Best Way to Listen

Visit the episode page for a 1-2 min. overview of the episode, our analysis of the strategic management takeaways within, and for an improved podcast listening experience.

About the Guest

Seth Dobrin holds a Doctorate in Human Genetics and pioneered the use of early data and machine learning algorithms while leading large scale research operations at Monsanto, served as IBM’s first Global Chief AI Officer and is now CEO of AI advisory firm Qantm AI and General Partner of AI venture studio Silicon Sands. 

He’s also the author of the upcoming book AI iQ for a Human-Focused Future.

Inside the Episode

In this episode of "Hindsight," host Kanhai Kapadia interviews Seth Dobrin, the Founder and CEO of Qantm AI.  This conversation serves as a reflection on strategic thinking within the AI domain, emphasizing practical wisdom over theoretical perfection, and advocating for a balanced approach to integrating AI into business and decision-making processes. 

Topics by Timestamp

1:24 – Going from Geneticist to AI Leader 

7:11 – A practical view on the ways AI will create value 

17:53 – Chat GPT’s origin, issues, implications 

26:43 – Investing $500M to put AI on the right track 

29:37 – A human perspective on AI 

Resources Mentioned

Best Way to Listen

Visit the episode page for a 1-2 min. overview of the episode, our analysis of the strategic management takeaways within, and for an improved podcast listening experience.

About the Guest

Michael Brannock is the Chairman, Co-Founder & former CEO of the AREVO Group family of companies. Michael began his career as a title insurance underwriter before moving into commercial banking. He then joined WorkForce Unlimited, the original AREVO Group company founded by his mother, and grew the business to over $60 million in annual sales.

Inside the Episode

In this episode of "Hindsight," host Kanhai Kapadia interviews Michael Brannock, the Chairman, Co-Founder & former CEO of the AREVO Group family of companies. The conversation revolves around Michael's experiences overcoming revenue concentration, evolving from an execution focus to a leadership focus, and how he overcame both the personal and practical challenges of appointing someone to replace himself as CEO.

Topics by Timestamp

1:10–Michael gives an overview of AREVO Group

3:13–Culture as a success factor

4:33–Learning to get people to follow you

20:09–Overcoming revenue concentration at AREVO

21:43–Creating resilience through a strong sales function

25:35–Prioritizing sales, infrastructure, and people

35:44–How financial discipline can keep ego in check

38:19–The silver lining of replacing yourself as CEO

Resources Mentioned

Best Way to Listen

Visit the episode page for a 1-2 min. overview of the episode, our analysis of the strategic management takeaways within, and for an improved podcast listening experience.

About the Guest

Joel Russell is the founder and CEO of eimagine, a full-service consultancy headquartered in Indiana that partners with clients to deliver value through IT solutions and serves large scale customers in both government and the private sector. Joel founded eimagine in 1998, just four years after graduating from Stanford with a BA in public policy, and has grown the company to over 150 employees.

Follow Joel by subscribing to his Youtube channel for a weekly 2-5 min. video on the many issues related to leading a business and delivering IT solutions that create value.

Inside the Episode

In this episode of "Hindsight," host Kanhai Kapadia interviews Joel Russell, founder and CEO of eimagine. They discuss the emphasis of investing in relationships (internal, external, partners) for growth, highlighting the blend of process and soft skills, and how to grow a company to $30 million in revenue, by focusing on customers and nurturing a learning culture among employees.

Topics by Timestamp

1:19 – Why competitive sports turns out leaders

3:01 - The genesis of eImagine

5:54 – Providing a business perspective on IT

9:20 – Agile vs. Waterfall and the impact on success

16:34 – Earning client trust through project course correction

20:57 – Creating value in the public sector

22:58 – How to “double-click” on client relationships

31:13 – Joel’s Hindsight: talent, inflection points, and methodology

34:30 – How eimagine benefits from its advisory board

Resources Mentioned

Best Way to Listen

Visit the episode page for a 1-2 min. overview of the episode, our analysis of the strategic management takeaways within, and for an improved podcast listening experience.

About the Guest

Daasity CEO & Co-Founder Dan LeBlanc is an analytics, customer experience, and business technology expert who is passionate about helping consumer brands achieve their goals by making more informed decisions.

Inside the Episode

In this episode of “Hindsight”, host Kanhai Kapadia interviews Dan LeBlanc, CEO of Daasity, a data analytics platform for consumer brands. They discuss the challenges of running a venture-backed company in a rapidly changing business environment while remaining focused on the company’s mission to deliver value to customers.

Topics by Timestamp

0:57–Market changes that consumer brands are facing

7:47 – Examples of how the right data can positively affect operating results

12:50 – Using multi-channel attribution to direct company strategy

17:00 – Delivering on the profitable growth expectations of capital markets

19:39 – Leveraging your community’s wisdom to become a more effective CEO

23:44 – How to remain scrappy as your company grows and professionalizes

Resources Mentioned

Best Way to Listen

Visit the episode page for a 1-2 min. overview of the episode, our analysis of the strategic management takeaways within, and for an improved podcast listening experience.

About the Guest

Craig Wood is an accomplished business executive, board member, author, and people-centric leader with over 30 years of experience founding, managing, growing, and leading companies at all stages. He serves as the CEO of Premier International, an award-winning IT consulting firm that helps reduce the risk associated with complex data challenges through innovative technology and consulting services.

Inside the Episode

In this episode of "Hindsight," host Kanhai Kapadia interviews Craig Wood, CEO of Premier International, about the company's evolution from a lifestyle business to a growth-focused organization. They discuss Craig's leadership journey, the history of Premier International, using EOS as a catalyst for growth, and finding harmony between private equity ownership and an employee-first culture.

Topics by Timestamp

00:30 The People and Experiences Behind Craig’s Leadership Style

04:53 The Genesis of Premier International

09:10 Gaining the Traction to Grow

15:06 Adding Vision and Capital

20:38 Cultural and Service Transformation

29:23 Discussing Data’s Potential and Premier’s Market Position

42:32 Culture's Tangible Impact on Business, and comparisons with Salesforce and Workday

Resources Mentioned

Best Way to Listen

Visit the episode page for a 1-2 min. overview of the episode, our analysis of the strategic management takeaways within, and for an improved podcast listening experience.

Inside the Episode

Inside this episode, Brian shares his experience going from Sergeant Major in the Army to learning and becoming CEO of a $40M data services company over an 18-month period.

About the Guest

Brian O’Keefe is CEO of Vertical Knowledge (VK), a data products, insights, and intelligence company. VK gives data-savvy organizations across all sectors the ability to collect, refine, and apply publicly available data to solve problems, make decisions, and gain advantage.

Topics by Timestamp

0:00 Kanhai Introduces Brian

1:18 Brian Explains What Vertical Knowledge (VK) Does and Who it serves (VK)

1:56 Understanding Who is And Isn’t a VK Customer

3:56 Overview of Public Data That VK Collects

5:17 Key Success Factors in Public Data Collection

14:29 Why PE said yes to an unproven CEO

16:39 Learned the business from the ground up in 6-9 months.

22:33 Restructuring VK – Why, How, and Lessons Learned

33:41 Brian’s hindsight on addressing technical debt vs. premature optimization, using the P&L to make better decisions, and the CEO retaining accountability for results.

40:15 Strategies for scaling up, from $40M

Originally recorded in May 2021

Best Way to Listen

Visit the episode page for a 1-2 min. overview of the episode, our analysis of the strategic management takeaways within, and for an improved podcast listening experience.

Inside the Episode

In this episode, David shares how Analytics8 began and how the company is thriving in the fast-evolving analytics industry by combining increasingly deeper business and technology capabilities.

About the Guest

David Fussichen is the CEO of Analytics8, a data analytics consulting firm which combines expertise with data, business problem-solving, and technology to provide clients the full breadth of capabilities that are required to transform into a smarter, data-driven organization. If you’re looking for a sounding board on how to accelerate your efforts to leverage data, learn about Analytics8’s Data Strategy Session by going tohttps://www.analytics8.com/ and clicking the “Data Strategy Session” button.

Topics by Timestamp

00:00  The genesis of Analytics8

7:07    David’s definition of hiring “good people” and the value of diversity

17:17  The Analytics8 value proposition

21:24  Discussing the evolution of the analytics market

24:04  The company’s strategy to double sales

27:31  Past lessons on the importance of calculated, focused growth

35:27  Strategies that are helping scale service delivery

41:52  David shares some tougher moments of building the right team

47:07  Pressing David for hindsight yields more insight

53:03 Circling back to discuss the future role of technology partners and business expertise

Best Way to Listen

Visit the episode page for a 1-2 min. overview of the episode, our analysis of the strategic management takeaways within, and for an improved podcast listening experience.

About the Guest

Scott McLaughlin is the CEO of YGEIA3, a scientific wellness company that gives individuals a convenient way to diagnose where stress, metabolic function, and food sensitivities are preventing them from functioning at their best. If you’re an employer looking for a high-value wellness benefit that is covered by insurers and reduces healthcare premiums by up to 10%, learn more about YGEIA3 at https://ygeia3.com/

Inside the Episode

In this episode, Scott gives us a glimpse of what it was like for an innovative wellness company to gain traction, pivot from serving athletes to employers, and the management challenges he faced on the path to becoming a global company with over 100 people. 

Topics

0:43 Scientific Wellness Explained

5:24 Evolution of the company from 2 to 100+ people

12:08 YGEIA3’s pandemic pivot

13:26 Probing the value prop – why scientific wellness? Why YGEIA3?

17:33 Scott goes open-book with personal leadership and company growth challenges

a.    Defying the status-quo in athletics

b.    Hiring the right people by stepping aside

c.    Learning to delegate

d.    Using funding to overcome a surprise cost increase

34:18 Hidden value of continuing education

37:33 Leading a distributed workforce of 100+

40:26 Building relationships through once-in-a-lifetime experiences

Listen Better Online

Visit the episode page for a 1-2 min. video overview of the episode, exclusive analysis of the guest's hindsight, and an improved podcast listening experience.

About the Guest

Mark Rickmeier is CEO of Table XI (now TXI), a digital consultancy that gives organizations a pragmatic, human-centered approach to strategy, design, and solution delivery.

If you’re looking for a partner to close the gap between your digital ambitions and reality, learn more about TXI at https://txidigital.com/

Topics by Timestamp

In this episode, Mark shares how TXI overcame a serious customer concentration issue, a formula for sales that works for professional services companies like TXI, and a wealth of leadership lessons.

3:10      An explanation of pragmatic, human-centered design

5:18      Becoming CEO and both rising to the role and tailoring it to his strengths

11:10    Designing TXI’s sales function

18:41     Elevating from operational lead to visionary CEO

23:55  Key success factors for TXI going forward

    Managing Stress

     Redesigning a compelling culture that is both inclusive and distributed first

     aSynchronous communication

     Making remote work practices more efficient

26:13    Redesigning for a distributed-first employee model

32:40    Overcoming Customer Concentration Risk of Existential Proportions

38:52    Ops. Conf. (aka Operations Conference) creates next level “coopetition” between software design firms, and provides a solution to TXI’s knowledge, people, and even client acquisition gaps. Its success evolves into new company, Walk Shop.

46:31    Mark shares his hindsight

     Become comfortable with being uncomfortable, sooner

     Delegate and elevate sooner

    The importance Vision, not just operational guidance

Listen Better Online

Visit the episode page for a 1-2 min. video overview of the episode, exclusive analysis of the guest's hindsight, and an improved podcast listening experience.

About the Guest

Bob Redd is CEO of 4 businesses to which he brings deep expertise and operational competence: strategic consultancy and holding company FatSpan Inc., technology solution provider DC WebTech LLC, Credit Union digital marketing specialist Get Digital CU, and senior home exchange platform Senior Home Xchange. To learn more about each company, visit them online:

·     DC Webtech - www.GetDigitalCU.com

·     Get Digital CU - www.DCWebTech.com

·     Senior Home Xchange - www.SeniorHomeXchange.com

Topics by Timestamp

[00:45] Bob's seminal business and leadership experiences

[13:00] Strategies and tactics employed as a GM at Schlumberger

[21:10] Offloading underperforming business units

[25:21] Restructuring as a catalyst to improving company culture

[35:55] Hard lessons as new business owner

[39:45] How shared objectives resulting in relationships which transcended union contract

[41:18] Using data to unravel operational chaos

[42:25] What successful transformation looks

[46:15] Reflecting on the importance of fit

Learning how to become obsolete to your job now may be the reason why you'll sit in a higher position in the future. In this episode, Kahnai Kapadia sits down with Margaret Mueller, President of The Executive's Club Of Chicago and Shapiro+Raj research firm, to talk about her personal story of transitioning from the academe to business and things she's learned along the way. With her love for social sciences and extensive academic background, Margaret offers a unique approach to career development and leadership that she has carried through her transition into a successful businesswoman. She also sheds some light on what they've been doing at The Executive's Club and how they not only survived but have done better during the pandemic with different innovations and a fresh perspective.

Being a leader is difficult. Being a physician leader? Even more. Aside from taking care of your patients, you have to focus on your team and how standard procedures are done. You need to find people who are going into medicine for the right reasons. Join your host, Kanhai Kapadia, and his guest, experienced physician leader, Dr. Donald Lurye. After retiring, Donald became an independent consultant. He wanted to share his expertise in healthcare leadership with other physician organizations. Join in the conversation to know what it takes to be a leader in the healthcare industry. Learn how to focus on the patient and how reduced variation can help your team achieve success. Listen now if you want to be a leader in your industry.

With the rise of the Internet and cryptocurrency, cybersecurity has become more important. Competition between cybersecurity providers is heating up and you have to differentiate yourself. Listen to the Founder and President of onShore Security, Stel Valavanis. Stel has been in the cybersecurity industry for over 30 years, even before the boom of the Internet. His company focuses mostly on the analyst rather than the customer because he believes in developing your own platform. Join Stel and your host, Kanhai Kapadia, as they discuss the state of the cybersecurity space. Learn how he stands out from the competition and how developing your own software is key. In a digital age, learn how to protect yourself today in this episode.

In this episode, hear Mike Briggs share tips and strategies on developing a successful product, expanding into new markets, and continuously improving in the wake of competition.

To learn more about Mike, follow him via the links below:

Website (Little Friends): https://www.littlefriendsinc.org/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikel-briggs-3351a437/

Twitter (Little Friends): https://twitter.com/LittleFriendsIL

Are you a CEO, Owner or P&L leader with a story worth sharing? I’d love to hear from you! Schedule a time for us to talk by clicking here.

In this episode, hear how David Mooney led the eighth largest credit union in the United States through a digital-first approach while maintaining a competitive advantage on human capital.

To learn more about David, follow him via the links below:

Website (Alliant Credit Union): https://www.alliantcreditunion.org/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidwmooney/

Are you a CEO, Owner or P&L leader with a story worth sharing? I’d love to hear from you! Schedule a time for us to talk by clicking here.

In this episode, hear Ben Goldberg share his story of growth through continuous improvement, selling his business to CareerBuilder, and successfully leveraging the resources of an acquirer.

To learn more about Ben, follow him via the links below:

Website (SalesGig): https://www.salesgig.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benmorgangoldberg/

Are you a CEO, Owner or P&L leader with a story worth sharing? I’d love to hear from you! Schedule a time for us to talk by clicking here.

In this episode, hear Justin Smith share his experiences on shaping the perfect team, minimizing financial risk during uncertain times, and how profit is instrumental to revenue growth.

To learn more about Justin and how Brite makes IT work:

Website (Brite): https://brite.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-smith-34048/ 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/justintsmith24

Are you a CEO, Owner or P&L leader with a story worth sharing? I’d love to hear from you! Schedule a time for us to talk by clicking here.

In this episode, hear 23 year-old CEO Devin Johnson talk about the importance of understanding your “why”, checking your ego to keep a clear mind, and lessons for profitably growing a Saas business from the start (master digital marketing, harness culture, give customers the education they need to succeed, don’t buy customers).

To learn about Devin, check him out on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devin-johnson-357761169/

Are you a CEO, Owner or P&L leader with a story worth sharing? I’d love to hear from you! Schedule a time for us to talk by clicking here.

In this episode, hear John Udelhofen give us a glimpse into the political underbelly of the IT industry, the right way to generate ROI on talent, and his formula for helping organizations efficiently grow.

To learn about John and his current endeavors, check him out on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-udelhofen-b311bb1/

Are you a CEO, Owner or P&L leader with a story worth sharing? I’d love to hear from you! Schedule a time for us to talk by clicking here.

Hear how a manufacturing outlier used an authentic employee-first culture to build a resilient labor force and innovative marketing to create a well-known industry brand.

Are you a CEO, Owner or P&L leader with a story worth sharing? I’d love to hear from you! Schedule a time for us to talk by clicking here.

Rafi shares how he successfully achieved the “American Dream”, but also how a fast-growing business can topple when you minimize the things that aren’t working, ignore risk, and delay seeking help when you need it. 

To learn about Rafi’s current endeavors and his life-saving product Hookey, check him out on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rafi-yitzhaki/

In this brief prologue, Kanhai shares why he started ‘’Hindsight’’ and explains why it's critical for his firm and business leaders everywhere to learn from the experiences of other CEOs.

Are you a CEO, Owner or P&L leader with a story worth sharing?  I’d love to hear from you! Schedule a time for us to talk by clicking here.

Hindsight is not another show about the business world’s best success stories. It’s a podcast for CEOs and anyone who’s ever wanted to run a business, to hear compelling conversation about the gut-wrenching scenarios that other CEOs faced, the decisions they made, and what that they may have done differently now that they have the benefit of hindsight.

Are you a CEO, Owner or P&L leader with a story worth sharing?  I’d love to hear from you! Schedule a time for us to talk by clicking here.