Twins Talk Tech Leadership

AI is revolutionizing how businesses reach their target audience. Additionally, new opportunities are unlocked to better understand and expand engagement with your consumers. Being able to connect at this level could mean an increase in referrals as well as customer retention.Jessica Koehn, Social Media Manager at ConnectWiseshares how AI can be used to optimize content and brand messaging, while improving employee involvement. This is a special episode as we enter IT Nation Connect 24; a premier MSP event in Orlando, Florida. Highlights include:You build your brand when you "share something memorable."Can use AI as a brainstorming partner, to reproduce and repurpose content.IT Nation Connect Conference will feature incredible speakers and events, including a keynote by Tony Hawk & an appearance by Stone Temple Pilots. Employee Advocacy Program; need to make it easy to share content.Design of marketing campaigns to reflect the different generations; how to best connect with the attendees.How Jessica stays grounded, including the importance of time management.Follow Jessica on LinkedIn and visit connectwise.com/theitnation to learn more about the community. If you are in Orlando, Florida for IT Nation Connect, stop by Podcast Alley aka Media Row to see your favorite twins. Social Media Strategy for MSPs: https://tinyurl.com/yhbmds2wPrompt Engineering Guide: https://tinyurl.com/3t8n537j

It costs much less to keep an existing client than to pursue a new one. This is why the personal touch has become increasingly vital to the overall success of any organization. A personal touch helps your customers feel valued and can be foundational for creating both loyalty and advocates.Dan Gilligan, President of IntegraMSP provides insight into why personal consideration is vital in an ever increasing impersonal world. This conversation is so refreshing, authentic and layered with tips on how to cultivate success with a personal touch.  Highlights include:What led to the formation of IntegraMSP.Understanding your ICP.How Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) can become a game changer.Building a depth of trust that listens and welcomes solutions.Benefits of joining a peer group.Significance of "Walking your own dog."Personal touch with your clients with no hidden agendaFollow Dan on LinkedIn and visit integramsp.com/ to schedule a free consultation.

How strong is your organization’s security? The thinking should not be ‘if’ your organization will be targeted, compromised or breached. The focus should be on doing everything within your power to prevent the dreadful reality for so many of the ‘when.’ Lack of awareness, training and compromised passwords are often the culprits, causing as much as 80% of all data breaches. This highlights the benefits of authentication for business security, employee security, and consumer security.Cristina Carretero, Director of Global Partner Marketing at LastPass addresses the importance of conveying the right message and solutions about protection. Trusted by millions, LastPass is a leader in password and identity management.Features include:Cristina’s leadership journey into her role.LastPass designed an MSP solution ‘with the MSP in mind.'Why MSPs should leverage a password management partner and a credential management strategy as part of their security stack.The complexities of integrating GTM strategies globally.Focusing on improving their partner portal to enhance the partner experienceThe LastPass T.I.M.E. Team - Threat Intelligence Mitigation Escalation Team.Hobbies of traveling, cooking and the benefits of journaling.The value of networking and curiosity. Follow Cristina on Linkedin and visit lastpass.com to learn more about how you can better protect your organization.

When you consider the success of your organization, don’t fall into the trap of focusing on the Return of Investment without considering the impact of the Return on Experience. How have your investments into product development, sales, training and marketing impacted customer success? Customer satisfaction and their experience with you, your product and or service is what drives true success. This is the new success metric.  Ed SooHoo, Lenovo’s Worldwide Chief Technology Officer (CTO) - Global Accounts shares how we can leverage communication skills and not just technology to drive experiences as well as growth. Highlights include:Ed’s leadership journey including his time as a competitive 3 Cushings Billiards professional.Acronym after Acronym to reflect important concepts and messages.Connecting through the art of storytelling and learning to ask the right questions; questions that are relevant, contextual and provoking. Earn the right for engagement.His passion for continual learning.Leaders help others become BOLD; in other words, Believe, Own, Live and Drive it.Follow Ed on LinkedIn, check out his creative content on YouTube and visit lenovo.com for insight into upcoming events and announcements. Ed is truly one that helps Lenovo clients rethink their Now, New and their Next.

What differentiates successful channel partner programs from less successful ones? The entire fabric of the Vendor-Partner relationship hinges on agility, alignment of goals and to ensure the best possible partner experience. This is at the heart and foundation of the Lenovo 360 Global Channel Partner Framework.  Pascal Bourguet, the Global Channel Chief & VP International Markets COO at Lenovo shares his vision and expectation for growing and supporting their partner community through their ambitious 360 Global Channel Framework. Highlights include:His approach to building global teams with the very best talent.Being recognized in 2023 as one of the top 50 most influential channel chiefs by CRN.Planning with the mindset of ‘don't break, but build.’Building with a view of simplicity, agility and predictability.4 elements of the value proposition: channel centricity, cloud portfolio, outcome based solution selling, flexibility of service offerings.Not being satisfied as we 'can further accelerate the program.'How he is able to perform at his peak performance.Experiencing the Summer Olympic Games.Follow Pascal on inkedIn and visit lenovo.com/ to stay informed about product releases, the channel partner program and to learn about the upcoming Lenovo Tech World 24’ Conference.  

Do you ever feel like you’re going in circles? It can feel as if little to nothing in your business is changing? You look up and wonder if you’ve even moved any closer to achieving your goals. If you’ve ever felt like you were in this place, know that you are not alone.Shawn Walsh, Partner and the Director of Educational Services with Encore Strategic joins us to speak about the value of peer groups and how through focus, “your business could be a tool, not just for profit, but to also have an impact in your community and with your family.” Encore Strategic empowers MSP leaders with personality profiling, peer groups, coaching, and strategic staffing services. Shawn is also the co-author of The Pumpkin Plan for Managed Service Providers. Highlights include:Background goes beyond technology. Dynamics of the partnership with Dave Cava.Incorporating Aruba into their business strategy.Benefits of peer groups.What he learned from writing the book. Inspirational example of giving.Speaking events and workshops surrounding the bookFollow Shawn on LinkedIn to see where he will be speaking, visit encorestrategic.io/ to learn more about their peer groups and don’t forget to check out his book, The Pumpkin Plan for Managed Service Providers. 

You’ve crushed the interviews and are now being presented with a compensation and benefits package. Should you accept the offer? Have you considered other forms of compensation, such as equity or stock options; or, additional benefits including severance, travel packages and milestone bonuses? Joining us is Devon Hennig, who shares how he helps leaders take the stress out of negotiating for the best possible deal. He believes that you should never leave ‘money’ on the table and that you should earn what you are worth. Is it time that you got paid and not played? Devon is the Founder of Boardroom Confidential, A private community for senior executives and the Author of 8 books, including, "The Sr. Compensation Bible" and "How to Be VP."Highlights include:Mistakes are often made around how leaders negotiate equity and severance packages.Understanding more creative forms of bonuses.Employers are expecting you to negotiate.The effectiveness of positioning statements.His book, 'The Senior Compensation Bible' as a resource and guide for defining the ‘what and the how’ in positioning yourself for the most out of your next negotiation.Producing content on social media platforms.Soon to uncover his new private community.Follow Devon on LinkedIn and learn more about Devon’s community by visiting boardroomconfidential.comUse the Code 'Twins' for your 20% discount when you order your one copy of, ‘The Compensation Bible’.

Having a plan for how technology will evolve and being able to address the demands of a growing consumer base is essential if you want to remain a global leader. Success at this level means having a strategic planning process that factors not only trends, but also potential scenarios. This is looking 2, 3 or even 5 years ahead.Tom Butler, Executive Director of Worldwide Commercial Portfolio and Product Management at Lenovo shares insight into how he leads with the future in mind. This includes factoring the impact of their global commercial Notebook business; their ThinkPad and ThinkBook. Highlights include:Bringing AI capabilities to local devices.Future forward discussions.GPU, CPU and the NPU (Neural Processing Unit).Value of time.‘Tomisms’ including The 3 P's of Personal, Protected and Productive as well as his STT Culture to empower Speed, Trust and Transparency.Incorporating activities to stay at his very best.Connect with Tom on inkedIn and visit lenovo.com/ to stay informed about product releases and learn about the upcoming Lenovo Tech World 24’ Conference.

A recipe for any successful organization includes having a great product or service and an effective sales methodology with a forward thinking marketing approach. Core to sustainability and continued growth involves being able to maximize the lifetime value of your customers.  Vic Kasoff, a VP of Partner Success for a national behavioral health company, speaks to the benefit of integrating a well-defined customer success strategy. Customer Success involves understanding and meeting the needs and expectations of your customers. By prioritizing customer success, organizations can increase retention, create loyalty and increase revenue growth.Highlights include:Vic’s leadership journey.Analyzing and understanding the customer journey.  Improve opportunities for new customers by creating advocates who provide referrals, create strong case studies, and finding potential upsells and cross sales.Be proactive as churn typically happens when there is a disconnect.The role of storytelling and the essential need for transparent communication, both internally and externally.Work-life balance involves boundaries and learning to be present.  To learn more about Vic's approach to managing customer success journeys and leadership teams, connect with him on LinkedIn.  

Silence can at times seem uncomfortable and invite uncertainty. Does the speaker know what they are talking about; can they navigate and respond to challenging questions; why do they appear so nervous?   How can silence be used strategically to your advantage? How can pausing for a brief moment, grant permission to 'soak' in what has been shared, set the stage for transitioning to the next point or even be used to reset or reframe your thoughts?  We discuss the power of silence and how this can be effective for overcoming those dreaded 'filler words', control the rhythm and set the stage for you to shine as the subject matter expert - SME. A well-timed pause can also present an opportunity to emphasize key points and evoke emotion. Don't forget the impact of silence through your body language. To learn more about our soft skills training and public speaking coaching, visit appmeetup.comAlso look for our books and journals on Amazon, including our Public Speaking Book, Talk it Up: A Guide to Successful Public Speaking.