Evolved Radio

Today on the podcast I'm chatting with Linda Rose. Linda is an author, speaker, and advisor. Linda's background building, running and selling not one, but several technology companies. In the episode today we explore some of the lessons she's condensed from her experience into a book entitled, "Get acquired for millions." Linda and I discuss topics like valuing your company and what goes into that. Should you still be considering selling in a depressed market, how should you be preparing your company for a sale, and you may be surprised by how long that process takes. Linda also has some valuable resources to share on the show notes. So check those out as well.  https://www.evolvedmgmt.com/podcast  

On the podcast today, I'm joined by Robert Merki to talk about ADHD.  ADHD is well recognized in modern culture. However, there are also a lot of misconceptions and stigmas associated with the condition. Rob explains his journey in finding he had ADHD, how it affected him, and how he manages. Rob is a software product director and is currently writing a book entitled ADHD Pro. Book link: https://adhdpro.xyz/ Twitter link: https://twitter.com/robmerki

Today on the podcast I'm speaking with Michael Argast founder of Kobalt. Kobalt is a security consulting partner that specializes in helping small to medium businesses secure their technical operations with an enterprise approach. Michael and I explore what team should consider when they are building cloud infrastructure. What are some of the common mistakes? Is On-prem more secure than the cloud?  Also, since everyone is dealing with the COVID19 work from home issue, we explore some tips on ensuring people are staying secure when working from home.

Today I'm joined by Jon Scott from Scope Stack. We talk about some of the best practices you should use when scoping projects. Things like fixed fee vs. TnM, the difference between a proposal and a SOW, and how you can make your project scoping easier. This is a great episode with useful insights to help you to up your project delivery game. You can increase profit and client satisfaction while reducing the burden on the tech team.

Today on the podcast I'm joined by Nate Freedman from Tech Pro Marketing. We talk about some of the common mistakes IT companies make when building their marketing engine. We also discuss some of the effective tactics in marketing to your clients. We focus heavily on using LinkedIn as a vehicle for generating leads. We also touch on using your website and paid click campaigns. There are tons of useful ideas and strategies in this episode, so listen up and maybe make a few notes.

Today on the podcast I'm speaking with Jennifer Bleam with MSP Sales Revolution. Selling Cybersecurity is critical for any IT service provider. After all, the impact of a cyber attack on your clients has an impact on you with recovery work and potential damage to reputation. So How do you sell cybersecurity to your clients? Is it appropriate to use fear as a sales tool? How do you counter the pushback that you get from some clients? Jennifer and I talk about these questions and much more, so please enjoy this topical and actionable conversation with Jennifer Bleam.

On the podcast today, I'm speaking with Rachel Gertz about project management. Rachel is a return guest to the podcast. We've previously talked about the role of the project manager in episode 9. She also joined me in episode 19 to talk about some futuristic topics like AI and medicine. Today, we dive deeper into project management, especially people that find themselves as accidental project managers. We share some tips about dealing with people, how to run project meetings, and the huge career opportunities in project management. ERP009 - Project Management ERP019 - Futurism and AI Training from LT10

Today on the podcast, we're diving into the evolution of biosciences and genetic engineering. I'm speaking to Michael Seiler with Taconic. Michael is an expert in genetic engineering. At Taconic, they help researchers to test drug therapies and even gene therapies with highly controlled animal models. The field of biosciences is evolving fast and Taconic is at the cutting edge of what a more modern test tube looks like. On the podcast, Michael and I discuss gene therapy and the science of genetic engineering. We also discuss the quickly advancing field of the microbiome.

Today on the podcast I'm speaking with Likky Lavji about blind spots. Everyone has blind spots. We have them in our personal life and our work lives. Being aware of our blindspots can open up a universe of options for us to advance our goals. Likky is a former MSP owner and EOS consultant. He speaks honestly about his own experiences as a business owner as well as his observations inside other people's businesses. This is a great conversation that hopefully gets you thinking about your own blind spots that may be quietly controlling your world. Likky on Linkedin likkylavji.com

Most MSPs are great at solving technical problems, but being a great MSP is more about how you make your clients feel, more than what you do. On the podcast today is Alona Bolotnikova of Perfecting Service. She helps MSPs with the soft skills and service coaching to ensure your support team is providing the best possible service experience for your clients. We talk about common client complaints, best practices for updating clients on tickets, and top tips for helping your techs improve their service skills. Enjoy my conversation with Alona about creating a great service culture.

Today we're talking about my favorite topic. Management. Earlier this year I found a software tool that filled a gap that I've struggled with for years. Both as a manager in previous roles, but also the managers that I've coached. Keeping notes for meetings, one on ones, sharing deliverables and provide feedback. There are some tools that help with some of these, but it was always imperfect. Then I found Fellow. They call it a manager's co-pilot, but I would argue it's more than that. It uses the management practices that I advocate for and puts all of that information in a lightweight, easy to use platform. I invited Aidan Mirzaee,(@aydin) CEO and co-founder of Fellow of the software to discuss management practices and how Fellow can help. I hope you enjoy this conversation with Aydin. To Try Fellow.app for free, click here.

Most IT Service providers are sitting on top of a multi-million dollar sales opportunity in their existing customer base. This episode of Evolved Radio will show you how to take advantage of this massive opportunity. Today on the podcast I'm joined by Dan Wensley, CEO of Warranty Master. Dan is a veteran of the MSP channel, having worked at Level Platforms which was a darling of the Canadian tech scene. Dan was also the president of Passportal before joining Warranty Master. In our conversation, we talk about how MSPs can leverage warranty data to ensure their client environments are more stable which benefits the customer as well as the MSP.

There has been a string of coordinated attacks on MSPs recently. Large players like WiPro, Fujitsu, and IBM. As well as a number of smaller regional MSPs. Kyle Hanslovan (@kylehanslovan) of Huntress Labs joins me on the podcast to give us his expert viewpoint on the risks these attacks pose and how IT service companies should be securing their environments to avoid being the next victim. LINKS MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST: Huntress Labs Attack Debrief Webinar

Art Markman (@abmarkman) is a leading cognitive scientist. Art is a professor of psychology and marketing at the University of Texas at Austin. He is also the author of several books and hundreds of scholarly articles. Today we discuss his new book "Bring Your Brain to Work. Using Cognitive Science to Get a Job, Do It Well, and Advance Your Career." Art also has a podcast called "Two  Guys on Your Head."

Today on the podcast I'm talking to Piers Steel, Professor at the University of Calgary and author of The Procrastination Equation. Piers has spent years researching the reasons for and impacts of procrastination. Today we chat about the reasons why you fail to follow through despite your best intentions. It's a surprisingly complex topic. A fascinating mixed conversation on self-help, psychology, biology, and productivity. I'm sure you'll find the conversation as fascinating as I did. Enjoy.

On the podcast, today is Chris Day CEO of Top Down Ventures. Chris is a well-recognized member of the MSP channel, as the founder of IT Glue. IT Glue's remarkable growth curve and industry attention are unlike anything we've seen in the market. He recently exited IT Glue after selling to Kaseya. Now he's working with SaaS application entrepreneurs to provide capital and scaling strategies for their businesses. In our discussion we catch up with Chris on the recent M&A activity of Glue and Fully Managed, the projects currently on deck at Top Down, and we discuss the current M&A madness in the MSP channel.  The products being managed by Top Down we mentioned Quoter Backup Radar Warranty Master

Mark is a Professor of Service Excellence at the University of Victoria, Gustavson School of Business. Author of "The science of service, the proven formula to drive customer loyalty and stand out from the crowd." Available on Amazon. Mark has done work with the govt. Of British Columbia, Telus, Whistler Blackcomb and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

Our conversation is a stimulating discussion on the evolution of the IT industry as we know it today and some exploration of what it may look like in the future. How you can remove bottlenecks in your organization and how you can grow the skills of your team to ensure everyone's commitment and success. Kevin is a co-author on several popular books including The Visible OPs Handbook, The Phoenix Project, and more. His industry expertise and insights are wide-ranging and the discussion is fascinating and enlightening.

Today's podcast is brought to you by Cloudberry. Your #1 cross-platform cloud backup platform. I chatting with Doug Hazelman (@VMDoug), VP of technical marketing with Cloudberry. Backups are an important offering for any IT service provider. Cloudberry is focused on supporting MSPs build a flexible backup offering that protects servers and workstations, as well as cloud app data like Office 365 and G suite. Cloudberry allows a free trial of their software, so why not sign up and give it a spin? Doug hosts an MSP focused podcast called MSP Voice that you should subscribe to.

On the podcast today I'm speaking with Canon Bryan, CFO with Terrestrial Energy. Terrestrial Energy is an industry leader in next-generation nuclear energy. Nuclear is a fantastically efficient and clean source of energy, but over the years it's earned a bit of negative reputation. As Canon and I discuss this reputation is really unfair when you examine the facts. Terrestrial Energy is building the next generation of nuclear power. It's much more compact, it's dramatically safer, and could be the key to our energy future. Resources mentioned 4th Generation Energy Blog Terrestrial Energy on Twitter & Facebook Taylor Wilson - MSR Ted Talk - This is the TED Talk that got me excited about the MSR technology Turning CO2 into gasoline Nuclear facilities have killed far fewer people than you may think.