Twins Talk Tech Leadership

Having a thorough understanding of your ideal target market, being able to develop an effective strategic marketing plan, and managing finances are just some of the various elements necessary for any small to medium-sized business looking to have consistent success and growth. Savvy business owners take every opportunity to maximize their potential for success.Maceik Szczesniak, Chief Growth & Strategy Officer with the B2SMB Institute talks about the importance of community to support and help organizations scale and succeed. With over 4,000 members, the B2SMB Institute bridges insights, partnerships, and resources to empower businesses serving the small-to-medium business (SMB) market.Highlights include: How the name Magic came about and his journey to B2SMB.The Institute’s mission of connecting brands and service providers with SMBs in impactful ways.Research reveals that SMBs are only half as productive when compared with larger organizations.When you should wear your ‘business owners hat' and not your ‘technology hat.'Reflecting on his experience at the IT Nation Connect Conference, his key takeaways, trends, and new partnerships that align with B2SMB’s goals.His excitement about partnering with Universities and higher education.Follow Magic on LinkedIn, send him an email at info@gowithmagic.com and visit b2smbi.com/ to learn more about their resources and the power of networking.

Cyber threats evolve rapidly, making it challenging for MSPs to stay ahead. How can we further empower MSPs to simplify security while scaling their businesses? That’s where Senteon Cybersecurity steps in, transforming endpoint security into a scalable, automated solution. Zach Kromkowski, Chief Customer Officer at Senteon and the winner of the PitchIT 2024 competition, shares his insights into revolutionizing cybersecurity for MSPs by focusing on endpoint hardening.Highlights include:Simplifying the process of hardening endpoints and automation to streamline compliance.Success stories from the MSP community.Embracing an adventurous RV lifestyleEducational webinar series.Having the mindset of expecting to win and the support needed for entrepreneurs and early stage organizations.Experience being a part of the PitchIT Accelerator Program and being named the Winner of PitchIT 2024.Follow Zach on LinkedIn and visit senteon.co/ to learn more about solutions to safeguard and optimize your endpoints.

As an MSP, there is another layer to the QBR you should have with your clients. Have that conversation surrounding the fear of uncertainty and doubt around insurance. Doug Kreitzberg, Founder and CEO of SeedPod Cyber, speaks to the importance of including a value equation that addresses the importance of protecting digital relationships.Some Highlights: Communicating risk via the common language of ‘dollars.’How much risk do you want to take vs mitigate vs transfer?Education is vital including how to have a conversation around the governance of risk. Training to promote ‘healthy digital behaviors.’Leverage resources including an AI driven tool to support with the risk assessment process, and an eBook, demonstrating how risk can be turned into revenue,Leadership lessons from theatre, including the concept of performance and being intentionally aware.Experience from being a PitchIT Accelerator Cohort and Finalist.  Follow Doug on LinkedIn and visit seedpodcyber.com/ to learn more about protecting your organization.

As an MSP, how can you bring added value for your clients? How can small changes in energy consumption make a big impact on savings and strengthen client relationships? Daniel Ellis, Founder of PC Powersave, a SaaS company revolutionizing energy efficiency in the IT industry shares insight into how MSPs can add value by including within their QBRs, a portion about monitoring and optimizing energy usage and leveraging rebates.  Highlights include:  Misconceptions about energy conservation, tangible cost and energy savings.Daniel’s unique pandemic pivot to creating face shields.  Looking ahead and envisioning a future where IT professionals play a more active role in facility management through smart technologies.  Being a Finalist in the 2024 ConnectWise PitchIt Accelerator program & competition.Take advantage of PC Powersave's year-end offer to start saving today! Follow Daniel Ellis on LinkedIn and visit pcpowersave.com to learn more. 

How do you know what success looks like? How can you measure up and compare your organization's size, revenue and niche with other technology solution providers? What are the metrics your organization should know? Know the data and build with the data in mind.Peter Kujaw, Vice President and General Manager of Service Leadership, a ConnectWise Solution shares how important it is to understand what's driving performance. Benchmarking allows Technology Service Providers to form objective assessments of their performance, and they help them to make improvements and hopefully attain best practice or ‘best in class.’Highlights include:Power of data to transform your business.NSPCOA - The Normalized Solution Provider Chart of Accounts, helps to capture trends and to reveal what 'good' is.How ConnectWise entered the picture and the impact of that dynamic relationship for the overall community.How 'Best in Class' is determined.What stood out to him from the Q3 Data Insights.Impact of AI and Security services for an MSP.The SLIQ platform.Peter’s advice to not panic and to join a peer group, like Evolve.Follow Peter on LinkedIn and visit service-leadership.com to take the Compensation Survey and receive a free copy of the Service Leadership Index 2025 Annual IT Solution Provider Compensation Report. 

A good onboarding experience with new partners is crucial as it sets the tone for the entire relationship; and, helps to build trust and loyalty, while increasing the likelihood of a long-term retention. This could translate into producing advocates and evangelists of the community. AJ Adade, VP Onboarding & Consulting, ConnectWise, shares some thoughts on how focusing on the success of the partner can translate into success of the organization. Highlights include:Family background and how the military has helped to shape his leadership.Leadership foundation and why ConnectWise.Onboarding mindset and journey into the ecosystem.How success is measured; it's about the partner's success.The impact of testimonials and community.Be clear with your growth destination by starting "with the end in mind."Follow AJ on LinkedIn and keep up with the IT Nation community by visiting connectwise.com

The balance between technological advancements and preserving meaningful client relationships is vital to the overall success of any technology service provider. To ensure continued growth, there should also be a commitment to partner feedback.We sat down with Jeff Bishop, Chief Product Officer at ConnectWise, during the IT Nation Connect Conference to explore the transformative impact of AI and automation on Managed Service Providers (MSPs).Highlights include:How ConnectWise is integrating AI into its solutions, enhancing service delivery, and addressing cybersecurity challenges while maintaining a strong emphasis on the human element in technology.Touching on the Asio platform's strengths, such as its adaptive UX and modular design, as key innovations supporting MSPs.His insights on leadership, emphasizing long-term vision and empowering teams.Brainstorming and the 5 Whys methodology.Jeff's Conference experience.Follow Jeff on LinkedIn and visit connectwise.com to learn more about the ASIO platform, including the ability to watch a live demo.  

Instead of randomly building your network, what if we could create communities that helped everyone involved achieve their goals together? These intentional relationships can help accelerate growth and success through a common commitment to learning, encouragement and accountability. Pete Sorensen, Vice President Strategic Initiatives at ConnectWise joins us to help kick off IT Channel Summit and IT Nation Connect with some thoughts about the power of community. Highlights include:The IT Nation Mission for the community is "Wise Together, Rise Together".A focus to provide resources and support for the vendors in the community.The peer group story often goes from, 'misery loves company' to 'I can learn and not make mistakes myself,' and then to 'benchmarking' and success. Viewing mentorship as a gift.Pete’s love for the Iowa State football program.Leadership lessons learned from the farm and his familyFollow Pete on LinkedIn and visit ConnectWise.com to learn more about the IT Nation community. 

Being able to identify and collaborate with the right partnerships can enhance your presence and your joint mission of increasing revenue, driving growth and for delivering value more effectively. Strategic partnering is about synergy as they can be a powerful tool for growth, innovation, and competitiveness.Purav Shah, Principal Sales Lead at AWS shares his thoughts about what it takes to build successful partnerships. Highlights include:3 Partnership types, from those who help access technology and expertise; those who help expand reach and expertise; and those who help increase sales and profit.Keys to successful partnerships include being customer centric, being aligned on shared objectives and finding a champion.You have to ask, 'what makes our relationship compelling and different?'Leading with empathy fosters trust, loyalty, increases productivity and well-being.In developing leaders, you have to lead with empathy and foster a 'high performing and inclusive environment'.How AI and technology will impact how leaders perform.Importance of mentorship and ensuring that underrepresented communities get access.Follow Purav on LinkedIn to learn more about his passion for developing and strengthening both partnerships and leaders

Why do relationships matter, and why are they essential for long-term success and growth? Trust is the foundation of healthy, thriving relationships, acting as the key currency that strengthens connections. Now may be an ideal time to conduct a "temperature check" with your current customers and strategic partners to assess and deepen these bonds.Chris Black, Chief Revenue Officer at Jolera, shares about the importance of cultivating existing relationships and leveraging strategic alliances for incredible growth and success.Highlights include:Jolera’s approach to building globally and the strength of their partnership with Lenovo; their depth of expertise and engagement.Finding talent all over the world.It’s about quality over quantity. Focusing on activity based selling and the power of understanding.Insight into his soon to be released book, which features his sales strategies and methodology for training; including MIA, which stands for Measurement, Inspection and Accountability.Are Conferences worth it? Follow Chris on LinkedIn and visit jolera.com to learn more about their MSP, their global reach and their partnership with Lenovo.