It's our annual holiday episode, with your original hosts -- Devin and Jim. While the debate over "Die Hard as a Christmas movie" is settled (it is), there are still plenty of things to discuss this holiday season, so come have a listen.

Jimmy is joined by Tim Schumm, CEO of Lucas James Talent Partners to discuss The Great Resignation. Just about everyone has been impacted by this personally or professionally in some capacity, but mid market businesses can feel this even more acutely. They discuss the macro trends that are driving this phenomenon and then share what the most create mid-market companies are doing to win the war for talent.

We're hiring! ParkerGale VPs Ben and Nori join Jimmy to discuss the Investment Associate role at ParkerGale. They discuss Associate responsibilities, core values, and what makes the job unique (including, but not limited to, great office snacks). Please share with interested friends or colleagues.

Jimmy is joined by Eric Green, co-founder of WPD Management, a Chicago-based real-estate and property management company, to discuss the recent transformation that Eric guided WPD Management through. They discuss Eric's founder's story and how he built the business, the realization that he needed to extract himself from the day-to-day operations, and how over a 18-month period, he deployed the ParkerGale People Ops playbook, empowered his team, and transformed his business. Jim joins in on the fun to frame the dialogue with Jimmy.

Jimmy is joined by Amanda Lannert, much lauded CEO of Chicago-based Jellyvision, to discuss how Jellyvision is transforming their culture as we emerge from the grips of the pandemic. They discuss how COVID impacted Jellyvision's business, how she has embraced the mantra "purpose, and not presence," how they are re-thinking company communication, and what her team is now doing to invest in meaningful relationships.

ParkerGale Operating Principal Paul Stansik is joined by Zorian Rotenberg, former head of Sales, CRO, and now a PE growth advisor. Zorian and Paul share their approach to diagnosing and addressing typical growth problems, how sales teams can use simple math to set better pipeline targets, and what sets great CROs apart.

Jimmy Holloran and Paul Stansik share the lessons they've learned inside the portfolio from the last 2+ years working on teams, talent, and culture. They cover how to get the most out of your next team offsite, what great management training has in common, how to make hiring and performance management more human, and how ParkerGale thinks about fostering cultures that last.

Ryan Milligan discusses the state of the Canadian M&A market with Pierre Chamberland, founder of NetGovern. Pierre describes his roughly 20-year journey from entrepreneur to selling to private equity, followed by a discussion on the state of investing and M&A in Canada and differences with the US market.

Inspired by their friend Dave Kellogg, Devin & Jim discuss the questions Limited Partners (and prospective Limited Partners) ask that you should always know off the top of your head. These are the questions that responding with "let me get back to you on that" will make you look bad, unprepared, or just plain out of touch.

Devin and Cici sit down to discuss how we do commercial due diligence at ParkerGale. You know, all the market sizing, customer calls, surveys, competitive analysis you do after LOI but before you close the deal. We have two eras here at PG -- the way we did commercial diligence before Cici joined us and the way we do it now. Lots of good stuff to learn before you dive into your next transaction. Learn from the best and take notes. We promise it's going to help.