Management Blueprint

Sam McKenna, Founder of #samsales Consulting, is driven by a mission to elevate the sales profession through manners-first sales emails, authentic connections, and using her platform for positive impact.

We learn about Sam’s journey to redefine sales, focusing on her Impact First Email Framework, a six-step methodology for crafting personalized and effective outreach. The framework includes creating unique, recipient-specific subject lines, using authentic preview text, transitioning seamlessly into addressing the recipient’s challenges, preemptively handling objections, and avoiding the presumptive use of calendar links. She also highlights how modern sales require emotional intelligence, adaptability, and consultative skills. She shares insights on how sales professionals can stand out in today’s competitive landscape while using thoughtful strategies to drive success.

(1:25) Sam’s personal Why

(3:44) The Impact First Email Framework

(15:33) Modern traits for sales success

(23:57) Advice for entrepreneurs

(28:07) Connect with Sam

Links and Resources

Laszlo Balassy, CEO of ActiveGraf, is driven by a mission to help businesses become scenario smart, enabling faster, smarter decisions through real-time analytics and democratized data visualization.

We discuss the ActiveGraf Framework, a tool designed to align strategic objectives, identify key drivers, and enable dynamic, interactive models to accelerate decision-making and reduce sales cycles. Laszlo shares impactful use cases, such as shortening a global software firm’s sales cycle by 50% and enhancing food safety analytics for a fast food chain. He also highlights ActiveGraf’s future, including the integration of AI to simplify predictive and prescriptive analytics, making these tools more accessible to businesses of all sizes. He emphasizes the transformative potential of democratized analytics to help organizations optimize operations, demonstrate value, and achieve sustainable growth.

(1:49) Laszlo’s personal Why

(4:16) The ActiveGraf Framework

(6:35) Use cases: software sales and food safety

(12:52) The role of AI in ActiveGraf’s future

(22:24) Connect with Laszlo and learn more about ActiveGraf

Links and Resources

David Snider, Founder and CEO of Harness Wealth, is driven by a mission to help clients build financial confidence while making rapid decisions with clarity through modernized, tailored advisory solutions.

We learn about David’s journey from aspiring politician to private equity professional, and ultimately to entrepreneur. He explains the RAPID Framework—Recommend, Agree, Perform, Input, and Decide—a decision-making process he applies to foster collaboration and clarity within his team. He shares his insights on creating scalable solutions for complex financial and tax challenges, emphasizing the importance of empowering clients with tailored tools and resources. He also highlights the value of peer advisory groups and continuous learning to navigate leadership challenges effectively.

(1:32) David’s personal Why

(7:24) Advice for young entrepreneurs

(11:50) The RAPID Framework 

(19:17) How Harness Wealth empowers financial confidence

(22:19) Find out more about David and Harness Wealth

Links and Resources

• David’s LinkedIn 

Nick Jain, CEO of IdeaScale, is driven by a mission to help organizations innovate to success by democratizing innovation, enabling them to crowdsource and rank ideas from their entire ecosystem.

We learn about Nick’s journey from growing up in India and building a career in private equity to leading IdeaScale, the largest innovation-focused software company globally. He explains the ICE Framework—Innovate, Collaborate, and Execute—a philosophy and process that encourages continuous improvement, teamwork, and actionable results. He highlights how IdeaScale helps organizations like Pfizer and the U.S. federal government overcome constraints and systematically tap into collective intelligence for impactful innovation. He also shares the company’s commitment to adaptability and hard work, providing responsive, high-touch solutions for customers.

(0:44) Nick’s journey to leadership

(8:27) The ICE Framework

(10:37) How IdeaScale transforms innovation

(16:32) Building a team for continuous learning

(19:47) Learn more about Nick and IdeaScale

Links and Resources

Ron Crabtree, CEO of MetaExperts, is driven by a mission to stop waste in organizations by addressing digital transformation, labor shortages, and operational excellence.

We learn about Ron’s journey in supporting businesses, especially in manufacturing, to navigate these critical issues. He explains his framework for transformation, focusing on three pillars: digital transformation with practical applications of AI and automation, workforce development to address labor shortages, and Lean Six Sigma practices to eliminate waste and optimize processes. He highlights the importance of value stream mapping and applying the Pareto principle to target key areas for improvement, helping organizations become more efficient and resilient.

(1:34) Ron’s personal Why

(4:19)  The MetaOps Competitiveness Framework

(18:10) Value stream mapping

(21:27) Find out more about Ron

Links and Resources

• Ron’s LinkedIn 

Cary Lawrence, CEO of Decile, is driven by a passion for decoding human behavior to help businesses market to AI-generated avatars, build loyalty, and drive growth through data.

We discuss Cary’s four-step framework for customer engagement: collecting first-party data, identifying high-value customers, tailoring customer journeys, and tracking behaviors over time. She explains how Decile leverages AI to create detailed marketing personas, allowing brands to engage customers more effectively and optimize marketing spend. She emphasizes the importance of understanding customer nuances to build genuine connections, enabling brands to achieve sustainable growth by aligning with their customers’ unique needs and preferences.

(1:33) Cary’s personal Why

(4:24) The Customer Loyalty Framework

(16:34) Marketing approaches

(22:33) Cary’s most exciting project currently

(25:46) Learn more about Cary

Links and Resources

• Cary’s LinkedIn 

Christian Espinosa, Founder and CEO of Blue Goat Cyber, is driven by a mission to ensure medical device security while helping his team drive project efficiency through innovative compensation structures.

We learn about Christian’s journey from overcoming a life-threatening health scare to founding Blue Goat Cyber, focusing on medical device cybersecurity. He explains his approach to designing security into medical devices from the start, rather than trying to fix issues later. He shares his Efficiency Driver framework, which incentivizes his team to become more efficient by tying compensation to project outcomes. He also emphasizes the importance of emotional intelligence in cybersecurity, detailing his seven-step methodology for fostering self-awareness, communication, and continuous improvement within teams. His insights offer strategies for medical device manufacturers and cybersecurity professionals to ensure both innovation and safety in their products.

(1:30) Chrstian’s personal Why

(5:46) The Efficiency Driver Framework

(10:17) The Smartest Person in the Room by Christian Espinosa

(20:29) Learn more about Christian

Links and Resources

• Christian’s LinkedIn 

Janet Metzger, Business Strategist and Network Marketing Expert, is driven by a desire to help others achieve success by focusing on simplicity and consistency, and by always getting your head right first to stay motivated and clear.

We learn about Janet’s journey from corporate executive to expert in network marketing, where she now mentors others in achieving their business goals. She explains her simple and structured success formula, which includes building consistent daily habits, practicing gratitude, and focusing on personal development. She emphasizes the importance of simplifying business processes, staying accountable, and helping others uncover their own "Why" to stay motivated. Her approach offers practical strategies for entrepreneurs and network marketers to create disciplined routines, maintain a clear focus, and grow their businesses while aligning with their personal goals.

(1:14) Janet’s personal Why

(2:57) The 4 Step Success Formula

(20:16) A question for entrepreneurs

(22:58) Connect with Janet

Links and Resources

• Janet’s Facebook 

Jeff Berkowitz, co-founder and CEO of Delve Deep Learning, is driven by his passion to help businesses clone themselves into an AI, enabling them to navigate complexities and create prosperity through innovation.

We learn about Jeff’s journey from politics and public affairs to launching Delve Deep Learning, an AI-native company revolutionizing public affairs intelligence. He explains his AI Innovation Process, which includes training AI to be your intern, testing and selecting the best tools, deciding whether to be a buyer or builder, launching for external use, and iterating on the process. He also highlights how this approach helps businesses streamline workflows, scale services, and democratize access to AI-powered public affairs intelligence.

(1:31) Jeff’s personal Why

(5:43) The AI Innovation Process

(13:52) How your company can use this process

(19:40) Find out more about Jeff

Links and Resources

• Jeff’s LinkedIn 

Ryan Kauth, Business Coach, Facilitator, and Coleman Chair in Entrepreneurship at Marquette University, is driven by his mission to rekindle growth in family enterprises and serial founder-led businesses by helping owners develop strategic leadership.

We learn about Ryan’s journey from educator to business coach, working with family business owners and serial entrepreneurs to overcome growth plateaus and succession challenges. Ryan explains his five-category framework for rekindling growth, which includes leadership development, customer creation, culture, finance, and operations. He emphasizes the importance of moving from functional roles to strategic leadership, empowering teams, and preparing the next generation to lead family businesses successfully.

(1:18) Ryan’s personal Why

(4:44) The 5 Categories To Change

(15:49) Challenges of family enterprises

(24:42) Learn more about Ryan

Links and Resources

• Ryan’s LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryankauth/