Answering The Call

In this episode, we dive deep into the career of David Sherwin, a renowned graphic designer, UX design leader, and author of the best-selling book Creative Workshop. David shares his transition from editorial publishing to user experience (UX) design at leading innovation firms like frog, and major companies like LinkedIn, offering a masterclass in how to stay curious and committed to your craft over decades.

Key Topics Covered:

• The Pull vs. Push Career Path: Why being "yanked" into leadership roles often requires a radical shift in skill sets—moving from delivering design to operating a company.

• The Art of Feedback & Critique: Why building an "etiquette" for receiving client feedback is critical for ensuring the quality of your work.

• Building High-Performing Teams: Insights into David’s work with his partner, Mary Sherwin, on design collaboration, culture work, and their toolkit, Team Words, designed to turn groups into cohesive teams.

• Future of Design & AI: David discusses the human "edge" in artificial intelligence, specifically how humans excel at pre-visualization and intentionality while AI handles lower-order tasks.

• Overcoming Limiting Beliefs: A candid look at David’s journey through long COVID, relearning cognitive skills, and finding a sustainable balance between consulting, mentorship, and art.

Whether you are a senior designer looking to move into management, an entrepreneur planning your first startup runway, or a creative professional interested in sustainability and mission-critical health systems, this episode provides the roadmap for a meaningful, impact-driven career.

Successful careers are built on successful systems, successful mindsets, and the ability for us to take care of the first and most important relationship - the one we have with ourselves.

Andrew Hartman, Founder and CEO of Time Boss doesn't just deliver success for his clients, his helps them find the peace of mind to excel at their best.

This episode is a must for anyone trapped in the cycle of believing they have to do and deliver everything to the point of burnout. Andrew's story is a hero's journey of taking back ownership of time and also our own peace of mind.

How To Contact David

Website: https://zenten.io

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidzemanek/

Email: [email protected]

How To Contact Andrew

Website: https://timeboss.us

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewhartman/

Email: [email protected]

A look into the mindset of an Ironman triathlete and entrepreneur, and why Bruce views failure as a "natural part of life" and a prerequisite for success.

Bruce Sinclair specializes in helping private equity firms and companies increase their value through the strategic application of AI. Bruce recently finished a new book focused on AI for executives and investment professionals, and is the author of IoT Inc.

How To Contact David

Website: https://zenten.io

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidzemanek/

Email: [email protected]

How To Contact Bruce

Website: https://aioperatingpartners.ai/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bruce-a-sinclair/

Email: [email protected]

In a landscape crowded with theorists, Jeff Roberts brings a track record of real impact. Jeff founded the firm after five tenures as a mid-market CIO.  In total across three decades of IT leadership, he has led dozens of M&A transactions and digital transformations, turning IT organizations into profit centers. Named an Exceptional Leader to Follow in Innovation, he has mentored over 20 future C-level executives.

Jeff and I discuss his path from corporate to forming his own venture.

How To Contact David

Website: https://zenten.io

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidzemanek/

Email: [email protected]

How To Contact Jeff

Website: https://innovationvista.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertsjeff/

Email: [email protected]

In this episode, I sit down with Joe Budzinski, founder of Sales Nimbus, to trace his fascinating journey from a classically trained musician to a tech entrepreneur building his own SaaS platform.

Joe shares how the discipline of the viola and the grit of door-to-door sales shaped his unique approach to business leadership and innovation.

Joe discusses his early life in music, specifically how learning the viola—a "slow learning curve instrument"—taught him that getting 1% better each week compounds over time. He draws a parallel between the iterative process of rehearsing music and the Agile methodology used in software development.

Grit and The School of Hard Knocks: After pivoting away from a pre-med path, Joe cut his teeth doing commission-only, door-to-door sales in tough Philadelphia neighborhoods. He explains how facing rejection, "eating what you kill," and navigating dangerous areas taught him resilience and how to build a team.

Corporate Lessons & Agile Transformation: Joe details his transition to the corporate world at IBM, where he moved from being a "rule follower" to embracing Agile methodology. He compares his traditional "classical" mindset to discovering the "jazz" of Agile working styles, which transformed how he approaches productivity and leadership.

The Entrepreneurial Trap: Now the founder of Sales Nimbus, a digital marketing agency for tech startups, Joe opens up about the common trap of founders trying to do everything themselves. He shares how he is currently pivoting from a service-based agency to building Nimbus OS, an automated "CMO in a box" SaaS product designed to solve scalable marketing challenges

How To Contact Joe

Website: https://salesnimbus.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephbudzinski/

Email: [email protected]

How To Contact David

Website: www.zenten.io

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidzemanek/

Email: [email protected]

Today, I’m sitting down with Mark Fithian and Jeff Rosenberg, the founders of Wide Open, a consultancy built to solve the hardest problems in customer experience.

Their story is a masterclass in what I call the 'Inside Game'. Mark and Jeff made the decision to leave the corporate track under circumstances that would make most people freeze: Mark was in his early 40s, had just bought a house, and had a new child at home.

But they realized that staying safe meant misaligning with who they were. In our conversation, Mark mentions that if his kids sat in on a business meeting today, they would actually recognize him. Their values aren't just 'stage props'—they are the engine of their business.

And that integrity has a massive ROI. Because they focused on maximizing client success rather than just dollars , they’ve reached a point where they spend almost no time looking for the next project—their clients simply keep bringing them new problems to solve.

We also discuss how their differences as partners gave them the confidence to strike out on their own, and their principles for integrating AI into customer-facing solutions.

It’s time to answer the call

How To Contact Mark and Jeff

Website: https://www.thisiswideopen.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markfithian/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rosenbergatl/

Email: [email protected] [email protected]

How To Contact David

Website: www.zenten.io

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidzemanek/

Email: [email protected]

Today, I’m sitting down with Mark Fithian and Jeff Rosenberg, the founders of Wide Open, a consultancy built to solve the hardest problems in customer experience.

Their story is a masterclass in what I call the 'Inside Game'. Mark and Jeff made the decision to leave the corporate track under circumstances that would make most people freeze: Mark was in his early 40s, had just bought a house, and had a new child at home.

But they realized that staying safe meant misaligning with who they were. In our conversation, Mark mentions that if his kids sat in on a business meeting today, they would actually recognize him. Their values aren't just 'stage props'—they are the engine of their business.

And that integrity has a massive ROI. Because they focused on maximizing client success rather than just dollars , they’ve reached a point where they spend almost no time looking for the next project—their clients simply keep bringing them new problems to solve.

We also discuss how their differences as partners gave them the confidence to strike out on their own, and their principles for integrating AI into customer-facing solutions.

It’s time to answer the call

How To Contact Mark and Jeff

Website: https://www.thisiswideopen.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markfithian/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rosenbergatl/

Email: [email protected] [email protected]

How To Contact David

Website: www.zenten.io

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidzemanek/

Email: [email protected]

In this episode, we sit down with Joe Budzinski, founder of Sales Nimbus, to trace his fascinating journey from a classically trained musician to a tech entrepreneur building his own SaaS platform.

Joe shares how the discipline of the viola and the grit of door-to-door sales shaped his unique approach to business leadership and innovation.

Joe discusses his early life in music, specifically how learning the viola—a "slow learning curve instrument"—taught him that getting 1% better each week compounds over time. He draws a parallel between the iterative process of rehearsing music and the Agile methodology used in software development.

Grit and The School of Hard Knocks: After pivoting away from a pre-med path, Joe cut his teeth doing commission-only, door-to-door sales in tough Philadelphia neighborhoods. He explains how facing rejection, "eating what you kill," and navigating dangerous areas taught him resilience and how to build a team.

Corporate Lessons & Agile Transformation: Joe details his transition to the corporate world at IBM, where he moved from being a "rule follower" to embracing Agile methodology. He compares his traditional "classical" mindset to discovering the "jazz" of Agile working styles, which transformed how he approaches productivity and leadership.

The Entrepreneurial Trap: Now the founder of Sales Nimbus, a digital marketing agency for tech startups, Joe opens up about the common trap of founders trying to do everything themselves. He shares how he is currently pivoting from a service-based agency to building Nimbus OS, an automated "CMO in a box" SaaS product designed to solve scalable marketing challenges

How To Contact Joe

Website: https://salesnimbus.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephbudzinski/

Email: [email protected]

How To Contact David

Website: www.zenten.io

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidzemanek/

Email: [email protected]

Today, I’m sitting down with Mark Fithian and Jeff Rosenberg, the founders of Wide Open, a consultancy built to solve the hardest problems in customer experience.

Their story is a masterclass in what I call the 'Inside Game'. Mark and Jeff made the decision to leave the corporate track under circumstances that would make most people freeze: Mark was in his early 40s, had just bought a house, and had a new child at home.

But they realized that staying safe meant misaligning with who they were. In our conversation, Mark mentions that if his kids sat in on a business meeting today, they would actually recognize him. Their values aren't just 'stage props'—they are the engine of their business.

And that integrity has a massive ROI. Because they focused on maximizing client success rather than just dollars , they’ve reached a point where they spend almost no time looking for the next project—their clients simply keep bringing them new problems to solve.

We also discuss how their differences as partners gave them the confidence to strike out on their own, and their principles for integrating AI into customer-facing solutions.

It’s time to answer the call

In today's episode, we dive into the creative journey of Aric Cheston, a designer and artist from Austin, Texas. 

What is most amazing about Aric, and I’ve known him for over a decade, is that Aric is so committed to his internal scorecard in making career decisions that continuously favor excitement and enjoyment over money. 

There’s always a lot we can learn about ourselves from what excites us during our formative years, and Aric shares his childhood passion for world-building with action figures, which laid the foundation for his career in design. 

We'll explore his pivotal moments, from working with BMW to embracing the convergence of art and technology. Like some other designers I know, Aric has jumped into AI coding with both feet. In this episode, he gives us his insights on the future of education with AI, and shares how AI closes the gaps to allow those with creativity to move faster from idea to implementation to bring their visions and ideas to life. 

Connect with Aric:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ariccheston/

How To Contact David

Website: www.zenten.io

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidzemanek/

Email: [email protected]