Better Business, Better Life

Per Sjöfors is the Founder and CEO of Sjöfors & Partners Inc, Los Angeles. He used pricing as the lever to turn around several European and US companies in his 25 years of executive management experience. Per believes that what business schools teach about pricing is too abstract for executives to act on and has made it his life’s work to make pricing practical and actionable.

Per has a unique appreciation for the importance of optimal pricing and brings with him his international experience of pricing practices from a global perspective. He has helped over 600 clients substantially increase sales and profits by bringing understanding of how pricing affects sales volume, adding billions to their bottom line.

HOST'S DETAILS:

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►Debra Chantry-Taylor is a Professional EOS Implementer | Entrepreneurial Leadership & Business Coach | Business Owner

►See how she can help you: https://www.businessaction.com.au/

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GUESTS DETAILS:

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►Website:https://www.persjofors.com/

►Books:

1. The Price Whisperer: A Holistic Approach to Pricing Power: https://www.amazon.com/Price-Whisperer-Holistic-Approach-Pricing/dp/1637351178

2. 7 Easy Steps To Successfully Increase Prices: ...And Keep Your Customers Happy: https://www.amazon.com/Easy-Steps-Successfully-Increase-Prices-ebook/dp/B015GOOMJY/ref=sr_1_2?qid=1663298761&refinements=p_27%3APer+Sjofors&s=books&sr=1-2&text=Per+Sjofors

In this episode of Better Business, Better Life, Debra Chantry-Taylor is joined by Certified EOS Implementer® Jeff Starin to share the remarkable story of how he grew his business by 484% after implementing EOS® & transforming the way he led his company.

Jeff’s entrepreneurial journey is anything but ordinary. After leaving college to become a professional pool player, he started an auto parts business with the simple goal of earning enough money to one day open a pool hall. Over the years, he built the company into a successful business, but after reaching around $5 million in revenue, growth completely stalled. For four consecutive years, sales remained virtually unchanged, leaving Jeff searching for a better way forward.

Everything changed when Jeff discovered the Entrepreneurial Operating System®. Like many business owners, he initially chose to self-implement after reading Traction. While the tools helped, he quickly realised that trying to facilitate the process himself limited the results. Bringing in an experienced EOS® Implementer became the turning point, giving his leadership team the accountability, structure & objective guidance they needed to gain real Traction®.

One of the biggest breakthroughs came through redesigning The Accountability Chart® & clearly defining the Visionary & Integrator roles. Jeff explains how understanding his natural strengths as a Visionary & finding the right Integrator to drive execution allowed him to stop being the bottleneck in the business. By learning to delegate effectively & empowering others to lead, the company experienced dramatic improvements in both performance & culture.

Debra & Jeff also discuss the power of EOS® tools such as Level 10 Meeting® & IDS®. Jeff shares why helping leadership teams identify the real issue, instead of treating symptoms, transforms the quality of conversations, accelerates decision-making & creates a stronger culture of accountability. They also explore why difficult conversations become much easier when leadership teams have clear data, defined expectations & a proven framework for solving problems.

Throughout the episode, Jeff shares practical leadership lessons that extend beyond EOS®, including why businesses move at the speed of their decisions, the importance of understanding what customers are truly paying for, & why happiness often lies on the other side of the difficult conversations leaders avoid.

This episode is essential listening for entrepreneurs who want to grow their business, overcome the plateau many companies experience, & discover how EOS® can help build a stronger leadership team, create greater accountability & unlock sustainable long-term growth.

CONNECT WITH DEBRA:   

___________________________________________        

►Debra Chantry-Taylor is a Certified EOS Implementer® | Entrepreneurial Leadership & Business Coach | Business Owner

►Connect with Debra: [email protected]

►See how she can help you: https://businessaction.co.nz/

►Claim Your Free E-Book: https://www.businessaction.co.nz/free-e-book/

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GUEST’S DETAILS:

► Jeff Starin – LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffstarineosimplementer

► Website – Entrepreneurs Organization - Los Angeles Valley: https://eolavalley.com

Ep 282 Chapters:

00:00 – Introduction

00:57 – Building a Business by Accident

02:02 – Discovering EOS and Achieving 484% Growth

06:03 – Visionary vs Integrator: Finding the Missing Piece

08:02 – The Difference Between Visionaries and Integrators

22:20 – Helping Businesses Grow Is the Greatest Reward

44:34 – Jeff's Top Three Business Lessons

"Being an excellent husband, father, friend & entrepreneur is a choice. Easy to say, hard to do." That's how Corey describes himself on his LinkedIn Profile & when you listen to this podcast you'll understand how he achieves all of these.

Corey works as the Co-Owner & President of All Volleyball Inc - a family-owned business that has been running for many years.

Just 2 years ago, after trying to implement many other business systems, the family business decided to go with EOS & use a professional implementer to help them.

In that time they have survived & thrived throughout a pandemic & grown the business to 5x its revenue. However, it hasn't been without its challenges.

Find out why they chose to go with EOS, what it has done for the business & how they went from 5 family members on the leadership team down to just one but how they still all get along & love each other.

Their story is VERY inspiring & if you're a family business owner or part of a family business, you will take a lot from this episode.

In this episode of Better Business, Better Life, Debra Chantry-Taylor is joined by Kris Snyder, Chief Advocate at Ninety.io, to explore how EOS® Powered by AI is helping leadership teams work smarter, run better meetings & build scalable businesses.

Kris shares his journey from building five software companies & surviving the dot-com crash to becoming an EOS® Implementer & one of the driving forces behind Ninety.io. Today, the platform supports more than 18,000 companies & over 300,000 users, while staying grounded in the core principles of EOS®.

A major focus of the conversation is how AI is transforming the way businesses use EOS®. Kris explains that AI is not replacing the EOS® process or the role of the EOS® Implementer. Instead, it removes administrative work, surfaces insights & helps leadership teams spend more time solving real business issues.

Debra & Kris discuss how AI-powered tools within Ninety.io can improve meeting preparation, identify patterns, provide visibility into team performance & help leaders ask better questions. They also explore how Ninety.io is balancing innovation with the simplicity that makes EOS® so effective.

Beyond technology, Kris shares why exit planning should begin long before a business owner is ready to sell. He explains how EOS® helps businesses become less dependent on the founder by building stronger leadership teams, clearer accountability & systems that allow the business to thrive independently.

Throughout the episode, Debra & Kris reinforce that while AI can improve productivity & efficiency, lasting business success still depends on clear leadership, disciplined execution & meaningful human relationships.

This episode is essential listening for entrepreneurs & leadership teams who want to understand how EOS® Powered by AI can improve meetings, strengthen accountability, simplify operations & build a business ready for the future.

CONNECT WITH DEBRA:   

___________________________________________        

►Debra Chantry-Taylor is a Certified EOS Implementer® | Entrepreneurial Leadership & Business Coach | Business Owner

►Connect with Debra: [email protected]

►See how she can help you: https://businessaction.co.nz/

►Claim Your Free E-Book: https://www.businessaction.co.nz/free-e-book/

___________________________________________      

GUEST’S DETAILS:

► Kris Snyder – LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/krissnyder/

► Website – Kris Snyder: https://krissnyder.com/

Ep 281 Chapters:

00:00 – Introduction

47:04 – Transition to EOS and Ninety.io

47:19 – Changes in Ninety.io and EOS Purity

47:33 – Impact of AI on EOS and Ninety.io

47:47 – Challenges and Opportunities in EOS Implementation

50:11 – Planning for Exit and Personal Growth

50:44 – Advocacy and Community Building

53:26 – Final Thoughts and Tips

Do you have an exit strategy?

Because guess what, we are all going to exit our businesses one day, simply because we are human. That's the bottom line.

Most people don't think about who the most important investor is in their business, which of course is themselves. Even if they're 100%, shareholder, they are the most important investor in the business. So thinking about somewhere down the track, how you're going to move on from that business is essential.

Kerry Boulton is a professional EOS Implementer, a certified exit planner and a certified value builder. In this episode, she discusses the necessity of having an exit strategy, even if you're planning on staying in the business for decades to come. She shares the 5 questions you must ask yourself to put an exit strategy in place and why it's important to think about these things to be in control.

Listen to find out how you can strategise now to exit on your terms, in your timeframe.

In this episode of Better Business, Better Life, Debra Chantry-Taylor sits down with Niki Wilson, founder of Snapline Systems and Professional EOS Implementer®, to explore the challenges of attempting to self-implement EOS and why many leadership teams ultimately realise they need external support.

Niki shares her journey as the first employee of a fast-growing software company, where she worked closely with an inspiring Visionary owner to help scale the business. As the company grew, clarity around roles, priorities & accountability became increasingly difficult.

Together, Niki & the owner recognised that EOS® was exactly what the business needed. Like many leadership teams, they initially chose to self-implement, believing they could learn & apply the tools themselves.

While self-implementing EOS® created significant improvements, Niki explains that it also revealed its limitations. Leadership time that could have been focused on growing the business was instead spent facilitating sessions, learning the process & keeping everyone aligned.

Eventually, they realised that bringing in an objective EOS® Implementer could accelerate progress, challenge assumptions & allow the leadership team to focus on leading rather than facilitating.

A major theme throughout the conversation is the power of the Accountability Chart®. Niki describes it as one of the most transformational EOS® tools because it creates clarity around roles, responsibilities & expectations. Rather than organising people around job titles, the Accountability Chart® helps leadership teams build the structure the business actually needs to achieve its vision.

The discussion also covers the impact of the Level 10 Meeting®, the EOS® Proven Process & why consistent execution is far more valuable than trying to customise or shortcut the system. Throughout the episode, Niki emphasises that EOS® is not simply a collection of business tools. It is a complete operating system that delivers the greatest results when followed as designed.

This episode is essential listening for entrepreneurs considering self-implementing EOS®, leadership teams looking to create greater clarity & accountability, & business owners who want to understand when bringing in an experienced EOS® Implementer can dramatically accelerate their journey towards Vision, Traction, Healthy™.

CONNECT WITH DEBRA:   

___________________________________________        

►Debra Chantry-Taylor is a Certified EOS Implementer | Entrepreneurial Leadership & Business Coach | Business Owner

►Connect with Debra: [email protected]

►See how she can help you: https://businessaction.co.nz/

►Claim Your Free E-Book: https://www.businessaction.co.nz/free-e-book/

___________________________________________      

GUEST’S DETAILS:

► Niki Wilson – LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/niki-t-wilson/

► Website – EOS Worldwide: Niki Wilson, EOS Implementer, New Orleans | EOS Implementer | EOS Worldwide

Ep 280 Chapters:

00:00 – Introduction

00:51 – Nikki Wilson’s Background and EOS® Journey

03:22 – Challenges of Self-Implementing EOS®

03:36 – The Role of the Accountability Chart®

05:22 – The Impact of EOS® Tools and Meetings

10:55 – Focus Day and the EOS® Proven Process

18:59 – The Role of an EOS® Implementer

21:39 – The Visionary–Integrator Dynamic

27:36 – The Power of the Issues Solving Track (IDS)

31:33 – Top Tips and Tools for Success

Liam Forde is the founder & CEO of The Zone, which empowers people to integrate their head and their heart, unlock their whole person and unleash the collective intelligence of their organisations and teams.

In this podcast, we talk about the lessons he has learned from building his own company up to 600 staff & $30 million revenue as well as the lessons he has worked with some of the largest companies around the world.

• Who am I?
• What do I stand for (or against)?
• Where am I going?
• What is my mission/purpose?

Leadership, culture and sustainability are defined by your answers to these questions. Life is a balance between your inner world and your outer world.

How you define yourself is one of the most important tasks you will ever undertake because this directs how you will interact with the world, with others, your family, friends and work colleagues.

As a leader, we create big ripples. We create ripples as much by how we are being as what we are doing. What legacy do you want to leave?

Do you want to be a net Giver or a net Taker?

This is how Liam introduces himself on his LinkedIn Profile. He has worked in over 35 countries in dozens of different settings from Africa to Australia, Asia to America, the Middle East to Europe....in mud huts and in corporate towers.

His mission is to show leaders how to be masters of their own destiny, and to pay that forward.

By making organisations more human, they unlock performance, talent, value, and happiness. Be better, do better. Make your organisation more human. Make the world more sustainable.

In this episode of Better Business, Better Life, Debra Chantry-Taylor sits down with AI expert & “AI Whisperer” Severin Sorensen discuss about how AI isn't replacing you, but it's making you more valuable.

Severin shares his remarkable journey from writing an entire book with AI in just five days to becoming a leading advocate for the ethical use of artificial intelligence. Rather than seeing AI as a replacement for people, Severin believes its real power lies in amplifying human capability, helping leaders think better, solve problems faster & create greater value.

One of the biggest ideas in this conversation is the power of using multiple AI models instead of relying on just one. Severin explains how different AI platforms have different strengths, & how leaders can orchestrate them together to create a powerful “thinking team” that challenges ideas, improves decisions & produces stronger results than a single model working alone.

This philosophy forms the foundation of his latest book, Claude Conductor, which explores how AI can be used as an intelligent orchestrator, not just a chatbot.

Debra & Severin also discuss practical ways to improve AI efficiency. From writing better prompts & defining tasks clearly before execution to converting PDFs into markdown files to reduce token costs, Severin shares techniques that can help leaders increase productivity while reducing unnecessary AI expenses.

The conversation also tackles one of the most important topics surrounding artificial intelligence today: ethics. Severin explains why businesses must develop & use AI responsibly, ensuring it strengthens human judgement rather than replacing it. He encourages leaders to treat AI as a trusted thinking partner that asks better questions, challenges assumptions & supports more informed decisions.

This episode is essential listening for entrepreneurs, business owners & leadership teams who want to move beyond basic prompting & unlock the true potential of artificial intelligence to build a better business & a better life.

CONNECT WITH DEBRA:   

___________________________________________        

►Debra Chantry-Taylor is a Certified EOS Implementer | Entrepreneurial Leadership & Business Coach | Business Owner

►Connect with Debra: [email protected]

►See how she can help you: https://businessaction.co.nz/

►Claim Your Free E-Book: https://www.businessaction.co.nz/free-e-book/

___________________________________________      

GUEST’S DETAILS:

► Severin Sorensen – LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/severinsorensen

► Website – ePraxis: https://www.epraxis.com

Ep 279 Chapters:

00:00 – Introduction

00:39 – Ethical AI and Personal Efficiency

04:53 – Becoming the AI Whisperer

10:29 – The Role of AI in Coaching and Business

15:29 – Ethical Considerations and the Future of AI

41:03 – Practical Applications and Efficiency in AI Use

53:44 – The Impact of AI on Business and Society

56:45 – Final Thoughts and Future Outlook

Scott's book is called, "The Entrepreneurs Field Guide - Design your life before someone else does it for you!" but in fact, you could insert any other phrase in there - 'your year', 'your day', 'your business' etc.

Success isn’t rocket science. It’s all about getting clear on what you want and focusing on it. Take a moment and ask yourself, what would happen if you set huge ambitions and designed your life around making these things real?

So, as we head into the New Year, have you planned out what you want that year to look like.

• Are you serious about what is truly important & have blocked time out for it in your calendar?
• Do you know the optimal number of days that you want to work in the year?
• Have you planned out all your holidays & family events?
• Are you choosing the people you spend time with?
• Do you fire friends who don't share the same values?
• Do you use the delegate & elevate tool to decide what's important to you in your personal life?

In this episode, Scott shares how he plans out his year to suit his life, how he uses the EOS People Analyser to decide which family & friends fit into his 5, 15, 150 model & how he uses the Delegate & Elevate tool to understand what he should spend his time doing.

If you're ready to this year your best year yet then you listen in & hear how the EOS tools can help you to design your year before someone else does it for you!

In this episode of Better Business, Better Life, Debra Chantry-Taylor sits down with Darryl Dillon-Shallard, Chief Growth Officer at Butterfly, to explore how AI is making custom software affordable again.

Drawing on nearly two decades of experience in the digital industry, Darryl shares his journey from graphic designer to digital strategist, including the development of the My Stable app for horse trainers and his work helping organisations build custom digital solutions that solve real business problems.

The conversation explores how AI is fundamentally changing software development. Darryl explains that artificial intelligence is dramatically reducing the time and cost required to prototype new ideas, making custom-built applications more accessible than ever before. Rather than forcing businesses to adapt their processes to off-the-shelf software, organisations can increasingly develop solutions tailored to the way they already operate.

While AI presents exciting opportunities, Darryl cautions against rushing into development without proper planning. He explains why investing time in discovery, understanding user needs, creating a detailed project brief, and choosing the right development partner are all essential to delivering scalable, maintainable solutions that provide long-term value.

The episode also looks at the evolution of digital technology, from the early days of Flash websites and mobile apps to today's cloud-based web applications powered by artificial intelligence. Darryl shares why many organisations are shifting towards browser-based applications that streamline internal workflows, improve productivity, and solve operational challenges more effectively than traditional mobile apps.

Whether you're considering a custom application, exploring AI opportunities, or simply trying to understand where technology is heading, this conversation offers practical insights into how businesses can innovate with confidence while avoiding costly mistakes.

CONNECT WITH DEBRA:     
___________________________________________          
►Debra Chantry-Taylor is a Certified EOS Implementer | Entrepreneurial Leadership & Business Coach | Business Owner 
►Connect with Debra: [email protected]  
►See how she can help you: https://businessaction.co.nz/  
►Claim Your Free E-Book: https://www.businessaction.co.nz/free-e-book/  
___________________________________________        
GUEST’S DETAILS:   
► Darryl Dillon-Shallard – LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darryl-dillon-shallard/ 
► Website – Butterfly: https://www.butterfly.com.au/ 
 

Episode 278 Chapters:    
00:00 – Introduction   
00:38 – Introduction and Overview of Digital Transformation  
05:36 – Evolution of Web and App Development  
09:51 – Challenges and Pitfalls in Digital Development  
18:04 – Comparing Quotes and Making Informed Decisions  
18:24 – Examples of Successful Projects  
25:42 – Future Trends in Digital Development  
26:29 – Final Thoughts and Tips for Listeners