Today on the podcast I'm joined by Megan Gilhooly, VP of Customer Experience at Zoomin. Megan has made it her mission to change how organizations think about product content Megan has a really interesting perspective on how information creates a user experience. This spans from technical documentation to user prompts in software. It's an area of the technology industry that isn't as flashy as others, but the conversation with Megan really opened my eyes to the importance of being intentional about how you present information to anyone. Users of a product, technical staff reading documentation. These are all areas that would benefit from an intentional approach.

Today on the podcast I'm chatting with Rick McCutcheon. Rick is a Microsoft Dynamics 365 MVP. Rick has a strong history in the CRM and Dynamics world. Now Rick helps businesses and vendors develop their Dynamics businesses. In the podcast Rick and build on the previous episode, growing your cloud business. We chat about the opportunity that's available in building a dynamics practice, how to do it, and the huge impact it could have on your business.

Today on the podcast I'm speaking with Douglas Fiore with Tech Data. Doug is a former Microsoft Dynamics business owner who now works as a partner enablement manager for Tech Data. Doug and I discuss some of the opportunities available to Microsoft cloud partners. Dynamics is a growing practice area for many MS partners and if you haven't considered how it could help your business, this podcast will help to highlight the opportunity available.

Today on the podcast I'm joined by Steve Petryschuk, Technology Advocate with Auvik Networks. Steve is here to chat about the findings of Auvik's network field report. Auvik surveyed hundreds of IT Pros to get their perspective on their knowledge and practices around network management. The report is an interesting mix of insights. I've included a link to the full report in the show notes, so be sure to check that out. For now, enjoy my conversation with Steve as we discuss some of the insights from the report as well as some general discussion about network management.

Today on the podcast I'm speaking with Stephen King (@sKingGForce)with Growth Force. Stephen is the CEO of GrowthForce one of the largest providers of outsourced bookkeeping and controller services in the US. With three decades of experience in supporting businesses with their finances, Stephen has seen it all. The topic of today's conversation is an important one, Fraud! Stephen and I discuss how businesses are impacted by fraud and how to build better systems and processes in your business to ensure you're not one of the thousands of businesses every year that have money stolen from their business. This discussion spans cybersecurity, process management, human psychology, and trust. Please enjoy this useful discussion on how to protect your business from financial fraud.

Today on the podcast I'm chatting with Gabriel Gumbs (@gabrielgumbs), CIO of Spirion. Gabe had an early passion for technology and focused on the security field. Gabe has deep experience as a security practitioner. In the interview, we discuss where people tend to go wrong when implementing a security framework. We discuss some of the industry frameworks and how they can be leveraged for your own needs. We also touch on finding the balance between security policies and user friction. I hope you enjoy this thought-provoking discussion with an innovative leader in the security and privacy space.

Today on the podcast I'm joined by Stephen King, President, and CEO of GrowthForce. GrowthForce is one of the largest outsourced accounting services in the US. His experience as a top executive in a Fortune 500 company is now put to work helping his team provide accounting system design and data-based management. In our discussion today we talk about the tough times that likely lay ahead for the economy in 2021. Why and HOW businesses should be preparing for a rough economic future. We also chat about the human element and how to balance the needs of your company with the desire to be a compassionate leader. Regardless of where you're at in your company journey, you should always know your numbers. This episode is a great resource to reflect on what you need to know and how you should be preparing for the future in order to protect your company's future.

Today on the podcast I'm joined by Luis Giraldo. Luis is well known in the MSP channel for his role at IT glue, but Luis has recently moved to Solarwinds. Also, a lesser-known fact is that Luis is also an MSP owner. I'm not sure where he finds so many hours in the day, but I'm glad to have him as a return guest on the podcast. Luis was one of the very early guests of the podcast way back on episode five, which I'll link to in the show notes. The topic for today is MSP tools again, Luis and I are chatting about the evolution of the RMM tool for MSPs and how the pandemic is influencing network management.

Today on the podcast I'm joined by Chris Timm with Sondela Consulting. Chris is a former MSP owner who now runs a consulting group that focuses on helping Managed Service providers get the most from the PSA. The PSA or professional services automation tool is a central tool to most MSPs. The trouble is the tool often doesn't get as much love or attention as it should. Yes, can do ticketing, but there is also SO much more that the PSA can provide for your business. Enjoy my conversation with Chris on why these tools are underutilized and what you can do about it.

Today on the podcast I'm speaking with Josh Weiss with LA Creative Technologies. Josh experienced very difficult personal events in the past year. The standard pressure of running an MSP was compounded by his girlfriend being diagnosed with cancer and his father entering palliative care. Then to top if off the coronavirus pandemic forced everyone into lockdown. It would have been understandable that Josh would have been overwhelmed by the pressure. Instead, adversity has created an opportunity to reflect on his values and his habits. Josh and I talk about what these challenges have taught him about how he lives his life and how he manages his business. To be honest, I have avoided talking about the pandemic in the podcast, but I also see now how this event will have long-lasting impacts on our businesses and our society. I hope you enjoy this discussion with Josh Weiss on adversity and values. Resources: Psychological Safety blog post I mention. Profit First - The Book that Josh mentions.

Today on Evolved Radio I'm chatting with Nigel Moore, leader of the Tech Tribe.   Nigel is a favorite guest on the podcast and if you haven't heard Episode 35 when Nigel and I discussed the transition from Time and Materials provider to the MSP model, I encourage you to check out that previous episode. Today Nigel and I are chatting about one of the most common questions that gets asked in the MSP community, "How should I package and price my offering?"   What should you include? What should my seat price be? Should you have Termed contracts? All this and some fun war stories about life in the MSP channel, so stick around and enjoy.   If you'd like to check out the Tech Tribe Community. You can use my affiliate link to get 40% off your first month. You can also check out Nigel's book here.

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.

Today on the podcast, my guest is Nigel Moore, Founder of The Tech Tribe. Nigel built and sold a successful MSP in Sydney. He now is leading a tribe of MSP owners looking to grow their MSP practice. Nigel and I talk about the evolution of the IT service company to an MSP. The mistakes people make and what makes it difficult. We also explore the idea of if you should do TnM & MSP or just go pure MSP. Nigel is a fantastic guy and is truly passionate about the industry. Resources mentioned Managed Services in a Month - by Karl Palachuk The Tech Tribe discount link here. Use this link and get 40% off your first month and the tech tribe will donate mosquito nets to communities in Africa!

Today's podcast is brought to you by Simplesat. Your tool for stupidly simple satisfaction surveys. I'm joined by Derek and Cory Brown, the father-son team behind Pronto Marketing and Simplesat. If you're in a service-based industry it's important to know how your customers feel about your service. Traditional satisfaction surveys are terrible and the response rate shows that's the case. Simplesat can increase your client feedback 10 fold. Simplesat also makes the data more actionable. Jump over to simplesat.io for a free 30-day trial and try it out yourself.

Today on Evolved Radio we're talking everyone's favorite IT topic lately. Security! I'm joined by Ian Paterson CEO of Plurilock. His company has a really innovative approach to security. It's an advanced form of user identification that can tell who you are by how you type and move the mouse. We talk about why users hate passwords, security requirements for regulated industries, and much more.

Richard Tubb is one of the best-known experts in the global IT Managed Service Provider (MSP) community. His track record speaks for itself, as he launched and sold his own MSP business before creating a leading MSP media and consultancy practice. Richard is also the author of the IT Business Owner's Survival Guide and the author of the Tubblog. We discuss why you may need a business coach, what business owners tend to struggle with most, and how technology is evolving MSP businesses as well as their client's businesses. Several books are mentioned in the podcast in addition to Richard's book. The E-Myth revisited Getting Things Done

On the podcast today, I'm chatting with Alex Markov, President of Red Key Solutions and CEO of Strategy Overview. Red Key is a mature and successful MSP in the New York area. Alex and his team work hard to deliver business value to their clients. One of the best way for MSPs to do that is implementing a QBR/TBR. Alex recognized the value in the system they had built and has created a SaaS product called Strategy Overview to help others deliver effective technology planning to their clients.

Dan Sutton is vocal leader in the BC cannabis industry. Dan started Tantalus Labs, a cannabis production company in 2012. Dan has been a strong supporter of greenhouse based production of cannabis. We talk about the social and financial impact of that approach. We also discuss the fast dissolving social and professional stigmas associated with cannabis. Canada is expected to federally legalize cannabis in 2018. The Canadian market alone is expected to be worth about seven Billion. Dan and his team hope to position sungrown BC bud as a market leader in the industry.

If you've never heard of Graphene, you can bet you'll be hearing a lot more about it in the coming years. Graphene is a material that quietly holds the keys to many of our next generation of technological advances. Filtering water at an atomic level, creating impossibly lightweight bulletproof material, building a quantum supercomputer, and powering nanobots. This little-known material called Graphene is central to a series of fascinating technical discoveries. Today I'm speaking with Dr. Joseph Meany. Dr. Meany is and his colleague, Les Johnson, have written a book about this amazing material.

Wim Kerkhoff and I talk lean for devops and IT managed services. Wim built a Kanban system for Connectwise Manage

James built an offshore support team to augment his MSP business. He found the offshore strategy enabled a scaling of his business that he otherwise never could have achieved. As more and more peers asked him how to do the same he recognized a business opportunity and Benchmark 365 was born. James and I discuss his journey, some of the common resistance points around offshoring and how his team integrates with existing MSP businesses.

Ted is the Chief Revenue Officer at Itopia. Itopia's mission is to make it easy to migrate Windows workspace environments to the cloud.We talk about the evolution of Cloud computing, including Desktop as a Service (DaaS) and using the public cloud for rapidly deploying computing infrastructure. This is a rapidly growing solution in the IT industry enabling providers to spin up remote desktop environments in no time at all. Ted and I also talk about the competition between AWS, Azure, and Google in the public cloud arena.

Tim Kane is co-founder and CEO of myHSA. myHSA is a technology company that facilitates Insurance brokers with the ability to offer in-house health spending accounts. In my interview with Tim, we explore his evolution from brick and mortar business owner to digital entrepreneur. His journey has been filled with hard lessons about building a software business as a non-technical founder. His passion, determination, and strong focus on customer service have served him well. Tim and his co-founder Steve have grown the company from two people and a database to 8+ staff and a fast growing client base. 

You have probably heard the term Big Data. What does that mean anyway? Today I'm joined by Alastair Woolcock, to talk about Data Science. We uncover the science of data analytics and how data is unlocking market changing insights at all levels of business. Whether you're a small business trying to understand social media and it's influence on your marketing efforts, or an enterprise organization trying to understand client behavior, data can be a powerful tool. There is a growing industry of data science that is trying to use the power of hypothesis to mine for insights in the mountains of data that our modern businesses produce. 

Today's podcast I'm joined by Raj Goel, CISSP. Raj is the founder of Brainlink and the creator of SOP Culture. Raj and I explore the benefits and the challenges of creating a SOP driven culture in your business. SOP Culture was formed out of years of Raj standardizing his teams work at Brainlink to ensure a consistency of service that gives him an unusual competitive edge in the market.

Dr. Ray Hsu and I discuss how higher education needs to evolve to best serve students and innovation.

Dr. Ray Hsu Professor at UBC. He is both the founder of the VR/AR  working group and faculty in residence at the emerging media lab, conducting research on the immersive technology. When most people think of VR they think of video games. Like many of us, Dr.Ray sees the value of VR in the gaming field, but his vision for its impact go far beyond that. In particular, I wanted to talk to Dr.Ray about his view on how VR/AR will influence education.