This biography, written by Ian O’Connor, provides a penetrating examination of Mike Krzyzewski’s life and career. Through unprecedented access to Krzyzewski’s best friends, closest advisers, fiercest adversaries, and generations of his players and assistants, O’Connor delivers previously untold stories about the relationships that define Coach K. The book covers Krzyzewski’s tough Chicago upbringing, his mentorship under Bob Knight, and his enduring impact on college basketball, including his five national championships at Duke and three Olympic gold medals with Team USA.
Jeff Pearlman's 'Showtime' is a gripping narrative that explores the Los Angeles Lakers' iconic era of the 1980s, marked by their fast-paced basketball style and flamboyant lifestyle. Drawing from nearly 300 interviews, Pearlman delves into the team's remarkable success and the personal lives of its stars, including Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The book captures the essence of a decade defined by sports, celebrity, and excess.
Dreamland by Sam Quinones tells the story of two powerful drug industries—that of prescription opiates and black tar heroin—driven by capitalism and greed. The book examines how the medical community's shift towards pain relief, fueled by pharmaceutical companies like Purdue Pharma, and the influx of black tar heroin from Mexico, contributed to the opiate epidemic. Quinones uses personal anecdotes, historical context, and a cast of characters including pharmaceutical pioneers, Mexican entrepreneurs, and narcotics investigators to illustrate the catastrophic impact on American communities. The book also highlights the role of community in recovery and the need for addressing the underlying social and economic issues that contributed to the epidemic.
The Looming Tower is a comprehensive and deeply researched book that spans five decades, tracing the transformation of Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri from idealistic soldiers in Afghanistan to leaders of the most successful terrorist group in history. The book also follows key figures such as FBI counterterrorism chief John O’Neill and other Americans involved in counter-terrorism efforts. It examines the background and conditions that produced the men who planned and staged the 9/11 attacks, highlighting issues such as poor communication within U.S. intelligence and law enforcement communities[3][5][2].
Startups and small businesses have a lot of advantages over their entrenched competitors, but one thing that big businesses have access to is forecasting and business intelligence. Our guest today is working to level that playing field, Spencer Dent is Co-Founder of Clozd, a platform that provides world-class consulting and technology for win-loss analysis. We help our clients design and execute effective win-loss programs that uncover the real reasons they win and lose—so they can start winning more.
About Spencer Dent:Spence has worked with sales and marketing teams throughout his career. Prior to receiving his MBA from Duke, he was an operator that helped small financial services sales teams. After graduating, he worked at Bain with sales organizations across a variety of industries. He moved on to Qualtrics, where he worked to expand operations across the globe and introduce new channels.
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In this episode we discuss:
02:27 Spencer’s journey to Co-Founding Clozd04:04 The first sales experience that helped shape Spencer07:11 What he learned at Bain that helped his career09:29 Challenges and opportunities of early scaling at Qualtrics11:44 How 6 years of business school failed to teach him how to be a leader14:48 Why they decided to leave Qualtrics pre-IPO20:37 Typical mistakes early-stage startups make when building their sales team24:22 Why hasn’t anyone created win-loss analysis software before?28:23 Losing because of price is weak analysis and won’t help your organization grow32:20 What Win-Loss really means and what startup founders need to know about it37:25 How a post-loss interview should be conducted39:39 What data Clozd tracks above and beyond a CRM like Salesforce43:06 Why buyer-feedback is the gold standard over feedback from the sales rep44:38 Why they chose to include a managed service offering48:42 Why they chose to take on a Series-A financing round led by Greycroft along with Madrona and Album VC51:33 How the pandemic affected them and plans for the new funds
Fast Favorites
* 🎙- Favorite Podcast: Jim Rome, Dan Patrick
* 📰- Favorite Newsletter/Blog: The Clozd Newsletter
* 📲- Favorite Tech Gadget: Airpods
* 📈- Favorite New Trend: Win-Loss
* 📚- Favorite Book: Showtime, Dreamland, The Looming Tower
* 🤔 - Favorite Life Lesson: Work has to be done
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