Unleashed - How to Thrive as an Independent Professional

Show Notes: John Driscoll is the President of Walgreens Boots Alliance and the co-host of the second largest healthcare podcast on YouTube, CareTalk. In this episode, host Will Bachman welcomed John to the show. John has extensive experience in the healthcare industry, having played a leading role in creating successful companies like MedCo, Surescripts, Oxford Health Plans, and Care Centrix. John discusses topics such as monkeypox, mask mandates, baby formula shortages, Silicon Valley Bank's failure, and healthcare related topics. He also shares his  opinions on a variety of healthcare issues.  The Future of Pharmacies  John started his career in health care after being influenced by his mother, a nurse. After college, he developed housing programs for homeless and mentally ill people. He then became a management consultant, before moving to Asheville Health Plan. He has worked in multiple parts of the health industry spectrum, gaining experience in Medicare and Medicaid.  He has found his career to be full of big and challenging problems, but is motivated to improve the world and create successful businesses. His main initiatives involve investing in Village MD, Summit, and Espadin Shield Specialty Pharmacy to show how an integrated pharmacy and clinical model can improve outcomes at lower cost. Walgreens is also working with health plans and has 9000 stores and 90,000 clinicians to provide access and convenience, trust, and traffic. Their goal is to become essential in healthcare by leveraging their expertise in retail and pharmacy services. He discusses how pharmacies can become better partners to health plans by taking advantage of their advantages in brand marketing, trust, convenience, and patient specificity. He shares  a specific example of how a large regional health plan achieved a return rate of three times greater on colorectal screenings than before they partnered with the pharmacy. The pharmacy was also able to increase the rate of colorectal screenings up to 51% in underserved areas due to the support of non-clinical personnel in their stores. Additionally, the pharmacy is partnering with health plans to reduce admissions to nursing homes by 20% through nurse visits, follow-ups, and care navigation. The system leads to better patient and contact information.  Overall, the pharmacy is providing an invaluable service in helping health plans lower costs while improving outcomes. He explains how his company invests in bespoke automation machines to allow pharmacists to spend more face-to-face time with patients, and how pharmacists could be more involved and take on more responsibility in the treatment of patients and how this would expand access to more care in an overburdened health system. Pharmaceutical Healthcare,  the Pandemic, and Value-based Care John reflects on  health regulations and restrictions and also the risk taking and flexibility that came into place under the COVID pandemic. He confirms how important it is to prepare for pandemics in terms of vaccine supplies, communication, and pre-deploying and integrating national and state employees in operations. He also notes the critical role of pharmacies in crisis situations. He tackles the issue of employee burnout and the current pharmacist shortage and the steps Walgreens is taking to solve the problem across states. On value-based care, he explains how it is the future, especially in the U.S. where healthcare is more expensive than any country in the world, how this is unacceptable, and how this should be approached to address health issues earlier to avoid hospitalization.  The CareTalk Podcast  John talks about the inspiration and intention of his podcast, what the content is and what has surprised him throughout the conversations. Guests that have been on his podcast include Andy Slavitt, Zeke Emanuel, Tony Cosgrove, and Amy Abernathy. When asked what he learned from his guests,  John shares that he was surprised to find out that even though healthcare is very complicated and people are in silos, there is still room for novel and provocative opinions that can be explained. He also found out that everybody knows that drug costs are too high, but there are practical ways to bring them down without destroying the biotechnology industry that is creating new drugs to cure aging and extend lifespans.  The podcast explores various issues surrounding health care and how to best address them. Toby Cosgrove from the Cleveland Clinic brought up the importance of creating heart-centered care in a large inner city hospital. It was noted that there are a lot of people working on solutions to healthcare problems, such as telehealth and AI to solve labor shortages. He also touches on the potential for AI and Chat GPT to be used in health care. While it is still early days, he mentions that there have been some companies experimenting with using these tools. Health Care and AI John talks about the impact of artificial intelligence on healthcare. He believes that AI has the potential to reduce administrative costs and waste in healthcare by simplifying billing and reconciliation processes. He also believes that AI can help in drug discovery, clinical pathways, and personalized care.  He is looking forward to having guests on CareTalk with whom he can discuss the economy, healthcare costs, and the pandemic's effect on inflation. He wants to discuss  the current chaotic economic landscape that is impacting healthcare, and the labor industry in particular. He mentions the growth of traveling nurses who are paid by private equity firms and how hospitals have had the worst six months financially in US history. He sources his information from HealthTech Nerds,  the Washington Post, New York Times, LA Times, Wall Street Journal, Health Affairs, and Jim and Science,  the MIT Tech Review, Science and Cell, all as good sources of information. He suggests Kaiser Family Foundation and Kaiser Health News as exceptional sources, as well as government sources such as CMS for basic data. Timestamps 03:20 Walgreens Boots Alliance's Healthcare Initiatives 06:35 Partnering with Health Plans to Improve Outcomes and Lower Costs 09:52 Improving Patient Care Through Pharmacist Interaction 10:48 Automated Fulfillment Centers and Patient Care at Walgreens 28:45 Healthcare Innovations  31:54 Exploring Solutions to Healthcare Challenges 32:15 The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Healthcare  36:49 Exploring the Impact of the Changing Labor Industry on Healthcare  Links: https://www.caretalkpodcast.com/ https://www.walgreens.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.

Show Notes: On May 12, 2023, Chad Oakley, CEO of Charles Aris, a top retained search firm in the US for placing former and current management consultants, spoke to members of Umbrex about the current state of the job market for consultants. Chad gave an introduction to Charles Aris and spoke about their strategy practice. He encouraged attendees to ask questions to make the conversation interactive. The conversation focused on the job market for consultants, including the current state of the market, the opportunities available, and the strategies consultants should use to navigate the market. Chad offered his perspective on the job market and provided insights for consultants looking for positions. Charles Aris, Executive Search Firm Charles Aris is a classic executive search firm that has been in business for 54 years and has 90 team members located across 15 states. They specialize in bespoke searches and their five main areas of focus are strategy, corporate development, finance and accounting, engineering, operations and supply chain, and sales and marketing. Their client base is split between private equity firms and non-private equity organizations. They also produce monthly newsletters about their searches and offer reports and compensation studies. Charles Aris has the largest strategy recruiting practice in the United States and their practice is headed by a former consultant from Deloitte Consulting and Wharton MBA. They specialize in placing current and former strategy consultants from firms such as Bain, BCG and McKinsey in various positions from pre-MBA level to partner level. Increased Demand for Management Consultants Since May 2022, the United States experienced  unprecedented economic growth during the past year and unprecedented numbers of employees leaving current positions which led to a shortage of staff in many firms. As a recruiting firm, Charles Aris was overwhelmed with search requests and had to implement a 40-day delay on all new searches for the first time in its 54-year history. A pullback started in December, and interest rates were raised to tame inflation, even if that meant driving the economy into a recession. We are now in the middle of a transition from a 100% candidate-driven market to a 75% company-driven market. Despite this, mixed messages are coming from the market causing confusion; major corporations such as Amazon are announcing sizable layoffs, while the monthly labor reports are robust and unemployment rates have fallen. Chad explains what is behind the conflicting reports between the numbers.  He goes on to explain how this has impacted the consulting sector, how numbers of hires have fallen dramatically compared to the previous year. He mentions how major consulting firms are rolling out their playbook, how they are managing people out, and promotions are slowing, taking on fewer hires, and he identifies a common lie amongst top-tier consulting firms when it comes to promotion, and what many firms are offering in terms of “transition payments” to accommodate moving people out of the firm. Areas of Demand for Management Consultants However, he also talks about what firms are looking for in terms of remote or on-location hires. He talks about the areas of consulting where there is an increase in demand for transformation skill sets. He explains that companies want to reduce their cost structure and are in need of transformation and cost containment experts. Companies have built up investments during the hay days and now need help unwinding them. Companies need assistance in cost containment as they look to their future and realize they likely won't hit their revenue targets. These transformation and cost containment services can help them reduce their cost structure, allowing them to be successful in the coming years. Private equity firms are facing a challenging time right now, as the cost of capital has increased and deal flow has slowed. To make up for this, private equity firms are investing in their existing portfolio companies to make sure they reach their full potential. There is a spike in demand for individuals who specialize in areas such as transformation and cost cutting, finance and accounting, talent professionals, and operations and supply chain. CFOs are the hardest positions for companies to fill due to a demand and supply imbalance. He recommends that independent consultants should specialize in a few areas to ensure they are able to take advantage of the current market demand with Finance as the highest area of demand. The Demand for Specialists over Generalists In the current economic downturn, companies are less likely to take risks on hiring generalists and more likely to hire specialists for projects. Companies want to make sure that their money is being spent in a way that will yield a strong return. Therefore, it is important for people to identify their true specialties and market themselves aggressively as a specialist in those areas. This can be difficult, as it is tempting to present oneself as a generalist in order to secure more work. However, companies in an economic downturn are more likely to look for specialists they can trust to get the job done. Chad offers key tips on how to market oneself in the current down market. Chad shares that demand is steady across all industries, with insurance companies being particularly consistent in their hiring practices; general financial services, life sciences, and healthcare also show steady demand. Consumer-facing and retail jobs, however, have seen less demand. To illustrate the extent of the downturn, he states that in the first four months of this year, they have enacted 30% fewer searches and that one should prepare for the ongoing downturn by cranking up their marketing efforts and skills.  Finally, he also discusses some of the challenges consultants may face, such as the importance of having a strong online presence and demonstrating value to potential clients. The International and Future Market for Consulting Services Charles Aris represents the U.S. but has 50 partners in other countries. He shares feedback from their annual meeting in Columbia this year that a recession in the U.S. affects the rest of the international community and that a recession is inevitable. To ride the wave, Chad recommends taking proactive steps to deal with an economic downturn. He shares how they have seen a reduction in compensation rises without a decrease in current compensation. He shares how major consulting firms such as McKinsey are managing to maintain their current fees with their clients. In terms of the Data Science market, this is a no-lose career choice moving forward, but in the ESG sustainable market, a lot of companies consider this a luxury and it’s not at the core of their business, Chad forecasts that companies will downplay the focus in this area. He confirms that corporations will reach out to independent consulting firms especially when they are experts in the fields of Finance, AI, Data Science, and Big Data, in addition to healthcare companies and hospital systems that may need to hire a boutique firm.  How Independent Consultants Get Noticed by Recruiting Firms Chad explains that, despite how extremely talented and experienced his clients may be, they can’t always place top talent with a company. The candidate’s skills must be specific in alignment with the company’s demands. When reaching out to an executive search firm, focus on the information on the resume because the resume will be uploaded to the internal database which will be matched with queries. Also, Identify what you are looking for in the initial email, but Chad also recommends that applicants should continue to network. When asked about working for private equity firm’s portfolio companies, Chad explains that it’s advisable to approach the professionals in the private equity firm to gain a better understanding on what the firm wants to accomplish and who to contact. He offers advice on email subject headings, the type of quantifiable information that will get you noticed, and when to follow up. He also explains how consultants who have “been on the beach” for an extended “vacation” should approach firms. Timestamps: 05:42: Current State of the Job Market 19:44: The demand for independent consultants vs. demand for consulting firms 24:02 Consulting Demand in Times of Uncertainty: Transformation and Cost Containment Skill Sets  32:31 Quantifying Expertise to Secure Consulting Gigs and Hiring Former Consultants for Full-Time Jobs  34:56 Impact of Recession on Recruiting and Consulting Services  37:51 Exploring the Impact of the US Economy on Business Development and Marketing Strategies  35:18 Bracing for a Tough Year: Insights from International Search Firms  39:36 Recession Strategies and Fee Levels in the Consulting Industry 54:09 Leveraging Independent Consulting Experience for Full-Time Roles  Links: Website: https://charlesaris.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.  

Show Notes: Evan Polin, founder and operator of Polin Performance Group, talks about how his firm helps professionals in the service industry build their businesses and grow their practice. He helps them get in front of their ideal clients, make sure they're not giving away their expertise for free, and qualify opportunities more quickly. He also helps them take a strategic approach to problem solving and use their expertise to close more business with the kind of clients they'd like to work with. Evan provides professional services firms with sales and business development advice. He starts with a diagnostic, using the Harver behavioral-based assessment tool. This gives him a 35-page report on the client's strengths and weaknesses in sales and  business development. He asks about the client's goals and what kind of practice they want to build, how much revenue they'd like to develop, and what their mix of clients should be. He then puts together a customized business development plan to help the client reach their goals. Strategy to Leverage Your Contacts Evan helps individuals and businesses reach their goals by breaking down the process scientifically. He typically starts with helping them understand how to get in front of the right opportunities. He also helps with issues such as people feeling like they are being used for free consulting, and those not getting as many referrals as they think they should be. He helps them leverage the relationships they have already developed, and figure out the most effective way to use them to get introduced to the right people and focus on the right opportunities.  To get in front of opportunities, he advises clients to first sit down and think about what their ideal client looks like and whom they need to target within an organization, and what the engagement looks like. Furthermore, he suggests leveraging their relationships and current context to start by downloading their LinkedIn connections into a CSV file. This file can then be separated into three categories - A list, B list, and C list. A list contacts are those who are more likely to get back to the consultant within a week. The B list is composed of contacts who may take a bit longer to respond, while the C list includes those who may not respond at all. Cold Outreach Tips and Using Sales Navigator Evan talks about reaching out through telephone calls and emails. He explains how to be  successful with cold outreach, and suggests that it is better than making a cold call but cautions not to set expectations too high as the response rate would still be low. Common best practices include sending a message that introduces the person and their role, and mentioning any connections they might have in common. Evan explains how to use Sales Navigator to manage the outreach list of contacts. Evan suggests sending messages to carefully selected prospects, and paying attention to who is looking at your profile. He also suggested filtering out those with less than 500 connections, as they are likely not active on the platform. Polin highlights the importance of understanding the psychology of sales and marketing, and how it can be used to target the right people. He also mentions that if someone views your profile, but does not respond, it is worth reaching out again in a week or so.  Evan suggests ending the message with an open question in order to get a response rate. Evan added that he often sends a short version of his elevator speech, which outlines the biggest challenges he helps people with and then inquires which of those things the other person is running into. This is done to see if the contact is responsive and to see if they are a good potential prospect. Reaching Out to Past Contacts Evan talks about how he reaches out to people he served in the past in order to get referrals. He suggests to start by reconnecting with them, asking how they have been and what has changed. He also suggests sharing what he is currently working on, and to ask them if they know anyone who could be a good introduction for him. Evan also suggests that if someone has referred him in the past to remind them of how they first started working together. When it comes to following up, Evan suggested to follow up two to four weeks later and to keep a spreadsheet with the date of outreach and the result of the outreach. He has found that, recently, a call is regarded as more personal and people are more likely to respond. He also talks about reaching out through email and effective subject lines. How to Leverage Relationships for Referrals Evan explains that most people don’t ask for referrals. If it’s a current client, he suggests asking how satisfied they are with the service provided. He finds that if he shares information about his business, it allows him to present a broader range of services and plant the seed for future referrals. He also suggests the kinds of clients that would be a good fit. He also puts a timestamp on the conversation to see how interested they are in offering the referral. He also offers tips on how to reach out to contacts on LinkedIn who don’t really know you. A 20% response rate is considered a good result and he stresses adding a bit of nuance to the message to show that it is coming from a real person and not a bot, offers a handy tip on using your profile to determine interest in your outreach, and how to reach out to and follow up with potential clients with whom you have no connections and/or do not return your messages, and when to put them on the back burner. Timestamps: 05:27 Top Challenges Faced by Professional Service Firms 08:07 Exploring Strategies for Gaining Access to More Opportunities 10:32 Exploring Strategies for Reaching Out to Ideal Targets 14:22 Business Development Consulting Practice 15:29 Networking and Introductions 32:58 Crafting an Effective Cold Outreach Message  35:03 Exploring Sales Coaching and Psychology Strategies on LinkedIn 36:12 Cold Outreach Strategies for Consulting Firms  37:55 Reaching Out to Past Clients and Following Up  44:30 Cold Outreach Strategies for Business Development 46:15 Follow-Up Strategies for Outreach Success  Links: Polin Performance Group www.polinpg.com Selling Professional Services the Sandler Way: Or, “Nobody Ever Told Me I’d Have to Sell!” CONTACT INFO: evan@polinpg.com 215-970-2360 (office) 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 Sarrah Rose is an executive intimacy coach who runs the firm CEO on Fire. CEO on Fire helps senior level executives optimize their lives. Sarrag works with clients to help them achieve personal growth and spiritual development. She has been working in this field for the past 10 years, and rebranded to CEO on Fire to focus on executives specifically.  Sarrah works with primarily male senior executives to help them balance their personal and professional lives. She looks at their relationships, sex lives, and other aspects of being human to give them more fun in life. Some of the challenges of working with senior executives include having less time for family, travel, and the specific personality type needed to become a CEO. ADHD is common among executives and can be both a superpower and a challenge. The benefits include hyper focus, the ability to see the bigger picture and from different perspectives, there’s also a lot of sexual energy. Sarrah introduces her clients to tantra which helps them use and channel this sexual energy productively. She has noticed that many clients are self-made and grew up in a more impoverished situation. This change in their lives often leads to a disconnect with who they were and who they are now, and how they are perceived. Rose helps her clients overcome these difficulties and create a balance between their personal and professional lives to better enjoy their lives.   Relationship Challenges of Senior Executives  Sarrah talks about the challenges that high-powered male executives face in their roles as fathers and in their relationships with their significant other. Sarrah explained that presence and empathy is one of the biggest areas that executives need to focus on to provide for their children. They need to be able to give their children their undivided attention and love, safety, and belonging. Sarrah explains that the process she takes her clients through helps them develop these skills.  Will asks Sarrah how executives manage to shift roles from boss at work to partner at home.  Sarrah explains that it depends on the relationship. She talks about the initial attraction to the partner is a combination of nature and nurture, and that the attraction is often tied to wounding. To navigate this, Sarrah helps her clients understand the layers of attraction, create more intimacy, and be aware of the different seasons of relationships and how to intelligently navigate the changes and the tough times. Sarrah believes that one of the challenges that these executives often face is understanding the difference between men and women, and how to seduce their partners and maintain a state of heightened arousal. To help her clients, Sarrah suggests flirting through text throughout the day and engaging in roleplay and fantasy before you enter the bedroom. She also emphasizes the importance of leaving business talk out of their relationship and engaging in more light-hearted and fun conversations. Sarrah also mentions the importance of maintaining friends outside of one's work life. Some have stayed connected to people from their past and have maintained those long lasting relationships, while others have not.  Strategies Used in Executive Intimacy Coaching  When she starts working with a client, Sarrah starts off with an introductory call with her clients and then follows up with a diagnostic session. During this session, Sarrah gets to understand what her client is looking for and engages on a personal level. When it comes to exercises and tips, Sarrah explains that communication is the most important and also the most difficult area for her clients to master, especially when it comes to discussing intimate sexual and emotional conversations. She offers a few questions to help explore and connect on a deeper level. Sarrah notes that the first and most important area to focus on with clients is their relationship with themselves, including patterns of self-sabotage, trauma, and triggers. Throughout the program, Sarrah explains that they use four main strategies that begin dealing with the nervous system, including breath, sound, movement, and focus, which can be combined in different ways. By using these strategies, clients can release stress cycles and better understand their own needs and desires. Additionally, Sarrah helps clients focus on what one desires to create in life and then looking at where there are fears, resistances, and self-limiting beliefs that need to be worked through in order to move forward. By understanding oneself and engaging in self-reflection, it is possible to build a strong relationship with oneself and achieve one's goals. Sarrah adds that sleep is a common issue among senior executives, who often struggle to fall asleep due to the demands of their job and the inability to turn off their minds; she suggests specific questions and practices to help address this issue.  CEO Case Study and Dating in Today’s World Sarrah talks about how high-powered CEOs approach dating in today's world. She shares a success story from one of her clients who was in an abusive relationship and how she helped him heal and prepare for his next relationship. Sarrah recommends that high-profile CEOs use matchmakers and that she works with the matchmakers to help her clients find the right person to have a fulfilling relationship. Sarrah also shares that she personally uses dating apps and that she sees many high-profile CEOs on the apps. Sarrah explains that she works with the top 1% of men, helping them to become more confident and successful with women. She also shares that she makes organic introductions for her clients if they seem to be a good fit. Sarrah emphasizes that men need to be willing to do the work necessary to make successful relationships with women. Timestamps 01:32 The Challenges of Senior Executives' Personal Lives 09:48 Seduction Tips for CEOs  11:26 Maintaining Friendships Outside of Work  12:57 Intimacy and Sexual Energy Exercises  14:31 Relationship and Sexuality Coaching  22:29 Exploring Intuitive Movement and Sounding for Self-Exploration and Transformation  22:53 Sleep and Habits for CEOs  26:38 Sleep Challenges for Senior Executives  27:32 Executive Intimacy Coaching  29:59 Success Story: High-Powered CEO Overcomes Insecurities After Divorce and Prepares for Next Relationship  Links: https://ceoonfire.com/ https://www.instagram.com/sarrahrosenyc/ CONTACT INFO: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ceoonfire/ 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 Author Jimmy Soni kicks off the conversation by explaining why the PayPal mafia is more noteworthy than other large startups. Soni explains that he wrote the book to document not only the business successes, but also the personal stories of the founders. He explains that the market has been good and that people can learn a lot of new things from the book. Soni reveals that his favorite thing about the book is learning about the inventiveness and innovation PayPal had. The Birth and Growth of the PayPal Mafia Jimmy  and Will discuss the phenomenon of the PayPal Mafia, the group of entrepreneurs who emerged from PayPal's success and went on to found some of the most successful companies in Silicon Valley. Soni explains that the PayPal Mafia is a unique phenomenon because the founders were relatively young when PayPal was successful, they had faith that businesses on the internet could be successful,  and they supported each other's ventures. PayPal alumni invested in and supported each other's companies, and they hired alumni as their first employees. This mutual support and collaboration was key to the success of the PayPal Mafia, and their success has been a major factor in the success of Silicon Valley. He shares how PayPal was able to succeed in the early 2000s due to their right timing and how important that was, the selection of very talented people, and the nurturing of their employees. They were able to take advantage of the increasing ubiquity of email addresses and the platform of eBay, which hadn't yet sorted out its payment infrastructure. They also managed to survive the .com burst and make a successful IPO. This was due to their selection of very smart and entrepreneurial people, and their experiences of putting a company together from scratch and having it be a success. He mentions how the book The PayPal Wars by Eric M. Jackson shows how messy real companies can be and how PayPal started out as two companies, Con Finiti and X.com, that merged and began toying around with the idea of beaming money from one palm pilot to another. Building a Startup Jimmy  reflects on his experience of studying the formation of PayPal and how it taught him about Silicon Valley strategy and the messiness of how companies actually grow. He emphasizes that building a company from scratch is much harder than most people think and that things that seem inevitable can often look ridiculous at the start. He demonstrates this by using the example of the Palm Pilot that was labeled one of the 10 worst business ideas of the 1990s but that company became PayPal. He emphasizes that researching the book has made him more aware of the difficulty of creating something and has taught him to not to dismiss ideas that seem silly or take for granted the companies that occupy our lives. The creation of PayPal was a “dogfight” that required a lot of hard work and effort. The biggest challenges in making it successful were to convince people to use the payment system and make sure that people were not taking advantage of it.  Jimmy talks about the uncertainty and anxiety that comes with being involved in a startup and the do or die moments that can arise and that there are often one or two decisions that are crucial to survival. He noted that CEOs usually only make six important decisions per year, so it's important to go into a startup with eyes wide open and know that these moments will arise and that the company could go under at any point. He also talked about how chaos can be beneficial for a startup, as it can bring about new ideas, but also can just be chaos. His insight from the story of PayPal is that a lot of what appeared to be chaos from the outside was actually a controlled chaos that was directed towards the right problems and issues.  The Elon Musk’s Pressure Cooker Leadership Style Will and Jimmy discuss Elon Musk's recent acquisition of Twitter and his ability to lead a tech company. Jimmy explains that he and Musk never spoke about social networks, and that they only discussed payment networks. He noticed that Musk's management style and that Musk used the term ‘maniacal urgency’ to describe it, and believes that Musk's intense approach is necessary for the success of a startup. Jimmy goes on to explain that this style of management has been consistent from Musk's first venture, Zip Two, to his current companies Tesla and SpaceX. Elon Musk's leadership style is one of prioritizing urgency and setting unreasonable demands for his employees. This was the case in his experience with PayPal, and is now being seen at Twitter. An engineer from X.Com shared that during this period, Elon worked longer hours than anyone else and that it was an energizing environment for engineers who wanted to build something quickly, get rapid feedback, and keep moving towards a big goal. This style is not for everyone and can be difficult to understand, but it has been successful for Musk in the past. Through his research, it became clear to Jimmy that startups need to be maniacally urgent and dedicated in order to succeed.  He discusses the market for books about companies, including his own book The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley The book has done well, both domestically and abroad, and Jimmy  believes that people are drawn to the book because of the famous and controversial players involved. Feedback received from professionals  in the startup world have told him that the book captures the energy and feeling of what it is like to be in a startup. Soni shares that the market for books about companies is big and that the Silicon Valley halo has not diminished abroad; all of these factors have contributed to the popularity of the book. His book has international appeal and what differentiates his book from others in the same genre is the inclusion of personal stories.  Researching the Book  He talks about the importance of invention and how startups are allowed to look at a problem and create something new to solve it. He shares how many inventions were developed by PayPal.  When it came to gathering information, he struck gold when he was interviewing someone who offered him access to the company's early records. The person sent Jimmy several gigabytes worth of emails from the time. Jimmy was able to access emails sent and received by key players in the company, giving him a better understanding of the story he was researching. To capture the widest possible story, he started with any emails sent to the company and printed them all out. He then read through every page, looking for any interesting gems that could be included in the book. He found a motivating note from Elon Musk outlining the company's struggles and signed off with Work like hell, Elon. This note was unexpected and captured the character of Musk that is still seen today.  When writing his book, Jimmy explained that he took a methodical approach to email research, using folders, binders, and highlighting to identify key points. He used Google Drive to store PDFs of her citations for fact-checking. This email archive was instrumental in making the book more accurate, rather than relying on hazy memories.  Jimmy talks about the secret sauce of recruiting talent. He specifically mentions Peter Thiel's superpower. Jimmy believes that it is talent identification. Thiel has an uncanny ability to identify people who have potential and to offer them help in the form of introductions, investments or by sketching out a vision of their career that is bigger than they thought possible.  Jimmy shares what he learned about his time working at McKinsey and how that helped him as a writer, and what he is working on now, which is a co-writing project on tech history.  Timestamps 07:41 "The Evolution of PayPal: A Story of Near-Failure and Success"  09:57 Exploring Contingency in the Story of PayPal's Success  13:33 Managing Uncertainty in a Startup Environment  14:15 Analysis of Elon Musk's Management Style at Twitter  18:42 Recruiting Strategies at X.com and Confinity  24:34 The Market for Books About Companies  27:59 On PayPal's Inventiveness and Innovation + Exploring the Origin Story of PayPal's CAPTCHA Technology  38:10 Analysis of Peter Thiel's Superpower: Talent Identification  41:23 Peter Thiel's Approach to Hiring and Recruiting  44:42 Writing Books, Consulting, and Professional Development  Links: The Everything Store, Brad Stone The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley,  A Mind at Play, Jimmy Soni https://jimmysoni.com/ CONTACT INFO: LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimmysoni/ Twitter @jimmyasoni https://jimmysoni.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.

Show Notes: David Newman is a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), marketing expert, speaker, and founder of Do It! Marketing. In this episode, Will Bachman and David discuss his new book, Do It Selling. The book is organized with 77 instant action ideas that can be used to land better clients, bigger deals, and higher fees. The book is  divided into micro chapters which focus on topics such as understanding the sales process, creating an ideal customer profile, building relationships with potential clients, using content to create credibility, and closing more sales. Additionally, the book includes many stories, case studies, and advice from David's own experiences. The goal of the book is to help independent consultants learn how to market and sell their services effectively.  David talks about the fact that many consultants and professional services firm principals love the work but not the sales aspect. David explains that one needs to upgrade their sales brain to be successful in sales. The idea is to replace the words ‘selling’ and ‘sales’ with invitations to conversations and reframe the idea of selling to connecting.  Lead Generation and Client Communication Ninja Tricks He encourages people to change how they view sales to  be less  focused on chasing and persuading, and more focused on the qualifying, sorting, and filtering business rather than chasing and persuading. He encourages a shift from taking an inferior vendor stance trying to persuade the client of your value to that of a casting director for whom the clients are auditioning. He moves on to the idea of targeting the clients you want and launching intentional and specific relationships to open doors rather than “taking what comes.” This puts the seller back in control of their lead generation and prospecting, and allows them to be more proactive and hold better conversations. The crux of this approach is to lead the client to want what you do. David talks about the current approach to cold calling and prospecting when generating leads, and how the approach should be more about serving before selling and helping before pitching.  He suggests making an “active 20” list and gives tips on how to reach out to and warm up those contacts and avoid your proposal landing in a black hole. David offers tips on how to connect with clients through being where they play, write where they read, and be where they attend. He talks about checking into trigger events in the industry you are targeting such as upsizing, downsizing, mergers and acquisitions etc. This entails doing thorough research on the client and understanding the clients’ situation to ensure your communication relates to their current situation.  How to Reach Out to Cool Contacts Will and David discuss tactics for reaching out to cool contacts. David suggests apologizing for the lack of communication and to follow with a direct and authentic request to catch up on where they are and where they are going – but not to sell. He also offers a few  ninja tricks on how to encourage a follow up conversation. The goal should always be to build a rapport with the customer or client, and to show that your company cares about their needs by demonstrating thoughtfulness, relevance, and value. David offers examples of each to clarify these three points and how this approach works for reaching out to past, present, and future clients to ensure you are perceived as a trusted advisor.  Revenue Acceleration and Business Growth David divides his clients into three buckets: Zero to Hero (consultants who have just left a corporate role), Hero to Superhero (those who have gained experience in their industry and are looking to take their consulting to the next level) and Superhero to Intergalactic (those who have a lot of experience and are looking to take their consulting to a much higher level).  For those in the zero to hero stage, he helps them with lead generation, prospecting, sales, and sales processes. Those in the hero to superhero stage are looking to double or triple their current business and need to make changes to do so. Finally, those in the superhero to intergalactic stage are looking to scale their business to reach the million dollar mark. David focuses on helping them with scaling strategies, such as hiring a team, licensing, and digital programs, to help them become the CEO of their business. David discusses how consultants can reach the 500k plus plus level, by building infrastructure and focusing on revenue multipliers.  He explains that businesses need to make money even when the consultant takes time off or goes on holiday, and emphasizes the importance of setting up systems that can make this happen. Recommended CRM System  Will Bachman and David Newman discuss the advantages of using a CRM system over just a spreadsheet for tracking conversations and action items. David recommends One Page CRM, as it has powerful features on the back end and is simple to use on the front end. He also recommends grabbing free resources from his website, doitmarketing.com, such as the companion tools to his book, the 500k Consulting Gameplan session, and the Do It Marketing Manifesto. David’s company offers a few different ways to work with clients, either through one-on-one discussions, mentoring programs, or group sessions and includes daily coaching, live events, online communities, sales labs and sales gyms. He is open to chatting with people who contact him at his email, David@doitmarketing.com. Timestamps 03:44 Professional Services Firm Growth and Sales Mindset  08:48 Tips for Generating Initial Conversations in Sales Prospecting  16:33 Reaching Out to Cool Contacts 20:34 Catching Up with Past Clients: Revitalizing Old Projects and Teams  23:07 Follow-Up Strategies for Unresponsive Prospects  29:03 "Strategies for Direct Prospecting: An Email Example"  36:04 Revenue Acceleration Strategies for Consultants and Executives  38:13 Revenue Multipliers and Technology Recommendations  39:25 CRM Systems and Consulting Services  45:24 Content to Solve, Not Content to Learn  Links: www.doitselling.com - to get the book bonuses www.doitsellingbook.com - to buy the book  www.doitmarketing.com/manifesto - free 37-page guide www.doitmarketing.com/webinar - free on-demand training for consultants The Selling Show Podcast CONTACT INFO: David@doitmarketing.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.

Show Notes Greg Fincke is a Managing Director at Equiteq, a global sector focused investment bank that works with entrepreneurs in the IT services and management consulting sectors to create exit strategies. They have offices in London, Singapore, New York with smaller outposts around the globe. They typically advise on companies with 3-25 million EBIT range, and revenue up to $200 million. The firm has 70 members around the world and did 20 transactions last year with an aggregate value of a billion. An expert in M&A deals, Greg discusses how the big deals are typically handled. What it Takes to Build a Sellable Consulting Firm The conversation focuses on the question of what it takes to build a sellable consulting firm. Greg suggests that one of the key factors to consider is key person risk; if a potential buyer is looking at a buy versus build situation and the equation starts becoming too expensive for the buy, it may be difficult to close the transaction. To build value and reduce the risk, it is important to have multiple people who can drive the business forward. Other factors to consider include developing a strong brand, having a good network of clients, a diversified client base,  and a good mix of services or products. Additionally, it is important to have a good relationship with other consultants, vendors, and potential buyers. Finally, it is also important to focus on long-term goals and invest in the growth of the firm. Greg explains that when looking at the financials of the firm gross margin is an important factor. Buyers typically want to see firms with a gross margin of 40% and discounted when under 40%. When thinking about valuation, you're looking at how the business looks financially and what they do.  Greg talks about gross margins for consulting firms when the owner is selling the business. He explains what the two types of gross margins are and how to calculate partner cost, and typical multiples are for a consulting firm.  Scaling a Consulting Firm This conversation focuses on the difficulties of scaling a consulting firm. On one side, there is the need to acquire new clients and promote the services of the firm, and on the other, there is the need to create, onboard and teach new consultants. Achieving a balance between these two elements is crucial, as buyers are looking for firms that can deliver services that scale, on both supply and demand, and are willing to pay a premium for it.  Greg talks about buyers’ preferences, suggesting that they would rather work with firms that have good web traffic and reputation and are able to generate inbound leads, rather than those that need to grow the sales side and bring in clients. He explains why they consider IP an important factor of consulting services.  He talks about talent recruitment and retention, and the value of a firm that offers a strong career plan and training and coaching systems as this demonstrates the ability and control to scale with in-house talent instead of relying on recruiters to find talent which can be unreliable and expensive.  Beyond Corporate and Private Equity According to Greg, the best options in firm valuation in management quality are how well companies are run, retention, sales and profit growth, and who your clients are and how you engage with them. Fortune 500 and private equity are the two most valuable in the market, and vertical specialization. From a delivery model, being able to deliver fixed fees on good margins is most desirable.  Smaller consulting companies are seen as less valuable because their financial spend is significantly lower.  These companies tend to engage in one-off consulting projects and do not have a consistent spend on consulting, making them less desirable to broker deals. Greg states that the buyers for deals have changed over the last five years and shares a few examples of company M&A his company has facilitated.  What Partners Can Expect when they Sell the Firm Greg shares what partners can expect in terms of a percentage and timeline. The numbers vary widely depending on the buyer. He explains what can happen to the team after a sale, and how it often inspires an entrepreneurial spirit. He mentions that often buyers are looking for a new service line and that the synergy between companies should accommodate this growth and value, in this scenario the team stays independent, in other cases, there may also be an integration of teams.  Greg reflects on how clients move forward after selling a firm; often they take a role in the management team of the larger company, and some have retired from business  to sail around the world, or just retire, but he hasn’t encountered any who regret the sale or decide to start a new business. He talks about the advice he gives companies when the founders are not quite ready to sell such as having a goal for the sale, this entails examining what the bottlenecks for growth are, whether that is client or talent acquisition. Greg helps them focus on the goal and target market growth. This may include building talent to open doors, and investing in marketing.  He talks about the buyer universe for smaller firms, how this differs from the larger M&A buyers, and who takes care of the billion dollar deals.  Greg shares how his company secures clients, his team’s laser focus on a specific industry, and the type of advice they give clients.  Timestamps 02:42 Exploring the Value of a Consulting Firm: Key Person Risk and Building Value 10:43 Scaling a Consulting Firm 13:16 Growing Sales Through IP and Recruiting Processes 17:01 Management Quality, Retention, Sales and Profit Growth, and Client Engagement 22:19 Private Equity and Strategic Acquisitions in the Consulting Space 23:53 Selling a Firm: Earnout Periods and Expectations 37:35 Recent Private Equity Acquisitions in the Management Consulting Industry 39:42 Billion Dollar Deals in the M&A Space 40:32 Exploring the Range of Options in the Consulting Industry 43:37 Building Value in the Consulting Industry 47:09 Resources for Learning About the Consulting World Links: Greg Alexander The Boutique E2E.com Consultancy.uk Collective 54 Podcast The World’s Newest Profession – Chris McKenna The Lords of Strategy – Walter Kiechel CONTACT INFO: https://www.equiteq.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.

Ulrich Riedel and Will Bachman discuss Ulrich's unique cold lead generation process via LinkedIn. Ulrich advises to respect the leads and to be careful to select only candidates who would benefit from this process and to be careful not to spam. He shares why he chose to find leads this way and explains why  there is more upside than downside to his process. He explains that the process involves several aspects such as researching the prospects, creating a message, and following up. He also suggests focusing on building relationships and emphasizing the value of the offer. Finally, he stresses the importance of tracking results and being persistent. Using LinkedIn Sales Navigator to Contact Leads Ulrich offers three pieces of advice on how to use LinkedIn Sales Navigator to reach out to potential leads. He stresses the importance of your investment in time and money investments to ensure the leads are super targeted, as sourcing too many leads that do not fit the needs of the company will be a waste of the time and money invested. He emphasizes that real expertise and external help are needed to set up the process.  Hiring an Expert in Lead Generation Ulrich discusses how he hired an expert to help him with his lead generation process. The expert used a Sales Navigator, which is a powerful search tool, to look for leads and contacts, and then organize them in groups and tag them to make sure none were duplicated. Ulrich created the messaging, but they were responsible for sending out initial connection requests and any follow-up messages. Once a prospect accepted and engaged, the expert would set up a call in the prospect's calendar and then hand the contact over to Ulrich to handle. Ultimately, the expert helped Ulrich to find, organize, and contact the leads, which saved him time. He talks about his direct and concise communication technique that helps him build a connection with suitable prospects.  Reaching the Right People through LinkedIn Sales Navigator Ulrich helps reduce implementation risk and increase project value for large complex projects and strategies. He has been doing this since 2004 and has found that his initial connection requests were not reaching the right people. He now targets Senior Vice Presidents and above in companies with $3 billion or more in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. His current connection requests are clear and direct, stating his goal to reduce risk and increase project value followed by an offer to explain how he would achieve this for the person he is reaching out to. Once he has secured a lead, Ulrich transfers the client from LinkedIn Navigator to his own CRM system to keep track of communications, campaigns, and status etc. He explains how and when he makes first contact, how he follows up with them, often using GetEmail and RocketReach to find emails of his clients, and how he schedules meetings.  Most importantly, Ulrich focuses on authentic and respectful communication. He stresses the importance of patience and persistence, and that following up with clients on a regular basis to remind them of the benefits they will receive from Ulrich’s expertise pays off. He finds that out of 100 connection requests sent, usually 20 will connect. He sends the 20 a longer message and roughly five will reply. Out of five, he will secure one client. Ulrich shares when and how he follows up with the other potential clients. He checks his CRM system daily and explains why he uses Outlook Contact instead of Hubspot. Timestamps: 04:15 Exploring Strategies for Effective LinkedIn Outreach  05:05 The Benefits of Utilizing Expertise for Lead Generation 08:38 Maximizing Project Value Through Risk Reduction 10:51 Exploring the Benefits of a Custom CRM System for Lead Tracking  12:41 Lead Management and Prospecting Strategies  18:56 Building Professional Connections on LinkedIn  24:56 Networking Strategies for Building Trust and Connections  28:37 Utilizing Sales Navigator and CRM Systems for Lead Generation  30:13 Leveraging CRM Systems for Business Growth  Links: https://www.drulrichriedelconsulting.ch/ CONTACT INFO: https://www.linkedin.com/in/DrUlrichRiedel/ 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 Ulrich Riedel and Will Bachman discuss Ulrich's unique pricing model for independent consultants. Rather than being paid upfront or daily rates, Ulrich gets paid a percentage of the value he creates for the client at the end of the project. To make this type of pricing model possible, Ulrich needs to make sure certain conditions are met, such as creating value for the client, measuring the value,  and convincing the client of the value. He also needs to make sure that the client will be willing or able to share in the risk associated with the project. Ulrich has learned how to do this through experience, and was willing to share his knowledge with Will and the viewers of Unleashed. What to Consider with an At-risk Pricing Model Ulrich Riedel explains that there are four main themes to consider when using an at-risk pricing model. First, the offer needs to have unique value to the client. Second, the individual must be willing to accept risk. Third, the client must be open to the at-risk pricing model. Fourth, the approach to project generation must be tailored to the at-risk pricing model. He suggests that the network may not be enough for project generation because many close relations may not be able to accept at-risk pricing. A solution to finding suitable clients, may be to develop cold  lead generation through LinkedIn might be helpful. He also suggests partnering with people who have contacts to potential clients and projects, and what he found most helpful is to establish oneself as an expert to increase trust.  Pricing the Project Ulrich specializes in large, complex projects that are worth more than $100 million that involve many functions, hierarchies, global reach, different countries and cultures, change management with hesitancies  and conflicting priorities, and the list goes on. He analyzes the entirety of the project, helps implement it, and generates an added value of 8-15%. Ulrich discusses a project they are working on with a client to shape the future. His role is to provide insight and advice on the strategy and execution of the project. He recently worked with a small company with a few $100 million turnover to help them optimize three main projects.  He is also responsible for talking to many people in different hierarchies to collect data and figure out where value is hidden and how to create an intervention and implementation plan which could generate much more value.  Prospect Generation Ulrich studies the mentality of the client and the company and  talks to people in all hierarchies to gather in depth information from all levels, including employees at the water cooler or the factory floor during the night shift. Once he has an implementation plan in place, he sits down with the client to discuss two main variables: volume and cost. Ulrich also talks about how he determines his fees, and the search time for finding projects, and how long projects typically take.  Timestamps: 03:54 Exploring At-Risk Pricing Models: Strategies for Generating Projects and Establishing Trust  06:05 Exploring Value-Based Pricing for Large Complex Projects  06:25 Consulting on Building a New Business Model with a Hybrid Technology  11:46  Value Creation and Compensation for Consultancy Services  14:39 Exploring the Long Sales Cycle and Prospect Generation  Links: https://www.drulrichriedelconsulting.ch/ CONTACT INFO: https://www.linkedin.com/in/DrUlrichRiedel/ 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 Tony Martignetti and Will Bachman discuss the importance of maintaining energy and excitement as a solopreneur or independent professional.  They talk about taking an assessment of the tools and different parts that you have been working on for your business. It is important to check in with yourself and ask what it is that you really want and what you are driving towards. It is necessary to determine which tools and activities are providing you with energy and which are draining you of energy.  They also discuss how to tap into inspiration and creativity. Martignetti recommends getting out of your current environment to experience awe, which can't be done while sitting behind a desk. Tony shares a few activities where he found inspiration, including climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro.  Priorities and Values in Leadership Tony talks about the concept of grounded leadership and how to achieve it in the context of executive coaching. Bachman asks for the first step to take to become more grounded. Martignetti responds that it is important to first be thoughtful, clear on one's priorities and values, and that all decisions should be based on these. From there, one can focus on creating calm within the chaos and help others to do the same. This could involve creating a plan to keep oneself grounded, such as setting reminders to pause and check in with oneself, or reflecting on values and purpose. Ultimately, it is important to remember that everything should be done with these priorities and values in mind.  Tony talks about the importance of understanding the foundation of one's values, mission, and purpose in order to make decisions. Will and Tony discuss the STOP method, an acronym for Stop, Take a Breath, which is a classic mindfulness practice that can help in moments of stress and when one is triggered. Taking the pause allows them to slow down and not react. This method encourages people to take a moment to reflect on their values and ask themselves questions about why they are doing something. Dealing with Difficult Situations Will and Tony discuss maintaining mindfulness using the Stop, Observe, and Proceed method of dealing with difficult situations, which involves taking a moment to understand what emotions are coming up, and why. Will mentions the importance of not sending emails when annoyed and suggests making a phone call instead. Will talks about his executive coach’s question, “What are you currently avoiding?”. The conversation ultimately emphasized the importance of taking time to understand and process emotions before taking action. Questions Used in Coaching Tony talks about the questions he uses in his coaching practice. Tony's first question is, “when you look at the week ahead, what do you look forward to the most?” He then moved on to the question of “what is one conversation that you are putting off that you really need to have.” This helps to identify any areas of avoidance and to move forward with life and work. He suggests taking note of what you are tolerating. Will  asks Tony what sorts of responses he gets from his clients to the question of avoided conversations. Tony responds that he typically gets a variety of answers, ranging from fear of failure to fear of rejection to lack of clarity on how to approach the conversation. Tony tells Will where he found inspiration for his book, Climbing the Right Mountain, and how to think differently about success, and how to determine the right mountain for you. He talks about his coaching practice and workshops, and how many of his clients feel stuck or want to grow in a new direction.  Timestamps 03:03- Assessing Business Activities to Maximize Energy and Productivity 04:43- Evolving and Inspiring Yourself as an Entrepreneur 07:30- Reflection and Inspiration for Business Growth 10:12- Experiencing Awe and Climbing Kilimanjaro 13:41- Exploring Human Experience: Tips for Training for Kilimanjaro and Experiencing New Things 15:08- Expanding Consciousness and Grounded Leadership 16:52- Grounded Leadership 18:30- System Two Thinking and Executive Coaching 20:53- The Benefits of Establishing a Foundation for Decision-Making 24:17- Incorporating Questions into Coaching Practice Links: Climbing the Right Mountain https://www.inspiredpurposecoach.com/ CONTACT INFO: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonymartignett1/ 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.