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Has organizational change redefined your job role? If it hasn’t yet, it will at some point. Whether acknowledged or ignored, every organizational change at a company impacts you. This is broader than just layoffs and more employees under a single manager. What are the organizational changes we might see, and what can we do to stand out and stay the course? This week in episode 355 we’re joined by guest Ryan Conley. Listen closely as we uncover different patterns of organizational change and provide practical tips to take action when those changes happen. Ryan helps us understand the corporate lifecycle and how to reframe this concept to understand where we are in the career lifecycle. You’ll hear from Ryan’s personal experience why the most resilient (and successful) technologists can identify and fill the gaps left after an organizational change whether that means working for a new boss, joining a different team, or changing job roles. Original Recording Date: 11-13-2025 Topics – Framing Our Focus on Organizational Change, Observations and Patterns, Defining the Career Lifecycle, When Colleagues Leave the Company, Layoff Resources, Working for a New Boss, Becoming Part of a Different Team, Shifting Job Roles or Job Level Changes, Parting Thoughts 2:58 – Framing Our Focus on Organizational Change Ryan Conley is a global field principal with 11p years of technical pre-sales experience. Before this, Ryan accumulated 13 years of systems administration in industries like education, finance, and consulting. In a recent episode of our show, guest Milin Desai compared organizations to living, breathing organisms that change. Nick posits that we don’t always think changes at our company will or can affect us as employees, but they do. Ryan references Aswath Damodaran’s writings about organizational change through the frame of a corporate lifecycle. We can relate by considering where our company might be in that lifecycle. As we experience the impacts of organizational change, Ryan encourages us to consider where we are in our career lifecycle. 4:19 – Observations and Patterns We see organizational change in different ways. What are some of the things Ryan has seen that he would classify as organizational changes? Let’s take a step back, past the current headlines, and look at the wider industry. Companies are growing inorganically (through mergers and acquisitions) or organically through investments in R&D (research and development), for example. Ryan has worked with companies that grew by acquiring 2 new companies each year to give an example. When you’re on the IT side of the acquiring company, there is a lot involved in the process like integrating e-mail systems, networks, and CRM systems. This process also involves getting 2 teams to work together. If one team needs to move from Office 365 to Gmail, it can be a big adjustment to employees’ daily workflow. The acquiring and acquired companies may have the same or very different cultures. In some cases, a company will want to acquire others with similar cultures, while some may not be concerned about the culture and choose to focus on the intellectual property (products or services, knowledge of how to build or manufacture something, etc.) of the company to be acquired. Nick says the experience for people on the side of the acquiring company and that of the company getting acquired can be quite different. Nick worked in IT for a manufacturing company for about 9 years, and over the course of his time there saw the company acquire several other companies. Nick usually had to go assess technology systems of companies that were going to be acquired and figure out how to integrate the systems in a way that would best service the user base. From what Nick has seen, some employees from the acquired company were integrated into the acquiring company, while others were eventually no longer with the company. Anxiety levels about an acquisition may be different depending on whether you work for the acquiring company or the acquired company. “The people are just as much of the intellectual property of the company as, in many cases, the actual assets themselves. And in some cases, that culture just isn’t a fit.” – Ryan Conley Ryan shares the example of someone he knew who left after another company acquired their employer because the culture was not a fit. Losing a key leader or a key subject matter expert after an acquisition could create a retention problem because others may want to follow them or start looking elsewhere. "So how do you protect the culture internally? How do you integrate a different culture in? But also, how do you kind of protect the long-term viability of the team as individuals, first and foremost, but then also the organization long-term? Depending on the intellectual property the acquiring company is after, we don’t usually know the level of due diligence completed to understand the key resources or subject matter experts who must be retained for longer-term success. Ryan encourages to imagine being the CTO or VP of Research and Development at a specific company that is suddenly acquired. People in these roles drive the direction of the technology investment for their company today as well as years to come. After being acquired, these people might be asked to work in lower levels of leadership with different titles, which could result in “title shock” and require some humility to accept. This scenario is a leadership change that happens as a result of an acquisition, but we might see leadership changes outside of acquisitions. Some leadership positions get created because of a specific need, others are eliminated for specific reasons, and some get shifted down or changed. Each of these changes has a downstream impact on individual contributors. Ryan talks about the positive impacts of leadership changes and gives the example of when a former manager was promoted to senior manager and allowed that person to hire a manager underneath him. There isn’t always internal mobility, but leadership changes could create these opportunities for individuals. Nick talks about the potential impact of a change in our direct boss / manager. If a boss who was difficult to work for leaves the company, getting a different boss could make a huge positive impact on our daily work lives. Similarly, we might have a great boss leave the company or take a different role, requiring that we learn to work for someone else who may operate very differently. Ryan tells us he has worked for some amazing leaders and says a leader is not the same as a manager. Ryan cites an example of getting promoted into a role that allowed him to have more strategic conversations about the focus of a team with his boss. We can choose to mentor members of our team so that when opportunities arise from structural change, they are equipped to seize those opportunities. Change can be viewed as an opportunity. A company’s overall priorities may have changed. Shifting priorities may require a company to operate very differently than it has in the past, which can cause changes to people, processes, and technology. Nick references a conversation with Milin Desai on constrained planning from Episode 351. Milin encourages regularly asking the question “is this still how we want to operate?” The way a company or team operated in the past may not be the best way to do it in the future. Changes to operations may or may not create opportunities for our career. Ryan loves this mindset of reassessing, which could apply to the company, a team, a business unit, the technology decision, etc. “I love the mindset of ‘what was best, why did we do it, and why was it best then?’ And then the follow up question is ‘is that still best today?’ And it’s ok if the answer is no because that leads to the next question – ‘how should we be doing it today…and why?’” – Ryan Conley, commenting on Milin Desai’s concept of constrained planning Ryan talks about companies reassessing their core focus. We’ve seen some companies divest out of a particular space, for example. Nick says this reassessment could result in a decision to pursue an emerging market which could lead to the creation of a new business unit and new jobs / opportunities for people. It could also go in the other direction where the company decides to shut down an entire business unit. 15:30 – Defining the Career Lifecycle Going back to the analogy Ryan shared about corporate lifecycle, we can reframe this and look at the career lifecycle. “Where are you at in your individual career journey? Where are you at in that lifecycle?” – Ryan Conley People close to retirement may be laser focused on doing well in their current role and hesitant to make a change. Others earlier in the career may want to do more, go deeper, or be more open to making a change. Ryan recounts speaking to a peer who is working on a master’s degree in AI. “With challenge comes opportunity, so do you want to try something new? And it’s ok if the answer’s no. But if there is an opportunity to try something new and you’re willing to invest in yourself and in your company, I think that’s worth considering.” – Ryan Conley We’ve talked to a number of former guests who got in on a technology wave at just the right time, which led to new opportunities and an entirely new career trajectory. Becoming aware of and developing expertise in emerging technologies can lead to new opportunities within your company (i.e. being able to influence the use of that technology within your company). “I think as technologists, whether you’re a business leader over technology, whether you’re day in / day out in technology as an individual contributor…emerging technology brings new challenges, just with a learning curve…. There’s hard skills that have to be learned. You get beyond the
Hello and welcome to the 'Future is Spoken' produced by the digital assistant Academy. In Today's episode, Shyamala Prayaga speaks with Julie Daniel Davis about the Voice First Usecases for FinTecin Education. A former accountant turned educator, Julie Daniel Davis enjoys thinking about innovative ways to enhance education and then making them happen. 15 years in the k12 setting, with the last role being Director of Instructional Technology and Innovation, led to being an educational consultant, advocate for voice technology use in education, and an adjunct Edtech professor at UT Chattanooga. Julie is striving to meet the individual needs of student and teacher and take them forward in their growth as lifelong learners in the use of Edtech. Somewhat of a futurist, she is never content with the now and is constantly striving to better the world she lives in. She is seen as a passionate person with the skills to help others catch the joy- whatever that joy might be. She is an instructional technology professional development leader/speaker, author, Amazon Alexa Champion, and Bixby Premier Developer. She believes voice technology can enhance education in mighty ways. She helps educators use technology resources to enhance critical thinking, creativity, communication, and collaboration- all skills required for students to become influencers of their world. In 2020 Julie became a CoSN Certified Education Technology Leader (CETL). Julie is the founder and host of the Voice in Education podcast that was a finalist in the 2020 Project Voice Awards. Julie has been on the planning/steering committee for EdCamp GigCity since 2015. She has served in the past as co-moderator of Twitter Chat #TnEdChat where educators from Tennessee and beyond talk about educational technology issues. She is recognized as a leader in the Canvas LMS community, where she serves as a course facilitator for the Canvas Certified Educator program. EdTech Magazine named Julie as having one of the top K-12 I.T. Blogs for 2015. She was recognized in 2021 by Amazon Alexa in their “Women in Voice” series. Tune in now! Conversation Highlights: [00:06:51] Usecases for Voice in Education [00:11:05] How to solve discoverability issues for parents? [00:15:36] How Schools can adapt to Voice? [00:21:09] Teaching Kids Digital Citizenship with Voice Technology [00:25:55] Will technical issues like limited language and accents understanding create problems with kids and their confidence? [00:30:49] How to solve equity issues with Voice, especially in the classroom?[00:02:33] Julie's Voice in Education Podcast Learn more about Julie https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliedavisedu/ https://www.juliedavisedu.com/podcast https://twitter.com/voiceedu1 If you enjoyed this episode of The Future is Spoken Podcast, then make sure to subscribe to our podcast. Follow Shyamala Prayaga at @sprayaga This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shyamalaprayaga.substack.com
A Waymo driverless vehicle ride sparks a discussion about AI, innovation, technology adoption, and why small business owners can't afford to wait for perfection before embracing emerging technologies like AI. Show Notes Page: https://www.thehowofbusiness.com/612-waymo-and-innovation/ Henry Lopez and returning guest host David Begin recently experienced something neither of them will soon forget - their first ride in a fully driverless Waymo vehicle in downtown Miami. What starts as a fascinating technology experience quickly turns into a broader discussion about artificial intelligence, disruption, innovation, and what every small business owner should learn from emerging technologies. They explore why driverless vehicles are advancing faster than many people realize, why new technologies are often judged against impossible standards of perfection, and why businesses that wait until technology is "perfect" risk being left behind. From autonomous vehicles to AI tools, Henry and David discuss how business owners can develop the mindset needed to stay competitive in an era of rapid technological change. This episode is hosted by Henry Lopez. The How of Business podcast focuses on helping you start, run, grow and exit your small business. The How of Business is a top-rated podcast for small business owners and entrepreneurs. Find the best podcast, small business coaching, resources and trusted service partners for small business owners and entrepreneurs at our website https://TheHowOfBusiness.com
Michael Smith—Managing Partner and Founder, Emerald Advisors Michael Smith shares how a client-first philosophy, niche specialization, and independence helped Emerald Advisors grow from $385mm to more than $1B in assets. In Summary What happens when an advisor builds a business around client service rather than operational efficiency? Jason Diamond speaks with Michael Smith, Founder and Managing Partner of Emerald Advisors, about the path from a successful Merrill practice to an independent RIA that has grown from approximately $385mm to more than $1B in assets. Along the way, Michael shares the story of being told he was “overservicing” clients, why that moment became a catalyst for independence, and how a highly specialized service model fueled the firm’s growth. Drawing on lessons from a 24-year Navy career, Michael offers a perspective on leadership, specialization, client care, and what it takes to build a durable business in today’s wealth management landscape. The Storyline Growth is often viewed as the result of marketing, referrals, acquisitions, or scale. Michael Smith sees it differently. After building a successful practice at Merrill, Michael found himself at odds with the constraints of the traditional wirehouse model. What ultimately stood out wasn’t compensation, technology, or platform capabilities. It was a philosophical difference around client service. When he was told he was spending too much time helping clients navigate tax planning, equity compensation, and other financial decisions outside the traditional scope of investment management, he began to question whether the model aligned with the way he wanted to serve families. That realization eventually led him to launch Emerald Advisors in late 2019. The firm started with roughly 85 clients and approximately $385mm in assets. Today, Emerald serves more than 225 families and oversees more than $1B in assets. Throughout the conversation, Michael reflects on the lessons learned from building an independent firm, developing a niche around concentrated stock positions and executive compensation, navigating custodial and technology decisions, and creating a culture rooted in accountability and service. Underlying it all is a simple belief: when firms become highly intentional about who they serve and how they serve them, growth often becomes the outcome rather than the objective. Topics Covered Merrill breakaways and independence Client service as a growth driver Building an RIA RIA growth and scalability Organic growth strategies Concentrated stock positions and equity compensation planning Ideal client personas and niche specialization Schwab and Fidelity custody relationships Advisor succession and enterprise value Navy leadership principles in wealth management The rise of mega RIAs Advisor technology and infrastructure > Download a transcript of this episode… Listen and Learn Highlights for Advisors Why did being accused of “overservicing” clients become a turning point? (08:15) Michael explains how a conversation with management revealed a deeper misalignment between his client-service philosophy and the wirehouse model. What does client service look like beyond portfolio management? (11:30) The discussion explores how tax planning, equity compensation guidance, and proactive coordination can deepen client relationships. Why can specialization accelerate growth? (15:45) Michael shares why serving a defined niche often creates stronger referrals, greater expertise, and clearer positioning. How has the RIA landscape evolved since 2019? (20:30) Michael reflects on the rise of mega RIAs, changing technology capabilities, and why he believes independent firms still have significant advantages. What role do custodians really play in an independent business? (23:15) Michael discusses his experience working with Schwab and Fidelity and why he views custodians as strategic partners rather than competitors. Is the wirehouse model still the right fit for some advisors? (26:45) The conversation challenges the assumption that independence is the best path for everyone and explores the realities of running a business. Does reaching $1 billion in assets actually change anything? (32:45) Michael offers a practical perspective on growth, success, and why asset milestones can be misleading. What can advisors learn from the “steamboat” philosophy? (37:15) Drawing on his Navy experience, Michael shares a leadership framework that continues to shape how he approaches business building and decision-making. Key Takeaways Exceptional client service can become a meaningful competitive advantage when it extends beyond investment management. Independence gave Michael the flexibility to build a service model that aligned with his philosophy rather than adapting his philosophy to fit the platform. Developing a niche around executive compensation and concentrated stock positions helped accelerate Emerald’s growth. The ability to make technology, custodial, and operational decisions quickly remains a significant advantage for independent firms. Not every advisor should be independent. Running a business requires a different set of skills and responsibilities than serving clients alone. Growth milestones are useful, but they do not define success. Michael believes success existed long before Emerald reached $1 billion in assets. High-performing teams with a clear client focus often find that growth becomes a natural byproduct of execution. https://youtu.be/RjzsMcC2DnY Quotable Moments “I literally had to go back and Google the word overservicing.” “Servicing the client is the most important thing that we can do today.” “If you serve a niche and you’re very good at that niche, that word gets around.” “Growth becomes the outcome.” FAQs Can an advisor really “over-service” clients? The discussion explores the tension between efficiency and depth of service. While some business models prioritize scale and consistency, others are built around solving a broader range of client problems. The right answer often depends on the advisor’s philosophy and business model. Does specialization still matter in a relationship business? Michael argues that developing expertise in a specific area can accelerate growth by making referrals easier and helping advisors become known for solving a particular set of problems. What actually changes when an advisor becomes independent? Beyond economics, independence often creates more flexibility around client service, technology, processes, and business decisions. At the same time, advisors assume responsibility for running the business itself. Is full independence the right path for every advisor? No. Michael acknowledges that many advisors benefit from the structure, support, and resources available within traditional firms. Independence offers flexibility, but it also introduces complexity and responsibility. How should advisors think about the $1 billion milestone? Michael views asset milestones as useful benchmarks but not measures of success. In his view, business quality, client outcomes, and sustainability matter more than any specific asset number. What role does an ideal client persona play in growth? Rather than trying to serve everyone, Emerald built its business around a clearly defined client profile. Michael believes that focus improves service, creates operational consistency, and supports organic growth. How can advisors balance growth with client service? One of the central themes of the episode is that growth and service are not necessarily competing objectives. In some cases, a differentiated service model becomes the reason a business grows. The discussion explores the tension between efficiency and depth of service. While some business models prioritize scale and consistency, others are built around solving a broader range of client problems. The right answer often depends on the advisor’s philosophy and business model. Michael argues that developing expertise in a specific area can accelerate growth by making referrals easier and helping advisors become known for solving a particular set of problems. Beyond economics, independence often creates more flexibility around client service, technology, processes, and business decisions. At the same time, advisors assume responsibility for running the business itself. No. Michael acknowledges that many advisors benefit from the structure, support, and resources available within traditional firms. Independence offers flexibility, but it also introduces complexity and responsibility. Michael views asset milestones as useful benchmarks but not measures of success. In his view, business quality, client outcomes, and sustainability matter more than any specific asset number. Rather than trying to serve everyone, Emerald built its business around a clearly defined client profile. Michael believes that focus improves service, creates operational consistency, and supports organic growth. One of the central themes of the episode is that growth and service are not necessarily competing objectives. In some cases, a differentiated service model becomes the reason a business grows. Related Resources The Transitioning Advisor’s Lament: Things I Wish I Knew Before Freedom vs. Familiarity: Is it Worth Disrupting Comfort for Something That Might Be Better? IBD vs. RIA Revisited: Two Independent Pathways for Advisors to Consider Advisor Transition Report 2026 Guest Bio Michael Smith, CPWA® is the Founder and Managing Partner of Emerald Advisors, an independent wealth management firm overseeing more than $1 billion in assets for affluent families, executives, and business owners with complex planning needs.
In this exciting episode of The Neil Haley Show, Neil Haley welcomes Christian Hubicki, FIRST alum, robotics expert, and competitor on Survivor 50, along with Liam Twohig, a student participant at the 2026 FIRST Championship. Together, they discuss one of the world's largest and most influential STEM competitions, the impact of robotics education, and how programs like FIRST are preparing students for careers in technology, engineering, business, and beyond. The conversation highlights not only the incredible robots on display but also the life-changing opportunities available to students who participate in FIRST programs around the globe. The interview begins with an overview of the 2026 FIRST Championship, an international robotics competition that brings together students from kindergarten through high school to showcase their accomplishments in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. With thousands of students, mentors, educators, and industry professionals gathered in one location, the event serves as both a competition and a celebration of innovation. Participants design, build, program, and operate robots while developing critical skills that extend far beyond the classroom. Liam shares his personal journey with FIRST and explains how the program transformed his confidence and communication skills. When he first joined his robotics team in eighth grade, he struggled to speak in front of others and found networking intimidating. Through participation in FIRST, however, he gradually developed the ability to communicate effectively, engage with judges, collaborate with teammates, and represent his team in professional settings. His experience demonstrates how STEM programs can foster personal growth alongside technical development. One of the key themes throughout the conversation is that FIRST is much more than a robotics competition. Christian explains that FIRST stands for For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology and serves as one of the leading global organizations promoting STEM education. The program gives students hands-on experience with real-world technology while exposing them to careers they may never have considered. Participants are not simply building robots; they are solving problems, collaborating with others, and learning skills that will serve them throughout their lives. Christian emphasizes that robotics serves as a vehicle for much broader educational experiences. Students must tackle challenges related to engineering, programming, manufacturing, business management, fundraising, marketing, communications, and project planning. Teams often function like small companies, with students taking on leadership roles and managing complex projects. These experiences help participants develop a practical understanding of how organizations operate while preparing them for future careers in virtually any field. The scale of the FIRST community is truly remarkable. Christian notes that tens of thousands of students participate annually, creating one of the largest STEM networks in the world. At the championship alone, thousands of students gather to share ideas, learn from one another, and build relationships that may continue throughout their professional lives. The connections formed through FIRST often lead to internships, career opportunities, mentorships, and lifelong friendships. For Liam, one of the most valuable aspects of the program has been the opportunity to explore his interest in 3D animation and creative technology. Although robotics is often associated strictly with engineering, Liam explains that FIRST embraces STEAM education—Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics. Through his work with 3D printing and design, he has gained skills that align closely with his future career aspirations. The program's emphasis on communication, creativity, and collaboration makes it relevant even for students whose goals
In this episode of the Suck Less Tomorrow podcast, I sit down in person with Colette Cassinelli, a veteran educator, library and instructional technology teacher, and instructional coach who is retiring after 40 years in education. Colette shares the story of her career journey from elementary classroom teacher to technology educator, certified librarian, and instructional technology specialist in the Beaverton School District. We talk about how education has changed over four decades, the evolution of technology in schools, and why collaboration between teachers, librarians, and instructional coaches matters more than ever. This conversation dives deep into research skills, project-based learning, interdisciplinary teaching, student engagement, and the growing challenges schools face when trying to build meaningful learning experiences at scale. We also discuss: The decline of student reading and research skills Why schools still need librarians Technology integration and 1:1 Chromebook programs Canvas and digital learning environments Instructional coaching and teacher collaboration Project-based learning and “signature projects” Socratic seminars and inquiry-based learning Vertical alignment and curriculum planning What has changed most in education over 40 years Colette also reflects on retirement, the changing priorities in public education, and what she hopes schools continue to focus on moving forward. If you’re a teacher, librarian, instructional coach, administrator, or anyone interested in the future of education, this is a conversation worth hearing. If you enjoy conversations about education, teaching strategies, classroom culture, and educator growth, make sure to follow, share, and leave a review. Visit We'll All Suck Less Tomorrow for blog posts, podcast episodes, and more from Carlton. Purchase the book Suck Less in the Classroom Tomorrow: Honest Advice for Teachers in Their First Years Follow along on: Instagram @sucklesstomorrow TikTok @SuckLessTomorrow Subscribe and help spread the message so we can all suck less tomorrow.
A Special Industry Update, With Jason Diamond and Mindy Diamond Jason and Mindy Diamond revisit how advisor due diligence is evolving—from AI and enterprise value to firm stability, ownership, and optionality—and why those questions matter more than ever. In Summary Due diligence has always been about finding the right fit. But what advisors are evaluating has expanded considerably. In this replay of an Industry Update, Jason Diamond and Mindy Diamond revisit The Advisor Transition Playbook to explore how advisor priorities continue to evolve. Beyond the traditional reasons advisors consider change, they discuss newer factors shaping decisions today—from artificial intelligence and enterprise value to ownership structure, firm stability, and long-term optionality. The conversation reinforces that while every advisor’s motivations are personal, the evaluation process has become far more strategic. Today’s advisors aren’t simply comparing recruiting deals or platforms. They’re considering how today’s decisions may influence the value, flexibility, and future of the businesses they’re building. The Storyline For years, advisor movement was largely driven by familiar themes: bureaucracy, management changes, technology frustrations, and the desire for greater independence. Those factors remain important. But the conversations Diamond Consultants has with advisors today increasingly include questions that rarely surfaced just a few years ago. How should AI factor into firm selection? What is the long-term value of building enterprise value instead of simply maximizing a recruiting package? How important is a firm’s ownership structure? And how should advisors think about stability in a marketplace where acquisitions, recapitalizations, and private equity investment have become commonplace? Jason and Mindy revisit the transition framework introduced in Part 1, focusing less on the mechanics of making a move and more on the evolving criteria advisors are using to evaluate their options. The result is a broader discussion about due diligence—not simply as a transition exercise, but as an ongoing strategic process for advisors seeking to build their best business life. Topics Covered Advisor due diligence Traditional vs. emerging drivers of advisor movement Artificial intelligence in wealth management Enterprise value and advisor ownership Recruiting deals versus long-term economics Reverse due diligence Firm ownership and stability Private equity in wealth management Advisor optionality Building a long-term advisory business Blubrry Player > Download a transcript of this episode… Listen and Learn Highlights for Advisors Why are the traditional drivers of advisor movement still relevant? (4:00) Jason and Mindy revisit the longstanding push-and-pull factors that continue to influence advisor decisions, from bureaucracy and management frustrations to the desire for greater ownership and control. How has AI become part of the due diligence process? (13:50) The discussion explores why advisors increasingly expect firms to demonstrate a clear AI strategy—and why investment, integration, and vision may become meaningful competitive advantages. Why should advisors care about enterprise value, even if they don’t technically own their business? (24:30) Jason and Mindy explain why more advisors are evaluating decisions through the lens of long-term business value rather than solely short-term economics. What does reverse due diligence really involve? (37:15) The conversation highlights why advisors should evaluate prospective firms with the same rigor firms use when evaluating advisors. How does firm ownership affect advisor optionality? (38:00) Private equity, acquisitions, and changing ownership structures have made it increasingly important to understand what happens if a firm’s strategy changes after an advisor joins. Why has due diligence become more strategic than ever? (45:30) The episode concludes with a broader discussion about defining one’s “best business life” and making decisions that align with long-term goals rather than reacting to short-term frustrations. Key Takeaways The reasons advisors evaluate change have expanded well beyond traditional frustrations such as bureaucracy and compensation. AI has become an increasingly important component of firm evaluation, not because it replaces advisors, but because it can enhance productivity and client service. Enterprise value is becoming a consideration even for advisors who currently work within employee models. Reverse due diligence is just as important as a firm’s evaluation of an advisor, particularly when assessing ownership structure, capitalization, and long-term stability. The most effective transition decisions balance immediate economics with long-term flexibility, ownership, and optionality. Every advisor’s definition of success is different, making clarity around personal goals the foundation of any due diligence process. https://youtu.be/WZbUZJZK1yc Quotable Moments “Every advisor deserves to live their best business life.” “Just because you’re frustrated doesn’t mean you should move. You need something worth moving toward.” “The question isn’t simply what you’re paid today. It’s what you’re building over time.” “Knowledge is power. Understanding what your business is worth should be part of every advisor’s decision-making process.” FAQs Why are more advisors expanding their due diligence beyond compensation? While transition economics remain important, advisors are increasingly evaluating technology, AI capabilities, enterprise value, ownership opportunities, and long-term flexibility as part of the decision-making process. How should advisors evaluate a firm’s AI strategy? Rather than looking for finished products, advisors should assess whether a firm has a clear vision, meaningful investment, and an integrated approach to using AI to improve advisor productivity and client experience. What is reverse due diligence? Reverse due diligence is the process of evaluating a prospective firm as thoroughly as the firm evaluates the advisor. It includes understanding ownership structure, financial stability, culture, technology, leadership, and long-term strategy. Why does enterprise value matter for employee advisors? Even advisors who do not currently own their businesses may benefit from understanding how different business models create opportunities for ownership, long-term value creation, and future monetization. How has private equity changed advisor due diligence? Private equity has introduced new opportunities for growth and capital, but it has also made it more important for advisors to understand ownership structures, investment horizons, and what future transactions could mean for their business. What does Diamond Consultants mean by an advisor’s “best business life”? It refers to aligning an advisor’s business model, goals, client experience, compensation, flexibility, and long-term vision in a way that best supports both the advisor and the clients they serve. While transition economics remain important, advisors are increasingly evaluating technology, AI capabilities, enterprise value, ownership opportunities, and long-term flexibility as part of the decision-making process. Rather than looking for finished products, advisors should assess whether a firm has a clear vision, meaningful investment, and an integrated approach to using AI to improve advisor productivity and client experience. Reverse due diligence is the process of evaluating a prospective firm as thoroughly as the firm evaluates the advisor. It includes understanding ownership structure, financial stability, culture, technology, leadership, and long-term strategy. Even advisors who do not currently own their businesses may benefit from understanding how different business models create opportunities for ownership, long-term value creation, and future monetization. Private equity has introduced new opportunities for growth and capital, but it has also made it more important for advisors to understand ownership structures, investment horizons, and what future transactions could mean for their business. It refers to aligning an advisor’s business model, goals, client experience, compensation, flexibility, and long-term vision in a way that best supports both the advisor and the clients they serve. NOTE: The views and opinions expressed by the guests on this podcast are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Diamond Consultants. Neither Diamond Consultants nor the guests on this podcast are compensated in any way for their participation. Related Resources The Advisor Transition Playbook: The Latest on Due Diligence, the Move, and Everything In Between – Part 1 Annual Advisor Transition Report Top 10 Tips for a Strategic Due Diligence Process Should I Stay or Should I Go? View the transcript of this episode… The Advisor Transition Playbook: The Latest on Due Diligence, the Move, and Everything In Between – Part 2 A Special Industry Update with Jason Diamond and Mindy Diamond. Jason Diamond: Welcome to a replay of one of the most popular episodes from our podcast series for financial advisors, The Advisor Transition Playbook: The Latest on Due Diligence, the Move, and Everything In Between. It’s Part 2 of a 2-Part Industry Update with Mindy Diamond. I’m Jason Diamond and this is the Diamond Podcast for Financial Advisors. Mindy Diamond: At Diamond Consultants, we help elite advisors identify the right environment for their businesses to thrive, whether that’s at a wirehouse, boutique, or independent firm. With nearly three decades of
Every IT professional eventually reaches a point where automation stops feeling like freedom and starts becoming a burden. What begins as a handful of PowerShell scripts quickly grows into dozens of automations spread across repositories, Automation Accounts, Azure Functions, Logic Apps, Key Vaults, and multiple Azure subscriptions. The scripts still work, but the infrastructure supporting them becomes increasingly difficult to understand, govern, and reproduce. In this episode, we explore why this "PowerShell ceiling" exists and why modern platform engineering requires a fundamental shift from scripting infrastructure to defining infrastructure using Bicep. You'll discover how Infrastructure as Code transforms automation from a collection of useful scripts into a repeatable, secure, and enterprise-ready platform that can be versioned, audited, and deployed consistently across any environment. THE AUTOMATION JOURNEY EVERY ENGINEER EXPERIENCES Nearly every automation journey follows the same pattern. It begins with manual administration before evolving into PowerShell scripts that dramatically reduce repetitive work. Over time, success creates complexity. A few scripts become dozens, automation accounts multiply, service principals accumulate, and dependencies become increasingly difficult to track. Eventually, organizations realize they haven't built an automation platform—they've built a growing collection of independent solutions that nobody fully understands anymore. This transition marks the point where automation must evolve into platform engineering. The challenge is no longer writing better scripts but creating infrastructure that is repeatable, maintainable, and governed from a single source of truth. UNDERSTANDING THE LIMITS OF POWERSHELL PowerShell remains one of the most powerful automation languages available, but it was designed for executing actions rather than describing infrastructure. It excels at provisioning users, assigning licenses, managing Microsoft 365 resources, and orchestrating business logic. What it does not provide is a declarative description of the environment those scripts depend upon. As environments grow, administrators begin asking difficult questions. Which Automation Account executes this workflow? Which Key Vault stores its secrets? Who created the service principal? Which permissions are required? Can the entire platform be rebuilt tomorrow if disaster strikes? PowerShell executes tasks brilliantly, but it cannot become the long-term documentation or governance model for enterprise infrastructure. THE HIDDEN COST OF SCRIPT SPRAWL Many organizations underestimate the operational cost of successful automation. Scripts continue solving problems while the surrounding infrastructure quietly becomes more fragile. Multiple subscriptions, storage accounts, monitoring solutions, identities, and automation services accumulate over several years without a centralized architectural definition. Eventually, organizations struggle with:Undocumented infrastructure dependenciesManual compliance verificationConfiguration driftDisaster recovery challengesIncreasing operational complexityThe technical debt isn't found inside the PowerShell code itself. It exists within the undocumented infrastructure supporting every automation. WHY INFRASTRUCTURE AS CODE CHANGES EVERYTHING Infrastructure as Code introduces an entirely different mindset. Instead of telling Azure how to perform every deployment step, engineers describe the desired end state. Azure Resource Manager determines deployment order, resolves dependencies, manages parallel execution, and continuously aligns deployed resources with the declared architecture. Bicep represents Microsoft's modern Infrastructure as Code language for Azure. Rather than replacing PowerShell, it complements it by defining the infrastructure PowerShell depends upon. Function Apps, Automation Accounts, Key Vaults, Managed Identities, Storage Accounts, Log Analytics Workspaces, and networking can all be described as code, versioned inside Git, and deployed consistently across environments. This declarative model dramatically improves repeatability, governance, and operational resilience. FROM TASK AUTOMATION TO PLATFORM ENGINEERING One of the biggest architectural shifts discussed in this episode is recognizing that infrastructure deserves the same engineering discipline as application code. Infrastructure definitions belong in source control, changes should be reviewed through pull requests, deployments should flow through CI/CD pipelines, and every configuration should be reproducible from version-controlled code. Modern platform engineering combines several complementary technologies:Bicep for infrastructure deploymentPowerShell for operational workflowsMicrosoft Graph for enterprise dataGit for version controlCI/CD pipelines for automated deploymentTogether they create a layered architecture where every technology performs the role it was designed for. MICROSOFT GRAPH AND IDENTITY AS INFRASTRUCTURE One of the most significant recent developments is Microsoft's introduction of Microsoft Graph support within Bicep. Identity management is no longer treated as an isolated scripting task. Application registrations, service principals, security groups, and Microsoft Entra ID configurations can now become part of the same declarative infrastructure definition as Azure resources. This transforms identity into infrastructure. Security models become version-controlled, reviewable, reproducible, and fully auditable alongside the rest of the platform. Rather than maintaining disconnected scripts for identity configuration, organizations can manage their entire operational foundation through a unified Infrastructure as Code approach. GOVERNANCE BUILT INTO THE PLATFORM Governance should never rely solely on documentation or human memory. Instead, successful organizations embed governance directly into reusable Bicep modules that automatically enforce organizational standards. These standards commonly include:Standardized naming conventionsMandatory resource taggingDiagnostic loggingRBAC configurationSecurity baselinesRather than auditing infrastructure after deployment, organizations ensure every deployment is compliant from the very beginning. THE ROLE OF AI IN MODERN PLATFORM ENGINEERING As AI increasingly generates PowerShell and deployment code, the most valuable engineering skill shifts from writing syntax toward designing systems. Large Language Models can generate scripts rapidly, but they cannot independently define enterprise architecture, governance boundaries, or operational standards. Bicep provides the architectural contract that AI-generated automation operates within. Infrastructure becomes the guardrail while AI accelerates implementation inside clearly defined boundaries. The future belongs to engineers who design platforms rather than simply writing scripts. FINAL THOUGHTS PowerShell remains an essential technology for Microsoft 365 automation, but it is no longer sufficient as the foundation of enterprise platforms. As organizations expand their automation footprint, Infrastructure as Code becomes essential for governance, disaster recovery, compliance, scalability, and operational maturity. Bicep enables teams to define infrastructure declaratively, Microsoft Graph extends that model into identity, and PowerShell continues delivering the operational logic that powers modern automation. Together, these technologies represent the evolution from task automation to true platform engineering, allowing organizations to build infrastructure that is secure, repeatable, governed, and ready for the next generation of cloud-native and AI-driven enterprise solutions. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/m365-fm-modern-work-security-and-productivity-with-microsoft-365--6704921/support.
The Systems That Learned to Watch Us For anyone curious about the hidden systems that shape perception, behaviour, and the future. M odern life appears to be organized by systems that feel neutral, technical, and inevitable. Databases store identities. Institutions process decisions through procedures. Platforms guide attention through invisible algorithms. But how did these systems come to shape so much of everyday experience? In this episode we trace a hidden intellectual history through thinkers who quietly mapped the architecture of modern systems. From Max Weber's analysis of bureaucratic rationality and the “iron cage,” to Norbert Wiener's cybernetic feedback systems, we begin to see how societies learned to regulate themselves through information. We then move into the media environments that shape perception itself. Guy Debord's concept of the spectacle reveals how images begin replacing direct experience, while Edward Bernays demonstrates how public opinion can be guided through symbolic persuasion rather than coercion. The story deepens inside modern institutions. Michel Foucault shows how surveillance, classification, and normalization produce individuals who learn to regulate themselves. Jacques Ellul reveals how technological systems acquire their own momentum, expanding because efficiency itself becomes the guiding principle. By the time we reach the present, the system begins to resemble something new. Bruno Latour's actor-network theory dissolves the boundary between humans and technologies, while Shoshana Zuboff reveals how digital platforms transform behaviour into predictive data. Finally, the episode reflects on the temporal consequences of living inside these infrastructures. Drawing on Hartmut Rosa's theory of social acceleration and Mark Fisher's idea of capitalist realism, we explore how systems that observe behaviour increasingly begin to anticipate it. What emerges is not a conspiracy but a gradual construction. Over the past century, modern societies assembled networks capable of observing signals, organizing behaviour, and modelling possible futures. The result is a world where the systems surrounding everyday life no longer simply record what we do. They begin to learn from it. Reflections This episode explores how the infrastructures of modern life quietly assembled themselves across the twentieth century. Along the way, several reflections emerge: The most powerful systems are often the ones that appear neutral. Bureaucracy did not begin as control but as a way of making complex societies legible. Images do not simply represent reality; they reshape how it is perceived. Institutions rarely force behaviour. They create environments where behaviour adjusts itself. Technological systems expand because efficiency becomes difficult to refuse. Networks blur the boundary between human intention and technological mediation. Data does not only describe behaviour. It allows systems to anticipate patterns. Acceleration compresses time, making the future feel closer and more predictable. And yet the systems that attempt to model human behaviour always depend on patterns that remain capable of changing. Why Listen? Understand how modern systems gradually learned to observe and guide behaviour Explore the intellectual lineage from Weber to Zuboff Discover how networks, media systems, and data infrastructures shape perception Reflect on what it means to live inside systems that increasingly anticipate behaviour Listen On: YouTube Spotify Apple Podcasts Support This Work If this episode stayed with you and you’d like to support the ongoing work, you can do so gently here: Buy Me a Coffee. Further Reading Weber, Max. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. Wiener, Norbert. Cybernetics: Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine. Debord, Guy. The Society of the Spectacle. Foucault, Michel. Discipline and Punish. Zuboff, Shoshana. The Age of Surveillance Capitalism. The systems surrounding modern life did not appear suddenly. They assembled themselves slowly — until one day they began learning from us. #Philosophy #SystemsThinking #MaxWeber #Cybernetics #SurveillanceCapitalism #ActorNetworkTheory #ShoshanaZuboff #MichelFoucault #TheDeeperThinkingPodcast
When does a body of work reach completion? One answer is to end it by choice. This week in episode 356 you’ll hear the reasons behind our intentional ending of the Nerd Journey Podcast. We’ll rewind the clock and focus on the show’s trajectory and inflection points over time just like we’ve done for guests, share what we learned over the course of an 8-year journey from idea to consistently released show, and discuss our favorite moments. All of our content will remain online and accessible for listeners like you to go back and enjoy. Don’t miss our final call to action in this episode. Just because this body of work is complete, there is still work for all of us to do for our careers. Original Recording Date: 12-20-2025 Topics – A Purposeful Ending, Where We Started, Interview Format and Getting to Launch, The Why Behind the Ending, The Lessons We Learned, Our Favorite Moments, What to Expect from Us Moving Forward, There’s More to Be Done for All of Us. 1:01 – A Purposeful Ending We’ll give you the bottom line up front: this is the last episode of the Nerd Journey podcast. We still love the mission, but the time has come for us to complete this body of work. When we have interviewed guests on the show, we’ve talked through their career timeline and pulled out the lessons learned. Today, we’re going to do it for the show itself. 1:38 – Where We Started John was working as a sales engineer at VMware and was the co-host of the VMware Community Roundtable Podcast. He loved listening to podcasts, enjoyed the medium, and wanted to find a topic for a show. At the same time Nick was in the process of joining VMware, John and Nick were discussing all the things Nick needed to know to transition into sales engineering for a technology vendor. “In that conversation, I said ‘maybe we should start a podcast.’” – John White As Nick remembers it, this happened the weekend before Nick started at VMware in December 2017 (almost exactly 8 years before this episode’s recording). Nick wasn’t sure what he would talk about on a podcast. This suggestion from John started the ideation period, and our launch of the show was in July 2018. John talks about some of the initial ideas for the focus of the show. At that time, VMware podcasts and blogs were a great way to interact with the greater community. Doing something like this was also a way to become what John calls “nerd famous.” By the way, no one else can use that term now (trademarked by John). We initially considered talking about VMware news and our opinions on it since we both were going to be working at VMware. Both John and Nick came from small-to-medium business IT operations and eventually became sales engineers at a technology vendor. One of the things the show could be for is to talk about that journey and help others understand it was a possibility for them as well. John and Nick recorded about 10 episodes before launching to help hit the release cadence. Nick doesn’t remember why they chose a weekly release cadence but remembers the show launched while he was on vacation. John and Nick even recorded a podcast episode while Nick was on that vacation, which started a habit of Nick doing podcast work while on vacation. Because they had recorded so many episodes in advance, they were not going to be timely or points of authority on VMware technology. Both Nick and John’s roles were as technical generalists on the VMware side. “The only evergreen stuff that we had was the career stuff, so that became a little bit more the focus. I think that we were still thinking…we’ll just record more maybe VMware specific stuff later on…as that happens. For right now, here it is.” – John White Early episodes were very prescriptive about resumes and job interview processes at larger tech companies, for example. Nick points out that John had to carry the conversation in these early episodes because he was just learning to think about career focused topics (sort of like being new to lifting weights). But, Nick picked up a lot just from the conversations on the show. 7:50 – Interview Format and Getting to Launch Nick couldn’t remember what made them bring in guests originally, but Episode 13 with Tom Delicati was our very first guest interview on the show. John feels bringing in guests was always back of mind for him, and it was what he saw happen on the VMware Community Roundtable Podcast. “We’re just 2 people and we have our experience. But we can’t represent that as the full breadth of all of experience. That just doesn’t make any sense. So, we need to start exploring what other people’s career journeys have looked like and see if we can extract some knowledge and recommendations from that.” – John White Nick doesn’t remember having a prescriptive plan for interviewing guests but feels like they settled into long-form interviews as a style pretty quickly. John says this was a structure they hit upon in the beginning (talking through someone’s job history). The lessons learned from career inflection points like job transitions emerged from conversations with guests. John and Nick did not know this was going to happen when they began. Nick likes being able to highlight more of one specific guest’s story than otherwise could have been done if each interview was only 30 minutes with a guest. But we fully acknowledge people like different lengths of podcasts. “We wanted to tell interesting stories that had an arc: a beginning and an end and a journey in between. And we were able to find those even chopping people’s long 2-hour conversations up into 2 or even 3 episodes. I think that worked for us. I don’t know if it worked for everybody.” – John White “We probably spent the same time interviewing people as we would have. We just didn’t interview as many as if it had been 1 episode per person.” – Nick Korte We also didn’t want to release a 2-hour interview as one episode. That’s a lot of editing for just one episode release. People might not realize how much time goes into editing and production even after recording an interview. At the beginning, John had to give Nick advice on the kind of microphone to get. Nick started recording with a headset and then bought the same mic as John. They would each later invest in nicer microphones as the show progressed. “I knew nothing about editing and really not that much about how to make a podcast.” – Nick Korte, on beginning as a podcaster There were a lot of things we had to figure out just to make the podcast publicly available. John had researched some of the administrative things. He knew there was a WordPress plugin that could be used to turn MP3 files of released episodes into publicly available audio feed that would be the podcast. John says there were some mental blocks and hurdles he had to get through before launching the show, highlighting the fact that it took 6 months to go from idea to publishing. He was getting overwhelmed trying to figure out the back-end production and publishing process. John thinks it was Nick who kept asking what needed to happen for us to launch, and we went with WordPress and the plugin mentioned but never changed anything…because we had no time to go back. Nick and John learned that once you start a show and get it going, you will never run out of ideas. 13:58 – The Why Behind the Ending We never ran out of ideas. In fact, we still have ideas. So why are we stopping the podcast? We ran out of time. Nick has run out of time to work on editing and production. This has been a weekly show (up until the last couple months of our run), and it takes a large time commitment each week. For guest interview episodes, the intro and outro were not recorded at the same time the interview took place. These had to be recorded before the episode was released. The show notes are not AI-generated. Nick enjoyed writing them and adding in important links and references, feeling like it allowed him to remember the episodes better and internalize the lessons within them. Nick has a teenager now with many extracurricular activities and has had a workload increase at his job. “Probably for the last year I think I’ve been fooling myself at how much of a toll it’s been to just get an episode out each week.” – Nick Korte We even tried changing the release schedule to bi-weekly and have missed that cadence a couple of times. John ran out of time about 4 years ago and hasn’t had much time since to handle podcast related tasks. John experienced a job change and new baby at that time and couldn’t add anything else. He also moved at some point. John and Nick have been advancing in their own careers over time as well, which has added responsibility. John and his wife recently had a second child. He also left his job in June 2025 and has been doing a job search at the same time. Before Nick and John made this decision, Nick listened back to some previous episodes to get advice and perspective. Some of the advice that echoed the loudest came from Amy Lewis in Episode 302 – Ending with Intention: Once a Geek Whisperer with Amy Lewis (2/2). The idea of ending with intention stood out. “Rather than being spotty on our releases and not keeping our promise of how often we say we’re going to get the show out, we wanted to end it with intention and say, ‘ok, this is it.’” – Nick Korte “We haven’t lost the love of this task. We both want this to continue. But realistically, we can’t do it. And rather than sputter and peter out and never be heard from again, we just thought we’ll follow the lessons that we’ve learned from our bettors and do what they did. Let’s be intentional about the end.” – John White 18:02 – The Lessons We Learned John learned how much we can learn from the experience of others. He had ideas and biases about how we should h
Today we're talking with Ren Bin Lee Dixon. Renin comes to the podcast with a deep experience in public and artificial intelligence policy. She's experienced in the research and analysis of issues at the intersection of technology, socioeconomics, and politics, with an international and diverse professional background in academia, public and private sectors. She's currently a research fellow at the Center for AI and Digital Policy, where she drafts AI policy statements and comments to local and global regulatory bodies with a focus on human rights, democratic values, and the rules of law. A graduate of the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, her master's thesis entitled AI Governance, A Comparative Analysis of China, the European Union, and the United States was awarded an excellence in global policy in 2022. She also previously has been a marketing and PR specialist with more than 15 years of professional experience in the private sector, including starting an online retail business. Thank you, Ren bin, for being on the podcast today. If you are interested in learning about how AI is being applied across multiple industries, be sure to join us at a future AppliedAI Monthly meetup and help support us so we can make future Emerging Technologies North non-profit events! Applied AIAppliedAI MeetupEmerging Technologies NorthResources and Topics Mentioned in this Episode The Challenge of Regulating AI in the US – Lawmakers are struggling to keep up with AI’s rapid evolution, resulting in gaps in oversight and accountability. https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R48555 How Algorithms Incentivise Engagement – Social-media ranking algorithms optimise for clicks and shares, often amplifying polarising or sensational content. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11894805/ AI as a Foundational Technology – Artificial intelligence is moving beyond niche applications to become a core infrastructure across industries and business models. https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/quantumblack/our-insights/the-next-innovation-revolution-powered-by-ai The Information Integrity Challenge – The rapid spread of misinformation and disinformation is undermining trust in digital ecosystems and societal decision-making. https://www.oecd.org/content/dam/oecd/en/publications/reports/2024/03/facts-not-fakes-tackling-disinformation-strengthening-information-integrity_ff96d19f/d909ff7a-en.pdf Can AI Help Regulate AI? – Researchers and policymakers are exploring whether AI-based tools can monitor, audit, and govern other AI systems to ensure fairness and safety. https://academic.oup.com/policyandsociety/article/44/1/85/7684910
In this insightful episode of "AI for Teachers," we dive deep into the crucial role of voice in teaching. Discover how innovative AI technologies, including Text-to-Speech and voice cloning tools, are transforming classrooms by supporting and preserving the voices of educators. Join us as we explore practical strategies and the latest advancements, providing educators with the tools to protect their most valuable asset – their voice. This episode is a must-listen for teachers and education professionals seeking to leverage AI for a more sustainable and effective teaching experience. Show Notes: - Explore how AI is reshaping vocal health for educators. - Understand the impact of voice strain in teaching and practical solutions. - Discover the latest in Text-to-Speech technology and voice cloning tools. - Learn from real-life stories and expert insights on integrating AI into education. - Gain actionable tips to implement AI technologies in your teaching practice. This episode is tailored for educators, teachers, and school managers eager to embrace AI's potential in enhancing teaching methodologies and preserving vocal well-being. Join us for an episode that promises to enlighten and inspire! 🔗 Connect and Share Visit our website: www.aiforteachers.au Listen on Apple Podcast: http://bit.ly/ai-for-teacher Stream on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/45RHwXk Tune in on Amazon Music: https://amzn.to/47aFfaZ Catch us on YouTube Podcast: https://bit.ly/ai-for-teachers-youtube Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/aiforteachers Email: [email protected] 💬 Join the Conversation After listening, we invite you to share your thoughts and experiences with AI in education on our forum. Your insights are vital to our community. Join the 'AI for Teachers' FB community-https://www.facebook.com/groups/aiforteachers 💡 What's Next? Stay ahead in the world of educational technology. Subscribe to our podcast for more episodes on AI's role in enhancing learning and teaching. Check our blog posts-https://www.aiforteachers.au/blog/
Hour 3 of The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show was dominated by excitement surrounding the FIFA World Cup, Team USA soccer, patriotism, American exceptionalism, investing in America, technology-driven economic growth, and the political implications of both sports and elections. The hosts framed the hour around what they described as a uniquely American moment, with the United States playing a high-stakes World Cup match against Belgium during the broader backdrop of the America 250 celebration. Throughout the hour, Clay Travis and Buck Sexton argued that sports, national identity, and patriotism had become intertwined in a way that was energizing millions of Americans. A major focus of Hour 3 was the growing popularity of the FIFA World Cup in the United States and the widespread enthusiasm surrounding the U.S. Men’s National Team. Clay and Buck discussed international fan traditions, including Norway’s famous “Viking Row” celebration and England’s crowd-wide singalongs, while praising the World Cup for highlighting national cultures and traditions. They argued that the tournament demonstrates the importance of national identity and borders, noting that international competition only works because countries maintain distinct cultures, teams, and loyalties. The hosts pointed to massive television audiences and growing engagement as evidence that soccer has become a significant force in American sports culture. The conversation repeatedly returned to the U.S. Men’s National Team and the anticipation surrounding its matchup against Belgium. Clay praised the team’s culture, patriotism, and public image, highlighting players singing the national anthem, gathering for postgame prayer, and embracing American identity. He argued that the team embodies values that resonate with many Americans and suggested its success has become a positive symbol during the nation’s 250th anniversary celebration. The hosts predicted the game would attract one of the largest television audiences for a non-NFL sporting event in decades. President Donald Trump’s role in overturning a controversial FIFA red card remained another significant topic throughout Hour 3. Clay and Buck argued that Trump played a meaningful role in the successful appeal that reinstated star forward Folarin Balogun ahead of the Belgium match. They maintained that the original red card was improperly issued and praised efforts to correct what they viewed as a clear officiating mistake. The hosts framed the issue as a broader debate about fairness, accountability, and whether institutions should correct errors when they have the opportunity to do so. The discussion also explored political reactions to the controversy. Clay noted that some political commentators and left-leaning media figures were openly supporting Belgium or criticizing Trump’s involvement. The hosts interpreted those reactions as part of a larger debate over patriotism, national loyalty, and support for American institutions. They argued that backing Team USA should transcend politics and suggested that rooting against the United States in international competition reflected a broader cultural divide. Another major segment focused on Trump Accounts, a new investment initiative announced by President Trump. The hosts discussed the economic philosophy behind providing young Americans with investment opportunities tied to the growth of the U.S. economy. Buck emphasized the power of compound interest and long-term investing, arguing that broad participation in the stock market is one of the most effective ways to build wealth over time. Clay echoed those sentiments, encouraging listeners to invest in broad market index funds and describing the American economy as the greatest long-term wealth creation engine in modern history. The conversation expanded into broader discussions of financial literacy, retirement planning, and economic growth. Clay and Buck criticized what they viewed as the nation’s failure to adequately teach personal finance and investing. They argued that many Americans would be financially better off if they understood compound interest, stock market investing, and long-term wealth accumulation earlier in life. The hosts repeatedly emphasized the value of betting on America’s future through investment and entrepreneurship. Technology and innovation also became major themes. Buck discussed the rapid progress being made in robotics, artificial intelligence, automation, and advanced manufacturing, citing examples of emerging consumer robots and AI-powered productivity tools. The hosts expressed optimism that technological breakthroughs will dramatically improve quality of life, boost economic productivity, and create new opportunities. While acknowledging potential disruptions, they argued that America’s strengths in innovation and entrepreneurship position the country well for future growth. The hour also included political discussion surrounding the 2026 Maine Senate race. Clay highlighted growing speculation regarding Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner and reports suggesting additional controversies from his past could emerge before key ballot-certification deadlines. The hosts discussed prediction market activity, campaign uncertainty, and the broader stakes of the Maine race, arguing that control of the Senate could be heavily influenced by the outcome. The conversation touched on Democratic Party strategy, candidate vetting, and the political consequences of candidate controversies. Listener calls contributed significantly to the hour. Callers debated FIFA’s appeal process, questioned Balogun’s eligibility to play for Team USA based on his international background, discussed the popularity of soccer in America, and reflected on what national pride means in the context of international sports competition. Clay explained FIFA’s nationality and eligibility rules, noting that Balogun had multiple national-team options before choosing to represent the United States. The hosts argued that any athlete eligible to play for Team USA should be welcomed if they choose to represent the country. The final portion of Hour 3 touched on the growth of the program’s digital audience, including expanding YouTube content and social media engagement. Clay discussed efforts to reach younger audiences through digital platforms and highlighted the increasing popularity of the show across multiple formats. The hour closed with more listener reactions and continued anticipation for the Team USA-Belgium World Cup match, including humorous speculation that Balogun might celebrate a goal with a “Trump dance” if he scored. Make sure you never miss a second of the show by subscribing to the Clay Travis & Buck Sexton show podcast wherever you get your podcasts! ihr.fm/3InlkL8 For the latest updates from Clay & Buck, visit our website https://www.clayandbuck.com/ Connect with Clay Travis and Buck Sexton: X - https://x.com/clayandbuck FB - https://www.facebook.com/ClayandBuck/ IG - https://www.instagram.com/clayandbuck/ YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/clayandbuck Rumble - https://rumble.com/c/ClayandBuck TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@clayandbuck Follow Clay & Buck on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/clayandbuck See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
<p>Steve Brock, Senior Vice President of Sales at Airsys Cooling Technologies, spoke with Doug Green, Publisher of Technology Reseller News, about a growing infrastructure challenge that is often overlooked: cooling. As AI workloads, 5G deployments, and increasingly dense telecom equipment drive power consumption higher, Brock explained why efficient thermal management is becoming as important as the computing infrastructure itself.</p> <p>Airsys has specialized in mission-critical cooling for more than 30 years, serving telecom operators, modular data centers, and edge infrastructure around the world. Brock noted that the industry has moved beyond simply installing air conditioners in telecom shelters. Today’s...
<p>Greg Brockman is the president and co-founder of OpenAI. Brockman joins Big Technology Podcast live from the Big Technology AI Summit to discuss OpenAI's trajectory, the state of the frontier, and why he believes compute will ultimately decide the AI race. Tune in to hear Brockman make the case that there will never be enough compute to satisfy demand, why he thinks the interface itself will eventually melt away into a persistent agent that acts on your behalf, and how he expects pricing to evolve as today's premium intelligence becomes tomorrow's commodity. We also cover the competitive dynamic with...
Text us a comment or question! Artificial intelligence is everywhere. But beyond the headlines, hype, and scary predictions, AI may become one of the most powerful tools we've ever had for improving our health - especially after 50. In this episode, I sit down with physician and author Dr. Earl Campazzi to explore how everyday people can use AI, wearable technology, and health data to make smarter decisions, ask better questions, and take greater control of their health and longevity. This isn't about replacing your doctor or becoming obsessed with gadgets. It's about using technology as a practical tool to help you sleep better, train smarter, catch problems earlier, and become a more informed partner in your own healthcare. Whether you wear an Apple Watch, Fitbit, Oura Ring, WHOOP, or simply want to get more out of your annual physical, this conversation will completely change how you think about the future of preventive medicine. In this episode, you'll learn: Why AI should be your health assistant—not your physicianHow your smartwatch and wearable devices may be detecting important health trends before you ever notice symptomsThe biggest mistake most people make when using ChatGPT for health adviceA simple prompting strategy that produces dramatically better AI answersHow AI can help you prepare for doctor appointments and ask better questionsWhy bringing organized information to your physician leads to better careHow to safely use AI to analyze blood work and other health data while protecting your privacyWhy trends matter far more than single data pointsHow to use wearable data to improve sleep, recovery, stress, and overall performanceWhy building healthy habits will always outperform relying on motivation and willpowerHow AI is already improving colonoscopies, mammograms, medical documentation, and disease detectionWhy personalized medicine is becoming more realistic than ever beforeWhat the future of AI-powered healthcare may look like over the next few yearsKey Takeaway Technology isn't replacing personal responsibility. It's giving us better tools. The healthiest people over 50 won't necessarily be the ones with the newest gadgets—they'll be the ones who learn how to use those tools consistently to make better decisions every single day. Connect with Dr. Earl Campazzi 📖 Better Health with AI: Your Roadmap to Results https://www.amazon.com/Better-Health-AI-Roadmap-Results/dp/B0G3J881BZ/ 🌐 Website https://www.betterhealthwithai.com/ Enjoying the show? If you found this episode valuable, I'd really appreciate it if you'd take a minute to follow the show, leave a five-star review, and share this episode with someone who's serious about living a longer, healthier, stronger life. And if you're ready to stop guessing and start following a proven roadmap for building a lean, strong, healthy body after 50, schschule your free Clarity Call today. Until next time... stay strong. Over 50 and frustrated with your progress? Click HERE to book a free Silver Edge Clarity Call and get a clear plan forward. Over 50 and frustrated with your progress? Book a free Silver Edge Clarity Call and get a clear plan forward. 👉 https://go.silveredgefitness.com/clarirty-call
<p >A Waymo driverless vehicle ride sparks a discussion about AI, innovation, technology adoption, and why small business owners can't afford to wait for perfection before embracing emerging technologies like AI.</p> <p >Show Notes Page: https://www.thehowofbusiness.com/612-waymo-and-innovation/</p> <p > Henry Lopez and returning guest host David Begin recently experienced something neither of them will soon forget - their first ride in a fully driverless Waymo vehicle in downtown Miami.</p> <p > What starts as a fascinating technology experience quickly turns into a broader discussion about artificial intelligence, disruption, innovation, and what every small business owner should...
The boundaries between technology, wellness and luxury are blurring. Wearable technology is no longer just about tracking steps; it has become a sophisticated tool for lifestyle optimisation, personal health intelligence and a subtle statement of identity. Now, there are more devices than ever to help us in this pursuit, and at the cutting edge is Oura. Under the leadership of CEO Tom Hale, who joined the company in 2022, Oura has grown from $220 million in annual revenue to $1 billion last year, achieving an $11 billion valuation. Last month, Oura filed for an IPO that could be one of the most significant public market tests for consumer health technology so far. “We are a health intelligence platform that will redefine the future of healthcare,” says Hale. “Everyone's already got a supercomputer … on their body. There should be a machine intelligence that is personalised and customised to that individual, and a large physiological model that is making predictions about health outcomes in the short term and the long term based on your ground truth of biometrics.” Hale joined BoF founder and CEO Imran Amed on stage in Napa Valley, California, during The Business of Beauty Global Forum 2026 to unpack how the company plans to build a “large physiological model” to redefine the future of the global healthcare and wellness landscapes. Key Insights: The Drivers of the Inflexion Point: Oura has sold 5.5 million rings as of last year, with roughly half of those sales occurring in the last 12 months. Tom Hale attributes this growth acceleration to three strategic moves: shifting focus toward underserved use cases in women’s health (which flipped the customer base to mostly female), entering physical retail to bypass the slow shipping-based sizing process, and becoming the first wearable eligible for pre-tax employee funds via HSA/FSA accounts. Hardware as an Onboarding Mechanism: Rather than viewing itself through the lens of jewelry or fashion, Oura defines its core commercial category as long-term behavior modification. Within this model, the physical ring functions primarily as the hardware mechanism that drives value and engagement for its subscription service. Subscription Revenue Benchmarks: Operating on a value-to-price framework tied to a £6-a-month membership cost, Oura achieves an 80 percent retention rate at year one and an increased 85 percent retention rate at years two and three. Factual benchmarks reveal this trajectory outperforms major content subscription platforms like Netflix and Spotify at the same milestones. Defending Market Share with IP and Clinical Credibility: To maintain its competitive advantage against new market entrants and lower-priced alternatives, Oura relies heavily on an intellectual property moat. Furthermore, the brand protects its premium position through scientific validation, noting that 11 percent of its current ring wearers are medical professionals. Additional Resources: Building the World of Health Tech: Oura’s Tom Hale on its IPO and What’s Next Can Oura Become a Forever Company? | BoF Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
<p>Mike Krieger is the head of Anthropic Labs and co-founder of Instagram. Krieger joins Big Technology Podcast live from the Big Technology AI Summit to discuss what it's like inside Anthropic the week the government forced the company to pull its frontier models, Fable and Mythos, off the market. Tune in to hear Krieger describe how working with Fable changed the way he builds — queuing up a full night of work before bed and waking to find it finished in an hour — why he insists Anthropic's safety warnings are material rather than marketing, and how Anthropic navigates being both a pl...
My guest today is Alex Sacerdote, founder of Whale Rock Capital Management. Whale Rock is a technology focused investment firm that manages more than $17 billion across hedge fund, long only, and hybrid strategies. Over the past three years it has been one of the best performing hedge funds, compounding at roughly 44 percent a year. Alex invests through a single lens that he has refined over twenty years. He looks for technology S-curves, durable competitive advantages, and underappreciated earnings power. This conversation is a tour through how he applies that framework right now. We start with his highest conviction position, which is Anthropic, and use it to work through the entire AI stack from chips to models to applications. Please enjoy my conversation with Alex Sacerdote. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- Become a Colossus member to get our quarterly print magazine and private audio experience, including exclusive profiles and early access to select episodes. Subscribe at colossus.com/subscribe. ----- Ramp’s mission is to help companies manage their spend in a way that reduces expenses and frees up time for teams to work on more valuable projects. Go to ramp.com/invest to sign up for free and get a $250 welcome bonus. ----- Trusted by thousands of businesses, Vanta continuously monitors your security posture and streamlines audits so you can win enterprise deals and build customer trust without the traditional overhead. Invest Like the Best listeners get a special offer of $1,000 off Vanta when you go to vanta.com/invest. ----- WorkOS is the infrastructure B2B and AI-native companies use to sell to enterprise. It covers everything enterprise security requires: SSO, SCIM, RBAC, Audit Logs, AI governance, and more. Trusted by 2,000+ fast-growing companies, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Cursor, and Vercel. ----- Rogo is the AI platform for finance. They're building agents for Wall Street that are trained to understand how bankers and investors actually do work: from diligence and modeling, to turning analysis into deliverables. To learn more, visit rogo.ai/invest. ----- Ridgeline has built a complete, real-time, modern operating system for investment managers. It handles trading, portfolio management, compliance, customer reporting, and much more through an all-in-one real-time cloud platform. Visit ridgelineapps.com. ----- Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Timestamps: (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like The Best (00:02:29) Alex Sacerdote (00:03:08) Anthropic: Highest Conviction Position (00:13:23) Investing in Private Markets at Scale (00:19:08) S-Curves: The Full Framework (00:25:08) When to Buy Tech Companies (00:30:20) Identifying the Leader from the Pack (00:34:04) Anthropic & OpenAI's Competitive Moats (00:37:31) AI's Threat to Enterprise Software (00:43:18) Network Effects in the Agent Era (00:44:22) The Hardware Renaissance: Chips & Infrastructure (00:53:56) Why So Few Investors Get This Right (00:55:36) Key Risks to the AI Bull Case (00:57:47) The Application Layer (00:59:40) How AI Is Changing Research at WhaleRock (01:02:53) The Role of Investor Networks & Idea Sharing (01:03:40) Building a Multi-Product Firm (01:07:58) WhaleRock as a Learning Machine (01:09:15) The Kindest Thing
