Maddie and Ben keep this one in the family and talk about what they're grateful for, how experience (and QSTAC!) were totally trending at the SMWorld conference in Orlando last week, and more.

Happy Thanksgiving everybody!!

Ben's Links:
QSTAC: https://www.ITXM.com
Ben's Book: https://www.amazon.com/Badass-Support-Ben-Brennan/dp/1544510276/

This is the perfect guest for the week leading up to the HDI conference in Orlando next week!

Terri Oropeza is known throughout the IT Services and Support Community by those in the know. She has put on countless events, several of which I've spoken at and attended, and as we discussed, she's had leadership roles in countless professional organizations, in addition to teaching at Cabrillo College, running her own business back in the day and more. It was also learning her origin story. 

Terri likes to "lead from the back" and isn't one to grab the spotlight, but after an IT conference in Vegas last year, I was able to talk her into coming on the pod and share a little bit about her, what she's passionate about, and of course the conversation goes everywhere, as usual, so we hit a number of topics. 

What makes this unique is it's the first conversation we've had that really talks about why you should join professional organizations, the importance of community, and I really learned a lot from hearing her perspective. 

Find Terri on LinkedIn and reach out, especially if you want to get involved in HDI or other professional organizations!

https://www.linkedin.com/in/toropeza/

Ben's Links:
QSTAC: https://www.ITXM.com
Ben's Book: https://www.amazon.com/Badass-Support-Ben-Brennan/dp/1544510276/

Jonathan Hernandez is CEO of Professional Programs LLC, the book and services provider for conferences like Black Hat, Pink, HDI and more. 

He's also my favorite face to see at any conference I speak at. We start out talking friendship, then business, then come in for the kill with our Carrot Top in Vegas Story. Jonathan's links are below and next time you're at a conference, swing by the bookstore, you might see his beautiful face!

Jonathan's Links:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-d-hernandez-6b7a16155/
http://www.professionalprograms.net/

Ben's Links:
QSTAC: https://www.ITXM.com
Ben's Book: https://www.amazon.com/Badass-Support-Ben-Brennan/dp/1544510276/

Patti's Links!
https://www.linkedin.com/in/pattiblackstaffe
https://mobile.twitter.com/patblackstaffe
https://globalsway.com/

Maddie makes another guest appearance to produce the pod and try a new format for today's illustrious guest, Patti Blackstaffe. Patti is humble and brilliant, and artist and CEO, a leader and a human, and we talk about how all that stuff is related. Must listen, enough said. Patti is the absolute best. Period. Enjoy the show!

Ben's Links:
QSTAC: https://www.ITXM.com
Ben's Book: https://www.amazon.com/Badass-Support-Ben-Brennan/dp/1544510276/

Hanah is a force to be reckoned with, and one of the best humans I have ever worked with in IT. 

Her proactive approach to customer experience and operational excellence led to her winning the HDI national award for technician of the year. She was also one of the first people to ever "max out" the QSTAC experience score with a world class IT experience rating. 

People love Hanah, and I love this conversation. If you have any aspirations of one day delivering a world class customer experience, Hanah tells you what it's really like in this episode. 

Hanah on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alihanah/

Ben's Links:
QSTAC: https://www.ITXM.com
Ben's Book: https://www.amazon.com/Badass-Support-Ben-Brennan/dp/1544510276/

Leadership, baby!

If you haven't heard NJ speak, get on it! NJ is a rising superstar and is speaking at 3 events in the next couple of months, In DC, Pittsburgh, Orlando, you name it.

He's an awesome human and a blast to talk to. Some speakers or IT leaders you meet and have the same conversation over and over. Every time I get to talk to NJ, it is genuine, fun, and I leave inspired to be a better speaker, writer, leader and person.

Follow NJ on LinkedIn to stay in the know about where he's speaking and make sure to attend one of his talks soon!

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Ben's Links:
QSTAC: https://www.ITXM.com
Ben's Book: https://www.amazon.com/Badass-Support-Ben-Brennan/dp/1544510276/

Ben's Links:
QSTAC: https://www.ITXM.com
Ben's Book: https://www.amazon.com/Badass-Support-Ben-Brennan/dp/1544510276/

Leadership, Metrics, MSPs, oh my!

Todd Kane is the President of Evolved Management Consulting, helping managed IT companies increase profit and decrease stress.

He's also just a righteous dude, smart as a whip, and has a podcast that I highly recommend if you're an MSP or MSP adjacent.

He joins IT After Hours from Nanaimo, BC in Canada and he is everything that is right out the managed IT consulting and services space. As per usual, the convo is all over the map and gets particularly good at the end when we talk about management, culture, rewards and metrics so you're in for a treat. His links are below, thanks for tuning in and share us with a friend!

Todd's Links:

LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/toddakane
Evolved Management Consulting: https://www.evolvedmgmt.com/
Podcast: https://www.evolvedmgmt.com/podcast

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Ben's Links:
QSTAC: https://www.ITXM.com
Ben's Book: https://www.amazon.com/Badass-Support-Ben-Brennan/dp/1544510276/

Ben's Links:
QSTAC: https://www.ITXM.com
Ben's Book: https://www.amazon.com/Badass-Support-Ben-Brennan/dp/1544510276/

Welcome to Best-Of week. The team is at Vegas for a conf so we're taking the highest rated episodes from season one and launching a new one every day this week during the HDI conf. 

This was the MOST MEANINGFUL episode of season one in our opinion, even though each of these best-ofs are absolute bangers. Subscribe, tell a friend and come back tomorrow for another best-of episode, these are gold!

Tori Paulman (They/Them) is a Senior Director Analyst at Gartner, a former enterprise senior IT leader and a certified badass when it comes to humanizing IT. They speak and write about humanistic IT, the future of work, the modern workplace and much more. 

Our discussion today covers everything from what it's like to move to SF with nothing and forge a career, why we should be "bangin' in the fundamentals" when it comes to IT, inclusion, and being an ally not just to our LGBTQ+ friends, but all of our coworkers.

Tori shares some epic stories about coming up, people who made a difference and their unique story of being able to be openly non-binary at work.

We also have a blast and geek out and everything you'd expect from an episode of IT After Hours, so share this pod with 5 friends this week and let's get the word out!

Tori's Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/toripaulman/
________________
Learn more about Ben and the Pod:

Subscribe and Rate us on iTunes!!: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/it-after-hours/id1566762084
Learn about QSTAC: https://www.qstac.com/
Read Ben's Book, Badass IT Support: https://www.amazon.com/Badass-Support-Ben-Brennan/dp/1544510276/
Connect on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benbrennan/
The music for the intro and outro comes from my favorite band of all time, Steamroller from Austin, TX. Thanks everyone for listening, and see you next time at IT After Hours!

Ben's Links:
QSTAC: https://www.ITXM.com
Ben's Book: https://www.amazon.com/Badass-Support-Ben-Brennan/dp/1544510276/

Welcome to Best-Of week. The team is at Vegas for a conf so we're taking the highest rated episodes from season one and launching a new one every weekday. 

This was the most fun episode of IT After Hours with Maddie Blumenthal, it's a banger, enjoy and come back tomorrow for the next big hit from season 1!

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Today's episode part one of our chat with Maddie Blumenthal, a chat that had so much goodness we had to break it up into two parts!

Maddie is QSTAC's new VP of Customer Success and a force of nature when it comes to building teams that understand and deliver for customers.

In part one Maddie and Ben tell stories of their early days in San Francisco, working their way up the ladder professionally and talk about why Customer Success and IT are so similar. 

If you like what you hear, make sure to subscribe so you don't miss part 2 and if you can, leave a review and a rating on apple podcasts as it really helps us spread the word! Here's where you can find Maddie B online: 

• Linkedin:https://www.linkedin.com/in/maddie-blumenthal-10a39a2a
• QSTAC: QSTAC.com/Demo

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Learn more about Ben and the Pod:

• Subscribe and Rate us on iTunes!!: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/it-after-hours/id1566762084
• Learn about QSTAC: https://www.qstac.com/
• Read Ben's Book, Badass IT Support: https://www.amazon.com/Badass-Support-Ben-Brennan/dp/1544510276/
• Connect on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benbrennan/

Ben's Links:
QSTAC: https://www.ITXM.com
Ben's Book: https://www.amazon.com/Badass-Support-Ben-Brennan/dp/1544510276/

Welcome to Best-Of week. The team is at Vegas for a conf so we're taking the highest rated episodes from season one and launching a new one every day this week during the HDI conf. 

This was my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE EPISODE of season one, even though each of these best-ofs are absolute bangers. Subscribe, tell a friend and come back tomorrow for another best-of episode, these are gold!

--

Dueling Interviews!! Jeff turned the tables and insisted that he get to interview me as well for the pod, so this is the first ever dueling interviews episode of IT After Hours. 

Jeff Rumburg is co-founder and Managing Partner of MetricNet, LLC. He was awarded the Ron Muns Lifetime Achievement Award by HDI for his contributions to the IT Service and Support industry. He has authored a best-selling book on Benchmarking and has published more than 100 whitepapers on IT Support Best Practices. He has also been retained as a service and support expert by more than half of the FORTUNE 1000, including such well-known companies as American Express, Intel, General Motors, IBM, and USAA.

More importantly, he's a great human and I love talking to him. This conversation goes all over the place and it gets better and better so stay till the end!

If you like what you hear, make sure to subscribe so you don't miss the next episode, and if you can, leave a review and a rating on apple podcasts as it really helps us spread the word! 

• Find out more about MetricNet: https://www.metricnet.com

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Learn more about Ben and the Pod:

• Subscribe and Rate us on iTunes!!: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/it-after-hours/id1566762084
• Learn about QSTAC: https://www.qstac.com/
• Read Ben's Book, Badass IT Support: https://www.amazon.com/Badass-Support-Ben-Brennan/dp/1544510276/
• Connect on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benbrennan/

The music for the intro and outro comes from my favorite band of all time, Steamroller from Austin, TX. Thanks guys and thanks everyone for listening, see you next time at IT After Hours!

Ben's Links:
QSTAC: https://www.ITXM.com
Ben's Book: https://www.amazon.com/Badass-Support-Ben-Brennan/dp/1544510276/