response regarding AI-supported pricing Links: ROX Dashboard:  https://thedijuliusgroup.com/rox-dashboard/ The DiJulius Group Methdology: https://thedijuliusgroup.com/x-commandment-methodology/ Company Service Aptitude Test:  https://thedijuliusgroup.com/c-sat-forms/individual-c-sat/ Schedule a Complimentary Call with one of our advisors:  tdg.click/claudia Ask John!  Submit your questions for John, to be aired on future episode:  tdg.click/ask Customer Experience Executive Academy: https://thedijuliusgroup.com/project/cx-executive-academy/ Experience Revolution Membership:  https://thedijuliusgroup.com/membership/ Books:  https://thedijuliusgroup.com/shop/ Contacts:  Lindsey@thedijuliusgroup.com , Claudia@thedijuliusgroup.com If you want to learn how world-class organizations build cultures customers cannot live without, explore The Experience Revolution Membership. Inside the membership you'll gain access to livestream workshops, practical frameworks, and proven strategies used by organizations around the world. Learn more at https://thedijuliusgroup.com/membership/ Learn More If your organization is working to improve customer experience but struggling to connect it to measurable business outcomes, The DiJulius Group can help. Visit: https://thedijuliusgroup.com Listen to more episodes: https://thedijuliusgroup.com/the-customer-service-revolution-podcast/ Subscribe We talk about topics like this each week; be sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts so you don't miss an episode.

Rob & Rob get asked how they fit it all in more than almost anything else. This week they answer it properly... Pulling back the curtain on how they run their days, from the AI systems tracking what they've promised to the small rules that keep them consistent, this episode should help you optimise your day. (00:58) News story of the week (02:26) Why the small, repeatable stuff is what makes the big achievements land (05:33) The template day, the 90% rule and the case for one less decision each morning (09:49) What it's worth to choose your own inputs (15:23) The AI and paper pairing that keeps nothing slipping (20:52) Treating your health like a set of KPIs (28:33) Hub Extra Links mentioned: Over half of landlord offers come in 10% below asking price Coffee with Rob - put your details down here Enjoy the show? Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts - it really helps others find us! Sign up for our free weekly newsletter, Property Pulse Find out more about Property Hub Invest

In real estate, moving faster doesn't always mean getting ahead. Sometimes, the smartest thing you can do is slow down. In this episode, Gino Barbaro breaks down the idea of “slowing down to speed up” in real estate investing — a strategy built around creating clarity, making better decisions, and avoiding costly mistakes before they happen. From buying deals to operating properties and scaling a portfolio, Gino explains why rushing into opportunities can lead to years of problems — and why taking a few extra days to analyze the numbers, verify assumptions, and understand the market can save you years of pain. One of the key principles: No deal is better than a bad deal. When evaluating a property, don't simply trust the projections. Slow down and verify the rents, expenses, occupancy, market conditions, CapEx, and the actual condition of the property. A deal only becomes an opportunity when the numbers work at a realistic price. Gino also explains how this principle applies to operating multifamily properties. Before trying to fix a problem, slow down and diagnose what's actually causing it. He uses the Four Ps — People, Price, Product, and Promotion — as a framework for identifying what's really happening inside a property. And when it comes to scaling, the same principle applies. Adding more units isn't necessarily progress if your infrastructure can't support the growth. Before scaling, ask: • Do we have the right people? • Do we have clear processes? • Are we tracking the right KPIs? • Does everyone know what they're accountable for? • Can the business operate without everything going through the entrepreneur? If the answer is no, it may be time to slow down and build the infrastructure before adding more units. Gino also shares the “Stop Audit” — an exercise designed to help real estate investors identify the areas where they're constantly putting out fires and determine what can be systemized, delegated, or eliminated. The goal isn't to hesitate. It's to create clarity first, then move fast. Slow down. Analyze the numbers. Remove the emotion. Make the decision rationally. And once you know the deal works, that's when you speed up and execute. Because in real estate, moving fast on the wrong decision can cost you years. If you're a real estate investor, multifamily operator, or entrepreneur looking to make better decisions and build a scalable business, this episode is for you.

Transaction volume across the country is down roughly 35% from a few years ago, and wholesalers and fix and flip investors are feeling it in every part of the business. Brian Snider walks through the top ten issues hitting real estate investors right now, from tighter underwriting and softening buyer demand to inconsistent marketing and thin exit strategies. He also covers where AI belongs in your workflow, why offers made is the one KPI worth tracking above closings or profit, and the budget rule he applies to every marketing channel he tests.   KEY TALKING POINTS: 0:00 - Top 10 Issues Intro 2:40 - Tighter Underwriting 3:39 - Managing Your Data 5:16 - Using AI the Right Way 6:31 - Softening Buyer Demand 7:39 - Consistent Marketing 9:18 - Sales Conversion Skills 11:22 - Multiple Exit Strategies 12:19 - KPIs and Tracking Offers 13:52 - Finding Support & Community 15:03 - Outro   LINKS: Instagram: Brian Snider https://www.instagram.com/theindysnider/   Website: Collective Genius https://thecollectivegenius.com/team-members/brian-snider/   Instagram: David Lecko https://www.instagram.com/dlecko   Website: DealMachine https://www.dealmachine.com/pod   Instagram: Ryan Haywood https://www.instagram.com/heritage_home_investments   Website: Heritage Home Investments https://www.heritagehomeinvestments.com/

Key performance indicators are fundamental to a successful practice. But what about their dark side? Kiera shares how to know whether those metrics are telling you the right information or not, including what a false sense of KPI security can look like, common mistakes when reviewing those numbers, and how to keep your greater vision in tune with the indicators. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: Kiera (00:00) Hello, Dental A Team listeners, this is Kiera, and today's topic makes me giggle. because I feel like I'm such like hot to trot on KPIs, and I talk about them all the time. And this is gonna be like the other side of the coin of KPIs. And are your KPIs actually lying to you? Dun dun dun, like are those metrics actually not telling you what you want to know on it, like makes me giggle. And I loved because we've been podcasting for golly, so many years. I mean, I think about the conversations we've had together, the   tactical tips, the leadership growth, the confidence in becoming a CEO and running your business. And if you're not there, great. Come join us. Like let's take the easy route. You don't have to listen to all thousand plus episodes. you can take the like hit that easy button. My last name used to be Staples. So hit that easy button and come join us. But I felt like today would be a fun twist for myself as a podcaster and a podcast host of let's talk about like when do your KPIs actually lie to you because you can have some sexy numbers but still not be making money. And you'll be like, well what is going on?   Right? Your CP is like, you're doing great. And you're like, but I feel broke. your trainer at the gym is like, you're doing great. And you're I don't have the six pack. I feel like KPIs can be lying to you. And so I think it's a like, let's make sure that our numbers are telling us the entire story. And let's make sure that if they're healthy, our practice really is healthy and you know how to use your KPIs rather than be used by those KPIs. So number one, I hope you're tracking KPIs. If you don't know what a KPI is, it's a key performance indicator. I call them the vitals of your practice. So let's make sure that our   Our height, our weight, our blood pressure, our heart rate, all those are healthy and that they're tracking correctly. And if not, then like let's figure out how to fix those for your practice. Because they're not like our KPIs aren't a report card. They're KPIs are clues. And our whole consulting team, we have a KPI scorecard, and we all know that that is like the tip of the iceberg. And if one of those numbers is off or if all of them aren't looking right, we need to go and dig and dig and dig to make sure that they're correct. So I want to walk you guys through how something like KPIs can create some false sense of security, which ones to look for.   What are some mistakes that people often have when they do review their numbers? And then what are like maybe a couple of ways for us to make sure that those metrics are actually helping you to make better decisions? So, as you guys know, we're Dental A Team. I'm Kiera Dent. I'm obsessed with all things dentistry and obsessed with you. I want you to have your yes success life. I want you to have everything you want. I want your practice to serve your life. I want you to be profitable and successful. I want you to have structure and systems and stability where you just feel confident to be able to scale to the level that you want. There is no   Check mark and Dental A Team There is no you need to hit this level of practice ownership. It is what is your life? What is your dream? Let's make that a reality. And then let's make sure that you're doing it in the easiest, most efficient, fun way. Our job is to Posivate, impact the world of dentistry in the greatest way possible. And I'm so happy you're here. If I could give you a giant hug, I would. If I could give you a high five and tell you you're doing better than you think you are, I would. So just take those today. Give yourself a squeeze, give yourself a high five. And just remember, as business owners, it can be hard, it can be challenging, but it doesn't need to be.   So let's make sure that we're we're showing up, that we're rising up, and that we're being the best that we can be. And today I really want you to like stop chasing numbers and actually like understand your KPIs and what it's actually telling you. So step number one is gonna be like let's stop looking at KPIs in isolation. So like one KPI does not tell you the whole story. And so like a lot of times we'll say like production's up, we're all celebrating, but our profit's down. You're like, this doesn't make sense. Like we're producing more, but we're not profitable. Like it feels like this like very off-kilter scale.   That's like, well, if production goes up, my profit should go up. But that's not always the case. What about like our new patients are up, but our schedule still isn't full? Like, what is this? Or maybe like collections, they're up, like we're hitting at collections, but our AR is growing and our bank accounts not getting better. Like, why? Like that number is healthy with air quotes. So what we've got to look for is like, what is the relationship between the numbers and what's the driving result of the KPI and using the KPI as a system, not just an isolated piece. So   When we look at this, we want to make sure that like while production could be high, let's make sure our payroll and our overhead's actually where it needs to be. Because sometimes our production can go up and our payroll goes up. So we're hoping that production and profit go hand in hand, but sometimes they don't. So we need to figure out like numbers don't lie, but they can mislead us. So I don't want you sitting there like, well, my production's great. That could be false. Our profit could be high. That could be false. We need to be looking at the whole story, the entire, like it's.   you know, I can have good blood pressure, but what if my heart's not doing as well? Or what if my, I don't know, my I don't know all the medical terms, but there's other things like what if my cholesterol's not doing well, but that would never show up if you're looking at my heart rate. So there's just different ways and I think it's the same thing. So when we look at the vitals, this is why we get labs that are comprehensive on us. That's why we look at multi data points of our bodies. It's the same thing with your practice. So let's make sure that it's like KPIs are clues, but they're not a conclusion. And you gotta know the whole   the whole picture of this. So what I would do is like when we look at it, production should be tied. Like I usually look like my my first step is going to be looking at your production collection, making sure those are sitting at like a 98% ratio of each other. I'm looking at your like and I want net production, not gross production. Then I'm gonna be looking at the profitability of your practice because those ones are going to tell me a lot, just production collection and profitability. Those ones are going to tell me a lot. And if one of those is off, then I know can I go dig into this, this or this? Like   If your production's not hitting what we need it to be, fantastic. We need to go dig. We need to look at our case acceptance. We need to look at our hygiene. We need to look at our period. Like those things are gonna help us. I'm gonna look at your block scheduling, but that's gonna dip. Now, if our collections, they could be high, but we need to make sure like again, if our profitability is not there, collections could be high, but what's our AR? Ped practices have like two to five million sitting in AR and they didn't even know that. Well, that would make sense when you're like, well gosh, I feel broke.   You could be having 105% collections, but you're broke because we didn't collect that money last year or months prior. So again, they don't they need to go hand in hand, which then ties into like step two, which is going to be focus on the leading indicators, not the lagging ones or results. And this I think is really tricky with KPIs because a lot of our KPIs are lagging indicators, like production, collections, profitability, where the leading indicators, and I always hated lag and lead. I like, these people are so dumb. I don't understand it. Like, ugh, like.   But they do like what leads into production? Well, that's gonna be unscheduled treatment. That's gonna be our case acceptance, that's gonna be our hygiene reappointment percentage, that's gonna be how full our schedule is, that's gonna look at our new patient conversion, it's gonna look at our block scheduling. Those are gonna be leading indicators. So we could be tracking how many unscheduled treatment calls did we make. We could be tracking what our case acceptance is to see are we closing enough cases? We should be looking at our hygiene reappointment rate that's gonna help me see if my hygiene schedule is full.   We're gonna look to see how filled out our schedule is at certain points in the month to see are we filling enough? Are we diagnosing enough? We can also be looking at our diagnosis percentage and see how much we're actually diagnosing. All those things are gonna drive you to where you actually can see, is my practice healthy? Is my practice not healthy? So when we do these items together, they're going to give you visible warning signs before you hit a plummet. So if you're just looking at production, collection, profit, which are the main ones I go after, because like, hey, if those are there, they're usually pretty good.   But what leads to it. And sometimes what can happen is collections can dip automatically very quickly and be like, whoa, whoa, whoa. Or production can drop really quickly. If you're not looking at case acceptance, unscheduled treatment, reappointment percentages, those quick items, you can get into hot water real fast because we could be like production, production, production, and then all of a sudden we have a September. Okay, well, why do we have a September? Please. And everyone's like, it's because kids go to school. And I'm like, is there a way though that even with kids going to school and this and that, if we knew that?   If we strategically scheduled and we called all of our unscheduled treatment, because not everybody is going back to school, you still have elderly people that are not in that population. So what if in August we started targeting elderly populations that do not have kids at school? We're not targeting those younger families and we're making sure that they're in there, that they've got deposits paid for their treatment. We're calling on scheduled treatment starting in July. And August, we're calling our recare and we're making like 50 outbound calls a day. That's going to help proactively prevent this.   Those are leading measures that don't hit us on the lag when our productions all of a sudden suck Tember. Can we look for this? Can we look cyclically across the board of which are my lower months? Can we schedule vacations during that time if we know they're historically lower? Can we proactively put like ortho cases? Let's do an Invisalign day where we actually pump our September. So we're always doing ortho and September like back to school braces or those types of things. Like, could you start doing some of those things? Those are leading indicators that make it to where.   Before the production drops, we are proactively looking ahead. So I love to have KPIs that are leading and lagging, but the best KPIs are going to predict the future, not explain the past. So when I get my PL from ICPA, that's why you're all annoyed because you're like they said I did great, but now I feel broke. Well, it's because they're always looking one month retroactively and you're living in real time today. Your bank account doesn't match. Like you did great. And you're like, yeah, but I already spent it. It's because your PL is such a lagging measure.   You get it, but there's nothing. So what's our leading? What could we be doing? What do we look at? Let's look ahead. Let's see how far booked out we are. Let's see our new patient conversion rate. Let's see how many case acceptance we have. Let's look at how many patients are on our unscheduled treatment list. Let's look at our recare list. Now, if those are up to date and current, then we know we need to be pumping more new patients in there. But if we're not watching those leading measures, which those are the annoying ones to track, those are the annoying ones. People don't want to live in leading measures. Nobody out there wants to be like, okay, care, I made my like 25 calls of unscheduled treatment today.   Team members are like, I'm so busy answering the phone and just keeping the schedule full. But what they don't realize is if you make those outbound calls every single day, every day, non-negotiable, just like we brush our teeth, have that as part of it, those leading measures. If we are reviewing our cases every single week to see how we did so we can proactively improve our case acceptance every single week, we are proactively doing those things and we just stick them in on routine, you're not gonna have the dips nearly as often as you currently do. We tend to live in firefighting reactive KPIs.   rather than in proactive looking to see what we can do. For us it was always like, okay, how many, how many calls have we booked? That is such a lagging measure versus how many outbounds did we make? We can control the outbounds, but yet so many people don't want to do that. So I'd recommend absolutely 100% step two is let's make sure we're also tracking leading measures, not just lagging measures. And then the other piece is like don't just chase a metric where we're ignoring like   what actually is happening. Like why are we even looking at this metric? So if we're only looking at production, well then we can have like stress and we forget about patient experience and all that. So again, numbers are should be like like I feel like they're the table of contents of the book. And we don't miss the book because we read the table of contents. It gives us the quick highlight. But ultimately production's impacted by great patient experience. It's going to be impacted by   having great case acceptance. It's gonna be having that warm connection with each other. And so when we look at these KPIs, and this is where a lot of times KPIs like they should drive behavior. Like they should tell us where we're lacking, where we're dropping the ball, where we could improve. They should be telling us what behavior should change in the practice. That's why we look at them as a key performance indicator. It's like the lights that pop up and they tell us like, hey, we're going too fast or we're going too slow. Like great, it should be telling us how we're tracking on those.   But it shouldn't be replacing stress. And like that's the only thing we care about. we don't want to have it to where we're like so many times people are like, well, we could get more patients in if we just cut hygiene and we've dropped it to 45 minutes. And I'm like, you're not wrong. But like, what's our ultimate goal? Like, what are we ultimately trying to achieve? And is there a space where if we kept 60 minute hygiene appointments, could we maybe possibly serve our patients more? So let's do a focus of we're all gonna hit our fluoride.   We're gonna do fluoride, that's a great thing. Then we're gonna move it into fluoride therapy where we do fluoride and toothpaste. Then we're gonna make sure that we're doing scans in the next six months. Like I do them in six month chunks for hygiene. I know like we can't like dump everything on the hygienist. They gotta have like a few things. If we know September's coming, let's start doing scans in Q2 so that way we have all of our orthoscans already pre-done for three months before we even get to that level where we start to have it where it's gonna drop on us.   That's where we become obsessed with making sure we focus on the patients and we use our KPIs. To me, they're like a forecast and a projections if you use them correctly. They can also be a like nail in the coffin and you're like, well, shoot, our production's down, our collections are down, we got to fix that. So it's how can I look retroactively and see what do we do? How can I use leading measures to proactively make sure that we don't get into that? But then put those two together and ultimately tie those under the vision and the goal and make sure that they're driving us towards that.   That's what it should be. The top of everything, the umbrella over all those. Like if you want to think of an umbrella and your KPIs are like the the spokes that hold the umbrella, the the core umbrella over the top is what's our vision and what's the purpose of our practice? and if your KPIs like if you're just production, production, production, that's not who you ultimately want to be. Like if we're just profit, profit, profit, like yeah, you should be. But ultimately, like, yeah, I'm gonna say like profit's number one. To me, we have a rule.   We don't lose money. That's been my rule. That's been my standard since I started the company. And I stand by that because cash flow is the most scary thing as a business owner, in my opinion. so profit is number one for me, and I will always make decisions based on that. but profit in conjunction with possibly impacting the world, the dentistry in the greatest way possible. Pro profitability in conjunction with having a place where team members love to work. You can have both. It can be an and it doesn't need to be an or.   You can have both of those. You can be obsessed with a patient experience and production. You can be obsessed with having the best patient experience and having a very profitable business. Both of those coexist. And so using your numbers as a compass, using them as a guide, and making sure that we're we're headed towards the ultimate destination of our our vision and our mission, which is why it doesn't only we do business fundamentals. We're going to work with you on getting your vision and your mission and your core values like.   What ultimately is your goal as a business owner? What do you want your life to be? That's the ultimate goal. Jump more freedom. And guess what? It's written in pencil. You can erase it, you can redraw it any day you want. It doesn't have to be set in stone and like we we chiseled that sucker out. No, this is a like, it's in pencil. So what does I what do I want my life to look like today? Because when we achieve it, we might want it to look differently. Or as we're walking up that mountain, we might say,   You know, I really thought that I only want to work three days, but I love dentistry and I want to work four days. I just want to do this type of procedure. Or I love to be in the practice, but I want to do two days clinical and I want to do two days of mentorship. That is totally allowed. Your business should just serve that. Your business should be the one that's there. So that's the ultimate arching is your KPIs then should be like the guiding pillars to that in leading and lagging measures. So this is where your KPIs, KPI numbers don't lie.   But isolated numbers can definitely give false positives and false negatives if they're not seen altogether. So, like just a quick recap is don't look at your KPIs in just isolation. Make sure that we're tracking leading and lagging indicators. And then make sure that ultimately all of those are headed towards our greater vision of where we ultimately want to go. That's how we use KPIs. That's how we use numbers too, to make sure that we're actually headed in the direction we want to go.   And you are welcome to have one of those in isolation. You're welcome to have KPIs that just sit on their own. You're welcome to have where we only are tracking lagging measures. You're welcome to have like we only think about our vision and our mission, and that's what we care about, and everything will follow. I will say you're welcome to do that. I would say an easier path that helps you have all the data and the best data points is going to be where you put all three of those together, where you're able to look at them simultaneously, use them as data points to ultimately make your best decisions because KPIs are incredibly powerful.   But only if they're used correctly, even if they're used to be tools, not like like goals or stars to guide by, not sticks to beat ourselves with. I don't care. Like we're just we're like, I don't believe in failures. I just believe that there are results. So are we getting the result we're looking for or not? And if not, let's change and adjust. if we're constantly missing production, what are maybe a couple leading measures that we could do? Also having too many KPIs, you get lost in data and you can't actually see what you need to do. So simplifying it, having less is more.   making sure we're actually tracking outcomes rather than activity. Like what I usually say like reduce unscheduled treatment by 10% every single month. So I don't care how many calls you make. Yes, I know I said like make 25 calls. You can do task or you can do outcome. I prefer outcome based, but you might just be starting out and can't figure out that outcome. So like let's start with 25 calls a day. It's easy, all of us can do it. We can track it. Ultimately the goal is that our schedule is always full and we're putting enough outbound calls to make sure that when patients are canceling, which is gonna happen, they're gonna move their appointments.   that we're always able to get our schedule up to what we want it to be and we're not stressed, we're not going chaotic. So if you feel like you listen to this, you're like, you're I don't even know where to start, or like we're kind of doing this, we're halfway doing it, or I'm looking at this, but I don't know how to get my team bought into it. This is what we do. This is how we're able to help you. We're able to help you put it all together. Let's build your vision, let's build that mission, let's figure out where we're headed with no guilt, no judgment, just your life. Like, hey, grab the crayons, grab the confetti, like let's make what you want this life to be.   Then let's figure out which KPIs are going to lead us to that. Let's figure out which leading measures we need to help your team get on board with and why. Get them bought into the vision and the mission. And then we're able to help maintain and contain that consistency for you. So this is the zone. You usually don't need like a lot more reports. We just need clarity to cut through and to look at the things that really matter and put them together so we're not doing them in isolation. So you're not getting hit with those surprises, but actually being able to be proactive on that. So this is where I'm obsessed with helping offices have their dream life, look at the numbers.   use the numbers, not be used by the numbers and to get a team bought into it at whatever level you want. There is no set path. There is no set, every team has to do this. It's what's your vision, what's your life? How do we make sure that you're profitable and successful? And then how do we build the systems, the structure for scalability for you of whatever that looks like for you. So reach out. I'd love to help you out. Hello@TheDentalATeam.com. And as always, thanks for listening and I'll catch you next time on the Dental A Team podcast.

Soft freight demand would normally suggest plenty of available trucking capacity. Q2 2026 told a different story.   In this episode of Supply Chain Now, Scott W. Luton is joined by Karin Bursa, Bobby Holland, Director of Freight Business Analytics at U.S. Bank, and Dr. Jason Miller, Eli Broad Endowed Professor of Supply Chain Management at Michigan State University, to unpack the latest U.S. Bank Freight Payment Index. They examine why shipments remained subdued while shipper spending climbed sharply, including a nearly 28% year-over-year national increase in spending.   The conversation covers regional freight conditions, tightening capacity, housing weakness, import activity, fuel costs, and the surge in physical infrastructure supporting AI and data centers. Bobby and Jason also share what supply chain leaders should watch as the market moves through the second half of 2026.   Jump into the conversation: (00:00) Intro (06:51) The central theme of the Q2 2026 Freight Payment Index (09:29) How the Freight Payment Index works (11:29) National freight market outlook (16:40) West region: Strongest annual growth (20:49) Southwest: The largest volume-spending disconnect (23:59) Midwest: Data centers offset softer freight demand (27:18) Housing market headwinds (30:10) Northeast: Flat volume and rising spending (33:41) Southeast: Data centers drive freight growth (37:14) AI's rapidly expanding physical supply chain (44:42) Freight market predictions for the months ahead (48:55) Where to find the Freight Payment Index (50:34) Karin's biggest takeaway for supply chain leaders   Additional Links & Resources: Connect with Dr. Jason Miller: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-miller-32110325/ Connect with Bobby Holland: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobby-holland-4a9355/ Connect with Karin Bursa: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karinbursa/ Learn more about Eli Broad College of Business: https://broad.msu.edu/ Learn more about U.S. Bank: https://www.usbank.com/index.html Learn more about U.S. Bank Freight Payment Index: https://www.usbank.com/corporate-and-commercial-banking/industry-expertise/transportation/freight-payment-insights.html Learn more about our hosts: https://supplychainnow.com/about Learn more about Supply Chain Now: https://supplychainnow.com Watch and listen to more Supply Chain Now episodes here: https://supplychainnow.com/program/supply-chain-now Subscribe to Supply Chain Now on your favorite platform: https://supplychainnow.com/join Work with us! Download Supply Chain Now's NEW Media Kit: https://supplychainnow.com/media-kit/ WEBINAR- SAP AI Inside the Supply Chain: From Silo to Orchestration: https://bit.ly/4bvpz6K WEBINAR- Operational AI in the Supply Chain: How context empowers agents and humans to operate side by side: https://bit.ly/4x7Vd2Z WEBINAR- You Can't Manage What You Can't See: Using Visibility, KPIs, and AI to Optimize Logistics Operations: https://bit.ly/4ql6iem   This episode was hosted by Scott Luton and Karin Bursa and produced by Trisha Cordes, Joshua Miranda, and Amanda Luton. For additional information, please visit our dedicated show page at: https://supplychainnow.com/analysis-q2-2026-us-bank-freight-payment-index-1627 The content in this episode, including all audio, videos, visuals, and graphics, is the property of Supply Chain Now and is protected by copyright law. Unauthorized use, reproduction, distribution, modification, or re-uploading of this content in any form is strictly prohibited without explicit written permission from Supply Chain Now.For licensing inquiries or permissions, please contact us at production@supplychainnow.com© 2026 Supply Chain Now. All rights reserved. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Cameron discusses the critical distinction between making money and building wealth. He emphasizes the importance of financial literacy, capital allocation, and strategic planning for entrepreneurs. The conversation covers various strategies for wealth creation, including avoiding lifestyle creep, building multiple income streams, and thinking like an investor. He encourages you to focus on long-term financial freedom rather than short-term gains, ultimately aiming to create options and opportunities through smart financial decisions.Listen In!Thank you for listening to this episode of Medical Millionaire!Takeaways:Building wealth is a different skill set than making money.Entrepreneurs need to think about what to do with money after making it.Income does not equal wealth; wealth is what you keep and own.A capital allocator decides where the next dollar should go.Avoid lifestyle creep as income increases.Have a financial plan before money arrives to avoid emotional spending.Building two wealth engines can lead to greater financial security.Create a business that is valuable and enjoyable to own.Financial freedom means working because you want to, not because you have to.Think like a medical millionaire to create wealth and options.Medical Millionaire: The Blueprint for Scaling a World-Class Medical Aesthetics PracticeWelcome to Medical Millionaire, the go-to podcast for forward-thinking Medspa owners, Medical Aesthetics leaders, Plastic Surgery & Dermatology practices, Concierge Wellness clinics, and Elective Healthcare entrepreneurs who are ready to scale with intention and operate like a true, high-performing business.If you're building, growing, optimizing, or preparing to exit your aesthetics or wellness practice, this show is your competitive advantage.Hosted by Cameron Hemphill Your Guide to Sustainable, Scalable Growth Your host, Cameron Hemphill, is one of the most trusted growth strategists in Medical Aesthetics and Elective Wellness.With over 10 years in the industry, Cameron has helped scale 1,000+ practices and more than 2,300 providers, working alongside the most recognized KOLs, national brands, EMRs, tech companies, and private equity groups, shaping the future of aesthetics. From marketing to operations, from finance to leadership, Cameron brings a real-world, data-driven perspective on what it takes to turn a practice into a powerful business engine.What This Podcast Is All About: Each episode takes you behind the scenes of the fastest-growing practices in the country, revealing the systems, strategies, and mindset required to win in today's Medical Aesthetics landscape.Expect tactical insights, step-by-step frameworks, and conversations with:Industry thought leadersTop injectors & medical directorsEMR & tech innovatorsOperations expertsMarketing strategistsPrivate equity & M&A advisorsWellness and longevity pioneersThis is where aesthetics, business, technology, and wellness converge. What You'll Learn on Medical Millionaire Every week, you'll access expert guidance to help you scale profitably and predictably, including:Marketing & Brand PositioningCRM + Lead Management SystemsPatient Acquisition & ConversionEMR Optimization & Tech Stack ArchitectureSales Psychology & Consultation MasteryFinance, KPIs, and Practice EconomicsOperational Workflows & AutomationIndustry Trends Backed by Real Benchmark DataPatient Retention & Lifetime Value ExpansionMindset, Leadership & Team DevelopmentWhether you're opening your first location or running a multi-million-dollar enterprise, you'll gain the clarity and direction to grow with confidence. A Show Designed for Every Stage of Practice Growth Medical Millionaire breaks down the journey into four essential stages, showing you exactly how to move from one to the next:Startup – Build the foundation and attract your first wave of patientsGrowth – Scale revenue, expand services, and strengthen operationsOptimize – Increase efficiency, margins, and customer experienceExit – Prepare your practice for maximum valuation and acquisitionIf You're Ready to Grow, This Is Where You Start. Tune in weekly for actionable insights, expert interviews, and the exact playbooks high-performing practices use to dominate their markets. This is the podcast for Medspa owners who want more than a job; they want a scalable, profitable, industry-leading business. Welcome to Medical Millionaire.Let's build your practice into the empire it deserves to be.

The Suite Spot attended the 2026 Hotel Data Conference and had the opportunity to interview some of the best and brightest hospitality leaders in the industry to gain their insights and perspectives on prevailing data trends, AI & technology, how to optimize the guest experience and much more.  Be sure to watch the full episode if you missed any of the action from the 2026 Hotel Data Conference.  Special thanks to: Amanda Hite, Jan Freitag, Erica Lipscomb, Max Spangler, & Sam Trotter. Ryan Embree: Welcome to Suite Spot, where hoteliers check in and we check out what’s trending in hotel marketing. I’m your host, Ryan Embree. Hello, everyone. Ryan Embree here at the 2026 Hotel Data Conference here with STR President Amanda Hite. Amanda, great to see you again. Congratulations here. This is our first time at the Hotel Data Conference. Amanda Hite: Oh, wonderful. Thank you. Ryan Embree: Record attendance was just announced. Welcome to The Suite Spot. We’re excited to be here. It was a ton of excitement that we just saw. Tell us a little bit about this event, and we were talking off camera about, do you ever expect it to be what it is right now? Amanda Hite: Yes, we started it 18 years ago with a couple hundred people, maybe. The very first year we’ve always had it in Nashville. This is our home base for the STR part of our business. Most of our employees are here that are in the US. So we started it with a way to connect with customers and more importantly, like, we all have this curiosity about the data. You know, we’re constantly in analyzing, looking at trends in the industry, and we wanted to get people together to hear what are you seeing and let’s talk about it. And that’s really how this started. So it’s, I think it’s for me, my most proud part of this conference is the feeling that everyone has when they come in of being really open and curious and wanting to learn from each other. So you get some really good dynamic conversations happening in the networking breaks and in the hallway. Ryan Embree: Well, it’s such an important time right now too, right? ‘Cause people are already starting, if you can believe it. Well, actually, probably you can look in 2027. Amanda Hite: That’s why we do hotel data conference when we do it. Exactly. It’s budget season. Ryan Embree: Brilliant. Brilliant. Right? And, you know, you just got off stage, like I said. One of the fascinating pieces, like I said, we weren’t here last year, but this is our first time. You said when you first stepped on stage, there were, and you showed some of those original numbers. There was a little bit of a gap in the audience last year. Amanda Hite: Yes. Ryan Embree: But this year, a little bit different story. Amanda Hite: Yes. We had a much better forecast to reveal this year. Last year at this time was when we took the forecast down to reflect what was happening in the industry. And this year, we raised the forecast, not just for the rest of this year, but also for 2027. Ryan Embree: So great to see. And a really cool inflection point, I made a note here, revenue for the first time outpacing expenses, right? What does that mean for hoteliers? Amanda Hite: Yeah. So we finally see the pace of growth on the revenue side outpacing the expense growth. I mean, we’re in a high inflationary environment. Expense growth is something that will continue and hoteliers are having to deal with. But to see that we’re actually going to get some GOP gains, it’s, it’s super helpful. I mean, the point I made this morning though is our margins are not growing. Yeah. So we’ve got some room to grow efficiencies and productivity within the hotels to try to get margins to grow at the same rate of GOP growth. Ryan Embree: Yeah, yeah. It’s challenging right now. And one of the things we’re doing to combat, or CoStar’s doing combat that, bottom line data being added to the product. What’s that mean for the hotel industry? Ryan Embree: Yeah, so within STR Benchmark and the CoStar platform, we introduced at the end of the first quarter our profitability benchmarking. P&L is something that STR has done for 30 years. We did it on an annual basis. And we introduced our monthly benchmarking back in 2020, literally as the world shut down. So maybe not the best timing. But of course, now we’re prepared in an environment like we are today, a very complex operating environment for our hoteliers. It’s, yes, we need to grow revenues, but we must make sure that that is flowing through to the bottom line and that our operators and owners are actually making money. And that’s not been the case in many types of hotels and many markets around the country. So we’re trying to make sure that we bring that visibility of not just the top line growth that we want to see for the industry, but the flow through all the way to the bottom line. Ryan Embree: Yeah, I’d love to see that. And, you know, another thing that we’re gonna hear constantly about at, and at this conference is AI, right? So I guess the overarching question would be more of like, how are you incorporating AI into your products right now? Amanda Hite: This is when I’m so thankful that we are a part of the CoStar Group entity. If you follow our other brands, homes and apartments launched AI in their products earlier this year. So we’re continuing to build off of that. We will have AI search in the CoStar product in the same way that you see in apartments and homes. But for STR benchmarks specifically, what we’re thinking about is making sure that we’re integrating AI into the product, not just sitting on top of the product, but like we interact with the clients all the time on the analysis in the industry. So we want to bring that through AI into the product for our customers to use. So we love when they pick up the phone and call us and wanna talk about data. Right. But we also wanna make it easier for them to surface it within their portfolios in product. And so that’s the path that we’re going down to bring that intelligence in the product and analyzing and spotting the trends, knowing what to look at or sometimes not look at, right? Sometimes it’s a great point. It’s just as important to say like, “Hey, I only have a limited amount of time. Where do I not need to spend time right now?” And that can be tricky, especially when you’re looking at a larger portfolio of trying to discern where, what makes the most sense to drive profitability for my business, for me to spend time on right now. Ryan Embree: 100%. Those complexities and driving efficiency so important right now. And turning those data, that data into actual insights. That what one of the promises of AI. So reason we’re here at the Hotel Data Conference, thank you for taking the time. We’ll, we’ll let you get back. I know you’re hosting almost 900 hoteliers here. So we’ll let, let you get back to Amanda. Thanks for stopping by. Amanda Hite: Thank you, Ryan. Appreciate it. Ryan Embree: Hello, everyone. Ryan Embree here with The Suite Spot live on location Nashville at the 2026 Hotel Data Conference here with Jan Freitag, National Director at CoStar. Jan, thank you so much for taking some time and very busy. You’re hosting almost a thousand hoteliers here. Jan Freitag: Yes, 18th year. Sold out again. So heads up, next year we’ll sell out again. But thanks for being here and sort of taking the pulse on the industry. We appreciate it. Ryan Embree: 100%. Congratulations. Amanda Hite opened us this morning saying last year when she unveiled the forecast, there were audible gaps in the crowd. I feel like behind us, people have been skipping, jumping down, up and down this escalators. Share with us, we got a revised forecast. Jan Freitag: So we’re proposing that RevPar this year is up 4.4%. So that is the second upward revision we had to make, quote unquote. And the data’s just so strong. But then that means that next year, we’re gonna see growth, but it’s much slower global. So next year we’re thinking that RevPargrowth is gonna be like, you know, 2-2.1% or so. So the negative way to say this is, “Oh, our growth rate is cut in half.” The positive way to say this is like, “Oh, we have growth on growth, right? 4% this year, ne – 2% next year.” Ryan Embree: 100%. I mean, a lot of people are going into, you know, we’ve talked to hoteliers here on the Suite Spot, going into their budgets. These are very, very important numbers for them as they go into their budgets because they wanna forecast. When we met last, we were at NYU. There had been zero soccer games played in the US. Now, 104 games later, we got a crown champion. Obviously had a big impact. We’re gonna talk about that in a minute. But that strong performance, one of your big takeaways from this morning was strong performance is gonna equal some tougher comps in 2027, right? Jan Freitag: Yeah, absolutely. So we had arguably easy comps this year, right? The Q2, three, and four RevPAR performance last year was negative. So yeah, we would outperform it this year. That was not a question. But because, RevPAR in the second quarter was up 5.7%, that is a, a very stout result, obviously driven in June, partially by the World Cup remember we’re gonna talk about. You know what that means for next year is, oh wow, we’re not gonna see that performance again. And so my conversation this morning with hoteliers is all about, okay, so how do you massage your owner? How do you have this conversation with your owner, with your team to say, look, there’s still gonna be growth, but we really have to think about this. And I heard this this morning from an asset manager at next year as a year of 10 months and two months, you know? So really take June and July out of your annual number and say, okay, so what’s the growth for that? And then, yeah, June, July is just gonna be tough cost. Ryan Embree: Yeah. Probably something that a lot of markets who hosted Taylor Swift a couple years ago had to deal with. And then maybe what LA’s gonna have to deal with in 2029 after the Olympics in 28. Jan Freitag: Yeah, exactly. So we’re already talking now about the Olympics. We’re gonna talk about, obviously the World Cup in four years over in Europe and what is the performance there. So these sporting events are just the gifts that keep on giving. Ryan Embree: Yeah. Yeah. And, and travelers continue what we heard this morning. Consumers continue to prioritize travel, which is really, really great for obviously our industry. But not without its cautionary tales, you also had a watch your margins kind of take away from that. Maybe expand on that a little bit. Jan Freitag: Yeah. So we’ve had for the last year and for the last couple of years, really this interplay between room rate growth and the rate of inflation being higher than room rate growth. And we’re taking the rate of inflation sort of as a proxy for how much more things are expensive. And the costs for hotels are obviously going up. Higher labor costs, higher insurance costs, higher food costs, higher costs, inner energy, everything. So if your costs are going up in order for your margins to expand, you need to drive room rate or revenue faster than the cost increase. And that just is not happening. So my colleague Isaac Collazo spent 55 slides and an hour explaining how margins are decelerating, unfortunately. Now, the total dollar amount, we’re everything gets more expensive, but it also means we’re having more money available as profit. But the margins are coming down. And that’s really the, maybe to me, the main takeaway from HCC this year for the budget conversation for 2027 is watch your margin. Ryan Embree: Efficiency is always looking for that, especially in these tight margin areas. And then lastly, you know, your whole presentation this morning was themed around the World Cup. And, and I do wanna bring it up because, obviously there was the quote was 104 Super Bowls. Yeah. Right? And you kind of explored that case a little bit. Found out maybe that might not be the case. Jan Freitag: Yeah, exactly. So the FIFA president had said at the time, just to explain to American audiences, “Hey, we have 104 soccer games and they look like 104 Super Bowls.” That is of course not the case. And that was never meant to be the case. Super Bowl is the largest cultural sport event in America. It happens once a year, right? And to sort of translate that was, I thought always a little silly. So it turns out that the 104 Super Bowls did not come to pass, and it was more like 30 Super Bowls, maybe if that. So yeah, it was still a very healthy impact. If you look at the markets that Hosta gave Kansas City, New York, Philadelphia, Boston, very, very strong room rate growth. Interestingly, in some markets, actually, occupancy declines. We saw that specifically in Vancouver, but we saw it in Atlanta, we saw it in Boston. Why is that? Well, because corporate America, meeting travelers, meeting planners said, “You know what? I don’t need to compete with the Tartan Army in Boston for our meeting. You know, let me just stay away. Let me have that meeting in August, or let me move that meeting to Chicago,” for example. Sure. Chicago had a very, very strong June, July meeting calendar. So it’s, um, the, the room rate increase was absolutely expected and is exactly what came to pass. It just wasn’t Autumn for a Super Bowl. Ryan Embree: Yeah. I mean, that just proves we are, uh, a collective of markets. Things are gonna be obviously different in each one. Yeah. Uh, with different factors there. You know, a- and there’s also an interesting stat, fascinating stat, I wanna bring it up, about booking windows, um, that, that you brought up there. Yeah. If you wanna expand on that. Jan Freitag: So I got this totally wrong in the run up to the World Cup because I thought, look, if somebody books that FIFA ticket a year out, and the airplane ticket’s six months out, surely they would book their hotel three months out. Yeah. That did not happen. Right. And so we saw specifically the chart that I had this morning for, uh, arrival dates, June 11, 12, 13, 20 basis points of, uh, 20 points of occupancy was booked after June 8th. Wow. So that’s a booking windows of, like, three or four days. Wow. For an event that you knew what happened, I mean, six years ago. Yeah. You know? And you had a ticket from one year ago. So I just completely though that the, uh, the, the leisure traveler, the, the soccer traveler would also book their room way ahead. That did not come with us. Ryan Embree: Very interesting. I wonder if that’s a macro trend happening right now, those booking windows starting to shorten a little bit. Jan Freitag: Yeah, and maybe that’s a takeaway for our friends, you know, in LA who are hosting the Olympics. Hey, you know, be very mindful how you match that booking window. Ryan Embree: Lessons from history learned there. Yes. Um, final as we wrap up, I always li- like, like to get any, you know, you look at a lot of data. So any interesting, uh, like, data points that really stood out or surprising? Jan Freitag: I mean, the July data came out yesterday and the luxury class RevPar growth was 16%. Ryan Embree: Wow. Jan Freitag: Talk about A, amazing, but B, A, tough comps. Yeah. In July of next year. But it was an amazing, amazing performance. July was very, very strong. Um, and June as well. So we clearly saw, you know, July was helped a little bit by 4th of July, World Cup, uh, 4th of July calendar year, but also the World Cup, obviously the final and the bronze medal games. They all, they all helped. So July was strong, June was strong. So now I think things are getting a little bit more normal – Yeah. Early on end. Ryan Embree: Awesome. Well, we’ll continue to look ahead as you will, but thank you again for taking time out of your busy schedule, Jan. Jan Freitag: Thanks for being here. Thank you. Ryan Embree: Hello everyone, Ryan Embree here with The Suite Spot. We are live on location of the 2026 Hotel Data Conference. I am here with Erica Lipscomb, EVP of Commercial Strategy at PM Hotel Group. Erica, thank you so much for joining me on The Suite Spot. Erica Lipscomb: Well, thank you for having me. Very excited to be here. Ryan Embree: Yeah, first time here on the Suite Spot. Yes. But not your first time here at Hotel Data Conference. Erica Lipscomb: Not my first time at Hotel Data Conference. This is conference number eight. Ryan Embree: Okay. Yes. All right. Hotel data conference. You obviously are no stranger, you’re a pro. What do you call a hotel data conference a success kind of reflecting back? What do you come here to accomplish and to learn? Erica Lipscomb: You know, I, again, this is our start of budget season. Sure. Right? Yeah. So I actually, uh, had dinner with Amanda last night and said, “You do realize what you’ve done here, right? We cannot even start our budget calendars until there’s an HTC.” Yeah. So really what I look forward to is not coming here just to hear that the amazing news of an increase year over year, or that we’re gonna increase in the year for the year. Sure. But what are those things that I can take away that can make it tactical for our teams? Mm-hmm. So learning from industry leaders that are here. We have amazingly smart people that are here at this conference. And we’re really drafting and shaping what the industry will look like. So what are those learnings? And then how do I make sure that we trickle that down within the organization and get them to our teams? Ryan Embree: Which can change so rapidly, right? As we know – Absolutely. It’s gone from, uh, a yearly change to almost, it feels like a weekly, especially with the AI and technology conversation. Yes. You were on a panel last year here at this same conference. I’m curious, what were some of the conversations then versus now? Erica Lipscomb: Yeah. And very different. I think it’s been extreme polar opposites. Okay. I feel like last year, there was a lot of conversation about AI. Mm-hmm. But more on the what is AI. Mm. And how are we gonna use AI? Yep. And it’s already started in conversations this morning. You know, we started networking last night, and most people are now really talking about what is AI doing for us to make sure that we’re efficient, making sure that our teams are effective, um, ensuring there’s profitability back to our owners. So it’s gone from a concept – Yeah. To now actually, how are we utilizing AI to be better in the industry, but keeping the forefront our customers? Ryan Embree: It feels like we’re in the sandbox now, right? And there’s a lot of companies out there trying different things. It’s the exploration process and, you know, maybe some success, but even, uh, lessons in the failure. Uh, I, I’ve been hearing a lot about that as well. So hotel data, obviously data is the name of the game. Yes. Still one of the most important tools I feel like right now on our quest of guest personalization. And so much it can do to kind of like what you said, prepare us for the rest of 2026 and even into 2027. Right. How is PM Hotel Group kind of leveraging data for growth and, uh, experiences? Erica Lipscomb: So actually you started with, with growth and experiences. Yeah. So really starting with growth. Yeah. We really are starting with AI in our business development side of our, our, of our home. Sure. And really how are we looking for the right clients that fit PM? Yeah. How, again, when you look at, uh, BD, it’s a relationship. Mm. So who are those owners? Who are the asset managers? What do their teams look like? Is that a right fit? And how can we help them grow? So that’s really the act – acquisition of the client and the customer. And then when we get to the property level – Right. Then as an enterprise, as a support center, what we’re looking to do is how do we use data, which is the, the heart – Yeah. Of revenue optimization. Sure. How are you using that data to make sure that we’re pulling through every step of the guest journey? So from the time again, acquisition of a customer. Right. So now not an owner, but that actual guest that’s gonna be staying at our properties, what does that customer journey look like? How do we find the right customer? We have a very diversified portfolio – Oh, yeah. For each one of our assets in the portfolio, ensuring that they convert. And then once they’re there in their stay, are we pulling through on all the experiences they expect? Whether it’s an independent hotel and the experiences that come along or for the brands and the brand standards. And then once our guests leave, how do we make sure that we are still speaking to them – uh-huh. And making sure that they return? Ryan Embree: I love how you walk through the entire guest experience. I think sometimes we get caught up just thinking about one or two elements of it. Right. But it really does start. I mean, the hot topic right now is that AI visibility, right? Absolutely. And being bound, uh, because our travelers are changing the way that they’re searching for hotels and doing their research. So, uh, it’s super, super important there. We’re in Nashville, Erica, uh, no stranger for PM Hotel Group. Yes. Uh, you guys just, uh – Very excited. Assumed management, 12 properties. Yes. Uh, what do you lo – like, um, from a Nashville market standpoint? I mean, this has just been such a hot market right now in hospitality. Uh, but also, you know, a big threshold of, uh, exciting 80 plus hotels for PM Hotel Group? Erica Lipscomb: Yes. We’re very excited to have the 12 hotels that, from Pinnacle that joined our portfolio. And that’s really our sweet spot, right? Finding those type of assets that fit our growth in our platform, and that we can make sure that we’re optimizing on their revenue, as well as excellent customer experience and guest operations experience. So what I really like about Nashville, and it’s not a new growth. Right. You know, Nashville never stopped growing, right? Where the, where the rest of the world really has struggled even, you know, six years ago. Through COVID. Nashville didn’t, right? Ryan Embree: It was red hot. Erica Lipscomb: But what most people think about when you hear Nashville, they’re really just thinking it’s an entertainment city. That’s not just all Nashville is. So when we peel it back and take a look at the segmentation and what’s driving Nashville, you do still have that customer that is true corporate business. And you still have conventions and groups. I was just in a group maximization winning group seminar just not too long ago. And in that breakout session, we really talk about group continues to still grow. Oh, yeah. And when you take a look at the first half of this year, that growth is really happening not only just in convention centers, but those hotels that have group meetings. Even when you take a look at those assets, what’s interesting is the growth is not just in the hotel that has most of the group, but if you are affiliated. You’re feeling that demand. Leveraging the demand and continuing to drive occupancy and ADR. Yeah, absolutely. So that’s why we’re still excited about Nashville. It’s one of those markets that continues to do well, not just in entertainment, but on the corporate business transient side, as well as group side. Ryan Embree: It’s a perfect destination. That’s why we got almost a thousand hoteliers here at the hotel data conference. Erica Lipscomb: That’s sold out again this year. Ryan Embree: Absolutely. Well, any. I mean, I can tell just by the conversation we’re having, very passionate about your work. Any projects you’re particularly fired up about right now? Erica Lipscomb: The project I’m probably most interested in is what I was hired for is to really continue to evolve commercial strategy. So commercial strategy is not just looking at every discipline in a silo. They’re all very important to revenue optimization. But how do we now continue to go from just having the commercial conversations, but also leverage the experience in each discipline? So our customers, when they look at our hotels, And they look at that curse customer journey that we just walked through – Right. They’re not looking at sales, revenue, marketing, distribution, operations. They’re looking at their holistic experience. Yeah. And so why not make sure that we internally stop looking at how well each d- division does and, and, and our, each siloed discipline, but let’s look through the lens of a gu – of a customer. Yeah. What’s that experience look like? And then how do we all play a part of it? Yeah. Exactly. So that’s what I’m excited about. And using, continuing to use AI. Yeah. How do we make sure that we’re leveraging commercial? Yeah. And then making sure that our use of AI is making our teams much more efficient – Mm. And effective in h – in how we run our businesses. Ryan Embree: That’s what I was gonna say. It’s, it’s such an inflection point, and I’m sure very exciting for, for your job with the technology in hand. Now you’ve got the power to, uh, break down those silos, right? Absolutely. Create efficiencies there. Yes. Uh, well, as we wrap up, you know, we always. One of the things here that we love to do at the Hotel Data Conference is try to predict the future, right? Forecasting, everybody. It’s a, it’s an impossible job, but we do it every single year. Right. Uh, you know, so from a commercial strategy standpoint, I know you, you, you just mentioned the projects you’re working on, but what’s your vision for PM Hotel Group as we kind of go into the latter part of the 2020s? Erica Lipscomb: So latter part of the 2020s, I think that the company’s vision is to really leverage the portfolio and the diversity of the portfolio. We saw that growth that we had just here in Nashville. I’m sure you saw the news that Reset our first brand to enter Marriott’s or outdoor collection. Yeah. We’ve noticed that when you continue to diversify and not really just say, okay, we are just this type of company, making sure that we’re leveraging the expertise of our team. Mm-hmm. We can be many things – Yeah. To many customers. Yeah. And so lev – continue that leverage, that growth, but we do see that growth continue to be in experiences. Yeah. Right? So every brand is rolling out how they’re working with experiences. But what we do see, that lifestyle, outdoor – Oh, yeah. Experiences. We’ve had our first entree into it, and we’re gonna continue to grow. Ryan Embree: Awesome. We’re excited to watch that growth, and yeah, that experiential travel continues to be something, conversations we’re having here, prioritizing, that’s what the guests are prioritizing travelers are. Congratulations on all this. We continue to watch it with PM Hotel Group. Thanks, Erica. Erica Lipscomb: Thank you. Ryan Embree: Hello, everyone. Ryan Embree here with The Suite Spot. We are live on location at the 2026 Hotel Data Conference. I am here with Max Spangler, VP of Technology at Charlestown Hotel. Max, we know you’re on a panel tomorrow. We’ll talk about that in a second, but thanks for taking the time to join us. Max Spangler: Absolutely. thanks for hosting me, Ryan. Ryan Embree: Yeah, Gotel Data Conference. Name of the game, data. We’re gonna talk about, obviously, your role and, and where data plays into that. But first, you come to a conference like this, what’s the expectation? What do you hope to get out of it? And maybe when you’re a couple weeks down the line, looking back on the conference, that was a success. Max Spangler: Yeah, you know, for me, I spend a lot of time at conferences that are very narrow in scope, right? Sure. Whether it’s high tech or the hospitality show, or even technology conferences that are outside of hospitality. Sure. So coming to HDC is always great. It’s always refreshing. The keynote panel in the beginning always gives me, hopefully, optimism. And this morning, it was very optimistic – Yes. About the way things are going. So I’m thankful for that. But it’s great to hear from commercial peers how they’re using data, how they’re surfacing insights, what tools they’re using, and how they’re turning it actionable. I mean, I think for me, as someone who spends a lot of time staring at screens, developing tools, looking at dashboards, hearing from people that actually depend on this information – Yeah. So crucially is really refreshing. So I get to, like, cut through the noise a little bit and hear what’s working, and hopefully hear what’s not. Ryan Embree: Yeah, and that’s what leads to your panel tomorrow, connecting AI to commercial strategy. Yeah. Uh, maybe give our sweet spot listeners a little bit of sneak peek and maybe your thoughts on the subject. Max Spangler: We’ve got a great panel tomorrow. Super stoked for it. You know, so we, we had a pre-cause you tend to do with those panels. Right. And as a result of that, we decided to zoom out a little bit, which I though was important. So commercial still is the through line, as you would expect at HTC, but given the man – the, the members that are on the panel, we’ve got some people that, you know, are on the, the, the revenue management side. We’ve got some people from HFTP. Um, you’ve got me as an independent operator. It w- we felt, we felt it really important to say, “Let’s, let’s zoom out. Let’s take a pause and, like, let’s look at where the industry is holistically.” Sure. And so the questions are really driving off that. So you’ll find that, um, there’s insights about a year from now, what would we like to be doing differently, right? How are we driving ac- actionable insights? What KPIs are important? What KPIs are important? Yeah. Things like what’s the difference between automation versus th- this new agentic era? Mm. So I think it, um, I’m actually really excited for it. The panel’s great, and I think you’re gonna get some, some really interesting insights from a variety of different opinions. Ryan Embree: Yeah. And what we talked about is so much can change. Yeah. And you could talk about what could happen in a year. I mean, that could be a couple cycles with technology right now. And that’s why I, I was really looking forward this conversation, Max. Yeah. Because, you know, I get industry leaders, sometimes brand leaders, but you’re, you’re in it every single day, right? Yeah. Uh, VP of technology. Yep. Where do you think we are in the AI adoption – Yeah. Uh, uh, cycle? And then maybe zoom in a little bit on Charlestown Hotels. Max Spangler: Yeah. So if we, if we look at sort of where things are globally for the state of AI, I think obviously in the technology space, it’s an existential crisis, right? Right. I mean, I think you see that in, in jobs reports. I think you obviously see it in the way that they’re measuring AI as an accelerant. Yeah. You know, so, uh, friends of mine that work for tech companies, they’re seeing their time to release production code going from five weeks, four weeks down to one week. Wow. It’s easy for them to measure. It’s easy for them to see the outcomes for us. Yeah. I think it, it is ultimately a little bit more difficult. For Charlestown, you know, we think it’s really important to keep hospitality at the center of what we’re doing, right? And so we’re not parading around trying to be an AI company or a SaaS company. We firmly believe people and hospitality at the center of, is gonna be at the center of what we do.m. How do we use AI to power that? Whether it’s through efficiencies, you know, through maybe more sophisticated RMS, through, you know, generative guest insights. How do we make sure that we’re being discovered when people are asking what’s the best hotel in downtown Charleston, South Carolina? Those are really hard questions to answer. No one’s got it figured out. But the conversations that are happening here are super encouraging because I think there is a lot of people admitting that and coming together to try to find, um, the best path forward. Ryan Embree: And you were, this is not your first per – podcast that you’ve been on recently. I saw you, uh, on CoStar News Hotel podcast where you talked about escaping hospitality’s AI hype echo chamber. Yeah, yeah. What’s your thoughts on that? And maybe how do we avoid doing that here in, in spaces like this? Max Spangler: I mean, it’s, if you go on LinkedIn, you can feel like, you know, FOMO is like a- absolutely crushing you, right? Right. Everyone is, like, piloting something new. Right. Everyone is, is advancing seemingly at the speed of light. It’s really important to come to a conference like HTC, uh, to get a real life temperature check with what people are doing and how they’re doing it. There is a tremendous amount of hype. There’s a tremendous amount of potential, but I think for a lot of us, and especially from someone sitting in the seat of an operator, you have to be very disciplined. Yes. You know, you have to have a step-by-step sequence of how you’re actually gonna accomplish this. It’s okay to introduce a little bit of chaos. We’ve done that in the early days. I mean, if you go back, you know, to 2023, 2024, we’re experimenting with all the frontier models. But eventually, we wanted to collapse that into a unified choice, pick one model so that we can move forward and start measuring, you know, are our team members crawling? Who’s walking? Who’s running? How do we devise resources to help kind of get everyone on the same page, march in the same direction, and get better at this? Yeah. And so that, that’s, that’s been our strategy. And fortunately, like, that’s what I’m hearing here at the conference. Ryan Embree: And the motivation for implementing AI can’t come out of fear of we’re not doing enough. Yeah. Or, you know, we’re just, that FOMO feeling that you’re talking about, it has to have, what you said, discipline and direction. Yeah. And Max Spangler: Ryan, like, fear is a huge part. I mean, that’s one of the things that we’re constantly up against. There’s. I, I think the, the negative attitude and apprehension towards AI is only gonna continue to grow over time, right? Just like the excitement over it is gonna continue to grow. Yeah. Same thing’s true for the negative. I mean, you have people that absolutely have their head in the sand, which is okay. Right. Um, for, for certain reasons, you have people that obviously have negative feelings about it because of the socio – uh, economic impact. Sure. Companies potentially might be laying off job just Placement or replacement as a result of LLMs and the technologies that they introduce. There’s the environmental factors. So, like, all those things are absolutely true. We don’t think it’s, as Charlestown, our responsibility to sort of correct that. Right. But we do wanna make sure our associates, team members, and corporate, and corporate leadership team know this isn’t going anywhere. Yeah. It’s fundamental core to the business, and we’re gonna make an investment into our teams to make sure that they’re prepared for this new wave, whatever it looks like. Ryan Embree: It’s exciting times. And it’s okay to experiment fail sometimes, because that, that’ll show you some lessons too. Sure. Max Spangler: Yeah, we. Yeah, we’ve run so many pilots. We’ve had so many things fail. We’ve incinerated millions of tokens and subsequently thousands of dollars as a result of – Yeah. Um, so many pilots, but we’ve learned a lot. Yeah. Uh, and we’re in a much better spot as a result of it. You have to be willing to take risks, especially now. I do believe, like, no one’s gonna be left behind yet, but there is absolutely an advantage to being a first mover. And I think the companies that are at least experimenting and building AI fluency for their teams are gonna be much better, uh, much farther along than everybody else. Ryan Embree: 100%. And, you know, one of those spaces is, is the data, right? That’s, I mean, that’s the name of the game of this conference here. Yeah. How are some ways are you leveraging data to kind of – Yeah. Grow Charlestown hotels or even just create efficiencies? Max Spangler: Yeah. So for us, it, it, it is a challenge to think about the kind of company that we are. We focus mostly on the independent space. Mm-hmm. So we don’t have sort of the technology through line like the brands have where – Sure. You know, they can force a certain PMS, POS, CRS, like, it’s very clean and organized and scalable that way. Yeah. For us, you know, when we come into a new hotel operating environment, in most cases, technology hasn’t been a major form of investment, right? I mean, most people don’t come to Charlestown hotels with a great performing asset. They’re like, “We’re in trouble. We need your help.” Right. So then I come in, you know, from the technology perspective and it’s like, okay, this is difficult. How are we gonna extract information, put it into a centralized place, be able to sort of layer a, a, a, a BI tool or reporting package on top of it to actually surface the insights so these one-off owner operators can get the insights that, like, a company like Charlestown Hotels can deliver at scale with all the independent properties and things we’ve learned across the secondary and tertiary markets that we work in. Max Spangler: So, I mean, to put it simply for us, it is about having, like, a central data repository or warehouse. Sure. I mean, there’s plenty out there. Databricks, Snowflake. We’re a BigQuery customer. We do a lot with Google. Um, but it is, you know, if, if you think about where things are going to bring it back to AI, so much of the conversation surrounds having a good data foundation, because AI is an accelerant. If you have bad data, it’s gonna accelerate you to bad outcomes more quickly. Yeah, that’s a great point. If you have a bad business strategy, it’s gonna optimize for the wrong KPIs. So for us, it is very much about having solid fundamentals. Yeah. That’s not a reason for you to stop, right? It’s just more a reason for you to proceed cautiously. Ryan Embree: Absolutely. And, you know, you do it right. All of a sudden, you get that personalization, which, you know, hospitality’s been really the last decade – Yeah. Has been striving so much for to get that personalization within the guest experience. So as we wrap up, you know, we always like to. I know this is gonna be difficult because, like we said, things change so quickly in the tech space. Yeah. But what’s your vision for Charleston Hotels from a technology perspective? Max Spangler: Yeah, great question. I thought you were gonna ask me a hard one, like, what’s my favorite color? But, uh, no, for, for. Vision for technology, you know, for us, as long as we keep, like, hospitality at the center – Yeah. As our north star, that really does simplify things for us. It is gonna be difficult. There’s, you know, obviously a whole host of different frontier models you have to choose from. Tokenomics is gonna continue to be a big part. People talk about ROI with LLMs, but no one’s really talking about the expense – Yeah. And expenses continue to grow. Great point. Right? So we’re, we’re focused really on, you know, not only the, the ROI from some of the LLM tools, but, but obviously the tremendous cost that’s associated with running them at scale. But as long as we keep people and human beings at the center, reducing mundane work, admin tasks, friction so that our people can spend less time in front of screens and just be more hospitable, I think that really is the vision. Technology’s gonna support that. It’s gonna hopefully be more invisible to the people that come to hospitality. They didn’t come to, like, move information around – Right. Push paper or spend time in front of a computer. They spent it to, like, be empathetic, to be excited – Yeah. To surprise and delight. And so our goal, that’s our north star, and technology’s gonna be there to support it. Ryan Embree: Yeah, I mean, some industries, you’re, you’re right, are gonna be completely flipped upside down – Yeah. With this technology. But hospitality, we have that advantage of being a people first industry, so. Max Spangler: I, I think it’s, like, the, the key differentiator, and it honestly, it’s like, hospitality has an opportunity to have a really strong opinion. As so many industries are completely rolled over by this AI wave – Yeah. Hospitality can actually say, “No, you know what? People are…” And people in hospitality are at the center, and so as there is potentially more AI backlash and people are seeking more authentic experiences – Right. With people and connections – Yeah. I think it’s, it’s gonna be a great benefit to our industry. Max Spangler: Yeah, and we’ve seen from the data, experiences still seem t be – Yeah. I think that’s gonna grow. Yeah. Ryan Embree: Yeah. Agreed. Uh, Max, appreciate the time. Thank you. Uh, we’ll keep an eye on Charleston Hotels and everything you’re doing over there. Great. Congratulations. Max Spangler: Thank you. Ryan Embree: Hello, Everyone. Ryan Embree here with The Suite Spot. We’re live on location at the Hotel Data Conference 2026 here with Sam Trotter, Head of Digital Marketing for Indigo Road Hospitality Group. Sam, thanks for taking some time. Sam Trotter: Thanks for having me here. Yeah. I’m excited to be here at the Hotel Data Conference. Ryan Embree: It’s our first time here, but you said you’re, you’re a pro. You’ve been here for many years. Yeah. What does a successful hotel data conference look like for you and some of the takeaways that you look for? Sam Trotter: I really love having a good sense of what’s gonna happen next year. So you get some really great data here where you actually can take to your business planning sessions and use and say, “Hey, you know, I have this from the data conference, and they’re forecasting this growth in this market.” And you have something tangible. Yeah. So you’re about to head into budget season. Yeah. So having that in hand is really, really nice. Ryan Embree: That’s a big part of it. I mean, budget season, you gotta make those operation efficiency. We talked about the margins, how tight those are right now, especially in hospitality. One of the ways that hospitality’s changing right now is through AI search. You were on a panel here. For those that weren’t able to join us here in Nashville, maybe unpack that topic a little bit, because it’d certainly be top of mind for a lot of hoteliers right now. Sam Trotter: Well, it was really fun. It was a packed house, so a lot of interest in it. There’s a lot to talk about. I think we did a little bit of an intro to the topic, just so that everybody was sort of on the same page. But this is a new thing that we’re all having to adapt to. And we’re gonna have to focus on this. And in the panel, I said, “This feels a lot like 2006 when SEO was becoming a big thing.” And I remember I hired this French couple to do our SEO for this hotel that we were opening. It was like $10,000. In 2006. And it felt kinda like magic. Yeah. You know, like, what are they, what are they actually gonna do, right? And so it’s really tough. Who do you listen to? What actually works? And it was a great panel. And there’s no main takeaway other than we’re doing a lot of AB tests. We’re trying to figure out what works. I’m looking at the dashboards from our different properties. Who’s doing well? Who’s not? Yeah. And trying to pivot. And so we’re at this really interesting phase where it’s not really clear, right? Everybody’s telling us different things. Who do you listen to? So I honestly think it’s really exciting. Ryan Embree: The good news is it’s a challenge that a lot of people are attacking at once, right? And that’s where you’re gonna kind of find maybe lessons learned, even in those failures. So I think it is interesting because ultimately what happened with SEO is, like, there became a little bit of of a game plan that you could attack it with, right? That people are still trying to kind of balance. And then there were switches, right? That’s the other thing, is you could attack it one way and then all of a sudden, next week, algorithms change and it’s back to square one. So it was very, very interesting. But I think it’s events like this and panels that you’re on, Sam, that help kind of. Where everyone’s going through this right now. And to try to get through the weeds on it and try to figure out what is a good course of action here. And it changes so quickly. I think AI gets a spotlight, obviously, for good reason because it’s just this up and coming technology. But digital marketing also feels like it’s fast changing and evolving. And it’s been doing that for the past decade. You think about social media updates and everything like that. Yeah. I guess, how do you view digital marketing right now from a strategic standpoint and, and how hoteliers should be embracing and, you know, maybe investing in It? Sam Trotter: So that was a big question, right? Ryan Embree: Yes, sorry. Sam Trotter: When I have new marketers join, junior marketers, I always tell them there’s really no such thing as an expert anymore. Because it’s gonna change next year. Right? Ryan Embree: Great point. Sam Trotter: There are certain fundamentals that will help you no matter what, from 10 years from now, they’ll always be in play. I think what’s really interesting now with AI is I feel like there’s more emphasis on brand and category ownership. So if the AI is the most educated person in the entire world about hotels in Nashville. I mean, that’s what it is. Sure. It’s the most educated person in Nashville. What do you wanna teach it? And so if you’re teaching it, I have a pool and a fitness center, that doesn’t really help, right? ‘Cause now you’re just the same. And so what category can you own? Can you be the wellness hotel of Nashville? And if you’re the wellness hotel of Nashville, what that looks like is everything we say and we do reflects that. So I have spa packages, we have spa activations, we have a spa month. We have an amazing spa. We have spa content. We have spa creators that come in. And so when you’re doing that, all of a sudden the AI’s like, “Okay, no, this is the spa hotel of Nashville.” Because it’s, there’s evidence. Yeah. Right? And so I think there’s gonna be more emphasis on this category ownership, right? More than ever. And that boils back down to your brand. Ryan Embree: No, I love that. I think that’s a great explanation to someone who might feel overwhelmed in this right now. But those searches also could get very specific, right? I’m looking for a place that’s pet friendly, that is dedicated to wellness, where I’ve got my family coming to. So that’s where it gets a little bit tricky of the categories could turn into subcategories and then very, very niche. But it’s also the beauty of it, I think on the other side, is that your travelers are gonna be able to hopefully find the right hotel for them and what they’re looking for. Sam Trotter: So going back to your question, you asked me about social media. Because things are changing so fast, the, what we don’t really realize, and we don’t talk about, is the number one AI that we talk to is Google’s AI overview. That’s the one that when you have a long search, it defaults to, right? And it is weighing YouTube more than any other social platform – Great point. Because they’re not giving access. Right? So TikTok’s not giving them access. So now all of a sudden, YouTube is like this big player. And so we’ve got 76 locations. How do you scale YouTube? Yeah. And so, you know, we’re trying to figure this out in real time, and it’s a lot. There’s a lot of change happening. Ryan Embree: No, that’s a great point, what you said about Google, because a lot of people might be listening to this being like, “Well, I’m not, I’m not really looking, or I’m not using AI in my everyday life.” Well, Google’s really, you know, that AI overview, you are using, right? And it’s just, it’s gonna become more and more, whether we know it or not, a part of our life, you know? So that’s a different conversation. You know, Sam, Indigo Road Hospitality Group, you just mentioned tons of locations. What are some of the projects you’re most excited about that you’re working on right now? Sam Trotter: So, we have amazing locations, and there’s so many that are really interesting that we have coming up. We’re dabbling in more and more to membership clubs. Which is something that, we have one right now in Bentonville, and then by the end of the year, we’ll have two more. So we’re going from zero to three in a pretty short amount of time. It’ll be like a year and two months, we’ll go from zero to three. So it’s something that has been really fun to learn about, and there’s new platforms to learn about. So that’s really exciting. And then, I’m working on some fun data projects too, fun to me. I’m trying to set us up to have our own loyalty program. And so I’ve got some cool things in the works. So I’m really excited about that because we have a diverse portfolio. We have coffee shops and restaurants and hotels. And venues and how do you get them all to talk? Right? How do we put them all in one place, but have them separate? How can we share notes? How can we improve the guest experience? So there’s a lot of really cool things that are happening now. And one of the benefits of AI is partners are, are improving their platforms faster than ever. Oh, yeah. Which is fun if you have the right partners. And they are doing it. Ryan Embree: Yeah. I mean, and loyalty programs, you also learn more about your guests and hopefully create personalization, which is, you know, a topic that has been in hospitality. But we’re getting closer and closer, I feel like, to what we may have talked about five years ago at a conference like this. Be like, “There might be a time where we could do this, and now with the power of AI, it, it’s possible.” Yeah. Well, as we wrap up, kind of what’s your. I know we just talked about the future, but, and it’s hard to predict, but what would be kind of your vision for the future, in your role at Indigo Hospitality Group? Sam Trotter: I would say that, I guess thinking more optimistically, ultimately, it’s gonna be about the guest experience. It’s gonna be about the surprise and delight. It’s gonna be about having great employees who are happy to be where they’re at and that wanna be there. And the best marketing is a great experience, right? So what’s my role in that? You know, how can I help operations do their thing? And that’s the foundation of everything. At the end of the day, I think that’s it. Ryan Embree: There is a, there is a comfort, Sam, to being in an industry that we knew can only be disrupted so much by AI, but at the end of the day, it is gonna still come down to people serving people and creating those memorable experiences, and hopefully AI gives the opportunity to do. Sam Trotter: I have a anti-trend for you, right? Okay. So we’re here at, at the Grand Hyatt. There’s no kiosks, right? Check in. There’s still front desk people. 10 years ago at the hotel data conference, I think we would’ve though it was all kiosks. So hospitality has reigned supreme, and I think that’s the future. Ryan Embree: Yeah for, they say hospitality is the first ever industry and it’ll be here for a long time. So Sam, we appreciate it. We’re gonna watch you and, and everything you’re doing over there. We appreciate you taking some time with us. Sam Trotter: Thank you you so much. This was a lot of fun. All right. Ryan Embree: To join our loyalty program, be sure to subscribe and give us a five-star rating on iTunes. Suite Spot is produced by Travel Media Group. Our editor is Brandon Bell with cover art by Bary Gordon. I’m your host, Ryan Embree, and we hope you enjoyed your stay.

Buyers treat your month-end close as a maturity test. Closing inside two weeks reads as a well-run business. Taking two months invites questions, no matter how good the underlying numbers turn out to be. In part 4 of the CEO Optional series, Mike Harvath, Ryan Barnett, and Matt Lockhart look at what happens when the real financial picture of an IT services firm lives only in the owner's head or their inbox, and what it takes to get it out into a system the whole team can see. They cover the accounting foundations buyers actually check, which operating numbers belong in front of the sales and delivery teams, and the review cadence that makes it stick. This is a conversation about IT services M&A readiness rather than day to day bookkeeping. Financial visibility is one of the things that separates a business a buyer can underwrite from one that carries an obvious founder dependency discount. CHAPTERS 0:00 Show open 0:23 Where this sits in the CEO Optional series 0:59 Why founder-led firms end up CEO dependent 3:12 The cost of keeping the numbers in the owner's head 4:29 Month-end close speed as a maturity test 5:51 The opposite failure: outsourcing too far 7:24 Push the KPIs out to the organization 8:40 What good enough looks like: cash to accrual 11:24 Documented policies and review by outsiders 12:54 Which numbers to put in front of the team 16:50 Teaching the team how the levers add up 21:09 Transparency as a lubricant for the business 23:53 Building a cadence around the numbers 27:23 Forecasting rigor and why it adds value 28:46 Sign-off KEY TAKEAWAYS 1. A month-end close inside two weeks reads as mature to a buyer. A close that takes two months raises questions before the diligence conversation even starts. 2. The CEO should know revenue and profitability off the top of their head. The bookkeeping and the financial strategy grind belong to a CFO, a fractional CFO, or a strong outsourced partner. 3. Outsourcing too far is its own failure. A founder who cannot demonstrate command of their own numbers in front of a buyer looks just as bad as one who never delegated. 4. Moving from cash to accrual accounting is the key first step toward a GAAP standard, and it usually starts to matter in the three to five million dollar revenue band. 5. Push the operating levers, utilization, realization, and gross margin, out to the sales and delivery teams who can actually move them. LINKS Read the companion article: https://www.revenuerocket.com/it-services-ma-financial-transparency-ceo-optional/ What is your IT services business worth: https://www.revenuerocket.com/ev-2-0-2/ Schedule a confidential conversation: https://www.revenuerocket.com/contact-us/ All Shoot the Moon episodes: https://www.revenuerocket.com/series/shoot-the-moon/ Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/shoot-the-moon-with-revenue-rocket/id1478519505 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6y7u9KuOjaplhScHtINGZU Questions on measuring utilization versus realization: info@revenuerocket.com ABOUT REVENUE ROCKET Revenue Rocket is a sell-side and buy-side M&A advisory firm focused exclusively on IT services companies, including MSPs, cybersecurity, cloud, custom application development, and VARs. Based in Bloomington, Minnesota, we have spent 25+ years helping technology services founders buy, sell, and grow. If you are weighing an exit, an acquisition, or simply what your company is actually worth, schedule a confidential conversation: https://www.revenuerocket.com/contact-us/ #ITServicesMA #MergersAndAcquisitions #MSP #ExitStrategy #ShootTheMoon #RevenueRocket #CEOOptional Listen to Shoot the Moon on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.Buy, sell, or grow your tech-enabled services firm with Revenue Rocket.

People are one of the hardest parts of a practice. Even with careful hiring and a great culture, you'll still deal with turnover, performance issues, and the occasional wrong fit.  In this episode, I sit down with Amy Anderson of ACG Practice Partners to talk about when people problems are actually process problems. We cover retention, compensation, hiring, transparency, and the operational leaks that get more expensive as you grow. Make It Easier for Good People to Stay  You can't guarantee every great provider will stay, but you can make sure they understand their role, how they're evaluated, and how compensation works. Clear job descriptions, check-ins, and transparency around gross margin and pay can prevent confusion.  Before You Blame the Person, Look at the Process  If a different person stepped into the role tomorrow, would the same problem still happen? If yes, look at the system before replacing the person.  Before you hire again, review:  Job descriptions and onboarding  KPIs and compensation plans  Lead handoffs and manual work  Hiring criteria  Small inefficiencies add up fast as the team grows.  (00:05:48) Retaining good providers (00:25:56) Diagnosing people versus process problems (00:35:33) Improving hiring decisions (00:40:08) Finding workflow inefficiencies and revenue leaks (00:44:29) Building accountability into operations  Share the Numbers Your Team Can Actually Influence  You don't need to hand everyone your entire P&L. Give your team the metrics tied to their work, like gross margin, booking rates, follow-up, or conversion. Then performance conversations have something concrete to work from. Small Operational Problems Get Bigger With Growth  A small inefficiency can become wasted payroll, missed revenue, and unnecessary headcount as the practice expands. Start with what's costing the most time or money. Stronger systems help good employees work without the owner constantly stepping in, leading to better accountability, healthier margins, and less stress. About Amy Anderson:  As a nationally recognized expert and CEO of ACG Practice Partners, she brings over 20 years of hands-on, non-clinical experience in the aesthetics industry. Known for her practical leadership and human-centered approach, Amy has guided practices of all sizes, from startups to multi-specialty groups, on optimizing operations, building strong teams, and achieving sustainable growth. She is especially sought after for her ability to empower leaders and tailor strategies that fit each practice's unique culture. Amy is a frequent national speaker and trusted advisor to surgeons and their teams.   Connect with Amy: ACG Practice Partners: https://acgpracticepartners.com/amy-anderson/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amyandersonmba  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amyandersonmba/reels/  MedSpa Pro: https://www.medspaproevent.com/expert/amy-anderson.html  Follow Shannon & Keep What You Earn:    Shannon Weinstein is the founder of a fractional CFO firm specializing in helping 7-figure aesthetics and wellness practices scale with clarity, cash flow, and confidence. She is committed to helping med spa owners understand, fix, and maximize their business's enterprise value, offering actionable advice and resources, including a popular free video series specifically for aesthetics practice owners.  Fractional CFO Services and Executive Financial Review: https://www.keepwhatyouearn.com/   Connect with Shannon: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannonweinstein   Watch full episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@KeepWhatYouEarn   Listen on your favorite podcast app: https://pod.link/1580071347   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shannonkweinstein/   The information shared is for educational purposes only and is not individualized financial advice. Aesthetics practice owners should consult a qualified professional before implementing financial strategies discussed here.  

Ordinary companies chase quarterly earnings. Legendary companies play an astonishingly long game.Amazon's Jeff Bezos insisted that decisions must make sense 5–7 years out—not just next quarter. In a Bain & Company survey, 81% of top-performing firms said they tie major initiatives to long-term value creation, not just near-term KPIs. These companies innovate patiently, hire strategically (you can't have an A-grade business with C-level players right?), and invest like they'll own the future.Not only that, the best firms get that “when you take care of the relationship the money takes care of itself.” So they are obsessively relational versus merely transactional.My latest book “The Wealth Money Can't Buy” is full of fresh ideas and original tools that I'm absolutely certain will cause quantum leaps in your positivity, productivity, wellness, and happiness. You can order it now by clicking here.FOLLOW ROBIN SHARMA:InstagramFacebookYouTube

stop the bleeding assess the cause create KPIs take action

Slow season doesn't have to wreck your home service business.In this episode of Owned and Operated, John Wilson and Jack Carr break down how they prepare for shoulder season when inbound demand slows, the call board gets lighter, and every lead becomes more valuable.They cover how to fill the board with outbound calling, when to use specials and discounts, why sales KPIs can actually improve during slower months, and how tightening labor, marketing, and spending can turn shoulder season into a stronger cash-producing period. They also explain why preparing months ahead and building a customer contact list during peak season makes the slowdown much easier to manage.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━In This Episode━━━━━━━━━━━━━━• Why August and September can be some of the slowest months of the year• How to use outbound calling to fill the board when inbound demand drops• Specials, BOGOs, tune-ups, and other ways to drive shoulder season leads• Why you should lean on proven marketing instead of taking new risks• How to get more revenue from the leads already on your board• Why average ticket and conversion rates can improve during slow season━━━━━━━━━━━━━━Connect━━━━━━━━━━━━━━John Wilsonhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/johnbwilson1/Jack Carrhttps://x.com/thehvacjackOwned and Operatedhttps://www.ownedandoperated.com/━━━━━━━━━━━━━━Sponsors━━━━━━━━━━━━━━FieldPulseReady to ditch the whiteboard and spreadsheets? See how FieldPulse helps home service companies simplify scheduling, dispatching, invoicing, and more. Book a free demo: https://landing.fieldpulse.com/owned_and_operatedSend Us Mail!More Ways To Connect with O&OJohn's Podcast YouTube ChannelOwned and Operated Newsletter Bonus Videos From JohnLeave a ReviewJohn Wilson, CEO of Wilson CompaniesJack Carr, CEO of Rapid HVAC

Clay Clark is the co-founder of five kids, the host of the 6X iTunes chart-topping ThriveTimeShow.com Podcast, the 2007 Oklahoma SBA Entrepreneur of the Year, the 2002 Tulsa Metro Chamber of Commerce Young Entrepreneur of the Year, an Amazon best-selling author, a singer / song-writer and the founder of several multi-million dollar businesses. Top 3 Value Bombs 1. Leads drive growth, even the best products need a consistent lead generation system. 2. Systems create scalability through documented processes, scripts, and measurable KPIs. 3. Don't just satisfy customers, wow them to earn referrals and build lasting growth. Visit ThriveTime Show to schedule a free 13-point business assessment - ThriveTime Show Check out Robert's website - San Diego Soft Wash Sponsors HighLevel - The ultimate all-in-one platform for entrepreneurs, marketers, coaches, and agencies. Learn more at HighLevelFire.com. Nexus Install - Have a high-ticket offer? Nexus Install builds you a custom LinkedIn prospect booking system designed to generate more quality sales calls. Email JLD at John@EOFire.com to learn more. Framer - Learn how you can get more out of your site from a Framer specialist, or get started building for free today at Framer.com/fire for 30 percent off a Framer Pro annual plan. Rules and Restrictions May Apply.

In the world of physical health, we use so-called “key performance indicators” (KPIs) to help measure and improve our fitness. In today's episode, Cal proposes a collection of three KPIs for measuring and improving your *cognitive* capabilities – a small step toward his larger vision of a cognitive fitness revolution.   Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your questions answered by Cal! Here's the link: https://bit.ly/3U3sTvo   Video from today's episode:  youtube.com/calnewportmedia   (0:00) How to build a cognitive training plan (29:48) What is Cal's opinion on information fatigue syndrome? (37:04) Comments on the new book, “Pardon Our French: The Parisian Way to a Happier Life” (40:17) An interesting way to think about AI and thinking (47:37) An article about Disneyland, high quality leisure, and deep living (57:53) What Cal is up to   August 2026 Books   The Laws of Thought (Tom Griffiths) This is For Everyone (Tim Berners-Lee) Into the Deep  (Bob Ballard and Christopher Drew)202    Links: Buy Cal's latest book, “Slow Productivity” at www.calnewport.com/slow Get a signed copy of Cal's “Slow Productivity” at https://peoplesbooktakoma.com/event/cal-newport/ Cal's monthly book directory:  bramses.notion.site/059db2641def4a88988b4d2cee4657ba? https://workplacepsychology.wordpress.com/2011/05/18/information-overload-when-information-becomes-noise/ https://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2026/08/12/reading-between-the-lines-part-1-a-cognitive-framework-for-ai-in-scholarly-publishing/ https://pluralistic.net/2021/07/18/boredom-and-its-discontents-part-ii/ https://pluralistic.net/2026/08/12/insurance-value-of-biodiversity/ https://archive.ph/WvW1F Thanks to our Sponsors:   https://www.calderalab.com/deep (Use code “DEEP) https://www.vanta.com/deepquestions https://www.gusto.com/deep https://www.babbel.com/deep   Thanks to Jesse Miller for production and mastering, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, and Nate Mechler for research and newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AI adoption in supply chain is moving from curiosity to business-critical execution. The companies pulling ahead are not chasing shiny tools. They are finding root causes, cleaning up messy data, and using technology to reduce wasted time across procurement, planning, inventory, and fulfillment.   In this episode of Supply Chain Now, Scott W. Luton and Karin Bursa speak with Wiley Jones, co-founder and CEO of DOSS, about the Enterprise Unleashed series and what leaders should take from the first several conversations. Wiley shares why culture, clarity, and leadership ownership are central to successful AI programs.   The conversation also covers touchless procurement, master data, decision support, workflow redesign, and why the best companies are willing to question how work gets done.   Jump into the conversation: (00:00) Intro (03:52) Favorite outdoor adventures (06:36) How the enterprise landscape is changing (09:54) From AI curiosity to AI of consequence (11:51) Solve root causes, not symptoms (15:16) Major AI developments in supply chain (20:39) Lessons from Enterprise Unleashed (21:44) Putting people and culture first (25:16) Leadership's role in transformation (28:28) Defining success and increasing decision velocity (32:07) What to do when leadership doesn't embrace AI (34:14) What the most innovative companies do differently (37:48) Challenging legacy processes and assumptions (40:56) Doss and the impact of touchless procurement (44:39) Using AI to drive growth (46:00) The future of the AI-native enterprise   Additional Links & Resources: Connect with Wiley Jones: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wileycwjones/ Learn more about Doss: https://www.doss.com/ Connect with Karin Bursa: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karinbursa/ Learn more about our hosts: https://supplychainnow.com/about Learn more about Supply Chain Now: https://supplychainnow.com Watch and listen to more Supply Chain Now episodes here: https://supplychainnow.com/program/supply-chain-now Subscribe to Supply Chain Now on your favorite platform: https://supplychainnow.com/join Work with us! Download Supply Chain Now's NEW Media Kit: https://supplychainnow.com/media-kit/ WEBINAR- SAP AI Inside the Supply Chain: From Silo to Orchestration: https://bit.ly/4bvpz6K WEBINAR- Operational AI in the Supply Chain: How context empowers agents and humans to operate side by side: https://bit.ly/4x7Vd2Z WEBINAR- You Can't Manage What You Can't See: Using Visibility, KPIs, and AI to Optimize Logistics Operations: https://bit.ly/4ql6iem   This episode was hosted by Scott Luton and produced by Trisha Cordes, Joshua Miranda, and Amanda Luton. For additional information, please visit our dedicated show page at: https://supplychainnow.com/enterprise-unleashed-biggest-lessons-2026-1626 The content in this episode, including all audio, videos, visuals, and graphics, is the property of Supply Chain Now and is protected by copyright law. Unauthorized use, reproduction, distribution, modification, or re-uploading of this content in any form is strictly prohibited without explicit written permission from Supply Chain Now.For licensing inquiries or permissions, please contact us at production@supplychainnow.com© 2026 Supply Chain Now. All rights reserved. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.