Greg Tirico
Episode #540: Inventing Sequence — Interview ...
Episode #540: Inventing Sequence — Interview with Doug Reuter
Greg Tirico
Episode #539: We're not Done with Dunn — ...
Episode #539: We're not Done with Dunn — Interview with Paul Dunn
Greg Tirico
Episode #538: In the Octagon — Eighth interview ...
Episode #538: In the Octagon — Eighth interview with Joe Woodard
Greg Tirico
Episode #537: One of Our Own — Second interview ...
Episode #537: One of Our Own — Second interview with Mark Koziel
Greg Tirico
Episode #536: Crossing the Threshold — A New ...
Episode #536: Crossing the Threshold — A New Chapter Begins

Business

Episode #540: Inventing Sequence — Interview with Doug Reuter

NEW SHOW FEATURE: We are now LIVE streaming our shows. Want to join us live? Just click this link every Friday at 3pm ET / 12pm PT.

Ron and Ed sit down with Doug Reuter, the inventive mind behind the beloved board game Sequence. Doug shares the fascinating journey of bringing Sequence to life—a process that spanned four years of development, three years to secure licensing, and nearly another year before it hit store shelves in 1982. Beyond his success in the gaming industry, Doug delves into his political career, highlighting his two terms in the Minnesota House of Representatives. He discusses how his knack for strategy and rule-making in game design translated into his legislative work, where he adeptly utilized procedural rules to navigate political challenges. Join us for an engaging conversation that explores the intersections of creativity, entrepreneurship, and public service.

SHOW NOTES

Segment one

Segment two

  • 🎲 Our guest today, Doug Reuter — inventor of Sequence — served two terms in the Minnesota House (1997–2001), representing District 28A.

  • Doug Reuter worked to reinstate the original language regarding the House session opening prayer rule, emphasizing tradition. He succeeded.

  • In May 1999, Reuter left the Republican Party to become an Independent, citing concerns over partisan staff access. https://www.lrl.mn.gov/legdb/fulldetail?id=10559 

  • Doug is extremely proud (and should be) about his biggest legislative accomplishment. He collaborated across party lines with Rep. Phyllis Kahn to oppose Governor Ventura’s proposal for a unicameral legislature in Minnesota.

Segment three

  • 1 of 4: In 2013, Doug Reuter's son, Joel, a 28-year-old software engineer living in Seattle, was fatally shot by police during a mental health crisis.

  • 2 of 4: Motivated by this tragedy, Doug and Nancy Reuter advocated for legislative change, resulting in the enactment of "Joel's Law" in 2015.

  • 3 of 4: Since its implementation, "Joel's Law" has provided families with a critical tool to intervene during mental health crises.

  • 4 of 4: Nancy and Doug’s efforts are to be applauded. They took a personal tragedy and turned it into meaningful policy reform, in the hopes that other families would not have to suffer.

  • Doug Reuter, our guest today, mentioned the Treatment Advocacy Center which is an organization seeking to bring about similar change to Joel’s Law in states other than Washington. https://www.tac.org/ @taccommunicate

Segment four

  • 🇺🇸 Doug served six years in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War era, primarily as a Yeoman in the Seattle area. https://www.lrl.mn.gov/legdb/fulldetail?id=10559 

  • Doug has a new game sitting on his desk. He started it 8 years ago and the pieces of the game are staring him in the face. Maybe he will finish it for us :) 

  • From inventing Sequence to influencing mental health laws, our guest —Doug Reuter— shared his creativity and compassion with us today. Thank you Doug!!!

Bonus Content is Available As Well

Did you know that each week after our live show, Ron and Ed take to the microphone for a bonus show? Typically, this bonus show is an extension of the live show topic (sometimes even with the same guest) and a few other pieces of news, current events, or things that have caught our attention.

Click the “FANATIC” image to learn more about pricing and member benefits. 

Episode #539: We're not Done with Dunn — Interview with Paul Dunn

NEW SHOW FEATURE: We are now LIVE streaming our shows. Want to join us live? Just click this link every Friday at 3pm ET / 12pm PT.

In this episode of The Soul of Enterprise, Ron and Ed welcome Paul Dunn, a 4-time TEDx speaker, award-winning entrepreneur, and chairman of B1G1: Business for Good shares his insights on how small businesses can make a massive impact through purpose-driven initiatives. From transforming customer connections to embedding giving into everyday business activities, Paul’s wisdom will inspire you to think differently about success and significance.

SHOW NOTES

  • Big episode alert: The legendary Paul Dunn joins The Soul of Enterprise, dropping wisdom bombs on accounting, transformation, and the soul of business.

  • Ron Baker sets the tone: “Paul’s impact is impossible to overstate.” From original accounting bootcamps to B1G1—his journey is mind-blowing.

  • Paul’s core belief? “It’s not about the numbers. It’s about what happens beyond the numbers.” Business goes far deeper than spreadsheets.

  • Accountants, listen up: Paul calls you HEROES. “You change lives, you save lives, you transform lives.” Let’s stop hiding behind modesty—your impact is REAL.

  • But why don’t more accountants believe that? Paul says it’s a branding AND business model problem. Accountants are often the “last to get paid”… yet hold immense power and responsibility.

  • Paul’s big idea: “AI is giving us more time to be human.” The rise of tech in accounting frees us to focus on relationships, purpose, and impact, not rote tasks.

  • Letting go is the secret to flourishing. “The toughest part is letting go. But that’s how you create something bigger than yourself, an orchestra not a solo act.”

  • The best firms? They’re not just bottom-line driven—they let go, empower, and become multipliers for others’ growth.

  • “You’re not here just to report on history, but to create history for the people you serve.” Paul’s philosophy is all about making a dent in the universe.

  • Quoting Joe Pine: “The real purpose of business is to foster humanity flourishing.” That’s not just a slogan, it’s a mission.

  • How do we spread this transformation mindset? Paul says: “We must BE it and showcase the ones living it.” Let’s celebrate purpose-driven change, everywhere.

  • If Paul could add a new chapter to his book “Time’s Up”? It’d be “Let Go.” Think about the lives you could change—inside and outside your firm—by empowering others.

  • Purpose vs. Profit? “Profit is a result, not the purpose,” Paul says. “Set a vision that outlives you—and profits will follow as a byproduct.”

  • Paul’s take on Steve Jobs: “The storyteller sets the vision, values, agenda for a generation yet to come.” Accountants, you’re story creators for your clients!

  • Burnout isn’t what you think. Ron references Dr. Wendy Dean’s “moral injury”: Burnout comes when you’re prevented from doing right by your values—not just overwork.

  • His book recs: “Buy Back Your Time” by Dan Martell and “Work Backwards” by Tim Duggan. Both are game-changers for thinking about time & impact.

  • The B1G1 origin story is magic: A simple “what if”—what if every transaction did good in the world? Buy a TV, give the gift of sight. Drink coffee, fund clean water.

  • Paul’s through-line: “It’s never about you. Find something greater to contribute to. Ripple effects matter more than ego.”

  • And a parting mic-drop: “When your vision becomes more powerful than your memory, your future becomes more powerful than your past.” Read that again.

Bonus Content is Available As Well

Did you know that each week after our live show, Ron and Ed take to the microphone for a bonus show? Typically, this bonus show is an extension of the live show topic (sometimes even with the same guest) and a few other pieces of news, current events, or things that have caught our attention.

Click the “FANATIC” image to learn more about pricing and member benefits. 

Episode #538: In the Octagon — Eighth interview with Joe Woodard

NEW SHOW FEATURE: We are now LIVE streaming our shows. Want to join us live? Just click this link every Friday at 3pm ET / 12pm PT.

What do David Allen's Getting Things Done, Daniel Susskind's A World Without Work, and AppleTV's Severence have in common? They are all on the mind of Ron and Ed's Guest for this episode, Joe Woodard. This will be Joe's record-extending EIGHTH appearance on T$oE. He is always an audience favorite. So buckle up! As always it will be a fast-paced wide-ranging conversation with him.

SHOW NOTES

Segment one

  • At the Woodard Conference this year, we have no other than DAVID ALLEN of Getting Things Done. Unlike any book on productivity, David Allen is focused on prioritization largely through elimination 

  • “You should never have a thought twice unless you enjoy having that thought” —David Allen

  • Declaring email bankruptcy is something that David Allen addresses is his book, Getting Things Done.

  • I’ve got to be honest, I’m having a hard time keeping up with Joe Woodard and his dive into Getting Things Done by David Allen

Segment two

  • Ron mentioned this book in segment two: Daniele Sussskind, A World Without Work https://www.amazon.com/World-Without-Work-Technology-Automation/dp/1250173515 

  • Not to push you in a direction but this is great. Your thoughts? “Work without work is defined in the service of humanity”

  • “Moving to the transformation economy is where we are going to head next.” —Ron Baker

  • Regarding AI, “No, it does not have a soul.” —Joe Woodard

Segment three

  • The answer to, “How do I find a job?” You figure out a way to serve your fellow man. —Ed Kless

  • In the future: “We’re going to see some better version of humanity. But I don’t think that humanity will be doing what we currently call work.” —Joe Woodard

  • Ed calls it future glee. What do you think? Are you a techno-optimist and excited about the future?

  • “Whenever you have so much food, so much shelter, so much supply, so much wealth that everybody gets it and the power that can’t hide it. In a good way, in a Gene Roddenberry way.”

Segment four

  • “I believe that ideal clients aren’t ideal because of their industry or some other characteristic. I think they are ideal because of how they think.” —Ron Baker

  • “Rich is in the niches.” —probably not a Joe Woodard quote but he gets credit today on The Soul of Enterprise

  • A big THANK YOU to Joe Woodard for joining us today. Are you joining us at Scaling New Heights? I will be there! https://www.woodard.com/scaling-new-heights-2025 

Bonus Content is Available As Well

Did you know that each week after our live show, Ron and Ed take to the microphone for a bonus show? Typically, this bonus show is an extension of the live show topic (sometimes even with the same guest) and a few other pieces of news, current events, or things that have caught our attention.

Click the “FANATIC” image to learn more about pricing and member benefits. 

Episode #537: One of Our Own — Second interview with Mark Koziel

NEW SHOW FEATURE: We are now LIVE streaming our shows. Want to join us live? Just click this link every Friday at 3pm ET / 12pm PT.

We are thrilled to welcome Mark Koziel, CPA, CGMA, as our guest on this episode of The Soul of Enterprise. Mark has recently been appointed as the President and CEO of the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) and the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, effective January 2025. Prior to this role, he served as the President and CEO of Allinial Global, an association of independent accounting and advisory firms. With over 25 years of experience in accounting and leadership, Mark has been a consistent advocate for the profession, bringing a global perspective to the evolving landscape of accounting and finance.

In this episode, we delve into Mark’s vision for the future of the accounting profession, discussing the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. We explore his journey from public accounting to leading major professional organizations, and how his experiences have shaped his perspectives on leadership, innovation, and the role of accountants in today’s dynamic business environment.

SHOW NOTES

Segment one

  • “As a profession we just need to show up and be more positive about who we are. It is the greatest profession in the world.” —Mark Koziel, President of AICPA

  • YES — Creating a sense of community is one of the most consistent insights Mark has heard while traveling and listening to AICPA members.

  • Mentioned on the show today: Other Comprehensive Basis of Accounting (OCBOA) is a non-GAAP accounting protocol used to generate financial statements. OCBAOA examples include the income tax basis of accounting, the cash basis of accounting, and the modified cash basis of accounting. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/o/other-comprehensive-basis-of-accounting.asp 

  • Also mentioned today: SSARS No. 21 is a Statement on Standards for Accounting and Review Services issued by the AICPA, and it addresses the preparation of financial statements. https://www.aicpa-cima.com/resources/download/aicpa-ssarss-currently-effective 

  • “Wouldn’t it be great—Ron and Ed—if we could stop talking about hours as being a gauge of success?” —Mark Koziel

Segment two

  • “Please think with us, not like us” is a great phrase that Mark uses and attributes to Ron.

  • Many of us here at The Soul of Enterprise are big fans of the TV show “Ted Lasso”. It was great to hear Mark quote Ted (and attribute the quote to Walt Whitman): “Be curious, not judgmental”

  • “Technology investments and AI — they should be natural pushes into us doing this because if it’s not and we still come back to this ‘hours times rate’ thing, we’re going to be in trouble.” —Mark Koziel

  • TIL Tom Hood started “Finance of the Future” which has become a community of CFOs from some of the largest companies in the United States 

Segment three

  • “Show me a firms’s dashboard and I’ll tell you about its culture.” —Ron Baker

  • “Overall we can’t keep using [timesheets] as our ultimate measure of value […]. It’s going to be a race to the bottom.” —Mark Koziel

  • Regarding burnout in the accounting industry: “If I’m driven by family values and being with family, I’m probably going to want to work less.” —Mark Koziel

  • “The burnout diagnosis seems to put the blame on the person rather than the system. And I think that it’s the system that eats the young.” —Ron Baker

Segment four

  • It’s much too complex for a tweet, but you need to listen to segment four of the show today when Ed asked Mark about CPE, hours, and how to address the obvious issues.

  • You get all of your stuff at the end of the year. W-2. 1099s from a 401k. And so on. There has to be a ChatGPT thing where I just drop and drag all of my PDF files that I have and say, “produce a tax return for me”. Does this already exist?

  • A big THANK YOU to Mark Koziel for joining us today! https://www.aicpa-cima.com/news/article/mark-koziel-new-aicpa-cima-ceo 

  • Bonus note (reference by Ed during the show): Jamey Johnson singing “The Dollar” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlnYH5Da32A

Bonus Content is Available As Well

Did you know that each week after our live show, Ron and Ed take to the microphone for a bonus show? Typically, this bonus show is an extension of the live show topic (sometimes even with the same guest) and a few other pieces of news, current events, or things that have caught our attention.

Click the “FANATIC” image to learn more about pricing and member benefits. 

Episode #536: Crossing the Threshold — A New Chapter Begins

NEW SHOW FEATURE: We are now LIVE streaming our shows. Want to join us live? Just click this link every Friday at 3pm ET / 12pm PT.

Ron and Ed unveil their bold new venture—THRESHOLD. In this episode, they share the vision behind the company, why it matters now, and how it aims to challenge the status quo in advisory and consulting. THRESHOLD is more than a brand—it’s a mindset shift for professionals ready to think beyond billable hours and transactional models. If you’re looking for transformation, not just iteration, this is your call to cross the threshold with us.

SHOW NOTES

Segment one

Segment two

  • In the context of the conversation today, initially people moved to goods and services to experiences (think Disneyworld and concerts). Experiences are different because customers pay the business money to spend time with the business. Paying to get into the Disney park, for example.

  • An experience can also be something that is not delivered at a particular spot. Virtual reality, home services, and so, are all great examples. The third edition of The Experience Economy lays out different types of experiences that are all memorable to the individual. https://www.amazon.com/Experience-Economy-New-Preface-Authors/dp/1633697975/ 

  • For a transformation to be successful it has to be aspirational in the customer’s mind. The customer is the product (not in a bad way). They are the ones changing so they need to ASPIRE to be the end result of the transformation. 

  • Joe Pine is now working on a new book called “The Transformation Economy”. As a part of the book, he has published his journey on substack and you can find it here: https://transformationsbook.substack.com/ 

Segment three

  • Ron and Ed referenced this previous show today: Episode #518: Trends in the Transformation Economy with Christophe Jauquet https://www.thesoulofenterprise.com/518 

  • Ron reference Eataly earlier on the show. You can buy commodities there like pasta and olive oil. You can buy good there as well. In the services space, they have a cafe and restaurants. Now how does Eataly provide a transformation? They have cooking classes. https://www.eataly.com 

  • In one of his white papers, Joe Pine, co-author of the Experience Economy book, discussed how time is the key distinction between services and experiences in the Progression of Economic Value. Joe says, "Services are about time well saved while experiences are about time well spent. https://whitehutchinson.com/news/lenews/2022/december/article110.shtml 

Segment four

  • Summarized from Joe Pine: When you really look at customer aspirations, those aspirations revolve around being healthy, wealthy, and wiser. What customers really want is health and well being, wisdom and understanding, wealth and prosperity, purpose and meaning.

  • These (see above) are universal aspirations. The great part about customers’ desire to be healthier, wealthier, and wiser is that you do not need to gin up demand! Who doesn’t want this?

  • Thank you for joining us today. There is a complimentary level available for Threshold. It is the Foundation membership available at this link: https://thresholdnow.com/join 

Bonus Content is Available As Well

Did you know that each week after our live show, Ron and Ed take to the microphone for a bonus show? Typically, this bonus show is an extension of the live show topic (sometimes even with the same guest) and a few other pieces of news, current events, or things that have caught our attention.

Click the “FANATIC” image to learn more about pricing and member benefits. 

Episode #535: Juche for Dummies — Why Self-Sufficiency Sucks

NEW SHOW FEATURE: We are now LIVE streaming our shows. Want to join us live? Just click this link every Friday at 3pm ET / 12pm PT.

Ron and Ed break down the latest tariff policies of President Donald Trump, offering a free market critique of its implications. They explore how tariffs function as hidden taxes on consumers, challenge the idea of using protectionism as economic strategy, and examine the historical consequences of similar policies.

SHOW NOTES

Segment one

  • Literally "subject idea" Juche incorporates the historical materialist ideas of Marxism–Leninism but also strongly emphasizes the individual, the nation state, and national sovereignty. Juche posits that a country will prosper once it has become self-reliant by achieving political, economic, and military independence. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juche 

  • Staying with the theme of Juche: If self-suffienciency worked, North Korea would be Monaco.

  • Having Trump Derangement Syndrome (when it comes to tariffs) means you are economically LITERATE. Congratulations.

  • “You couldn’t fill a Mini Cooper with economists who agree with tariffs. You just couldn’t.” —Ron Baker

  • Ed referenced episode 76, Lessons from the Trading Game, on the show today. Here is the link https://www.thesoulofenterprise.com/76 

Segment two

  • “In every country it always is and must be the interest of the great body of the people to buy whatever they want of those who sell it cheapest. The proposition is so very manifest, that it seems ridiculous to take any pains to prove it; nor could it ever have been called in question, had not the interested sophistry of merchants and manufacturers confounded the common-sense of mankind.” —Adam Smith, 1776, The Wealth of Nations

  • On Juche for Dummies, “I’m sure we are at a trade deficit with some country that’s importing bananas to us. And we then slap a 10% tariff on them because we want bananas?” —Ed Kless

  • Referenced on the show today: Economics in One Lesson — The Shortest and Surest Way to Understand Basic Economics by Henry Hazlitt https://www.amazon.com/Economics-One-Lesson-Shortest-Understand/dp/0517548232 

  • NAFTA lost 1 million jobs for the US in its first 20 years between 1994 and 2014. That means it took NAFTA two decades to kill as many jobs as we turn naturally IN 18 DAYS.

Segment three

Segment four

Bonus Content is Available As Well

Did you know that each week after our live show, Ron and Ed take to the microphone for a bonus show? Typically, this bonus show is an extension of the live show topic (sometimes even with the same guest) and a few other pieces of news, current events, or things that have caught our attention.

Click the “FANATIC” image to learn more about pricing and member benefits. 

Episode #534: Milton’s Mandate — The Market, Morality, and Money

NEW SHOW FEATURE: We are now LIVE streaming our shows. Want to join us live? Just click this link every Friday at 3pm ET / 12pm PT.

In this episode, Ron and Ed dive into one of the most influential and debated essays in business and economic thought: Milton Friedman’s The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits. Published in The New York Times in 1970, Friedman’s argument that businesses should focus solely on maximizing shareholder value while operating within the law sparked decades of debate about corporate ethics, stakeholder capitalism, and the role of business in society.

Ron and Ed will unpack Friedman’s perspective, discuss its implications for modern businesses, and explore how it contrasts with contemporary views on corporate social responsibility (CSR) and ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) initiatives. Is Friedman’s argument still valid in today’s world, or has the definition of corporate responsibility evolved? Tune in for an insightful discussion on one of the most enduring ideas in free-market economics.

📖 Read Friedman’s original essay: The New York Times

SHOW NOTES

Segment one

Segment two

Segment three

  • Segment three of the show today starts with a lengthy section from Friedman’s Doctrine beginning with, “ON the grounds of consequences, can the corporate executive in fact discharge his alleged ‘social responsibilities’? On the one hand, suppose he could get away with spending the stockholders’ or customers’ or employes’ money. How is he to know how to spend it?” https://www.nytimes.com/1970/09/13/archives/a-friedman-doctrine-the-social-responsibility-of-business-is-to.html?unlocked_article_code=1.9E4.8Fy6.8Z-P1t4lzAfk&smid=url-share 

  • 🤣 🤣 🤣 “We thus have the ironic phenomenon that union leaders—at least in the U.S. —have objected to Government interference with the market far more consistently and courageously than have business leaders.” —Milton Friedman

  • “In a free society, it is hard for ‘good’ people to do ‘good,’ but that is a small price to pay for making it hard for ‘evil’ people to do ‘evil,’ especially since one man's good is anther's evil.” —Milton Friedman in 1970

  • “So in a way, it’s a marketing expense, which we’ve always accused CSR of being.” —Ron Baker and Ed Kless on corporate social responsibility 

Segment four

  • “[Businessmen] are capable of being extremely far‐sighted and clear‐headed in matters that are internal to their businesses. They are incredibly short sighted and muddle‐headed in matters that are outside their businesses but affect the possible survival of business in general.” —Milton Friedman https://www.nytimes.com/1970/09/13/archives/a-friedman-doctrine-the-social-responsibility-of-business-is-to.html?unlocked_article_code=1.9E4.8Fy6.8Z-P1t4lzAfk&smid=url-share 

  • Here is the conclusion to Friedman’s Doctrine from 1970: But the doctrine of “social responsibility” taken seriously would extend the scope of the political mechanism to every human activity. It does not differ in philosophy from the most explicitly collectivist doctrine. It differs only by professing to believe that collectivist ends can be attained without collectivist means. That is why, in my book “Capitalism and Freedom,” I have called it a “fundamentally subversive doctrine” in a free society, and have said that in such a society, “there is one and only one social responsibility of business—to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception or fraud.”

Bonus Content is Available As Well

Did you know that each week after our live show, Ron and Ed take to the microphone for a bonus show? Typically, this bonus show is an extension of the live show topic (sometimes even with the same guest) and a few other pieces of news, current events, or things that have caught our attention.

Click the “FANATIC” image to learn more about pricing and member benefits. 

Episode #533: 2025 Tech Trends Report with Greg Tirico

NEW SHOW FEATURE: We are now LIVE streaming our shows. Want to join us live? Just click this link every Friday at 3pm ET / 12pm PT.

With Ron Baker out this week due to a personal matter, Ed Kless is joined by Greg Tirico for a deep dive into the FTSG 2025 Tech Trends Report (available as a free download). Together, they explore 10 provocative takeaways shaping the future of technology—from AI’s evolution into “living intelligence” and action models, to the rise of agentic systems, climate-driven innovation, and the commercial colonization of space. Ed and Greg break down what these shifts mean for business leaders, professionals, and society at large. Expect thoughtful insights, some healthy skepticism, and a few surprises as they navigate the frontier of what’s next.

MORE ABOUT GREG

Greg's official title here at The Soul of Enterprise might be just a step above “intern,” but don’t let that fool you. He’s the behind-the-scenes engine helping drive marketing at The Soul of Enterprise — that is, when we allow him to emerge from the dark room in which he lives and works. In addition to making Ron and Ed look good (arguably his most important job), Greg also runs Working Web Media, bringing years of marketing and tech expertise to the table.

SHOW NOTES

Segment one

AI

  • Deep Seek and Stanford have both shown that AI models do not need to get larger as previously thought. Think “small language models” instead of LLM (large language models).

  • Newer models might be small and less capable but that’s a good thing, especially for mobile devices

  • Agentic AI has cemented itself as a trend to watch. This can be thought of as autonomous decision making (or business workflow on steroids)

Metaverse

  • Industrial applications remain “just around the corner” and I’m still a bit skeptical

  • South Korea Enacts Metaverse Industry Law in February of 2024. The new law both supports and regulates the metaverse, prioritizing permissionless development with oversight after implementation.

  • Meta Ray-Ban sunglasses: Meta AI for object detection, capture video, make phone calls, listen to music, and livestream — all for $300

Segment two

Biotechnology

  • Real world industrial applications currently in the market:

    • crops engineered for climate resilience and higher yields

    • engineered microbes produce materials stronger than steel 

    • Restaurants serve meat grown from cells rather than raised on farms. 

    • Fashion brands sell jackets made from spider silk produced by engineered yeast. 

    • Construction companies explore self-healing concrete created by bacteria.

    • Beauty products contain proteins designed by AI and grown in fermentation tanks. 

  • July 2024: CRISPR-edited seedless blackberries and non-browning avocados enter market trials.

  • Medical LLMs used for drug discovery

  • CRISPR gene editing: Editas’ EDIT-101, designed to treat Leber congenital amaurosis, is one of the first in vivo CRISPR therapies to restore vision in patients with inherited blindness.

    • In vivo: in the living; ex vivo requires stem cells to be modified outside the body and then reintroduced 

    • CRISPR modified livestock?

Mobility, Robotics, and Drones

  • EVs as mobile power plants. After all, the Tesla power wall is the same battery they put in cars. The Ford F-150 Lightning is the ultimate tailgate machine

    • Fun fact: Tesla now has over 60,000 superchargers worldwide at 7,000 locations. There are 11,616 Exxon Mobil gas stations in the United States.

  • Software defined cars: NHTSA recalls still happen but the fix is done via software. The recurring revenue model is too lucrative to ignore for automakers

  • Autonomous vehicles possibly face more regulatory scrutiny than technological barriers at this point. Waymo is in Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Austin with 10 more cities planned this year

  • Drones: medical applications both on and off the battlefield; agriculture

  • Robots: AI driven domestic robots, “Cobots”, are being produced by Samsung and Switchbot. Moving beyond the vacuum, they can handle air purification, monitor pets, and deliver items to you (beer?)

  • 1 in 10 South Korean workers are robots

  • Space robots and drones will play a large role in the NASA Artemis project and are already helping to clean up space junk

  • Aerial corridors are already a thing in the UAE

Segment three

Computing

  • National security depends on computational supremacy. When adversaries can deploy more powerful AI systems faster, they gain advantages in everything from intelligence to weaponry. Building robust computing infrastructure is just as much about maintaining strategic autonomy as it is technological leadership. And this is where quantum computing enters the chat.

    • When Google’s 2024 Willow quantum chip completed a problem in five minutes that would take today’s supercomputers 10 septillion years to solve, it sparked equal parts excitement and bewilderment.

  • Access to energy and compute will continue to be critical over the next decade

  • Biological computing, or biocomputing, uses biological organisms or processes to store, process, and transfer information, encompassing technologies like DNA computing and cellular computing. It aims to harness the power of living systems for computational tasks. 

    • In 2023, researchers at Johns Hopkins University outlined a vision for biocom- puters powered by human brain cells in a paper published in Frontiers in Science. Led by Thomas Hartung, the team present- ed a roadmap for “organoid intelligence,” aiming to develop biological computing using 3D cultures of human brain cells.

  • Generative UI refers to the use of generative AI to automatically create, adapt, or personalize a user interface (UI) based on real-time inputs and context.

  • Context aware earwax

  • Living tactical scenario: A gunshot cracks the night. Within seconds, the drones pinpoint the shooter through audio triangulation. The helmets respond, releasing precise doses of performance enhancers to steady hands and sharpen focus. If chemical weapons appear, the neural interface stands ready to inject countermeasures directly into bloodstreams. The soldiers adjust their approach wordlessly, human and machine moving as one. The drones unleash another tactic: They project phantom sounds across the battlefield—helicopter rotors, tank treads, marching boots. The enemy scatters, chasing ghosts. The helmets pick up on rising hostile heart rates as confusion spreads.

Space

  • Space is shifting from government-driven to markets-driven. 

    • SpaceX conducted 138 launches in 2024; 35 so far this year

  • There was a private spacewalk in 2024 conducted by Polaris Dawn

  • Vast Space will launch Haven-1 in 2025 — a commercial space station

  • Space based manufacturing of pharmaceuticals 

  • Cislunar Networking: As we return to the moon, infrastructure like fiber optics and reliable internet will be essential, mirroring Earth’s networks. This presents a significant opportunity to shape the future of lunar communications.

  • “If we are to find new frontiers for industry and energy, then the mines of space will provide.” Isaac Asimov, “Foundation and Empire”

Segment four

  • Entertainment, Healthcare, and News

Bonus Content is Available As Well

Did you know that each week after our live show, Ron and Ed take to the microphone for a bonus show? Typically, this bonus show is an extension of the live show topic (sometimes even with the same guest) and a few other pieces of news, current events, or things that have caught our attention.

Click the “FANATIC” image to learn more about pricing and member benefits. 

Episode #532: Superabundance Revisited — Our Second Conversation with Gale Pooley

NEW SHOW FEATURE: We are now LIVE streaming our shows. Want to join us live? Just click this link every Friday at 3pm ET / 12pm PT.

Join us for an enlightening discussion as we welcome back economist and author Dr. Gale L. Pooley to celebrate the release of his new book. In this episode, we delve deeper into the groundbreaking concepts presented in the book, exploring how human ingenuity and freedom drive resource abundance and economic growth. Dr. Pooley shares new insights and reflections since his last appearance, offering a fresh perspective on the relationship between population dynamics and prosperity. Don’t miss this opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the principles that challenge conventional views on scarcity and highlight the potential for human creativity to overcome limitations.

MORE ABOUT GALE

Dr. Gale L. Pooley is an American economist, professor, and co-author of Superabundance. He currently teaches U.S. economic history at Utah Tech University and has held academic positions at institutions including Brigham Young University–Hawaii and Alfaisal University in Riyadh. Dr. Pooley is renowned for his work on the concept of abundance and population growth, notably co-authoring the Simon Abundance Index, which measures resource availability relative to population growth. He holds professional designations from the Appraisal Institute, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, and the CCIM Institute.

SHOW NOTES

Segment one

  • Gale first joined us for episode 409 and his co-author joined us for episode 418. Here’s a fun trick. Just type The Soul Of Enterprise dot com slash episode number to find any episode. So, thesoulofenterprise.com/409, for example

  • Gale has a great list of the three original sins of economics: 1) only atoms can be resources; 2) we live in a world of scarcity; 3) we measure things with money

  • Thank you VERY MUCH to Hector Garcia for submitting a question for our guest today. You can submit questions for Ron and Ed on any device using this link https://www.thesoulofenterprise.com/questions 

  • Here is a GREAT example from Gale on the time price of eggs. They may be technically more expensive in terms of dollars right now but if you shift your perspective, they are more abundant than ever in human history. More here https://galepooley.substack.com/p/egg-perspective 

Segment two

  • Gale Pooley and Marian Tupy’s book, Superabundance, is well received on Amazon with about 400 ratings. How are the ideas in Superabundance being received by economists? Gale goes back to the three original sins of economics to reflect on the book’s reception. Here is a link for more info https://www.amazon.com/Superabundance-Population-Innovation-Flourishing-Infinitely/dp/1952223393 

  • “CPI (consumer price index) tells you how expensive things have become but then it doesn’t tell you if they have become more or less affordable.” —Gale Pooley

  • "A man with one watch knows what time it is; a man with two watches is never sure," is known as Segal's Law, and it suggests that having multiple sources of information can lead to confusion and uncertainty. 

  • Time prices are a better measurement than just money and Superabundance, the book, lays this out. For example: There is more information in the time price of money compared to just money. It is easily calculated. The scientific method uses time. You can use time prices in any country at any time with any product and any currency. —Those are just a few examples. More at this link https://www.amazon.com/Superabundance-Population-Innovation-Flourishing-Infinitely/dp/1952223393 

Segment three

  • This is a summary of the start of segment three today (Gale’s actual words are significantly better): When you buy a house, you’re really buying two things: the lot/land and the improvement on that land (otherwise known as the house). In some cases the land is worth 10% of the price and in other cases it is significantly more. The land explains the difference in housing price variability across the country.

  • From the concepts in Superabundance, if you look at the TIME PRICE of materials for building a home, it really hasn’t changed that much since the 1960s. In fact, labor is not that much more either. More at this link https://www.amazon.com/Superabundance-Population-Innovation-Flourishing-Infinitely/dp/1952223393 

  • To understand TIME PRICES and housing as detailed in the book Superabundance, Gale Pooley (co-author) likes to ask the question: “How much time does it take you to earn the money to make your monthly payment on a per square foot basis?”

  • The Jevons paradox, named after the 19th-century economist William Stanley Jevons, suggests that technological advancements that increase the efficiency of resource use can paradoxically lead to increased consumption of that resource, rather than decreased consumption. 

  • “AI Just Got 90 To 99.99 Percent Cheaper” by Gale Pooley https://galepooley.substack.com/p/ai-just-got-90-to-9999-percent-cheaper 

Segment four

  • “Steve Jobs introduced the Macintosh in 1984 at a retail price of $2,495. At the time unskilled workers were earning around $5.00 per hour, putting the time price at 498 hours. A new iMac can be bought today for $1,299 and unskilled workers are now earning closer to $16.51 per hour, indicating a time price at 78.7 hours.” —Gale Pooley in the article ‘Mac at 40’ https://galepooley.substack.com/p/mac-at-40 

  • In his 2004 paper, Nobel laureate William Nordhaus estimated that innovators capture approximately 2.2% of the total surplus from innovation in the first year, due to a combination of instantaneous appropriability and the depreciation of Schumpeterian profits. https://www.nber.org/digest/oct04/who-gains-innovation 

  • Royal Caribbean just launched a cruise ship that can hold 8,000 passengers and weighs 250,800 tons. Gale Pooley wrote a GREAT article about this called “Cruise Ship Billionaires” https://galepooley.substack.com/p/cruise-ship-billionaires 

  • A big THANK YOU to Gale Pooley, co-author of Superabundance, for joining us today. You can follow Gale on his substack at this link https://galepooley.substack.com/ 

Bonus Content is Available As Well

Did you know that each week after our live show, Ron and Ed take to the microphone for a bonus show? Typically, this bonus show is an extension of the live show topic (sometimes even with the same guest) and a few other pieces of news, current events, or things that have caught our attention.

Click the “FANATIC” image to learn more about pricing and member benefits. 

Episode #531: The Boardroom Brawl — Will Purpose Stand Tall or Will Profit Take All?

NEW SHOW FEATURE: We are now LIVE streaming our shows. Want to join us live? Just click this link every Friday at 3pm ET / 12pm PT.

In this episode of The Soul of Enterprise, Ron and Ed dive into the long-standing debate: Is the purpose of business to make a profit, or is profit simply the result of fulfilling a deeper mission? Drawing inspiration from the wisdom of Peter Drucker—who famously stated, “There is only one valid definition of business purpose: to create a customer”—they explore the implications of this perspective for entrepreneurs, executives, and professionals.

Does a relentless focus on profit lead to short-termism and ethical compromises? Or is profit the natural outcome of serving customers, creating value, and building a sustainable enterprise? Join us as Ron and Ed unpack these ideas, challenge conventional wisdom, and discuss what this debate means for the future of business.

SHOW NOTES

Segment one

Segment two

  • “Purpose is bigger than tactics. Purpose is bigger than strategy. It is a choice to pursue your destiny, the ultimate destination for yourself and the organization you lead.” —from Purpose: The Starting Point of Great Companies by Nikos Mourkogiannis https://www.amazon.com/Purpose-Starting-Point-Great-Companies/dp/0230605303  

  • TIL Peter Drucker coined the term “profit center” and wrote, years later, that he was ashamed of it.

  • “Profit is the oxygen for the body but it’s not the point of life.” —Ron Baker on today’s show (possibly non-attributed)

  • “Business must be run at a profit, else it will die. But when anyone tries to run a business solely for profit, then also the business must die, for it no longer has a reason for existence.” —Henry Ford

  • “There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.” —Sam Walton

Segment three

  • Ed mentioned the 7-s framework on the show today. Introduced by McKinsey in the 1970’s, here is some historical background on the model: https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/enduring-ideas-the-7-s-framework 

  • Stanley Marcus, the former president and chairman of the board of Neiman Marcus, famously said "Consumers are statistics. Customers are people,"

  • Here’s a fun exercise: How much would you have to be paid to not be able to use your iPhone ever again? THINK about that. There’s is a flip answer (thank goodness!) but what is your real number?

  • Robert Wood Johnson, former chairman of JNJ and a member of the Company’s founding family, crafted the JNJ Credo himself in 1943. More here and in the image (which is the credo carved in stone at the JNJ headquarters) https://www.jnj.com/our-credo 

Segment four

Bonus Content is Available As Well

Did you know that each week after our live show, Ron and Ed take to the microphone for a bonus show? Typically, this bonus show is an extension of the live show topic (sometimes even with the same guest) and a few other pieces of news, current events, or things that have caught our attention.

Click the “FANATIC” image to learn more about pricing and member benefits. 

Episode #530: One Thing — March 2025

NEW SHOW FEATURE: We are now LIVE streaming our shows. Want to join us live? Just click this link at 3pm ET / 12pm PT.

Inspired by A. J. Jacobs when he appeared on Russ Robert's great podcast EconTalk, Ron and Ed have each been keeping a "One Thing" journal for the last few years. The idea is simple. You have a place where each day you capture, just one thing that inspired you. For us, it is often a quote, but it can just be an idea. In this episode, Ron and Ed once again share entries from their "One Thing" journals. It is a bit random, but contains nugget after nugget of curated wisdom for the reading and listening habits of the hosts.

SHOW NOTES

Segment one

  • So what is a One Thing show? Ron and Ed both keep a journal. And they keep one thing, a quick note, in their journals. A few times a year, we do a show on our One Thing.

  • From Jonah Goldberg: Many firms try to be a vet and a taxidermist so they can say, either way, you get your cat back.

  • From Peter Savadnik: There is nothing more pathetic than an older person who cares about what a younger person thinks is cool.

  • From Winston Churchill: Socialism is the gospel of envy

  • From Anthony Davies, former TSOE guest: One obtains wealth in exchange for providing value to others. The correct phrase, 1% of the people own 40% of the wealth, reveals the fact that 40% of the value the 99% experience as joy is created through the efforts of 1% of the people

  • Attributed to Lenin: There are decades where nothing happens and there are weeks where decades happen.

  • From Elon Musk: The most common error of a smart engineer is to optimize a thing that should not exist

  • From Charles Spurgeon: Wisdom is, I suppose, the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise, to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom. 

  • From Alexander Solzhenitsyn: Let the lie come into the world. Let it even triumph. But not through me.

  • Also from Alexander Solzhenitsyn: To stand up for truth is nothing. For truth, you must sit in jail.

Segment two

  • From Kevin Williamson: History doesn’t have sides but historians do.

  • Ed introduced us to a new word today: meliorism — the belief that the world can be made better by human effort.

  • From Russell Banks, author: Go, my book. And help destroy the world as it is.

  • Author unknown: We have to get better at disagreeing with one another, rather than being forced to agree with one another.

  • The Royal Society's motto, "Nullius in verba," translates to "Take nobody's word for it”

  • From Eric Voegelin: Don’t immanentize the eschaton https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immanentize_the_eschaton 

  • Epictetus: He who laughs at himself never runs out of things to laugh at

  • From Lewis Carroll: Do we decide questions at all? We deice the answer no doubt, but surely the questions decide us.

  • The rhino principle: A rhino is single-minded. It perceives an object and changes with everything it’s got. When done, it instantly resumes browsing.

Segment three

  • Probably from the KGB: Anybody can commit a murder but it takes an artist to stage a suicide.

  • From Anton Chekhov: The task of a writer is not to solve the problem but to state the problem correctly.

  • From Leo Tolstoy: In our world everybody thinks of changing humanity and nobody thinks of changing himself.

  • From Peter Block: The habits or protocols of convening are based on the foundational idea that questions bring us together and answers keep us apart.

  • From Booker T. Washington: I have never had much patience with those always ready to explain why one cannot succeed. I have always had high regard for the man who could tell me how to succeed.

  • From Golda Meir after October 7th: We can forgive them for killing our children. We cannot forgive them for forcing us to kill their children. We will only have peace with them when they love their children more than they hate us.

  • From Seymour Lipset: To know only one country is to know none.

  • From E.O. Wilson and his thoughts on Communism — Four words: Great idea. Wrong species.

  • From Karl Marx in 1847: Without slavery, you have no cotton. Without cotton, you have no modern industry. Cause slavery to disappear and you will have wiped America off the map of nations (to which Ron retorts: I wonder if Marx ever got tired of always being wrong?)

  • From Rene Girard: In a world purged of sources of authority, there is still one way to achieve status. Concern for victims. Victimism uses the ideology of concern for victims to gain political or economic or spiritual power.

  • From Stefan Kisielewski: The use of coercion comes from not believing the argument.

  • From Jonah Goldberg: The narcissism of small differences is one of the great drivers of human conflict.

Segment four

  • From EconTalk guest Adam Mastroianni: Science progresses on its strongest link not its weakest link. The weakest link is discarded or ignored. Dump peer review. It’s failed.

  • From Stephen Kotkin on Russia/Ukraine and China/Taiwan: If they take it they can’t have it.

  • From David Hawkins on his consolidation of company strategy: Increase sales, cut costs, and make the bastards work harder.

  • From Thomas Sowell: Facts do not speak for themselves. They speak for or against competing theories. Facts divorced from theories or visions are mere isolated curiosities.

  • From Gordon McKenzie: It is not the business of authority figures to validate genius because genius threatens authority. The ghost of past successes outvote original thinking.

Bonus Content is Available As Well

Did you know that each week after our live show, Ron and Ed take to the microphone for a bonus show? Typically, this bonus show is an extension of the live show topic (sometimes even with the same guest) and a few other pieces of news, current events, or things that have caught our attention.

Click the “FANATIC” image to learn more about pricing and member benefits. 

Episode #529: Entrepreneurial Nerdery - Second interview with Seth David

NEW SHOW FEATURE: We are now LIVE streaming our shows. Want to join us live? Just click this link at 3pm ET / 12pm PT.

In this episode of “The Soul of Enterprise,” hosts Ron and Ed engage in a compelling conversation with Seth David, the Chief Nerd and CEO of Nerd Enterprises, Inc. Seth is renowned for his ability to demystify complex financial concepts, making them accessible and actionable for businesses and accounting professionals alike. With a rich background that includes auditing and a passion for leveraging technology to enhance business efficiency, Seth shares his journey from traditional accounting roles to becoming a leading educator and consultant in the industry.

SHOW NOTES

Segment one

  • If you know Seth David but don’t know this (and how could you not?), he’s kind of an animal lover. Here’s a great pic of him feeding his dogs.

  • Seth David used to regularly discount his courses but he realized that he had “trained” his future customers to expect a discount. Now, the courses have a regular price but the promos are not nearly as common (unless it is related to his charitable causes). https://www.nerdenterprises.com/courses-and-trainings-catalog 

  • What inspired Seth David to break out on his own and start a company? “I hated working for people.” 🤣 🤣

  • When Seth says he “inspires and educates”, you need to read his backstory to REALLY understand where his coming from as a caring, kind human being. His background story is here: https://www.nerdenterprises.com/about-seth-david 

Segment two

  • “AI firms will look from the outside like a unified intelligence that can instantly propagate ideas across the organization, preserving their full fidelity and context. Every bit of tacit knowledge from millions of copies gets perfectly preserved, shared, and given due consideration.” —Dwarkesh Patel https://www.dwarkeshpatel.com/p/ai-firm 

  • We asked Seth about AI today on the show and he made a great joke about Artificial General Intelligence. “And then we’ll have AGI which is not adjusted gross income.” —Seth David

  • What is the best outcome for artificial intelligence? “My hope is that this doesn’t go in the direction of Skynet but rather in the direction of us being able to be more human again.” —Seth David

  • Seth David’s thoughts on AI: “So the AI is going to be like an employee that I work with who does the does the research and makes the recommendations. And then either I have more questions about those recommendations or I take the recommendations and go run with them and implement.”

Segment three

  • “The more high tech we get the more we are going to demand high touch.” —John Naisbitt, author of Megatrends: Ten New Directions Transforming Our Lives https://www.amazon.com/Megatrends-Ten-Directions-Transforming-Lives/dp/0446356816 

  • “With any disruptive technology, adoption is slow at first and then it just pops. Either you are forced to adopt or you are going to be forced out.” —Seth David on the topic of AI adoption in the accounting space

  • “The only comparative advantage I have against AI is a soul. And I think we're gonna have to really lean into that a lot more.” —Ron Baker

  • If you use ChatGPT with any regularity, give this prompt from Seth David a try: Analyze my communication patterns based on our conversations so far. Tell me what you observe about my thinking style, decision making approach, and potential blind spots. 

Segment four

  • Seth David has a new obsession. It’s called Notion although many of you probably already know a bit about them. The founder of Notion describes his software as digital lego. More here: https://www.notion.com/ 

  • A big THANK YOU to Seth David for joining us today. He’s a nerd and we love it! Check out more about Seth at this link https://www.nerdenterprises.com/ 

Bonus Content is Available As Well

Did you know that each week after our live show, Ron and Ed take to the microphone for a bonus show? Typically, this bonus show is an extension of the live show topic (sometimes even with the same guest) and a few other pieces of news, current events, or things that have caught our attention.

Click the “FANATIC” image to learn more about pricing and member benefits. 

Episode #528: Questioning Conscious Capitalism — Fifth interview with Kimberlee Josephson

NEW SHOW FEATURE: We are now LIVE streaming our shows. Want to join us live? Just click this link at 3pm ET / 12pm PT.

In this episode, we welcome back Dr. Kimberlee Josephson for her fifth appearance on The Soul of Enterprise. Dr. Josephson, an associate professor of business at Lebanon Valley College and adjunct research fellow with the Consumer Choice Center, brings her extensive expertise in global sustainability, international marketing, and workplace diversity to our discussion.

We delve into the complexities of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria, examining their impact on business operations and economic freedom. Dr. Josephson shares her insights on the challenges ESG poses to free-market principles and the potential consequences for entrepreneurs and consumers alike.

Join us for a thought-provoking conversation that explores the intersection of corporate responsibility and economic liberty, and gain a deeper understanding of the current debates surrounding ESG in today’s business landscape.

SHOW NOTES

Segment one

  • Who remembers that great Penn and Teller show called B*llshit? Classic Libertarian move as Ed brings this up at the beginning of the show. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penn_%26_Teller:_Bullshit 

  • “When we think about corporate social responsibility, businesses feel they need to be giving back to society. However, conscious capitalism leads to putting my stakeholders even before the interests of the firm.” —Dr. Josephson

  • “The purpose of business is to create and keep a customer.” —Peter Drucker

  • “My students—the majority of them are business majors—they have a vested interest in business. But most of them are interested also in serving or starting a non profit. So even those who are pursuing a business major don't have a positive view of the profit motive which I find to be pretty disheartening.” —Dr. Josephson

Segment two

Segment three

Segment four

Bonus Content is Available As Well

Did you know that each week after our live show, Ron and Ed take to the microphone for a bonus show? Typically, this bonus show is an extension of the live show topic (sometimes even with the same guest) and a few other pieces of news, current events, or things that have caught our attention.

Click the “FANATIC” image to learn more about pricing and member benefits. 

Episode #527: Building Your Ideal Practice — Roundtable with experts from Woodard

Join Ron and Ed for an engaging roundtable discussion with three dynamic leaders from Woodard: Patricia Hendrix, Heather Satterley, and Deborah Defer. These accomplished professionals bring their unique expertise in practice advancement, technology integration, and Client Advisory Services (CAS) to the conversation. Together, they’ll explore the evolving landscape of accounting, the role of automation, and strategies for business transformation. Tune in for insights, innovation, and inspiration from some of the industry’s top minds!

SHOW NOTES

Segment one

  • To start off the show today, Ron proclaims that “CAS is a ridiculous acronym and it’s not the AICPA’s fault. It needs to be branded and described by each firm.” Patricia and Deborah had some great insight on this one.

  • “This whole CAS thing was a way for us to flip the narrative (that accountants are necessary but not desired), but I think it's only caused more confusion and really an identity crisis.” —Heather Satterley

  • I ask [the firms I work with] if they have a vision, mission, and purpose. Many of them, 90%, say, “We're thinking about it.” Deborah Defer 

  • “The vision, mission and purpose [of an organization] really drives everything in your business. Without one, it's like wandering around in the world without any direction. It’s being in business for the sake of being in business, versus being in business to actually make an impact on the world.” —Heather Satterley

Segment two

  • How does Heather get a firm to think about their niche? Consider these questions: What is the makeup of their practice? Who are they working with? Where are they seeing the most successes in what they're doing currently? Where are they getting the most satisfaction, both on the firm side and on the client side?

  • “Once you know what your ideal client profile is then you have two tasks. One is to go back and look at your current client base and measure each one of them against your ideal client profile. Then decide what you're going to do with the ones that don't measure up.” —Patrica Hendrix

  • “We, as accountants, went into a service based business. We like to serve and we don't know how to say no. So accounting firms end up getting 25-30 different industries that they try to focus on.” —Deborah Defer

  • I see a turning point when we're coaching people. There's a turning point when they really get confidence in themselves and say, “I know I'm delivering a good product. I know I'm valuable and I'm pricing to my value.” —Patricia Hendrix

Segment three

  • “As part of the seven ideals in building an ideal practice, three stand out to me that are probably my highest priorities: technology, people, and process.” —Deborah Defer

  • Regarding finding talent in the industry, Heather had some amazing insight for us today. Here’s a great quote, “Where we kept shooting ourselves in the foot was putting that word ‘accountant’ in the job description.” —Heather Satterley

  • “I think that it's very belittling to have to be accountable for every six minutes of a person's time.” —Deborah Defer

  • Regarding the billable hour, “The struggle is because most of these smaller firms are paying their staff by hour. They're thinking how much am I getting done in any given hour?” —Patricia Hendrix

Segment four

  • Regarding future tech trends: “People are pretty excited about AI. I think that it'll be really interesting to see how firms are ACTUALLY using it.” —Heather Satterley

  • Regarding a future business trend: “So for the longest time nobody that I spoke to was even thinking about selling their practice. They were just going to work till the day they died or hang their shingle up and be done.” —Patricia Hendrix

  • Regarding future business/tech trends: “Firms that are just starting to look at AI from a risk perspective have already missed the train. It's going 10,000 miles an hour and these firms are going to get gobbled up.” —Deborah Defer

  • A big THANK YOU to Heather Satterley, Deborah Defer, and Patricia Hendrix for joining us today. 

Bonus Content is Available As Well

Did you know that each week after our live show, Ron and Ed take to the microphone for a bonus show? Typically, this bonus show is an extension of the live show topic (sometimes even with the same guest) and a few other pieces of news, current events, or things that have caught our attention.

Click the “FANATIC” image to learn more about pricing and member benefits. 

Episode #526: Engagement From The Inside Out — Interview with Jordan Birnbaum

In this episode of “The Soul of Enterprise,” hosts Ron Baker and Ed Kless engage with Jordan Birnbaum, co-founder of Glinda Group, to explore the intersection of behavioral science and business strategy. They discuss how applied social science can drive measurable improvements in employee engagement, leadership development, and organizational culture. Jordan shares insights from his extensive experience, including his tenure as Chief Behavioral Economist at ADP and his entrepreneurial ventures in the entertainment industry. Listeners will gain a deeper understanding of how behavioral principles can be harnessed to enhance business outcomes and foster a more engaged workforce.

NEW SHOW FEATURE: If you want to ask Ron or Ed a question and be featured on the show, please submit a voice recording from any device at https://thesoulofenterprise.com/questions

SHOW NOTES

Segment one

Segment two

Segment three

Segment four

  • Is HR a destructive force in business? The individual HR professional certainly is not so why the disparity? https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/the-uncertainty-principal/202409/why-hr-doesnt-cant-work 

  • If the performance appraisal is meant to give people a view into their performance then it should be structured one way. If it is intended to motivate and give guidance then it should be structured another way. But because organizations do both at the same time, neither works.

  • A big THANK YOU to Jordan Birnbaum for joining us today. Do yourself a favor today and check out what he is up to at Glinda Group https://glindagroup.com/ 

Bonus Content is Available As Well

Did you know that each week after our live show, Ron and Ed take to the microphone for a bonus show? Typically, this bonus show is an extension of the live show topic (sometimes even with the same guest) and a few other pieces of news, current events, or things that have caught our attention.

Click the “FANATIC” image to learn more about pricing and member benefits. 

Episode #525: Fractional CPO? Interview with Ethan Williams

In this insightful episode of The Soul of Enterprise, Ed and Ron are joined by Ethan M. Williams, the founder of Fractional Pricing Advisors and a recognized expert in value-based pricing strategies. With over two decades of experience in corporate strategy and a Certified Pricing Professional designation, Ethan shares his journey through roles at PwC, GE Digital, and beyond. Together, they delve into how businesses can unlock profitability by moving away from cost-plus models and embracing customer-centric pricing. Tune in to explore actionable strategies for transforming your pricing approach and driving value in today’s competitive market.

NEW SHOW FEATURE: If you want to ask Ron or Ed a question and be featured on the show, please submit a voice recording from any device at https://thesoulofenterprise.com/questions

SHOW NOTES

Segment one

  • “You'll figure it out” are the simple words that started Ethan down the path of pricing. He now runs Fractional Pricing Advisors. More at this link: https://www.fractionalpricingadvisors.com/

  • GE, PwC, McKinsey, and KKR help to round out Ethan’s qualifications as a pricing advisor. Based on the conversation today…..yes, he is qualified. 

  • PR pros are timid on pricing. Accountants and consultants cling to cost-plus models. The common thread? The C-suite needs to understand the ROI / NPV.

  • What industries are best suited for Ethan’s fractional pricing offering? Software companies and professional services companies between $50-150M in revenue have not had access to this type of expertise before.

Segment two

  • Ethan’s reaction to the quote, “Pricing is part voodoo and part bingo.” ….from Ethan: “I’ve always said that it's like part investment bank and part David Blaine.”

  • Truth talk: Professionals have been so jaded and the billable hour is endemic to them. They just can't break that cycle.

  • In his time at auditing at PwC, Ethan noticed most Chief Accountants are from the big four. And the billable hour is what they know. That's what they want so it is a bit of a headwind when it comes to any meaningful change.

  • “The majority of pricing mistakes are underpricing rather than overpricing.” —Ed Kless 

  • “Is pricing an art or a science?” This is sort of Ethan meant when he was saying, it's a little bit David Blaine and a little bit investment banker.

Segment three

  • “Value-based pricing isn't about arguing for a bigger cut of a static pie. It's about pricing your service as the best NPV alternative & then working in partnership with your clients.” —Ethan Williams of Fractional Pricing Advisors

  • Ron referenced this in segment three of the show today: The pricer at Philips Medical breaks it into economic value, operational value, clinical value, emotional value, and then societal value

  • From Ethan Williams of Fractional Pricing Advisors: Check out this article called “The B2B Elements of Value” from Bain & Company https://www.bain.com/insights/the-b2b-elements-of-value-hbr 

  • Ethan had a GREAT take on the most important B2B metrics that help you understand if you are winning: “Winning in business comes down to 4 key KPIs: Average deal size, cycle time, win rate, and margin.”

  • Where should the pricing authority lie in an organization? “There is no perfect answer but you need C-Suite support without a doubt.” —Ethan Williams of Fractional Pricing Advisors

Segment four

Bonus Content is Available As Well

Did you know that each week after our live show, Ron and Ed take to the microphone for a bonus show? Typically, this bonus show is an extension of the live show topic (sometimes even with the same guest) and a few other pieces of news, current events, or things that have caught our attention.

Click the “FANATIC” image to learn more about pricing and member benefits. 

Episode #524: Próspera — Interview with Lonis Hamaili

In this episode of “The Soul of Enterprise,” hosts Ron Baker and Ed Kless engage with Lonis Hamaili, Vice President of Growth at Próspera, to explore the innovative concept of startup cities and their potential to revolutionize business environments. Próspera, located on Roatán Island, Honduras, offers a unique platform for entrepreneurs, featuring efficient business setup processes, favorable tax regimes, and a flexible regulatory system designed to foster rapid growth and innovation. The discussion delves into how Próspera’s e-Governance platform enables seamless business management, allowing entrepreneurs to focus on building their ventures. Loni shares insights into the community’s development, the opportunities it presents for startups, and the vision behind creating a dynamic, forward-thinking environment that supports both business and lifestyle aspirations.

NEW SHOW FEATURE: If you want to ask Ron or Ed a question and be featured on the show, please submit a voice recording from any device at https://thesoulofenterprise.com/questions

SHOW NOTES

Segment one

  • Our guest today, Lonis, wrote an article called, “Why I Left Silicon Valley for a Honduran Startup City” for FEE. More here: https://fee.org/articles/why-i-left-silicon-valley-for-a-honduran-startup-city/  

  • Today I learned that Prospera is the world's only startup CITY with significant legal freedoms. https://www.prospera.co

  • What is the perceived advantage of Prospera, the startup city? The key enablers of progress are minimal government, strong property rights, and a lot of personal freedom.

  • There are taxes in Prospera but that is their business model. They generate revenue and returns for a shareholder to the extent that they generate enough useful economic activity.

Segment two

Segment three

Segment four

  • Lonis addressed the concerns in this NY Times article titled, “The For-Profit City That Might Come Crashing Down” In the spirit of what Prospera represents, here is the link without a paywall: https://archive.is/pMGIP 

  • Prospera gives power to the people and is a decentralized power. It is a grassroots project started by economists and business leaders. As you can imagine, some politicians feel threatened. 

  • A big THANK YOU to Lonis Hamaili for joining us today. Prospera is a startup city in Roatan, Honduras that is largely unrestricted and open for business. Learn more here https://www.prospera.co/en 

Bonus Content is Available As Well

Did you know that each week after our live show, Ron and Ed take to the microphone for a bonus show? Typically, this bonus show is an extension of the live show topic (sometimes even with the same guest) and a few other pieces of news, current events, or things that have caught our attention.

Click the “FANATIC” image to learn more about pricing and member benefits. 

Episode #523: Pricing Spineometers — Second interview with Tim Smith

In this enlightening episode, Ron and Ed sit down with Tim Smith, a leading pricing expert and author from Wiglaf Pricing. Together, they dive into the impact of philosopher John Rawls’ Theory of Justice on economic decisions and pricing strategies. Tim shares insights into how Rawls’ principles, like fairness and the “veil of ignorance,” can shape corporate pricing decisions, from the boardroom to the balance sheet. Join us as we explore pricing Spineometers, CEO decision-making, and the ethical considerations behind profitable pricing in today’s market.

NEW SHOW FEATURE: If you want to ask Ron or Ed a question and be featured on the show, please submit a voice recording from any device at https://thesoulofenterprise.com/questions

SHOW NOTES

Segment one

Segment two

  • A snippet of pricing GOLD from Tim Smith today: Anybody who has to sell something on a long term contract and doesn't know the input cost, and is a significant portion of the price, should consider index based pricing. 

  • “There's a feeling among Wall Street and among many executives, that price is simply a function of supply and demand. That you don't need to worry about it. The market will take care of it.” —Tim Smith, pricing expert at Wiglaf Pricing

  • Where does pricing belong in an organization? “It's definitely industry dependent. What I want is that pricing person to have a direct line to the CEO.” —Tim Smith

  • “When I'm just trying to match supply and demand, what they actually found is that they'll raise the prices for the Uber and but that doesn't actually increase the supply of Uber drivers. It just makes money for Uber.” —Tim Smith

Segment three

  • Is dynamic pricing fair? “What's fair is culturally relevant so, in the United States, I can't do price fixing and in Saudi Arabia, I’m encouraged to do price fixing.” —Tim Smith

  • “In a global corporation, you can take your best practices that you already have from other countries and apply them back to the wherever you live. And this is the need for building a pricing community within a corporation” —Tim Smith

  • Does pricing follow strategy or does it lead it? “It’s both. One of the problems I see often in medical tech is they try to make the best thing in the world. But the ASCs want the cheapest thing. So you have a disconnect of what you're making vs the market

Segment four

  • “Under a free market society that’s properly regulated (there's a role for government), anybody who enters into a transaction is doing so because it leaves them BETTER OFF.” —Tim Smith

  • “Milton Friedman said the only purpose of a company is to produce profits. That is its job. That is the very definition of a corporate psychopath.” —Tim Smith

  • A big THANK YOU to Tim Smith for joining us today. Check out more of his work at Wiglaf Pricing https://wiglafpricing.com/  

Bonus Content is Available As Well

Did you know that each week after our live show, Ron and Ed take to the microphone for a bonus show? Typically, this bonus show is an extension of the live show topic (sometimes even with the same guest) and a few other pieces of news, current events, or things that have caught our attention.

Click the “FANATIC” image to learn more about pricing and member benefits. 

Episode #522: Best Books of 2024

It's that time of year again! Join Ron and Ed as they dive into the standout books of 2024, sharing personal favorites, groundbreaking reads, and thought-provoking titles that shaped our year. From business insights and innovative thinking to inspiring narratives, we'll highlight books that captivated our curiosity and expanded our perspectives. Whether you're looking for your next read or just enjoy book talk, this episode will give you a curated list of must-reads to wrap up the year in style.

NEW SHOW FEATURE: If you want to ask Ron or Ed a question and be featured on the show, please submit a voice recording from any device at https://thesoulofenterprise.com/questions

SHOW NOTES

Segment one

Segment two

Segment three

  • By the way, Ron and Ed do NOT share their best book lists prior to the live recording. They BOTH picked “The Heart of a Cheetah” by Magatte Wade as number 3 on their list

  • “Businesses create jobs. Jobs pay people money. And when Africans have money, they will no longer be poor.” —Magatte Wade https://amzn.to/4gO52Lj 

  • Book 2 from Ed: Orbiting the Giant Hairball by Gordon MacKenzie https://www.amazon.com/Orbiting-Giant-Hairball-Corporate-Surviving/dp/0670879835 

  • Book 2 from Ron: A Higher Call: An Incredible True Story of Combat and Chivalry in the War-Torn Skies of World War II by Adam Makos and Larry Alexander https://amzn.to/3WdiKPI 

Segment four

Bonus Content is Available As Well

Did you know that each week after our live show, Ron and Ed take to the microphone for a bonus show? Typically, this bonus show is an extension of the live show topic (sometimes even with the same guest) and a few other pieces of news, current events, or things that have caught our attention.

Click the “FANATIC” image to learn more about pricing and member benefits. 

Episode #521: 2024 The Year in Review

In this annual tradition, Ed and Ron look back on 2024, unpacking the year's most impactful trends, business transformations, and economic shifts. From breakthroughs in AI to evolving tax regulations and the latest developments in technology, they reflect on the standout themes that defined this year. Tune in as they explore what these changes mean for the future, the insights gained along the way, and the lessons learned. Perfect for listeners who want to capture the essence of 2024's business landscape in one insightful episode.

NEW SHOW FEATURE: If you want to ask Ron or Ed a question and be featured on the show, please submit a voice recording from any device at https://thesoulofenterprise.com/questions

Join us every Friday at 3pm ET / 12pm PT

As always, please check our website for upcoming and previous show notes and recordings, use Twitter to find the show at @AskTSOE or find us on Facebook.

The Soul of Enterprise show hosts, Ron Baker and Ed Kless, are on X (the artist formerly known as Twitter) at @ronaldbaker and @edkless, respectively (and obviously).