Ed and Ron will explore Marc Andresseen's The Techno-Optimist Manifesto. It's a thought-provoking piece that we largely agree with. You can find the Manifesto at: https://a16z.com/the-techno-optimist-manifesto/

Ron and Ed welcome Hitendra Patil, President of the Global Finance and Accounting Outsourcing Services of Datamatics Business Solutions, Inc. and author of Rise of The Aiccountants: The What, Why, and How of Artificial Intelligence for Accountants. AI is way more than an amusement gimmick. At its core, AI is a powerful tool that can make accounting firm operations, analytics, decision-making, and client services more efficient, impactful, and insightful resulting in clients getting more delighted and, importantly, firm staff more productive, engaged, and happier. Unfortunately, other than starting to use publicly available AI tools, firm leaders who want to professionally leverage artificial intelligence often don’t know where to start. AI journey can feel overwhelming—as it requires firms to analyze existing processes, make new choices for software solutions, decide the priorities for applying AI automation and prepare every part of the firm for the transition.

Ron and Ed once again share entries from their One Thing journals, so this episode is a bit random, but contains nugget after nugget on curated wisdom for the reading and listening habits of the hosts. As you listen, please feel free to share your One Thing from the past day or week. Don't forget to take #asktsoe or @asktsoe.

This week Ron and Ed welcome Mathew Kerbis, aka The Subscription Attorney to talk about, you guessed it, subscription-based lawyering. His firm, Subscription Attorney LLC was founded in 2022 and is a modern law firm offering legal advice starting at $19.99/month, to help provide affordable access to legal advice for small business owners, freelancers, and everyday people. As usual the conversation with be mind-bending.

Ed and Ron can’t wait to interview Kathryn Mayer and Greg Glasgow and discuss their brand new book, Disneyland on the Mountain, released September 13, 2023. If you are a Disney fan, you won’t want to miss this episode!

Ron and Ed interview William Donaldson, author of Simple_Complexity. They discuss the importance of systems thinking, consistency in actions and beliefs, effectiveness vs efficiency in business, challenging assumptions and changing mental models, and the role of the C-suite in enterprise digital transformation.

This week, Ron and Ed welcome accounting thought leader Max Emma, CEO and Chief Bookkeeping Officer of Booxkeeping Franchise. BooXkeeping is a nationwide provider of affordable outsourced bookkeeping services to small and medium-sized businesses. We will talk to Max about his business model and why outsource bookkeeping will continue to grow. Booxkeeping Franchise is a low-cost and easy-to-operate bookkeeping business solution for aspiring entrepreneurs. As the CEO of BooXkeeping Franchise, Inc., They find potential franchisees and offer them a turn-key opportunity to join the BooXkeeping family and benefit from our innovative accounting services, proven systems, and ongoing support. Their goal is to offer franchising opportunities in all 50 states by 2025 and to bring new life to one of the world's oldest professions.

The hosts discuss a cautionary tale about AI, the value of a machine for writing stories, recognizing obvious ideas in business, the importance of simple and obvious solutions, finding overlooked opportunities, and the concept of obviousness in hindsight.

Ron and Ed conduct an interview with an AI incarnation of Peter Drucker. Topics range from knowledge workers to annual appraisals and AARs. They explore the legacy and impact of ideas on management and leadership. The conversation delves into the knowledge economy and the role of knowledge workers. They discuss the interconnectedness between organizations and individuals in effective management. Additionally, they explore the impact of administrative tasks on professionals and the evolution of performance appraisal systems.

Ron and Ed interview Seth David who excels at explaining complex financial concepts. They discuss the evolution of internet browsers, the impact of sentiment analysis and AI tech on organizations, Seth's personal journey from a creative to an accountant, the advantages of virtual meetings, transitioning to advisory services, the relationship between accounting and advisory work, agility and specialization in the accounting career, and the potential of AI and a game-changing app in accounting.