Unleashed - How to Thrive as an Independent Professional

In a captivating discussion, Bart Sayer, former senior vice president at Estee Lauder, shares his extensive experience in the beauty industry. He breaks down the structure of major cosmetics companies and differentiates between luxury and mass-market segments. Bart emphasizes the critical role of distribution channels in defining brand equity and reveals the growth potential for travel retail. He also addresses the challenges faced by indie brands in gaining consumer loyalty and the rise of clean beauty, highlighting sustainability's increasing importance.

In this discussion, Robert Garmaise, VP of AI Research at Info-tech Research Group, shares valuable insights on the implementation of AI across various industries. He explains the evolving marketplace dynamics, where a focus on functions and roles outshines vertical-specific approaches. Robert dives into the transformative impact of AI on sectors like IT, HR, sales, and marketing, highlighting innovations such as code generation tools and predictive maintenance. Additionally, he explores the challenges in retail and other industries regarding technological advancements.

Show Notes: Marilyn Lin, a customer support thought leader with over two decades of experience, discusses the importance of customer support in driving business success in the Software as a Service (SaaS) industry. She has led global Technical Support Teams that not only resolve issues but also foster customer loyalty, drive renewals, and inform product strategies. In today's competitive SaaS landscape, customer support is not just a cost center but a linchpin of retention and growth.   Customer Support in the SaaS Industry The conversation turns to the different terms for customer support, such as customer support, customer service, customer care, and customer success. Marilyn identifies the difference between terms. She equates customer success to the team focused on the health of a customer, focusing on how they are leveraging and using the product and solution, realizing value from their investments. They are more akin to the account management side of the organization, taking care to understand the customer's top priorities and helping guide them through leveraging and using the solution and products they have purchased or subscribed to. She explains that customer support and customer service are terms used interchangeably to describe the teams that help customers resolve issues with using their products or services. In B-to-B environments, customer support are more technical support teams, while customer care and customer service is more tactical and often describe teams within B-to-C environments.   Subcategories within Customer Support There are different subcategories within customer support, such as onboarding teams, which help new B2B customers onboard with a SaaS company. Major functions  tied to customer support include customer training and onboarding, customer delivery teams, and customer escalation teams. The support delivery team handles cases and interacts with end users, helping them find solutions to their issues. A customer escalation team is involved when customers escalate issues or outages, ensuring timely resolution. Marilyn explains that historically, customer support organizations have been seen as reactive and cost centers rather than a strategic arm. However, there is a treasure trove of insights from the interactions with end users, which can be used to drive improvements in the product and solution. This information can feed into the product development cycle, helping product and engineering teams prioritize their roadmaps and drive the voice of the customer. Support teams can also provide insights related to training and enablement, usability, and user experience, which can be shared with the enablement and design teams. The Importance of Customer Support in Business The importance of customer support in a business is discussed, including the need for analytics to understand the impact of the customer support team and how that ties back to customer retention rates. A high retention rate can lead to increased value and a better brand image. Marilyn talks about key metrics she pays attention to as VP of customer support, including the importance of understanding the time to resolution, common themes of issues, and the financial impact of these metrics is mentioned. In a recurring revenue environment, it is crucial to highlight top case drivers or issues tied back to the customers and provide the ARR to the executive team. The need to prioritize areas like product bug fixes or feature enhancements is stressed, and the cost to serve customers, breaking it down by segments and regions to better understand customer needs and improve efficiency. By focusing on these metrics, businesses can better serve their B2B customers and drive more value. Examples are shared.   Tracking Trends and Changes in the Support Business In a VP of Customer Support role, key metrics include time to resolve issues, first time to resolve, and the ability to address user issues with the first interaction. Additionally, the team and individual level is monitored to identify areas for improvement. Employee engagement is a key focus, with companies conducting quarterly or twice a year employee satisfaction surveys. The focus is on analyzing trends and identifying high priority areas for improvement. In a support organization, it is crucial to prioritize employee experience, provide the right tools and processes, and listen to employee feedback. Support leaders should prioritize their team's well-being, as it translates into better customer service and interaction. By taking care of their employees, support leaders can improve their overall customer experience.   Evaluating a SaaS Company’s Customer Support In evaluating a SaaS company, it is essential to consider whether the support organization has a strategic roadmap outlining their vision and quarterly milestones. This roadmap should evolve as business objectives and priorities change. A more holistic view of investments should be considered, not just focusing on key metrics. Marilyn suggests that organizations should give their team the support to take time to step back and look for ways to make things more efficient, such as creating knowledge articles based on interactions to prevent customers from having to log cases. Training and enablement should be provided for employees to continue learning and grow.   AI Customer Support Solutions AI solutions are being evaluated and implemented by support organizations to enhance customer service. Marilyn led the first support team at Salesforce  to leverage AI and machine learning within their support processes, using SupportLogic. The app helped identify potential cases that would escalate, allowing managers and teams to be aware of potential cases and provide timely resolutions to end users. The SupportLogic app has improved the way managers manage their teams and assigned cases to the right agents with the right knowledge and experience to handle unresolved cases more efficiently. This has led to improvements in the way managers manage their teams and elevating the customer experience provided by their support agents.   Timestamps: 03:40: Defining Key Customer Service Terms  07:47: Classification of Customer Service Roles  10:22: Transforming Customer Support from a Cost Center to a Revenue Driver  13:00: Metrics and KPIs for Customer Support  18:00: War Stories and Practical Examples  21:48: Daily, Weekly, and Monthly Metrics for VP of Customer Service  25:44: Evaluating Customer Service in SaaS Companies 29:07: Implementation of AI in Customer Service    Links:  Resource: https://umbrex.com/resources/how-to-analyze-a-saas-company/ Website: Golotusgroup.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marilynlin/   Unleashed is produced by Umbrex, which has a mission of connecting independent management consultants with one another, creating opportunities for members to meet, build relationships, and share lessons learned. Learn more at www.umbrex.com.

Show Notes: Scott Markman, founder of MonogramGroup, discusses his journey as an entrepreneur and the challenges he faces in the private equity sector. Scott kicks off the conversation with a quick introduction to his podcast, "Beer Stories for Private Equity," which focuses on issues related to the firms, companies they own, and consultants.  About the Agency Scott founded the agency, MonogramGroup, in 1990. The agency has evolved from a design firm to a full-fledged agency, with a focus on brand expertise and deliverables. Services include research, insights, positioning strategy, ideation around who or what is a brand today versus tomorrow, building out content, and creating a reservoir of assets. They also address the complexity of audiences, competitors, and going to market. For example, Starbucks has a single brand but must address specific needs for consumers, employees, coffee growers, Wall Street, and social media audiences. Scott talks about the agency’s work and how they serve their market.  Defining Brand Scott defines brand as two things: the DNA of an organization, which is connected to the ‘why’ of an organization, relating to Simon Sinek’s definition of a company’s mission, which should connect to all aspects of the brand. The second is that the brand is the everything and Scott explains how this ties to all aspects of the company. This approach has been successful for them serving large global brands for about 20 years, including Life Fitness, Mintel and Sensata, the world's largest maker of sensors for vehicles. A Focus on Private Equity and a New Brand The agency’s focus turned to private equity firms when Scott was introduced to the sector in 1996. They created a brand called Antares Capital, which is the largest provider of credit to PE middle market deals. The success of this brand earned recognition across the private equity sector in North America. The practice has since grown to include 90 clients, and over this period, they have interviewed investment bankers, representatives, institutional capital, pension funds, foundations, insurance companies, hired CEOs, founders, and sellers of businesses to private equity, which has given them in-depth knowledge in this field. Among agencies, there is typically a competitive conflict issue where working for two competitive companies is not allowed.  The Role of Branding in Private Equity Firms The conversation turns to the role of branding in private equity firms (PE firms) and their portfolio companies. Scott explains that the business model is to get gigs with PE firms or lenders, but now it is secondary to engagements with portfolio companies. The primary goal is to create relationships with PE firms, building trust and proving themselves. He also discusses the concept of differentiating between PE firms and portfolio companies. Private equity firms are pattern recognizers, template driven, and risk-averse, making them more likely to follow similar practices unlike venture capital. Scott talks about developing distinctive messaging and differentiation for private equity firms when there is a proliferation of thousands of firms following the same patterns in branding. Private equity firms can be categorized into three levels: top, middle, and lower middle market. Scott offers examples of each level and where his agency has served clients and why they focus on serving the lower-middle market. The Diagnostic Guide to Branding Scott talks about Umbrex's diagnostic guide to branding, which is a comprehensive document on the subject matter. He talks about categories within the framework which are a great way to rate a brand on sub-topic factors such as brand strategy, communication, marketing, and customer experience. Scott suggests that this framework could be applied to look at levels A, B, C, and D of complexity and rigor, and then compress and streamline it into a degree of detail and actionability commensurate with the company's size and future goals. For example, if a consultant or small consulting firm is asked to analyze a 30-page deck of data points, they could apply this framework to their clients and present it in a more concise and actionable manner. The major categories of brand strategy in the diagnostic guide include overall, communication, marketing, customer experience, and corporate responsibility. Each sub area has 28 slides with a maturity model to rate it from nascent to optimized. This resource is designed to allow users to draw from relevant slides for various aspects of a company's branding, such as communication function and/or brand positioning. A Discussion on Brand Architecture Scott shares information from a document developed in response to a PE firm client who wanted to build a master brand from four foundational companies, and one from a company that had a foundational brand with several add-ons and needed a unified brand. Scott’s agency developed their own four buckets: brand architecture factors, assets and sophistication of the brands, business factors, and PE firm factors. Scott states that private equity firms have a daily focus on priority and responsibility, which can make it difficult for them to prioritize the brand over other aspects. He explains that the firm's branding diagnostic involves two main processes: an in-person information gathering and whiteboarding session with all the leaders, and a detailed set of Zoom interviews. They look for interaction, behavior, responses to questions, and the physical environment of the room. This qualitative approach is important for understanding the design of a space and identifying what other people want. The firm also conducts detailed Zoom interviews with external audiences, customers, channel partners, and suppliers. In summary, MonogramGroup offers a comprehensive branding assessment process that includes in-person meetings, detailed interviews, and external research. Their approach is based on observation, creativity, and a thorough understanding of the organization's brand. Timestamps: 04:01: MonogramGroup's Services and Evolution 09:13: Clientele and Focus on Private Equity  20:30: Challenges and Opportunities in Branding Private Equity Firms  28:16: Feedback on Umbrex Diagnostic Guide to Branding 37:20: MonogramGroup's Branding Framework 44:34: Due Diligence and Research Process  Links: Brand Guide: https://umbrex.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Brand-Factors-Guide-for-Portcos_MonogramGroup.pdf MonogramGroup website:   https://www.monogramgroup.com/ The Umbrex Diagnostic Guide to Branding: https://umbrex.com/resources/branding-diagnostic/   Unleashed is produced by Umbrex, which has a mission of connecting independent management consultants with one another, creating opportunities for members to meet, build relationships, and share lessons learned. Learn more at www.umbrex.com.  

Show Notes: Matthew Hunt talks about Demandii, a firm that helps busy B2B executives create snackable content for LinkedIn from a single monthly interview. Matthew explains that most clients struggle with time, and they don't know how to create content or want to do it. Demandii offers a structured approach where they interview executives privately, turn their one-hour interview into 40 hours of content in a variety of formats. They then work on it until they are satisfied, and syndicate it across social media, focusing on LinkedIn. Demandii Customers  The types of customers for Demandii include CEOs, founders, SAS owners, consultants, and small businesses selling high-ticket items. They help them create various formats of content, such as videos, audio grams, text pieces, and graphic or image pieces. The most impactful content for clients is usually video-based, as people can consume the whole view, see, hear, and feel the content, attracting their tribe. Demandii's primary channel is LinkedIn, as most B2B executives want to be known and seen. The ACES Method for Content Creation Matthew discusses the ACES method for creating content for an audience. The ACES method consists of three core pillars: Authority, Content, Connect, and Engagement. Authority refers to the knowledge and expertise of an expert in a specific field, such as marketing, SEO, or digital PR. Content should be engaging, heartfelt, and relatable to the audience. Engagement is achieved through asking probing questions or starting conversations on social media. S stands for Show and covers showing content, which includes behind-the-scenes stories and achievements, is also important.  The 100-foot View Explained The 100-foot view involves creating content that is interesting, compelling, helpful, and that the author will be proud of. The best content creators are good coaches and teachers, and to engage your audience, Matt suggests thinking about a problem the audience has and leading with that. He then states that the content should also agitate the customer by discussing the negative consequences of not solving the problem. This helps the audience recognize that the problem is not their fault and encourages them to resolve it. Matt shares the formula for the above content tactic. The formula for creating content is P, A, S. The formula stands for people plus problem, A is agitate plus absolve, and S is sell with a story or show how you solve the problem. This approach will create content that is helpful and that the author is proud of. The B2B LinkedIn Demand Generation Course In this discussion, Matthew Hunt discusses his B2B LinkedIn course and offers three options for clients: do-it-yourself, done-with-you, and done-for-you. The do-it-yourself course is free and can be completed by busy individuals or those with a team. Done-for-you involves marketing, creating lead magnets, and conducting LinkedIn events to generate inbound interest. The cost of these programs varies depending on the budget. Additional services and content in courses offered by Matthew include creating lead magnets and creating LinkedIn ads. He also offers marketing collateral that makes ideal customers instantly better or more awesome in 10 minutes or less. He talks about targeting large B2B businesses, such as CMOs at manufacturing companies with revenues of 10 million to 100 million, through LinkedIn. The goal is not to sell them, but to push them to long-form content, where they build demand and trust with people. He can create LinkedIn events that resemble interviews or webinars, aiming to position the host as a strategic advisor. The Importance of LinkedIn Events Matthew discusses the importance of LinkedIn events and their effectiveness. He recommends running at least one event every two months, with a minimum of four weeks for promotion. The length of an event depends on who you're selling to, with C suite individuals typically having a 15-minute event. For lower-level executives, events should be 30-to-an hour long. To ensure success, it's important to follow up with attendees via the LinkedIn DMS, as decision makers often watch replays. The best time for events is Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday, with Tuesday being the preferred day. When people are winning the week, they are more likely to attend the event, while when they're not, they may choose something else. Team Building Events Matthew also recommends using events for team-building, such as panel discussions or interviews with team members. Panels can be structured and can be used to create short content for company pages and showcase long-form content. If you sell a tool, it's essential to show your tool. If you don't have a team, it's best to focus on yourself. For customer interviews, you can use eco-bake works. The order of doing events depends on the complexity and difficulty of the process. You can control your time and message more easily, but it's difficult to control your team's and clients' time. Matt explains that LinkedIn events are a valuable tool for businesses to engage with their audience and drive business growth. It's essential to promote events effectively, maintain a consistent schedule, and focus on personal growth to maximize the impact of these events. Updating LinkedIn Profiles Matthew discusses the importance of updating LinkedIn profiles for clients. He explains that less than two or 3% of people who view content will return to the profile page, but it's crucial to have an optimized page. To optimize the profile, Hunt suggests having a great profile photo, a headline that accurately represents your brand and how you help, and a header image that quickly articulates your help and brand feeling. The bio should be written in first person, as it allows you to sell results you've driven for others. The featured section should be used with intention to get more clicks back to your work. The career section should include case studies and testimonials, and recommendations should be given from the current year. Regular practice is recommended to get regular recommendations, as it's social proof when other people can see that you have helped people like them. Matthew also emphasizes the importance of having a strong LinkedIn presence, as less than two or 3% of people will return to the profile page once they're considering doing business with you. He mentions tools that can be used to test the impact of your profile photograph. The Impact of Recommendations Matthew discusses the impact of recommendations on the buying cycle and their impact on job opportunities. He suggests that recommendations can make it easier for people to confirm their skills and qualifications. He encourages everyone to do this, even employees, as it makes it easier to get hired. He believes that coaching and teaching can lead to more interesting and compelling work, rather than just selling or showing off. He also mentions that anyone can sign up for his do-it-yourself course or explore his services on DemandingDotcom, which offers a variety of resources and resources. The focus is on providing value and making the hiring process more enjoyable. Timestamps: 00:02: Introduction to Demandii and Its Services 03:32: Types of Content Created and Their Impact  10:13: Course Offerings and Pricing  11:34: Lead Magnets and LinkedIn Events  18:38: Optimizing LinkedIn Profiles  24:08: Final Thoughts and Contact Information  Links: Website: https://img.newoldstamp.com/r/607910/w Unleashed is produced by Umbrex, which has a mission of connecting independent management consultants with one another, creating opportunities for members to meet, build relationships, and share lessons learned. Learn more at www.umbrex.com.  

Show Notes: River Tompkins, a 17-year-old high school senior, started his own consulting practice in Austin, Texas, with five different clients. He provides services in the experimental education space, helping school owners implement systems and train teachers. His first clients were a group of schools in Florida, where he worked on implementing student government and learner-driven accountability. He has been at Ackman Academy for 10 years, a learner-driven off-the-beaten-path education, and now he is going to other younger schools to share his experience. Finding Clients as a New Consultant To find clients, River emailed schools in Florida to see what they were doing and potentially get a teaching job. They eventually invited him to visit for a couple of days to consult. He now seeks out clients with the primary goal of consulting. He targets schools in the Acton Academy domain, as his experience at Acton Academy is not applicable to the general masses. River discusses the unique approach to education that he has developed. He explains that the Acton Academy is a learner-driven model where teachers guide students through their learning process, allowing them to see progress and make decisions. River shares more about the Acton Academy approach and how he sets pricing and payment for his consulting services. Educational Consulting Services Explained River discusses more about the Acton Academy approach and his plans for expanding his practice and mentions giving a guaranteed parent speech to every school he visits, which is his journey, how the Acton approach works and why, followed by a Q&A session. River mentions that the Acton Academy is open to different school types, age groups, and staff levels. The Acton Academy Education in Action The conversation turns to potential education and structure models that work in the Acton Academy by breaking it down into a range of dimensions. River explains that Acton Academy has small class sizes, with elementary students ranging from 20 to 40 kids, middle school students from sixth to eighth grade, and sixth to eighth graders in the same classroom. Acton Academy runs in person classes with online courses through programs like Khan Academy Newsela, allowing students to work on core curriculars like math and reading in the same space while working at their own pace with their own computer. The first half of the day focuses on individual studies, such as math and reading, while the second half is more project-based electives, such as science engineering or real-world skills. Teachers are known as guides while students take a proactive approach to learning. The older kids are encouraged to tutor and mentor the younger ones, focusing on leadership skills. Extracurricular activities are often outside of the school, as they are often independent of the school.  Developing a Diagnostic Guide Will Bachman talks about mentoring in education, which can be divided into four dimensions: student-to-student mentoring, academic progression, and open-ended research programs. He suggests that these dimensions should be mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive, covering all aspects of the educational process. He also mentions the importance of parent involvement and homework and suggests that schools should be assessed based on their maturity model, which includes the maturity of the program, the novice stage, and the developing stage. He mentions that a diagnostic guide could be developed to help identify problems or opportunities. He suggests offering productized offerings, such as a student government module, which can be tailored to the specific needs of the school. Timestamps: 01:07: Consulting Services and Client Engagement  02:54: Finding Clients and Initial Projects  05:07: Contract Negotiation and Pricing  06:03: Future Plans and Service Offerings  08:35: Developing Productized Services  10:24: Acton Academy School Structure and Operations  16:20: Potential for Productized Services and Diagnostics  18:43: Conclusion and Contact Information  Links: Email: rivertompkinsone@gmail.com.    Unleashed is produced by Umbrex, which has a mission of connecting independent management consultants with one another, creating opportunities for members to meet, build relationships, and share lessons learned. Learn more at www.umbrex.com.

Jenelle Sheridan, a retail expert with 15 years of experience and founder of Far View Partners, shares insights on analyzing retail companies. She emphasizes the importance of growth metrics like brand awareness and customer acquisition over immediate profitability. Jenelle reveals the big three investor metrics: same-store sales growth, sales costs, and sales comps. She discusses the balance between strategic pricing and maintaining customer loyalty, and how effective inventory management is crucial for aligning with consumer demand.

Show Notes: Gerd Schenkel discusses his experience in creating new telco businesses and how to analyze a telecommunications company. Gerd has spent over 10 years as a consultant and 15 years as an executive in banking and telco. He aims to make a differentiation in consulting work by bringing together both worlds. Developing a Telco Company Gerd spent six years at Telstra, Australia's incumbent telco, and three years as the CEO. He talks about his experience there and moves on to his first experience at creating a business which was for National Australia Bank, where he launched a digital bank called EuBank. He later worked as the CEO of a digital team and was tasked with building a telco division. Gerd discusses the creation, development and success of a telco project. He talks about launching a project, what it requires, and what he learned through the process, including accepting and meeting a 10-week launch deadline. He talks about key learnings from his time there, managing the team, product pricing,  and making the process of developing and delivering a product simple and effective. A Telstra Broadband Brand Success Telstra's internet broadband product was competing with its parent company's product, but the difference was not in speed or quality. The brand and marketing strategy was more about the connection to the local exchange, where the availability of ports was crucial for competitive dynamics. A former Telstra employee and artist was hired to help develop the brand. The team knew they would need to market locally, and in some areas, they would spend more money. However, they turned this limitation into a positive, creating a brand story called "Belong." The name "Belong" was about belonging to the local neighborhood, and the advertising would be with local shops. The brand was launched with white lists, indicating that the product was only available in certain areas. The name "Belong" was part of the "local connection" concept, and the bank "Eubank" was launched to create a national brand story. Challenges Faced by Telco Startup Gerd discusses the challenges faced by a startup telco, Telstra, in complying with specialist regulations. The telco license had provisions for  executing government and police directions, which were not widely known and not widely discussed. Our team was unaware of these requirements until a dedicated Telstra person contacted us about it. The team found a solution by flying a UK-based technician to install the necessary technology in exchanges. Gerd explains that, in terms of regulation, startups can do all their work upfront, but there are always unknowns and unexpected issues that need to be addressed. Flexibility and agility are essential in finding creative solutions, as demonstrated by Telstra's experience. Customer Service, Operations, and Billing Gerd shares an example of changes made to billing, and communication at Telstra. He explains that pro rata was a major cause for complaints due to the high cost of first bills. He talks about costs involved in rolling out a new billing system and how they chose a low-cost platform and how this solution cost them nothing and was immediate, meaning no complaints or phone calls. Gerd emphasizes that the mindset should be on the customer side, focusing on providing the best possible service and experience for customers. Gerd also mentions that Telstra had to configure routers with customers' accounts, which was impossible. They found a solution that was cheaper and more efficient, saving them $3 each. This resulted in no phone calls or track roles, and customers were happy. On the Moving Home Process The conversation turns to the redesign of the moving home process for Telstra, which had a negative NPS of perhaps minus 50 and a churn rate of 85%. The process was outsourced for decades and was a nightmare for customers with multiple products and separate tech stacks. Gerd suggested that they started with a small percentage and then rolled it out to everyone. They used their control of channels to impose a better process, routing website orders wherever they wanted. They then convinced call centers to enter orders on the website instead of the internal system, resulting in a reversal where the website became the internal interface for employees. This principle was also applied to mobile phone ordering, resulting in faster and easier ordering for all employees. Gerd explains that importing these mindsets into Telstra was harder due to the bigger scale, complexity, and politics involved. However, the benefits were 100 times bigger in terms of cost, with savings of 40 minutes per mobile order. He now works for a telco in North America, applying similar mindsets to their operations. The Business Model of Telecommunications Companies Gerd discusses the business model of telecommunications companies, particularly telcos. Telcos spend billions of dollars on infrastructure and technology, which is then used to make monthly subscriber payments. This complex system results in an average return on capital of 8% over the long term. However, telcos are less customer-centric than banks due to their network businesses where customers are not even a customer, but rather a subscriber. Gerd offers how telcos could reduce churn and increase revenue by being more customer centric. He suggests offering free basic services, such as data and advertising and shares a few working examples=. Analyzing a Telco’s Monetization Base Gerd suggests analyzing a telco's monetization base by separating out non-network access revenue per customer. He suggests that if network access is the only revenue source, it will go towards a marginal return on capital (ROC). Telcos have unique access to populations and good brands, which can lead to increased revenue. Gerd also discusses the concept of local office apps, where users can opt in to receive local offers based on their location. This approach has been successful, but it has faced political debates over ownership of the PLC. He states that telcos can potentially generate 1,000,002 million in a country with 20 million people if done properly. Secondarily, telcos typically report the split between network access revenue and non-network revenue. However, Gerd suggests measuring this separately. To evaluate the non-network revenue, he suggests using incentives, reporting, and management tools. A consulting firm can help with this process, although it may require hiring a consultant. By valuing the non-network revenue dollar, telcos can better manage their costs and maximize their revenue. Timestamps: 02:42: Creating a New Telco Business at Telstra  05:08: Implementing the New Telco 15:25: Branding and Market Strategy 20:21: Regulatory Challenges and Solutions 24:08: Customer Service and Operations Improvements 29:10: Impact on the Parent Company 32:51: Analyzing a Telecommunications Company 40:23: Monetizing the Customer Base  47:45: Final Thoughts and Contact Information  Links: Website:https://www.gerdschenkel.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gerdschenkel/ Resource: https://umbrex.com/resources/how-to-analyze-a-telecommunications-company/   Unleashed is produced by Umbrex, which has a mission of connecting independent management consultants with one another, creating opportunities for members to meet, build relationships, and share lessons learned. Learn more at www.umbrex.com.  

Show Notes: Dan Bauer, a Harvard Business School graduate and independent consultant, talks about the  NSLC “Business & Entrepreneurship” program , sponsored by Inc Magazine. The program offers a nine-day immersion in entrepreneurship for high school students aged 14 to 18 from around the world. The students are vetted on their GPAs, and the program takes place on six prestigious college campuses, including Yale, Columbia, Duke, Michigan, Cal-Berkeley, and UCLA. The NSLC Origins Story The origin story for the program began with Dan’s business, the MBA Exchange, which focused on career and education consulting. After selling the business in 2016, he decided to find another outlet for teen entrepreneurship education and found that there was room for a better resource with the pedigree of top colleges and a platform for engagement with real-world entrepreneurs from various industries. Dan chose to aggregate best-in-class offerings, such as curriculum, camp teachers, and sponsors, and worked with them to create a successful partnership. Unpacking the NSLC “Business & Entrepreneurship” Program The National Student Leadership Conference (NSLC) provides campus housing, administration, supervision, academic adjacent components, social aspects, leadership training, field trips, and dorm life for high school students. It also offers a business simulation where students make real-time decisions that impact the share price of a fictitious public company. The competition is augmented by a pitch competition where students form small teams and work together to formulate a business idea using lessons learned about business and entrepreneurship. There are four sets of partners: individual colleges providing dorm space and classroom space, the National Student Leadership Conference providing administration, adult supervision, and teachers from the National Federation of Teaching Entrepreneurship. Inc. Magazine promotes the program and participates in the curriculum and structure. Teachers also participate in the judging panel and presentations for the group going to Columbia. Dan explains what his experience brings to the table and experiences gained through recruitment and outreach to CEOs who want to pay it forward and share their experience and knowledge.  The NSLC Model Dan explains the structure of the business, which is a joint venture between a group of partners, with the NSLC being the core strength. They have a solid foundation in hands-on interaction with students and parents, with full-time staff. Dan handles interaction with entrepreneurs, speakers, and judges, while NFTE handles teacher selection training and placement. Inc. provides promotional support and weighs in on content topics and speaker selection. The conversation turns to building long-term, intensive relationships with schools, which involve multiple administrators on both ends.  Dan explains that the typical profile of students attending is diverse, from introverts to Alpha students who demonstrate leadership and charisma. The teams are built accordingly, balancing EQ and IQ strengths. The diversity of the group, geographically, racial, racially, gender, and interest wise, is a plus for the experience.  The Curriculum and Learning Outcomes The curriculum for the program is designed to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of marketing, operations, finance, and leadership. It is an interactive program that includes topics like break even ratios, valuations, partnerships, and strategic alliances. One of the highlights was the introduction of AI in business models, which inspired students to explore new ideas and Dan shares the range of impressive innovative ideas the students developed.  The program fits well with traditional business education programs like Junior Achievement, which has an academic bias and advisors. The program mixes students from various backgrounds into the same classroom, allowing them to learn from each other, teachers, mentors, and pitch judges. This exposes students to meaningful, actionable concepts and practices every day.   The Experience that Led to the Program Dan talks about how his experience led to establishing the program and making it work. From a Bootstrap startup to his business growth and sale journey, he believes that having a Inc. 5000 badge gave him credibility and familiarity with the pool of entrepreneurs he would tap as speakers. He believes that trust, openness, willingness to take risks, and willingness to help before asking for help are the core of the language he speaks. Dan explains how his background integrated with the program and opened doors to partners and contributors.  Volunteering at NSLC To become involved with the program, Dan suggests starting at NSLC leaders.org. The speakers and mentors and pitch judges include Inc. 5000, EO Entrepreneurs Organization; Shark Tank CEOs, and Harvard alumni. The entrepreneurial community is a caring, open, and Pay It Forward group, and Dan encourages connecting with others and helping in return. Timestamps: 02:11: Components and Structure of the NSLC Program  04:21: Origin and Evolution of the NSLC Program  08:00: Partnerships and Coordination  18:03: Student Profiles and Curriculum  23:06: Examples of Student Pitches and Program Impact  25:46: Comparison with Other Business Education Programs  29:03: Dan Bauer's Background and Credibility  33:14: Connecting with the NSLC Program  Links: Dan’s website: Bauer-inc.com. NSLC website: NSLCleaders.org Unleashed is produced by Umbrex, which has a mission of connecting independent management consultants with one another, creating opportunities for members to meet, build relationships, and share lessons learned. Learn more at www.umbrex.com.

Jonathan Schwartz discusses how to analyze a manufacturing company. Jonathan's background includes working in operations improvement, starting with manufacturing and then transitioning to banking and non-manufacturing roles. He has worked with private equity firms and has been a lean champion at a private equity firm. Sales and Operations Planning Process One of the first types of analysis Jonathan talks about is the sales and operations planning process (SOP), which involves integrating what is being told to the sales team with what is being produced. This alignment and match is based on the equipment and production capabilities of the company. The main idea is to align what is going to make the plant the most money with how it is incentivizing the sales team.The main idea is to align what is being sold with what is being produced, and to charge more based on the value added services provided by the company. This aligns with the company's goals and equipment to make the most money. Production Scheduling Process Jonathan explains that the production scheduling process in a company can be complex, with different tools used for larger plants and more complex situations. For example, a simple company might schedule production in batches, depending on the flexibility of their equipment and the economic batch size. This helps avoid having a large amount of inventory sitting in inventory when orders are placed for other parts. In some cases, private label products may not be suitable for production, while others may require make to stock or make to order processes. Delays in customization can affect the capacity to build up inventory. To assess the quality of a factory's production scheduling, it is important to consider the number of changes in the schedule over time and overall on-time delivery. An assessment of inventory levels can help identify bottlenecks, quality problems, equipment downtime, or matching schedules from pre-production steps to middle production steps. Visualizing the inventory levels and identifying visible metrics or schedules can help identify areas for improvement. Jonathan shares a couple of war stories as examples. New Process Implementation and Change Management The conversation turns to implementing a new process. In manufacturing, while some change management communications can be done ahead of time, training should be done right before the team starts using the new process, rather than a week or two weeks ahead of time. As soon as you implement something that makes their jobs easier, employees become a fountain of ideas and improvements, which can lead to quick changes in morale and overall productivity. Jonathan states that a clear production schedule is crucial for ensuring everyone knows what's up next for their line and is prepared for any changes. By implementing a two-bin system and addressing stockouts, organizations can improve on-time delivery numbers and predictability. He suggests that steady usage can help determine the appropriate amount of inventory to hold, while unpredictable demand can lead to overstocking. He explains how to avoid stock outs and also emphasizes the importance of supplier quality evaluation, which involves ensuring parts are qualified for new products before they are released to production.  Jonathan shares an example from a Motorola plant in Atlanta. Supplier Quality Management Jonathan discusses the importance of supplier quality management in a manufacturing plant. He emphasizes the need for a sophisticated system to identify and address problems in parts and suppliers. This system involves intake department workers, who need to know whether a part goes into income inspection or goes straight to stock. Inspectors need to be trained to identify and address issues,  as it is costly to inspect parts and impossible to inspect 100% of everything. When assessing a manufacturing plant's supplier quality management program, Jonathan talks about the metrics in place and how they are used. These metrics include the percentage of bad parts and good parts when present. He stresses that the system should be communication-intensive, with production line personnel communicating with materials managers when a part is bad or a whole set of parts is bad. Incoming receiving clerks should know which parts from which suppliers are  flagged for inspection. Inspectors should track the issues and communicate them back to the supplier. Efficiency in Manufacturing ERP Systems Jonathan explains that this involves implementing Kanban and minimizing touches on work-in-process inventory. The conversation turns to the plant layout, including the dock, incoming warehouse, and presentation of parts to the line. Jonathan explains that traditional cost accounting practices can lead to mismeasurements. He provides an example where a plant manager was measured on absorption, which is the amount of overhead he could absorb based on the accounting cost per unit; this led to a lack of inventory quality and poor on-time delivery and productivity. He mentions that traditional measures may not be relevant to workers on the factory floor. Lean Improvements in a Production Line Jonathan shares an example of implementing lean improvements in a production line with 180 employees. He emphasizes the importance of minimizing the WIP (work-in-process inventory), ensuring that people only work as much as needed, not as much as possible, thus minimizing inventory levels and the amount of rework when a problem arises. This approach improved quality and throughput, as it reduced the number of reworked items and improved throughput. He also highlights the importance of using fixtures that ensured that tasks were done correctly, even if it took more time. This approach also improved visibility and communication throughout the line. By minimizing the WIP, rebalancing the line, and ensuring that tasks were done correctly, the company achieved significant improvements in quality and output metrics. Timestamps: 02:23: Overview of Production Scheduling and Sales and Operations Planning  04:47: Complexities of Production Scheduling  07:32: Assessing Production Scheduling Effectiveness  12:44: Implementing Lean Improvements and Supplier Quality Management  12:59: Evaluating Supplier Quality Management Programs  27:05: Material Handling and Internal Logistics Efficiency  33:27: Celebrating Victories and Improving Morale  Links: Resource: https://umbrex.com/resources/how-to-analyze-a-manufacturing-company/ LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/jonathandschwartz Email: jonathanschwartz13@gmail.com   Unleashed is produced by Umbrex, which has a mission of connecting independent management consultants with one another, creating opportunities for members to meet, build relationships, and share lessons learned. Learn more at www.umbrex.com.